Millennia by Raven Slake (free books to read .txt) 📕

he said into my ear. Was I screwed, yes. Was I going to give up, no. I fought until, he had me perfectly still, awaiting for the execution that I felt was coming. Never. What I planned to happen never did occur at the time that I thought it would.

Dipping his finger in the blood, Hamilton allowed a single drop to fall and splatter on the floor. The hunger was building, but the energy was not. I needed to see my eyes, maybe even Hamilton’s if I was forced to resort to that. Thus led me to look around, my vision had dimmed so far from lack of oxygen that I could not see the reflections from the walls and the floor. Hamilton had planned this. Even when I refused to open my mouth for air he had a new plan. The grail had a rim that looked as if it could be used as a curved wedge, and it was very good at opening things.

With my teeth clenched, I could feel the still warm blood fill my mouth. All I knew was that I had to refuse and fight back. There was no way to go, however. I could not spit the blood out because Hamilton was covering my mouth with his hand and biting him would have no use. Finally, I gave in and drank the blood. The energy from it flooded me, but it quickly disappeared as pain replaced it. There was a drug in the blood, and I could only guess that it was the mutagen that Hamilton had mentioned earlier. Either way, the pain was worse than my first time shifting into a wolf. Worse than when I had been bitten and my condition deteriorated too quick to be natural. It throbbed and began to spread, starting with my stomach.

I pressed my back against a nearby wall and sat there, in pain and possibly dying. Over time, I could hear my heart beat, it was normal. Just like my old life with my brother and our pack. At least he was okay, wherever he was. Reminiscing about my family, friends, and pack seemed to keep me awake. It kept me alive.

Tiny wolf puppies, pouncing on one another, trying to forget what had just happened. A brother and a sister were left to fend for themselves as our last source of survival was drained. I barely remember this moment but it is close enough that I can recall vague details. The girl, our rescuer, had been shot and killed. Kaire and I knew that if we did not leave her soon, her killer would be onto us. That meant we were going to die. However, if we resembled baby wolves that had no clue about the dead human, we would be ignored and shooed away. Soon enough humans carrying guns arrived and yelled at us. Kaire made a race out of the run, turning a gloomy moment into something fun and memorable…

Dashing around in a zigzag pattern, we bounced off several other wolves. Their anger became prominent as we got closer to the front of our pack. Zeke, the beta, turned around and we crashed into his soft grey fur. A toothy grin spread across his face. The young beta thought that our activity was funny. I liked him already. Maybe when Trigger dies or steps down from the alpha position Zeke will be strong enough to step up. Maybe he is our pack’s next alpha…

Kaire’s grey fur began to ruffle. The odor in the air was heavy and dangerous. Human hunters were nearby and they had fired one of their guns. They were close, and they had been following us for a while now…

I remember thinking, a while back, about the future. What I said was absolutely correct. The death and despair had only just begun.

 

 

There Will Be No Coming Back

 

 

We howl in harmony a sweet chorus, imagining how the young humans are trembling underneath their blankets. The full moon had risen a few hours ago, but we always waited for it to be straight above. Tonight, I was to lead the song.

“Times of anger, times of hate

discord brings us to our fate

dying without one last glance

know that we’ll always come back”

I stared at Hamilton blankly. Once throbbing pain now felt like a slight chill in the breeze, lost and never to be found again. Looks like Hamilton’s experiment panned out perfectly. There I sat, thinking about how much I wanted him dead while he imagined how powerful I was. It occurred to me that I was probably different, after all, I did feel completely different. Just like when I first survived the virus, everything felt new and abnormal. The only difference was that I knew the events that had led to me cowering in a corner. Back then, I was confused and I had allowed the negative thoughts to flood into my mind.

Asking Hamilton why he chose me seemed like a stupid question. Since I was the only wolf to outlast the infection, then there is a pretty good chance that I can be the only lycan to permanently survive the mutagen. Would my mutations ever end?

“Are you alright?” he asked, looking worried. Keeping my head buried in my arms, I shook it.

“That hurt.” Clever. Something that sounded more like Kaire would have done me so much better right now, he was a smart ass. If he heard that thought, I did not know. Kaire was probably too busy laying low to talk to me.

No I’m not.

Asshole.

Hamilton did not move one little bit. He was waiting for me to prove that I was alive and in a somewhat decent condition. Soon, I thought, soon you will have your answer.

“Look at me, Millennia.” Debating if I should obey him, I kept me head down. His bulky figure moved towards me until he was able to crouch down and touch my arm. “Come on, look at me.” I was acting like a five year old human child. Sitting in the corner pouting because someone stole my candy. In this case, the candy so happened to be the rest of my life. Even if Hamilton offered my candy back, I would not look up at him, that would mean making eye contact, and I black out when I see the glowing yellow irises of a lycan. Too late. Once more, I found myself pinned with Hamilton’s hand at me throat. That alone was able to force my head upright. Now I was staring my greatest foe directly in the eye, trying to fight the spark. No matter what I did, fighting it was futile and would always have the same results. If I could not fight it by looking away, then I was going to fight it by doing exactly what it wants me to do.

Gazing into Hamilton’s eyes, I could feel the energy erupting. It had gotten stronger from the cursed mutagen. Just as my vision began to turn black, I tried to force it away, but that seemed to anger it. Instead of spreading and then bursting, it abruptly exploded and I was sucked in. This will not be good.

Her eyes are changing color, Hamilton thought to himself. Was the mutagen doing this to her? Maybe it was just her. His mole had said that she attacked her human friend just because she stared at her own reflection for too long. Perhaps it was a combination of both ideas. There had to be a real reason behind it.

The yellow. Millennia’s condition was being caused by a small germ-like substance that causes lycan’s eyes to glow like they do. This substance is attracted to the energy that is produced by a lycan. Millennia emanated so much energy that the germs are rapidly moving to her, which then in turn gives her even more energy. Most lycans turn rogue from so many of the germs and some even die from it. Her immune system is capable of holding off viruses that are stronger the lycan plague. Therefore, she easily absorbs the germs and it turns her rogue. If her attention is diverted away from what the substances seem to tell her to do, then she returns to the way she was.

Hamilton’s conclusion was solid, and correct. Just as she was beginning to rise from the ground, he came up with an idea. Get into my head so I can get into yours, he thought. If he could figure out how to trap her in his own head, then he would find the location of her friends, if she even knew that much. When Millennia was not using her telepathic abilities, Hamilton lunged at her, but she dodged.

A voice called out from the distance. It was so far away, yet I felt as if I was meant to hear it as clear as day. Where was it coming from? Was it yelling at me? What did I do this time?

Kaire was the one screaming at me, but not right in my face. He must have somehow realized that Hamilton had forced me into psycho mode. If Kaire had not started to yell at me, would I have killed Hamilton? What would have happened if he had let me go crazy?

“So you snapped. Finally, it was getting tiring.” I was really hoping that I had killed him. Well, I guess I was going to have to wait for later. Either way, Hamilton was going to die.

“What did you do to me?” I hissed at him. I could feel the changes but I could not quite name them. Whatever they were, they were massive changes that made me feel off about myself and everything around me.

“Like I mentioned earlier, the mutagen strengthens you in not just one category, but all of them. Strength, speed, agility, healing, even your regular senses. It is absolutely amazing, you are alive. I wonder if there are any others like you. Too bad our mole could not provide us with the information needed on your genetics,” he reported. “Eventually we will learn. Now tell me, do you have any siblings?”

“None that I can currently account for,” I replied. Television shows were really helpful with creating clever comments and responses. Although, there was a chance that I may confuse him and he would attack me. Only the future knows what will happen to me.

“What do you mean?” He was questioning me. That was a minor part in my plan. Hopefully he did not ask the wrong question.

“I have no siblings that are at my side with me at this current moment.” Another quote from show on TV that I have yet to learn the name of. Something about a kidnapped family. I am completely sure on it. Emberlynn would know.

“Do you have any siblings at all? Alive or dead? Is it just you in that one litter?” Typical questions that I had predicted. Kaire had directly told me to tell the truth when needed. In this case, lying would get him and Sullivan killed in a split second. I had to tell him the one thing that I have been holding back for quite some time.

“I have a brother. It was just the two of us in one litter. He is