Mated To The Hybrid

Chapter 9

*NICHOLAS P.O.V*

We were all sleeping when the call came around midnight. The head of the council called to inform us of the downfall of the Shadow Hunters. My father agreed to send the investigators at once, as well as a couple of trackers.

My brothers and I set out early in the morning to search for answers. We couldn’t allow such a tragedy go unpunished. Even my aunt Regina tagged along to help. She was the best tracker our family ever had. We take separate cars and head in direction of the m******e.

“Do they really think the hybrid did this?” Winston asks once we’re in the car.

“Witnesses saw the symbol of the hybrid” I tell him, “We just need to know how he was involved”.

“He’s the mastermind, of course” James adds, “With the amount of damage that was done, I bet he even had help”.

As much as I hoped it wasn’t true, James had a point. Too much damaged was caused for it to have just been the hybrid. It was quite possible that rogues or other supernatural beings were involved.

“Did Midnight Stone or Silver Crescent Moon try to help?” I ask Winston.

He nods as he opens his tablet to the first investigation reports, “Apparently it was a surprise attack”.

“What does that mean?” James asks.

“There were traces of rogues at the border” Winston says without looking up from the screen, “It was found throughout all of the territory”.

“Does it say what family of rogues?” I ask him.

He shakes his, “No just that it’s estimated to be around 20”.

“20 rogues?!” James asks stunned. He looks at me and looks back at Winston, “Not possible. Rogues are not known to live in packs”.

“How do the investigators know?” I ask Winston while ignoring James.

“Different scents, paw size, and DNA samples that were found” Winston says, “Even the size of their canines”.

I shake my head at the last part. I don’t even want to think about how they know of their canine size.

“We’ll hold a large ceremony for the fallen members of the Shadow Hunters” Winston says as he reads my thoughts, “Their bodies are being prepared as we speak”.

I nod and deeply exhale as I think about what my father would do. Would he prepare a speech or speak from the heart? Would he bend the rules for the few remaining members and allow them to join other packs? Would I be the one to execute the perpetrators of the attack?

“Alpha Harrington has taken in the sole survivor” Winston continues, “Josephine Taylor. Daughter of the fallen Gamma, Frank Taylor”

“We’ll technically he can’t do that” James says rolling his eyes, “She’s a rogue now”.

“Well he has” Winston tells him.

“It’s the law and no one is above-“

“No” I interject, “She can join Midnight Stone if she wants”.

“The law won’t allow it” James says smugly, “We must follow the laws”.

“James-“

I cut Winston off and turn to face James, “I said, she can join Midnight Stone, if she wants. End of discussion”. Winston gives a small nod as James gives me a dirty look.

We sit in silence while the reports keep coming in. As head of the council, Mark Romano was in charge of the investigation. He gathered the trackers that worked for the council and was throughly reporting back to us. But none of these reports mentioned the hybrid. Each hour that passed meant less trace of this guy. They were too slow. The hybrid’s scent must have faded by now.

“I wonder why he chose to attack a small pack like the Shadow Hunters” Winston says breaking the silence.

“To show off his power” James answers, “The coward is probably coming out of hiding”.

“If that’s the case then we need to catch him before he does this to another pack” I tell them.

They nod as my phone starts ringing. Commander Reagan.

“Sorry to bother you sir” Reagan sounds ragged, “Where are you?”.

“An hour away”

“We got here a couple of minutes ago but…” he trails off as I hear Luna Catalina crying in the background.

“What’s going on commander?” I ask in a serious tone.

He exhales as I hear more shouting now, “We passed by a wreckage on the way to Midnight Stone”.

“And? What happened?”

“It appears that Alpha William’s fiancé and her bodyguards were attacked by rogues. One of her bodyguards was still inside the wrecked car when we found it”.

“Rogues? Why would they want to harm her?”

“No clue but she’s still missing” Reagan say in a lower tone. Several voices can be heard coming the background but none make sense.

“What about the other guard?”

Commander Reagan sighs, “He’s unconscious but fine. Although, you better hurry. Too much blame is being passed around and it’s mostly landing on the royals”.

He ends the call and I hear James growling. Even Winston looks annoyed.

“How is that girl going missing, our fault?!” Winston says in disbelief.

“It’s not!” James shouts angrily, “It’s their own damn fault!”

I signal for the driver to halt the car and he pulls over by the woods.

“I’ll trace her from here. You guys go ahead” I tell them, “I’ll personally bring her back home”.

“No” Winston says shaking his head, “I’ll go and you guys-“

“You’re the coordinator” James says annoyed, “I’ll find this girl”.

He takes off his jacket and starts to undress, “Let’s see how she thanks me”. He smirks in a creepy way and I see Winston give him a disgusted expression.

I pull James by the neck and extend my claws into him, “Don’t you dare touch that girl”, I tell him in a warning tone.

Releasing my claws, I push him away and he growls as he notices blood trickling down his side. He jumps out of the car and shifts into his wolf. He instantly runs in the direction of the former territory of the Shadow Hunters. When he’s out of earshot, I hear Winston exhale.

“Let’s hope he listens to you” Winston says.

“If he doesn’t, I’ll hand him over to William”

The car continues driving, and we reach Midnight Stone just in time.

Wolves starts to bow as I exit the car and make my way inside the pack house. I find guards walking inside and hear more shouting coming from Alpha Harrington’s office.

“Have you looked everywhere?!” I hear Alpha Harrington shout.

“Tell them to search again!” Luna Catalina cries.

Opening the doors to the office, everyone stops working and bows at my presence.

“Please” I hold up my hand, “I heard about the accident”.

Everyone in the room looks at each other and I hear Alpha Harrington clear his throat.

“It wasn’t an accident” He says, “Rogues attacked my daughter and her guards. She’s currently missing”.

Luna Catalina starts to cry as he mentions the last part. Alpha Harrington holds his wife as she sobs into his chest.

“Who’s looking for her?” I ask him.

“Commander Elora and half of our guards” He tells me, “Alpha William and his guards are also there”.

I nod as I watch a maid bring Luna Catalina a tea. Winston makes his way around the room, introducing himself to the members. They bow in respect, although it’s not required.

“Is it the same rogues that attacked the Shadow Hunters?” I ask him.

“No one knows” he tells me, “The guards that were with her are unconscious inside our medical center”.

“Can I see them? I might be able to sniff the rogue trace on them”.

He arches his eyebrow at me but doesn’t question it. Royals are known to have better senses than a regular wolf. However, in this situation a tracker would be best. They are blessed with the ability to differentiate scents. Seeing as how I’m not a tracker, I lie to him. I just need to assess the damage that was done.

He nods and leads me out of his office. We make our way out of the pack house and into a small building behind the house.

“In here, Sir” Alpha Harrington motions for me to step inside.

I nod and find the receptionist by the desk. Her scent alone lets me know that she’s a witch. She bows and I nod towards her.

“Wendy, are the patients still inside?” Alpha Harrington asks the young brunette.

“Yes, Alpha” She stands to greet him, “Doctor Ali and Nurse Jackson are with them now”.

Alpha Harrington nods and we make our way to the first patient door. As we turn a corner, the Gamma’s son Josh emerges. Behind him is an equally tall guy. They both bow when they notice me.

“Hello Crown Prince” Josh says, “Alpha Harrington”.

“It’s nice to see you again” I tell Josh.

“Have they woken up?” Alpha Harrington asks them.

The other guy shakes his head, “Still unconscious. Doctor Ali says they’ll make up in a couple of hours”.

“Thanks Sam” Alpha Harrington says.

“As in Samuel Davila?” I suddenly ask. I’m such an i***t. Wait…why was I asking? Did I care to know the guy?

He stares at me with wide eyes before composing himself, “Yes sir”.

“Your father told me about you” I say trying to recover, “Beta Uriel is a great man”.

Samuel beams as I mention his dad and he gives me small nod.

“We should go inside” Alpha Harrington says.

He opens the door to the room and I find a guy laying on the hospital bed. I walk over to his bed and take his hand in mine. No trace of magic on him, I think to myself. I gently turn his head to the side and find no marks on his neck. Smelling a piece of his hair gives me no trace of a scent. Something was definitely going on.

“No traces of other supernatural beings” I tell them.

I can hear Samuel sighing as Alpha Harrington nods.

“We’ll find her” I tell him once we leave the room. I don’t bother checking the other guy as the results will be the same.

“She’s tough” Samuel says, “She knows how to take care of herself”. He gives a sad smile as he stares off into the distance. The ex-boyfriend clearly still has feelings for her. Although I feel sad for him, I also feel slightly jealous. The way he said that reminds me of a love I once had.

“My brother James is looking for her as well” I tell them, “He should be back soon with news”.

“We should head back” Alpha Harrington says, “You-“

He’s interrupted when a brunette with big brown eyes rushes to us. She immediately wraps her arms around Samuel and smiles at us, “I can’t believe how big this pack is”.

“Josie-“

“Even the training center has three floors” She continues to gush, “I can’t believe you never brought me here”. She says the last part to Samuel, who’s face has gone completely red.

“Jo-“

“Even the medical center is amazing” She continues to beam.

“Josephine” Alpha Harrington says in a stern voice, “Show some respect. The crown prince is joining us”.

Her eyes grow even bigger as she eyes me worriedly. She bows in a shaky manner while never letting of Samuel.

“I-I-I’m so sorry-“

“It’s alright” I say with a chuckle, “This pack is pretty big but we should head back”.

I notice Samuel trying to sneakily squirm out of her grip as we start to walk back.

“Will you be attending the wedding tomorrow?” Josephine asks.

I shake my head, “Unfortunately no. I have something I need to take care of”.

“Too bad. It’s supposed to be a great party” Josephine blurts out, “I heard Alpha William spared no expense for Valentina”.

I watch Alpha Harrington clench his jaw as Samuel’s eyes drop to the floor.

“I’ll have to visit the new couple when I get back” I say quickly, “I believe my brothers and mother will be in attendance”.

“Really?! The Queen?!” The girl smiles broadly as she asks this.

“Yes-“

“She’s really beautiful. I’ve seen her in photos-“

“Josephine” Alpha Harrington scolds her again, “We have a serious matter at hands”.

Her smile dies down as she pulls Samuel closer to her. He, on the other hand, doesn’t look her way. If anything he looks slightly annoyed with her there.

We walk back into the office as my aunt Regina has taken over the meeting.

“Nick” She gestures for me to come, “I’ve found information on some rogues living in the area”.

She hands me a report which contains the name of three families. The Brown Family who were banished from their pack while my father was early into his reign. The Kingston Family who, centuries ago, declared themselves rogues. Finally, the Khan Family who were relatively new. No information had been updated on them.

“Who are the Khans?” I ask my aunt.

“Five brothers and two sisters. Along with their mother and a paternal grandfather. They moved here from India but haven’t been allowed to join a pack” She tells me.

“Why?”

“The laws don’t allow it” She reminds me, “You should know this by now”.

I sigh in annoyance. One of the stupid laws that my father failed to change during his time as King.

“Same goes for that girl” Aunt Regina whispers while pointing at Josephine, “She’s officially a rogue now”.

“No, she can join Midnight Stone” I whisper back, “Under my orders”.

“If you do this for her” my aunt continues, “You’ll have to do this for all the rogues”.

“And I will. Once I’m the King”

She clicks her tongue, “Yet that time hasn’t come. So the law still stands”.

“Don’t you dare” I say in a low tone.

“I won’t” She laughs in a menacing way, “Thats your job. To uphold the law”.

She walks away and leaves me with my thoughts. I look over at Josephine who still has her arms around Samuel. Her whole life has drastically changed over night and I have to be the one to add more pain to it.

“Are you okay?” Winston asks as he walks over.

“I’m fine” I say with a sigh.

Winston eyes me up and down before giving me a little nudge, “You’re not but that’s okay”.

I nod as more investigators update us on the situation. Despite the efforts to find Valentina, no one has been able to locate her yet. Even my connection in the human police department hadn’t heard anything.

“Where could she be?” Her brother Brandon asks worriedly.

He quietly joined us after coming home from school. Nobody wanted to disturb him or his sisters. The eldest daughter, Maisie, immediately joined the search. The little sister, Camila, has been upstairs with her friends. They were trying to find more information on the rogues.

“My father is looking for her too”, his girlfriend Adeline says.

Her father was a sorcerer from one of the oldest neighboring covens. Her mother on the other hand, was the werewolf.

I must admit, Alpha Ian and Luna Catalina were well-liked. Throughout the whole day, people have been calling to check up on them or asking how to help. With everything that has happened, I notice that Luna Catalina hasn’t been here. She stepped out to get some anxiety medication a while back but hadn’t returned. I step outside to look for her when someone calls my name. I turn to see Commander Reagan and a couple of the royal guards running my way.

“Sir!” Reagan shouts, “It’s your brother!”.

Looking behind them, a gurney is being wheeled behind the pack house. On the stretcher is a badly burned man moaning in pain. Only when I get closer do I realize it’s James.

“What happened?!” I shout loudly. Everyone freezes in place as I run to my brother. His eyes are shut closed as the wounds on his body still bleed.

Why wasn’t he healing?!

Magic, my wolf Roman says, Someone placed a magical spell on him.

“I’m sorry sir” a female guard says, “But we need to get him to the doctors”.

I nod as I run behind my brother’s gurney. I mind-link Winston to meet us at the medical center.

“In here” A nurse shouts once inside, “I’ll call Doctor Ali”.

They start to put IVs into James as I watch him wince in pain. Holding his hand, I watch Doctor Ali and his team trying to heal him. He calls for another colleague as nothing seems to work on James.

“Who could have done this” Winston asks as we wait for the other doctor.

I shrug as a grey-haired woman walks in. She places her hand on top of James’s forehead and slowly closes her eyes. She chants something in Latin and gaps as she opens her eyes.

“What the actual-“

Cutting Winston off, I look her in the eyes, “What happened?”.

“We should speak outside” She tells me.

Everyone stares at each other but no one says anything. Once outside of the medical center, she takes mine and Winston’s hand and chants a spell.

My mind goes blank as I hear the voice of a woman.

“He’s fine. He’s not seriously injured. He just needs to learn a lesson. An important one…on humanity”.

I open my eyes and see Winston staring at the witch with his mouth open.

“The hex should wear off in three hours” the witch says calmly, “Until then, Doctor Ali can treat the wounds”.

I nod as I pass my hand through my face. Of course that i***t would try to do something stupid. It’s obvious that he tried to murder an innocent being and was now being punished. i***t.

“We need to find out who did this” Winston says angrily.

“Yeah, so we can thank them” I say jokingly.

Winston rolls his eyes, “He isn’t perfect but he didn’t deserve that”.

“Or maybe he did. You heard that doctor, he’ll be fine” I say with a shrug, “Either way, we still need to find Valentina Harrington. Her attack may be related to the attack on the Shadow Hunters”.

“Speaking of Shadow Hunters” Winston says in a low tone, “Will you really declare Josephine a rogue?”.

“Of course not” I tell him, “Aunt Regina has no heart. That girl just lost her family, I can’t just throw her out”.

Winston nods and we head inside where we continue to read the investigation reports. Everything suggests that the hybrid and rogues are conspiring together.

After several hours, the urgency to find Valentina seems to have died down. Which was not only strange but a bit suspicious. Just a couple of hours ago she was our main priority.

“Any news on Valentina?” I curiously ask Brandon.

He shakes his head but avoid looking at me, “Nothing yet”.

Looking around the room, I find it’s only the Alpha and his family in the room. Everyone else has left, including my aunt Regina. I look over at Winston, who’s attentively reading every report.

“I need fresh air” I say loudly and make my way outside.

The sun seems to have set and I know it’s time to leave soon. I find Samuel sitting on a bench outside the pack house, alone.

“Mind if I join?” I ask him.

He shakes his head and slides down to make room for me. I sit and stare off into the distance where I hear pack members coming and going.

“We found her” Samuel tells me quietly.

I turn my head in his direction but he remains emotionless. I guess now I know why things seem more calm.

“I figured” I lie to him, “Where was she?”

“Near the city” He tells me, “She walked back to Silver Crescent Moon where William found her”.

He seems distraught as he tells me the last part. He runs his hand over his hair as he sighs.

“Lucky her” I tell him.

Samuel scoffs, “Unlucky for her. He’s an a**”.

“Oh” I raise my eyebrow, “Why’s that?”

He shakes his head, “Nothing. Just me, talking nonsense”.

“It’s not nonsense” I tell him honestly, “He is one”.

He turns to face me and we both start to laugh.

“So why is your ex-girlfriend marrying him?” Just like that I rip the band-aid off and get right to the point.

His eyes grow wide as his mouth drops, “How do you know that?”.

“I just know” I tell him, “What happened between the two of you?”.

He shakes his head, “It’s complicated”.

“She found that he’s her mate and dumped you?” I know I’m prying but I needed someone from this pack to be honest with me.

“He’s not her mate” he says defensively, “She’s…it’s just…”

“Was it a marriage for power? An alliance between the two packs?”

“No” He says, “I think she just likes him. She met him and immediately broke up with me”.

Seeing the hurt in his eyes, I decide not to ask anymore questions. He’s obviously still hurting that Valentina fell for someone else. Even if that someone was William. I rub my chest as I think of the last part. Just thinking and talking about this was causing me chest pains.

“She’s not a greedy person” Samuel says suddenly, “He’s just a new person in her life. Maybe that’s what caught her attention”.

I nod but still stay silent as I realize I don’t want to hear this anymore.

“You’ll find someone” I tell him but then I remember the girl from earlier, “Or you already found someone”.

“Who? Josephine?” He asks with a slight laugh, “She’s not my girlfriend”.

“Didn’t seem like it” I say, “Seems to me like she really likes you”.

“We went on our first date last night” He says, “I was bringing her home when I saw the black flames coming from the Shadow Hunter’s territory”.

“Mhmm” is all I say as he continues to talk about his date. A pretty boring date from what I’m hearing.

Wait…wait! Did he say, ‘black flames?!’.

“Sam” I interrupt him, “What color were the flames last night?”

“Black with a hint of purple” He says nonchalantly, “Why?”

“No where in the reports did it say that there were black and purple flames” I say in a serious tone.

Someone was trying to hide something and I needed to know what. Not only that, but someone had tampered with this investigation. I quickly stand from the bench and head inside with Sam following behind. Once inside the office, I notice how tense the room is. I look around and see Alpha Harrington gritting his teeth as Doctor Ali looks petrified.

“What’s going on?” I ask everyone.

“Valentina’s blood work came back” Doctor Ali says, “It showed-“

“She had poison in her blood” Alpha Harrington says angrily, “Someone at Silver Crescent Moon has been poisoning my daughter!”