The Hybrid [malexmale]

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

"I can't believe you bit her!"

"I can't believe you're still here." I deadpanned, standing up straight and turning to face Xenon, who glared at me from a safe distance across the room. He'd burst in here no more than half an hour ago, spent half that time glaring at me, before exploding on me over my reaction to Lea, which granted was a little much, but I couldn't control the hysteria anymore than Xenon could control his now.

Thankfully, Akin had left to go discuss the current situation with Raven and since I was on house arrest for my own protection, I was not allowed to leave. This way, Akin wouldn't beat the crap out of Xenon for barging into our room uninvited. Akin was extremely territorial, especially when it came to Xenon.

"What are you? Some kind of animal? Jesus Christ, Hannibal. I'd think you had a little more civility than that." Xenon ranted angrily, pinning me with those eerie white eyes. I said nothing in response to that, merely gave him an eye roll before I went back to unpacking Akin's things he'd brought over earlier.

The fact that Xenon had mistaken me as civil was almost laughable. Me? Civil? Akin trained me, and he trained me long and hard and well, but there were some things no amount of training could prevent and my biting Lea was one of them. I shouldn't have bitten her... who knew what her blood could do to me? But the moment of panic, the fact that she was lulling me to sleep with some kind of spell, infuriated me and the rage had consumed me long enough to snap at her before I succumbed to her spell.

"She's not what you think," Xenon continued, making me shake my head at one of his favorite things to bitch about, "You don't know the story. Go to Lea and just sit and listen. I'm not even telling you to accept it, just to at least listen to her, Hannibal. She's suffered for several thousand years wondering what happened to you." Now that was another laughable concept.

Oh. She suffered several thousand years? Wondering what happened to me? Gee, yeah, I wonder what happened to me. Definitely not after she dumped me on Iapetus's door step in the middle of the night and left without so much as a goodbye. Hell, I probably even would've settled for a "see ya never, hybrid".

She suffered several thousand years? Oh yes, I'm sure the bowels of the Source were just awful. Sitting there in silence, engulfed by the black arms of a supposed death were just miserable.

That was the kind of existence I craved for those several thousand years. I would've given anything to be trapped in the Source as opposed to the reality of what happened. I would've loved eternal darkness and mock death as opposed to getting beaten every night, getting bit by snakes, being poisoned, and those were just the fun parts. It got worse. But Xenon didn't need to know the extent of it.

No one did.

Not even Akin knew the gruesome details of it all, and he never would. He already cringed at the gist of my stories. I didn't want to scare him or hurt him anymore by explaining in full detail.

"Are you done yet," I asked after a while, taking out one of Akin's shirts to fold it up and set it aside on the bed, "I have more important things to do." Xenon made a noise of supreme annoyance, making me arch a brow and turn to give him a droll stare that he returned with a fierce glare that hardly intimidated me. We both knew which one of us would win in a fight.

"You're only hurting yourself, Hannibal," Xenon insisted, making me once again roll my eyes and turn away to continue unpacking, taking Akin's clothes to the walk-in closet across the room, "Why can't you take a leap of faith for once? You did for Akin, and Akin's done a lot worse than Lea, trust me." His words froze me in my tracks, a surge of anger flooding my veins at his reminder.