CHAPTER 15

The pack lands were enveloped in an ethereal glow as the full moon lingered low in the sky. Bruce was standing on the balcony of his private apartment, staring off into the distance at the tree line, but his thoughts were elsewhere. The past week's revelations affected him profoundly, changing his perception of his partner and their relationship.

Amelia was a hybrid. Every time he thought about it, the idea still gave him a shock. A Wolf and a Vampire that is unaware of her true identity. Despite the seeming impossibility, Elijah's findings were definitely unquestionable.

Bruce closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift to the first time he would meet Amelia, feeling the cool night air caress his skin. Her strength, her compassion, and her unwavering gaze that seemed to see right through his carefully built walls had struck him right away. However, there was an additional element, that he was unable to precisely identify at that moment.

A connection. An unexplained attraction that overcame his initial hesitation to include a human in pack matters.

With a frown forming on his brow, Bruce opened his eyes. Could that have been the first sign, of that connection? Had his wolf realized what his human side was incapable of understanding?

His thoughts racing, he turned away from the balcony and paced the length of his room. One of the most revered and enigmatic parts of being a werewolf was the mate bond. It was said that no matter what the situation, true mates wolves would recognize each other right away.

However, Amelia had no active wolf. Whatever magic or ability her parents had employed to protect her had sealed her heritage away. Thus, how did the mate bond develop?

Bruce stopped by his bookshelf and ran his fingers along the spines of old books that had been handed down from pack leaders over the years. The combined knowledge of their forefathers had to hold the answers in this situation.

He took out a well-worn book on Hybrid mythology, took a seat, and turned the pages with deliberate focus. He spent hours reading through text after text, looking for references to unusual mate bonds or dormant Hybrid status.

Bruce's weary eyes fell on a passage that made his heart race as the first rays of dawn peeped through the windows:

Rarely, a mate bond can develop even in situations where one partner's wolf is repressed or dormant. Even though the spirit of the dormant wolf cannot fully emerge, the active wolf will sense the potential for the bond and be drawn to it. The unusually strong "half-bond" could act as a guide, bringing the dormant wolf back to its true self.

Bruce reclined, his thoughts spinning. A half-bond. He had been sensing that all along—the possibility of a complete mate bond, acknowledged by his wolf but kept from materializing because of Amelia's repressed nature.

It provided a ton of explanations. The way his wolf settled around her despite her seeming human appearance, the instant attraction, and the sense of righteousness he experienced in her company. His wolf was aware of Amelia's true nature and had been trying to inform him of it the entire time.

A flashback came to mind: the first time Amelia had gone to a pack run under a full moon. Along with the other humans, she had stayed behind to observe the pack's shift and run into the forest from the clearing's edge. However, upon their return, Bruce recalled experiencing an unexplainable impulse to approach her and include her in the group's post-run festivities.

He had initially attributed it to her efforts to fit in with the pack and his developing feelings for her. However, he was now wondering if it had been his wolf, trying to awaken her dormant side by reaching out to its hidden mate.

Bruce suddenly stood up, feeling the urge to move as his mind raced. He started to think of other examples, little incidents that at the time had seemed unimportant but now had new significance:

The way that Amelia always seemed to sense his presence even before he expressed it. Her extraordinary capacity to read the emotions of her pack and ease tensions before they worsened. She seemed to have an innate understanding of the pack hierarchy and customs, given how easily she had adjusted to them.

Then there were the outward manifestations. Amelia's ability to heal from minor injuries so quickly had always amazed Bruce. She would disappear overnight from paper cuts, and bruises would fade sooner than they should. He had always put it down to good genes, never letting himself think of anything else.

And her scent. Though he had always found it particularly attractive, he now understood that it was more than just attraction. Subtle but undeniable, there was a wildness about it that must have appealed to his wolf deep down.

"How on earth was I so blind?" Bruce muttered, frantically raking a hand through his hair.


But as he chastised himself, he had another thought. As a seasoned Alpha, how could he have missed the warning signs if Amelia had not seen them? To have concealed her Hybrid nature so well, even from herself, the magic that did so had to be extraordinarily potent.

Bruce felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him. Amelia had been disconnected from a core aspect of herself for her entire life, never realizing who she was. He felt intense sadness at the thought, but he was also driven with determination.

He would support Amelia every step of the way if and when they decided to tell her the truth. He would support her in reestablishing her connection with both her Wolf and Vampire state, though he wasn’t that equiped in helping her in her vampire stage but he was certain that he will help her get through the uncertainty and anxiety that would unavoidably accompany such a profound realization.