Chapter 5 New Goal

It was indeed devastating news for the Wolf Creed pack and other packs that were indebted to Clint Harvey for always offering a helping hand. Losing him was a great loss for the wolves, one that couldn't be replaced.

Ian watched Xia tremble as he broke the news; he wasn't sure if it was with fear or anger-whichever he didn't care. He just knew that he had to hold his brother down for as long as possible. He was coming down the stairs when Xia fell on his knees.

Xia had great respect and love for his father, but lately, they were growing distant with every moment they spent apart. Not that they were really close to begin with, but Xia had always wanted to bridge that distance. He just didn't think that this period was the appropriate time. The younger wolves were tasked with the duty of searching for the hybrid, and Xia wasn't an exception to this. While his father would constantly move out to settle urgent issues that could not be overlooked, especially since he was a leader, it was safe to say that Mr. Clint took his leadership duty far more seriously than his parental duty, leaving little or no bonding time for him and his family. Even if he wasn't an ideal father, he still was a great leader, and without a doubt, Clint would always be remembered as a hero.

His legs had suddenly become too weak to hold him; this was unexpected. The news had hit him in ways he could not understand, yet his eyes were dry. Although tears had welled up in his eyes, they never rolled down. He was trying his possible best to put himself together as he was now aware of others who were present; he had to stay strong for them and his mother. He wondered if this was what his father always went through-trying to be strong around those whom you need to protect even when that was not what the heart was feeling. Xia just couldn't comprehend his own feelings.

"How did it happen?" Xia questioned.

"We went to have a peace talk with the vampires, and-"

"And what?" Xia barked at the man who had taken the risk to answer him. He was losing his patience.

"We were ambushed, sir. He laid down his life for us so we could escape."

"Haha, haha." Xia laughed bitterly. "And you all ran with your tail between your legs, leaving your alpha to die." Xia knew the kind of person his father was; he would sacrifice himself to save those he cared about without any hesitation.

Xia pulled himself together and got up from the floor. Although he looked calm now, everyone could tell he was still furious, and Ian was hoping he wouldn't do something stupid.

The next moment, there was a gust of wind in the room. No one saw what had happened, but they soon figured it out.

****

Ian had been expecting his brother to have done something stupid earlier, but he never did. Still, Ian was ready for anything. He was watching Xia's movements carefully, and the moment he noticed what Xia was about to do, he ran after him. Werewolves were fast creatures, but speed varied based on individuals. Xia was fast, but Ian was faster.

Xia, who was not in his right senses at the moment, had run for the door. He was going out alone to deal with the vampires. He was slowly morphing in front of everyone; his eyes had slightly changed color for a moment before he bolted out of the room. He knew strong werewolves were in the room, and if they saw him changing, they would try to stop him. So he ran out quickly. Most people didn't notice the slight change in the color of his eyes, but Ian, who was watching his every movement, did and quickly ran after him.

Ian had managed to pin his brother down just outside the building they ran out from before two hefty men came and held him down.

"Arrgh! Let go of me!" Xia was trying to get out of the hefty men's hold, but it was impossible. They had him on both his knees while they held each of his hands behind him and a foot on each of his legs. They didn't care if they crushed his bones; he was going to heal as soon as they let go of him. For now, they were not holding back because they knew his strength. Those blood-sucking demons deserve to die.

"Get a hold of yourself, Xavier." Ian was getting frustrated with his brother, and he didn't know when his right fist clashed with Xia's head. The blow had been delivered from under Xia's chin, and this sent his head flying back. If Xia wasn't being held by those men, he would have been sent flying in another direction entirely.

Ian didn't mean to hit Xia, but it seemed like the punch might have given him a bit of sense as he was now quiet. Nearly everyone that was in the building that both brothers had run out from had come out just in time to see Ian punch Xia. Many felt like if it were them that had received that heavy blow, they would not be able to recover quickly, even with their fast healing ability.

Xia had been calm for a moment now, but still, the hefty men held him in their strong grip. They didn't want to take any chances with the young werewolf. After all, he wasn't just any werewolf; he was the late alpha's son, and with his father gone now, who knew how strong he would be.

Ian looked at his brother, who had been quiet for some time now. He felt sorry for him because of the responsibilities he had to take on now; he couldn't help but blame himself.

The usual law of the werewolves was for every first child of the previous alpha to take up the role of leading a pack. Ian had the qualities of being a great leader just like his father, Clint Harvey, but he had opted out because he felt he wasn't really good at giving out orders and making the right decisions at times. After his refusal to take on the role of alpha if his father stepped down or died, the bar was passed to his younger brother, Xia. Ian believed that Xia would be better than him if he had the right training before he became alpha later in life. What Ian didn't expect was for their father to be gone when Xia was not yet ready.

Ian went down on one knee in front of his brother whose eyes were fixed on the floor. He didn't know what to do, but he needed to be sure that Xia was in the right state of mind.

"Look Xia, I'm sorry; this is my fault." Ian took in a deep breath. He didn't know what to say as his brother was grieving; they were all grieving.

"But you can't go after the vampires on your own," Ian continued. "You'll be a dead man before you know it. We need you to be strong, for Mom, for the people, and for our purpose. The vampire lord has started a war, but there is a goal that we have to achieve first before we go after him. I'm sure you understand this better than anyone."

Without going so much into details, Ian gave the men that still held Xia in place a signal with his head, and instantly they let go of him.

After the hit from his brother, Xavier had gone mute, just thinking of the last moments he had with his father until his brother knelt in front of him, giving out some kind of speech that he didn't really want to listen to. Still, he had no choice as he couldn't just walk away since he was held in place.

He listened to what his brother said; he didn't want to admit it, but his brother was right. If he was going to fight, he was not just going to face the vampire lord, but the whole vampire race, and that was something he knew he couldn't do on his own, no matter how strong he was.

With the aim of defeating the vampires out of the way for now, he found a new goal as his brother spoke, and that was to find the hybrid before the vampires did.