Royal Hybrid

Permission

I stand quietly in front of the door that now leads to a room that is my mother's office. My heart pounds against my ribcage, begging to be free.

I'm an adult, yet the fear of asking my mother's permission is terrifying for some strange reason. Let alone interrupting the paperwork that she mentioned earlier. I've never understood why I have to ask for permission when other members don't.

I take a deep breath, steadying my breathing as I rest my hand on the doorknob.

"Mom?" I quietly squeak as I open her office door. The door moans as I open it, something it's always done.

I peek my head around the office door, looking for my mother.

This office was my father's before my mother had to take over. He's only been dead for nearly a week, so his smell still lingers around the room. My heart tightens at the thought of my father, and the grip only gets tighter as I see the pile of papers that litter his desk in stacks.

Most of his things that decorated the room are now tucked away in cardboard boxes against the furthest wall. All that's left is the dark wooden desk against the right wall of the room. 

There, asleep in the computer chair, her head on a small pile of bland white papers, is my mother. Her soft snoring is somewhat saddening to my ears. The towers of paper around her are nearly twice as tall as the level of her head. 

Who knew we had so much paperwork as a clan? Usually, when I would come in here to see what dad was doing, his work area was nice and tidy. Sure a few papers here and there were on his desk, but never this much.

I lightly step as I approach my mom, the slick wood floors sticking to my bare feet. I gently poke her shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Mom?" I whisper.

With no response, I shake her shoulder slightly. "Mom?" I say a little louder this time.

"Mom!" I shout as I jab her with my pointer finger, which causes her to jump up.

"Topaz!" she screeches in terror, the loud shout echoes against the barren walls.

"Yeah?" I whisper sheepishly. I know my mother's wrath is not one I want to face.

"Don't do that to me," she yelps as she clutches her chest, "you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"You're fine; you're a Mythical," I shrug. It's true, thanks to our rapid healing and fantastic health, we don't die as normal humans do. Sure we can die of old age, we aren't immortal like those bloodsuckers, but we don't die from heart attacks or other trivial problems.

"Whether I'm fine or not is not the issue. You still scared the hell out of me," she sighs as she runs her hand through her long red hair.

"I get it. I'm sorry," I shrug. What else was I supposed to do?

She sits back in the chair, picks up a pen, and begins to work on the papers once more. "What do you need, Topaz," she questions.

"Well, Crevan agreed to teach me," I state in a sing-song voice.

"And?" she hums with wonder.

"I was hoping," I trail off before continuing, "that you would let me go hunting tonight."

My mother instantly stiffens and puts the pen on to the table, and spins around in the swivel office chair to face me. Her thin red eyebrows furrow with unhappiness as she glances over my body. 

"You know that you have set dates you are allowed to go hunt," she states.

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts Topaz."

"But," I say in annoyance, "Crevan said he'd teach me some things tomorrow, and I want to be in tip-top shape."

My mom pauses for a moment before picking the pen back up and resuming work. "Promise you'll be careful?"

"I promise," I say as I draw a cross over my heart with my pointer finger.

"What do I always tell you?" she questions gently.

I pause before answering in a monotone voice as I recite what she has told me every time I hunt. "Stay hidden, don't let others see me, and always mask my scent."

As a fox-shifter, we can mask our scent by merely focusing on it. Although when we are in our clans, we usually don't. For some reason, as soon as I was able to shift- my father taught me how to do it both in my human form and animal.

"Good," she turns around and flashes a small smile. Her teeth are vibrant white and perfectly straight. Her eyes glaze over with sadness, "I love you."

I groan, "I love you too." I sway with excitement, "So am I allowed to go?"

She inhales deeply as she goes back to her paperwork, signing them with a swift motion and placing finished papers into a pile on her right side. "Yes, you may. You're not to be out too long, though."

I rush over to her and hug her from over the chair. "Thank you!" I squeal in excitement.

I have a few hours until it's dark enough outside to go hunting. So maybe I'll go read a few pages of the journals. 

___

Back in my room, I throw my backpack onto the floor and grab the first book out from inside it, the one I had read a few words of before. I just want to know more about it, and I don't want to wait until tomorrow.

I throw myself onto my bed and eagerly open the book to its contents. Reading what it contains.

It's been a few days since I've been watching them. They don't seem to notice me yet. Unlike the werewolves, they don't religiously track their borders. It is like I expected; the beta female appears to be the sister of the alpha. 

I'm not sure the alpha female has a partner, or at least I haven't seen one yet. Do their traditions match that of the werewolves? Whatever the answer, I'm going to keep an eye out.

A chill runs up my spine. My suspicions have been answered by reading the last few sentences. The person writing this- isn't a fox-shifter. They also don't appear to be a werewolf since it claims they watched over them as well. 

I close the book and stick it back into the bag, and throw a change of clothes in there as well. Shifting is rough, and it's always nice to have a backup pair in case something happens to the ones we set aside. Otherwise, if we shift with our clothes on, they shred to pieces.

I throw the backpack on my shoulder and decide to head to the daycare. I have to pass the time somehow, and I'm scared of what else I'll find in that book at the moment. 

"Why exactly did he give it to me?" I huff to myself. Perhaps he didn't mean to give me this specific one?