Page 2 of Beta Hybrid

Birds wake in the trees, stretching their wings and calling out in birdsong so sweet tears bloom in my eyes. I stare up to see a blue jay calling into the expanse of the woods. It feels like forever since I’ve heard the sounds of nature.

My stomach knots again at the memory of being in the Tomb.

Never again.

My hands clench into fists. Something tickles my hearing, so I tread deeper into the sparse, rocky woods. Running water, splashing and falling over rocks. I nearly cry out in delight. This was the stream, I realise, Cai took me to earlier, but I didn’t think I could find my way back on my own.

Lowering myself carefully to the rocky edge, I let out a breath, willing myself to calm. I tilt my head back as golden light spills over the sky. Dawn is here. It’s officially a new day.

Thoughts spin through my mind, kicking at each other to get my attention.

Cai wants to find the remaining three Origins, to gain their alliance in a brewing war. One Drusilla is determined to rule over, up to her elbows in blood and chaos.

That seems pretty… scary. I pick up a pebble and whip it into the stream, watching the little rock thud into the choppy water. What’s scarier is trying to find my parents. I have always been an adopted, abandoned child. One with zero memories of her parents.

I try to push away all those damn depressing thoughts that come with them. Why did you leave me? Why didn’t you come back for me? Did you even love me? Okay, so I don’t push them back very well.

I roll another pebble between my fingers, finding some calm in the great open area. This would be a lovely place to live. Just for this space, this vast, open space I craved when I was in that tomb of darkness.

‘Hey, there you are.’

I turn and smile at my friend. Her long, blonde-pink hair streams down her shoulders in loose waves. She’s in an old floral dress which hangs a little loosely around her slim frame. ‘How are you?’ Jana lowers herself beside me. ‘Last I saw you properly you were very bloody.’ She takes my wrist, where Callen about tore my hand off, and stares back at me, brows raised.

‘Cai, uh, healed me.’

‘I figured it was a spell or something. What do you mean, he healed you?’ She sits cross-legged on the edge of the stream beside me. I haven’t had a conversation with her since we were back at Wolf Grove, what feels like forever ago.

Instead of answering, I grab her and yank her into a long overdue hug. ‘I missed you.’

She hugs me back immediately. ‘I missed you too.’ Her cheek rests against my shoulder, and we stay like that for several long moments. ‘I feared you would die down there.’

We break apart. Warm tears trail down my cheeks. I brush them away with the back of my hand, attempting a wry smile. ‘For a while, I did too.’ I sniffle.

‘Oh.’ Jana squeezes my hand. ‘Well, you’re stuck with us now. What’s that wolf been doing to you? If he’s, like, kidnapped you again, I swear—’

‘No.’ I smile, shaking my head. ‘It’s really not like that.’

‘Well, what is it like?’ Her brow arches, dubious.

‘I’ll tell you… if you tell me if about that time with the vampire.’

Jana—shameless flirt, prideful sinner, and confidence queen—blushes deep red.

I gasp, pointing accusingly. ‘You did let one bite you! I knew it! Why?’

Jana half covers her face. In embarrassment. I’ve seen this girl pee herself laughing, fall off a table in high heels, and climb out of her room in a strange man’s shirt without knowing his name, all with a smile on her fac

My best friend slowly uncovers herself. ‘I just… it was a guy I met at the club. When I realised what he was, I tried to kick him out but Zen, oh, fuck, he was gorgeous. Like, I was already grinding my legs together as he ordered a drink… and you know, pretended to drink it, until he flashed his fangs at me. So, we went to the break room and made out. He asked if he could bite me.’ She shrugs. ‘I said sure, as long as he didn’t kill me or something.’

I sit with my mouth open. ‘And?’ I squeal. ‘What was it like?’ I cringe. ‘Was it awful?’

Jana presses her lips together. ‘No. It wasn’t awful. We were making out for a bit first, he was really good with his hands. Then he was ripping my clothes off, and we started having sex—’

‘At the club?’

Jana smiles. ‘Obviously. Anyway, so we’re having sex, then he asks, then he takes my wrist and bites it. I thought he’d bite my neck. I think that would have been hotter,’ she adds.

‘They avoid that,’ I say automatically. ‘Easier to kill.’

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