AN IMBALANCE OF NATURE

RYAN'S POV

"B..but... but I thought they killed my mother because she was a vampire?"

"Yes, and no." Beta Allister muttered, further confusing me. "You see, it's a bit complicated. They did kill your mother because she was a vampire. But that was only a means to what they plan on achieving. They thought of possible ways to rid your father off the Alpha position, and also make you unqualified to take over, after him." It seemed to be that I knew where he was headed.

"What other way, than to kill your vampire mother in front of her subjects, then make the pack lose trust in your father due to his deceit even as their Alpha, and make them think you're unfit to be Alpha because you may also be a vampire? And to solidify their reasoning, you haven't actually had your first shift."

"And I don't know what to do!" I hit the edge of my father's bed in annoyance.

"There's nothing more you can do, than to wait it out." Beta Allister muttered.

"But I don't have the luxury of time! Soon, the people would begin to clamour for a new Alpha, and probably my exile from this pack and the kingdom at large. What becomes of my sister?! Ralia is unmated, and has no one to protect her, except me. And with the look of things, I'm going to do a lousy job at that."

"Calm down, Ryan. Take a moment to breathe."

"Are you really saying that to me?!" I brushed my hand through my hair, suddenly becoming more aware of my life's predicament. "I just lost my mother, on my birthday! My father is....." I paused, sparing a glance at his weak figure on the bed. "....the doctor hasn't assured us of his health. And here I am, in the middle of a fast rising problem that I have no control over. And you're asking me to breathe?" I asked, tears clogging my eyes. Finally, I let the tears fall, my mother's recent absence plaguing my mind even more. "I don't need or even want to breathe, I need a miracle. A quick one." I muttered in between tears.

The room fell silent, and all I could hear was our breathing. I hoped Beta wasn't about to give me the 'men don't cry' speech, because that was far from what I actually needed to hear at the moment.

"I think there is a solution. But it isn't one that I am sure of." Beta Allister muttered, and I raised my head to look at him.

"What solution is that?" A familiar voice asked, and we looked at the doorstep to see Philip standing there. He stared between his father and I for a moment, before making his way into the room and closing the door behind him. How long had he been there?

"Long enough to agree with you on the fact that we need a quick miracle." Philip said, easily reading my mind. "So....?" He shot at his father. "What solution do you have, father?" At his question, Beta Allister literally became tongue tied.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" I asked after a while, becoming impatient.

"Because he wasn't supposed to say anything in the first place." Father dragged out weakly, making me shift my gaze to him.

"What do you....?" I was still talking when Beta cut me off.

"Alan, we cannot keep shielding him from the truth!"

"It's not the truth....." Father shot back, breaking into coughs.

"I agree that it may not be the truth, but we have to come to terms with the fact that it is a huge possibility."

"It ii...iiis im...possible." Father managed to say, further spiking my curiosity. What were they on about?

"The same way it was impossible for Evelyn to carry a child as a vampire?" Beta Allister asked, and father's eyes somewhat relaxed in surrender. "He survived through it all then. What makes you think, he may not be what we think he is?"

"Hybrids have not....." Father began, but paused midway. He sounded so frail, and it was so clear that talking was so much work for him. But then again, did I just hear him clearly? Did he say 'hybrid'? Was I a hybrid? Was it an actual possibility?! "...have not existed in centuries." Father completed.

"Well, I guess they will now." Beta Allister said. "He will." He looked at me, who seemed to have a lot of thoughts running through my mind in that moment.

"But.... how?" I heard Philip ask. He sounded equally confused and shocked.

"For Ryan to have survived while in his mother's womb, without her vampire genes suppressing him, then he must have had those genes as well."

"What if that wasn't the case? What if it was just a miracle, and a chance at life for me?" I found myself asking.

"That is what your parents and I have comfortably assumed for years. And that was because we were scared to confront the possibility that you may be a hybrid." Beta Allister replied.

"Scared of the possibility that I may be a hybrid, or scared the disappointment that I would turn out to not be a hybrid? If at the end of the day, I was just the weak and worthless son of the deceitful wolf Alpha and his vampire Luna?"

"You shouldn't say things like that." Philip rebuked me, before turning to his father. "Father, how do we ascertain if this suspicion is actually true?"

"Ryan needs to have his first taste of blood." He muttered, eyeing me squarely. "It would be able to trigger his complete transition into vampirism."

"Transition? I'm not dead!" I refuted. "Doesn't one have to die, to be able to transit?"

"Well, in your case, you had the vampire genes from birth. But just like every other normally turned vampire, you have to taste blood to activate your vampire side."

"Then how do I become a hybrid? Clearly, all you have spoken about here, is vampirism. If I don't have a wolf, I wouldn't be a...."

"A hybrid is a creature with the unified genes of two supernatural races." Beta Allister cut me off. "In other words, to truly be a hybrid, both supernatural genes of yours have to be activated. And from the look of things, your failure to completely transition into vampirism, is delaying your wolf from emerging."

"You forgot to add 'maybe'." I retorted. "You're not sure of these things. They are just mere hypothesis."

"But we would never know, if you don't give it a try!" Philip reasoned. "A lot is at stake here, and time isn't a friend of ours."

"Time isn't." I whispered with a slight nod. I was just so disoriented at this point. "You know what, I need a little time to process all these. It's a whole lot to take in at once." With a low frustrated sigh, I walked out, leaving them behind. I headed straight to my bedroom, and locked the door shut behind me.

***

***

The loud bang on the door, made me jolt awake. What was going on? Who was knocking?

Quickly hopping down my bed, I made my way to the door and unlocked it. I looked up to see a worried looking Philip standing there. Something was definitely wrong.

"Ryan..... your father." He managed to say. Hearing that statement, my legs reflexly swung into action. I ran as fast as I could. No no no!! I hadn't been able to bade my mom farewell. Not my father too.

As soon as I got to his room, I saw Ralia seriously wailing in Beta Allister's arms. I froze for a moment, my heart falling to the pit of my stomach. Did that mean....?

"Ry....Ryan."

The moment I heard the familiar voice struggle to call me, I rushed to his side.

"Father!" I groped both his hands. "Please don't go." I begged, feeling my ears go hot. "I don't know what to do."

"Yo...you can....." He broke off. "And you will. You..... can...."

I watched in horror as his face contorted in obvious pain, and he went still.

"Father?" I called. "Father?!"

"Ryan." I heard Beta Allister whisper my name, and I didn't need anything else to know what had just happened. My hands shook in fear, as my father's hand fell off, onto his tummy.

"Oh no." Ralia whispered, the moment she realized that he was gone. "Father!!!!" She suddenly yelled out, pulling away from Beta Allister and rushing to my father's immobile body.

As she cried, Ralia shook his body furiously, and a little part of me wanted to believe that would bring him back to consciousness.

"No, no!!! Please don't leave me!!" She cried harder, making painful tears sting my eyes. My heart felt like a thousand needles were piercing through it, all at once.

"Ralia, please." Beta Allister pleaded. "Don't cry out loudly, it would alert the pack guards."

"What?" Ralia asked with a shaky voice, looking at him with so much disbelief and disappointment in her eyes. "My father just died, and you're....." She was still speaking when he quickly covered her lips with his palm, making me frown.

"Ralia, please!" He whisper yelled. "For the safety of you and your brother, no one can know the king is dead." He whispered.

"What?" She muttered.

"Ralia, once the news about his death is out there, there would be an attempt on your lives. Can't you see? They don't want your family in the Alpha line. That's why they killed your parents." He tried explaining, but she slowly shook her head in disagreement and a hint of anger.

"My parents were killed because my mother was a vampire. A traitor...."

"Ralia, please!!" Philip suddenly burst out. "You don't know all of it, but I promise to explain it all to you. For now, you and Ryan need to leave."

"Pardon?" I frowned.

"Yes, Ryan." He nodded. "A few pack guards had seen you racing over to your father's chambers just a moment back. And now, Ralia literally screamed so loudly for everyone to hear. Surely, they'd figure out the truth sooner than we think. Your life would be the next target, the moment they realize that Alpha is dead."

"How? They are the pack's guards, they wouldn't cause harm to Ryan or I." Ralia reasoned with her tear stricken face.

"We haven't apprehended the people who shot at your parents yet. For all we know, the palace is infiltrated, and nobody can be trusted. Most especially the guards. So, you both need to leave to somewhere safe. At least, until my father and I are able to get through to the king and seek his help." He gave an assuring nod.

"You want me to leave my pack, and run?" It sounded really crazy to me. Philip frowned the moment he realized I wasn't buying into the idea of leaving.

"Ryan...." He called out, grabbing my arm as he did. I could see the fear in his eyes, and it made me feel very appreciative of him for a moment. "It is my duty as your Beta, to ensure that you're safe. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"And it is my duty to protect and lead my pack." I shot back, feeling so emboldened. I guess my brain had finally registered the fact that it was either I conquered whatever this darkness was, or I lost in shame.

"Oh, goddess!" He whispered, pulling his hand away from my arm and brushing it through his hair, in a mix of frustration and mild irritation. "You can't lead, if you're dead!"

"I can!" I shot back, feeling my own irritation rising. "I can lead this pack!!" I hit the wall in anger, making my knuckles suffer a nasty bruise. "And I would not die." I muttered. "My parents didn't die, just so I could run away like a coward." I teared up, immediately feeling a serious ache in my head. "If there is a chance that I could change this destiny of mine, then I wouldn't shy away from it."

"What is he talking about?" Ralia asked Beta Allister, who had his eyes on me, looking quite hopeful. "Ryan, what is this about?"

"Beta Allister...." I began, ignoring Ralia's questions. "It is now or never." I swallowed. "I need some blood."

"What?" Ralia muttered.

"Give me a minute." Beta Allister requested and made his way towards my parent's closet. I wondered why he went there, but decided to be patient.

He was in there for a couple of minutes, after which he returned with a blood bag in his hand. That was when it occured to me, that my mother most definitely had a blood bank. And it was well hidden in a secret room in there.

"Here." He said, stretching out his hand to me. I eyed the blood bag for a moment, before taking it out of his hand. The entire place went silent as they all watched me. Ralia looked completely horrified.

"Please." I whispered, unsure of whom exactly I was begging. Just then, I pulled open the lid of the blood bag, and pushed it to my lips. My heartbeat increased, and my nose caught q whiff of the metallic but weirdly alluring smell of blood. Shuting my eyes, I inhaled deeply and sucked on it, making the liquid fill my mouth and proceed down my throat. In that second, I felt a shift.

My eyes instantly flung open, and I could feel my pupils dilate. My heartbeat accelerated, but not in fear or worry. It felt like the pinna of my ears became larger, because every sound became more amplified.

My appetite for the blood in my hand increased crazily, and I felt myself sucking more ardently on the bag, until I was squeezing the last drop of blood out of it.

In a matter of minutes, I felt different. More conscious, more alive, and.... strong. Well, that was until there was a loud vibration in my head, and I felt myself falling to the ground. I felt my bones stretching so painfully, and then I heard a crack, and another crack. In the twinkle of an eye, my body was acting on its own accord, leaving me to suffer the excruciating pains of its actions.

"That's it! He's turning!" I heard Beta Allister say, but I was too wrapped up in agony, to say anything. Soon, I felt my clothes becoming tighter and tighter, until it started to feel suffocating. Eventually, I heard it tear, giving my body the freedom it so desired. My breathing increased, as my gums began to ache painfully. I knew I was in the process of fanging out.

Just when I thought it was all over, I felt a loud and painful vibration in my head, making me groan so loudly as I lost the last feeling of consciousness within me.

****

****

I opened my eyes, feeling quite dead. Eyeing my surroundings, I recognized the place as my bedroom, but frowned when I saw three strange women standing before me.

"Ryan Baxter!" One of them called out to me, her voice echoing in my head. No, this wasn't good. Who were these women, and how the fuck did they get in here?! "We are 'the sisters'. Elders of the witches coven, and part of the supernatural council." Okayyyy, I knew who they were now. But what did they want here?

"Why are you here?" I sat up on the bed, eyeing them one after the other. It was only then, did I realize Beta Allister, Philip and Ralia were also present in the room. Why were they so quiet? What was really happening?

"We are here for you." The white haired lady said. "Today, you have caused a great disturbance in nature's core."

"What does that mean?" I muttered.

"Supernaturals are supposed to be of one race or another, but you are of two races. There have been hybrids in the past, when the supernatural kingdoms cohabited, but not anymore. Your nature has caused quite the stir across the 4 kingdoms after a long while. As an imbalance of nature, your abilities could be quite uncontrollable and eventually destructive, especially when overcome by your emotions."

"But I didn't bargain for any of these. This is who I am, without a choice." I reasoned, feeling worry and slight annoyance creep in.

"We know." The third lady said. "Soon, you will find your mate. She would be an anchor for your energy, whenever it becomes uncontrollable or destructive."

"My mate?" I whispered.

"Yes, your mate. She would arrive soon. Until then, try not to cause havoc, for it comes with great consequences." And with that, they vanished before my very eyes.

Great. Just when it all started aligning, I was made to know how much of a mistake I was. An imbalance of nature.