GRAYSON
In under a second, I had Kyle pushed up against the wall with my arm to his
throat.
He yelped in surprise, looking up at me with blood–red eyes.
I sucked in a breath as I looked into those eyes, immediately put off by their
unnatural color.
It was one thing to see a Mortar like this -but my own beta? It made my wolf whimper.
We didn’t want to hurt him but knew we
wouldn’t have a choice if it came down to
Red eyes could only mean two things.
Either you were a vampire yourself, or a Mortar was taking control of your b*dy.
Neither explanation was good.
“Get talking,” I growled, pressing him further into the wall.
Kyle whimpered slightly; his wolf was probably upset over the fact that his alpha was showing his distrust. It hurt me, too, but he had to know that I had no other
option.
If he was being controlled by a vampire, possibly even Azazel, then I would have
to kill him.
And if he was now somehow a vampire himself, no longer a werewolf, then he would still have to be dealt with accordingly.
Kyle swallowed.
“I…I…um…” He stumbled over his words in a panic.
I pushed him further into the wall, emphasizing that I didn’t have the
patience for hesitancy.
“Alpha Grayson,” King Zagan interrupted from behind us, “you might want to look at yourself in the mirror before you do anything you’ll regret.”
“What the f**k are you talking about?” I retorted, still looking at Kyle.
“You can’t hurt him,” said the girl. “He was turned when Azazel bit his n*eck. You
wouldn’t remember it because Azazel switched into his own b*dy to do it. He transitioned while you were unconscious a few hours ago. Kyle’s a hybrid now- one–third human, one–third werewolf, one–third vampire. But he’s still your beta. His wolf is still in there.”
I searched Kyle’s eyes for confirmation. To my utter shock, they went from their normal brown, showing his human, to black, showing his wolf, and, finally, to red, showing the part of him that was now a vampire.
“It’s true,” he whispered sadly, “I’m one–third vampire now.”
But that means…
I dropped Kyle immediately and took a step back as a realization hit me. Azazel had bitten me as well before taking over my b*dy. As fast as I could force myself to go, I ran to the mirror hanging in my room, my heart dropping when I registered what I saw.
Staring back at me were the same dark red eyes as everyone else’s.
So I, too, was a vampire. A hybrid.
And not only that, I was larger–much larger. I had grown over a foot, nearly too tall to see myself in the mirror. My muscles seemed to have exploded in size all throughout my b*dy.
I had been a large wolf all my life, fitting the expectations for an alpha and then
some after the rigorous training.
Now I was practically a tank. Steely. Unbreakable. Deadly.
I felt it then, the other species inside of me, sitting inside my chest and acknowledging me head–on. It was the vampire, the one I had acquired after transitioning.
It was different from my wolf, less innocent, containing a darker soul.
I expected it to feel as if something immoral and corrupt were trying to take over my being. But it didn’t feel that way
at all.
This new soul… It cared for me and my
wolf. It wanted the best for us.
In fact, it was us, sharing all the same
interests and motivators.
Just as my wolf was me in animal form, this new vampire was me as a vampire.
Both creatures sat inside, watching through my eyes, waiting until I needed them, like two puzzle pieces that made me whole. But what interested me most was that the vampire wanted Belle. He called her his mate and wished she was by our side just as much as my wolf and I did.
Vampires didn’t have mates, so I found it strange that this one seemed to have taken
her on the moment it entered me. There were now three possessive beings inside one b*dy, all wanting to mate with Belle.
Oh, Belle’s gonna just love that.
She had already called me a barbaric Neanderthal with just my wolf and me around.
Who knew what she would think now. The moment I got her back, neither my wolf nor my vampire nor I would ever let her out of our sight. Ever again.
Just you wait, baby, I thought, imagining her smiling face next to mine in the
mirror.
No one, not even me, will ever hurt
again.
you
Being part vampire explained the strange feelings I had experienced since waking
My new strength, speed, size, and
heightened senses were all a result of the vampire taking up residence in my b*dy.
Curious about my new abilities, I opened my mouth in the mirror and watched as my canines, which were already large, grew and sharpened into piercing fangs.
I ran my tongue over them gently. As if the vampire was enjoying showing off, I felt my fingernails begin to grow and sharpen as well.
I looked down as they turned into long
claws and studied them for a second before curling my hands into fists and feeling the claws retract, leaving my normal nails behind.
The girl suddenly stood behind me, moving in a blur across the room with vampiric speed. She spoke quietly.
“You were bitten by Azazel too. We’re not sure quite when, but we suspect you underwent the transition while you were unconscious. Both you and Beta Kyle are hybrids.”
I looked over at Kyle, who shrugged his huge shoulders in confirmation.
So I was right earlier when I thought he looked bigger.
He had grown substantially since transitioning as well.
“I’ve had a couple hours to get used to it, but I’m still just as shocked as you,” he muttered, looking down at his own hands
and watching his nails turn into claws. He
looked back at me.
“Crazy, huh?”
That was the understatement of the
century.
“But you’re still a wolf, right?” I asked. “I’m not going to have to find a new beta,
am I?”
Still a wolf, boss, he said through mind–link before continuing aloud.
“Please don’t kick me out of the pack. I have literally no idea what I would do in
the human world. I have no real skills.”
I smiled slightly. “I wouldn’t do that. Just don’t go getting bitten by any other creatures. I don’t know how I’m going to handle three souls inside of you, let alone four.”
Kyle nodded. “I don’t think Elijah would handle it well either.”
I laughed as I realized just how much I had missed talking to Kyle over the last
few months.
He had a gift for calming my nerves and always knew what to say to keep my spirits light.
Which is why he made such a good gamma–well, beta now.
Suddenly I remembered something else, something painful.
“Oh, I’m guessing you heard about Adalee. I presume you’re okay taking on the role of beta, considering it was meant to be yours in the first place.”
Kyle’s eyes brightened. “More than okay with that, Alpha.”
I nodded, returning his smile. “Good.”
I turned back to the three vampires, my mind still full of questions that needed
answers.
“Is this why it didn’t work when you tried to use your powers on me earlier? Because I’m part vampire now?”
Zagan sighed, his brows coming together. “I have been wondering about that myself. I don’t know why. No vampire who has been turned, even by a member of the royal family, is able to resist the command of a Mortar. The only creatures who can do that are other Mortars.”
I found Kyle beside me, and his tone was bitter.
“He’s right. They’ve been treating me like their personal butler all day, Their commands still work on me and I was bitten by the same vampire as you.”
“So what does this mean?” I asked. “It isn’t like I could have magically grown the DNA to become a Mortar.”
Zagan nodded in agreement, exchanging glances with the boy vampire next to him.
“I do have a theory, but…” He looked back at me, dragging his gaze up and down, sizing me up. “If I am correct, you may very well be the most powerful being of the last few centuries.”
“Oh,” Casimir said. He studied me as
well. His eyes widened with realization. “Oh.”
The girl gasped. “You don’t think…….?”
“There is only one way to know for sure,” Zagan said.
“Know what for sure?” I said, exasperated.
Someone had better explain what kind of vampire mumbo jumbo this all is before I go insane.
Zagan hesitated only a second before
Zagan hesitated only a second before answering. “There is a possibility that you have your own powers now. The same as the Mortars, controlling people with your words. And… That you are immortal.”