CURSED LYCAN
Apex Zero moved like death itself.
It tore through the first wave of Apex subjects before they could react. Faster than them. Stronger. Each movement precise. Calculated. Lethal.
"Run!" it shouted at Sera's group. "I'll hold them!"
They didn't need to be told twice.
Marcus led them down a side corridor while chaos erupted behind them. Sera heard screaming. Breaking bones. The wet sounds of bodies hitting walls.
"What the hell was that thing?" Kira gasped.
"Our chance," Kael said. "Move!"
They burst into a stairwell. Started climbing. Three flights. Five. Sera's lungs burned. Her wrist throbbed despite the bandaging.
Behind them, the sounds of fighting echoed. Getting closer.
They reached a door marked EXIT. Marcus kicked it open.
Fresh air hit Sera's face. They were on a roof. City lights sprawled below them. Seattle. They were still in Seattle.
"Now what?" one of the lycans asked. "We're trapped up here."
"No, we're not." Kael pointed. Adjacent building. Twenty feet away. Gap between them. "We jump."
"Are you insane?" Marcus stared at the gap. "That's twenty feet!"
"I'm a lycan. I can make it. So can Kira and the others." Kael looked at Sera and Marcus. "You two..."
"Will figure it out," Sera finished. "Go. Get across. We'll find another way."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You're not. We're bonded, remember? I'll always know where you are." She pushed him toward the edge. "Go. Get the team safe. I'll meet you on the other side."
Kael's jaw tightened. But he nodded. Turned to the lycans. "Shift. Now."
They shifted. Five lycans in beast form. Kael remained human. Didn't need the extra strength for a jump like this.
He backed up. Ran. Leaped.
For a moment, Sera's heart stopped. He was airborne. Flying. The gap yawned below him.
He landed. Rolled. Came up safe.
The others followed. One by one. All made it.
Sera and Marcus stood alone on the roof.
"So," Marcus said. "That other way you mentioned."
"Working on it."
The roof access door exploded outward. Apex One emerged. Its clothes were torn. It was bleeding from a dozen wounds. But it was still moving.
Behind it, no other Apex subjects. Just Apex One.
Alone.
"Apex Zero terminated forty-seven subjects," it said conversationally. "Before I was forced to eliminate it. Doctor Cross is displeased with the losses."
"Good," Sera said.
"You need to come with me. Doctor Cross wants to continue her research."
"Hard pass."
Apex One sighed. "I was hoping you'd cooperate. Killing you would waste valuable data. But Doctor Cross said if necessary, one bonded subject is sufficient for her purposes."
It moved toward Marcus. "You're expendable."
Marcus raised his weapon. Fired. The bullets hit center mass. Apex One stumbled. Kept coming.
Sera charged. Used her good hand to drive her blade toward its throat. Apex One caught her wrist. The broken one. Squeezed.
White-hot agony. Sera screamed.
Then Apex One jerked. Its grip loosened. It looked down.
A blade protruded from its chest. From behind.
It turned. Apex Zero stood there. Broken. Bleeding. Half its face missing. But alive.
"Told you," Apex Zero rasped. "I end this."
It twisted the blade. Apex One shuddered. Fell.
Sera stumbled back. Marcus caught her.
Apex Zero collapsed. "Helena. She's escaping. Underground tunnel. East side. Stop her."
"What about you?" Sera asked.
"Dying. Finally." It smiled. What was left of its face tried to smile. "Been dying since she made me. This is just the end."
"What's your real name?" Sera knelt beside it. "Before all this. Who were you?"
"David. David Chen. I was a volunteer. Thought I was helping advance science." Its eyes were fading. "Tell people. What she did. What she's doing. Don't let her make more of us."
"I promise."
David Chen, Apex Zero, died with something like peace on his ruined face.
Sera stood. Looked at Marcus. "East tunnel. Let's move."
They ran. Back down the stairs. Following signs. The facility was emptying. Scientists fleeing. Guards abandoning posts. The whole operation collapsing.
They found the tunnel. Helena was there. Loading equipment into a vehicle. Three guards with her.
"Stop!" Sera shouted.
Helena looked up. Smiled. "Persistent. I'll give you that." She climbed into the vehicle. "But you're too late. I have everything I need. The research. The formulas. Three remaining Apex subjects in secure locations. I'll rebuild. Faster this time. Better."
"You're done," Marcus said. He aimed his weapon.
Helena laughed. "Marcus. You of all people should understand. Progress doesn't stop. It just relocates."
The vehicle started moving. Entering the tunnel.
Sera ran after it. Futile. It was too fast.
Then she felt it. Through the bond. Kael's presence. Moving. Fast. He'd circled around. Was coming from the other end of the tunnel.
The vehicle's headlights illuminated a figure ahead. Kael. Standing in the middle of the tunnel. Not moving.
"Run him down," Helena ordered.
The driver accelerated.
Kael didn't move.
At the last second, he shifted. The primal form. Twelve feet of ancient fury. He caught the vehicle. Actually caught it. Metal crumpled under his claws.
The vehicle flipped. Crashed. Slid thirty feet before stopping.
Sera and Marcus reached it. Helena was pulling herself out. Bleeding. Injured but alive.
"Remarkable," she gasped. "The primal form. Even better than my Apex subjects. If I could just—"
"No." Kael shifted back. Stood over her. "You're done experimenting. Done creating. Done destroying lives."
Helena laughed. Blood on her teeth. "You can't stop progress. Kill me. Destroy my research. Someone else will pick up where I left off. Someone always does."
"Maybe," Sera said. "But it won't be today."
Police sirens echoed. Growing closer. Marcus had called them. Along with the lycan council. Everyone was coming.
Helena would face justice. Real justice.
The guards surrendered without a fight. Helena tried to run. Got three steps before collapsing. Her injuries were worse than she'd let on.
The council arrived first. Lycans in official capacity. They took custody of Helena. Of the facility. Of everything.
Kira and the team emerged from the other building. Battered. Exhausted. But alive.
"Is it over?" Kira asked.
"For now," Kael said.
They were taken to a secure location. Debriefed. Examined. The council wanted every detail. Every piece of information about Helena's operation.
Sera told them about Apex Zero. About David Chen. About what had been done to him.
The council promised to investigate. To find Helena's other facilities. To stop this before it spread.
Whether they'd succeed was anyone's guess.
Three days later, Sera and Kael were cleared to leave. Marcus stayed behind. More debriefing. More questions about his involvement.
Emma was waiting when they got back to the house. She hugged Sera so hard it hurt.
"You're okay," Emma said. Not a question. A relief.
"Yeah, baby. I'm okay."
That night, after Emma was asleep, Sera and Kael sat on the porch. The blood bond hummed between them. Stronger now. After everything they'd been through.
"Helena was right about one thing," Sera said quietly. "The bond is growing. I can feel you more clearly now. Your thoughts. Your emotions."
"I know. I feel it too." Kael took her hand. "Does it bother you?"
"No. It's just... intimate. More than I expected."
"We can find a way to stop it. To keep the bond from growing further."
Sera looked at him. At this lycan who'd become her partner in every sense. Who'd fought beside her. Saved her. Let her save him.
"What if I don't want to stop it?" she said.
Kael's eyes widened. "Sera—"
"I'm tired of fighting what we are. What we've become." She squeezed his hand. "The bond isn't a curse. It's not something Helena created or Valeria corrupted. It's ours. We made it. Together."
"It'll change us. Make us more connected than any two people should be."
"Good." Sera smiled. "I could use more of you in my life. Not less."
Kael pulled her close. Kissed her. It was different than before. Deeper. Because through the bond, she felt what he felt. The love. The fear. The desperate hope that they could actually have this. Have each other.
It was overwhelming.
It was perfect.
They broke apart. Breathed.
"So we let the bond grow," Kael said. "See where it takes us."
"Together."
"Always together."
Over the next months, they settled into something like normal. Sera stopped hunting. Focused on Emma. On building a real life instead of just surviving.
Kael helped rebuild connections between lycan packs. Used his Bloodmoon name to bring people together instead of apart.
Marcus was sentenced to community service. Twenty years of it. He accepted without argument. Spent his time helping pack families find each other. Making amends the only way he knew how.
And the bond. The bond kept growing.
Sera started feeling Kael's thoughts. Not reading his mind exactly. More like sensing his intentions before he acted. Knowing what he'd say before he said it.
It should've been invasive. Should've felt like losing herself.
It felt like becoming more instead.
Six months after Helena's capture, Sera woke from a dream. Kael's dream. She'd been inside his head. Experiencing his memories. His childhood before the massacre. His parents. His brother.
It was beautiful. And heartbreaking.
She rolled over. Found him awake. Watching her.
"You felt that," he said. Not a question.
"Yeah. Your dream. Your memories." She touched his face. "I'm sorry. About your family. About everything you lost."
"I lost them. But I found you." He caught her hand. "And Emma. And a reason to keep going."
"Sappy."
"True."
They lay there. Connected in ways most people would never understand. Two souls bound by magic and choice and something that went deeper than either.
The bond reached complete synchronization on a Tuesday.
Sera felt it happen. Like a lock clicking into place. Suddenly she wasn't just sensing Kael's emotions. She was feeling his physical sensations. His heartbeat. His breathing.
It was disorienting. Then it was normal.
They could communicate without words now. Just thoughts. Just feelings. Just knowing.
"This is weird," Sera thought at him.
"This is us," he thought back.
And that was it. That was them. Two people who'd become something more.
Not Apex subjects. Not enhanced humans. Not corrupted lycans.
Just bonded. Perfectly. Completely.
That night, the lycan council called. Emergency meeting. Helena had escaped custody. Three days ago. They'd kept it quiet. Trying to recapture her.
They'd failed.
She was in the wind. With her research. Her formulas. Her three remaining Apex subjects.
"She'll rebuild," the council representative said. "We need your help. Again."
Sera looked at Kael. Through the bond, she felt his determination. His resignation.
They'd never really be done. There'd always be another threat. Another Helena. Another person trying to play god with lycan genetics.
But they'd face it together.
"We'll help," Sera said. "But on our terms. No more council bureaucracy. No more waiting for permission. We do this our way."
"Agreed."
They hung up. Emma appeared in the doorway. Sleepy. Concerned.
"You're leaving again," she said.
"Not yet. We have time. A few days at least." Sera pulled her close. "And when we do go, Marcus is staying with you. He's gotten pretty good at the guardian thing."
"He lets me stay up past bedtime."
"That's because he's irresponsible."
Emma giggled. Then got serious. "You always come back. Both of you. Promise."
"Promise," Kael said.
"Super promise," Sera added. "The kind you can't break."
Emma nodded. Satisfied. Went back to bed.
Sera and Kael sat in the quiet. Planning. Preparing. Knowing the fight wasn't over.
Through the bond, Sera felt Kael's love. His certainty. His unshakeable belief that they could do this.
And she sent back her own. Her trust. Her commitment. Her willingness to fight beside him forever if that's what it took.
The bond pulsed. Stronger than ever. Unbreakable.
They'd face Helena. Face whatever came next.
Together. Always together.
Because some bonds weren't meant to be broken.
They were meant to save the world.
ONE YEAR LATER
The facility burned.
Sera watched from a safe distance. Kael beside her. Marcus and Kira securing the perimeter. Emma safe at home with a trusted pack member.
Helena's third lab. Her last operational base.
It was done.
They'd found her three Apex subjects. Offered them a choice. Freedom or continuation. All three had chosen freedom. Chosen death over being Helena's weapons.
Sera had made it quick. Painless. The mercy they deserved.
Helena herself was in custody. Real custody this time. Underground bunker. Guarded by lycans and humans. Magic and technology. She wouldn't escape again.
"Is it over?" Kira asked. The question they always asked.
"For now," Kael said. The answer he always gave.
But this time, it felt different. More final. Helena's operation had been extensive. Well-funded. Her capture had exposed dozens of investors. Corrupt politicians. Corporate backers.
The fallout would last years.
But the immediate threat was gone.
Sera felt Kael's exhaustion through the bond. Felt his hope. Felt his love.
"Let's go home," she thought at him.
"Yeah," he thought back. "Let's go home."
They drove back as dawn broke. Emma would be making breakfast. Probably burning it. She was getting better at cooking but still had a ways to go.
The house came into view. Small. Cozy. Home.
Emma ran out before they'd even parked. Hugged them both. "You're back! You're back! I made pancakes!"
"Are they edible?" Sera asked.
"Mostly!"
They went inside. Ate slightly-burnt pancakes. Laughed about nothing important. Lived.
That afternoon, a package arrived. No return address. Just a note.
Thank you for stopping me. Before I became the monster I was trying to create. - David
Inside was a flash drive. Helena's complete research. Every formula. Every subject. Every crime.
Evidence that would put away dozens of people. That would shut down similar operations worldwide.
David Chen, Apex Zero, had stolen it before he'd confronted Helena. Had arranged for its delivery if he didn't survive.
One final act of heroism.
Sera handed the drive to the council. Let them handle the legal fallout.
She was done hunting.
Done fighting.
Done being anything other than Emma's guardian and Kael's partner and herself.
The bond had reached its final form. Complete synchronization. They were two people but one unit. One purpose.
And that purpose was living. Not just surviving.
Months passed. Peaceful. Quiet. Normal.
Kael taught Emma how to track. How to move through forests silently. Skills that might save her life someday.
Sera taught her how to fight. How to defend herself. How to see threats before they became danger.
And together, they taught her how to be kind. How to see people—lycan and human—as individuals instead of categories.
Emma absorbed it all. Growing. Becoming someone who could change the world just by being herself.
One evening, Kael asked the question.
"Do you regret it? The bond? Everything it's made us?"
Sera thought about it. Really thought.
The bond had changed her. Made her less independent. Less singular. She couldn't imagine existing without Kael's presence in her mind now. Without that constant connection.
Some people would call that loss.
Sera called it love.
"No regrets," she said. "You?"
"None."
They sat on the porch. Emma inside doing homework. The world quiet around them.
Through the bond, Sera felt Kael's contentment. His peace. His absolute certainty that they'd made the right choices.
She sent back her own. Her gratitude. Her love. Her commitment to whatever came next.
Because there would be something next. There always was.
But they'd face it together.
Bonded. Unbreakable. Eternal.
Two people who'd saved each other.
Two souls who'd become one.
And a family who'd built something beautiful from the ashes of tragedy.
The moon rose. Full. Bright. Beautiful.
Kael's eyes gleamed silver. No curse. No pain. Just the natural connection to lunar magic that all lycans shared.
He was free.
They both were.
"Want to go for a run?" he asked.
Sera smiled. "Race you."
He shifted. She ran. The bond hummed between them. Guiding. Connecting. Perfect.
And in that moment, racing through the forest under a full moon, Sera knew something with absolute certainty.
This was where she belonged.
With him. With Emma. With this life they'd built.
Not hunting. Not fighting. Not surviving.
Just living.
And that was enough.
More than enough.
It was everything.