Chapter 4 : The Hunt Begins

Dawn found three wolves in the warehouse district.

They moved through the alleys like ghosts, noses to the ground, golden eyes scanning every shadow. Lionel had chosen them personally—experienced trackers, hunters who could follow a scent through rain and city grime.

The leader was Kael, a wolf with salt-and-pepper fur in his shifted form and a permanent scowl in his human one. He''d been hunting for the Dark Moon Pack for forty years. He knew how lone wolves thought. Knew how they ran.

"Here," Kael said, stopping at the mouth of an alley. His nose twitched. "Blood. Fresh last night."

The other two wolves—Tara and Jax—joined him. Tara was young, barely twenty in human years, but she had the best nose in the pack. Jax was older, slower, but he had centuries of experience and a patience that made him deadly.

Tara knelt, her fingers brushing the concrete. "Marcus''s blood. And... someone else''s. Silver and storm. Lightning about to strike."

"That''s our killer," Kael said. "Lucas Grey. Silver hair, they say. Amber eyes. Moves like he''s part shadow."

Jax sniffed the air. "He went east. Toward the river. Moving fast but not running. Confident."

"Arrogant," Kael corrected. "Thinks he can kill one of ours and just walk away."

They followed the scent. It led them through back alleys, across rooftops, down fire escapes. A professional''s route—avoiding main streets, staying in shadows, using the city''s architecture like a maze.

Tara paused at a dumpster. "He stopped here. Leaned against the wall. Bleeding."

Kael examined the brick. Faint smears of blood, already drying. "Marcus got a hit in. Good. Means he''s not invincible."

"Or it means he let Marcus hit him," Jax said quietly. "Some professionals do that. Let their target think they have a chance. Makes the kill cleaner."

Kael shot him a look. "You think a lone wolf is that good?"

"I think he killed Marcus Blackwood," Jax said. "Beta of the Dark Moon Pack. Trained by Sebastian himself. That''s not luck. That''s skill."

They moved on. The scent led them to the river. The water moved slow and brown under the gray morning sky, carrying the city''s waste out to sea.

"He crossed," Tara said, pointing to a maintenance ladder leading down to a narrow walkway under the bridge. "Used the underground routes."

Kael looked at the water. Looked at the city on the other side. "He''s heading for the train station. Or the bus depot. Trying to get out of the city."

"Alpha said not to engage," Jax reminded him. "Just track. Report back."

"I know what the Alpha said," Kael snapped. "But if he gets on a train, we lose him. You want to go back to Lionel and say we let the killer slip away because we were following orders too closely?"

Jax didn''t answer. His eyes were on the water, on the way the current moved around the bridge supports. "He''s not running," he said again. "He''s moving with purpose. Like he has a plan."

"All the more reason to catch him now," Kael said. "Before the plan works."

They descended the ladder, one by one. The walkway under the bridge was narrow, slick with algae and river mist. The scent was stronger here, trapped in the damp air.

Tara led the way, her body low to the ground. She was in hunter mode now, every sense focused on the trail. Kael followed, his hand on the knife at his belt. Jax brought up the rear, his old eyes missing nothing.

The walkway ended at a rusted metal door. It stood slightly ajar, a dark invitation.

"He went through," Tara whispered.

Kael pushed the door open. It groaned on rusted hinges. Beyond was darkness, the smell of damp concrete and decay.

A tunnel. One of the city''s old maintenance tunnels, abandoned years ago when they built the new sewer system.

"Flashlights," Kael said.

They clicked them on. Three beams of light cut through the darkness, illuminating graffiti-covered walls, broken pipes, pools of stagnant water.

The scent was strong here. Too strong.

Kael stopped. "It''s a trap."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the first shot rang out.

Not a gunshot. Something else. A soft *thwip* sound, followed by Tara''s gasp.

She went down, a silver-tipped dart protruding from her neck. Her eyes went wide, then glassy. Paralyzed, not dead.

Kael spun, his knife flashing in the flashlight beam. "Show yourself!"

Another *thwip*. Jax grunted, a dart hitting his shoulder. He pulled it out, but already his arm was going limp. Silver. Wolfsbane. A professional''s cocktail.

"Lucas Grey!" Kael shouted into the darkness. "Face me like a wolf! Not like a coward in the shadows!"

A voice came from above. Calm. Empty. "I''m not a wolf. I''m a professional."

Kael looked up. Lucas Grey stood on a pipe twenty feet above them, balanced like he''d been born there. He held a compact crossbow in one hand, another dart already loaded.

"You killed Marcus Blackwood," Kael said, his voice a growl.

"I did," Lucas said. "And now you''re going to deliver a message for me."

"I don''t deliver messages for lone wolves."

"You will." Lucas jumped. Not down, but across, landing on another pipe with barely a sound. "Tell Sebastian Blackwood I''m not running. I''m working. He wants to find me? Tell him to look for the jobs no one else will take. The problems no one else can solve."

Kael threw his knife. It flew straight and true, aimed at Lucas''s heart.

Lucas caught it. One hand, casual as catching a ball. He examined the blade. "Dark Moon steel. Good craftsmanship." He threw it back. Not at Kael, but at the wall beside him. It embedded itself in the concrete with a solid *thunk*. "Tell your Alpha I respect his work. But this hunt ends now. Turn back, and I let you live. Keep following, and you join Marcus."

Jax was on his knees now, the wolfsbane working through his system. Tara lay still, breathing but paralyzed. Kael stood alone, weaponless.

"You think you can take on the whole pack?" Kael said, but his voice lacked conviction now.

"I don''t have to take on the whole pack," Lucas said. He dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. He stood slowly, his amber eyes glowing in the flashlight beams. "I just have to be too much trouble to be worth catching. And I''m very good at being trouble."

He walked toward Kael. Not rushing. Not threatening. Just walking.

Kael backed up. His back hit the wall. Nowhere to go.

Lucas stopped an arm''s length away. "The message. Can you remember it?"

Kael nodded, his throat tight.

"Good." Lucas turned to leave. Stopped. Looked back. "One more thing. Tell Sebastian... his brother''s last words were about him. He said Sebastian was a good Alpha. Better than he deserved."

Then he was gone. Melting into the shadows at the far end of the tunnel. Leaving Kael alone with his paralyzed packmates and a message he didn''t want to deliver.

It took an hour for the wolfsbane to wear off enough for Tara and Jax to move. Another hour to get out of the tunnel, back to the surface, back to the city.

They didn''t speak on the way back. There was nothing to say.

They''d found their quarry. And their quarry had found them first.

============================================================