The Hybrid

14. Puddin cup

"Well," He begins, awkwardly tilting his neck, "Liam and I go waay back." He squirts the cream onto the top of the pudding from an angle. The sputtering sounds of the almost-empty can echo through the room.

"Way back to where you snuck into his party to 'take care of some business' without him knowing?" I give him a dull look.

I watch his lip quirk up as he takes another lick of the pudding.

"That is not the point." He deflects, his eyes remain on the bowl, "the point is," He points a pudding finger at me, "we need to get you out of here." He licks his finger.

"I can't leave!" I exclaim at the insane man eating chocolate pudding in front of me.

"Why would you want to stay? Are you insane?" He puts the bowl down and looks at me with confusion.

Addison. If I had Addison, I would easily walk out of here with a rogue. Hell, he could escort our happy asses all the way back to the SilverMoon pack. But if Addison is not here, I am not leaving. That is the only reason I am here in the first place.

"Liam has-had my friend captive. And I can't - if I leave and he finds her. I just can't leave." I try to explain.

"He had or has your friend? Was she also a wolf?" He questions, leaning onto the counter with his elbows.

I nod.

"You mean the same blonde mutt I found caged up last night?" He smirks.

My eyes pop out of my head as I shoot up from my seat, "You were the one that let her out?"

"Yep." He nods, picking the spoon up and shoving a brown blob of pudding into his mouth. "She's fine, back at my cabin."

"Oh my gosh Russell!" I scream with joy, running to hug him. He tenses at my sudden moves and drops his spoon in the pudding. He lets out a small chuckle before returning the gesture.

"Now that we got this mushy stuff over," he says as he stands straight and releases me from the hug, "are you ready to go?"

.

.

.

.

The soft leaves rustle beneath my white sneakers that are already beginning to accumulate mud. It has been about an hour of trying to keep up with Russell's unreasonably fast pace and my feet are beginning to ache.

"Liam has allies everywhere, spies even, watching." Russell sends a quick warning behind his back, "You can't trust anybody."

"What happened between the two of you anyways?" I pry.

I watch as the muscles in his shoulders tense. I contemplate taking my question back. It really isn't my business.

"I grew up around him and his brother." He breathes out, pushing a branch away from his face.

"Oh." I press my lips together.

"Yeah, it was great. He and I grew pretty close until his brother went ballistic. Then there was the whole drama about me trying to kidnap his hybrid." he sends me a wink.

A small shudder washes over me as I realize that I am walking through the middle of the woods with an absolute stranger.

"Careful!" Russell suddenly gasps, picking me up by my waist and moving me to the other side of him just in time for my ankle to barely miss a large bear trap. "These woods are rigged with traps," he warns in a hushed tone.

My mind flickers back to the last time I encountered a bear trap. It had sliced my ankle so deep that I could see bone.

I begin to walk closely beside him in fear of stepping on another trap. The sun had slowly been sinking behind the trees and soon the woods would be met with only the low glow of the vibrant sunset.

"It's getting late, are we there yet?" I finally whine. My feet ache and my stomach still rumbles from lack of food.

"Almost. Are you scared of the dark?" He flashes a wicked smile.

"No" I reply a little too quickly.

There is a loud roar in the distance. I immediately jump, grabbing onto Russell for moral support.

Russell simply lets out a mild chuckle as he grabs the hand that is clinching his arm tightly. My ears are then filled with a menacing growl from behind us. The hair on the back of my neck uncurls, standing up straight.

Russell and I turn around at the same time. His body hardens beneath my touch. My lips part as I am met with the dark chocolatey eyes that belong to only one man.

Tyler. 

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