Hybrids

The next day, Eleanor and Sophia sat in the area outside the library having breakfast. It was a bit late in the day, around ten o’clock. It was a beautiful day, with the flower garden right outside glimmering in the morning sun. “I envy you, my friend,” Sophia said, grinning at Eleanor over the rim of her cup of tea. “Just one look at you and I can tell you had some good sex last night. Maybe this morning too?” Eleanor sputtered, not expecting the sudden onslaught. She placed her cup of tea down on the small table between them and raised an eyebrow at her friend. “What are you talking about?” Sophia tsked and shook her head. “Don’t you dare act coy with me. You are glowing. And I’m pretty sure anyone within ten feet of you can catch his scent all over you.” Eleanor bit the inside of her lip, fighting to keep her smile from breaking. Well, she couldn’t deny it if Henry’s scent on her was selling her out, could she? Sophia sighed, a look of longing crossing over her face. “I wish Ethan would look at me the way Henry looks at you. At this rate, we’ll never mark each other.” “What are you talking about?” Eleanor asked. “He is quite taken with you.” Sophia was about to tell her she must be imagining things when voices reached them from around the corner of the house. There were three different feminine voices, and when Ethan’s name came up in their conversation, the two paid attention. “How long do you think the she-wolf Beta Ethan brought with him will stay? I’ve been waiting to make a move on him and then out of nowhere he brings some stray from Goddess knows where,” the first she-wolf mourned. “You can keep waiting,” the second she-wolf replied. “I hear she is his mate, and she is from Blackstorm.” “His mate?” the third she-wolf scoffed. “Oh please. Why hasn’t he marked her yet? We all know Ethan is a stud, and having a mate or not will not stop him. Make your move, Letty. A male like him can never be satisfied with one female.” “He must not want her if she is his mate but he hasn’t marked her yet, right?” Letty said, sounding hopeful. “Even if he marked her,” the second one said, “I’m telling you, a male like him needs more than one female.” Their voices faded as they moved away. Sophia stared at her cup of tea, her heart sinking into her stomach. She already knew he didn’t want her like that. But hearing others say it made the reality sink into her stomach like a heavy stone. “Don’t listen to them,” Eleanor told her softly. “You two just met and you don’t know each other well yet. He is just giving you space.” “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better,” Sophia said, a sad smile on her lips. “I know very well he is not attracted to me.” When they had first met, Sophia had noted Ethan’s fixation on Eleanor. She had thought that he would get over it and give her a chance. But now that Eleanor was mated to his Alpha, he still hadn’t made a move on her. He still didn’t want her. He had made it clear back then that he didn’t like her. Even if they hadn’t known each other for long, it was long enough for her to make an impression on him. Did he still not like her? “I wouldn’t lie to you,” Eleanor told her. “I really think he cares about you. He did not think twice about destroying Blackstorm property for you.” Sophia shook her head. “That was the mate bond at work. He is protective towards me because of it, nothing else. He probably thinks I’m a burden.” When Ethan first told her he didn’t want to mate with her, she had insisted on taking their time, feeling positive that he would warm towards her. She wasn’t sure about that anymore. Eleanor reached for her hand and looked her straight in the eyes. “Ethan doesn’t seem like the kind of male to beat around the bush. If he really didn’t want you, he would have rejected you. I really think he is just giving you space. If you don’t want that, why don’t you make a move? He is your mate and he is all yours…show that to those nosy busybodies.” Sophia was not shy. She would do it in a heartbeat. But what Eleanor did not know was that she already did it and he acted like she was an inconvenience to him. She wasn’t sure she was ready to go through that again. The sound of footsteps echoed from inside the library and Eleanor released Sophia’s hand. The topic of their discussion walked onto the veranda. “Morning, Luna Eleanor,” Ethan greeted, “Sophia.” Sophia’s reply was low and subdued, Eleanor’s bright and warm. His eyes rested on Sophia. “Sophia, do you have a minute?” Eleanor gave her friend a knowing look, and then got up from her seat. “I was just leaving,” she told Ethan, stepping away from the table. “She’s all yours.” “Thank you,” Ethan said. Eleanor threw a wink Sophia’s way before she disappeared into the library, hoping the two could clarify matters between them. She wandered through the house to Henry’s office. She knocked once and he asked her to come in. She opened the door and walked in. He was sitting at his desk, poring over some papers. She swallowed as her eyes moved over the couch they had made love on the previous day. She imagined him taking her on more surfaces in his office. Against the door, over his desk, against the wall… She cut her thoughts short as he looked up at her. “Hey,” he said, picking up a file on the desk. “There’s something you should see.” She cleared her throat and moved forward. She took the file from him and sat down on the seat opposite him, opening it. “I found something interesting about Mia,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “Her mother was a hybrid rogue.” She frowned as she came across that same bit on the file. “That means she could also be a hybrid,” she commented. Henry nodded. “Yes. The attackers with the white oak scent you detected must have been hybrids too. I suspect Jonathan Turner is their leader.” Eleanor looked up from the file. “And if Mia is a hybrid like them, it makes sense how she could be allied to them.” He nodded in agreement. Dread filled Eleanor as she went back to perusing the file. As a hybrid, Mia could easily take over the pack while Thomas was blinded by his obsession with her. If she had other hybrids supporting her, it would be a walk in the park. This was urgent. Eleanor could not afford to stay away from Blackstorm for much longer. She couldn’t give Mia a chance to do something drastic. The best thing was to handle the separation with Thomas quickly so she could protect her people from any hybrid attack. “I have to go back to Blackstorm,” she told Henry, placing the file on the desk. “If Mia has this capability and hybrid allies, I can’t wait any longer.” “I understand,” he told her, getting to his feet. “But I want you to take Ethan and two warriors with you. I have a feeling Thomas won’t be welcoming you with open arms.” She got to her feet too. “Alright, thank you. I’m really grateful you found this information. It was so hard to find anything truthful about her background.” He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “No need to thank me. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.” They left the office after that, he to pass instructions to Ethan and the warriors, she to tell Sophia about the sudden trip. When the two of them walked out of the house later ready to leave, Ethan and Henry were waiting outside. Accompanying them were two female warriors. Eleanor was surprised and also happy to see the female warriors. She hadn’t expected they would be the ones Henry picked. Ethan introduced them to each other and Eleanor thanked them for coming with her. While the others got into the car, Henry held Eleanor close and asked her to call him if she needed his help. “I’ll storm Blackstorm will all my warriors if need be,” he told her seriously. She shook her head, knowing he meant it. “I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have to do that.” With a lingering kiss, he released her and she got into the middle seat with Sophia. One of the warriors sat in the passenger seat while the other took up the backseat. The drive went well until they came to the border and a couple of warriors stopped their car before they could go through the entrance into Blackstorm. Eleanor rolled down her window as one of the warriors approached the car. “I’m sorry, Luna Eleanor,” he said, “but we have orders from Alpha Thomas to not let you into the pack’s territory. Please turn back.”