Never overstay your welcome, for monsters are seldom hospitable creatures.
Alex's eyes snapped open as his guest entered the room. In an instant, he was sitting up, hands instinctively clutching his nose, his breath shallow.
The hunter glided into the room with unnerving silence, the door clicking shut behind him. He wore faded black jeans, boots, and a misbuttoned white shirt, the left sleeve casually swaying as he moved.
"Hello," he said, his voice calm but carrying an unsettling weight.
"Oh my God..." Alex whimpered, his pulse quickening.
The hunter's lips curled into a knowing smirk. "Well, even he won't be of any help this time."
Alex's voice cracked, barely above a whisper. "Who are you?"
The hunter settled into the chair opposite the bed, claiming it with ease, his posture relaxed but somehow menacing. He let his hand rest on the backrest, eyes glinting with something dangerous.
"Dénes Roubál," he said smoothly, his gaze locking with Alex's, "personally."
Alex's eyes widened, a flicker of recognition flashing across his face.
"I see you're not as slow as you look," the young man continued, his grin twisting into something dark. "Indeed, I am Shay's older brother."
Alex's fists clenched beneath the blanket, his muscles taut with unease.
"Why are you here?" he managed to ask, his voice shaking.
The hunter's lips turned upwards in a wicked grin—the predator in him fully awake. He leaned on the chair, almost lazily, but his presence suffocated the room, making every second feel drawn out, heavy with unspoken threats.
"I want you," he paused, savoring the moment, "to stay the hell away from Shay."
Alex's lips trembled, his breath catching as he parted them.
"You heard me," the hunter said, his voice low and ominous. "Leave quietly."
"No."
The word rang out, quiet yet powerful, slicing through the thick tension that had been building in the room. But the man laughed slowly and mockingly rattling Alex's resolve like a tremor.
With a final, cruel glance, he met Alex's eyes, the look saying everything — Yes, my friend, you have no choice. His smile spread, absent yet malicious, as though the outcome was already decided.
The smile twisted into a vicious grin, his eyes darkening with something dangerous. Without a word, he pulled a blade from somewhere unseen and plunged it into his chair as if it were Alex's body, the metal sinking deep with a sickening sound.
Alex shuddered, his body frozen under the weight of the hunter's stare. The sheer intensity of that expression made his blood run cold—it was a look that promised pain and torture.
His expression twisted with fury as he stabbed the blade into the chair repeatedly, each strike punctuating his words like a death sentence.
"You have no choice, wolf," he growled, the blade sinking deeper with every thrust. The sound of metal slicing through wood was a rhythmic, chilling beat. "I hate monsters. But you... you are in an entirely different league. What you did to Shay—that crosses a line."
Alex's chest tightened with each stab, his breath quickening as the hunter's eyes never left him. The blade slammed into the chair again.
"You made him fight homunculi," his voice darkened further, each word laced with barely contained rage. Another stab, the wood cracking under the relentless assault. "You dragged him into this, you worthless parasite! Five homunculi! Are you out of your damn mind? You forced him to fight for his life, for your sorry existence!"
His voice rose, shaking with barely contained rage. The blade struck again, the chair splintering under the onslaught. "You'll pay for this, you useless piece of filth. You'll learn what happens when you put my brother in danger. I'll make damn sure of it."
The hunter took a sharp breath, his chest rising and falling as he tried to rein in the seething fury that had consumed him. His grip on the knife tightened, the blade still embedded in the battered chair. Slowly, he exhaled, forcing a semblance of calm over his twisted features.
"Look," he said, his voice lower but still simmering with malice, "I'm a reasonable man. I can control myself… to an extent." He pulled the knife free, holding it loosely by his side as if it were an afterthought. "If you leave quietly, I might consider letting you live."
He leaned closer, a cruel smirk curling on his lips. "I'll only torture you for a week. Nothing too unbearable—just enough to make sure you understand what happens when you screw with my family."
His eyes gleamed with a cold, calculated menace as he straightened, the knife still glinting in his hand. "So, what's it going to be, Alex? Run away while you can… or stay and find out just how creative I can get?"
Alex's eyes, though wide with fear, hardened with a resolute defiance. He swallowed hard, his fists clenching beneath the blanket as he met the hunter's gaze without flinching.
"I'm not going anywhere," Alex said, his voice steady despite the tension thickening the air. "If you think I'll abandon Shay, you're wrong."
The man's smirk faltered for a split second before twisting into a scowl. The knife trembled slightly in his grip as he processed Alex's words.
"You really are a stubborn little bastard, aren't you?" The hunter hissed, his voice laced with contempt.
He pointed the blade at Alex, his hand steady once more. "You just made the biggest mistake of your miserable life." His grin returned, colder and more menacing than before. "When the time comes, you'll wish you had taken my offer."
"You sound so sure," he sneered, his tone dripping with condescension. "But tell me, are you even aware that there are two Shaytans?"
Alex's breath hitched, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Two Shaytans?" he echoed cautiously.
The hunter chuckled, the blade in his hand forgotten for the moment, though the threat in his presence remained palpable. "Oh, you poor, naive pup," he mocked, his voice low and dangerous. "The Shay you think you know—the one who fights to protect—is only half the story."
Alex's eyes narrowed, his tension rising. "What are you talking about?"
"There's a side of Shay that even you haven't seen," the hunter continued, his voice took on a reflective tone, eyes narrowing with a mix of fondness and something darker. "Did you know that when Shay was born, his hair was snow white?"
His gaze drifted to a distant memory. "His eyes... almost impossibly pale blue. I've never seen any monster like him in all my life—so beautiful, so innocent. From the moment I first saw him, I knew I'd protect him at any cost," he chuckled bitterly, the sound laced with an undercurrent of sorrow. "He charmed me right from the start."
For a fleeting moment, the man's expression softened, a rare smile touching his lips as if he were savoring a pleasant recollection. But it vanished just as quickly, his mouth pressing into a hard line, as though the sweetness of the memory had turned bitter.
The hunter smiled slightly as if he were remembering something pleasant. Then, as if he had just bitten a seed in the cherry pie, he pursed his lips.
"Until he was three, he looked like an angel descended to earth," Des continued, his tone darkening. "But then, he began to notice how different he was from those around him. He saw their contempt—the way they recoiled from his silver hair, but especially his eyes, which darkened when he grew angry. He began to loathe those non-human traits in himself. He would ask me, over and over, why he couldn't just be human. Why he had to be born a mongrel..."
His voice trailed off, the weight of the story hanging in the air. Alex remained silent, the tension palpable between them.
"It's remarkable what he managed to do," the hunter resumed, his eyes narrowing on Alex. "He thinks he has no magical abilities, yet he changed his very appearance. He buried deep inside the part of himself he hated, striving to be human, hoping they'd accept him. His hair turned black as if to mirror his desires. But nothing changed. They still feared him."
The wolf didn't speak, so Des continued.
"But let's not forget, Shay is still partly something else. Something dangerous. So tell me, Alex," his voice dropped to a chilling whisper, "are you ready for the day when Shay loses control? When that buried side resurfaces and you can't stop him? Will you be able to do what needs to be done? Can you kill him without hesitation?"
He leaned in, his gaze piercing, the weight of his words pressing down like a vice. "Because make no mistake, Alex, when that day comes, it will be a fight for your life. You'll have two choices: kill him or be killed. No running. No hiding. Just you, facing the monster he's always feared becoming. Are you prepared to make that choice? To drive a blade into the heart of someone you care about, or will you hesitate and die for it?"
The wolf froze, his breath caught in his throat. He opened his lips as if to speak, then closed them again, the words lost.
Des smiled again, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light. "Do you think will happen when his concentration breaks? When he loses consciousness while teetering on the edge of death?"
He paused, letting the question hang in the suffocating silence before answering it himself. "The monster is unleashed."
"You're just assuming," the wolf snapped, his voice a mix of defiance and desperation. "Shay would never, ever lose control. He has his oddities, sure, but he's never killed for pleasure or gone berserk without reason..."
"You're wrong," Des interrupted coldly, his gaze unwavering. "It's happened before."
Alex's voice faltered. "What?"
"How do you think I lost my arm?" Des asked casually, as though discussing the weather.
He pulled out a box, and that was the moment Alex realized that the blade vanished from his hand. Des shook out a cigarette from the box and took it out with his lips. Then pocketed the box, lit it with practiced ease, and took a slow drag. He was smoking a black Benson&Hedges cigarette with a sliding packet.
The smoke curled around him like a dark omen. "Shay doesn't remember, because I made sure of it. But it was him who tore it off, ripped it out of its place."
Des exhaled, the smoke drifting between them. "You see, when he loses control, no matter who he really is, he becomes nothing more than a raging beast. A vampire thirsting for blood, a fae driven only to destroy."
"I will stop him," the wolf declared, his voice steadier now, a flicker of resolve igniting in his eyes.
"How?" Des asked, his tone laced with dark amusement.
"You did it once, didn't you?" Alex countered. "I can do it."
The hunter threw his head back and laughed, a harsh, mocking sound that echoed off the walls. "Oh, my dear wolf," he sneered, "you really think it's that simple? Let me tell you, facing the monster is one thing. Surviving it is another entirely."
"Well,anyway, that concludes the test," Des said, rising to his feet with a nonchalant stretch.
Alex blinked, confusion knitting his brows. "Test?"
"I wanted to see how you'd react if I told you the truth," the hunter explained, his tone light but his eyes sharp.
"Did I pass?" Alex asked hesitantly.
"With flying colors," Des shrugged, but a sinister glint accompanied the casual remark. In one swift motion, he drew a lone dagger from a hidden sheath within his clothes. "But here's the thing—I still don't like you. You've sinned, Wolfie. You put Shay in danger, and for that, you'll have to pay."
Des's voice dropped to a growl, his gaze piercing through Alex. "You think Shay needs you? He doesn't. He never did. I'm here to stop him if he ever loses control. You, on the other hand, you'll only bring more danger, more chaos. So, I think it's time for you to bid a bloody farewell to this life, Wolfie."
Alex's heart pounded harder, his fingers clawing at the fabric of the blanket. A cry for help hovered on his lips, yet no sound escaped. His body trembled, paralyzed by fear.
Des's disgust and bloodlust, barely restrained before, now poured forth unchecked. The air grew thick with a dark aura, suffocating and reeking of menace. His boots echoed sharply on the sterile tiles as he closed the distance, the blade in his hand catching the dim light with a wicked gleam. Yet, the most chilling sight of all was the amused smile that curled his lips, a predator savoring the inevitable kill.
"Last wish, Wolfie?" Des taunted, lifting the blade, poised to strike.