RIVER'S POV Today was cold as hell out. The weather was below freezing and heavy snow fell. I felt trapped inside, but knew it was for the best. It has been a week since Morgan and I discovered we were brother and sister. And with that, I was relieved to know the man I was fated to be with, to have offspring with wasn't not actually blood-related. The idea of being cousins with him grossed me out and I know it did him to. I must've been hard on everyone to find all that out. But hardest on him and I. A lot of questions had been answered, but all those answered questions did was reveal many more, different questions. I laid on my bed, in the room that I shared with Malachi. He kept his hands to himself for the most part, which was hard on both of us. But as time went on my feelings for him only grew, and I knew the wait would be worth turning him into a hybrid so I wouldn't have to lose him. After learning about Morgan and me, he decided that if me being able to turn lycans into
MALACHI'S POV I was in a panic, every cell in my body felt like it was going in thousands of different directions. I could only think about was River, and Victor taking her. I didn't know everything he would do to her, but I was sure he would rape her just yet. Not till her birthday, so I had a few months to figure out where she was. Doing this would take every resource I had. Morgan was almost as panicked as I was, his newly found sister was just ripped from him. That fight was obviously just to keep me distracted while he hunted her down and it worked. Only a few lycans lost their lives, but only a couple of vampires escaped. I gathered more of my wolves to my house, within days it was crawling with lycans. I needed to find Victor and kill him painfully and then needed to find my mate. Not just my mate, but the love of my life. God, I loved her so much and I hadn't taken the moment to be brave enough to tell her that. I was in the living room waiting for everyone to settle
RIVER'S POV I wasn't exactly sure how I've been down here in this nasty fucking dungeon, but I know it's been quite a long time. I was caked in dirt and dried blood from the beatings my parents gave me and Victor's regular feedings. I hadn't eaten the entire time I was there. My stomach no longer growled; it ached. I hadn't been given anything to drink either. I just dealt with the IV fluids they gave me what seemed to be twice daily. At some point, I believe I heard someone say it had sugar in it, which is why I haven't had my blood sugar crash. I yearned for Malachi and my family. My whole body was aching, and I just wished to be held tightly by Malachi. His soft touch touching my skin, making the pain go away. But my shoulders and face especially hurt from the hitting and having my arms chained above my head. Despite how I was feeling, I still had faith that Malachi would find me. I needed him to find me. I would only be able to hold on for so long at some point. Sadly, I am pred
MALACHI'S POV I paced back and forth in front of the vampire chained to a wall in my dungeon. The silver burned enough to keep him from moving. Instead, he smirked at me, looking far too confident for my liking. "You'll never find her, you know?" He said to me, I glared at him, and he smiled, "by the time you do, Victor will have fucked her till she can't stand popping out little hybrid babies that she will never get to love." I hit him, leaving an echoing crack across the room. He spat out blood and smiled at me. Morgan entered the room holding a large syringe with a thick needle. The liquid inside of it was purple. The vampire looked at it confused. "It's garlic, wolfsbane, blackthorn, and I know your species' personal favorite verbena. It's been sitting in a large pot soaking together for days now. It's a recipe I found in the library here. Something made by Malachi's ancestors." Morgan explained to the vampire, who lost his snarky grin sometime during the explanation. "You s
MALACHI'S POV It's been a long week with River. She is finally starting to come around and her injuries are taking a lot longer to heal than we anticipated. We all assumed it may be because she isn't really eating or drinking much so her body is creating enough energy to heal her, that and her obvious blood loss. It's getting better, but very slowly. The second day after we'd gotten her home I carried her into the shower and sat there with her washing her hair and body. Getting the dried blood off her and examining the severity of the injuries, and more specifically the bite marks left by Victor. I was beyond irate seeing those marks. All of her injuries, her frail body just skin and bones, angered me. But the bites. Biting was generally reserved for marking your mate, but he wasn't marking her in that way, he was draining her of her blood until she was just on the brink of dying and then stopping. I could see the needle marks in her arms so, I assumed he was drugging her and possib
RIVER'S POV I had finally gained back about fifteen pounds since I hadn't gotten to really expand my stomach. Months of starvation makes eating a lot almost impossible. It was my birthday today, and I honestly wasn't sure who was more excited. Me or Malachi. I knew tonight he and I would appropriately be able to have sex for the first time. But tonight was also the night I ascend into my hybrid self. It was a scary and exciting revelation. It was 10 a.m, and the house was buzzing with excitement. I think that part of everyone's excitement was the fact I could adequately protect myself against, well, everyone. The other part is that they know in the next few days, they would become hybrids themselves. I would become immortal and a force of nature in a few hours. It was a strange day. I felt off, and I assumed it was all the emotions I was feeling and possibly the beginning of physical changes. Malachi spent most of his day with his eyes black, so I knew he was just chomping at the
RIVER'S POV I took a deep breath when I finally woke up that morning. The air felt different in my lungs, and there was a taste left on my tongue. Each cell in my body felt like it was alive with excitement. I rolled over to face Malachi and watched him open his eyes and smile at me. "Good morning, beautiful," he greeted me with a massive grin before stretching. "How are you feeling?" "Different," I said, and he rolled over on top of me then kissed me. "How so?" He asked; his eyes were lighter than I had ever seen them. He was feeling peaceful. "I don't know the air has a taste. And it feels different when I breathe. You feel different to the touch," I explained, stroking his big arms. "That's the lycan, and I believe vampire in you. Our senses are intensified—all of them. I'd say wait till sex when everything is heightened, but I'm not so sure anything we do will top last night," he said, "speaking of last night. How do you feel physically?" "Uh, pretty good, actually. Chan
BRICE POV I was just exhausted from everything. I know I was a bit withdrawn from everyone and everything and that happened every once in a while when I get stressed. I've never experienced such stress in my entire life. It's understandable to me. I had gone through a lot over this past year. I loved River though so I dealt with it but seeing her with Malachi, her mate wasn't the easiest thing to see. In fact, her not being my mate was a large pill to swallow. I was debating on the idea of becoming a hybrid, I don't think I could spend my entire life watching the woman I loved being with someone else. I knew I was destined to find a mate, and when I did the feelings I have for River now would become but a distant memory. Until then it was hard. And what if my mate wanted to become a hybrid would I want to turn then? I don't know. I just wanted to hide under a rock right now. I wasn't all for the idea of immortality as it is. We aren't meant to live forever. Not lycans anyway it isn't
MALACHI'S POV River seemed off as we spent the last night before the battle not too far from Victor's home. It didn't seem like it was nerves regarding the war, I couldn't quite place it, but she wasn't talking and I knew she wouldn't. I also knew she could tell I could tell something was off. "Goodnight. I love you. Everything will be okay." I curled up around her to comfort her the best way I could. I didn't fall asleep until she had. RIVER'S POV "Hello." A woman, who looked similar to me said in a long flowy black dress, as she strolled towards me. I was sitting on an old dead toppled tree. "Who are you?" I wasn't scared or even nervous with her. I was totally relaxed in fact. "I'm the last hybrid in our family line, before you of course. I've been watching you for awhile now. I'm just on the otherside of the vale. I know that dream you had a few nights ago, it was false foretellings to throw you off this fight. The three witches that work for Victor did it. Your babies are
MALACHI'S POV After the threats River's parents made I was too angry to keep letting this fight build organically. I'd learned over my life, and the stories of my ancestors rushing into a battle doesn't tend to work out well. The exception is when they attack first, or someone from the pack needs to be rescued. But things are different now, we're hybrids and this is for the entire future of lycans and actually according to Victor, humankind. I began to train River how to fight properly. She was powerful, so strong, at first I went easy on her. I think it was purely because of my love for her, the need to protect her, but then I realized going easy on her wasn't going to do her any favors. So, I went all in and she quickly got it down kicking my ass. I got the other hybrids to fight her at the same time as well, increasing the number going at her at a time since vampires tended to swarm. As the original hybrid her speed, grace and strength was far superior to all of ours. It took
RIVER'S POV I woke up beside Malachi for the first time in nearly two months. It felt great. Especially when he woke up and rolled over on top of me to kiss me. Of course, it always leads to sex. Great sex. And this time was no exception. As the inevitable war grew closer and closer, I enjoyed the mornings before reality and it's shit show came crashing back at us. The time when it's just Malachi and I, making out, making love. Just being together with nothing else around us mattering. That fantasy has to end though, and it sucks when it does. "I'm going to go for a run." I said to Malachi as I put on exercise clothes, he nodded. "Please don't go too far. I know you can handle yourself just fine, but I know Victor will be lurking about or have some nasty little parasites watching you." He walked over and kissed my forehead and I nodded. I went joking through the wooded area a little ways from the castle grounds, and I could feel eyes on me as I ran, so I stopped and turne
VICTOR'S POV I lost River, and her birthday has well since passed so I lost out of that as well. But as fortune would have it, I have a few witches in my arsenal. A few very old and powerful witches. Witches were nearly as rare and unknown as the hybrids, both lycans and vampires had slaughtered them to near extinction thousands of years ago. These particular two witches are hundreds of years old and to my advantage had their loved ones killed by wolves not vampires, they have no love for lycans. Hidden away from everyone's knowledge the witches help cast spells on the vampires I turn so they can control thier blood lust and impulses. They need to be focused solely on war and new vampires can't stop thinking about blood. The witches were also nearly finished with the spells and tools I'll need to trap River and weaken her. I may not have been her first but she can still have offspring with anyone. I'll still be able to get my hybrid army out of her. "I was quite surprised that Ma
MALACHI'S POV I woke up the morning following the big annoucement dinner. River wasn't there beside me so I assumed she was probably downstairs cooking. She seemed to like to cook for a lot of people and since every one of my guys had agreed to be turned, and thier mates were supposed to arrive today she had a lot to cook. When I got downstairs I saw Morgan, Brice and Lilly all helping her. It was a funny sight. I wanted to walk over and give her a kiss but with how busy she was I knew it wouldn't be a good idea. She'd kiss me when she had a moment. My men greeted me and the entire house was filled with the chatter of what it would be like as a hybrid. "Alright alright everyone!" River hollared over everyone they got very quiet as they shoveled food into their mouths like uncivilized beasts. "So, the way it works, this is proven as you can see with Malachi and Morgan and the others...You must feed off of me, I will feed off of you and then we will snap your necks killing you. It ha
RIVER'S POV I was so exhausted turning people. Nora had been first, followed by Brice and then my brothers. Malachi demanded that everyone give me a break. I understood his reasoning, it was kicking my ass turning them. Being drained of blood faster than my body can replenish. Morgan was anxious about Lilly not being a hybrid yet, he tried to hide it, but we could feel it coming off of him. I felt bad about it, that he was struggling with the terror of her dying before she could be turned and then he would spend eternity without her. Despite how I was feeling, so exhausted and drained I pulled Lilly aside and turned her. Much to Morgan and Malachi's dismay. But that did it, I was tired. I need food, fluids and sleep. The draining had a lot to do with the lycan side of me, the side that still needed real food for energy. There that was it, everyone was now done and I could finally relax. I knew at some point we would turn some of Malachi's most loyal werewolves into hybrids as well,
MORGAN POV I sat there waiting for the results of the test. I watched Brice and Nora for a while seeing how comforting he was to her and her transformation. I could see the same peace on his face as I did when I first saw Lilly. But there was also this alertness that he now had that he didn't before and it made me wonder if I did too. Malachi did, but he was always a bit cautious and intense anyway. "So, did you know mom and dad?" Micka asked drawing me back to the forefront of reality. "No. Like you as you were told I was abandoned by them too. The only one they raised was River, and I don't know if you could even call it that." I said annoyed that the test was taking so long. "What did they do to her?" "Tortured her. Starved her. Beat her. They were involved in her torture when she was held prisoner at Victor's." "Jesus. So, we didn't miss out on anything good huh?" "Nope." The test finally finished with a loud ringing sound. I looked at the results between all of us. River
RIVER POV Well, that was stupid of me. I didn't mean to tell Malachi that I worried about him abusing me essentially. I wasn't concerned about that. Even if I was a hybrid, it hadn't been a concern. But now I needed to find a way to fix it without him thinking I'm just trying to make him feel better. I needed him to know I meant it. I don't blame him for being upset about it. He would die for me, and I knew that, and yet now he thinks I think he will hit me like my parents did. I heard our bedroom door slam, and it made me jump. "Do you think he would ever hurt you?" Lilly asked, her eyes looking sad. "No. Never. It was just reaction." "You better go fix that." Morgan was stern, and I felt it coming off of his glare. "The sooner, the better. He will obsess over it." "I know," I said with a sigh and then began up the stairs slowly. He sat on his side of the bed, his head in his hands. I shut the door softly. "Without scaring you, River, leave me alone for right now." He said
MALACHI POV I was up early that morning. Not sure if it was excitement or if I was anxious about testing the theories Morgan had on turning others into hybrids. If we could do it successfully, then that meant we could turn ourselves. And I could spend all of eternity with her. I wanted a child, too; the more I was around her, the more I wanted it. I know it was a lot of the animal part of me desiring the child, but I think I wanted a child with her in general. Now wasn't the right time, though. We weren't in a position for child-rearing yet, as Morgan said one thing at a time. First, we needed to make hybrids, so we knew how to turn us into them. So, I strolled down the stairs to our soundproofed room containing the cells that housed our rival lycans. "You are going to regret this, Malachi!" The woman said she was the only female we got. We hadn't wanted a woman because we expected that perhaps River would have a harder time risking a woman, but we needed three to test the theories