The hybrid nobody wanted

Chapter 6:The silence between heartbeats

I sat in the dark, hand pressed to my chest, waiting for something that wouldn't come.

Nothing.

The bond was silent.

Dorian?

Nothing.

Jax lay beside me, unconscious but breathing. His chest rose and fell in slow, steady rhythm. Alive. I'd saved him.

But at what cost?

I looked back toward the cliff. Toward the camp. Toward the place I'd left him.

He stayed so we could escape.

The thought burned.

I didn't trust him. Didn't want him near me. Didn't understand why the bond had chosen him of all vampires.

But he'd stayed. He'd fought. He'd died for me. For Jax. For people who weren't even his.

Probably, he'd said. Like dying was just another task. Another mission. Another order to follow.

But I hadn't ordered him. Hadn't asked him to stay.

He'd chosen it.

Why?

The bond remained silent. Empty. Like someone had blown out a candle and left only darkness.

I pressed harder against my chest. Please. Please.

Nothing.

Dawn came slowly.

Gray light crept through the trees, painting everything in pale, cold colors. Jax stirred beside me. Moaned.

"Raya?" His voice was rough. Broken.

"I'm here." I moved closer, touching his face. "I'm here."

He blinked up at me. Bruised. Bloody. But alive.

"You came," he whispered.

"Of course I came."

"The vampire..." His eyes searched the trees. "Where is he?"

I looked away.

Jax was quiet for a moment. Then: "He stayed behind."

It wasn't a question.

I nodded. Couldn't speak.

Jax reached for my hand. Squeezed. "Raya..."

"Don't." My voice cracked. "Just... don't."

We sat in silence as the sun rose higher.

The bond didn't return.

We moved when Jax could stand.

Slowly. Painfully. Hour after hour through the forest.

I didn't talk. Couldn't talk. Every step felt wrong. Every heartbeat felt empty.

The bond was gone.

I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to it that constant hum in my chest, that second heartbeat I never asked for. It had been annoying. Confusing. Terrifying.

Now it was just... silence.

And the silence was worse.

We reached the bar as the sun began to set.

Mira met us at the door. She took one look at Jax , bloody, broken, barely standing and grabbed him, pulling him inside.

"Old Tom!" she shouted. "Hot water. Bandages. Now!"

The bar erupted into chaos. Old Tom running. Mira barking orders. Jax being lowered onto a cot.

I stood in the doorway. Watching. Numb.

Mira found me an hour later.

Jax was clean, bandaged, sleeping. Old Tom sat beside him, watching for fever.

Mira pulled me into the kitchen. Sat me down. Pushed tea into my hands.

"Drink," she ordered.

I drank. Didn't taste it.

"Tell me what happened."

I told her. Everything. The cliff. The rescue. The escape. Dorian staying behind.

When I finished, Mira was quiet for a long moment.

"The bond," she finally said. "You can't feel it anymore?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"He might be"

"I know." The words came out flat. Hollow. "I know what it means."

Mira reached for my hand. "Raya..."

"I didn't trust him." My voice broke. "I told him I didn't trust him. I told him I'd kill him if he betrayed me. And he still stayed. He still” I stopped. Swallowed. "He still died for us."

Mira squeezed my hand. Said nothing.

Because what was there to say?

I didn't sleep that night.

Sat on the roof instead. Watched the moon. Pressed my hand to my chest every few minutes, hoping for something.

Nothing.

Dorian.

Nothing.

I thought about his face. His dark eyes. That ghost of a smile when he'd said I'd expect nothing less.

I thought about his voice: I know what it's like to lose family. I know what it's like to have no one come for you.

Someone should come for him.

But who?

The King wanted him dead. The Pack wanted him dead. He had no family. No friends. No one.

Except me.

And I'd run.

I pressed my hand harder against my chest. Please. Please be alive. Please.

Nothing.

Morning came.

I climbed down from the roof. Walked into the kitchen. Found Mira and Old Tom whispering.

They stopped when I entered.

"What?" I asked.

Mira and Old Tom exchanged a look.

"Tell me."

Old Tom cleared his throat. "There's news. From the Pack's territory."

My heart stopped. "What news?"

"A body was found," Mira said slowly. "Near the cliff. A vampire."

The world tilted.

"Word spread fast. The King's people heard. They're sending someone to... retrieve it."

I gripped the table. "When?"

"Today. Maybe tomorrow."

I stood there. Numb. Empty. Broken.

Then something stirred in my chest.

Faint. Weak. Like a whisper.

Raya.

I gasped. Grabbed my chest.

Mira was on her feet. "Raya? What is it?"

The whisper came again. Raya...

Alive. He was alive.

I looked at Mira. At Old Tom. At the door.

"He's alive," I whispered. "And I'm going back."

Mira's face went pale. "Raya, no"

"If the King's people get there first, he's dead. If the Pack finds him first, he's dead." I grabbed my jacket. My dagger. "I left him once. I won't do it again."

"Raya!"

I stopped at the door. Looked back.

"He stayed for us," I said quietly. "Now I stay for him."

I stepped outside.

And ran.