Hybrid Lena

Chapter 3

-Lilian-

Had I missed something? Or was I losing my mind? No I wasn't, I know yesterday happened. This wasn't some f****d up dream I had, it was too vivid. To real.

For a moment, I half expected someone to laugh to admit this was some elaborate joke, that any second now someone would break the silence and tell me that they found him. But then what would of happened even if they did find him? Did he know to stay hidden of being known to be a wolf? Did he understand how the humans don't like anything but their own kind and that they wouldn't hesitate to capture him to experiment on him or to kill him even.

Maybe that's why he had disappeared, he knew not to be seen. But why end up here in the first place if he didn't want to be caught.

Could he know who I was? Did he sense us, knowing that I was too a wolf. Lena keeps herself well hidden and even manages to keep her scent as bland as possible.

My thoughts ran away a little I almost forgot where we were. I looked around the room. The longer the room stayed quiet, the more horrifying the truth became, they genuinely had no idea who I was talking about. I nudged Noah with my elbow, subtle but insistent, urging him to back me up. He hesitated just long enough for my stomach to sink then finally spoke.

“Sorry, Nurse,” he said carefully. “I think Lilian’s getting herself confused. She’s talking about a patient we had a few days ago in bed thirty-two. That patient sadly isn’t with us anymore.”

My head snapped toward him so fast it nearly hurt. How dare he make me sound like the only person in the room who’d lost the plot? He was there. In the same room. He’d seen the same man, heard the same alarms, watched the same body crash back to life, just like I did.

So why now? Why abandon me the moment it mattered? None of it made any sense to why he wouldn't back me up on this. When I looked up at him, he didn't make any eye contact with me, he focused on everyone else in the room, but me. I felt like I couldn't say much more, I didn't want to be labelled forgetful and not reliable towards my staff, so I kept quiet. Making myself a small as possible so they could move on and forget this conversation entirely. For now.

The handover moved on, and I barely heard it. I forced myself to breathe, to nod when expected, to keep my expression neutral until the room finally emptied. The second we were alone; I turned on him.

“They didn’t understand what I was saying,” I snapped. “that’s why I needed you in there, Noah. Something wasn’t right and you shut it down. You made it disappear.”

His jaw tightened. “I didn’t make it disappear, Lilian.”

“Yes, you did.” I shot back. “You don’t just forget a patient.”

“Lilian..”

“Don’t.” I cut him off. “I’m not dropping this. I’m going to find out what happened to that file. If I can prove he was here yesterday, then someone can explain what the hell happened this morning.” I turned to leave.

Noah grabbed my arm, pulling me back just enough to stop me. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said under his breath. “You’re a trainee. No one’s going to take you seriously, and they can show you the door without blinking.”

I met his gaze, unmoved. Deep inside, Lena bristled low, furious, protective. She didn’t like this side of him any more than I did.

Noah grabbed my arm as I moved away, then released me abruptly, realising too late that people were starting to notice. Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked away.

Halfway through my shift, my thoughts were still spinning. I wasn’t wrong. Yesterday had happened. That wolf had been real. So why was Noah acting like I’d imagined it?

The distraction showed. The senior nurse approached as I checked my patient’s observations.

“Lilian, are you alright today?”

“Yes,” I said automatically.

She studied me for a second longer, then smiled at the patient. “Sorry Miss Jones.” Turning back to me, she waved another trainee over. “Can you take over here, please? Lilian needs a break.” I wanted to argue but she was in charge today.

“Go.” The senior nurse said quietly. “When you come back, I want you focused. If you’re not well, you go home.”

I nodded. A break wouldn’t hurt.

On my way to the staff room, I noticed the storage room door slightly ajar. That door was always locked. It housed patient files. Records. Things that weren’t meant to wander.

I slowed, then stopped.

Before I could overthink it, my body had already decided. I glanced around, then peered inside.

“Hello?” I called softly. “You’ve left the door open.” No reply. With my heart pounding. I slipped inside and pulled the door shut behind me. I shouldn’t be here. And I didn’t even know exactly what I was looking for.

We didn’t have his name. That alone slashed my chances. But yesterday’s date that was something. I scanned the shelves until I found the correct box. Inside were dozens of files from previous day. Too many. My break wasn’t long enough for this. Then I spotted the computer.

I shoved the box back into place, checked the door once more, and hurried over. I nudged the mouse. The screen lit up.

Unlocked.

Luck or something else was on my side. I pulled up the patient database. It was already open, just not to the file I needed. Thousands of names filled the screen; I filtered by date. Still too many. Then I typed in the bed number. Thirty-two. I pressed enter.

Empty.

My breath caught. “What?” I stared at the screen, pulse hammering. Nothing.

No record. No placeholder. No trace. It was as if he’d never existed at all.