Project Hybrid

Version 2 | Chapter 3: Home Sweet Solano

"Beatrice?" 

At the sound of the familiar Italian twang, my eyes flew open. Propped on top of my feet sat the devil. Athan. Fucking. Solano. Those red eyes hovered over me. My blood seethed in my veins as I bit down on my lip, resisting every urge to strangle that fucker. 

It didn't matter that every muscle in my body cried for a moment to heal. The adrenaline inside me was fighting to burst through my skin. But, if Llwyd was correct, this hybrid was my only route to the Blood Moon Renegades. 

I focused on his face for a moment and ignored the pain throbbing against my skin. Barely touching the rims of his eyes, silky, onyx waves billowed. It juxtaposed with the chalky pallor of his complexion. His dark lips seemed to blend in with the dull frame it created. 

Then, I leaned in his direction, and my knuckles cracked against his cheeks. As a yelp pierced the atmosphere, I bellowed, "You fucker! That's what you get for fucking kidnapping me!" 

I turned away from his pathetic face with a scowl, and the surroundings flooded my sight. It was surreal to take in this strange decor. Velvet sofas were shoved against the walls on the side. A large, television screen molded into the wall across from Athan and me. Such a television didn't exist in Howl Falls. 

A cold sensation flooded my body before I whipped around, and my palm seared Athan's cheek. Again. His fingers curled around my wrist. "I suggest you stop slapping me." His eyes narrowed, but his voice was still warm. And to make matters worse, after silence lingered for a moment, he added, "Mate." 

I yanked my hand away. "Be careful," I warned with narrow eyes. "Just because we're mates does not mean I'm banned from tearing you apart limb by limb. If you so much as lay a stern hand on me or say mate as if you possess me, you're deader than the undead." 

"Oh, Beatrice." He filled the air with a tsk incessantly. "Beatrice Wilson, you underestimate me. Your entire species underestimates me. If you truly want to debate over who has power over one another, you should prepare for the consequences." 

"Show me then." I cocked my head to the side and crossed my arms. "Show me how you're more powerful." 

"I will." His accent was brisk against his lips. His eyes seemed to consume me as if I were a meal. "Tonight. Wear something black." And then, somehow, he seemed to disappear into thin air. 

I threw my body back into the arm of the sofa I laid in and pierced the air with a roar. My fingers, balled into fists, slammed against the sofa before I shot up to my feet. Though seething with an unquenchable thirst, I stormed down the hallway. Long and narrow, the darkness seemed to cave in on me until I reached the end of the hall. 

Right in front of me, a tall, rectangular cut into the wall opened into a room teeming with neon light. Though, upon entering the room, the light revealed itself to be artificial. Wood boards concealed what probably was a window. But the neon glow spilled over the gingham canopy. They draped over the mahogany posts of the bed. 

I flung myself back into the bed. As I sank into the mattress, the dream foam cradled my body. A sigh flew out of my chest. In Howl Falls, the mattresses were unbearable. It always felt like a pesky spring was trying to impale me from the back.

"Keanna will be jealous," I whispered to myself as I soaked in the comfort. For a while, my eyes laid on the soft gingham hanging over me. Then, her face flashed through my brain. The pain in her eyes. The alcohol in her voice. Then, the blood staining her face as she was whisked away by my brother and sister-in-law. 

It was that the cottage of Eliana and Kyran was empty when Eliana refused to do any healing rituals outside of her house. Keanna couldn't have healed that fast for the cottage to have been empty except for the noise. Keanna should've been there. Kyran should've been there. Eliana should've been there.