After searching the CIA offices for nearly an hour, I finally found Wolf curled up in Laswells office under the desk.
"Pup?" I call out in Laswells office when I finally decide to check there. All I get is an answering growl, and I can hear her hiccupy sobs. She's been crying for the last hour and She's finally drained herself dry by the sounds of it. I close the door behind me and enter into the room slowly, crouching down to look under Laswells desk. "Hey Pup. You need to come out now."
Her answering head shake has me sighing. I shift the chair out of the way and crawl under the desk with her.
"Ghost-" She mutters as she tries to squeeze herself into a ball to give me room. Slouching, head bent, I reach out and hoist her into my lap, allowing me to stretch out a little more. Her little yelp of surprise and indignation makes the corners of my lips tilt up. Despite the initial surprised yelp however she doesn't argue, instead settling in against me curled up and sniffling softly.
"It's not your fault you know."
"I know."
"If it hadn't been you, it would have been me. I probably wouldn't have even stopped for long enough to realise she wasn't feral."
"Hmmm..." Her lacklustre answer has me wrapping my arms around her, fingers searching for the base of her neck. "How many times have you had to kill parents in front of the children?"
Her question catches me off guard, my fingers pausing in the soothing scratching as my breath catches in my chest. Memories flood me, my time in the Military, the SAS, and specifically 141.
"Too many times, pup. I've lost count."
She nods, leaning her head against my chest. "Does it get easier?"
"No."
"I thought that might be the case."
We sit in silence for some time and I listen to her breathing begin to ease out. My phone chimes with a message and I check it sending off confirmation to Laswell that I'd managed to find Wolf in the end.
"Why'd you come here Pup?" Curiosity getting the better of me.
"Laswell smells good."
"Better than me?" I ask with a smile, already knowing the answer.
"No." I can hear the beginnings of a smile in her voice as she speaks.
"What does Laswell smell like?"
"She smells like a creamy honey. She has hints of mint. I think she smells strongly of her wife. It's a surprisingly refreshing smell. I think I'd like her too."
We sit for a little while longer and I know when she's sensed my intentions to suggest we leave the little hidey hole she's found as she nods her head. "I suppose so," she hums to my unasked question and slides from my lap and crawls out. She wipes at her face, trying to dry her fur as much as she can. She watches with a soft amusement as I crawl out from underneath the desk and groan as I stretch my cramped back.
"Why did you do that to yourself, Ghost?" She asks, shaking her head.
"Because you wouldn't come out." Her eye roll let's me know she doesn't accept my answer but isn't planning on arguing with me. "Alright Pup. We need to go speak to Ben and Laswell about what to do with Lilly."
"She should go to Australia." Wolfs response is an expected one, and I even agreed with it. But as it was, Lilly as far as we knew was an American citizen, possibly with family who needed to be informed about her. I don't answer her and instead silently guide our way back to the medbay. Wolf trudges behind me lacking her usual grace as her head hangs low. As we approach the medbay however, she begins to straighten herself up and plants a small but genuine smile on her face ready to face Lilly again.
Inside the room that Dr. McKenzie had set up for himself, Lilly sat on the bed reading a book and I wondered where the hell they'd gotten a kids book from. Ben sat in one of the chairs, looking up from his phone as we came in. "Ceri." He looks over her with a concerned expression and standing up. His fingers expertly detach the lower jaw of her mask and then slips the top of the mask off and examines her carefully.
"Is that your name?" The sweet little voice of Lilly asks as she cranes her neck to see what Wolf looks like under the mask. Wolf turns, her eyes lighting up, "Yes."
Lilly gasps, eyes wide as she stares at Wolfs face without the mask in place. She stand sup in the bed and leaps towards Wolf trusting that my War Dog will catch her. That trust is well placed as Wolf reaches out with practiced ease and catches the little waif of a girl. "You're like me!" The little girl squeals. Her hands run over Wolfs face, fingers twisting in her fur.
I wonder how the little girl had missed that earlier considering Wolf was covered in fur but dismissed it as one of those things that kids did. The short barking laugh Wolf let out in surprise bought my attention back to the two girls. Dr. McKenzie watched on in a smug satisfaction.
"I told you, Lilly that she was like you."
"I sure am." Wolfs ears flicked up from hiding amongst her loose hair and if possible Lillys eyes got even wider.
"You're ears are so big!" She reaches up to run her hands against Wolfs ears, and I notice Wolf suppress a shudder as Lilly runs her hands over a sensitive spot. "Where were they before?" She asks trying to figure out how Wolf was able to hide them.
"It's a trick. I can pun them down, see?" she says laying her ears flat against her head. "The fur blends in with my hair, and if I ruffle my hair just so," she shifts her hair slightly. "If you know to look for them, you can see them, but most people don't look, so it's like a magic trick."
I watch from my corner arms crossed as Lilly attempts to pin her own ears barely managing a twitching motion. She growls in frustration, the sound reminding me eerily of Wolfs growl.
"It's ok Lilly. It took me moths of training to learn how to move all those new muscles. Same with my tail," She says pulling her tail from around her waist to show Lilly. Lilly sinks her hands into the fur and begins playing with Wolfs tail almost delicately. "Your so soft!" She sighs and rubs her face against the fluffy fur. I notice Wolf shift from foot to foot, uncomfortable having the little girl rubbing her face against her tail. "Lilly?" She asked, her voice strangled in discomfort. "Can you stop please?"
"But you're so soft," Lilly whines.
"Lilly." My deep grumbling voice forces the little girl to stop and look up. "You need to do as Wolf asks. Please stop rubbing your face against her."
Lilly drops Wolfs tail like she'd been scolded, her expression guilty. "Sorry Wolf." Her voice small and dejected.
"Thank you Lilly. I appreciate you letting go of my tail. I don't like it being touched a lot."
"OK." She gives Wolf a tiny smile, hesitant as if afraid I'd growl at her again.
"Now we have to go find Kate. We need to decide what to do with you." Wolf sat down on the bed and encouraged Lilly into her lap. "Do you have any family Lilly?" I watched in awe as the little girl crawled up into Wolfs lap without hesitation and snuggled in against her body like she'd never belonged anywhere else. "No." She responds quietly and Wolf nods as if she'd somehow expected the answer.
"What do you want to do?" Wolf asked, and I startled, shooting Wolf a glance wondering is she knew what she was doing.
"I... Don't know." The little girl said hesitantly, looking away from both of us. She was lying, didn't want to say what she really wanted. Wolf snuffled in her hair as matted and messy as it was, she could not have been enjoying the smell of the child who had been left to rot in a cage for two years or more. It did however make the little girl laugh as Wolfs nose tickled her. "Don't lie to me, little one." Wolf murmured. "I know you know, so tell me. You won't get into trouble."
Lilly played with the hem of her grubby shirt and I made a mental note to get her some clean clothes and a shower at some point if Laswell hadn't already organised something.
"I want to go with you..." Lilly buried her face against Wolfs chest and her arms tightened around the child protectively. My concern sky-rocketed as I imagined Wolf assuring the little girl she could come with us. Shame curdles through my stomach when Wolf proves me wrong however, shooting me an eyeroll no doubt for being dramatic.
"You can't come with me, sweetheart. I have a very dangerous job and I don't have the ability to care for a child Hybrid."
"What's a hybrid?" Lilly asks, focusing on the word she was unfamiliar with.
"Us. We're hybrids. Not human, not animal, but a mix of both," Wolf wiggles her ears to emphasise the point making Lilly giggle. "But we need to make sure you're cared for. We have a lot of needs, and we don't know how you were made."
Wolfs words trigger something in me, and I can tell by the look she shoots me she's already figured it out. Lilly isn't bonded. She doesn't have a handler. How is she not going feral without the bond? My thoughts begin to race and I know now why Wolf was so adamant on sending Lilly to Australia. The scientists there could try and figure out what the hacks in the labs here had done to make it possible to have a hybrid without going feral. Unless...
I looked at Wolf as a shoot of fear drove through me, the emotion drawing the eyes of both of the girls. Wolf noticed my eyes flick to Ben and back again. Her face contorted, screwing up in confusion, Lilly however look at me with curiosity and I wondered what she could smell. I gesture for Wolf to follow me out. She puts Lilly back on the bed, assuring Ben she'd be back shortly. I move quickly down the hallway and find an empty office that had been left unlocked closing it behind us firmly and locking it.
"What have you thought of Ghost that I've missed?"
"How did a bunch of hacks manage to figure out how to keep a hybrid onbonded, Wolf when your own well trained Scientists back in Australia couldn't manage it?"
Her face scrunches again as realisation floods through her. "No. Why would they do that? Surely it's just a mistake?"
"Wolf, how else would they guarantee that you remain loyal to their military forces. You're an elite team of people all by yourselves, if you wanted to get yourselves lost you'd be able to manage it easily. Bonding you to a soldier who has already proven their loyalty tenfold to the cause is a pretty surefire way to keep you from just leaving. Better than any paper contracts."
"Fuck," her growl is heartfelt and I feel it deep within my own bones. Knowing that she's been forced into a bond with anyone simply out of sheer desperation to keep her bound to one cause ignites a deep fury within me. She pats my chest reassuringly. "What's done is done, Ghost. Unlikely to be able to fix it now." Her voice is a low growl letting me know she's just as angry despite her words. "We need to keep Lilly safe though." Her eyes widen and she sprints back out of the office leaving me behind for a second confused and unsure of what just happened. I follow behind her and realise She's making her way back towards the medbay. Dr. McKenzie had been left with Lilly. Shit. My long legs catch up to Wolf easily as she darts between people in the hall. My height advantage forcing people out of the way as I move. She comes to a stop in front of the door and pushes it open.
Ben looks up at her a small smile playing on his mouth. "Don't worry," he says as he takes stock of her concern and fury. "Dr. Cooper hasn't been informed."
"You knew." She accuses him, staring him down. Her voice is flat and her ears are pinned back.
"Of course I did."
"So it's true then?"
"Yes."
Her tail flicks in annoyance as he answers her.
"Why are you telling me this? Aren't you bound by a contract?"
"Technically, yes. But you're my boss."
Wolf pulls up short blinking rapidly. "Say what now?"
"When the ADF allowed you to go with the 141, you needed a doctor with specialist requirements suiting your needs. I agreed to be sent, but in doing so I was partially relinquished from my duties within the ADF. This left me with no chain of command except you. I am your doctor specifically. Even if you were to rejoin the ADF, I doubt I'd want to go back at this point."
"Why am I only just finding this out now?"
Ben grins and stands up stretching. "I didn't want you to know."
Wolf turns to me accusing me. "You knew!"
"Yes" I respond grinning as I mimic Ben's short precise answers.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Ben asked me not to tell you."
She throws her hands up in exasperation and a growl emphasising her irritation with both of us.
"Ben, what will happen to Lilly if we take her to Australia?"
"I do not recommend you take her to Australia," He says glancing at the girl in question. "There's a reason I haven't contacted Dr. Cooper. I have also advised Laswell to not call Dr. Cooper either."
I watch as Wolfs shoulders slump, her eyes seeking mine out beseeching me for answers I didn't have.
"What's wrong?" The little girl had been so quiet as Wolf had interrogated Dr. McKenzie that'd I'd completely forgotten she was still in here.
"Just trying to figure out what to do, Lilly," Wolf answered her.
"I didn't say anything before but I'd be happy to look after her." Ben interjected, making mine and Wolfs heads snap to him. "I've always wanted a child of my own, and I'm uniquely qualified to look after her hybrid abilities."
Wolf looks at me, her expression hard to read. "He makes a valid point, Ghost. Who else would we trust to be able to make sure her unique physiology is looked after?"
"We need to talk to Laswell," is all I offer in return, her nod of agreeance easing a tension I felt building up between my shoulders.