Claws in the Dark

The howl faded but clung to the night air long after, echoing beneath the Alpha's skin. His wolf inside was restless, twisting, ears pinned against its head as though recognizing a predator older than itself. His breath was shallow and sharp.

The vampire leaned languidly against the wall, but his eyes were burning with golden fire. "That wasn't one of yours," he murmured, his voice silk over steel. "No wolf under your command sings with that kind of power."

The Alpha growled low from his throat, clenched fists at his sides. "Then what the hell was it?"

The vampire cocked his head, his smirk edged with something darker. "Something you're not ready to fight."

Before the Alpha could answer, the sound rolled closer, rumbling through the city like thunder. The windows rattled. Off in the distance, dogs were barking. Every nerve in his body screamed danger.

The vampire pushed off the wall and circled him slowly and deliberately, like a predator stalking his prey, one he already owned. "Scared?" he whispered, fangs flashing in the moonlight.

The Alpha's jaw tightened. "I'm not scared."

A low mocking laugh escaped the vampire's lips, but his eyes told a different story. He was just as rattled. "You ought to. There are things in this world even wolves and vampires bow to."

The Alpha extended his hands, grabbing his collar and dragging him close until their lips were nearly touching. "Stop playing games," he growled, hot breath against his mouth. "Tell me what it is."

The vampire did not flinch. Instead, he leaned in that last inch, pressing a kiss against his lips—soft at first, then sharp, biting, possessive. When he drew back, a drop of blood smeared on his lips. "Not yet," he whispered, tongue flicking across his lip. "But I'll keep you alive long enough to find out."

The Alpha's body betrayed him again, heat flooding his veins, hunger clawing at his control. He hated the way the vampire made him feel: weak, reckless, desperate. And yet, he wanted more.

Before he could even speak, the air shifted. Heavy. Wrong.

A shadow moved along the rooftop, big and silent.

The Alpha turned, claws half-shifted, to shred whatever came. But the sight froze him in place.

Not wolf.

Not vampire.

Something in between.

The thing pulsed with muscle, fur a mottled mix of black and silver, its fangs longer than any wolf's, its sickeningly crimson eyes glowed. The very essence of its presence was tainted with blood and rot, as if it had just been dragged out of a grave.

The vampire hissed, exposing his fangs. "Impossible."

The Alpha growled low. "What is it?"

The creature crouched, claws scraping against stone, drool dripping down from its jaws. And then it spoke: its voice was twisted, layered, not of this world.

"Hybrid."

The Alpha staggered back, confusion slicing through him. "What?"

The vampire's face hardened, the smirk gone. "It's not supposed to exist. A wolf bitten but not killed. A vampire cursed but not turned. A monster caught in between."

The hybrid's crimson gaze locked on the Alpha, hunger raging through him like wildfire. "Alpha…" it rasped, the word a growl and a groan. "Yours."

It lunged.

The Alpha had barely begun to react before the hybrid's claws skimmed across his chest, tearing cloth, drawing flesh. He roared as his wolf came surging forward, shifting under his skin, power bursting free.

The vampire too leaped, faster than sight could follow, throwing himself onto the hybrid. The roof exploded into violence—fangs sank, claws shredded, growls and hisses merged into a nightmare symphony.

The Alpha staggered, fighting for breath, blood pulsing from the gash. His wolf howled for him to join the fray. But his eyes were fixed instead on the vampire.

The way he moved—wild, vicious, beautiful. A thing lethal in its grace, each strike a dance, each bite a promise. And yet all that drew him in; even amidst the chaos, the danger, was that something that lay scarily close to wanting.

The hybrid shrieked, throwing the vampire back with alarming strength. Its crimson glare flared, locking on the Alpha again. "Mine," it rasped.

The Alpha's heart thundered. He didn't understand; he didn't want to. But when the creature lunged forward once again, claws outstretched, the vampire stepped in between them and sank his fangs deep into the hybrid's throat.

Blood sprayed from the bastard, black and red against the rooftop stone, sizzling as it touched. The hybrid howled and thrashed, but the vampire hung on, unrelenting, drinking deep until the monster faltered and crashed down.

Silence fell over the rooftop. Only the Alpha's ragged breathing and the vampire's satisfied hiss filled the night.

The vampire let the lifeless hybrid drop and wiped blood from his lips. His eyes glinted bright once more, feral with hunger, now turned upon the Alpha, his mouth still stained crimson.

And then he smiled.

"That's what's coming for us," he said. "That's what hunts in the dark. And now it knows your scent."

The very thought of it sent tremors across the Alpha's body, still stunned by copious adrenaline. His throat had gone dry with the intensity of his unquenchable question. "Why did it call me 'mine'?"

The vampire allowed his smile to widen, wicked, knowing. "Because you're not just mine anymore."

Before the Alpha could speak, before he could demand the answer, the vampire closed the distance with a single step, grabbed his face, and crashed their mouths together. The kiss was brutal, tasting of blood and death; hunger and heat.

The Alpha groaned into it, torn between fighting and giving in. Every nerve screamed danger, every instinct potential betrayal, but his body—his body wanted nothing else.

When they finally tore apart, breathless, trembling, the vampire whispered against his lips:

"This is only the beginning."

And from the shadows below, another howl rose.

Not one. Three Closer.

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