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Chapter 16
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The Hybrid Mate Chapter 17
After her shift was over, Bella stayed in the library until long after it was dark, telling herself it was just to make sure she really was prepared for class on Monday. When she finally made it home, Sandra was nowhere to be found. Truth be told, she wasn’t in the mood to talk to her yet. She had a lot on her mind and didn’t want to risk unloading it on her before she could process. She also didn’t want to accuse her again without getting the facts first. She already felt guilty enough. As she got ready for bed, she couldn’t find any clean pajamas in her drawer. Friday night was typically when she did her laundry. She reluctantly slipped into Darian’s T-shirt since she had to wash it anyway before she gave it back and climbed into bed. It was already getting late, so she slipped under the covers, secretly relieved that she had made it to bed before Sandra got back. The door opened carefully, and she shut her eyes tight and held her breath. She remembered th
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 18
Bella awoke back in Victor’s room, wearing only a thin white linen shirt that was far too big. To her amazement, his door was completely repaired. It was almost as much of a shock as the fact that she was there at all. She glanced over at the nightstand, but the sketchbook was missing from the top of the stack of books. “Looking for this?” asked Victor, stepping in from the balcony. The curtains billowed behind him as he approached, holding the sketchbook in his hand. Bella cast a wary glance at the door, then back at him. He was in front of her in an instant, which shouldn’t have been possible. “It was careless of me to leave it lying around,” he said, flipping through the pages until he landed on the one he wanted. She could guess which one it was. He glanced between her and the pages with a critical eye. “I can see that my rendering does you no justice now that I’ve met you in person. The proportions are all off. You’re far more enchanting in
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 19
Bella’s assumption that Darian was the one with the temper vanished as she watched in horror as Victor grabbed the end table, books and all, and hurled it through the balcony door like it weighed nothing. “Victor—” she began, terrified. “No!” he roared as he continued to rip his room apart from one end to the other. Whether his rage was directed at her or some other target, she didn’t care to stick around and find out. The trust that had only begun to form between them evaporated entirely as she put every ounce of energy she had into reaching the door. To her amazement, he let her go. Maybe he was just too distracted by his rampage to bother pursuing her, but she wasn’t going to give him the chance to change his mind. Her breaths came In fearful gasps as she searched the hallway for Darian’s door. It wasn’t where it should have been. In fact, when she looked back, Victor’s door was the only one in an otherwise empty hallway that s
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 20
Bella felt her cheeks grow warm. He knew. Somehow she had truly called out to him in her dreams, and he had responded. Guilt and shame threatened to resurface, but she pushed them down, reminding herself that she was free to kiss whomever she wanted, dream or not. “It was just a nightmare,” she said, relieved that it wasn’t a lie. “I have no idea how you heard me, though. How did you know it wasn’t just a dream?” “I didn’t,” he replied with a shrug. “But I wasn’t going to take that chance.” Bella didn’t know how to respond. The library was becoming busy again, and she needed time to think. “Can we talk about this later? I’m the only one working today, and I don’t want to get into trouble.” He stepped away from the desk and scanned the area. “Sure. I’ll just wait at one of those tables and look at books or something,” he said, his expression grim. She arched an eyebrow. “You mean read?” “Whatever.”
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 21
She was expecting some sarcastic remark, but he just smiled. “If I had it my way, you’d be laughing all the time.” She swung the café door open so hard she was worried a hinge might break. The place was dead on Sunday nights, so they had their pick of tables. She pointed out a booth in the back and Darian shook his head. “A table is better,” he said, walking over to one. After he pulled out her chair and took the seat across from her, she could see why he didn’t want a booth. As it was, he would already have to hunch over the low table. “Everything I’ve had here is good, the wraps especially,” she told him. She doubted he was a picky eater, though. He scanned the menu earnestly. “They don’t list calories.” She blinked. “You count calories?” “Yeah, it’s hard to eat enough with all this low-fat granola bullshit going around,” he said. “I need to stay fueled for, uh, security.” “Wow. Is the job really that intense?” “The
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 22
Bella’s back straightened, and she felt a strange twinge of some unfathomable emotion at the thought of Darian with one of Victor’s submissives. It couldn’t be jealousy. That was just absurd. The back of her hand burned, almost like something had stung it, and the pain wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she massaged it. Despite her best efforts to hide her strange reaction, Darian picked up on it quickly. “Are you jealous?” he asked, sounding far too pleased. “Of course not,” Bella mumbled. “We’re not together, that would be ridiculous. Anyway, I know you’re a Dom. I’m sure that implies… things.” “Things?” he laughed. “Sometimes it involves sex, but not always. Why don’t you come down to the Lodge, and you can see for yourself?” “You know how I feel about that, Darian,” Bella sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, this was nice, but—” “But you wish this was all there was,” he said knowingly. He thought about it for a moment. “Is that the on
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 23
The next few days came and went like a hurricane. Prentice was right about the difficulty of Monday’s lecture, and about half the class stayed after the period was over for the special two-hour study session he had arranged. A few of them scheduled tutoring appointments for the next week, which was good news for Bella’s bank account. By the end of it all, she was exhausted, but she agreed to go out for coffee with Sandra once she managed to get ahold of her. While Bella had been avoiding her for a day or so, Sandra had made herself an even scarcer commodity lately. She was hardly ever in the room, and when she was, it seemed to only be for ten-minute intervals that “mysteriously” occurred during times when she knew Bella would be away. To her relief, she was the same old Sandra when they finally got together. They talked briefly about the competition, and Bella apologized in person for blaming her, but so much had happened since then. What had seemed li
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 24
“Never said it was your fault. When a man leaves home on a business trip and comes back not even a week later to find everything turned upside down, he gets curious.” He looked up and removed a thick pair of reading glasses, motioning for her to come forward. “Let’s have a look at you.” His eyes were shrewd and green, and it felt like they were looking through Bella. They widened sharply as he looked her over, and he rose suddenly from his chair. Bella took an instinctive step back and hit the wall that was Darian. He put his strong hands on her shoulders and kept her steady. The longer the Alpha watched her with those piercing eyes, the more she felt like returning to the Lodge had been a mistake. Just when she was sure she was about to find out whether Darian’s protectiveness over her extended even to the man he revered so deeply, the Alpha composed himself and straightened his back to reach his full height. He had to be at least six feet tall.
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The Hybrid Mate Chapter 158
Bella froze when she realized what she was doing and tossed the pieces in the empty bread basket to hide the evidence. “Sorry,” she murmured, blushing. “You uh, get my blood boiling.”“I can tell,” he said, blinking. He looked down at his hands. “I'm sorry. I had no idea I was that intolerable.”“But you're not,” Bella said earnestly. “You make me angrier than anyone else, but you also make me laugh more than anyone else. You push me, sometimes to the brink of sanity, but she's a better person when she's with him. He's all of those annoying things, but he's also sweet and funny and protective and so compassionate toward the other members of the pack. He's a natural-born leader, and a good one. Whenever she sees the way he is with the other wolves, the way he cares for them and puts their needs above his own without even thinking, she falls a little more in love with him.” He stared at her in shock. “You love me? And you're admitting that freely?”Bella laughed, embarrassed. T
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 157
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 156
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 155
“Not sweet, innocent Clara,” Bella said doubtfully. “Oh, I've caught Jason coming out of her apartment once or twice.” “Jason and Clara?” Bella blanched. “But he's so... He chuckled at her reaction. “I know. Doubt he's her type, but the moon makes everyone go crazy, especially unmated fleurs. The rest of us try to stick to our subs, but what happens on a full moon stays on a full moon.”“Until now,” Bella reminded him. “You just told me.”“Hey, you didn't hear it from me.”Bella grinned mischievously. “Nope. I'm thinking now I own you.”“I don't go that way, kiddo. Not even for you,” he scoffed. “Now, if you ever decide you want a new master...”“My contract with Victor isn't exclusive. And don't try to change the subject.”“Sheesh. Okay, fine. It's probably already pretty obvious, but Brendan and Clarence don't just take care of Foster's emotional needs. They share him as a sub, but there's no relationship there otherwise. I'm pretty sure even that's tapered off since
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 154
"Are all the others out?" Bella asked, noting that the lot was almost empty. "Most of them," he said. "Clara and your dad are still around, as usual. Vic has been holed up in his office all day. Hunter and Clarence are still frolicking in the woods somewhere. Brendan was heading out with Maverick last I heard and uh, I think I saw Sarah with Jason." Anger started to boil inside Bella, but it couldn't take hold for some reason. "Oh, whatever," she muttered. "As long as she's leaving Dad alone." He glanced at her as he turned onto the road that led past campus. "That's a surprisingly zen attitude you got there." "I'm trying out a new approach to life," Bella said, admiring the heavily forested path. He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining as long as you're okay.""I'm okay," Bella said. For the first time in a long time, she meant it.No one said a word for the rest of the ride. Darian took them into the city, or at least what passed for one in their little section o
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 153
A knock at the door jolted Bella awake from the most delightful nap. Despite the dull throbbing in her head, she woke feeling more refreshed and alive than she had in recent memory. “Be right there,” she called, yawning as she sat up. Her head spun a bit once she got to her feet, but it wasn't bad enough to make her stagger.On her way to the door, she noticed something strange about her room. All her stuff was there, but it looked like half of the room had been cleared out. Before the thought could trouble her too much, she remembered that Victor had probably just come for the remainder of his old things. She did have his old room, after all. Strange that he wouldn't have mentioned it, though.She shrugged it off and pulled the door open to find Darian waiting on the other side. At least, she thought it was Darian. The man before her had lightly slicked back hair, a stark contrast from his usual tousled brown locks. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything, but for Darian, a gray b
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 152
When Bella turned around, he was walking toward her calmly. She pressed herself against the door and struggled to slow her fluttering pulse as she looked around the room for escape. The window was too far to reach, and even if she did somehow manage to escape, she would only be prolonging the inevitable. Once Victor set his mind on something, no matter how horrible that something was, he got it. It briefly occurred to her that maybe that was why he was doing this. Maybe he thought his will had been strong enough to conquer her own and that removing all traces of it was the only way she would truly be free to choose. “I'm sorry, pup. I didn't want this to be a traumatic experience,” he murmured. “I was planning on waiting until tomorrow night, but it's just as well that I don't have time to talk myself out of this.” “Please don't do this,” she begged for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I don't want to forget you.” “You won't forget me,” he said softly. “J
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 151
“Of course,” Bella said, startled that he felt like he had to ask. “Well, I know you didn't like him so I just thought...” He trailed off, losing his enthusiasm for a moment. “Thank you. It would mean a lot to have you there. Victor is coming, and he said your dad would probably want to come, too.” He glanced toward the stairs. “I'll let you go; I have to find Brendan.” “He's probably still out with the others celebrating, but I know he was planning on seeing if you wanted to go out later,” Bella said carefully. “Oh, darn. I wanted to invite him, but I'll just have to wait until later. Bye, Bella!” he waved, already halfway down the hall. “Bye, Mav.” Bella waved back, mystified. Barely recovered from the macabre interaction, she knocked on Victor's office door and waited for permission before she entered. “Aren't you supposed to be with him?” was his immediate response. “Hi to you, too,” Bella muttered, walking over to his desk.He gave her an apologetic sm
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 150
“I'm fine,” Bella lied, brushing past her. She grabbed Bella's arm before she could head up the stairs. “You're a terrible liar,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed. “You get that from your father, obviously. Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help.” “I went out to watch the others shift,” Bella said, leaning on the railing. “Now there's an all-American pastime,” she said, casting a lustful glance in the direction of the forest. “Honey, trust me, if your boy toys are upset about you sneaking a little peek at the competition, they probably don't have the equipment for the job in the first place.” “That's not it!” Bella snapped. “And they both have plenty of equipment for the—they're both well equipped, okay?” Bella stammered. “That's not what this is about.” “No?” She blinked. “Then what?” “I left the Lodge by myself. Months ago, Victor put a mental block up that would keep me from leaving the Lodge without permission,” Bella said. “It was our trade
