Introduction
Victor, one of the oldest vampires around today, stood pacing back and forth on the hardwood floors of his mansion overlooking a lake in the British countryside. He knew something was happening. The energies from the moon had shifted, again, just as it had nearly a thousand years ago. And a little over a thousand before that. He knew what these energy shifts were; he knew them very well.
"Hybrid." Was the word that slipped through his pale lips, and as if on cue, a man burst into the study, gaining Victor's full attention.
"There have been reports in Maine in the United States that a young woman who has gained the attention of an alpha lycan. She is reported to have a strange smell, not like a human or a lycan or a vampire, but a mix of all three...Or none at all, depending on who you ask. And reportedly her eyes sir are red." The man said, and Victor smiled wickedly.
"We shall be going to Maine then." He said, skipping away merrily.
"Uh, one thing, sir..." The man hesitated, and Victor looked down on him with stone-cold gray eyes.
"What. Is. It?" Victor hissed each word, annoyed, knowing his joy was about to be cut short.
"The alpha that has an interest in her, sir...Is Malachi." Victor's eyes widened with disbelief and frustration.
"Fine, we will be taking more with us. Prepare to leave and get the plane ready to go. I want to be out of here by the morning. Send a couple of scouts to get me some information before we arrive. Now. " With that final word, Victor hurried out of his office and to his library.
Victor was 2311 years old, one of the very first vampires to come into existence. In his time, he'd known of only four hybrids. Three were young women. The last one, over a thousand years later, was a man. But now, just shy of another thousand years, another one has claimed life.
He wasn't sure what made him a vampire. He also wasn't exactly sure of how they even came to be; he just vaguely remembers being a young man, starving to death in the midst of a terrible plague.For a moment, young Victor thought he was dead, but when his eyes opened and he realized he wasn't, he was confused. A heavenly-looking woman approached him with a smile and innocence in her eyes. She knelt beside him, wanting to see if he was okay, but as soon as he could smell her blood flowing through her veins and the sound of her heart beating, he lost control. It was the first time he had killed anyone. It wouldn't be his last.
The usefulness of hybrids is beyond comprehension for most because very few vampires remember them or were even around the last time there was a hybrid. But he remembered. Female hybrids are more useful than male hybrids. They're just as strong and fast, but they can reproduce and give birth to hybrids, and they will always be hybrids, but a male hybrid isn't so successful as the creation of hybrids. Victor wasn't sure why that was, but now, living in 2021 and living through medical science advances, he believes that it's because as the baby grows inside its hybrid mother, her hybrid blood flows through it constantly. Feeding that development.
He wanted her for himself. He was powerful, yes, but as the vampire population began to dwindle, lycans got more powerful, and the numbers rose. Alpha Malachi was an especially painful thorn in his side, and now he would take the girl from him. Part of his excitement of taking her from Malachi was pure pettiness, and he was mature enough to admit to it.
Victor grew up a slave in what is now Britain. Unknown to most was that anyone poor, regardless of their race, were slaves. They took beatings and were often only enough to get scraps of food at the leisure of their fat owners. Once Victor was changed, and he began to realize what he was and what he could do, he slaughtered each and every one of the slave owners and freed the slaves. Freeing the slaves would be one of the very few times he showed kindness and mercy to anyone. Vampirism made him crueler. Or so he said.
Victor was surprised at his own excitement. He was nearly downright giddy as he searched his shelves for the book regarding hybrids. It wasn't a book he read often, or really ever, and it was small as not much is known about them. They're rare. If indeed this was a hybrid and the hybrid was indeed a female, he knew his step toward ruling the world and eradicating the lycans was a bit closer in reach. He finally found the book and tucked it away in his jacket before he bound up the stairs skipping three and four at a time toward his bedroom. He threw his suitcases on the bed and began to pack, anxious to leave.
When it was time to leave that following morning, he had yet again a renewed sense of excitement. His assistant grabbed his luggage to put in the jet while Victor strolled up the stairs and found himself laying on the white leather couch, legs stretching out far. He drifted off into a daydreaming state. He flowed through images of beautiful women, imagining what the hybrid girl looked like. He wasn't too picky in his taste for women, though, but if she is the hybrid, to make it easier on him, she would need to view him as her mate. He didn't want to be bound to someone ugly forever. He didn't care if he came off as shallow. When you live as long as he did, you stop caring.
He knew nothing he imagined was anywhere close to what she would look like, but imagining was nice. He figured she'd look like a troll because that would be just his luck. The flight was boring and felt like it lasted forever, but when the pilot said they were about to land he was beyond relieved. For a long time, it felt like he had very little to live for and now this hybrid girl was giving him reason again.
"Hi, Sir." A nicely dressed man greeted Victor as he stepped off of the last step to the ground. "We happen to have found where the potential hybrid is. She is at work at a cafe in the small town of Willow. We will be headed there at this very moment."
"Tell me, is she beautiful?" His assistant smiled and nodded.
"That she is sir." A strange relief rushed over Victor at knowing his soon-to-be bride was pretty.
"Tell me what you know." Victor adjusted himself in the big black SUV till he was comfortable and was ready to go.
*Author's note:This book contains violence, sexual scenes and talks about rape. Reader discretion is warned. I appreciate all of the support my reader's provide for me and my kids. Please don't forget to give gems and votes and reviews please. Every little bit helps!
MALACHI'S POV It was a restless night of sleep. It was filled with intense thoughts of my mate, the woman who had seemed to have little interest in me, but I wasn't going to give up. I know she worked somewhere in the tiny town, so I explained what she looked like to a few of my wolves, and off they went, prepared to go to every business in town every day until they found her. Luckily for my anxious ass, it didn't take long. My beta called me, and I immediately answered the phone before the second ring. Fueled by anxiety and desperation to find my mate. "Hey, I found her. She is at a cafe in the town center called Morning Java. She is a barista, and I see what you mean about her scent. She smells different than anything else I've ever come near before. I'll stay here and keep an eye on her until you arrive." Morgan said, hearing my sigh of relief. "Alright. Thank you. Make sure the others know, no reason to keep searching. I don't want them anywhere near her." I was very s
LILLY'S POV Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like Malachi found my reaction to his words amusing, but a guy with his reputation, I'm sure that's probably the case. His eyes shifted between the man that opened the door and me, and he had a slight smile in the corners of his mouth. But, after a couple of moments of silence, I could tell he was getting annoyed and impatient with us. "Let's talk." He finally broke the silence, walking away from his door leaving it open. I don't think it would've ended well if we had rejected his offer to come inside, so that would've been a bad idea, not that I thought going inside was a good idea either. "She is your friend?" "She is," I answered nervously, unsure if it was a comment or a question. "She is my mate. Ask me or tell me your concerns. I know you have them." I know he could sense the fear me and Brice were putting out, and he smirked before sitting down in a large, cushy black living chair, gesturing to the couch opposite of him. H
VICTOR'S POV Once we had landed the plane, I became impatient. That hybrid was out there waiting for me. But not just any hybrid, a female hybrid. They were useful beyond their ridiculously powerful and savage nature; the males mainly were just killing machines. I never minded America, though I did prefer it right after the Civil War had ended. Maine was a beautiful area though, it wasn't heavily developed in most of the state like most others. I knew she wouldn't be too hard to find; she would have a unique scent to her; I would just need to look. I can't imagine it would be too hard since it was such a small town. I was pleased to know she worked in a cafe and that there was only one in town, it made the search easy. When I entered the cafe, I got a very weak scent of her, which told me that she'd been here not too long ago. I guess I would have to wait, even though I didn't really want to, because I couldn't stand the smell of lycans, and were at least two of the nasty creatures
RIVER'S POV I was in a soft warm bed when I woke up, the room was dark but I could see the sunlight peeking underneath the floor-length curtains, the fireplace was still going so that told me someone had been into stoke it a few times throughout the night. I felt better now. My whole body was sore as I attempted to get out of bed, when I stood I realized I was wearing a long black t-shirt instead of the nightgown, and knowing someone, very possibly Malachi had changed my clothes while I was unconscious I was still so relieved not being with Victor. Malachi walked silently into the room rubbing his eyes and yawning, I think me sitting on the side of the bed caught him off guard because once he stopped rubbing his eyes and saw me he gave a slight jump. He wasn't wearing his shirt so I assumed the one I was wearing was his. He sat beside me and I could clearly see the dark circles and bloodshot eyes, it was then that I knew he was the one who kept the fire warm all night probably
RIVER'S POV The threat of Victor attacking hung heavily on us all, it had been a week since that night, and things seem still, quiet even. I still got to go to work. There was someone there at all times, just in case. I got the feeling that Malachi enjoyed watching me work. He smiled at me the entire time. "He is super hot." Jamie, my co-worker, said, gesturing to Malachi. "Yes, he is." I confirmed, "his name is Malachi." "Oh, you know him? So you two aren't just eye fucking for no reason?" She teased with a bit of an annoyed undertone. "He's my boyfriend," I said; she seemed a bit jealous as her face for a split second turned red. "So, you think it's cute that he sits here so much while you work?" "He did that before we started dating. You've been gone two months. This is what he did before. He does his work here." I kind of lied; some of it was true. I mean, he did have an empire to run, so he did his work there for a few hours in between Brice and Lilly being there. It had be
RIVER'S POV Today was cold as hell out. The weather was below freezing and heavy snow fell. I felt trapped inside, but knew it was for the best. It has been a week since Morgan and I discovered we were brother and sister. And with that, I was relieved to know the man I was fated to be with, to have offspring with wasn't not actually blood-related. The idea of being cousins with him grossed me out and I know it did him to. I must've been hard on everyone to find all that out. But hardest on him and I. A lot of questions had been answered, but all those answered questions did was reveal many more, different questions. I laid on my bed, in the room that I shared with Malachi. He kept his hands to himself for the most part, which was hard on both of us. But as time went on my feelings for him only grew, and I knew the wait would be worth turning him into a hybrid so I wouldn't have to lose him. After learning about Morgan and me, he decided that if me being able to turn lycans into
MALACHI'S POV I was in a panic, every cell in my body felt like it was going in thousands of different directions. I could only think about was River, and Victor taking her. I didn't know everything he would do to her, but I was sure he would rape her just yet. Not till her birthday, so I had a few months to figure out where she was. Doing this would take every resource I had. Morgan was almost as panicked as I was, his newly found sister was just ripped from him. That fight was obviously just to keep me distracted while he hunted her down and it worked. Only a few lycans lost their lives, but only a couple of vampires escaped. I gathered more of my wolves to my house, within days it was crawling with lycans. I needed to find Victor and kill him painfully and then needed to find my mate. Not just my mate, but the love of my life. God, I loved her so much and I hadn't taken the moment to be brave enough to tell her that. I was in the living room waiting for everyone to settle
RIVER'S POV I wasn't exactly sure how I've been down here in this nasty fucking dungeon, but I know it's been quite a long time. I was caked in dirt and dried blood from the beatings my parents gave me and Victor's regular feedings. I hadn't eaten the entire time I was there. My stomach no longer growled; it ached. I hadn't been given anything to drink either. I just dealt with the IV fluids they gave me what seemed to be twice daily. At some point, I believe I heard someone say it had sugar in it, which is why I haven't had my blood sugar crash. I yearned for Malachi and my family. My whole body was aching, and I just wished to be held tightly by Malachi. His soft touch touching my skin, making the pain go away. But my shoulders and face especially hurt from the hitting and having my arms chained above my head. Despite how I was feeling, I still had faith that Malachi would find me. I needed him to find me. I would only be able to hold on for so long at some point. Sadly, I am pred