Evelyn barely drive back to the station. Her hands gripped the wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. Damian Voss knew something—something about her father. He wanted her to know it, wanted to dangle the truth just out of reach.
Her mind replayed his words, over and over.
"Do you know what his last words were?"
That smug smile. That mocking tone.
Voss was taunting her.
But he had made a mistake.
She wasn’t walking away.
She parked outside the station, heart hammering. The confrontation at Voss Enterprises had left her rattled, but she still had unfinished business. Detective Decker. The cop selling them out.
The moment she walked into the station, the noise felt different—forced, unnatural. Officers typed on their computers, chatted in groups, but there was an undercurrent of tension, a shift in the air.
They knew.
Evelyn’s gaze locked onto Decker, standing near the vending machine, sipping coffee like nothing was wrong.
But he was wrong.
She strode toward him, her presence like a storm rolling in. He barely had time to react before she grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall. The entire room fell silent.
“What the hell, Cross?” Decker spluttered, coffee spilling onto his shirt.
“You think I wouldn’t find out?” Evelyn’s voice was low, sharp as a blade. “You’ve been selling information to Voss.”
Decker’s eyes darted around the room. “That’s crazy.”
Evelyn yanked out her phone, shoving the screen in his face. “Then explain these deposits.”
His face went pale.
The room was dead silent now. Harris stepped forward, jaw clenched.
“Cross,” he warned.
But Evelyn didn’t let go.
“You leaked our moves,” she hissed. “Every time we got close, Voss was a step ahead. You’re the reason people are dead.”
Decker’s breathing turned ragged. “I—”
“Save it.” Evelyn released him roughly. “You’re done.”
Harris nodded to two nearby officers. “Cuff him.”
Decker didn’t resist. He didn’t even plead. He just lowered his head, defeated.
But Evelyn didn’t feel victory.
This was just a symptom of the disease.
And the disease was still out there.
Evelyn sat at her desk, scanning through every file, every lead. Decker was in lockup, but the damage was already done. The real problem was Voss.
The bastard had power, money, and protection.
He thought he was untouchable.
And maybe, legally, he was.
So she had to find another way.
Her father had followed the same trail thirty years ago. He had been close—so close that he vanished.
She needed to retrace his steps.
She dug through her father’s old files, reading every note, every detail. One name stood out.
The Red Hollow Club.
A private, exclusive lounge owned by Voss. Her father had gone there the night before he disappeared.
If she wanted answers, she had to go there too.
Evelyn walked through the heavy doors of the club, immediately hit by the scent of expensive liquor and cigar smoke. The place oozed wealth, every patron dressed like they owned the world.
She moved carefully, scanning faces. She didn’t belong here, and they knew it.
A bartender eyed her warily. “You lost?”
“Looking for someone.” She slid a photo onto the bar. “This man ever come here?”
The bartender barely glanced at it. “Don’t know him.”
He was lying.
Evelyn leaned closer. “Try again.”
The bartender hesitated, then flicked his gaze toward the VIP section. “If you’re smart, you’ll walk away.”
Evelyn smirked. “I’m not.”
She pushed past the velvet rope, ignoring the protests of the bouncers.
Inside, the atmosphere was different. Darker. Colder.
And then she saw him.
Damian Voss. Sitting at a private table, swirling a glass of whiskey.
He looked up, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Detective Cross. You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
Evelyn stopped a few feet away. “Where’s my father?”
Voss took a sip, unbothered. “Straight to the point. I like that.”
She clenched her fists. “I’m not playing games.”
“No,” he mused. “You’re trying to solve a puzzle that was never meant to be solved.”
Evelyn stepped closer. “I think you killed him.”
Voss chuckled. “You think so many things, Detective.”
Her blood boiled. “Tell me what happened to him.”
Voss leaned forward, his smile fading. “Why would I do that?”
Evelyn stared at him down, every muscle in her body coiled tight. “Because if you don’t, I’ll make it my life’s mission to destroy you.”
Voss studied her, then sighed. “Your father was a good man. But he got too close to something he didn’t understand.”
A chill ran through her. “And you made sure he disappeared.”
Voss smirked again. “I didn’t have to. It took care of him.”
Evelyn’s pulse quickened. “What?”
Voss stood, straightening his jacket. “Goodbye, Detective.”
Two security guards stepped forward.
She reached for her gun—
The lights flickered.
A scream echoed from the main club floor.
Evelyn turned sharply.
The bouncers outside the VIP lounge were gone. Blood streaked the walls.
Something moved in the shadows.
A growl. Low. Menacing.
Voss sighed. “And here we are.”
Evelyn’s heartbeat thundered. “What the hell is that?”
Voss smiled darkly. “You really should’ve walked away.”
Then the lights died completely.
And the screaming began.
Evelyn didn't remember running, but she did.
Gun in hand, she stumbled through the chaos, her breath sharp, her heartbeat wild. She fired into the dark, hearing a snarl, then silence. Then movement.
A blur of something rushed past her, so fast she barely caught its form.
Another scream. A man thrown across the room like a rag doll.
She turned, and there it was.
A creature.
Its glowing amber eyes locked onto hers. Fur bristled over a massive frame, claws gleaming under the dim light. Blood dripped from its fangs.
Then it lunged.
Evelyn raised her arm to shield herself—
Pain exploded through her wrist as claws ripped into her flesh. She fell back, gasping, gripping the wound.
The world blurred. People were still screaming, running, but her focus was on the thing in front of her.
A werewolf.
It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be real.
But it was.
She forced herself up, stumbling out of the club, pressing a hand to her bleeding arm.
The streets spun.
She had to get to a hospital.
The nurse stared at Evelyn’s wound, her expression unreadable.
“You’re lucky,” she said. “Most don’t make it.”
Evelyn swallowed. “You’ve seen this before?”
The nurse hesitated. “Not officially. But… yes.”
Evelyn gripped the edge of the bed. “Werewolves aren’t real.”
The nurse met her gaze, voice steady.
“They are, Detective. And if you don’t start believing that, you’re already dead.”
Evelyn’s breath caught.
Because deep down, she already knew.
Pain throbbed in Evelyn’s arm, a relentless reminder of the impossible truth. The nurse’s words echoed in her mind."They are, Detective. And if you don’t start believing that, you’re already dead."She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t seeing things. The blood seeping through the hospital bandages proved that. The creature in the Red Hollow Club was real—impossibly fast, impossibly strong. A werewolf.And Damian Voss knew about it.The sterile hospital room felt suffocating. The fluorescent lights buzzed, and the scent of antiseptic burned her nose. She needed answers. She needed to move.Ignoring the nurse’s protests, Evelyn ripped off her IV and stumbled toward the exit. Her head swam, but she pushed through it. She couldn’t afford to rest.The moment she stepped outside, the night felt different—thick with something unseen, something watching.A shiver ran down her spine.She wasn’t alone.Her fingers hovered over her holster as she scanned the parking lot. Empty. Quiet. Too quiet.Then—mo
Evelyn’s heartbeat thundered in her ears as she clutched the evidence in her trembling hands. The photograph of Damian Voss standing over her father’s body burned into her mind.She had spent years chasing shadows, searching for answers that never came. But now, the truth was staring back at her.Voss had killed her father.Her fingers tightened around the old crime scene photo, but something made her pause.A strange feeling crept up her spine.Her eyes flickered back to the grainy surveillance still, scanning every detail. The dim lighting, the position of her father’s lifeless body… and then—Voss.Her breath caught.She grabbed another picture from the pile—one taken recently at a corporate gala.Her stomach dropped.Damian Voss.The same sharp features. The same piercing silver eyes. The same cold expression.Not a single change.Thirty years apart, and he looks the same.Her pulse pounded as she compared the photos side by side. There were no signs of aging—no wrinkles, no gray h
The night air felt heavier than usual as Evelyn stepped out of the station. The streetlights buzzed above, casting pools of dim orange light over the wet pavement. Ramirez was waiting by her car, his face drawn tight. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice low. Evelyn didn’t answer right away. Her mind was still replaying the moment Judge Carter dismissed the case, the moment her boss made it clear—Voss wasn’t just above the law. He owned it. She reached for her keys, but Ramirez caught her wrist. “Evelyn, listen to me. We’re in way too deep.” His voice was urgent now. “If they got to Carter, they can get to anyone. You know what this means, right?” “They already got to the chief,” she said bitterly, yanking her hand free. “That means we’re alone in this.” Ramirez exhaled, glancing around like he expected someone to be watching. Maybe they were. “I don’t know, Cross. Maybe it’s time to let this go.” Evelyn scoffed. “You want to walk away?” “I want to survive,” he shot back. “And
The precinct was colder than usual when Evelyn stepped inside. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as she walked toward her office, her boots echoing against the tiled floor. But the moment she pushed open the door, she froze.A group of detectives stood inside, their expressions unreadable.Captain Harrisp leaned against her desk, arms crossed. His eyes held something she couldn’t quite place—guilt, maybe.“Detective Cross,” he said, his tone clipped. “Hand over everything you have on Damian Voss.”Evelyn’s fingers curled into fists. “Excuse me?”“This is an order. All files, notes—anything related to your investigation into Voss. Effective immediately, you are being reassigned.”A cold weight settled in her stomach. “Reassigned?”Captain Harris didn’t flinch. He reached into his coat and pulled out a document, setting it on the desk.“Harper Town,” he said. “You leave tonight.”Evelyn barely heard the words. Her vision blurred as she read the transfer notice. Harper Town—a quiet c
Across the table, Commissioner Henry Smith, a man known for his good authority, looked like a ghost of himself. His daughter, Isabel Smith, had been taken.The ransom demand had come hours ago—one million dollars in cash, untraceable bills, and no cops—or she died.Evelyn knew better. This wasn’t about money. It never was, not with criminals, this was calculated.She asked the commissioner if he suspected anyone, but he shook his head. "No one," he replied. "My daughter has never caused trouble." Isabel had been taken from her university parking lot in broad daylight. No witnesses, no surveillance footage—too clean. The kidnappers had either planned this for months or had help from someone inside. Commissioner Henry said“Detective Cross,” Henry said. “Find her. No matter the cost.”She nodded, but there was no comfort she could offer. Not yet.Evelyn went to Isabel’s university, weaving through the bustling campus as she searched for anyone who might have answers. She questioned stu
Evelyn’s pulse thrummed in her ears as she left the interrogation room, the weight of the recorder in her pocket pressing against her like an unbearable truth. Commissioner Henry Smith had offered her power and influence—a way out of the tangled mess she found herself in. But she wasn’t that kind of cop.She stepped into the dimly lit hallway, breathing deeply to steady herself. The station felt different tonight—quieter, heavier as if the walls themselves knew what she had uncovered. She barely noticed the figure moving in the shadows until it was too late.A cold hand clamped around her wrist. Before she could react, she was yanked into a dark corridor, her back slamming against the wall. Her instinct kicked in, elbow shooting out, but the grip was unyielding.“Nathan,” she hissed, recognizing his scent before her eyes fully adjusted. It wasn’t just blood and sweat—it was something primal, something that sent a shiver down her spine.His eyes glowed in the darkness, not red with ang
Evelyn did not have time to react when a figure stepped out of the shadows. A woman—tall, sleek, and radiating an aura of cold efficiency. Evelyn stopped in her tracks, keeping her expression neutral."Detective Cross," the woman said smoothly. "You’ve been busy."Evelyn folded her arms. "And you are?"The woman smirked. "Someone who knows when a cop steps too far out of line."Evelyn’s pulse quickened, but she kept her voice even. "If you’re here to threaten me, you’re wasting your time."The woman chuckled, shaking her head. "Threaten? No. I’m here to offer you a choice. That flash drive you’re holding—it’s dangerous. The kind of danger that gets people buried. Hand it over, and you can walk away from this mess with your career and life intact."Evelyn studied her, searching for any hint of hesitation. "And if I don’t?"The woman tilted her head slightly. "Then you become a problem. And problems tend to disappear."Evelyn exhaled slowly, weighing her options. "You work for Henry.""
Evelyn’s breath was steady as she walked away, but her mind was racing. Nathan’s words cut deeper than she cared to admit, but she wouldn’t let it break her. If anything, it fueled her resolve.She couldn’t do this alone. Not anymore.Instead of heading home, she drove straight to a small bar on the outskirts of town, knowing that was her hiding spot. It was the kind of place where people went to be forgotten, where secrets hung in the air like cigarette smoke. She walked in, scanning the room until she found who she was looking for.Mason DeLuca.Former journalist, now an off-the-grid investigator with a reputation for uncovering things that were meant to stay buried. He owed her a favor, and tonight, she was cashing in.Mason raised an eyebrow as she slid into the booth across from him. “Well, well. If it isn’t Detective Cross. You look like hell.”Evelyn didn’t waste time with pleasantries. She pulled out the flash drive and set it on the table between them. “I need this decrypted.
They left just after dawn.Evelyn sat behind the wheel, the sky still bruised with early light, the city shrinking in her rearview. Mason rode shotgun, rifle case across his lap, and Emily was in the backseat, eyes on the road signs as they passed—silent, calculating.The file on Julian was spread open on the dash. Not much to go on. A location. A date. A single line of text:> "Subject J-009 transferred to Hollow Branch—Level Four containment. Status: dormant."Evelyn gripped the wheel tighter. “Dormant doesn’t mean dead.”“Dormant “This is it,” she said. “Hollow Branch. No one’s supposed to know this exists.”They moved on foot, rifles and sidearms ready. The path twisted through pine and stone until the ground gave way to metal—an old freight elevator, overgrown with weeds. Evelyn knelt and wiped the dust off the control panel.“Still powered,” Mason muttered. “Not abandoned.”Evelyn pressed the switch. The elevator dropped with a guttural hum, dragging them into darkness.**They
Evelyn didn’t look back as she slipped out of the precinct’s side exit. Her heart was a drumbeat in her ears, the weight of the placement protocol memo heavy in her pocket. The truth had been hidden in plain sight. Her entire life—a carefully built lie. A tool. A variable in someone else’s equation.She climbed into her car and locked the doors. Her breath fogged the windshield. For a second, she sat frozen. Then she opened her burner phone and dialed the only number that still felt real.“Anika,” she said when the line picked up. “We need to talk. Now.”Twenty minutes later, they met in the dim backroom of a closed diner—off-grid, unmonitored. Evelyn laid out the memo, the photo, the Subject E-113 file. Anika’s eyes scanned the pages with the same horror Evelyn had felt just hours earlier.“This was never about your instincts or your skills,” Anika whispered. “They built you for this.”“They wanted to see if I’d survive the shift,” Evelyn said. “Whatever that means.”Anika looked up,
Evelyn hadn’t planned on going back to her childhood house. She pulled into the driveway alone, gravel crunching under her tires. No one followed. No one knew she was there. The house had sat untouched for years, perched at the edge of a narrow road just outside the city—weathered by time and memory.The door creaked the way it always had, the sound oddly comforting. The front door opened with a familiar groan, and the scent hit her instantly—dust, wood, and something faintly sweet, like old cedar and forgotten things. Nothing had changed.She made her way through the hall, boots echoing against the floorboards, each step guided by muscle memory. Her father’s study was still at the end of the corridor, the same door she wasn’t allowed to open as a child. Now, it was unlocked.She went straight to the filing cabinet in the corner. Beneath a false bottom—exactly where he’d once shown her during a moment of rare honesty—she found the safe. Her fingers hesitated over the keypad, then ente
The car cut through the fog like a blade. Damian didn’t speak, which made Evelyn’s skin itch even more. Silence meant calculation. And Damian Voss was always calculating.“Where are we going?” she snapped, tired of the game.“To a place your mother once begged me never to show you.”That stopped her cold. “Don’t talk about her.”“I’m not the one who brought her back from the dead.”He said it so casually as if the resurrection was part of his daily errands.The car slid to a stop in front of a warehouse cloaked in shadows. Not abandoned—guarded. She saw them in the corners: men who didn’t blink didn’t breathe normally. Wolves in human skin.Damian stepped out. Evelyn followed, hand brushing her holster.Inside, the air shifted. It was colder. Older. The walls were marked with sigils she didn’t recognize, but they burned in her bones like memories she’d never made.They stopped in front of a massive iron door.“She brought you here once,” Damian said. “You just don’t remember.”“I was
Evelyn’s fingers twitched near her weapon.“Is this a joke?” she growled, stepping forward. “Because if it is, you picked the wrong day.”Damian Voss stood just inside the precinct doors, as calm as ever, his tailored coat flaring slightly with the breeze from outside. But it was the woman beside him that made Evelyn’s pulse stumble—a woman with eyes too familiar, a voice too haunting, and a face she hadn’t seen in over a decade.Her mother.Or someone wearing her mother’s face.“I should shoot you where you stand,” Evelyn said, eyes locked on Damian. “You have five seconds to start talking before I forget this is a police station.”Damian raised his hands in mock surrender, smirking. “Now, now, detective. Is that any way to greet an old… ally?”“We were never allies.”“No,” he said coolly, “but the world has changed since Ashgrove. And you’re running out of options.”Evelyn looked past him to the woman—no older than she remembered, but pale, haunted. “You're supposed to be dead.”“I
The cold hit harder here. Not the kind that numbed you—this was the kind that cut, slid beneath the skin, and settled in the bones. Snow stretched endlessly in every direction, broken only by jagged ice ridges and the skeletal remains of old research stations long abandoned to the frost.The Arctic wind howled around them as they stepped out of the hovercraft, their boots crunching onto the frozen earth. Evelyn pulled her hood tighter, eyes narrowing against the blinding white. Ahead, a dark speck loomed—a structure partially embedded into a glacier, half-buried and hidden by decades of ice.Hollowmere’s twin, or maybe its predecessor.“Is that it?” Mason asked, his voice low and tense.Anika checked the tracker. “Coordinates match. That’s where Ward went dark.”Emily didn’t speak, but she moved with purpose, her steps steady despite the terrain. Evelyn stayed close beside her, watching for any signs of tremors or discomfort. They still didn’t know the full effects of the neural impri
A faint sound echoed through the corridor—soft, rhythmic, like breathing. But it wasn’t coming from the pods.Evelyn raised a hand, signaling the others to halt. She tilted her head, listening. The sound came again, this time closer. Not quite footsteps, but not mechanical either. A whisper of something alive.Anika’s grip tightened on her blade. “We’re not alone.”“I know,” Emily whispered, her voice distant. “It’s awake.”They pressed on, past the pod room and into a wider chamber, its ceiling higher and coated with a strange black substance that shimmered in their flashlight beams. The walls were carved with more symbols, deeper this time—as if someone had scratched them in with claws. In the center stood a tall terminal, wrapped in cables that pulsed faintly with a bluish light.Emily walked straight to it.“Wait,” Mason said, stepping forward. “You sure that’s a good idea?”“She called it the Gatekeeper,” Emily replied, placing a hand gently on the terminal. “It doesn’t just stor
The road ended long before they reached it.By the time they climbed the final ridge, the landscape had shifted from forest to frozen silence. Hollowmere was nestled in a valley of snow-dusted rock and frostbitten trees, its entrance so well-hidden that, at first, it felt like they'd been chasing a ghost.Then Evelyn saw the edge of concrete—half-buried, cracked by age but unmistakably deliberate.“Found it,” she murmured.Emily moved beside her, her breath fogging the air. Her eyes locked on the structure like it was a half-remembered dream. “This is it. It’s quieter, but it’s still alive. I can feel it.”Anika crouched near the ground, brushing snow off a rusted panel embedded in the hillside. “There’s no surface access point. No doors. No gates.”“There wouldn’t be,” Mason said. “They built this one to disappear.”Evelyn pulled her scarf tighter around her neck as she stepped forward, scanning the valley’s edge. The cold here was different—metallic, biting like it carried memory in
They emerged from the forest at first light—bruised, breathless, and shaken. Ashgrove was still out there, buried beneath the earth like a sleeping beast. It hadn’t been destroyed. It hadn’t even been wounded. Just… disturbed. And now it knew who they were. Evelyn leaned against a tree, her lungs burning as she tried to calm her racing heart. Behind her, Emily sat on the cold ground, staring back toward the place they’d barely escaped. Anika crouched nearby, already scanning for threats, while Mason stood guard, his gun still gripped tight No one spoke for a moment. But the silence wasn’t comforting—it was waiting. Evelyn finally broke it. “Is everyone okay?” Anika nodded stiffly. “Physically? Sure. Mentally? Ask me tomorrow.” Mason lowered his weapon, his jaw clenched. “We need to move. If they’re tracking us, this clearing’s too exposed.” Evelyn looked at Emily, who hadn’t moved since they got out. Her gaze was distant, but not empty—focused on something none of them could se