Chapter 748: Destroy Ignis

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then Vera scoffed. "Oh, fuck off. That’s complete bullshit."

Patrick barely had time to answer before she rounded on Joseph instead, fury blazing in her eyes. "I told you to bring back Noah. Fucking Noah! And you come back with some infected scum from the street? So how exactly is that my problem?"

Joseph didn’t even say a word and simply reached into his jacket, pulled out a tablet, and activated the screen.

"Because.... " he turned the tablet toward her and pressed play.

The shaky recording showed the bus stop and the crowd watching the altercation between Ken and Noah.

Vera’s jaw tightened as Joseph fast-forwarded the clip, saying, "Watch closely."

The footage jumped to the moment one of the humans in the crowd laughed, cheering Noah on as he attacked Ken.

Joseph slowed it down the moment Noah lunged and sank his teeth into the man’s flesh as he screamed.

He lowered the tablet, saying,

"That is the infected we brought back for you. So yeah, it’s very much your business."

Vera’s expression hardened into a cold scowl, realizing there was no getting out of this.

Or at least, until it hit her.

"If that’s the case," Vera said with a razor-sharp voice, "then Elias needs to explain this."

Patrick looked up sharply. "Excuse me?"

She turned on him. "You’re the one who made the drug. You’re the one who sent Ignis to Noah. So tell me, Patrick, how the hell did it get to this?"

Patrick laughed, harsh and disbelieving. "You’re really doing this?" he snapped. "You’re pushing this on me now? When you knew from the start that the upgraded Ignis was experimental? But guess who didn’t care? Guess who wanted her precious Horsemen no matter the cost?"

Vera exploded. "Then why didn’t the others turn out like him?!"

"Because science doesn’t give a shit about your expectations!" Patrick shot back. "Human physiology varies. Metabolic response varies and neural pathways—"

"How does that explain him ripping a werewolf’s heart out and eating it?" Vera screamed.

Patrick stopped mid-rant as something clicked in his head.

"...The others didn’t do that," he muttered.

Vera shook her head, trying to understand him. "Didn’t do what?"

Patrick’s eyes slowly widened as the thought took shape, one that made his skin prickle. "Cannibalism," he said. "None of the others committed cannibalism."

Joseph frowned. "What are you getting at?"

Patrick swallowed. "Werewolves have always been tied closely to their goddess. Blood, soul, and devotion." He looked up, unsettled. "What if Noah killing Ken wasn’t just murder? What if desecrating him by eating his heart crossed the line?"

Vera barked out a laugh. "Oh, now you’re religious?" she scoffed. "Have you completely lost your fucking mind? I’m talking about damage control, and you’re talking about divine punishment?"

Patrick met her glare. "Look around you, Vera. Werewolves are magical creatures. They shift, heal and some have powers. You’re telling me it’s impossible that something answered that act?"

"Enough!"

Moira, their mother, slammed her palm against the table, the crack echoing through the room. "I will not have this family tearing itself apart."

She turned to Patrick, her voice calmer but no less heavy. "Can you fix this?"

Patrick hesitated.

"I honestly don’t know," he admitted. "But maybe. If I have the original infected... "

"Noah," Vera said flatly.

Patrick nodded. "This infection isn’t random. When we looked into the infected, we picked up signal patterns, neural synchronization. He was reacting to something. If not someone. It got me thinking of a hive structure. The infected might have low intelligence but they receive direction vividly."

Joseph was dumbfounded. "You’re saying Noah is controlling them."

"Or influencing them," Patrick said. "If we get him alive, I might be able to reverse-engineer the process."

"So you’re saying there might be an antidote for this." Vera looked hopeful.

Patrick exhaled through his nose, already tired. "You’re misquoting me again, Vera. I said there might be a chance. That’s not a guarantee."

"But you’re Patrick," she pressed, her voice softening in that familiar, dangerous way. "You’re capable of anything you set your mind to. The wolves may have their goddess, but those brains of yours?" She tapped her head. "They were touched by God."

Vera breathed in relief. "Then there’s no hitch in our plans." She spoke faster now, excitement building inside of her. "We distribute Ignis as planned. And what better time than now? The city is in chaos. Curfews, fear and confusion." Her eyes gleamed. "We can use this moment to wipe the wolves out once and for all."

"No." Patrick faced her. "That cannot happen, Vera."

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"You’re talking about releasing more Ignis when it already caused this. Our war is against the wolves, not against humans. We might as well drive our kind extinct."

Vera scoffed. "You already said Noah was cursed because he committed cannibalism. So we stop the others from doing the same thing. Simple." She waved a hand dismissively. "And you’re going to reverse-engineer everything once we get Noah, right? So we press forward."

She added. "There are always casualties in war, Patrick. You know that better than anyone. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for and we cannot miss it."

Patrick’s jaw tightened. "I won’t let you do this."

A tense silence fell between them.

Vera’s expression shifted. The warmth drained away, leaving a dangerous glint in her eyes. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?"

Patrick pushed back his chair and stood abruptly. "I’ll destroy them if I have to. I made Ignis after all."

He turned and walked out.

"Patrick!" Vera called after him.

But he didn’t slow or look back.

Vera cursed and chased after him. She caught up and grabbed his arm.

"Don’t be stupid," she snapped.

Patrick spun and shoved her back. "Get out of my way."

The force sent her stumbling, fury exploding through her chest. Just like that, something in Vera snapped.

She reached inside her jacket, movement quick as she drove the blade forward.

Patrick gasped as the knife slid between his ribs, his eyes widening in shock as blood bloomed across his shirt.