Chapter 157

• Author’s POV
• The surviving Axe Men gang member—bruised, shaken, and still reeling from his near-death encounter with Marcel—raced through the back alleys of the city under the blanket of night. The neon lights above flickered intermittently, painting the damp asphalt in hues of red and blue as if mirroring the panic bleeding into his every step. His mind spun in chaos, heart pounding like a war drum. He had seen death that night—tasted it—and it carried the scent of fangs, fury, and something inhuman.
• When he finally arrived at their hidden base—a crumbling industrial warehouse tucked away behind stacks of forgotten freight containers—he burst into the private quarters of their leader without even knocking.