I am ridiculously grateful that it’s the weekend. And that my boss is out of town. Victoria’s itinerary is so meticulously planned that I doubt she’ll need me for anything. I can spend the next few days recovering from the shit show I’ve experienced. I can also spend some time getting used to my new house and my new roommates. I think I’ll get along well with Natalia, and Felix seems like a good kid. Ben might tease me, but it seems good-natured enough.
It’s Jaxon and Adrian I’m unsure about. I get along well with Jaxon, but Adrian…
I think back to that moment downstairs, when Adrian and I had been locked into some kind of lustful staring contest. Or at least it was lustful on my side. He was still impossible to read.
I’ll have to play it by ear. I’ll stay here as long as I’m welcome, but I didn’t sign a lease. The whole thing still feels a little precarious. I’ve unpacked all of my belongings, but I’ve stopped short of decorating.
I don’t love how things escalated between Jaxon and Adrian earlier. And I still have no idea what a “challenge for leadership of the house” is. It sounds so ancient and…formal. Like a duke challenging someone to a duel or something. Wouldn’t any “leadership” issues really come down to who can pay rent? Or better yet, who owns the house?
I shake my head. Not my business.
I pull a biology textbook out and curl up in an armchair on the other end of my new enormous bedroom. I never got a chance to go to college, so I’ve been studying on my own until I can take advantage of LYCA-Corp’s higher education assistance program. Working there is perfect for a science nerd like me. Their advanced research and technology work is one of the reasons I applied in the first place.
There’s a desk in the room too, but I prefer the comfort of this chair. I can tuck my legs under me and lean my head back while I read. The room is filled with sunlight, dust motes dancing in the air near each window. I can’t imagine a more pleasant place to study.
I’m deep into a chapter on cell division when I hear furious whispers coming from downstairs. I sit up to listen more closely.
I make out Adrian’s furious low voice, and Jaxon’s equally angry replies. I sigh. At least they’re fighting with words this time, instead of fists. I’m about to turn back to my book when I think I hear my name. I frown. Are they still arguing about me staying here? I step quietly out of the chair and lean my head toward the floor, trying to decipher their words.
“Tonight’s the full moon already!” Jaxon snaps. “That’s when we’ll know for sure.”
“We should just lock it up now,” Adrian growls back.
“I don’t want to take extreme measures until we know it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Of course it’s absolutely necessary!”
“I know this may have to do with what happened when you turned—”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
There’s a pause, and then Jaxon says, “I know, and I’m sorry I’ve been harsh on you. But because of what happened, we owe it to her to look after her. You owe it to her.”
I raise myself up from the floor. None of what I just heard made any sense. The full moon? Lock what up? And I don’t even want to know what Adrian did. Knowing him, it probably was his fault.
I’m still turning these questions over in my mind when I sit down to dinner later that night. Natalia just set a mouthwatering roast chicken on the table and seated herself next to Ben, and I can hear Felix and Jaxon in the kitchen, joking around as they finish putting together a salad. Adrian is nowhere to be seen.
“Okay, everyone! Eat!” Jaxon says, carrying the enormous salad bowl to the table. He’s about to sit down when Adrian appears. For one tense moment, the two men stare each other down for who’s going to sit at the head of the table. Finally, Jaxon waves Adrian toward the seat and comes and sits next to me.
“So,” Ben says, passing me the salad. “Let’s get to know you, Layla.”
I serve myself and reply, “What do you want to know?”
“Where do you work?” he asks.
“I’m an administrative assistant at LYCA-Corp,” I say, passing the bowl to Jaxon.
Silence falls over the table. Jaxon, who was about to take the salad from my hands, has frozen in place. I look up to find five pairs of eyes staring at me.
“Um, is something wrong?” I ask.
Jaxon unfreezes and takes the salad from me. When Adrian speaks, his voice is strangely emotional. “How long have you worked there?”
“Two years,” I reply. “I was at their headquarters in Detroit before they moved operations up here.”
Everyone is still silent, so I keep talking. “I hope they’ll be able to pay for my college education. They have a great program to help employees with undergraduate degrees. And my boss is really great…she’s really good to work for, and she’s gone out of her way to be a mentor to me. And I like working for a company that’s trying to make a difference in the world…they’re really focused on trying to develop technologies that can help with so many different medical conditions. I’m really happy there,” I finish.
Jaxon clears his throat. “That’s great,” he says, sounding like he’s choking on his food still.
“Yeah,” I reply. I stare down at my plate. Suddenly, I don’t feel like eating. In fact, I feel a little sick. I’m starting to feel that ache you get when you have the flu.
“Are you okay?” Natalia asks me.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m just not feeling well. I think…I think I’m just going to lie down for a little while.” I stand up.
“We’ll save you some leftovers,” Felix says warmly.
Back upstairs in my bed, I close my eyes. Within what feels like minutes, I find myself in the forest again. I’m deeper in this time, farther into the trees, where the vegetation is denser. I’m barefoot, still wearing the same clothes I lay down in. I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming again, but it feels so real. I look through the trees, trying to figure out how to get back to the house.
There’s a small growl on my left. I turn and see the black wolf from before. He looks at me for a long moment, then turns and trots into the darkness of the trees. I feel that familiar connection, so I follow him. I walk behind him for a few paces, but he’s going too fast. “Wait!” I call out. “Don’t leave me!”
The wolf picks up speed, and I have to jog to keep up.
But to my surprise, it’s not hard to match his pace. I’m running, leaping over fallen logs, the wolf right ahead of me. I’m not even winded, somehow.
When we finally stop running, we’re standing in a clearing. The full moon is high above us, covering everything in a silvery glow. The wolf turns and looks at me, his golden eyes full of sorrow.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper. I move toward the wolf, and he doesn’t back away. When I reach him, I lift my hand and rest it on his enormous head. I look into his golden eyes, and a jolt runs through me.
“Wait, I do know you,” I say. “I know you.”
Suddenly, an unimaginable pain racks my body. I hear myself scream in agony. It feels like every bone in my body is breaking. I look at the wolf. “Help me!” I gasp. I fall to my knees, trying to find a way to escape. The pain is never-ending. I hear footsteps and look up to see Jaxon, Natalia, Ben, and Felix running toward me. The four of them lift me up and begin to carry me away.
I turn back and look at the wolf, now howling in the night air, echoing my cries of pain. My body twists and I hear Jaxon say, “Layla. Layla, it’s okay. We’re trying to help you.”
I’m being carried down a flight of stairs, and I’m vaguely aware of another howl from the black wolf in the clearing. It sounds close. The agony tearing through my body hasn’t ended, hasn’t let up, and I can’t do anything to escape it. I can feel myself writhing, twisting, trying to find relief, but there is none to be found.
At the bottom of the stairs, the group tosses me onto the cold ground. I hear a heavy metal door slam shut. I look around long enough to realize I’m now alone, on my hands and knees in an unfamiliar room.
Then I notice something that fills me with horror. From my own hands, currently curled in anguish, claws begin to emerge.
Comments (0)
See all