Hybrid

Red Roses

Maria

I envied how well Dylan slept. Turning over showed me his resting form. I got bored counting his breaths to try and fall back asleep, so I forced myself to roll out of bed and go down the stairs. My goal was to tire myself out until I found Isaac sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"Hey," I called out, trying to get his attention.

He looked up at me with tears streaming down his cheeks. Red rimmed eyes held mine, conveying the brokenness of the man sitting before me. I pulled up a chair beside him and wait for him to speak.

"Alyssa said she didn't want to see me anymore," His voice cracked.

"Your mom's sister?"

"Yeah," He sighed.

"Can you tell me the whole story when you're ready?" I asked, carefully picking my words.

"We've been hanging out a lot, mostly catching up on what we missed as family. She looks so much like my mom that it makes it easy to act like my mom never died. Alyssa couldn't handle the commitment of being a stand in."

I reached my hand out and placed it on his forearm to show I was listening.

"I understand why you took the cure now. If my mom mysteriously came back from the dead, I'd probably do anything to have her back." Isaac shoved his hand in his hair and pulled it.

"It's not everything it's cracked up to be," I said.

"I don't care. You reminded me of my mom at first when you weren't in alpha mode, but then you left. I guess I forced Alyssa to fill both of your roles." Isaac shook his head.

His hair was bunched up like he'd been pulling at it obsessively. The boy was aggravated, which meant I was in some danger of him shifting. I rubbed small circles into his skin and wait for him to continue venting if he needed it.

"I have Dylan's mom, who I've been calling my own mom for as long as I can remember. Why am I still out looking for a mom?" Isaac's voice faltered, "She's done everything for me. Why can't she be enough?"

I slowly scoot my chair closer so I could put my fingers in his hair to try and sooth out the tangles. He leaned into my touch and seemed to take comfort in it. His eyes, tired from crying, closed as he relaxed into my hand.

"When I met my alpha, I tried to force him to fill the fatherly role my dead dad couldn't. However, my alpha wanted to accept that role, so I had the momentary comfort of feeling like my family was complete. After a while, my alpha didn't feel enough like my dad and I started to distance myself from him. I'm not sure what would've happened if he wasn't shot," I said, disturbing the air.

"I used to like you, you know?" Isaac opened his eyes.

I shook my head no. I removed my hand from his hair, and he let me distance myself so that he could open up more. I was worried he would misinterpret my comfort for affection. Hell, I had his brother's name tattooed on my back, there would be no way I could enthuse whatever would come next.

"When we first met, you were this amazingly strong and confident woman. I've never really stayed in relationships because they just let me leave, but you didn't seem like the type to let me be that way. A fighter," Isaac laughed.

I could tell my face held pity, and I tried to change it, but Isaac had already seen me. He put his hands on my cheeks and held me gently as if he was trying to keep me focused on his story. I tried to pull back, but he was adamant about keeping my head where it was.

"I guess I thought you would finally be the one to snap me out of whatever spiral I was in. I know I can't put that on you, but I think you should know. I tried to downplay how much I liked you because I had never really liked anyone and I didn't know what to do about it."

I could understand what he was saying. I was struggling to remember how to show affection after I'd closed myself off to it all those years ago, if I even had any affection to remember. Isaac had been with too many women to count, and if he didn't know how to show feelings, I would have absolutely no chance.

"Dylan is my brother, and I'm so fucking happy that he found you and you're great together. I just want to know, if you had never met him, would I have had any chance?" Isaac's voice seemed to beg.

"I didn't want to be with a wolf because of the bond," I whispered, trying to avoid the question.

"You're human now, no bond."

"I'm Dylan's."

"It hurts me every time I look at both of you, but I'll never tell him that." Isaac loosened his hold, but kept my face in his hands.

Isaac's fingers tangled in the back of my hair and he pressed his forehead to mine. Only then was I able to smell the alcohol coming off his breath, and I panicked. I could feel my stomach turn thinking about how damn helpless I was.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked.

"You're drunk."

"Do you remember when Dylan was bitten and we took him in that field? You don't," Isaac huffed, "I held you in my hands only once, and I can't get the damn feeling of your skin out of my head, but you don't even remember."

"Isaac, I'm uncomfortable," I said, barely getting the words out.

"Dylan has this stupid idea in his head that you're mates, and for that reason he'll never let go of you even if you aren't."

I tried pulling at his wrists, but they didn't budge. I knew I couldn't win against someone that was born ten times as strong as me, and I was stuck in the middle of his distress. I took a deep breath and made my horrible decision to use my words instead.

"I don't think we are either, but I'm still with him, and that means I can't talk to you about this."

"I know that. I just wanted an answer, and I think I got one." Isaac wiped a stray tear from his eye.

He released my head and stood up, but I knew I couldn't let him walk off feeling the way he did. I stood up slowly because my legs had grown numb, and tried to stop him by calling his name. He stopped, a large figure in the darkness.

"I can't answer your what if questions. I can only try and help you solve what's up with you and Alyssa."

I could see the muscles in his back rise and fall with his breathing. He slowly turned around and looked me over. For a second, I considered what he would've seen in me besides my position as alpha. I couldn't come up with anything on my own.

"Please don't hate me," Isaac begged.

"Wha-" I was interrupted mid-word by Isaac closing the distance between us and forcing his lips against mine.

I tried to push him off, but he didn't move. I didn't have the strength to fight him like I should've. His lips forced mine to move, and he hungrily took advantage of my weakened state. I could feel bile rising in my throat at his intrusion. It was always the ones you never expected.

He released me and I pushed myself back a few feet to distance us. He pulled at his hair once more, obviously making this impulsive decision because he was drunk and couldn't think about the consequences once it was done. Tears stung the back of my eyes and I was in the middle of opening my mouth to yell at him when I heard a low growl come from my left.

My eyes dart to see where it has come from. I could see a shadow in the dark, red eyes pointed at Isaac. The shadow moved closer, but I wasn't able to hear any footsteps. Isaac turned to face Dylan, his eyes growing wide and his body growing tense. I impulsively made the decision to intervene.

I stepped over to Isaac, placing my hand on his arm to push him behind me. Red eyes snapped to mine, and I momentarily felt my heart stop. I quickly tore my hand off Isaac and raised them in front of me. I made a move to step forward and decided against it when I heard another growl come from Dylan.

He stood like a ghost unable to interact with the real world. I felt like Edgar Allen Poe, believing I heard a heartbeat that wasn't mine. Maybe it came from Isaac. Maybe I was terrified. Red eyes pierced mine. I was definitely in trouble.