Tangled

182 Lucas: Ghoulish Discovery

LUCAS =

Who the fuck steals burning bodies of the dead?

The motive is completely unfathomable.

Angry flames lick at the night sky, smoldering remnants of what should have been a sacred night, with souls returned to the embrace of the Moon Goddess.

Instead, there are eighteen disturbed mounds, with no bodies to

be found.

Nude after my shift, my bare feet sink into the sodden earth as I move closer, mud squelching between my toes.

י

"Alpha." Kellan's voice cuts through the haze of my thoughts. He holds out a bundle of clothes, emergency spares we keep on hand

for situations like this.

Grabbing only a pair of jeans, I pull them on with a vicious yank, fury boiling just beneath my skin. The breeze, cool and oblivious to the undercurrents of the night, is almost soothing against my heated skin. Around me, my wolves move through the clearing, noses to the ground as they try to parse out any lingering scents. But there's nothing. The air is too clean, too pure. It's as if someone took a giant eraser and before us.

"I don't understand," I mutter, more to myself than anyone else.

"How can there be no scent? It's like the area's been sanitized."

Kellan frowns, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It's not just the scents of the offackers that are missing. I can't even catch a whiff of Ava"

It's true. Even her scent has been erased from the very air around

16. 16.

I turn in a slow circle, taking in the scene with growing frustration. The disturbed heaps continue to burn, casting an eerie glow across the clearing. My wolves move like shadows, their movements precise and focused as they search for any clue, any hint of who could have done this.

But there's nothing. No scent, no trail, no sign of the monsters responsible for this atrocity. It's as if they never existed.

"Keep searching I order, my voice rough with emotion. "There has to be something we're missing"

But even as the words leave my lips, I know it's futile. Whoever did this was meticulous, leaving no trace of their presence behind.

Of course it's probably the vampires. But if it's not, we risk a war that will take too many lives.

So many wolves are already clamoring, screaming for the streets to run crimson beneath our silver moon. A true war hasn't come to any pack in a long time. This is inconceivable, and yet we're living in this moment.

It's real.

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So many have already died, but for what?

As much as I love her, as much as my life revolves around her, Ava alone can't possibly be the reason.

There's something else. It feels like we're all being led to one conclusion, like sheep to slaughter, Closing my eyes, I breathe.

Deep.

Slow.

Anger will only lead to misstep. There's no more leeway for mistakes and second chances.

Too many wolves rely on me for their safety, their futures.

"What do you think?" Kellan asks, his voice so soft not even the wolves near us would be able to decipher his words.

We need to talk to Ava. Connect with her Sister Miriam. The connection I share with my beta is tight, so no others can interfere or listen in.

He nods, knowing how much this decision galls me.

Every part of me rebels against the idea of establishing any sort of connection with those bloodsucking monsters, but we're operating too blind, and the stakes keep rising.

This isn't a time to wait around for the scraps any spies might bring

1. us.

We can't keep getting jerked around.

Opening my eyes again, I square my shoulders

lace my wolves. They're looking to me for guidance now more than ever before. And I won't let them down.

"is everyone accounted for?"

Two are still missing." Ryder reports, ever the responsible delta as he strides toward me. "I've already updated Vester at Blackwood, and they're on full alert. I have two groups out looking for our missing wolves There's no warmth or solace in the intense heat radiating from the funeral mounds, made of hay and dried wood, to burn through the night.

My mind is reeling, grasping for answers that refuse to come.

How did this happen? How did we let ourselves become so vulnerable? So exposed? The questions gnaw at me, bringing no answers, only confusion.

"Keep guards on the pyres. Make sure the ground stays wet. We don't need a forest fire on top of this shit."

Ryder salutes in acknowledgement before loping away, presumably to gather his wolves for the night watch.

"And Ava? Is she still okay?"

Kellan's eyes lose focus for a moment. "She's fine. There was some incident with th guards in her room-she's fine, so calm down, Alpha-and they replaced the guards around her. It's probably inst sour feelings. There's a lot of that among them tonight. People weren't thrilled to hear our future Luna wouldn't be at the rites. Especially after..."

When my hand raises to cut him off, he stops immediately, looking almost apologetic.

Ava has few supporters in my pack there have been rumors and whispers going around since the evening of the party.

Keeping things quiet is always impossible in a pack of this size. Between the mind links and our social nature, it's almost guaranteed for a secret to fly faster than a startled bird. "Under no circumstances is she to have a dissenter in her guards. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Of course, Alpha."

I turn away, my mind already racing with the next steps we need to take, when Kellan's voice cuts through my thoughts like a knife.

"Shit."

The word is sharp, laced with an undercurrent of fear that sends a chill down my spine. I spin back around, my eyes locking onto his, searching for an explanation.

A vampire was in Ava's room. His mental voice is strained, the words tumbling out in a rush. It's gone now, and she's unharmed, but fuck, Lucas. A vampire was in her room.

Every muscle in my body tenses, ready to sprint towards the lodge, to tear apart anythin hat dares to threaten my mate. But Kellan's next words soothe the immediate panic. Jericho's already on the premises. He's checking it out now.

1 take a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm, to think rationally. Jericho is a former beta, one of the men I most respect in this world. He's been there since I was a pup, and I can trust him to keep her safe. If anyone can handle this situation, it's him.

"You're lucky your dad is here to save your ass," I mutter, the words coming out harsher than I intend. A gentle smack to his shoulder as we fall in line helps brush over the flare of temper.

Kellan's mental chuckle is grim, devoid of any real humor. "No shit."

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