Werewolf Rider
By: Aubrie1234
Dear Readers, This is my first Alex Rider story, so I hope you like it. I'm in the middle of Scorpia, so I hope I get the characters right (tell me if I don't). I don't want any flames, please. I DON'T LIKE FLAMES, as I've said before. And, this is also set after the first nine books, though I've never read 6-9 yet. I've only looked on the internet for help on making this story. For the books, I looked at the Los Angeles Public Library Catalog. For the karate moves, I've used Wikipedia and Google Translate, so tell me if I got anything wrong.
Alex was heading home from the park when he got the feeling that something was following him. He was walking down a LA street at sundown when he got the feeling. From his experience as a spy, he knew that someone dangerous was around. He glanced around before ducking down an alleyway, hoping the person wasn't there or would go after him. When he didn't see anyone, he continued walking down the alley, wanting to get away from the danger. It wasn't to be, though. Soon, the sun had set and the moon was up, helping to lead him through the alleys. However, he couldn't shake the feeling.
He stopped and looked around again, but didn't see anything. Now he was anxious and worried. That is, until he heard a soft sound from behind him. He turned to see shining green eyes staring at him from the darkness. They were lower than what he would have expected, so he guessed it was an animal; it was panting and, based on its size, he assumed it to be a large dog or even a wolf, maybe one that escaped from the LA zoo. He doubted it, because when Alex looked into its eyes, he only saw one thing: ravenous hunger. It stepped closer and let out a growl that was deep and guttural, sounding very threatening. Alex knew he didn't have much of a chance if it pinned him down, so he turned and ran.
He heard it roar and the pound of paws on asphalt behind him as he ran. He knew he had to put as much distance between it and him as he could, since he knew he couldn't outrun it. Because he had a head-start, however, he was a few good feet from it. When he turned a corner, he was almost forced to stop. A chain-link fence, about 6 feet high, was in front of him, blocking a direct way out; but, if he wanted to escape the creature, he would have to climb it. He did so and got to the other side just in time, watching the creature claw at the fence.
"You can't get through that, no matter how hard you try." he told it. The creature growled at him, then backed up. Alex thought it was going to either charge or give up, but it did neither. It leapt into the air and over the fence easily, trapping him against the fence. Alex was surprised, but got into a fighting stance, knowing his only chance now was to fight. It growled and leapt at him, only to get hit with a Mawashi Geri, a roundhouse kick, in the face. It got back up and swiped at him, catching him off-guard and clawing his chest; it also had enough force behind it to throw Alex against the fence and cause a dent in it. Alex groaned in pain, collapsing onto the ground; he struggled to stand as the creature confidently coming closer. It growled, then lunged, jaws wide and paws outstretched.
Alex brought up his arm to protect himself, and the creature bit down on it; luckily for Alex, his arm had stopped the creature short from clawing him to death. Unluckily, however, his arm was now in great pain. He screamed and tried to rip his arm out of its mouth. Suddenly, and gunshot was heard and the creature roared, dropping Alex's arm. The boy cradled it as the creature whipped around, supposedly glaring at the shooter.
"Leave Alex alone." a man said calmly, and Alex thought he might have recognized the voice, but he wasn't sure. The creature growled even lower and stepped towards the shooter. The man calmly shot at a wall, spooking the creature.
"Get out of here, now." The creature whimpered and leapt over the fence again, running away. Alex looked up to see who saved him, and was shocked. He saw, though it was dark, that the man had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, which were warmer than the last time Alex ever saw the man. He took a pained breath as he spoke two words:
"Yassen Gregorovich..." The man walked over and crouched down to Alex.
"I'm glad you remember me." he gently put his arms under Alex's arms and legs, picking him up bridal-style, "But now, you need help."
"Why did you?" Alex asked, panting from pain.
"Alex, after you are safe, I will explain everything." he said, then carried Alex out of the alley. No one saw them as the Russian carried Alex down the street and up to a large building. Alex recognized it as a private home before he passed out from pain.
Yassen laid the young spy in an extra bed in the house, getting a first aid kit and wrapping Alex's wounds. The bedroom was essentially a guestroom, made for visitors, so it didn't have any modifications, in case the person staying there wanted to decorate it their way; it hadn't been used, so it was still mostly blank. The only things in there were a wardrobe, a bed with white covers, and a bedside table with a lamp on top. He put down the kit and went out, getting a chair and putting it beside the bed. He wanted to keep an eye on Alex, after what happened, but he also want to look into what creature attacked Alex. It was obvious that it was some sort of large dog or even a wolf, but why had it gone after him?
Yassen had been tailing him ever since Alex got off his last mission and could see how happy the teen was now. He had also seen the creature when it went after Alex; he had been near it at least once, but it had ignored him, only going after Alex. The question Yassen wanted to know was why? Why did it go after Alex specifically? He knew the teen caused trouble wherever he went, but this was a bit much. Alex suddenly groaned, but didn't wake.
He must be in lots of pain, but there isn't anything I can do for him to help soothe it. Yassen thought, laying a gentle hand on Alex's own. He bet Alex would be wanting to know how he was alive as well, but that was a mystery, even to him. All Yassen knew was that he had woken up in the house where they were in now, in a different bedroom. There was a note on the bedside table where he had woken up, saying:
'I hope you're happy now, having a second chance at life, Cossak.' It wasn't signed and he was troubled by the name. Only a few people knew his code name, and he doubted any of them would have helped him the way they did. But, he did have a second chance, and he was spending it the way he wanted: secretly keeping an eye on Alex and not hurting or killing anyone. He was also trying to track down whoever had written the letter and saved his life when Cray had shot him; and wanted to repay them, as they had done something for him that he would never forget.
When Alex felt himself waking up, his arm felt like it was being ripped off, since it was causing him so much pain. He groaned again before opening his eyes, finding himself in the bedroom. Since there was no window or clock, he had no idea what time it was. He didn't recognize anything, but he did remember what had happened. He looked at his wounds to find them bandaged and he knew Yassen had done it. But why? First, Yassen had saved him the night before and took him to a private home, and now he was bandaged. And, how was the assassin still alive after what happened with Cray? Alex saw him get shot and heard him take his last breath, so it should be impossible for him to be alive.
The door to the room creaked open and he saw Yassen come in, carrying a stack of seven books in one had and a plate of food in the other. He seemed surprised to see Alex awake, but didn't show it except for a slight glint in his eyes.
"You're awake; I was hoping you would be." he said, coming over. He gave the plate to Alex before sitting in the chair, putting the books on the ground beside it. On the plate was some simple toast with jam, a bagel with some butter on it, and a glass of orange juice. He looked warily at the food.
"It isn't poisoned or drugged, I promise you, little Alex." Alex gave him an uncertain look before biting into the toast, which tasted delicious; it also reminded him how hungry he was. As he dug into the food, Yassen's mouth twitched into a slight smile.
"How long was I out?" Alex asked after he had finished.
"Only a few hours. It's morning now."
"It still hurts..." Alex shifted slightly, wincing at the pain.
"I don't have anything that could help, Alex. I did the best I could."
"Why did you help me? How are you even alive?" Yassen shrugged.
"I don't really know the reasons to either question. When I saw you get attacked, I felt that I had to help you, since-"
"I'm your mentor's son?" Yassen was surprised, but didn't show it.
"Yes. It's also the reason, as you might have guessed, that I didn't kill you before. As for your second question, I don't know. I woke up in this same house, unscathed somehow, with only a note for guidance." He pulled out the note from his pants' pocket and gave it to the teen, who read over it.
"I don't recognize the handwriting, and I don't think you do, either. By the way, though I can guess, why didn't you bring me to the hospital?"
"Hospitals ask too many questions." was Yassen's simple answer as Alex gave back the note.
"And what's with the books?" he raised an eyebrow at the pile Yassen had brought.
"I checked them out of a nearby library for research on that creature. Though you won't like this, I've been following you ever since your last mission, including last night."
"I can tell."
"As I was saying, I followed you and saw the creature. It seemed to be after you specifically; I know that as a fact because I know I was near it, at least ten feet away, while it chased you, and it didn't even glance at me."
"So, one of my old enemies might be back somehow or a new maniac is out to get me." Alex sighed.
"Seems like it, little Alex." They sat in silence for a minute.
"...So, could I help you look through these books?" Yassen shrugged.
"Fine, but I have more downstairs. I'll bring them up later." he then picked up the plate and left. Alex grabbed the top book using the hand with his good arm and read the title.
"'Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon'. Why this kind of book?" Alex looked through the rest of the books to see that they were made up of other wolf books, dog book, and even a few werewolf books. Alex shrugged, making a mental note to ask the supposedly retired assassin why he got werewolf books, and looked through the book, looking for anything that could have to do with the creature.
He was in the middle of looking through the fourth book, 'The Werewolf: In Legend, Fact, and Art', when Yassen came back in with another stack of books.
"How many books did you get?" Alex asked as he put the stack beside the first and picked up the books Alex went through.
"Do you really want to know?"
"I'll take that as a 'I got over twenty books to go through and we aren't even halfway done' voice." Yassen smiled at Alex's sarcasm.
"Have you found anything out?" Yassen asked. Alex shook his head.
"No. But, if I remember right, the creature seemed to have a long snout and it was really big. Another thing was that it could swipe at me. Like a tiger or lion, except those claws were as sharp as a knife." Yassen nodded.
"I know that it was big, so I eliminated any books about small canines, and the long snout narrows it down to werewolves, wolves, and a few breeds of big dogs."
"Why did you get werewolf books, anyway?"
"You can never be too careful. As I was saying, if it could swipe at you like you described, then we may have to eliminate the dogs."
"Which shortens it down to wolves and werewolves." Yassen nodded.
"Yes. By the way, what about your friend, the Pleasure girl?" Alex sat there for a minute, then facepalmed.
"She and her parents must be worried sick about me!" he said, "Do you have a phone?"
"No, I don't. I'm sorry, Alex."
"I am SO dead if they find out what happened. You might be even deader, Yassen."
"I've stayed alive this long; I think I can avoid a teenager and her parents."
"And why don't you have a phone?" Yassen shrugged.
"I don't know. When I woke up here, I saw that my own phone was gone and that the house had no phone service, not even a land-line."
"How primitive is this place? No offense."
"None taken, and it has plumbing, electricity, and running water, at least."
"Yes, good for you."
"Why don't you keep looking while I get more books?" Yassen left before Alex could say anything, taking the books Alex already went through with him. Alex rolled his eyes before going back to looking through the books.
After a while, Alex grew anxious. Yassen hadn't come back and he was starting to think the assassin might have been lying and turned on him. If so, then why did he save him and not kill him himself? He had plenty of chances, since Alex was starting to get his strength back. Alex swung off the covers and swung his feet onto the floor, slowly standing up. Except for a few sting-like sensations where the creature had clawed him, he seemed to be okay. He looked at himself to see he was still in his clothes from last night, a blue t-shirt, khaki pants, and white sneakers. He knew he had been wearing a jacket, but he guess Yassen had taken it off while he had been asleep before (he was too busy trying to figure out what was going on to notice the way he looked earlier).
He walked to the door and turned the knob. It was unlocked and he ventured into the hallway. It was tan colored and the left led to more doors while the right led to a staircase, and now Alex could hear muffled voices. He couldn't make anything out, so he slowly went down the stairs. At the bottom was a closed door and the voices were louder.
"You're getting old, Yassen. Too old." Alex recognized it as a female's.
"I'm still strong enough to defend myself and Alex." Alex knew it as Yassen's voice, and he seemed to be pained saying these words.
"Why do you defend that boy? You're an assassin, he's a spy. You killed his uncle and he wanted you dead for it. And yet, you saved his life several times because of his father."
"His father was a great man. He taught me everything I know and was the greatest man I ever knew."
"Yes, but you have no right to protect him. Give him to me and I won't have to hurt you more than I already have."
"No. If you take him, he will be turned into a monster." Alex heard a crack and a grunt from Yassen afterwords.
"I will turn him into what he should be, now that he has a new power. No one, not even you, can stop me."
"I will do everything in my power to stop you. He isn't supposed to hurt others, and he never will."
"Fine. You've made your choice." Before anything else could be said, Alex tried to turn the knob. It was locked. Now he didn't care if he was heard, since Yassen seemed to be defending him; Alex kicked at the door, which surprisingly hit the floor with a loud bang. He saw the living room, which had a sofa, a TV, and several stacks of the library books. Yassen was on the floor with a woman over him, pointing a gun at the assassin.
"Alex, stay back!" Yassen said and the woman, who was wearing a pink tank-top, black shorts, and dark blue sneakers, kicked him in the chin. She also had midnight-black hair and green eyes.
"Quiet." she then turned to Alex, "Hello, Mr. Rider."
"Let Yassen go." Alex growled.
"I will if you do as I say." Alex clenched his fists.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to come with me. I know what happened last night; that creature gave you a new power, and I'm here to help you harness it."
"Why should I?"
"I can kill Mr. Gregorovich at anytime, you know." Alex knew he couldn't endanger Yassen, so he put his hands down.
"Alex, don't!" This time, the woman stomped on Yassen's chest, making a crack sound. Probably a rib or two breaking.
"You stay out of this." the woman hissed.
"Don't hurt Yassen! I'll...I'll do whatever you want." Alex said, defeated. He knew there was nothing he could do.
"Good. Now, I want you to hold still." He was confused until he brought out another gun, hidden in a holster on her other hip, which Alex couldn't see; what he could see, though, was that it was a dart gun. She fired and the dart hit him in the chest, right above the bandaged area.
"Alex!" The woman kicked Yassen again, shutting him up as she put the dart gun away. What neither of them knew was how the dart affected Alex. He known he should have started to feel sleepy, but he wasn't. He felt angry instead; he knew that he was mad at the woman for hurting Yassen and threatening to kill him, but that wasn't all that was fueling his anger. He also felt furious that someone was daring to try and take him down; he was stronger than either of them, and he didn't want to be put to sleep just yet.
As he ripped the dart out, he started growling, not normally, but more of an animalistic growl. His eyes narrowed at the woman before lunging forward. She moved back and he missed, but stood over Yassen protectively.
"Looks like the dart backfired. But don't worry, I will be back; next time, you're coming with me, Alex Rider." the woman then ran out and Alex followed to the door, watching her as she ran down the sidewalk and disappeared. Alex closed the door, locking it; he didn't want to see her again, and his rage was starting to subside.
"Alex..?" The teen looked over to Yassen, who was holding his chest as he tried to sit up.
"Yeah?" Most of his rage was gone now, but he couldn't feel the effects of the dart at all. His voice was also still more of a growl than normal.
"Could you help me up, please?" Alex walked over and did so.
"How badly are you hurt?" Alex asked him.
"Not too bad. I think I have some broken ribs and some chipped teeth, but those can be fixed."
"And what was she talking about? What happened to me?" his voice was back to normal now.
"She's a maniac that's after you. Somehow, she managed to bring back an old legend and one of them escaped and attacked you. They were all trained to go after you, but the one that got loose wasn't ready yet. It was horrible luck that it got to you before she could get it back, but there's worse news." Yassen said, "What you did, all of that... that wasn't you, Alex. That thing was a werewolf, and it gave you the curse, too."
"So that means..." Alex looked down, "I'm a werewolf." he started shaking his head.
"No no no... I never wanted this! Why is she after me? What did I do to her? How did she bring to life a legend?"
"Little Alex... Please, you must calm down. We can figure this out together."
"No... no, I'll hurt you!" Alex backed away from Yassen, who was able to stay on his feet, "I-I don't want to hurt anyone! I should just leave."
"If you do, you're putting more lives in danger; you could even spread the curse."
"I still don't want to hurt you. You stood up for me against that woman, you helped me, and you even saved my life more than once; I don't want to spread this on to you or even kill you, Yassen." The assassin managed to walk over to him and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I don't care. We're in this together now, and we will stop her from whatever she is doing. You will gain control over this and I will be with you every step of the way." Alex teared up.
"Yassen..."
"Cry in my arms if you want, I will not leave you." Alex did so and Yassen rubbed his back, trying to soothe the young spy/werewolf.
My first Alex Rider story, as I've said, so I hope I got the characters right and all the other things. This is also more of a fic where Alex and Yassen have a son/father relationship. Tell me what you think and R & R, readers!