by Sarah Noffke
“We work pretty well together,” Rox said.
“In the field?” Zephyr asked.
She only arched a challenging eyebrow at him, a hidden meaning in her blue eyes.
“Yes, it was a relief that you pulled Kaleb away, not looking back. That’s remarkable training,” he said, remembering how the girl had dragged a grown man, making it look easy. She was strong, so unlike the other girls from his past.
“Well, in battle, you keep emotions out of it and do what has to be done,” she said and those words crumbled a part of Zephyr’s resolve. He’d always been with women who didn’t understand him, didn’t understand his training and survival mentality. But Rox wasn’t like any girl he’d ever met. She was a soldier like him, and it compelled him in a way he hadn’t expected. That’s why, using his super speed, Zephyr grabbed her hand on his chest and pulled her into him, his mouth seeking hers. Instantly, his lips covered Rox’s and he found his hand in her hair, another around her waist. An animal instinct ripped through him and he pushed her back until she was flush against the glass wall, his mouth never leaving hers. Kissing her was better than fulfilling his desire for meat. Drinking her in fulfilled a yearning he hadn’t even realized he had. Again and again his mouth explored hers, until she pushed him back slightly, pulling her lips from his. Zephyr stared down at the blonde with a heated look, one that he couldn’t control. Rox stared up, a Cheshire smile on her face. She wiped the edges of her mouth with her fingertips, and then reached out and wiped his.
“That was fun. Let’s do it again, but tell no one. You’re going to be my little secret,” she said and then nudged him farther back and walked away.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Time travel isn’t a part of our DNA that we should abuse. Time is linear for a reason. Messing with it can have serious repercussions.”
- Lucidite Employee Manual
Adelaide was intentionally late for her meeting in Aiden’s lab. When she entered she was grateful that the three werewolf guys were already there. Kaleb had his shirt rolled up and was about to have his blood drawn by Aiden.
“You’re going to feel a little pinch,” Aiden said to him.
“I think he can handle it after all the pinches at the lab,” Zephyr said. The alpha wolf appeared almost happy. There was something that had changed in him and Adelaide guessed it was having the companionship of the other werewolves. As each one was added to the pack, she suspected that Zephyr would grow more content.
Adelaide’s eyes stayed a careful distance from Connor, who sat on the stool between the other two guys. However, she could feel his stare on her, like he was begging her with his gaze to look at him, to see him. And although she knew he couldn’t control himself when he turned into a werewolf, she still didn’t know how she felt about being vulnerable when in his presence. Nevertheless, this had sparked the need for a plan and she as the lead agent had to take the leash on this one.
“Okay, you three change every seven-ish days, is that right?” Adelaide said.
“That’s mostly accurate. Usually it’s at night, but as you recently learned we aren’t exactly on a fixed schedule,” Zephyr said.
“And how much warning do you get before it happens?” she said, trying to sound clinical.
“Usually five to ten minutes,” Zephyr offered.
“Sometimes none,” Connor said, his voice hollow.
Adelaide brought her attention to Aiden. “Anything you can offer on this? We can’t have these three turning when we’re not prepared,” she said.
“I could study their biorhythms and see if I can find any correlations. Tracking is our best bet,” Aiden said, moving on to withdraw a sample from Connor, which luckily meant he was partially blocked from her view.
“Okay, until then I want you three in the safe room on the eve of the seventh day. From there we will be able to keep you under observation and monitor the change. I don’t care if you don’t change into a werewolf on that day or the next. You’ll stay in there until you do. It’s probably best that we have your bedrooms locked at night on the other days until we have a tracking model,” she said.
“You’re locking us up?” Zephyr said, standing as he rolled down his shirt sleeve.
“Yes. I can’t risk endangering the lives of the Lucidites,” she said, no emotion in her voice.
“But we were already imprisoned once. You said the Lucidites were different. That you all were going to help us,” Zephyr said, a sudden tightness to his voice.
“And I can’t help you if you slaughter me and my people,” she said, her fists balled by her sides and the image of Connor bearing over her flashing into her mind.
Aiden stood from his place in front of Connor, holding a vial of cherry-colored blood. “Hopefully my research presents some answers. Maybe I can synthesize something to reverse or suppress the werewolf mutation. I’m going to need time to study all the samples first though,” he said, his voice calm and his demeanor light and seeking to subdue Zephyr.
“Okay, fine. But I don’t like the idea of being locked up at night,” he said, directing it at Adelaide.
“Your dumb preference has been cataloged away and I promise to give it every consideration moving forward,” she said, aloofness in her tone.
“This isn’t going to work unless you start treating us like people,” Zephyr said, his mouth tight.
“Well, then this isn’t going to work. Would you like me to drop you off somewhere so Olento Research can track you down and put you behind real bars?” she said, standing up taller and trying to look challenging when she really only felt small.
Zephyr’s face hardened, something seeming to come loose inside him. “You don’t have to be derogatory to us,” he said.
“We haven’t met, have we?” Adelaide said, extending a hand to him. “I’m Adelaide and I treat all people in deprecating ways. You’re not special, you just happen to be easier to make fun of than other people.”
“So what’s the next step?” And it was Connor who had spoken up, maybe trying to break the mounting tension.
Adelaide kept her eyes off him. She looked at Kaleb, who appeared as dejected as she felt. “We reassemble the pack. I’m working on leads for the next werewolf we’re going after. There’s one in Los Angeles who looks to have gone rabid,” she said.
“That’s not good,” Zephyr said.
“Exactly,” she said. “And then I have some other locations where supposed werewolves have been reported. I’m going to put together a strategy for finding our next werewolf and then you three are going after him. I think it’s clear by now that I’m the brains and you three are the mutts who have to do the dirty work.”
“What about Rox?” Zephyr said, and Adelaide picked up a minute hint of tension that streaked his face.
“What about Rox?” she said.
“What’s her role moving forward?” he asked, and something new was in his expression, Adelaide observed.
“Honestly, I’m hoping to fire the bloody bimbo, but for now I’ll let her advise,” she said.
“Will she be in the field?” Zephyr said.
Adelaide turned her head to the side and measured the guy before her with a skill that was unique to her. Ren Lewis had taught his daughter how to read people and she was better at it than anyone else. “I don’t believe that’s any of your bloody concern. Now why don’t you three go play fetch. I’ve got real work to do,” she said and turned at once and hustled for the door.
Halfway down the hallway, Adelaide knew she wasn’t alone. Behind her she felt his presence.
“Hey,” Connor said, his voice low.
She halted. Paused. And finally when an awkward amount of silence passed she turned and faced him.
“What?” she said, her eyes not on him.
That’s probably why he stalked forward until he was only two feet away. “I’m sorry. I don’t—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Adelaide said, cutting him off.
“You know that’s
not going to happen. I nearly killed you,” he said and just then she brought her eyes up to meet his. Pain ran off his face like water over a fountain.
“You’re a werewolf. Attacking people is kind of what you do,” Adelaide said, trying and failing to sound light.
“I get your reasons for the rules. For locking us up. I think it’s a good idea,” he said and there was something new in Connor now. Regret and guilt had always been a part of his look, but now he also looked ashamed and it did something to Adelaide. It made her feel sorry for him, and that may have been a first.
“You know I didn’t want to hurt you,” he continued.
“I know. I heard… I sensed that,” she said, nearly slipping and telling him she read his thoughts.
He noticed the hesitation in her and tilted his head down more to regard her with a thoughtful stare. The look he was giving Adelaide seemed to have an apology laced into it, but that shouldn’t matter. She had zero right to even consider forgiving him for nearly slaughtering her. A bear’s instinct was to maul a person, but that didn’t mean that it should be granted sympathy for its ruthlessness. Adelaide took a step back.
“I have to go,” she said.
“No, you just can’t look at me,” he said, his eyes closing for a moment.
“I have to go,” she repeated when he opened his green eyes to stare at her, shame too heavy in his gaze.
“Fine, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m this thing,” he said, dragging his hand down to indicate his body. “I’m sorry you’re not going to be able to trust me or any one of us. And I’m sorry that I can’t erase the memory of what I almost did to you.”
“Yeah,” Adelaide said, her voice unaffected. “Me too. I’m sorry for all that as well.”
Chapter Forty-Five
“Startling an animal triggers its instinct. Spooking a man usually draws out his hidden strength, if he is a man at all.”
- Olento Research Employee Manual
Kaleb was only vaguely aware that Aiden and Zephyr were talking a few feet away. He was somehow inside himself and also removed. Whole and fractured. Safe and beyond repair. Over and over again he watched the movie screen in his head. It played only one film and it was his father’s murder. The cracking sound. The look of horror on his father’s face before he turned expressionless. It was all engraved in Kaleb’s memory and he was certain that’s where it would stay for all his life. Why did that invisible man have to kill his father? He was innocent. Kaleb reasoned that he could have just pushed him out of the way, but murder? It was so final. And after reflecting on this it only confirmed that Olento Research wanted the werewolves back and would go to any lengths to get them.
“Don’t you think so, Kaleb?” Zephyr said, breaking into his thoughts.
“What?” Kaleb said, realizing he missed their entire conversation.
Zephyr gave him a look that seemed to say it all. His expression was one of compassion, like he instinctively knew Kaleb was processing his grief. “Don’t worry about it, man,” he said, waving him off.
“We were just discussing Dream Traveler gifts,” Aiden said, his voice chipper. That’s what Kaleb called him in his head, Dr. Chipper. “I think I might have a method for drawing out your gift, although that’s not really my specialty.”
“Oh good,” Kaleb said, but his tone contradicted his words. He was safe with these strange people, the Lucidites. He instinctively knew that and yet, he just wished he could get away. Maybe it was because he’d spent so much time alone recently and he wasn’t used to all the socializing. The people at the Institute kept talking to him, expecting responses. Then they’d dump a ton of information on him, like the fact that his race had been changed. He’d never even heard of Dream Travelers before and now he was one of them and had their powers to transcend time and space with his consciousness. He was certain his head would explode soon. All Kaleb needed was a time-out. A way to make everything pause. He just wanted five minutes where the world wasn’t overwhelming him.
The sudden silence startled him in an odd way. He realized Aiden had abruptly quit talking. It had been background noise before, but Kaleb noticed as soon as it stopped. Even stranger than the sudden silence was Aiden himself. His hand hung frozen in midair. The scientist stood before Zephyr, his eyes unblinking, his expression fixed. And Zephyr was a statue as well.
Kaleb stood up, his heart racing. “Guys!” he said, wondering why they both weren’t moving. They didn’t respond. “Hey!” Kaleb said, waving his hands in giant movements. And again there was no reaction. That’s when Kaleb’s eyes found the clock on the wall and he instantly knew what had happened. All hands on the clock were unmoving, even the one that counted the seconds. Instinct rang inside of Kaleb and he knew at once what his Dream Traveler power was. He could stop time.
Zephyr was lost in thought, not listening to Aiden’s rambling about science and approaches that could help him and his pack. His pack. He had a team. As a Special Forces captain he’d been in charge of men, but never like now. Now, more than the lives of men were in his hands. It was their very humanity. And he had to unite them. Protect them. Save them. He watched Kaleb, who also looked to be lost in thought. It was Zephyr’s mission now to make these men something they’d strove for but never achieved. He’d mold them. He’d help them. If it was the last thing Zephyr Flournoy did, he would lead the pack toward success. And at all cost, he’d keep them from Olento Research.
Realizing that Aiden was still talking, Zephyr turned and walked away. There was someone who he sensed needed his support. Someone who was probably lost and confused after his sudden change. Zephyr ignored Aiden’s calls as he stalked for Connor’s room.
Epilogue
Connor had been in his room staring at the ceiling for only a few minutes when Zephyr showed up. After Connor let him in, the alpha wolf spent the better part of an hour trying to convince him that he shouldn’t blame himself. Now he knew why that guy had been elected the alpha wolf. Zephyr had a certain sincere compassion that belonged only to leaders. From the beginning he’d liked the guy because he encouraged a trust that Connor had never flippantly given to people. He hadn’t even asked Zephyr for the consolation. The guy had just showed up at his door and said he figured Connor needed to talk.
In actuality, Connor didn’t want to talk, although he knew that’s what he needed. All he wanted was to run, to get as far from this place as possible. These people were trying to help him, and the beast inside of him only wanted to slice open their throats. He felt the wolf inside him even when not changed. The wolf always wanted meat. Its desire to hunt never waned. And the divide was starting to make him go mad. Zephyr had consoled him with the notion that he also felt the wolf in him when he was a man. But then Zephyr had just shrugged it off, like it wasn’t an incredible hardship. Zephyr had said, “I know roughly how to corral the beast when changed. That’s all you’ve got to learn and then you’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t going to be fine, though, because Connor didn’t see himself as strong as Zephyr. He was certain that if he hadn’t been locked up for all those weeks then he would have hurt many people on the nights when he changed. Zephyr shared that he knew how to keep the werewolf away from people, keeping the temptation away. It was obvious now that where Zephyr had control, Connor was weak. It’s how he’d become an addict. Once an addict, always an addict.
The Lucidites had given Connor everything he now owned. They’d generously stocked his closet with high-end clothes and shoes. Everything he could think of needing was located inside the boxlike room they assigned to him. And all of the possessions were going to be left behind. He’d have to take the clothes on his back, but that was it.
Because Connor had read the Dream Traveler Codex, he knew the Lucidite Institute fairly well. He’d read up on the library that Adelaide had been taking him to when he changed into a werewolf. The guilt from that moment sent a familiar prickle to his throat. He shook off the feeling, knowing there was only one way to resolve it.
Connor turned and regarded the room. It was neat, and maybe one of the nicest places he’d ever stayed. Actually, everything about the Lucidite Institute was exemplary compared to the life Connor had lived. For all his life he dreamed about being connected to people as incredible as the Lucidites. However, the more he lamented on how amazing this race of people was and how incredible this underwater society was, the more the guilt grew. He was going to change into a werewolf again, and there was no safe way to ensure he didn’t attack someone. The fear of it happening again, of possibly harming Adelaide, was too much for him. No, the only peace was away from the Institute. Connor knew he had to leave this place. He had to go out on his own, just as he was alone before in the labs. It had been true since the beginning and nothing had changed. Connor was the lone wolf.
The End
One-Twenty-Six Press.
Lone Wolf
Sarah Noffke
Copyright © 2017 by Sarah Noffke
All rights reserved
Copyeditor: Christine LePorte
Cover Design: Andrei Bat
All rights reserved. This was self-published by Sarah Noffke under One-Twenty-Six Press. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you are seeking permission send inquiry at http: www.sarahnoffke.com