Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 178 Lucas: Hunt Him Down

LUCAS

Hundreds of wolves flood the forest in search of the elusive vampire, filling my blood with the lust of the hunt and pride in my pack.

Ava's at the lodge and safe. I'm on my way. Kellan's mental voice is a welcome interruption.

Ryder scented him near the border of the human dairy farm. Take a team and move south, in case he's fucking with his trail.

Got it, Alpha.

Now that I don't have to worry about her safety, I can focus on this bastard who has the balls to come to our lands during this sacred time.

My wolf snarls, a vicious rumble deep in our shared chest as we race through the shadowed forest.

Moonlight weaves between the trees, illuminating the underbrush in random patterns, brushing against my dark fur as I weave between ancient trunks.

All around me, howls rise into the night sky. It's an eerie symphony of bloodlust, feral and free, as we rush through the land in pursuit, ready to tear any vampire we catch from limb from limb.

The pack's rage pulses through me, mingling with my own, until I can't distinguish where mine ends and theirs begins.

my wrath, the seething maelstrom that demands vengeance

past the earth and trees, far past the past the warm musk of my wolves racing alongside me. There. A trace of sweetness, cloying and cold,

Vampire.

My blood surges as I lunge in the direction of that unholy scent. My paws devour the distance, powerful muscles flexing as I give myself over to the pure instinct of

take your team northwest. Scent leads that

voice sounds more beast than man, roughened by the intensity of my focus. I sense Kellan's acknowledgment, feel him gathering the wolves under his

to flank from the east. Box the

invade my territory, dared to

back from gleaming fangs in a silent snarl. When we do, I'll tear his fucking head from his shoulders and mount it on a pike for all to see. A warning to any bloodsucker

perimeter! Sabine, one of my

in, his mental presence sharp with confusion. But it's... to the south. Opposite direction

gut. South should lead them away from

again, terse and grim. Miles from the original trail.

contact with the same sickly sweet vampire stench in different locations. Scattered throughout our territory like a web of dark

right. It's too spread out, too perfectly placed at the edges of our land. Almost

Fuck.

frustration rips from my throat. I should have seen it immediately. Multiple trails, each leading in opposite directions—it's a ploy. The leech is trying to lure us out, divide

missing something vital. Being played for fools by

any sign of the vampire's actual location amid the chaos of false trails. But there's nothing. Only the maddening sweetness of his scent scattered to the

voice cracking through the pack-link like a whip. We're being toyed with. Ryder, Kellan, take a