Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Nathan Underhill.

After all these years...

How many times did I beg my mom to tell me who my biological father was? I begged her repeatedly, but she never caved in. Even after several meltdowns and angry tirades where I called her a bitch, it didn’t faze her. She would only tell me it wasn’t the right time to do so and that one day she would. So, after years of failed attempts, I gave up. I pushed the idea of meeting my actual father to the back of my head, burying my anger and frustrations with it.

Did I hate her for it? Yes, I did. As a sixteen-year-old, you hated everyone. My mom had given birth to Lilly two years earlier, which made it more difficult. I was jealous that she had her father with her to guide and love her. Don’t get me wrong, my stepfather was the greatest. I loved him. Weird, wasn’t it? Not all kids accept their stepparents, but Jacob helped me when I needed him the most. He was a kick-ass dad, and he loved me.

But my jealousy and insecurities killed him.

After another teenage hissy fit, I made a stupid mistake and called my cousin Alex. I wanted to run away and find my father on my own. My mother had a new child and a loving husband and they were planning to join my stepfather’s old pack. I felt as if I was in the way of their happiness. They didn’t need me anymore. But it ended up in a disaster with my stepfather dying and me, my little sister, and mom fleeing for our lives.

The guilt wrecked me. No matter how many times my mom tried to tell me she didn’t hate or blame me for what happened, I couldn’t stop blaming myself. How could she not hate me for what I did? I led my grandfather to our front door. Through those several months of depression, I came to understand why my mom was reluctant to reveal who my father was. She must have been scared that she might place him in danger, just as we did with Jacob, and see how that turned out.

The incident changed me. I was no longer worried about having friends or getting involved in romantic relationships. How could I when my grandfather could have used or killed them for just knowing me? It was my most horrific nightmare. And now it has come true.

My mom was going to kill me. My bedroom was a mess. I shredded the mattress into pieces, broke the bed in half, and gutted my pillows. Duck feathers drifted through the air as an icy breeze blew into the room, thanks to the broken window I broke earlier. I hoped the chair I threw through it didn’t kill someone.

Rushing over to my closet, I yanked back the broken door and retrieved a red duffle bag from it. I placed the bag on the only table I didn’t break. I then began pulling shirts and pants from the closet’s railings. Scrambling over to the duffel bag, I began stuffing my clothes in it. What was my mom thinking?! Bringing us here of all places. She knew where my father was, and yet she came here. I walked over to the dresser and yanked open the lowest drawer and removed socks and underwear. She was putting them at risk, and for what?! I slammed shut the drawer, breaking the brass handle.

“She’s tired of running, Nathan. So are we.” Fenrus told me.

I stomped over to the bag again and cramped my delicates in. ”We don’t have a choice, Fen! I can’t place them in danger or ask them to risk their lives for my sake!”

I couldn’t. The idea of getting to know my actual father ripped my body in half. On the one hand, I wanted to stay. Goddess, I wanted to. Not only to build a relationship with him, but also with my sister and obnoxious dick of a brother. But on the other side of the argument, I couldn’t take the risk and allow them to come to harm. I had to cast away my selfish desires to keep them safe. I made my way into the bathroom and collected my toiletry bag, but halfway out, a voice called out.

“Nathan, are you — Wow, you really went ballistic, didn’t you?” It was Adam.

Just great. I didn’t have the strength to talk to anyone. Can’t they just leave me alone?

I walked out of the bathroom. Adam was busy tracing his finger along the rim of a hole that I punched into the wall of my room. “You know there are better ways of dealing with your anger than throwing objects through windows.” Adam pointed to the broken window.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I walked up to my bag.

Adam’s eyes narrowed on the duffle bag. “I came to see if you were alright.”

“As you can see, I’m hunky-dory, so you can leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why you’re packing a bag?” Adam replied, folding his muscled arms into his chest.

I reached behind the bag and retrieved my cellphone. “It’s none of your business. You should stop sticking your nose into other people’s affairs.” I then checked to see how much charge the cellphone’s battery had. Fifty-eight percent. It would do for now. I placed the cellphone into the side pocket of the duffle bag.

Adam chuckled and said, “You know, running won’t solve your problem. How long do you think you can keep this up?”

“As long as I have to.”

And it was the truth. I didn’t care how long I had to run. As long as I kept my grandfather’s wrath on me and not my family, I couldn’t care less. I would not endanger their lives to save my ass. I needed to deal with my grandfather on my own. How? I had no clue. But it was better than to wait here until he eventually sniffed me out.

Before I could touch the straps of the duffle bag, Adam grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. He then dragged me up against the opposite wall of my room. Afterward, he wrapped his strong, calloused hands around my wrists and pinned them down above my head while he shoved his right leg between my legs. What the kinky fuck! I tried to shove him off me, but I couldn’t muster the strength to do so. How was that possibl—

“Fenrus, you little shit! What are you doing? Help me out!”

Fenrus’ snicker echoed inside of my head. ”Why would I want to? It’s you who wants to leave, not me. And besides, I’m enjoying the friction caused by his leg against our crotch.”

My dick twitched in appreciation. ”Screw you, you horn dog!” I huffed and blew a strand of hair out of my face while trying to wiggle my body from Adam’s grasp, but the constant friction woke up my little friend downstairs, much to my embarrassment.

“Just enjoy—”

“Nathan!”

Adam’s husky voice jostled me out of my mind. His minty breath fanned the skin on the side of my neck, sending jolts down my body. Why did I decide to wear skinny jeans? It was getting too tight down there.

“Enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” said Adam with a toothy grin on his smug-laced face.

I scoffed and said, “Don’t flatter yourself.” I tried to free my arms again, but the horny wolf inside of my head didn’t want to cooperate. After a while, I stopped struggling. “What are you trying to accomplish?”

Adam smiled. “I’m trying to stop you from leaving.”

“By pinning me up against a wall?”

“Yip,” he replied with a pop. Adam then turned serious. “I asked you a question.”

“And I answered it!” I hissed, moving forward until our lips nearly touched.

“Kiss him,” Fenrus said, wagging his tail.

“Piss off.” I moved my head back against the wall and out of range of Adam’s sweet lips.

“You only answered one of them.” Adam licked his lips. Stop it, Nathan! Don’t stare at them. “So I will answer the question you dodged.” Adam continued. “It won’t. Your problem will haunt you till the day you face them head-on.”

A flash of anger boiled out of my throat. “I can’t stay here! Not anymore.” My eyes stung. Don’t cry, you idiot! He can’t see your weakness. “My presence will only bring destruction and death to this town.”

“You’re an idiot!” Adam scoffed, pulling away from me.

I mourned at the loss of his touch. Hell. Why was he affecting me this way? I rubbed my wrists, trying to hold on to the warmth his hands left behind. Nathan, get a grip.

Adam paced around the room while muttering to himself. This dragged on for a minute before I decided I had enough.

When I tried to walk around him, he grabbed onto my wrist again. “You’re not alone, Nathan.”

Those words struck a chord in my heart, tearing down the wall I built around it. I was. I’d always be alone as long as my grandfather was alive.

I shook my head and fought back a tear that tried to escape my eyes. “I am.”

Adam tightened his grip. “You’re not and you’ll never be again. This is no longer just your own fight.” He reached over and cupped my cheek with his hand. The warmth of his hand soothed the numbing pain in my heart. “If you think I’ll let you go, you’ve got another--”

Before I could lose myself in the illusion Adam tried to bind me with, I slapped away his hand. “Try to stop me.”

I strutted over to the bag on the desk and grabbed it. Yet again, Adam stopped me. He yanked the bag out of my hand and flung it out of the window.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” I yelled.

“Trying to stop you from doing something stupid.”

“I’m doing this for my family!” I spat at him. “Leaving this town will keep them safe, can’t you see?” One tear broke through my wall.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Adam thrust his finger into my chest. I retaliated, flinging him across the room with a concussion blast. He came crashing down onto the ripped-up mattress. A plume of duck feathers flew into the air.

“Are you nuts?!” Fenrus bellowed. “He’s trying to help you.”

“Fuck!” I ran over to Adam. He laid against the wall, rubbing his head while groaning. I kneeled before him and checked to see if he had any injuries. Luckily, I only found a bump on the back of his head.

“I’m alright,” Adam said, groggily. “I should have been more careful to pick a fight with you.” He chuckled, which set my heart aflutter.

“No. I’m the one who has to apologize...” I sighed and then sat down on the floor in front of him.

All of a sudden, a flood of suppressed emotions erupted from me. The years of anger, isolation, depression, and loneliness smashed through the barrier. I cried. No. I bawled my eyes out. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and I hated it that Adam had to see me crying.

Before I could pull away, Adam grabbed my collar again and pulled me into his tight embrace. I increased my grip on Adam, straddled his lap, and buried my face in the nape of his neck. I breathed in his intoxicating scent of sandalwood and vanilla, washing away my scattered nerves and allowing me to calm down. He stiffened at my actions, but a few seconds later, he buried his head in the nape of my neck while stroking my back.

I was so fuckin’ tired. Tired of looking behind my back, waiting for the day that my grandfather would finally find me. What infuriated me was that I did nothing wrong! So how could he hate me this much?

“Then let’s find out,” Fenrus growled. ”We have to confront him once and for all.”

“You can’t seriously mean it,” I told Fenrus. ”He’ll kill us the moment he sees us.”

“If he can, that is. Come on, Nathan, we’re stronger than him now. I’m tired of running away from him, and so is mom. The time has come to rely on those around us — there’s strength in numbers. And let’s not forget, we have two of the most powerful groups backing us up. Our grandfather will get his ass kicked. We’re not alone anymore.”

Adam and Fenrus’ words finally hit me. “No. No, we aren’t.”