Davao Region, Mindanao, Philippines
2021 — Present Day
Three days had passed since the Wendigo attack.
Three days without another monster.
Three days without mysterious symbols.
Three days without anyone trying to murder Vince for his royal blood.
Naturally, Vince thought this meant everything was fine.
JR thought Vince was a fucking idiot.
JR: Something's coming.
Vince was lying across the couch with his feet hanging over the armrest.
VINCE: Yeah.
JR looked surprised.
JR: You agree?
VINCE: My food.
The door opened.
Shane walked inside carrying two plastic bags.
SHANE: Food!
Vince immediately sat up.
VINCE: I fucking knew it.
JR stared at him.
JR: I hate you.
Ryle walked behind Shane.
RYLE: Move.
VINCE: What's the password?
RYLE: I'll set your hair on fire.
Vince moved.
VINCE: Correct.
The Midnight Howlers had spent the last three days researching the symbol carved into the dead Wendigo.
They had discovered almost nothing.
Cherry refused to tell them everything she knew until she was certain about what they were dealing with.
That annoyed Vince.
So instead of patiently waiting, he had decided they should investigate themselves.
Which annoyed Cherry.
A lot.
Shane placed the food on the table.
SHANE: Where's your mom?
VINCE: Out.
JR slowly looked at Vince.
JR: Out where?
VINCE: Doing something.
JR: Very informative.
VINCE: Thank you.
JR: That wasn't a compliment.
Ryle opened one of the bags.
RYLE: Why do I feel like you're about to suggest something stupid?
Vince smiled.
Everyone stopped.
SHANE: Oh, fuck.
JR: No.
VINCE: I haven't even said anything.
JR: You smiled.
VINCE: So?
JR: That's your "I have a terrible idea" smile.
RYLE: He's right.
Vince stood.
VINCE: Cherry mentioned that the faction disappeared years ago.
JR: Your mother.
VINCE: What?
JR: Stop calling her Cherry like you're coworkers.
VINCE: She has a name.
RYLE: Focus.
Vince grabbed his phone.
VINCE: Mom mentioned an abandoned warehouse connected to supernatural activity years ago.
JR immediately understood.
JR: And you want to go there.
VINCE: Exactly.
JR: Without telling her.
VINCE: Exactly.
JR: Absolutely fucking not.
---
Twenty-five minutes later, all four of them were heading toward the warehouse.
JR sat beside Vince.
JR: I want it officially documented that I voted against this.
VINCE: Nobody cares.
SHANE: I care.
JR looked at him.
SHANE: Actually, no. I don't.
JR: Fuck you.
Ryle sighed.
RYLE: Why did I come?
VINCE: Because you love us.
RYLE: Stop saying that.
VINCE: You keep coming.
RYLE: Because somebody has to keep you alive.
Vince grinned.
VINCE: Sounds like love.
RYLE: I will throw you out of this vehicle.
---
The warehouse stood near an abandoned industrial area surrounded by thick vegetation.
Its windows were shattered.
Rust covered the metal walls.
A faded warning sign hung crookedly from the entrance.
Shane stared at it.
SHANE: This place definitely has murder vibes.
JR: That's not a real thing.
SHANE: Bullshit. Look at it.
Ryle sniffed the air.
His expression changed.
RYLE: Blood.
Vince immediately became serious.
VINCE: Fresh?
Ryle nodded.
RYLE: Very.
Vince's eyes briefly flashed bright red.
VINCE: Stay together.
JR smiled slightly.
JR: Look at that.
VINCE: What?
JR: Actual leadership.
VINCE: Keep talking and I'll demote you.
JR: To what?
Vince paused.
VINCE: Worse Beta.
JR: That's not a rank.
SHANE: It is now.
They entered.
The warehouse was enormous.
Broken machinery filled the interior.
Water dripped from holes in the roof.
The smell of blood became overwhelming.
Shane stepped around a dark puddle.
SHANE: Please be oil.
Ryle crouched and touched it.
He looked at Shane.
RYLE: Not oil.
SHANE: Fantastic.
A metallic sound echoed above them.
CLANG.
Everyone looked up.
Nothing.
JR: We're being watched.
VINCE: I know.
Another sound came from behind them.
They turned.
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
BANG!
Shane jumped.
SHANE: Fuck!
Vince looked at him.
SHANE: Don't judge me.
Growling came from the darkness.
JR's claws emerged.
JR: Vince.
Pairs of eyes appeared throughout the warehouse.
Yellow-green.
Pale-yellow.
Blue.
Yellow.
Vince slowly counted them.
VINCE: Twelve.
Ryle's eyes ignited.
RYLE: Fifteen.
Three more figures appeared on the upper walkway.
Shane looked around.
SHANE: Remember when we could've stayed home and eaten?
JR: I remember.
SHANE: Good times.
A massive man stepped from the darkness.
His eyes were red.
Alpha.
Scars covered his face.
Behind him stood werewolves, two Werecoyotes and a Werejaguar.
UNKNOWN ALPHA: Vincent Davis.
Vince stepped forward.
VINCE: Depends who's asking.
UNKNOWN ALPHA: Garrick Salazar.
VINCE: Never heard of you.
Garrick's face tightened.
VINCE: Was I supposed to?
JR whispered—
JR: Probably.
VINCE: Oh.
Vince looked back at Garrick.
VINCE: Still haven't.
Garrick growled.
GARRICK: You carry royal blood.
Vince sighed.
VINCE: Everybody keeps talking about my blood. It's getting fucking creepy.
GARRICK: Our master wants to know whether the stories about you are true.
Ryle stepped forward.
RYLE: Who's your master?
Garrick smiled.
GARRICK: Survive, and perhaps you'll find out.
Vince looked around.
VINCE: You brought fifteen people to test four?
Garrick's eyes glowed brighter.
GARRICK: I brought fifteen to kill three.
Silence.
Vince's expression changed.
GARRICK: You're coming with us alive.
JR cracked his neck.
JR: Yeah, that's not happening.
Garrick raised his hand.
GARRICK: Kill them.
The warehouse exploded into chaos.
A Beta charged Vince.
Vince sidestepped and grabbed his arm.
BAM!
Vince slammed him face-first into a steel pillar.
Another attacked.
Vince ducked beneath his claws and drove an uppercut into his jaw.
The Beta flew backward.
A Werecoyote jumped from above.
JR: VINCE!
JR intercepted it in midair.
They crashed across a table.
JR: You're welcome!
VINCE: Didn't ask!
JR: Next time I'll let it eat you!
The Werecoyote clawed JR.
JR blocked, twisted its wrist and smashed his forehead into its nose.
CRACK!
JR: Fucking asshole!
Across the warehouse, three Betas surrounded Shane.
Shane looked left.
Then right.
SHANE: Can we discuss this?
They growled.
SHANE: Didn't think so.
The first attacked.
Shane ducked.
The claws sliced through a metal pipe behind him.
Shane grabbed the pipe.
SHANE: Thanks.
WHACK!
He smashed it across the Beta's face.
The second grabbed Shane from behind.
SHANE: Personal space!
Shane stomped his foot and threw his head backward.
CRACK!
The Beta's nose broke.
The third punched Shane across the jaw.
Shane stumbled.
His silver eyes ignited.
Claws emerged.
SHANE: Okay.
He spat blood.
SHANE: Now I'm pissed.
He charged.
Meanwhile, Ryle had become a walking inferno.
Hellfire covered his arms.
A Werejaguar lunged.
Ryle fired.
The creature twisted in midair, avoiding the blast.
RYLE: Fast bastard.
The Werejaguar slammed into him.
They crashed through a wooden crate.
The creature clawed Ryle's chest.
Ryle grabbed its throat.
RYLE: My turn.
His hand ignited.
The Werejaguar's eyes widened.
BOOM!
It flew across the warehouse trailing smoke.
Ryle stood.
RYLE: Who's next?
Four Betas charged him.
Ryle sighed.
RYLE: I shouldn't have asked.
Vince fought Garrick in the center of the warehouse.
Garrick punched.
Vince blocked.
The impact pushed Vince backward.
VINCE: Strong.
GARRICK: Disappointed?
VINCE: Nah.
Vince smiled.
VINCE: Excited.
He charged.
Vince landed a left hook.
Garrick answered with an elbow.
Vince grabbed him around the waist.
GARRICK: What are you—
Vince lifted him.
VINCE: Wrestling.
SLAM!
Garrick crashed onto a metal table.
The table collapsed.
Vince jumped onto him.
Garrick kicked Vince in the chest.
Vince flew backward.
Garrick rose.
His face transformed.
Fangs.
Claws.
Red eyes.
GARRICK: You think a child deserves the title of True Alpha?
Vince's eyes became bright red.
VINCE: Didn't ask for your fucking opinion.
They charged.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
Vince ducked a claw strike.
Body shot.
Hook.
Elbow.
Garrick grabbed Vince's throat and threw him into a pillar.
BANG!
Vince dropped.
Garrick charged.
Vince rolled away.
Garrick punched the pillar.
Metal dented.
VINCE: Damn.
GARRICK: Afraid?
VINCE: No.
Vince kicked his knee.
VINCE: Impressed.
Garrick stumbled.
Vince grabbed his head and drove his knee into Garrick's face.
Blood sprayed.
Elsewhere, JR was fighting two Werecoyotes.
One attacked high.
JR ducked.
The other attacked low.
JR jumped.
JR: Can you two stop coordinating?!
A claw cut his shoulder.
JR: Fuck!
The first Werecoyote lunged.
JR caught its wrist.
He pulled it forward.
The second accidentally clawed its ally across the chest.
JR smiled.
JR: Thank you.
He kicked both away.
Suddenly—
BANG!
A silver chain wrapped around JR's throat.
His eyes widened.
A hunter-like fighter on the upper walkway pulled hard.
JR was lifted from the ground.
JR: VINCE!
Vince heard him.
His head snapped around.
JR was choking.
The silver burned his skin.
VINCE: JR!
Garrick punched Vince across the face.
GARRICK: Eyes on me.
Vince hit the floor.
Garrick kicked him.
GARRICK: Leadership makes you weak.
Another kick.
GARRICK: Every friend becomes something your enemies can use against you.
Vince looked at JR.
Then Shane.
Shane was surrounded.
Ryle was fighting five enemies at once.
Vince's heart pounded.
Garrick raised his claws.
GARRICK: A king should stand alone.
Vince caught Garrick's wrist.
Bright-red eyes opened.
VINCE: That's why you're not a fucking king.
Vince twisted.
CRACK!
Garrick roared.
Vince headbutted him.
Then sprinted toward JR.
He jumped onto a crate.
Then a railing.
Then launched himself toward the upper walkway.
Vince grabbed the man holding the chain.
They crashed through the railing.
Both fell.
BANG!
Vince landed on top of him.
VINCE: JR!
The chain loosened.
JR ripped it away from his neck.
Burns covered his skin.
JR: Took you long enough.
VINCE: You're welcome.
JR: Didn't ask.
Vince smiled.
VINCE: Asshole.
A Beta attacked them.
Vince and JR turned simultaneously.
Both punched him.
BAM!
The Beta flew backward.
They looked at each other.
JR: That was cool.
VINCE: Very cool.
JR: Do it again later?
VINCE: Absolutely.
RYLE: STOP FLIRTING AND HELP!
They turned.
Ryle was buried underneath three werewolves.
VINCE: Oh, shit.
Vince and JR charged.
Shane climbed onto a machine.
SHANE: EVERYBODY DOWN!
JR looked up.
JR: Why?!
Shane held two exposed electrical cables.
SHANE: TRUST ME!
VINCE: That's the worst thing you can say!
Shane slammed the cables into the machine.
Sparks exploded.
Electricity surged through the wet warehouse floor.
Enemies screamed.
Vince jumped onto a crate.
JR climbed a railing.
Ryle blasted himself upward with hellfire.
RYLE: WARN ME EARLIER!
Several attackers collapsed.
Shane smiled proudly.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness.
SHANE: Okay.
VINCE: Shane?
SHANE: Yeah?
VINCE: Did you just kill the electricity?
SHANE: Maybe.
JR: Genius mechanic.
SHANE: Fuck you.
Growling surrounded them.
Vince smiled in the darkness.
His bright-red eyes appeared.
JR's golden-yellow eyes followed.
Ryle's fiery-orange eyes ignited.
Shane's silver eyes emerged.
The remaining attackers stared.
VINCE: Bad choice turning off the lights.
SHANE: I did that!
VINCE: Still a bad choice.
Then the Howlers attacked.
Vince moved first.
He slammed one Beta into a wall.
JR swept another's legs and drove his claws into the floor beside his head.
Ryle grabbed two enemies and smashed their heads together.
Shane jumped from a crate and drop-kicked a Werecoyote.
SHANE: HOLY SHIT, THAT WORKED!
JR: Focus!
Garrick roared.
He transformed further.
His body expanded.
Fur spread across his arms.
GARRICK: DAVIS!
Vince turned.
Garrick charged like a fucking truck.
He tackled Vince through a wall.
CRASH!
They landed outside.
Garrick punched Vince repeatedly.
Vince blocked what he could.
One punch split his lip.
Another opened his eyebrow.
Garrick grabbed Vince's throat.
GARRICK: You're nothing without your bloodline.
Vince struggled.
GARRICK: Your ancestors made you powerful.
Vince's claws dug into Garrick's arm.
VINCE: My blood gave me potential.
Vince's eyes burned brighter.
VINCE: My choices made me Alpha.
He punched Garrick.
Garrick staggered.
Vince attacked relentlessly.
Left hook.
Right hook.
Body shot.
Garrick swung.
Vince ducked.
He grabbed Garrick around the waist.
Lifted.
Turned.
SLAM!
Garrick crashed into the dirt.
Vince roared.
The True Alpha roar shook the warehouse.
Garrick froze.
His red eyes flickered.
For a second, instinct forced him downward.
Vince grabbed his throat.
VINCE: Who sent you?
Garrick laughed.
Blood covered his teeth.
GARRICK: You think this was an assassination?
Vince tightened his grip.
VINCE: Answer me.
GARRICK: This was an examination.
Vince's expression changed.
GARRICK: Strength.
Garrick looked toward JR.
GARRICK: Loyalty.
Toward Ryle.
GARRICK: Power.
Toward Shane.
GARRICK: Adaptability.
Then back to Vince.
GARRICK: Leadership.
Vince growled.
VINCE: Who the fuck sent you?
Garrick smiled.
GARRICK: Someone who remembers your family.
Suddenly, Garrick bit down.
CRACK.
Blood poured from his mouth.
Vince released him.
VINCE: What the fuck?!
Garrick had broken something hidden between his teeth.
His body began convulsing.
Black veins spread across his neck.
JR rushed outside.
JR: Vince!
Garrick started laughing.
GARRICK: He knows you're alive now.
His body violently seized.
Then stopped.
Dead.
Vince stared at him.
SHANE: What happened?
Ryle crouched beside the corpse.
RYLE: Poison.
JR looked at Vince.
JR: He killed himself?
VINCE: To stop us getting answers.
A slow clap came from the roof.
CLAP.
CLAP.
CLAP.
Everyone looked up.
A hooded figure stood on top of the warehouse.
The same figure who had watched them three days earlier.
Vince's claws extended.
VINCE: YOU!
The figure turned.
Vince ran.
JR: Vince, wait!
Vince jumped onto a truck.
Then onto a metal awning.
Then onto the roof.
The hooded figure ran.
VINCE: STOP!
UNKNOWN FIGURE: Make me.
Vince sprinted faster.
The figure jumped between rooftops.
Vince followed.
They reached the edge.
The stranger turned.
Vince tackled them.
They rolled across the roof.
The stranger kicked Vince away.
Vince attacked.
Punch.
Blocked.
Claw strike.
Dodged.
The stranger elbowed Vince across the jaw.
Vince stumbled.
VINCE: You're good.
UNKNOWN FIGURE: You're sloppy.
VINCE: Rude.
Vince attacked again.
The stranger caught his wrist.
Vince grabbed theirs.
They struggled.
For a moment, Vince caught the scent.
Werewolf.
Old.
Powerful.
Familiar.
Vince froze.
VINCE: Wait...
The stranger kicked him backward.
They reached the edge of the roof.
Vince's bright-red eyes burned.
VINCE: Who are you?
The stranger slowly removed something from inside the coat.
The old photograph.
They threw it.
Vince caught it.
He looked down.
A younger Cherry stood in the photograph.
Beside her was a man Vince didn't recognize.
His heart skipped.
VINCE: Where did you get this?
The stranger smiled beneath the hood.
UNKNOWN FIGURE: Ask your mother.
Then they jumped.
VINCE: WAIT!
Vince rushed to the edge.
The figure landed on a lower roof, rolled and disappeared into the trees.
JR climbed onto the rooftop.
JR: Did you get them?
Vince didn't answer.
JR noticed the photograph.
JR: Who's that?
Vince stared at the unknown man standing beside his mother.
VINCE: I don't know.
---
Later that evening, the front door of the Davis house opened.
Cherry entered.
CHERRY: Vincent?
No answer.
She walked into the living room.
Vince sat on the couch.
JR stood behind him.
Ryle leaned against the wall.
Shane sat at the table.
All four were unusually quiet.
Cherry immediately knew something was wrong.
CHERRY: What happened?
Vince placed the photograph on the table.
Cherry froze.
The color drained from her face.
VINCE: We found this.
Cherry slowly approached.
Her hand trembled as she picked it up.
VINCE: Who is he?
Cherry stared at the photograph.
Her eyes filled with something Vince rarely saw.
Fear.
VINCE: Mom.
Cherry closed her eyes.
CHERRY: You weren't supposed to see this.
Vince stood.
VINCE: That's not an answer.
CHERRY: Vincent—
VINCE: People are attacking us. Wendigos. Werewolves. Werecoyotes. Some asshole just sent an Alpha and fifteen fucking supernatural fighters to test me.
Cherry looked up sharply.
CHERRY: What?!
JR pointed toward Vince.
JR: In fairness, going to the warehouse was his idea.
Vince slowly turned.
VINCE: Seriously?
JR: I'm not getting murdered by your mother for you.
Cherry's eyes flashed red.
CHERRY: Warehouse?
Shane stood.
SHANE: I think I'll go home.
RYLE: Good idea.
CHERRY: Nobody is leaving.
Everyone stopped.
Ryle quietly sat down.
Vince sighed.
VINCE: Mom, focus.
He pointed at the photograph.
VINCE: Who is that man?
Cherry stared at it again.
Long silence.
Then she finally spoke.
CHERRY: His name is Gabriel Davis.
Vince frowned.
VINCE: Davis?
Cherry looked directly at him.
CHERRY: He's your uncle.
Silence.
SHANE: Well...
Everyone looked at him.
SHANE: That's fucked.
RYLE: Shane.
SHANE: What? It is.
Vince stared at Cherry.
VINCE: I have an uncle?
CHERRY: Had.
VINCE: What does that mean?
Cherry lowered the photograph.
CHERRY: Gabriel disappeared sixteen years ago.
JR's expression changed.
JR: Sixteen?
Cherry nodded.
CHERRY: Shortly after Vince was born.
Vince's stomach tightened.
VINCE: Why?
Cherry looked toward the dark window.
CHERRY: Because Gabriel believed the Davis royal bloodline shouldn't protect the supernatural world.
Her eyes returned to Vince.
CHERRY: He believed it should rule it.
Nobody joked now.
Cherry continued.
CHERRY: And if Gabriel is alive...
Vince looked at the photograph.
CHERRY: Then those attacks weren't meant to kill you.
VINCE: They were testing me.
Cherry nodded.
Ryle crossed his arms.
RYLE: For what?
Cherry's face became grim.
CHERRY: I don't know.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
The living room window exploded inward.
CHERRY: DOWN!
A metal object landed on the floor.
Shane stared at it.
SHANE: Is that—
BOOM!
The explosion threw everyone across the room.
Smoke filled the house.
Vince's ears rang.
He pushed himself upright.
VINCE: Mom?!
CHERRY: I'm here!
Growling came from outside.
Many.
JR stood beside Vince.
His golden-yellow eyes appeared.
JR: Please tell me those are dogs.
Ryle's hands erupted with hellfire.
RYLE: Those aren't fucking dogs.
Shane's silver eyes glowed.
Shapes surrounded the house.
One.
Five.
Ten.
More kept appearing.
Vince wiped blood from his lip.
His bright-red eyes ignited.
Cherry stood beside her son.
Her red Alpha eyes burned through the smoke.
Mother and son looked at each other.
Cherry extended her claws.
Vince smiled.
VINCE: Guess we're not cleaning tonight.
Cherry stared at him.
CHERRY: If they destroy my kitchen—
Vince laughed.
VINCE: We'll kill them twice.
The front door exploded inward.
A massive transformed creature charged through.
Vince roared and ran straight toward it.
VINCE: MIDNIGHT HOWLERS!
JR charged beside him.
Ryle became engulfed in hellfire.
Shane grabbed a metal baseball bat.
Cherry began transforming into her massive Evolved Werewolf form.
Outside, dozens of supernatural eyes surrounded the house.
The war had reached their fucking doorstep.
END OF CHAPTER 3