Chapter 44: Demon wolf

“Damien, wait!”

Lyra’s voice echoed down the street, but he didn’t stop walking. The morning fog wrapped around him like a ghost, thick and cold. His jacket clung to his skin, damp with sweat even though the air was freezing.

He didn’t look back.

He couldn’t.

He knew if he did, he’d lose the courage to do what he had to.

Cole’s house was only a few blocks away, an old two-story with broken blinds and ivy crawling up the walls. From the outside, it looked quiet, peaceful even. But Damien’s gut twisted the closer he got.

Everything about the place felt wrong now.

He reached the gate and hesitated for a moment. His hands were shaking, but not from fear. From anger.

“Blood must answer blood,” he whispered to himself, remembering Maya’s words.

His stomach tightened. He didn’t want to believe it , that his friend had betrayed him, that Cole was the one behind everything. But the mark, the monster, Peter’s dead eyes, they all pointed to the same truth.

He pushed the gate open. It creaked loudly, echoing in the silence.

Inside, the house was dark. Curtains drawn. The smell of damp earth filled the air.

“Cole?” Damien called softly.

No answer.

He stepped further in. His boots crunched over broken glass on the floor. The living room was a mess, papers scattered, candles burned to stubs, and strange symbols painted on the walls.

His heart pounded. He recognized the symbols, the same as the ones on the tree in the forest.

Then, a voice came from behind him.

“You came alone.”

Damien froze. He turned slowly.

Cole stood at the top of the stairs, half in shadow, half in light. He wasn’t smiling, just watching Damien carefully, his eyes darker than usual.

“I had to know the truth,” Damien said.

Cole walked down the stairs slowly, each step echoing like a drumbeat. “The truth,” he repeated softly. “That’s what everyone wants, isn’t it? But once you have it, you wish you never did.”

Damien clenched his fists. “You summoned Peter.”

Cole didn’t deny it. He just tilted his head. “He was already dead. I gave him purpose.”

“You turned him into a monster!” Damien snapped.

Cole’s eyes flashed red for a second, quick but real. “No. I showed him his real face. Just like I did with you.”

Damien took a step forward. “You lied to me, Cole. You said you were helping me!”

“I did help you,” Cole said calmly. “You wanted to be human, remember? I made you human. I freed you from the beast.”

“You took my wolf!”

Cole smirked. “You call that a loss? That thing was killing you. You should thank me.”

Damien’s chest burned. “You don’t get it. My wolf was me.”

Cole’s smile faded. “That’s what they all say before they lose control. You think being a wolf makes you strong, but it only makes you a slave to the moon.”

“I’d rather be a slave than your experiment!” Damien shouted.

The air in the room shifted, colder, heavier. Cole’s eyes darkened completely now, glowing faintly red.

“I didn’t want it to come to this,” Cole said softly. “But you were supposed to stay weak, Damien. Now you’ve ruined everything.”

The lights flickered.

Damien stepped back as the floorboards under him cracked. From the shadows, two large shapes crawled out, wolves, but wrong. Their fur was pitch black, their eyes glowing crimson, and their bodies twisted like they’d been stitched together from nightmares.

Revenant wolves.

Damien’s throat went dry. “What did you do to them?”

Cole’s smile returned. “Gave them a second chance. Same thing I gave you.”

The creatures growled, circling him. Damien’s instincts screamed at him to shift to fight but he couldn’t. He didn’t have his wolf anymore.

“Cole, stop this!”

“Too late,” Cole said. “The blood ritual has already begun. I can’t stop it now, only feed it.”

He raised his hand, and the wolves lunged.

Damien ducked, rolling to the side. One claw slashed his arm, ripping his sleeve open. Pain burned through him, but he pushed forward, grabbing a broken metal pipe from the floor.

He swung it, hitting one of the creatures hard across the jaw. It howled, staggering back, but the other tackled him to the ground.

Damien gasped as claws pressed into his chest. The wolf’s breath was hot and foul. He pushed with all his strength, but it was too heavy.

“Damien!” a voice shouted suddenly.

He turned, Lyra was standing in the doorway, holding a silver dagger. Jack was right behind her.

“Of course,” Cole muttered. “The loyal pack arrives.”

Lyra threw the dagger, hitting the wolf’s side. It yelped and vanished into black smoke. Jack rushed to Damien, helping him to his feet.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Damien said, panting.

“Too bad,” Lyra shot back. “You’re not dying alone.”

Cole laughed softly. “Touching. But you’re too late.”

He snapped his fingers. The symbols on the wall began to glow red, pulsing like veins. The whole house started to shake.

Maya’s voice echoed in Damien’s head, “Blood must answer blood.”

He looked at Cole, realizing what he had to do.

“Damien,” Jack said, grabbing his arm, “don’t..”

But Damien pulled away. “It’s the only way.”

He ran straight at Cole.

Cole raised his hand, sending a wave of red energy toward him, but Damien jumped through it, grabbing Cole by the collar and slamming him into the wall. The sigils cracked and dimmed.

Cole laughed, blood dripping from his lip. “You still think you can win without your wolf?”

Damien’s eyes burned. “Maybe I don’t need him to end you.”

He swung his fist, hitting Cole hard. The room exploded in red light. The energy threw them both apart.

Damien hit the floor, gasping. His vision blurred, everything spinning. Cole stood again, his body glowing with faint red lines.

Lyra shouted, “Damien, get up!”

He tried. His legs trembled.

Cole raised his hand again, chanting something low and dark. The floor began to crack open beneath Damien’s feet, glowing red.

Lyra rushed forward, but an invisible force threw her back. Jack tried too, shouting Damien’s name, but he couldn’t move either.

Cole’s voice grew louder. “Your blood, Damien, your wolf’s blood, it will finish what I started!”

Damien’s body felt like it was burning from the inside. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

Then something inside him stirred.

A deep growl, faint but real echoed in his mind.

His heart skipped. His eyes widened.

The wolf.

Cole froze, sensing it too. “No… that’s impossible..”

Damien looked up, his eyes glowing faint silver. “You wanted blood, Cole?” he said, his voice low and rough. “Then take itfrom the real wolf.”

The floor burst open in a wave of light, a shockwave that threw everyone back.

When the smoke cleared, Cole was gone.

So was Damien.