The Hybrid Queen

The last time I had stared into those eyes, they had been filled with so much rage and hate yet as I stood with my dagger pressed against the wolf’s neck, all I could remember was the hurtful words he had hurled at me. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the dagger, swallowing hard.

“Stand down.” He ordered the now snarling wolves. They immediately quieted down, my eyes never leaving him as I moved the dagger away from the man’s neck and let him go. He scrambled away from me back to the group.

“Leave us.” He ordered, his eyes not leaving mine. The wolves shifted uneasily at the thought of leaving me alone with their king.

“Now!!” He snapped. They bowed and walked off, disappearing into the trees, casting hateful glares my way. I ignored them. They were insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and I had bigger issues to worry about.

The silence stretched. It was almost as if the night and its creatures were holding their breaths, afraid that the tiniest of noises would set the world alight.

“A...Anaya..” Dimitri whispered, disbelief and wonder filling his voice as he took a step closer. I raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“I have news for you, a warning which you can either choose to heed or ignore,” I stated. He frowned but nodded.

“Alright... we can discuss this in my office. I take whatever it is you want to say is of utmost importance.” He replied. I was quiet, tightening my grip on the weapon.

Dimitri’s eyes wandered down to the dagger, pain flashing through them for a second before he swallowed hard.

“Th... this way.”

He led me through the forest, and I followed him at a distance, my mind and eyes scanning the forest while still keeping an eye on him. I didn’t trust him, and I wouldn’t put it past his men to leap out from the trees and attempt an attack... not that they would succeed.

The pack house loomed ahead of us, it felt strange being back here after everything. He opened the door and stood aside for me to walk by. I walked in, never fully turning my back on him. Glancing around at the place I once called home, . every part held a memory, I pushed them out of my mind. This was not the reason for my visit.

He led me up the stairs to his office, we stepped in and I watched him lean against his desk fiddling with a piece of paper, clearly at a loss as to what to do. This silence was getting us nowhere and I needed to get back to the Citadel before they realized I was missing. I cleared my throat.

He immediately looked up, eyes wide as he stared at me.

I removed the USB drive from my pocket and tossed it at him. He caught it, looking down at the object.

“This contains everything you will need to know about Ezekiel’s new plan to defeat the werewolves. With all the chemicals and techniques he used to turn werewolves into monsters, you may find something to help you reverse the infected ones in your care.” I explained.

“New plan?” He inquired, examining the flash.

“Yes, he is planning on manufacturing a potent gas that will turn werewolves into mindless Venatore. He already has manufactured enough to take out a small pack, which he plans on using as a test run. The location of the warehouse where he stores the gas should be in there too.” I finished, gesturing to the flash drive.

Dimitri was silent as I finished talking, his dark eyes on the drive. I took the opportunity to really look at him, he seemed to have lost a bit of weight, his shirt did not hug his physique as it used to, the dark circles around his eyes were pronounced, and the scruffy beard added to his disheveled appearance.

I looked away as he looked up at me.

“Th...thank you.” He whispered, I frowned, finding myself taken aback, I had expected him to call me a liar and kill me where I stood, then again he did say he was not going to kill me because of Aura, I swallowed hard wondering what he would do if he found out Luna had taken her.

I regarded him with a look of indifference before taking a step back, picturing the Citadel then an image of Xavier crossed my mind. It wouldn’t hurt to check up on him before I left. Without a backward glance his way, I quickly made my way out of his office, heading down the stairs to the ground floor.

“Anaya?!” I spun around to see Becca standing on the stairs. My eyes widened at the sight of her as she rushed down the stairs, flinging herself onto me, I grunted a bit, wrapping my arms around her.

“Are you real? Am I hallucinating?” She asked, pulling away to stare at me. I let out a laugh, shaking my head.

“No, no hallucinating, I am here” I replied, grabbing her hand. She let out a sob, hugging me once more.

“Oh, Goddess...I thought you were gone, I thought I was never going to see you again.” She rambled. “I am so glad you are back here. We’ve missed you so much.”

I forced a smile, not wanting to tell her I wasn’t staying. Her eyes widened, and she glanced at the stairs.

“Does he know you’re here?” She whispered, I knew exactly who she was talking about.

“Yes... I had... some business with him. Where is Xavier? I would like to see him, ” I asked, changing the subject. “Is he here at the moment?”

“Oh no, he moved out after...” She trailed off, a sad look on her face. “After you... left.”

“Come on, I’ll take you to his house.” She continued, leading me out of the house. We walked in silence, my eyes and mind on high alert as we did.

“You... you look good.” She whispered, glancing at me.

“How have you been?” I inquired. She raised a shoulder, a sigh escaping her lips.

“I’ve been okay... I got a job... a lot has changed since you left.” She replied.

“That’s nice,” I murmured, glad she was ok but not interested in the pack or whatever changes had been implemented, it was no longer my home and he would do what he wanted with it anyway. We arrived at Xavier’s house and I followed her up the stairs to the door. She knocked and stood aside, smiling at me once more when her eyes caught mine. I smiled back as the door opened to reveal Xavier.

“Hey, Be...” He trailed off as his eyes met mine.

“Hey...” I didn’t get the chance to say anything before he grabbed my arm and hauled me into the house, slamming the door shut, narrowly missing hitting Becca in the face with the door.

“What are you doing here?” He hissed, rushing over to the windows and drawing the curtains shut.

“Did anyone see you two coming here?” He asked Becca, whose eyes were wide at his erratic behavior.

“Xavier... it’s alright. He knows.” I replied, leaning against the wall. He spun around to face me.

“He as in... Dimitri... He knows you’re here?” He clarified.

“Yeah,” I replied. He nodded, relief washing over his face.

“What are you doing here then?” He inquired before wincing.

“Sorry... that came out wrong. Can I offer you anything?”

“No, I’m good, and it’s fine. Uh... I... there has been a sort of development with the Venatore that spells bad news for werewolves, and I just thought it was best if I warn you all about it.” I explained, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“Development?” He inquired.

“They have found a way to turn wolves into mindless soldiers to do their bidding, removing the wolf and leaving behind a kind of empty vessel that they make into a drone Venatore. They aim to use those soldiers to dispose of the rest of the werewolves.” I explained.

“That’s sick,” Becca spat, a look of disdain on her face.

“It is...” I whispered, Ezekiel, doing this made him no better than the wolves that killed Uncle Ezra and Grandma.

“So, is Dimitri going to put a stop to it?” Becca asked.

“I have no idea, I have given him all the information he could need, it’s up to him now,” I replied.

“But do you think he can stop this?” Xavier asked, staring at me, a strange look in his eyes. I shrugged. Even without the gas, the Venatore had weapons that Dimitri and the rest of the werewolves could only dream of. A phone rang, and we all turned to Becca, who answered it, nodding a bit before uttering a reply.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and got to her feet.

“I have to go.” She said before turning to me.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” She whispered, beaming at me before making her way to the front door, waving at Xavier as she did. The door closed with a soft click, and I was left alone with Xavier.

“She doesn’t know you’re not staying, does she?” He asked. I shook my head, playing with the zipper of my jacket.

“No.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Well... hopefully, Dimitri fixes this, and I can leave all of this mess behind,” I replied, waving my hand around.

“What if he doesn’t believe you?” He asked, glancing at me. I frowned, sitting up, my eyes on my trousers.

“Well... hopefully, he does... I should be getting back. It’s late.” I mumbled, getting to my feet.

“Wait... Stay the night. You can leave tomorrow.” He suggested. I forced a smile in his direction.

“I would rather not overstay my welcome,” I replied.

“No one’s going to hurt you... please, I... I miss talking to you.” He explained.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Fine... only because I miss you too. But I will have to leave as early as I can tomorrow.”

He beamed at me.

“Awesome... uh... do you want some coffee? I can make you a sandwich.” He offered.

“Coffee sounds perfect,” I replied, smiling as I took my seat once more. He nodded, and I watched him move around the kitchen. I looked around the cabin. It was homey and very Xavier-like. The fireplace in the living room was warming up the whole house.

Hopefully, no one would notice my absence back at the Citadel, and even if they did, I would make up something.

“Here you go... just how you like it.” He replied.

“Thanks, I can’t believe you remembered.” I laughed, taking a sip of the coffee.

“Of course... I remember a lot about you, Anaya. I was in a dark place before you came along.” He whispered, staring down at his mug.

“You know... they killed my sister...”

I didn’t need him to explain further, I knew he was talking about the Venatore. He shook his head, letting out a small laugh.

“I know you understand that I had no part in it, but I am truly sorry for what you and your family went through at the hands of mine” I whispered, he reached out and took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “We are not our families Anaya, I know you are not like them, just by coming here with the information you have shows how different you are from the people that took us” he looked away, clearly a memory coming to mind of his time in the Venatore cells, I squeezed his hand, “I am so glad we are friends Xavier” I smiled at him, trying to remind him he was here and safe.

We each took a sip of our drinks before he looked up and me and asked “So, what has been happening with you since I last saw you?”

“Well... I have been good...I mean, I have been treated quite well, I don’t feel like an outsider. It’s great. Some days are tough, but it has come to feel like home.” I answered.

“I am glad you have found a safe haven and you are happy there.. So what do you guys do there? Apart from the obvious..”

“Uh... we train, the newer Venatore have classes, otherwise people are usually left to their own devices... you just always have to be there for training and classes.” I replied.

He nodded, taking another sip of his tea.

“What about you? How have you been? Why aren’t you staying in the pack house?” I inquired.

“I’ve been okay... I’m just doing my own thing, as for not staying in the pack house, Well, you were the only reason I moved there. You were gone, I wasn’t interested in serving Dimitri, so I left.” He replied matter of fact.

The conversation flowed late into the evening until we finally decided to call it a night. Xavier showed me to one of the spare rooms.

“The bathroom is through there, if you need anything, just call out, I’m down the hall.” He explained. I nodded, taking a seat on the bed.

“Goodnight Anaya and thank you for staying.”

I smiled at him, watching him close the door before I laid down the bed, eyes closed.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” I asked aloud.

“No, but we have done enough good deeds to afford one inconsequential lapse in judgement.” Heka answered, appearing next to me on the bed.

I was quiet, my eyes on the ceiling.

“Are you okay?” He asked, I could feel his eyes on me.

“Why is everyone so set on asking me that particular question?” I inquired, glancing at him.

“Because Nefer, we care a lot about you.” He answered. I rolled my eyes and rolled onto my side, my fingers playing with the golden bands on his arm.

“I’m fine.” I replied “I’m just here to get the message across and that is it. I have done that and tomorrow I will leave.”

He hummed, rolling over to face me as my eyes started to droop. The adrenaline of the day wearing off and exhaustion creeping up on me. I fought against it, not wanting to sleep in enemy territory.

“Sleep Nefer... no harm shall befall you whilst I am here.”

I yawned, curling up to him and drifting off... away from Ezekiel, Dimitri... away from all the mess.

I woke up the next day, confused for a second as I took in my surroundings. This was not the Citadel, immediately reaching for my weapon and scanning the room for any sign of danger before everything came back to me.

Ezekiel

His plan

Dimitri

Talking to Xavier

Shit.

I glanced at the time, I had to get back. Grabbing my jacket from the chair, I made my way to the door. As much as I wanted to jump back to the Citadel immediately, I still wanted to say goodbye to Xavier.

I could hear the sound of ceramic mugs and the scent of coffee.

“Xavier...” I called out, making my way to the kitchen, trailing off as Heka turned around holding a cup of steaming coffee.

“Good morning Nefer, you looked so peaceful, it felt like a crime to wake you up so I let you sleep in for a bit. Coffee?” He offered.

“Uh... Good morning. Do you have a habit of making yourself at home in other people’s houses?” I asked, taking the mug from him and taking a sip, I sighed in contentment, he always knew how to make the best coffee.

“Of course not Nefer, I wouldn’t be caught dead making coffee in a stranger’s house.” He replied.

Really?

I parted my lips to remind him of the penthouse he had taken me to after the mission when footsteps had us stopping and turning to a confused looking Xavier. His eyes were not on me, but on the ancient being currently leaning against his counter, a steaming mug in his arms.

“Don’t worry, I made enough for you too. I am a considerate guest, after all.”

Xavier stood rooted in place, I could smell his anxiety, confusion, and fear. It reminded me of the first time I had seen Heka, and the first time I had felt his power directed at one of the fates.

“Y...You’re not a w...wolf.” Xavier stuttered. “What the hell are you?”

I parted my lip about to explain but Heka placed a hand on mine, stopping me. He finished off his coffee, keeping Xavier in suspense before pushing himself off the counter and walking over to Xavier whose wolf was obviously on edge from the way Xavier kept shifting from one foot to the other.

“You have protected my Nefer, shielded her from those who seek to harm her. Stood by her when everyone turned their backs against her even as you bore the trauma of the Venatore. For that, I am ever grateful and you will forever be in my good graces.” He uttered, stretching out his hand.

Xavier looked down at his hand before glancing at me, unsure if he should shake it, I gave him an encouraging smile and he looked back at Heka, taking a deep breath and shaking his hand.

“I am Heka... a good friend of Anaya’s and correct, I am not a werewolf... I am very different. Now come, the coffee is getting cold.”

Heka turned and made his way back to the coffee machine, flicking his hand over the machine much to Xavier’s shock.

I hid my grin behind my mug, catching Heka’s amused gaze before he tilted his head.

“Interesting.” He commented.

“What is?” I inquired.

“The Alpha is here.” He uttered, just before a knock on the door echoed into the kitchen.

“H.. how?” Xavier stammered. I chuckled at him as he shook his head.

“I’ll go answer the door.”

The moment he left, I turned to Heka.

“You are having way too much fun with this aren’t you?”

His eyes widened as he placed a hand on his chest.

“Me? Oh Nefer, I would never.”

Amusement dancing in his eyes, I rolled my eyes at him, finishing off my coffee, getting ready to bid Xavier goodbye before I left.

“Uh... Anaya?” Xavier said, coming back into the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“Dimitri wants to have a word with you.” He explained, his eyes on the floor.

“What does he want?” I inquired not in the mood to interact with him.

“I have no idea but he said it’s important and it’s about the drive.” He replied. I sighed and placed my mug on the counter before brushing past Xavier.

“Xavier said you wanted to see me?” I asked, walking into the living room. His eyes widened at the sight of me as if he couldn’t really believe I was there, and he nodded, clearing his voice.

“Y...yes. about the drive. I have gone through it and I called for a meeting with the Alphas under the territory and they requested that you be present.” He explained.

My eyebrows raised a bit.

Alphas... that was new.

“I don’t see any need for me to attend a meeting. I have done my part.” I replied.

“They have some questions that I feel would be better answered by you. I assure you it will not be an inquisition or anything of that sort.” He added. I glanced at him,

“Fine.”

“I’ll come with you.” Xavier blurted out, glancing at Dimitri.

“It’s fine, Xavier. I can take care of myself. Besides...” I looked over at Dimitri, squaring my shoulders, straightening my spine and cocking an eyebrow. “I am not the same girl I was 6 months ago.”

Dimitri looked down at his feet, swallowing hard. I looked back at Xavier and cupped his face.

“Once I am done, I’ll come over here to say goodbye.” I whispered. He nodded and I turned to Dimitri.

“Let’s go then.”

He led me out of Xavier’s house to a waiting car. We got in and Dimitri drove us to a large building close to the pack house. It looked like a fairly new building. Probably constructed after I had left. One of the guards opened the car door and I got out, Dimitri followed.

He opened the main door and we walked into a large foyer. There was another door across from us. He made his way to the door, glancing back at me before opening it and standing aside for me. I headed in, him following behind.

The room was big with large windows, a group of men and women were seated behind tables in a semicircle. An image from the flash was projected on a big screen.

I could feel their eyes on me as I came to a stop in front of them. I regarded each of them, realizing I had seen some of them during my time here.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Anaya. Anaya, these are the Alphas and Betas of the packs under my territory.” He explained.

“So this is her...” one of the men said, giving me an appraising look. I raised a brow at him.

“Yes, this is me. Are we going to have a problem today?” I inquired. He kept quiet, though the glare on his face spoke volumes.

“I was told you had questions for me regarding the information...”

“Do you not feel bad about the atrocities your family has committed?” Another asked, cutting me off. I parted my lips to talk when Dimitri let out a warning growl.

“I should choose my words very carefully, Alexander.”

“I will not apologize for what I had no hand in perpetuating so if you are waiting for an apology then you are in for a world of disappointment. Now, do any of you actually have a sensible question or shall I be on my way?”

“This information...do you have any idea when the attack will take place?” A woman asked, her voice kind, albeit wary.

“No, which is why this matter should be treated with urgency. Grand... Ezekiel could be planning the attack tomorrow, a week from now or even a year from now but what is imperative is that the warehouse be raided and the gas destroyed.” I explained.

“But then they would just produce more.” Another argued.

“Not when I had the entire research wiped from the Venatore server. The research information in the flash is the only one that remains.” I replied.

“Well in that case, we should send a small team to...”

“Do you actually believe this girl?! This is a trap! I am sure she was sent here to trick us. I say we get rid of her.” Another roared getting to his feet.

I walked over to the computer, disconnecting the drive and making my way over and slamming the flash on the table in front of him.

“While you’re on that, why don’t you destroy the drive too?” I suggested. He swallowed, nostrils flaring.

“Go on... smash it.”

I looked around the room

“Is there anyone else who would love to smash it? Be my guest, just know that the death and destruction that will follow will not be on the Venatore’s hands but yours because you are letting your anger and hatred blind you.”

My eyes met Dimitri’s as I said the last part before I looked back at the Alpha who suddenly looked unsure.

“I vouch for her, if she says there is a warehouse filled with this gas, then there is one.” Dimitri uttered, coming forward and picking up the drive.

“I will send some warriors to scout the place before we launch a full scale attack. Any contrary opinion?” He asked, glancing at the Alphas and Betas. No one said anything and he nodded.

“Alright then, let this meeting be adjourned.” With that they all stood and filed out leaving only Dimitri and I.

I turned to leave.

“Anaya...” He called out. I stopped, turning to him.

“Yes?”

He parted his lips before closing them back.

“I...Can we talk?”

“Regarding the information?”

“No...about u...”

“Then there is nothing for us to talk about.” I replied, walking out into the hallway. Xavier was there, waiting for me.

“Are you okay?” He asked, coming toward me.

“Yes, I am perfectly fine,” I replied, grinning at him. I brought out my phone.

“Can I have your number? That way if I hear any information, I can pass it to you.” I explained. He nodded and typed in his number. I could feel Dimitri’s eyes on me, I paid it no mind, trying to ignore the apparent pain in his eyes..

“There,” Xavier said, handing me my phone.

“Thanks, well I best be going. It was nice seeing you once more.” I hugged him before walking away, I could hear steps behind me so I bolted around the corner, imagined my room in the citadel and right before my follower was able to reach me I disappeared..

Appearing back in my room, I sighed in relief, glancing around. My room was as I left it, I headed to the bathroom, disposing of my clothes, making sure to dunk them in water to dispel the scent before I took a hot shower.

I got dressed and made my way out of my mother’s chambers to get breakfast before heading to the arena.

“Anaya?”

My body froze and I turned around to see Ezekiel staring at me, two Venatore soldiers behind him.

“Y...yes Grandpa?” I stuttered, my heart beating faster than that of a horse as a cold chill washed over me.

“A word if you please.”