The Traitor and her Hybrid Husband

Gabriel I watched my room change colors as the sun made its slow ascent on the horizon. In a few hours, I’d be the Alpha of the Green Ridge pack. I still couldn’t believe that I went from orphan to Alpha. I must’ve been four or five when my mother abandoned me in this very forest that surrounds the territory. Her black evening gown was torn, and she was crying. She had told me that she had no other choice but to do this. She pushed me away as I clung onto her dress, begging her to stay. She pried my desperate hands off her. She left me there with nothing but my first name. The pack warriors had found me wandering around a few days later. The Alphas of the pack took me in and treated me as if I was one of their own, not caring that I was a vampire hybrid. I pushed away the old memory. I didn’t care about the past, today was the first step towards my future. My ceremony had been anticipated for a long time. Since we didn’t know my actual birthday, we couldn’t plan anything. My wolf took me by surprise a week ago by casually showing up and not saying anything until dinner time. He roared with laughter after he howled loudly, scaring the hell outta me and making me drop my food. The jackass later introduced himself as Atlas. Once he appeared, everything moved quickly. Arrangements for the ceremony were put in place, invitations to the Assembly and Council were sent and the endless rounds of duties had left me exhausted. “Why are you up so early?” Isabelle asked as she rubbed her eyes. I smiled down at her and pulled her closer. My mate mumbled sleepily about going back to bed, her sentence falling short to welcome her soft snore. I chuckled. Isabelle was the best thing to have happened to me. She smelled like cedar and reminded me of a warm fire on a cold winter night. Her waist length blonde hair was an unruly mess as she rolled around and tried to get comfortable. I carefully slid out of bed and got dressed in silence. Even though the ceremony was tonight, I still had a lot of work to finish. I gently kissed Isabelle before heading down to the dining hall. I was greeted by my pack as they enjoyed their breakfast. Waiting at the Alpha’s table were my dads, Scott and William. They beamed at me as I joined them. “Good morning, parental units.” I murmured before digging into my food. “Morning, son. Are you ready to get some work done?” William asked. I bobbed my head in response. “The day is finally here.” Scott grinned as he clapped me on my back. I smiled, “What all needs to be done?” William launched into his list of duties while Scott rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. The bee’s nest near the training ground isn’t going anywhere, William. It can wait until tomorrow.” Scott expertly cut in, making William frown. I laughed as I shoveled in more food. “Anyway, son, can you help me with this? I’ve been stuck on it since last night.” Scott said as he placed his book of riddles in front of me. I had a knack for riddles and mind games, so I loved helping my dad whenever he asked. “You see? It’s completely got me stumped.” he whined. I read the riddle slowly. ‘I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?’ Hmm. “An echo.” I stated confidently. Scott squealed excitedly as he wrote down the answer. “I don’t understand how the hell you do that.” William snorted. “Cause he’s using his vampire mind skills to think of the answers.” My cousin Jacob joked as he approached us. I rolled my eyes, “Vampire mind skills? What does that even mean?” Jacob shrugged, “I don’t know but I need you for some official Alpha business. It’d be easier to show you.” His face turned serious. “What’s going on?” I asked, already pushing in my chair. “Is it something we could help you with?” Scott asked with concern. “I’m not sure yet, that’s why I’m letting Gabe make the call. But I’m sure we’ve got it.” Jacob said dismissively. I reassured my fathers that I would be back quickly then followed him out. He led us towards the border and out into the woods. Jacob let out a sigh and shook his head. “So, I think it has the potential to be something very serious. I’m just not sure how to describe it to you and it make sense.” I nodded my head. Jacob was always like this, his lack of words not surprising. He was William’s nephew and I’ve known him since I came to live with the pack. He was one of my best friends and he helped my life seem less tragic. “David and Mason found it while they were hunting.” Jacob was saying. I wasn’t surprised when he mentioned them. David was my Beta and Mason was my Gamma. The four of us were always together and always getting into some sort of trouble. We had walked for about a mile into the forest when Mason and David’s figures appeared. They were staring down at the ground, their bodies tense. “Hey guys, what’s up?” I wondered as I approached them. Mason pointed at a large opening in the ground. A sense of unease put me on high alert as I pushed my way past them. A shimmering black hole twirled around. “It’s a rift.” I stated dumbly. Rifts were portals that linked our realm, Midhaven, to other realms. There were three others besides ours: the spirit realm, god realm and the realm of the dead. The rifts started appearing over 30 years ago; it's rumored that only a few were left. A rift showing up was never a good sign since you never knew who or what was on the other side. I bent down to get a better look, listening to the wind move through the hole. “We need to get a hold of Hell’s Shield. They should be able to dispatch a team to close the rift.” David said. I absentmindedly nodded my head. Yes, the recovery agency specialized in many things, sealing the portals was one of them. “I’ll go call them now.” Mason says, quickly spinning around. Too quickly! Mason stumbled over his shoes, his body falling into the portal. I grabbed his shirt, grunting as the weight of his body jerked me forward. I reached behind me and grabbed onto Jacob’s leg hoping he’d anchor us. All I could hear was David yelling as he tried to hang onto Jacob’ hands. The film that encased the hole was cold as we fell through the portal. Octavia I took a deep breath as a false contraction ravaged my body. Goddess, the sooner this baby was born the better. I regained my composure and continued my waddle down the hall. I’ve been craving pickles and cream cheese. Ooh, I should get a cup of blood too. B positive sounds really good right now. I grinned as my baby kicked in agreement. The sounds of my uncle and aunt speaking floated into the hall. It sounded like they were arguing. I rolled my eyes; they were always arguing. Uncle Steven and his wife, Melissa, weren’t really my family, not by blood. I was married, no, sold to the leader of the Acheron Clan. My late husband, Jonah, and his uncle had given me food and shelter, but they had made it very clear that I was only here to fulfill my duties. Melissa was civil but her dislike of me was clear as day. At the time, I didn’t care about their treatment. I was just glad to have somewhere to belong. For once, my family name helped me gain a home. I didn’t care who lived in it. I was a good, loyal wife. I fulfilled my duties and carried Jonah’s child. A week before we told the clan, Melissa had announced her pregnancy too. Everyone was nicer to me, including Jonah. He was thrilled that he got to experience fatherhood with the man that raised him, but I was bitter that I had to share this time with a woman who hated my guts. Everything was going great until Jonah up and died. Our clan has been struggling these past few months because of it. Apparently, Jonah had driven the clan to bankruptcy, and we were constantly being raided by other clans. The fact that we were leaderless made us weaker. Steven had to step in and take over duties and will continue to do so until my baby becomes of age. The clan had hoped that with the birth of the new heir, a new start would happen. Everything on the surface was fine, but I heard rumors throughout the clan. The tides of power were changing. They believed Steven and Melissa’s child should be the next in line. I heard members say they’d rather have that than to let a traitor’s child take over. I sighed heavily. The law protected me and my child to a certain extent. If I gave birth to a boy, he would be fully protected by the Council. But if my child was a girl, her title could be challenged by the next male in line when she became of age. It was an idiotic rule. I knew it was selfish, but I prayed that my child was a girl. We would have no obligation to this place, and we would be free to leave. Over the course of the past three months, the doctor has been unable to determine the s*x of either mine or Melissa’s child. In every ultrasound Melissa had, her offspring had its back to us. My baby’s image was obstructed because of where the placenta was located. Now I’m in my sixth month and the baby will be here in two weeks or less. Everyone was on edge, wondering who the next heir would be. I honestly wouldn’t mind stepping aside to please them. The bickering got louder as I drew closer to the kitchen. I stopped walking to listen to their heated argument. “Her due date is a week after yours. Our child will secure our position.” Uncle Steven was saying. “But what if she has a boy?! We will be ruined!” Aunt Melissa replied, her voice hysterical. My heart skipped. They were talking about us. “Mel, I’ve told you already. You don’t need to worry about anything.” Steven’s voice turned cold. “How could I not worry?! I ngh-” Melissa groaned. “Mel?” Steven asked with concern. Melissa groaned louder as my feet took quiet steps backwards. “It’s the baby, it’s coming.” she panted. I turned and ran as fast as I could, ducking into the nearest room. “Get the doctor!” Steven’s screams echoed his wife’s. The sound of hungry footsteps descended down the hall. I pressed my back against the wall, trying to conceal myself. Wait, why was I hiding? I’ve done nothing wrong. Melissa going into labor was a good thing. But why did I feel so… uneasy? I waited for the sounds of the group to disappear, then I slowly walked back to my room. I let out a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me. A knot started to form in the pit of my stomach. If Melissa was going into labor, then my baby would be here next week. I quelled the urge to panic. I never planned on being a parent. When I got pregnant, I was happy knowing I would at least have Jonah to depend on. Now I have no one. I shook my head. That shouldn’t bother me. I’ve been alone almost all of my life. I slapped my cheeks. Whew! What the hell was wrong with me today?! I’ve never wallowed or worried like this. Ugh, these hormones were driving me crazy! I mentally shook myself and walked over to the wrapped gift I had made for Melissa. It was just a blanket and a hat for the baby. I hope she likes it. I grabbed the gift and marched out of my door. I’ll check on her and give her the blanket, I told myself. Even though she had Steven with her, she was still a first time mother and would need all of the support she could get. The knot in my stomach began to grow. Footsteps echoed from behind me. I scrambled into the room closest to me. Seriously?! Why was I hiding? This was my house! Why was I so uneasy? “You can’t let your feelings for her stop you. Are you sure you can finish the job?” Chris, Steven’s second hand man asked. “I’ll be fine. I just don’t understand why we must kill her.” his son, Adrian, answered. Their fast footsteps stopped right outside of the room. “I don’t know how many times I have to explain it!” Chris’s angry whisper sent chills down my back. “If she raises the child then her filthy ways will lead us to destruction, just like her previous clan. It doesn't matter what Melissa is having, Steven will remain in charge. We can’t let Octavia live.” My blood ran cold. “Even if she is carrying a boy?” Adrian whined. “Especially if she is carrying a boy. Octavia’s only saving grace is the Council, who has been waiting to name an heir. She still needs to complete her pregnancy. That’s why we’ve waited this long to kill her. We’ll have to make it look like she died in labor. Then Steven will raise the boy with the blessing of the Council.” Chris sneered. “But what if Melissa has a boy?” Adrian asked. I could hear the smile in Chris’s voice, “Then it doesn’t matter what Octavia is having. We will kill her tonight, her baby too.” I stifled a groan of pain as another contraction hit me. I bit my lip as tears ran down my face. “Let’s go.” Chris chuckled as his footsteps disappeared. I stood still, waiting for Adrian to leave. “I know you’re there, Octavia.” he said softly. My heart thundered wildly as I held my breath.