The night split open with a roar that wasn't quite human.
Rain hammered down on the rooftop, washing blood into the gutters as Kael stood frozen, staring into the blazing red eyes of the creature before him.
The beast was immense — fur black as oil, muscles rippling beneath torn metal straps. Its claws scraped against the steel as it advanced, steam rising off its body like smoke from hell. The scent hit Kael first — wolf, but wrong. Synthetic. Corrupted.
Selene's whisper barely reached him through the storm.
"Kael… it's him. It's my father."
The hybrid snarled, voice breaking into a guttural growl that echoed across the city skyline. Chains still dangled from its arms, clinking like ghostly bells. Its head tilted, almost as if studying them — then it charged.
Kael met it head-on.
Their collision shook the rooftop. Steel cracked beneath their weight. Kael's claws raked across the beast's chest, sparks flying where flesh met metal plating. The monster responded with a swipe that sent Kael crashing through a ventilation shaft.
Pain lanced through his ribs. He spat blood, pushed up, and growled, the wolf inside him clawing for release.
"Come on, then," Kael hissed, eyes glowing amber. "Let's see what Lucien made you into."
The creature leapt down after him, landing with enough force to buckle the metal. Kael ducked beneath another swing, countering with a knee to its gut and a brutal slash across its side. Black blood spattered the floor, hissing as it hit the rain.
For a second, Kael saw the flicker of something human in those red eyes — confusion, pain — and then it was gone.
---
Above, Selene screamed, "Stop! Please, both of you!"
Her voice cracked through the storm, desperate. She climbed down, slipping on the wet steel, her hands trembling. "Father, it's me! It's Selene!"
The creature paused, head turning slightly. Kael took the chance to retreat a few steps, chest heaving.
Selene moved closer. "They told me you were dead. But you're alive. You can fight this. You don't have to—"
The beast roared, shaking the entire roof, and swung its arm. The blow caught Selene across the shoulder, sending her sprawling. Kael's world went red.
He lunged.
In a blur of motion, Kael's claws found the creature's neck, shoving it backward against a turbine. Metal bent under the impact.
"You don't touch her!" Kael bellowed, his voice part snarl, part man. "Not even once!"
The monster responded with a roar so loud it rattled the windows of the surrounding towers. It seized Kael by the throat and hurled him across the rooftop. Kael crashed into a concrete barrier, bones cracking audibly — but he didn't stay down. He rose, blood dripping from his lip, muscles coiled like a storm waiting to break.
"Lucien turned you into a weapon," he spat. "But I'll be damned if I let him use you to destroy her too."
He sprinted forward again, shifting mid-stride — fur bursting through his skin, eyes blazing gold. The wolf inside him answered the call with a savage howl.
Two beasts collided — flesh, fang, and fury.
They tore across the rooftop, ripping through vents and antennas, each blow echoing like thunder. Kael ducked beneath a swing and drove his claws deep into the creature's abdomen. The beast howled, backhanding him so hard Kael hit the edge of the roof, sliding dangerously close to the drop.
---
Selene crawled to her feet, clutching her shoulder. Blood ran down her arm. "Kael! Don't kill him!"
Kael didn't answer. Couldn't. The beast inside him had taken over now, feeding on rage and pain. His world was nothing but the heartbeat in his ears and the shadow of the creature before him.
He charged again — faster, meaner. The hybrid tried to block, but Kael was already behind it, slashing deep into its spine. The monster howled, staggering forward. Lightning flashed — for a split second, Kael saw a human face flicker through the beast's features. A man's eyes. Sad. Apologetic.
Then it was gone again.
The creature swung its clawed hand and caught Kael across the face, sending him spinning. Kael landed hard, skidding across the wet roof. Pain burned through his jaw. He forced himself up, chest heaving, dripping rain and blood.
A voice crackled through the storm — Lucien's.
> "Magnificent, isn't it? The perfect fusion of wolf and man. Your rage, Kael… his design. My creation."
Kael looked up, eyes narrowing. The sound was coming from the hovering drone above — Lucien's cold smirk flickering on its screen.
> "I told you we'd change the world together," Lucien said. "You just refused to be part of it. But don't worry — you still will. Once your DNA joins his, we'll have perfection."
Kael growled. "You're not a god, Lucien."
> "No," Lucien said, voice dripping with arrogance. "I'm something better — evolution."
The drone exploded as Kael hurled a piece of rebar straight through it.
He turned back to the creature, panting, barely holding himself together. "You're not his weapon," Kael said hoarsely. "You're still Selene's father. Fight it!"
The beast staggered, snarling. Its claws trembled mid-air. Then, for the briefest moment, its red eyes flickered gold.
"Sel…ene…" it rasped, the sound like stones grinding.
Selene rushed forward. "Yes! It's me, Father! Please—"
The monster convulsed. Veins bulged, muscles spasming violently. Lucien's experiments were tearing him apart from the inside. He let out one final, tortured roar — then lunged again, blindly, driven by pain more than thought.
Kael caught him mid-charge. They wrestled near the edge, claws locked, breath steaming in the cold rain. The roof crumbled beneath their feet.
Kael knew what he had to do.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and with a final surge, he drove his claws through the creature's chest.
The hybrid shuddered — then went still.
Selene screamed, running forward as Kael let the body fall to the rooftop, rain already washing the black blood away. She dropped to her knees beside it, her tears mixing with the storm.
Kael stood there, chest heaving, eyes dimming from gold to grey. He turned away, shame etched deep in every line of his face.
"He was gone already," he said quietly. "Lucien killed him long before tonight."
Selene didn't answer. Her hand rested on the creature's face — and as the transformation faded, the beast's features softened into something tragically human.
Her father's face.
Kael clenched his fists, forcing back the rage and guilt clawing at his chest. Above them, distant thunder rolled, echoing like a drum of war.
He looked up at the dark sky. "Lucien," he growled, voice breaking into a snarl, "I swear by the moon that you'll pay for this."
Lightning flashed, illuminating his face — a man caught between grief and fury, and a wolf ready for vengeance.
Selene rose slowly, eyes still wet but burning with something new — resolve. "Then we hunt him down," she said softly. "Together."
Kael nodded. "Together."
And beneath the cold rain, the two of them stood over the fallen body of the man Lucien had twisted — a silent vow hanging in the air between them,
heavy as the storm itself.