Hybrid Aria by Jessica Hall
Chapter 56

Aria's POV

I tried to fight it, tried to hold my breath, but the wolfsbane burning my flesh had me screaming only to inhale its toxic gas. Just as I passed out. Reid's voice popped into my head, he sounded weak and in pain.

"Keep fighting, stay alive so we can find you.” His words giving me comfort as I succumbed to the darkness.

When I came too, I was strapped to a gurney. I turned my head to the side to see Lily in the cage. She was awake and observing everyone walking around the room. I rolled my head to the other side to see Wendy strapped down along with David. Amber was missing. I tried to ask Lily where she was, but my voice was completely gone. I must have breathed in more than I thought. Lily was covered in burns, the skin on her face all blistered. Her hands blistered, but I was surprised to see she was awake.

The only conclusion I could come to was that her wolf kept her alive, I just hoped Amber was still alive. Wolfsbane was extremely potent, and I am surprised by the amount that has been used on us repeatedly that we were all still alive. I was immune to death, but the rest of them, they weren't. I heard Wendy awaken beside me. She looked over at me panicking when she realised we were strapped to tables like some science experiment. Whatever was coming next, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

I tried to look around. We were in the same room only the table was gone and, in its place, the three gurneys we were placed on.

"Where's Amber?” asked Wendy. I shook my head, not knowing when Lily spoke.

“They took her,” I looked at Lily, her blue and gold eyes gleaming back at me, but she didn’t look scared or sad. She looked angry. I wasn't sure if I was looking at Lily or her wolf, it was hard to tell the difference with her eyes remaining like that. Her voice did sound different though older then the six-year-old girl she is.

The door opened and in walked Kade. A woman walking in with him. Her red hair tied tightly in a bun on top of her head, glasses perched on the end of her nose, she was around my age. She carried a small case in her hands and a clipboard.

“Start with the Hybrid,” he said, looking towards me and pointing. She nodded her head and walked over, standing beside me. I wondered how she could justify doing whatever it was she was about to do, to women and children; did she feel nothing towards us. I couldn't imagine watching a child and other woman being tortured, I wondered how she sleeps at night. Peacefully or restless? Do her sins weigh heavily on her? She opened the box pulling out two syringes one filled with a green liquid. The other was empty. She jabbed the empty syringe in my arm before drawing blood. Her eyes met mine, and hers quickly darted away guiltily, yes, I knew she didn't have a clear conscience and that her sleep haunted her. I could smell her fear and something else. Guilt.

When she pulled the syringe out, she handed it to Kane before Picking up the syringe with the green liquid in it.

"What is that?” I asked my voice croaky, praying to god whatever they were about to give me wouldn't hurt my baby. I don't know why I turned so maternal all of a sudden, but as soon as she neared my arm panic for my baby kicked in, fear consumed me but not for me but for the baby growing inside me. I squirmed trying to get free.

"Oh, it's a mutation of your father's blood, I have been saving it waiting to catch another Hybrid, I want to see if I can make you shift” Shift? Hybrids couldn't shift, was he insane? I had no doubts he had a few screws loose. Just as she stabbed it in my arm, Wendy blurted out the one thing I was hoping to hide from them.

"Stop, she is pregnant, use me,” The woman looked up concerned, her finger hovering above the plunger that could kill my baby. I was too scared to move in case I accidentally injected myself. Kade walked over, lifting up my shirt, revealing my bump. He pulled a stethoscope from his pocket and pressed it against the centre of my stomach and listened. I knew what he could hear, the slow thumping of its heartbeat. He looked up, surprised. He nodded at her. “Remove it.” The woman looked relieved. She pulled it from my arm, and I relaxed. My fear dissipating but only momentarily. "Grab a bigger syringe, I want you to inject it into the foetus.” She looked appalled.

“What?”

“You heard what I said, now get a bigger needle.”

“I can't, I won't do that.” I watched as he grew angry, he reached over and grabbed her leaning completely over me.

“Either you do it, or I will inject you with it.” She shook her head before he let her go. I started struggling against my leather cuffs. Wait leather? This will be a piece of cake. I watched as her hands shakily drew out a bigger needle, she put it in a vial drawing out the green liquid. Her hand shakily moving towards my stomach. Fucking leather, are they for real, we managed to get out of steel braces did they really believe wolfsbane would weaken me that much? Just as her hand went to jab me, Wendy started yelling at her to stop pulling against her restraints before coming to the same conclusion I did. I felt the needle press but not break the skin on my stomach before I moved, the cuff ripping from the chain that held it to the table. I grabbed her hand, her scream echoing off the glass windows.

I sat upright, just as we heard an explosion, the entire building shaking.

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