All Chapters of The Hybrid’s Claim : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Bella’s POVI know the exact moment my father stopped being invincible.It wasn't when the doctors wheeled him into surgery and it wasn't when my mother fell apart in the waiting room or when he emerged with tubes snaking through his chest. Three months later, I was sitting across from him in the Marchant Luxe boardroom, he looked at the quarterly projections and told me I'd done good work, not that the work was good but that I was good.My father doesn't compliment, he never has, he critiques, he pushes. He demands more because more is the only acceptable answer but the way he was looking at me right then, like he was meeting me for the first time. Like someone had taken his daughter and sent back a stranger he was still figuring out. That wasn't something Marcus Marchant had ever done before."The numbers show a 23 percent increase," I say, not because the board needs reminding. They've all read the report twice. They know the Fall collection exceeded projections and Asia-Pacific i

Bella’s POVAdrian pulls me through Manhattan like we're the only two people in the city who understand what's actually happening.We move through side streets and cut through alleys, avoiding the main roads where cameras catch everything. His hand doesn't leave my wrist. His grip is tight enough that I know he could snap it without effort, but there's something protective underneath the possession like he's anchoring me to him like letting go would mean losing me forever."Where are we going?" I demand, trying to keep up with his pace. The heels of my shoes click against pavement, echo off buildings, draw attention I'm not sure we want."Somewhere safe.""The police called. They have questions. We should go to the station and explain...""And what? Explain that I'm a hybrid werewolf and there are bodies connected to my existence? That I can shift into something that doesn't fit into any legal definition of human?" He glances back at me, and his eyes are still golden. Still feral. "T

I hear the first gunshot three seconds after Adrian leaves, not a werewolf sound, not a snarl or a howl or the tearing of flesh. I heard a gunshot from a human deliberately. A reminder that this war isn't just paranormals versus paranormals anymore.The hunters are here.The tunnel shakes. Dust falls from the ceiling like snow."Stay here," Marcus says urgently, grabbing my arm. His grip is firm but not cruel. His eyes are already shifting toward black. The wolf is close. Too close. "Bella, you need to move deeper into the tunnel right now.""I'm not hiding," I say, but Marcus is already pulling me away from the main chamber."You're not hiding. You're surviving." He hauls me down a corridor I didn't know existed. The concrete walls are narrower and colder here. His jaw is clenched so tight I think it might break. "Adrian can't fight if he's thinking about protecting you. Every second he's worried about your safety is a second Kael uses to gain ground. Every second matters."The logic

Sophie’s POVAlarms don't sound like you think they do when your world is ending.There's no Hollywood wail, no dramatic crescendo. Just a steady, relentless beeping that confirms danger is already here.The concrete walls of the bunker tremor, not dramatically. Just enough to remind you that tons of earth are pressing down above."Secure the entrances," Catherine says, moving with inhuman speed toward the reinforced door. Her ancient eyes are completely focused now. No trace of the cryptic woman from moments ago. Just pure Alpha predator. "Lock down all secondary exits. They're coming through the main stairwell."The four paranormals surrounding my father snap into action. Their forms blur between human and something else, partially shifted. Ready for war."How long do we have?" I ask Catherine."Minutes," she says, not turning around. "Maybe less.""Who's attacking?""Everyone," Catherine answers. "Kael, the hunters, the organization orchestrating this, they coordinated perfectly w

Twenty-four hours isn't enough time to learn how to be a warrior but it's enough time to try.Catherine moves through the training chamber like she's choreographed every second of my transformation. The bunker's reinforced space has been cleared of everything except weapons and wolves wards that keep our combat contained."Again," Catherine says. "Shift… Feel the wolf... Let her emerge…"I close my eyes. I've done this twice already. Both times I've only managed a partial shift, one arm becomes wolf, my leg transforms but the full change doesn't come."It's not about force," Catherine explains. "It's about surrender. You have to let the paranormal part of you take over completely. Your human body is fighting for control.""Because I want to stay human," I say."You're not human anymore," Catherine says, not cruel but just fact. "The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can access the power you've inherited."I open my eyes, my skin is still mostly human, the marks Adrian left on me