Hyblood

by Budd, Stephanie; Wolf, April

  Chapter 23 Failure

  Jocelyn stood on her balcony, leaning against the railing as

  she looked out across the lawn. It was the day after Gaspard had found out about her werewolf blood and her about him being a vampire. She let out a soft sigh, a smile on her lips as she thought of Gaspard. He finally knew the truth about her- and he still loved her. She shook her head as she silently laughed at herself. How silly she was being. Even after everything that had happened last night she was as carefree as a songbird. And the only thing that mattered to her at the moment was waiting for Gaspard. She was unsure when he would show up, so she was willing to wait out the day, if she needed, in her room until she seen him again.

  Her happy thoughts and pleasant mood were suddenly interrupted as she heard voices growing louder on the first floor. Was that her father yelling? She wondered, whom was he yelling at? She gave one last look to the grounds outside before turning to her room and put a hand on her bedroom door, pressing an ear to the wood as she strained to hear the words the loud voice was echoing up the stairs. Biting her lower lip gently, she slowly opened the door- her curiosity having bested her once more. As soon as the door opened a crack another voice sounded through, clearer then the first.

  "We had no choice, Victor, we had to leave!"

  Was that Olivier? Jocelyn thought. Panic streaked across her once calm expression.

  "I gave you three one mission, one simple mission and this is what I get!"

  "If it was so simple why did you send the three of us?" A new voice picked up.

  Jocelyn would know that tone of voice anywhere. Cecile! Then Theo must be here too, Jocelyn thought, her mind racing, Father is yelling at them for failing in killing Gaspard! She took a step out her door then paused, her heart racing. Even if I don’t like them, even if they did try to kill the man I love, I must do something. Anything.

  She closed her eyes as she tried to clear her mind on what do to. Gaspard could be here any moment, and she could not let him enter into her room, into the mansion, with three extra werewolves then there usually are.

  She released the air from her lungs as she suddenly realized she had been holding it in. After taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves she stepped out of her room fully and headed down the hallway and spiral staircase- her head held high as she came into view of the meeting that was taking place.

  "Father?" Jocelyn called as innocently as the knots inside her stomach would allow her as she eyed her father and Gaspard's attackers. She tried desperately to keep her facial expression blank and unreadable as she was hit with many different looks: Guilt from Olivier; utter hatred from Cecile; boredom from Theo; and a mixture of shock and anger from her father. She wasn’t sure which bothered her more. The look Victor was giving her, or what he was discussing with the trio.

  "Well, well, hello princess. We were just talking of you, weren’t we boys?" Cecile sneered at Jocelyn before receiving a very hostile glare from her own brother for silence.

  "What are you doing down here, Jocelyn? We are discussing a very important affair!" Victor spluttered out, his neck and face turning an unhealthy shade of red with his rising blood pressure.

  "Then would you not call a meeting father? Why just them? Aren’t I a part of the pack now?" Jocelyn’s eyes flashed a bit as her own anger for what he had sent the three to do filled her mind and then quickly shoved away. Now was not the time for rash actions, she had to be quick and deal with this as delicately as possible if she was to have them leave.

  "This doesn’t concern you, Jocelyn-" Olivier began to say, trying to cover his own guilty actions by making her leave; he could not stand the look Jocelyn was giving him, but his words were suddenly cut off by Cecile.

  "Are you mad, Olivier?! Of course it concerns her. She is the one who stopped us! She is the reason we failed!" Cecile yelled loudly, shooting Jocelyn a hate filled look. If Victor's face had not been red enough from Jocelyn merely showing up, it was nothing compared to the hue his face now turned at Cecile's words. His own daughter had betrayed him. Betrayed him for a vampire and she acts as if nothing happened.

  "This cannot be true...this cannot be true..." Victor just repeated over and over. "Jocelyn how could you? Do you not know what he is? I sent them to protect you and you go and betray the entire pack!"

  If Victor had thought to make Jocelyn feel guilty, he was far from it. She stood as tall as before, looking her father in the eyes as calmly as she could with just a hint of anger on her brow.

  "I have betrayed no-one father. It is you who have betrayed me. You kept a secret from me ever since I was born; you never once told me I was a werewolf until it happened. And then I find out you have me betrothed? And to the man I do not even love at that? No father, it is you who has done the betrayal."

  Her words struck Victor as hard as any physical blow. But instead of showing his pain, he covered it up with rage and anger. He would not have his only child speak to him in such ways in front of part of the pack, when he was leader! As well as an embarrassment to the man she was betrothed to. But before he could give his own reply to her actions, she was already walking up the stairs back to her room without a single backwards glance to Gaspard's attackers.

  "What an ungrateful little-"

  Olivier cut off his sister’s snide comment for Jocelyn as he watched their leader sit down in a chair rather gratefully, as if not only his body was tired, but his mind was as well. There was a rather uncomfortable silence as Victor sat there, motionless, for a few moments before he finally spoke up once more.

  "You three have failed. No matter the circumstances, you have failed nonetheless. The trust I had besotted in each of you is no longer available and you will be treated from now as if you were pups again…" Victor began lecturing them with a fierce tongue as his anger began to get the better of him, drowning out his own grief as he kept talking.

  The words Jocelyn spoke to her father had not only hurt him, but they had hurt her to say as well. She appreciated her father’s love, but he had no right to do what he had planned with Gaspard. And although she felt sorry for hurting him with her words, a part of her felt a sense of calm for saying what she did. She let out a sigh as she entered her room once more, leaning against her door after she shut it as it all sank in. She was unsure if her words had done anything aside from hurting herself and her father. Nor did she know if the trio would be leaving anytime soon. She let out a sigh of mix emotions as she continues to lean against her door, completely unaware that someone else was in her room.

  "Jocelyn?" Gaspard murmured quietly as he stepped out from his shadowed hiding place to stand in front of her.

  "Oh, Gaspard! You frightened me for a moment!" She laughed a bit trying to calm her racing heart at Gaspard's sudden appearance.

  "Is everything alright? You seem...troubled," he continued in a quiet voice as he took her hand and lead her to sit on her bed.

  "I’m fine, it's alright."

  Jocelyn shook herself a bit to try and calm herself, the last thing she needed to do was tell Gaspard of the meeting that was occurring one flight below them. She looked at Gaspard, her face calm until she seen he looked troubled as well.

  "You seem to be the one who is troubled."

  She said just as quietly, bringing a hand up to touch his cheek softly as she tried to look in his eyes, but he averted his gaze. Gaspard hated how he was acting, but what choice did he have? He wanted to tell her so badly of Lucas' plan. How he loved her. And not because of what anyone wanted him to do, but because he truly loved her. I should at least warn her, he thought quickly, and then shook his head ever so slightly, No, it would be best for her not to know after all. He sighed and looked up at her, a dazzling smile on his face.

  "It's nothing." Gaspard closed his eyes suddenly as a familiar scent came to him. His eye's flashed open, his eye's sparking, as it all came together for him. Those smells, those all too familiar smells. Why hadn’t he seen it before? The three wolves that were so keen on attack
ing him just the very night before were in this mansion, only a flight of stairs away from him! But what angered him even more was who one of those werewolves were.

  Olivier.

  Now that he had the scent of the three wolves in his brain, they would never leave, and he would be sure to track them down. All he needed was to see the faces of the other two, just to make it permanent in his mind. As Jocelyn watched Gaspard's expression turn hostile and seen his fangs perk under his top lips she knew right away that he knew the wolves that tried to kill him where here.

  "Gaspard, no!" She barely kept her voice from shouting as she grabbed onto his shoulders, "You can’t do anything!"

  "They could have killed you too, Jocelyn!" Gaspard snarled as he tried to stop himself from throwing her aside from his building rage.

  "Gaspard, please, calm down," She begged as his eyes turned fully purple, "You cannot do anything. You cannot give them another reason to kill you!"

  Gaspard began to calm down as he looked down and saw the terror in Jocelyn's eyes. His eyes flickered back almost instantly as he looked at her, his fangs slowly receding.

  "Jocelyn...Jocelyn, I’m... I’m sorry."

  Sorrow filled his voice at what he had just showed her- the monster inside of him. He sat back down on her bed, his back hunched, as he covered his face with his hands, his fingers digging into his black hair. He was prepared to hurt her just to get to the werewolves who tried to kill him. He gave a small flinch as he felt Jocelyn sit next to him and wrap her arms around him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He lifted his head a bit and peaked at her face, and what he saw shocked him a bit.

  She was not scared at what he had become before her, she was not even angry. No. Instead she was looking at him with compassion, love in her eyes. He wrapped his own arms around her quickly, hugging her as tightly to him as he could without hurting her.

  "I’m sorry-"

  "Don’t be," she cut him off gently. "You have a right to be angry."

  "I could have hurt you..."

  "No. I do not believe that. I love you, Gaspard, and I trust you. I know you would not have hurt me, nor would you ever."

  Her words relieved him, but they also cut him deeply. She still trusted him, and he continued to hide Lucas' plot from her. But it's for her own good, he tried to convince himself, if I tell her, he'll hurt her. He released his grip on her and looked in her eyes,

  "I swear, I won’t ever hurt you." "I know that," Jocelyn smiled and kissed his lips softly.

  Chapter 24 Wolva

  As Gaspard made his way through the forest between the

  Roux Mansion and the Vampire Castle, his thoughts were of Jocelyn. He had not intended to stay with her until the break of dawn; lying with her in her own bed with no less than two werewolves moving around somewhere else in the very same mansion. But, although his time with her had taken longer than he planned; he did not regret a single moment he had spent with her. It was as if there were no worries. No worries of what could happen of them and the two sides that threaten to tear them apart. To him, it felt as if her lying in his arms took away everything that had ever caused him grief, remorse, pain. But no matter how good it felt, he had a few things to do. Breaking away from her bed, leaving her to sleep alone, had nearly killed him to do, but he had to ask Gabriel a few questions. It didn’t occur to him until he was dashing to the castle that he knew very little of Gabriel, his own mentor. And what’s worse, he never even asked. Gabriel had always answered his questions, even if a very few he did avoid. That settled it. Gaspard would learn of Gabriel soon, it was only fair. But tonight was not the night. Tonight, he needed to learn of more important matters.

  As the castle loomed into his vision, the sun brightening the darkly built walls, he sped up his pace until he neared the doors. The sun wasn’t what made his pace quicken, he could have cared less of that. He just wanted to get to Gabriel's room soon and have his questions answered. Ignoring the somber guards he dashed up the stairs and past the many doors leading to his mentor's room. As soon as he was in front of it he let himself in without so much as a slight rap on the door of greeting. Gabriel would have known he was coming as soon as he entered the castle. Gabriel had been standing at his usual spot by the window and barely turned as Gaspard entered.

  "I heard you coming."

  "Tell me about Werewolves," Gaspard asked suddenly, taking a seat near the window. His eyes trained on Gabriel.

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows at his sudden question, and then smiled a bit, "I had been wondering when you would ask of them. I am actually a bit shocked it took you so long."

  "What do you mean? Are you saying you knew of the werewolves the whole time and never told me?" Gaspard was outraged at this. How could Gabriel keep something so big from him?

  "Calm down, Gaspard. Even if I had told you of them, even just that they existed in this area, who's to say that you would have even believed me, eh? Its one thing to say they are real, but another to actually convince someone of it as well. You had to find out on your own of their existence." When Gaspard said nothing of this and just gave him a spiteful glare he took the other seat and continued, "Now, what exactly do you wish to know of them?"

  Gaspard was a bit taken aback at this. He hadn’t given actual questions thought; he had just expected Gabriel to tell him everything. What did he want to know? Everything.

  If werewolves were actually here, and that the very beasts wanted to hunt and kill him, he needed to be prepared. And after all, the more he knew of how it affected Jocelyn, the better.

  "Does it pain them to change?"

  "Yes. Greatly. Their very bones must break and extend to go from human to lycan in a matter of minutes, sometimes less than a minute at that. Their first change is the most painful, and although the more they change the less it hurts, they will always experience pain no matter what. And especially on the full moon at that."

  "Do they not have a choice during the full moon?"

  "No, they do not. Some say werewolves are merely slaves to the moon. Subject to change as soon as it hits the center of the sky in its full birth no matter how much they wish not too. And, I am sure, that you have already realized they can change on free will on other nights aside from the full, correct?"

  "Yes. That was one question I did not need to ask," Gaspard said, slightly heated as he remembered the night the three werewolves appeared before his very eyes set out to tear him to pieces.

  "Do they have any weaknesses?"

  Gabriel couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at Gaspard's hungry expression as he asked this, "Yes, of course they do. Just as we do." "Well, what are they, or are you going to play games with me again?"

  "No, no games tonight. They cannot swim. As humans, maybe, but I highly doubt you would ever fight a lycan in human form. When they are in wolf form their bodies are too oddly proportioned to swim correctly, and the ending result is death. Severing one's spine will also kill them, human or wolf. Decapitation also goes along with that as well."

  "They seem to be less vulnerable then vampires," Gaspard mumbled almost disappointed.

  "Well, there is one more. Silver. One myth the humans got right in the Werewolves case. But, silver will only kill them if it is mixed with its very blood, poisoning them to death. Binding them in silver weakens them, but we rarely keep them alive long enough to use this tactic."

  "Are they immortal, as we are?"

  "No. Another myth that has been corrupted. Werewolves cannot live forever, but they do not live the normal human lifespan either. They can live up to triple the lifespan of humans, if fate has them live that long."

  Gaspard was clearly disappointed in Gabriel's answer. If he and Jocelyn did somehow find a way to be together, there was no way they could ever live with each other forever. Eternally. His newfound depression on the matter stopped him from asking any more questions for a few long moments until something suddenly clicked into his memory. Lucas' plan.

  "What is the stronger race, exactly? If
I'm going to be dragged into something I want to know what is what."

  "Ah, yes, I had assumed Lucas would not go into full detail on it with you. Lucas feels that the less one knows, the better it is for him to control the situation. But considering the fact that this is a serious matter, it would be best to not keep you ignorant of information."

  Gaspard just nodded at this and awaited Gabriel's next words on the subject.

  "It is called a Wolva, or Wolvae." Gabriel spoke calmly, but with a rather serious expression on his face.

  "You’re kidding me, right?" Gaspard scoffed. A grin on his face as if he had just heard a funny joke. "Now that really sounds like a fairy tale."

  "You better get used to hearing these kinds of things. Because as it stands, you’re a creature from some story book too now. There is a whole other world out there aside from the human one you’re so used to." He spoke sternly, his expression hardening making Gaspard realize the sudden seriousness.

  "You’re not kidding, are you?"

  Gabriel didn’t reply. He just stared at Gaspard with the same expression, answering him with a silent yes.

  "Okay... so a Wolva is...?"

  "It is what happens when a Vampire and Werewolf breed. It is what is produced."

  Gaspard's thoughts suddenly jumped to Jocelyn before he was pulled back again by Gabriel's voice.

  "A single Wolva is stronger than the longest living Vampire to still be walking this earth, and the purest blooded werewolf combined."

  "Purest blood?"

  "Meaning, a werewolf who's blood line was never 'corrupted' by mixing with human blood- no outer breeding." He paused for a moment, "For example, the Roux family has the purest Werewolf blood in all of Paris. All of France even."

  "So then it really is the ultimate race..." Gaspard said, more of an out loud acceptance of what was being said then an actual question. Gabriel knew he wasn’t asking, but he answered anyway.

  "Yes. Not only would they have unmatchable strength, but also they would have the ability to do something no vampire can do- no matter how old it is. It can go into the sun without pain or fear of dying from the inside out. The full moon would still cause it to change as it would any normal werewolf, but it would experience none of the pain that comes with the change from human form to lycan.