Chapter 10 - Crossbreed Confusion

Beatrice’s POV

I slowly drifted toward consciousness.

My blood was boiling, my head about to crack open, and my heart pounding.

Fragmented memories scrambled to make sense. Blood. Fangs.

It was a mess. Like a horror scene from the club Luna Obscura!

“Angelica!” I shot upright in bed, like an arrow released from its bow.

The sudden movement was so unexpected that I bumped into someone. It was hella weird, since I was sure I lived alone, didn’t I?

“Ouch!”

My already pulsating skull collided with… another person?

“Brandon, watch out!” a woman with fiery auburn red and curly hair shouted, and I felt completely disoriented.

Where was I?

And who were all these people now again?

The man with dark hair and intense golden brown eyes rubbed his nose.

“Who the hell are you?” was all I could manage to spit out.

An older woman’s laughter reached my ears.

I turned my head.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Beatrice.

I think I just blinked at her, probably looking dumb.

“I’m afraid Angelica didn’t make it,” the old lady told me, her voice solemn.

She took my hand in hers, and gently shoved the man aside with a chuckle, smiling mischievously as she prepared to take his place. “Brandon, make room!” the old lady said.

She then sat down beside me on the couch.

“But we managed to save you. However, I’m afraid we have more bad news. We… had an accident. Your hybrid blood reacted badly to more venom. I admit, it wasn’t our intention, but Luke, help me out here!” The elderly woman said, scrambling for the right words.

“Me?!” Luke stammered. “Uh, well, Beatrice, we’re really sorry. We had an unexpected vampire attack back at the club Luna Obscura. Normally, security’s tight, but this man—he slipped in somehow, and, um…” His voice was hesitant.

“We killed him for you, no worries…” He cleared his throat. “But Angelica… we were two seconds too late. I’m sorry. We all are, right, guys?”

The others chimed in, murmuring their condolences.

The dark-haired man with intense eyes spoke again. “I’m Alpha Brandon the Foundation representative from the Morgenlicht Kunsthaus foundation, remember? This is Luke, my beta. That hot head girl over there is Amanda—she’s part of our pack. Marc and the others… and her,” he gestured to the old woman next to me, “the witch Walda of the Berliner Dome.”

Then something wet licked my face, and I’m pretty sure I heard two quacks. What the…?

“Oh, and the birdies over there,” he said, pointing to a black and white swan.

“Those are Edmund and Rosalind. That German Shepherd who just… uh, greeted you? That’s Pony-girl—I mean, Alarica. You’ll get it later,” he added with a mischievous grin, trying to lighten the solemn mood.

”To make it up to you, somehow, we’ll take you on a tour around the city to help you feel a little better and less battered. Right, Brandon? Amanda?” The man, whose name was Luke, said.

“Um, sure, I guess… but wait, what? I’m a hybrid? How could I have forgotten? My head was a mess. Thoughts blurred. Come on, guys, are you playing some role-playing game here?”

But I had a nagging feeling deep in my gut that they weren’t lying.

I remembered the sharp fangs of the man, tearing into Angelica’s throat.

“No problem, I’ll show you,” Luke said, his expression turning serious.

He jumped up as if doing a frontflip spinning forward.

His whole body morphed and cracked, and in an instant, fur sprouted, transforming him into a full-grown wolf.

The massive, fuzzy creature stood with its paws planted on my coffee table.

Wait, I have a coffee table now? Since when? I cursed under my breath.

My thoughts were a hot mess.

”Uh, hello, wolfie?” I said, still unsure of what I was seeing. I was pretty sure I was still in shock.

“Luke,” he corrected me, his massive wolf form seeming to grin or at least I thought it did with his sharp teeth.

Walda began speaking again, her voice gentle. “Take it slow, my child. I will stay with you tonight. Your body has been through a great deal. We’ve also helped furnish your place, let us know if it’s not to your liking, and we can redo the décor.”

I think I just nodded, too tired to think about furniture. “That’s sweet of you, Walda-love,” I murmured gratefully. I was starting to feel overwhelmingly sleepy… My eyelids were now so, so heavy.

“She needs to recover until Monday; she has classes later, right?” Walda wondered aloud.

“Classes?” I said.

“Yes,” the woman named Amanda replied. “And, um, my sister Linda is in your class! She’ll help keep an eye on you, alright, Beatrice? Don’t worry, you’re in great hands.”

“Good thinking, Amanda!” Brandon’s voice rang out. “I feel much more at ease now.”

“By the way,” Brandon continued, “we’ve got your bed all set up. Marc just put it in your bedroom—you can sleep there, and Walda will take the couch.” There was no way Brandon would let Walda pull the “I’m old” card again.

Just as I was about to drift off, my mind wandered to Angelica was she really gone? The image of her bloodied body haunted me, but something about it didn’t sit right.

A surge of guilt washed over me—a weight I couldn’t shake.

Her face, pale and bloodied, flashed before my eyes.

I should’ve done more.

I should’ve saved her.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape the truth.

To me it felt like we were still down there… in the VIP room, replaying the scene in my head like a bad movie with the worst possible ending on repeat.

It was my fault she didn’t make it out.

It didn’t matter that she was the one who dragged me there and left me behind. I had a responsibility to keep my friends safe.

And what about me? What was I now?

A hybrid.

My memories felt a bit distant.

Things couldn’t get any worse, or so I thought.

Angelica’s tragic fate kept swirling in my mind. It should have been me, not her.

What would become of me now? I didn’t even know what it meant to be me in the first place. Where did that leave me? My true self? I felt lost, drowning in a sea of thoughts.