Chapter 15 FOURTEEN

ALARIS' POV It was bad. It's gotten worse. Everything has changed. The plan I set for my pack and for the hybrid has changed. She was supposed to be a statement. Both a warning and a message that vampires and wolves can't be together. That the fruit of their love would be a dangerous creature that could wipe out both races. It was what Morgiana meant. Just a statement. Two years ago when I went to work at the school with the help of the school head, I started watching her. The school head didn't know I was watching her, of course. All I told the factions was that I wanted to be in the town just to check things out. Months before I started working at the school, sightings of a vampire has been circulating around. The mayor couldn't just ignore it. While I used that chance to spy closely on Morgiana. The school head didn't know I had another purpose in mind. In the years that I have watched her, I found out how she was treated both at home and at school. It was ironic to see the strongest creature to have ever lived to be treated like a slave. But as I watch her every day, I saw how it didn't seem to budge her. She accepts the slap she gets from her aunt. She accepts how her schoolmates treated her. I used not to care because she was going to die soon, anyway, but somehow, I ended up helping her one day. The day she turned eighteen. The day the spell placed on her by a witch was broken. The day her true nature broke free. She punched two students in the face and it was fortunate enough that it didn't take a bad turn. Arleigh is the mayor's daughter, one of the founding families of this town. The mayor, who's also the school head, won't be able to let it go that easily. Good thing I was there to stop it. However, I realized it wasn't a good idea to keep her around for a long. Because she's....she's a force. A deadly one at that. I am not only talking about how strong her bloodline is. She makes me feel things I didn't want to feel, especially towards a person with whom I shouldn't have an attraction with. But she was effortless. She didn't need to say or do anything to burn something in me. Her mere existence was enough. I didn't know what could be the cause of it. I was never attracted to any woman. My duty as an Alpha of the pack involves mating with another wolf to produce offspring, someone who could take my place. But I was not a wolf from the pack. I was an outsider who became their alpha when I killed the previous one. I couldn't find a mate. But two nights ago, it clicked. The moment she killed a person in order to save one of my wolves, the spell was completely broken. She turned into a wolf and ran to the woods. That's when it was put in place. That's when I felt the mating bond between us. I have always wondered what it would feel like. Or if I would even notice it. But the moment it clicked between me and her, the force was too strong that I staggered to my feet. It felt like a huge wave slapping my whole being. She's my mate. I don't know if she felt it but I think she hasn't, yet. Mates may be mates but it doesn't mean they will realize it at the same time. That's when everything changed. I was supposed to kill her after the full moon. I was supposed to send her decomposing body to the vampire's lair to make a statement that they are strong wolves and they should stop coming to town. But how could I kill my mate? I couldn't. Especially when I feel possessive of her. I could even barely control myself whenever I see her with Laurent and any others. I feel like tearing their throats out and feeding them to the horses. I did not tell her. Not yet. Or maybe not ever. She's a hybrid. Both a wolf and a vampire's enemy. She's nowhere in between. She's at the top of the hierarchy. "You ought to tell her, you know," said Laurent to me the moment I told him. He didn't look surprised at all. "I can't tell her and you know that, Laurent. She's ... she's our enemy. She's not someone who should live." "Are you really sure you could defy the mating bond?" he said and let out a scoff before he took a swig of his bottle. "Between us, you're the rational one. Do the most rational step: make her yours and the wolves will have a hybrid on their side." I gave her a furrowed look. It's not new to Laurent. He may be all rays of sunshine but he could be dark and practical. "I think after all those threats we made to her she's not going to accept me." Another scoff came from him. "Show her why she shouldn't." That was my conversation with Laurent and then I find him the next day putting his arm around her. I know what he's doing. Rousing the annoyance out of me is not going to work and is not a very good idea, to begin with. Now, I am watching her pacing back and forth inside the infirmary. The nurse had just gone out to get something and we were left alone. Not a very good idea too. I could smell her sweet scent from the bed where I was sitting. "Stop pacing," I said just so her smell wouldn't disperse more. Her smell is not good for me. Or the both of us for that matter. It's torture. "I can't help it, okay? I feel bad for doing that to them," she said and sat down on the chair, thank fuck. "I have never done that. I never even thought that was possible. If vampires could do that, how dangerous can they be?" "Very," I said curtly and just directed my gaze to the window. I can't look at her without thinking about how those lips would feel against mine. Fucking hell. "What kills a vampire, though?" she asked. "Taking their heart out. Or cutting their head. But a wolf's venom is torture to death for them." "What kills a wolf?" "Heart out and head gone." "What kills me?" she asked and that made me turn to look at her. She looked genuinely curious and-holy fuck-her eyes were looking at me with that innocent curiosity. "You're the top of the food chain and the only one of your kind. Nothing could kill you as far as we know." I saw her grimace. "That means I'm immortal?" "You are." "If my heart was taken..." "You're faster and stronger than anyone who would try to do that. And besides, knowing that you're a hybrid, they'd be too scared to lay a finger on you." "Because I am scary?" "Because they think you're an abomination," I blurted out before I could even stop myself. I saw her look at the floor. No shit. "My aunt used to tell me that I shouldn't have been born," she started. "Somehow, I got used to her constant reminder of me being a failure that I got sick of it. So I just let her talk, talk, and talk, and then I just ignore and forget about it in the next hour." I didn't say anything so she went on. "Does that mean I am immune to wolve's venom and a vampire's attacks?" "If you're good enough, then you can be immune to a vampire's attacks." "They can't compel me, right?" "They can't. But aside from compulsion, they're incredibly fast and their sense is heightened too like the wolves." I saw how her mouth tightened and how she fidgeted her fingers as though she was thinking of something. "I heard vampires can't procreate, though. How were my parents able to have me?" "Witches exist. And they might be creatures tasked to keep the balance between the wolves and the vampires, there are a certain few of them who does things for a price." Her brows rose and she looked at me. "You're trying to say that my parents paid a witch to perform some magic so they could have me?" I shrugged and looked back at the window. "That's the only plausible explanation we can have. Vampires can't procreate. The only way they had you was by using magic." She was silent for a moment and I was thankful for that. Then I remembered I had something to say to her so I turned to look. However, I did not see her sitting on the chair anymore. Instead, she was standing in front of me, looking at me questioningly. "Are you alright, Alaris?" she asked and I gave her a glare. "What makes you say that?" She shrugged. "Well, you've been looking away for the whole duration of our conversation and you look like you're thinking about something critical. What is it? Is this about the upcoming charity event?" What the fuck. Her smell could be my undoing. And her distance-fuck-I hate this mate connection thing. My body seems to have a mind of its own and I could barely control it. I wanted to push her away but something deep inside me wanted to have her there. Just standing at close proximity, ready for me to hold and to- I shook my head and stood which made her surprised too. "Rest here for the rest of the class hours." And then I walked out of the room, feeling the pain in my pants. Asshole.