Chapter 7 - The Hunter's Trap
Three weeks had passed since the council meeting, and Ivy had spent every moment preparing for her plan.
She'd trained with the pack's best warriors, learning to control her Lycan form.
She'd studied the Order's history, understanding their weaknesses.
And she'd waited.
Waited for the perfect moment to put her plan into motion.
It came on a moonless night, when the Blackwood estate was quiet.
Ivy slipped out of her room and walked into the Darkwood Forest, knowing that the Order had watchers stationed everywhere.
She didn't have to wait long.
"Ivy Sterling," a voice called out from the shadows. "You're a hard woman to find."
"Not really," she replied. "I've been walking through this forest for hours. You just weren't looking hard enough."
A man stepped into the moonlight—tall, dark-haired, with the cold eyes of a killer.
"Special Agent Vance," he introduced himself. "Order of the Silver Moon. I'm here to bring you in."
"Just you?" Ivy asked. "That seems a bit underwhelming."
"Don't worry," Vance smiled. "I brought friends."
A dozen hunters emerged from the shadows, their silver weapons gleaming.
Ivy allowed herself to be surrounded, her hands raised in surrender.
"Take me to your leader," she said calmly.
Vance laughed. "You think this is a game?"
"No," Ivy replied. "I think this is a chess match. And you just walked into my trap."
She'd planted subtle suggestions in the hunters' minds over the past few weeks—whispers of doubt, seeds of fear that would bloom at the worst possible moment.
Vance hesitated, and that was all the opening she needed.
Ivy struck with lightning speed, disabling four hunters before the others could react.
But she didn't kill them.
She needed them alive.
"Take me to the Order's headquarters," she demanded. "Or I'll make you watch as I pick off your friends one by one."
Vance's face was pale with shock. "You're insane."
"Probably," Ivy agreed. "But I'm also the only one who can save you from what's coming. So choose wisely."
The hunter made his decision.
He led her to the Order's hidden compound—a massive underground facility buried beneath an abandoned church.
The moment Ivy entered, she felt the weight of centuries of oppression pressing down on her.
This was where her father had died.
May you like
This was where the Sterling blood had been spilled.
And this was where she would end it all.
