Hybrid: The Prophecy

Chapter 4

"I knew you would come back," Kai says quietly.

"How?" I respond, sitting down in the same position as last night. Since Kai's sitting only a few feet away from the bars, he's much closer than he was last night. The calm is still all I feel, but there's a certain jittery-calm that I feel from the closer proximity.

"I just did," he responds.

I don't say anything. I don't know why I came here. I look at the ground in front of me, enjoying the calm and also hating reason I am so calm.

"Amara?"

I look up and meet his navy eyes, fighting the shiver that runs through my body at the sound of my name leaving his lips.

"Why are you trying to fight the mate bond?"

"Because of you."

He flinches at my words. Silence fills the air between us, and I hate that's it's the comfortable kind despite my harsh words. It doesn't seem to matter how I feel towards Kai or what I say to him; there's a level of comfort always between us.

I again wonder why I'm here. I hate that there's a pull that brought me here again, only this time there's no motive behind my visit. I hate it.

Eventually, I speak up. "I don't know why I'm here."

"Yes you do."

I huff, "I wish I didn't."

"Amara."

It's weird hearing someone call me by my full name, and another, strong shiver wracks through my body. It shoots down my spine and I sit up a little straighter to try and hide the reaction from Kai.

The corners of his lips lift up in a small smile, and I know he saw it.

"Is there anything I can do to make you stop fighting this?"

On instinct, I shake my head back and forth. His smile falls and his eyes drop to the ground. I wish the sight of it didn't send a stab of pain through my chest.

"Kai," I say, his name leaving my lips for the first time, and I wish I wasn't already wanting to say it again. His reaction to me saying his name is more significant than mine, and his navy eyes snap to meet my brown ones. "You tried to destroy my entire world. You tried to kill the people I love and the people they love. You did kill thousands of innocent people, solely so you could get what you wanted." He flinches again as I list off his sins. Slowly, I say, "How could I ever forgive that?"

He doesn't respond, and he flinches even more at the cold tone of my voice.

I feel bad for how harsh my words sound no matter how true they are. I hate that I'm admitting to myself that I feel bad, because it's not a good sign. Whether I know something or not is not the same as accepting it.

My words should have been the end of the conversation and the end of my visit, but I can't bring myself to get up from the floor. The calm feeling I still have is enough to make me want to stay here indefinitely.

During the day, when I do my best to get by like nothings changed, there's always something that's off. I always feel on edge, whether it be because something is constantly bothering me or because we know that this fight with the hybrids isn't over. It's probably both.

Right now, though, all of that worry and stress is gone. The only thing I feel right now is calm, and I know it has everything to do with Kai.

I'm also exhausted, and after talking to him last night, I slept the best I have in weeks. I'm sure part of my deeper reasoning for coming here is knowing that I'll be able to get another good night's sleep when I get back.

"I'm sorry."

Kai's voice, barely louder than the sound of a pin dropping, slices through the silence. He's looking right at me when he says it, so much pain and regret written all over his face that I believe it for a second. I almost believe the little act he's playing.

After spending (most likely) his entire life trying to kill off the vampire and werewolf species, he can't simply change his mind just because he met his mate. It's not that easy to change your way of life. He put all of his focus on destroying the species so the hybrids could live in a world where they aren't feared, and he expects me to believe that he's suddenly sorry for what he's done after he meets me?

Yeah, no. I'm not stupid.

The only thing I believe is that he's going to use the mate bond to his advantage to get out of here. It's simple, really. He gets me to fall for him, I convince everyone that's he changed and that it's okay to let him out, we let him out, and he disappears.

I'm not playing that little game with him.

"I don't believe you," I say, my tone once again cold and emotionless. I continue to stare directly into Kai's eyes as I say this so he knows I'm not messing around. I finally stand up, the anger that's starting to rise in my chest enough motivation to get me to leave. If I'm starting to feel angry in the one place I feel calm, there's no point in staying.

"I wish I could show you that I mean it."

"You can't, Kai!" I snap, his name slipping out and sending a shiver down my own spine this time. Fuck the stupid mate bond and the ways it affects me so much. "You can't change what you've done. Excuse me for finding it hard to believe that you changed in the timespan of a couple of days when you've spent the last couple of weeks or decades or centuries plotting the extinction of werewolves and vampires. You can't take it all back and pretend that you're a better man now. It's not that easy."

"I am sorry, though!" Kai gets to his feet, his voice raising a little. "I know I can't take it back, and I understand it's going to take you some time-"

"No, Kai, you don't get it!"

I'm taking out all of my stress and worry and frustrations on him, and I feel a mixture of positive and negative emotions because of it. I feel bad for yelling at him for the sole reason that I have the mate bond with him. I'm letting out everything that I've kept bottled up and a secret from everyone, and that feels good. Amazing, even.

We're facing off with the bars between us. "It's not just going to take me some time to forgive you and then we can live happily ever after. You've spent your entire life trying to kill off two different species for your own benefit. Suddenly you meet and your mate and all of your ideals have changed? I don't buy it. I don't buy it for a second." I turn and press the button for the guard to know I'm ready to leave.

His face breaks down at my words. "Amara," he pleads, his tone matching the breaking down. The sight of him look so lost and unsure of what to even do almost makes me wish I hadn't said what I said. Almost.

"No, Kai. I don't trust you."

The door opens, and I turn away from Kai without another word. The calm I was feeling for most of my visit with him has completely been replaced with anger, but I somehow know that I'll still get sleep tonight. Simply being around him has temporarily calmed the restlessness the mate bond is causing me. I'll be able to get a decent amount of sleep, but the moment I wake up tomorrow, the restlessness will return.

As I leave the cells and offer my dad a small, tight lipped smile before taking off into the woods, I know that, no matter how much I hate it, I'll be back again tomorrow night. If seeing Kai each night is the only way I'll be able to fall asleep, I might as well use that to my advantage.

It has nothing to do with my wanting to simply be around him. I want to be around him as little as possible, but I'm also exhausted and am placing a higher value on a decent night of sleep, so I'll pay the price.

A few minutes with Kai each night in exchange for at least eight straight hours of sleep. What could possibly go wrong?