First nothing happened. But then the air around the ball seemed exacerbated. Small clouds formed around it. Then the cloud dissipated, and in the globe’s metal surface, small sparks of electric light came to life. They were the same ones that I had seen from the clouds – spider lights – crawling around the ball, growing in size and velocity. When these prickly globs of oscillating light reached a high velocity, flares of light branches crackled through the air. Soon the globe turned to a medusa of electricity. I saw some cover their ears. But everything was silent. At least to me.
I was frightened. Stepping back, I looked at the presenter, who stared straight at me, while the outline of his body turned white. It was as if he became one with this energy.
I looked down on my feet and saw the spider lights quickly inching to my toes. Heavy breathe turned to ragged gasps as these lights climbed through my legs and upward to my groin. My throat tightened, choking me as panic gave way to fright. The energy sparks ascended on me. Upward they went, through my legs they concentrated on my womb.
Panicking, I kept stepping back until my back reached the piano, bumping unto the man who was playing. When he looked at me, I saw was one of the most gorgeous eyes of I’ve ever seen. The face of Elliot looked at me with electric blue in his eyes. Save me..
He looked at my womb. He touched the very area where the light coalesced. His touch gave an indescribably feeling of pleasure mixed with pain, which brought me from the upward of infinity to the downward nothingness. Upward and downward, that’s how electric currents flow.
When she awoke, she realized that she was dreaming. A weird dream to stay the least. Her eyes flickered at the expanse of the deep ceiling that towered above her, giving her the feeling of being swallowed by its massiveness.
She realized that was lying in a Victorian sofa, the type where women were painted in ornate detail. The soft wool of a majestic, ornate rug greeted her feet as she got up. Wooden antique gold gilded desks with marble surfaces adorned with figurines gave the room a rustic presence. But it’s most impressive quality was the roaring fireplace that cocooned the room with its warmth. The room was comforting, like a womb where she could spend a day lounging lazily. Her camera equipment rested on the corner by a piano.
The piano that looked vaguely familiar.. But where is Elliot?
Her thoughts scrambled from being outside the door with the spider lights, then she remembered falling into darkness. He must have saved her. She needed to thank him. And there was still that interview.
She heard the creaking of movements from the floors above. She got up thinking twice whether she should wait for him or meet him. There was no more time to waste. She had a deadline. Saturday.
Taking a few steps through the banisters, the hair of her arms and neck stiffened. There was a charge in the air. The feeling only intensified as she ascended the stairs. Peering at the floors, she saw lanes of hallways lined by an innumerable number of rooms. Not one was occupied. So much desolate space, unshared nor used. It was as if life had been drained away from the halls.
The static feeling that enveloped her only intensified as she reached the top of the staircase. The top floor was unlike the rest. For one thing, there was only one door. She hesitated for a second, afraid of what may lurk in the room. There could be morbid scientific experiments. Frankenstein carcasses electrified to life by a mad scientist. But she saw his eyes at the doorway and saw none of these malice. He was a Tasla, they were known to be eccentric, but it didn’t stop them from contributing to the rise of humanity.
Entering the circular room, she found herself peering in amazement. The room was enormous and round. It had a second floor which encircled the first with a wide bannister, like a continuous balcony of an opera. It was designed for presentation. The perimeter of the room was filled with an expanse of books and small devices, which were barely illuminated with the light source.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of walking into an observation deck. Stepping forward, she could feel herself getting attracted to the center, where the whole room was designed to coalesce. A device stood mysterious under the light from the ceiling. Following the light, she looked upward to a small circular slit of the ceiling dome.
The light beamed on this thing, giving it a holy effect. Like adult fingers on a child’s piano, something made it seem vaguely familiar to her. Was it.. was it.. the object she had seen in her dream? She neared the machine feeling its heat. This indicated that it must have been used recently.
Her reflection on the stainless steel ball curved as she examined the contraption. There were no wires. A wireless energy source perhaps? She was reminded of what Antonio had told her that the key applying the new power source was wireless. He said it was impossible. But if Elliot succeed, he would make energy so cheap and accessible that he would revolutionize everything under the sun.
A low growl tore into the room, echoing down, sending shivers to her spine. It was wolf-like growl that sounded threatening as if someone had entered the wolf’s territory. From the balcony of the second floor she saw quick movement fading into shadow. Looking up she tried to catch the movement. There was something up there stalking her.
Finally she caught sight of it. It was pacing slowly. Encircling her from above. It was rather dimly lit, but she could see that it wasn’t a wolf… not entirely. It appeared rather human looking. Maybe a trick in the shadow she thought to herself. Her eyes trailed it as it moved in and out of shadow. It was rather ape-like with a big hunch on its back as it walked on all fours.
“Elliot?” she said not expecting the dome to magnify the volume of her voice. She didn’t intend for her voice to boom.
It responded by snarling loudly that she had to cover her ears. Satisfied, it started walking in slow stalking steps. She could see the blue specks of light emanating from its eyes. The door, she thought. She could make a run for the door but judging from the speed of that thing she would barely make it. The gulp on her throat was the size of a toad. Damn it. What now?
“Elliot?” she said, consciously softer.
It stopped. Large paws gripped the bannister, perched like a gargoyle. Eyes of electric blue bore down at her as if she was prey.
“I told you to leave.” A deep rumble tore from the dome. The blue light intensified, releasing a cloud of dust which shortly dissipated in the air.
“Elliot? I’m sorry, there was this light..” she caught herself stepping forward. There was something strangely magnetic to him. “.. and I.. I’m Gina. Remember? The reporter?”
“Gina.” His growl steadily less threatening. “I told you.. to leave!” The rumble was even lower than the deepest thunder.
“I would like to leave, believe me! But not before I thank you. And certainly not before you give me that interview.” She wasn’t about to give up. This was a cut-throat business. And he saved her.
“Foolish woman.” His voice crackled like thunder. The bannister shook violently from his springing to the adjacent side of the second floor.
She was shocked at how swiftly he cleared the jump, and how magnificently animalistic his form was. She had glimpsed fur and flesh before he landed on towards the cover of shadow. Clearly there was a story behind this. And if it’s this bizarre she’d be sure to cover it. It might land her to the coveted CNW reporting spot.
“You have to leave now.” He repeated with each syllable fighting against turning into a growl. “Go!”
His voice penetrated deep into her core. She was tempted to make a mad dash to the door. Leave all this behind, go to town, get a spring filtered Colorado beer, then a margarita, and come back to her office and claim that he was being unworkable. They’d believe it! But this was something more intriguing than anything she can ever hope for. Her journalistic instincts peaked.
“What are you waiting for?” he boomed. “Leave now!!!”
Fine be like that. What a douche.
“Before it’s too late.”
She saw him flick a lever from the seco
nd floor. Suddenly, the slits on the dome shut closed, blocking any light from the outside world. The whole room suddenly turned pitch black lest for the small lonely circle illuminated by the torch next to the device. She stayed within the light.
A growing tension again curled in her spine. Now she sensed that she was in real trouble. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh SHIT.
A thud sound was made from his landing. She couldn’t see anything. This has got to be enough! She grabbed the torch. Waving the fire, using it against the darkness, a weapon to protect her from him. Or more accurately. From it.
She heard the prickling sound of claws as it tapped on the hard wood. Tap. Tap. Tap. It encircled her, stalking her from the darkness. The only thing that she could see was a strange twin trail of blue light. They streaked through the air, like the tail of comets before dissipating into space. She waved the torch every time he would near, but the blue streak would only reappear elsewhere.
There was also something else. The device near her was buzzing. Coming to life. The buzzing sound made it sound like it was charging. Preparing for something.
“I warned you.” He boomed. “I cannot help myself anymore.” As the slits of his blue eyes drew closer then retreated to darkness.
With his pronouncements, the machine she stood next to jumped from buzzing to a loud humming sound. It started to glow, increasing the circle of light.
“Elliot! What’s going on? I’m so confused!” she said waving the torch. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed be more afraid of him or the growing light from the contraption.
The light from the device advanced. The contraption glowed as small electric sparks formed around it. The spider light again. Damn it!
The light grew in intensity, illuminating almost half the room, with the humming sound reaching a crescendo. She saw specks of electric light coursing through her body. “Elliot… ????”
Panic.
A bright flash of light exploded on to the room. For a second, she saw the outline of his body jump to the air, before being struck by a branch of electric arc. In that second she saw him. She saw it. Her jaw dropped.
He was definitely a beast. From the base of his eyes was a snout, a small nose and a large open mouth that could contain her head, or at least, rip her head in one clean stroke. Tight black lips pulled back from powerful muscular jaws. Large porcelain tinted fang, elephant tusks, created a jagged outline of incisors of his teeth.
Swooping down extending were long powerful arms covered in thick white fur crowned with large paws with sharp dagger-like claws. The broadness of his upper body was only matched by the muscular definition of his legs. It was meant to leap, or more precisely to lunge at long distances, hurling itself at a deadly velocity.
But it was the eyes that had haunted her; it was if looking into the galaxy in itself, oozing plasmas of blue emanated from triangular slits. It’s blue hue deepening in intensity towards the center forming a diagonal line of pure blue.
Suspended in mid-air by a bolt of lightning, electrifying him, coursing through his flesh, burning them white, to his meat and through his skeleton, which she could see as if it were in an x-ray machine.
Large bolts of pure energy suspended him in mid-air, electrifying every cell of his body. Electrons mended with pain coursing through every DNA molecule of his body, and shooting to his spine. His spine was not human. Thickened wolf disks made of bones were surrounded by pulsing nerves. The signal carrier system, the nerve system of his flesh, twined between discs spiraling upwards until it reached the control center. His brain.
In his brain, the electrical signals further divided into units, which depending on the region, was interpreted as memory. It was from this memory that the surging light had pulled back his pupils to their original black color. His eyes become the portal to which memory is accessed. It was his eighteenth birthday and everything was of sepia-tone. The family was on vacation in the mountain castle retreat.
We had cake.
Grandpa was there, as usual talking about his scientific experiments with other guests. My parents entertained other friends, celebrities and other famous personalities. A clown was sent to entertain the guests. Lights were lit.
“Mikhail?” I blurted to my brother who was a year older than me. We had taken to running across the canopy of forest that extended around the castle. Our little competitive game.
Along the trail we skipped through rocks, zig-zagged through bushes, and crunched the pines that were littered on the forest floor. I’d usually beat him but there was something wrong with me, as if something inside me was burning. I stopped. Panting heavily, “Mikhail..”
That was when the surge that was building into me released itself. Stabs of radiating pain pierced through my body. I grew bigger and I felt more powerful. It was then that I attacked Mikhail my brother. I didn’t know what came over me. A sort of animal blood lust.
The next thing I knew, I was strapped to a chair, Grandpa’s large room. With his back against me scribbling his equations, littered in drawings of DNA sequences. The chair rattled as I tried to break free from the strap. Grandpa face towards me. He was a revered nobility, stemming from generations of royalty from our old country. Scandinavia. He never lost his accent, nor his royal sensibilities. He was known as both a genius and a fighter, coming from a long line of geniuses and fighters.
“Elliot?” he said in a concerned tone.
“Farfar what’s happening?” I asked referring to him in Swedish for grandpa.
He looked away as if what he’s about to tell me pained him deep inside. “You’re a wolf Elliot.”
A man of scientific directness. He could not express it any other way. I reeled from bewilderment at what he had just said. “Farfar? You’re not making sense again. What do you mean a wolf?”
He grabbed a chair. Placed it facing me and sat down. “A wolf Elliot. It runs through our blood.”
“.. and that is what makes us specially gifted. Our clan stems from a long line of shifters, which may seem absurd to you, but within our DNA is encoded genes that allow us to shift to another form.”
I knew grandpa, he was a man who spoke in cold facts. “Shifters?” I said in a desperate attempt to make sense of it.
“Yes, Elliot. It’s a genetic mutation that occurs from within our line. It had manifested in you. Your brother, nor your parents had not had these genes express themselves. The conclusion that I have is that the shifters are highly random phenomenon. There is not telling to whom it will manifest. Only that at around eighteen years old the DNA along with the maturation of puberty triggers it.”
“Triggers it? Are you a shifter to grandpa?” I asked him.
“Yes, Elliot. I had been blessed and cursed with this manifestation. Herregud. That’s why I opted for…” he contemplated about finishing it, “… Celibacy.”
I nearly chuckled.
“The great genius that we have running in our blood Elliot. Is the gift from this primal energy. Your intelligence will be amplified. Your senses will be amplified. Your strength, your aptitude.. “
“That’s great!” but when I said that his expression turned sour. “With great gift, Elliot, also comes much suffering.”
I felt the heat of his body rising, sort of wall of energy that expanded towards me. Then with a quick bang it collapsed. And grandpa was gone. I heard a screech from the dome. The light from the hole on the top of the dome blinded me for a second. I saw something gliding, glinting against the light.
A flying object. It quickly dove to the sides of my ears and perched on the chair where grandpa sat. It was a hawk! It was larger than usual. The handsome hawk had blue eyes, and long dagger like talons, which scraped the wood through its grip.
“Grandpa” I said instinctively recognizing a part of my blood. Then an explosion came. First it sucked me in, then it pushed me violently. My eyes opened to the sight of grandpa sitting in front of me.
“.. But it must be kept secret.” He said as if not missing a beat.
> “Science for all that it can do mankind, will be used to end us. Our whole line will end in laboratory tubes. I know this for a fact. That’s why I wanted to remain celibate. But success brings many females in a man’s life. And I succumbed. For what is life of rigor without the passion of love?”
“What is a life of rigor without the passion of love?” I said in my head. I knew grandpa not be the romantic type, so to utter these words confessed a big part of him. It was true that many females had been in love with grandpa both from the motherland and here in America. I mean he was a good looking guy, intelligent, and owned the patents that made enterprises extremely profitable. Not to mention he was nobility from the old country.
“I just couldn’t do it. A man has only one life to live. Romance should be part of it, no matter the circumstance.” He said solemnly.
“Elliot, since I am the source of your shifting, and thus your pain, I am responsible for you. There are things that you need to know…” he said as if preparing to give a lecture to a class.
Claimed by the Wolf Billionaire (BBW Paranormal Alpha Romance) Page 2
