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Chapter 22
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The Hybrid Mate Chapter 23
The next few days came and went like a hurricane. Prentice was right about the difficulty of Monday’s lecture, and about half the class stayed after the period was over for the special two-hour study session he had arranged. A few of them scheduled tutoring appointments for the next week, which was good news for Bella’s bank account. By the end of it all, she was exhausted, but she agreed to go out for coffee with Sandra once she managed to get ahold of her. While Bella had been avoiding her for a day or so, Sandra had made herself an even scarcer commodity lately. She was hardly ever in the room, and when she was, it seemed to only be for ten-minute intervals that “mysteriously” occurred during times when she knew Bella would be away. To her relief, she was the same old Sandra when they finally got together. They talked briefly about the competition, and Bella apologized in person for blaming her, but so much had happened since then. What had seemed li
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 24
“Never said it was your fault. When a man leaves home on a business trip and comes back not even a week later to find everything turned upside down, he gets curious.” He looked up and removed a thick pair of reading glasses, motioning for her to come forward. “Let’s have a look at you.” His eyes were shrewd and green, and it felt like they were looking through Bella. They widened sharply as he looked her over, and he rose suddenly from his chair. Bella took an instinctive step back and hit the wall that was Darian. He put his strong hands on her shoulders and kept her steady. The longer the Alpha watched her with those piercing eyes, the more she felt like returning to the Lodge had been a mistake. Just when she was sure she was about to find out whether Darian’s protectiveness over her extended even to the man he revered so deeply, the Alpha composed himself and straightened his back to reach his full height. He had to be at least six feet tall.
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 25
Bella glanced at Darian, hoping to unravel the enigmatic comment, but he appeared just as bewildered as she was. “Well, the damage is done, and it seems you won fair and square,” Ulric stated. “There’s no reason for you not to keep the prize money.” “That’s the thing, Sir. I don’t believe I won fairly. There was another contestant named Maverick, and he would be much better suited for the title and the other… prizes.” “Other prizes?” Ulric frowned. “You mean the membership?” “Uh, no,” Darian interjected, clearing his throat. “The guys voted and decided to put the winner on the cover of that magazine Brendan runs, plus a session with you. I think it was their attempt at matchmaking since you’re retired.” “Did they now?” Ulric narrowed his eyes. “That brilliant idea was Brendan’s brainchild, no doubt. I’ll have a talk with him later.” He shook his head, appearing utterly exhausted. “I have no time for that sort of thing anymore. Bella, keep the money, a
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 26
Bella kept him in her sight as Darian took her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Come on,” he said gruffly, leading her toward the door.She looked back at Ulric with great wariness. “But I have more questions.” The Alpha smiled sadly. “I’m afraid that from this point on, none of the answers will come the easy way.” Darian pulled her out of the room, and the door fell shut, along with any belief she had in a world that made sense. To her dismay, Darian offered to take her home almost as soon as they left Ulric’s study. She wanted to protest and demand answers, but something about the look in his eyes kept her from it. Maybe it was for the best that she let him take her home and never looked back. He all but dragged her to the parking lot, and on the way to the car, they ran into the smaller wolf she remembered from her meltdown. “Hey, guys,” he called pleasantly. Darian stormed past him without a word. She looked back and waved apologe
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 27
“Seriously, he hasn’t called in five days?” Sandra sounded incredulous as she reached for the toes of her running shoes. They were both seated on the grassy area of the courtyard trying to stretch out their hamstrings before the run Bella talked her into. “No, he hasn’t,” Bella said, leaving out the fact that Darian had at least texted her every night since he had stolen her phone number up until the night she met Ulric. Sandra didn’t need to know how hard and fast she had fallen for the Wolf. “But it’s not a big deal. Like I said, we’re just friends.” She had made so damn sure of that. “You are so not friends. This is friends,” she said, gesturing between them. “You can’t be friends with someone who looks like Darian.” “As gorgeous as he is, I still don’t know how I feel,” she sighed, switching sides to grab her left heel. “I just wish I knew if he was okay. He won’t answer any of my calls.” Sandra gave her a pointed look. “Right. ‘Just
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 28
She gave me a perplexed look. “Why?” “Can’t put my finger on it,” Bella lied. “He just seems weird.” “Yeah, okay.” Bella could tell she wasn’t convinced, but she decided not to push it. She seemed too preoccupied with Jason to be in much danger. The woods were just up ahead. Bella’s pace quickened naturally as she felt herself strangely drawn to them. Bella noticed Sandra’s footfalls drop off and turned around to find her a decent distance behind her, doubled over with her hands on her knees and panting to catch her breath. “You okay?” Bella jogged over to her side and grabbed the water bottle clipped to her belt loop and offered it to her. She took a few long gulps and water poured down the sides of her mouth as she gasped. “I’m fine, this trail is just kicking my ass. Is it normal for everything to burn?” Bella smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, but you should probably head back. We’ve already gone a mile and a quarter. That’s a lot for your first
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 29
It became a chant, something to time Bella’s footfalls to. She heard the creature running behind her and knew it would overtake her again if her prayers weren’t answered soon. The horrible sounds seemed to get closer with each step she took. Bella ran down a small hill into an area that looked promising enough and ran with all her might. Just before she came to the bottom, she heard twigs snapping and branches rustling. She was forced to stop as the sound was right in front of her. A second later, it was far to the right. As impossibly fast as the movement was, it had to be a human. The pattern of footsteps was too familiar. The only human who would be out in the woods so late was either a park ranger or a psycho. Considering what was pursuing her, she decided to take her chances. “Help!” she screamed, stumbling through the particularly thick brush. The entire area was impossible to move in, although it had looked deceptively clear from the top of the hill.
The Hybrid Mate Chapter 30
Her flesh was bruised and torn all over from tripping and falling in the brush. She had stopped blacking out, but her head wasn’t throbbing anymore. Pain had been replaced by fullness, and it felt like she was experiencing the world through a thick layer of fog. She knew enough about the human brain to know that both sensations were more concerning than pain. A scream pierced the deceptive calm of the forest. A man’s scream.She huddled up in a ball and covered her ears, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the shrieks of agony that followed.As suddenly as the screams had begun, they stopped. She knew what that meant. If she did somehow survive to tell her story, she doubted that the park rangers would find a trace of the man with the golden fangs. It was a joke to think she would survive, and she knew it. The beast would surely find her; it was only a matter of time. A bloodthirsty creature that size wouldn’t be satisfied by a single meal.The question wasn’
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