The Hybrid's Destiny

Tania

"You don't have to look so sad all the time now Tania and you don't have to be locked up in this house every day. Go out there and have fun. Meet new people and socialize." My sister Lorraine says, I know she means well but I work every day and when I come home, I have kids that need me. I don't have time for friends and socializing. I wish she could understand that I don't only live for myself now, I am a mom, and I must think of my kids.

"I know I don't have to be locked up here, but I don't feel like going anywhere, even if I wanted to go out who will I go with? I don't have friends and going out alone is just lame." I picked up the toys from the floor packing them in their box, when Theo and Liam play, they leave their toys scattered all over. "Invite a colleague then and go out with her." Well, that is just desperate, what would they think of me?

"Nope, I am not doing that, I am fine like this." She sighs shaking her head. "Little sis, I know you thought that you and the kids' father were going to live happily ever after, but it didn't work out. At least go out there and find someone. I hate to see you like this Tania, you are only twenty-seven and you can still find love." Well, my ex-fiancé the boy's father cheated on me and had a child with another woman.

When I found out, I broke the engagement and left him. We dated for eight years, after we had Theo, he proposed and while planning our wedding when Theo was five, well you might wonder why I waited so long to get married but at the time I was not ready, I felt like I was still young to be married but he kept insisting and I agreed to marry him. When Theo was five, we started with the wedding planning but then a month later I found out that I was pregnant with Liam, and I stopped the planning.

When Liam was a year and half, I found out that he had an affair as old as Liam. Meaning the time, we were planning a wedding he was involved with this other woman, and while I was processing that. I found out that he has a three-year-old daughter with another woman besides the one he was currently cheating with. That means he has been cheating on me for years I just didn't know and there was nothing that said he was cheating because he was always there and never gave me a reason to doubt him.

When I left him and broke the engagement I moved in with my sister and her kids. We don't have parents anymore, it's just us and our kids. She is divorced and working as a night nurse. She took nights so that she can look after the children during the day while I go to work, and I look after them during the night and on weekends. Now with a busy schedule like that, how does one add friends and a social life to that?

"If I am to be with someone else, it has to be someone who will be able to accept my kids because there is no me without them and tell me. Who will want to be with a single mother of two when there are so many single women with no kids out there?" no guy would want to date someone with baggage, and I have a lot. That is why I don't even think about finding a man or love. "Fine, but I want you to go somewhere for a weekend next week when am off, I don't care who you take but I want you to go." I can do with a break; it's been long since I went anywhere without the kids and maybe this will be good for me.

"Alright then, I will go." She smiles at me. "I will look for a place for you to go to and before you say anything. I will look for one that is surrounded by nature preferably with a forest and a river." I smile at her, there is something about nature that soothes me, but I haven't been anywhere near nature in a while. This city is busy with a lot of factories and tall buildings. Nothing of nature around here. "Thank you, sis." I give her a quick hug.

"That's what sisters are for." She wiggles her eyebrows, and I laughed. "Mama! Mama!" I turned and my baby Liam is running towards me. A smile breaks on my face, and I pick him up. "What is it, baby?" I question planting a kiss on his forehead. "He wants food." His brother says coming in. "Do you also want to eat Theo?" he nods and sits next to my sister. My son is a gentleman, he has a calm personality while Liam is the opposite. Loud and energetic.

I made their food and watched them with a smile as they ate. I wish I could have given them more, a family but things did not work out that way, and hope they forgive me for not staying with their father. "Don't look so sad, they say boys are protectors of their mothers, they will grow to be the best man and will always protect you no matter what, and stop thinking your children will blame you for the sins of their father." I am so grateful to have her in my life.

"Thank you for always being here for me, I appreciate everything you do for me and the kids. I love you, my dear sister." She smiles at me and pulls me to a hug then whispers in my ear. "I love you more words can describe, you are what is left of the family we used to have, you might have been adopted but the day mom arrived home with you was the best day of my life." Now she just wants to make me cry.

"Why is that, huh?" I ask even though I knew the answer, she tells me every chance she gets. "Because she gave me someone to talk to, a best friend, and the best sister in the world. I love you, baby sis." I smile tightening my hold on her. Liam comes and hugs my legs and laughed. "You want a hug too baby?" he nods looking at me with those big round and adorable eyes. My sister picks him up and throws him in the air then catches him again.

He giggles as she does the same thing again, oh, how I love my son, both of them, they are my life, but I do need sometime alone just as my sister suggested. I need to get my head straight so that I can come back and be the best mother I can be to them. I have been working hard to provide for them and not even taking a day off. A weekend away will do me good. Lorraine gives the kids a bath while I clean the kitchen after dinner then go and read them bedtime stories.

When I come out of the kid's room my sister has a laptop in front of her. "Come, take a look at this place, I think it's perfect for camping." She tells me with excitement in her voice. "It looks amazing, I love it and I can't wait to be there," I tell her looking at the beautiful greenery in the pictures, I never thought places like these existed but then again, I have not been out much so, I wouldn't know what exist and what doesn't.

"Well, only four days are left in this week and soon you will be going." She tells me and I can't help but smile. Now after seeing these pictures, I am excited about going. "I will be counting days till the day I leave. Are you sure you will be okay with the kids, or do you want me to book their nanny to help you with them?" I don't want her to look after the kids on her days off, she is supposed to rest and not look after children. I know it's a lot of work doing that.

"Don't be silly, I don't need help looking after them, we are going to have fun while you are gone." She tells me and I nod. "If you say so, now let me go to bed, I have a long day ahead tomorrow," I tell her while covering my mouth yawning. "It never stops with your work, there is always a new demanding client to please and I don't even know why you have to be the one to always deal with these assholes." She said annoyed.

"Dealing with those asshole helps me make my bonus to take care of those two kids," she rolls her eyes. "Fine! I swear the day you leave that place your boss will cry." She says closing her laptop. "I doubt that," I tell her walking upstairs to my room.

Samuel

I stand at the top of the mountain with my beta standing by my side looking at my pack lands, everything is drying up now, with each month that passes we lose something, last month we lost all our grain and it's one of the things that makes us a lot of money. The month before that we lost five of our biggest clients in a shady way and that led us to bankruptcy. Then now we woke up to ten of our best warriors dead, with no visible wounds, no signs of poisoning. They are just dead with no explanation.

My father on the other side can't help because he is busy traveling from one pack to another looking for my so-called sister, well, not my sister but their daughter, apparently, she was kidnapped when she was two years old and that is nearly twenty-six years ago. Then five years later they adopted me, and the alpha made me his son and trained me to take over from him. He stepped down last year when my mother started getting sick; she has cancer, and he wanted enough time to look after her.

But now the issue is that she doesn't want to die without seeing her daughter again or even knowing her grave if she died, I think it's a waste of time, someone who was kidnapped at the age of two, I don't think she is still alive and if she was; I am sure we would have found her over the years. My father says he can't mistake her even in her old age, he says his daughter had a birthmark on her neck going down to her shoulder. Get this, he says the birthmark glows in the sun.

That to me doesn't sound real, I know we have wolves that have special gifts, like the white wolf that is believed to be the descendent of the Moon Goddess, we have the sapphire wolf, that can take the shape of anything, that one is just a shapeshifter that likes his wolf form, nothing more. There are others but none have been said to have a glowing birthmark, but every parent thinks their child is special, so I won't take that away from my father.

"What is on your mind, alpha?" asks Derick my beta, I got to the pack when I was five, and the first friend, I made was Derick, we grew up together and went to school together. Now he is my beta and just about the only person who knows me better than my mother. I feel a pang in my heart when I think about my mother, the woman has done a lot for me, and seeing her like that doesn't sit well with me.

"Thinking about my father." He sighs. "Is he still looking for your sister?" he asks, and I nod running my hand on my head. "He is and I hope he finds her. We would both give anything to see that woman smile again and the only person who can bring back her smile is her. The worse part is that we don't know what she is called now or where she is. Father says they looked for her for three years after they kidnapped her and there was no clue." I tell him.

"What will change now? I mean if they did not find her then when she was a baby and still had a chance of finding her what makes him think he will find her now? Am sure if she is still alive, she is a grown woman." he is right I know but we can't just give up. "I know what you mean but we can't just give up, I also wish I was there helping him look but I can't leave the pack vulnerable like that. Not now when people are dying without a reason." I tell him.

"I still believe that the deaths are the work of a witch, no one just dies without a reason especially our kind." I have thought of that, but we don't have any quarrels with the witches, if it's them then what would be the reason? "Can you do something for me, Derick?" I asked now my mind working overtime. "Anything, alpha." He says with a low bow. "Go make sure the campsite we rent out to the humans is ready for the campers coming this weekend. I have somewhere to be." I tell him and walk away.

"Alpha!" he calls to me and I stop in my tracks then turn to look at him. "Yes?" he hesitates before speaking. "I am your beta, and I am supposed to be with you all the time and if I can't, I must at least know where you are going, alpha." A good beta he is. "I am going to see the witches; I need to know if it was them who killed my warriors and why," I tell him and he nods. "I understand alpha, but if it's them don't you think going alone is a bad idea?" he asks, I know it might be a bad idea, but I can take care of myself.

"Don't worry about me, Derick but if I am not back by the fine you finish at the campsite them, you can come looking for me." that seems to put his mind at ease. "Alright alpha, be careful." I nod and leave. I shift into my wolf one more time and run to the witches coven. The witches are peaceful people and keep to themselves. If they are responsible, then they will not just attack me, they will tell me the reason. At least that is what I would like to believe.

'Not all is what it seems to the witches.' Tyger my wolf says. 'I know but I need answers and they are the only ones who can give them to me. I don't want to wake up to more of my people dead Tyger.' I tell him. 'I understand I was just telling you so that you can be careful.' He tells me, I know he is right but for now, I will take my chances. Soon I am shifting behind a tree in the witches' coven and when I emerge from behind the tree the witch regent is standing there waiting for me.

"What took you so long Samuel?" he asks sounding irritated. "I did not know you wanted to see me, if I did, I would have come at dawn." She rolls her eyes at me. "You came here to ask about your warriors?" I nod. "It was not us or anyone for that matter, the gods and the Goddess are angry. The time for the princess to come home has long passed by five years. They have been waiting long enough and now they are acting. Your people will continue to die, and you will continue to lose things that are of value to you until she returns home." I did not expect that.

"So how do I find this princess and why am I the only one losing? If she is the princess of our kind then why are other packs not having the same problems I am?" from what I have read in the history books the royal family was killed and no one survived. In the first few year's people believed the prince survived because his body was not found but later when he did not return to his people, they believed he died.

So, this princess business should not be my problem alone. "You have ears, yet you do not hear, Samuel." She tells me. "What do you mean?" I ask her and she looks at me with pity. "You are the only one having these problems because the princess belongs to your pack, she is your father's daughter." She tells me then turns and leaves me standing there with my mouth hanging open. If my sister is the princess and was supposed to have returned home five years ago, then she would have been twenty-one, and according to what I have read.

The royals only get their wolves at the age of twenty-one while we normal wolves get ours at eighteen. They say their wolves take longer because they are of the purest kind, the only Lycan and some from the Mood Goddess's descent. While we are only their grate, grate, I don't know how many grates grandchildren we are, but our wolves are very young. Wait! If my sister is the princess, then that makes my father the long-lost prince our kind has been waiting for.

Oh, dear Goddess! Why didn't they say anything, why did they continue to hide their identity even years after the war ended? What are they afraid of and was my sister really kidnapped or was she hidden from our kind? What else are they hiding from me? I stood there for a while thinking.

'Let's go back, there is no use standing here.' My wise wolf tells me as if I don't know that. 'Yes, let us go back.' I shift and let him take control. 'Take us home Tyger' I tell him before giving him all the control. I don't want to think right now, I just want to shut my mind down and have a few minutes of peace. Because I feel like there is a lot more coming.

Tania

I said goodbye to my kids and my sister then went to board a plane. I was excited about my trip that I could not wait to get there, this trip feels likes it's going to be life-changing for me and I can't wait to see what it has in store for me. I kept looking at the brochure of the place and imagining being there, standing by the river listening to the running water, or having my feet in the water just listening to the birds singing on the trees around.

Oh, how amazing it will be, I will take the kids the next time I go, am sure they will love it. The flight felt longer, but I did not want to close my eyes as if it will turn back around if I do. I have never felt this excited about anything, well; I have on my tenth birth when my parents promised me a bike, I couldn't even sleep that night, I stayed up till midnight and after that, I don't remember falling asleep but the following morning when I woke up; the bike was standing next to my bed.

The way I screamed made Lorraine come rushing to my room with her face covered in worry only to find me grinning from ear to ear admiring my bike, she has called me stupid and a fool for screaming like that, but I did not care. That evening my parents took me out with Lorraine to celebrate but they never made it home. A drunk driver hit us, and they died on the spot while Lorraine and I survived.

I don't know how but we did and ever since then life has never been the same. I never celebrated my birth or went anywhere by car; I always take a train to wherever I am going, and I have never flown anywhere. This is my first time, and I am loving it. Soon we hand and a shuttle to the place is already waiting. I am so loving my sister right now, if she didn't convince me to come, I wouldn't be experiencing this.

I look out the window as the shuttle leaves the busy city and takes a road that leads us to the bushes. I am anxious and can't wait to get there. We pass some fields on the side of the road and I wonder why the crops look so dead. Did they maybe experience draught this side? It would be a shame if they did because the place will not be as nice as it is in the pictures. The more we drive I see more dead crops and withering flowers.

What the hell happened to this place? I see chalets up ahead and my excitement returns. We Park next to one and the driver helps me with my bags. "Here is a map mam, you can explore all those places and I promise these woods are safe. Most people love going to the river, I would also suggest the flower garden but it died." That is a shame because that flower garden looked amazing in the pictures. "Don't worry, I will check it out and I am sure I will love it," I tell him and he gives me a polite smile before he leaves.

I get into my chalet, and I immediately fall in love with how cozy it is. It has a small fireplace, a kitchen, a dining room, a lounge, and a room. Everything looks amazing and clean. I would not mind living here, just me and my kids being one with nature. How wonderful it would be. I quickly take a shower and change. I want to see the garden and the river today. When I get out of my chalet, I meet a handsome man outside coming my way.

I stop in my tracks and smile. "Hello, I am be... Derick and I came to welcome you and find out if you need anything?" he smiles at me, he is a handsome man with muscles all in the right places, I never would have lived this long in my town if I knew they make men like this on this side. "Hello, Am Tania, I don't need anything, thank you. I was on my way to the river right now and maybe visit the flower garden after." I tell him and his smile turns into a frown.

"Unfortunately, the flowers are dying, we are not sure what the cause is yet, but we are looking into it, am sure you saw on your way here that even the fields are dry." He tells me. "I saw, and the driver told me about the garden, but I would still like to visit it," I say and we walk. "Not a problem then, I will leave you to it and if you need anything please let the maid know and we will take care of it," he tells me.

"I will do so, thank you." I smile at him; he seems like a nice person. "I will leave you to it then." He tells me then leaves. I walk among the cornfield that seems to be dead as well, there are farmers in the fields and they give me this weird look as I walk past them, I just smile and pass. I don't know why they are looking at me like that but who cares, I am here to enjoy myself and no one is going to take that away from me, not even their weird looks.

"Tania!" someone calls to me and I turn to see Derick coming my way. "Hello again," I say and he smiles at me politely. "Am sorry but do you mind if I walk with you, show you around and all that. I have time in my schedule, and it would be my pleasure to show you the place." He tells me and I like the hospitality in this place because it comes with him. "I would like that," I tell him and he smiles.

"Great! Let's go." We walked side by side with him telling me about the history of the place and I asked questions. They seem to have a rich history and I wonder why this place has not been made a historical site. Because according to him the place had been here since the eighteen hundred, the soldiers of the war at that time used this place as a hiding spot to the enemy. Now if that is not history that people need to know about, I don't know what it and this place doesn't only have history but beauty as well.

"Here we are, the Naga River, it is said that in the eighteen hundred the wounded soldiers who drank water from this river got healed but as the years went by, I don't know what happened, but the water lost it's healing powers, it might be a myth we don't know but that is what the history books say." He tells me and for some reason, I believe him. "I would like to believe it is true, if the history books say so then I believe it was, I would have liked to know what the cause was for the water to lose it's power," I tell him.

I saw a beautiful smooth rock just on the riverbank and I kick my shoes off then went and sat on the rock with my feet in the water. The water looks clean and clear and with that soothing sound as the water runs downriver. Derick comes and sits by my side. "This is peaceful and soothing," I say with my eyes closed just listening to the water running and Derick's breathing sounds labored. "Indeed, it is, when I get a little chance, I come here to think." He tells me and I would do the same if I lived here.

We stay like that for a while before I hear movement and I open my eyes and find Derick getting off from the rock. "Time to go?" I ask and he shakes his head. "No, but I forgot to show you some of what this place has to offer, stay there and I will be right back," he tells me, and I nod. I close my eyes again and I feel myself drifting off. I lay on my back on the rock keeping my now heavy eyes closed, my breathing evens out and I heard a whisper.

At first, I don't hear what the whispers are saying but then I concentrate. 'Welcome home, princess, do the ceremony and heal the land. We have been waiting too long for you, heal the land and bring us home.' The whisper says, I am not sure I am dreaming or what is going on, but the whispers repeat the same thing. I feel someone shaking and I open my eyes. Derick was hovering over me with a smile on his face.

"I leave for ten minutes and find you sleeping. You must be tired." He says and I sit up. That is when I noticed he is carrying barriers with a handkerchief. "Sorry, I didn't have something to put them on, but I thought you would like them." he says then pass the barriers to me, "Thank you." I smile putting one in my mouth and they taste amazing that I moaned. Derick chuckles. "Am sorry, they are just so good," I tell him and he nods. "I know." He tells me then comes and joins me on the rock again.