Chapter 2
Mark
"So, what are we dealing with?" My voice reverberates through the room, deep and authoritative, silencing the murmur of voices among the employees gathered around the long oak table.
All eyes turn to me, and I know what they see: authority etched into every line of my face, in my steady, unyielding gaze.
Ted, my right-hand man, is the first to speak. The bear shapeshifter crosses his enormous arms, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"It looks like forbidden magic. A necromancer playing god, or perhaps a black witch summoning things she shouldn't." He shakes his head. "I don't know who would be stupid enough, but... it's happening."
"Stupid or desperate." The dry comment comes from Viklaus, a sharp-tongued vampire. His red eyes glow in the soft light of the meeting room. "Creating the undead is a risk. If left unchecked, it can spiral out of control and turn against its creator."
"And yet, it's here, right on our doorstep." I growl, frustration overflowing in every word.
My patience is wearing thin. The sharp slap of my hand against the table echoes through the conference room, a wave of violence that makes the room shake.
The smell of fear, subtle as a wisp, spreads through the air, the tension heavy enough to take your breath away.
The oak table, threatening to split in half, only resists the impact thanks to the protective magic that surrounds it, placed there after a few past incidents.
I take a deep breath, controlling the beast inside me.
"Why so close to our territory?" I walk to the window, crossing my arms, my muscles stretching and contracting. I feel the transformation beginning. "Coincidence, or something more?"
This is the second monster in less than a week to haunt Salem. Four days ago, a ghoul appeared in the cemetery. We managed to intercept it before it claimed more victims, but unfortunately, two humans were not so lucky.
My skin stretches, my muscles bulk up, and a growing heat envelops me. My claws begin to lengthen, black and sharp, lethal, cutting through the air with a low snap. I feel my bones readjusting, my height increasing, the air around me becoming heavier, denser.
My eyes glow with a golden, predatory, lupine hue. The growl that comes from my throat is no longer human.
I struggle to maintain control.
The beast inside me is ready to break out completely, but I don't let it. Not now.
"It could be a new portal where these monsters have been crossing," Jack, the alligator shapeshifter, cuts through the tension. "But that would be unlikely. We haven't seen any signs of it. No energy bursts, no imbalance in the environment."
"Unlikely, but not impossible," I reply, slowly turning to face them. "We need to consider all possibilities. Someone may have created a dome to hide the energy."
"I thought the same thing," Ted agrees.
"Ted, alert the supernatural community," I order. "And inform the mayor that we need to double the sentries in the city and reinforce the monitoring points. I will not allow another attack to catch us off guard."
"Understood." The bear nods, already typing on his laptop.
Viklaus shakes his head sceptically.
"The mayor doesn't care, he's only concerned with the security of his mansion. I doubt he'll release funds for reinforcements without some kind of... mental persuasion."
My jaw tightens, but I don't look away from the vampire.
"It's not a choice, it's a necessity. It's our responsibility to protect the city from supernatural attacks."
A crooked smile appears on Viklaus's lips.
"So, it's official? We're resorting to unconventional methods?"
"If necessary." My voice is cold as steel. "The priority is to keep the city safe. No one, not even the mayor, will get in the way of that."
"Alert and request made, boss," Ted announces. "Now we just need to find out if there's someone behind these apparitions."
I leave the question hanging in the air for a moment, allowing its weight to fall on everyone in the room.
"That's what we're going to find out." My voice reverberates in the silence.
A moment of tension hangs in the air, until Jack tries to ease the pressure with a faint smile as he says:
"At least the extermination of the kappa today was a success; we were quick and left no traces."
The undead kappa...
Remembering that creature makes me clench my fists, my claws piercing my palms.
The monster was relatively small, similar in size to a twelve-year-old child, but its appearance was grotesque and its presence deadly.
Despite its size, it was extremely strong.
With green reptilian skin, cracked turtle shell and rotting flesh, its hands and feet, like those of a frog, had sharp claws at the ends, ready to tear apart anything they touched.
He didn't just kill — he drowned his victims, draining their souls for more power.
His glazed eyes exuded a deep malice, driven only by the desire for destruction and blood, his existence reduced to killing.
I am capable of dealing with monsters on my own; I have never needed reinforcements.
But the kappa was a predator of the lake, a master at hiding in the depths and difficult to lure into a direct confrontation.
Jack, in his alligator form, was the perfect bait — not only for luring the monster out of the water, but for his tough hide, capable of withstanding the attack long enough for me to finish off the creature the moment my claws reached it.
Jack managed to lure the kappa and escaped in time, with a few scrapes that healed in a matter of minutes.
Viklaus, an ancient vampire with powers of mental influence over humans, drove away anyone nearby, ensuring that no one would witness the fight, and if they did, they would forget everything.
When the kappa approached the shore, I went straight for it.
The fight was brutal and quick. In my beast form, I tore its body apart with my bare hands in seconds.
I ripped off its long, scaly arms before it had time to grab me and drag me into the depths.
I didn't hesitate. I tore him apart piece by piece until I reached his rotten heart.
When I crushed it between my fingers, his body disintegrated into a sticky substance, as if his decomposition had been accelerated, erasing any trace of his existence.
I shift my approving gaze from Jack to Viklaus and finally to Ted.
The bear has always been the strategic mind behind everything.
While I lead the battlefield, he makes sure the rest of the operation runs smoothly.
He's the one who keeps the lines of communication open, organises reinforcements and makes decisions behind the scenes.
Without him, nothing would work with the same precision.
"You did a good job," I say to the team, my task force, letting a slight tone of approval slip through. I may be closed off and intimidating, but I always recognise a job well done.
"I think we deserve a celebration, then." Ted flashes that smirk he always has when he's pleased with himself. "Are you coming with us, boss?"
"No." My answer is curt, automatic. I'm not one for socialising, it's not my style. I've always been a recluse, and I see no need to change that now. "But go ahead, have fun."
"No way." Jack laughs. "You deserve to celebrate too."
The looks on the faces of the others in the room begin to align, creating a silent consensus that forces me to give in.
I rub my face, annoyed.
"Let's go to Pandemonium, you like it there," Ted comments.
Like is too strong a word. In fact, there's only one thing that makes me tolerate that place...
"Okay, just one round."
I see my crew smiling, trying to ease the tension of recent events. Danger still watches us, and there is much to do before we discover where these monsters come from. But everyone deserves a rest, and perhaps the tavern is the place for that.
However, as soon as we arrive, the tension only increases. The room falls silent, and all eyes are fixed on me. There is no way to hide the discomfort my presence causes.
That's exactly why I usually keep to myself.
I am a hybrid, the product of a union that produced a freak, as they often whisper behind my back.
I don't belong to any werewolf clan, and the shape-shifters see me as something out of place.
But what really makes them tremble is my power — a phenomenon that few dare to challenge.
I have magic in my veins, with instant recovery abilities and a shield-like protective power that puts me on a level above shape-shifters and werewolves.
I am not like any of them, but they respect me.
In the end, that's what really matters.