Chapter 4 – The Howl of Brotherhood
The morning air hung heavy and still.
Mist coiled around the tree roots as the four hybrids stepped into the clearing. Their bare feet crushed the damp leaves beneath them, steam rising from their bodies as they completed their transformation.
The leader — Ronan — stood at the front, tall and broad-shouldered, his eyes glowing a violent crimson. Three others flanked him, smaller but radiating raw feral strength.
Blue could feel their presence. It was like standing too close to fire — their scent, their energy, the pull of something ancient in his blood.
Xavier didn't move. His posture was calm, but his aura had changed — the stillness before a storm.
"Ronan," he said flatly.
Ronan smirked, tilting his head. "So, the mighty king remembers his old second."
Xavier's jaw tightened. "You shouldn't be here."
"Oh, I think I should." Ronan stepped closer, the red in his eyes flaring. "It's been sixteen years, X. Sixteen years since you abandoned your throne, your people… me."
He inhaled deeply, the air around him vibrating with the growl that rumbled in his chest.
"I can smell it. That scent… the royal bloodline. Your brat's awakened, hasn't he?"
Blue's heart stopped. He took an instinctive step back, but Xavier raised a hand behind him, wordlessly telling him to stay still.
"Take your outcasts," Xavier said, his voice low and dangerous, "and leave this land. Now."
Ronan laughed — a harsh, bitter sound. "You still think you can command me? After everything you left behind?"
His face twisted with fury. "You're the reason my life turned to ash. You were the only one who ever kept me from tearing the world apart, and when you vanished — when you turned your back on the hybrids — they turned their backs on me!"
He took another step forward, snarling. "They called me the monster. Exiled me like a dog!"
Xavier's tone softened, though his eyes did not. "You are a monster, Ronan. You always were. I just stopped you from showing it."
Ronan's rage exploded. "ENOUGH!"
He roared, his form rippling — bones cracking, muscles swelling. His claws extended, and the three outcasts behind him transformed instantly, snarling beasts with half-human faces and blood-matted fur.
Ronan's voice came out in a growl. "Kill him."
The three hybrids lunged.
The Battle
Xavier moved like lightning.
He unsheathed his blade — a long, curved sword etched with silver runes that pulsed faintly with light. The air split with a single motion, and before the first hybrid even reached him, its head was already rolling across the ground.
Blue's eyes widened. He barely saw it happen — one smooth movement, one breath, one death.
The second came from the left. Xavier pivoted, catching its claws with his blade, twisting, and driving his elbow into its chest. The hybrid let out a guttural scream before Xavier spun and sliced upward, splitting it clean in two.
Blood hit the grass like rain.
The third tried to come from behind. Xavier didn't even look — he turned the blade backward, thrusting it through the creature's heart. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, shaking the trees.
All three bodies fell at once.
Silence returned, heavy and sharp.
Blue's breathing quickened. He had seen power before — his own transformation, his father's speed — but this was something else. Controlled fury. Royal blood. The true king of hybrids.
Ronan stood there, his eyes burning brighter with every heartbeat. "Still fast," he muttered. "Still precise. Still the king."
He cracked his neck, grinning through his rage. "I see you're still in good shape."
Xavier flicked the blood off his blade with a practiced motion. "I am the king, am I not?"
Those words struck Ronan like a blade to the gut. His grin vanished, replaced with pure fury.
He screamed, and the sound was not human. The ground trembled. Birds scattered from the trees. His body twisted, bones snapping, muscles bulging as he gave in to the beast inside.
When he lifted his head again, his eyes glowed like molten fire, his fangs long and dripping. His voice rumbled through the air.
"Then let's see if the king still bleeds!"
He charged.
The Clash
Their collision shook the forest.
Xavier blocked Ronan's first strike — claws against steel — the force sending both of them skidding backward through the dirt.
Blue could barely follow their movements. They blurred in and out of sight, moving faster than any normal eye could track.
Ronan struck again, slashing with both claws, each blow strong enough to shatter stone. Xavier deflected one, sidestepped another, and countered with a blade strike that cut across Ronan's chest. Blood sprayed, but Ronan didn't slow.
He laughed through the pain. "That all you got, Your Majesty?"
Xavier ducked under a swipe, drove his knee into Ronan's ribs, and swung upward — but Ronan caught the blade mid-strike with his clawed hand, stopping it cold.
Their eyes locked.
Old comrades.
Old enemies.
Bound by blood, betrayal, and memory.
Ronan grinned, blood dripping from his mouth. "You can't run from who you are, X. You can hide among the humans, play house with your vampire queen… but the monster in you will always be there."
He shoved forward, throwing Xavier off balance, then slammed his claw into his side, sending him flying into a tree with a thunderous crack.
Blue cried out, taking a step forward — but Xavier's voice cut through the chaos.
"Stay back, Blue!"
He pushed himself up, the wound already beginning to heal, golden light flickering across his veins. His sword glowed brighter now, the runes humming with energy.
Ronan's smirk faltered. "You're still channeling the old blood?"
Xavier raised his blade. "You forget who forged this steel."
He vanished.
In a flash, he appeared behind Ronan — one clean arc of silver cutting through the air. Ronan barely managed to block with his forearm, but the force of the blow sent him crashing backward, tearing through roots and earth.
When he looked down, his arm was half-severed, blood pouring freely.
Xavier stood tall, eyes burning with royal gold. "You should have stayed gone."
Ronan snarled, his voice breaking between beast and man. "You'll regret this. You and your precious half-breed both."
He howled, a sound filled with fury and pain, and the remaining energy around him exploded in a burst of crimson mist.
When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
Only the bodies of the outcasts remained — and Xavier, standing silently amid the carnage, his blade dripping blood onto the forest floor.
Aftermath
Blue stood frozen, his chest tight, every instinct screaming to run, to hide, to understand.
He finally found his voice. "Father… what was that?"
Xavier wiped the blade clean, sliding it back into its sheath. His expression was unreadable.
"That," he said quietly, "was a reminder of the world we left behind."
He turned toward the woods, his eyes still glowing faintly. "And the world that's coming for us."
Blue looked down at his hands — trembling, clawed, caught between human and monster.
He realized, for the first time, that the life he'd known was gone forever.
End of Chapter 5 – The Howl of Brotherhood