The Hybrid
Chapter 43 - Bite Me

Vulcan Romanov’s P.O.V.

We have run for three hours straight, Damon and I leading our warriors to just outside the border of Austin, Texas. After resting for two hours to gain energy, we set off again. No further have I taken two steps into the capital city, I can sense where Aurora is immediately. I’m filled with relief and we all climb into the cars waiting to take us to where they are keeping my mate.

Damon, Kaden, Indigo, my best tracker and I are in one car, the rest of our warriors following behind. I grow restless as we take turns and choose streets that seem to be taking me away from her, if I was in my beast form I would have been able to locate her quicker but the universal treaty prevents us from revealing ourselves to humans in populated areas.

Finally, after an hour of driving around, we travel down a street where I can sense her the strongest and I’m eventually able to pinpoint her familiar scent. The built-up area disappears behind us as we travel down a road, nothing but land at either side to keep us company. Matthew, my pack’s tracker, is fiddling with a device that can look out ahead, farther than the eye can see.

And suddenly, he tells the driver to stop. The cars behind us all park in the deserted area we have driven up to, making me look around in confusion before turning to Matthew, who shows me a screen. There is nothing but an abandoned looking large house in the middle of nowhere.

“Every curtain in that house is closed and I just saw a human walking out of it in a maid’s outfit.” He zooms out before turning the screen to a petite woman walking down the street with a basket in her hands. Matthew zooms in on her neck and everyone can clearly see the fang marks where she has been bitten. “Our best bet to replaceing Luna Aurora is here, Alpha. There is nothing but road after this, that maid will eventually call a taxi to take her into the next town.”

Nodding, I open my door and get out, gesturing for the waiting men to follow my actions. When everyone is surrounding me, I begin to reiterate the plan. I group the warriors into teams of five, instructing them on their points of attack whilst Matthew looks for any signs of a ground floor basement we can break into from the outside. After I’m done, I turn to him only to see him shake his head dejectedly.

“Absolutely nothing, Alpha.”

Sighing, I nod before turning to everyone again. “We head out now. Nobody moves until I say so, wait for my command to attack.”

I receive nods in reply before they start walking down the road which will lead us to the house. There is a thick forest right in front of it which turns out to be convenient for us to hide in while also giving us a view of any movements in the house. Damon and I are going to enter into the house and try to locate the basement where Aurora will be, while the four warriors accompanying us will fend off any vampires we will encounter. The rest will be entering in through windows and doors, killing any vampire that is around.

With our heightened hearing, mine and Indigo’s being the strongest, we listen for movement, immediately hearing the tell-tale footsteps. I can smell their familiar scent of death, knowing Aurora is inside somewhere because only she possesses that unique scent of roses with a hint of spice. It’s an addicting combination.

I memorize the rounds of patrol Andrei is having his guards carry out, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. I know I can’t rush this for Aurora will end up hurt. Everyone waits behind me tensely, with caution and apprehension evident in their stances. It doesn’t take me long before I order them through our mind link, racing off through the forest and towards the main door with Damon and the warriors hot on my heels.

As I burst through the door, effectively taking it down with me, I hear windows shatter and growls echo. I smell her immediately, taking off down the hallway where I punch a vampire straight out the window, hearing his skin sizzle and burn as a scream shoots through his lips. My chest rumbles with a satisfied growl at my mate’s idea as I run through a room, overturning a couch on my way and hearing Damon rip a vampire’s head off knowing his heart will follow soon after.

A roar echoes through the house and I know Andrei has sensed us in the building, but I don’t know where he or my mate is because of the various scents. Inhaling deeply, I block out everyone else’s scent and try deciphering her sweet one, rushing off in the direction when I catch it.

A group of five surround me, caging me in the kitchen with devilish smirks and blood lust heavy in their eyes. Not for long though when they see my beasts come forward, my true nature staring back at me in their horror stricken eyes. I lunge at them, tearing them apart all the while receiving cuts and wounds along the way which I pay no attention to. My main focus is Aurora and getting her out of here, back to safety where she belongs.

Through the corner of my eyes, I can see Damon and Kaden fending off a group of three, our warriors around us and outside as they fight off the army of vampires, dragging them outside so that the sun can feast on them. Killing them quickly, I locate a staircase that leads downstairs, immediately plunging my fists into the guards’ chests and tearing their hearts out. I have no time for games, my mate waits for me inside.

Aurora Maxwell’s P.O.V.

I’m still bound in a metal chair with a rope tied to my wrists and legs, and duct tape across my mouth, making me breath through my nose. Apparently, it’s because I talk too much. To tell you the truth, they’re getting fed up of me cussing them out every time I see them.

Vulcan showing up in my dream last night was a blessing for I was losing hope. Knowing that he is close and on his way to rescue me out of this horrid place and away from these creatures, I have relaxed considerably. Everything had felt so real; his touch, his kisses, him. It had messed with my mind for sure.

After they had woken me up to give me some of the slightly inedible food, I have been waiting for him to come. In fact, I’m dying of restlessness right now, wanting to see him already, to touch him, to kiss him. I have missed him terribly, my heart aches for him.

It’s sometime in the afternoon when I hear a loud bang that shakes the walls of this place, frightening roars and growls echoing outside. I perk up in excitement, he has finally arrived. My mate is here! But all too soon, my excitement vanishes when Andrei steps into the room, bolting it shut before walking over to me. He is furious, I can make out that much but the expression of amusement he wears confuses me. Why is he happy when he is being attacked right this very second? I wonder when it finally hits me like a ton of bricks.

He is amused because he had already anticipated what would happen and thus, I won’t be getting out here with no difficulties like I had so foolishly imagined. He definitely has a trick up his sleeve and I tremble in fear at the thought of what he is going to do to me, wishing Vulcan will replace me soon. I whimper in pain when he rips off the duct tape from my mouth, the area stinging.

“Hear that? Looks like your mate has arrived, little one.” He chuckles darkly, coming to stand before me. He crouches down, an angry look replacing his once amused one, the red in his eyes glowing dangerously. I gulp in fear, my heart racing because he most definitely does not look pleased right now.

“Now, you must be thinking why I’m down here instead of being up there; fighting. Why would I do that when I have the King’s weakness right here?”

“W-What are you going to do?” I croak hoarsely, staring at him with nervousness. “You’ve clearly lost Andrei, just let me go.”

He cackles, the sound booming in the room and echoing off the concrete walls of the empty space. “I have lost my brother and now I will die too, but so will he. I will kill you Aurora and nobody, not even the powerful of witches will be able to save you. It is only fit that he should suffer like I did.”

“You bastard.” I cry, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You deserve so much more than just an easy death. I hope Vulcan tortures you until you can’t even beg for mercy anymore.”

“Smart mouthed as ever, even in the time of death.” He muses, unaffectedly as he nears until he is inches away from my face. “I always warned you that smart mouth of yours would get you killed one day.”

I scream in fear when he moves forward to sink his gleaming white fangs into my neck. I’m immobile because of his strength, nails as sharp as his fangs digging into my chin as he holds me in place. Hot tears stream down my already wet cheeks as I think about my mate, wishing he would walk through that door. Oh, how I wish to be in the safety of his arms again.

“I have waited far too long. Looks like your mate wasn’t quick enough to fight off my army.” He rasps from above, the desperate thirst for blood evident in his tone.

But just as his fangs sink halfway into my mark and a blood-curdling scream tears through the quiet room, the door to the basement bursts open and hits the wall with a resounding crack, the force so strong that it comes off its hinges and falls to the concrete floor. He is pulled off me in the blink of an eye and I look up to see my savior.

Vulcan snaps his neck with the loudest roar, only making him unconscious before he rushes towards me. In this moment, he looks feral with his complete red eyes and transformed into both of his beasts. Every other time I met Ruxin and Vladimir it was as separate creatures but Vulcan also told me that he can combine them to give him more power...which he just did. He has the fangs, the red eyes and the deathly pale skin of a vampire but also possesses the fur, claws and animal-like form of a werewolf. It’s like the upper half of his body is a vampire and the lower half is a werewolf. Never have I seen him in his true form before today.

I’m pulled out of my own thoughts by another scream ripping from my throat when I feel a searing hot burn on my neck. I want to claw at my skin, desperately craving relief to the increasing itch. Feeling the familiar touch of my mate, I sigh when the contact of our skin provides me with a small relief. But it still isn’t enough. I cry out in pain, holding onto him tightly as a horrifying sensation sweeps through me. It feels like someone is pouring boiling oil onto my neck and then ripping the skin off, making me thrash wildly. It’s unbearable.

“Aurora...” Vulcan whispers as he unties me, gathering me up in his arms and carrying me through the room as if I’m delicate china.

“Vulcan, it hurts! Please...help me...I –” I yell in agony when the mark on my neck sizzles and throbs in white hot pain, fisting his shirt in my hands.

I look up to see him shouting orders, my vision darkening at the edges. Pack warriors surround us with worried yet stern expressions; worry for their Luna. I see Damon beside Vulcan, walking with us and looking down at me. The last time I saw him so scared was when he rushed into the room and saw Nina, his biological sister, murdered on the sitting room floor and my trembling form huddled in a corner.

In my peripheral vision, I notice ours and Damon’s pack warriors along with Indigo, Kaden and Rico bloodied and bruised with the aftermath of the war. They all run up with horrified expressions, immediately making way for Vulcan to rush to the waiting car with me. I let out a growl of pain, trying to even my breathing when Vulcan gets in, murmuring words of encouragement before screaming at Indigo to go. He sits me on his lap, lowering me slightly and holding onto my arm.

I can see him talking above me but what frightens me is the fact that I can’t hear anymore. There is now a loud, constant buzz in my ears and the only sound I can hear is my heart thudding in a panicked state. I know he notices because his beautiful green eyes, that I have missed staring into, widen before he starts shouting to both Indigo and Damon in the front. He reaches to the side and wipes away the sweat off my forehead and neck with a towel.

He lips are still moving and I’m still screaming and crying in pain but I can’t hear. Suddenly I gasp, I don’t know how loud, and my back arches at what feels like my veins burning; as if there is lava flowing through them instead of blood. My body starts heating up to the point where I feel like a fire is lit inside me, my body is cooking itself on the inside.

And like a light bulb switches on, my hearing returns in the same way.

“Ask her what the fuck I should do that won’t kill her!” Vulcan yells to Indigo who is talking to someone over the phone.

“Vulcan...” I whimper, sobbing in exhaustion and pain.

“I’m here, baby. I’m right here. Everything is going to be fine.” He coos, however his gentle yet terrified tone contrasts to his frazzled state.

“A-Am I going t-to d-die?” I cry out, biting my lip so hard that the metallic, coppery taste of blood fills my mouth.

“No!” He growls ferociously, holding me to him tighter. “You will not leave me, ever! The Moon Goddess cannot take you away from me, no-one can.”

I feel comforted and reassured from his words but the fear of this vampire bite killing me is still present. I really do feel like this is my end. Until Damon turns around with the phone, putting it on speaker. The familiar sound of Jezebel’s voice filters through the speaker and I pray she has found a way to save me.

“You need to mark her again, Vulcan.” Damon states, looking at me with pained eyes.

“Mark over the vampire’s bite. Your beast, Vladimir’s bite, will overpower the venom in Aurora’s blood and rid her body of it.” Jezebel shouts into the phone, making me groan in pain at the loudness of her voice.

My temples throb viciously and my vision starts to blur, making me cry harder. I’m sweating profusely and feel like tearing my clothes off and jumping into a bath full of ice. Clutching my head in pain, I press my face into his shoulder just as a loud scream of agony escapes me. My body is trembling to the point where I bet it looks terrifyingly abnormal and my hair is matted to my forehead, slick with sweat.

“I don’t know if this will save her but, we have to try.” Jezebel’s voice filters through the phone, sounding just as worried as everyone else right now.

“What the – is there nothing else that will absolutely save her?!” Vulcan roars, thoroughly pissed off.

“There isn’t anything else! I have looked in every book and racked my mind for every possible solution. Other techniques will cause instant death for a human, I’ve seen it myself!”

“Jezebel –”

“She won’t make it anyways if you don’t try, Vulcan. We have this one way to save our Luna, just fucking do it!” Indigo sternly speaks from the front, yet everyone notices how his voice wavers in worry.

Vulcan looks down at me as I’m trying to rip my cardigan off me, growling in frustration. It makes me look up at him and whimper in sadness at his conflicted expression. I know he is afraid of my possible death, this is nothing either of us had imagined. I choke on a sob while raising my shaking hand to cup his cheek. He lets out a loud whine of sadness and fear, tears welling up in his eyes. I feel my own watering up again at the thought of me not making it. I have to be strong, for him.

I gasp out for Indigo to close the partition between us so that him and I can be alone. He complies and both Damon and Indigo look back at me sadly, also with tears in their eyes to which I smile at. I can’t offer reassurance or hope at this stage because I don’t know what will unfold in the next few moments. I whisper out an “I love you,” to Damon, hearing him repeat my words with a shaky smile.

Once the partition is fully up, I grind my teeth together as another bout of pain flashes through me making my back arch and a tormenting scream tear through my lips. Sobbing hysterically, I let Vulcan peel my clothes off fully, uncaring of my nudity in front of him. It’s disgusting how wet with sweat they are. I thank the heavens that the windows are tinted since everyone else is driving behind. Clutching onto his shirt, I pull him close and he rests his forehead against mine. Panting heavily, I know I need to give him that final push, regardless of whether it saves me or not.

“You...need to...bite...me.” I grit out, my voice hoarse from screaming for so long.

“I know.” His lips quiver and before I know it, we’re both crying.

Vulcan crying is such a heart-breaking sight. His shoulders hunch and shake with sobs, tears racing down his cheeks and his bright, forest green eyes dull. He holds me so tight that I can barely breathe, but I cherish the moment. What if it’s my last?

“I love you. More than you can ever know, please remember that.” I cry softly, caressing his cheek with the pad of my thumb.

“I love you too Aurora, my light. You mean everything to me.” He whispers back, stroking my hair as he stares back at me in sadness.

I nod, both of us knowing it’s time when my vision blurs in and out of focus and my breathing slows, just like my heartbeat. He quickly leans forward and presses his lips to mine in what is a kiss full of hope, love and heartbreak all rolled into one.

I watch with half-opened eyes as his fangs protrude from his gums, slightly longer and sharper looking since his wolf, Ruxin, has also come out along with Vladimir. Green bleeds to black and red swirls in a hypnotizing manner. As a weak cry of pain leaves my lips, he looks down at me with so much love that I feel my heart breaking all over again. I mouth ‘I love you,’ to him, too weak to say it and smile shakily when he says it back.

And just like that he sinks his fangs all the way into my neck and over the bite, eliciting a scream of absolute agony from me. It’s raw and unadulterated pain. It’s getting too much for me, my breathing is slowing, I can feel my heartbeat decelerating and my vision is darkening as if a black sheet is being pulled across my sight slowly.

And then I’m thrown into darkness.