The night in New Orleans felt wrong.
Not quiet.
Not peaceful.
Watching.
Adam stood in front of the mirror, unmoving.
His reflection stared back—
…but not quite right.
For a fraction of a second—
His eyes shifted.
Not brown.
Not human.
A faint amber glow flickered… then vanished.
Adam blinked hard.
Gone.
"…I'm losing it," he muttered.
But the lie didn't convince him.
Because the hunger was back.
Stronger.
Darker.
Alive.
He moved to the kitchen.
Opened the fridge.
Food. Water. Juice.
Normal things.
Useless things.
He grabbed an apple—bit into it—
—and instantly spat it out.
Disgust twisted his face.
His body rejected it.
His breathing grew heavier.
His heart pounded—
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Too loud.
Too fast.
Too—
He froze.
Sound.
Outside.
Footsteps.
Voices.
Whispers rising from the street below.
Adam slowly turned toward the window.
"…that's not possible."
Third floor.
Closed windows.
And yet—
He could hear everything.
He stepped closer.
Looked down.
Three men stood beneath a flickering streetlight.
Black clothes.
Still.
Focused.
Dangerous.
Their voices were low—
But to Adam—
Crystal clear.
"…he was injected."
"…doctor didn't make it."
"…we find him before he turns."
Silence.
Then—
"…before he feeds."
Adam's stomach dropped.
They weren't guessing.
They knew.
CRACK.
Adam looked down.
The glass in his hand had shattered.
He hadn't even realized he was holding it.
No pain.
No blood.
Just—
Strength.
Too much of it.
Suddenly—
A violent spike of pain exploded inside his skull.
Adam dropped to his knees.
"AAHH—!"
Images slammed into his mind—
Blood spilling across concrete.
Fangs tearing through flesh.
Screams echoing in darkness.
And something else—
A figure.
Watching him.
Not moving.
Not helping.
Waiting.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
His voice shook the room.
Below—
The three men stopped.
Silence.
Then—
One of them looked up.
And smiled.
"…he's awake."
BANG.
The apartment door shook violently.
Adam's head snapped toward it.
BANG.
The frame cracked.
BANG.
Wood splintered.
They weren't knocking.
They were coming in.
Adam stood slowly.
His breathing changed.
Slower.
Colder.
Controlled.
The fear was gone.
Replaced by something else.
Something worse.
The door exploded inward.
Three men rushed in—
Armed.
Precise.
"DON'T MOVE!"
Too late.
Adam moved.
Not fast—
instant.
He grabbed the first man—
SLAM.
Body crashed into the wall.
The impact alone knocked him out cold.
The second man fired.
Gunshot thundered through the apartment.
But Adam—
Was already gone.
The bullet hit nothing.
"…how—?"
The man turned—
Adam was behind him.
Too close.
Too silent.
Too late.
Adam didn't speak.
He just looked at him.
And in that moment—
His eyes changed.
Amber burned through the darkness.
Cold.
Empty.
Hungry.
The third man stepped back.
Real fear hit his face.
"What the hell are you…?"
Adam tilted his head slightly.
Like he was hearing something far away.
Or something inside himself.
For a second—
Even he didn't know.
Then he answered.
Quiet.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"…I don't know yet."
Then everything broke.
The fight didn't last long.
It didn't need to.
Furniture shattered.
Walls cracked.
Bodies hit the ground—
Hard.
Fast.
Final.
Minutes later—
Silence.
Adam stood in the center of the wreckage.
Breathing slow.
Controlled.
The storm inside him… settling.
But not gone.
Never gone.
He looked at his hands.
They weren't shaking anymore.
That scared him more than anything.
Then—
A sound.
A heartbeat.
Weak.
Behind him.
One of the men was still alive.
Barely.
Bleeding.
Struggling.
Adam froze.
The hunger rose instantly.
Sharp.
Violent.
Unforgiving.
Pulling him closer.
Step…
…by step…
The man tried to crawl away.
"…stay back…"
Adam didn't answer.
His breathing changed again.
Deeper.
Heavier.
Predatory.
His shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor.
Reaching.
Moving—
Before he did.
Adam stopped.
Right above him.
Eyes locked on the blood.
The pulse.
The life.
"Don't feed."
The memory hit him like a blade.
Adam clenched his fists.
Every muscle in his body shaking.
Fighting.
Breaking.
Resisting.
Then—
He stepped back.
The hunger screamed inside him.
But he didn't move.
"…not yet," he whispered.
Outside—
A black car waited in the shadows.
Engine silent.
Watching everything.
Inside—
A man sat calmly.
Eyes fixed on the building.
A faint smile forming.
"Interesting…"
A pause.
Then:
"Prepare the others."
Back in the apartment—
Adam stood alone.
Surrounded by destruction.
Breathing slowly.
Thinking one thing—
For the first time since the injection:
He almost lost control.
And next time—
He might not stop.