Eva felt them before she saw them. Six distinct presences, moving through the jungle with practiced silence. Two she recognized immediately—one cold, calculated, familiar from the Montana lab. The other, a signature she had only encountered in brief, tense moments, but one she had memorized.
She raised her hand, a sharp, silent command. The group halted instantly, sinking into the cover of broad, dripping leaves.
"Six," Eva whispered, her voice barely audible. "Superior-1. And 328. Four others I don't recognize."
Leo's fists crackled with low, contained energy. "Ambush?"
"If they wanted to ambush us, we wouldn't have sensed them," Derek said quietly, his senses straining. "They're not hiding."
"Then what do they want?" Maya asked, her voice carrying that strange, calm edge that surfaced when the Omega stirred beneath her skin.
Eva made a decision. "We avoid them. Take the eastern ridge, loop around. We don't need another fight."
She began to move, but then she stopped. Her eyes, those mercury-sheened pools that saw more than light, fixed on something in the distance. A plan formed, dangerous and necessary.
"New plan," she said. "Jordan, you take Lily and circle wide. Find a secure position and wait. The rest of us—we go find out why they're here."
Jordan's jaw tightened. His analytical mind immediately flagged the tactical flaws, the elevated risk. But he looked at Lily, who had pressed herself against Eva's side, her blue eyes wide with a fear that had nothing to do with the immediate threat.
"Agreed," he said, his voice steady. "I will ensure her safety."
Lily grabbed Eva's sleeve. "Eva, don't—"
"I'll be fine," Eva said, her voice softening for a fraction of a second. She touched her sister's cheek. "Jordan won't let anything happen to you. I'll be back before you know it."
Lily nodded, but her grip didn't loosen until Eva gently pulled away. Jordan placed a protective hand on Lily's shoulder and guided her into the dense undergrowth, his posture already shifting into full tactical defense mode.
Eva turned to the others. Leo rolled his shoulders, sparks dancing between his knuckles. Derek's skin took on that familiar, stone-like sheen. Maya's eyes flickered—blue, then black, then blue again—before settling on a dangerous, focused calm.
"Let's go," Eva said.
---
They emerged from the treeline into a small, natural clearing. The six figures stood in a loose semicircle, neither aggressive nor retreating. Superior-1's grey mask caught the dappled light, his posture as unreadable as ever. Beside him stood 328, her white mask pristine, her new arm wrapped in fresh bandages from shoulder to wrist. The other four—Superiors 2, 3, 4, and 5, by Eva's count—fanned out behind them, their masks expressionless, their weapons holstered but accessible.
Superior-1 inclined his head slightly. "Eva Rostova. You've grown."
Eva didn't respond. Her stance was balanced, ready.
"Where is Wolfen Welfric?" Superior-1 asked, his modulated voice carrying no urgency, just cold inquiry.
"Go suck an egg," Maya said.
A beat of silence. Even the jungle seemed to pause.
Superior-1 tilted his mask. "Wow, Maya. Valerious. Calm down." His tone was almost conversational, almost human. It was more unsettling than any threat.
"You wanna fight? Then come on. " Leo stepped forward, his biopolymer filaments glowing a deep, angry amber. His voice was a low growl, a challenge thrown like a gauntlet.
Superior-1 raised a placating hand. "No, no. Ironic intent of fighting." He paused, as if searching for the right words. "But she said they are."
He pointed a gloved finger directly at the four Superiors behind him—2, 3, 4, and 5. The implication was clear. They were the threat. They were the ones hunting Wolfen. They were the ones who had sent the boars.
Eva processed this. A faction within the Architects? A power struggle? Or something more complicated, more personal?
Her gaze flicked to 328. The Architect stood perfectly still, her bandaged arm held slightly away from her body, the posture of someone protecting a fresh wound. Through the narrow slit of her white mask, Eva caught a glimpse of something—not malice, not fear. Exhaustion. And something else. A silent, desperate plea.
Superior-1 was lying, or at least, not telling the whole truth. But 328? 328 was here, wounded, standing among enemies who had cut off her arm without hesitation. And she was still standing.
Eva made a judgment. Not of logic, but of instinct. The same instinct that had told her to trust Wolfen when every fact screamed otherwise.
"Wolfen is not here," Eva said, her voice flat. "And even if he was, I wouldn't tell you."
Superior-1 nodded slowly, as if he had expected this answer. "Understood."
He didn't press. He didn't attack. He simply stood there, a grey mask in the green light, and waited.
The tension stretched, a wire pulled taut. Leo's knuckles crackled. Maya's breathing had gone shallow, controlled. Derek's stony form was absolutely still.
Then, Superior-1 spoke again, his voice softer, almost reflective. "You should know. The ones hunting him—they are not like the boars. They do not underestimate. They do not make mistakes. And they have been hunting for a very, very long time."
He turned, a signal to his team. The four Superiors behind him fell into formation. 328 hesitated for a fraction of a second, her bandaged arm twitching, before she too turned to follow.
Eva watched them go, her heart hammering against her ribs. The jungle swallowed the grey masks, the bandages, the unasked questions. They were alone again.
"What the hell was that?" Leo breathed.
"I don't know," Eva said. "But we need to move. Now."
She didn't look back. But she couldn't shake the image of 328's bandaged arm, or the weight of Superior-1's final words. A hunter that never made mistakes. A hunt that had been going on for a very, very long time.
And somewhere, alone in the wilderness, Wolfen Welfric was walking right into their path.