“Phoebe is in danger” Daphne declared without preamble and placed two pieces of a wooden figurine in front of them “when we started learning magic, we made these two wooden figurines that were connected to two talismans; Phoebe tore hers so this broke and that’s a sign that she’s in grave danger”

“You think it’s the Chimeras?” Luke wondered if the monsters had made a pre-emptive strike of their own

“Who else could it be?” Daphne snapped impatiently “let’s talk on the way”

“On way to where?” Chang handed Obie a crossbow as he hefted one of his own

“Phoebe’s house!” Daphne pointed out the obvious “that’s where she would’ve been”

They stared heading towards the door when Obie bumped into the suddenly stationary Luke “oof!”

“what’s up?” Daphne turned back sharply but paused when she saw Luke turn white as a sheet

“Jules…” Luke muttered staring at Daphne and Chang in horror “she was going to Jules’ house to help her study!”

XXXXXXX

They reached Jule’s house in record time, but far too slow for Luke’s liking

“haah” He jumped out of the car before it had even stopped and ran through the front door. “Jules!”

“Phoebe!” Daphne was right behind him. The house was empty no signs of anyone, but it was clear a struggle had taken place.

“no one here” Luke shook his head, Obie and Chang headed upstairs, but there was no one and no signs of struggle either.

“Maybe her parents weren’t home” Obie reasoned

“She does say they work a lot” Luke agreed

“But what now?” Daphne was getting angsty “we don’t have either of them or any clue where those beasts took them”

Luke angrily kicked a chair that hit the back wall and caused a mask that was on the wall to fall down.

“What now?” Obie turned to Chang

“We need to split up and search” Chang barely held it together Phoebe’s grandmother had entrusted him to take care of Phoebe, and now his charge was missing.

“let’s go back to the warehouse” Daphen suggested “comb that place for any clues as to where else they might have hideouts”

“Alright, Daph” Obie nodded in agreement “you and Chang go to the warehouse, Luke and I will check the streets for any signs of the chimeras”

Chang and Obie acquiesced without a second thought, but when Obie turned to Luke, he realised the redhead wasn’t even listening; he was staring at the mask that had just fallen of the chair. “Bro?” Obie stepped in close but Luke wasn’t listening.

The mask that had fallen was clearly African for anyone to see, and that thought had clicked something in Luke’s mind.

Brown eyes were flashing in his head, brown eyes that he saw every time they made out, brown eyes that he saw in his nightmares right before he died in them; brown eyes that he saw right before he fell unconscious that night.

“Jules is the hyena” his voice was barely a whisper but the other three heard him clearly.

“w-what the fuck are you talking about?” Obie stared at his friend as if he had lost his mind “Jules? The girl you’ve been dating for over a week Jules? The girl whose been crushing on you for nearly a year Jules? The girl we’ve been friends with since the first day of high school Jules?”

“yes” Luke was in a trance “yes! We’ve known her for a year and a half, exactly how long bodies have been disappearing in and around Solwood”

“That… doesn’t really prove anything” Chang did consider Luke’s words but ultimately couldn’t see it.

“I know it’s Jules” Luke reiterated firmly as the shadows started to appear around him “I saw those same eyes right before I died, I couldn’t connect the dots initially but I know it now; Jules is the Hyena!”

“let’s say you’re right” Obie wasn’t sold but the conviction in Luke’s voice was hard to deny “what now? That doesn’t bring us any closer to finding Phoebe” they realised Obie was right.

“let’s stick to our original plan” Obie suggested before turning to Luke “as for Jules being the hyena… we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it”

“Also, pullback your shadows” Daphne told Luke “Conserve your energy and anger for the fight that’s coming”

Luke looked down and finally realised that he had inadvertently summoned the shadows again, his brows furrowed as he focused on the shadows and made them disappear. “let’s go!”

They exited the house in a file when Luke noticed the crow sitting on the tree on the other side of the road, and the shadow reappeared all around him.

“What the-?” the other three were startled, but Luke only had eyes for the crow which flew off its perch. He raised his hand and the shadows moved with it, flying to the crow and completely enveloping it.

“what’s that? The others didn’t have his night vision and hadn’t seen the crow, but when the shadow bubble burst open to show the humanoid looking crow chimera the other sure as hell saw it.

Luke wasn’t giving up; with another wave of his hand the shadows coalesced into a band around the crow’s talon and pulled it downwards.

Tessa hurriedly flapped her wings, but the pull from the shadows was too strong and dragged her all the way to the ground.

Shwing!

Immediately Daphne pulled out her sword and jumped onto Tessa while driving her sword through her right wing and pinning her face up on the ground. “Sup bitch!”

Obie stamped down Tessa’s other wing while Luke bound her talons together tighter with his shadows.

“Where have they taken Phoebe?” Daphne stone facedly asked the raven chimera

“How about you let me go and I lead you there” Tessa smirked and got punched in the face courtesy of Daphne.

“Where. Did. They. Take. Phobe?” the Asian girl emphasised each word with a punch to Tessa’s face

“you’ve already decided to kill me, I ain’t saying shit” Tessa spat out nastily, she knew she now had no chance of escaping, and she had made peace with it.

“Girl if you tell me where they’re keeping Phoebe I will kill you” Daphne agreed “but if you don’t I will cut you, burn you, break every bone in your body and then I will let you heal” Daphne declared, much to the others’ confusion “I will heal you until you’re okay and then we will do this dance all. Over. Again.” Her eyes had a manic look “over and over and over again, for a century”

Tessa was genuinely terrified at the thought yet she steeled herself “do your worst”

“So, the hyena is in the warehouse again?” Chang asked out of the blue and Tessa’s head swivelled towards him in shock “yeah she is” the Asian man declared confidently after seeing her reaction “that’s why she sent you to spy on us; so that you could get your ambush ready when we approached.”

Changed stamped down on Tessa’s wing as Daphne pulled her sword back out, silently Daphne turned back to Tessa and drove her sword through the blonde girl’s face, no more words were needed as the four left the dead chimera and headed to the warehouse.

XXXXXXX

“Will you stop pacing around like that?!” John snapped at Ryuu who had been doing exactly that

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Don’t snap at him” Gabi snapped at John

“Don’t tell me what to do” John didn’t back down

“Guys!” Ryuu called out both of them and then jutted his chin towards Jules, who was sitting cross legged, eyes closed, beside a supine Phoebe.

They all shut up and went to their separate corners, not willing to disturb the Hyena’s peaceful meditation, with Ryuu winding up beside Gabi “what do you think our chances are?”

“With the hyena on our side, we’re all good” Gabi assured her cub, the first chimera that she had ever created, but her entire body remained taut.

“I hope you’re right” Ryuu leaned in and pecked her lips

“I am” Gabi relaxed just a little, “with you and me together, even if we don’t win, we’re sure to survive”

“they’re here!” Jules’ calm voice filled the room, alerting the other chimeras

“where’s Tessa?” John looked up at the rafters “did she tell you?”

“she’s not here” Jules sighed ruefully as they all immediately understood “get ready”

A small orb flew in through one of the windows, sailing high above them, but Ryuu who had been the closest acted quickly, grabbed it right before it fell on the floor.

With astonishing speed, he turned and threw the stink bomb right out of the window “how do you like them apples?”

before anyone could say anything else, the skylight of the warehouse shattered as Daphne and Luke jumped in through it, intending to land right beside Jules and Phoebe, while on the other side Chang rushed in through the door, shooting bolts from his crossbow.

Ryuu, Gabi, and John all reacted immediately, John going towards Chang, Gabi towards Jules, and Ryuu to the window he had just thrown the stink bomb back from; but Jules didn’t move at all; instead, she started to glow with a white light as a translucent hyena appeared above her.

The hyena cackled as it snapped at the falling Daphne and Luke, but Daphne swung her sword as it shimmered with a golden light and cut down the Hyena phantom.

“hmm” Jules grinned a bit as she stood up as Gabi pounced towards Daphne, slamming into the other woman just a moment before she landed on the ground, the two fell with Daphne on her back, but the familiar girl rolled with the hit and drove her knee into the leopard’s face, forcing the two to creates some distance before meeting each other head on again.

Meanwhile Luke had landed and simply stared at Jules who returned his gaze evenly. “How could you?”

“I’m sorry you found out this way” Jules shook her head “I’d wished we could’ve had this conversation differently”

“Differently?” Luke barked a hollow laugh “like what have a nice dinner, make out, show your true colours? Something like that?”

Jules didn’t say anything, even as the fight raged on around them, Daphne and Gabi fighting viciously, Chang holding the Puma chimera at bay with his bolts, and Obie having used a Taser on Ryuu; Jules and Luke only had eyes for each other.

Luke’s anger was palpable “You played with my feelings-”

“I always loved you” Jules snapped, her mask of indifference slipping “over a year I waited for you to notice me, hoping you’d get my hints, hoping you’d also feel the same way!”

“And what then?” Luke gritted his teeth “date, marry, and what? Make little chimera babies?”

“yes” Jules’ earnestness caught Luke off guard “I’d hoped I could show you my true self, and that you’d too join me”

“Become a chimera?” the redhead took a shocked step back

“yes” Jules took a step towards him “and we still have that chance” everything else seemed to fade to black as Jules’ words rang in his ear

Luke didn’t notice how Daphne and Gabi were still fighting like animals, neither willing to give one inch to the other, Chang had given up his crossbow and was using a charm Phoebe had made for him to make a barrier around John, and Ryuu was able to push down the pain from the taser to pounce onto Obie; Only Jules’s words were ringing in his ear.

“you’re not human any more Luke, you’re a creature of the night, just like us” Jules pushed on, glad that he hadn’t already rebuffed her. “You may walk with them, and fight with them, but you’ll never be one of them”

On the other side of the warehouse Ryuu was holding Obie up by the throat. “Any last words?”

“Yeah, but your hand on my throat makes it hard to say!” Obie thought to himself, and instead he settled for pulling out his second and last stink bomb and slamming it right into Ryuu’s face.

“Suck it you little bitch!” Obie’s hollered before pulling out a net from his backpack and throwing it over the struggling Ryuu, allowing him to entangle himself within it as he writhed with the smell.

Meanwhile Luke started to walk towards Jules “you may be right that I’m a monster”

Black shadows started to coalesce around him “that I’ll never be one of them”

“But none of that, changes one thing” he was right in front of her

“You are the one who killed me, Jules!” she looked away

“And I. Will. Have. Revenge.” The shadows exploded as Luke threw out his arms towards Jules, sending the shadows barrelling into her and sending her flying back before she regained her footing.

Pretty round face became a vicious fur covered one as Jules too went into battle form and stabilised herself as a white light aura formed around her.

“I’m over two hundred years old Luke, you can’t defeat me” Jules knew there was no more point in talking, but she still had to try, she couldn’t give up on Luke.

“let’s find out” Luke pulled the shadows back and let them cover his entire body as he threw himself at Jules. He threw out a left and right which Jules blocked before trying to drive her knee into his gut, but Luke grabbed the knee and then used it to lift her and twist her entire body downward and then driving her head onto the concrete.

“Fuck!” a snout grew onto Jules’ face as she further transformed and then used both her legs to kick Luke away from her; the zombie got up and tried to attack her again, but it was Jules who pounced on him, in full hyena form.

“Fuck!” Luke and Jules started fighting in earnest, as were Daphne and Gabi, and Chang and John. It was Obie who had managed to trap Ryuu in the net who was able to reach Phoebe first.

“Wake…” He opened a bottle of antidote powder Daphne had given all of them and threw the entire content on Phoebe’s face “...UP!”

Phoebe’s eyes snapped open and she got up swinging; and drove her fist straight into Obie face. “OW!” he recoiled from her as Phoebe became aware of her new surroundings, the last thing she remembered was the chimeras and Jules all ganging up on her, so her new surroundings noticeably disturbed her.

“Sorry!” she sheepishly apologised to Obie “wait Jules is the hyena!”

“Yeah, we’re all caught up” Obie nursed his cheek “now let’s kill them all”

“Done!” Phoebe looked around, and spotting John in Puma form about to Jump over the unconscious Chang, she rapidly formed hand gestures and sent out a large ball of fire towards the Puma chimera, hitting him square in the chest and forcing him to roll away.

“Nice!” Obie hyped her up before running to help Chang

“I’m just getting started” Phoebe formed another sequence of hand gestures and sent a bolt of lightning at John.

The Puma’s entire body lit up as an entire thunderbolt coursed through his entire body before finally falling down, never to get up again.

She then turned to Daphne and Gabi who were still battling relentlessly, both hungering for blood. The blonde witch just waved her hand and sent a simple spell at Gabi that would do nothing more than slow her movement for a brief moment; because that was all that Daphne needed to gain the upper hand over her opponent and cut her head off.

“Hey!” Obie stood over his empty net “Ryuu ran away”

“Forget… him” Daphne panted spent from her lengthy battle “help… Luke” they all looked into the darkness and hearing sounds of fighting, ran towards it.

XXXXXXX

While Obie was waking up Phoebe, Luke and Jules had rolled away to the other side of the warehouse.

“We could’ve had everything!” Jules sat on top of Luke and clawed at his face while he tried to defend himself.

With a big heave, Luke managed to push her off, But Jules rolled back to her feet the same time as Luke got up and swiped at him again, which Luke blocked with his shadow sword “don’t you understand that you’ll always be a monster to them?”

“BECAUSE YOU KILLED ME!” Luke screamed at her “you made me this way”

“You were never supposed to be there!” Jules angrily screamed at him “I was trying to kill that damned witch!” the two broke away panting, staring at each other.

“you pushed her out of the way the last second” Jules pointed out “I never wanted to hurt you Luke; you have to believe me”

“…I do” Luke’s admission surprised even himself “I do believe you really cared for me, Just as I really cared for you” Luke and Jules didn’t realise that the rest of the coven was near them now “But none of that changes the fact that you’re a people eating monster”

“I guess we never really stood a chance” Jules could only smile sadly, knowing that she had to kill the guy she had fallen for

“I guess” Luke mumbled morosely as they both became aware of the others; courtesy of Daphne attacking Jules.

Jules easily sidestepped the attack, allowing Daphne to pass her and position herself to the Hyena’s left.

Phoebe didn’t have much energy left after her sleep of death spell and taking down the chimeras, but it was enough to cast the barrier spell she was proficient in, except this time it served as a cage rather than a barrier; trapping Jules.

The phantom Hyena appeared above Jules attacking the barrier as it formed, preventing it from fully trapping her.

At the same time Jules herself was dealing with Daphne’s sword attacks, blocking it with her bare hands and clawing at the Asian girl and forcing her to dodge, while swatting away Chang’s crossbow bolts like an afterthought; while Obie who was all out of tricks could only watch on helplessly.

It took Chang, Daphne, and Phoebe all together just to hold back Jules, and all Luke could do was stare.

Stare at Jules who had completely transformed into the hyena, but still had the same brown eyes. The brown eyes he always saw in his nightmares, the brown eyes he saw in his good dreams, the same damned brown eyes.

The shadows stared to coalesce around Luke again, this time under his will.

“AHHHH!” Luke screamed as he attacked Jules, pushing all his shadows at her with such force that Phoebe’s barrier blew away, Daphne had to escape away from the fight, and even Chang stopped attacking.

It was just Luke and Jules now, as shadows clashed with hyena phantoms. “I told you Luke” Jules grunted “I’m older and stronger”

“yeah” the redhead’s brown furrowed “But I. Don’t. CARE” Luke roared as he threw out a punch and with a bang everything turned still.

“…” the shadows were dissipated, the phantom hyenas gone, all that was left were Luke and Jules, staring into each other’s eyes; the two looked down, both confirming with their eyes that Luke’s hand and pierced through Jules’ chest, and right through her heart.

“ahh” they both fell to their knees as Jules let out a soft gasp, as if she had been pinched rather than killed.

Luke started to shiver as the reality of what he had done just settled on him “Jules…” but the girl looked more shocked than hurt, as if it was painless but she was still shocked that Luke had managed to kil her, “Jules I…”

“Luke” with her remaining strength Jules threw both her arms around Luke’s shoulder, hugging him closely “I’ll… always… love you” Jules gave him a smile before closing her eyes’ moving on from this world to the next.

“I…” Luke’s eyes started to blur, as he felt hot tears stream down his face “I’m sorry” he pulled Jules’ unmoving body closer to him “I’m sorry” the others approached Luke as he held Jules body close to him, but no one said anything.

Luke Wyatt had finally gotten his revenge he had desired; and he had fully paid the price for it.