Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Nathan Underhill.

This was it, the moment of truth and the day I became one of the pack animals. Was I happy about it? In a matter, yes. I still had my doubts, but as long as I had Adam and my family at my side, I could get over it. Although, it still sucked big time that I had to follow orders like a well-trained pooch. I loved the freedom that came with being a rogue, minus the constant threat of dying at the hands of my grandfather.

Speaking of which, my grandfather was still on the prowl, using his pesky Shadowstalkers to sniff us out, but he was looking in the wrong place for us. It was all thanks to my aunt, the iron lady who risked her life every single day to keep our asses safe. Many times I wondered why she stayed behind with the wicked godfather and his retarded son.

I never liked my uncle. What a creep! The man, from what I heard, was banging a reanimated corpse, for Goddess’ sakes. Gross! And to make matters worse, his own father trapped his wife in a mirror for standing up against him. My uncle was a coward. It must have been tough on Alex, though. I haven’t spoken with him since the incident with the Highlands pack. I didn’t blame him for what happened, but Alex did. Over the years, I’ve tried to reach out to him in ways that my grandfather or his assassins couldn’t trace, but Alex never came back to me.

With a groan and the last tug on my shoelaces, I jumped up to my feet and made my way out of my room. Thinking about my screwed-up family gave me indigestion. Exasperating my bottled-up feelings even further was the irritating black suit they made me wear. The nagging urge to rip the suit off rose with each step I took. Who in their right mind would want to wear suits regularly? They were modern torture devices that made you sweat and suffocate to death. I couldn’t move without the frickin’ suit putting up a fight.

As my foot touched the bottom step of the stairs, my eyes landed on Adam. He sat on a couch, staring off into the distance. He texted me earlier and told me he’d wait for me in the pack’s livingroom. Oh, sweet goodness, look at that. The idea of wearing suits became a bit less unbearable to me, especially if Adam wore them. There he was, dressed in an ash gray suit with a black tie and matching shoes. He had combed his hair neatly to the back and he had trimmed his beard. At first I didn’t like the beard, but it started growing on me. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Goddess, he was perfection.

I walked up to him and cleared my throat. “Hey, sexy.”

Adam’s head whipped to me, and he smiled, threatening to melt me on the spot. His eyes traced my body before he whistled. “Holy mother, son of a saint, you look handsome as hell.” He placed his thumb on my chin and kissed me on the lips.

I honestly wanted to continue devouring his juicy lips, but an annoying cough interrupted us. Maisie stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a golden strapless dress and black high heels. The bitch! I would remember it when she and Tyson went at it again.

“Can we get this show on the road, gents?” Maisie asked. “We can’t have a joining ceremony when one of the participants isn’t there.”

Adam scoffed and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Chill, there’s still time... And by the way, where’s your mate?” He raised his eyebrow while smirking.

Taking a quick whiff, I understood why Adam was smirking. Tyson’s musky scent hung on my sister. They did the dirty deed but had the balls to tell us we were keeping them up. Hypocrites! Just then, Tyson came tumbling down the stairs with a flustered look on his face. He was busy tugging his dress shirt into his pants.

“Well, well, well... Look who’s finally got his dick back in his pants?” I mocked him, earning a chuckle from Adam while Tyson’s face lit up red.

Maisie ran up to Tyson and yanked him to the front door. “Yes, yes, laugh it up. Let’s get going.” My sister tried to hide her red face, but her earlobes matched Tyson’s blushing face.

A biting cold wind whipped across the front lawn as we made our way to Adam’s SUV. The full moon’s light illuminated the parking lot. There wasn’t even a fleck of a cloud in the night sky. The click of the doors unlocking drew my attention away from the moon’s hypnotic glow. Only then did I catch sight of Riley’s Mustang.

“Shouldn’t Riley be at the ceremony?” I asked.

The idiotic words spilling out of my mouth made me want to smash my head into the car’s door. Of course, he wouldn’t want to be there. He had been avoiding the family for weeks, so why would he suddenly change his behavior? He hated my guts.

Tyson chuckled and said, “He has never attended the ceremonies, not once since he turned thirteen.”

“Why?”

I opened the car and climbed in. Once I settled into my seat, Maisie took over. “He had a friend. His only one and they were inseparable, but on the day of our first shift, that changed. Her name is Kaila. When we shifted for the first time, she did too, but it went horribly wrong. She began having seizures in mid-shift, so the pack doctor had to sedate her.

“She has been institutionalized ever since then. She can’t shift into her wolf form without having a seizure, and on the nights of the full moon, it gets more severe. Riley has been visiting her ever since and he always visits her on the full moon.”

And here I thought he was always a selfish prick. Situations like this just show you that one should never judge another blindly without getting to know them.

“Don’t get bummed out over it.” Maisie’s voice snapped me out of my trance. Life is what it is, and there is nothing we can do about it. I feel for Riley, I do. But it’s been years and he should have accepted it. If he wants to continue to feel sorry for himself, then let him. He knows we’re here for him, so if he doesn’t want to reach out, we can’t force him.”

After the somber discussion, we reached the town hall. A huge brick building four stories high. With all the hustle and bustle, it seemed that the entire population of the town came out to support the new arrivals. Many of the town folk stood around with drinks and plates of appetizers in hand. It was a joyous occasion.

As I climbed out of the SUV, my nervousness sneaked up on me. A hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach began gnawing its way up my throat. My hands began to sweat and all the spit in my mouth dried up. As we walked up to the front doors of the building, I snatched up an orange cocktail and downed it in four gulps. Arg! One thing I hated about alcohol was how foul it tasted most of the time.

“Wow there, stud.” Adam snatched up my wrist as I lunged for another cocktail. “Slow down before I have to drag your cute ass to the stage.”

I scoffed and elbowed him in the stomach. “You’re not the one who has to stand on a stage and recite a speech. I hate crowds and tonight the entire town showed up for the festivities.”

Maisie walked up with a martini in her hand. “Who wouldn’t?” She took a sip of her drink. “There’s free food and booze.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Should you even be allowed to drink alcohol?” I asked her, earning another of her famous flip-offs.

“She shouldn’t.” Tyson came up from behind her and snatched away the drink.

“Hey!” Maisie lunged for her drink, but Tyson was too fast for her. “Give it back!”

“No.”

“Please!” she began pouting. Oh, this was hilarious!

“No.” Tyson held out and threw the contents of the drink out onto a shrub. Poor plant.

Maisie’s eyes bulged as she witnessed Tyson throwing away her drink. But that soon changed into a death glare. Tyson held out two bottles of water out for us, which I took.

“Thanks.” I opened the bottle and downed the water.

My sister still glared at her mate as she took a few sips of water. A smile broke out on her face. “Fine. I won’t drink, but you shouldn’t expect any sex from me for the next week.” Maisie patted Tyson’s cheek before strutting off.

All the blood drained from Tyson’s face. “Come on, Mase. It’s against the law to drink while you’re underage. I’m just looking—”

“Don’t you even try that on me,” Maisie shouted back at him, earning a few eye turns. Tyson followed her, trying to salvage his chances before he ended up with a severe case of blue balls.

“So... Shall we get going?” Adam asked me.

“Yeah.”

***

As the evening wore on, most of the partygoers made their way toward the town’s park, a massive stretch of greenery surrounded by businesses. The town’s people used the park for community activities, celebrations and meetings. At the head of the crowd stood a wooden stage with a microphone. The coven had enchanted lanterns that floated overhead, lighting up the grounds. Four rows of wooden tables, enough to seat hundreds of people, sat in the center while dozens of tables at the sides were packed with food and drinks.

Adam and I had made our way toward the podium where my mom, father, and little sister stood with several other wolves who decided to join the pack. Maisie and Tyson were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t know if it was a good or bad sign. Maisie was determined to make Tyson suffer for treating her like a child. He was definitely going to end up with blue balls.

Over the chattering of hundreds of people, a shrill voice pierced the sky. “Nathan! I’m back!” Before I could turn completely, Joshua jumped me, hugging the crap out of me.

“Hi, Joshua. When did you get back? I thought the convention was still in full swing?” I asked him.

The convention I spoke of was the annual W2 (Warlock and Witches) convention. Every spell wielder around the country would flock to it. It was the same as the COMICON convention but without the science fiction and fake costumes part. It was a celebration of magic and all its wonders. I had wished that I could have attended, but the risk was too high.

“We got back early this morning. I didn’t want to stay and miss out on your joining. So here we are.”

Wow! What a friend. I walked up to Joshua and hugged him back. “Thanks. It means a lot to me.”

Joshua patted me on the shoulder. “It’s nothing—”

The screeching of the microphone interrupted our bromance moment.

“Good evening, ladies and gents.” The Alpha’s deep voice sang out into the crowd. “If all of our inductees would make it to the stage, we can get on with the ceremony before the actual party can begin.”

I swallowed nervously as I made my way toward the stage. Hundreds of eyes followed my every step. And that was why I never liked crowds—their eyes. Step-for-step up the stairs, the Alpha and my family came into view. I took a deep breath of fresh air and made my way toward them. Let’s get this over with before I hurl curses at everyone who looks at me. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, that of Adam, who smiled at me.

Here goes nothing.