A Hybrid's Destiny

Chapter 4

As Tate applied salt to his basket of fries, he looked at the twins who sat across from him. “So I invited someone to join us here at the restaurant. Just to give you a heads up.” After shoving a fry in his mouth, he added, “A girl I met while we were at the archives.”

Sébastien scoffed, “Really, Tate? You’ve invited a bootie call to lunch?"

“She’s not a bootie call,” he said, then looked to the side, eyebrow raised as the memory of her heart-shaped ass snug in those tight leggings… “Well, maybe she was a bootie call at first,” he chuckled but was quick to stifle it when he noticed their shared expressions of disgust shooting daggers his way. He held up his hands, “But then we got to talking after I helped her with her books, and—”

Sébastien rolled his eyes, “—let me finish for you. You discovered there’s a real person with feelings attached to her—”

Aron cut in, “—Tate, what are you thinking? We’re basically conducting a business meeting here while we eat and we talk about everything. We can’t just have random girls you help in a library come popping in for coffee.”

Tate growled, but was quick to temper it when he realized he was getting mad at him for calling Jaelyn a random girl, his beast obviously still burning hot for the witch. s**t, he needed to itch that scratch before it got out of hand. Aron caught the threatening cue, his head tilting at the hybrid, a curious look spreading across his face no doubt wondering what had caused his mini-rage. There was no way in hell he would tell these guys about Jaelyn being his mate. They’d rib him like no other and never let him live it down.

Besides, why do they need to know it? He was planning to bail on this mate-bond, set him and her free of it. She did, after all, tell him she’s not interested in him. Usually, if he wanted a piece, he would pursue her until he had her under silk sheets, screaming his name. But he couldn’t do that with Jaelyn. Because of the mate-bond, strings would definitely start to attach. Breaking it off now is just the best thing he could do for her, anyway, with the probability of him not surviving this end of day’s bullshit.

Clearing his throat, as if that would cloud his outburst, Tate continued, “As I am trying to explain, she’s not just popping in for coffee. This girl, Jaelyn,” he said pointedly, “is also tracking down a demon. Our demon.” He made a face. “Well, kinda our demon.”

Sébastien eyed him curiously as he chewed on his hamburger. “What do you mean kinda our demon? How is it kinda our demon? Are you referring to the Dèanadair?”

“Kinda?” Tate made a face. “It seems the guy we thought was the Dèanadair isn’t actually the Dèanadair.” He popped another fry in his mouth and ate it quickly, seeing that they were waiting. “It’s some demon who works under the Dèanadair named Jonnach.” Tate then added, “I guess our Dèanadair guy is trapped in the Underworld as some sort of purgatory, so it couldn’t have been him.”

“The Bringer of Darkness is trapped?” Sébastien sipped at his water.

Aron’s eyes narrowed and then widened before he dropped his half-eaten burger on the plate. “Jonnach was sent by the Dèanadair to get the nal jealot because he couldn’t come and get it himself. And this specific magical weapon can open and close realm gateways.”

Tate piped in, “So he plans to use it to bust himself outta purgatory and is destined to bring the end of days when he does so.” Tate’s jaw clenched, “This prophecy is in full swing. I haven’t stopped s**t yet.”

“But it hasn’t happened yet.” Sébastien encouraged. “So, there’s still our continued hope that the demon doesn’t have the nal jealot yet, or maybe doesn’t have Nevaeh to activate it. So this party isn’t over yet.”

“Yeah, I know. And it’s all the more reason we need to get our asses down there and bust her and Lev out,” Tate nodded. His phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket, reading the text. It was from Jaelyn. She and her brother were on their way. Just as his heart picked up pace at the thought of seeing her again, he grit his teeth and tried to grind that feeling into pulp. Annoyed at himself, he dropped his phone onto the table probably with a bit more angst than he initially wanted. The twins looked at that whole scene curiously, but Tate ignored that and continued, “So, our end game is we need to get it before it’s too late. But that’s our problem, right? Access denied,” he huffed.

Aron said, “Actually, Bastien and I found something in the archives. It was a message left by the Order of the Sabaton about an opened gateway--”

When Tate’s phone buzzed again, Aron paused and waited for him to address it. Even though he attempted to ignore siren's call and tell Aron to continue, his hands betrayed him as he picked up. It was Jaelyn again, her message was just a typical closing statement of Ok, see you soon. But why did he read those four words three times, and why did his heart skip a beat. When he noticed the twins looking at him, and then his phone, he cleared his throat, reporting. “It’s Jaelyn. She and her brother are nearly here.” Rushing to change the subject, “So, what did the Knights have to say about an opened gateway?”

“It seems the knights wanted to make sure there was still a way in to the Underworld if the s**t ever hit the fan,” Aron’s jaw ticked, his eyes glancing at Tate’s phone before flicking back to him. “I don’t think we should have an open discussion about this with your girlfriend here. We know nothing about her.” Truth was, Aron was right. But his stomach boiled that the Lycan was putting Jaelyn in some sort of clandestine light.

Tate’s scowl challenged Aron's. “Like I said, she knows stuff. She can actually help us brainstorm and s**t, and if we actually get down there, she could help our asses not get killed.”

“Ok, fair,” Sébastien said, “But I’m interested in why your girlfriend is looking into Jonnach, initially. Is she trying to stop the Dèanadair too? How does she figure in?”

“f**k, stop saying she’s my girlfriend. She’s not my girlfriend,” Tate rolled his eyes. The twins looked unconvinced. “I know we’ve only known each other a month, but you should totally get it by now that I don’t do the whole relationship thing.” He huffed, perhaps more peeved at the whole mate thing with Jaelyn rather than Sébastien’s comment. Already, his mind was disagreeing with the argument he had just flung at him.

Maybe if he just rejected Jaelyn in some subtle way, so that he and the human could sever the bond, without her even knowing what was going on? Then maybe he wouldn’t be so rattled.

“Ok, so, why is not-your-girlfriend-Jaelyn researching Jonnach?” Sébastien festered.

Tate opened his mouth to answer the question, but then popped it closed, realizing he had no idea. Why did he so readily trust her? All she had said was that she was looking for him and that was about as far as they got with it. Realizing he needed to give them some semblance of an answer, Tate relayed, “Well, she’s a witch—”

“What?” Aron nearly spit his drink. “Are you f*****g kidding me right now, Tate? A witch?” He simmered. “Do you know anything about her? What her alliances are? Please answer those questions with a Yes!” He waited for Tate to say something, but noticed his penitent expression and exploded, “Bordel de merde! You’ve invited a witch to our table and--” Aron paused when someone cleared their throat behind him. He jerked his head to the right, noticing two people sheepishly regarding them.

“Um, hi,” the woman waved weakly, looking at Aron, introducing herself, “I’m, um… the witch invited to the table.” She looked from him, doing a double take with Sébastien, before settling on Tate. “Sorry we’re a little late. We had some things to tie up.”

The scent of coconut had preceded her, and Tate’s skin pebbled in shivers when she had initially entered the café. Tracking her immediately, he had been following her as she walked to their table all the while Aron was ripping into him, not really listening to the Lycan’s tirade. Not when she was in the same room as him. Everything was about her.

Aron’s words did register, though, within the cloud of his enamored haze. And with it, his stomach knotted, realizing he really didn’t know anything about her, and had basically let the d**k in his pants do all the thinking here. Was she bewitching him? After all, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him until he had told her about his situation with the Underworld. Would his mate really have no reservations about using him for her own gain? The Moon Goddess wouldn’t have paired him up with a dishonest, wicked woman. Right?

Look at that face. Those lips were soft. And those eyes… f**k, Tate. Snap outta this s**t.

Standing, Tate smiled at her, indicating the chair next to him for her to take a seat. Her brother, who she had introduced to him earlier as Link, shuffled to the empty chair next to Sébastien, looking a little put-off at the seating arrangements. “Jaelyn, meet my… brothers-in-law, Aron and Sébastien,” that still felt weird to say. But it was something she, as a human, would understand the best. He tilted his head toward him, “This is her brother, Link.”

The napkin in his hand slowly crushed as Sébastien looked between the two new visitors. He tilted his head at Lincoln. “Looks like witch runs in the family?”

Lincoln squinted at him, his eyes flooding over Sébastien and then Aron. “And what’s your story? I don’t sense human either. What are you hiding?”

“Touché,” Sébastien smirked.

Aron eyed Tate with a degree of distaste before turning to the woman. “Tate seems to think we can work together on a common goal? Would you like to order something to eat before we start getting down to business?”

“Um, just coffee for me,” Jaelyn’s eyes danced from him to the others at the table while fidgeting with the fringe on her purse.

A wry smile simpered from Aron toward Tate. “She only wants coffee,” His eyebrow raised as he continued ribbing him, “Tate, I see your girlfriend is indeed popping in for coffee.”

“Shut it,” Tate rolled his eyes before regarding her. “So, I filled them in on what you told me. About Jonnach. We were all just curious though. Why are you both looking for that demon?”

Lincoln’s glare endured, throwing the question back at him, “Why are you looking for him?”

“Link, stop.” Jaelyn shook her head at her brother.

“Jae- you’re blindly giving your trust to this guy,” his hand swept to Tate. “Which now has involved these guys some how,” he noted Aron and Sébastien with a jerk of the head. “We can just do all this on our own like we were planning to do.”

“No, we can’t, Link,” she argued across the table. “Not with the gateways closed. Just trust me. We can,” her lavender eyes lingered on Tate and he reciprocated her stare. “We can trust them.”

"But can we trust you?” Aron folded his hands, laying them on the table as he leaned in. “So, you and your brother are witches. From what coven? Who’s your High Mistress? What’s your business with this Jonnach demon?” he pressed.

“I'll share a few things, if only to help dissolve our obvious mistrust of each other.” Link glowered at her as she spoke, clearly not happy with her decision. “Lincoln and I are from a very old family coven. Déchue Coven out of our mother’s home country of France.” Her teeth grit for a moment, but she huffed and added, “Since my mother is dead, I am in line as High Mistress. Well, my aunt is acting as Regent Mistress until I come of age to take over it fully.”

“I’ve heard of Déchue Coven,” Aron nodded. “They’ve been around quite a while.”

“Yeah, like I said. Old family,” Jaelyn shrugged. “And I’m looking for the son of a b***h Jonnach because he…” she struggled, swallowing, “he is responsible for killing someone very close to me, and I want to kill him.” Even though her chin rose with resolution, Tate noticed her eyes sink with the ache of her words, weighted with her pain. Who had she lost? Was it her late mother? He didn’t feel right to pry, having just met the girl. But clearly, the loss had damaged her. Jaelyn looked as though she pulled herself together, exhaling lightly before she spoke, “Now, your turn. What’s your story?” Her eyes flicked around the table.

Tate knew they needed to offer an olive branch out, just as she had, if this trust thing was going to develop between them. The question was, how much was he wanting to share right now? He started, “Well, to put it simply, your son of a b***h demon kidnapped my sister, cousin, and five-fingered a powerful weapon from us and we need to get all that back. Pronto.”

“What weapon?” Lincoln asked.

Sébastien glared, “The nal jealot.”

Lincoln’s eyes widened, gasping, “The nal jealot is in the Underworld? f**k!” He looked at his sister. “The prophecy of the Qui dat Pacem. It’s f*****g happening.” Tate’s brow shot up, impressed again at what the witches knew about it.

“We need to find the Bringer of Peace!” Her worried expression mirrored her brother’s. When Jaelyn noted his title, Tate’s heart stuttered and breath hitched. It was like she knew pieces about him before they’d even met. For some reason, that stewed the fire in his gut. She said to Lincoln, “Only he or she will be able to get the weapon away from the Dèanadair and wield it to…. Wait--” her words caught in her throat as she scanned the occupants of the table. “Are one of you the Qui dat Pacem?” As she scrutinized all of them again, her eyes fell squarely on Tate. “It’s you, isn’t it?” His little witch knew him.

How should he answer her? Unfortunately? Fortunately? Was it an honor to be the Qui dat Pacem savior of the world? When it felt like a Mack truck had rolled over him on a daily basis as he bore the weight of his calling? “Yep, that’s me.” Tate gushed out in an exhale as if he were exhausted. And he was. He nodded to Aron and Sébastien, “But it’s them, too. Them and their mates.” His mate ,too? “They’re tied up in all of it as much as I am. It’s a weird package deal.” Was she tied up in it too? Was it fate that she was in that library for him to meet her? For her to join them?

“Mates?” Lincoln repeated. “Only a few races use that term.” He smirked at Sébastien with a sort of gotcha expression. “So, you’re either demons or werewolves.” The Lycan prince scowled at him, offering nothing more.

Sébastien scoffed, “Neither!” crossing his arms over his chest. Lincoln’s face fell a little.

Tate pressed, “Well if we’re working together, they’ll find out eventually,” he reasoned with the twins. Aron sighed, then nodded. Tate took the green light, “These guys are Lycan. But more so, Aron is the King of the Lycan and his brother is a prince.” Lincoln’s eyes popped. “And even more so, Sébastien is mate-bonded to the Âlde Tire, who is my cousin—”

“--s**t, wow. All these high-rolling players coming into the game. It’s for sure the last inning.” Lincoln nodded at him, “You being bonded to the Âlde Tire explains your magical energy. I knew you weren’t a witch, but I knew there was…something.” Sébastien looked confused. “Your aura. It hums with a certain vibration. I am sure it’s what you sense when you discovered that we are witches.”

Tate continued, “Aron and Bastien are direct descendants of Cian, Knight of the Order of the Sabaton.” Lincoln and Jaelyn looked at each other, their faces paling, but whatever it was that caused them to react in such a way remained lingering in the space between them.

Jaelyn’s long curls shimmied down her shoulder as she turned to Tate. He nearly missed her question, “And what about you?” while he fantasized about leaning in to smell and touch them.

His hands fisted under the table. “Me? Well, I’m a hybrid." As well as a sangpyth like my mother who can wield the umbre de sânge blood magic.. but nah, she doesn't need to know about that part, right? "I'm part werewolf with an exciting dose of vampire.” Tate flashed his claret eyes. She had already met his beast earlier, but it seemed his little lightshow excited something in her because his nostrils caught the sweet smell of her arousal. Without realizing it, he licked his lips, staring at her.

She breathed, “Makes sense.”

Aron cleared his throat. Tate flicked his eyes over to the Lycan and was met with a quizzical brow. Tate blinked a few times and sat back, trying to look composed, but he felt as if his act had been caught by his attentive brother-in-law. Aron droned, “Well, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get down to business? Like, getting my mate back?”

Tate nodded, struggling to keep focused on Aron, though wanting to look at Jaelyn. It was especially hard because out of the corner of his eye, he noticed she would steal glances at him as well. “So, you were telling me the Knights of Sabaton left us a clue on how to get into the Underworld?”

“Yes.” Aron nodded at Sébastien who pulled the scroll out of his pocket. “We found this hidden away in the library. It details a portal that is unsealable by the nal jealot or any magic. And that it’s being protected by a Fae named Ghille Dhu.”

Sébastien tapped on the rolled scroll. “We need to find where this Ghille Dhu lives and gain access to the gateway.”

Tate asked the twins, “So, do you guys know how to contact any faerie? They’d know where this Ghille guy is.”

Aron made a face, “Well, the Lycan and Fae aren’t the best of allies, so no. Even if we found a fae, they may not be too keen on speaking with us.”

“Do Lycans pride themselves on how many races they can alienate from their own?” Tate rolled his eyes, “Really, though? You guys seem to piss in a lot of people's Cheerios. f**k. And they call Lycan the superior species of wolf.” Aron growled. Tate threw his hands up. “I’m just saying, since you’re the Lycan King and all now, maybe you need to focus on race relations?”

“Fae are known as tricky bastards,” Sébastien rationalized. “It’s hard to make alliances with a group of people who play mind-games.”

“Ok, whatever,” Tate rolled his eyes again. Why were Lycan universally pompous ass-hats? His in-laws were alright, but their people seemed to be class-A dickheads. “But that leaves us at square one. We need to get in contact with Ghille Dhu but don’t know where to find some non-tricky-bastard faerie to help us out.”

“I do,” Jaelyn’s sweet voice piped in. All eyes shot to her. “I know how to find some faerie.”