Disclaimer: This story is loosely based on the 1982 movie called Cat People from Universal Studios. All of the rights, original ideas, and characters belong to Allen Ormsby and Dewitt Bodeen. I'm using their basic premise and am using just a few of their characters briefly in my story. The rest of the stuff contained within is all mine. No copyright infringement is meant, and I'm writing just for fun and not for any monetary gain.
Author's Note: Did anyone think that Valen would give up that easily? Me either. This chapter deals with Abby getting involved in helping solve the weird mutilation murders, there is news of new arrivals at the zoo, and a more heated encounter with Valen takes place that gives Abby more hints about her true heritage. Thanks so much to those of you who are leaving reviews: HowlynMad, LadyKitana, katkah, KrysOfSorrow, and RadcliffePotter. You guys rock! I'm glad there are other Cat People fans out there besides me. Thanks to my beta reader RadcliffePotter for making sure my chapters make sense.
Rate R: For blood and gore, along with some romance and language
Chapter 7
After my thorough examination of Jane, I could positively confirm that she was pregnant. We were all ecstatic at the zoo. It was too early to tell for sure, but it looked like she would probably be having a liter of three cubs. Brian met me in the zoo's main office area, picking me up and swinging me around in his exuberance. When I winced, he apologized profusely for hurting me, forgetting about my still healing incisions. I told him it was fine, but after playing with the cats, the confrontation with Valen, and having examined Jane, I wasn't feeling too hot. Everyone was so excited about Jane's pregnancy, and so was I, but for some reason I just wasn't basking in it like the others were.
"Oh, this is just wonderful, Abs," Brian was telling me, breaking out a bottle of champagne and sharing it with myself, Della, Toby, Keith, and a few of the Audubon Institute's board members that had decided to stick around after their meeting. I, of course, didn't have any.
"We're going to have little ones running around here!" Della gushed, caught up in the excitement.
"Yeah, it's what we've been working toward for months now," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"What's wrong, sugar?" Della asked me, coming over to gently put an arm around me. "Are you still letting that guy that Toby and Keith chased off bother you?"
I replied with a, "No," but the truth was that I was still bothered by Valen's visit. "I'm just tired," I lied.
"Do you want us to call the police, Abs?" Brian asked, real concern crossing his face. His eyes searched mine. "Is he the guy that Ray thinks is stalking you?"
"How'd you know about that?" I demanded, shrugging Della off.
"Ray had a long talk with me before he would let you come down here," Brian explained. "He mentioned that some creep had used your friend to try and get close to you. He also said something about him getting kind of aggressive with you while on a double-date."
Great. Thanks Ray. "He isn't stalking me," I denied. "He just thinks he knows things about me, when clearly he doesn't know his own ass from a hole in the ground. I told him that I had no interest in anything he had to say. I don't think he'll be back."
Della clicked her tongue and shook an ebony finger at me. "Abigail Laroche, I'm surprised at you. You obviously felt threatened by him or you wouldn't have called for backup. You should really take this stalking thing seriously, especially if he has already been physically assertive with you."
"Look, if he shows up again, after I've officially told him that I want nothing more to do with him, then I'll worry," I said, rubbing my temples. My head was starting to hurt.
"You don't want to end up like those three bodies they've found now," Della admonished me. "The latest one was the worst yet."
This was news to me. "The police have found another mutilated body?"
"They haven't announced it to the press yet," Brian expounded. "A detective stopped by earlier today to get our opinion if these bodies are the work of an animal or a person."
"I was going to ask you guys about that," I admitted. "When did they find the third body? Is it male or female?"
"Yesterday morning, upriver from the last one," Brian told me, guiding me slowly away from the Audubon Institute board members. "The medical examiner thinks it's been there for about a week. And it seems to be another woman."
Toby had moved his tall frame with us and now spoke up. "It's definitely being done by an animal. No human could do what's been done to these bodies."
"Not even with a sharp and big enough blade?" I found myself morbidly asking.
"No, there are distinctive teeth and claw marks that you can make out in some of the pieces of flesh that are still intact," Brian answered. His face was pinched in worry, and he ran his hands through his short, slightly curly hair in obvious frustration.
"Belonging to what animal?" was my next question. Brian hesitated in responding, not looking directly at me. "B-r-i-a-n," I drug out his name, "tell me."
"It looks like a big cat of some kind. It's hard to tell through just pictures though," he finally said.
"A rogue Florida panther maybe?" I mused, turning thoughtful. I think I surprised Brian by not getting upset that it was one of my favorite types of animals that might be a killer. I knew it happened from time to time; that was just life.
"That was my first thought, but I'm not entirely sure," he confessed.
"Do you want me to take a look?" I volunteered. "Did the police leave any of the photos or copies of the medical examiner's reports?"
"Oh, sugar," Della interjected, "you don't want to see all that blood and gore."
If she knew of the content of my nightmares she wouldn't have said that, I thought wryly. Reality can't be as bad as my active imagination, right? "I can handle it if my expertise will be of help," I said instead.
Brian had a more practical approach than Della. "I was hoping that you'd be willing to take a look, Abs. I could really use your knowledge as a second opinion. I just didn't want to have to ask you to expose yourself to that kind of nightmarish stuff."
I tried not to smile at how close he'd come to my own thoughts about nightmares. "I appreciate your forethought, but I really don't mind helping out if I can."
"Let's go to my office, and I'll let you have at it," Brian suggested. "I don't want to upset our key investors with all of that."
I nodded in agreement. Brian went and finished up all the pleasantries with the board members. Once they were sent gently on their way, he left Toby, Keith, and Della to their work, while taking me to his office. As he rummaged through one of his filing cabinets, I glanced around the place.
He kept it neat and tidy. I had always liked that about Brian. Everything had its place with him, and he was very organized. I saw the picture of his mother and late father on his desk, Oliver and Alice Yates. He was their only child and their pride and joy. Brian's father, Oliver had been the zoo's curator up until he retired, and Brian took over his position. He died shortly after of a massive heart attack. Brian had taken his father's death hard, but was slowly adjusting to it. Brian looked a lot like his dad; same oval shaped face, same light blue-gray eyes, same short curly, light brown hair, same long, thin nose that widened at the end, and the same thin lips. He was attractive, but not my type. He had just broken up with his latest girl friend, so he wasn't attached to anyone right now. I felt bad that he couldn't find the right girl to settle down with like he wanted to.
"Okay, Abs, here you go," he dropped a file folder on his desk, right in front of me. "I'll warn you, it isn't pretty, just like Della said. If it wigs you out in anyway, you don't have to continue, alright?"
"Okay," I replied, opening the file and perusing the photographs.
The images were bad. I tried not to blanch or let my stomach turn over. They were just like my dreams. The blood was a bright, vivid red. Skin and tissue seemed everywhere. I could make out parts of hands, arms, legs, a mangled torso, and an almost severed head; the throat was completely torn out. I could see telltale signs of some long, dark hair. It looked like the body had been completely eviscerated with bits of stomach, intestines, and others organs strung out around the area. The chest cavity was torn all the way open with bits of lung ripped out. The heart was still there, but it had been shredded.
"My God," I whispered, truly horrified. The images in the photos were mirroring the ones in my dreams way too close for comfort. I suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded, the pounding in my head getting exponentially worse.
Brian could tell how disturbed I was. "Do you want some water? Do you want to continue? I'll understand if you don't."
"Water would be good," I said, tearing my eyes away from the gruesome images. "And, just give a minute. I'll wade through all this."
Brian bent down and disappeared behind his desk for a moment to get into the little refrigerator he kept near it. He came back up a minute later with a nice, cold bottle of water. He opened it and handed it to me. I took a big, long drink from it, letting the water settle me down. It tasted cool and refreshing. I breathed in and out deeply, and then set back to the nasty task at hand.
The police had provided pictures of all three victims, plus all the medical examiner's findings on all three bodies. They were in the process doing DNA analysis and as well as looking into dental records to identify who the bodies had been. Fingerprints were really iffy to get a match with. Only one had been identified— the second body found, a Sheryl Nightingale, who was a tourist on vacation from the state of Washington. She had been a beautiful red head with deep brown eyes. It pained my heart to see how that beauty had been destroyed.
I asked Brian for some measuring tools and for the use of his computer. He willingly obliged me. I wanted to calculate the bite radius of the visible teeth marks. The medical examiner had yet to do that, noting that he wanted an animal expert to do so. I did the same with the claw marks, getting an idea of what kind they were and the size of the animal itself. I plugged the numbers I came up with into a database I had access to so I could search for possible species' matches.
There had been saliva samples found, but not identified yet as well. The medical examiner had released them to Brian's custody, and they were now down in our lab to be tested. Everything I was learning was pointing to a big cat, just like Brian had initially thought. I was finding that it was an animal much bigger than a Florida panther, which was similar in size to a cougar, but smaller than a lion or a tiger. The saliva would be the key to determining the exact type of big cat it was. It was looking more and more like a leopard or a jaguar. That bothered me, a lot. Leopards were my soft spot.
If some freak has tried to keep one as an exotic pet, and then tired of it, I will be really pissed, I found myself thinking. People did that a lot, most not having the heart to kill the animal or not wanting to get caught having owned one illegally. So, they just let them run loose. Animal control had been contacting us more and more often in the last few years to help out in those kinds of situations. It was surprising how many people tried to keep lions, tigers, cougars, lynxes, jaguars, and leopards as pets. Some people tried to keep alligators and huge pythons as pets too. It was completely irresponsible, careless, and selfish, if you asked me.
Could some incompetent circus or carnival management have had one of their animals escape? Thatwas another thought that occurred to me. If this animal had been seriously abused or severely mistreated, that might explain why it's just killing people and not eating them. Animals remember pain inflicted upon them and can be conditioned to hate. Or, could it be possible that some sadistic person has trained this animal to go out wantonly and kill? I shivered at that terrifying thought.
Brian stayed with me as I did my research and analysis. He stood behind me for a while, and then he went and grabbed another chair to sit by me. I got so into what I was doing, I completely forgot about how rotten I felt and that my sister was waiting for me. When my cell phone rang, it made me jump. Ami was anxious to go home. She said Mom had tried to call me, but that it had gone right to my voicemail. My mom had scheduled my final wedding dress fitting for me.
"Listen, Ami," I said quickly. "You go home, and I'll have Ray come get me or have Brian take me home when I'm done here. The police have asked for our help with those horrid mutilation murders you've probably heard about on the news. It looks like it might be a big cat. I need to find out for sure. You understand, don't you?"
"It's already close to seven, Abby," she complained. "You need to get home and rest. You always push yourself too hard. It isn't good for you."
"I won't relax until I finish what I've started here anyway," I reasoned. "Once I've figured this out I'll rest double, okay?"
"A pit bull couldn't be more stubborn than you, Abby," Ami told me, sighing in frustration. "Ray'll want to come get you, so I'll let him know for you. That'll save you some time so you'll get done faster. He probably won't be happy with you either."
I knew she was right. "He'll have to deal with it for now. He knows me well enough that he'll understand."
"I hope you right, little sis," she told me. "You've got tunnel vision, but I love you anyway."
"Love you too, big sis," I tried to laugh it off. "Bye."
Brian insisted that I didn't have to stay any longer. "We can take it from here, Abs. Go home and rest."
"I want to go run the tests on the saliva myself. Then I'll go home," I said, not giving in. "I need to know if it really is a leopard doing all this."
"Because it'll mean that it'll have to be hunted down and killed, right?" Brian inquired, also knowing me really well by now.
"Exactly. I know that it'll be necessary, but I absolutely hate the thought of it."
"Okay," he caved to me. "Go run the test, and then get the hell out of here."
"Yes, sir," I mocked in return.
"I'll get everything closed up, so all you have to do is walk out the door," he said as he escorted me out toward the elevator down to the lab. "Please just don't stay too late."
"Sounds good, and I won't."
"You better not. I'll suspend you if you do."
"I'm so scared, Brian," I said sarcastically.
"You should be," he said, and then we laughed.
It was close to eleven when the masspectrometer kicked back the chemical compounds that made up the saliva the police had collected. I had ordered a full a DNA analysis, but that would take longer than I had tonight to complete. Besides, the DNA test would only confirm what kind of animal it was, and analyzing the chemicals that made up the saliva would work just as well for identifying what kind of animal we were dealing with. It wasn't as complicated trying to track down a specific person. I wasn't trying to find a DNA match to any particular individual.
When I compared the chemical makeup of the saliva samples to the animals I had in my database, it came back as being a leopard; mostly likely either African or Asian in origin. This wasn't good news, and it upset me greatly. Leopards were noted for the stealth with which they hunted. A person wouldn't know one was hiding in wait for them until it was too late. If one was loose in the swamp lands around the city, then it could be a real menace. I really didn't want to help hunt down such a majestic creature, but if it had a taste of human blood, then it had to be put down.
I rubbed my neck as I finished a full report on my findings for Brian to present to the police. I left it on his desk as I made to leave the building. I wanted a crack at the asshole that had so foolishly let the animal run wild in the first place. He was the one I wanted to hunt down and take out. The animal was most likely the more innocent being in this case.
I called Ray, who thankfully didn't chew me out, but I could tell he wanted to. He would be down in the next twenty minutes to a half an hour. He might be quicker, considering the time of night that it was, and that usually meant less traffic to fight. I was grateful for his patience with me. As I sat near the leopard forum while I waited for him, I tried to think of a way to make it up to him. I smiled as I thought of some of the more intimate ways I could do so.
Feeling antsy all of a sudden, I decided to walk around the rest of the zoo for a little bit. It was a beautiful night and some of the more shy animals were more active at this late time of day. It was kind of fun to have the zoo all to myself, expect for the few security guards that occasionally patrolled the area to keep an eye on things.
As I was walking down near the ape exhibits, a tall form appeared from out of the trees surrounding the walkway. It startled me, making my heart flutter. I had a pretty good idea who it was. Adrenaline started to flood through me, both from fear and from something else.
"I thought I told you that if you didn't leave me alone that I'd call the police," I stated as boldly as I could, hoping my voice didn't shake. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and flashed it in front of me. I suddenly wished I still had the tranquilizer gun on me or the prod as some kind of weapon to protect myself with. I had to leave them back in the zoo's main office; they weren't allowed to leave the premises.
"I had to try to get you to see logic and reason one last time," Valen said softly, continuing to approach me.
Half hidden in shadow, so that I could only see half of his face, he looked sexier than ever. His eyes seemed to have a soft glow to them in the semidarkness. "Just go away. I'm not going play your stupid game."
"This is not a game, Abigail. It's life and death. You need to know about your real family."
"I have a real family that I love very much. I don't want to tarnish that with some silly made up story of yours."
"We come from a very unique tribe of people, Abigail. You have a fantastic legacy to learn about. Let me expose you to it," he pressed, standing right in front of me now.
I started to dial nine-one-one on my phone, not wanting to deal with this anymore. I was not going to let him screw up my happy life; a life I had spent thirty years building and working towards. With an unnatural speed, Valen grabbed my wrist with one hand and plucked the phone out of my hand with the other. He turned it off and pocketed it.
"Don't worry you'll get it back, but you're going to face who you are, Abigail," Valen said with authority, backing me up against a tree, so that I was trapped between him and it. "I won't let you run away from it."
I went to scream for help, to try and attract a security guard, but Valen was quicker than humanly possible. He pinned me to the tree with his body, one hand covering my mouth, the other grabbing both of my wrists, holding them together so they were immobile. His strength was incredible; his hand like a vise, and his body was like an imposing wall. I couldn't move.
"I didn't want to do things this way, but you're forcing my hand," he said. "Don't fight what you feel. Don't fight the truth."
"What truth would that be?" I mumbled through his hand.
"That you and I aren't like other people," he said cryptically. "Just give me a chance to talk to you about everything. That's all I ask." He gave me a piercing look, and added, "If you promise not to cry out and run away, I'll let go of you."
I nodded in agreement, and he released me, backing off. Everything in me told me to flee and as fast as I could, but a morbid curiosity left me leaning against the tree. "So talk, but you'd better hurry. Ray'll be here soon."
"Your mother was from our clan, whereas, it was my father that was from it," he said quickly. "Both of them tried to live outside the confines of our people, but they failed. They fell in love with others not of our nature. They knew the danger, but love made them blind. As amorous love eventually leads to coupling, they let desire outstrip their common sense. They committed the biggest taboo of our kind. Somehow, they found the strength to spare the ones they truly loved, not killing them, but they had to leave immediately. Even though it was a onetime thing for both your mother with your father and for my father and my mother, both women ended up pregnant. Both decided to give us up, not being able to handle raising us. Then, it seems, all our parents died violent deaths, not being able to find any peace with themselves. I don't want the same to happen with you and me. Together we can keep that from happening."
"You speak like I should know what you're talking about," I complained, rubbing my wrists tenderly. His grip had been tight. Even though I was scared out of my mind, I stayed where I was. "Can't you just come out and tell me what you mean? Can you not be so vague?"
Valen took my phone out of his pocket and flipped it around in one of his hands, playing with it. "I don't know quite how to say it without you thinking I'm totally crazy," he said, losing some of his confidence all of a sudden.
"Well, I'll save you the trouble, because I already think you're nuttier than a fruitcake. Just spit it out."
He smiled at my words, before he went on, obviously with a different track than he originally was going to use. "You mother's name was Valerie Guiot. A beautiful blonde and green-eyed woman—a lot like you. Her family consisted of circus people, just like mine. She got tired of the circus life and ran away. She wanted to make her own way in the world, doing what she wanted to do, not what her family had done for generations."
I was spellbound at what he knew. I didn't know if any of what he was saying was true, but it fascinated me. "Go on," I prompted when he paused. I found myself stepping closer to him. "What did Valerie do in the circus?"
"She and her parents worked with the lions and tigers," he said dramatically, widening, and then narrowing his eyes, in that sexy way he did.
My mouth dropped open. "You made that up didn't you?" I accused him. "When you learned what I do for a living."
"No, Abigail," he insisted, closing the gap between us. "That's why I was so pleased to hear what you did for a living. You are your mother's daughter in that regard. It was more proof you were who I thought you were."
Do I really get my love of animals from my birth mother? I wondered. I wanted to ask him more questions, but I got lost in his glassy-blue eyes once more. His hands gently cupped my face, after he slipped my phone into my pants pocket. His thumbs stroked my cheeks. I closed my eyes at the softness of his touch. The tingling sensation was back, starting in my stomach and radiating upward and downward throughout my body. At first, I thought he was going to kiss me as he leaned into me, but instead he nuzzled my cheek with first his nose and then his own cheek. He rubbed his chin and cheek the length of mine, down my neck, and back up, letting our lips brush briefly.
I couldn't stop the thrills of delight that flooded the every nerve in my body. Again, it was like nothing I'd ever experienced, but it felt damn good. I was overcome with the desire to mirror his movements, so I did. Standing up on tiptoe, I nuzzled his cheek with my nose first and then my own cheek. I rubbed my chin and cheek the length of his, down his neck, and then back up, brushing his lips with mine. By this time, I was buzzing with ripples of ecstasy. Bit and pieces of the erotic dream I'd had about Valen mingled in with what I was feeling right now, intensifying everything.
Valen took full advantage of my reciprocation, capturing my lips with his own, kissing me. It was the most heat filled kiss I'd ever been given. My knees buckled, but Valen slipped his arms around me, catching me, and bringing my body flush with his. Wanton desire was starting to take hold of me, encouraging me to run my own hands up his back. One hand found its way to slide through his dark hair. I couldn't believe how excited my hormones had become suddenly. It felt so good.
One of the ape's gawking cries at our display of passion broke the spell. Reality fell down around me like a bulldozer breaking through a house. I ripped myself away from Valen, shocked and appalled by what I'd just done. I turned and ran away from him as quickly as I could. I was aghast and petrified at losing total control of myself like that.
Valen wasn't going to back off this time. He ran after me. I tore down the zoo's pathways, trying to ditch him. I turned tight corners and darted into narrow lanes, but he stayed right behind me. My breath was ragged from fear and exertion; my heart pounding hard in my chest. I felt exhilarated and terrified at the same time. I ran blindly on, right into a dead end.
Then I noticed a tree off to my left and decided to go for it. Without much effort or thought, I sprang up and into it. I climbed up a few more branches, trying to find a safe haven. Once I felt steady, I turned to look down to see where Valen was and looked right into his chest. Somehow, he'd followed me up into the tree.
"Do you see now?" he asked huskily. "We are the same."
I didn't want to understand. "What? What are you talking about?" Then I noticed his eyes. It was darker, up here in the tree, but I could make out his brilliant blue eyes very clearly. They were much more intense in color and dilated funny, just like mine had been at the dance club. His pupils were vertical slits, just like a cat's. "What's up with your eyes?" I couldn't help but then ask.
"Same thing that's going with yours," was his answer.
I shook my head, not wanting to hear what he'd said. I remembered the surreal look of my eyes in the club's restroom mirror. How could they look the same as Valen's do now? What the hell is going on here? What is he doing to me? What is he? What am I? How are we connected? Is he telling the truth? Are we from the same ethnic group that has some kind of weird mutated genome? Is this another one of my dreams or is this really happening? Oh God!
"Don't fight it," he told me. "With me you don't have too." He again pulled me into his arms and rubbed his cheek against mine.
"Stop!" I shouted, but I really didn't want him to. Against all reason, I let him nuzzle and rub against me, returning the gestures when he paused. Finally, I made myself fight through the pleasurable sensations. "No. Stop this," I hissed. "Stop!"
"Abby? Abigail? Where are you?" Ray's voice hollered out from down below. "I'm coming! Hold on!" He must have heard my shouts.
"Let go of me!" I then yelled at Valen and struggled against him.
"You know now what I've been trying to tell you," he said, not letting go of me. "Why do you persist in denying it?"
Instead of answering him, I cried out, "Ray! Help me! Help me! It's Valen! He's here!" Then I stomped on Valen's instep with my booted foot.
Valen growled low in his throat— a frightening, yet breathtaking sound—and flinched in pain. I pulled away from him, breaking his grip, and clamoring down out of the tree. I got to the last branch, but realized it was quite far from the ground. How had I gotten up here? I shouted for Ray again, and he found me, looking up at me from down below.
"How did you get up there?" he asked, perplexed.
"I just jumped, I guess," I said hurriedly. "Valen's here in the tree too. Please help me down, quickly. I have to get away from him."
"How in the hell—," Ray started to angrily exclaim as he reached up to catch me as I jumped down, but then he saw Valen making his way down. "Hurry, Abby," he then commanded me.
Ray didn't have to ask me twice. I launched out of the tree, and Ray caught me by my shoulders, and then set me down on the ground. He grabbed my hand and pulled me swiftly away from the tree. Valen also launched himself out of the tree, but he had no one to catch him. He didn't seem to need anyone, however, as he landed gracefully on the ground in a crouch. When he looked up at me, his eyes were still feral. It made me fear that mine were too. I closed my eyes and buried myself against Ray.
Ray took this as me being overcome with terror, which was very close to the truth—just not for the reasons Ray thought. "Stay away from her you bastard!" he ordered Valen. Ray pulled me close, trying to protect me. "Security's on its way." Then he asked me, "Are you all right, Abby? Did he hurt you?" I just clung to him in answer.
Valen stood back up, as I peeked at him. His movements were so sleek. "She'll kill you if you marry her, you know," Valen taunted, all his arrogance and slyness back. "She's only safe with me."
"I don't know what kind of sick freak you are, Gallier or what kind of drugs you're on, but you're not going to drag my Abby into it," Ray said, rising to the challenge, having noticed the strangeness of Valen's eyes. "You're not to come near her, ever again. I'll make sure that you can't touch her. I'll have the law on my side, plus I'll invest in some private sources of protection if I have to."
Valen watched me, shivering in Ray's arms, pretending not to look at him. He looked directly at me, his eyes still full of desire and animalistic power. "Is that really your choice, Abigail? You want to bring death to the one you claim to love?"
I refused to answer him, turning fully into Ray's chest to not look at him. "I think she's made it very clear what her choice is, Gallier. Now leave her alone!" Ray demanded.
"She's not what she appears to be, Raymond," Valen continued to taunt. "She's a killer. By keeping us apart you'll seal your fate."
I felt Ray blanch, and then start to shake in anger. "You've completely lost it, haven't you, Gallier? You're off your rocker. I don't know why you've fixated on Abby as part of whatever delusion you're suffering from, but it stops now." As Ray spoke, two security guards approached, and these ones had guns drawn.
Valen looked at me one last time realizing his moment was up, as I peeked at him again, before he disappeared into the shadows, as if he'd never been there. "You've been warned. Death will now follow both of you," he called from the darkness. Then he was gone, off into the night.
I clung to Ray, shaken to my core. I didn't want to believe what he'd been talking about, but something deep down told me that I had to. All that had just happened, what little Valen had hinted at, and what I had seen was starting to sink in. I'm not a killer, I fumed internally. I wouldn't hurt a fly if I could help it. I'm not a violent person. I love Ray. How could I hurt him, let alone murder him? I knew that that's what Valen had been implying, that somehow I would change into something else and kill Ray because he wasn't like me. What am I? What curse did my birth family leave me with? Even though I didn't want to face the truth, I knew now that I had to. It was time for me to pull my head out of the sand and find out where in the hell I came from.
TBC…
Things are heating up. What's the verdict on this chapter? Still interesting? Let me know.
