The Alpha’s hybrid mate.

8. Dylan

I’ve seen wolves lay in the mud and roll around. I’ve never seen a human do it. Certainly not a naked woman.

“Go get some of that skunk tonic from Kim. A lot of it” I told luka as he struggled to hold onto the contents of his stomach “towels and a wash tub”

Luka barely managed to nod, as he heaved.

I glanced at julian as we stood back, while she dragged herself around the mud.

“You didn’t think to tell her to leave it alone?” I asked.

“I did” julian struggled to hide his amusement “she said ‘aww look at its cute little tail dance’” he gave me his impersonation of what she sounded like “then it got her”

I can imagine a skunk scooting backwards at someone who’s never seen them would be quite a sight.

What I can’t imagine is zia being sweet and excited by something. I’ve only ever seen her with a scowl and if she did happen to share her voice with me, it usually resulted in her sharing her dreams of killing me.

It’s hard to visualize her as a nature loving 22 year old.

She came and stood before us, completely covered from head to toe with mud. Not even a slither of her skin could be seen.

Her green eyes and white teeth a complete contrast to the rest of her.

She’s not impressed I’m here. Her arms crossed over her breasts as her hip kicked out to the left.

“Your eyes better be on her face, pup” I quietly growled at julian, aware of every single curve of her body being on display.

The need to rip his eye balls out of his skull, becoming stronger by the second.

I couldn’t smell him over the stench, to know how he’s body is reacting to her.

I looked back at zia, who is no longer standing where she had been.

I spun around trying to catch the stronger skunk stench of the two.

“She’s in the lake” julian said “uncle Dylan?”

I searched the water until I seen her head appear on the water surface. Before looking back at julian.

“What happened to my mother? I asked dad but he wouldn’t say”

I didn’t know how to answer that, i had expected it eventually. Daniel refused to speak about Rachel. My parents wouldn’t either.

Truth is, I didn’t really know what happened.

I only knew what my father told me.

“She was killed, not longer after you disappeared” I didn’t want to lie to the kid. He deserved to know. At least what I knew happened.

She was 28 when she was murdered. A beautiful soul, just like our mother. Before she became a recluse, drinking her life away in solitude.

I don’t blame her. Losing her grandson, daughter and mate within 6 months is enough to send anyone in a downwards spiral.

Though she knows julian has returned, it’s still not enough to break her out of her misery.

“I waited for her to come back. For hours” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“To the ice cream shop”

I searched my brain for any mention of an ice cream parlour. She said he was stolen from her car when she stopped to get gas.

“She left you there?”

“She told me to order the ice cream I want. She just needed to post a letter” he started to make circles in the dirt, his heart beat faster than usual as he watched his foot.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“Gregory collected me. The next day, I met zia” he finally looked up at me “turns out, my mother left zia at an ice cream shop too”

The ground felt like it started to shake. My legs becoming unstable.

That’s not possible. She would’ve been the same age as julian, when she took zia.

Theres no way a young teenager would do such a thing. They are still pups themselves.

Rachel, she’s a born Luna. She’s a protector.

I was only 7 at the time, I don’t remember much about the day zia disappeared. I just remember the quietness of the pack.

It shocked everyone to the core. Zia was the first and youngest to be taken.

“I’m not surprised” luka placed down the tub, his anger as strong as the skunk stench “she was the last one to see zia”

“Your suggesting my sister, MY flesh a blood, born Luna, had something to do with the pups going missing?” I angrily laughed, there’s just no way “Julian’s her own pup. She would never do such a thing”

“I stole his journal” julian continued “Gregory’s”

“Bring it to me” I demanded.

“I don’t have it any more” he sadly said “but at least we have a way to mask her scent”

“Slow down” i had a Million thoughts flying through my brain in this moment, the shifting of the conversation just isn’t processing quick enough “mask her scent from Gregory?”

“From the other lyc- things like her”

“There’s more?” Luka’s face went white.

“Yes. Zia is the only female that survived the tests. He called her 3” julian motioned his head to the lake.

Zia came out of the water like a f*****g goddess. Her damaged body adding to my anger.

She’s number 3. He gave her a f*****g number. Between her stench, her body and Julian’s non stop bombing, I did all I could to keep myself calm in her presence.

I needed to speak to my mother about Rachel. I needed confirmation. Even just a little bit, just enough to take Julian’s accusations as accurate.

I grabbed the tub, walking past her to grab some water from the lake.

I sat it at her feet and pointed to it.

“Get in” I tipped an entire bottle of tonic in the water “it will help the odour”

“It will” julian confirmed grabbing her hand and leading her to the water “sit. And soak”

She listened to him, taking an occasional glance my way every few moments.

Silence. None of us had a single thing to say. The idea of there being more of her is just…they are machines.

If she’s the only female, then surely the men are stronger. Which is….

I slowly looked back at julian, staring at him long and hard until he looked at me.

Adding up the pieces.

-if they are all males- I looked over at luka who sat on a rock -they will come for her-

-is zia finding a skunk accidental? Or is Julian keeping us in the dark?-

-would you trust anyone if you were him?- I know I wouldn’t.

If what he says is true, and Rachel is behind his and zias disappearance, then he has no reason to trust anyone.

-no- luka stared back out to the trees, disappearing into his mind.

“They are horrible little creatures” zia mumbled scrubbing at her flesh “why is the smell not going away?!”

“It takes a long time. The longer you stay in the tub, the more the smell fades” julian told her.

She slid beneath the water, her legs folded over the tub edge. Her thighs to the top of her head laid across the bottom. Her dark hair floating on the surface.