Night had settled over New Era like a heavy bruise, the sky washed in muted orange from industrial lights as Lucas Kain pulled into the quiet suburban street. The serum still burned in his veins—three full capsules swirling like molten iron beneath his skin. His stomach ached. His shoulders throbbed. But the pain no longer frightened him. It excited him.

  He stepped out of his car and walked toward Dr. Evelyn Cunningham’s front door.

  He knocked once.

  The door opened a crack, revealing her tired face, still framed by late-night reading glasses.

  “Lucas? Do you mind telling me why you’re here at this hour?” she said.

  “I need a moment,” he replied. “And this can’t wait.”

  Reluctance softened into resignation. She opened the door wider. “Fine. Come in.”

  The living room was warm, dim, quiet. A soft lamp illuminated shelves lined with medical journals and framed research accolades. It was the home of someone who valued stability, something Lucas had already abandoned.

  “Drink?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No. Let’s get to it.”

  She crossed her arms. “All right. What is this about?”

  Lucas exhaled, almost theatrically, as if delivering a confession to a priest.

  “I took the serum.”

  Cunningham froze. “…You what?”

  “I ingested it. Three capsules.”

  Her voice rose like a tightening wire. “Lucas, the serum hasn’t gone through a trial phase. It has never touched a human subject. You were explicitly told—”

  “It works,” he cut in sharply. “I am the proof.”

  “That isn’t proof,” she snapped. “That’s recklessness.”

  Lucas reached into the pocket of his hoodie and withdrew a single remaining capsule—glass, cold, glowing faintly red beneath the kitchen light.

  He extended it toward her.

  “Take it.”

  Cunningham recoiled. “Absolutely not.”

  “Why not?” His voice lowered, dark and coaxing. “Think about what we could accomplish. You and I—the ones who usher in the next evolution of Dairfax. No more politics. No more limitations from the board. No more waiting on directives from people who don’t understand power.”

  She said nothing.

  He stepped closer.

  “Imagine it,” Lucas whispered. “Our own army. Enhanced soldiers beyond anything Project Fenrir could have dreamed of. Sheryl Brown as our general. Derek Brown was hunted down and broken. And you… standing beside me. Strong. Ageless. Untouchable.”

  “You’re out of your mind,” she murmured.

  “Maybe,” Lucas said. “But I’m also right.”

  He pressed the capsule into her palm.

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  For a moment, she held it there, trembling with anger and disbelief. Then—with a defiant glare—she unscrewed the cap and swallowed the serum.

  The effect was instant.

  Cunningham dropped to her knees, gasping, clutching at her abdomen as if something were crawling beneath her ribs. Her breaths grew sharp, choked. Her spine arched, fingers digging into the carpet as her muscles spasmed violently.

  Lucas crouched beside her, grinning as her transformation began.

  “There you go,” he whispered. “Fight through it. Embrace it.”

  Her shoulders twisted. Bones cracked—soft at first, then louder. Her jaw trembled as her teeth lengthened into thin, gleaming fangs. Her pupils stretched into golden slits, glowing fiercely through a veil of tears.

  Then suddenly—

  silence.

  Cunningham rose to her feet slowly, steadily, as if carried by some unseen force. The pain drained from her expression, replaced by a calm, predatory exhilaration.

  Her eyes were now brilliant, burning yellow.

  She smiled. A low growl vibrated from her throat.

  Lucas answered her with a growl of his own, his eyes glowing with the same feral brightness. For a moment, the two simply stared at one another, transformed, redefined, remade.

  Without speaking, they stepped outside into the cool night air. Clouds drifted across the moon, but its glow illuminated them like two figures at the beginning of a dark prophecy.

  Standing side by side in the backyard, Lucas tilted his head back.

  Cunningham followed.

  And together, they released their first howl—

  low, powerful, reverberating across the New Era skyline like a war cry.

  A signal that the hierarchy of Dairfax had just shifted.

  Somewhere between fear and fascination, Lucas Kain’s vision for the organization had changed. If they could not control the monsters they created…

  …they would become them.

  And the world would follow.

  Morning sunlight filtered through the tinted windows of the executive wing as Dairfax CEO Dick Rose adjusted the cuffs of his suit jacket. Thursdays were for one-on-one briefings with Lucas Kain, a ritual he insisted on. Nothing moved in Project Resurrection without crossing his desk first. Not officially, anyway.

  A knock tapped once on the door.

  “Come in,” Dick said, expecting the usual punctual update.

  Lucas entered the room with a calm smile, but he was not alone.

  Dr. Victoria Cunningham stepped inside behind him, her expression unreadable.

  Dick blinked. “Morning, Lucas. Why is Dr. Cunningham here?”

  “She’s job shadowing today,” Lucas replied smoothly. “Getting a better understanding of our administrative side.”

  Dick scoffed. “Job shadowing? She is a scientist—a very well-compensated one. Shadowing me is not how you climb ranks in this company. It requires time, work, and discipline. Not shortcuts.”

  “You may be right about that, sir,” Lucas said, closing the office door behind him. “But today, we’re changing things.”

  Dick stared at him. “Changing things? Without my approval? Absolutely not.”

  Lucas stepped closer. Their faces were only inches apart now.

  “That has already been decided,” he said quietly.

  Before Dick could respond, a sharp blur moved beside him.

  Dr. Cunningham’s arm slashed across his face. Her nails tore through flesh like paper. Dick staggered back, hands covering the sudden spill of blood.

  “God no,” he gasped. “Lucas, what have you done to her?”

  Lucas shrugged. “Let’s just say she went through a revival.”

  Dr. Cunningham lifted her gaze. Her irises ignited into a predatory yellow. The low growl rising from her chest did not sound human.

  She seized Dick by the collar with one hand and hurled him across the office. His body crashed into a bookshelf, splintering wood and scattering documents to the floor. He coughed, breath ragged, eyes wide with disbelief.

  “Lucas,” he choked out. “Please. Stop her.”

  “Oh no,” Lucas murmured. “I do not think I will.”

  He strode across the office, grasped Dick by the throat, and lifted him effortlessly into the air. Dick kicked and clawed at Lucas’s wrist, but Lucas’s strength did not budge. His eyes glowed a deeper, hotter yellow as a cruel smile bent the corners of his mouth.

  “You failed this company,” Lucas said calmly. “And you failed me.”

  Dick’s struggles weakened. His breaths became shallow. Then they stopped altogether. Lucas released his grip, letting the CEO’s lifeless body fall to the floor with a dull thud.

  Silence filled the office for a long beat.

  Lucas exhaled slowly. “We will need this cleaned up. I’ll have a few operatives come in shortly. They already know about the changes at the top.”

  Dr. Cunningham wiped a smear of blood from her knuckles, her smile stretching wider as her fangs pressed against her lower lip.

  “This was long overdue,” Lucas continued. “Dairfax needs new leadership.”

  “Indeed, it does,” Dr. Cunningham replied, her voice layered with a subtle growl. “Our time has finally come.”

  Together, they stepped over the fallen CEO as if he were nothing more than discarded paperwork on the floor.

  A new face had risen to the top of Dairfax, whether the corporation wanted it or not.