Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale (MxM)

Chapter 1: A New House to Call Home. [Edited]

Nathan Underhill.

The day I stopped running was the day I found a new life worth fighting for. I found hope in a man who gave me the strength and courage to face the onslaught of the douche bag who made my life a living hell. My own fucking grandfather.

I was thirteen when my life changed.

When I woke up that morning, two days after my birthday, it felt as if there was something prowling around in my chest. A subtle whisper kept distracting me throughout my magical lesson later that day. My mom had just started teaching me a reflection spell when fate threw me a curveball. A heart-stopping pain floored me, while a searing burn flashed across my body. My bones began cracking, rearranging my body into a macabre version of a transformer. Before I could truly grasp what was happening, I began morphing into a wolf, right under the watchful gaze of my grandfather. The moment my eyes met his, my grandfather's love was replaced by utter hatred. Luckily, for me, before my grandfather could react, my mom ran over to me and grabbed onto my fur before she teleported us away from my grandfather's fury.

Since that day, we have been on the run with only the clothes we wore on our asses.

Eight years later, I pulled into a driveway in front of an unassuming house on the edge of a town called Shadowdale. We had to pack up our old lives in New York City, when my aunt warned us that my grandfather had tracked us down again. Two days later, his henchmen found the deserted apartment we had been living in for the last year. Now the painstaking task repeats itself: we have to begin all over again.

I killed the engine of the SUV and climbed out of the car. So did my mom. My little sister, however, was asleep in the backseat, dreaming sweet dreams while cuddling with her pink, fluffy elephant, Dumbo. I stretched out and breathed in the fresh air while twisting around to take in the surrounding forest's beauty. The last days of summer still linger in the streaks of sunlight that bled through the green canopy warming my face. It was peaceful and lucky for me; we had no nosy neighbors to worry about hammering our door down. My wolf was going to enjoy running around this forest.

"Come on, Nate. Let's shake a leg!" Fenrus growled longingly in my head as he stared off into the distance. The siren call of the forest beckoned us.

"Don't you even dare," my mom said. Her brown eyes bore into me. "I need your help packing out the car and you'll have to go into town to get groceries for the house."

I pouted before shaking my head disappointedly. "Sorry, Fenrus. We'll have to wait a bit longer to stretch our legs properly." Fenrus whimpered. "Don't be like that. Tomorrow's another day."

My mom cupped her hands on my cheeks and drew my attention away from the forest. "I know you want to go for a run and explore your brand-new territory but—"

"I know. There will be plenty of time later." I chuckled, hugging her.

"Thank you, my boy." She patted me lovingly on my shoulder. "Get your sister out of the car while I unlock the front door." She retrieved her leather handbag from the SUV and walked up to the front porch of the house. With a twist of her hand, the door magically opened with a click and she disappeared into the house.

I walked up to where my baby sister slept. She was turning eight in a few months. It gutted me to the core; she spent most of her childhood on the run. She never had a normal life and never would have one, thanks to me. I quietly opened the car door and retrieved her from her car seat. She let out a soft whimper as she wrapped her small arms around my neck. Dumbo slipped from her grasp but I was able to catch the plush toy before it fell on the ground. I walked into the house just as my mother had cast a spell to remove a thick layer of dust that had accumulated on every surface. A trail of dust slipped through one of the open living room windows.