The air around us was still trembling from my howls when my body finally began to shrink back into human form. The fur receded into my skin, claws slipped back into fingers, and the savage growl that had owned my voice faded into heavy, shaking breaths. My body trembled, slick with sweat and streaked with dirt and blood. I fell to my knees, gasping, the world spinning as if the earth itself had tilted beneath me.

Julius stood several feet away, his face pale, his eyes wide with awe and fear. His hands quivered as he stepped closer, each movement cautious, as though I might shift again at the slightest sound.

“Congratulations, Darius,” he said softly, his voice trembling. “You’ve done it.”

He stretched out his hand, hesitated midair, then finished the gesture. “You’re contaminated now—with the most formidable werewolf virus ever created. You’ve become something beyond even your father’s imagination.”

I could barely hear him over the pounding in my ears. Every muscle screamed. My lungs fought for air. My mind buzzed between human reason and feral instinct. But even through the chaos, his words cut deep.

Contaminated.

No… reborn.

Julius crouched beside me, his eyes bright despite the sheen of sweat on his forehead. “You are the last of your kind, Darius. The first immortal werewolf. Your wounds will heal instantly. Your claws carry poison strong enough to paralyze even the oldest of alphas.”

His words should’ve terrified me. Instead, a strange calm settled in my chest—a calm forged from exhaustion and fury. The fear that had hunted me since the night my parents died had begun to melt away, replaced by something raw and dangerous.

Maybe this was the virus talking.

Maybe it was destiny.

Either way, I no longer felt like the same boy who hid behind locked doors and trembling hands.

Julius leaned forward, his voice lowering to a whisper. “This is why Lord Mayor wants you dead. He knows what you carry inside you—the power to destroy him, or to become him.”

At the mention of that name, rage surged through me like molten fire. “The Lord Mayor,” I spat, my voice trembling. “Tell me everything. Tell me why he killed my parents. Why he tore them apart like they were nothing.”

Julius’s gaze darkened. When he spoke, his voice carried an eerie stillness. “Your father discovered the strain that could make any wolf immortal. When Lord Mayor learned of it, he offered your father a throne beside him—a chance to rule over a world ruled by shifters. But your father refused. He believed humanity was worth saving.”

“And that’s why he killed them,” I muttered bitterly, clenching my fists until my nails broke skin. “Because my father had a conscience.”

“Because your father feared what immortality would do to the wrong man,” Julius corrected. “Lord Mayor doesn’t seek power, Darius. He seeks worship. He wants to become god of a new race—a world with no humans, only wolves that obey his command.”

Julius paused, his breathing slowing, his pupils expanding as if another vision was overtaking him. I’d seen that look before—the one that meant he was seeing something far away.

“Julius?” I called. But his head tilted upward, eyes blank and shimmering with white light.

When he finally spoke again, his voice was distant, almost hollow. “The war has begun.”

I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“There’s trouble at Caritas Airport,” Julius said, his voice gaining volume, his eyes now burning faintly with light. “Lord Mayor’s shifters are there. Innocent people are dying. He’s begun his purge.”

The world seemed to narrow to a point—a single pulse of purpose thudding in my chest. I rose slowly to my feet, my bones cracking from the remnants of transformation.

“You must go, Darius,” Julius urged. “This is your mission—your father’s legacy. Protect humanity, or watch it burn.”

For a moment, I stood in silence, staring at the horizon. The moon had fully emerged from the clouds, its silver light spilling across the valley like a spotlight. I felt its pull deep within me—the ancient call of the beast that had now claimed me.

Maybe this was what I’d been running from all along. Maybe this was what I was meant to become.

The veins along my arms began to glow faintly, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat. My skin prickled as fur threatened to burst through once again. Julius took a step back, shielding his eyes as I convulsed under the moonlight.

“Darius—wait!” he called, but it was too late.

The transformation hit faster this time, smoother, like the virus was learning my body. My hands became claws, my jaw extended, my chest broadened, and my heartbeat became thunder. I was no longer just a boy cursed with power—I was the storm itself.

I let out a howl that ripped through the valley, shaking leaves from trees and sending flocks of birds screaming into the night. Julius stumbled backward, shielding his face from the dust that rose around me. His mouth hung open, part terror, part admiration.

The world below me seemed smaller now—fragile. And I, a creature forged of vengeance and prophecy, stood on the edge of something I couldn’t yet name.

The smell of smoke and fear drifted from the east. My ears caught it—the distant screams, the roaring of engines, the faint echo of destruction.

Caritas Airport.

“Go,” Julius whispered, as though reading my mind. “You can stop them.”

I turned to him. For the first time, I saw the fear in his eyes wasn’t just for me—it was of me. Somewhere inside, I wondered if Julius was truly on my side, or if his visions were serving someone else’s cause.

“Stay hidden,” I growled, my voice distorted but clear. “If I don’t return by dawn—”

“You’ll return,” he interrupted. “You have to.”

The wind picked up around us, carrying whispers from the forest, and for a fleeting second, I swore I heard my father’s voice—steady, calm, proud.

Protect them, son.

I leapt.

Through the air, through the forest, through the dark.

The trees blurred beneath me, the earth a rush of shadow and speed. The scent of burning fuel and flesh grew stronger with every stride. I could see the city lights flickering on the horizon, dimming one by one under smoke.

Then I saw it—Caritas Airport in chaos. Flames curled through hangars. Sirens wailed. The air was thick with blood and terror. Dozens of shifters—hulking, monstrous figures—were tearing through civilians like wolves through sheep.

My claws dug into the ground as I landed near the perimeter fence. The sight ignited something ancient in me. Fury. Vengeance. Hunger.

This is what they wanted, I thought. This is the war my father died to stop.

I howled and stormed into the chaos.

Bodies flew. Blood sprayed. My claws ripped through fur and armor alike. I was faster, stronger—each wound that cut me sealed within seconds. But for every shifter I brought down, three more replaced it. They were endless, relentless, loyal.

And above the carnage, a voice boomed—deep, regal, and terrifyingly calm.

“So the prodigal son appears.”

I froze. Through the smoke, a tall, dark figure emerged—draped in crimson robes, eyes glowing like molten gold. The Lord Mayor. His presence alone bent the air around him, warping the night into something unreal.

“I knew your father’s legacy wouldn’t die quietly,” he said, smiling coldly. “But I must admit, I didn’t expect you to survive.”

I snarled, lowering my stance. The ground cracked under my claws. “You killed them,” I hissed. “You murdered my parents.”

“They were traitors,” he replied, as though it were simple fact. “But you—ah, you’re something else. The son of science and fate. You carry the virus that should’ve been mine.”

I lunged, but he moved faster than sight. His claws sliced across my chest, sending me skidding backward through the wreckage. Pain flared, then vanished instantly as my skin sealed over. His grin widened.

“Yes,” he said softly. “You heal. Perfect.”

Julius’s words echoed in my head: Your claws are poisonous.

I struck again, this time slashing across his arm. For a heartbeat, nothing happened—then black veins began crawling up his skin. He hissed, retreating slightly.

The poison worked.

But before I could advance, he raised his hand—and a circle of fire erupted around us, cutting me off from the fleeing humans. His eyes gleamed with both fury and amusement.

“You think you’ve won something tonight, boy?” he growled. “This is only the beginning. Every howl you make draws me closer to godhood.”

The flames rose higher, forcing me back. My heart hammered. Somewhere beyond the fire, I saw Julius appear at the airport’s edge, his eyes glowing white again, shouting words I couldn’t hear.

“Darius! Behind you!”

I turned too late.

Something heavy struck me from behind—a shadow, larger than any wolf I’d seen. Its claws dug into my back as I crashed to the ground, my ribs shattering and mending in the same breath. I rolled and looked up—

And froze.

It wasn’t a shifter.

It was him.

My father.

Or what was left of him.

His eyes were hollow and lifeless, his body twisted by something monstrous, half-human, half-wolf. The Lord Mayor laughed behind the wall of fire.

“Your father was the first to test the virus,” he said with cruel satisfaction. “Immortality comes at a cost, boy. Let’s see if you can survive what he couldn’t.”

I couldn’t breathe. The monster that had once been my father let out a tortured howl, one that split the night—and then lunged straight at me.