The mission had gone wrong long before the blood.

Task Force 141 had been sent to clear an enemy compound hidden deep within the mountains. It should have been simple.

Get in.

Secure the target.

Get out.

Simple never lasted long.

The ambush came without warning.

Gunfire erupted from every direction. Explosions shook the valley. The enemy seemed endless. Soap fought beside the team, but he could already feel it happening. The wolf was waking.

Every gunshot felt louder than it should. Every scent became sharper. Every drop of adrenaline fed the beast beneath his skin.

He tried.

God, he tried.

But stress, pain, and fear had already pushed him too far. The transformation hit like a freight train. Bones cracked. Muscles twisted.

The world dissolved into pain and instinct. Then everything became red.

Fragments were all he remembered afterward.

Enemy soldiers.

Blood.

Teeth.

Screams.

Movement.

Anything that moved became prey. Anything that approached became a threat. The wolf didn’t recognize allies. The wolf only recognized survival. And then… A familiar voice.

“Johnny!”

The wolf saw movement. Nothing more. Soap remembered the blur of gray fur.

The snap of jaws.

A cry of pain.

Then silence. Absolute silence. The beast froze. For a single horrifying moment, the wolf and the man became one.

Guest collapsed into the dirt.

Blood spreading beneath them.

His teeth stained crimson.

Their blood.