The Hybrid

Chapter 4

POV switch...

How could I have been so stupid! Feeding her human blood was idiotic! Just because Xavier was willing and it was convenient, I sent her into a coma! Now that she was hurt, I realized my mistake. She was a werewolf. She needed werewolf blood. After all, that was what I had to use...

I pulled Xavier out of his bed, where he'd gone to crash, and dragged him to a seat in her room. My mate. Sydney. Her name was so perfect...

Once I deposited him on the chair, I forced his head down so he knew not to look at her.

"I get it!" He snapped. "Take care of your mate but don't look at or touch her."

I pat his head and then took off. It was daylight, so once I was out of the darkened house, I became my wolf and ran to the nearest pack, The Peace Valley. I stalked outside of their border, in a hurry but my hunting instincts wouldn't let me reveal my presence to the pack. No one but Xavier had known of my existence until I was out hunting and found something better than prey.

Sydney.

Her voice, her scent, her presence awoke something within me I didn't know I had. I needed her, and I'd never needed anything but blood, meat, and sleep. She was the air I breathed, and I hadn't known her two days. I didn't know why I needed her to come with me so much until her father said the word "mate." Mate. Mate. It rang through my brain, and it was what I called her until she said her name. Sydney. That was better than mate.

A patrol passed by and I was in such a hurry that I decided to take on all three in the patrol. They didn't see me until it was too late and I pounced on their leader, going straight for the back of his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground, and the other two scrambled to stop and face me. I swiped at one's chest, my claws taking through his fur. He howled in agony as the last one pounced on me. The injured one ran as we rolled around on the ground. I was bigger, so I had him pinned within minutes.

I switched quickly and punched him in the face, knocking him out. I stood and hissed as the sunlight burned at my skin and stabbed my eyes. Nonetheless I picked him up and slung him over my shoulders, taking off back towards Sydney.

Once I was back there, I had to take some of the wolf's blood to heal my eyes, but I took very little without the intent to turn. We couldn't have more hybrids needing werewolf blood. I took him to her room and tied him up.

I went to Sydney and pet her beautiful auburn hair. Her eyes were closed, so I lifted an eyelid to see how the change was going.

Her irises were a deathly yellow, the sliver of red that had been forming near the pupil completely gone. I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth in annoyance and checked her pulse. She had very little blood in her system, so it almost wasn't there, but her chest still rose and fell. Normal vampires had no heartbeat nor blood, but I did, so I assumed she would as well. When she came out. This was going to be a long and difficult process.

To say I didn't know what I was doing when I "marked" her would be a drastic understatement. I simply decided to explore her a bit, and then some instinct told me to bite her. I don't know what she was so upset about, but I did understand that she didn't want to be like me. Neither did I, but here I was. She would understand one day, even though I had no way of telling her.

I kicked the wolf until he awoke, and when he found himself so vulnerable, he shifted. He tried to say his "alpha" would hunt me down and kill me. I simply cut his wrist and drained it into a cup. Xavier awoke with the man's curses.

"Where'd you get him?"

I gestured south.

"Ah. The Peace Valley? Really? That's a low blow, even for you."

I grunted and brought the cup to my mate's lips, and as soon as the smell hit her, her mouth instinctively drank. She was so helpless, not like I was in my change. Her eyes snapped open when I had no more blood for her, her hunger apparent in the pinprick of her pupil. The red rim was back, slowly taking over the yellow. She jumped out of bed, sniffing, and then pretty much tackled the wolf bound on the floor, sucking blood from his wrist. Good, I didn't want to have to pull her off his chest or watch her take from his throat. He screamed and fought, but she was already too strong.

"Sydney! Stop! What are you doing!?"

A fierce growl erupted from my chest as he spoke my mate's name! She stopped and rolled away, breathing heavily. She had such a strong will. I couldn't stop before they died until my second year. I looked to Xavier, and he nodded, knowing I was asking him to take care of the wolf.

Sydney was shaking, looking at the wolf with wide eyes. "Kyle, I- I didn't mean to!"

She tried to reach for him, but I knew she wasn't planning on feeding from him, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her up to me. She shoved away and fell on her butt, still shaking. She needed more. Xavier saw this too.

"You need more, your body's shaking."

She shook her head and backed up until she hit a wall. I reached for her, but she flinched away. I let out a frustrated growl, and she whimpered in response. Fine, if she was going to be scared anyway... I lunged forward and grabbed her upper arm, dragging her to her feet and then over to the wolf. She tried to struggle.

"No, I won't hurt him! I won't! He's my friend!"

I would rather her friend die than her, so I grabbed her by the back of her neck and forced her to her knees in front of him. Xavier seemed worried, holding the weakened wolf still. Since Xavier was half vampire, half human, he was born to produce blood faster than most anyone else. That's why I tried to use him first, but now it meant he was stronger than the wolf, if only minusculely.

The wolf was still protesting, I simply ignored it. It was my mate's smooth voice that I listened to.

"No, please, please!" She begged.

I saw her eyes lock on his bleeding wrist. My eyes snapped to the wolf as he started talking to my Sydney. "Syd, is he your mate?"

She nodded, tears going down her face again.

"He can't make you do this, you have to decide to."

I gently messaged my mark as I held her down and was rewarded with her eyes closing in rapture. This might be a little too much for her all at once, but it was much better than mine.

I knelt next to her, ignoring the wolf again as I nuzzled my mark with my nose, parting her hair. She relaxed, and when I kissed it, she made a lovely noise that stirred up the part of me I hadn't felt until I met her. I kissed my mark again and slowly brought the wolf's wrist up to her mouth. He had stopped fighting, now only staring at her with sadness. If she didn't drain him, I would finish it. No one should stare at my Sydney!

Finally, she bit down, but not on the wolf's wrist. She bit on my wrist. I sighed and pulled her back onto my lap, letting her drink my blood as I played with her hair. Sometimes I forget that I am a werewolf as well as a vampire. Sometimes I forget that I'm a vampire as well as a wolf.

She didn't stop when I started to feel woozy, and I didn't mind. She didn't stop when I went limp, and yet I loved her. She finally let go when I was dry and got off my lap. I was barely aware of moving.

Something inviting rested on my lips, so I bit and drank, only to find out later that Xavier had presented his wrist for me.