Desire To Love (#2 in The Hybrid Wars series)

Chapter 14 ~ Homes

© 2016 by Authorninja. All rights reserved.

Chapter 14 ~ Homes

    I was motionless when I realised the stag that towered over me with its supernatural strength was my father's brother. One of the few relatives I had, and the closest. 

Time froze with my stiff panther body and I saw the horror surrounding this unlikely family reunion, all the blood and violence because of me. It always felt like more than that, but seeing my own blood holding me down told me I was to blame for a peaceful town like Noson being overrun. 

 I scanned for my friends, begging to see Charlotte or Harry for help. I didn't believe in what I was seeing, the idea that uncle Chris was against us made me shudder to the core. I growled, but already backing down from fighting what I thought was my father's trusted brother. The new Emperor of the shifters.

Christopher backed away, seeing my defeat. His stag form began to change as he transformed back into the figure I knew and loved. Someone came from the side to give him a dark cloak, there always was someone to defend the elders against attackers. And to defend their integrity by making sure they're not nude on a battlefield. 

"Blaire Alder," his rumbling voice echoed across the quietening streets of Nos. He spoke to me as if talking to a stranger, "No one else needs to be hurt. Just get your Hybrids to back down, child."

I growled, my dark four legs shaking with pain. I glanced around, there were many people seriously injured. Some were just innocent people from Nos, they didn't ask for this. I met my eyes with a dark wolf and a polar bear, standing not too far were the four vampires I had finally started to trust. They met my eyes, and I met theirs. 

I knew what I had to do.

I nodded, walking towards my uncle. His people stood tense behind him, ready to jump back into attack. But there was no need, I began to transform into my human shape. A cloak was wrapped around my shifted form, and I could barely notice the other shifters shift too. But I wasn't concentrating on them anymore. My eyes burned as I glared at Christopher Alder.

"Uncle," I shortly muttered, standing a couple of feet in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do I think I'm doing?" He repeated, almost chuckling but laughter never did suit him. "My niece has been running about causing havoc with her highly respected hunters and a group of leeches."

I flinched, clenching my fists as I listened.

"Do you have any idea what you've done to our family's name?" He continued, "The Alders have been respected as the Royal leaders for centuries, and you've been ruining it with this disgusting rebellious behaviour you've been doing with the enemy."

I felt like I was being lectured by a parent for misbehaving, as if reuniting with other Hybrids against my own kind was like skipping class.

"I've lost a lot of respect for you too, Chris," my jaw tightened. "How long were you going to hide the fact that you've been brainwashing shifters into despising vampires? Or the fact that you've been ripping away the free will of your own kind for years, making them murder people and using them as weapons. Or the fact that you're kidnapping innocent Hybrids from here that have done nothing wrong to you!"

"There's a lot to this that you don't understand, Blaire." Chris shook his head, his eyes full of sorrow. "We'll let the people in the vans go, you just have to leave this town and come home."

"Come home," I repeated. "I'm not exactly sure where that is now that I know that the elders betrayed me. They betrayed all of us."

I made sure to meet with the eyes of every shifter standing around us.

"Like I said," he soothed. "All can be explained in due time, it wasn't kept secret or hidden from you. You would've been told everything to prepare you for your role as the Empress."

"I never would've accepted this," I shook my head. "I never would've accepted having the need to kill these people engrained in my head. That's disgusting, it's inhumane."

"Blaire, if you come home to the Elders we will try to forget all of this happened." Chris looked around him, "And we'll let your people go."

I stood still, unsure what he was proposing. Was I going to be taken back to where I was brought up, and things will go back to the way they were? Or was I being brought to where I would be killed for disloyalty?

"If I go with you, you'll leave this place," I hesitated. "And leave all of these people alone? Just me."

Christopher nodded, "Just you, and no one else gets hurt or taken. You and someone else."

I exhaled, were they going to take Charlotte and Harry too? Were we all going to be punished?

"We just want you and the warlock Eli Anson." Chris turned to meet eyes with Eli who stood to the side, still holding a stick that was now glowing blue from battle. Witchcraft, I assumed. "We're willing to forget you were involved in this integrating of rebellious behaviour, your people will be happy to find you back with the future Empress."

I heard a couple of gasps from around us, probably from the townspeople who were wondering why their own innocent Hybrid was being taken from them. 

"If we go with you, you'll give them peace?" Eli stared at my uncle with his brown quizzical eyes, "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Christopher looked uninterested, as if this was the typical thing he did on a Wednesday. "Are we agreed?"

His eyes were on me now, and I had one last heavy gulp before meeting Christopher's outstretched hand with mine and shook it.

"It would seem so, Uncle." I glanced at Eli, who's face had turned pale and his stick's colour faded away. "Right, Anson?"

"Okay," Eli looked at me with a flicker of hope. "Let's go."

---

  "Wait!" Charlotte's voice rang behind us as we started to get into a truck with Christopher, running up to us. Some shifters tried holding her back but they had nothing on her, and she broke through. 

She jumped to me, pulling me into a hug. A wave of fear crashed through me, I was worried that Chris would recognise her and decide to take her with us. But he remained silent in the veichle with Eli as I hugged my best friend.

"Please don't go," Charlotte whispered in my hear so I could barely hear. "We can beat them."

"You know we can't," I squeezed her. "These fighters have decades on us, even if our stamina could outnumber them all."

She looked into my eyes, giving me a silent reassurance that I needed. And just like that, she was being pulled away. We had our soundless conversation with our eyes, and I knew I would see her again.

I looked at the rest of them, all who knew better by now not to fight through to say goodbye. Harry nodded at me, looking tougher than ever despite having gone through so much at barely seventeen. Margret had her hand reassuringly on his shoulder, giving me a small smile. Josias' hands were balled up, and Ron looked at me worryingly but they looked just as defiant as Harry and Margret. I looked at Peter, his frown said nothing and his cold gaze could burn through the truck. He met with my eyes, and our conversation only moments ago but felt like hours sat with me with warm comfort as he blinked at me with promise.

I got into the truck, sitting close to Eli as we ventured into what was probably going to be a huge gigantic shit show.

---

a.n

lol was that last line too much? 

Thanks for the reading! Sorry for the slow updates, idk what's wrong with me either. I'd like to say thank you to PlayingWithTheHeart for being so supportive on DTK, it warms my heart to see so many comments and support from a reader.

Question of the day!

What do you think is going to happen next? Let me know!

FAITH . TRUST. PIXY DUST