His Powerful Hybrid

TWELVE

LIANI

I shield myself from the sun as it beams into my eyes. I hear the ocean waves crash against the shoreline and sand beneath my feet before I see a woman whose back is turned to me. I didn't feel like she was dangerous, but I felt her pain. "H-hello?" I stutter softly, trying not to scare her. She turns to me in an instant and asks "You can see me?" I smile at her once I was able to see her face and knew that I was talking to the princess. Auburon's sister, Layla. "Yes, I can see you." I look around as I notice we're on some type of beach and ask "where are we?"

"The only place that brings me comfort," she says as she turns her back to me. "This is where Aubie and I would run off to when we needed a break from the royal life." A smile forms on her face as I walk up to the side of her. "His dumbass would always splash me in the face with water!" she yells still with a smile on her face. I chuckle at the memory as I envision my mate being... playful. From what I've seen so far, he's just so serious. "I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you?" she asks me with a curious look on her face. I stare at her unsure of what to say. Should I say that I'm Auburon's mate? Should I just tell her that I'm here to help? I wanted to feel excited and beam with pride that I was Auburon's mate but I don't know where we stand as of now. He's so hot and cold.

"Let's just say that I'm here to help you. I'm the only person that was able to break through the barrier of magic that keeps you here." I say with a sad smile. Despite being Auburon's mate I wanted to help her because no one deserves this. She looks at me with hope but I can tell that she's afraid she'll be here forever. "I promise I'm going to do all that I can to help you get out of here." She gives me a shy smile. "Do you remember what happened to you the night you were attacked? Anything that would give us a clue as to how this magic trapped you here."

"I-I, He, AHHHHHHHHH," she said as she started screaming. The ground beneath us started to shake and I see Layla clutching her head, then her heart as if she were in excruciating pain. I try to walk to her to steady her but before I could I was kicked out of the place where she resides and now I'm back in the hospital room where she lies almost lifeless in the bed. I feel these huge muscular arms around me caressing my arms as we sit in a chair. I'm trying to focus on who this could be until I hear Iris purring in my head. I look around the room and see the king, queen, my mom, and alpha luke in the hospital room. That means these muscular arms belong to one person... my mate.

"She's trapped in–" I tried to speak but my voice was harsh. My mom runs over to me as I feel Auburon's body still beneath me. He grips me tighter and I know that was his way of communicating to me that he was happy that I was okay and that he didn't want to let me go. Alpha Luke hands me a cup of water and I drink it immediately. I feel Auburon relax underneath me as his fingers begin to rub back and forth on my arm. I melt at his touch but quickly snapped out of it as I needed to tell everyone what I just saw.

"She's trapped mentally in some sort of beach." I feel Auburon stiffen at those words so I return his gesture of running my fingers back and forth on his large arm. "When I tried to ask her to tell me about the attack it was as if someone heard me ask and kicked me out." It was like a lightbulb went off in my mother's head. "I know what spell was placed on her," she says. We all look up at her in excitement. "Really?" Queen Emris asked as tears began to fill her eyes.

"I'm pretty certain I do." says my mom. "I would have to go back to the pack house to get my books and a few items that I need to break the spell. I could be back as quickly as tomorrow morning," she says. I didn't realize that it was nighttime, as in Layla's mind it was still extremely sunny out. I can't even imagine the torment she must feel, knowing that someone is listening and watching her, and the sun never goes down. She's a child of the moon goddess, and her lycan needs to be under the moon sometimes.

"I'm worried about the presence that kicked me out," I say. "It was as if someone was there, watching, and listening." "Well," Auburon says as he gently pushes me off of him and stands. "Let's increase security around Layla's room until Maya gets back. Alpha Luke please take Maya home and get her back as soon as you can. Liani will stay with me." he says before clearing his throat. The independence in me wanted to be angry at him for not even asking me as I wanted to be seen as his equal, but I was kind of attracted to the fact that he was making decisions for us. Iris also didn't mind either as she purred in my head at our mate's command.

My mother looks at me as if she's making sure I'll be okay. I nod my head to her before walking over and giving her a hug. "Please be safe," I whisper. "No witch can take me" she whispers. "The original witch is the one who gave me my powers back," she says again quietly. I pull away from her. My eyes were wide in shock as I thought the original witch was dead. "I'll tell you later. Happy birthday again baby girl" she says before hurrying out the door. The king and queen followed to assign the guards.

There was an awkward silence before Auburon's voice sternly says "follow me." So like a little puppy, I do. He leads me to this large room where two maids greet me at the door. "My lady," they say as they bow. I wasn't used to anyone bowing to me let alone being referred to as "my lady" so I say "Please, just call me Liani." I heard Auburon growl at the fact that I was going to allow the maids to speak so casually with me.

I turn towards him and give him a stern glare. I could see his eyes flicker red at my glare but I could also sense his wolf's excitement. He walks away angrily and I chuckle in amusement. Moon Goddess why did you give me such a stern stubborn mate? I thought to myself. As I walked into the room, it was massive. The ceilings were high, the walls were white, decorated with all sorts of flower portraits, and there was a huge white canopy bed with sheer white curtains surrounding the gold frame. There was also a desk and chair in there along with a huge dresser. I walked into the white marble bathroom and was shocked at how large this bathroom was. This room and bathroom together were the sizes of both my mom's and my room put together with tons of extra space left.

I quickly hop in the shower trying to decompress from such a long day. So much happened today that even I forgot it was my birthday. When I walked out of the bathroom there was a white nightgown laid on the bed and a small velvet blue box next to it with a small note. I picked up the letter and it read "Happy birthday. -A" I opened the box to find a dainty teardrop-shaped diamond necklace. I quickly put on the white gown and small necklace. Then, I run to open the door to find a guard outside. He was extremely tall and muscular with emerald eyes, long wavy brown hair with pale skin. He doesn't acknowledge me.

"Can you take me to Auburon?" I ask. He looks hesitant but guides me downstairs. As we're walking down the stairs I notice all these pictures of previous kings and queens. Some are just individual portraits and some are with their kids. "Our picture will be hanging up here one day," Iris says. I smile at the thought.

The guard leads me to this brown door when I hear faint music, laughter, and voices talking. I quickly open the door without a care in mind. I just wanted to hug my mate and thank him for the gift. But, when I opened it I felt my heart break in two. I opened the door and saw my mate sitting on a chair drinking a glass of liquor, with a woman leaning over whispering something in his ear.