War Dog

Chapter 86

The next couple of days were spent in and around the labs. As much as Dr. Cooper was on my shit list right now, I still preferred that than being around the whispering hybrids who didn't realise just how good my hearing was. Not only that, but every time I'd decided to go for a wander, Ghost had decided he needed to be with me. As if I was going to be attacked in the one place where hybrids found a safe haven. He got angrier every time he saw the pointed glances in my direction or noticed the whispering. The one time he caught sight of Marcel I felt his aggression spike through the roof. Marcel had smelled it, his eyes going wide before he bolted in the opposite direction, which didn't help the rumours and whispering any.

Hence why I now found myself pestering the scientists and poking my nose around the labs. Which is how I met one of the new potential candidates for the hybrid program. She saw me first, I had absently dismissed her as background noise in the labs. 

"Cerianis?" She called out hesitantly, a thread of excitement in her voice. 

"Yes?" I responded, taking a step back from the advancing woman. She seemed vaguely familiar, her soft rounded face at contrast with her sharp knowing eyes and bright smile. She faltered for a moment as she took note of my defensive nature but reached her hand out.

"Abigail Williams, I'm not surprised you don't remember me. I was at one of the briefings you attended in regards to the hybrid program. There was a small group, maybe five or six of us. Mix of men and women who'd been selected to think about the program."

"Ah," I respond in understanding, the lightbulb going off. I relax and reach out to shake her hand. "Pleasure to see you again Abigail. I take it you decided to take the plunge?"

"Yeah, only took me a year and a half to make the decision."

"No time like the present. What was the deciding factor?"

"The upgrades in senses. Also, it's one of the only ways I'm ever going to be able to make it into the SAS. I'm sure you know just how hard it is for women to be able to go that route. I've heard through the rumour mill you managed to open the way for hybrids to be loaned out to other organisations now too. It's not common and highly discouraged but I heard there's been one other that moved out of the Australian stream."

I grimace as she speaks as I know exactly who she is speaking about. "Sorry, that's my brother, Shane. He got special accommodations based on the fact that I've had some medical issues, they thought it best to have another hybrid on hand to assist. My brother was the best option. Also, the Captain was very... persuasive."

 "You mean he threw a tonne of money at the ADF?" She retorted with a raised eyebrow, hand on her  cocked hip.

"No, I mean her was persuasive. Money was involved to grease the wheels, but he had some valid points. It's highly unlikely the ADF is letting any other hybrids go."

"Why do you two get to leave?" She'd crossed her arms and had begun to frown, chewing on her inner lip. I could feel her inner irritation despite her seemingly pleasant exterior. The scheming and the plotting could practically be seen as the gears turned in her brain. She thought she was being clever. She really didn't understand how much I could see beneath the pretty face she had.

"That's classified," I respond smoothly. "Need to know basis only." It wasn't, as far as I was aware, but I really didn't want problems to start occurring if I started announcing it happened because I went feral without a handler. Despite small numbers of volunteers coming through, I knew unless Dr. Cooper found someone worth saving, he'd just shoot them if they went feral. Even with more wolves managing to make it through the surgeries now, other wolf hybrids would not be extended the same grace I had. I truly was Dr. Coopers pet project. I had to survive to guarantee contracts for additional species hybridisation testing. His next pet project would be whatever new species he had decided to test.