Until the Last Hunt
Arc 1 – The Rainy Night
POV: Noah Sterling
11:47 PM
Noah Sterling (RO)
Run....
Noah Sterling (RO)
Don't stop...
Noah Sterling (RO)
please..
(Heavy rain pours over the empty streets.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
Huff... huff ...
Noah Sterling (RO)
"No..."
(His white shirt is stained with blood.)
(A gunshot echoes behind him.)
unknown
"He went this way!"
(Noah stumbles into a narrow alley.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"No... no..."
(His vision begins to blur.)
(His phone vibrates.)
Ava
📞 17 Missed Calls
Ethan
📞 9 Missed Calls
(The phone dies.)
(Lightning flashes.)
(At the end of the street, a small café glows warmly.)
MIDNIGHT BREW
Open until Midnight
Noah Sterling (RO)
"..."
(The lights inside are still on.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Closing time."
(He flips the sign.)
CLOSED
(The bell above the door suddenly rings.)
Ding...
(A soaked young man stumbles inside.)
(Blood drips onto the wooden floor.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...Help..."
(He walks over slowly.)
(Checks for a pulse.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"...Alive."
(Noah's breathing is uneven.)
(Deep knife wound on his side.)
(Bruises on his wrists.)
(Cuts across his hands.)
unknown
"Search every building!"
unknown
"He couldn't have gone far!"
(Headlights sweep across the café windows.)
(Adrian looks toward the door.)
(Then back at the unconscious stranger.)
(His grey eyes remain unreadable.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"...Troublesome."
(He lifts Noah into his arms effortlessly.)
(Carries him upstairs to his apartment above the café.)
Upstairs
(Adrian carefully places Noah on the bed.)
(Removes the soaked jacket.)
(Finds another knife hidden inside.)
(He quietly sets the weapon on the bedside table.)
(He cleans the wounds.)
(Disinfects them.)
(Wraps fresh bandages.)
(Outside, sirens fade into the distance.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"...Who are you?"
(He turns off the bedroom light.)
(Only the sound of rain remains.)
The Next Morning
7:12 AM
(Sunlight slips through the curtains.)
(Adrian enters with a glass of water and medicine.)
(The young man is trembling.)
(His cheeks are flushed.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"...A fever."
(He places a hand on Noah's forehead.)
(The warmth is alarming.)
(As Adrian leans closer...)
A delicate fragrance finally reaches him.
Vanilla...
White jasmine...
Soft.
Sweet.
Almost hidden beneath the scent of blood, rain, and antiseptic.
(Adrian's expression doesn't change.)
But for the first time in years...
His Alpha instincts stir.
Adrian cross (DA)
"...An Omega."
(He quietly pulls the blanket higher over Noah's shoulders.)
💥 Cliffhanger
Just as Adrian walks downstairs...
Ding.
The café door opens.
A man in a black suit smiles politely.
"Good morning."
"I'm looking for someone."
"Have you seen a young Omega around here?"
Adrian slowly raises his eyes.
The hunt has already reached his doorstep.
"A Safe Place Isn't Always Safe"
POV: Noah Sterling
7:24 AM
(A dull ache spreads through my body.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"🤔"
(Where... am I?)
(The ceiling is unfamiliar.)
(The room smells faintly of coffee and cedarwood.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"🤔"
(Pain shoots through my side as I try to sit up.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"Tch..."
(Bandages?)
(Someone treated my wounds.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
(Fragments of last night flash through my mind.)
💥 Gunshots.
🌧️ Rain.
🩸 Blood.
A warm light...
A café...
Then...
Nothing.
(Instinct takes over.)
(I quickly reach beneath the pillow.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"😰"
Nothing.
(My knife is gone.)
(The bedroom door opens.)
Click.
(A tall man walks in, carrying a tray.)
A bowl of warm porridge.
A glass of water.
Medicine.
And a cup of black coffee.
Adrian cross (DA)
"You're awake."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"🤕"
(It's him.)
(The café owner.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Can you sit?"
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...I can manage."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I try to stand.)
(Pain explodes through my side.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"Ahhh...!"
Noah Sterling (RO)
(Before I fall...)
A hand catches my arm.
Steady.
Strong.
Adrian cross (DA)
"Don't."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He helps me back onto the bed.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"You lost a lot of blood."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(His voice is calm.)
Too calm.
😳
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...Who are you?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"Adrian Cross."
Adrian cross (DA)
"I own the café downstairs."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"You should've called the police."
Adrian cross (DA)
"I don't like police."
(That's it.)
No explanation.
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He places the tray beside me.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
🫥
(I stare at him.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"Why did you help me?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"You collapsed in my café."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"That's not an answer."
Adrian cross (DA)
"It was enough."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I don't know what to say.)
(He notices my gaze drifting around the room.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Looking for this?"
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He places my knife on the bedside table.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"I cleaned it."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(Who cleans someone else's knife...?)
Adrian cross (DA)
"What happened?"
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I hesitate.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...I was robbed."
(He looks at me for exactly three seconds.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Knife wound."
"Bruised wrists."
"Defensive cuts."
"...And traces of gunpowder."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(My heart stops.)
😟
Adrian cross (DA)
"That's not robbery."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(How...)
(How does a café owner know that?)
Adrian cross (DA)
"You don't have to tell me."
Adrian cross (DA)
"But someone was trying to kill you."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I look away.)
Downstairs
(The bell above the café door rings.)
Ding...
(Adrian glances toward the stairs.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Stay here."
Midnight Brew Café
(Customers begin arriving.)
customer
"Morning, Adrian!"
Adrian cross (DA)
"Morning."
(He prepares coffee with practiced precision.)
(As if last night never happened.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
I quietly move to the window.
(A black sedan pulls up across the street.)
Two men in black suits step out.
(One unfolds a photograph.)
My photograph.
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...They found me."
(Downstairs, the café door opens again.)
(The man places a photograph on the counter.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
It's me.
unknown
"Have you seen this Omega?"
Adrian cross (DA)
(Adrian looks at the picture.)
Then at the man.
Adrian cross (DA)
(The stranger smiles.)
unknown
"...I think you're lying."
(Upstairs, I grip the windowsill.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
(My pulse races.)
Adrian slowly places the cup of espresso on the counter.
His expression never changes.
Adrian cross (DA)
"Drink your coffee."
As the stranger reaches into his coat...
Adrian's eyes sharpen for the first time.
No Place Left to Run
POV: Noah Sterling
9:03 AM
unknown
"... You're protecting him."
Adrian cross (DA)
"You're mistaken."
unknown
"I've been doing this job for fifteen years."
unknown
"I know when someone is lying."
unknown
"I'll give you one warning."
unknown
"If you value your peaceful life..."
unknown
"...stay away from Noah Sterling."
unknown
"Because the next people who come..."
unknown
"...won't bother talking."
(The man leaves.)
Ding...
(The café falls silent.)
Upstairs
(I hear the bell.)
(Then footsteps.)
(The bedroom door opens.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"They're gone."
Adrian cross (DA)
"They know your name."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I lower my head.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...I'm sorry."
Adrian cross (DA)
"For what?"
Noah Sterling (RO)
"I dragged you into this."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He looks at me.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"You didn't."
Adrian cross (DA)
"They walked into my café."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(For some reason...)
(That makes me feel safer.)
(He places another cup of warm tea beside me.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Drink."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...You solve everything with coffee and tea?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"It usually works."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(I can't help it.)
(I laugh.)
(It's the first time I've laughed since Dad...)
(The smile disappears.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He doesn't ask about my father.)
(He doesn't ask about my past.)
(He simply waits.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...I can't stay here."
Adrian cross (DA)
"I know."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"They'll come back."
Adrian cross (DA)
"They will."
Adrian cross (DA)
"Can you walk?"
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...Yes."
One Hour Later
(Black SUV.)
(Rain has stopped.)
(The city slowly disappears behind us.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...Where are we going?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"A safe place."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"Do you have many safe places?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"... Only one."
Two Hours Later
(Concrete roads become dirt paths.)
(Tall pine trees surround us.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
There's nothing here."
Adrian cross (DA)
"Exactly."
(Another fifteen minutes.)
(A hidden iron gate slowly opens.)
(Beyond it...)
A beautiful wooden cabin.
Hidden deep inside the forest.
A small lake.
A vegetable garden.
A greenhouse.
A quiet life untouched by the outside world.
Noah Sterling (RO)
"... You live here?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"Sometimes."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(It doesn't feel like a hideout.)
(It feels like a home.)
Evening
(The forest is quiet.)
(A cool breeze drifts through the open window.)
(Noah sits on the wooden porch, staring at the lake.)
For the first time in two days...
There are no sirens.
No footsteps.
No gunshots.
Just silence.
(He holds out a smartphone.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"... My phone?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"I replaced it."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"... Replaced it?"
Adrian cross (DA)
"Your old one was beyond repair."
(He places the new phone in Noah's hand.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"I transferred everything I could recover."
Noah Sterling (RO)
(Noah blinks in surprise.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"... I thought I dropped it somewhere while running."
Adrian cross (DA)
"You almost did."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"... Thank you."
(Adrian gives a small nod and walks back inside, leaving Noah alone.)
(Noah presses the power button.)
Beep.
The screen lights up.
Immediately...
Notifications begin flooding in.
📞 128 Missed Calls
📱 346 Messages
Ava
35 Missed Calls
Ethan
42 Missed Calls
Chloe
18 Missed Calls
Ben Carter
11 Missed Calls
Noah Sterling (RO)
(He quickly opens Ava's chat.)
Ava
WHERE ARE YOU?!
Please answer your phone!
Noah, I'm begging you!
Don't trust anyone!
(Before he can reply...)
A news notification slides onto the screen.
🔴 BREAKING NEWS
Richard Sterling, Chairman of Sterling Group, Found Murdered.
He scrolls further.
Another headline appears.
🔴 UPDATE
Police Name Noah Sterling as the Prime Suspect in Richard Sterling's Murder.
Authorities have issued a nationwide arrest warrant after security footage allegedly placed Noah Sterling at the crime scene shortly before the murder. Citizens are urged to report any sightings immediately.
(The phone slips from Noah's trembling hands.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...No..."
Noah Sterling (RO)
"I didn't..."
(Adrian steps onto the porch after hearing the sound.)
(He picks up the phone and silently reads the headline.)
(His gaze shifts to Noah.)
Noah Sterling (RO)
"...I swear... I didn't kill my father."
Adrian cross (DA)
"...I believe you."
(Noah slowly looks up, stunned.)
Adrian cross (DA)
"Now tell me everything."
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