The Hybrid

Chapter 29

"Come on now Grace, have a drink with me.. You've been gone what? Six centuries you must be parched..-" Byron said as he stood up from the bed, brushing his suit down before going back to the bottle of whiskey he had placed down on the table. Soon he opened it and poured two rather large measures into the crystal tumbler glasses and he walked back to Grace who remained silent, her eyes judging him and awaiting his next move but instead he held out the glass to her.

"Come, you know I haven't poisoned it. You would be able to smell it otherwise, humans haven't exactly progressed much rather in the herbal world since you were last around" He commented before bringing up his own tumbler to his lips which parted and he took a sip, showing her that it was indeed not poisoned. Grace looked down to the tumbler in her hands before lifting it to her mouth and took a sip. The burning sensation across her tongue and down her throat made her cough and splutter before wrinkling her nose and she placed it down on the window ledge. "That is fucking gross..-" She muttered, an expression of disgust across her features before she looked back over to him.

"Why have you brought me here? You had me locked away in a fucking lab..- I was a test subject..-" She told him and he sighed heavily shaking his head. "I didn't, I'm not too sure if you remember what happened on that field.. I took you away from 𝐻𝑖𝑚. He didn't deserve you in fact he expected you to live out in the woods like some... Animal with him and his people when you deserved better" He told her, Upon the news of him saying she deserved better Grace was conflicted for a moment. "Then how did I end up there?" She asked him.

He took a seat on the bed and patted for her to sit down next to him. "Not long after that you slipped into some catatonic state, humans found out about our world they attacked everyone.. Wolves, Witches, Vampires.. Fae.. Any kind of creature that they could find. A mass purge of our world nearly ended us until we made a treaty. For the rest of us to live we had to hand you over, nothing could kill you it seemed and you attacked without ever being aware..- It was a strange sight to see so I handed you over.. To protect you and us..-" He paused to look at her before picking up his drink and took another sip. Grace frowned before looking towards the window, so many thoughts ran through her mind. "What about Theo? Was he there?" She asked him quietly. He nodded "Yes, I let him have a chance to sat goodbye and now you're free? I have a feeling that our treaty will be broken. I don't know what you were being used for but it kept us all alive and you being here is safer than the Land Of The Moon..-" He uttered.

Grace scoffed as she stood up pulling on the chains "I'm safe here!?.. Really Byron!? I'm up in a fucking mountain.. Your land is dead, your kind are starving to death and wandering around like Zombies..- How is this safer than being out with Theo, with my kind-" She was stopped by him slamming her into the wall, his digits grasping her throat tightly. "HE CAN'T FUCKING PROTECT YOU!" He yelled at her, his frame towering over her own. "He was the one to quickly hand you over, he was ready to sign you over and leave you there like some kind of lab rat!" He hissed at her. "Do you not ever stop to wonder why he didn't ever come get you? Who got you out of there Grace hmm? I think you need to sit and gather your thoughts some more and question his loyalty towards you Grace. All he wants is a woman who he can't have, you are above his stature, a Queen who could rule us all..-" He lowered his voice now and he let go of her.

"I want you to be our Queen and lead our world to a new order..- There is nothing sinister in my mind, you can even see it for yourself" He reached into his pocket to pull out a small key which he used to unlock the chains. "I asked my guards to put these on you so you wouldn't butcher them..- The Nightshade was to stop you from killing me before I had chance to speak to you..-" Picking up the chains he tossed them onto the bed. "You have a room down the hall to the left, it has anything you need and we will be eating in an hour if you wish to join us" He picked up her glass from the window ledge leaving Grace still against the wall and she remained silent as he left.

Was what he said true? Did Theo really not try to rescue her all these years? Who did exactly break her out of the Lab? Or whatever place it was.. She realised that she barely knew anything of what happened after she was gone.. That gap was never filled, doubt began to cloud her mind. What if Byron was right? What if Theo wasn't the man she thought he once was?