The First Hybrid

Ashley.

“And that's a wrap!” I called out as I took the final set of pictures. I watched my client; a tall blonde model let out a string of sighs the moment the flash from my camera disappeared. She was tired, I could easily tell from the way she slumped onto the huge water fountain that sat in the middle of the park. Fairy lights streaked across and around the stone sculpture, so carefully that no amount of water could interrupt the beautiful lights from staying up all night. It was a beautiful sight and the perfect background for my photo project, that's why we were both here in the middle of the night.

“Great job.” I gave her a thumbs up and she returned the gesture with a smile. “ You did really great.”

“I hope so.” My client sighed again as she got up on her feet. She sashayed towards me and didn't say a word till she was standing a couple of inches away from me. “Did they come out okay?”

“Okay?” I chorused incredulously. “ They're more than okay. In fact, they're perfection itself, all because you're in them.”

“Now you're just flattering me.” She grinned with a wave of her hand. Even with the pitch-black sky and a few dimly lit streetlights scattered around, I could still see her cheeks redden under the stars twinkling above. “ We both know who the real star is here.”

“You, obviously.” I drawled. “ All I need to do is edit them tonight and I'll send you some copies by morning. Will that be okay?”

“Perfect.” She chimed. “ I'll be on my way now.”

“Me too.” I hunched down to work immediately. “Once I pack up all of my gear, I'll head home too. Text me when you've arrived home, okay?”

“Sure thing.” She nodded before turning in the opposite direction. “ Goodnight.”

“Night.” I called after her. The moment she was out of sight, I shifted my focus to my camera, tripod and a couple of other things that were scattered about. If there was one thing I wasn't particularly fond of, it was packing up after every photoshoot.

I was halfway through packing all of my stuff, when loud noises reached my ears. They sounded distant, but loud nonetheless.

“What the?” I trailed off as the noise got louder. A low rumble resounded around me, like an earthquake had hit nearby. It took me a while to realize it was actually people running around and away from the source of the commotion. Confusion flicked across my face as I headed towards the far end of the park.

With each step I took, people whizzed past me, fear and a million other emotions on their faces. They scuffled about, like they wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but here, but did that stop my curious mind? Hell no. If anything, I wanted to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Low growls reached my ears as I finally got to the end of the park. By the time I'd arrived at my destination, it was as good as empty, with not a single soul in sight. For a moment, I even thought I'd imagined the whole thing, until another low growl reached my ears.

Quickly, I ducked behind one of the huge bushes that bordered around the edge of the park. I still couldn't see properly, but I was sure about one thing; whatever it was, was on the other side of the park.

Whilst still perched behind the bushes, I peered into the dark night, hoping and praying that I would catch the source of the noise. A sinking feeling in my stomach caught my attention, but I ignored it immediately. I'd already come too far just to back out because I was suddenly feeling uneasy.

An even louder growl pulled me from my monologue. From my spot behind the bushes, I peered upwards, just to receive the biggest shock of my life. Just a few miles away from me, were two wolves, wrestling and hurling each other around to the death.

I blinked once, twice, hoping that somehow I was drunk and maybe imagining things. The night was chilly, so maybe the cold was making me delusional, right? I thought. But with each minute that passed, I realized this wasn't a dream. It was reality. Immediately, I felt around my neck for the strap of my camera and luckily for me, it was still there. I had no idea what I would have done if I'd dropped it behind.

It was a rare occurrence to see wolves in the city. Hell, it was next to impossible and here I'd been blessed with the opportunity of seeing not just one, but two wolves wrestling with each other.

Without any more hesitation, I raised the camera to my face and took a picture. In my excitement, I forgot to turn off my camera's flash. The moment I clicked a picture, it caught the wolves' attention. I froze as they both turned to me, obviously searching for the direction the light came from. My breath hitched in my throat as I anticipated their next move. If they decided to chase me, there was no way I would be able to outrun them.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as one of the wolves dashed in the other direction, heading deeper into the woods. It took me a while, but the moment the first wolf was out of sight, I watched the other one crumple to the ground, obviously injured, but that wasn't the weird part. A gasp slid past my lips as slowly, the wolf morphed into a man, right in front of my beady eyes.

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. I was obviously seeing things. I'd seen enough and I needed to get out of here now. With my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I slowly backed away from the scene.

Maybe if I'd done so sooner, I wouldn't have picked up on the mystery man's voice.

“Help me, please.” His voice was barely a whisper. “ Please.”

Ashley.

I was going to regret this, I couldn't help but feel that way. As I trudged back to my car with a half-dying man resting on one of my shoulders, I let my mind run wild with as many possibilities as it wanted. Who would have thought that a simple photoshoot in the park at night would turn into something else?

A battle amongst wolves, in the middle of the night? What was this? Battle of the animals? But that didn't creep me out as much as what had happened next. I literally lost it when I watched the wolf turn into a human, the human I was currently and slowly pulling back to my car at the other end of the park.

From the corner of my eyes, I stole a glance at the man. If I could call him that, that is. Brown hair obscured a good part of his face, but it wasn't enough to cover the blood that dripped down the side of his skull, and it didn't stop there. The more I pulled him towards the direction of my car, the more tiny blood drops that seemed to splatter all over the park grounds.

Goosebumps crept over my skin at the cold breeze that blew by. It was late, way too late to be out here by myself and that was one of the main reasons I didn't want to leave this man all alone. What if that wolf came back for him? Was he also a human too? Had he gone deeper into the woods so he could morph into a human too?

I shook my head immediately, willing the thoughts to go away. This wasn't the time to think about all of this. I heaved a sigh of relief as my black sedan came into view.

I literally sprinted towards the vehicle as I ignored the searing pain in my shoulder. Getting him into the car proved to be more of a hassle than I'd thought, but after lugging the man for a good thirty minutes, he was finally comfy in the back seat. The moment I grabbed the rest of my photography supplies, I started up the car's ignition and stepped onto the road that led to my apartment.

The moment I pulled my car into the driveway, I helped the semi-conscious man out of my vehicle and into the house.

“There. There.” I cooed gently as I set him down on the sofa in the middle of my living room. A huge gash lined his forehead and it made me wonder how he hadn't passed out by now. “ Stay still while I go get some supplies.”

My fingers shook as I rummaged around my closet for the first aid kit. After minutes of turning my bathroom upside down, I finally found it.

“Hey, hey.” I tapped the man gently on his cheeks. Hooded eyes struggled to hold my gaze as he slipped in and out of unconsciousness every now and then. “ Stay with me.”

I sucked in a deep breath before getting to work. Immediately I stripped him of his shirt, and I almost gagged. A huge and bloody gash at his sides and lower torso stared back at me, the wound pulsing and letting out more blood. There were a couple of others, and it made me wonder how this man was still alive up until this moment.

Slowly, I wiped down the blood before applying some ointments. After wrapping him up in some bandages and more ointments, I headed to his face. Even with the scars and injuries that lined his face, he was still an eye candy. His deep blue eyes and pointed nose would have made for a good distraction, if he wasn't so badly injured.

“Mate.” He whimpered the moment I pressed an ointment onto his forehead. “ My mate…mate…”

An awkward silence settled between us as he mumbled consistently. Every time I reached out to dress or treat one of his wounds, he mumbled the same word over and over again. But that wasn't even the most creepy thing.

“What in the …” I mumbled incoherently as I watched one of his wounds close up. Fear snaked up my spine as another one closed up again, leaving his skin as smooth as ever.

Wasn't he just wounded right now? Then how did it disappear so quickly?

“Oh, no no no.” I muttered as I got on my feet immediately. This wasn't making any sense. How could he be injured one minute and the next he was perfectly fine? I knew I shouldn't have helped this mystery man. Was he even a man? Was he even human? Because the last time I checked, humans weren't capable of healing in seconds.

“I know what to do, just breathe.” I took in a mouthful of air before exhaling again. “ I'm probably just hallucinating because I'm tired. I'm sure once I get a good night's sleep, I'll be fine.”

****************

“What are you doing here?” I asked the moment I stepped into my living room the next morning. I had no idea what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn't expecting the man I'd saved the other night to be sitting in my living room, without a scratch on his body.

“You saved me last night, remember?” His voice was soft and calm. “ At the park.”

“ Yes, but you were injured and you still should be.” I whisper-yelled. “ You almost died last night.”

“But I'm fine now.”

“ That's impossible.” I interjected. “ You should be…”

The rest of my words died on my lips as he pulled open his shirt and true to his words, he was actually fine.

“This can't be?” I muttered as fear raked through me. It made no sense. How could someone who was on the verge of dying last night be healthy by morning? “ No, I'm just imagining things.”

“No, you're not.” He chuckled, even though I found nothing funny. “ Look, I can even stand.”

And he did. It took everything in me not to bolt out of my front door and report to the nearest police. This made no sense at all.

“ What are you?” My voice was barely a whisper. “ There's no way you're a human.”

“I'm a wolf.” He let out slowly. “A werewolf."