The woman's scream echoed through the empty streets of Moon Valley, piercing the quiet night. Jessica's head snapped toward the sound, her enhanced hearing pinpointing its location with an accuracy that still unsettled her, even months after the bite that changed her life.

"This way!" She sprinted down Madison Avenue, her sandals slapping against the pavement. The sound seemed impossibly loud in the stillness, a reminder of how her senses had sharpened since her transformation. Kevin and Salina followed close behind, their footsteps thundering in the darkness. They'd gotten good at this over the past months–following her lead, trusting her instincts. Sometimes Jessica wondered if they missed their old lives, before monsters and magic became their new normal.

Another scream rang out, closer this time, coming from the narrow alley between the Moonbeam Coffee Shop and Chapters & Verses bookstore. Jessica skidded to a halt at the alley's entrance, her breath catching in her throat. The familiar scent of coffee beans and old paper mingled with something else–something ancient and wrong that made her wolf side bristle.

There, illuminated by a flickering streetlight, stood a creature that shouldn't exist. It had the body of a woman wrapped in decaying linen bandages, but its head was distinctly feline–tawny brown fur, pointed ears, and glowing golden eyes that seemed to pierce the darkness. The bandages shifted as it moved, revealing glimpses of desiccated skin beneath. The creature had pinned a woman against the brick wall, its clawed hands gripping her shoulders with unnatural strength.

"Oh my god," Salina whispered, fumbling in her pocket for her spell components. Jessica could hear the quiet tinkle of crystals and herbs, smell the sharp scent of dried sage that her friend always carried. After encountering three monsters, Salina went nowhere without her magical supplies.

The mummy-cat turned toward them, revealing its victim's face. Jessica recognized Mrs. Chen from the pharmacy, her eyes wide with terror. The kind woman who had helped Jessica pick out concealer to hide the wounds from her first cheerleading practice now looked like a porcelain doll in the creature's grasp. Before any of them could move, the creature's jaw unhinged like a snake's, and a ghostly vapor began streaming from Mrs. Chen's mouth into the monster's gaping maw.

"You bitch!" Jessica's shout echoed off the alley walls. Her body was already changing, bones cracking and reforming as fur sprouted across her skin. The transformation was faster now, more controlled than those first terrifying nights after the bite. She no longer fought it–she'd learned to embrace the wolf, to direct its power rather than allow it to consume her. Within seconds, Jessica stood in her white werewolf form in her rippled clothing and her sandals slipped off her transformed feet. She'd have to raid the lost and found again tomorrow, but right now, that was the least of her concerns.

She launched herself at the creature, slamming into its side with enough force to crack ribs–if the thing had any. Mrs. Chen crumpled to the ground, unnaturally still, her skin gray and lifeless. The mummy-cat recovered quickly, spinning to face Jessica with inhuman grace. It hissed, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth that gleamed in the dim light.

"Jessica, be careful!" Kevin called from the alley entrance, where he was checking Mrs. Chen's pulse. His hands trembled slightly as he pressed his fingers to her neck, but his voice was steady. He'd grown so much since that first night they'd faced the supernatural together, no longer the nervous freshman who'd stumbled onto Jessica's secret in his basement.

The creature struck with blinding speed, its claws raking across Jessica's muzzle. Pain exploded behind her eyes, but her werewolf healing was already kicking in, knitting flesh back together. She snapped at the monster's arm, her teeth tearing through ancient bandages that tasted like dust and decay. Something dark and viscous oozed from beneath the wrappings–not blood, but something far older.

The mummy-cat yowled–a sound that was neither human nor animal–and kicked Jessica in the chest with enough force to send her flying. She crashed into a dumpster, leaving a wolf-shaped dent in the metal. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and for a moment, stars danced in her vision. Before she could recover, the creature was on her, pinning her down with a supernatural strength that matched, maybe even exceeded, her own.

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Its jaw unhinged again, blue vapor beginning to stream from Jessica's snout. The sensation was horrible, like her very essence was being pulled out through her nose. Her vision dimmed, the world growing hazy around the edges. She could feel her wolf side weakening, slipping away like water through her fingers.

"Hey, pussy!" Salina's voice cut through the fog. "Try this on for size!"

A blast of purple energy struck the creature's back, illuminating the alley in an otherworldly glow. The mummy-cat released Jessica, whirling to face this new threat. Salina stood her ground, another spell already forming between her hands. Her dark hair whipped around her face, stirred by invisible winds, and her eyes glowed with the same purple light as her magic.

"Fooooool… Your magic is weak againssst me," the creature spoke for the first time, its voice a strange mix of purr and hiss that made Jessica's fur stand on end. It swatted aside Salina's next spell like it was nothing more than an annoying fly, the purple energy dissipating harmlessly against the alley wall.

Jessica struggled to her feet, her legs shaking. The soul-draining attack had left her weaker than she'd like to admit, but she had to help Salina. Stop that thing before it could hurt anyone else. Mrs. Chen's still form lay crumpled nearby, a stark reminder of what was at stake.

The mummy-cat moved faster than Jessica's eye could track, closing the distance to Salina in a heartbeat. It grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the alley wall, holding her there as her feet kicked uselessly in the air. The spell components scattered from Salina's hands, crystals clicking against the pavement like fallen tears.

"Give me your sssssoul," the creature purred, leaning in close to Salina's face. "Your—"

It froze, golden eyes fixed on something behind Jessica. The pressure on Salina's throat vanished as the mummy-cat released her, letting her drop to the ground gasping for air. Jessica could hear her friend's racing heartbeat, the desperate gulps of oxygen.

"Kekara?" The creature's voice had changed, becoming almost human. All the menace had drained away, replaced by something that sounded almost like... longing? "My love, is it truly you?"

Jessica turned to see Kevin backing away, his face pale in the dim light. The mummy-cat stalked toward him with fluid grace, its bandaged arms outstretched. Its entire demeanor had shifted, becoming almost gentle, though no less terrifying for it.

"No," Kevin stammered, "I'm not—"

"After all these centuries," the creature purred, "the gods have returned you to me." Its golden eyes seemed to glow brighter, filled with an ancient hunger that had nothing to do with souls.

Before any of them could react, the mummy-cat grabbed Kevin and pulled him close. Its feline features shifted, becoming more human-like, though still distinctly catlike. Then it pressed its lips against Kevin's in a fierce kiss that made Jessica's stomach twist. She told herself it was just concern for her friend, but the wolf inside her whined with something that felt uncomfortably like jealousy.

Jessica's heart clenched at the sight, a growl rising in her throat. She tensed to spring, but the sound of approaching sirens froze her in place. Red and blue lights flashed at the end of the alley, painting the walls in alternating colors. Someone must have heard the screams–normal people who did not know about the supernatural world that existed alongside their own.

The mummy-cat broke the kiss, its golden eyes fixing on Jessica with an almost amused expression. "Until we meet again, my love," it purred to Kevin, running a clawed finger along his jaw. Then it leaped straight up, scaling the alley wall with impossible agility before vanishing over the rooftop, its bandages fluttering in the night breeze.

"We need to go," Salina croaked, rubbing her bruised throat. "Like, now." Purple sparks still danced around her fingers as she gathered her scattered spell components.

Kevin stood rooted to the spot, his expression dazed. A faint golden glow lingered around his lips, and Jessica could smell something ancient and exotic clinging to him–like sun-baked sand and sacred oils. She padded over to him, bumping his leg with her snout. The contact seemed to snap him out of it.

"Right," he said, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Let's get out of here."

They fled down the opposite end of the alley just as the first police car pulled up to the entrance. Jessica's mind raced as they ran, trying to process what they'd just witnessed. A soul-sucking mummy that was part cat. A monster that thought Kevin was named Kekara. And that kiss... She glanced at Kevin as they ran, noting how he touched his lips absently, that dazed look still in his eyes.

One thing was certain–their quiet senior year had just gotten a lot more complicated. And as they disappeared into the shadows of Moon Valley, Jessica couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of something much bigger than any of them were ready for.

Behind them, in the distance, more sirens wailed as emergency vehicles converged on the alley. Jessica said a silent prayer for Mrs. Chen, hoping the paramedics could help her. But deep down, she knew that whatever the mummy-cat had done to her wasn't something modern medicine could fix. They needed answers–about the creature, about Kekara, about all of it.