The Alpha's Hybrid

Ten

CALEB

I breathed in deeply, my breath shaking, coming in short bursts. Phoenix had left. Her empty house was proof.

A pang of pain shot through me. I cared about her—my Nixy. Pure heart. Kind soul. She was more than a friend. She was family.

I just hope she was okay.

She was the only one who accepted me for who I was. Everyone else—my pack, even my parents—only wanted what they could gain from me. They left when they got what they wanted. Or when they couldn't.

Nixy liked me for me.

---

A year and a half ago, she walked into my restaurant asking for a job. I obliged immediately. We became close friends. Soon, our friendship blossomed into something deeper—I became like a brother to her.

Even my wolf, Kelvin, became protective of her.

Despite our closeness, Nixy never acted high and mighty. She worked hard. She was reliable. I trusted her with everything.

Now she'd left me. Just like everyone else.

---

I was the first and only son of the Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack. Small in size, but second in strength only to the Blood Red Pack.

I trained day and night, depriving myself of childhood joys, obsessed with impressing my father.

Then everything fell apart.

When I turned sixteen, I didn't shift.

No wolf.

The whispers started. Tongues wagged. I couldn't walk through the pack without hearing them.

"The Alpha's son... may not have a wolf."

The second year passed. Still nothing. I became an outcast.

My parents—who should have protected me—were disappointed too. They shared the public's opinion.

Then I overheard them.

"Why don't we give the position to Colin?" my mother said. "Your brother's son. He's strong. Fierce. He'd make a good Alpha—unlike our excuse of a son."

Colin. My lazy, lanky cousin. Partying and frolicking was his forte. And they wanted to name him successor?

Two weeks later, they threw a party and named Colin their successor.

I left the pack.

I lurked near the borders, hoping someone would notice. No one came. It was good riddance to them.

I lived in caves. Fed on wild fruits and forest animals. Kelvin forced a shift when I ran—I would need him to survive. The rogue life toned me up. Built me into something stronger.

---

Wanting human interaction to keep from going senile, I went east to a pack I later learned was the Half Crescent Pack. The Alpha accepted me. He wanted me to become a warrior because of my build—I declined. Couldn't commit. Might need to leave again.

To pass the time, I started Nature's Kitchen. I secretly loved cooking.

Months later, rogues attacked. People died. A girl was blamed.

I didn't know her. Didn't care to—until she walked into my restaurant asking for a job.

Knowing how brutal public opinion could be, having experienced it myself, I knew I had to become her sanctuary.

---

I traipsed through Phoenix's house, my chest tightening. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

I remembered all the sleepovers here—fearing she'd spiral into depression over her mother.

I walked up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the first room on the right. Black and white assaulting me. But the scent—it was hers.

I looked around. The made-up bed. The closet. Waves of nostalgia washed over me.

I missed my friend.

I turned to leave—then spotted it. An ancient-looking box sitting on her dresser. I vaguely remembered her mentioning finding it in the attic this morning.

I walked over and picked it up. A keyhole, but no key. I grabbed a hairpin from her dresser. A satisfying click told me the box was open.

I gasped.

A pure gold medallion sat regally on an emerald cloth. Ancient. Regal. But incomplete—only one third of it, bearing the sculpt of one side of a wolf's face.

Where were the other two-thirds?

An odd feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

Something was coming.