Chapter 5: Kings and Fathers

Kane:

After our little venture to Chaze’s nightclub, I met up with Kyle when he called me and said he was done. He reported that the Ruby Wolf Pack were pretty much done for. Only about fifteen to twenty members were left alive. They were all captured and taken to the opera house. Since he finished so quickly I had him meet me at our favorite cafe for a quick bite. We talked and laughed about his little fight with Benson.  We didn’t stay there long and soon arrived at the opera house. The moment we entered the theater we slowed our pace down as two figures stood with their backs to us. The first figure was undoubtedly my father. The second figure was a large man with no shirt on. It took me a moment but I quickly figured out who this giant of a man was.

“Ah, my son, Kane.” My father started as he heard us coming towards them. The other man turned around and confirmed it. This was Chaze’s father, one of the three lords of the Dragon Tribe.

“What are you doing here, father. I didn’t see your limo parked out front.” I wasn’t in the mood for his games. I could tell by the tone of his voice he supected foul play here. Always thinking that someone was out to betray him… He wasn’t wrong, he just could never prove it.

“Teleportation magic, my son. I sent for my limo to meet me here once I realized there wasn’t a threat on your life. I’m glad to see you’re well. As it seems, you weren't in any danger to begin with. We heard the vampire tribe attacked Chaze and some girl he's been dating. Along with a raid of sorts at his club house. Your name kept popping up as well so I wasn’t sure what was going on… And here I was, worried about you, for nothing.”

“A touching sentiment father but your concerns only confirm your doubts about my power. I remember telling you to never doubt me, father.” I’m not in the mood to deal with this man’s bull shit. However, we did just attack the ruby wolf pack so, it wasn’t surprising that he would catch wind of it. I’m just annoyed that he found out this quickly.

“And I thought I told you keeping secrets from me wasn’t in everyone’s best interest, son.”

“You’re only here because you fear the woman in charge of the Chimera tribe! You know she favors Chaze above all of us! So save it, father! I don’t have time for this and you’re interrupting something very important.”

“Well then, excuse the shit out of me!” He roared as his eyes began to glow purple. Before I could react his expression quickly changed as he fixed his gaze upon Kyle.

“My boy… My dear, brave boy… You're a vampire!” He nearly shouted with glee. I looked at Kyle and noticed his eyes were glowing blood red. I sighed and rolled my eyes. My father always favored Kyle over me. I swear he wishes he could switch me out with him. This is why my plan to kill the old man will work perfectly. He’ll never expect Kyle to betray.

“But Kyle, you’re his right hand, his beta, his protector and guide! When did you become a vampire?”

“Look, father, it’s a really long story and we don’t have time for it so please, leave us alone so we may get some work done.”

“No, not a chance. I want to hear something! My pride and joy was working with one of the smartest double agents, and you’re just going to kick me out without explaining the happenings of all this! No, give me something to leave with!” By the gods was he annoying and stubborn! I growled as my very thin rope was about to snap. Luckily Kyle interrupted quickly before I could shout the insult I had lined up.

“It's somewhat of a love affair, sir.” This is why we’re both great at what we do. Kyle lines up the shot and I take it. He presented something for me to build on that would diffuse this situation and still keep the old bastard in the dark.

“Kyle fell in love with one of the ruby wolf pack members. He didn’t mean to but outside of our shifter lives they met up. You know, when we would perform at concerts… Because we’re in a band… Father.” The more I spoke the more he looked confused. He always forgets I’m in competition with Chaze’s band. His face soon lit up as he snapped his fingers and nearly shouted.

“Red Moon Melody, right!” That was more than an insult. I could tell he did that on purpose. I swear at times I didn’t know if he hated me or loved me. It's those damn human meds he keeps taking. They do strange things to a shifter’s mind.

“No, father... That’s Chaze’s band.”

“Bah, his band is better anyways… Now, Kyle, if you were running Kane’s band you’d make it rock hard, yeah!” I palmed my face as Kyle chuckled a bit from his comment. This was dragging too long and I needed to end it quickly.

“This love affair got too serious and Chaze didn’t agree with it so a feud erupted and Kyle went to raid the ruby wolf packs. While doing that Chaze and Kyle came to an agreement and would settle this once and for all in a battle.”

“So, my son is safe, yah?” Caesar’s russian accent was heavy, and scary. Just his presence alone would frighten any normal person.

“Yes, Lord Caesar. Chaze is here. He has been here the whole time the raid was going on.”

“Good, then I’m satisfied. Let's go, Lero. We have business to finish talking.” My dad simply nodded his head but remained where he was while Caesar took a few steps towards the exit.

“In a minute, my friend. I want to know why you two left if Chaze was here the whole time.”

“Because Benson showed up…” Kyle’s voice deepened as his anger was returning. The thought of Benson and Shela together boiled his blood. This no doubt confused my father but he let Kyle finish speaking.

“I didn’t send the raid because of Chaze… I sent the raid because Benson was having sex with my girl… So I went there myself and had Kane joy me so he could stop me if I tried to do anything too out of line.”

“I see… Like father, like son… Nicolas was the same way, dirty bastard… But what about this battle against Chaze and Kyle?”

“It's not that type of battle, father… It's a rock band battle… To blow some steam off after these current events.” I informed him. He still gave us a questioning look as if he didn’t believe us.

“Five songs each, two original and three covers. The band that wins gets money, glory, and all the spoils that come with it.” Chaze’s voice came from the stairs leading down to the main entrance. He smirked as if he just did something really cool. For once, I’d have to agree. His eavesdropping paid off this time and managed to save our hide. The fact that me and Kyle were bullshitting this whole time and Chaze jumped right on board with it was pretty damn cool indeed. Well, for the most part we were lying. There was a lot of truth within our story, which made it more believable.

“Son! You ARE here, good for you, eh!” His dad boomed with his powerful voice. At this point Chaze felt embarrassed. Even more so with his dad’s arms opened wide while walking towards him. He picked up Chaze and nearly squeezed the life out of him before dropping him back to his feet. Chaze coughed a bit and smiled as he and his dad began talking and catching up.

“A rock band battle… Well, you have fun with that, Kane. I have important matters to tend to.” And just like that, the crazy went out the window and the seriousness reentered my father.

“Kane, please be careful. Benson isn’t someone you want to be missing with.” Caesar spoke to me in Russian as my father was walking away. He stopped walking when he heard him speaking Russian.

“Tell me what you know. I’m sure you’re aware of his true plan.” I replied back in his native tongue. This way my father wouldn't have a clue on what we were talking about.

“I don’t know anymore than this. He seeks the Chimera power because he wishes to use it against someone. Who and why is a mystery to me. However, there is a rogue Chimera hidden amongst one of the tribes. Perhaps he has some business to settle with that monster.” This was information I pretty much knew. It helped confirm it and put a bigger spotlight on it.

“Oh, and before you deal with the Chimera business, kill your father first.”

“You know about my plan to take over the tribe?” I wasn’t about to ask him how he knew, just curious on why he knew.

“Yeah, it was of interest to me. I’ll lend you my support when the time comes… Don’t forget, this piece of shit tried to kill me because he couldn’t keep that bitch on a leash… No offense to you Kane, after all she is your mother…”

“None taken, Lord Caesar. She is also on my list to deal with. I’m sure I’ll have your support in dealing with her as well.”

“But of course… Now, I take my leave. Good luck.” I simply waved to him as he beckoned my father to follow him out. I knew he was confused and pissed off that he couldn’t understand us. Either way, he was leaving and that's all that mattered. I’m sure my father will bring this up later but nothing will come of it.

“What the hell was that?” Chaze asked as he joined me and Kyle.

“Confirmation, and friendly advice… Now, about this concert.” The three of us looked at each other and suddenly started laughing.

“You guys are the best, you know that!” Chaze commented as he hugged both me and Kyle. We chuckled a bit and pushed him off while poking fun at him for being so sentimental.

“Now, what should we do with Benson?” I asked as we all became serious. Chaze simply shrugged as Kyle just tightened his fists.

“Well, you know Ruby is going to want to see him. It won't take her long to find out he is here.” Chaze started off with a disappointing look.

“And she won’t take it lightly that most of her tribe was killed by vampires. She just joined them and most of her friends are dead now. Friends she had before stepping into this shapeshifter life.” Kyle made a good point. This was going to be a lot for her to take in, and we needed her focused for her training.

“The real deal breaker here is telling her that Benson was cheating on her with Shela.” I added, to which Chaze’s mouth dropped open with disbelief.

“One of my vampire spies confirmed it… Trust me, I’m not too happy about it either.” 

“Ah man, sorry Kyle…” Chaze comments as he patted Kyle’s shoulder out of sympathy.

“She's going to lose it. You should have seen her tackle Kane to the floor when we were just speculating Benson’s business with Shela.” Kyle chuckled as he looked at me with a weird expression when Chaze told him that.

“You got bodied by little Ruby?”

“Alright, enough mocking, let's stay focused here.” I nudged Kyle hard for his comment as I smirked while he was laughing. We all settled down and once again focused on the situation at hand.

“What do you wanna do?” Chaze asked as I sighed and shook my head.

“Well, I’ll respect your wishes. We’ll keep telling her everything, as promised. However, it is your job to make sure she stays on point with her training. There is no time for her to process any of this and have a meltdown about it. We can't delay any further, Chaze. In fact, allow her to use this news to help bring out that Chirema power within her.”

“Isn’t that dangerous though?” Chaze asked as he rubbed the back of his neck a bit.

“Well, that’s where you come in. Turn on that sex charm of yours and switch it around. Make her… Cum out…” By the gods I’m surrounded by idiots. Chaze and Kyle burst out laughing to the point that they fell over and remained laughing on the floor. I could only smirk at their stupidity. Honestly it wasn’t that funny of a pun. At that point I just walked away and headed for the basement where the prisoners were being kept.

“Hurry up and tell her, then start your training with her! Kyle knows what to do!” I shouted before I headed down the stairs. I made my way to the ruby wolf pack captives and quickly spotted my target. They all watched as I approached Nicolas’s cell and stopped in front of it.

“We need to talk, Tory Nessa…”

Sandra:

I couldn’t believe it… When Chaze and Kyle came back up to the balcony area to come get me I saw their faces. They were talking and laughing to each other but immediately stopped once they saw me. They looked horrified, and for a good reason. Kyle hung back while Chaze sat in his chair next to me and laid it all out. My stomach twisted and turned to the point of feeling like I was going to vomit. I was taking slow deep breaths as my eyes watered and soon tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks. I don’t know which was worse, finding out Benson was in fact cheating on me with his sister, or being told the ruby wolf pack no longer exists as of now… At least several members survived.

“Once again, I ask you, Chaze… How are you okay with this? Those were our friends, MY friends, and now they’re just… Just gone!” I didn’t mean to shout but my emotions were riding all over the place. He remained silent as he just held my hands and allowed me to go through my feelings. I sniffed back a few tears as he grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the tears that ran down my face. I held it in until that moment, but I couldn’t anymore. I threw myself into his body and grabbed on as tight as I could, and then I weeped. Most of my sobbing was muffled within his chest as he held me. After a few moments I released him and started cleaning up the hot mess of tears all over my face. Chaze helped as best he could and finally spoke to sooth my soul.

“I’m sorry, Ruby. I don’t like this either. Yes, they were my friends, but this plan of ours needs to be flawless if we're going to see it through. Kane’s father needs to be out of the picture and that raid only confused him more while gaining us allies. He was just here and so was my dad.” I perked up as he mentioned his dad. I knew he said he was going to check on Kane about the results of the raid, but I didn’t know their father’s showed up.

“Your father was here?”

“Yes, and he confirmed that Benson is plotting something big. Also, Kane’s father is falling for our trap… And somehow we’ve managed to add an awesome concert to our plan... Just now.” He tells me with a smile. I smiled back even though I was confused about what he was talking about.

“Wait, I’m sorry… What?”

“And you’ll be the lead singer for both bands.” He added, which baffled me even more! I was singing in front of thousands of people!

“Chaze, I don’t… Who are… I’m so lost!” I shouted with laughter and glee in my voice. He chuckled as he caressed my cheek and smiled.

“Alright, let me explain. My band, the RMM, will be facing off against Kane’s band, Dark Matter Hymns. We’ll be performing two original songs and three cover songs from other bands. To make things fair, you’ll be singing for both bands to even out the playing field. Got it?” As he mentioned Kane’s band I started to think of the posters and billboards I’d see of them. It suddenly hit me that Kane was the leader of Dark Matter Hymns. I mean, yeah, Chaze just told me but it really didn’t sink in until I pictured Kane on the photo cover of their CD.

“I knew he looked familiar! I couldn’t tell it was him since he always wore a ton of makeup and face paint when performing.”

“Yeah, he does that to somewhat conceal his true identity. To be honest he doesn’t like the attention he gets from being their band leader. Unlike me, I love the attention so I don't hide a damn thing.” He tells me with a smirk. I could envision him patting himself on the back as if he was so proud of himself.

“Oh! And this is his lead guitarist , Kyle.” He added as he waved Kyle over.

“Hey, nice to meet you, Ruby.” He shook my hand and sat next to Chaze where Kane was sitting before.

“Anyways, it's going to be awesome-”

“Yeah, because Dark Matter is going to kill it, unlike you sappy Red Moons.” Oh boy, the trash talking has begun. I’m sure they’ve been doing this the whole time after it was planned.

“Really dude, we’re going to start this up again?”

“I’m just honored to be singing for both bands! I mean really, it's like a dream come true! Not to mention I’m dating the hottie from Red Moons.”

“You mean Bane, their drummer, right? He’s pretty cool. Although Chaze might get mad now that he knows you’re cheating on him with the hottest guy in their band, so.” Suddenly Chaze socked him in the arm which made Kyle and Chaze laugh at each other.

“Dude, you hit like a girl, small fry.” Kyle was playfully getting under his skin. I could tell Chaze was holding back from wrestling him to the ground because I was currently present. This was a good distraction from the burden of carrying that bad news Chaze gave me. The two of them went back and forth for a bit about whose band was better. It wasn’t long before Kyle realized I said something odd before.

“Hold on, I remember you said you’re singing for both bands, right? Did Chaze just tell you that?” I paused for a moment as I looked at Chaze. I guess that wasn’t part of the original plan.

“Uh, yeah, about that. I might have told her this as a spare of the moment type deal… If you think about it, it’ll make things even when it comes to scoring the battle. Am I right?” Kyle thought about it for a moment, then shrugged and nodded his head.

“Actually, you’re right. The judges will have to focus on the rest of band members and their skills instead of worrying about a lead vocalist to score. Good thinking Chaze. I’ll let Kane know.”

“Hell yeah! This is going to rock!” His excitement carried over into Kyle as they both high fived each other pretty hard. Their hands clapping together was pretty loud but they were cool with it. With that said and done it was time to get down to business of course. The two men settled down as Chaze looked at me and smirked.

“Now, on to our training, Ruby. We need you to shift into your second stage as a nine tailed fox in order for this plan to work. Think you can manage that, because we don’t have a lot of time on our hands at the moment.” I simply nodded my head and smiled with determination.

“I’m ready, Chaze. I’m going to give it my all.”

Chaze:

Now that she was fired up and ready to go, Kyle took us to one of the larger training grounds below. He didn’t know how much space we would need so he told everyone else to leave me and Ruby alone. He waved and wished us luck after giving some friendly advice, then left. We were alone, ready to start our session. I turned around and froze as Ruby had taken off all her clothes. Yes, even the sexy thong. I faced her in time to see it being removed. Of course Kane would only bring her sexy shit to wear, damn pervert. She smiled and jiggled her boobs a bit to tease me once she noticed I was watching her.

“I’m ready, Chaze.” She said so seductively. I was so horny and hard for her at that moment, and she knew it too. I cleared my throat as Kane’s voice rattled in my head, reminding me that we didn’t have a lot of time to playaround.

“Alright, now let's focus. We don’t have a lot of time on our hands.” She giggled a bit and nodded her head.

“Okay, I’m ready, seriously.” She took a deep breath and breathed out as she closed her eyes.

“Just tell me what to do.” She added as she waited for me to direct her.

“Right. We’ll start off slow. First, shift into your first stage. While you're doing that, focus on the feeling and the power that comes with it. Also, don’t hold back. I know you weren’t the first time you shifted but Benson had stopped you. This time, let your power flow.” She took a moment to process the information I gave and slowly nodded her head.

“So do what I did before, only don’t stop. Right?”

“You got it.” She nodded once more to confirm and started to try it out. A gush of water roared from her back and swirled around her. It started to grow in size and cover her completely, like a water tornado, and she was the eye of the storm. I took several steps back as it started to expand and grow. I heard her yell which made my heart sink to the floor. At first I thought she was in pain, but her yelling was a battle cry of sorts. The sound of her voice was slightly different the more I listened. Suddenly the water burst all around her like a tidal wave. I was swept up by it at first, but managed to overcome it as I used one of the support beams to propel myself into the air. Once the violent rush of water settled I landed on my feet and looked at Ruby.

“What the hell…” I whispered to myself. She was beautiful, like a nine tailed goddess, and to top it all off she was in her second stage. I couldn’t tell if she even shifted into her first stage before jumping right into the second. Her eyes were still closed as if she didn’t want to open them.

“Did I do it? Is something wrong? I don’t want to look…” She comments as she closes her eyes tighter.

“Open your eyes and see for yourself.” She slowly opens them and gasps with excitement.

“I did it!!” She shouts, repeating herself several times while jumping up and down with glee. Her breast kept bouncing up and down, which I enjoyed of course. Her nine tails seemed to have gotten bigger as well. They stretched out enough to completely encase her entire body and possibly shield her from any attacks, from any direction. Her fur covered her body, except for her hands, feet, face, upper back, and her stomach. The purple color of her fur shined like sunlight shimmering on the surface of water.

“Good! Now we test your power!” Her little happy dance was halted by my words. She spun around to face me in her best fighting stance she could do. I smirked as I knew it needed work, but it wasn’t too bad.

“I have to warn you, I’m not really good at teaching all kinds of cool moves. I just go off of instinct. So, I’d say do the same thing. If you feel like you just need to defend against my attacks then we can start there. If you wanna fight back then I’m ready. Your choice, got it Ruby?”

“I’m not weak, Chaze. I’m tougher than I look! And this new form will help me prove it! Bring it on!” She started off low and ended with a shout. She was fired up alright. Let's really see if she could back up all that talk. I started to take off my clothes, a little too quickly as I stumbled a bit here and there, all the while making her laugh as I got undressed. Her laughing made me slow down until I finally took everything off. We both smirked at each other and suddenly I shifted into my second wolf stage in a fiery blaze of power. I howled once the transformation was complete and quickly fixed my sights on Ruby. Now, as much as I wanted to go full on with her I didn’t want to crush her spirits or frighten her, so close combat wasn’t an option. Having said that, my fire wolf form was best used at long range. This is why Benson took me down so easily when we fought. I was being cocky. Also, had I used my dragon form he would have been the one eating the floor. I’ll have to hold back with my long ranged attacks then if I want her to actually progress.

“Alright… Here we go.” I whispered as I kept reminding myself to hold back. I charged up my fists into large fireballs and took off to my left. She wasn’t expecting me to run as she widened her eyes in fear for a second. She then did something odd that I’ve only seen a few times. She turned towards me and dropped her upper half to the floor, sticking her butt up in the air while she locked onto my movements with a keen sight. To anyone else watching that didn’t know this stance, it looked seductive, or stupid depending on who you talk to. However, it was the perfect cat-like stance for flight or fight. She could lunge herself towards her foe, or dodge her attacker by leaping in any direction she wanted. It was also great for pouncing and getting herself high into the air. The big question is, where would she know to use such a stance like this? Then it hit me. She is engaged to a cat. The shapeshifter within her must have instinctively learned from Benson whenever they were intimate. This also proves that she indeed has the Chimera power within her. That ability absorbs other shifter powers and skills like a sponge. Lastly, her father was a human. This could be a direct result of the human blood flowing within in her.

“Hey! Quit running around and do something already! You’re boring me!” Her shouting snapped me out of my train of thought. Also, my wandering mind didn’t stop me from charging my fists. Both of them were almost half my size now. I was planning to hold back but, I guess not. I just hope she can take it. I didn’t reply as I changed running directions a few times before I leaped high into the air and fired both fireballs at once. Once again I made it worse as the two flaming attacks became one giant ball of fire. I dropped down to my feet and waited for the result of my attack. Just as I predicted. Her tails expanded and stretched out further as they engulfed her entire body. My attack hit with a loud boom and a cloud of smoke erupted. I couldn’t see what became of her for a few moments. My heart was racing as I thought I had killed her. Just great! I was supposed to be training her and I could have injured her badly! Dammit why wont that smoke clear! I was about to shout for her but suddenly a bright light burst forward as large flames erupted from her. This odd power up cleared the smoke and I finally got to see the result of my attack.

“Holy shit… No way…” Kane was one hundred percent right. Nine tailed foxes can use all elements of the other tribes.

“Whoa!! Look at me!! I’m hot stuff now!! Wow this feels good! Whoooo!” As she took the time to shout and praise herself, my mouth was hung open in disbelief. Her purple shiny fur was now a fiery orange and white. Her fur moved and danced like flames as her nine tails swayed on their own, like fire licking the air for oxygen. My attack didn’t even leave a mark, not to mention giving her new powers to use. She continued to admire her new look for a moment or two. She then fixed her determined eyes on me and smirked a bad-ass smirk.

“My turn, Chaze.” I swear her voice just changed. I’m not sure what the hell was going on, but her shifting into her second stage was bringing out a new persona within her. That could also be a result of her Chimera power. Either way it was a bit freaky. My body tensed as I noticed she was charging her first like I was. She didn’t even have to think about it, she just did it. Surprisingly it didn’t take her as long as me to charge them that big. They were the same size fireballs I launched and she did it in less time. Instead of taking off running like I did she just fired away without warning. I could have charged my own attack and canceled hers out, I could have dodged and avoided the blast, but instead I threw my arms up in front of me to form an X. I was going to take the entire hit and measure her strength. I watched as the two fireballs became one and strengthened in size and speed. Then it hit me, hard and fast. The wind was knocked right out of me and my guardian stance did nothing at all to stop me from being propelled backwards. My body slammed against the wall which forced me to pass out. I don’t know how long I was out for but I heard her sweet voice calling my name.

“Uh… Ruby?” I softly voiced as my eyes started to open. It was strange, I wasn’t in any pain at all. As I looked into her eyes my heart warmed up with a smile. She helped me to my feet, to which I noticed she was bigger than I was in her second form. Great, she noticed too as she giggled and patted my head like a little puppy dog. I playfully growled to which she hushed that with a sweet kiss on my lips. We held that kiss for a few seconds before I heard someone clearing their throat. We broke the kiss and blushed as Kyle was standing there with a smirk.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt but, I just wanted to know if you were okay. Ruby called for me when you weren’t responding. By the time I got here everything seemed to be okay, so… I’ll just leave now.” He turned around and quickly left, feeling awkward I assumed. His statement was odd though. How long was I out for? Why would she call for Kyle if I was alright? Maybe I wasn’t and somehow she…

“Uh, thanks, Kyle…” I called as he exited the room. 

“Ruby, what happened to me.” I asked as she looked at the floor. I also noticed she wasn’t in her fire form anymore. She reverted back to her purple water form.

“Maybe we should take a break, Chaze. I’ll explain everything while we get something to eat, okay?” I stared upon her sweet and innocent face. How could I object to anything she says. Afterall, I was pretty hungry myself. I nodded my head and took her hand in mine, making her blush as she smiled. Of course, for the fun of it, she patted my head again as she couldn’t get over how short and cute I was in my wolf form.

“Laugh it up now, but wait until you see my dragon form… I won’t be your little puppy dog you can pet so easily.”

“Oh, I can’t wait! First, let's eat, yeah?” I smiled and nodded my head as we walked together towards the exit. In my chest my heart was pounding as the mystery of what happened swelled within me. My only thought was, how can she be this strong with no training at all. Something wasn’t right here. I needed Kane’s input on this. He’d know where to go from here...