Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale (MxM)

Chapter 25: We're Not Alone Anymore. [Edited]

Nathan Underhill.

After all these years...

How many times did I beg my mom to tell me who my biological father was? I begged her repeatedly, but she never caved in. Even after several meltdowns and angry tirades where I called her a bitch, it didn't faze her. She would only tell me it wasn't the right time to do so and that one day she would. So, after years of failed attempts, I gave up. I pushed the idea of meeting my actual father to the back of my head, burying my anger and frustrations with it.

Did I hate her for it? Yes, I did. As a sixteen-year-old, you hated everyone. My mom had given birth to Lilly two years earlier, which made it more difficult. I was jealous that she had her father with her to guide and love her. Don't get me wrong, my stepfather was the greatest. I loved him. Weird, wasn't it? Not all kids accept their stepparents, but Jacob helped me when I needed him the most. He was a kick-ass dad, and he loved me.

But my jealousy and insecurities killed him.

After another teenage hissy fit, I made a stupid mistake and called my cousin Alex. I wanted to run away and find my father on my own. My mother had a new child and a loving husband and they were planning to join my stepfather's old pack. I felt as if I was in the way of their happiness. They didn't need me anymore. But it ended up in a disaster with my stepfather dying and me, my little sister, and mom fleeing for our lives.

The guilt wrecked me. No matter how many times my mom tried to tell me she didn't hate or blame me for what happened, I couldn't stop blaming myself. How could she not hate me for what I did? I led my grandfather to our front door. Through those several months of depression, I came to understand why my mom was reluctant to reveal who my father was. She must have been scared that she might place him in danger, just as we did with Jacob, and see how that turned out.

The incident changed me. I was no longer worried about having friends or getting involved in romantic relationships. How could I when my grandfather could have used or killed them for just knowing me? It was my most horrific nightmare. And now it has come true.

My mom was going to kill me. My bedroom was a mess. I shredded the mattress into pieces, broke the bed in half, and gutted my pillows. Duck feathers drifted through the air as an icy breeze blew into the room, thanks to the broken window I broke earlier. I hoped the chair I threw through it didn't kill someone.

Rushing over to my closet, I yanked back the broken door and retrieved a red duffle bag from it. I placed the bag on the only table I didn't break. I then began pulling shirts and pants from the closet's railings. Scrambling over to the duffel bag, I began stuffing my clothes in it. What was my mom thinking?! Bringing us here of all places. She knew where my father was, and yet she came here. I walked over to the dresser and yanked open the lowest drawer and removed socks and underwear. She was putting them at risk, and for what?! I slammed shut the drawer, breaking the brass handle.

"She's tired of running, Nathan. So are we." Fenrus told me.

I stomped over to the bag again and cramped my delicates in. "We don't have a choice, Fen! I can't place them in danger or ask them to risk their lives for my sake!"

I couldn't. The idea of getting to know my actual father ripped my body in half. On the one hand, I wanted to stay. Goddess, I wanted to. Not only to build a relationship with him, but also with my sister and obnoxious dick of a brother. But on the other side of the argument, I couldn't take the risk and allow them to come to harm. I had to cast away my selfish desires to keep them safe. I made my way into the bathroom and collected my toiletry bag, but halfway out, a voice called out.