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

Kaire. “May I ask his name?” I nodded, glad she was being friendly but brave at the same time. She sure had some guts for keeping a creature like me from getting to my destination. Her bravery would get her killed before she knew it in this world.

“His name is Kaire, and thanks for not calling him my pet. I hate that word so much,” I replied, turning around to stare her in the eye. I wished I hadn’t seen her before but I have, and the human that I had let run free instead of killing stood right in front of me. Although her name was unknown, I did not want her to recognize mine as a name that humans do not call their children. “What’s your name?”

“Emberlynn, you?” Screw lying and screw recognition. A human like herself would have never forgotten the day they thought they were crazy because a wolf spoke to them by breaking the dialect. At the very least she would feel that my name was familiar. She already felt like she knew who I was despite never seeing me as a human before.

“Millennia. Do you mind me asking, I really need to find a place to stay and I was wondering if you knew a good place that has low rent.” Emberlynn snorted. From when I was in captivity, I learned a lot about humans. Although I have very little memory of what actually happened, I remembered my escape all too well. The burnt trees and ash everywhere, all I could do was hied out in the sheds and warehouses that the humans abandoned for some tiem before returning to again. One of them had asked how much rent was for a home near the northern part of town. That was where I had learned about human currency and their financial issues.

“You know what, you guys can stay with me.” Emberlynn led us to her house and let us in. Sitting down at the nearest table, I sighed. “I thought wolves couldn’t turn into humans.” Another desperate sigh, reminding me of how I had no idea on how I could go back to being a wolf.

“They can’t.”

“Then tell me how I am looking at you as a human instead of the wolf I saw you as just days ago,” Emberlynn snapped suddenly, causing Kaire to growl. “When I saw your eyes, I thought they looked familiar. The wolf at your heels without a leash was suspicious enough. I recognized your voice then your name. Try lying a little more.” I tried out the snorting thing that humans did when they were feeling defiant. It did not come out right whatsoever. Being human was going to be very tough.

“Let me tell you my side of the story and maybe I can get my brother to talk to you.” I explained my whole situation to Emberlynn in extreme detail. It’s funny how well a wolf can remember a fight while humans can barely recall where they placed their car keys. Animals seem to have a better memory than the high and mighty human beings. Although I know that I am one now, I can still feel the wolf that I once was. It changed during the metamorphosis; it became something stronger and darker. The wild feeling inside felt like it wanted to come out and call a pack of freaks here to feast upon Emberlynn, and it wanted to kill her too.

“Kaire is your brother and he left your pack to be with you?” I nodded and placed my hand on Kaire’s forehead, as if I was trying to nuzzle him with my hairless hand. He pushed into it as a reply. “I think I have an explanation for Hamilton.” Emberlynn turned on a nearby TV and changed the channel to a news station.

“Officials still have seen no signs of the creature that escaped the laboratory in D.C. only a few weeks ago. The test subject was once a regular human named Hamilton Jett Rodgers. After volunteering for a big project he mutated into a lycan. The virus that he now carries is contagious to humans but is only spread through a bite. Scientists are forbidding the hunting of wolves as they watch the local pack very carefully. Although one was found dead by a hunter, two remain missing from the last check. If either of the two are spotted please contact the number at the bottom of the screen.” Numbers flashed in a bold font at the bottom of the screen. “Scientists have determined that the names of the wolves are named Kaire and Millennia, please alert your local officials if either of them show up.” Only one problem with that broadcast: humans cannot speak to wolves, so how did they know our names?

Emberlynn shook her head without saying a word. There was no way that she was going to call the scientists about us. She knew that they would slaughter me just to find out how I survived the infection because even I know that I was not meant to survive Hamilton’s bite. A wolf’s DNA was not meant to adapt to a lycan virus, but I had. Maybe my chromosomes were different from the others who had died from the virus. Maybe I had inherited from my parents which could only mean that Kaire was just the same as me; after all, we were twins with no other siblings ever born that survived birth. I felt Kaire’s head on my foot as he plopped onto the ground with depression scattering all through his mind. He did not want to lose me just as I did not want to lose him. Kaire’s looked up at mine and I felt a wave a comfort over me. The good thing about having a twin is that you have a strange connection with them that you can feel so easily. With my brother and me, it was as if we could read one another’s mind. That was how I knew what he was always feeling; his thoughts flowed into mine and mine into his.

Feet stomped out of the room and moved around for a few minutes before returning to the room from which she started from. A padded pile of cloth hit my face and fell onto my lap.

“If you’re gonna try to fit in here you’re gonna need to look human, and so far you are quite a long way from looking normal anytime soon,” Emberlynn reported, pointing at my current clothes. “It’s mainly your eyes that set you away from the others but you cannot go around wearing all black around here. You may seem like you just came out of your teenage-hormone-crazy stage but most teenagers are over the whole goth thing. Besides, you should really see what color looks the best on you.” A big long dramatic eye roll from both Kaire and me. Except for Kaire was laughing slightly at my current situation. Emberlynn backed away slowly, confusing me dramatically.

“He’s not growling, he’s laughing.” Then is hit me, she couldn’t understand him because of his dialect. My history with the way canines speak makes me capable of hearing them as if they were human just like I was. “Sorry, I forgot you have no idea how canines speak.” Emberlynn was still tense but a little calmer than she had been before Kaire laughed. There were going to be a lot of things to get used. Emberlynn also gave me a list of rules that Kaire and I had to follow in order to remain a secret. We were told to review the list every day and memorize before leaving the house without her “protection” against harmful humans. Rereading the list for the fiftieth time, I thought about each and every word.

-Number 1

Never show your eyes to anyone

-Number Two

Never explain anything that Kaire says

-Number Three

Use your aliases I gave you

-Number Four

Always wear the contacts I gave you when in public

-Number Five

If asked, Kaire is a wolfdog.

-Number Six

Do not act suspicious

 

All of the rules were ridiculously simple, as if they belonged in the Book of Duh. (Something I picked up from watching TV) However, I had to admit that I had not thought about an alias for Kaire and me. Everyone knew our names by now and would immediately quarantine us if we even dared to speak. Then there was the fact that she really could’ve picked a better name. Quickly, I scribbled out our aliases and replaced them with names that I actually liked. (I’m sure Kaire won’t mind the name I choose for him.) In the end I settled on me being Julianna and Kaire being named Conrad. Breaking the news to Emberlynn that I did not like her names was going to feel like a punch in the gut to her. We were visitors and we changed a rule, and as far as I was concerned, it was impolite to humans. With understanding scratched all over her face, Emberlynn nodded to my report about the alias change. Her explanation was how we were wolves and it was in our nature to do what we wanted because we were naturally wild. I understood how she came to the conclusion and liked how she handled it.

“Nicely said,” I replied. Emberlynn gave me a weird look with worry pulsing through her eyes.

“I never said anything. Millennia.” Those were the words that I had not expected to hear from a human, especially since I became infected with the lycan virus that escaped a few weeks ago. Although Emberlynn had never said a word to me, I still knew what she was going to say. It was all over her mind. That was when it hit me, the same connection that Kaire and I shared had mutated inside of me and forced a new unnatural ability into my genetics. I could read minds.

 

 

The Cat that Never Was

 Emberlynn’s desire to test my new mind reading ability was strong. Another thing I had picked up from the deep depths of her mind. The bad thing was, Kaire could sense when I was digging through his thoughts, thus leading him to the conclusion that forced him to learn how to block me out. One thing still had me wondering, could Kaire read my mind? If so, he better teach me how to block him out because there was no way in the bottomless pits of a dark and wet chasm that I would allow him to read every thought inside my very private mind. Honestly, I was fine with just sensing one another’s feelings. 

I was outside a lot. Most of the time I just sat in one place and stared off into the distance. The wilderness was calling to me, and I had no idea how to call back. Kaire on the other hand killed a deer on the occasion. While Emberlynn was gone, I would start a fire in her fire pit so I could cook the meat. Sure raw venison was good, but it was amazing when thoroughly cooked over a fire. However, we were forced to eat at night, even when Emberlynn was home, watching over us. Neighbors would see the smoke coming from the fire during the day, thus making them suspicious