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Chapter 32
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The Hybrid Mate Chapter 33
When Bella woke up the next morning, Victor was still in his chair reading a different book. His presence made it impossible for her to have even a few moments of blissful ignorance about the horrible truths she had learned the night before. There was no escaping them, or him. She felt like she had been hit by a train and partly wished she had. At least she could sit up. “Easy,” he said, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. “I’m fine.” It was a lie, but there was some truth to it. Her entire body ached worse than ever, but her head was clearer than it had been in a long time. She wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse, but it did feel as if some kind of partition had been removed in her mind. It was a clarity that provided her the opportunity to look back at all the hints she had missed about Darian and his odd family, and to marvel at her own stupidity. “You don’t look fine. You were tossing and turning all night.” “Bad dreams,” she mutter
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 34
He laughed. "I wouldn't call them clients. I get paid to run the dungeon, working in it is for pleasure. Come on." He knelt down on one knee in front her.Bella watched him warily. "What are you doing?""Get on my back," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I'm going to carry you downstairs."“She’s not riding you like a horse. You said we were going for a walk.”"We are. I just don't think you can manage the stairs right now. I'd carry you in my arms, but I thought you might prefer this."“I’d prefer to walk.” “Suit yourself,” Victor said, standing. He opened the door and they started down the hall. Fortunately, Bella didn't hear anyone else roaming about. She still wasn't sure she was ready to face the rest of the Wolf Pack after her meltdown and almost getting killed in the woods. If they didn’t think she was looking for an insurance claim, they definitely thought she was cursed.Victor opened the door and Bella squinted against the light. It felt good, b
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 35
He pondered my question for a moment and gazed up through the ivy-covered lattice overhead. The sun's rays streamed through, warm and cleansing. Enough time passed that it seemed like he wasn't going to answer. Finally, he spoke. "I guess I just realized that self-control was the only thing that separated us from them. If I let that go, I would have nothing." He looked over at Harper. "Not that I'm a paragon of self-control myself, as you saw in that dream. I let my temper get the best of me from time to time, but it doesn't control me. Not anymore. My brother, on the other hand, holds it all in until—” "Until he goes berserk.” "Exactly." "And that's what happened? You're sure?" Bella needed it to be the truth, but she was afraid to believe. As horrifying as the thought of Darian being out there slaughtering vampires was, it was less troubling than thinking he had just abandoned her for no reason. She knew it made her selfish and pathetic, but it was her
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 36
Bella would have put up more of a fight, but the pain was so intense that even if the vial held fatal poison, it would be an improvement. In the best case scenario, maybe the red-tinted serum really would help. Reluctantly, she rolled up her sleeve and held out her left arm since it was accustomed to pain, anyway. Ulric's gaze was unexpectedly apologetic, but it darkened when he saw Bella's scars. His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he kept whatever thoughts he had to himself. "I'm sorry, but this has to go directly into her jugular vein." “Of course it does,” Bella muttered. "At least let me hold her,” said Victor. "Fine." Victor pulled Bella onto his lap, and she buried her face in his shirt. His scent was just as comforting as Darian’s, and her apprehension faded with his touch, even though she knew he was only stroking her hair to uncover her neck. She was too exhausted to care if Ulric saw those scars, too. The Alpha’s growl made Bella
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 37
Bella woke from the most restful night of sleep she'd had in weeks to the sound of birds chirping out in Clara's garden. She snuggled closer in search of the warm body that had been next to her the entire night only to find his side of the bed empty.She rubbed her eyes and sat up with ease. Victor wasn't just awake, he was gone. His clothes from the day before were at the bottom of a laundry basket on the other end of the room, and his shoes were gone, but those were the only signs he'd been there at all. Before long, she realized the strangest thing. She still wasn't in pain. In fact, she felt even better than she had before her breakdown. Her body didn't ache. Her head wasn't throbbing. Her mind was still clear. The additional doses Victor had given her in the night must have worked. She was still afraid to find out what was in the red serum, and she wasn't crazy about the way it had to be administered, but its potency was unbelievable.She sat up and looked
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 38
"What does it mean to be called?" Bella asked, partly out of curiosity and partly because Foster seemed so eager to talk about it. He was a sweet little wolf, if a strange one. More like a pup, really.Foster brightened up again at the question. "Everyone hears Her call eventually. Some just choose not to respond for a while. It's hard to explain, but when they feel it, they just know. If they ever look up at the moon and it feels like the moon is looking back, that's Her. Selene. She usually comes to them in a time of need. For me, it was right after my first shift. I was terrified, and I didn't know what had happened, but she told me everything was going to be alright and led me here." "She spoke to you?" Bella asked hopefully. Aside from that strange detail, his story sounded eerily similar to her experience in the woods."Well, no. Not in words. It was just like her light was soaking through me. I could feel her taking me as her own, comforting me.” He hugged
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 39
She was sure there had been dozens if not hundreds of men standing in her place before, and she was also sure she was the only one who’d ever thought of turning him down."Just relax," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. His voice was almost as calming as his touch. She briefly wondered if he was playing mind games again, but this time, the relaxing effect was organic. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. I just need you to hear me out.” “Why?” She shrugged away from his touch. “So you can feed me some line that excuses the fact that you’re using this to move in on your brother’s territory?”He arched an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t believe in soulmates.”She clenched her jaw, fighting back her irritation. She’d already had an emotional meltdown in front of Victor and she wasn’t about to lose her temper in front of him, too. “You know what I meant.” “What you say is always so much more interesting,” he said, studying her fac
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 40
"I'm sorry," Bella stammered, hoping Victor wouldn't mistakenly take her shock as a reaction to his scar. That would be the ultimate hypocrisy. “I didn't mean to stare.""It's fine. It doesn't bother me anymore."It used to? The idea that a man like Victor was capable of feeling self-conscious about anything was hard to believe.He reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of thin, black leather gloves. Bella was transfixed as she watched him pull them on. Every move the man made was deliberate and sensual. She got the feeling he could’ve made taking out the trash look sexy and she resented herself for thinking it. She was also admittedly curious as to how he was going to do what he claimed to be capable of without touching her. She felt a twinge of guilt for being in this room with him and not Darian, but berserker or not, he was gone. He was also the reason she was in this mess. Darian was the one who’d marked her the moment he met her, taking away her ability to
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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
