Hybrid Monsters

The betas combed the castle grounds and tore up the town all in search of Eight. Owen hadn’t heard from his nephew and he wasn’t looking forward to it because since he revealed his secret to me he believed it was time to reveal his darkest secret.
Dean believed it was a matter of time before Eight joined with the hybrids so this was officially a security threat. Since the betas come up with nothing Dean and I joined the search. I opted not to be in his group because he would always have his eyes over his shoulder on me. I joined Gabe’s group.
We walked through the forest. The air was a mixture of different animal scents it was hard to pick out which one belonged to a hybrid.
Gabe pointed paths for the betas to go through. One by one the group thinned until there were four of us left.
I stopped allowing the group to proceed.
“Blood,” I said.
I recoiled. Animal blood.
“Layla,” Gabe said.
I paused and turned around. The other betas continued their walk.
“I smell blood,” I said.
Gabe’s nose wrinkled. “You can’t wander off on your own.”
I placed my hand on my hip. “Technically, I’m an Alpha too I can take care of myself.”
Gabe snickered. “Do you know what my Alpha King brother would do to me if I brought you back with a scratch?”
I sighed. “Fine come on.”
Gabe walked by my side, listening and smelling for entries of foreign scent.
“We didn’t talk about your little outburst at the dinner party.”
I laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t call it an outburst.”
“Did Dean tell you? I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“No Gabe. I saw how you looked at her and she asked about you. There was something in her tone that made me suspicious.”
Gabe tossed his head back and groaned.
“You don’t mind that she’s an omega, right? She’s a great girl.”
“Of course it matters,” he snapped.
“It shouldn’t!”
“Being an omega makes her vulnerable. I’m a man with enemies and when they find out my mate’s an omega they grab the opportunity to hurt me. How could I live with myself knowing I caused her death?”
“Is that really all, Gabe?” I stopped and narrowed my eyes at him.
He groaned and continued walking. “Doesn’t matter… Avery rejected me. She ran off after the mating moon.”
My heart shattered into pieces.
“But I didn’t accept her rejection. There might be hope. Hurry up the source of blood is close.”
The smell of blood intensified and then the flies appeared. I ground to a halt with the carcass several feet away.
“Shit,” Gabe said.
“Do you think this is unrelated?”
Gabe shook his head. “I don’t know, Little Wolf. I don’t like it.”
A horse laugh snatched our attention. Killian lingered behind us, a maniac smirk on his face.
“Splitting up wasn’t a good idea, Gabe. You know hybrids are much stronger than your little pups.”
“Get behind me,” Gabe ordered.
“Are you kidding he’s a freaking hybrid.”
Killian through his head back and laughed. The scent of wet dogs rapidly filled the air. Hybrids and they were all around us. Gabe’s group wasn’t the only one in the woods. I swallowed.
“Where’s Eight?” I demanded.
“Evans? Good guy. I’m the one who told him Dean killed his brother. He was more than willing to help us then. He’s the one who planted the glass outside the pool. Testing a theory apparently.”
Gabe glanced at me for a second.
I swallowed. Killian continued.
“Hybrids are coming we should go,” I said before he uttered something about Dean’s curse.
“Don’t want brother Gabe to know Dean’s cursed? Cursed to turn into a beast, stronger than any hybrid before he dies?”
“What?” Gabe blasted.
The joke’s on him because Dean isn’t cursed anymore. But we didn’t have time for bursting bubbles.
Gabe grabbed me around the waist as a fleet of hybrids raced towards us. He lifted me off the ground and hurled me past Killian.
“Go! Now!” He barked.
Killian shifted into a standing beast with razor claws and a face full of fur. His transformation held the hybrid wolves back. Gabe looked like a mouse compared to the eight-foot beast bearing his fangs before him.
He would be ripped apart if I didn’t act. I picked myself up and broke into a sprint. I didn’t anticipate the beast to turn. I slapped into his hairy frame. My wolf kicked into survival mode. My claws came out and slammed into the wolf’s leathery chest.
I gasped. I felt a heart, beat once before dying out. Killian shifted back to human form. Blood poured out of his mouth as he staggered backwards, holding his chest where my claws penetrated.
“You— your venom.” Killian coughed up more blood.
“Let’s go,” Gabe demanded.
“I killed him.”
“It was in self-defence.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get it. They’re going to come for us.”
The hybrids turned around, leaving Killian on the forest ground as they retreated to form an army.
“Which is why we should go now.”
***
“Where the hell are they!” Dean demanded.
“Relax, they’re probably on their way back,” Lyle said.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Dean blasted.
Gabe and me made it back to the castle as the other groups did too. Men were being carried on shoulders and backs. It was only a matter of time before the hybrids surrounded the castle again.
“Dean,” I said.
He wrapped me in his arms. “Little Wolf. I nearly lost my head.”
“Killian’s dead,” I said.
I felt him swallow. “It could be worse. Get inside, we’re securing the castle.”
“What about the pack?” I asked.
“If the castle falls there won’t be a pack.”
He ushered me inside as he continued to bark orders. I found Ginger and Sam in the foyer. Sam paced. He had his thinking face on.
“Forget what I ever said about wanting to be in the Alpha’s court. I don’t even want to be in the army!” Ginger exclaimed.
“Right now we have to help, Ginger,” Sam said.
“How? You should have seen the monster Killian turned into! If it weren’t for my venom Gabe and I would be cooked.”
Sam snapped his head up. “Would you be open to extracting your venom?”
That sounded painful.
“We’ve done it before in class. We’ll dip arrows in your blood and we’re set.”
“Okay let’s go.”
We rushed to the kitchen because that was the best we could do. Sam peeled open the double doors. He rummaged for a cup and a knife in the drawer.
“Shouldn’t we tell someone about this?” Ginger asked.
I was about to echo the same thoughts when the foreign glow entered the kitchen through the window.
“Sam get away from there!” I screamed.
A flaming rock crashed through the kitchen window, shattering glass and spreading fire to every corner. I flew outside the kitchen as the room went up in flames.