All Chapters of The Hybrid Mate : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

"Like I said, I laid the framework in your mind a long time before Jeff and his old man came into the picture and you were just fine. I did it to protect you, to keep both sides dormant until it was time for you to embrace who you really are." She sighed. "That idiot werewolf expedited things by marking you, of course, but everything I've done has been to protect you.""You're lying," Bella said, backing away from her. "You don't care about protecting me. If you did, you wouldn't have abandoned me. You wouldn't have let me spend eighteen years of my life moving from one home to another, wondering what I had done to make you hate me so much that you would leave me." Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to keep herself together. "If you gave a shit about me, you would have stopped the abuse, the neglect, the loneliness. You would have done something before now, anything to let me know that I was something more than trash you threw away." She listened without a

Bella smiled. "Timing was never our thing.""Oh, so you remember me for once," he said, walking over to stand in front of her. "You're a hard dream to track down, you know that, kiddo?""Hey, I'm older than you now, even if it's only for a moment in whatever year this is," Bella said, gesturing to the illusion around them.He shrugged. "Time, space, it all kind of blends together in a place like this. It's all based on theoretical physics you wouldn't understand, being a social sciences dweeb and all that.""Is that so?" Bella laughed. She looked around the room, then back at him. "How many times have you visited me?""About once a month. The full moon heightens my abilities and makes it easier to find you, but I'm working with a really good teacher at the temple now. I'm getting better every day.""I'm sure you are." "I'm getting to know you better, too," he murmured thoughtfully. "You know, I think you're the only person in the world I can have the same conversation with

Bella spun sharply on the crowd. "You all fucking watched, didn't you?" She snarled. A familiar growl built in her chest, and the lights flickered overhead. They had flickered that night, too, as one silhouette after another eclipsed the light over her head during intermittent periods of consciousness. The crowd said nothing. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Bella laughed. If she didn't laugh, it felt like she was going to scream. "None of you said anything then, either, and why would you? You thought I was just another human blood slave to sate your every twisted desire." She scanned the crowd, making note of every face she remembered from that night. "I never did anything to any of you!" Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back by force of will. "You're monsters. Every fucking one of you." "That they are," Sarah said, suddenly beside her. She squeezed Bella's shoulder in what seemed almost like a genuine gesture of sympathy. She opened Bella's

"She doesn't care!" Bella's heart clenched as she remembered her own role in that last vision. "The thing that makes her like this is inside of me, too. It's part of me, just as much as being a wolf is. I felt it. The fact that she suppressed that side of me is probably the only reason I'm not like her." He lowered the stake reluctantly and tilted Bella's chin toward him. "You're not like her because you're not her. Period.""If I let you kill her, I will be," Bella said, refusing to break eye contact.His jaw clenched in frustration but he grabbed Bella's hand and dragged her toward the stairs. "Let's go."They were barely off the stage when they heard, "Isn't that sweet?" They both froze as Sarah's voice rang out from behind them. When Bella turned, she saw Sarah already on her feet, wiping the lip that had been split open in her fall."Your boyfriend is right, though, sweetie. You should really listen to him more. He is the smart one," she said, stalking towar

If Sarah noticed her lack of reaction, she said nothing."Then I'll leave the pack," said Victor. From the look on her face, his words surprised Sarah as much as they surprised Bella. "Just let me stay by his side." "A loyal dog," she said once she'd recovered from her shock, "but a dog all the same." She watched him with crossed arms and an appraising gaze she didn't like at all. "I guess it would be a hoot to keep one of Ulric's beloved packmates as a guard dog," she mused. "He doesn't know what she's saying," Bella interrupted, ignoring the stern look Victor was giving her."The hell I don't."Sarah sighed. "Alright, children, we'll fight it out later. For now, be a good boy and try to make yourself less of an imposition, hm, Victor?"He remained silent but Bella could feel his anger, refined and smoldering."Can we just get this over with?" Bella pleaded. "This is not a punishment, little one," said Saban. His deep, rich voice at once chided and soothed her