I found myself staring at Alpha Marcus. I knew it was wrong—disrespectful even—but I couldn’t help it. This was about my little sister!
The last time I saw her was just before her sixteenth birthday, right before her first blood. I assumed she’d gone through it; otherwise, she wouldn’t be here now.
“Callum!” Marcus warned.
I quickly averted my gaze. “I’m sorry, Alpha, but she’s my little sister! She’s only eighteen!”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “How is this even possible?”
Marcus smiled. “It’s not uncommon for a werewolf to find a human mate. So, why not a hybrid... Don’t worry, Callum, I’ll take care of your sister.”
I stood up, my eyes still lowered. “Can I see her now?” I asked.
He nodded. “Of course, Callum. She’s still in the hospital. Once they’re satisfied with her progress, I’ll have her moved to my quarters.”
I sighed. It made sense for her to be with him if they were mates. But that didn’t mean I had to like it!
“Callum, it’s probably best if you don’t mention that she’s my mate yet. She has a lot to adjust to without complicating matters,” he advised.
I just nodded and left his office.
I couldn’t help but wonder how the rest of the pack would react to having a hybrid as a Luna.
And not just any hybrid, a Blackthorne hybrid.
There was also the small matter of Erin accepting the fact that our father had lied. She had been taught to hate werewolves, but now she was going to be one.
Well, half of one at least.
Erin always idolized our father.
More than me, and more than Devon.
People always said the three of us were his favorites, but I think that only really applied to Erin.
That was mostly because of our mother. She was definitely his favorite wife, if you could even call her that.
It’s probably more accurate to call her a mate.
I wondered if they were actual mates.
The rule of one child from each female hadn’t applied to her.
I wonder how he would feel now when Erin didn’t come back, or did he even feel?
I walked from Marcus’s office towards the hospital wing, the same place I had found myself two years ago. The only difference was, I hadn’t tried to kill myself.
As I approached the door, I saw two werewolf guards standing there.
Their eyes flashed black for a split second, then returned to normal.
They had likely mind-linked to Marcus to make sure it was okay for me to go in.
Even after two years, there were some who didn’t trust me.
Not because I was a hybrid, but because I was a Blackthorne.
It wasn’t just werewolves either.
Some of the humans weren’t too thrilled to have a Blackthorne wandering around the place.
Most of the werewolves lived in the pack house.
A few lived in the town, and in fact spent more time with the humans than with the werewolves.
The higher ranking werewolves and the warriors lived at the pack house.
We would occasionally have visitors from the town, mostly just officials discussing werewolf/human business.
I always felt that neither humans nor werewolves cared for us hybrids much.
Or maybe they just didn’t care for us Blackthornes.
That was except for Marcus.
I assumed that was just because he was the alpha.
Now I wasn’t so sure.
Certainly in my sister’s case it wasn’t.
I did feel sorry for her, one minute she’s a human werewolf hunter, the next she’s the pack’s Luna!
I wondered how the rest of the pack would take to having a hybrid Blackthorne as their Luna.
I definitely knew a few who wouldn’t be too happy.
I walked through the doors, and looked over at the bed.
I was slightly shocked to see all the wires and tubes coming from my sister. More shocked though to see how she was restrained.
I smiled at Amy, the nurse.
She was human.
There were a few that worked here at the pack house, part of the human/werewolf integration.
I had known her since I arrived.
She was the sweetest person, and I knew she would take care of my sister.
I was still waiting to see if I would find a mate.
If I didn’t, I would snap Amy up in a flash, she was so pretty, with light blonde hair, and hazel eyes.
“How is she?” I whispered, trying to keep my voice down. Erin was sleeping. I wasn’t sure if it was a natural sleep or a drug-induced sleep. She would need all the sleep she could get in the coming weeks.
Amy smiled back. “She was very angry earlier,” she smirked, “poor James thought she was going to break the restraints, she threatened him as well!”
I shook my head and smiled slightly. Erin had always been a feisty one, even when she was small.
“No chance of removing the restraints then?” I questioned.
Amy shook her head. “No, she’s not just a danger to others, she’s also a danger to herself. She tried to kill herself by bashing her head against a metal door!”
I grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the side of the bed.
Sitting down by her bedside, I gently held her hand. We had always been close when we were young. Only having two years between us.
“It’s gonna be okay, Erin,” I whispered.
Erin didn’t stir. She just seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
“Did you give her something to help her sleep,” I called over to Amy.
Amy shook her head. “No, Alpha Marcus did something before he left, told her to sleep and she just did!”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. Goodness knows how long she would sleep for.
I had learned a lot about werewolves since coming here. Much more than my father ever told me. Then why would he, he only wanted us to kill them, not know about them.
I knew already about them being able to shift into wolves, even about their mind-linking capabilities.
Some of them, however, and Marcus was one, had other skills.
Gifts if you like.
Marcus could persuade people using his mind-link.
Humans were more susceptible, although it did work with some lower ranked werewolves, and hybrids too.
He couldn’t persuade you to do anything too dramatic, not like kill anyone or lie.
He had the power to lull you to sleep or rouse you awake. He could convince you that you were famished or parched. He could even take away your fear. The weaker you were, the easier it was for him to do so. I figured he’d done that with James earlier.
Some folks claimed he could put an entire room to sleep with a mere wave of his hand, but I’d never witnessed it. I had, however, seen him put individuals to sleep. When I first arrived, he’d lulled me to sleep a few times when I was struggling with withdrawal.
For my sister, though, I was certain it was to aid her healing. The only thing that slightly worried me was what else he could convince her to do, given the mate bond they shared. I just hoped that once she was over the Wolfsbane withdrawal and back on her feet, her mind would be strong enough to resist him. Right now, it wasn’t, and her peaceful slumber was proof of that.
Amy didn’t seem to mind me sitting there with my sister, and Alpha Marcus hadn’t set any time limit for my stay. In fact, he’d encouraged me to help my sister.
As I looked at my sister, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to shift. I had a wolf, but I’d never managed to shift. Alpha Marcus attributed it to my genetics. But what about my sister? Was she the same? I figured probably not, because I knew Marcus had been surprised at my inability.
There were already Hybrids living in the pack house. They could all shift. The only difference was that they’d never been force-fed Wolfsbane to conceal their true nature. I wondered if the fact that she had more Wolfsbane in her system would make her less likely to shift, or if it was because her wolf was stronger and needed more to suppress it.
Sometimes, I despised my father—for the lies he told, for what he did to us all. I knew he had his reasons, but he could’ve just gone rogue, not dragged generations of children into a senseless war, all for revenge.
My sister’s movement snapped me out of my thoughts. Well, it wasn’t exactly a movement, more of a growl that came from her. Maybe she’d be lucky. Maybe the Wolfsbane would leave her system more quickly. I wondered if her wolf was already starting to emerge.
I gently rubbed her hands. “Erin! Erin, are you okay?”
Her eyelids began to flutter. I stood up and gently brushed some hair from her face. As she focused, she looked at me, then tears began to well up in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Erin. You’re going to be okay!” I whispered.
A tear trickled down her cheek, landing on the pillow.
“Callum!” her voice broke, “what happened to you? They told me you were dead!” she sobbed.
