Chapter 64 - Black Stripes 2

Luca eyed the frail fox hybrid who made no move to leave the door still, contemplating just taking a nap instead but Calvin had told him to make nice so he had to at least make an effort.

He was wearing a loose gray sweatshirt and ripped skinny jeans, white-blond hair in a disarray. "Hey, can you even hear me?"

Faun snapped out of his thoughts at this point, taking a tentative step closer. This was another hybrid, there was no reason to be scared or wary. "You're with a werewolf." He blurted out, his flippant words faster than his legs, tail flicking.

Luca cocked a brow, amusement dancing in his ice blue eyes, "And you're not?"

Faun's eyes widened in shock although he had been the one to say it first, he hurried forward now, closing the space between them. "N-No, you don't understand-"

Luca just placed his hands behind his head and leaned against the backrest of the couch. "You don't have to explain anything to me," He cut the fox hybrid off with a chuckle.

Faun stumbled over his words, a frown on his face. "What?"

Luca patted the space beside him on the chair, "You don't have to feel guilty for surviving."

"I don't- I'm not?" Faun mumbled, going into a spiral. "But they kill us, I don't understand, aren't you scared?" He asked seriously, his leaf green eyes awash in emotions.

"Your werewolf decided to save you, didn't he?"

"But- the others-"

"He's not a god, Faun." Luca cut him off.

Faun clamped his lips shut, a stubborn furrow in his brows. Truly this had been something he had been struggling with internally without realising and having it being put into words completely caught him off guard.

"But that's not all there is!" He blurted out, eyes blazing even as he forgot to sit. Although he was standing while Luca was seated, the big cat felt like he towered him. "Generations of trauma can't be fixed with just that."

Luca reached out to catch the fox hybrid's wrist so he could pull him to the couch, "You didn't grow up with other hybrids, did you?" He asked quietly.

Faun didn't expect to be read plainly like a book, he fell silent at that, sitting stiffly on the couch.

Luca instinctively knew that he had hit the nail on the head with that. "Things are never that easy, it's not all black and white and you'll find that there's actually a lot more hybrids living in the North than you'd expect."

"W-What?" Faun blanched, "They're not all killed?"

"Not if they're the property of a werewolf," Luca said casually like his words weren't gruesome.

Faun's belly soured at that, "Somehow that doesn't sound much better."

"Maybe it's not but more often than not, it is."

Faun couldn't understand how Luca could be so casual, so flippant about something like this. "Doesn't it make you angry?"

Luca shot him a knowing look, "Are you angry at the Crown Prince?"

That shut Faun up so fast, "That's not a fair question," He mumbled after a couple of beats of silence.

"You have been the one asking unfair questions this entire time," Luca tossed back at him, spinning his leash in a circle like a small lasso.

Faun retreated into himself at that, maybe he hadn't grown up with other hybrids but he wouldn't live like this. He would escape and go back to his own definition of freedom.

The thought that the hybrids going to the North had known exactly where they were headed but had hoped that they would get picked by a werewolf instead of being killed made him sick to his stomach. Even worse was how unfazed everyone was about the whole thing… Did Declan know about that too?

Luca fell silent too, plagued by his thoughts, he didn't think any of this was fair and he wasn't exactly sure who deserved to be angry. Some werewolves were more angry about the current situation than even hybrids themselves, but it was a long-time tradition rooted in the old laws where it was forbidden to mate with humans that even decades of protests couldn't topple.

He glanced at the fox hybrid who was unaware of the power he currently held. Calvin had told him why they were invited to the castle, and it was because Prince Declan was trying to nullify the laws that called for the genocide of hybrids. It was a daunting task and it was fascinating to meet the hybrid behind it.

He reached out to grab the fox hybrid's bushy tail, swishing it from side to side while his eyes followed the tip intently.

Faun shot him an odd look, "You have your own tail," He half scolded, hiding a grimace at the pang that had struck him when he remembered who also had a fascination with his tail.

"I haven't seen a fox hybrid before," Luca said bluntly, still not letting go of his tail.

Faun snatched it back, a frown growing on his face. "I thought you said that there were a lot of hybrids living in the capital."

"Not foxes, they preferred to hide away so no one knows if there are even any left." The tiger hybrid answered, reaching for Faun's tail again.

Faun let him, his green eyes losing their warmth. There was a chance that he was the last fox hybrid alive. Hybrids tended to segregate themselves which was no surprise as there was such a wide diversity amongst them but it also meant that he was possibly all alone.

Luca only let go of Faun's tail when the door opened again, his skin prickling at the deathly stare that Prince Declan shot him.

"I'll be on my way now but I'll get to work right away on what we discussed," Calvin said as he walked forward with his stick. He looked very young with long limp black hair but his skin was so pale and he was slightly hunched over.

Faun didn't look up when they left, not even when Declan walked up to him. "Can I bake today?" He asked quietly, staring at his hands placed on his knees.

Declan frowned, troubled by this. He had expected that meeting another hybrid would brighten Faun's mood but it made him even more gloomy, he shot a dark look at the door - what had that tiger said to him?

"Yeah, sure," He absently agreed, already bringing out his phone to call Cade and Ash down.