Chapter 72: Safa fear
The house stayed quiet long after the two alphas left.
No one spoke for a while. Everyone sat where they were, trying to process what they had just heard. Doctors turning humans into hybrids. Experiments that crossed lines no one should ever cross. People who were not just dangerous but careful, organized, and hidden.
Maya leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. “So we are dealing with people who make monsters on purpose.”
Hunter stood near the window, arms folded. “They are not monsters to themselves. They think they are building something better.”
“That makes it worse,” Cole said quietly.
Damien sat at the small dining table, his fingers resting flat against the wood. “If these doctors cannot be caught, it means they have protection. Money, power, connections, maybe supernatural help too.”
Silence fell again.
Skye had been dangerous, but Skye had been one creature, driven by instinct and survival. This was different. This was organized. Planned.
Maya exhaled slowly. “So what do we do now.”
Hunter turned to face them. “We prepare.”
“For what,” Cole asked.
“For the fact that this is not over,” Hunter replied. “And it will not stay far from us.”
No one argued.
Later that night, they spread out through the house. Some tried to sleep. Others pretended to. Maya stayed in the kitchen, making tea she barely touched. Damien joined her a few minutes later.
“You should rest,” he said.
“So should you.”
He gave a small smile. “Fair.”
They stood in silence, listening to the quiet hum of the refrigerator and the soft ticking of the wall clock.
“Do you think they will come for us,” Maya asked.
“Eventually,” Damien said honestly. “People like that do not ignore threats. And right now, we are a threat.”
Maya nodded. “I just wanted a normal life.”
“So did I.”
They shared a look before both turned away.
The next morning came too fast.
Hunter gathered everyone in the living room. The early light streamed through the windows, soft but cold.
“We split into teams,” he said. “We search for information. Old records, underground contacts, abandoned labs, anything connected to illegal supernatural research. We stay careful. No solo missions.”
Cole nodded. “I can check the eastern districts. There are a few places with strange activity.”
“I will handle the western side,” Damien said.
Maya hesitated. “What about me.”
Hunter studied her for a moment. “You stay with Safa.”
Safa, who had been standing quietly near the stairs, stiffened slightly.
“I am fine,” she said.
“This is not about strength,” Hunter replied calmly. “It is about visibility. You are new, which makes you unpredictable. That can either protect us or expose us. Until we know more, you and Maya stay together.”
Safa nodded.
They split up soon after.
The city felt tense.
Even though nothing obvious had changed, Maya sensed it in the air. The streets felt louder, sharper. Every stranger looked suspicious. Every shadow seemed to stretch longer.
Safa walked beside her, hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. She kept her head low, her eyes moving constantly.
“You always this alert,” Maya asked.
“I have learned to be,” Safa said.
“From what.”
Safa hesitated. “From surviving.”
They walked in silence after that.
They headed toward a small café where Maya sometimes met contacts who traded in rumors and underground information. The place was quiet, only a few people inside.
Maya ordered two teas. They sat near the back.
After a few minutes, a man approached their table. He was middle-aged, with tired eyes and rough hands.
“You looking for something,” he asked quietly.
“Information,” Maya replied. “About doctors. Illegal experiments. Supernatural ones.”
The man’s expression tightened. “That is not safe ground.”
“I know.”
He glanced at Safa, then back at Maya. “What makes you think I would know anything.”
“You hear things,” Maya said. “And you know who to ask.”
He sighed and sat across from them. “There are rumors. Nothing solid. Labs that disappear overnight. People taken and never seen again. Others who come back changed.”
“Changed how,” Safa asked.
“Different,” he replied. “Stronger. Faster. Some lose control. Some do not. Most do not survive the process.”
Maya’s stomach twisted. “Any locations.”
“None that stay in one place long. They move. Underground tunnels, abandoned factories, old hospitals. They rotate constantly.”
“Names,” Safa asked.
The man shook his head. “No real ones. Just titles. Doctors. Engineers. Alchemists. Some are human. Some are not.”
Maya slid some money across the table. “If you hear anything specific, you contact me.”
He nodded and stood, disappearing back into the café.
Maya exhaled slowly. “That was not comforting.”
“No,” Safa agreed.
They stepped back outside.
Halfway down the street, Safa suddenly stopped.
Maya turned. “What is it.”
“Someone is following us.”
Maya’s pulse jumped. “Are you sure.”
“Yes.”
They kept walking, pretending nothing was wrong. Maya glanced at store windows, catching reflections.
Two figures. Keeping distance. Moving carefully.
“Do we run,” Maya whispered.
“No,” Safa said. “We lead.”
They turned down a quieter street, then another. The footsteps stayed behind them.
Safa slowed, then stopped suddenly.
“Now,” she said.
Maya spun around.
Two men stood a few meters away. Both tall. Both unfamiliar. Their eyes were wrong. Too sharp. Too focused.
“Who sent you,” Safa asked.
One of them smiled. “We are just curious.”
“That is a lie,” Safa replied calmly.
The second man stepped forward. “You should not be asking questions about things that do not concern you.”
Maya felt fear rise in her chest but forced herself to stay still.
“They concern us,” Safa said.
The first man tilted his head. “Then you already know too much.”
Everything happened fast.
The man lunged.
Safa moved instantly, pushing Maya back. Her eyes flashed, just for a second, something inhuman beneath them. She struck the attacker, sending him crashing into a wall.
The second man shifted, his form blurring, bones stretching, claws forming.
Maya stumbled backward, heart racing.
Safa faced him, her body tense.
“I told you to leave,” she said.
He growled and charged.
They collided in the middle of the street. The fight was brutal and fast. Safa was strong, faster than any normal human, but the hybrid was relentless.
Maya backed away, searching for something, anything, to help.
A piece of broken metal lay near a trash bin. She grabbed it, hands shaking.
Safa slammed the creature into the ground. He twisted, slashing her shoulder. Blood appeared instantly.
Maya screamed and ran forward, driving the metal into his side.
He roared, turning toward her.
Before he could reach her, Safa shifted.
Not fully. Just enough.
Her eyes glowed. Her muscles tightened. Her voice dropped into something deeper.
“Stay down,” she ordered.
The hybrid hesitated.
That moment was enough.
Safa struck him hard. He collapsed, unconscious.
Silence fell.
Maya stood frozen, chest heaving.
Safa slowly returned to normal, swaying slightly. She pressed a hand to her bleeding shoulder.
“You are a shapeshifter,” Maya whispered.
Safa closed her eyes. “Yes.”
Maya waited for fear, but it did not come. Only understanding.