Sold to a Hybrid Prince

Chapter 14

ALLISTER 

I woke up to Xyla's soft whimpers. She was on the couch as usual, sniffling quietly. I rubbed my eyes, and glanced at the clock, realizing it was late. 

"Xyla," I called out, and immediately heard the sharp inhale of breath. She was awake? Then why was she crying? “You’re up?” I asked, sitting up.

“Yes, I… sorry for waking you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. It wasn’t hard for me to notice that she was shaking.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, scooting near the couch.

She sniffed again, not answering my question. Well, she was getting comfortable here. But why was she upset then? Was it… oh, I freaked her out by being rude.

“Xyla,” I climbed out of bed and walked up to her, kneeling down behind her. I gently tapped her arm, making her gasp and quickly turn to face me. I hadn’t realized how close I was to her until she looked at me, and our noses lightly brushed. Her pretty, teary eyes seemed to widen further, as I quickly leaned away. “Why are you crying?” I asked, trying not to think of the weird sensation on my face. 

“I–I, uh, I was um…” she stuttered, looking anywhere but at me. She was clearly out of it. Her body was shuddering even as she had the blanket tightly clutched to her chest.

“Okay, relax. Sit up,” I said, hoping to somehow make her feel better. Oddly enough, I really didn’t like the way she was crying and frightened. It just didn’t suit her.

She obliged to my command, and I took a seat beside her, glad to see that she did not tense up. I slowly put my arm around her, and pulled her closer, so her side was pressed up against mine. She froze for a second, stiffening. I used my free hand to gently cup her face, and leaned it against my chest, the way my mother used to do to me when I was young. When the full moons would draw closer, I’d be agitated very often, and it was hard to fall asleep. Being close to my mother and listening to her heart beat really calmed me down. Now I wasn’t her mother, but I definitely treated her better than the one who was. I wasn’t going to sell her off to some jerk who’d hurt her.

“Allister?” she whispered softly.

“Hmm?”

“What… what are you doing?”

Heat rose to my cheeks. Okay, she made it embarrassing.

“Trying to calm you down,” I stated, my jaw clenching.

I felt her nod against my chest. “I know, but… your heart is beating really fast.”

Oh Lord.

“That’s how it stays,” I lied. What else was I supposed to say? I had no idea why this was happening either.

“Oh.” She didn’t sound very convinced. 

Okay I had to change the subject. 

“So what woke you?”

She tensed up against me. I leaned my chin on her head, intertwining the fingers of my hands near her waist.

“I had a bad dream,” she said softly. I heard her heart beat pick up.

“You wanna talk about it?” I offered, even as a loud yawn left my lips.

“Uh… It was an old memory. A bad one.”

“About the pet shop?” I pushed. I didn’t wanna pressurize her, and I wouldn’t have, but this habit of hers affected me. I couldn’t keep waking up so often to reassure her and comfort her. We needed to find a solution, and for that, I really needed to know what the problem was.

“No,” she whispered. “Before that.”

“With your mother?” I frowned.

“After that.”

Okay, what? I pulled away to look down at her.

“What do you mean, Xyla? Didn’t you say you were sold to the pet shop?”

She sniffed again, keeping her gaze on my lap. “I was.”

I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but then stopped when I heard her heart race further. Never mind. If this was hurting her so much, then I wasn’t going to force her to talk about it. I gently rubbed her arm, preparing to tell her to go back to sleep, but then she continued.

“My mother sold me to a lycan.” The words were soft, barely a whisper, one even I would’ve missed if I weren’t paying so much attention. She took a deep breath, then released one trembling like her body. I felt the urge to tighten my hold on her, but I didn’t want to freak her out. “He… kept me for a few days, uh, a week I think.” Her voice was quivering, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell she was crying again. “He sold me to Hedger after that. I relived one of those days in my dream.”

Now, I tightened my hold on her, my jaw clenching on its own. “I’m sorry,” I said softly, feeling a weird anger course through me. How could someone dare to hurt what’s mine? I had to remind myself that he had hurt her before she was bought for me. “You… you know that I wouldn’t hurt you in any way, right?” I didn’t know if I was reassuring her, or myself. In all honesty, with the full moon so close, I didn’t completely trust myself either.

“I do,” she whispered after a short silence. “I’m really counting on it.”

“I’m not… I’m not as cruel as they make me seem,” I said softly, even though saying it out loud felt incredibly stupid. “I don’t like hurting humans. It’s not their fault they’re not designed like us, that they’re inferior, that they’re not as strong or fast. I want to be better than my father. I–” I stopped myself. What the hell was I doing? Why was I being vulnerable? I had had her for so little time, and I was saying all those things, presenting my weaknesses to her. Maybe my father was right. Maybe I was stupid.

“You’re not cruel, Allister,” her soft, reassuring voice spread a strange warmth in my chest. She looked up at me, her blue and brown eyes still glassy, but at least she wasn’t full on crying now. “You were just born in a shitty world. Like all of us. And what made it worse was the way you were probably raised. You were always taught to treat us like s**t, because why not?”

My eyes narrowed slightly, as I focused on her words. Maybe she was right. At least she didn’t think I was cruel. And why would she? I was so nice to her.

“You wanna go back to sleep?” I asked. “If you’re feeling better?”

She nodded.

“Sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” I nodded. I reluctantly let go of her, immediately missing the warmth of her body as I stood up from the couch. “Don’t worry about waking me up. It’s okay. It’s not like I have a big, bad master to serve in the morning.”

Her lips curled into a smile, and she wiped her tears away. Wow, why did that feel so nice?

“Thank you, Allister,” she said.

“You’re welcome, my little pet.” I tapped her head twice for added effect, and she let out a small laugh. 

I chuckled too, before returning to the bed and lying down, feeling warm after a very long time.

- - - - 

XYLA

That morning I woke up oddly rested, despite having a nightmare and crying in the middle of the night. The way Allister had comforted and reassured me was something I had not expected at all, but apparently, this Prince was full of surprises. His words were the first thing I remembered as soon as I sat up, the vulnerability in his tone, the sincerity in his eyes. 'I'm not as cruel as they make me seem.' I believed him. After all, I had experienced it. 

Before being sold to the wretched pet shop, I had been bought by a lycan, who was exactly the opposite of Allister. He had picked me up from my home, in spite of my screams, cries and pleads, as my mother stood by and watched with a stoic look on her face. A part of me hadn't been able to believe it, that my own mother would just give me away for money, but another part of me had always known it deep down--nothing was as important to her as materialistic belongings and riches. Now that I thought about it, she had always been preparing me for it, constantly telling me how beautiful my body was, and how it could save us both. She would brush my hair, and tell me about the importance of physical appearance, how it could prove to be an immensely strong weapon for women. 

It didn't prove to be one for me. 

The lycan bought me for it when I was barely fifteen, and for days, he kept me shackled to his bed, using my body as he pleased. The most painful night was the last one I spent with him, when he dragged his claws over my back and left me a physical scar as a reminder to all the mental ones. And then he sold me off to the only pet shop willing to take a wounded human on the brink of death, for a total of twenty five dollars. 

"Morning," Allister yawned, turning on his side to face me. The light that scattered in through the window gently accentuated his face, adding a pretty glow to his golden eyes. 

"Good morning," I replied, offering him a small smile. It was odd, being greeted by a Superior, and willingly returning it, especially with a genuine smile. 

"Were you able to sleep then?" he asked, yawning. 

"I was. Thank you."

He hummed in response, rolling on his back once more, before he finally sat up. 

"What about you?" I asked, feeling guilty for disturbing his sleep. If it were anyone else, I would have been shuddering from pain right now. Or maybe, dead. 

"Better than you'd think." He kicked off the blanket from his feet and scooted out of bed, running a hand through his dark, messy waves of hair. "Have you showered yet?" 

"I haven't."

"Okay, then you can do it later. I'm going first."

"Alright."

I watched him disappear into the bathroom, and then stood up, pushing my hair away from my face. I walked over to his bed and decided to make it, as a way of thanking him for what he did for me last night. Normally the servants and maids would come in and take care of it, but there wasn't much else I could do for Allister. And I really didn't want to offer him my blood and make it into a 'thing'. I heard the shower run, and quickly made the bed, frowning at the coolness of the covers. How did he even keep warm under these? 

Maybe… Maybe I could give him… 

Never mind. 

There was a knock on the door just as I finished making the bed. I tucked my hair behind my ears and walked to the door, hoping the maids wouldn't make the bed all over again. But the second I opened it, my breath caught in my throat. 

It wasn't the maids. 

It was Hela. His sister. 

"Hey there, Pet-ty," she grinned, showing off her fangs. 

- - - - - -

Ah I smell trouble.

Stay tuned, loves!