The full moon hung low and heavy over Cedar Grove, pulling at Elena's wolf with primal intensity. She'd planned to run the familiar trails of her territory tonight, but Daniel's warning about increased hunter activity left her restless. Something felt off in the crisp autumn air.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Jessica: "Emergency at the library. Break-in. Please come."
Elena's instincts screamed trap, but Jessica was the closest thing to a friend she had in this town. If there was even a chance the human was in real danger... Grabbing her jacket, Elena slipped out into the night.
The library's parking lot was empty when she arrived, no sign of forced entry on the main doors. But there was a scent – gunpowder and wolfsbane – that made her wolf recoil. Hunters.
"Looking for your human friend?" The voice came from behind her, followed by the distinctive click of a safety being released. "She's fine at home, by the way. Amazing what people will text when they have a crossbow aimed at their family."
Elena turned slowly, counting heartbeats. Three hunters, armed with modified weapons. The leader was tall, scarred, with eyes that held no mercy. But it was the fourth figure that made her blood run cold.
Sarah Thomson stepped into the moonlight, her blonde hair gleaming like spun silver. "Hello, Elena. Miss me?"
"Should have known you'd stoop to working with hunters," Elena spat. "Does Marcus know his future mate is a traitor?"
Sarah's perfect features twisted into something ugly. "Marcus believes what I need him to believe. Just like the pack believed you were the traitor. It's amazing what a few planted clues and whispered rumors can accomplish."
"Why?" Elena demanded, buying time as she assessed escape routes. "You already won. I'm gone, you have Marcus, the pack believes your lies."
"Because you're still alive," Sarah snarled. "As long as you're breathing, there's a chance the truth could come out. I can't have that. These gentlemen owed me a favor after I helped them track that rouge pack last spring. Imagine everyone's grief when they learn the exiled traitor died trying to lead hunters back to her old territory."
The pieces clicked into place – the dead pack members, the convenient evidence. "You've been working with them all along. Those pack members didn't die because of me. You led the hunters to them."
"Sacrifices for the greater good," Sarah shrugged. "The pack needed to see the threat hunters posed. Needed to trust their future Luna to protect them."
"You're insane."
"I'm ambitious. And you're dead."
The first shot cracked through the night, but Elena was already moving. Her wolf burst free, clothes shredding as she launched herself at the nearest hunter. Bones cracked under her jaws before the others could react.
Chaos erupted. Wolfsbane bullets sprayed the air as Elena dove behind a car. Sarah's wolf form – smaller, faster – circled around trying to flank her. The remaining hunters spread out, cutting off escape routes.
Elena's mind raced. She couldn't outfight them all, but maybe she didn't have to. Her territory bordered Shadow Creek land. If she could just reach the border...
A bullet grazed her shoulder, burning like liquid fire. Elena snarled, letting the pain fuel her rage. She feinted left, then burst right, bowling over the hunter attempting to block that path. Sarah's teeth snapped at her heels as she ran.
The forest blurred around her as Elena pushed her wolf to its limits. Behind her, Sarah's howl called for blood. The hunters' vehicles roared to life, headlights cutting through trees. But Elena knew these woods, had mapped every trail and hidden path during her months of solitary runs.
Her wounded shoulder screamed with each stride, the wolfsbane spreading poison through her veins. The border was close – she could smell the Shadow Creek markers. Just a little further...
An explosion of pain knocked her off her feet. Elena rolled, coming up facing a hunter who'd managed to cut around her path. The crossbow in his hands was already reloaded, aimed at her heart.
Time slowed. Elena saw Sarah's triumphant approach, saw the hunter's finger tighten on the trigger. In that moment, she sent up a silent apology to Marcus for leaving him with a monster.
The arrow flew.
A massive black wolf crashed through the underbrush, knocking Elena clear. Daniel's familiar scent filled her nose as more wolves poured out of the shadows – Shadow Creek reinforcements. The hunter's scream cut off in a wet gurgle.
Sarah's shocked yelp almost made the night's terror worth it. The blonde wolf turned to flee, only to find her path blocked by snarling Shadow Creek enforcers.
"Stay down," Daniel's voice ordered in Elena's mind through their temporary pack bond. "Let us handle this."
Elena's last memory before the wolfsbane took hold was Sarah's wolf form being pinned, the remaining hunters surrendering as they were surrounded. Then darkness claimed her, and she fell into dreams of justice and vindication.