CHAPTER 31: CORNERED PREY

Lily Carter POV

Just as three more controlled pack members came out from behind the bushes, the branch broke under my foot. Their bright eyes looked at us like we were targets.

"Run!" Caleb took my hand and led me up the mountain path.

Our hearts were racing as we ran through the forest. The controlled dogs behind us moved in perfect sync with each other. Their footsteps matched like they were all talking to the same mind. Which they most likely were.

"They’re not after us," I gasped as we ran. "They’re pushing us somewhere."

"I know," Caleb said with a pout. "Toward the Sacred Grove. Just like we figured."

A new voice called out from our left. "Lily! Help me!"

I skidded to a stop. It was Mrs. Chen, but her voice sounded different - urgent instead of robotic.

"Lily, don’t!" Caleb yanked on my arm. "It’s a trap!"

But Mrs. Chen stumbled into view, tears running down her face. The glow in her eyes flickered on and off like a broken light.

"Please," she sobbed. "I can feel them in my head. They’re making me do things I don’t want to do."

My heart broke seeing her fight. Mrs. Chen had taught me to bake bread when I was seven. She’d always been kind to me, even when other pack members ignored me.

"Fight it, Mrs. Chen!" I stepped toward her despite Caleb’s warnings. "Remember who you are!"

For a moment, her eyes cleared totally. "Lily? Oh god, what have I done? I tried to hurt you!"

"It wasn’t your fault," I said quickly. "The Shadow Wolves are controlling you."

Mrs. Chen grabbed my shoulders, her grip desperate. "Listen to me while I can still think clearly. The power gets weaker when we remember who we love. When Tommy was in danger yesterday, I broke free for almost a minute."

Tommy was her grandson. I’d helped take care of him in the nursery when he was smaller.

"Strong emotions," Caleb breathed. "That’s the weakness."

Mrs. Chen nodded furiously. "Love, fear for family, anger about protecting pack - anything that makes us feel like ourselves instead of just puppets." Her eyes started glowing again. "No, not yet! Lily, they’re planning something terrible at the Grove. More than just the rogue meeting. They’re going to-"

The glow took over her eyes totally. She let go of me and stepped back, her face going blank.

"Must... capture... Triple Moon... bearer..." she said in that awful robotic voice.

More managed pack members emerged from different directions. We were trapped.

"Mrs. Chen, remember Tommy!" I shouted desperately. "Remember teaching me to make cinnamon rolls!"

For just a second, she paused. The glow flickered.

"I... I can’t..." She shook her head furiously. "Get away from me, child. Run before I hurt you again."

That was all the opening we needed. Caleb and I bolted deeper into the forest.

"She was right about emotions breaking the control," Caleb panted as we ran. "If we could reach enough pack members with strong memories-"

"There’s no time," I cut him off. "Listen."

The howling from the Sacred Grove was getting louder and more ordered. Different wolf sounds were joining together in hunting calls. The rogue meeting wasn’t just starting - it was turning into a hunt.

For me.

We reached a steep rocky slope where the mountain path split into three ways. I was about to ask Caleb which way to go when I heard a familiar voice from above.

"Well, well. Look what we have here."

Elder Thomas stood on a ledge above us, but something was wrong with him too. His eyes held the same glow as the other controlled pack members, but his smile was cruel in a way that seemed more like him.

"Elder Thomas," I called up. "Fight the power! You’re bigger than this!"

He laughed, a sound that made my skin crawl. "Control? Child, I asked for this. The Shadow Wolves offered me everything I wanted - power over ungrateful omegas like you."

My blood turned cold. Elder Thomas hadn’t been managed. He’d decided to work with the Shadow Wolves.

"You betrayed our pack," Caleb growled.

"I saved our pack from the corruption of omega influence," Thomas answered. "When the Triple Moon bearer is gone, things will return to the natural order."

He whistled sharply. Controlled pack members came from all three path directions, trapping us on the rocky slope.

"The beautiful part," Thomas added, "is that when this is over, no one will remember that I helped. The Shadow Wolves will erase those thoughts. I’ll be the hero who tried to save you from the rogues."

"You’re sick," I spat.

"I’m traditional," he corrected. "Omegas serve. Alphas lead. That’s how it should be."

The managed pack members started climbing toward us. We had nowhere to run except up the steep rocky face of the mountain.

"Can you climb?" Caleb asked quickly.

I looked at the sharp rocks and my heart sank. "Not fast enough."

That’s when I heard barking from below. Real barking, not the robotic sounds of controlled wolves. Three wolves raced up the mountain path - and I recognized them instantly.

Aiden, Brock, and another pack member I didn’t recognize were fighting their way through the controlled wolves to reach us.

"The cavalry arrives," Elder Thomas said mockingly. "How sweet. Too bad it won’t matter."

He raised his hand and made a signal. Suddenly, the screaming from the Sacred Grove changed. Instead of multiple voices, it became one massive sound - like fifty wolves howling in perfect sync.

The sound was so loud and scary that even the controlled pack members looked scared.

"What is that?" Caleb whispered.

Elder Thomas smiled wider. "That, my dear children, is the sound of a Shadow Wolf boss calling its pack to hunt. Every rogue within ten miles just got the orders to find and capture the Triple Moon bearer."

The unified howling stopped, leaving an eerie quiet.

Then I heard it - the sound of dozens of paws hitting the ground, all running in our direction.

"They’re all coming for me," I realized with horror.

"Not just rogues," Elder Thomas said enthusiastically. "Every managed pack member too. You have about three minutes before this mountain is filled with wolves who want to drag you back to their masters."

Below us, Aiden, Brock, and their companion were still fighting controlled pack members, but more kept coming. They couldn’t reach us in time.

"Up," Caleb said grimly. "We have to go up."

We started climbing the rocky slope, but I could already hear the thunder of coming paws getting closer. My hands slipped on the cold stone and I almost fell.

"I can’t do this fast enough," I gasped.

"Yes, you can," Caleb said furiously. "You’re stronger than you know."

A new sound made us both freeze - the soft whistle of an arrow cutting through air.

"Get down!" Caleb tackled me just as the arrow hit the rock where my head had been.

Elder Thomas stood above us with a bow, already loading another shot. "Can’t have you escaping before the fun starts," he called down.

The sound of running wolves was getting closer. Any second now, we’d be trapped by dozens of enemies with nowhere to run.

But then I noticed something that made my heart race with a different kind of fear.

My Triple Moon mark was burning against my skin, shining so brightly I could see it through my sleeve. It had never done that before.

And in the distance, something was answering its call.

A howl rose from the direction of our pack territory - but this wasn’t like the Shadow Wolf’s united call. This was wild, ancient, and strong in a way that made every wolf on the mountain freeze in recognition.

"What was that?" Elder Thomas’s confident smile wavered.

I looked at Caleb with wide eyes. Neither of us knew, but whatever had made that sound was big, old, and coming our way fast.

The thunder of coming enemy paws mixed with something else now - a rhythmic pounding that shook the ground like giant footsteps.

"Lily," Caleb whispered, looking at my glowing mark. "What did you call?"