Lunar's POV

Most of the night became uneventful, only dealing with occasional stalking and having to hide in certain places. Currently, Castian and I were lazing about on a roof, watching and listening to the sounds of screeched phrases. A few times we watched some of these spiders chase animals.

However, we didn't get the chance to get too comfortable or settled. Ozora's back stiffened and tensed as he straightened his posture, his eyes dilating as he stared towards the shadows of one of the empty houses. Looking in the same direction, I didn't notice anything at first. After a moment, I saw what appeared to be a man with a wide grin, his body walking around the window, his eyes glued in our path. Every time he spun to walk in another direction, his head never moved.

Our noticing him had his body traveling out of the building and stepping forward, our bodies standing in sync and getting ready to run.

"I hear Livion had difficulties with his toy tonight," He grinned, a sparkle in his eyes as he clasped his hands together and tilted his head to the side, "You don't look like a tough target. Maybe the packaging could be fooling me?"

"That's Livion's cousin," Cast mumbled towards me, backing up to the other side of the roof. The alarm on our phones went off saying that 8:00 AM was here, it was just difficult to tell since it was wintertime, "No hiding, no stopping. Let's go."

"Run, run, run," The male's expression only grew, the bright yellow irises he had morphing and fading to swirling gold and black eyeballs, his nose breaking and morphing into his skull while his teeth sharpened. His hand shifted into claws, slitting his own throat and making a new mouth in place of it, "You can run but you can't hide, My Pets. It's feasting night, and I am the fox to your gingerbread man."

Ozora helped me off the roof. As soon as our feet made contact with the gravel, everything seemed to come to a halt, all attention towards the two of us. It was like thousands of eyes were watching us, the man already in view of our escape route.

"Feasting time during the winter is always the best time," The guy hummed, his hand in the air and ready to snap his fingers, "Please, won't you stay for breakfast? I hear it's quite a treat. One mortal and the other a hybrid wolf. Both taste beautiful. The blood steams like hot cocoa in the cold, it's a lovely sight."

"Run, Kid," Castian was pushing me behind him, ushering me to run ahead of him while he slipped a knife from his pocket, "Don't stop running, hide where we discussed. We'll have to wait for the sun. Oliver is different from Livion, he won't stop at the end of his territory."

Ducking through an alley, Ozora moved in front of it, fully prepared to fight and die as Oliver chuckled, "Noble of you to protect your friend. Foolish of you to think you'd be enough. Mutts like you are easy prey, always fighting alone. Entertaining nonetheless. Your quarrel makes the shredding easier."

I didn't want to listen to Cast but I knew better than to go against him with how many were being used against us. Instead, I did what I was told, running through a few places and hiding in an alley as I made sure I could climb into the pipe. I could hear screeches and snarls but nothing too close, my body traveling its way into the tube and hunkering down at the bottom.

***

Castian's POV

I stared Oliver down, listening intently at Lunar's receding footsteps. I was grateful for him obeying, and not being defiant.

"The human will be an easy kill," Oliver sang, waving his hand to the left, "The hybrid is mine, go play fetch, My Loves."

"I don't think so," I smirked, already blocking the left path, "Nobody touches the Kid, but me."

My steps were quick at running up a wall and smashing my blade into one of the Arachnides that dared to get past, my canines baring out as Oliver came up behind me and swung, "Now, now, Dog. Let's play nicely. I wouldn't want to lose my temper."

I ducked and dodged at his swings, rolling my eyes. I refused to let his little pets follow Lunar. I'll die before I let him get hurt.

"Olly Olly Oxen Free, you should know me by now," I chuckled, "I don't play nice. This isn't our first encounter, or are you that dimwitted you forgot?"

We had a long history, as many of the Gods and I did. Oliver, however, was the cruelest of them. Aiden and Olivion were the only friends I didn't get killed by him. I'll be damned if I let Lunar be on the list of the dead.

Oliver was a sadist, probably even before he became an Arachnide God. He knew too much about torture to just start murdering when he became this creature. He use to tell your every move five steps before you pulled it. Before becoming a Hybrid, I avoided his territory like I avoid romance. Now, I'll gladly stomp his head in.

"Untrained Pups should know better than to insult their higher-ups," His teeth sharpened and bellowed, his talons striking at my throat. I swerved in time for him to only graze me, taking the opportunity to get my blade in his ribcage. I snapped it in the bone and kicked with full force, using him like a stool as I hopped in the air at one of his pets lunging.

My fist connected into their skull and tore through the throat, gripping the spine and tugging before setting free, "And Spiders should stick to catching flies, not pissing me off."

It felt like this fight went on for hours, Oliver seemed to forget about the Kid. I was thankful, but I had a bad feeling.

My feeling had a good reason, my last step being on the vines of stone and mucus before they wrapped around my ankle and pulled. I fell forward with the loudest snarl, my claws shattering through the concrete in an attempt to not fall into the pit of eggs I was being dragged to.

"You've bored my appetite," Oliver mused, stepping over as acid dripped from his wounds. He strolled around where I was holding onto, melting and weakening the pavement, "You've done well in battle. Lady Ozora would be proud to know her son is following her path."

Those words made my anger rise, but I didn't get enough time to react when I went tumbling, the vines wrapping and trapping me. My teeth bared at him when he smiled and waved, "If ya wanted to be kinky with tentacles all ya had to do was ask. No shame in admitting you're a dirty Lil Fag, Olly!"

He had a tempered glint, his speed-stepping getting him right into my face as his acidicked, "I may be a sinner, but I'll never be as dirty as such, My Mutt. I escaped my sins a long time, this life is a gift. You should be ashamed to deny it. We bring beauty to the world, damnation is Abaddon's Destiny. Your fight only proves you side with the wrong team. Give in, rule with us."

His voice was a purr, his irises dancing with compulsion, his talons waltzing along my skin. I lowered my fight and waited, relaxing into him, murmuring delicately, "Oliver..."

The anger he had subsided, a grin forming upon his lips as the slime seeped around me at his will, "Yes, My Sweet Puppy?"

"I'm really going to enjoy this," I gave a sadistic smile in return before finding an escape for my arm and bashing his skull open with a sharp rock, "I'll bury you all alive before I ever become one of you. Eat my ass."

A snarl escaped his throat before he took a fistful of my hair and started hitting my head against the concrete. He seemed to go into a blind rage, forgetting his plans, "You ruined my face, You Useless Dog! You don't get to do that without consequences!"

I couldn't fight the yelp that escaped from my vision growing blurry and my brain getting dizzy. I wasn't in pain, but I didn't like my senses getting fucked.

"A-A-Apollyon," My voice was weak at Oliver's departure. He was leaving me to be sacked, my mind fading with my murmurs. My prayer to God Apollyon was a last resort to not become one of these things where I lay... I knew Lunar was going to be the first target of betrayal, and I wasn't about to do that to the sweetest Kitty Cat, "Gift me with my freedom, and I'll gift you with the life of the Underworld."

***

Lunar's POV

Thirty minutes and still no Ozora, Forty-five and still no Cast. Maybe an hour is when he hovered above the pipe and called down, "You can come out, now!"

Hesitating, I grabbed the jacket and bag, climbing out and looking at him. He had been eggsacked, mucus-covered all over him with blood and cuts, "Ar-Are you alright, Cast?"

"I've been through worse. They got bored of trying to eat me so they sacked me instead. They didn't expect me to wake up, though," Rolling his eyes with a chuckle, he replied with a shrug. Castian stripped out of his shirt once we were on the ground, drying it off as best as he could before draping it over his shoulder, following me as we walked towards the entrance of the Spooks, "Tonight was fun."

"You think anything life-threatening is fun," I wanted lightly punched his shoulder, noting the light glistening within his tattoos. It was the same magic I'd seen at his Sacrifice. I pretended not to notice, keeping the pondering question in the back of my mind. He gave his answer for a reason, I wasn't going to challenge it.

He laughed in response as we took out our earpieces, his hands shoving into his pockets as he tilted his head towards my direction, "Yeah, but I never had a buddy to enjoy it so it wasn't exactly all that fun."

My face scrunched as he rested an arm around my shoulder and noogied me, "I'd enjoy this if you weren't covered in mucus."

"Get over it, Kid," He chuckled, his lips tickling my temple, "We've been through worse. I'd rather worry about mucus than the rest of this bullshit."

Reaching the Cadillac, Mr. Hayes tossed a change of clothing and a towel to Ozora, earning him to instantly strip himself bare and wipe himself clean to the best of his ability. I looked over to my phone as it buzzed, Cast got the dry clothing on and shoved the dirty ones into a plastic bag.

~ Jax

Mr. Lincoln allowed me to curl up in his lap, Ozora sitting on the trunk, with his feet between the seats, Mr. Hayes' only response being, "If you go flying or fall off don't expect us to come back for you."

I lightly pushed my foot against his arm, giving him a look of Don't-Be-An-Asshole. He only grinned as Castian chortled, "Don't worry about me. A few scrapes won't kill me."