Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale [Sample]

The day I stopped running was the day I found a new life worth fighting for. I found hope in a man who gave me the strength and courage to face the onslaught of the douchebag who made my life a living hell—my fucking grandfather.

I was thirteen when my life changed.

When I woke up that morning, two days after my birthday, something was prowling around in my mind. A subtle whisper kept distracting me throughout my magical lesson later that day. My mom had started teaching me a reflection spell when fate threw me a curveball.

A heart-stopping pain floored me, and a searing burn flashed across my body. My bones cracked, rearranging my body into a macabre version of a transformer. As I struggled to understand, I transformed into a wolf in front of my grandfather. When my eyes met his, utter resentment replaced my grandfather’s love. My mom grabbed onto my fur and teleported us away from my grandfather’s rage.

Since that day, we have been on the run with only the clothes on our asses.

Eight years later, I pulled into the driveway in front of an unassuming house on the edge of a town called Shadowdale. We had to pack up our old lives in New York City when my aunt warned us that my grandfather had tracked us down again. Two days later, his henchmen found the deserted apartment we had been living in for the last year. The painstaking task repeated itself: we had to begin all over again.

I turned off the engine of the SUV and stepped out, followed by my mom. However, my little sister was fast asleep in the backseat, dreaming sweetly and cuddling with her pink, fluffy elephant, Dumbo.

I stretched and took in a deep breath of the fresh air. Twisting around, I admired the beautiful forest surrounding me. The end of summer still lingered, with sunlight streaming through the trees, warming my face. It was peaceful, and luckily for us, there were no nosy neighbors to worry about hammering our door down. My wolf was going to enjoy running around this forest.

“Come on, Nate. Let’s shake a leg!” Fenrus whined longingly in my head. The siren call of the forest beckoned us.

“Don’t you even dare,” my mom said, her brown eyes boring into me. “I need your help to unload the suitcases, and you’ll have to go into town to get groceries for the house.”

I pouted before shaking my head. “Sorry, Fenrus. Our forest frolicking has to wait for another time.” My wolf whimpered. “Don’t be like that. Tomorrow’s another day.”

My mom cupped her hands on my cheeks and drew my attention away from the forest. “I know you want to go for a run and explore your brand-new territory but—”

“I know. There will be plenty of time later.” I chuckled, hugging her.

“Thank you, my boy.” She patted me on my shoulder. “Get your sister out of the car while I unlock the front door.” She retrieved her leather handbag from the SUV and walked to the front porch. With a twist of her hand, the door magically opened with a click and she disappeared into the house.

I walked up to where my baby sister slept. She was turning six in a few months. It gutted me to the core; she spent most of her childhood on the run. She never had a normal life and never would have one, thanks to me.

I quietly opened the car door and retrieved her from her car seat. She let out a soft whimper as she wrapped her small arms around my neck. Dumbo slipped from her grasp, but I caught the plush toy before it fell on the ground. As I entered the house, I heard the soft hum of my mom’s incantation as she worked her magic. A trail of dust slipped through an open window, leaving the furniture spotless.

I turned to my mom. “And here you said that cleaning the house was a major pain in the tailbone.”

She clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes at me. “Stop being a smart mouth. Take your sister upstairs and tuck her in. I’ll be up in a minute.”

I nodded and walked up the stairs. The first room to my right as I reached the landing was mine. I always did this as a precaution. If my grandfather’s lackeys ever attacked us, I would act as a shield, giving my sister and mother the time to escape.

I turned left and walked down the corridor to the next bedroom. It was a cozy room with a queen-sized bed propped against a large window. A vanity stood next to the bed. The room wasn’t anything special. Within a month, my mom would replace most of the furniture to make it Lilly’s room.

I walked to the bed and pulled off the lime-green covers. Then I gently placed the adorable princess on the bed. I pulled the bedding back up to my sister’s chin while stuffing her precious toy into her embrace. She turned to her side and snuggled with her stuffed elephant. I bent over and kissed her on the temple before heading down to the kitchen.

The kitchen was spacious enough not to make us feel crowded. Most of the appliances were brand new. The previous owners had painted the walls in a pastel blue color. Not bad... Blue was my favorite color. My mom sat at the small dining table in front of a large paned window overlooking a small garden while she wrote a note. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her purse, removing a credit card.

As I approached her, she rose from the table and handed me her card and note. “These are all the things we need for the moment until we’ve settled in.”

“Fine, Mom. See you later.” I turned around and walked out of the house.

Approaching the SUV, I opened the driver’s door and climbed in. With the turn of the ignition, I reversed out of the driveway and made my way to the local grocery store.”

**********

While driving, I opened the car’s window. The fresh air of the forest blew through my hair and face. I’m such a dog. This, however, only lasted a few minutes until I entered the local pack’s territory. I gagged as their scent permeated the air. I quickly rolled up the window. Damn, that was nasty! Bloody furball groupies.

As I made my way through the town, I realized it wasn’t as small as I thought it would be. Shadowdale was a werewolf town. I couldn’t believe that the dogs could run an impressive operation without humans knowing.

“You’re becoming soft,” Fenrus growled.

“I’m just impressed,” I replied. “It doesn’t mean I want to be one of them. Imagine what they’ll do if they find out that I’m wandering amongst them?”

“You have a death wish, don’t you?”

“Come on. We’re completely safe.” I touched the black gemstone necklace, which hung around my neck. I enchanted the onyx stone to hide my scent from the other werewolves. To them, I was another mortal, oblivious to their surroundings.

Fenrus didn’t like that I was hiding my scent. Without the necklace, the werewolf pack would have found and killed us. As a grayback, a lone wolf, and an outcast, I posed a significant threat. Higher-ranked lone wolves were stronger than an alpha. We had to be. We didn’t have others to rely on.

“Would you stop pacing around like that? You’re making me twitchy,” I said.

“Really?” Fenrus scoffed. “If you hadn’t realized, we are in enemy territory!”

The hair on my forearms stood on end, and my heart started jumping up and down in my chest. I hoped the necklace worked because I wasn’t looking forward to the consequences. Even if I was stronger than most werewolves, I couldn’t take on an entire pack at once.

“Chill, will ya? You’re not making the situation better by chewing my nerves raw.”

“Sorry...”

Gradually, my tense grip on the steering wheel loosened. “Thanks. Now let’s get the supplies Mom asked for and get back home.”

A short drive later, I pulled up at the local grocery store and climbed out of the SUV. I made my way inside, took a trolley, and began my hunt for the items on my mom’s wish list. After half an hour, I walked out of the store with my goodies in hand and started loading them into the trunk.

Before I could slam shut the trunk’s door, four distinct scents pulled my head to the right. An over-the-top, cherry-red Ford Mustang GT convertible took up the space next to mine. Three guys and a girl, roughly a year or two younger than me, got out of the car. They were werewolves. Arg! Just my luck! I must have looked at them for a long time because one guy, a cocky asshit, glared at me.

“What are you staring at, asshole?” the little shit said.

I smirked at him. However, I ignored the troublemaker and walked over to the driver’s side door. When I opened the door, the loudmouth rushed in and slammed it shut.

“Kill him.” Fenrus rumbled inside my head.

“Don’t be stupid. We can’t reveal ourselves here, remember? Mom said we had to keep our heads down.”

The guy stepped up to me.

“How cute. I would love to rip the cockiness out of him.”

The cockhead glared up at me.“I talked to you. Don’t ignore—”

“Don’t start that shit again, Riley!” The girl with a pixie haircut rushed over and pulled him away.

“Sorry about that. My stupid brother doesn’t know what’s good for him sometimes,” the girl huffed. She then dragged the idiot named Riley off into the store while the others followed, chuckling along.

I opened the door again and climbed in. As I clipped the safety belt securely, I glimpsed the lumbering giant with the chestnut brown eyes. The hunk stared at me for a few seconds before he disappeared out of sight. A ripple of delight shot down my arms. Damn, he’s hot! I fumbled with the ignition before reversing out of the parking space.

Arg! No! Don’t go there, Nate. You know it will only end in disaster.

I then drove off, but not before I stole a last glance at the shop. If only life were fair.

Adam Wick.

I stared transfixed at the silver Land Rover, its sleek form reversing out of the parking lot. The scent of the cute guy was both familiar and intoxicating, tugging at my heartstrings. I wouldn’t have minded getting his number if we ever met again. It has been years since I’ve been able to move past my break-up and maybe it was time to move on.

“Yo! Thanos! Get your giant ass over here!” Riley cried.

“What did he say to us?” Bane snapped inside my head. My wolf tried to claw its way out to give the idiot a proper thrashing.

“Don’t bother, Bane. Riley’s not worth it.”

I sauntered over to my friends, catching Riley’s attention before I slapped him on the head for his rude remark. I then grabbed him by his t-shirt and growled at him. “Remember who you’re talking to.”

“Wow! Big guy. Meant no disrespect.” Riley wiggled him free of his grip and scoffed. “Chill, will ya?”

“Not if you’re acting like a douche in front of my alpha.” Maisie punched Riley in the stomach.

He fell to the floor, gasping for air while she walked off toward the snack aisle. I chuckled, striding past him. Leave it up to my beta to put him in his place. Maisie grabbed a few bags of crisps from the shelves and threw them in the trolley.

“Why are you so quiet, Adam? Did the young, sexy human steal your breath away, or is something else on your mind?” Her brown eyes stared mischievously at me, gauging my response.

I looked away from her and smiled as I put some Pringles in the shopping cart that Tyson was pushing. Tyson had been my best friend since kindergarten. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, his words were golden.

“Hey! Fuckboy! Get your scrawny white ass over here!” Tyson mocked Riley.

Maisie burst into a hysterical fit of laughter, disappearing around the corner.

I chuckled and patted my friend on the shoulder. “Good one.”

Riley caught up with them and turned to Tyson. “You think you’re so funny, don’t you?”

Tyson lunged forward and growled, causing Riley to flinch and stumble into a tower of paper towels. “Stay down, bitch.” Tyson then followed Maisie as she continued to throw groceries into the trolley.

For the rest of their shopping spree, Riley scowled up a storm, staying well away from Tyson. Even though they were both betas, Tyson was a head taller and much broader than Riley. Dark, tall, and handsome, Tyson, my childhood best friend, was the exotic caramel god who made most of the college girls swoon at his feet. But as long as I had known Tyson, he had no interest in any girls other than Maisie. She was his goddess, the one that made his life matter. I wondered when they would imprint on each other. I haven’t seen a couple more in love.

Maisie walked up to Tyson and kissed him, but it quickly descended into a kissing war. They were unscrupulous exhibitionists, flaunting their romance in everyone’s faces. Every day, I blushed with embarrassment at their shameless displays of affection. It was hard to separate them sometimes.

“Hey, you two, get a room! There are children here.” I said.

Maisie threw me a dirty glance, but then her eyes turned mischievous. “Why don’t you track down that sexy guy and invite him to the party?”

Before I could voice my opinion, Riley chimed in. “Hell no! That asshole wasn’t invited. He’s not even from our town.”

“Are you threatened by him?” Maisie asked.

Riley scoffed, “Hah! You’re so funny, Sis. You should get a job as a comedian.” He then walked over to the alcohol section. “He’s human. There’s no competition.”

“He’s better looking than you, brother, with his black, unkempt hair, copper eyes, and lips you can suck on for days...”

Tyson scowled at her, asking, “Should I worry?”

She turned to him and said, “Oh no, boo. He might be sexy as hell, but I only want you.” She wrapped her arms around Tyson and started kissing him again.

Riley walked over with four bottles of tequila and put them in the trolley.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

“Buying booze for the party. What else do you think?”

I picked up the bottles and shoved them back into his arms. “No, we aren’t. You’re underage and I’m not buying.”

Riley puffed up like a toad. “Come on, man!”

“No, and that’s final,” I said in a commanding voice. Riley submitted and then slumped back in the aisle, placing the bottles back on the shelf.

“Fuckin’ killjoy,” Riley muttered.