The Hybrid's Hope

Chapter 9: The Best Day

Hope

I know my family loves me. They’ve always been very clear about that. They love me no matter what. But Levi? Levi understands me. It’s a subtle difference, but it speaks volumes about why the Moon Goddess chose him to be my mate. It also speaks volumes about why I think he’s too good for me.

‘He and Malcolm are perfect for us,’ my beast says.

Because Qadira is a blend of wolf and bear, she’s larger than most wolves and even larger than many Alpha wolves. However, she and Malcolm are the same size and that’s always been something that pleased Qadira and made Malcolm proud.

I stare at the necklace he got me, an equal blend of wolf and bear. I’m not sure I’ve ever received a gift that was this special to me.

When I turn back, he’s watching me intently. I know it’s important to him that he got me something so meaningful. He’s always been a thoughtful gift giver, always seeming to know exactly what I’d want or need as a gift.

Rather than try to express the feelings that this necklace is bringing out of me, I walk over and kiss him, right in front of my family. He responds instantly, cupping my face in his hands, encouraging me to extend the kiss rather than making it a quick peck because others are watching. Levi has never been embarrassed of me or being with me. But I’ve always been careful not to show any affection to him around others. It only added fuel to my bullies’ fire.

“Thank you,” I say softly when I pull away.

“You’re welcome.”

“Okay! Now, Mom and Dad’s gift!” Faith says excitedly.

As I said, eighteen is an important birthday for wolves and Faith, being my parents’ birth child, is a wolf. Although my step-father is a wolfless Alpha, he is still an Alpha and therefore, Faith, who does have a wolf, is an Alpha female. For her, her upcoming eighteenth birthday is the most exciting day of her life. She can’t wait to have her birthday and find her mate.

My parents hand me a thin box, more rectangular than the one Levi’s necklace came in. I can tell by the look on my parents’ faces that whatever this is, it’s important to them and they really want me to like it. So, regardless of whether or not I like it, I’m ready to tell them just how much I love it.

However, when I open the box, I don’t have to pretend at all. I stare at the paper and the key in the box.

“Is this …” I whisper, looking up at them.

My mother’s eyes have filled with tears. “I hate to think that you’re going to leave us, and I won’t see you every day, so I expect you to come back to the pack to visit often, okay?” she asks, her voice getting tight.

I nod, my own eyes filling with tears as my father wraps his arm around my mother and Levi wraps his arm around me. He presses a kiss to the side of my head.

“Did you know?” I ask him. I want to pull out the paper inside the box, but my hands are shaking.

“Who do you think talked to Alpha Liam about the arrangement of the apartments?” he says, grinning at me.

I pull out the paper, seeing that it’s a year lease, paid in full, in the offices of Holstin Enterprises, the place where I want to get a job. They have several floors where they lease apartments for the people who work for them. Most of them are lone wolves, or wolves that aren’t happy in the packs. Sometimes, they are wolves trying to make their way in the world or make money so that when they find their mates, they can settle down and start a family. For me, it was about getting away from the packs and trying to find my own place in this world.

While Safe Haven and our allied packs have always been good to me, anytime there are visiting wolves, it puts me on edge. More than once, I’ve been bullied in my own pack lands or our allied packs by visiting wolves. I never say anything, knowing it will cause problems between our pack and other packs, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not sometimes discovered.

For Alpha Richard’s Alpha ceremony, there were so many visiting ranked members that many of the guests overflowed into our packhouse. There were many Alphas and Betas who were there hoping that Alpha Richard was their mate or to form an alliance with the new Alpha.

Guardian Leana, Alpha Liam and Luna Angel’s oldest daughter, walked in on several outside pack members ganging up on me before Alpha Richard’s ceremony. The result was a blast of her power and the dissolution of several alliance bonds. Not that it matters to our packs if the alliance is dissolved. Our three packs are the strongest in the country, probably the world. But I heard that some of the smaller packs who thought they could get by without the support of our packs have since dissolved.

So for me, getting away from the packs is important. But for my mother, it means having to let go of the daughter she’s worked so hard to protect from the moment I was conceived in that laboratory.

“Mom,” I say, my voice trembling as more tears fall down my cheeks.

I stand up and hug my mother who holds me tightly as we both cry.

“I love you so much, Hope.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

“Can I get in on this?” my father asks.

We both laugh and open our arms to bring him into the hug.

“What about me?” Faith asks.

We laugh again and pull her into the group hug. When I open my eyes, Levi is standing there with his hands in his pockets, desperately looking like he wants to join our hug too.

I open my arm to him and he immediately steps up, wrapping his arms around me and my family. I close my eyes and sigh. This, these people right here, are the people who matter most to me in the world.

“Are we going to cry all day or are we going to go down the beach again?” Faith finally says, making all of us laugh.

As we pull away, my mother, Faith, and I all wipe tears from our eyes. I’m not positive, but I think my father might as well. He turns away quickly, so I’m not sure.

“Thank you all, so much. This is the best birthday ever,” I tell them.

I change into my bathing suit, putting my hair up into my new hair clip and leaving my new necklace on. Levi growls possessively when I walk out in my bathing suit, coverup, and flipflops.

“Look at my sexy mate,” he says. Since he’s only wearing swim trunks, I struggle to respond. Sexy mate indeed.

He chuckles, leaning down to kiss me. “Come on. My mate’s polar bear side wants to go swimming.”

We all get in the elevator and I look at Levi. “So, where is my apartment compared to yours?”

He grins at me. “Right next door.”

“Really?” Of course I’ve been to Levi’s apartment. He wanted to show it to me the moment he started working for Holstin Enterprises. “Wait. You said you talked to Alpha Liam. Did you ask him about giving me a job?”

He shrugs. “I didn’t have to. Everyone knows how strong you are, Hope. When I talked to him about the apartment, he asked ME if you were planning to work for him.” He shrugs. “I told him yes.”

“What did he say?” I ask.

“He said he looked forward to seeing you after your birthday. Believe me, he’s got a LOT of work right now. He can’t wait to have you as part of the team. When you get back, you should call him. Or, better yet, you should come back with me, check out your apartment and meet with him,” he says.

As the elevator doors slide open, I realize that my dream is finally coming true. Yes, I’ll be sad to say goodbye to my family, but I’ll be thrilled to get out of the packs finally. I can always go visit my family any time I want, and they can come visit me too.

The rest of the day is spent swimming, playing in the sand, and laying on the beach. For me, it’s the best birthday of my life. Levi is perfect, stealing kisses when he can, but mostly just being there with me, laughing with my family, and talking to me about what I want to do now that I’m an adult.

As we all sit together on the sand, watching the sun set over the ocean, I know that my eighteenth birthday will always be one of the best days of my life.