Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Nathan Underhill.

I was driving down a winding road that led out of town, heading toward my house. Joshua was fiddling around with the SUV’s window, lowering and closing it repeatedly, much to my annoyance.

“Will you stop that?” I groaned.

“Fine!” He whined. “What’s gotten into you?”

I glanced over at him for a second before returning my attention to the road. “What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about picking a fight with Riley. I know that he’s a dick most of the time, but I didn’t think you’d stoop to his level.”

What did he want from me? First, he ranted to me about Arno, and the way I treated him. Now, it was Riley. I couldn’t get a break. “How did I step down to his level?”

Joshua shook his head. “You could have ignored them and walked out of the building without causing a scene. If he wants to, Riley can get you kicked out of college before you know what hit you. The dean has a no-tolerance policy against fighting on campus. That means no shifting and no use of magic, period.”

“I didn’t use magic against him and I didn’t hit him. I just shoved him against the wall and let him dangle about.” I defended myself.

“You do know that humans, even witches and warlocks, don’t have superhuman strength and you just showed them another unique abnormality that might make them more suspicious of you.”

“He has you there, Superman,” Fenrus muttered.

“Ok! I fucked up.” I shrugged. “But it’s just so hard when the idiot rubs me the wrong way. What’s Riley’s deal anyway?”

Joshua opened the window and allowed the fresh air to whip through his face. “He’s mad since his sister was chosen as beta instead of him. He always thought that he was going to become the next second-in-command, but Adam kicked that dream into the dirt.”

“So he’s throwing a hissy fit that his life isn’t working out as he hoped it would be... what a drip. Life’s not fair and we just got to—”

“Watch out!” Joshua cried out as his body became ridged. His nails dug into the sides of his seat while his legs slammed down on the imaginary brake pedal in front of him.

I slammed down on the brake pedal just in time as a white stag ran out of the trees and over into the road. The SUV’s tires screeched across the road until the car came to a shaky stop. My heart hammered around my chest as I breathed out a sigh of relief. The white stag stood inches away from the bonnet of the car, staring intently at the two of us.

“What’s wrong with it? Why is it just staring at us? Hasn’t the creature learned that the road is a dangerous place? It’ll end up as roadkill.” Joshua said shakily. He was trying to get his breathing under control.

“It seems to me that this one hasn’t got the memo yet. Let me see if I can’t get him to move along before he gets killed.”

“What are you about to do?” Joshua asked me.

“I’m going to link up with its mind.”

I closed my eyes and reached out to the deer. But just as I made the connection, a skull-splintering pain ripped through my head. ”Fuck!" I clamped down on my forehead, hitting the horn by accident. The stag flinched and then darted off into the woods.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Joshua grabbed my shoulder.

I rocked back and forth, trying to wait out the throbbing in my head until the pain died down. I tried to open my eyes but I flinched as a streak of sunlight caught me directly in the eyes. I reached out and yanked the sun visor down.

“Come on, Nat. You’re scaring me here.”

“I’m fine,” I croaked. Shaking my head. Wrong move. I flinched.

“Nice try. You’re a shitty liar.” I heard a bag opening and then the rattle of a bottle. Then, seconds later, he twisted the cap off before forcing a bottle of water into my hand. “Take this and drink the water.”

I opened my eyes to see two white pills in Joshua’s hand. I took them, popped them into my mouth, and then gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. “Thanks.” I wiped off a few drops of water that ran down my chin.

“Are you going to tell me what just happened?”

“I tried to connect with the stag’s mind but I was violently rebuffed. It felt as if my head was being ripped apart.”

I put the SUV in drive and continued driving, wiping the tears that escaped my eyes. The throbbing in my head slowly subsided to a slight hum.

“Has it happened before?” Joshua asked.

“No. This is the first time.”

***

Twenty minutes later, I walked through the front door with Joshua close at my heels. Before I could reach the kitchen, Lilly darted out and wrapped her hands around my waist, giving me a tight hug. I quickly snatched her up and nuzzled her neck breathing her scent while she did the same. Her calming scent soothed both Fenrus and me.

Lilly giggled and squirmed around in my arms. “Stop it! Brother, your skin’s ticklin’ me.” She placed both of her hands on my chin, rubbing on my five o’clock shadow beard.

Before I could torture her even more with my stubbled chin, Joshua’s question interrupted me. “Why are you sniffing each other like that?”

Lilly quickly wrapped her arms around my neck and started growling at Joshua. Both of his hands shot into the air as he took two steps backward.

“Lilly, calm down dear.” My little sister continued to sniff my neck. “This is how werewolf siblings greet each other, especially young pups,” my mom told Joshua as she walked out of the kitchen with a large grin on her face.

Joshua’s lips made an ‘O’ shape before slapping his forehead. “Sorry, I forgot that little detail.”

My mom walked over to me and placed a kiss on my cheek while I did the same. “Hi mom.”

I placed Lilly back on her tiny feet. She scurried off into the kitchen.

“Hi, honey. Hello, Joshua and welcome to our home.” She walked over to him and gave him a hug. “It’s actually a surprise to see you here,” she glanced at me and then back at him, “my son has never brought any of his friends over to our home before.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t get cozy with that idea. It might just be a moment of madness on my part, or I was too lazy to drop him off at his home.”

My mom laughed and slapped me on the shoulder before walking back into the kitchen. I ushered Joshua into the kitchen where my mom was already plating up dinner. Juicy steaks, mashed potatoes, and green beans. For my sister, however, my mom plated tofu on her plate. I was seriously waiting for the day when her wolf broke through and started going on a rampage to sate their need for meat.

I sat down and started stacking mashed potatoes on my plate while Joshua stared at the food as if it was poisoned. A mouthful of buttery potato melted in my mouth. I was in heaven.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s just sitting there.” Fenrus said.

Joshua sat there watching my mom bring over a pitcher of fruit juice. She sat down and placed the jug in the middle of the table. I immediately poured juice for everyone.

“You really need to start eating before my mom begins to spoon feed you,” I said. Immediately after I addressed him, Joshua began to plate a piece of steak on his plate while blushing up a storm.

My mom slapped me again. “Stop teasing him.”

After we began digging into the dinner, my mom dragged Joshua into a conversation about the coven and its daily operations while they left us out. My mom knew that when we began to eat, my little sister and I didn’t want to be disturbed. Only after Joshua brought up the topic of meeting the Alpha, did I join the fray.

After swallowing a juicy bit of chewed-up steak, I asked my mom, “So, did Mom succeed in whatever Mom wanted to achieve with the meeting with the Alpha?” I couldn’t hide my resentment at my mom for hiding things from me and she picked it right up.

“Don’t hold that tone with me,” her eyes sharpened, “I’m not withholding information from you to punish you, but there are things that don’t concern you. I have to make sure of a few things before blundering into a situation that puts you and your sister in harm’s way.”

“Like the fact that both I and Lilly are Greybacks?” I watched as my sister shoved a thick piece of tofu in her mouth.

“Partly... But it didn’t go according to plan. I’d hoped that the Beta would have joined us but he was away on business for the pack. He’ll be back next week. The Alpha was kind enough and allowed us to reschedule the meeting till then.”

Why delay the meeting just because the second-in-command wasn’t there? The Alpha was in charge and didn’t need the consent of the Beta to let us join the pack. Even though I saw no point in joining any pack. I really didn’t care. But my little sister might have actually enjoyed having a normal life, safe and sound for once, without looking over her shoulders.

Joshua’s question pulled me out of my thoughts. “Why does Mr. Hartington have to be part of the meeting when the decision to form an alliance with the Raven Hill’s pack lies with Alpha Wick?”

That was something I also wanted to know.

My mom’s eyes lingered on me for a bit. Sadness seeped through her brown eyes. She wiped her mouth off with a napkin. “I have unresolved issues I have to resolve with him.”

Despite my desire to challenge her cryptic answer, my mom cut off the conversation when she took our empty plates and proceeded to wash them. I wasn’t planning on pressing the topic any further; it would have been futile to try. My mom was as pigheaded as I was. A trait I inherited from her.

I rose from my chair and nudged Joshua to follow me upstairs.

“Thanks for the dinner, Mom,” I said before walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Joshua mirrored me and said, “Thanks for the delicious meal, Mrs. Underhill.”

My mom’s voice rang out from the kitchen. “No problem, boys. Don’t do anything up there that I wouldn’t.”

I wanted to smash my head through a wall at her sexual comment. “Urg, Mom. Don’t say that!”

My mom’s laugh echoed up to my room as I entered my room.

“Your mother is a real jewel,” Joshua chuckled as I plopped down on my bed.

“Yah, but she also has a nasty streak on her. One time we went shopping and as we were just about to pay for our groceries, she pulled a packet of roughrider condoms from a rack near the till and said that I needed to slow down because she had already bought me one box a week before.” I grumbled the story out.

“What!? She didn’t!” The horror on Joshua’s face threatened to dislocate his jaw.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Oh, she did. The teller didn’t know where to hide her shame, while an old lady dropped her bags on the floor while staring at me as if I was a whore working the red light district.”

Joshua convulsed as he slumped into my chair, wiping the tears from his eyes.

For the rest of the night, we talked and watched movies on Netflix until it was time for bed. I gave Joshua one of my t-shirts and sweatpants to wear before he took a shower. I pulled out an air mattress from the spare room next to my sister’s bedroom and laid it next to my bed.

I wasted no time in pulling off my clothes until I was in my boxer briefs. I then laid down on the air mattress. The bathroom door opened, revealing Joshua in my baggy clothes. He nearly choked on his spit as his eyes darted over my naked body.

“Too much?” I teased.

He averted his eyes while trying to hide his blush behind the fringes of his blond wavy hair. “You’re such a tease!”

I chuckled before climbing off the mattress. “You can sleep on my bed.”

He stumbled out of my way, shaking his head vigorously. ’No, I can’t. It’s your bed. I’ll—”

“No you don’t. You’re my guest. So get.” I shoved him toward my bed and watched him until he crawled underneath the duvet. “See! Was that hard?”

“Oh, shove off.”

I walked over to my closet and grabbed another boxer brief, a tie-dyed one. “I will. I’m about to take a quick shower. I’ll be right back.”

I quickly made my way into the bathroom and did what I said. Ten minutes later, and with a freshly brushed mouth, I crawled under the covers on the air mattress. Just as I was about to fall asleep, my mom knocked on the door. The door creaked open.

“Goodnight, you two.” She smiled at us.

“Goodnight, Mom.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. Underhill,” Joshua chimed from underneath the covers.

Before she shut the door, she said,” Nathan, honey. If you’re feeling frisky tonight, remember there’s a box of cond—”

“MOM!” I shouted, throwing my pillow at the door, but my mom had already closed the door before the pillow hit her. Her maniacal laughter bounced off the hallway’s walls before I died down with the closing of her bedroom door.

“See what I mean. She’s one crazy woman.”

Joshua snickered at my comment while I darted for the pillow I threw at the door. I climbed back onto the mattress and made myself comfortable. “Goodnight, chum.” I whispered through the darkness of the room.

“Goodnight, roughrid—”

I hit him with the pillow, earning another devious bout of laughter. Eventually, silence entered the room and before long we slipped into a deep sleep.