The storm had passed.

  By noon the next day, Bayou Mounds was quiet again, eerily so, as if the city itself was too afraid to ask what had happened.

  At a small diner off Highway 90, the smell of frying bacon and old coffee hung in the air. Derek and Olivia sat across from each other in a booth by the window, still wearing the exhaustion of Everdale like armor they could not remove.

  “All right,” Olivia said with a half smile, stirring her cup. “I guess this is where we say goodbye?”

  Derek shook his head. “Not really. I’ll be around.”

  She chuckled. “You know what? I’m kind of glad you dragged me into this. It was different. Dangerous, but different.”

  “You didn’t have to come along,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she replied, “but someone had to keep you alive.”

  For a moment, the silence between them was almost comfortable.

  “I never asked,” Olivia said. “What are you doing now that you’re out of the Army?”

  “Going back to school,” Derek answered. “BMU’s cybersecurity program.”

  She smirked. “Smart. I’ve got a friend down in Sumlin. A guy named Devin Stone. Might be able to help you out when you graduate. Runs some tactical firm.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You ever think about joining the force?” she teased. “You’ve got the instincts.”

  Derek leaned back, laughing softly. “Nah. With these powers? I think I’m my own department now.”

  She grinned. “If anything like this ever happens again, call me. You’ve got my number.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Roger that.”

  They stood, shared a quick hug, and walked out into the Louisiana sunlight, two survivors trying to remember what normal felt like.

  Later that evening, laughter echoed faintly through Sheryl’s home. She and Karen sat on the couch, a half-finished bottle of wine between them.

  “Werewolves?” Karen said, shaking her head. “Girl, stop it.”

  Sheryl tried to explain the night at the park, the blood, the transformations, but Karen only smirked.

  “You’re saying I turned into some eight-foot monster that kills people?” Karen laughed. “That’s movie stuff.”

  “I’m serious,” Sheryl said quietly.

  Karen waved it off. “Even if it were true, who would believe us? You’re a doctor. I’m a pharmacist. Nobody’s locking us up over a bad dream. Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Sheryl nodded, hiding the weight in her chest.

  Karen shifted topics. “So… Bahamas cruise still on next month?”

  Sheryl smiled faintly. “We’ll have to reschedule.”

  “Why?”

  “Full moon.”

  Karen laughed. “Right. Don’t hurt anybody.”

  In her bedroom, Sheryl kept two calendars. One on the wall. One by her bed. Both are marked with red circles on every full moon for the next year.

  She was not taking chances anymore.

  The following evening, Derek and Sheryl hosted Dr. Marsh for dinner. Candles burned low as the three of them sat at the table, the weight of survival between them.

  “So what’s the verdict?” Derek asked. “Can we ever really be cured?”

  Marsh set his glass down. “No. The serum performed exactly as it was intended to. You can suppress the gene, but you cannot erase it. Not from your bloodline.”

  Sheryl’s voice trembled. “Then what are we?”

  “You’re the perfected result of Project Death Claw,” Marsh said. “You don’t age like humans. You don’t get sick. You heal faster, think faster, feel more. You have the strengths without the natural weaknesses.”

  He studied Sheryl. “You’re forty-two. You look thirty.”

  She glanced down, unsure how to feel about that.

  “The government wanted soldiers,” Marsh continued. “Instead, they created survivors. Evolution by fire.”

  Sheryl nodded slowly. “Evolution has a cost. We’ve already paid too much.”

  Derek crossed his arms. “We’ll live with it. Just promise me if you ever find a cure, anything, you let us know.”

  “You have my word,” Marsh said.

  That night, the moon rose over Bayou Mounds brighter than it had in months.

  On the edge of the city, two shadows stood against the skyline. One massive and furred. The other sleek and leonine.

  The female tilted her head back and released a low, thunderous howl that rolled across the bayou.

  Beside her, the male’s chest swelled. His mane flickered under the moonlight as his roar answered hers, deep and commanding.

  The sound carried for miles. Over water. Through trees. Across the ruins of everything they had lost.

  Together, they were no longer victims.

  They were guardians of the night.

  And as their echoes faded, the world of Bayou Blood fell silent.

  But only for now.

  Bayou Blood: The Awakening. If you enjoyed the journey, ratings and follows on Royal Road help more than you know.