Hybrid Aria by Jessica Hall novel Chapter 55

Aria’s POV

Wendy looked up at the noise that ripped from Christine. Christine climbed to her feet, having not noticed Wendy’s crumpled form lying beside her, her eye’s only on her prey. That prey was Amber, her own daughter. I struggled with my restraints, my hand slipping out from the wrist cuff, leaving only my elbow now stuck in the second cuff along that arm.

David, noticing the crazed look, started calling out to her, fighting to release himself, anything to distract her from hunting her own defenceless daughter, who was unconscious and unaware of the danger she was in, from her own mother. Wendy grabbed Christine’s leg, but her bloodlust had completely taken over her. She didn’t even look down at the tug on her leg, her eyes solely focused on that of her daughter.

“Wendy, you have to stop her, I can’t get free.” I screamed. My bone in my upper arm snapping under the pressure I was exerting trying to break free. My bone breaking through the flesh just above where my elbow should be. I screamed from the horrendous snap, my nerves in my arm feeling like I just tore straight through them. My arm bending, I was able to slip out of the cuff, my right arm dangling at a weird angle, blood running down my arm and dripping on the floor. I could already feel my arm shifting back into place and the wound healing as I endured the pain of my bones rearranging.

Christine, smelling my blood, turned and looked in my direction. The first thing I noticed were her amber eyes, except the pupil was blood red. I don’t know what they gave her, but it was clear to me whatever it was, it wasn’t just my blood. Whatever they did altered her DNA. Right now, I was staring back at the perfect predator. No recognition on her face that I am her friend, her Luna. I realised in that moment whatever was left of Christine was gone.

Wendy staggered to her feet between us, but Christine’s eyes never left mine. She was hunting, and I was her prey. Wendy lunged forward falling into Christine’s body and knocking her on the floor before landing heavily on top of her. Wendy was sweating profusely, and I could tell she was exerting what little energy she had left trying to stop her. They wrestled on the ground, Wendy trying to pin her down, but she was no match for her. Christine threw her off, Wendy smacked into the steel table her head smacking the side of the cage Lily was trapped in.

Amber groaned and shifted in her seat, dazedly looking up. Her groan, a distraction to Christine as her eyes snapped to that of her daughter.

“Mum?” Amber said, her voice a murmur as she tried to work out what was going on. David started screaming, trying to get the attention off her own daughter. I saw his braces starting to pull from the wall when his shin bone snapped, trying to get his leg free.

I struggled with my other arm, breaking my left hand before sliding it out of the wrist cuff. I was close, I just needed to free my other arm.

Christine lunged directly over the table at Amber. Amber’s scream jolted Wendy to her feet just in time for Wendy to grab her around the waist. Adrenaline must have been the only thing that got her to move so fast because Wendy was there fighting her own best friend to stop her from destroying the one person she loved most in this world. Wendy slammed Christine into the wall next to me before Christine kicked her in the stomach, making her double over.