Savages

VI

Before Maldo can shade his face from the upcoming sun, his mother pulls the sheet off him and slaps him right side the head.

"Get up Maldo! I won't wake you again." She leaves the room, leaving the room door open for the cold air to come in. Groaning, he moves from the bed and straight into the bathroom to brush his teeth and for a quick shower.

As he heads downstairs he sees his best friend Lucas at the table, eating up most of the breakfast his mother had laid at the table. "Thanks, Mrs. Kale."

Mrs. Kale giggles as she continues to shuffle food at the stove, "At least someone enjoys my cooking."

Maldo shakes his head and sits at the table where he begins eating his breakfast. "Hey."

"Well," His mother says, coming over with pot in hand, "look who decided to join us."

"Good morning to you too mother."

She moves the contents of the frying pan to his plate and kisses him on the forehead, and Lucan finally looks up. "Maldo, we're going to be late."

Maldo gives him an uninterested stare and turns his attention back to the meal before him. "Any news?" he asks and Lucas clears his throat.

"The witches have yet to hit back. My father thinks it's a sign that they aren't taking us seriously but mom thinks differently. She thinks they're buying time."

"Buying time, for what?"

Lucas' face grows sad and he sighs, "Have you forgotten Maldo?"

Maldo takes up a fork of pancakes and begins stuffing his mouth, "Forgotten what?"

"Our greatest weakness."

"Our mates."

Lucas nods, "Something they're buying time for us to get our mates to use against us just like the last war."

"Well, that isn't going to work. We haven't found our mates."

"Yet." Lucas chimes in and Maldo sighs.

"So, they're waiting 'til we've found our mate, then they'll attack?"

Lucas gives him an annoyed look and sits forward. "Remember Maldo, a mate is pretty much our other half, our soul mate. If you lost your mate you'd be nothing but a living dead. Can you imagine losing the person you were destined to share a life with forever? Can you imagine living with that pain forever?"

Maldo doesn't say anything, only continues to eat. "Well, I hope my mate is like me and not a feeble human. That would make protecting her even more difficult."

Lucas relaxes back into the chair and continues eating his steak and eggs. "It doesn't matter. You'd have to do it."

"And what if I don't get a mate?"

"Don't be ridiculous." His mom comes over and hands him a glass of water. "You'll be mated, whether you like it or not."

"You'll see." Lucas says and with a smirk, he adds, "Just pray it's not a witch."

His mom slaps him in the back of his head and he coughs, "Don't joke Lucas."

Maldo laughs but he sees that his mom is staring at him rather sternly, "What? It's not like that can happen."

His mother sighs and moves to the sink. "It's rare but it has happened."

"What?" Lucas says, his face serious and dark. "A shifter and a witch?"

"Yes." Mrs. Kale says and she turns around to look at them.

"Doesn't that create a hybrid child?" Lucas asks and Maldo sees a flicker of change in his mother.

"I don't know."

It isn't before long that she runs them out of the house for them to get to school. "You two are going to be late, go before I have to attend another meeting with your principal.

As Maldo takes his seat on the passenger side, Lucas starts the car and begins reversing out the driveway. "I thought you were selling this."

"I thought so too." He says and Maldo shakes his head.

As they start for school, Maldo turns to Lucas and asks, "So, if you get a witch pregnant, that child becomes some sort of hybrid?"

Lucas shifts gear and the speed of the car picks up, "It's more than that Mal. When you mate, there is something else that bonds you together. I'm sure of the technicalities but I know for a fact it's not sex. Your sister would be a hybrid if it were and your grandmother but they aren't. So, it must be a mated shifter and witch that create a hybrid."

"And that's bad?"

"Well of course." Maldo drives up into the school and quickly finds a space to park. "Do you know how powerful a witch and shifter offspring would be?"

"No."

"Exactly." Lucas turns off the car engine and exits the car, Maldo follows. "That's why they're so dangerous. Their unknown and unpredictability."

Maldo smiles a little as he heads into school. "Well, let's just hope something like that never happens to us."