Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 63

“Mother…?” Xun was too confused by the words the man muttered to catch the implications. He stumbled closer to the man and fell to his knees.

“You’ve grown strong, son. I’m proud of you.” The words were weak but broke his heart.

“Dad?” The word was choked out. Tears and snot ran down his face, but he wasn’t aware of them. His throat was closed. Blood pounded in his ears and he touched his dad’s face.

It had lines and scars, hiding the smile he remembered. One eye was cloudy, but he could obviously still see out of it.

As he touched his skin, the mummification that had plagued all the other wolves, stopped. His father’s eyes grew round in wonder and he gasped in surprise. Xun pulled back, surprised by his reaction, and saw blood where he had touched. Looking at his hand, he saw that a combination of the blisters popping and the splinters breaking through the skin had caused him to bleed all over his hands. Looking back at his father, he saw the blood being absorbed.

“How?” asked Gerald, kneeling beside him.

“Quick! More blood!” pleaded his father, and Xun didn’t hesitate. He rubbed both his hands all over his father’s face, trailing them down his neck to his ċhėst. The pain in his hands was unbearable, but as his father seemed to gain his strength back, Xun wasn’t about to stop.

As his father gasped in delight, all of them could see his teeth were rearranging themselves. Xun didn’t care. He had no idea what was happening, but wasn’t about to stop. He had lost his father once, and wasn’t going to lose him again.

Gerald grabbed his arm and pulled him away, obviously disturbed, and Xun fought him. When his father chuckled, he managed to jerk free and threw himself at him. Feeling the arms of his dad wrap around him was the best thing in the world.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” whispered his father over and over again in his ear.

“There could be others nearby,” said Byrd in a hollow voice. She still sat by the dried corpse of Theo, not paying any attention to them.

“She’s right. We need to move if you can,” Craig looked at Xun, ignoring his father.

“Xun, I’m sorry for your father, but we need to move.”

Xun looked up at them all, confused. His father was better, what did they mean? His father also had a confused look in his eyes.

“But?” Xun looked at his father, then back at them.

Gerald shook his head and stood up. “We can’t take him with us. He was a monster. This could be a new trap the vampires have thought up. We don’t know if he will turn back into a werewolf again.”

Understanding dawned on him, and he braced himself.

“I will not leave my dad. If you want to leave without us, then go.”

“I can travel with you, son, if I had some clothes?” said he father, looking down at his nȧkėd form. It was still covered in scars, but no longer looked withered and about to mummify.

Gerald looked at the others, and they all moved to the edge of the cliff, leaving them. Xun watched in disbelief. How could they be so cold?

“Byrd, if Theo had lived, would you have left him?” Xun was grasping at straws. He didn’t know the relationship she had with Theo, but didn’t want them to leave them.

She paused as if frozen, not looking at him. Gerald sighed and looked at Craig. There was a silent conversation between their looks, and Xun could only hope it was in his favor.

“Please, Uncle, don’t leave.”

Gerald hung his head. Opening his mouth, Xun knew what was going to come out, and he could feel his heart falling.

“We can wait a few minutes for him to get dressed. If he changes, maybe he’ll be on our side. It would be nice to have an advantage for once.” Craig looked back at Xun and nodded.

Gerald closed his mouth, and nodded as well. Byrd still hadn’t moved. For a moment, Xun wondered if she was about to jump off the cliff. Gerald had the same thought, because he patted her shoulder and pulled her away from the edge.

Pulling out his spare clothes, courtesy of Owen, Xun handed them over. They both began laughing as they realized just how small they looked on him. The waist was almost too small, and the legs stopped just past his knees. He couldn’t get the shirt on at all, so he decided to go without.

As the others waited impatiently near the cliff edge, his father whispered, “I’ll have to work hard to earn their trust, but don’t worry. I’m just so glad the pain is gone. It was horrible!”

“It was so hard, after you left. I thought you were dead all this time. I don’t care if they trust you or not. I’m not losing you again.”

His father smiled at him, but Xun didn’t miss the look of worry that crossed over it as he turned away. Xun wasn’t a child anymore, so the little things that his father may have thought he wouldn’t notice were obvious now.

As he stood to follow his father, his legs buckled. His dad caught him before he hit the ground.

“Are you okay?” his worry was evident as Xun smiled at him.

“I’m exhausted!” He snuggled into his dad’s arms, wanting to return to that time when he was a small boy who could be carried around. Throwing his arms around his neck, he closed his eyes, as the memories he had tried to hold back for so long washed over him.

“Is he okay?” asked Gerald. He sounded closer.

“He’s tired. I’ll carry him for a bit.” His dad’s voice washed over him, mingling with the memories and transitioning into dreams.

As his dad climbed down the rock facing, holding Xun with one arm, the others watched in disbelief. It was obvious he was still a monster, but what kind?