CHAPTER THIRTEEN. The Fight Against the Hunters.

Jaden whirled.

Still on his knees, his eyes darted around frantically, trying to find the creature that had made that sound.

It didn't take too long to get the answer.

Quietly, prowling out of the shadows, six Gregors appeared, all in beast form.

A Gregor's beast was usually twice as large as their human form. So to Jaden, who was only a child, they looked nothing less than giants.

Standing up slowly, the seven year old took a few steps back, unsure what to expect.

He recognized these Gregors. About four of them usually paid his dad a visit from time to time. 

More often than not, the purpose of their visits leaned toward hunting issues than anything else.

But why were they here?

The beast at the head of the group, with fiery red fur and black stripes, bared its teeth and suddenly Jaden could hear a voice being projected into his head.

'Well, well, looks like you're alone, cub. What's the matter? Got tired of running?'.

Slowly the beast began closing the gap between them. 

With a low growl, it crouched low, rolling it's powerful shoulders, tail switching from side to side.

'Thought you could get away, after what you did, didn't you?'.

'The road ends here, kid, and no one's going to save you now'.

The huge beast launched itself at him letting off a sound that sounded like a savage combination of a bark and a snarl, it's claws fully unsheathed, teeth flashing white.

Jaden scrambled backward in vain. There was no way he could escape something like this.

The creature knocked him to the ground, and all his breath washed out of his lungs as his back smashed into the earth. 

He ears rang as he stared up at the beast towering over him.

With a snarl, the beast raised a single paw into the air, razor sharp, black claws gleaming.

He swung it down. 

Jaden turned away, closing his eyes, holding his arms over his head.

For a moment all he could hear were the sounds of his own breathing and his thudding heart, fluttering in his chest like a trapped bird.

A thunderous roar erupted in his ears, ringing throughout the forest.

His eyes flew open, and he watched as another Gregor, one Jaden hadn't noticed before, slammed itself into the red beast's side, the one who'd been about to take his life, visciously beating the creature back.

The newcomer was a beast Jaden would recognise anywhere.

"Dad", Jaden whispered, stumbling back onto his feet as his father's beast flung the enemy to the ground, before moving back to stand in front of him. 

Arud's body was tense, the hackles on his back fully raised. He hissed, daring anyone of the hunters to try attacking him again.

'Stay put, kid', was his only acknowledgement to Jaden.

The beast Arud had attacked first was already on his feet and one could tell he was furious with how he paced from one end to the other, snarling, glaring at Arud. 

The other Gregors who were with him maintained their positions as if awaiting an order to attack.

Jaden soon recognised the red beast; Ren's father.

----

'Step aside, Arud!'

The Prince held his ground but made no reply.

Alan resumed his pacing, this time more slowly, more calculated. 

Arud kept his guard up, keeping a keen eye on every minute movement made.

'You can't save him Arud, not after what he's done', Alan sneered.

'He's only a child', Arud replied cooly.

'A child!', Alan barked, his words filled with indignation. 

'A child fated to destroy everything that lives. A child fated to bring our world to ruins!'

Alan paused for a second, his eyes on the ground. When he spoke again he did so quietly, and Arud could hear the pain in his words.

'A cold-blooded murderer'.

'I'm sorry for the loss of your son, Alan. But killing the boy won't bring Ren back!'

'You're right, it won't. But if it hadn't been for that bastard, my son would still be alive! STEP ASIDE!'

Arud didn't even flinch.

'You want him? You go through me first.'

Alan slowed his pace then stopped, facing Arud directly.

'Then so be it, but bear in mind, I'm not the only one who wants him dead'.

As he spoke, the other five hunters behind him began spreading out, forming a circle, enclosing both Arud and Jaden within it.

Arud growled, Jaden shuffled closer to him.

'Last chance, Arud', Alan said, 'Step aside'.

In response, the prince roared, 'touch him, and you're dead!'

The next moment, a Gregor leaped toward them from behind, but Arud had been expecting it.

Unleashing his claws, he whirled, meeting the enemy halfway with a powerful blow that sent him flying back.

The fight didn't stop there.

Almost immediately, two of the hunters swooped in from both sides. Arud was able to quickly deal with them as he had done the first. But they kept coming back, getting back up as quickly as he struck them down. 

Their attacks were becoming faster and stronger with each second.

Arud knew it would only be a matter of time before they brought him down. And his main priority was keeping Jaden safe.

The best he could do right now was give the boy the time to escape while he did his best to fight off the hunters. But even then, there was only a small chance that Jaden would get out alive. Still it was a better chance than none.

With this in mind, Arud immediately broke through the circle they'd been enclosed in by attacking the Gregor closest to him. He gave Jaden a sharp nudge, putting some distance between them.

'RUN!' he yelled.

Jaden responded immediately, shifting into his beast form just as he had been taught, before bolting into the forest.

Seeing this, two of the hunters attempted to follow Jaden, but Arud was quick to respond. He sank his teeth into the neck of one of the hunters, then hurled him against the other, taking them both down at once. 

But it wasn't enough.

One of them managed to get past him, while the last three moved in at the same time, preventing him from stopping the hunter.

Arud was rushed to the ground, attacks coming in from left and right. 

His beast snapped and snarled and clawed, doing his best to give back as many wounds as he received. 

But against so many gregors who were just as large and as skilled as he was, it wasn't long before the hunters transformed Arud's green coat into a deep, dripping scarlet.

Due to the blood loss, Arud was gradually growing weaker, slower. The others could easily dogde his attacks now compared to before. 

The Prince's vision was swirling, he could barely stand on his own feet talk less of defend himself. 

It was only then that Alan, being one of those who had stayed behind, launched a final attack, having stayed out of the fight for a while. 

He swiped his claws at Arud's face so hard the other was sent crashing against a tree.

Dazed, the Prince fell to the ground, subconsciously reverting back to his human form.

He struggled to draw air back into his lungs, tried to get back up, to keep fighting. 

Alas, he couldn't even see clearly after that, couldn't feel anything.

If this had been a one on one fight, maybe Arud would have won hands down. 

Unfortunately, the hunters weren't going to give him that chance.

The only reason they had kept this form was so none of them would be able to use their talents, which could very well change the direction of things if something like that was involved, depending on how strong their talents were, of course.

'Look at you', Alan said, gloating, 'still fighting for him, even after all he's done? It makes me wonder what you hope to gain by keeping him. The throne?'

All Arud could see right now was a cloudy figure speaking to him, and he knew, if he wanted to achieve his mission, he needed to give everything he had. And damn the consequences.

'I didn't wish for things to end this way, Arud.'

The Prince's heart rate increased, racing.

'Dad!' Jaden's voice rang out in his head, permeating through every part of his consciousness even as his body began taking the shape of something else.

'But you left me no choice'.

'Dad!'

Alan raised one paw off the ground, pitch black claws glistening under the faint shafts of light that streamed down from the trees. 

He was completely unaware of what was going on with Arud.

Before the hunter's claws could reach him, Arud threw out an arm and grabbed the hunter's paw, stopping it completely.

His grip wasn't by any means weak, in fact it was so strong that Alan's wrist was smashed and the hunter reverted back to his human form the next second with a loud cry.

Arud slowly rose to his feet, forcing Alan to his knees, who could do absolutely nothing, to his own astonishment, against the Prince at this point.

The others, intimidated by this show of strength, stepped back, stunned.

In that short time, Arud's change became more obvious and what the hunters were looking at now was nothing short of a complete monster.

Arud's skin grew tougher, stronger. Scales appeared, travelling down from the sides of his face, his neck, completely covering everything else. 

His wounds disappeared, his body growing larger. The scales on his back increased in size, and out of them came massive, white spikes, running down from the base of his neck to the small of his back.

His jaws and teeth elongated, protruding forward slightly. 

His nails transformed into thick, white, razor sharp claws. 

Behind him, a tail that was just as long as his whole body appeared, switching from side to side, brandishing a tip shaped like an arrow head.

All this change had only taken a few seconds, and in Arud's place now was what could only be described as a large humanoid reptilian creature.

Realising just how much trouble they were in, Alan whispered, dread soaking into every syllable;

"He's an ABMADOR".