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“You son of a…” Hyde took a bold step forward, but Jesse grabbed him by the elbow.
“Stop,” he urged him.
Hyde swallowed heavily, knowing that Jesse was right. As long as Culore had his knife underneath Rene’s throat, it was risky to attack him. They had to make him let her go, somehow.
“Scared?” Culore teased. “I don’t know about you, but I’d fight for this pussy.”
Culore’s hand let go of Rene’s breast, and aimed downward, right between her legs. Suddenly, Rene could see Hyde pushing Jesse’s hand away. He released a thundering roar, resembling an animal about to attack its prey. He bared his teeth, his hands spreading wide, like a bird spreading its wings. He was breathing loudly, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. The veins on his neck popped out, as if transferring too much blood. Little hairs started appearing all over his body, covering what was once bare skin. Like blossoming, his body was quickly covered in a full set of hair. His hands became paws with sharp nails at the end. His teeth elongated, glaring at Culore.
“Dimiserunt eam mane, canis,” Hyde hissed barely audibly.
Rene had no idea what he said, but the moment she felt the knife loosen its grip on her neck, she grabbed Culore’s hand and managed to twist it backwards, catching him off guard. A second later, Hyde in bear shifter form, jumped on Culore, pinning him to the ground. Rene ran to the corner, where Jesse wrapped his arms a
round her. Petrified, they watched as Hyde held Culore’s body to the ground, waiting for him to change form.
“What is he doing?” Rene whimpered. “Why isn’t he attacking him?”
“He has to let him change form,” Jesse explained.
“But, that’s crazy! Just kill him!” Rene shouted, but Hyde paid no attention to what she was saying.
He was holding down Culore’s hands, his body controlling Culore’s every movement. He was waiting.
“You don’t understand,” Jesse shook his head, both mere spectators of this fight about to take place. “He can’t fight him unless they’re on the same level, they have to be in the same form.”
“I doubt Culore upholds the same values,” Rene snorted.
“But, Hyde does,” Jesse explained. “That’s why I can’t help him.”
“You can’t?” she asked, frantically.
“He’d never forgive me,” Jesse bowed down his head. “Just like I’d never forgive him if he did that to me.”
“You people are crazy!” she shouted.
They both watched as Culore changed shape, finally becoming the same thing Hyde was. Once the transformation was done, Hyde jumped backwards skillfully, his claws aimed at his enemy who was picking himself up off the floor. They started circling each other, growling menacingly. Rene had no idea who would attack first. She only hoped that Hyde would be the last man standing.
Culore jumped at Hyde without warning, trying to scratch his eyes with his claws, but Hyde managed to move to the side in time, pushing Culore’s claws away. Not giving him a second to rest, Culore kept attacking, even though Hyde was able to defend himself without any major hits. Rene wondered if Culore’s strategy wasn’t really to hurt Hyde at this point, but rather just to tire him out.
Hyde charged at Culore, his teeth flashing in the dark as he dug them into the soft flesh of his opponent’s waist. Culore screamed loudly, jumping backward, and pressing his huge paw against the bite, which was now bleeding. Seemingly immune to the pain, Culore grunted and bellowed, attacking Hyde with all his might. Hyde flew back from the force of the impact, with Culore’s body pressing hard against him. Culore bit him in the neck, but Hyde pushed him away in time, softening the blow. He touched the wound. It was only flesh deep.
The fight seemed to last for hours, while in fact, only a few seconds passed, before Culore was lying on the ground again, and Hyde was sitting on top of him, panting.
“Get me something to tie him up, quickly!” Hyde growled at Jesse, who immediately jumped up and did as he was told.
He found some duct tape, and they sat down Culore onto a chair, taping his hands and feet carefully, then wrapping the tape all around him and the chair, until Hyde was sure that there was no way Culore could wiggle himself free.
Culore’s head hung low, saliva dripping from his battered mouth. Hair fell over his face. His body shivered, raising and lowering itself slowly, following the inconsistent rhythm of his breathing. Finally, Hyde remembered to switch on the lights. Soft brilliance immediately filled the room, revealing a battle field all around them.
When Rene dared look at him, she was surprised that he didn’t seem all that scary now. He was back to his human form. His body was skinny, bony. It looked like a strong wind could just blow him away. Was this who she was afraid of a few minutes ago? She kept watching him, unable to take her eyes off of him.
Then, she felt fur brush against her bare skin. It was Hyde. His muzzle was on her shoulder, his teeth still bare, but she wasn’t afraid. This was who he really was, his essence, his being, the existence he could never run away from, no matter how fast or how far he would be running. This was Hyde. This was Xenos. This was the man she knew she loved now and forever more.
Jesse stood by their side. She intertwined her fingers with his, feeling the warmth and compassion that emanated from him just being there.
“So, now what?” Jesse eyed Culore, frowning.
Culore was too exhausted to say anything. His head was still bowed down, but Rene was sure that he was listening in to their every word. They had to be careful what they said in front of him.
