Chapter 21: Hybrid

Lexi

We walked home without a word spoken. Cindy seemed to be asleep in Beta's arms, a troubled expression on her face. Beta and Matthews walked shamefacedly, hanging their heads in mortification. But I, letting my Wolf control my body, retreated into the deepest cranny of my being and hid. I looked like I was walking briskly without emotion, but my spirit was actually in turmoil.

I did not notice when we crossed the border into our own lands. I just kept walking, looking neither to the left nor right. Then, I felt a powerful aura getting close; it was my father.

I stopped in my tracks, momentarily locked and confused about how I felt about this.

I found myself surprisingly eager to see him, and at the same time livid.

Before I could make up my mind, my father's enormous wolf crashed into the clearing, sleek dark fur glistening. And he was staring straight at me.

Beta and Matthews bared their necks, but he paid them no attention. His eyes watched me, and then he linked me.

"Lexi?"

My lip quivered. For the first time in a long time, he had called me Lexi. He had acknowledged me as his daughter. For once, he was Father, not Alpha. Even in front of other pack members.

I crouched down and he came, letting me bury myself in his soft, shaggy coat and sob. Although I was the one with my arms around his neck, somehow I felt like I was in his embrace, not he in mine. He licked my face affectionately.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded and staggered back up, wiping my tears. He looked at me, and in his lupine eyes I saw an apology, which I wholeheartedly accepted. And pride. Great pride.

"Time to go home," he linked. The wolf turned to Beta and seemed to notice his burden for the first time.

"Lexi, shift and run home. Your mom is waiting. I will deal with them."

I didn't even bother trying to resist his Alpha command.

As I ran home, I felt an odd sense of fullness. I was happy, happier than I had ever been when I knew that I had not a father, but an alpha. And yes, he had sent me into a dangerous position, but had repented all the same, and was proud of me. I did a wolfie grin.

My exhilaration gave wings to my paws, and even my witch helped boost my speed. As a result, I reached the pack house in under a minute.

***

Lucinda

"I love you, my dearest," she whispered. "Always. And I will be looking for you, all the rest of my life. If you never see me again, just remember that I love you, and that it's not your fault. And that you were destined for greatness. Hush! Hush, my child. Now go. Do not forget me, for I shall find you yet."

***

I woke up, disoriented. A brief look about assured me that I was in my room at the pack house, on my bed. I had been laid on my stomach, and I wondered why. That is, until I tried to move.

My legs were numb. Peered at them to discover the thick bandages that had been wrapped around them.

I groaned, recalling what had happened.

I had been whipped with silver. Damn that stuff hurt. I had taken Lexi's identity so she would not get hurt.

Lexi! squealed my wolf excitedly.

Oh yes. Lexi also had these amazing powers. I remembered the mini canyon she had torn into the ground to kill our attackers.

Before I could get on with my thoughts, the door opened. Lexi herself stepped in, with a solemn face. I opened my mouth.

"Cindy," she said in a firm tone that made me shut it again, "I have come here... to thank you."

"That's alright," I said.

"Don't interrupt," she chided. "I didn't think you could ever do such a thing for me. In fact, you don't know—" she chewed her lip as if deciding what to say— "how much I distrusted you before. But to see how far you could go for me, it... quite melts my heart. And I am so sorry. If I had known... If I had trusted you..."

I sighed. "It wasn't your fault, Lexi," I said.

"But I could have prevented it," she whispered, like she was arguing with herself.

"By going and getting lashed yourself?" I snapped.

She looked up at me, her eyes showing a sadness that bordered on pity. "Ye-es?" she faltered uncertainty.

"And how do you think that would have made me feel?"

Lexi stood there before me. "Cindy— I've been meaning to ask— why— why did you do that for me? You knew something bad would happen to she who said she was Alpha's daughter. And you could have stayed clean out of it. So then why did you do it?"

I took a deep breath and told her the truth.

"Because I love you, Lexi."

She gaped at me.

"You're the one who got me a place in this pack. You liked me, even when your dad didn't. You helped me and were there when I needed you to be. But most importantly, you're my best friend, who I vowed to protect. That's why, when I knew you would be hurt if you said you were Alpha's daughter, I claimed to be you."

Her eyes dropped with horror and shame.

I took her hand and squeezed it. "And even if you didn't trust me, you saved me when you found me in the woods. You accepted me. You taught me how things worked here. You took risks with me. You loved me. When you had no reason to."

She sniffed.

"Now let's refrain from talking about it, shall we?" I offered.

"Your legs will hurt all day today and tomorrow," she stated. "Wounds caused by silver take longer to heal."

"Can't you heal it?" I suggested.

She gave me a puzzled look.

"You know, since you have those really cool witch powers?"

Lexi chuckled quietly, sheepishly scratching the back of her head.

"Uh, well no. I can't heal others. But your wounds are already healed to the best possible degree."

"You don't mean that someone else healed my legs?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes. Mom."

My mouth dropped open. Luna? She was a witch, too? "Alexandra Melody Payton, sit down at once and tell me what you mean," I ordered.

She smiled softly and sat on my bed. "It's all a big secret, you know. Only the Alpha family and the Beta male and female, as well as Jayden, know. So you gotta promise to keep it."

I nodded.

"My mother is a witch. Since she and my dad were mates, my dad did something, I don't know what exactly, since he never told us, and somehow got the werewolf scent on her. Then they hid her witch scent. When two different races are mates, usually the child takes after the father. When Tyler was born, the usual happened. He became purely a wolf. But when I was born, I was a half witch, half wolf. A hybrid, if you will. Since wolves are naturally dominant creatures, I can mostly feel my wolf, and I smell like a wolf. But my witch is really powerful too, and she's extremely difficult to control. She's an elemental witch, meaning she can manipulate the elements. (You saw me manipulate earth.) She usually only acts up when I am going through a phase of strong emotions. Especially if they are bad emotions, like heartbreak, sorrow, fear, shame, or rage."

"Does she have a name?" I interrupted.

"No, or at least none that I know of. She doesn't speak to me like a wolf. Anyway, she lives somewhere deep inside and ventures out only a few times when I'm feeling terrible, to be reckless and aggressive. Maybe it's to protect me, who knows. I can push her back most of the time, but sometimes I just let her out, like back there. And sometimes, when we were still young, I used to be unable to control her, and Mom had to calm me down as fast as she could to keep our secret. But now everything's fine. I'm learning how to be able to summon her."

I listened, intrigued. "Why does it have to be a secret?"

"Oh, it has to be. You see, you can never tell what the pack will say to having a witch for a Luna. I don't think they would hurt me, but they'd definitely strip Mom of her leadership. And that would mean Dad would lose his title too, since he would definitely stick with Mom, and then Tyler would lose his claim, and the other wolves would start fighting for the title, and there you have it, a civil war."

"Wow," I whispered in awe.

After a minute of thinking it over, I grinned.

"So my pack has a half witch, half wolf in their bag of tricks. Seriously, landing here must have been my lucky stars."

*Alpha's wolf*