by Sarah Noffke
“This is going to be badass,” Rio said, pulling his fist away as he launched the other one at the stainless steel wall next to Rox’s head. The metal bent in at once a few inches, surrendering to his power.
It amazed Zephyr how easy it was for Rox to hang with the pack. He didn’t think most girls could stand the testosterone, much less encourage it. However, she was like an honorary member of the pack. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
“I’m ready,” Connor said. He looked different without the large earring. Almost normal. But then there was the tattoo on his neck, the one he finally quit trying to cover up. And also the sleeves of tattoos on his arms always attracted Zephyr’s attention. He wanted to know what they all meant and why Connor had covered himself with them.
“All right, good. Let’s start out with some effective blocks,” Zephyr said, holding up his hands, knowing that Connor would follow suit. When he did, Zephyr was accosted by the pain in the lone wolf’s eyes. Connor had always looked lost, but now he looked uninterested in being found.
Chapter Three
“There is a battle of two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth. The wolf that wins? The one you feed.”
- Cherokee Proverb
The white tiled floor was a stark contrast to Mika Lenna’s black alligator skin shoes. His long strides carried him through the hallway, the man beside him keeping pace easily.
“You worked as the director of security at Parantaa Research, so you will mostly understand how things operate here,” he said. “However, the projects we work on here at Olento Research are different and therefore the security standards are stricter.”
“Different how?” Haiku said. His background wasn’t as impressive as Grant’s, the old director of security, who was now dead due to the pack and also his genetic makeup. However, Haiku had an extensive background in martial arts, which could prove useful in capturing the werewolves, although Mika had mostly given up hope that a mere human could bring the men in.
“Whereas at Parantaa Research our focus is on manufacturing pharmaceuticals, at Olento Research we are more interested in paranormal experiments,” Mika said, halting in front of the door for the main lab, where he could hear monkeys screaming, due to his heightened senses.
“Paranormal? Do you mean like ghosts?” the young man said. He wore his black hair long, pulled back in a bun at the base of his head.
Mika slightly smiled. “No, not ghosts. Once you walk through this door then everything from this point remains completely confidential. Do I make myself clear?” he said.
“Absolutely, sir,” Haiku said, raising his pointy chin in the air.
Mika turned and opened the metal door, the smell of animals and chemicals meeting his nose. Cages lined the wall on one side, a bird aviary on the other wall. A flamingo, pink as cotton candy, lifted its head and eyed Mika and his companion and then took a step forward, its foot meeting soft grass. Instantly the animal turned the color of the green grass as it continued walking toward the back of the aviary. Its color shifted, like that of a chameleon as the scenery around it changed.
Haiku’s eyes rested on the animal before turning to the lemur, bandages covering its head.
“Paranormal, like you test on animals and change them?” Haiku said.
Mika didn’t answer but instead turned his attention to the man he could smell approaching. Drake, his chief scientist, always had an onion smell about him that Mika picked up on before the man was even in the vicinity.
Beside Drake, a young Indian girl strode, her frame so much smaller than his. They paused a few feet from the pair, Drake hiding a mischievous look on his face as he appraised Haiku. “You’re the new director of security?” he said, his German accent thick. Mika had managed to almost relieve himself of his Finnish accent, making his indistinct. However, Drake wasn’t as disciplined in this regard.
“Yes, this is Haiku,” Mika said, eyeing the girl who seemed to hide behind Drake’s wide build. “Who is this?”
“Shame what happened to Grant, the previous director of security,” Drake said, the spite seeping through in his words.
“What happened?” Haiku said, his brow creasing.
“Nothing,” Mika said, his chin down and eyes pointed at Drake with disdain. “Who is this?” he repeated, indicating the girl.
“This is the subject I’ve elected for Project Nakija. Her name is Isha,” Drake said, presenting the girl, who was fiddling with her long brown braid.
The first subject they’d initially put through Project Muisti didn’t survive the second surgery. Mika had gambled with this subject after the attempt to enhance his memory failed. Not wanting the subject to go to waste, he tried to turn him into a clairvoyant with Project Nakija. However, the approach was a complete failure, but now they had an experiment that should be successful. Once it was, then Isha would see the future and tell Mika how to find the werewolves. He’d finally be one step ahead of the Lucidites.
“She meets all the requirements to gain the skill of clairvoyance,” Drake continued, his chest out and voice proud. “And she’s agreed to take the first dose of bufotoxin tonight.”
“Clairvoyance? That’s what you meant by paranormal? That’s what you do here?” Haiku said. He should have known by now that questions weren’t encouraged since he had worked for Mika at Parantaa Research.
“As well as make monsters that are your worst nightmare, but your job is to catch those so hopefully you don’t scare easily,” Drake said, the smile showing under his bushy white and gray beard.
Haiku’s eyes skirted to Mika, worry heavy in them. Soon Haiku would be oriented and know exactly what strange things happened at Olento Research, but the initial moment of dawning was always the most annoying.
“Drake, need I remind you that orientation isn’t your responsibility?” Mika said.
“Yes, sir,” Drake said, turning his attention to Haiku. “I spoke out of turn, which I’m prone to do. I am here if you have questions though. And I will be requesting your department’s assistance when I start Project Neandertalin, since I’m guessing cavemen will need to be restrained.”
Drake would often make a show of respect, but then pull shit like this. He knew exactly what he was doing and apparently had gotten lax with his restraint. “We will not be discussing any projects in the company of a subject,” Mika said, his lips hardly parting for the hot words.
“Of course, sir,” Drake said, his eyes dancing with evil delight.
“Take Isha away and start her on bufotoxin immediately. I want an update tomorrow morning,” Mika said.
“Yes, first thing,” Drake said, turning to the girl, his eyes rolling as he did. “Come along, subject.”
Mika rolled his own eyes before looking at Haiku, who appeared to be assimilating the information.
“What’s bufotoxin? Will you need security on this subject?” he said. Oh good, an employee with a proactive approach who didn’t ask impertinent questions.
“No, she won’t turn violent, like the subjects in Project Neandertalin are likely to do. We are dosing her with a chemical found in psychoactive toads in order to trigger clairvoyance. Pairing this with other efforts should give us the results we’re looking for, if my research is correct,” Mika said.
“Oh,” Haiku said, hiccupping on the word. This was leagues away from the projects at Parantaa Research. “And Project Neandertalin, is that what it sounds like?”
“I have no idea how you think it sounds like. It is simply a project where we will try to de-evolve subjects, turning them into Neanderthals,” Mika said.
“Why would you want to do that?” Haiku asked.
Mika raised his chiseled eyebrow at the other man. “Because it’s interesting. And also, for the clear fact that I can,” he said.
Chapter Four
“I woke up one morning thinking a
bout wolves and realized that wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack.”
- Jodi Picoult
“This is an all-time record for ice and snowstorms in Dallas,” the reporter said, her coat snug around her throat. The news program panned back to the broadcaster, who sat behind a desk in a warm television studio.
“Thank you, Leslie,” the reporter said, with a practiced smile. “As a native Texan, I hope this weather ends soon. I can’t take the cold and I’ll admit I’m not good at driving in snow.”
David Sanders tapped a button on a remote and the television turned off. His sister, Anne, had brought the old television to him that morning just before sunrise. She knew better than to visit him during the day, knowing that could create suspicion. After he’d escaped from that horrid lab with the other men, he’d traveled back to Dallas, getting rides with truckers who seemed to sympathize with him. It was three o’clock in the morning when he tapped on Anne’s window. He still remembered the look of shock on her face when her eyes adjusted to find him standing outside her window in the dark. Of course she had thought he was dead when he disappeared. That something had happened to him. She’d grieved, as had his mother. His friends might have grieved too, but he didn’t really have any.
After a reunion filled with tears and unnecessary apologies, David explained to Anne what had happened to him. As he’d never lied to her, she believed him at once. Then she made a place for him in the back of her detached garage, which was where he resided still.
He’d hardly understood what had happened to him or that he was in fact a werewolf now. However, Anne had digested the whole thing much easier. The conflict came when she insisted they tell their mother. David didn’t need anyone to know he was alive. If word got out then the men at the lab would look for him, take him.
“No, I’ve already died and she’s grieved me. Let’s not make her go through a second death,” he said to his sister.
“But you’re alive,” she said.
“And I don’t know how much longer I have,” he said, his pulse racing.
“What? Because you’re a werewolf?” she said.
“Because there’s something wrong with me. Something more than me being a werewolf,” David said.
“What do you mean?” his sister asked.
He only shook his head, unwilling to tell her about the horrible dreams or the new power he’d acquired since escaping the lab. Why those were the parts he chose to keep secret wasn’t clear to him. However, every time he fell asleep he felt that he wouldn’t wake in the morning. And the dreams were so strange. He was lucid in them, visiting any place he desired; however, often he found himself stuck in places that were part of his greatest fears. And the skill, it always made him feel like his heart had froze and couldn’t start up again.
“The less people who know, the safer I’ll be,” he finally had said to Anne, ending the discussion.
The television would make the long hours cooped up in the garage a bit more manageable. David didn’t really mind being alone since he didn’t know what loneliness felt like. Sadness, yes. Solemn melancholy was David Sanders’ trademark. He’d been born with it, like it was his birthmark. Sure, he smiled. He laughed, especially in the company of his sister. But that wasn’t his constant state of being. No, he’d always felt defeated by the depression. The one that told him never to try so hard that he failed. Therefore, he didn’t have many achievements under his belt. He’d dropped out of everything just at the point that success became an obtainable prospect. School. The army. Relationships.
Ironically, David was smarter than the average person. Talent lived deep in him, buried by the fear. And inside his heart was the true skill, a pure love for people. If he had ever tried anything, then he no doubt would have succeeded, paved a road that few could follow. But effort is the true genius.
Stepping out the back door of the garage, David stared around at the empty alleyway. Frost covered everything, but it would soon melt when the temperature rose. The news reported that warmer days were on the way, which would make the snowstorms even more bizarre. However, David didn’t think he could stop. The constant sorrow in his being made it so he had to use his new skill as often as possible. It made him feel like he wasn’t burning up with discontent.
Raising his hand up to the sky, he lowered his chin, a tender grief written in his green eyes. A moment later snow whirled down from the sky, flecking his curly brown hair with white. David drew in a breath, feeling the cold pierce his heart as it always did when he made it snow. He was cursed to only feel the heat or the freezing cold. There was nothing in the middle for him, but he reminded himself that he was a werewolf. Therefore, it made sense that the half man, half wolf only felt extremes.
Chapter Five
“I guess I’m pretty much of a lone wolf. I don’t say I don’t like people at all, but to tell you the truth, I only like it then if I have a chance to look deep into their hearts and their minds.”
- Bela Lugosi
What was she thinking? Connor thought as he sluggishly pulled himself through the halls of the Institute. He was fucking lost. Even though he’d studied the map in the Dream Traveler Codex, he still got turned around when in the Lucidite Institute. The hallways all looked the same with endless stretches of stainless steel walls and shimmering blue carpet.
He blew out a breath as he rounded a corner. Adelaide had been gone for only a few days, but that didn’t matter. How did she think sneaking into Parantaa Research was a good idea? Mika was powerful and corrupt, but more importantly he was intelligent. A man like that would sniff out the mole, especially one as eye-catching as Adelaide. Somehow this was his fault. If he could have just offered more to the pack, maybe Adelaide wouldn’t be resorting to such dangerous options. She wouldn’t be risking her life to find out more on Olento Research.
Lost in thought, Connor passed Aiden’s lab, having to double back. Apparently the head scientist had a project for Connor. The lone wolf hadn’t even allowed Zephyr to tell him what it was about. He was just grateful to be doing something for the Lucidites, for his pack. Connor had charged out of the strategic department at once, feeling the restlessness trying to overwhelm his thoughts.
“Zephyr said you needed me for something,” Connor said as soon as Aiden looked up when he entered.
“I do,” Aiden said, dropping his eyes back to the iPad in his hand. “Hold up just a sec.” The scientist who Connor guessed was just a bit younger than him tapped the screen several times. It was unfathomable that Aiden had a PhD in quantum physics. He guessed that there had to be people at all places on the spectrum. On one end were losers like Connor who had never done anything. And then on the far end were people like Aiden whose sneezes were even filled with genius. The man’s words at Ferocity Carnival kept playing in Connor’s head. After Connor had given him a psychometry reading the man had offered him a job at his circus and then made a remark. “You could be great, my boy,” the man with the giant mustache had said. Could Connor really be great? Wasn’t that something one was born with? Hadn’t he already proven that he screwed up everything, like when Grant almost killed him? But maybe greatness was something he could obtain. Maybe it was something that one day he’d actually deserve.
Aiden slid the iPad on the workstation before pushing his hands into his pockets. There was a hesitation in his eyes, which caused his gaze to dart away after looking at Connor. “So, I can understand any concerns you may have about doing this. Please know, nothing will be done to you without your consent,” Aiden said.
“Concerns?” Connor said, tilting his head to the side.
“Well, it’s untested. And the risks could be serious,” Aiden said.
“What risks? Wait, what is this project?” Connor said, wishing he’d waited to get the full story from Zephyr.
“You weren’t briefed?” Aiden said.
“No
, why does this sound like I’ve been elected for an undesirable mission?” he said. Was this because he was a drug addict? How did he expect to be an equal in the pack when he was so much weaker?
“I agree that it might seem that way, but this project could have incredible benefits. It could be viewed as an honorable project that you’ve been signed up for. You’ve been picked to be the first werewolf to undergo werewolf reversal conversion. I’ve determined a process that might remove the wolf genes, or at least make them dormant so that you don’t change every week,” Aiden said.
“But…?” Connor said, letting it hang in the air so Aiden could finish with the cons to this honorable project.
“But the effects are assorted and this is new territory. It could backfire and enhance the wolf genetics. Your body might reject the procedure since it’s already been through so much. And also, it’s possible your Dream Traveler gift of psychometry will be diminished or you could lose the powers of our race altogether,” Aiden said, his head toggling back and forth as he went through the various scenarios.
“And death, right? That’s a possibility, isn’t it?” Connor said, having read the distant look in the scientist’s eyes. Aiden was the outgoing type, but right then he appeared like a doctor who had to give horrible news.