THE HYBRID'S MATE, sterek [book 01] ✔

xxxii. two sides of the same coin

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃'𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺-𝘵𝘸𝘰: 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦
𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯

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     THE PAIN IS INDESCRIBABLE. There are no words to describe the pain that is radiating through my frail body. There is one thing in Beacon Hills that can help me, and they despise supernatural creatures with a passion. I guess that is excusable after everything they have been through with my kind. It makes sense to despise us - we are beasts after all.

     Then again, the thought of my Mate despising me makes me feel worse than I already do. It pains me to even imagine the hatred that would be burning in their eyes. I know they hate us, I can feel the constant hatred through the small Bond we have. Although, I may be completely reading into it the wrong way. It may be a hatred at themselves or someone that they constantly have to deal with.

     Nick and Gabriel are out trying to find him. I managed to describe his scent with as little words as possible, and I am hoping that it has helped the two of them. It's hard to describe a scent on the best of days, let alone one I have only smelt from a distance. It is sweet, yet sour. It is almost like cherry flavouring. It is strange.

     As soon as I had described the scent, Gabriel's eyes had turned hard and he had all but run from the loft. Nick barely reacted to his brother. He thanked me and followed his brother out, leaving me more confused than ever. It's not strange to see Gabriel storm out of places, but the complete anger and hatred in his eyes was strange.

     He knows who my Mate is.

• • •

     By the time the twins get back from searching Beacon Hills, they are exhausted. Gabriel collapses onto the couch and is out like a light. Nick is more civilised, of course. He quietly closes the door and walks over to me, sitting on the opposite side of the bed. He sighs and lays down, looking over at me.

     I smile weakly. "Any luck?"

     He shakes his head. "We couldn't find him anywhere. The rest of your Pack are out searching tonight. Derek's Pack are going to look tomorrow, and then my Pack's going to take over at sunset to give them a rest."

     I can't help how my smile fades.

     "We're going to take it in turns. We will find him, Stiles. He is extremely good at hiding. I know what he is, but Gabriel knows who he is."

     "Who?"

     Nick smiles. "He is someone who will love you like there's no tomorrow. I know that much. Don't even attempt to ask Gabriel about him, you won't get an answer out of him. He's too secretive. Believe me, I've tried to ask him. I got nothing."

     "Good guy?"

     "From how Gabriel acts, I'd say that your Mate has some serious issues. Although, my brother does tend to see the bad sides of people first. It's different to me. I see the good sides of people when I first meet them."

     I raise my eyebrows.

     "You? Gabriel instantly picked up on you being a Nogitsune. It's usually something that supernatural skip over when they can't see your Fox aura. They just assume that you're something else. Not us Foxes though. We can see right through you. Gabriel picked up on your aura instantly. He didn't see your bad side though." Nick goes quiet for a second, seeming to collect his words. "He saw your Mate's bad sides, as well as the Nogitsune that had previously inhabited your body for months. You don't have a bad side, Stiles."

     I roll my eyes.

     "I said you don't have a bad side. That doesn't mean you don't have something worse. You're the strongest of us all, and that has to come with a cost of some sort. Most likely something to do with your soul or mind. Then again, I might be wrong. You're the Apex Wolf. You have to be pure good to be that."

     Nick's words bounce inside of my head that night. I can't sleep. I can't separate my pain from Derek's any longer. It has become one, and that means that Derek is getting worse. I can't get much worse than this - the next thing to happen is for my body to almost completely shut down and for me to go into a coma. 

     After that, death.

     Once the coma stage hits, I will only have a matter of days before I die. Maybe two at the most. I won't be able to stop myself from dying again. I don't have that kind of Power at the moment, and I refuse to pull strength from the Packs to keep myself alive until Derek can get back. I will end up killing them all within days due to the amount of Power I would need from them.

     There's no two ways about it. I am going to go into a coma within two days after my body shuts down tomorrow night. It is going to happen so soon, and that's a scary thought. I am going to die before I get to see my friends happily married with children, and earning money to live in this small town; before I get to have a family of my own with the one I love.

     There is nothing that can stop this except my other Mate.