Page 45 of Beta Hybrid

I worry at my bottom lip. ‘We don’t know. Right now, that doesn’t matter. We take the deal. We sacrifice… her and three others. He’s right. It’s better than a war.’ I lean against him. ‘And this way… this way we get to be together. Sooner. I’ll be your beta. You—you can fuck me in front of the pack for all I care—’

‘Zen!’ Cai tackles me, sending me giggling. ‘I am not going to do that!’ He’s on top of me. ‘But I don’t want to wait to start a life with you anymore.’ He leans down and, to my shock, kisses my belly. ‘I want you to be mine. I want you to have my pups.’

I smile. ‘Well, then, alpha…’ I reach for him, brushing my hands over his neck, gently pulling him to me. ‘We’ll have to work on that.’

Cai closes the space between us, kissing me deeply. For a long moment, everything else melts away. Until he sits up again, without moving off me. ‘Are you sure we can do this, though? Sacrifice people?’

I inhale clean, evening air. I blink up at him, taking in the full glory of my mate. ‘It wasn’t us who raised the four most powerful creatures on earth. It wasn’t us who asked for that trouble. Yet, one of them abducted me. They’ve killed so many already. Even my own cousin. It’s a miracle I got out of the Tomb alive. Drusilla’s probably still torturing my friends.’ I don’t have to fake the tears that well in my eyes. ‘Goddess, I hope they’re okay. I hope Callen got them out.’

Cai leans down, kissing away the tears on my cheeks. ‘It will be okay, my love.’

I stare up at him. That’s new. My love, I say back to him silently. I adore that. I reach for him again, and this time he pulls me up, hugging me close in his lap.

‘This is going to work,’ he promises me.

We walk back to the group slowly, wondering if our little scheme worked. Jana comes up to us, stomping through the crunching grass. ‘Divina went up.’ She points skyward, toward the ladder and Aldrich’s tree house. ‘Something’s up with her.’

Cai and I exchange a look. This confirms our suspicions. We turn and start climbing the ladder, waving Jana along as Vale minds Reagan down on the ground. A cornered, pissed off Dark Witch is no place for a wolf pup to be.

As we climb up onto the landing, my mother is waiting for us. Without a word, she simply nods in the direction of Aldrich’s cabin where we left him. A knowing glint in her eye seems to shine. She inclines her head.

‘What is going on?’ Jana hisses, eyeing my mother.

Andrea offers a wry smile, but says nothing, again leading us to the Origin.

We eavesdrop outside. The Dark Witch is not being subtle.

‘How dare you think you can betray me! After what I did for you!’ Divina snarls.

Aldrich’s calm voice responds, ‘It’s simple, really. A few lives for many. You knew when you revived us that Drusilla would be a problem. How long did it take you to clean up the first villagers she found?’

‘I don’t care what she does, I won’t let you undo this spell and sacrifice me.’

Cai, Jana, Andrea and I exchange glances with slightly raised brows. It’s one thing to suspect that Divina was the Dark Witch who raised the Origins. Quite another to hear it. I only wish I knew why she had done such a thing. By the look on Jana’s face, I can almost feel her anger. I knew I didn’t like her, I can practically hear her think.

‘So, your plan is to sacrifice me, and three others? Is that it? Zenna and the alpha have already decided! I won’t allow it.’ Black smoke drifts out of the cabin, roiling from the Dark Witch.

Jana’s eyes widen. She yanks me away from the cabin. ‘Seriously? You’re going to sacrifice—’

‘No,’ I whisper. ‘Of course not. That was to force this confrontation.’ I jab my chin at Divina and Aldrich. ‘To confirm it was her, that’s all.’

‘Oh. Then what is the plan?’ Jana whispers back.

I hold a finger to my lips, instructing her to be silent. We continue to listen to Divina and Aldrich as tendrils of black smoke creep out from under the door.

‘You could solve this problem all by yourself, you know,’ Aldrich muses. I suppose being an undead, centuries-old Fae gives you a calm, zen-like attitude. He doesn’t seem the least bit worried that Divina is fuming at him.

A pause. ‘No.’ Divina’s sharp inhale. ‘Gaia chose me. Mother chose me to bring you all back. I will not lose her again. I finally have her back. She asked me to keep an eye on the little hybrid, and I waited patiently with her pack until she came home. I’ve done my job. I won’t turn on Mother now.’

‘She’s not your real Mother, Divina,’ a soft coo. ‘You are Dark—’

The cabin shudders as more black smoke spills from under the door, cracks splintering the wood. ‘She is my mother. And I am a good daughter. I may be of demon blood, but she is my mother. I couldn’t save her when her good witches turned on her and killed her. I made it up to her. I brought her back. All of you back.’

Aldrich sighs. ‘We are bound together. To have her, you had to bring us.’

To my surprise, a sniffle. ‘Yes. I won’t undo that. I won’t lose her again.’

I can’t help it, my gaze is pulled to my mother. She’s already staring at me, her own eyes wide and shining, thinking and, maybe, feeling what I am. A daughter losing her mother. How tragic.

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