“Lucas?” Lila’s voice trembled. “Tell me you remember.”Lucas stared at her, jaw tight. “Pieces,” he said quietly. “Just pieces. You said we were meeting your sister here. That she asked for our help.”“We were in the kitchen yesterday morning,” Jake added, brushing snow from his sleeves. “Lila made that strong black coffee I hate. You said we’d be back by sundown.” His brow furrowed. “But I don’t remember leaving. Just… headlights. Fog. Then this.”Lucas looked down at his palms. “I remember the drive too. The port town. The fog rolling in. But after that… nothing.”A heavy silence settled between them.Jake squinted toward the maze of containers behind them, his breath coming in short bursts. “How long were we out? What the hell happened here?”Lila hugged herself tightly, her arms wrapping protectively around her middle. Her skin looked pale and cold, and something flickered in her eyes—guilt? Grief?“You’re not telling us everything,” Lucas said, his voice lower now, almost accusi
"This place... it reeks of something wrong. You feel that, right?" Jake asked, his voice hushed but sharp, the echo of his breath curling into the frigid air."I feel everything," Lucas replied, tightening his hold on Lila, who trembled against him, her face buried in his chest. "The blood. The static. It's like we're standing in a nightmare.""You are," Lila whispered hoarsely, her voice barely audible. "You don't know what this place is. You don’t remember."Jake stepped forward cautiously, his boots crunching over bits of frozen gravel and compacted snow. His eyes scanned the walls—massive, curved slabs of concrete fused with metal. The glow of blinking red lights from rows of servers lined the container’s interior."Where the hell are we?" he murmured to himself.Lucas helped Lila settle onto an empty crate before straightening, eyes glowing faintly with his wolf’s awareness. "This is the place from my visions," he said slowly. "I’ve seen it before. But not like this. Not intact.
Only snow.And silence.Until Lucas’s ears twitched.A crack—soft, sharp—splitting the storm’s monotony. Not natural. Not wind. A movement.He didn’t wait.With a snarl that tore from his throat, Lucas shifted—bones snapping mid-step, muscles expanding—his wolf form surging forward through the snow like a dark streak of vengeance. The storm bit at his fur, but he barely felt it. Only one thing pulsed in his mind now:Find her.Snow exploded beneath his paws as he tore through the maze of towering containers. The metal giants loomed over him, cold and silent, casting long shadows beneath the dim sky. His wolf nose picked up nothing human—just rust, diesel, and stale water.He turned sharply left. Then right. Pushed faster.Behind him, he heard the faint crackle of Jake’s voice through the comms. The device struggled against the interference.“Lucas—can you hear—static—container sector B—no signal—”His wolf ears flicked back, catching fragments through the wind. He skidded to a stop, l
"What the hell happened... where am I?"Lucas’s voice cracked through the silence, rasped and raw as he pushed himself upright in the snow. The wind didn’t answer him. It howled instead, a low, shrieking sound that echoed across a barren expanse of white. His hands dug into the icy ground as he tried to find his balance, his head pounding in rhythmic pulses."Is anyone there? Lila? Jake? Anyone?!"Only the storm replied, flinging flakes against his face with relentless chill. He scanned the area, eyes squinting against the glare, confusion wrapping around his consciousness like a suffocating fog.The world was a pale, colorless nightmare—snow blanketing the earth, storm clouds stretching in endless grays, and massive shipping containers stacked like tombstones. Lucas blinked rapidly, trying to piece together how he had ended up here. His breath fogged the air, uneven and fast. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing felt safe.A sudden wave of nausea rolled through him. He collapsed back to
“I’ll trade my life,” Lila gasped as the void solidified around her again, shimmering like broken ice. Her legs barely supported her weight, but she stood, trembling. “Take me. Let them live—Jake, Lucas—let them both live. I don’t care what happens to me. I won’t fight it. Just... just let them go.”The Moon Goddess stood across from her now, her form more defined than before—tall, draped in silver shadow, eyes like eclipses. A slow smile spread across her ageless face, and it was the cruelest thing Lila had ever seen.“Anything?” the goddess purred, head tilting.Lila nodded at once, broken but resolute. “Anything.”The goddess stepped closer, her footsteps rippling the ground like dropped stones in a still lake. She circled Lila, fingers ghosting through the air with every pass.“Anything,” she repeated softly, her tone like silk wrapping around a blade. “Such a fragile, foolish word. Do you even understand what it means?”Lila’s breath hitched, but she stood her ground. “Yes. I do
"Where am I?" Lila whispered, her voice trembling.A chilling laugh echoed around her, slithering through the endless white void like smoke through cracks in a dying fire."You already know, child."Lila turned quickly, her bare feet scraping against nothing and everything all at once. The void was disorienting. No floor. No sky. No gravity. Just endless whiteness. And that voice—the voice that haunted her nightmares—the voice that once answered her most desperate prayer."Is this the afterlife?" she asked, blinking through the blinding glow. "Am I dead? Did I... did I die with him?""Oh no," the Moon Goddess murmured. Her silhouette shimmered into focus—a shifting cloak of stars, silver eyes gleaming without warmth. "You are very much alive. Unfortunately for you."Lila’s hands clenched. She took a step forward, then froze. Goosebumps raced down her arms."Then why am I here?" Her voice cracked. "Why now? After everything you've done. After you let him die—after you let me become thi
“I think I’ll start right here,” I whispered coldly. Panic rose in her good eye. That flicker of fear brought a smile to my face. “Go ahead. Scream. Cry. Beg me if you want.” I gently touched the blade to her lower lip. “It won’t help you one bit.”She threw a last, feeble punch at my face, but it barely connected. I responded with a growl, yanked her lower lip outward, and began slicing through it. Her screams pierced the air, but I didn’t stop until the entire lip was gone.“Please… stop…” she gasped between broken cries.I laughed, the sound harsh and hollow. “You think I’ll stop now? No. This is only the beginning.”Her wide, tear-filled eye stared up at me. “Lucas… why?”“Because every piece of pain I feel is because of you,” I spat.Her breath hitched, and she whispered faintly, “You think revenge will heal your wounds?”I paused, knife hovering, anger shaking my hands. “It has to. It’s all I have left.”She coughed, blood dripping from her mouth, yet her voice was steady, “Pain
LILAAlthough my leg below the knee had lost all sensation, I kept dragging it through the heavy snow, determined and relentless. My eyes, blazing with rage, were locked on Arika, stumbling ahead of me. She was in worse shape—her wounds weren’t healing because she didn’t have the benefit of werewolf regeneration. That worked in my favor.Her blood loss was more severe than mine, and it was draining her strength quickly. This was my chance—my moment to strike, to unleash everything I had bottled up.Despite the fury raging inside me, tears flowed freely from my eyes. I couldn't stop crying. The image of Lucas’ lifeless wolf form haunted me, flashing repeatedly in my mind and stabbing at my heart. My chest throbbed with a pain so deep, it felt like I would collapse. Was it grief over losing him?“My Lucas…” I wept. But even my sorrow couldn't douse the fire burning within me. My anger surged hotter. Arika would pay dearly. I was going to make her suffer in a way she'd never imagined.Th
The moment was shattered by a feral roar.From the ruined stairwell, a blur of black thundered through the smoke—massive, fast, and terrifying. A beast forged in vengeance and desperation.“Lucas?” Lila gasped, eyes widening.The black wolf launched into the fray, claws scraping against steel, jaws wide in a snarl of pure fury. Arika turned too late. He crashed into her with bone-cracking force, sending her skidding across the floor.Sparks erupted from broken wires as Arika slammed into a power conduit, her body twisting mid-air, blood flying from her mouth. The detonator clattered away.Lucas stood over Lila protectively, teeth bared, fur bristling like an obsidian flame. His presence was raw power—wounded, defiant, unstoppable.“Lucas!” Lila screamed.He glanced at her briefly, a flicker of recognition in those gold-scarred eyes. Then he leapt again, intercepting Arika as she reached for a fallen blade.“Get out of here, now!” Lila shouted at him.But he didn’t listen. He never did