CRIMSON NOCTURNE

CHAPTER 4: Father's Confession

The rooftop was silent except for the rustle of paper. Yi Fei's hands trembled as he unfolded the letter — the one his father had left six years ago, sealed with strict instructions: *Do not open until eighteen.*

He was eighteen now. By seven minutes.

The first line made him laugh despite the tension.

*Yi Fei, my handsome son. If you're reading this, it means you actually followed my instructions and waited until you were eighteen. Good boy. I taught you well.*

*First: I'm sorry. Sorry for leaving you alone, sorry for missing your growth, sorry for every birthday I couldn't be there. But the city was too dangerous for me. As the most handsome and charismatic werewolf of my generation, I was a target.*

*Second: I'm not sorry for joking. Never lose your sense of humor, son. It's the only thing that keeps monsters sane.*

Yi Fei smiled. That was his father — always cracking jokes, even in a letter that had been waiting six years to be read.

Then the tone shifted.

*Now, the serious part.*

*You're eighteen. For a werewolf, that means your body is fully mature. The good news: no more painful transformations. From now on, you choose when to change, not the moon. The full moon curse ends tonight. The silver fur covering your body is normal — it's a sign of maturity, a natural armor.*

*Your unique ability will also manifest. Mine was the Howl — a sonic scream that could shatter concrete. I once brought down an entire building by accident. Your mother was furious.*

His mother.

*Speaking of your mother...*

Yi Fei's breath caught.

*Yi Fei, son. Your mother was not a werewolf. She was a vampire. A real one. Born in the 18th century, turned in her twenties. She was the most beautiful woman I ever met, and the most dangerous.*

*I know this is a lot to process. But this is why you're different. Your silver-white fur, your unusual strength, the way your body seems to resist certain kinds of injury — it all comes from her. You're not a half-breed. You're something new. Something that's never existed before.*

*A hybrid of werewolf and vampire.*

*I don't know what you'll become. I don't know what powers you'll manifest or what weaknesses you'll have. But I know this: you are not a monster. You are my son.*

*Be careful who you trust. The world is not kind to creatures like us. There are hunters. There are vampire lords who would want to claim you. There are werewolf packs who would reject you. You walk a path alone.*

*But if you ever need help — real help — look for those who carry the mark of the crescent moon. They are allies. Old friends of the family.*

*Your mother and I are still out there, somewhere. We left to protect you, not to abandon you. When the time is right, we will find each other again.*

*Until then, stay alive. Stay human. And when you need to be something more — embrace it.*

*With all my love,*

*Dad*

* * *

Yi Fei read the letter three times. Then a fourth.

A vampire mother. A werewolf father. A hybrid that had never existed before.

He sat on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the drop, watching the stars appear one by one. The letter lay open in his lap.

*My mother is a vampire.*

The thought was too big to hold. It slipped through his mind and scattered.

*I'm not a full werewolf. I'm not a full vampire. I'm both. Neither. Something new.*

The wind picked up, carrying the distant sound of patrol robots marching through the streets below. The curfew was in effect, and the city was a cage of steel and searchlights.

*They're hunting werewolves. What would they do if they found out what I really am?*

He folded the letter carefully and placed it back in his pocket, over his heart.

* * *

The next morning, Yi Fei walked into class like a zombie.

He sat through four periods without hearing a single word. His teachers' voices were background noise. The blackboard was a blur. His mind was a loop: vampire mother, hybrid blood, secret allies, hidden enemies.

Cheng Yao kept glancing back at him during math. Her eyes asked the same question: *Are you okay?* But he didn't notice.

Chen Jing noticed. She watched him stare blankly at the wall for three hours, and her frustration built like pressure in a boiler.

At lunch, she snapped.

"YI FEI!"

He blinked. "Huh?"

She grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "What is WRONG with you?! You've been a zombie all day! I've been trying to talk to you and you just... stare!"

Yi Fei opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Unbelievable!" Chen Jing's eyes were wet. "I thought you were cool after that game. I thought we could be friends. But you won't even LOOK at me!"

She spun around and ran out of the classroom, nearly colliding with the doorframe.

The room was silent. Everyone was staring at him.

*Great. Now I'm the jerk who made a girl cry.*

He slumped back in his seat. *I can't explain to her that I just found out my mother is a vampire and my entire identity is a lie. She wouldn't understand.*

Cheng Yao caught his eye from across the room. She gave him a small, sad smile, but said nothing.

* * *

The manhunt had intensified.

The city was locked down. Armored vehicles lined the main streets. Soldiers with modified weapons stood at every major intersection. The news called it "containment protocol," but everyone knew the truth — they were hunting the creatures that had been spotted near the school.

Yang Yi texted him during break: *They're calling in specialists tomorrow. Some kind of "supernatural task force." My dad's friend in the police said they're not messing around.*

Yi Fei stared at the message.

*Supernatural task force. Great. Just in time for my hybrid awakening.*

School let out early — a new policy to get students home before curfew. Yi Fei walked through the empty streets, his footsteps echoing off closed storefronts. The letter pulsed against his chest with every heartbeat.

*My father was a werewolf. My mother was a vampire.*

*And I'm eighteen years old, standing at the edge of a war I didn't start.*

*Whatever's coming next... bring it on.*

**[END OF CHAPTER 4]**