Created (Book 1 of the Created) (6 page)

The lack of impending size on my behalf made me feel that
intimidation would not benefit me. My eyes scanned the surrounding ground for a
weapon that I could use as a deterrent because I wasn't sure if a limb or stick
could actually slow the muscular animal down.

The beast glared at me, his mouth agape. If a wolf was
capable of such expressions, I would have thought the creature was smiling or
perhaps toying with me. His head shot up, nose into the wind. He turned the
massive head from one side to another in a wide arc.

I had also caught the same scent wafting gently in the
slight breeze. The scent was cinnamon, though faint, mixed with the pungent
smell of dog. The source of the odor was some distance away. I could not afford
to worry about the beautiful aroma because if I did not do something soon then
assuredly I was going to die.

Distracted with the foreign smell, the wolf did not
initially notice me stepping backwards as I tried to increase the distance
between my position and the gigantic creature. With a lightning quick snap of
the head, the beast returned its full attention to me.

I knew why, the new smell was gone from the wind. What was I
going to do?

The wolf eased forward, mouth open. The twenty feet from
before, and the additional two I added, had dissolved into eighteen feet or so.
An animal of this size and musculature would be upon me in two running strides
if I did not make a move. There would be no option to run. This beast would
have me before I could get twenty yards.

I maintained eye contact and fought with my nerves to flee.
Something inside told me to hold my ground, but fear was clambering to issue a
scream as the wolf assumed an attack stance. Steadying myself, I closed my eyes
to face a sure death.

"What are you going to do wolf?" I whispered.

Before the wolf could answer, a long hollow yelp escaped an
animal. I hoped it was the wolf. The distressed animal issued the painful cry
from nearby that sounded like it was from the wolf. The exclamation of
discomfort was simultaneous to a deep thud of something striking an extreme
muscle mass. The deep thud was followed by a sound similar to a tree being
taken to the ground. Eyes welded shut by uncertainty; my ears were treated to a
cacophony of unusual sounds when the large object was driven to the ground.
There was a scattering of dust and the rustling of debris as the ground was
violently disturbed. The explosion of sorts caused me to cough and open my eyes
to see what had transpired.

Startled and confused are weak explanations of the
bewilderment I experienced when I was greeted with the wolf stunned upon the
ground, eyes shut, laboring, being stood over by a human figure.

The figure was wearing a black cape made of leather with the
collar upturned. The hair was as black as the darkness that was present in the
surrounding shadows. The figure's shoes spoke of black leather affixed with
matching buckles of the same color.

The wolf even on its side was almost as tall as the
diminutive figure standing at the ready to battle again. The surprise, but
welcomed guest, turned to face me in a flourish of cape fluttering and gracefulness.
Soon the figure was within three feet before me when I realized my benefactor
was an attractive female several inches shorter than my six foot two inch
frame. Quietly alluring, the female did not say anything but simply glared at
my surely puzzled expression.

The female was dressed in an outfit more fitting of a gothic
castle motif with a touch of Victoria's Secret. She wore black from her boots
to her cape with a splash of red on her corset with black boning. The corset
exposed a perfectly formed pair of breasts and shapely torso, more movie
starlet in appearance than a heroine in the middle of a dark forest battling a
gigantic wolf.

I tore my eyes from her chest, scanning her soft sensual
neck to her perfectly proportioned, slightly round face. She was pretty in a
way that could disarm any man. Her hair hung in long, wavy trusses of silken
black with blunt bangs above her smoky eye shadow that ended in a flourish that
outlined her sparkling brown eyes. Her eyes shimmered similar to that of diamonds
underneath a spotlight.

Neither of us spoke. I couldn't have even if I had
desperately wanted.

She flashed a devilish grin, displaying dazzlingly white
teeth with a pair of fangs glistening in the moonlight where her canine teeth
should have been. At this point the fangs were of small circumstance when
compared to the other things I had already experienced in the past half hour.

Noticing again the twinkle in her eyes when she smiled, my
heart leapt to my throat; my mouth became dry. The events caused me to momentarily
forget the hunger pains. My mind was filled with thoughts of my savior and the
hunger that was absorbing me in waves. The pains in my stomach caused me to
double over. I wanted to act tough for the sexy stranger, but I was incapable.

A low groan of awakening was emitted from the formerly
unconscious wolf as it shook off the effects of being struck by the ravishing
beauty standing between us.

I straightened as I fought the torturous sensation to look
over her shoulder to see the animal roll upright then rub its nose on the
ground for a moment. Rising to its hunches, the wolf sized up the lady who had
knocked him out. Sufficiently confident the beast could recapture the
advantage, the wolf started to snarl. Teeth exposed, the animal appeared to be
righteously pissed. Drool began to form and drip as the wolf salivated.

I looked to the young lady in front of me who did not appear
worried. She still wore her sexy smile as well as she wore her corset.

With a slight head tilt, her fangs retracted before she
spoke, her voice feminine and sweet. "I think it’s time for you to go home
for the night big fella."

The wolf answered with a gravelly voice that was other
worldly, more growl than spoken word. The words began bursting forth in short
simple sentences. "He is mine....Go....Both will die."

The leather of her gloves tightened as she clinched her
fists. Turning her head to the right she spoke, "John leave or the next
time we tangle you will not be so lucky. He is one of ours."

John replied with a guttural retort that was much clearer
than his previous attempt. "I know what he is. I can smell the deadness
within his blood. Soon he will be another pretender like the rest of your clan.
I thought I would take him from this world and save Mathias of having to
dispose of another failed experiment."

The striking female spun eloquently to face John, who was
more imposing knowing that he could talk.

She firmly spoke in a combination of sultriness and a hiss,
"The rules of the Farm are not to be violated. You know we are at peace
within the boundaries as established by Chadron. Besides, you know better than
trying to grab a changeling before the turning is finalized. We are not the
savages of our predecessors, but we will protect those of our kind. Leave or die."

The pleasantries were finished. John sat down and studied
the much smaller woman. Even seated, his massive head and chest loomed over
her. He panted heavily for an eternity before getting up quickly to leave.
Walking away, his voice a snarl he called, "This is not over vampire
bitch."

Vampire, the word hung in the air, swirling around my head
as we watched the wolf named John break into a trot then a lope. The gray fur
of the beast's coat vanished amongst the shadows of the forest.

The vampire casually turned to face me. The knowledge of her
true nature hung in my throat as I contemplated the meaning of the conversation
I had witnessed mere seconds ago. She had called me a changeling; part of her
world.

Before I could ask about the whole damn crazy night, the
vampire hid her exposed fangs and extended her hand. "I am Veronica, and
after saving your ass, it looks like I am now your tour guide into the world of
the undead and the mythical."

Taking her delicate hand in mine, I shook it passively,
afraid of becoming a victim to the sexy vampire. Though looking small and
fragile, the hand was smooth and soft to the touch, but the underlying bone
structure felt as it were made of granite. She was an apex predator. If she
wanted to attack me I would be no match. I imagined my throat laid open, her
mouth and face smeared with blood. I shuddered.

I felt myself shutting down. My brain was taxed as I tried
to comprehend what had happened since my awakening, setting aside my desire to
know my name or why I was in the forest in the middle of the night. Those
answers would come soon enough I hoped.

She was standing in a shaft of light created by the moon
peeking through the clump of trees surrounding us. She was gorgeous. Her dark
locks wistfully moving in the warm summer breeze that had begun to blow.
Knowing what she was did not deter me from longing to continue looking at her.
Arching an eyebrow, she waited for seconds then annoyed she pursed her lips.

Strolling by me, Veronica had started walking away into the
night without extending an acknowledgement for me to join her. Looking around
at the dancing shadows of the woods that seemed to be closing in, I noticed the
flickering of blinking eyes watching us. I decided vampire or not that I needed
to join her.

I took a couple of clumsy steps, almost falling on the
second, and then settled into a gliding stride that allowed me to overtake her
quicker than expected. My head was on a swivel searching for the return of John
or something much worse.

She must have sensed my uneasiness. "Don't worry about
John, he is long gone. His kind is mostly bark. The best way to deal with the
GW3s is to not take their shit. Once they know you mean business then most will
back down."

"GW3s? I hate being a dumbass, but remember you did offer
to be my tour guide." There were other things I was aching to know, but I
had to be patient so I thought levity might work.

She answered, "Generation Wolf 3. Don't mention it. The
walk at this human pace will take a while so I will try to answer as much as I
know and what I don't know I am sure somebody in town will."

"A talking wolf named John? I thought when I woke up
that I was having a really bad dream." I rubbed my stomach. The pain was
radiating into my limbs and the walking was becoming more difficult.

Thankfully, Veronica eased her stride as she noticed me
struggling to maintain her brisk walk. "The wolves were originally created
by the United States government for the same reason we were and some were a
success and others were a colossal failure. There are many different varieties
of interesting creatures you will have to learn to learn to live with if you
are to survive life on the Farm. The GW3s are the first of their kind to know
how to speak. I bet you are hungry, huh?"

"Starving.
I cannot imagine
being hungrier than I am now."

I laughed lightly, "John is a weird name for a
wolf."

"All the creatures that live here originally start as
Avas
or Johns. The wolves kept the name John to maintain
the integrity of the pack concept. Those guys can be fanatics though most are
alright guys. We are stuck identifying them strictly by noticing the variations
in the fur, size or even scars. Many of the other creatures we share our home
with find their own way to be individuals. Many are creative; some are atrocious."

She shuttered as she continued speaking. "The
Vs
after the initial generations were the first to start
adopting names in order to be distinctive."

Must be awful to shake vampire I thought. The pains from my
hunger were still distracting, but were subsiding and the clarity of my
thoughts was improving. I hoped to direct the conversation away from the evils
she knew and toward finding out if she knew who I was. "Did you pick your
own? I don't know what my name is, and I was wondering how I needed to pro..."

Veronica paused, throwing her hand up to silence me as we
stopped walking.

I knew she was listening for something. She lifted her chin
putting her nose to the wind directing me to do the same. She was teaching me
so I did as I was instructed. There was a new smell that was overly sweet
wafting in our direction. The odor was similar to fresh squeezed limes. The
source was close to us, somewhere to my right about fifty yards away. Looking
in that direction I saw nothing of significance. My nose was telling me
different.

Veronica lightly touched my bicep. "There is nothing to
worry about. It is another of us who is a little nosey and over protective. If
she doesn't come in to meet you then she will definitely introduce herself when
we get into town. Come on let's keep going."

Turning to her, I nodded I was ready to proceed.

She removed her hand and allowed me to set the speed at
which we were to walk. The hunger pangs had been reduced so I walked at a
comfortable clip. The odor of limes moved at our pace, maintaining her
distance. Occasionally, I would hear a very quiet girly giggle, but I tried not
to let the vampire with me become a distraction because there was so much I
wanted to ask Veronica before we neared what she called town.

The girl beside me appeared normal. I tried not to stare as
we walked silently. Sheepishly, I would glance at her every few steps. She
would slyly smile whenever she caught me. Once she tucked her hair behind her
ear without me realizing allowing me to see how truly beautiful of a vampire
was helping me to safety. Momentarily, I thought we were flirting. There were a
few shared grins and stolen looks until I reminded myself she was a creature
that needed my blood to survive.

She broke the silence that had dominated the last mile of
our walk. "So what shall we call you? I mean you have to have a name. Do
have one you prefer?
Fabio, for instance, or Bill?"