My Hybrid Mate

Chapter 3: Like Confetti

I burst out laughing at his confused and horrified expression. Eventually, he starts laughing with me, although I know he still doesn’t really understand.

I heard a growl and laughed even harder. Why did he growl? I don’t know, but it’s funny that it winds him up this much.

“What?” I ask, wondering why he sounded so angered all of a sudden.

“What?” he replies, apparently confused as well. I cross my legs on the bed and shake my head at him. I’m pretty weird too, so I’m not going to push him to explain his idiocy.

There was another growl. But this time I understand it wasn’t Alex in the first place. A pair of hands appear above his head, and I contain a gasp as they move towards his neck. I know immediately who it is; the only thing I can think it would be. There’s only one of them that I know. There’s only one wizard I know.

“Alex.” I call softly, as if speaking too loud might cause the hands to kill Alex. “I’m kind of hungry. Go to the kitchen and get some snacks?”

“Ugh.” He answers, throwing his head back and nearly knocking into one of the hands. “Can’t you get them?”

“I just woke up, Lex. Just do it.” I say the last three words with more urgency than intended when the fingers grow claws. Giving me a funny look, he stands and leaves the room for the kitchen all the same.

Wasting no time, I move back against the wall in shock and anger. The claws retract into the hands and slowly, Everest’s body comes into view. With his face still hidden, he takes a seat where Alex was previously sitting and folds his hands together in his lap calmly, crossing his right leg over his left one like he’s lived here all his life.

We sat in silence for a minute, me just taking in his frame on the chair.

I realise he’s probably checking me out with his invisible eyes as I am him, and a blush immediately creeps up my neck at the thought.

“Get rid of him.” Everest states eventually, his cold, hard face finally coming into view. At first, I don’t really take in what he’s saying, but when it processes in my brain, I feel the flush of embarrassment quickly turn into anger.

“What was that?” I say, instead of complying. First he tries to kill my best friend, then he tries to tell me he can’t stay over to hang out for a bit. Yet he thinks I’m going to listen to him? No, dude. Not happening. “You can’t expect me to.. What the f**k are you even doing here?” I practically shout at the end, standing from my seat on the bed and no longer cowering in the corner. Everest has the nerve to chuckle.

“I’ll just kill him if you don’t tell him to get out of your house. Simple as f**k, Avery.” He rivals, moving his eyes across the room. Judging me. I don’t exactly have a choice whether or not to tell Alex to leave. I have no doubt in my mind that my so-called ‘mate’ would take a knife to my throat if it meant he gained something, let alone my best friend, whom he has no connection with anyway.

The door handle moves and I look from it back to where Everest should be, but he’s gone. Just like earlier when I met him, he’s gone.

Taking a deep breath, I turn to Alex, who is standing at the door looking at me funny with a bowl of crisps in his hand and a bag of marshmallows in the other.

“I, uh, just spoke to my dad. He said we’re, um, going out today to see my Gran in... in hospital.” I lie horribly, stuttering the whole time. My hands fidget with the duvet on the bed I’m standing next to and I stare at the floor.

“So you, uh, need to leave.” I add, my voice faltering at the end. I feel terrible doing this to Alex. Since we were babies we’ve been close, and I’ve never turned him away in a time of need. Especially with everything going on with him at the moment. But I need to protect him from the monstrosity that is Everest.

“Oh.” He pauses to walk over and dump the snacks on the table. “What happened to your Gran? Is she going to be alright?” he asks, concern clear in his words.

“Stroke!” I yell after a minute of thinking. My Gran is only fifty, since it's normal for Weres to have children early. You can get strokes at whatever age, right? I mean she never smoked, so it can’t be anything to do with her lungs. Cancer could be a genetic thing, and knowing Alex, he would go right ahead and find out if I would get it somehow. He’s good with stuff like that – the science crap I paid no attention to at school. Why didn’t I just say it was food poisoning or something? He might feel bad and offer to come with me or something. But then why would my entire family be going to visit-

I’m overthinking this way too much. Shut up, Avery.

I don’t think I’ve ever properly lied to Alex in my life, and I don’t want to start now, but I have no choice.

“Oh. Well I hope she gets better soon, Ave.” He walks over to his jacket on the chair, not even looking at me as he picks it up. With his back still turned, he pauses. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You don’t seem surprised she’s in the hospital. Why didn’t you tell me?”

For God’s sake, why does he know me so freaking well?

“I-it’s a lot to take in. She never showed any signs. I’m trying to be strong for mum.” The ticking of the clock seems to get louder somehow. He needs to leave. Before Everest does something. “You should go now.” I encourage, placing a hand on his back and pushing him towards the window. A frown creases my best friend's forehead as he lowers himself down the drainpipe.

“You trust me, right Ave? You know you can tell me anything, yeah?” he says softly, tugging on the side of his lip with his teeth. I swallow, placing my hands on the top of the window.

“Yeah.” I nod. Of course, I know I can trust him. But I can’t tell him about this just yet. It’s for his safety. He’ll be better for it.

“Okay, well I hope your Gran gets better.” He smiles sadly, jumping the rest of the way to the ground outside and stalking off into the woods. He’s going to stake out the argument in the woods because his best friend won’t let him read a book at her place instead.

My heart breaks. Just a little. Maybe I’m too soft.

“Goddess, I thought he would never leave.” His husky voice rings through my ears and I turn to find Everest lying on the bed, slowly tearing out the pages of Sophie’s picture book from earlier. I swallow and watch him as he throws the ruins around like confetti.

“Why are you here?” I ask, boldly and loudly. He chuckles and rips a picture of a smiling sunflower in half.

“I just couldn’t wait to see you!” he says sarcastically. “That little exchange was hilarious, by the way. You care for that boy, huh?” sighing, I decide to forget about the earlier comment and just sit down on the desk chair.

“Yes, yes I do. What are you really doing here?”

“Do I need a reason to come and see my mate?” he replies, slowly tearing another part of the picture book to pieces.

“When she hates you, yes you do need a reason.” I say tightly, trying not to reach over and strangle him for making a mess on the floor.

“You don’t hate me. You don’t even know me.” Everest retorts, his voice low and husky. My wolf almost purrs. Almost, but not quite.

“You’re a cold-hearted beast. What else is there to know?” leaning back in the chair, Alex’s scent is still lingering in the air.

“Well, you just offended my entire kind.”

“What, are there like two of you?”

“Ouch.” He feigns being hurt, sitting up on the bed and placing his hand where his heart would be. “That one hurt, princess.” I smirk and reach for the bag of marshmallows Alex left, guilt still clouding the corners of my vision.

“So you’re a hybrid?” Everest seems surprised by my question. He starts fiddling with his jeans and leans against the wall next to my bed, thinking over his answer. I eat a marshmallow, taking a sip of water as I go. Waiting.

“Yeah.”

“Werewolf cross wizard?” I push, trying to start a conversation. Okay, so he’s not ideal, but I can’t reject him, and he won’t reject me, so I might as well try and get along with him? It makes sense to try, I guess. If he pushes me away, then so be it. I’ll just work it out as I go along.

“Yep.” He replies awkwardly. I watch his movements closely, utterly confused by his obvious nervousness. What is this guy thinking? He’s confused because of what he is? By the question?

“Your parents weren’t mates then?” I question further. His head snaps up and his eyes meet mine, darker. He’s angry.

“No. What’s with all the questioning? This wasn’t an interrogation last time I heard.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you come here for a reason? You can’t just swan around leaving mysteriously whenever you want, make the people I love leave and not expect me to have questions! Newsflash, this whole mate thing actually means quite a lot to werewolves. As in, it’s a necessity for us, like magic to you. It’s hurting me inside that you’re acting this way.”

“I’m glad I affect you like that.” He replies simply, back to the cocky body language of earlier. Staring at him in disbelief, I start to realise that maybe I’m wrong. There’s no way a relationship between a werewolf and a wizard could ever work.

Everest’s POV:

I try to swallow the need to walk over and hug her when she speaks those words. The idea of my Avery getting hurt has me feeling on edge, and my wolf too. Granted, he’s never actually spoken to me, but magic is better than a wolf in my opinion. I can do whatever I want whenever I want with magic. What is a wolf? Just a random voice in your head who permanently wants you attached to the hip of another being. No, magic is better than a wolf.

Although I don’t have a voice in my head or the power to fully shift, I do have the basics, like enhanced hearing and vision, canines and claws, speed and, oh yeah, a stupid f*****g mate bond with a girl I don’t like.

Slight lies, but we don’t talk about that.

“I’m glad I affect you like that.” I throw in a smirk for good measure and it seems to have the right impact because I swear I see her flinch in anger, her eyes turning one shade darker brown than they usually are. I take a deep breath trying again to fight the wolf side of me from walking over and embracing her. Instead, I pick up a piece of the picture book I ripped up and scrunch it into a ball. Gah, I f*****g hate yellow.

“Can you just go?” my mate bites out through gritted teeth. I raise an eyebrow. She can’t tell me s**t to do.

“No.” I chuckle. In reply, she stands from the chair, tiny fists clenched at her sides. At this moment, she’s wearing dark skinny jeans, massive fluffy socks and an oversized boyfriend shirt with the buttons undone to reveal a tank top underneath.

The wolf side of me wants to claim her. Bite her. Mate with her.

Accept her.

I walk closer to the little werewolf slowly, feeling my eyes turn darker. She’s so gorgeous. I don’t deserve that.

You can’t let another being tie you down, Everest! What are you? A pathetic werewolf, or a powerful wizard. You have the power to world domination, and you're fussing over this little… piece of s**t.

Ah, I don’t care.

Avery doesn’t even flinch or break eye contact. We’re so close now, I can brush my fingers over her cheek, and I do, smiling when she closes her eyes in contentment. I move my fingers behind her neck and under her dark, wavy hair, pulling her face closer to mine.

Oh God, she smells so f*****g good. Lavender and grass.

I brush my lips over hers for a second before I realise what I’m doing. No. I can’t do this. I can’t break like that. I can’t knock down those walls.

I click my fingers and picture a bar in Australia. It’s not only just gone twelve in the afternoon there, so it will be more acceptable to drink everything away than it would be back home.

And just like that, the door to a shabby looking bar appears in front of me, an advertisement for strippers taped to the window. Eh, it’ll do.