The Hybrid Legacy (Sequel to the Baile Series)

Chapter 1 Senior Year

Cullen

"Breakfast!" Kenzie banged on my bedroom door on her way past.

I closed my journal and set down my pen before getting up off my bed and throwing a shirt over my head. I padded out of my room and into the long, narrow hallway to the dining hall.

"What side of the bed did you crawl out of this morning?" Fillan gauged my appearance at the mahogany table.

"The ugly side." Kenzie joked.

"That's a good one." I admitted before flopping into my seat. "But you're forgetting that my name means handsome." I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Doesn't make up for a boring personality." Kenzie countered as she sipped her glass of orange juice.

"Ouch." I loaded my plate with pancakes and syrup. "What did I do to deserve such displays of affection?"

"Today's a big day." My uncle Alick waltzed into the dining room with an uncharacteristic mischievous grin on his young face. "You're starting senior year, you're turning eighteen. So your aunty and I thought it would be a good experience if you switched schools."

"Is this a joke?" I paused with a loaded fork halfway to my mouth.

"It's true." Erina assured, already dressed in school uniform.

"We thought that it would be good to get more exposure with..." Alick searched for the right words. "People who cling to traditional supernatural lore and may test you in your own beliefs as a functioning hybrid."

"They want you get your arse handed to you." Fillan whispered in my ear. "On my first day I got a black eye and three broken ribs."

I remembered that day. I knew life was tough for Fillan, Erina and Kenzie at their high school for Werewolves and Vampires. My aunty April founded the school as a place where the two warring species could coexist and attempt to overcome their differences and connect with their similarities. Let's just say it was an uphill battle and that hill just happened to be Mount Everest.

"And I swiftly silenced them." My aunty April entered the dining room in a fresh looking red blazer and matching jumpsuit. "I've talked with your mother about it, and she agrees that it would provide a fresh perspective."

"From inside of a loo." Fillan remarked.

"Watch your mouth." She scolded. "I need someone sensible to show Cullen the ropes."

"Should've asked Eri." Kenzie spoke up.

April shot Kenzie a stern look before returning her sapphire eyes to mine. "You have twenty minutes to finish breakfast, get changed and meet outside the portal." She announced before she clacked away in her sky-high heels.

"Just have fun." Alick sent me an encouraging smile before leaving.

"You'll be okay." Erina's eyes told a whole other story.

"The fact that everyone has to tell me that, ironically does the exact opposite." Nerves pitted inside my gut.

"Look, with my guidance you'll make it out with only a minor brain injury and a phobia of all things hairy and scary." Fillan was starting to become one of the least reassuring friends I knew.

"And with my guidance, you'll become a master of a killer right hook." Kenzie held up her fists in a mock boxing pose. Kenzie was a fighter, she worked out seven days a week from martial arts to advanced weapon training and she was also a black belt in karate. She was stronger than I was, and I was three years her senior.

"Sometimes it's best to keep your head down and plow through." It was rare for Fillan to speak so conservatively.

"Well if my mum thinks it'll all be okay, then it will." I had full trust in my mother's decisions; she had seen the future after all.