Nikolai clamped the sides of the bike, his hips leaning slightly against Nikita’s back as they zoomed through the southern district. A trail of neon lights shimmered across the wet roads, chased by a dozen customised cars racing to run them down.

Vrooooom!

Each time they came to a corner, Nikita’s body leaned forward, tilting the bike, causing Nikolai to shake, losing his target.

"Shit!"

’This is too exciting!’

The cold wind soared past his body, digging into his flesh like frigid daggers. His muscles tightened with each slight sway and subtle bump. Forced to use his senses and trust towards Nikita to remain on the bike.

He grasped the borrowed rifle, struggling to keep the aim steady, as powerful updrafts and gravity took control.

Ra-Ta-Ta!

Nikolai squeezed the trigger, firing three shots in a burst.

The silver lights zipped through the air, against the wind, cutting through the current like a knife through tofu.

Deng!

One hit the leading car, bouncing off the window, and the other two shots vanished in a flash of embers.

"Tsk!"

’Again!’

His eyes narrowed as the bike subtly leaned to the left, his centre of gravity dropping as he almost fell. "Damn!" When the bike lowered enough that Nikita’s outstretched knee almost hit the ground, it forced Nikolai to tighten all the muscles in his abdomen, holding himself straight as an intense burn exploded through his stomach.

These were not the movements of a human, but a beast.

Sweat poured from his forehead, his three hearts thundered on to keep his blood flowing while they beat at more than 200BPM.

The world slowed as his pupils dilated.

He stood upright, while the bike leaned to the left, almost scraping his helmet along the ground as gravel flicked against him.

When the cars following entered the long, unrestrained left turn, he held his rifle slightly off target, his brain sizzling as it calculated the angle to kill the gunners hanging from the windows.

A sharp jolt travelled up the inside of his thighs.

All his muscles began to spasm due to a lack of oxygen and blood circulation, which encouraged the spread of lactic acid.

’Now!’

Forcibly ignoring the agonising pain, Nikolai aimed down the simple iron sights.

Ra-Ta-Ta!

Ra-Ta-Ta!

Two bursts, the bullets lancing through four men’s foreheads.

The sudden impact sent the men flying back into the cars, forcing two off the road, crashing into the destroyed buildings with a dense smash.

Even with his desperate use of Obsidian Tide to assist shooting, ten cars remained.

"I don’t think we can return home."

"...!"

Nikolai gasped for air as Nikita tilted the bike back, riding straight. His lungs burned from the extended duration he held his breath. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his limbs, as both his arms and legs became heavier, as if made of jelly or lead.

"Nikita, Faster...!"

"I’m going as fast as I can, Fuck! Can’t you just shoot better?!"

She swore in R-Dialect, her voice shaking slightly.

It would be foolish for them to attempt to return there in this state.

The Volkov Compound would mean circling into the Eastern district, but Nikolai felt that those bastards would likely have another set of cars chasing.

"I’m going South!" Nikita’s voice echoed within his helmet. "Hold on, it’s going to get bumpy!"

She suddenly increased the speed, swaying into a narrow clearing between two fallen buildings while swerving between the debris. Nikolai finally swallowed the trapped air in his throat, taking a narrow path that only a bike could break through.

He gained a momentary breather.

Brrrrrrm!

The exhaust flared with bright flames.

Nikita kicked up the speed, her custom bike built to match a sports car’s.

"Hold tight!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The sudden speed forced Nikolai’s body to lurch forward and back before he loosened his muscles and slid down. "Phew!" He sat with his back against hers, clinging to the bike’s rear chassis to remain seated.

Even a werewolf had its limits.

His stomach churned.

His muscles felt twisted and bruised.

Yet they weren’t even safe.

Nikolai closed his eyes, feeling the bike swerve and shift between the narrow, blocked paths as she zoomed up a broken pillar at high speed.

Woooooosh!

The wind blew across his chest, creating a cold, icy chill that sank into his exposed flesh as the weight of gravity tugged his stomach. He exhaled as the bike flew half a dozen metres between one broken building and another.

Thud!

Skrrrrrrt!

The sound of metal buckling and tyres dragging across concrete screamed through the headset’s speakers.

His body bounced violently as the bike skidded to a stop.

"Shit... this is bad." Nikita’s voice sounded as the engine continued to grumble, their bike now turned to the side as a large, gaping chasm blocked their path.

"Ah, can’t we catch a break?"

Nikolai glanced down, knowing that he might be alright, but it’d likely take hours, if not an entire day, to heal completely.

’I should have listened to Dad about the construction...’

Though they’d fixed the roads leading to the Eastern and Western Districts, the Southern exit leaving S-City still needed some time to recover.

Then he might’ve told her to avoid this passage, instead of trapping them in the place he fought the hell gates a few months earlier. He shifted his gaze to Nikita, who at some point turned to face him, her arms still holding the bike, ready to take off if needed.

"What should we do?" She asked.

There wasn’t any sound of defeat in her voice—she sounded more excited, as if thrilled by the situation.

"That drop is a bit too steep, haha."

Though he wanted to shout and complain, there was also a sense of peace.

Sat on a bike with his wife, atop a fallen high-rise building, looking at the beautiful southern horizon in the middle of the night.

Maybe it was the wine, but the way the faint light from the moon shone on her face, illuminated by the lit helmet, was stunningly beautiful.

"Shall we fight?" He joked.

Her tail fluttered behind her, slapping the bike as she stared at him with bright, big eyes.

"Do you mean it!?"

His chest tightened, fluttering from her lovely reaction.

"Do you really think we can win against them, in the open, with limited weapons...?"

Nikita leaned her head back. She closed her eyes with a faint smile settling on her lips, before she slowly took deep breaths.

"I think we can win, but..." Her sharp golden eyes glanced back at him. "Maybe I am just being conceited, they are much more prepared than we thought."

Nikolai shook his head, slowly removing his helmet.

His wet hair clung to his cheeks as he brushed it back, wiping the lingering sweat before smiling.

"Who cares? I will follow whatever you want to do."

"Even if I want to jump this huge canyon and risk it all?"

He slowly approached Nikita, placing his helmet onto the bike before unfastening hers and tossing it onto the floor. She looked up at him with her lips slightly parted, sweat glistening from her brow and cheeks.

"Would you really do that with our cute girls waiting at home?"

She curled her lips into a distorted frown before pushing out her tongue.

"Bleh! Shut up, I was enjoying the moment with you."

"Hahaha, okay, okay."

The two leaned shoulder to shoulder, their cheeks touching occasionally as the distant sound of engines roared through the Southern District.

Nikita’s sweet scent lingered in the air, soothing his tired body.

"Shall we just fight, as you said?" He asked, leaning closer and letting his lips touch her cheek as he spoke.

She fluttered her lashes, her eyes darting between his face and the chasm.

"Would we be able to win?"

"Of course, this place is like a werewolf’s paradise, look at all the small buildings, openings and various places to hide or jump around."

Her lips curved upward. "They have werewolves too..."

"Haha, woops."

The situation felt a little dire, though he could fight back; the thought froze when his bottomless confidence came short against the advancement of technology.

’To think a simple bullet could counter an ancestor’s powers...’

"Hey, Honey, what about there?"

"Hm?"

Nikita suddenly pointed to a part of the collapsed land to the east.

He followed the finger of Nikita.

There was a fallen building covering the canyon, but the concrete appeared weathered, broken and rather dangerous with huge chunks missing from the framework.

"Do you think you can ride across it?"

To his question, she pouted before poking his chin, "Of course I can! I’ve been riding bikes longer than I thought of riding you!"

"W-What?" Her way of saying it was a bit on the nose.

"I’ve been riding bikes since before I started bleeding once a month! Hmph~ are you impressed now?"

"Yeah, yeah~ stop bragging and let’s get ready."

"Cheeeh.... every time I can do something well, you never let me brag about it."

"I always say you’re good with your mouth—!?"

Before he could finish, she covered his mouth and glared at him. "Shush!"

Nikolai wanted to smile, but couldn’t.

Despite the situation being quite dire, the fact that he could relax so much was all thanks to the woman holding his mouth shut.

He shifted closer and wrapped his arm around her slim waist.

She dropped her hands and stopped fighting, instead staring into his eyes with a dream-like expression, and the wet glisten of her eyes drew him in.

He patted his thigh and asked her a question.

"Wanna ride?"

To which she responded with a blank face and faint smile.

"Anytime, big boy."

In the distance, the sound of footsteps and shouting echoed from within the buildings, their enemies no longer in cars but taking to foot to search.

Her ears flicked the air as she bent down to grab her helmet. When she turned to Nikolai, her eyes had regained their brilliant shine and confidence. She hopped on her bike, kicked the pedal up, and revved her engine.

"I would love to ride you here and now, but let’s head to the safehouse first."