Mated To The Hybrid

Chapter 6

*VALENTINA’S P.O.V*

These past three days have been intense. Not only did I fight his sister and her friend but I also had them imprisoned. His parents were stunned that I was bold enough to do this. And If I’m being honest, so was I. I’m grateful that William thought nothing of this instead, he praised me for it.

At least she doesn’t bother us anymore, Amora my wolf reminds me.

Which was partially true. William had assigned her a new room on the other side of the house. She now ate her meals with the rest of the pack members rather than with the Alpha’s family. For the first time in her life, she even had a job. She was now assigned to work with the staff in the kitchen. As for her friend, the blonde, she was actually the daughter of a maid. Her name, I’ve come to learn, is Olivia. William ordered her to stay from the pack house and me. From what Miriam told me, her and William were in a sort of relationship. Whether it was real love or casual hook-ups, I didn’t care to know.

“Can I come in?” I hear William ask from behind the door.

He snaps me out of my thoughts as I lay in bed. Since yesterday, I’ve felt nothing but nausea and weakness all throughout my body. I could barely stand to eat or drink anything. Maybe it was the fact that my wedding is now two days away.

“Come in” I say.

As he walks in, I prop myself on my elbows as I try to sit up. But I lose my balance and he rushes over to me.

“I’ve got you”, He says while holding me up by the arms. I can’t bare to look up at him as I feel nauseous all over again.

“Thanks” I say quietly as I lay back down. He sits on the side of my bed and leans to caress my hair. I give him a small smile as he does this. I owe it to the both of us to give this relationship a shot. It won’t hurt to at least try…right?

“How are you feeling today?” He asks concerned.

“Same as yesterday” I tell him honestly.

He pauses as he eyes me intently. I try not to flinch under his gaze.

“If you want, you should stay with your family for tonight” He tells me, taking me by surprised.

“Really?” I try not to sound too excited.

He nods, “Austin will drop you off”.

“You won’t come?”

“I have something I need to take care of” He says rubbing his chin, “But don’t worry, Austin will take care of you”.

I try not to roll my eyes as he says this. Like I need taking care off…if only he knew.

“Before I forget” He says while taking something out his pocket, “I have something for you”. He pulls out a small velvet box and opens it to reveal a diamond ring.

“It’s beautiful” I tell him.

He grabs my hand and slides the ring onto my finger, “To make it real now”.

“I love it” I say quietly. And although it’s a lie, I give him a sincere smile. I know he’s trying, so I have to meet him halfway on these gestures. I know it.

“It was custom made” He says while leaning down to my face, “Just for you”.

While I don’t know if it’s the fact that he’s about to kiss me or my upset stomach, but I do a bad job of suppressing a gag.

“I’m sorry” I say embarrassed. I cover my face as I suppress the vomit that’s threatening to come up.

“It’s fine” He says slightly disappointed. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and stands from the bed, “I’ll let Austin know of the plans”.

I nod and he walks to the door. He turns around to look at me and gives me a quick smile before closing the door behind him.

I relax into my bed and close my eyes, hoping to get some rest before I leave.

—A couple of hours later—

A sudden knock on the door awakes me from a deep sleep.

“Come in” I mumble as I gently rub my eyes.

“Sorry Valentina” Austin says as he stands by the door, “I didn’t mean to wake you”.

“It’s okay. I’ve been meaning to get to out of bed” I say with a slight laugh.

He awkwardly stands by the door with a lunch bag in his hand.

“I’ve brought you something” he says as he holds the bag, “I made it myself”.

“Really? The staff let you into the kitchen?” I say amused. I usher him inside and point to the chair next to my bed.

He laughs a little and does as I tell him. He brings the chair closer to my bed and places the bag on my nightstand.

“What did you bring?” I ask with curiosity.

He opens the bag and pulls out a soup container, “Chicken soup”. He opens the lid and pulls out a small spoon.

I can hear my stomach growl as the smell of the soup hits my nostrils.

“Thanks” I say as I gently grab the container from him. I take a small sip as I don’t want to over eat right now.

“I figured you could use a hot soup right now” He says with a small smile.

He begins to look around the room and I take the moment to get a good look at him. Unlike William and Tamara, his looks resemble those of his mother. Almost as tall as William, his boyish looks give me the impression that we’re either the same age or close in age.

“I guess I’m a great cook” he says jokingly, as I realize I’ve eaten half of the soup without throwing up.

“Thank you” I say as I set the container on the nightstand, “I think I can manage to keep this down”.

He nods as he closes the container and hands me a napkin.

“William says you’ll be visiting your family tonight” He tells me.

I nod, “I just have to shower and pack some clothes”.

“Do you need help packing?”

“No but I would like Jenny to come with us” I say with a smile.

Instantly his face falls as I say this. He avoids my eyes as he clears his throat.

“She can’t come” He tells me firmly.

“Why? She’ll enjoy-“

“She’s gone” He says interrupting me.

“Wh-What?” I stare at him in shock but he keeps looking away.

“We should get going” He tells me avoiding my question. He stands and takes the bag with him, “I’ll wait for you downstairs”.

With that, he walks out and closes the door behind him.

I lay in bed, wiping the tears from my eyes. I can’t believe little Jenny is gone. Gone, gone where? Like what they did to Tamara? Perhaps she just moved to another house too.

Finally deciding to get out of bed, I make way to the bathroom. I shower and change into jeans and a casual t-shirt. Grabbing a weekend bag, I throw a change of clothes into the bag. I make my way downstairs where I see Austin talking to another guy.

“Ready?” He asks me once he notices me.

I nod and both guys walk out first. I follow behind as we make our way to the cars. Four guards wait near the cars as one of them opens the door.

“I’ll be driving” Austin’s friend tells the guard, “You guys can follow behind in the other car”.

The guard raises his eyebrow and opens his mouth to object but Austin interrupts him.

“My brother assigned me to protect his fiancé” He tells the guards in a loud voice, “You can all follow behind”.

Like a true Alpha, they all nod and obey his orders.

Austin opens the door to the backseat of the second car and I quickly get inside. I place my bag on top of my lap as Austin gets in. His friend gets into the driver seat and sets off with the others following behind.

“I’m Tim by the way” The driver says while looking at the road, “My dad’s Beta Oscar”.

I try to greet him but a loud snort takes me by surprise.

“Since when are you ‘Tim’?” Austin says laughing, “It’s always been-“

“Please don’t call me that! I’ve been trying to lose that nickname!” Not-Tim pleads while Austin laughs.

“Now I’m curious!” I jokingly chime in.

Not-Tim groans as I laugh a little, “This doofus calls me Tic but please call me Tim. It’s short for Timothy”.

“Okay, Tim” I say with a smile. Austin laughs again as Tim’s eyes light up.

“Leave it to Tic to try and be a grown up” Austin teases Tim.

Watching from the rear view mirror, I see Tim’s eyes narrowing as his mouth forms a smirk.

“Should I tell her your nickname?”

Instantly Austin stops laughing, “Don’t you dare”.

“Sure thing…Chippy” Tim says laughing.

Austin rolls his eyes and I stifle a laugh. I can’t believe how easy-going these two are. One would think that they are brothers by the way that they act.

“I hate you Tic” Austin groans.

“How did these nicknames come to be?” I ask curiously.

“Tic was obsessed with Tic-Tacs growing up” Austin responds, “So it just stuck to him”.

“And Austin’s came from our time at boarding school” Tim says, “Austin chipped his tooth right after we got there and it took a while to fix”.

“Why?”

Neither one answers as I feel how awkward the environment has gotten. I get the feeling that I’ve hit a sensitive topic.

“My parents and brother thought that it was a ploy to come back home” Austin says with no emotion. He looks out the window as I hear him sigh.

“It took them a while to believe him and then to get it fixed” Tim says as he continues to drive.

“Oh” Is all I can say. What exactly does one say when they hear this?

“That’s where Jenny is” Austin says, “Boarding School in Switzerland. The same one Tic and I went to”.

I try not to gasp as I hear this. My sweet Jenny! She’s hundreds of miles away already!

“I didn’t say goodbye” I say quietly.

“I’m actually surprised that they didn’t ship her off sooner” Austin chuckles bitterly, “They sent us as soon as we turned ten”.

“Did they say anything when you came home for the holidays?” I ask him.

“We weren’t allowed to come home. We spent holidays at school and summer breaks in South Korea” Tim adds.

My heart breaks as I hear what both of these guys went through. What kind of parents don’t allow their kids to come home?

“South Korea was great though” Austin says in a lighter tone, “There was an engineering program that-“

“Are those Royal symbols on those cars?!” Tim interrupts.

Four vehicles are coming up ahead on the opposite direction as Tim keeps driving.

“Do I stop?!” Time asks worriedly. His knuckles turn red as he tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

“Relax Tic” Austin says as he leans forward, “Unless they flash their headlights then you keep driving”.

I hold my breath as I keep watching those vehicles. What are they doing here? My whole life, I’ve never seen royals so far out from their territory.

Austin takes out his cellphone and starts to dial someone. I hear the phone ring when someone finally answers.

“Keep driving! Do not stop! We don’t want them to think that we’re confronting them!” Austin shouts into the phone before turning it off.

The vehicles start to pass by us and I suddenly have to urge to leave this car. Something is telling me to get out. I start to unbuckle my seatbelt when I feel Austin’s hand on mine.

“What are you doing?” He asks worriedly.

I realize my other hand is now on the handle and repeatedly trying to open the door.

“Valentina? Are you okay?” He holds me back and I watch as the last car pass by.

“I-I’m sorry” I say in a sudden daze, “I don’t know what happened”.

“Try to get some sleep. We’ll be there soon” Austin says with a concerned expression on his face.

I relax into my seat and close my eyes as I listen to the guys shifting in their seats. No doubt their mind-linking each other.

What was that? I ask my wolf Amora.

A feeling, is all she says as she retreats back.

The rest of the ride is quiet as I watch the leaveless trees pass by. Soon we’re pulling up on Midnight Stone’s territory and I recognize commander Elora in wolf form.

The guards by the entrances let us through and the car drives to the front of the pack house.

“It’s really beautiful here” Tim says as we all step out of the vehicle.

Only my mom and Maisie are standing outside, waiting to greet us.

“Mom!” I excitedly shout as I run to hug her.

“Oh Val!” She says as she embraces me, “I’ve missed you!”.

Burying my face in her hair, I realize how much I’ve missed her touch.

“I’ve missed you too!” Maisie jokes as she joins our hug.

I let go and take in how I’m here with them again. I can’t believe I’m here now as a guest.

“This is Tim” I say once I let go, “And-“

“Austin” My brother-in-law interrupts me, “Valentina’s bodyguard for today”.

I raise my eyebrow at him but he only smiles.

“Thank you for bringing her here safely” My mom says in full Luna mode, “I’ll make sure the maids set a place up for all of you”. Her and Maisie start to walk in but I stay behind with the guards.

“You guys go on. I have to speak to my bodyguards” I tell them which makes them head inside.

I wave off the other guards as I turn to Austin and Tim, “What was that?”.

Austin shrugs, “They’ll be on edge if you tell them who I am. Plus we’ll only be here one night”.

“Fine” I tell them, “Daisy will lead you to the guest houses”. I point to the young maid who has emerged from the house and waits to escort the guards.

“Here” Austin hands me a cellphone. It’s different from the one he had earlier, “Call me for whatever reason”.

I nod and watch as he and the rest of the guards follow Daisy to the guest houses. I head inside where my mom hugs me again.

“I’ve just missed you so much!” My mom says drowning me with kisses, “We didn’t believe William when he said you were coming!”

“Me either” I say with a laugh.

“Hungry? There’s left over food from the banquet we just had”

I raise my eyebrow in surprise, “Banquet?”.

“Yeah, apparently his majesty blessed us with a visit” Maisie says sarcastically. I laugh as my mom scolds us both.

“Mind if I head upstairs to rest before I eat?”.

My mom comes over to me as she feels my forehead and caresses my cheek, “How are you feeling Val? You look a bit pale”.

“I’m better” I say as I smile. I take my bag and make my way to my room. Once I open the door, I exhale as I see how everything stayed the same. I lay in bed and watch the photos on my nightstand.

A knock on the door brings me out of my thoughts and by the shuffling near the door, I can tell it’s Maisie.

“Come in” I say as I get up from bed.

“I still can’t believe you’re here” She tells me excitedly.

I nod as I exhale into my hands. Even though I’ve managed to keep Austin’s soup down, I still feel a bit weak.

“What’s been going on Val?” She asks as she wraps her arm around my shoulder.

“I don’t know. I’ve been feeling sick” I say as I rest my head on her shoulder, “Maybe it’s the wedding”.

She laughs as she squeezes my shoulder, “Don’t worry. I’ll be the best maid of honor”.

I roll my eyes while she laughs some more.

“We should walk around. That will clear your mind”.

“Let me just grab a sweater” I tell her while I go through the clothes that I left behind.

Quickly pulling out a chunky knit sweater, the faint smell of Samuel’s scent overwhelms me. It was the last thing I wore when we were together for a final time.

“Ready?” Maisie asks.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nod and we head downstairs. Since the guards that came here with me are standing outside, we go down to the basement. There we turn a corner and open the hidden door behind some old furniture. We head into a long and dimly-lit tunnel where we exit into the woods near the border. Mom thought of this secret passage. She said it was in case of an emergency. Everyone inside the pack house knew of this exit and how to escape if needed.

“Finally” Maisise says as we exit, “it’s such a beautiful night”.

“Yeah”

“So?” Her lips form a small smile as I know where this conversation is headed, “What’s William like?”.

“Smart” I shrug, “Nice”.

“Just nice?” She frowns, “Isn’t he romantic? Or funny? Or fun to be with?”.

“We haven’t really spent time together” I say honestly.

I tie my hair up as Maisie notices the ring he gave me earlier.

“Wow! Look at that rock” She says admiring the diamond on my finger.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful” I say as she examines the ring, “Does that count as romantic?”.

She shrugs and we both laugh. Since she went to school with other wolves and humans, she was able to date and hang out with others guys. I once remember her saying something about how guys should be romantic…or was it girls? I continue laughing as I think about this.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something”, She finally says.

“What?”

“Well” She says but bites her lips as she stops talking.

“Just spill” I say while nudging her arm.

“Are you over Sam?” She asks carefully.

I don’t say anything as I feel queasy again. I turn around so she doesn’t see me, contemplating this question. After all, I was the one who ended our relationship.

“Is he here?” I ask quietly.

“No. He’s staying at the University now” She says as hugs me, “Josh is the only one to come and go”.

“I suppose it’s better this way” I say casually.

“I know he’s still hurting but I can’t tell if you are. You’ve gotten good at hiding your feelings” She says as she hugs me tighter now.

“I-I” I try to answer but something catches my eye. Out in the distance, a wave of black and purple smoke appears.

“What is that?” I say pointing it out for Maisie.

“Oh my-!”

Suddenly the smoke appears bigger as we hear faint sounds of wolves howling. But not just any howls, the three howls in a row. The howls to signal for help.

“What are you doing?!” Maisie shouts as I run in the direction of the howls.

“Go get help!” I yell back.

I keep running until I don’t hear her anymore. I’m close to the Shadow Hunters Pack as I feel the waves of magic coming from every direction.

Dark magic. The energy coming from there is dark, My wolf Amora warns me.

We have to help! We can’t let them die!

Pulling off my sweater, I kick off my shoes and shift into my wolf. Reaching the Shadow Hunters, I see the disfigured bodies of multiple guards as I enter their territory. I sniff around to see if anyone needs medical assistance but unfortunately they all seem to be dead.

Rotten smell, My wolf Amora says, No doubt rogues.

Looking around, a tall witch appears from the bushes as she pulls out a large sword.

“Come here mutt” She snarls as she charges at me.

Running towards her, I notice her lips moving as I feel her trying to lift me into the air. Mentally closing my mind off to spells, I’m able to get a hold of her leg.

“Not possible!” She screeches as I bite down, “Get off Mutt!”.

She continues yelling as I drag her by the leg to the other witches. Multiple witches and wizards emerge from behind the bushes as they slowly walk towards me.

“Not so smart of you” the witch I’m dragging sneers. She tries another spell as I s***h her throat with my claws. She gurgles as she holds her throat…dying.

I’ll show no mercy on them. I know what they’ve done tonight.

“You’ll pay for that b**ch” a male wizard yells as they all charge at me.

I collide with a small woman as I throw her to the witches on the left.

Another one runs at me while grabbing a knife…

convertam eum ad vos,

The others continue lunging at me as the one with the knife turns it on herself. Without saying a word, she plunges into the side of her neck and falls to the floor.

“Jaime!” A red-headed girl yells. The other witches join her as she cradles the body of the dead girl.

The male wizards join hands and try do a coven spell. Feeling only the tingles of the spell, I walk to them as their eyes widen in realization.

“Not possible!” The tall one yells as they all try to run now.

Revertere Ad Me.

I summon all the witches and wizards back to me as they struggle to free themselves.

“We summoned the rogues here” a male wizard says, “They’ll k**l you”.

“Let us go!”

“D-D-Dir-Dirty Hybr-“.

In an instances, they all fall back onto the ground. Having used the powerful death spell on them, I shift back and examine their bodies. Young and stupid, very stupid.

We’re losing strength, Amora tells me as I feel the weakness in my legs.

Yanking the pendant necklace off the red-headed girl, I slowly walk to a tree. Inside the trunk of the tree, I find a huge t-shirt and sweatpants. I struggle to put them on as I feel my muscles aching now.

Walking back to where I came from, my legs give out and I collapse near the border.

A shiver runs down my spine as the foul smell of rogues hits me. I place my palm on the dirt and feel the wolves from Midnight Stone coming as well.

Hopefully they find me before the rogues do.