Claws And Cartels Chapter 1

Title: The Quiet Before The Storm

Debby's POV

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The train stopped with a loud screech, doors popping open. The sound of the train slowly disappeared, and all the calm and sense of peace Debby had left in her was replaced with fear and the weight of her situation. She wasn’t just running; she was headed straight for trouble. In this city, Alpha Damon was everywhere, his men watching like hawks. Jerry, her 16-year-old son, stood next to her, shaking not from fear or cold but from shock. His mind was still stuck in a loop of that terrifying event.

He couldn’t recall why the city’s most dangerous man hunted them, but the memory of stabbing a man to death haunted him. The dying man’s desperate, pleading eyes lingered, and Jerry stood frozen, unsure if it was shock, fear, or cowardice. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, their only source of support. They stood in the noisy train station, shivering with fear only they could feel.

Jerry’s voice shook, his eyes darting around. “Mom, where are we going?” His words, full of a teenager’s fear, and hearing the voice of her son, now a rare commodity since he passed out after the murder, he barely spoke now. Debby turned to her son, meeting his eyes. Despite the crushing weight of their danger, Alpha Damon’s pursuit, Jerry’s curse, the blood-soaked memory, she forced a steady smile, summoning strength from her core to be his anchor. She replied, “To the only person who can help us now, your father.” The words felt heavy, blocking out the station’s noise. Running from one monster to another, Levin, the man she’d called a devil in lies she’d come to believe.

Every stare from the crowd fell like heavy stones on Debby’s anxiety; all she wanted right now was to bolt, just keep running, but she couldn’t leave Jerry, not after what he did for her. Two nights ago, in a dark alley, she’d seen a man killed for a shiny, weird thing. The killer turned, their eyes locked, and fear paralyzed Debby, her legs ignoring her desperate urge to flee. A tall man in black sprinted toward her, intent on silencing her.

Jerry jumped in, appearing from almost nowhere, stabbing the man from behind; his fear triggered the werewolf curse. Her world moved so fast as the creature tore into the man until his body lay still, covered in blood and claw slashes. It raised up to look straight at her, the sight unbelievable; it had the face of her son but full of hair, partly human and beast.

Suddenly, it was gone; all that remained was Jerry covered in blood, obviously not his. Then he blacked out, falling right into her hands, the only part of her body that responded to her, set free by the power of a mother’s instinct to protect her child. The weight of his body dragged her to her knees as he lay lifeless in her hands.

Strange figures grabbed the body and vanished. Debby feared Alpha Damon’s men believed Jerry stole their prize, intent on killing them to keep it secret. Five minutes in the station felt like forever. What if Levin didn’t show? What if he left them to die? What if he hated her for taking his kid?

“Let’s go, Jerry,” she whispered, her voice shaky, fear pouring off her, a smell even Jerry, a werewolf for just two days, could pick up. Debby looked up at her son and froze; his eyes were glowing red, the same color from the alley. Her hands released him swiftly.

A cop pushed through the crowd, his black uniform standing out in the station’s dim light. Her heart raced, panic kicking in. No way. She was sure Alpha Damon’s men were now after her and Jerry, thinking her son stole their prize. She was on the run, tied to a murder she couldn’t talk about without putting Jerry in danger.

She grabbed his hand, moving fast, desperate to get away from the cop. A voice stopped her cold, low and familiar. “Debby.” She spun around. It was Levin, tall and dark in the dim light, his face calm and emotionless. Shock took her breath. “You came yourself?”

“I came for my son.” His eyes flicked to Jerry, staying on him a second. “Let’s go home, kid.” Jerry froze, his jaw tight, but Levin’s grip was strong, almost painful, pulling him like he’d caught a crook.

There was no time to argue, just movement. They slid into the seats of a shiny black Porsche parked outside, the city’s neon lights bouncing off it. The quiet was heavy, like a thick fog.

To Jerry, Levin’s coldness confirmed Debby’s claims of his monstrous nature. Debby’s head was a mess, full of questions and guilt. Why did she freeze in that alley, watching a thug kill for that shiny object, letting Jerry spill blood to save her? Why didn’t she run? Now Alpha Damon thought she held their treasure, her son was a monster, and she fled the law, unable to explain the murder without risking him. She couldn’t go to jail. No way.

And there was Levin, lover, betrayer, her father’s killer. He sat next to her, driving so calmly it felt like she wasn’t even there. He hadn’t looked her in the eye once since they met up. No anger, no sadness, no happiness to see his son, just nothing, though his hands gripped the wheel tighter when Jerry moved.

“He’s dead inside,” she mumbled. “No, we’re dead.” She changed it again. “I’m dead, coming back to this awful city, to this evil man, bringing my son to be turned into a monster.” Debby’s chest hurt, tears burning her eyes. I’ll keep you safe, Jerry, my boy. Nothing will hurt you, I swear. She blinked hard, not letting a tear fall. Not here, not in front of this devil. She wouldn’t let him see her weak.

Returning to this city with her son was like starting a war, and weakness wasn’t an option. I won’t let you turn my boy into a monster, Levin, she vowed, her heart hardening. I’ll burn you if you try.

The Porsche raced through the city’s dark streets, headlights piercing through the night. Levin’s eyes stayed on the road, his face blank, as if his wife and son were invisible. Spotting a black SUV parked ahead, he flashed a smile, blasted the music, and sped up. Jerry clutched his ears, the sound splitting his skull as his hyper-hearing went berserk, eyes glowing red. “Use these,” Levin said, tossing earbuds behind, his tone hinting at knowledge he wouldn’t share. “What are those?” Debby asked, but Levin didn’t respond. Jerry desperately slipped them on, his hearing stabilized and his eyes returned to normal within seconds.

Levin was focused on the headlights closing in from behind, observing them through the rearview mirror. The chase was furious, with bullets striking and bouncing off the Porsche. Levin swerved at the T-junction, allowing a trailer to smash into the pursuing SUV.

Debby caught Levin’s gaze in the mirror, his smile real but icy; then she realized this was random. It wasn’t a show of good driving but a calculated assassination. He’s changed; this wasn’t her Levin, this was a psychopath. But for Levin, this wasn’t just a calculated escape; it was a statement, the debt of threatening my family can only be settled in blood.