Before

Sixteen years ago

Canicus limped into the house, tracking blood with every step. In his arms, he tightly held a small, white bundle. Though the place was dark, he could maneuver the place perfectly. The imp made it to his cot in the main room and collapsed onto his back. The bundle rested safely on his stomach, and was rocked gently by Canicus' shallow breathing. Cuts and bruises littered the poor imp's fragile feline body and leaked black blood into his tattered cot. The bundle began to squirm about until Canicus weakly stroked it. “Py... ros...” he strained to call out. He coughed a few times, and called again. “Pyros... please...”

“What is it, raggedy cat?” a deep voice bellowed from another room. After a few minutes, a gargantuan man stomped into the room with a small fire lit on his thumb. His cold, orange eyes lit up when he saw his brother's condition. “Canicus!” he shouted and ran to the cot. “I've told you time and time again, you're not to leave the house during a full moon!” he scolded. Canicus gave a faint smile, and shrugged. “Whoops,” he wheezed, then hacked up a bit of blood. Pyros rubbed his hands together until a pale, violet glow came over them. “Was it hunters? Or Dogs?” he asked and slowly erased the imp's injuries with a wave of his hand. “It's a rather i-interesting story,” Canicus started. He nodded his head towards the small bundle on his chest. “That little guy there caused quite a bit of trouble. He's the seventh son in a family.” Pyros raised an eyebrow, then unwrapped the bundle to see a sleeping baby boy. “This child is human,” snarled Pyros. Canicus shook his head and sat up. “Not by a long shot.”

“Despite your constant warnings, Pyros I love Moonlit strolls. I'm as bad as the Dogs when it comes to the full moon. While I was walking around the compound, I heard a woman scream out in pain, so I ran over to see if she needed help. She was like Mother, a dark woman. She was shot with a few arrows, and bleeding profusely. I offered her some help, but she just handed me her son and shooed me away. I asked her why she was handing her son off to a demon, and she said it was best he was raised by his own kind. I didn't realize what she meant until I tried to help her get back to the compound.

“She was stubborn. I pleaded and begged with her to come with me, but she refused. I finally gave up on her, and left. As I'm walking, I get stopped by a few hunters. They were going to ask about the boy and his mother. But as soon as they got a better look at me their answers were found. Without even giving me a chance to explain myself, they marked me as a traitor to the Sun-Born society for harboring a fugitive Moon-Born. That child? A fugitive. I spat in that idiot's face for saying something so horrendously stupid. Needless to say, the hunters are responsible for my beautiful scars. Thanks for the healing spell, by the way,” finished Canicus and scooped the boy into his arms. Pyros grimaced with confusion. “Wait, Canicus �" I don't understand. The child in your arms is an illegal moon-born. Which means that-”

“100% true werewolf. I think I'll name him Edwin,” smiled Canicus. Pyros scoffed. “I think you'll name him homeless and give him to Lykaon before the moon passes.” Canicus growled and held the child close to his chest. “You're not taking my child away from me, Pyros.”

“You've had him for an hour, Canicus! You can't take care of that thing.”

“Why not? I cared for a dragon for twenty years I can care for a werewolf.”

“I am a half-dragon, and I don't count! He's cute now, but what when he's bigger?”

“Then he'll get married and give me grandchildren!” squealed Canicus and nuzzled the child, who affectionately grabbed the imp's face. Pyros slammed his fist into the floor. “Canicus! He's going to turn into a monster. You couldn't even handle the group of hunters, how are you going to handle a lycan in full form?” Pyros roared. Canicus' scarlet eyes were aglow with anger. “You forget I am not as weak as this form may lead you to believe, Pyros.  If the boy gets out of hand, I will be able to handle it.” Pyros ran his hands through his scarlet hair and sighed. “Fine. You can keep the boy, but I warned you. When he hits full maturity, your little Eddie will become a nightmare.” Canicus smiled. “So you agree, we should name his Eddie?”

Author's Note

Any grammatical errors, plot bunnies, etc. that are seen let me know