CURSED LYCAN
Six months later.
The café smelled like coffee and fresh bread. Normal. Safe. The kind of place where people complained about traffic instead of fighting for their lives.
Sera sat by the window, watching Emma play with other kids in the park across the street. Her niece was laughing. Actually laughing. The sound still made Sera's chest tight.
"She's doing well."
Sera didn't turn. She'd felt Kael approaching through the blood bond before he'd entered the café. That connection was permanent now. Always there. Always steady.
She'd gotten used to it. More than used to it.
"The therapist says she's processing the trauma in healthy ways," Sera said as Kael sat down. "No nightmares for three weeks."
"That's good." He looked different in daylight. In normal clothes. Almost human. Except for those silver eyes. Those would always mark him as other.
He slid a folder across the table. "Found another one. Abandoned facility in Montana. Same symbols as Valeria's operation."
Sera opened it. Photos. Documents. Her stomach sank. "How many subjects?"
"Twelve. All dead when we got there. The corruption killed them weeks ago." His jaw tightened. "But the equipment was still active. Someone's been maintaining it."
"So there are more."
"There are always more."
Sera closed the folder. Exhaustion pulled at her. They'd been hunting Valeria's remaining operations for six months. Thought they'd found them all. Apparently not.
"Marcus's intel was good, at least," Kael said. "He led us right to it."
"Where is he?"
"Coordinating with the lycan council. They're sending cleanup crews." Kael's expression softened. "He's changed. Really trying to make amends."
"Doesn't erase what he did."
"No. But it's something."
They sat in comfortable silence. Watching Emma play. Watching the world go by. Normal people living normal lives.
Sometimes Sera missed that. The simplicity of it.
Then she'd feel the blood bond pulse. Feel Kael's presence steady and warm. And she'd remember why she'd chosen this path instead.
"The curse," Sera said quietly. "Any changes?"
Kael held up his hand. Shifted just his fingers. Claws extended. Then retracted. Smooth. Controlled. "Nothing. The bond's holding it back. I shifted three times this month during investigations. Came back every time. No loss of control."
"That's good."
"That's a miracle." He caught her gaze. "You saved me, Sera. In every way that matters."
"We saved each other."
"Yeah." His smile was soft. Real. "We did."
Emma spotted them through the window. Waved enthusiastically. Sera waved back.
"She asks about you," Sera said. "Wants to know when you're coming over for dinner again."
"Does she?"
"Don't act surprised. You're her favorite person."
"I'm a cursed lycan who almost got her killed."
"You're the cursed lycan who saved her life. Big difference." Sera's phone buzzed. She checked it. Frowned. "Marcus. Says he needs to see us. Today. It's urgent."
"Everything's urgent with him."
"This time he might be right." She showed Kael the message. Just two words.
Found something.
They met Marcus at a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Emma was with Sera's aunt for the afternoon. Safe. Protected.
Marcus looked tired. He'd aged in the past six months. Or maybe Sera was just seeing him clearly for the first time. Without the charm. Without the lies.
"You're not going to like this," he said, spreading papers across a table.
"We never do," Kael replied.
Marcus pulled out a photo. It showed a woman. Mid-forties. Professional. Smiling at the camera.
"Doctor Helena Cross. Biochemist. Published seventeen papers on genetic manipulation." He tapped the photo. "Also Valeria's former partner. The one who developed the original corruption serum."
Sera's blood ran cold. "I thought Valeria worked alone."
"So did I. Turns out, she had help. Helena provided the science. Valeria provided the magic. Together they created the corruption process." Marcus pulled out more documents. "Helena disappeared three months before we hit Valeria's facility. I thought she was dead. She's not."
"Where is she?" Kael's voice was dangerous.
"That's the problem. I don't know. But I found her research notes. And they mention something called Project Apex." He opened a file. Inside were diagrams. Formulas. Things that made Sera's head hurt looking at them.
"What's Project Apex?" she asked.
"The next evolution of corruption. Helena wasn't satisfied with creating corrupted lycans. She wanted to create something new. Something that combined lycan strength, human intelligence, and magical enhancement." Marcus's face was grim. "She wanted to create a new species."
"That's insane."
"That's genius. Horrifying genius." He pointed to a section of notes. "She succeeded. Or at least, she was close. The notes reference a successful test subject. Code-named Apex One."
Kael studied the documents. "When was this?"
"Four months ago. Right around the time we destroyed Valeria's operation." Marcus met their eyes. "Helena's been working independently. Building on Valeria's research. And if these notes are accurate, Apex One is everything they dreamed of. Stronger than any lycan. Smarter than any human. And completely stable."
"Where?" Sera demanded.
"The notes mention a facility. Location encrypted. But there's a lead. Helena's been purchasing specialized equipment. Traceable purchases. I've got people following the paper trail."
"How long until we have a location?"
"Days. Maybe a week."
Sera looked at Kael. Saw her own exhaustion reflected in his eyes. They'd been fighting for so long. Thought they were done.
But this. This was bigger than Valeria. Bigger than anything they'd faced.
"We need help," Kael said. "We can't do this alone."
"The lycan council—" Marcus started.
"Is bureaucratic and slow. By the time they mobilize, Helena could be gone." Kael pulled out his phone. Made a call. "I'm calling in favors. There are still lycans out there who remember the old packs. Who want to stop this as much as we do."
Over the next week, they assembled a team.
Five lycans from different territories. All survivors of pack massacres. All with scores to settle.
Marcus's intelligence network, smaller now but loyal.
And Sera. The hunter who'd become something else. Something more.
The location came through on a Tuesday. A facility in the Canadian wilderness. Remote. Fortified. And according to Marcus's sources, very active.
They moved that night.
The approach was silent. Professional. They'd done this before. Knew the rhythm.
But something felt different. Wrong.
"It's too quiet," one of the lycans whispered. A woman named Kira. Former Nightshade pack.
She was right. No guards. No security. Just an empty facility sitting in the woods.
"Trap?" Sera asked.
"Probably," Kael said. "But we're out of options."
They entered carefully. The facility was operational. Lights on. Equipment humming. But no people.
In the center of the main lab, they found a video screen. Active.
Helena Cross's face appeared.
"If you're watching this, you're too late." Her smile was pleasant. Professional. Terrifying. "Apex One is complete. Stable. And already in the field. By the time you find this facility, the real work will have begun."
"What work?" Sera whispered.
As if answering, Helena continued. "Valeria wanted to control lycans. I want to replace them. Apex One is the prototype. The proof of concept. In six months, I'll have one hundred Apex subjects. In a year, one thousand. And they will be superior to lycans in every measurable way."
The screen flickered. Showed images. Labs. Subjects. Dozens of people in tubes, suspended in liquid, undergoing transformation.
"This is the future," Helena said. "Evolution by design. You can't stop it. You can only choose which side of history you want to be on."
The screen went dark.
"She's insane," Kira breathed.
"She's already won," Marcus said quietly. "If she has even one stable subject, she can replicate the process. Create an army."
"Then we find her," Kael said. His voice was steel. "We find Apex One. And we end this before it starts."
They searched the facility. Found data. Research notes. Partial locations for other labs.
And a name. A target.
Apex One's first mission was in Seattle. Three days from now. A demonstration for potential investors. Proof that Helena's process worked.
"Seattle," Sera said. "That's where we hit them."
"It's a trap," Kira warned.
"Everything's a trap. Doesn't mean we don't spring it."
They had three days to prepare. Three days to figure out how to stop something none of them fully understood.
Emma came to see Sera off. She was staying with Marcus, who'd proven surprisingly good with kids. Probably guilt. But it worked.
"You're going to fight again," Emma said. Not a question.
"Yeah."
"The bad people. The ones who hurt lycans."
"That's right."
Emma hugged her tight. "Be careful. I just got you back. I don't want to lose you too."
Sera's throat tightened. "You won't. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep. Uncle Marcus says that's bad luck."
Despite everything, Sera laughed. "When did you get so smart?"
"I've always been smart. You just never noticed." Emma pulled back. Looked at Kael, who stood nearby. "You'll keep her safe, right?"
"Always," Kael said.
"Good. Because if she dies, I'm going to be really mad at you."
"Noted."
They left at dawn. The team moved in two vehicles. Covering ground fast. Every mile bringing them closer to Seattle. Closer to Apex One.
Closer to whatever Helena had created.
Through the blood bond, Sera felt Kael's steady presence. His determination matching her own.
They'd been through hell together. Survived the impossible.
This was just one more fight.
One more monster to stop.
And maybe, when it was done, they could finally rest.
Seattle rose on the horizon. Glass and steel gleaming in the afternoon sun.
Somewhere in that city, Apex One was waiting.
Somewhere, Helena Cross was watching.
And somewhere, the next chapter of this war was about to begin.
Sera checked her weapons. Kael's eyes flickered silver.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Never." She smiled. "But let's do it anyway."
The vehicles pulled up to a warehouse district. The location Marcus's intel had provided. Supposedly where the demonstration would take place.
They approached on foot. Silent. Coordinated.
The warehouse was empty. Of course it was.
But on the far wall, spray-painted in red, was a message.
THE HUNT IS ON. LET'S SEE WHO'S REALLY APEX.
And below it, coordinates.
"She wants us to follow," Kira said.
"Then we follow," Kael replied. "But on our terms."
They tracked the coordinates to an abandoned factory. This one wasn't empty.
Fifty people stood in neat rows. All identical. All with the same unsettling perfection. Enhanced humans. Apex subjects.
And at the front, a figure that made Sera's blood run cold.
It looked human. Moved human. But its eyes were wrong. Too aware. Too predatory.
Apex One.
"Welcome," it said. Its voice was pleasant. Conversational. "Doctor Cross sends her regards. She wanted me to test your capabilities before we proceed with larger operations."
"We're not lab rats," Sera said.
"Everyone's a lab rat. You're just more interesting than most." Apex One smiled. "Shall we begin?"
The fifty Apex subjects moved as one.
And the fight for humanity's future began.