MasukCaspian had me pinned. I was backed into a corner near a stack of cooling units. His weapon was steady, leveled at my head, while the other hand gestured toward the empty table where the young wolf had been."You’ve always been your own worst enemy, Eloise," Caspian said."You had a chance to be part of something that would change the world. But you let your feelings for a beast compromise your judgment, and you just blew your cover. Was it worth it? Was that one life worth the death of your entire mission?"I gripped my 9mm, my knuckles white."It was worth more than anything you’ve ever built, Caspian. My father might have given you the blueprints, but you’re the one who started all of this."Caspian stepped closer, the shadow of his gun darkening my face."Sentiment is a poison, Eloise. It’s why you’re going to die here, in the middle of a swamp."A smirk started pulling at the corner of his mouth. But the smirk died instantly.A shadow detached itself from the rafters directly beh
The visual of that wolf beneath me shattered the last of my discipline. I didn't care about the headcount anymore. I didn't care about the strategic positioning of the outriders or the extraction protocols we had spent hours drilling in the bunker.I reached for the comms unit clipped to my belt, my thumb pressing the transmit button with a trembling force."Cane, I've found them," I whispered, my voice thick with a cold, sharp rage."North Sector. Laboratory hub. They’re... they’re harvesting one. I’m going in. Right now."Static hissed in my ear for a fraction of a second before Cane’s voice tore through, sounding like an earthquake."Eloise, stand down! You are not cleared for engagement. We are in recon phase. Give me the headcount and get back to the sublevel. That is an order!""I don't give a damn about your orders!" I hissed back, my eyes locked on the technician who was reaching for another dial, preparing to send another surge of electricity through the wolf’s spine."If you
Cane’s presence was so heavy it seemed to pull the oxygen from the room. He looked like a god of war, his eyes fixed on the map of Zone 4.“The herbal salve,” he said, his voice cutting through the silence.I held up a ceramic bowl filled with thick sludge and twisted my face in disgust. It was a mix of Silver Moon sage, crushed marsh lily, and a chemical neutralizer.“It’s a scent-masker. It mimics the smell of water and industrial ozone. The Iron Claw won't smell us. They’ll smell the swamp and the machines,” Cane explains.Viper, leaning against a support beam in his human form, looked at the sludge.“Good,” he replied.Cane took the bowl, rubbing the salve over his forearms and the back of his neck. He moved toward me, his hand catching my chin, forcing me to look up before starting to gently cover my face with the sludge.“The Blood-Hounds wait at the primary drainage junction, two miles out,” Cane commanded, his voice low.“Viper, you keep the comms silent unless I give the sign
The bunker felt smaller than usual, the silent tension of men preparing for a war they weren't sure they could win. I walked toward the back office, the heavy soles of my riding boots echoing against the concrete. I found Cane hunched over the workbench, the dim light of a single bulb casting long shadows across his scarred back.He didn't hear me enter. He was too focused on the list of names we had stolen from the facility. His finger was tracing the lines of text, moving through the names over and over. His shoulders were bunched, his entire frame, a desperate, quiet intensity.“You’re still looking for someone,” I said softly.Cane flinched, his hand instinctively snapping the folder shut.“Who is it, Cane?” I asked, stepping closer.I reached out, resting my hand on the cold metal of the table.“You told me it was nothing, but you’ve been staring at those pages for hours. Who are you searching for?”A look of grief so sharp it made my own chest ache passed over his face. He didn'
The bunker was quiet for the first time in hours. The excitement had finally faded into the low, heavy breathing of sleeping men.I looked down at the workbench. Two of the three canisters were empty. The one left was the booster, which we would keep as a safeguard for when we need it. I picked up one of the empty bottles. It was nearly drained, with only a small portion of glowing liquid left. I felt a strange pull toward it. Without a word to the others, I slid the canister into my jacket pocket. A secret insurance policy.As the first light of dawn began to bleed through the cracks in the doors, the fur began to recede. One by one, the Blood-Hounds shifted back. It wasn't the violent agony of the first time; it was a slow, exhausted withdrawal. They woke up on the concrete floor as humans.Viper was the first to sit up, rubbing his jaw as if checking to see if his fangs were still there. He looked at his hands, then at Cane. The connection was still there; I could see it in the way
Viper stood before us, the canister clutched in his hand, his face of terrifying excitement. The scouts, Rico among them, stood in a tight semicircle, their faces of nerves and awe. This was it. The moment of no return.“Alright, Cane,” Viper said, his voice hoarse, a tremor of anticipation running through it.“Give me the good stuff.”Cane, his expression grim, took a deep breath. He had a small, sterile syringe. With a precise motion, he drew a small amount of his own blood, thick and dark, into the syringe. This wasn't just blood; it was his essence, his very alpha nature, being offered as a sacrifice.He injected a measure of his blood directly into the amber serum canister Viper held. The glowing liquid swirled, taking on a silver sheen as Cane’s DNA infused with the concoction. It looked beautiful, deadly, like moonlight captured in glass.Viper didn't hesitate. He uncapped the canister, raised it, and, with a gulp, swallowed some of the glowing contents."Bottoms up," he says a







