Hybrid

LAKE

The camp is very lively as Derrick leads me with my hand loosely in his. I nervously cover my stomach with my other arm as males gaze over me.

“She was so ordinary-looking just a couple weeks ago… What happened?” I hear a female snark.

“She looks…fuller,” another female points out.

“Lake?” Derrick asks. I blink a few times before grounding myself. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just not used to…this…yet.” I motion to my body. My hips seem broader, and my breasts are a tad bit bigger and perkier than before. Don’t even get me started on my butt.

I can feel my thighs are bigger as well. It’s weird, if I’m honest. I’m a lot curvier than I was before.

“You look amazing, Firefly.” My mate smiles and kisses my forehead. His warm lips on my forehead make me smile as well.

“Lake!” Lucy smiles as we enter her tent. She’s wearing her signature army pants and black tank top, with her hair in a sleek ponytail.

Coal stands back as Lucy swoops in for a bear hug. He’s still glowing but a lot dimmer than last night.

“I don’t have a lot of time.” Coal clears his throat as we all take our seats around a small table in the middle of the tent.

Derrick seems tense, so I pull his hand into my lap. He grips my thigh lightly and puts his other hand over his mouth.

“Lake is obviously no longer just a wolf,” Lucy says. “There’s a reason for that.”

“Lucas didn’t really know the truth about the Prophecy,” Coal continues for his mate. “None of you do.”

I narrow my eyes at his words. Derrick holds back a growl. Lucy just sits quietly.

“Lake, Oliver severed your connection as an Alignment, correct?” I nod.

Coal sighs heavily and places a heavy old book in front of me. Its leather cover is cracked from sun damage.

“My dad’s book…”

“And this.” Coal hands me the letter my father wrote to me. It’s now wrinkled and seems to have aged.

“Oliver gave this to the Fates, more like me, recently,” Coal states, “giving us acknowledgment of this ‘Prophecy’ and its meaning.”

I narrow my eyes slightly. “Lucas told us what it was about.”

Lucy shakes her head. “That gibberish was the words of a madman.”

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” I ask in frustration. “All I know for certain is the fact that I’m half vampire for some reason.”

Lucy, Coal, and Derrick look between each other. I tap my foot impatiently as a sign to get on with it.

“Okay, okay.” Coal puts his hands up in surrender. “I’ll explain. But get comfortable. It’s a long story.”

I sit back in my chair and cross my arms. Derrick does the same but puts an arm around the back of my chair.

“As you may know, Luna is the daughter of Oliver, who’s known as Olivia, the Celestial of Truth and Exposure,” Coal begins.

“The original Fates took Luna from her mother to be the Moon Goddess as a placeholder and as punishment.”

“As Luna grew and became our goddess, she had a longing to see her mother again. But since she is bound by blood to the heavens, Luna came up with a plan,” Lucy says.

“The Alignments,” I mutter.

Coal nods. “This way, she could evade suspicion from the Fates and roam the earth, looking for Oliver.

“Over the years and generations, Luna would always be expelled from the Alignment’s body due to the mate bond.

“The mate bond is a very difficult system, wired inside both the wolf and human counterparts. Luna decided the best way to get rid of the mate bond would be to replace the wolf with herself.”

“But my mother had her wolf until she died,” I interrupt.

“Yes, because her wolf was stronger than most,” Lucy agrees. “Fae’s wolf was able to put herself to sleep just as Luna entered your mother’s body.”

Memories of the night my mother was overtaken by the moon come flooding back. I remember the desperation behind my father’s eyes and how limp my mother was in his arms.

My heart clenches in pain for them.

“Why am I half bloodsucker now, though?” I breathe through the thoughts.

Lucy and Derrick look at Coal for the answer. Coal brushes his light-brown hair to the side and crosses his arms. His eyes shift uncomfortably, conscious of the pressure coming from the three of us.

“Luna made a deal with the Goddess of the Sun, Selene,” Coal confesses, “Selene would take over the moon as soon as Luna entered your body. Little did Luna know, Selene is the Goddess of Vampires.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Is that why I’m like this?”

Coal nods. “Selene put in her own deal. If Luna was unsuccessful in her takeover of your body, Selene would make sure that you’d live much longer than any wolf.”

“How is that logical, though?” Derrick asks, his tone deep.

“Selene doesn’t get her moon, and Luna doesn’t get another chance at finding her mother,” Coal states.

I slump back in my chair and sigh heavily. I try to wrap my head around this entire situation. My mate notices and rubs the top of my hand with his thumb. His gentle smile brings me some comfort.

“I know this is a lot to take in, Lake.” Lucy lets out a sigh. Coal puts a hand on her shoulder.

“But you have all of us. When Coal must return to the Fates, he’ll let them know everything that has happened.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and groan. “Lucy, the Fates never cared about what the Moon Goddess was doing before; why would they care now?”

“Because the Sun Goddess is strictly forbidden from stepping into the Moon Goddess’s realm.” Coal interjects.

“The Fates are meant to let the wolves and their human halves dictate how their lives will unfold. Their main job is to maintain order in our realm.

“Once word of Selene’s impudence gets out, Luna will have a lot to answer for.”

Derrick and I leave Lucy with her mate as the moon begins to rise. In just a few hours, Coal will be forced to join the Fates again and leave Lucy behind.

I sigh slowly as Derrick and I come to a path leading out of camp.

“What’s wrong, Firefly?” Derrick laces his hand with mine. I can feel his gaze on me as I look at the ground.

“Coal is a part of the Fates,” I state. “Lucy must be in so much pain while he’s gone.”

“Coal and Lucy knew the consequences of their mating when Coal was picked for the Fates when we were young,” Derrick breathes.

“The story is so long that I don’t think I could tell you myself. Lucy loves telling it herself.”

“I should ask her about it sometime.”

My mate leads me through a couple of branchy bushes. My gaze rises to the amazing sight of a glorious meadow with snow up to our knees.

The night sky is heavily dotted with a plethora of stars beyond any number I can imagine. A show of aurora lights dances across the open canvas of black.

“I may have asked Oliver to do this when she felt our crystals unite again.” Derrick clears his throat and smiles lightly. “They’re glowing their intended deep-red color.”

I pull my crystal out from underneath my shirt. Derrick puts his along with mine in my palm. The glowing crystals seem to have a heartbeat and warmth of their own.

“How exactly did you ask Oliver?” I ask in my questioning tone, raising an eyebrow.

“One of the times I met her, Oliver put a communication spell over me and Lucy for whenever we needed her.” Derrick smirks. “Lucy doesn’t know about it, though. So I wouldn’t bring it up.”

I let out a breath and fall back into the snow. My body temperature automatically decreases to that of the frigid snow beneath me.

The show in the sky above me is not as mesmerizing as my mate’s eyes planted on my face.

“What?”

“You’re so beautiful.” Derrick chuckles and sits down beside my reclining frame. He leans over my face and plants a small kiss on my forehead.

“You don’t find my eyes creepy?” I ask in a mumble. “What about my icy skin? Or this ridiculous amount of hair?”

Derrick considers his words for a moment or two. He seems taken aback by my questions, as if he thought I would be completely comfortable with how I am now.

I sit up and notice how my heartbeat is almost nonexistent. I don’t need to breathe either, only to fill my lungs in order to speak.

Lynne knows of my condition, but she sends reassuring signals through our bond. I know she isn’t comfortable with what’s happened, but it’s irreversible now.

“Firefly, you could turn into the muddiest, dirtiest thing on this planet, and I would still see you as my strong, irreplaceable female.”

Derrick lifts my chin with one finger so I look him in the eye. “These eyes are beautiful. This skin and hair are beautiful. I’ll tell you over and over again if I have to.”

I force back tears. My eyes are my least favorite part of my vampire side. While rogues have pitch-black eyes with no whites, vampires seem to have red eyes.

My rogue characteristics and those of my new vampire half are mingled together.

The blacks of my eyes are still prominent, but they’re surrounded by a deep, strong crimson red.

“Derrick…” I lean into my mate’s hand. My tears are hot compared to my cheeks. Looking through the tears, I can tell there’s blood in them. My mate doesn’t seem to be bothered by this whatsoever.

“Lake, I know I can’t give you the stability of a pack.” Derrick brings his forehead to mine.

“I can’t change what’s been done, either. But I can give you the love you’ve been starved of for so long. The moment you allowed me to mark you was the moment your days of being alone ended.”

My mate puts his hand over the mark that lies over my heart. His eyes are soft and full of the love my mate holds for me.

“You are my entire life, now.” Derrick kisses my lips gently. “My family.”

Thoughts of my parents and my twin with his mate flash through my mind. My family is no longer with me, but I don’t feel the guilt anymore.

My head fills with the happy memories I have of all four of my family members.

The day I met Riley in freshman year homeroom. I can recall how light her hair was in the sun the afternoon she and Landon locked eyes in the schoolyard.

Lynne had already accepted Riley’s wolf, Rae, as her sister. I wasn’t far behind her with Riley.

Though all of us were only fourteen at the time, Landon and Riley knew they were meant for each other. Their souls were meant to connect once Landon and I turned eighteen.

My parents would always dance in the kitchen at night when I was younger. Landon and I would come in to just watch them sway back and forth.

My mother would scoop us up in her arms and let Landon and me fall asleep to the swaying.

Derrick pulls me out of my blissful memories into the blissful reality. “Firefly, I swear on my honor as a wolf you will never be alone again.”

“The same goes for you.” I smile. My face is stiff from the dried blood on my cheeks. Between the two of us, the snow I’m leaning over has a pool of the red liquid.

A light breeze begins, making the short hair on Derrick’s forehead swing to and fro. His strong jawline and sharp nose point to me and me only. My heart, though slow, picks up speed.

“My life is yours, Lake Harte.” Derrick’s thin lips curl up into a smile. His black eyes reflect my pure feelings of possessiveness and love.

“And mine is yours, Derrick Harte.”