Isla's POV
"Do you hear them, Ava? They're hunting me like I'm not even human."
I whispered the words into the blanket pulled around my shoulders as I sat near the edge of the Brotherhood camp. The fire was dead, with only smoke rising in thin ribbons and the air was thick with engines rumbling as men worked on their bikes. The sound of steel on stone rang out as some sharpened blades, others cleaned rifles and the whispers that floated between them carried sharp edges that cut deeper than the night chill.
Ava stirred in my mind, impatient as always. Because that's what you are to them. You're a prey, a curse and a prize to fight over.
I swallowed, my chest tight. She wasn't wrong, but hearing it in her voice didn't make it hurt less. I pulled my knees tighter to my chest and tried to keep my breathing steady, though I could feel eyes on me. Every time I lifted my gaze, I caught someone watching, a cutter with the bruises still fresh around his throat, his jaw clenched in silent rage, or one of the younger bikers smirking like he already imagined dragging me to Logan himself.
Kyree stood in the center of camp, smoke curling from his lips, his boots planted wide as if nothing in the world could move him. But I could feel the storm under his skin. His eyes tracked me with every movement, his presence like chains that never loosened.
Ava pressed harder. "You think you're safe here. You're not. They're waiting for the chance to trade you."
"I know," I murmured, my throat raw. "I know."
Engines roared as more men rolled back into camp and then one rider jumped down from his bike, his vest torn and mud streaking his boots. He pushed through the crowd until he stood in front of Kyree, panting hard.
"Boss," he said, his voice sharp with urgency. "Scouts came back from the ridge. Word is Logan's called a hunt."
The camp stilled, whispers dying off as every head turned. My stomach sank, sweat draining from my face.
Kyree's eyes narrowed, his voice flat. "What hunt?"
The biker's gaze darted toward me before he answered. "Pack Law. The cursed Omega has been exposed. Logan petitioned the elders and they agreed. She's marked prey. Anyone who brings her back before the next moon gets his favor."
My knees buckled and my breath caught in my throat. I staggered back until my spine hit the wall of the cabin. "No," I whispered, though I already knew the truth. "He wouldn't…"
But he would. Logan's hatred had always burned hotter than fire and Ronan, his wolf, had raged every time we were near each other. I had felt it in his rejection, in every blow, and in every word that cut me down. He would kill me himself if it meant breaking the bond the goddess forced between us.
Kyree's cigarette snapped in half between his fingers, ash falling to the dirt. His wolf pressed against his skin, storm-grey eyes flaring silver as his voice turned to steel. "The bastard means to wipe her out under Pack Law."
The biker nodded. "And more. Drake's men have been spotted near the border. And… humans. Reporters, cameras. They're already sniffing around Iron Fang's territory. Someone's leaking."
Kyree shoved past him and strode into the center of camp, his boots crushing dirt as the Brotherhood gathered close.
"You hear it now," he said, his voice cutting through the noise. "Logan's declared a hunt, Drake's circling and the humans already smell blood. Anyone here think I'm handing her over? Step forward now and see if you survive me."
No one moved, but the silence was heavy, not loyal. Doubt flickered in their eyes, fear threading through the crowd like poison. Cutter's jaw clenched, but he didn't speak, not yet.
Kyree's glare swept over them all. "Then get your shit together. We move before sundown."
The men broke apart, muttering, their voices sharp with unrest.
I pulled the blanket tighter around me, my stomach twisting. Ava whispered in my head, "You'll never stop being a curse to them. Even he won't bleed forever for you."
Kyree's POV
I lit another cigarette and leaned against the cabin wall, my eyes scanning the camp. Every mutter reached me, every glance at her cut sharper than a blade. Cutter was still fuming, his pride broken, his loyalty cracked and I could see the others listening to him more than me. My pack was splitting and it was because of her.
But the bond pulled me to her, the fire in my chest raging whenever her scent filled the air. Darius snarled inside me, demanding I keep her safe, demanding I claim what was ours, but I couldn't. Not yet. Not with half my men ready to slit her throat for peace.
One wrong move and this Brotherhood would collapse.
"Boss," a voice called. A figure stepped into camp under a white flag. Neutral colors. I tensed instantly.
The man carried no weapon, though his eyes gleamed with the arrogance of one who thought he couldn't be touched. He stopped a few feet away and raised his voice so everyone heard. "Kyree Blackthorn. I come on behalf of the Stonefang Pack. The hunt's been declared. Logan's rallying allies and you know the law. No one shelters prey without paying the price."
The men muttered again, sharp and nervous. The messenger's gaze slid toward Isla and his lips curled. "You shelter her, you declare war on every Alpha loyal to Ivory Moon. Trade her now and you'll be spared."
My cigarette burned down to the filter and I flicked it into the dirt as I crossed the space in two strides. My fist slammed into his jaw, bone cracking under my knuckles as he crumpled. Before he could recover, I kicked him onto his back and pressed my boot to his throat.
"You think I'll hand her over to dogs like you," I growled, my voice low and violent. "Go back to the person who sent you and tell them if they set foot on my ground, I'll carve his skull into a trophy."
I pulled him up by his collar and shoved him toward the camp's edge. He stumbled, blood dripping from his mouth, but I didn't care.
I turned back to my men. "Any of you who think about siding with him, you won't get mercy. You'll get buried."
The camp went silent. Cutter looked away, jaw tight, but I saw it. Doubt hadn't gone. It was festering.
Isla's POV
Later, I found him by his bike, grease streaking his hands as he bent over the engine. My chest tightened as I watched him, anger and fear tangling so tightly I couldn't breathe.
"You can't fight every pack for me," I said, my voice breaking as I stepped closer. "You'll burn your world to ash."
He didn't look up, his jaw clenching. "Then let it burn. I'd rather burn than lose you."
The bond surged, sparks ripping through me, Ava howling inside my chest. My breath caught, and my knees wobbled. For a moment, I almost stepped closer and almost let myself believe him.
But I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. "Fire kills as easily as it warms."
He looked at me then, storm-grey eyes burning with something I couldn't name. I turned away before I broke completely.
Logan's POV
The hall of the Ivory Moon Pack stank of blood and smoke. Warriors filled the space, their voices loud, their weapons gleaming. I stood at the front, my shoulders squared, Ronan pacing inside me, restless and furious.
"She's cursed," I said, my voice sharp and cold. "The Omega is prey now. Bring her back and you'll have my favor. Kill her if you must, but she does not leave this world free."
The men roared, banging fists against their chests and hungry for blood.
But when the noise died, Ronan snarled in my head, his voice ripping through me. "She's ours, you fool. You damn us both."
I clenched my fists, my breath ragged. "She's not ours. She's a mistake of the Goddess."
Ronan roared, tearing at my insides. "Liar...You feel her. You always feel her."
I closed my eyes, fighting to keep control, but I couldn't stop the truth pressing against my chest. Every flicker of her fear reached me, every surge of her pain. The bond tied us tighter than hate could sever.
"If I can't break her," I whispered to the empty hall after the men dispersed, "then I'll have to kill her with my own hands."
Isla's POV
The forest howled outside camp, faint but sharp, the sound of hunters moving closer. I stood at the edge of the clearing, with my arms wrapped around myself and my chest tight with dread.
"They'll come for me," I whispered.
Ava pressed against my mind, fierce and unyielding. "Then stop running. Make them bleed if they try."
Behind me, Kyree's boots crunched over dirt. He stood with his bike, his hands gripping the metal so tightly the steel bent under his palms. His voice was low and almost broken, though it still carried sharp edges.
"They'll all come for you," he said, his storm-grey eyes fixed on the trees. "And I'll kill every last one." I closed my eyes, the weight of it pressing down on me.
The hunt had begun and every shadow was teeth. And I asked myself, when every Alpha, outlaw and brother circles closer, is Isla truly prey, or the spark that will turn the hunt into a war?