Olento Research Series Boxed Set: A Paranormal Science Fiction Thriller

by Sarah Noffke

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.”

  - German Proverb

  With his eyes scanning the space, David Sanders entered the safe room. He’d remained quiet as Zephyr showed him around the Institute. It had felt odd to be ushered through an underwater facility and then put through a strange scientific procedure. Aiden had simplified the process to make it less invasive. However, David still looked jarred from the experience.

  “What color are your claws when you change?” Rio said, probably trying to relax the guy or at least draw a word out of him.

  “Um, greenish. Kind of a hazel sort of color,” David said, his eyes trailing over the meat stacked in the corner.

  “That’s cool. I can’t wait to see that. Mine are just plain ol’ black,” Rio said.

  “Well, you’re going to have to wait,” Zephyr said, clapping a hand around David’s shoulder. “He unfortunately has to change in the other room for safety purposes.”

  “Oh yeah, that makes sense,” Rio said, smiling wide at David. “Wouldn’t want you to be around us if you don’t change. That might get a little ugly.”

  “That’s because you can’t control your temper when changed,” Rox said, tapping the door frame. “Come, David. I’ll take you to your cage.” She snapped in the air at him.

  His tentative eyes met those of Zephyr, who gave him a sympathetic look. “I hope the procedure works. We’ll talk tomorrow, after the change,” he said.

  “Okay, thanks,” David said, heading for the exit.

  The door slid back just as fangs, sharp and shiny, ripped through Zephyr’s mouth. His gaze turned on the pack. Rio, Connor, and Kaleb stared back at him, their eyes glowing. “Party time,” he said, letting out a howl that felt entirely natural.

  The three men joined him in a chorus.

  “David, can you hear me?” Aiden said, his voice sounding over the speaker in the room adjacent to the pack.

  “I can,” he said, pacing, his eyes floating from side to side.

  “Try and relax. I’m showing an elevated heart rate,” the disembodied voice said.

  “Right, I’ll try,” David said, pausing and taking in a long deep breath, his eyes closing as he did. When they flipped open the hazel green glowed brightly.

  “Do you feel the change happening?” Aiden said. His words were followed by sharp claws piercing through David’s fingers. The werewolf screeched, a deep cry resonating in his throat.

  “What’s going on? Are you all right?” Aiden said, a frantic edge creeping into his voice. “Your blood pressure is elevating.”

  A single fang punctured David’s mouth, and the other one felt stuck. Clapping his hand to his head, he screamed out again. The pain from the lodged fang was too much. It was going to split his head wide open. Then he pulled his hands back as the claws retracted, but not all of them. Violently he began to shake all over, feeling his pulse like a drum in his head.

  “Ahhhhhh!” he screamed, the agony overwhelming him. It partnered with the panic and he fell to his hands and knees.

  Overhead he heard something. A girl, the one with the blonde hair, wrapped her hands around his shoulders.

  “Let’s have you lie on your back. Aiden has given me instructions on how to help you,” Rox said, her words rushed but calm. David held his head up, tears filling his eyes.

  “Please make it stop,” he managed to get out.

  She nodded, rolling him over to his back just as he was overwhelmed by uncontrollable convulsions. He rocked forward, knocking hard into her. The girl seemed unfazed by the assault, pressing him back down by the shoulders.

  “Aiden, I think he’s starting to seize,” she said, pulling a syringe from her hip.

  “Give him the sedative now!” Aiden said, alarm in his voice.

  With her teeth the girl pulled the cap off the syringe. David reached out and grabbed her hand with the little control he had left. “Tell my sister I love her,” he said, knowing none of this mattered anymore. Knowing this was his end. He shook all over, only half making out the confused expression in the girl’s eyes, and then everything stopped all at once. The tremors. The pain. David’s heart. Taking the wolf out of the man had killed him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “There’s always the hyena of morality at the garden gate, and the real wolf at the end of the street.”

  - D.H. Lawrence

  “What happened?” Zephyr said, when Aiden led him into the lab the next morning. David’s body lay on an exam table. His hands were only half covered with claws. One fang rested on his bottom lip. And there was none of the usual hair that the werewolves had on their arms and face. David’s eyes were closed and Zephyr knew using his heightened hearing that his heart didn’t beat.

  “I’m still looking into it. I’m conducting an autopsy this afternoon. I’m so sorry,” Aiden said.

  Zephyr stared down at the dead body, a deep sadness welling up inside of him. He didn’t even know David, but instinctively cared about him. Grieved his death like he would a lifelong friend. Last night when changed, he froze suddenly, something in him seeming to break off. That had to have been the moment that David died. He’d felt it. Knew it, but also didn’t know the specifics. He was becoming accustomed to these feelings. Learning to trust them.

  “This is my fault,” he said, turning away from the dead body, anger banging in his head like a detonation.

  “Don’t be absurd. This is part of the risks that David was aware of. He still agreed to the procedure,” Aiden said, the usual cheer gone from his voice.

  Zephyr brought his eyes up to where Kaleb, Connor, and Rio stood, shoulder to shoulder, heads low. “I had a bad feeling when I volunteered David for the procedure. I should have trusted it,” Zephyr said, confessing, hoping that would absolve him of the torment pounding in his heart.

  “Z, you can’t put this on yourself. That same thing could have happened to me. I was aware of the risks, just like David,” Connor said.

  “It won’t be happening again because I’m paying attention to my feelings connected with you all. I’m not going to ignore them anymore. You can trust me,” Zephyr said, and then spun around to where Aiden stood cross-armed. “You share a responsibility in this as well. No more of my men go through reverse conversion until the procedure is fully tested and proven safe.”

  “I wish I could make that promise, but with science it is about trial and error,” Aiden said.

  “Well, then no more reverse conversion experiments. None of my werewolves will be lost trying to find a cure. We will just stay as we are,” Zephyr said, his voice steady and conviction laced into each word.

  “Let’s not give up just yet. I’ll innovate the process and do some research. Studying David’s body will help me figure out what went wrong,” Aiden said.

  Zephyr ground his teeth together. “No more testing unless we’re sure.”

  “Isn’t it worth testing? If you can remove the wolf, wouldn’t you want to do that?” Aiden said.

  “You can’t understand this, but remaining a werewolf for the rest of our lives isn’t the worst possible future. You may look at us like we’re cursed, but we aren’t. Innovate your process and we’ll see, but going forward don’t think of us like we’re flawed and you’re trying to fix us,” Zephyr said, his anger now boiling over. The wolf wanted to tear forward. Slam Aiden against the wall. Rip at him. However, Zephyr stayed into control.

  “Of course. I’m sorry if I came across as disrespectful. That wasn’t my intention,” Aiden said, his voice calm and sincerity heavy in his eyes.

  “Okay,” Zephyr simply said and then turned to the entrance, hearing the footsteps and the racing heart of the person approaching. Something was wrong. People’s hearts and steps only raced like that when there was urgency.

  Roya swept into the room, her face red and blonde hair flying. She paused once in the room, her eyes falling on David’s dead body at Zephyr’s back and then to him. “Trent told me t
o come straight to you with my newest report. He wants Kaleb and Rox on a case,” she said. The girl was small, but she had a confidence that felt big.

  “Yes, of course. Anything to help the Institute. What’s going on?” Zephyr said.

  “It’s Adelaide,” Roya said, hesitating. “She’s in danger. In my vision, Mika captures her at Parantaa Research.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Man is to man either a god or a wolf.”

  - Desiderius Erasmus

  This was another thing that was Zephyr’s fault. If he could have just been a better, more effective leader then Adelaide wouldn’t have put herself in danger in order to catch Mika. He should have been the one finding information on Olento Research. Zephyr would have to be stronger, more successful, going forward. He’d have to step back up into his role as captain and take the risks that could turn the tables.

  Turning to Kaleb, Zephyr read the shock in the kid’s face. He was endeared to Adelaide. It was evident in their interactions. Like she was the sister he never had. The one who actually accepted him, unlike his real sisters. “Kaleb, get the full debriefing from Roya on the way to get Rox. You two work with Trent on a strategy to successfully rescue Adelaide. And do it fast. No one gets hurt,” Zephyr said. “Well, except Mika,” he added.

  “I want to go too,” Connor said, stepping forward.

  Zephyr paused, appraising him. Of course he’d want to go. But was he ready? His training was limited and after what happened in Dallas, he wasn’t sure how Connor would react in battle. He’d proven that he was reactionary and emotional in fights, which wasn’t the best combination. It wasn’t the worst, but Connor might not make the greatest decisions if faced with losing something he really wanted.

  “Yeah, okay,” Zephyr finally said. “I want you all back here in twenty-four hours.”

  “You got it, boss,” Connor said, his eyes buzzing with worry.

  Yawning, Adelaide checked over her shoulder as she hurried down the all-white hallway. It was so early that the receptionist wasn’t even at her desk in the lobby. Adelaide guessed she had most of Parantaa Research to herself. The security guard was actually napping when she breezed by him.

  Her heart tightened with nervousness when she swiped the badge over the access pad next to the “suspicious” lab room. It glowed bright green and she pushed the door open. The other door at the far end seemed to stare at her, taunting her with the secrets it surely held. She’d seen the frantic look in Drake’s eyes when he caught her before. They were hiding something in there that they didn’t want anyone to know about.

  Adelaide rushed for the other door just as a crash sounded behind her. She sucked in a sudden breath, turning to find a glass beaker busted into shards on the white linoleum. Her eyes darted around, trying to figure out how it had happened. There wasn’t anything around it. She backed toward the mysterious door.

  “Who’s there?” she said, her eyes buzzing around the room, still unable to find what pushed the beaker over the side of the counter.

  Her back met the door and she spun around, afraid of what she’d run into. Adelaide drew in a steadying breath and reminded herself that the room was empty. She was fine. Shaking still, she slid the badge over the scanner and yanked the door open, ready to see what Mika was hiding. She wasn’t prepared for what stared back at her. Never would she had have expected to see that.

  Adelaide hiccupped on her breath. Her large green eyes widened. Her awareness shifted to include something new. “What in the fuck?” she whispered.

  Behind her another crash. Adelaide slammed the door shut, spinning around. One more beaker lay in pieces on the floor. Something, or more likely someone, was trying to get her attention.

  “Ren? Is that you?” she said, her eyes on the broken glass. A third beaker slid across a foot of space and then slipped to the side of the countertop, teetering before spilling over the edge and breaking. “Okay, I get it. I’m leaving,” she said, rushing for the door.

  The hallway was empty when Adelaide exited. She took off at a sprint in the direction of the elevators. Without a doubt, she needed to get out of there. At her workstation she could dream travel to the Institute. Doing it here would be too dangerous since it took a few moments to generate her body on the GAD-C. Her feet moved faster than ever as she rounded a corner and rushed straight into Alexander Drake. Adelaide halted, staring up at the man only inches from her.

  Rox, Connor, and Kaleb took the stairs at the back of Parantaa Research. Rox was ready to flash her FBI badge at the security guard, but he’d been asleep. In Roya’s vision, Mika catches Adelaide in a room, trapping her. He then knocks her out and transports her to Olento Research for testing.

  Connor flinched when Roya gave them the full report, seeing clearly in his head the sight of a grown man bringing his fist across Adelaide’s face. She fell to the floor, knocking her head on a countertop. Every second made that potential reality a possibility. According to Roya, they were running a bit behind on the timeline, mostly due to fucking Los Angeles traffic.

  Sweat ran down Connor’s brow when they rounded a corner. The room where Adelaide could be found was just up ahead. He could tell the door was open. Dread filled his stomach at the thought that Adelaide was lying unconscious on the floor. He pushed his legs faster, but Rox was still in the lead. She froze when even with the door, her eyes going wide. Connor halted, Kaleb behind him. With her hand, she made a slight wave at them. A motion that he thought meant “back up.”

  “Where’s Adelaide?” Rox yelled to someone in the room.

  “Do you mean Abigail? I’d love to know that myself,” Mika said, his voice making Connor’s chest vibrate with sudden anger. “My clairvoyant told me she’d be in this room right now, but all I’ve found is a bunch of broken glass.”

  Taking Rox’s cue, Connor and Kaleb silently turned and ran in the opposite direction. If Adelaide wasn’t in that room then she was somewhere else in the building. The vision of the future had shifted for some reason. They had to find Adelaide and then help Rox.

  “So we meet again?” Mika said to Rox.

  “Oh, have we met? You don’t really have that memorable of a face,” Rox said, thankful that Connor and Kaleb had taken the hint and rushed in the other direction. The last thing they needed was for Mika to know they were here. If Adelaide wasn’t in this room, then they needed to find her wherever she was.

  A sadistic smile unfurled on Mika’s mouth. He lifted his hand and as he did, Rox rose in the air, floating. “You know, I read your FBI file and discovered that you failed one portion of the training. Someone doesn’t like small spaces. I think I should have a box made especially for you.”

  Rox fought, trying to break herself free of Mika’s telekinesis. However, he had a tight hold on her, so strong was his power. “You’re such a thoughtful man,” she said.

  He flicked his wrist and she slammed into the wall behind her, still hovering in the air.

  “Is that all you got?” she said, lacing a satisfied smile on her mouth.

  Mika narrowed his eyes at her, stepping forward. He was obviously confused as to why his assault didn’t have an effect on her. “What skill do you have?” he said.

  “How did you find out who I am?” Rox said, changing the subject.

  “My invisible spy gave me information on everyone in the Institute. I know all about the people in there,” Mika said, raising his hand and with it Rox flew up to the ceiling, banging her head hard, but not feeling it.

  “Apparently, you don’t, since you don’t know what my Dream Traveler skill is,” she said.

  He jerked his hand down, and Rox crashed to the ground, no yelp of pain from the act. She remained in a sturdy standing position.

  Mika stepped out of the room, staring straight at her. “It’s time we stopped playing games. Tell me where Adelaide is and I’ll kill you faster, rather than slower,” he said.

  He couldn’t really kill her, Rox knew, but he currently had her frozen with his tele
kinesis. She couldn’t move a muscle. This man was extremely powerful to be able to do this with his skill. And that meant she was absolutely screwed.

  Connor and Kaleb made a circle around the building by running in the opposite direction. The hallway seemed to run the circumference of the building, Kaleb noticed. They moved soundlessly through the corridor, thanks to the grace of the wolf.

  Coming around a corner, they froze when their eyes met the wide back of a man. He had a mostly bald head and just in front of him Kaleb could see a small figure, her red hair the only thing he could make out. The man made a good wall.

  “Oh, won’t Mika be happy to see you,” the man said, his words covered in a German accent.

  “I’ll be going now,” Adelaide said on the other side of him. “Step aside.”

  “This time your hypnosis won’t work on me,” the man said. “I’m on to you, little girl. Don’t you know I’m one of the most powerful scientists alive? Don’t think you can outsmart me.”

  He then grabbed Adelaide’s forearm and hauled her in the opposite direction from Connor and Kaleb. The man was a great deal stronger and larger than Adelaide, towing her forward. Her eyes widened with alarm when she spied the two of them, Connor and Kaleb, before being yanked away. Connor raised his palm, probably about to use his fire.

  Kaleb laid a hand on him, stopping Connor. “I’ve got this,” he mouthed. And then he did the thing that had become second nature to him. He paused time. Instantly Connor froze. Adelaide froze. German Jerk froze in mid-step. This never got old.

  Kaleb, knowing he had less than a minute, darted forward. He yanked the access badge out of Little Red’s hand and swiped it on the door to the right. He pried the scientist’s fingers off of Adelaide and then shoved him hard, pushing him with his super strength through the open door. He sprinted for a computer station on a desk and ripped a cord from the back. Then he pulled German Jerk’s hands behind his back and bound them with the wire. He made sure it was tight and then darted back through the open door and closed it. With the similar intention as before, he released time. Adelaide fumbled forward and then blinked at Kaleb.