Hybrid Aria 1-4

Aria’s POVNôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

Watching David, I noticed he didn’t look shocked to see me. I then realised this was his plan all along. I realised I was his bargaining tool, his way to get Reid to comply. I was Reid’s weakness. If something happens to me, it weakens him, and he can get Lily back.

Too busy watching David trying to think of a way to convince him to sort this out amicably, I didn’t hear the person sneaking up behind me until I felt the sting of the needle as it pierced my neck. The burning sensation bled into my skin, burning my insides like fire consuming my body. I gripped my neck, trying to get the pain to lessen, trying to stop it from spreading. Turning around, I see no one behind me but my former Pack members and a syringe at my feet containing gold liquid concentrated wolfsbane.

I felt my surroundings start to spin as fire consumed my veins, overtaking all my senses. I could feel myself burning up. I screamed in agony, trying to stop the burn. My legs collapsed under me. My body felt heavy, I was losing to the pain. For the first time in my life, I welcomed the darkness, praying I would pass out so the pain would end.

I could feel my body falling, my head hitting the soil, but I didn’t even feel it. All I could feel was wolfsbane burning through every cell in my body. I smiled when I felt everything getting darker, my surroundings starting to dim. Michael’s words came back to me. “This stuff will even put you on your arse.” He was right. If I weren’t in so much pain, I would have laughed at the fact it did exactly what he said it would…. I thanked the Moon Goddess as I finally slipped away into the darkness of oblivion.

Reid’s POV

Torn between going to fight beside my Pack and staying and protecting Aria and Lily, I reluctantly left. I had a Pack to protect. We raced through the winding back roads towards the city. The trees blurring into one at the speed we were moving. Alpha David crossed the line, and now there is no going back, I will finally rid the earth of that scum who dared torture my woman. Aria can’t hate me for protecting my Pack… our Pack. I was doing this for her, for Lily, and for us. Driving towards the border, the city came into view. We were only a few kilometres out. The only thing surrounding us were trees and farmland. Just as we hit the outskirts of the city, I felt a cold wave of a feeling I couldn’t recognise rush over my skin. Ryder instantly tensed and tried to lurch forward.

“What is it?” I ask him. He pushed underneath my skin forcefully. Hair spreading across my arms, my claws extending tearing the leather seat.

“Aria is getting away from us,” I heard him snarl at me in reply. No, Aria was at home where I ordered her to stay. She wouldn’t defy me; she wouldn’t betray my trust like this. I locked her in, the door was sealed, and wolf proof. The glass on the windows is even impenetrable. Mind-linking Wendy, I felt her push back, trying to ignore the link. Furious that she tried to ignore my call, I shoved back forcing her to accept the link. I could hear her groan as I pushed through the tether. Mitch, who was in the front seat driving, whimpered at me, feeling his mate’s pain come through the bond. Wendy let go and stopped trying to shove me out, knowing it’s a battle she can’t win.

“Where is Aria?” I demand. Wendy didn’t answer. Mitch tried to get her to answer by asking the same question I just did. I could see his grip tightening on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Wendy whimpered from the pressure of her mate.

“I ca…can’t,” she stuttered almost breathlessly. Aria has done this; she is the only one who is strong enough to bind someone against me. Her tricks don’t work on me, but the rest of the Pack is defenceless against her commands. But I also know she wouldn’t force that burden, that pain to go against an Alpha on Lily. Linking Lily, I could finally get answers.

“Lily, where is your sister?” Lily didn’t resist, meaning Aria hadn’t commanded her to keep quiet.

I heard Mitch let out a breath when I dropped the link to Wendy.

“She went to speak to the Alpha, um, my dad.” Lily sounded unsure on the last word like she hadn’t used the word before. I growled, pissed off that she disobeyed me. I felt Lily cower through the link, she doesn’t understand I’m not angry at her. Cutting the link, Mitch looked at me through the rear-view mirror.

“Speed up, Aria is heading to the border.” Mitch nodded before putting his foot down, overtaking everyone like they were standing still.

Jumping out of the car before the car even stopped as we reached the border, Dominic, one of my warriors, came up to me. “They all retreated about 5 minutes ago, Boss.”

“Where is the Alpha?”

“Don’t know. He never showed up here. Only their warriors showed up, but they left. What do you want to do, Alpha?”

“Stay alert, they have your Luna.” Dominic growled in reply. I tried to reach out to Aria but got no reply. Trying to come up with a plan with Zane, we had no idea where the Pack house was having never been there. We knew it wouldn’t be anywhere in a populated area. Most Pack houses were away from the human population and near bushland so we could let our wolves out. So, it’s probably on the outskirts of the city. Dominic brought some maps of the city so we could search for secluded areas of the east side. Unfolding the maps, I sprawled them out on the car bonnet. The only place big enough and secluded enough was the bushland along the railway tracks. It was backed onto a wildlife reserve. I know that is where I would build a Pack house if it was me.

Suddenly feeling like I was being skinned alive, I fell to the ground panting. My body felt like it was being doused in acid. Ryder pushed forward, forcing me to shift. My clothes tearing as I took my wolf form.

“Aria,” snarled Ryder. Jumping over the border, I could feel him trying to run towards her until I suddenly felt cold, my body going numb, my vision blurred. Pushing forward I regained control, forcing us to shift back. Zane was right behind me. Clutching his stomach he shakily handed me some shorts.

“We can feel her, Alpha, make it stop.” he pleaded before collapsing next to me.

Sitting up, I look around to find all my men on the ground, shaking and writhing in agony. How is this possible? The bond only works on me. Ryder was pacing in the back of my mind, anxious. Reaching out to Aria, I feel nothing through the bond, no connection at all. Which could only mean two things: she has passed out or she is dead. I knew she wasn’t dead; I would feel that. The thought alone was painful like my soul ripping out of me, so I knew she was still alive. But the question was how she affected my entire Pack.

“Lycan Blood. She is our rightful queen. They were all bonded the moment you marked her,” growled Ryder. My body felt weak; I shakily stood and put the blue shorts on before collapsing to the ground again. We just had to ride it out. Once she was completely out, the pain would end, I hoped.

Aria’s POV

“Now what do we do with her?”

“We use her to get my daughter back. Alpha Reid will come for her. If he wants her he will hand Lily over.”

“He will kill the entire Pack. This is insane even for you. You’re willing to risk everyone?”

I could hear whispers. Alpha David was talking with someone. Slowly opening my eyes, I stay as still as possible to not alert them that I’m awake. I was in Alpha David’s office. I could see shelves of books and a desk that had papers and maps all over it. I was placed on the brown leather sofa in the centre of the room. I could see Michael with his back to me, talking to the Alpha who was seated at his desk.

My throat felt incredibly dry. I felt like I had a major hangover. My head was pounding against my skull. Testing out my limbs, I realised I could move my legs and arms. I was weak, but I had feeling back. That wasn’t the only feeling I had though. Hunger. I was ravenous. I needed blood. I could hear four heartbeats in the room. My own standing out above everyone else’s thumping loudly in my chest against my ribs. I knew two belonged to the Alpha and the Beta, but the fourth person must be behind me somewhere. I could feel my fangs breaking painfully through my gums, my mouth filling with the metallic taste of my own blood.

“You hear that? She is waking,” said the mystery person behind me. Looking over in the Alpha direction, I hear him stand up. Michael made eye contact with me.

“That’s impossible, she should have been out for hours,” he stated.

“Dose her again before she regains her strength,” ordered the Alpha through the mind link to the person behind me. Obviously, he forgot I can hear them, or maybe his Pack members forgot to mention that detail. I heard the person behind me start walking towards the back of the sofa. Just as his hand reached over to inject me, I gripped his wrist, pulling him over the sofa making him land on the floor.

Sitting up, I still had hold of his wrist that was gripping the syringe. I squeezed his wrist, making him cry out and drop it. I saw the Alpha and Michael about to lurch forward to stop me as I ripped the man towards me, sinking my teeth into his neck. I drank voraciously, draining him in a few seconds before rolling his body off me and onto the floor, his lifeless eyes peering up at us in shock.

I grabbed the syringe that had fallen at my feet, twirling it between my fingers, admiring the poison that just knocked me out cold. I heard shuffling as the Alpha went to try to stop me from attacking first, but I had no intentions to fight; it would end in their deaths. I sat back on the couch, getting comfortable.

“I understand it now, why you did it,” I said clearly. The Alpha stopped. Looking up at him, he looked confused. Michael wore the same expression, trying to figure out what I was talking about. I observed the Alpha. He didn’t look the same. I no longer feared him. He looked rather normal in his blue denim jeans and a black t-shirt. I could tell he lost weight, his eyes were dark with sleep deprivation, He looked like he aged ten years since I last saw him at the diner.

Now I just felt sorry for him. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. He was a monster to us for years, but now I see a broken man, not someone to be feared.

“What are you talking about, Aria?” asked David, crossing his arms over his chest he leaned back sitting on the edge of the desk.

“I’m talking about why you hated Lily and me. Why you abandoned your own pup.” The Alpha bared his teeth at me and growled. “I understand it now. I know a wolf goes crazy without their mate. I understand what it does to them. I don’t agree with your actions, but I do understand,” I told him.

“You know nothing, Aria. Don’t pretend you know anything. I just want my daughter back.”

“You mean the daughter you dumped in my lap to raise? The daughter you pretended you didn’t have? That daughter?”

“Watch it, girl,”

“No, you’re right. I don’t know what it’s like to lose a mate. But I understand why you are the way you are. Most wolves kill themselves after they lose their mate, or they go mad. You went mad with anger and blamed her. When you should have put all the anger you had into loving her.”

“Aria, shut up,” warned Michael. Looking back over at the Alpha, his face was red with anger, veins sticking out along his arms like he was a ticking time bomb. But that no longer scared me.

“Listen to Michael, Aria. You know nothing of what you’re talking about. You can’t sympathise with me.”

“You think I don’t know what it’s like to lose her? You lost your mate. I LOST MY FUCKING MOTHER,” I screamed. “I was thirteen, and you threw Lily in my lap. I couldn’t even attend her funeral because you were too gutless to be around your own daughter. Mum’s flesh and blood. You didn’t just lose her. I lost her too. Then I lost my childhood. I threw everything away to raise her. ME, not you. I took care of her, and now you expect me to hand her over to you.”

“She is my daughter, Aria.”

“Yes, you’re right, she is, but she doesn’t know you. She knows only to fear you. You spent so much time hating her, but did you ever think of what Mum would have wanted? I know she wouldn’t have wanted you to abandon her flesh and blood. She would have wanted you to be the father you promised her you would be. Now after six fucking years you want to claim her back.”

Alpha David walked back to his desk and took a seat. He knew I was right. Lily doesn’t know him the way she should, and he doesn’t know her. “So, what do you suggest then, Aria? You think you’re calling the shots? You think you have all the answers?” Michael relaxed a bit before sitting on the edge of the desk. I sat back understanding the Alpha was willing to compromise.

Looking at the clock, it was a little after 8pm. The Blood Moon Pack was already at the border, but why haven’t they crossed over yet? Reid would know I’m here by now.

“I am only here because of Lily. Despite the hell you have put her through, she still feared Reid was going to kill you. She wanted me to stop this. You and I still have unfinished business, but for now, this is about Lily, so I suggest you prove you deserve to be a part of her life. Maybe visit, get to know her, but she remains a part of my Pack.” The Alpha growled at me about to disagree and argue back. I held my finger up at him, motioning him to let me finish.

“When she turns 18, we let her decide if she wants to take over the Black Moon Pack. For now, until I can trust you, you can get to know her and then maybe down the track if Lily decides she wants you in her life we can sort out custody agreements.”

“Shared custody, she is my daughter,”

“Listen to her, Alpha. She has a point. You can’t just rip Aria away from Lily and expect Lily to be okay with that. Aria is all she has ever known.”

The Alpha seemed to think about it. I heard Michael start to mind link him and blocked him out, giving them some privacy to speak. Pushing through the bond, I could tell Reid was close.

“Reid you there?”

“Where the fuck are you, Aria? Do you have any idea of the damage you have caused?”

“Calm down, I’m with Alpha David. I will be back at the border soon.” I could tell he was using the bond to find my location.

“No, I’m coming to get you. Tell David to tell his warriors to let us through or it will be a bloodbath.”

“Just wait there, I will be there soon,” I argued back.

“No, you went against me. This could have been avoided, but you had to defy me. I’m coming to get you, and that’s final.” He cut off the mind link. I could feel his anger pouring through the link.

“Reid is on his way. Tell your warriors to stand down.” They both stopped talking and looked at me. Alpha David raised an eyebrow at me. “I tried to stop him, but he is coming anyway. Tell them to stand down. I don’t want our people hurt.”

“Our people?”

“Yes, I might not be a part of this Pack anymore, but they are still family to me, despite what you may think. I don’t wish any harm to anyone here. Please.”

“Very well. I will tell them to let them through, and as for Lily, we have a deal for now.”

I smiled, genuinely excited for Lily. She may just get the father she wanted, after all. I always had that hope for her that this monster would eventually come to his senses and see what a great little girl she was and how much like Mum she is.

It didn’t take long before we heard cars pulling up in the driveway. Following David and Michael out we made our way through the Pack house.

It hadn’t changed much. I had so many horrid memories here, but it was home for so long it just felt familiar, comfortable in a way. Which is absurd, but it was home. It’s where I lived with my mother for 6 years, where some of my earliest memories were. This place will always feel familiar.

Once outside, five black SUVs were parked out the front. Men piled out of the cars, standing alongside the vehicles. Reid stepped out of the one that was parked in front of the stairs. He only had blue shorts on, and his chest was bare. He was covered in dirt and sweat. Meeting his eyes, I went to walk down to him when I noticed him glaring directly at me. I froze on the step. He was furious. My heart skipped a beat when I heard him speak.

“Aria, get in the fucking car.” I was frozen. I didn’t react which just pissed him off even more. Marching forward, he gripped my arm, ripping me towards him, making me stumble into him. I heard Michael growl at him behind me at his forceful grip.

Reid shoved me towards the open rear door. “Get in the car NOW!” he shouted at me, making me flinch. Alpha David came down the stairs and extended his hand to Reid in a polite gesture, trying to diffuse the situation, but Reid just spun on his heel and punched him breaking his nose making David stumble back falling onto the steps.