All Chapters of The Hybrid, The Prince, & I: Chapter 11

“I said… My mother told me Valkyrie would protect me,” I repeated, slower this time. “So when the sun rose, I crawled out of the den. There was nothing left. No bodies... No blood. Just... silence. I thought… maybe Valkyrie was a person. So I went to the nearest pack.”My nails dug crescent moons into my wrist, sharp enough to pierce. Pain was better than drowning in memory. Pain meant I was still here.“When I reached Oceana Pack, I asked. I begged. I searched for anyone who could tell me who Valkyrie was. The guards found me, and they didn’t answer. They just dragged me to their dungeon before I could finish the sentence.”Silence clawed at the room. No one dared breathe. Maybe they already knew the punchline. “They whipped me. They whipped an eleven-year-old kid for speaking one word—‘Valkyrie.’”My throat closed. Still, I pushed.“I didn’t even know what it meant. I thought it was my aunt’s name. That was the funny part. I smiled when I said it, like a fool. I thought they’d reco