Hybrid: The Prophecy

Chapter 8

Brynn's words sit with me well into the night, and they're the only thing running through my mind as I make the descent to see Kai.

Kai and I can never have kids.

If I get pregnant and have the baby, I'll die. Just like Max's mom and Brynn's mom. My body isn't strong enough to carry a hybrid baby. Who knows if it would be even worse since there's already one full hybrid in the mix. Kai would be left on his own to care for our child. Our child would grow up without a mother.

I feel so defeated. Having children with my mate is something I've looked forward to my entire life, and to have it so easily torn away from me is really bringing me down.

Then again, I don't even know if Kai wanted to have kids.

The guards let me into his cell without any question. I can easily slip past all of them with a nod of my head now that my dad is talked to them, and that's exactly what I do tonight. I'm standing in front of Kai before I know it, matching smiles worn on each of our faces at the sight of each other.

"Hi," I say, approaching the bars and sticking my arm through them to grab his hand and squeeze it.

"Hi," he grins, squeezing my hand back. I see his eyes glance to my lips before meeting my eyes, and I know exactly what's running through his mind. The same thing is running though mine.

"Soon," I say softly, knowing I need to find a way to convince everyone that it's okay if we release him. If it was up to me, I would release him right now. I know he's not going to try anything. I trust him not to escape. Once he's released, I know he'll stay with me. Kai has changed. He's not the same person we were at war with a week ago.

We both sit down, me right against the bars so we can continue to hold the other's hand. The coated bars don't affect me at all, but I do see the slightly weakened look on Kai's face from being so close to them.

With our greeting out of the way, I'm brought back to what's been poisoning my mood all day. I don't beat it around the bush. "Do you want to have kids?"

He looks taken aback, but answers with confidence, "Yeah. One day. A family is something that I've always wanted. Kinda why I joined an evil group of killers," he jokes, cracking a grin. I laugh a little, glad that some humor was brought into the conversation. It breaks the tension I was feeling. I'm even more sad learning that he did want kids, though, because I don't think he's realized that we can't. I have to be the one to break that news to him.

"Why are you asking? And why do you look so sad?" he asks, his voice softer. He places his other hand over mine so my hand is enclosed by both of his.

"I was hanging out with Brynn earlier, and she brought it up."

"Why do you look so sad, my love?" A shiver runs down my spine at him calling my "my love", and the British accent only increases the affect his words have. "Shouldn't you be happy about it?"

"Because we can't," I whisper. Realization dawns on his face, but I continue. "If we get pregnant and I have the baby, I'll die. My body can't handle carrying a hybrid."

"Amara," he says, the pain so evident and clear in the tone of his voice that tears well in my eyes. The heart wrenching sound I just heard is something I never, ever want to hear again.

"I know," I say, forcing a broken smile on my face as I squeeze his hand and let the tears fall.

"I wish I could hold you right now." His navy eyes are aching for it. Aching for me. I wipe away the tears with my free hand.

"Me too." I want to feel his arms around me, comforting me as we come to terms with the heartbreaking news that we can never have children if I want to live. "Soon. I promise."

I will find a way to convince everyone that Kai isn't a threat to us anymore. Brynn will easily be on my side, which means Max is on my side, and with their help, I can definitely make it happen. If I tell everyone that we're mates, that's gotta count for something. Right?

"Amara, please don't make a promise you can't keep," Kai says quietly, his voice breaking once again. Right away, I know he's not mad at me. He genuinely doesn't think I can get him out of here, and he doesn't want the false hope of it happening.

"I never make a promise I can't keep," I reply softly, looking him directly in the eyes so he knows I'm dead serious. "So listen to me when I say I promise I will get you out of here. I don't know how long it will take me, but I'll convince everyone that you're not a threat to us." His eyes widen.

"You really believe that I'm not a threat anymore?" he asks, sounding taken aback. "After everything I did?"

"Of course I do." The answer is immediate. The smile that appears on his face brings a matching one onto mine. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I was kinda the leader of a group of killers for almost seven hundred years."

The joking makes me laugh as I respond, "And now you're my mate."

Impossibly, his smile grows even more when I say those words. It's the first time I've called him my mate without regretting it. The words make me happy too. His fingers start tracing imaginary lines on the back of my hand, the trail leaving little sparks that spread throughout my entire body.

"When I get out of here, let's take a trip. Away from all of this so we can just focus on you and me and getting to know each other. For real."

"So we're not really getting to know each other right now?" I tease.

He grins, "You know what I mean. We can get away from everything that has happened so we're not constantly reminding of it. We can focus on being mates without the war weighing us down."

"Okay. Where will we go?"

"Wherever you want to go." He brings my hand up to his lips and pressed them against the back side. His lips against my skin are almost too much for me to handle. If that's how much a little kiss on the hands affects me, I'm almost scared to know how powerful it will be when we can finally kiss for real.

"I've hardly traveled anywhere. I can't think of a place good for a romantic getaway."

"I have some in mind. Greece is a beautiful place, and we could go right to the coast. Indonesia is another option. The Philippines, too."

"Have you been to all of those places?" I ask, eager to know. Traveling is a distant dream I've always kept at arms lengths away. Being part of a pack makes traveling so much harder than it would be for most people. The farther away we are from our pack and alpha, especially with an ocean separating us, the more anxious we become.

"Many times. I've been all over the world."

"Really?"

"Being alive for seven hundred years has its perks," he grins. "Have you done much traveling?"

"Never outside of the country, no. It's hard for werewolves, being away from the pack and all." Kai nods in understanding. "It sounds amazing, though. Just something that's never been a possibility for me."

"One day, my love, we will travel the world. I promise you that, and I never make a promise I can't keep." His eyes are so full of happiness as he repeats my earlier words, and I grin like a love struck fool as I stare into them.

"Okay."