Moonshadow Abyss

The warehouse was silent. Jack's breathing was uneven, his heart pounding erratically, while the mysterious man before him remained calm, a faint smile lingering on his lips as if their hostility didn't concern him at all.

Aisha still had her gun aimed at him, her finger resting lightly on the trigger. Her gaze was cold. "You'd better explain—why do you want to save us?"

The man chuckled softly and slowly raised his hands in a harmless gesture. "'Save' is too heavy a word. I just think it would be a shame if you died at the hands of the werewolf hunters."

"A shame?" Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he casually walked over to an old table, pulled out a chair, and sat down as if he were in his own home. His movements were unhurried, completely at ease.

"Jack." He looked at him and tilted his chin slightly. "Have you ever wondered why they're after you?"

Jack's throat tightened.

This question had been haunting him. He knew he was connected to the recent bizarre murders, knew there was something awakening inside him. But the werewolf hunters—

They didn't just want him dead. They seemed especially interested in him.

"I don't know," Jack said quietly.

The man smiled knowingly, his dark gaze penetrating. "No. You do know, don't you?"

Jack's fingers trembled slightly.

He did have a terrifying suspicion.

He wasn't just an ordinary werewolf.

There was something in him that the werewolf hunters wanted.

The air felt heavier. Aisha turned slightly to glance at Jack, as if waiting for an answer. But Jack remained silent, his heartbeat so fast it felt like the world was shaking.

The man saw his hesitation and smiled faintly before speaking again, his voice slow and deliberate.

"They're not just after your life." His dark eyes gleamed. "They want your blood."

Jack's pupils contracted. "…My blood?"

The man nodded, his gaze assessing, as if looking at something rare and valuable. "Your bloodline… isn't ordinary."

Aisha's grip on the gun tightened slightly, but she didn't lower it. "How do you know that?"

The man tilted his head slightly, his smile never fading. "I know a lot of things."

He paused, his gaze locking onto Jack with quiet intensity. "For example—your bloodline may be far more pure than you realize."

A chill ran down Jack's spine.

Pure? What did that mean?

The man didn't wait for him to ask. He narrowed his eyes and continued in a low voice.

"The werewolf hunters' goal has never been just to kill werewolves." His voice dropped, slow and deliberate. "They want to control them."

Jack's heart skipped a beat.

Control?

His mind flashed with images—the hunters' cold expressions, their precision in tracking, the weapons they used. Silver bullets. Special tranquilizers.

They weren't just hunting werewolves.

They were studying them.

The man leaned forward slightly. "They're searching for a specific kind of bloodline. Something older. Stronger. Primal."

Jack's throat felt tight. "You're saying…"

The man's smile deepened. "Your blood may be exactly what they're looking for."

The weight in the air thickened instantly.

Jack's breathing grew rapid, cold sweat forming on his brow. He wanted to deny it, to say it wasn't possible, but the burning heat in his veins—the uncontrollable instincts—he couldn't.

He knew something was different about him.

And the werewolf hunters… they had known it long before he did.

Aisha's gaze flickered slightly. Her fingers remained on the trigger, but Jack noticed the shift in her expression.

She wasn't just wary anymore.

She was thinking.

Had she… suspected this all along?

Before Jack could sort through his thoughts, the man stood and walked toward them, his smile never wavering. "You have two choices."

Jack clenched his fists.

"One—you keep running until the hunters catch you. Until they drag you back to experiment on you, or simply kill you outright."

Jack's jaw tightened.

"Two…" The man paused, his lips curling slightly. "You come with me."

Jack inhaled deeply, forcing himself to stay calm. "And if we go with you? Where would you take us?"

The man's eyes darkened slightly. He spoke in a low voice.

"To meet the real werewolves."

The air in the warehouse turned ice cold.

The real werewolves?

Jack's pulse quickened.

He knew he wasn't the only werewolf in existence. But if the hunters were so relentless in exterminating them… then how had others survived? Where had they been hiding?

Aisha's expression grew even sharper. She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who are you?"

The man hesitated for a moment before his lips curved into a subtle smirk.

"Elio."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze deep and unreadable.

"I'm one of your kind."

Jack's body tensed instantly.

Aisha's gun stayed raised, but her hesitation was evident.

Elio chuckled softly and spoke again, his voice carrying a quiet weight.

"The hunters won't stop coming for you. And your transformation won't stop either."

"You have to make a choice."

Jack's pulse thundered in his ears. His fingers curled into tight fists, his nails nearly piercing his palms.

Elio's dark eyes locked onto him, his voice a whisper that carried through the heavy air.

"Do you want to remain the prey—or will you become the wolf?"

Silence.

Jack knew.

This choice would change everything.

—Would he keep running?

Or would he embrace what he truly was?