Novel & Cerita Hybrid Aria By Jessica Hall

She was ready. The hallway outside was eerily quiet. Aria’s heels clicked against the marble as she moved back to her collaboration suite, her team watching her approach. She felt a strange exhilaration, a spark that wasn’t fear and wasn’t triumph. It was awareness. Maya hurried toward her, eyes wide. “Aria… was that…?” “Yes,” Aria said quietly, sitting down at her desk. “That was power. And that is how it looks.” Ryan muttered under his breath, “I think I just witnessed Damian Cross destroy someone without raising his voice.”

I will tear him down from the bottom he should just wait and watch. I bumped into someone. “Watch where you're going!” I screamed and shoved the person off me. It was Jessica, she has remained in the shadows since after her humiliation. “You dare tell me that?” She stepped in front of me. “Yes, I dare you. Irrelevant thing, you think you're something anymore? Aria whooped your ass so badly, now you're nothing.” “I will whoop your ass now though.” She inched closer even more. “I dare you, come on. Even if you do that, I will mess you up later tonight. You would be surprised how much things will change

Aria sat opposite him on the bed, her palms open, eyes gleaming with mischief. “I learned something new tonight,” she said, her voice a little breathless. Kieran arched a brow. “And you’re going to demonstrate it here? On our bed?” She smirked. “Depends. Do you trust me?” “Not even a little,” he said, but the way his mouth curved told her he’d let her do anything. Aria focused, pulling on that thread of light the witches had helped her shape. A soft glow spread across her hands, flickering like candle flames before smoothing into something steady. Slowly, deliberately, she let it spill outward, weaving into a sphere that floated just above her palms.

My feet are unable to move, to save me from this, to save me from listening to my greatest pain reduced to casual gossip. “Killed?” Someone scoffs, “More like butchered? I heard they found his body torn into several pieces deep inside the woods.” “Is the hybrid even real?” “Of course it is! No other creature could have done that?” “What if he comes back for her? He can kill the entire pack.” “Shouldn’t she get kicked out or something? Her very presence here is endangering the entire pack.” The feeling of eyes burning into me gets even stronger, the contempt in their voices leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. My hand moves to my chest as my heart constricts, the pain far greater than any phys

She took a deep breath and looked at her hands, then at the full moon above her. Aria could feel it. She could feel all her powers slowly coming back to her. She smiled with tears of joy swelling in the corners of her eyes. She felt all her wounds slowly closing up. Then, determination flowed with the power in her entire system. Her eyes turned crimson-red, her claws grew longer, and her fangs showed up. “Time to kill a hybrid,” she told herself. -- Despite talking and spilling ancient secrets to her friends about Aria, Lizzie managed to drive faster and they arrived in Crescent Hills in just thirty minutes.

~ ARIA POV ~ The coffee mug trembled in my hands as I stared at the headline on Michael's tablet. The black letters seemed to blur and sharpen, blur and sharpen, like my mind couldn't quite process what they meant. *"Jessica Campbell Released Early on Technicality"* "Aria." Michael's voice cut through the white noise in my head. "Look at me." I couldn't. The words kept swimming on the screen. Ten years. She was supposed to serve twenty, but some lawyer found a loophole, some procedural error that—

But just as Lyra thought she had won, she revealed a shocking reality. Lyra's angry words, "Aria, you're not who you think you are," escaped her lips. "You're not a wolf at all. You are a hybrid, and you have the secret to unlocking the secrets of ancient magic. Aria's eyes widened in dread as her thoughts whirled with the knowledge. Was she crossbreed? What did it mean? As Lyra's words hung in the air, Aria had a strange sensation that rushed through her body. Looking down, she saw that her fingers were becoming longer and her nails were getting sharper.

The atmosphere felt calm. Respectful. Almost sacred. Jessica found herself drifting from piece to piece. Absorbing everything. Eventually she stopped beside a large abstract painting. Blue and gold swirls stretched across the canvas. Beautiful. Yet somehow unsettling. "I don't understand it." Henri appeared beside her. "Good." Jessica looked at him. "What?" Henri smiled. "People worry too much about understanding art." He gestured toward the painting. "How does it make you feel?" Jessica studied it again. For a moment she considered lying.

I look at her quizzically. “Not even Varia has such a powerful aura.” she whispers to herself, she seems worried. “Rydon, you know our laws though! We do not accept hybrids; they are powerful and dangerous! She cannot stay here!” Alpha Rydon’s wife screeches “Fucking mongrel” the girl growls. “Shineera, enough!” She looks at our father. “What! Do you expect me to call her sister? Does she even have a wolf? Mother said her mother was a slut, how do we know she is not as filthy? Are you going to let such a hussy in our pack?” she says in a degrading tone?