Hybrids

Chapter 15

Mila's POV

I was sent away with Luke to see the room we would be in. Nyx was apprehensive, but she allowed me to go. I think that in her own way she trusts Luke. He seems sweet and caring. I won't deny that I was a little worried about Nyx being there on her own. How much would she say? Or better yet, how much would she hide? I think Luke could see some of my concern as I walked slowly behind me. He waited for me to catch up and started showing me around. At first, he showed me the important areas. I saw the kitchen, living room, some of the areas where other wolves rested and our room. I was so surprised! It looked quite fancy. We haven't had anything like this. I know that Nyx will be so surprised.

Luke made some conversation and asked me a bit in regards to us. Nothing too deep. His focused was on how we managed by ourselves, but he also applauded us for our strength saying that I was mature for my age and commenting on the drive that Nyx carried. Hearing this made me happy. To a degree, I felt happy about freedom and everything Nyx has done for us. At the same time, there was some guilt tangled with my happiness. All she had beared and done for us to survive. She worked so hard and barely even slept to make sure I was safe. I felt like I couldn't hold information for much longer. I wanted to trust someone, to be vulnerable instead of being so strong all the time. So, I spoke. I showed my mark and tried to cover it with some humour.

This was my original name, 022. Pretty crazy huh. Then again, Nyx also had a number for a name, and she had been there longer than I had. Did you know that I gave her her name? Pretty cool huh? (fix your tone, your voice is trembling) I love books. Books made me happy and I was reading a Greek Mythology one, which is where I chose her name. I thought it was fitting, since she is so quiet and eerie. She was such a bore at first... (oh no...please, no tears...) So yeah...she's got a cool name because of me. Tears threatened to fall and Luke could tell. Silently, he gave me a handkerchief he had in his pocket to dry my tears. I got closer and just rested my forehead in his chest. I wanted to break down, to scream for me and for her.

She's had such a rough time. We both had, but Nyx? Her's was so much worse. I remember her in containment, covered in cables and a mask to keep her breathing even. I would go and sneak into where they kept her. That's how we met. Because she woke up earlier than usual and guards came in with doctors to make her sleep again. All I could do was hide in a corner and I still got in trouble. No food or water for a few days...

I felt Luke patting my head. His hand was warm. I composed myself and asked him if we could see the outdoors. But his eyes got glossy for a moment and suddenly he said we needed to pick Nyx up. Moira told me that he was mind-linking, it's the way that pack members can quickly communicate. In a way, this made me perk up. I couldn't keep thinking about the time we were there. Mind-linking huh, pretty cool! I hope I can do that someday. Maybe I will if I join this pack.

We pick Nyx up and show her to the room. She was so surprised when she saw it. It made me happy. The T.V. and bathroom were definetly my favorite part. They had a tub, and I could use it! Nyx stayed on top of the rug a bit, she likes soft textures, so I'm sure it made her quite happy. Then, she went to the large windows besides the bed and opened them. They led to a balcony. I knew this would be her favorite part. She could leave some plants outdoors and sit there to relax.

Two days have past and, from what I've heard, I'm ready to go to school. I will start next week since it's already Thursday. Sitting outdoors, I can see my sister walking back to the green house that is behind the house. She's carrying two buckets with dirt on them for the plants. Nyx has been working but she's kept to herself. Luke tends to be around to check on us. He does pass more around her though. He keeps his distance between the two, but it is obvious he is looking out for her. Maybe they think we would still leave? I left the front yard and went to the kitchen. Grabbing a snack, I made my way up the stairs back to the room. Opening the door, I saw on the bed my uniform. It was a blue pleated skirt with a white shirt that had the school logo on the right side, a mountain with the moon over it. I felt so happy that my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. A few more days passed, it's already Sunday. It's crazy to think that I feel so comfortable being here. One more day before I start classes!

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. It was Theo and Zach. Wondering what they were doing, I asked. Turns out that they were going to take me and Nyx out to the mall to get some clothing. Nyx works almost non-stop every day, so, we went to get Nyx from the green house. Her pants had dirt on the knees as she was kneeling planting on the soil some new seeds. She had thick gloves on that were also covered in dirt. We told her where we were going and she wasn't as happy as I was. She just casually got up and said ok.

Wait? Was she really going with us dressed like that?! I didn't have the fanciest clothing, not that I thought it was necessary for a mall. But come one! She couldn't go all dirty! I asked Theo and Zach if they could wait, to which they quickly agreed and just said that they would wait by the car. I ran with Nyx upstairs and looked at some of the clothing I had in my bag. Yes, we still had it in my bag rather than the dresser. I guess she still wasn't as comfortable in the place. She didn't really have clothing with her, but she could use mine. Because we never knew if we could get tracked and potentially caught, we always had a bag ready with some food and clothing. She only had two sets of clothing with her which she would wash in the sink and wear over and over. So I gave her a pair of my pants. A set of black capri pants with a blue sleeveless button up. She always left her hair down, but then again I would too if I had her curls.

We went down, got in the car and Luke joined us. Stopping in the town, we made our way to the mall. It was so big, with so many stores. The window displays held items such as shoes, mannequins with clothing of various styles, electronics, and books. That's where they lost me. If I could, I would read books on a daily basis. I knew Nyx was a bit anxious with so much people around so I held her hand. We went to look for clothing and she was looking at any clearance rack she could see. Zach raised an eyebrow as he noticed her questioning clothing. Zach approached us and told us we could select what we wanted. Nyx wasn't sold.

I cannot continue adding to our debt. This area will do.

There is no debt. We are offering this to both of you.

Even though Nyx was second-guessing, you don't have to ask me twice. We had never been able to get clothing like this. In our case, we used to wear paper or fabric gowns. The paper ones were blue, the fabric ones were light grey. Both absolutely scratchy, square pieces of clothing that really didn't do much for us. They didn't protect us from the cold, especially the paper one, which closed in the back. Wearing that one was a signal of what to expect, another lab rat day...