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
Intro 1 Malachi, the alpha of a pack whose reputation expanded across the Earth as cruel, ruthless, and violent beyond belief. He was young, barely twenty-six years old and it was time for him to find a mate. He'd put it off for a long time because he was working on building his reputation and his pack to the ruthless beasts they were. Like most werewolves, he was tall, muscular, and brooding. Insanely attractive and the alphas had God-like energy they released that only matched their God-like looks. He had lightly sun-kissed skin, a strong jawline, short black hair that seemed perfectly messy, and the brightest, most intense yellow eyes there ever was. He had a tattoo on his right hand that went up the sleeve of his black button-up shirt that peaked out the collar of his shirt on his neck. He wasn't scared of much, in fact, he couldn't think of anything that scared him other than finding a mate. He and his pack though weren't massive, they had strength, skill, and brutality
Introduction 2 River was blissfully unaware of what she was. No one had ever told her, and because she wasn't yet twenty-five, she hadn't fully come into her powers. She was fast and strong and agile, a bit beyond a typical human, but she chalked it up to good genes. She was beautiful and stubborn with long, light brown hair and orange-red-like eyes that seemed to glow. She has fair skin with arms covered in tattoos. She was five-foot-five-inch with a body that looked like a super model's body. Perfect curves, large perky breasts, and she was tone everywhere. Guys couldn't keep their eyes off of her. She had a big, bright smile with a nasty glare and didn't like to take orders from anyone. Her father and mother seemed to have hated her for whatever reason and used to beat her. They'd lock her away in a closet for days at a time. So as soon as she hit sixteen, she took off and made it about six months before she was found and returned home to be welcomed by the worst beating she'd eve
RIVER POV ll I could see was the tall, brooding, beautiful man standing there merely ten feet from me, staring at me. I could feel his eyes on me, felt like they were looking into my soul. I felt this strange pull towards him, but I resisted it. It would be so weird just to follow it to a total stranger, no matter how hot the guy was. To be honest, he seemed just as drawn to me as I was him for a split moment time seemed to stop. She took a deep breath before following Brice back toward Lilly, who sat at the bar looking oddly sober and scared. Even the way Brice walked seemed tense, and I could sense that it had something to do with the man standing in front of me. As I walked by him, my knees felt like jello and almost gave out from underneath me when I got a whiff of him. I fought through it, and if my friends were nervous about him, then I'd stay away. I got to the bar and leaned my back up against it between Lilly and Brice, their nerves so tense that I could feel the con
Introduction Victor, one of the oldest vampires around today, stood pacing back and forth on the hardwood floors of his mansion overlooking a lake in the British countryside. He knew something was happening. The energies from the moon had shifted, again, just as it had nearly a thousand years ago. And a little over a thousand before that. He knew what these energy shifts were; he knew them very well. "Hybrid." Was the word that slipped through his pale lips, and as if on cue, a man burst into the study, gaining Victor's full attention. "There have been reports in Maine in the United States that a young woman who has gained the attention of an alpha lycan. She is reported to have a strange smell, not like a human or a lycan or a vampire, but a mix of all three...Or none at all, depending on who you ask. And reportedly her eyes sir are red." The man said, and Victor smiled wickedly. "We shall be going to Maine then." He said, skipping away merrily. "Uh, one thing, sir..." T
MALACHI'S POV It was a restless night of sleep. It was filled with intense thoughts of my mate, the woman who had seemed to have little interest in me, but I wasn't going to give up. I know she worked somewhere in the tiny town, so I explained what she looked like to a few of my wolves, and off they went, prepared to go to every business in town every day until they found her. Luckily for my anxious ass, it didn't take long. My beta called me, and I immediately answered the phone before the second ring. Fueled by anxiety and desperation to find my mate. "Hey, I found her. She is at a cafe in the town center called Morning Java. She is a barista, and I see what you mean about her scent. She smells different than anything else I've ever come near before. I'll stay here and keep an eye on her until you arrive." Morgan said, hearing my sigh of relief. "Alright. Thank you. Make sure the others know, no reason to keep searching. I don't want them anywhere near her." I was very s
LILLY'S POV Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like Malachi found my reaction to his words amusing, but a guy with his reputation, I'm sure that's probably the case. His eyes shifted between the man that opened the door and me, and he had a slight smile in the corners of his mouth. But, after a couple of moments of silence, I could tell he was getting annoyed and impatient with us. "Let's talk." He finally broke the silence, walking away from his door leaving it open. I don't think it would've ended well if we had rejected his offer to come inside, so that would've been a bad idea, not that I thought going inside was a good idea either. "She is your friend?" "She is," I answered nervously, unsure if it was a comment or a question. "She is my mate. Ask me or tell me your concerns. I know you have them." I know he could sense the fear me and Brice were putting out, and he smirked before sitting down in a large, cushy black living chair, gesturing to the couch opposite of him. H
VICTOR'S POV Once we had landed the plane, I became impatient. That hybrid was out there waiting for me. But not just any hybrid, a female hybrid. They were useful beyond their ridiculously powerful and savage nature; the males mainly were just killing machines. I never minded America, though I did prefer it right after the Civil War had ended. Maine was a beautiful area though, it wasn't heavily developed in most of the state like most others. I knew she wouldn't be too hard to find; she would have a unique scent to her; I would just need to look. I can't imagine it would be too hard since it was such a small town. I was pleased to know she worked in a cafe and that there was only one in town, it made the search easy. When I entered the cafe, I got a very weak scent of her, which told me that she'd been here not too long ago. I guess I would have to wait, even though I didn't really want to, because I couldn't stand the smell of lycans, and were at least two of the nasty creatures
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