Tangled

178

178

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.

Good. Let them feel the depth of my wrath, the seething

17:45

Hunt

demands vengeance and blood in price for the

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

shot through with the metallic tang of old

Vampire.

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

your team northwest. Scent leads that

way.

beast than man, roughened by the intensity of my focus. I sense Kellan's acknowledgment, feel him gathering the wolves under his command to pursue the trail. Ryder, swing your

to invade my territory, dared to threaten and kill my people. And when

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 who even looks at our

17:45

luck that Hen

1, Ryder cuts in, his mental presence sharp with confusion. But it's... to the south.

winds through my gut. South

scent by the human farms. Kellan again, terse and grim. Miles from the

vampire stench in different locations. Scattered throughout

right. It's too spread out,

Fuck.

have seen it immediately. Multiple

is trying to lure us out, divide our forces

a leaden weight in

that we're missing something vital. Being played for fools by a cunning monster who knows exactly how to

with all my senses. Straining for any sign of the vampire's actual location amid the chaos of false trails. But there's nothing. Only the maddening sweetnes pack-link like a whip. We're being

and bloodthirsty tage batter against my mind, but I shut that connection down with ruthless efficiency. I understand. my wolves' frustration, feel it roiling inside