The night never ended for Kael Draven — it only shifted shades of red.
The docks still burned behind him, the scent of blood and metal mixing with the oily tang of the river. The Warg's ashes were still cooling when Kael's earpiece crackled alive again.
"Alpha, you need to move," Eryn's voice came through, static-laced and urgent. "Lucien's tech-hounds are sweeping through Westpoint. They're tracking your bio-signature."
Kael wiped a smear of blood off his cheek, the silver flame in his claws dimming out. "Then let them come."
"Don't be a hero," Eryn snapped. "They're not flesh and blood — they're machines with wolf instincts and demon cores. You can't outfight them. You can only outrun them."
Kael smirked faintly. "You always underestimate my talent for bad decisions."
He turned toward the old industrial sector, where the skyline turned to broken smokestacks and drowned streets. The moonlight rippled on the floodwaters that had swallowed half the district.
Behind him, a low, mechanical growl echoed through the ruins.
The hunt had begun.
---
Kael vaulted across a collapsed bridge, boots splashing through knee-deep water as bullets of silver plasma hissed past him. The cyberwolves were relentless — sleek metal bodies with glowing veins of crimson energy, moving like predators born from nightmares.
Each step echoed through the flooded maze. The city's veins pulsed with dying light — neon signs flickering half-submerged, the ghosts of industry watching from shattered windows.
"Selene," Kael growled into his comm, "you still with me?"
Her voice came in tight, controlled. "I've got eyes on you from the relay tower. You've got six on your tail and one flanking from the right — incoming!"
Kael spun, claws igniting mid-motion. The cyberwolf lunged from the side, jaws open in a shriek of static. Kael slammed his fist into its skull — metal shattered, sparks spraying like fireflies.
"Make that five," Selene said.
"Good to know you're counting."
"Just keep moving! You have to reach the relay before dawn or Lucien locks the city grid — if he does, we lose every communication line."
Kael didn't answer. He was already sprinting again, the echo of pursuit growing louder behind him.
The cyberwolves leaped over cars, their claws leaving glowing scorch marks on wet steel. One of them launched a plasma dart — it grazed Kael's shoulder, searing flesh.
He gritted his teeth, ignored the pain, and dove into a maintenance tunnel ahead. The air inside was thick with rust and humidity, his breath clouding in the dark.
He could hear the distant whirring — they were following.
He pushed on, deeper into the underground maze.
---
Above ground, Selene's fingers danced across the holographic controls of the relay interface. Her face was illuminated by blue light, rain streaking the glass walls around her.
She could see Kael's bio-signature pulsing on her display — a single silver dot weaving through red enemy markers.
"Come on, Kael," she whispered. "Don't make me lose you again."
Her system pinged a warning — Lucien's interference code was spreading fast. She didn't have much time to decrypt the lockout.
Then a shadow appeared in the reflection behind her.
She spun, claws half-drawn — but it was Eryn. Soaked, panting, rifle slung across his back.
"Selene. The north approach is gone. They've deployed drones."
Selene's jaw clenched. "Then we hold this tower until Kael gets here."
Eryn looked at her like she was crazy. "We're outnumbered five to one."
Her eyes hardened. "We've been outnumbered since the night Lucien killed the Alpha King."
---
Back in the tunnels, Kael burst through a rusted hatch into open air — only to find himself standing on the edge of a half-flooded factory yard.
The place was a graveyard of machines. Giant cranes leaned like skeletons over black water.
And in the center stood something new.
A towering cyberwolf, twice the size of the others, its eyes burning cold blue instead of red. Its body was made from plated obsidian steel, with glowing glyphs etched across its spine.
Kael's lips curled into a grin. "Lucien's favorite toy, huh?"
The beast roared — and the sound wasn't digital. It was alive beneath the metal.
Kael felt it deep in his bones. This one wasn't a machine with wolf instincts. It was a wolf wearing machine armor.
The perfect hybrid.
Kael rolled his shoulders. "Alright then."
He lunged.
The impact cracked concrete. Kael's claws met steel, sparks flaring like lightning. The cyberwolf struck back with terrifying speed, slamming him into a wall hard enough to rattle his ribs.
Kael spat blood and laughed under his breath. "You hit like your master — all metal, no soul."
The wolf charged again, plasma dripping from its fangs. Kael ducked, rolled, and slashed across its neck — tearing through plating and flesh alike. A shriek filled the air, half-human, half-machine.
Kael pressed his attack, claws blazing with silver fire. Each strike tore deeper until the beast finally fell with a thunderous crash, its blue light fading to black.
Kael stood over it, chest heaving, water rippling at his feet.
"Lucien," he muttered, "I'm coming for you."
---
When he finally reached the relay tower, dawn was clawing at the horizon — pale light creeping across the city's corpse.
Selene met him at the door, soaked but unbroken. Her expression shifted between relief and anger.
"You took your time."
Kael gave a tired smirk. "Had to dance with one of Lucien's pets."
Eryn tossed him a dry towel. "You mean that explosion we saw from five blocks away?"
Kael shrugged. "Yeah, that was me."
Selene rolled her eyes. "You're insane."
He looked at her, eyes softer now. "You say that like it's news."
For a moment, silence hung between them — the kind that carried both exhaustion and unspoken fear.
Then Selene turned back to the control panel. "Grid's up. We can finally track Lucien's core base."
Kael's voice dropped low. "Then it's time."
Eryn frowned. "Time for what?"
Kael looked out at the city, bathed in pale light. "To end this hunt."
---
Far away, in a skyscraper fortress where light never reached, Lucien Vargan stood before a wall of holograms. His reflection flickered in the crimson glow of data streams.
The feed from Westpoint played silently — Kael tearing through his cyberwolves, unstoppable, untamed.
Lucien smiled faintly.
"Perfect," he murmured. "The stronger you get, Kael… the closer you come to breaking."
Behind him, the chamber door opened. A figure stepped out of the shadows — tall, cloaked, and silent.
Lucien turned. "Prepare the serum. It's time the Alpha learned what it means to be moonbound."