Chapter 13: Predator Becomes Prey

Words : 1558 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 13: Predator Becomes Prey Lily Carter POV "Get down!" Brock shoved me into the snow as an arrow whistled over our heads. It thudded into a tree stem inches from where I’d been standing. "Move!" he growled, pulling me by the arm. We crashed through the underbrush, sprinting between trees as more arrows flew past us. This wasn’t the hunting trip I’d expected. Three hours earlier, Brock had arrived at my door at dawn. His face was grim. "Get your boots. We’re going hunting." "Now? But the lost pups—" "Every search party is looking for them," he cut me off. "My father thinks you need safety. I’m it for today." I wanted to argue, but the wooden symbol with the bone face weighed heavy in my pocket. Emma and Timmy had been missing for twelve hours. The masked dogs wanted me to make some strange choice, but no one knew what they meant. Now, running for our lives, I understood this wasn’t about protection at all. "Stop," I gasped after we’d put space between us and the arrows. "Who’s shooting at us?" Brock’s silver-blue eyes searched the forest. "Rogues. They’ve been slipping onto our area since the pups were taken." "Or maybe you walked us straight into danger on purpose," I snapped. His head whipped around. "What?" "Don’t act. You brought me out here hoping I’d fail. Prove I’m just a weak omega who doesn’t deserve the Triple Moon mark." For a second, Brock looked like I’d slapped him. Then his face toughened. "You don’t know anything about me." "I know you’ve watched me like I’m a bug since the mark appeared." A twig snapped in the distance. Brock grabbed my arm again, pulling me behind a fallen log. We crouched in silence, listening to footsteps crunching through snow. "Three of them," I whispered, startling myself. I’d always had good hearing, but now I could pick out each separate set of feet. Brock raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" "Two big steps, one lighter. They’re spreading out to circle us." He studied me with new interest. "Can you tell which direction?" I closed my eyes, focused on the sounds. "North, northeast, and one coming from the west." "That’s... impressive," Brock admitted unwillingly. "I’m full of surprises," I muttered. A plan formed in my mind. "The stream is south of here. If we reach it, we can hide our smell." Brock frowned. "That’s at least a mile away." "I know a route. Through the bramble patch." "That’s death. The thorns will tear us to pieces." I smiled for the first time. "Not if you know the hidden path." Years of gathering plants had taught me every secret of these woods. Places alphas never thought to explore were my escape when pack life became too harsh. "Trust me," I said. The look on Brock’s face was priceless. The mighty alpha son, asked to trust an omega. "Fine," he growled. "Lead the way." I moved quietly through the snow, ducking under trees and stepping carefully where I knew ice hid beneath the white powder. Brock followed, his bigger frame trying to match my silent movements. At the edge of a massive bramble thicket, I stopped. To anyone else, it looked like an impossible wall of thorns. I pointed to a small opening near the ground. "We crawl through there." "You’re joking," Brock said simply. I was already on my hands and knees, slipping into the tiny tunnel. "Stay close. Don’t touch the sides." The road twisted through the brambles like a tunnel. Behind me, I heard Brock curse under his breath as he squeezed his broad shoulders through the tight space. We emerged on the other side just as shouts exploded behind us. The rogues had found our tracks. "This way," I whispered, leading Brock to the stream. We waded through the icy water for several minutes before climbing onto a rocky bank that wouldn’t hold our smell. Safe for the moment, I leaned against a rock, catching my breath. Brock stood watching me with a strange look. "You’re not what I expected," he said eventually. "Sorry to disappoint." "I didn’t say I was disappointed." He crossed his arms. "Where did you learn to move like that? To track like that?" I shrugged. "When you’re at the bottom of the pack, you learn to be unnoticeable. To see things others miss." "Like clear paths through thorn bushes?" "Like which wolves are dangerous and which just want to seem important." I gave him a sharp look. To my surprise, Brock laughed. It changed his serious face, making him look younger, more like his brothers. "Fair hit," he admitted. "I’ve been hard on you." "You’ve been a jerk." He nodded. "That too." A howl cut through the air - the warning from a search party. Brock stiffened, listening. "They’ve found something about the pups," he said. "We need to get back." We moved quickly, no longer worried about being tracked. As we neared pack grounds, Brock stopped suddenly. "Wait," he said. "Before we return... I need to know something." "What?" "The mark on your wrist. When you’re near me, does it... feel anything?" I paused. The Triple Moon mark had softened when I was around each brother, but differently every time. With Aiden, it felt like standing near a warm fire. With Caleb, it tingled like excitement. With Brock, it pulsed, strong and steady like a heartbeat. "Yes," I admitted. "It reacts to you." He nodded, his face unreadable. "Let’s go." The pack grounds were in chaos when we arrived. Wolves ran in all directions, screaming orders. Alpha Marcus stood in the center, barking orders at search parties. "Father!" Brock called, pushing through the crowd. "What’s happened?" The Alpha’s face was grim. "We found something at the eastern border. You both need to see this." He led us to the pack house, where Aiden, Caleb, and Luna already waited. On the table lay a small wooden box with three locks, just as Elder Iris had explained. Beside it was something that made my blood freeze - Emma’s little beaded bracelet, covered in blood. "Is she..." I couldn’t finish the question. "We don’t know," Aiden said softly. "There was no body, just this." Caleb pointed to the box. "The note says only the Triple Moon Bearer can open it. We think the key to finding the pups is inside." "I don’t have any key," I said hopelessly. Luna stepped forward, her face surprisingly gentle. "Not a metal key. We think it means this." She touched my marked wrist. "What am I supposed to do?" "We’re not sure," Caleb revealed. "But there’s something else you should see." He unfolded a piece of paper covered in strange symbols. At the bottom was a warning written in red: "Three brothers, three choices. The Bearer must choose one road, one brother, one fate before the full moon rises. Or the young will join the Bone Path forever." My heart stopped. "The full moon is tonight." "There’s more," Luna said quietly. "A message came while you were gone. The masked dogs will trade the pups for you. They want the Triple Moon Bearer to surrender at midnight at the Moon Pool." Everyone looked at me, waiting for my answer. I stared at Emma’s bloody band, feeling sick. "I’ll do it," I said. "Of course I will." "No," all three boys said together. Brock stepped closer, his voice firm. "There has to be another way." "What if there isn’t?" I asked. "I won’t let those pups die because of me." "And we won’t let you sacrifice yourself," Aiden declared. I looked at each brother - polite Aiden, fierce Brock, thoughtful Caleb. According to the message, I needed to choose one of them. But why? And how would that save the pups? "I need to think," I said, backing toward the door. "Lily, wait—" Caleb reached for me, but I was already running. I fled into the forest, my safe place since youth. Tears blurred my view as I ran without direction. When I finally stopped, panting and lost, I realized with horror where my feet had taken me. The Moon Pool gleamed in the fading daylight, its surface strangely still. As I approached, the water began to bubble and churn. A figure rose from the middle of the pool - a wolf with a bone face, water streaming from its fur. "The Bearer has come," it rasped. "Are you ready to choose?" Behind it, more bone-masked wolves emerged from the trees. And in their middle, trembling with cold and fear, stood Emma and Timmy. "Let them go," I begged. "Choose," the wolf repeated. "One brother. One fate." "I don’t understand what you want!" The bone-faced wolf stepped closer. "The mark tests not just you, but them. Only one is worthy. Choose wrong, and all will die." I backed away, but other masked wolves circled behind me. Trapped. "You have until midnight," the boss said. "Return with your chosen mate, or the pups join us beneath the moon." The bone-faced wolves melted back into the forest, taking the crying pups with them. I fell to my knees in the snow, alone with an impossible choice. How could I choose one brother when I barely knew my own heart? And what would happen to the others if I did?

Chapter 13: Predator Becomes Prey

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