The city didn't sleep that night.
Sirens echoed through the streets. Helicopters circled overhead. Smoke still rose from the river docks, spreading across the skyline like a warning no one fully understood yet.
Vivian stood near the cracked window of an abandoned apartment building, staring down at the streets below.
Everything looked normal.
Cars.
People.
Lights.
But she could feel it.
Something had changed beneath the surface.
Jamo entered the room quietly behind her, carrying a duffel bag stained with blood and river water.
"You should rest," he said.
Vivian let out a dry laugh.
"After tonight?"
Jamo dropped the bag onto the table.
"You're exhausted."
"So are you."
"That's not the same thing."
Vivian finally turned toward him.
He looked worse than he sounded.
Bruises covered his jaw. Fresh cuts marked his arms. His shirt was half torn from the fight at the docks.
And still
He looked steady.
Controlled.
Like he was carrying the weight of the city on his back and refusing to bend under it.
Vivian crossed her arms.
"What now?"
Jamo walked toward the table, spreading out a map of the city.
"The tunnels beneath the docks connect to old pack routes."
Vivian frowned.
"How many?"
"Too many."
He pointed toward several marked areas underground.
"If those things escaped into the lower system, they can move through the entire city without being seen."
Vivian's stomach tightened.
"So we're hunting monsters under a city of millions."
Jamo looked at her calmly.
"Yes."
Silence followed.
Then Vivian asked the question neither of them wanted to say out loud.
"And Lucas?"
Jamo's expression shifted slightly.
"We don't know."
Vivian looked away immediately.
That answer hurt more than she expected.
Jamo noticed.
But before he could say anything
A knock echoed through the apartment.
Both of them froze.
Jamo's claws extended instantly.
Vivian reached for her knife.
Another knock.
Three short taps.
Then silence.
Jamo moved first, crossing the room quietly.
Vivian stayed behind him.
The moment he opened the door
A man stumbled inside and collapsed onto the floor.
Blood spread beneath him immediately.
Vivian's eyes widened.
"I know him."
Jamo crouched beside the injured wolf.
"One of yours?"
Vivian nodded slowly.
"Derek."
Derek coughed hard, blood staining his lips.
"They're moving…" he rasped.
Jamo's voice turned sharp.
"Who?"
Derek grabbed Vivian's sleeve weakly.
"The creatures… they're taking people underground…"
Vivian's pulse spiked.
"How many?"
Derek shook his head.
"I don't know… but it's spreading fast…"
Jamo exchanged a look with Vivian.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
Derek's breathing became uneven.
"There's more…"
Vivian leaned closer.
"What?"
Derek's eyes locked onto hers.
"They're changing."
The room went still.
Jamo frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Derek swallowed painfully.
"The ones they take…"
His voice cracked.
"They come back."
Vivian's chest tightened.
"No…"
Derek grabbed her arm tighter.
"They look human at first… but they're not…"
Jamo's expression darkened immediately.
"Infection."
Derek nodded weakly.
"Like a hive…"
Vivian stepped back slowly.
The creatures weren't just hunting anymore.
They were spreading.
Building.
Evolving.
Jamo stood instantly.
"We contain this now."
Vivian looked at him sharply.
"How?"
Jamo's jaw tightened.
"We cut off the underground routes."
Her eyes widened.
"There are people down there."
"There are infected people down there."
Silence hit hard.
Because both statements were true.
Vivian shook her head.
"We can still save them."
Jamo's voice lowered.
"You don't know that."
"You don't know we can't."
Derek coughed again violently.
Then suddenly froze.
His body went stiff.
Vivian frowned.
"Derek?"
Jamo moved instantly.
"Back away."
Too late.
Derek's head snapped upward unnaturally.
His eyes
Glowed red.
Vivian's heart stopped.
"No…"
Derek lunged.
Jamo slammed him into the wall before he reached her.
But Derek kept fighting.
Harder than before.
Stronger than before.
Vivian stared in horror.
"It happened that fast?"
Jamo struggled to hold him back.
"Vivian!"
She snapped out of it.
"What?!"
"Knife!"
Vivian froze.
Because she understood immediately what he meant.
Derek snarled violently, trying to tear free.
Still alive.
Still changing.
Still aware enough to look terrified.
"Please…" Derek rasped suddenly.
Vivian's chest tightened painfully.
"Help me…"
Jamo's grip slipped slightly as Derek thrashed harder.
"He's turning!"
Vivian's hand shook around the knife.
"No…"
Jamo's voice sharpened.
"Now!"
Derek looked directly at her.
Tears mixed with blood on his face.
"Don't let me become one of them."
Vivian's heart broke.
She stepped closer slowly.
Jamo held Derek still as best he could.
Vivian raised the knife.
Her hand trembled violently.
Derek closed his eyes.
"Do it."
Silence crushed the room.
Then
Vivian made another controversial decision.
She lowered the knife.
Jamo stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
Vivian stepped back.
"There has to be another way."
Jamo's voice darkened dangerously.
"There isn't time."
Derek screamed suddenly.
Not human anymore.
His body twisted violently
Bones cracking.
Skin splitting.
Vivian stumbled back in horror.
Jamo's expression hardened instantly.
"He's gone."
Before Vivian could stop him
Jamo snapped Derek's neck.
The room fell silent.
Heavy.
Still.
Vivian stared at Derek's lifeless body in shock.
Jamo stood slowly, breathing hard.
"You hesitated."
Vivian's eyes burned.
"He was alive."
Jamo's voice remained cold.
"And now the infection stops here."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because part of her hated him for being right.
Another distant roar echoed beneath the city.
Closer this time.
Jamo looked toward the floor.
"They're moving
again."
Vivian stared at Derek's body.
Then finally looked at Jamo.
"What if Lucas changes like that?"
Jamo didn't answer immediately.
And that silence terrified her more than anything.
Because for the first time
She realized Jamo had already thought about it.
And somewhere deep down
He had already made his choice.