2

The elevator continued groaning upwards. In front of her, she cannot miss the restless fidget Ze'ev was acting up. And as if the tick was too much to bear one of his hands landed on the lever and wrenched it down to a stop.

Scarlet looked around, sure that they hadn't made it to the top yet. She was about to protest when Ze'ev faced her.

"Detour." He said coolly and yanked her by her binds.

They stepped into the hallway. At first she was following Ze'ev, carefully watching his back, trying to calculate how much time will it take her to disable him and get him pinned down the ground. Once in a while Ze'ev will cast a backward glance at her. She didn't know whether to feel guilty or not for having these thoughts.

It's not easy. She surmised at the end.

Before they rounded a corner, Ze'ev outstretched his arm, palms opened upwards and gestured herto walk ahead of him. This struck her as uncanny but when she stepped in front she saw a small group of operatives lounging casually on the hallway.

They immediately caught her scent.

Either what a way to get introduced to his friends or judging from the sly grins slapped on their faces something else entirely.

Ze'ev led her to another entryway but before they disappeared in the passage she heard the trailing catcalls and snickers from the other operatives. Ze'ev flashed them a smug smile.

"Satisfied?" Scarlet grumbled ahead.

Suddenly she was pulled back and was whipped in front of a door. Ze'ev leaned forward to twist the door handle. "You have no idea." He pulled back to keep his weight from crushing her andshe was lead inside the room.

"You stay in there," Ze'ev pointed to a velvet seat facing a mirror. "And don't move till I come and get you."

Scarlet obliged and seated herself straight backed in the chair all the while looking at him defiantly.

Ze'ev left murmuring to himself. Some of the words floated to her and it irked her even more.

That's my girl. Is what she heard.

She watched him disappear behind a divider on the far side of the room.

Now that Scarlet was all alone she took in the details of her surroundings. Ten semi oval mirrors were pushed back on each of the opposite wall. Some were cloudy and needed tinting but none of them seem to have any cracks. A few chairs were missing and on the chairs that were there lay draped the occasional costumes for a play. A blue cape trimmed with gold tassel, a red orange fox fur, peacock headdresses. Mother of pearl necklaces, jewelries, all fake of course, were strewn in front of the vanity along with different shades of make-ups.

She wondered if she and her grandmother ever went into a big city to see live performances. She couldn't fathom the storyline of the play that constituted all this. But one thing is for sure, everything that remained in this room was all left in a hurry.

She turned in her seat and stared herself in the mirror. Not that much pretty to look at but it's something. She played on a gooey wax with her finger on the assortment of tubes and powders in front of her. Her finger came away red. Curiously, she dabbed a little tint on her lower lip. She turned her head this way and that to check on a certain angle. She scrunched her nose and shook her head silly, vigorously rubbing off the color from her lips.

Ze'ev hasn't been gone long enough. She could hear movements behind the divider every now and then. Light footed and sure footed she decided to eavesdrop. She stepped carefully on the floorboards making sure they won't creak. She paused at the edge and steeled herself to peek.

In a room that was lined with mirrors from floor to ceiling she saw Ze'ev talking in an old fashion phone line. His words were nondescript no matter how she strained to hear. She tried to move closer to make out the words from his mouth.

"We'll continue this after I get off the top floor."

When she heard him said that brusquely, she knew that she was caught.

He returned the receiver on the wall with deft care. As he turned around she saw her mistake, there she is, her tiny reflection staring back in panic.

He slowly walked towards her, his foot dropping on heavy strides.

She realized that her wrists were still bound. She was helpless. She cringed away from him.

He crossed his arms coolly in front of him. "Are you afraid now Scarlet?"

Her hands were shaking but she kept her voice steady and resolute, "Yes."

"Good," he said indulgently.

One of his arms came away, he held her chin and grazed her lower lip tenderly. He glanced on the side and he stared at their reflection.

Scarlet tried covered herself with her arms. She felt vulnerable under his intense gaze like she was being undressed then sliced open and dissected. "You're looking at me very differently." She warned, the edge in her voice was back.

"Dilated." he began tersely. "Your pupils are dilated."

She blinked.

He stared at her. The green of his irises were dull, they were shaking at the center of the whites of his eye. "Shall I tell you a story Scarlet?" He said mechanically.

He released his hold on her and stumbled passed her to the other side of the room. He hunched in a chair and buried his hands through his hair. His eyes were shut tight, trying to purge himself of the memory."I was resurfacing from a medically induced coma, they were experimenting on me this new drug that's supposed to quicken the impulses of the nerves, it all got haywired."

She watched him crumple further in the seat. She stepped closer to him.

"Stay there. Don't come any nearer." He said gaining more control on himself. He sighed and arched his back limply on the chair. He was staring numbly in the ceiling. His neck fully expose. Scarlet watched his Adam's apple move up and down as he take in gulps of air.

"I seized violently and they have to put me to sleep or else I won't recover."

When she noted him to be nearly stable she knelt in front of him. She raised her fettered wrists in time as he dropped his head.

"When I woke up, there were these two young doctors conversing at the bedside. They were talking about pupil sizes. I remember hearing the other doctor said about reflexes that cannot be controlled. He said that when the survival instinct kicks in vital signs goes up, pulse quicken and the pupils dilate."

He said this all the while Scarlet was running her hands on his scruff jaw trying to ease his breakdown. He encircled his hands on the exposed skin below the her binds. She thought that he was going to stop her but he merely felt for her pulse.

"He continued on saying something which is odd and remarked that it's basically the same reflex when a person is attracted to another."His eyes flicked open. They were hard and unforgiving this time. But Scarlet didn't flinch.

She tested her hold on him. In the back of her mind something inside her won and she gripped at it selfishly. They both have each other to blame. She returned his gaze unfalteringly.

Ze'evgripped her hands tighter, feeling that steady jump underneath her skin."And I can hear your pulse thrumming."

x

The sky was already developing a purple bruise amidst the sinking sun. The stars refused to come out around the yellowed glow of the quarter moon.

The glass dome of the opera house has long caved in from the roof. But once she understood, that there's a certain kind of beauty in places that are now melancholic and broken for the thought that once it has been grand.

"A shell!" A man in a silver robe said incredulously.

On reflex she reached for the scar on her nape but was stopped half way for Ze'ev gave her a harsh prod on her back.

Not exactly,she wanted to tell as the Master of the Operatives refocused in the effort of ensnaring her bioelectricity.

The crease his brow smoothed and he assumed a more relax posture with his hands held clasp behind his back.

"Tsk. Tsk." He clicked his tongue and called Ze'ev in a manner a human might call his dog. "Bring her."

"At once. Master Jael." Ze'ev responded briskly.

Jael took a seat at the head of what seems to be a table that is made out of a portscreen or a huge portscreen that is used as a table.

Scarlet was shoved into a seat on his left. Ze'ev unlocked her cuffs twisted both of her forearms on the back of the chair rather uncomfortably and cuffed them again.

Jael studied her with perverted fascination one pale finger stroking his chin. Fluttery silver sleeves and shimmering golden runes and all.

"Forgive me for being too harsh, mademoiselle. But we must always be cautious."

Scarlet gritted her teeth, "Are you going to torture me now?"

"Oh I would love too." He said it casually the way when people were asked if they want another extra heaping of sugar. "But it seems that you are not an ordinary Earthen. Or not even an Earthen at all."

He leaned back on his chair. "Tell me now. What do you see?" He smiled placidly at her.

The space in front his face blurred into the image of a blonde woman. It took her seconds to realize that it was Emelié that he was trying to project on his glamour.

"No?" He spoke on a clip French accent. The face in front of him molded and reformed into a mutant wild beast, slaver running down its mouth and in said in the same clipped accent:"No?"

"How about this?" His figure transformed into a bent backed lady with a silver hair. Smudged blood and bruises all over her arms, neck and jaw. It said to her: "Come on, ma chéri." Her grand-mere spoke to her dotingly, "What do you see?"

Scar felt her bile rising, her heart felt like it detached itself from the root in her chest. Her whole body was tingling with numbness, she struggled from her bonds on the back of the chair.

"All I see is the scum that you are!" She growled.

Jael was taken aback. She wondered if it was the fact that the knowledge of her being a shell dawning on him or the fact that somebody he considers lowly of him has out rightly called him a scum.

His face was once again immaculately smooth as he addressed to Ze'ev behind her. "Who is the thaumaturge in charge of holding the glamour during the interrogation with her?"

"Thaumaturge Jan."Ze'ev supplied succinctly.

"Why has he failed to report that we have a fugitive shell at our hands?"

Ze'ev only stared blindly at the view outside.

Jael drummed his fingers on the table in deep thought. "I want him locked down on Detaining Cell 4 at Sector-C.19 underground. Give him no food, water or light for four days. Do not give him the privilege of having a visitor. Neither from his fellow thaumaturges or other operatives. I want him alone and in the dark for his shortcoming."

"Master Jael. But- that is the sector where you punished your delinquent opera-" Ze'ev stopped midsentence suddenly remembering that he is not allowed to question orders from superiors.

Jael turned his attention on the table screen and began clicking on a panel. A window enlarged where it played a video link of a street level camera in Rieux showing a young woman wearing civilian clothes not particularly common in the region. He dragged and flipped the image to Scarlet's side.

Scarlet gave him a harsh stare before warily hunching on the table. The clip from Rieux faded into a footage of a security camera on what looked like a highly guarded military detention facility. The same girl appeared in the hallway wearing the Eastern Commonwealth's prison jumpsuit. In the next clip, she was shown too close in front of the camera, a metal flashed momentarily in front of it, a cyborg hand, and disappeared out of the view of the camera. The video flickered before it went black.

Scarlet began to lean back.

"There's more," Jael told her.

The window began to display the girl's bio along with several grainy pictures caught where she was spotted on different locations. Blue mountains on the back drop. Commonwealth. The girl wearing a faded red rida' on the rolling sand dunes of a desert. Either the plains of Middle East or the African desert. And a photo on the sloping wine country somewhere in France. And the girl emerging on a barn amidst a patch of blooming tomatoes.

Scarlet's slowly straighten her posture. What is a cyborg doing in her backyard in Rieux?

Jael entwined his fingers together on his lap. "Now if you would simply answer our questions. We would let you go unharmed with a boarding fare on the train so you can be back at your home by this time tomorrow."

"Is what you all say! You killed my grand-mere." Scar tried to lunge for him but was held back by her bonds.

"Your grandmother refused to cooperate. This matter of business is utmost concern to the security of Earth, that cyborg is considered a convict, withholding information to us, just like your grandmother, is considered treason. And in Luna, treason is punishable by flogging to death."

Scar's entrails were ablazed with visceral hate. She clenched her eyes shut and on reflex she began to focus on his bioelectricity. If only her hands weren't bound she could capture his bioelectricity and ruin his mind forever. She twisted and struggled on her bonds unable to do anything.

"Your grandmother served as an aircraft pilot on the first diplomatic mission on Luna, correct?" Jael began to question.

Scarlet's eyes flinched open. "What does this have to do with the cyborg?" She yelled at him in utter bewilderment.

"I'm the one who's supposed to ask questions," Jael reminded. He repeated the same statement from before.

"Correct." Scarlet replied begrudgingly.

"After the diplomatic mission, she considered an early retirement and resided on her farmhouse in Rieux."

"Correct." She replied again but where is he leading to? What connection does the cyborg have with her grandmother?

"Are you aware if your grandmother came back from Luna with anybody?" This time Jael became cautious with his voice dropping as he continued, "not just Earthens… Lunars? Shells?"His eyes narrowed trying to gauge her reaction, "Kidnapping the lost princess of Luna?"

Scarlet reeled back. "My grandmother cannot possibly-"

"Oh, your grandmother keeps a lot of secrets on her closet, Scarlet. She is a very private person."

Everything doesn't make sense. She was exasperated now, her mind was losing focus. It's her weakness. But she has to gather her mind whole, for this mission and for her grandmother. "I am aware of the myth, the rumors, that surrounds the tragedy of the lunar monarchy. Princess of Luna burned by her own kin. My grandmother is a loyal aircraft pilot under the service of the Earthen military. She absolutely has no part on what you're saying."

She could see a part of his expression resign. "Your grandmother really didn't tell you anything, didn't she?"

Her mouth opened ready to retort but no words came out. She knew her grandmother. Right?

"Now, have you had any recent contact with the cyborg fugitive?" Jael addressed her.

"None." She clenched her teeth as she said this.

He turned his attention to Ze'ev behind her. "What have you found out LSOP 962?"

Scar made a sideways glance at Ze'ev. His eyes were impassive. "She is involved in some sort of reconnaissance mission to infiltrate our HQ." Scar tried not to make her wince visible. A terrible blunder, she shouldn't have said that a while ago. "She might be an intelligencer working against us."

"Might be?" Jael raised his eyebrow.

And like a rock hitting the bottom. "She said it herself, Master Jael."

She tightened her hands into a fist behind the chair resisting to throw him the finger.

"I've already made the call. I'm planning on forming a special team to perform strict surveillance around the perimeter of the farmhouse in Rieux in case her client will meet her there. I also need additional operatives to conduct a detailed investigation of the house to find out what we can. If you will permit?"

They will not find anything there. Just a boring girl wearing a red hood, making deliveries, carrying on her usual life. She made sure that she would erase everything from before.

"The ever efficient servant, as always, LSOP 962."

Scar could be wrong but she just saw Ze'ev's chest inflate with pride.

Jael turned his chair so that his back was facing them. With a wave of a hand he said, "Dismissed. Take her to the detention facilities."

Ze'ev bowed.

As she was led to the door Scar glanced up the ceiling. In its perfect center she can see the quarter moon glowing like one sleepy eye.

x

Scar was taken to a more cramped cell this time. The three sides of the cell were walled with smooth metal. There were no windows. No way of escape. The only space connecting from outside was the slit near the bottom of the door in which, she glanced down at her body, she needed to flatten herself the size of a plate if she's planning to be successful.

Together with another operative Ze'ev had managed to half drag and half carry her on the way underground.

Ze'ev unfastened her handcuffs. The moment they were loose she quickly swung at him in a clawing arc. He stopped it right before it tear a part of his cheek. Ze'ev then pulled on her wrist and slammed her hard against the wall. The back of her head throb and for a moment she saw stars floating in front of her vision. She tried to pull back her wrist but he didn't budge.

Ze'ev nodded to a fellow operative by the door gripping the lock. "Stand on guard outside. I will contain her."

Scar became even more violent as she heard this.

She felt his arm barricade her other side so she won't trash and escape his grip. He laid his weight flat on her body to restrain her. The slight lean froze her actions.

If an unlucky civilian got lost and randomly walked in the detention hallways and didn't know any better, they would pass off as two lovers necking each other in the dark.

Scar shoved the thought away and pushed on his chest to separate some space between them.

Ze'ev place one finger on his lips to shush her. The scuffle is drawing the other operative's attention. Scar glanced on the slit by the door, the operative stood still outside like an obedient statue.

With merely inches in between them along with the dimness of the room, Ze'ev's green eyes were alight, different shades of vibrant green playing on his irises. His night vision, perhaps. He removed his finger on his lips. He dropped his head in between her neck and ear. She felt his chest rise as he inhaled her scent deeply.

"Midnight." Is all he said.

And he left her feeling unresolved and undone by the wall.

The door outside clang with a series of locking mechanism.

x

She had picked countless of locks before. This lock is proving itself to be trickier. And she has nothing to work with but the flimsy wire she had extracted on the door's siding. And it's almost impossible to do it in near complete darkness. Almost.

But she has been trained to difficult situation and use the available resources during her military services.

And with a satisfying clunk, the door gaped open.

Before leaping into the hallway, she checked for signs of guards patrolling the area. Then she barreled through the hallway in a soundless sprint.

She has no care or whatsoever. The objective right now is to escape.

As she retraced the path where they had taken her a while ago Ze'ev's voice floated in her head. She felt her heart sputter. Or either it must've only been due to strain from running harriedly.

What did he mean by midnight?

Whatever midnight is she won't be around to see it.

She doubled her speed and climbed two steps at a time whenever she encountered stairs.

As she reached for the next floor she saw movements down the hallway. She immediately retracted and pasted herself on the wall at the end of the stairs. She poked one eye on the side. There's an operative doing his rounds on this level. And judging by his tattoo, he's just an omega. She still has to be careful, the slightest of movement or scent could provoke their highly keened animal senses.

She waited a beat. There was a window at the end of the hallway near the operative. The wind was favorable, it is blowing on the right side. Her scent will be carried away from him. It meant if she was quick enough not to be seen she could get pass this level and be above ground. Then all she needed is to find a backdoor and she's out.

She calculated her chances and zoomed in to the next stairs.

Did he see her? She glanced back distractedly. He didn't see her.

She leaped into the last steps triumphant. She rounded on the corner and smacked dab on something solid.

She touched her nose to check if it's broken. There's a tender spot here and there but no bones seems to have been bent.

The solid mass in front of her began to shift and she started. She slowly opened her eyes and was met by a six foot hulking beast, his hands were as wide as the circumference of her head, already descending down on her.

She jumped back quickly and was able to avoid the operative's first swipe. Due to his shear mass the operative stumbled but he stretched his arm and spread his hand flat on the wall, pushed himself right to gain momentum.

She felt like a rag doll about to be strewn side to side. She took her fighting stance nevertheless and got ready to brace the weight. As he rushed to strike, something flashed in her periphery. One moment her attacker was charging toward her like a moving mountain and the next the operative was flipped on his back. The behemoth lay spread-eagled on the floor unconscious.

Ze'ev was in between her and the fallen operative, canines bared like a wild animal and his eyes spoke of killing. She could see the effort it took him to overtake his opponent. The muscle on his back was bulging tense, his posture was bent and his breaths come in ragged gasped, but he looked ready to pounce again once there is a sign of movement from the operative. The arm that he used to counter giant's weight was askew and bent awkwardly, he twisted it and it made a bone cringing pop as it was placed back in its socket.

Ze'ev turned his attention to her, eyes still blazing. He started towards her.

Scar took a tentative step backward. Her feet brushed at the tiled floor shakily. Could she outrun him?

There were no options, she should run. As she turned to move Ze'ev had already snatched her arm and without prelude started dragging her toward another passage.

"This way," he grumbled with a frown.

There was no time to consider, her instincts followed him. As they were running he released his hold on her arm.

He bleated at her, "What happen about midnight?"

She snarled at him. "How was I supposed to know that you're not going to walk me to the gallows, or have me shot at the back by a firing squad rather than help me escape?"

She saw his ears twitch and his mouth puckering into a pout like a wounded puppy.

As they reached the end of another hallway Ze'ev put his arm in front of Scarlet to stop her. He risked a glance to both sides before dropping into a soundless walk." I was trying to be discreet," he said in a loud whisper.

She followed his lead crouching low as they walk. "Next time be more straightforward!" Scarlet retorted.

Ze'ev, exhausted, ran his fingers across his face and buried them into his scalp. He gave her a pointed glare but it came out comical. Scarlet let out a bark of laughter and immediately Ze'ev's hand clamped her mouth and they were back at the end of the hallway from before.

He held her close to his chest, his arm spread protectively in front of her. She could see him trying to pick up something. A scent? A sound? She cannot even hear anything.

"Someone's coming," she heard the concentration in his voice, his eyes narrowed ferociously. "There's two of them."

He released her but before he walked away he warned with his eyes.

This time she got the meaning. Stay.

"Keziah! Marko!" She heard him call authoritatively.

"Alpha Ze'ev."They both greeted in unison.

He clicked twice on his index finger and thumb impatiently.

"Have you even been on the western gate?" Ze'ev barked on them. "I've checked with Beta Arven in the mess hall, they're going to receive incoming cargo in that sector. I've dispatched the members of your team to run a regulatory check on all the equipment. Have you even been in there?" Ze'ev was practically snarling at them now.

A beat passed and Scarlet imagined the two wolfling operatives staring at each other in panic. One of them replied unsurely, "We‒ We haven't been, Alpha Ze'ev. We are in-charged of patrolling this level. But…"

The first person trailed off she can only imagine Ze'ev glowering at them. Ever the Alpha of the pack. But all these names, all these subordinates he's commanding. They're his team. She couldn't piece the fact why is he betraying them to help her escape.

"But," the other wolfling croaked his voice uneven, "We‒We're supposed to make our way to the Northern wall. Omega Roma is doing the watch in there. We are on our way to relieve him from his shift."

Ze'ev grunted. Scarlet took the risk to glance them from behind. The two omegas, one with a dark brown hair and the other with a near white blonde hair, were both pale and jittery, shaking like a leaf. Ze'ev was in front of them, the imposing figure of a commanding superior.

"Take him with you on your way and make sure all the supplies on the western sector are clear. Do you copy?"

Both of them scrambled into a gesture, they bowed so vigorously one of them hit the other's head. "Understood, Alpha."

The two wolflings shuffled hurriedly toward the exit. Scarlet let out a breath and slumped when they were gone. She didn't get the chance to be comfortable because right away Ze'ev was beside her on the go dragging her again. She saw a passage that will lead outside, probably where the two wolflings exited a while ago but Ze'ev only yanked her away from that.

"Wait!" She yanked back. "I saw an exit."

"We have to go to the surveillance room. The cameras need to be disabled on the Northern wall. And I need to get the recordings on the last hour on the underground level."

Scarlet was hit with guilt. Again, why take this risk? She wondered if it would have been easier escaping without him. But if they found out. If Jael found out. Nothing would be easy for him. What would Jael think as a way of torturing him now? Ze'ev could be put on a detention cell for days without anything. She had to admit, deep down she doesn't want anything bad happening to him.

When they arrived at the surveillance room, Ze'ev flashed his tattoo in front of an identification screen. The blue light blipped on his arm and the holographic node came to life. He swiped a few times in the air before typing away in the screen. Next he crouched below the processor and yanked four storage chips one after the other.

"Now to disable the cameras."

Scarlet was getting impatient. She crouched beside him and yanked on the power cord underneath.

"That," he appraised the obvious solution, "would do it. Probably freeze a quarter of this sector's security camera." Ze'ev shrugged. "Eh. Hope they'll passed this out as a technical malfunction. This will stall us more time."

But Scarlet was already making her way out of the room. "Hurry!"

Ze'ev was on her heels and they sprinted on the maze of hallways. Scarlet yelped when she was lifted off the ground midstride and was deposited on his back.

"You make too much noise with your feet." Ze'ev grunted as he fastened her arms on his neck.

"Shame I can't be a half-wolf-half-mutant like you." Scarlet can't believe she's enjoying this.

"Shame, indeed. Hold on tight." And that cannot be, that smile, she was sure she didn't imagine it on Ze'ev's face.

x

When they arrived at the Northern wall, they've met an unscalable problem. Scar was gazing up at it already, the wall is too high. Ze'ev on her side was looking on the gate unmanned at the moment since he sent those omegas on the other side of the border. But she knew what he was thinking. They couldn't just walk out of this place, saunter out of the unmanned post without drawing attention to the guards on the connecting wall.

Ze'ev also stared to the top of the ledge calculating the height. Scar looked at him and saw determination set on his jaw. Scar nodded.

Ze'ev put both of his hands together and shoved one knee on the ground. Scarlet backed down a few paces and started sprinting back towards him. Scar twisted as she jumped on his hands. She felt Ze'ev push her foot upwards and she was borne aloft, the trajectory of her jump causing her to flip in the air and land smoothly on the top of the wall.

Ze'ev was more fluid in his jump though. He dug his fingers on a small crevice he found on the wall and used it to bolt himself up. He was next to her in a second. With no time to loose he hooked one of his arm around her waist and jumped on the other side of the wall. She swallowed her scream as the ground came closer. But the landing was even and she was righted back on her feet.

They started jogging across cobbled streets. After three or four blocks she spotted the nose of a hover car tucked in alleyway in between an abandoned building. They made a run for it.

Ze'ev zoomed pass her as they neared the hover car. In one swift motion he jumped and slid on the hood of the car landing near the driver's side.

When she reached the hover car she braced both of her hands on her knees bent over. Her throat was dry and her lungs were burning from all the running. But she has to make the decision immediately.

"Go back now." She wheezed.

Ze'ev stared at her impassively never lifting his hand off the door handle. "In twenty minutes we should be well on our way on the outskirts of the city. Get in." He cocked his head on the passenger side.

Scarlet stood her ground firmly, "Go back now. What if they found out you helped me? What if they already did? I couldn't bear if‒"

He opened the door and started ducking on the driver's side and stopped when he saw Scarlet didn't budge on her spot.

"Scarlet! Don't be stubborn." His strides were heavy, crunching on the ground as he rounded on her. He opened his arms threateningly. "Don't make me get you in."

Scarlet backed on the side of the hover car and a childish whimper escaped from her. "Why don't you just go? Why are you doing this?"

Ze'ev grunted exasperatedly. Then he began, almost begging now, "Scarlet please. We don't have time for this."

He opened the door for her and the gesture struck her as somewhat out of place. The way a gentleman offers a door to a lady. He confound her. Is he an enemy? A lover? A beast? A gentle creature? He is her extreme polarities. Don't do this.

x

The lights on the street posts blurred past the window. She hadn't talked since the car started hovering and zipping through the streets. Ze'ev was the same on his side.

In that silence, Scarlet noticed now that he drives with the bare minimum caution. Barely dodging the curb and turning street corners in horrendous speed. Basically, the kind of driving that she cannot approve.

She shook her head from side to side. She leaned her head against the window and watched the scenery outside. This combined with the dull hum inside the car is pleasantly sedating.

"Wolf. Why that alias?"

She saw him glanced at her on the periphery of his vision. "My nickname actually," the speed of the hover car evened a bit, his attention being divided on the road and her. "At the base. That's what they call me."

"Oh." She said mildly, suddenly becoming aware of the life that he lived before this.

"How about you? When the report came in we all knew that Michelle Benoit has a granddaughter living with her in her farmhouse. A mere seventeen or eighteen year old farmgirl they said."

"It's true." Scarlet said though tight lipped.

"You're lying."

"How do you know?" She challenged him.

"Instinct."

She barked a laugh. She couldn't really take the hilarity of this whole.

"When we have time. I might tell you." Her tone was somber as she gazed at the beginnings of light in the horizon.

She stared ahead numbly. Finally seeing how this will end. Then she had this absurd idea, so absurd that the fact that saying it will make it even more impossible.

"Come with me then…" The offer hung in the air.

Then a constricted, "I can't," came from him.

Of course.

"Then why did you defy orders? Why did you help me?" Again with this incessant question.

"I don't know."

Scar's jaw tensed, doubt and anger mixing. "You cannot."

"I can't explain," Ze'ev offered honestly."At the base in Luna, we are trained for this kind of operation. We are always reminded each and everyday to do what we are told by the Thaumaturges. Be a soldier of Luna. Abide to our Queen's wishes. Those are the things that they ingrained on us. You see Scar. This," he gestured to himself wholly, "The me that is acting up right now. This isn't why I was made."

As the light extended towards them on the horizon, she believed him. As the railroad tracks became visible in the distance. Right in the beginning.

"I just have this gut feeling. An intense need that supersedes anything I was trained or programmed to do."

She didn't say anything. They neared the station and they stopped.

"You might be my counterpart. I think you're my Alpha."