CHAPTER 203: New Recruits

CHAPTER 203: New Recruits

The white light was so intense it seemed to cast no shadows. Michael was the first to regain consciousness. He felt the cold floor beneath his back and the unnatural silence enveloping the room. As he struggled to sit up, he saw Selene a few meters away. She was also waking, instinctively bringing a hand to her neck.

"Where are we…?" Michael murmured, his voice still hoarse.

Selene looked around. White walls, white floor, white ceiling. No visible door, no window. Just emptiness.

"This isn't a cell," she said mistrustfully. "It's an observation room."

Before they could say anything more, a faint click resonated in the air. A speaker system activated, and a female voice, firm and serene, filled the room.

"I'm glad to see you're both awake."

Selene clenched her fists.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Show yourself."

The voice let out a brief, controlled laugh.

"My name is Enid Drakewood. And for now, you can consider me your hostess."

Michael stepped forward, though he knew it was useless.

"What do you want from us?"

There was a brief, calculated pause.

"I want you alive," Enid replied. "Protected. And, if you accept my proposal, with a future you currently don't have."

Selene frowned.

"We're not mercenaries. And we don't work for strangers."

"I know," Enid replied. "You're not welcome among your own kind either. Neither lycans nor vampires consider you part of their world. You are anomalies… pieces that no one wants on the board."

Michael clenched his jaw but didn't interrupt her.

"I offer you something different," Enid continued. "Resources, international protection, clean identities, and a place to exist without being hunted. In return, you will work for me."

"Work doing what?" Selene asked, coldly.

Enid's voice grew deeper, more serious.

"The world is not as simple as you think. Ancient things are awakening, secrets buried beneath ice, beneath cities, beneath human history itself. I run a corporation that handles containing, studying, and, when necessary, eliminating those threats."

She paused.

"You are unique. Michael, an impossible hybrid by all known rules. Selene, a warrior with centuries of experience, equally hated and feared. Together, you are valuable. Not just as weapons… but as keys."

Selene exchanged a glance with Michael.

"And if we say no?" she asked.

The answer was immediate.

"Then I'll let you go," Enid said. "But the world out there hasn't changed. You'll still be prey. And others won't be as kind as I am."

Silence filled the room again. Michael took a deep breath.

"I don't trust you," he said.

"I don't expect you to," Enid replied calmly. "I just need you to be smart."

The speakers emitted a faint hum.

"Think it over carefully. This is not an offer that will be repeated."

The communication cut off. Michael and Selene were alone again, surrounded by absolute white, knowing that whether they wanted it or not, their destinies had just become intertwined with something far larger and more dangerous than they imagined.

On the rooftop of Enid Corp, the night wind swept across the concrete like a constant whisper. Grunbak pushed open the metal door and stepped outside with total calm, biting into a green apple. The sky was covered with low clouds, and the city shone below like a living organism.

"I always liked this place," he murmured, taking another step.

"You're still talking to yourself," said a familiar voice.

Grunbak stopped. He smiled with genuine joy.

Darem was sitting on the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the void, watching the city as if there were no danger at all. Grunbak tossed the apple with a casual gesture. Darem caught it effortlessly, without even looking.

"Glad to see you," Grunbak said. "I thought you'd stay hidden a while longer."

"I got bored," Darem replied, taking a bite. "Nothing interesting happens lately."

Grunbak leaned on the railing, looking at the horizon.

"Relax. Soon everything will return to normal. Enid is expendable. Just a temporary piece. When she stops being useful, she'll disappear."

Darem let out a short, dry laugh.

"That's the problem. There's no one interesting to fight. I go to bars, start fights… and it all ends with one punch. No challenge. No excitement." He squeezed the apple hard. "I'm tired of winning without effort."

Grunbak tilted his head, watching him closely.

"Excitement will return," he assured him. "Ancient forces are stirring. When what sleeps awakens, when the pieces fall into place… you'll have more than one worthy rival."

Darem looked up, for the first time with a faint glint in his eyes.

"You'd better be right," he said. "Because if this continues, I'll start looking for fun where it's not convenient."

Silence fell again over the rooftop, while the city continued to pulse beneath them, unaware of what was brewing in the heights.

The night wind blew over the roof of Enid Corp. Grunbak walked toward the exit, adjusting his jacket, while a deep laugh escaped his throat.

Grunbak stopped for a second and looked at him over his shoulder, with a crooked smile.

"I expect a lot from you, Darem. You can't rule the world without a loyal friend. Nothing is achieved alone."

Darem looked up, serious for the first time.

"Then you'd better not be wrong about me."

Grunbak let out a short, satisfied laugh.

"You're the only one I trust."

Without adding anything more, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness inside the building, leaving Darem alone, chewing in silence while the city remained alive beneath his feet.

Enid opened the confinement door with a faint hydraulic hiss. The white room was revealed, illuminated by a cold light that made the eyes burn. Michael and Selene remained sitting against the wall, still tense, alert to every movement.