THE HYBRID MATES

ARRIVAL

CHAPTER #6

“ARRIVAL”

MEREDITH’S POV:

Somehow, I knew I wasn’t supposed to wake, but I could hear the hum of an engine as I laid on a plush surface. I was barely conscious and unable to open my eyes, I felt lethargic and cold, and I knew I had been drugged. I laid silently on this plush surface listening to the sound of the turbines singing and after an undisclosed amount of time I heard a door open, then close again. A weight sank onto the surface I was laying on, and I felt a hand swipe over my forehead, brushing a stand of hair away from my face. I felt the individuals’ fingers delicately caress my temple and although I knew this person was not supposed to be touching me, the tenderness and feeling was gently and calming.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there with this other individual lying beside me, occasionally stroking my face, head, hair, or temple gently. As I became more alert, I occasionally caught the distinctive scent of menthol cigarettes, and I wracked my brain trying to recall where I had smelled that before. It wasn’t new, nor was it foreign.

I felt some shaking, noticing that it must be turbulence, and I heard the engine’s tone change, and I could feel the plane begin to descend. How long had I been on board, and where were we going, and lastly, who was with me? I was feeling fear form in my belly, a sinking feeling that I was in big trouble. I was unable to open my eyes, or lift my arms, I couldn’t even flick a toe, whatever they had given me was potent. I heard the door open once more, concentrating all my consciousness on voices and sounds.

“Were descending. We will be landing in fifteen minutes.” A man’s voice rang out, it was deep and had a heavy New York accent to it. I had never heard it before, that I was sure.

“Sounds good.” Another man’s voice echoed, had a slight southern charm to it. That voice I had heard before. It was smooth with a twang, and my memory flickered darkness to a man with cool blue eyes and a distinctive mustache I had met in the woods after I had left my mate. I felt anxiety wash over me, what had happened? I attempted to move my hand, and other than being able to twitch my finger, I was unable to do more. I wanted to cry; however I knew that that was futile. I needed to keep it together. I would learn my hand soon enough.

The plane landed without incident, and quite smoothly, yet I could feel my extremities becoming less heavy as the minutes passed. I attempted to open my eyes, carefully, squinting so hopefully no one would notice and I was successful. What I saw, however, caused me to panic. It was Evan James sitting beside me, his hand causally resting on my calf, as he peered out the aircraft window as we taxied to wherever he had chartered us to. This was even more terrifying than I had initially thought.

“Almost there my beauty.” He purred without looking at me, still staring out of the window. I needed to focus my senses, although I was nearly immobile still and I knew magic was far fetched for me at this point. The wolfsbane he had injected me with had weakened me. The plane came to a stop, and Evan stood, lifting his hand from me. Another man, dark and devious entered the room, his eyes glinting and not giving me a look. I held my breath as I realized I was dealing with a dhampir, he was only half human. I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise when the hybrid twitched his nostrils and smiled directly at me.

“Ah, your little pet is awake.” He sneered at me, reaching forward, and rolling me onto my back. My eyes shot open, fury raging within them. The green piercing into his soulless black orbs. He smiled with a delighted amusement and pushed my dark mane away from my face. “and she is pretty! Very pretty! I think I would have taken this one myself had you not already claimed her. A power witch, relation of a King and beautiful, a perfect package.” The rumble in his New Yorker accented voice caused me to shutter, he was pure evil. What had I gotten into!

“Back off.” A low growl came from Evan James who took an aggressive step in between me and the Dhampir, his eyes flickering from gold to blue, his wolf threatening to immerge if he chose to remain to close to me. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. For the first time in my life, I was pleased Evan James, of all people, had stepped in on my behalf. I knew that I was helpless, Dhampirs where strong, fast, often had the same abilities as their vampire parent, without the need for blood. The Dhampir raised his hands in a surrender form, although still glanced over Evan’s shoulder to smirk at me.

“No harm no foul.” He chortled. “The limo is waiting for us. Let’s get going. Montague is waiting, I know he is very excited to meet you.” Again, his gaze was over Evan’s shoulder directed to me. Montague? Where had I heard that name before? I rolled it over and over in my mind trying to remember why that sounded so familiar all while keeping focus on what the Dhampir.

Evan turned and reached down to lift me off the bed. I froze, my body stiffened. I still didn’t have the ability of magic, or the ability to flee or fight. I was a captive audience in every sense of the word. He was gentle, handling me like a porcelain doll, my eyes wide with mistrust and alarm.

“I gotcha ya.” He purred as he lifted me up gently and lightly brushed his lips onto my forehead. “I will never let anything happen to you.” His voice was sincere and I felt helpless and angry. Why, why me?! What had I done to deserve being taken by this madman? Evan carried me tenderly to a black stretch limousine that was waiting for us, and that nasty Dhampir was already inside, smirking and smiled grotesquely at us as Evan calmly sat into the auto. He seemed annoyed, however was impressively able to keep his cool and his wits about him.

We drove for nearly an hour, deep into the countryside. The terrain was unfamiliar to me, I saw vineyards as far as the eye could see whilst sitting upon Evan’s lap. He held me securely, yet gently, and I could sorrowfully admit at this moment I was pleased that Evan had such a tight hold on me as I felt far safer in his arms than being alone with this Dhampir.

From the front of the car, I heard the driver utter something to the dark man sitting across from us. I recognized the language, it was French. That would make sense, all the rolling acres of vineyards and elaborate homes of stone and plaster suggested we were in Europe. Thus far I had been able to recognize that I had been abducted by a madman who had joined forces with a Dhampir and flown me to France. But why? For what reason would they want me? I held no power alone, taking me was pointless, or so I believed. They must have some ulterior plan as to why they had taken me, and undoubtably nothing about it was going to be good.

The car finally came to a stop in front of a large stone castle. It’s Medieval goth style caused me to shiver as the driver opened the car door for us to exit. I could feel the evil coming from the building, it was ancient and sinister. The wind whipped through the car, the driving catching the door before it slammed closed on us. The weather was dreary and cold, and as I glanced upwards to the sky as Evan effortlessly lifted me into his arms, I noticed how grey the sky was. It was cold, damp, and ugly in every way imaginable. The wind felt as though it was going through me, however it was nothing compared to the site I saw standing at the entrance of the castle, waiting for us.