Hybrid

Chapter 24

Grace barely managed to catch Gideon’s dead weight when he crumpled into her, his hands fisting into the back of her gear, sobs racking his whole body. 

He heard somebody approach them, Leo’s familiar voice speaking, “What happened?”

“They lost Phantom’s heartbeat in the van, they have to shock it back, get it running again. She took some nasty blows from what I saw.” Grace panted, Gideon was a lot heavier than he looked he knew. 

Leonard made a startled noise in the back of his throat, “Gideon, get off Grace. You’re too heavy to be carried.” His tone changed, his eyes going unfocused as Gideon straightened and looked at him. “She's coming back.” He sounded confused beyond belief. 

“Who’s coming back?” Grace asked, puzzled. Gideon wiped his face off, mentally glaring at himself for crying, he hated doing it and rarely did. 

“Lilith. She’s here actually.” His brown eyes fastened on the bird stitt perched on Gideon's shoulder. “Right there in fact.” 

The raven croaked angrily, its glossy black feathers ruffled. Finally it leaped off his shoulder, the shape changing rapidly to the black doctor that had attended to Phantom in the Academy, Kelly Carter. Her arm was hugged against her stomach, it was clearly broken. “Dr. Carter?” Gideon said in a dazed voice, thinking he’d hit his head somewhere. 

“Actually, it’s Lilith Black. I’m the only shapechanger known to several people, like Leo here.” 

Grace gasped, realization dawning on her face. “You’re the one he’s imprinted on!” 

“Yes, you must be the other daughter. Gwen hates Phantom and you look like her anyway. I’m not surprised I’ve been kept a secret, it would be scandalous to have two families and be imprinted to no one in either.” Lilith’s hair was a tangled mess, her other hand held the note in a tight grasp. 

Gideon felt like he was about to faint, shock slamming into him repeatedly. “Why’s your arm broken?” 

“That’s between the hybrid and I.” Her hand tightened around the note. “For the meantime, I need to go to the infirmary to put my arm in a cast and help with Phantom as much as possible. She will live, no matter what you may think Gideon, she’s been through a lot, but she has you to live for. In fact, you’re coming with me, having your mate nearby actually helps the injured draw strength from them. Let’s go.” She was slightly limping, he couldn’t see her leg since she was wearing a white dress that was torn at the hem, near her feet, which were bare and bloodied. 

He caught up to her, which wasn’t hard considering her slower gait. “How badly did they hurt you? You’re limping along with a broken arm and a disarrayed appearance.” 

“They didn’t do as much as they wished, after they strung the note from my leg, they let me go. I do assume you’re talking about the elves.” She tried to hurry her walk, only managing to make herself stumble. “Cursed leg,” she muttered, lifting the hem of the dress, revealing scars and cuts up the bottoms of her leg. “It’s not the first time they’ve managed to catch me, stupid doorways.” 

“How did you even come to know Phantom?” He inquired curiously, keeping his eyes trained on where he was walking. 

She pulled her hair over her shoulder with her good arm, wincing lightly. “A couple years after she was born, so when she was four or five, Leo and I had met and he’d imprinted on me, he asked me to be his daughter's guardian angel, Lord knows she needed one. Thankfully and oddly, her werewolf side let her communicate with me in bird form so it made it ten times easier to watch over her. I became her angel, messenger, and in a way, a parent. Then I revealed myself in the infirmary at the Academy, she didn’t recognize me because I surely don’t look like a bird in human form though, I could tell that she sensed something off about me as you did with her. I am the only one of my kind, I’m not even sure how I came along, my parents are a mystery to me still. I love Phantom as if she were my own daughter.” They reached the werewolves headquarters, heading for the second floor. Lilith was slower than usual, her face barely showing her pain.