A Hybrid's Hunger

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

I sit in the car with my mother. She sits in silence, and so do I. I don't know what to say to her, and she doesn't know what to say to me. The silence that stretches between us is heavy and uncomfortable. I try to find the words but each time I do, something forms in my throat, choking me up.

She looks at me and then returns her attention back to the road. The engine starts and the silence is gone.

I don't want to go. I don't want to leave.

"Mom—"

"Aurora," She cuts me off. "We can about it all later." Her hand tightens around the wheel, and I know she's going to take off if I don't stop her.

"No, Mom, we need to talk about it right now," I say. "Because I don't want to go."

She glances at me, and then her eyes focus back on the road. "You're not thinking clearly. You are not yourself right now, and you need to come home with me. We'll talk about it all once we're home."

"But I don't want to go."

I look at her and I try to reason with her, but I don't think I've much of a choice. She's set on taking me out of here, taking me as far away as she could possibly go. I don't see fear in her eyes, I see something else—something different. She looks determined to take me away from him.

I glance outside the window, back at the house. I can't even see it.

"Mom, please. I want to stay here. I want to be with Zade." I say again, trying to make her understand.

"No, Aurora. It's not safe. You don't know him, and I'm not going to let you go through what you did before. You are coming home with me and we'll talk about this later. Now is not the time or the place. You don't know anything that has happened—"

"Because you made me forget it!" I scream, interrupting her. "You made me forget everything and you lied to me. You lied to me all this time and now, you think you can decide what is best for me when you have been lying to me for my entire life?"

Her eyes finally turn to me, she appears a little surprised. My breaths come out quickly as I finish. There's so much anger coursing through me and I can't even seem to control it. I don't want to be angry with her. I don't want to hate her, but she's making it hard for me to feel anything else right now.

We lived together for years and years, and she never once told me about anything, even as I got older.

She kept it all inside her, kept me away from it. She didn't trust me, and she didn't think I was strong enough to handle the truth.

"I had no choice. What would you've done? I had to keep it all away from you, I had to keep that monster away from you and the best way was to take your memories." She whispers, her hands tightening around the wheel.

My teeth clenches as I swallow hard. "He's not like that, Mom."

"And you know that too well?" She cocks a brow at me, it's a challenge, she's challenging me.

"I'm his mate."

She laughs a little and then her face goes hard. "You have no idea what he did to you—"

"It doesn't matters. It's not like I remember any of it—you made sure of that. All I do remember is what has been happening in my time here. He's good to me, and I want to be with him." I tell her firmly, my heart beating fast against my chest.

My hand remains on the car door handle, gripping tightly while I still sit tight in the car. It has been so long since I saw my mother, and now, it's all overshadowed by the fact that I don't want to go back with her. It's not home to me anymore. Home is where Zade is, and that's where I belong, with him, with my mate. And whatever consequences come with the bond, I'll deal with them.

"Aurora," Her voice softens and she reaches out to press her hand over mine, to convince me to come with her. "You've been manipulated by someone who has previously hurt you. A little bit of affection is enough to blind you, Aurora, and you cannot let yourself be blinded by someone like Zade. He has done terrible things to you and while you don't remember any of it, it is not something that can easily be ignored."

I glance down at our hands. I can feel her pulse under my palm. It's warm, just like my skin. But she's not right. She cannot be right in this. She sees Zade differently, so differently than I do. And maybe if I was where she is, I'd see him the same way too.

But I'm not, and I don't. I don't see Zade as a monster, as a cruel person who is only out there to drain my blood or hurt me, because I know him better now, I understand him better. He's not like that. And no matter what he did in the past, I cannot find myself to blame him for anything.

"I don't ignore it, Mom, but leaving is a decision that I'll make on my own accord and not because you're forcing me to. If I ever want to leave, I will but until then, I don't want to go anywhere. I want to be with him and you've to let me be." I tell her, holding onto her hand and looking into her eyes.

"But—"

I cut her off before she can say anything more. My hand pulls away from her. "He's my mate, I'm his, and this is where I belong, with him."

She goes quiet. It's clear to me that she is unhappy with my choice, but she has no control over it. It's my decision, and it's one that I made for myself.

I look at her and take a deep breath in. "I want you to trust me, Mom."

She's silent for a long while, and I don't know what she's thinking, but the anger on her face is almost gone now. She sighs, her shoulders slouching, "I do trust you, Aurora. I trust you, but I don't trust him and I can't. I won't, I don't want to lose you."

My mother turns her head to the road. There is pain in her voice, and she is clearly afraid. I feel bad for her, but I have to stand my ground.

"You won't."

Her expression softens as glances at me. Her hand presses on the side of my cheek and I welcome her touch. It's warm. She gives me a small smile and then takes a deep breath.

"I hope this isn't a mistake." She tells me, her voice cracking a little.

"It's not," I try to assure her, but she still doesn't seem too convinced.

"I really hope you're right. Because if you aren't, then I'll—" She stops herself from completing her sentence. "I shouldn't hold you for too long. It's best if I get back on the road. Call me if anything happens, I'll be here in a heartbeat."

I lean in and wrap my arms around her. She holds onto me tightly and I can feel her shaking a little. My throat tightens as I rest my chin on her shoulder. A few more minutes and she pulls away. I say my goodbyes before leaving the car.

By the time I'm outside, it's pouring, heavily, but I still stand under the harsh weather and watch as my mother leaves. She looks at me one last time before driving off.

I stay there until the car disappears from my sight and only then I turn to the house.

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