The stolen Uber smelled of cheap air freshener and the copper tang of the driver’s cooling blood. Kimberly gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white, as the radio cut through the static with a high-pitched alert tone.

  "...breaking news out of Bayou Mounds. Authorities have officially named a person of interest in the recent string of brutal homicides. Police are searching for Kimberly Watson, a local zookeeper. Evidence now links Watson to the deaths of Joshua Bronson, Paula Creed, Dale Butler, and the five victims of the Sugar Mills massacre—"

  Kimberly reached out and killed the volume, a jagged, guttural laugh vibrating in her chest.

  "Bring it on," she whispered to the empty car. "I’ll kill every last one of you."

  The dark silhouette of the pines along I-10 began to blur as she pushed the speedometer toward ninety. Then, it happened—the sharp, rhythmic pulse of red and blue light exploded in her rearview mirror. It wasn't Olivia. It wasn't Derek and Sheryl. It was a Louisiana State Trooper, a lone wolf of the law, who had seen a vehicle speeding and thought he was making a routine stop.

  Kimberly didn't pull over. She yanked the wheel to the right, tires screaming as she took Exit 27. The sign for the Folsom Outdoor Park and Forest Area flashed by in a green blur. She hammered the throttle down the service road, leading the cruiser deeper into the shadows of the tree line before finally slamming on the brakes.

  The car skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust and gravel. Behind her, the Trooper pulled up, his spotlight cutting through the dark and washing the interior of Kimberly’s car in a blinding white glare.

  Kimberly didn't reach for her registration. She removed both hands from the wheel and dropped them to her sides, her fingers already twitching. She could hear the Trooper’s boots crunching on the gravel—the rhythmic sound of a man walking toward his own grave.

  Inside her, the Gray Wolf began to surge. Her skin felt too tight, her bones groaning as they began to shift and lengthen. She closed her eyes, listening to the Trooper’s heavy breathing and the faint crackle of his shoulder radio. "Good evening, ma’am. State Trooper Jacob Winston," the officer said, his voice echoing against the dark pines of Exit 27. "I clocked you at eighty-five in a seventy. License and registration, please."

  Kimberly didn't look at him. She stared straight ahead, a terrifyingly calm smile playing on her lips. "Of course, Officer. Let me just... find it."

  She leaned toward the glove compartment, but her hand didn't grab for paper. When she pulled it back, it was no longer human—it was a massive, fur-clad paw tipped with obsidian claws. Before Winston could even reach for his holster, Kimberly drove the claws deep into his abdomen.

  The Trooper collapsed, the sound of his breath leaving him in a ragged gasp. Kimberly’s eyes ignited—a solid, predatory blue. She didn't just kill him; she dismantled him, her claws blurring in the moonlight until the gravel was stained a dark, slick crimson. When the movement stopped, she stood over him, tilted her head back to the night sky, and slowly licked the blood from her lips. She wasn't a zookeeper anymore. She was the Gray Wolf.

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  On I-10, the traffic slowed to a crawl. Olivia’s Dodge Charger idled behind the utility van, her police radio crackling with reports of a crash up ahead.

  "Olivia just texted—it’s a wreck up front," Sheryl said, her eyes scanning the shoulder of the road.

  "Where is she going, Mom?" Derek asked, his grip tightening on the wheel. "She’s cleared out everyone in Bayou Mounds. Who’s left?"

  "It doesn't matter," Sheryl growled, her voice dropping into a low, animalistic rumble. "It ends tonight."

  Suddenly, both Derek and Sheryl froze. Their nostrils flared in unison, catching a sharp, metallic scent cutting through the exhaust fumes.

  "Derek—do you smell that?" Sheryl snapped.

  "I’ve got it. Copper and wet fur," Derek said, his pupils dilating. "Exit 27! She’s there!"

  "Take it now!"

  They roared off the interstate, Olivia’s cruiser tailing them into the Folsom Outdoor Park. The sight that met them was a nightmare: the Trooper’s car, lights still flashing, and the mangled remains of Jacob Winston.

  "She’s here," Olivia whispered, drawing her Glock. "She’s in the trees."

  "Provide rear security, Olivia," Derek commanded, his body already beginning to vibrate with the coming shift. "Mom and I will flesh her out."

  They moved into the woods with silent, tactical efficiency. The flashlight on Olivia’s pistol sliced through the fog until a voice drifted from the three o’clock position—cool, mocking, and utterly hollow.

  "I’m over here. Come and get me."

  Kimberly stood beneath a massive, gnarled oak. Her face was a mask of gore, her blue eyes glowing like twin stars.

  "Kimberly, stop this. It’s over," Olivia shouted, her sights leveled on the monster's chest.

  "Stop? And do what, Olivia?" Kimberly laughed, a jagged sound that set the forest on edge. "Arrest me? Look at me—I’m a freak. Society doesn't have a cage for what I’ve become. There are only two ways this ends: I kill you all, or you put me down. No handcuffs. No trials. Just blood."

  "Kim, we can help," Derek tried, stepping forward.

  "No, you can't," she snapped. "I’ve killed too many. But you know what? It was worth every second."

  "Enough," Sheryl growled, her voice a warning from the gut. "Get back, Olivia!"

  The transformation hit all three at once. Bones snapped and reformed; clothes tore under the pressure of exploding muscle. Olivia dove for cover behind a massive fallen branch as three apex predators emerged in the clearing.

  Kimberly dropped to all fours, growling as she kicked a cloud of sand into the faces of the Browns. She lunged at Sheryl, but Derek was a blur of movement. He caught Kimberly from behind, his massive arms wrapping around her in a brutal back suplex that drove her into the dirt.

  Kimberly shrieked, kicking out with her powerful hind legs to throw him off. She tried to spear him, but Sheryl was already there. The she-wolf tackled her mid-air, pinning her down and driving her claws into Kimberly’s side. Sheryl hoisted the Gray Wolf into the air with both hands and slammed her back down with bone-breaking force.

  Dazed, Kimberly tried to scramble away, but Derek didn't give her the chance. He speared her right in the wound Sheryl had opened. As they hit the ground, Derek drove his claws deep into her chest, his hand closing around her heart and squeezing until it gave way.

  The Gray Wolf’s roar turned into a wet, rattling wheeze.

  Derek pulled his hand back, dripping with black-red blood. Kimberly stumbled, her legs giving out as the blue light in her eyes began to fade. The shift reversed—the fur receded, the claws softened, and the woman, Kimberly Watson, lay dying in the dirt.

  "I didn't want it... to end like this," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "But it felt... so good."

  Her eyes flickered back to a normal, human brown. Then, they closed forever.

  Olivia emerged from the shadows, her face pale. In the distance, the first wail of sirens began to rise. "The police are coming. Go—get out of here now! I'll handle the scene!"

  The two beasts looked at Kimberly one last time, then turned and vanished into the deep forest, leaving Olivia alone with the body of the woman who had terrorized a city just to feel powerful. The Revenge Tour was over.

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