The Hybrid’s Second Chance
Chapter 83

Julianna's

POV

I woke up to the feeling of Alex shaking me lightly.

"Sweets, wake up. I made you something to eat." I opened my eyes and turned over from my position on the couch.

"I'm not hungry," I told him groggily. The only thing I felt like doing was sleeping for the next one hundred years. At least if I was asleep, then I could pretend like everything was back to normal.

"I know, but you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. You should really try and eat something."

"Why doesn't he eat it then?" Sofia barked. She had gotten past her sadness and had now settled into anger, not planning to move on anytime soon.

"He's just trying to help," I reminded her. She glared at me and didn't say anything as she turned her back and flopped down onto the ground. It was weird being in two completely different stages of grieving.

"Come on," Alex said, extending a hand to me. "I promise you'll love it." Reluctantly, I took his hand and let him pull me from the couch. Once I was seated at the island, he brought over two plates adorned with a sandwich and some watermelon.

"Thanks," I said as he set the plate in front of me. The last thing I wanted to do was eat, but I wanted to try for his sake. It seemed like he was doing everything he could to help me, and I appreciated that. Taking a bite of the sandwich, I chewed and swallowed quickly. Everything tasted of sawdust, but I did my best to force down as much as I could.

"Are you done?" Alex asked, having noticed I stopped eating after less than half of what he had made.

"Yeah, it was great though. I'm just not that hungry as I said."

"I understand," he said, leaning in to kiss my forehead.

"I think I'm gonna go take a bath," I told him, starting to pick up my plate.

"Okay, and you can leave that. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"Thanks," I added with a small smile. I noticed the time on the clock said it was four in the afternoon. How was time ticking so quickly towards the end of the day? The end of the day meant the funeral was approaching, which meant the true end to my mother's life. Sofia whined in my head at my thoughts. Walking over to the large soaker tub, I turned the taps and began undressing. Each move I made felt like it was taking a great effort. My entire body felt heavy, like the weight of the entire world was suffocating me. I slipped into the warm bath water, closing my eyes as I sat down. Once the bath was filled to the point where it might overflow if I moved too quickly, I turned the water off and leaned back.

I don't remember feeling like this when I lost my dad all those years ago. Then again, I was only a child and probably unable to properly process what had happened or my emotions. This time was different. I felt every single emotion as if it was a live wire shocking me one after the other. At that moment, it felt like I was never going to be able to recover from this; how could I? One of the most important people in my life was gone like a puff of smoke in the wind.

There was water all around me, cool and clear, I could see all the way to the bottom of the lake. Popping up, I spotted my mom and Hannah sitting on the riverbank.

"You're missing all the fun," I called to them.

"You know how long it's been since I went swimming?" my mom yelled.

"Did you forget how or something? Come on, we used to do this all the time when I was little!"

"Fine!" she called, standing up and entering the water. Hannah followed behind her with a smile on her face. They both made their way out to me in the middle of the lake.

"It's been a while since I had some fun, she-wolves to hang around with," Hannah commented.

"This pack is beautiful," my mom told her.

"Thanks, I think it's become even better since Alex took over. Our dad did a good job, but Alex is a little more open-minded about new things."

"Race you back to the bank," I yelled, diving under the water. It was refreshing to take off the Luna facade and just be a kid again. The three of us popped up out of the water, where I was taken aback to see men standing around us. One grabbed me by the hair and yanked me from the water forcefully. I didn't even have time to react or shift before I felt the burning sensation of silver on my neck. I knew it had to be silver, as no other metal burned wolves like it. Sofia's anger was bubbling up inside of me, mixing with my own. Who the he** was daring to do this? From behind me, I heard the cold voice of someone I thought I had heard the last of.

"Hello hybrid." The decaying round face of Gregory appeared in front of me. His face graced with a sinister smile that made my stomach churn. I struggled against the man holding the knife, but he pushed it deeper into my neck. "Not so fast," Gregory smirked. "Think about your mom." I turned slightly to see my mom being held by another man, a knife also at her neck. There was a loud growl, and I noticed Hannah had managed to throw off her attacker and shifted. "Don't even think about it Lycan!" Gregory spat in her direction. "Move and they'll both be dead before you move a foot."

"How?" I breathed.

"How am I alive? Oh, I'll tell you all about that as soon as your mate arrives. We have a lot to talk about."

"Julia, I told Jason what's happening because Alex wasn't answering. Hopefully he can get through to him." "No, that's what he wants!"

"He's going to come no matter what, you know that." She was right. Even if I told Alex to stay away, he never would.

"Alpha, we have the witch," a man said, coming into my line of sight. I recognized him as one of the warriors that had followed Marvin and I into the woods on the day I escaped.

"Is she dead?" Gregory asked.

"No, not yet."

"Good, keep it that way. I want the hybrid to watch me kill everyone she loves first before I kill her. You hear that?" he said, looking me directly in the eyes. "I'm going to make you feel what I felt when you took my son and pack from me." "You're fu*king crazy!" I yelled at him. He just laughed maniacally.

"You haven't seen anything yet. Bring her here!" The warrior holding my mother walked forward, shoving her with him. He turned so my mother was facing me. She looked at me, but I didn't see fear in her eyes, I saw resolve and determination. "Kill her," Gregory ordered.

"What?! No?!" I shrieked as I watched the warrior smile with delight. In one quick swipe, he sliced her throat open. Blood began pouring down the front of my mom's body as her skin turned pale and the light left her eyes.

"NO!!" I yelled as I heard the heavy pounding of what I hoped were Alex's footsteps. The pounding got louder and louder, until my eyes snapped open. I sucked a breath in, gathering my bearings; realizing I was still in the tub in our bathroom. It had all been a dream. Covering my face with my hands, a fresh wave of tears began leaking from my eyes. I heard the pounding again, this time accompanied by Alex's worried voice.

"Julia, are you alright?" When I didn't answer, Alex must have decided to break the door down. He burst into the room, as wood from the door frame went flying. "Why did you lock the door?" he said frantically, kneeling beside the tub.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He investigated my tear-soaked face, trying to figure out what happened. "I just had a nightmare," I told him.

"I'm sorry," he said, stroking the side of my face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't," I sniffed. "It hurts to talk; it hurts to even breathe." I began to cry harder thinking about the nightmare. It wasn't exactly how it had happened, but watching the life drain from my mom's face was too much. Alex engulfed me in a hug, basically entering the tub with me.

"How long have I been in here?" I managed to say after several minutes of incoherent babbling.

"A little over an hour," he said. "We have to start getting ready."

"I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"Because if I do, if we have this funeral, it means she's really gone."

"Oh, sweetheart," he said, hugging me tighter. "I know this is hard, but we have to do this. You can do this," he said reassuringly. "There's also someone here who's been asking to see you since they got here."

"Who?" I asked sniffing.

"You'll see," Alex picked me up from the tub and carried me into our bedroom. He didn't seem to care he was now soaked or that there was water dripping everywhere. On his way past, he grabbed a towel from the rack and threw it over his shoulder. Setting me on my feet, he wrapped the towel around me.

"Thanks," I said, fixing it so it wouldn't fall. Walking into the closet, I saw an array of black dresses I didn't remember purchasing.

"Hannah picked them up for you," Alex said, noticing the confused expression on my face.

"I'll have to thank her later," I told him, turning back to pick out a dress. Choosing a simple knee-length pencil dress, I placed it neatly on the couch in the closet so I could first do my hair and makeup.

"So how exactly do these things work?" I asked Alex as I sat at my vanity.

"You've never been to one before?"

"No, I was never allowed at pack functions."

"How does he always seem to forget this?" Sofia said harshly.

"Shh!"

"Right, well, usually there is dinner first which will last until unset. After that, we'll go into the woods to our burial site where everyone gathers to remember the fallen."

"Is the entire pack going?" I wasn't sure I wanted everyone to see me sob hysterically after only being their Luna for a couple of weeks.

"No, just close family and friends," Alex reassured me.

"Thank you," I told him, thinking that must have been his doing. Once I had finished my hair and makeup, I pulled my dress on and picked out some accompanying black pumps.

"You look beautiful," Alex said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He was wearing a black, long sleeve button down, black dress pants, and matching shoes. The cuffs of his shirt were rolled up to his forearm, exposing his tattoo. I just smiled, but then looked at the floor. "Are you ready?"

"No, but let's go."