Here we go; chapter 4 Edited! Enjoy, review, don't flame etc.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Darkest Powers, that belongs to Kelley Armstrong. Please don't sue me!
The office was like a mini-me of the main hall. Red walls draped in fine silk made me feel boxed in, claustrophobic.
"Hey, Charlie," he said affectionately. I launched myself at him, hugging the only connection I had to my dead dad.
"Hey, Nigel," I said, slightly muffled.
"What were you talking about in the Hall?" I asked as I pulled away. He sighed sadly, running a hand down his face.
"Now, have you ever heard of the Edison Group?" he asked seriously. I was about to shake my head, when a memory I had buried wormed its way to the surface and replayed in my mind…
*flashback*
"We need to leave; the Edison group have found you and they're on the move," whispered Nigel.
"I can't uproot my family, not again," pleaded my dad. His voice sounded desperate.
"It's either that, or no family at all," reasoned our family friend. I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.
"I don't understand their focus on my family," my dad whispered helplessly. It made me so sad.
"Alex, your daughter was a part of the Genesis II project; when you broke her out, you released a science experiment that they had worked on for upwards of fifty years. They want her back," said Nigel, sounding professional. I was an experiment? That didn't fit; I was a normal wolf. A wolf that never should have existed said a little voice in the back of my mind. I started, nearly alerting daddy and Nigel to my presence. Run, child; go hide in the bathroom. You know the place whispered the voice in my head. I ran, hiding in my special spot where no-one ever looked.
*end flashback*
That was the day my dad died… Ethelwulf had saved my life…
"Charlie?" asked Nigel, hesitant.
"Yes, I've heard of them," I told him. His expression showed nothing, but his eyes flashed with surprise.
"How?" he asked, suddenly suspicious. His eyes glinted slightly, and my nose picked up on the fear that I had already been involved with them. I debated telling him the truth, and decided that it might be the best.
"I eavesdropped on you and dad the day they…" I couldn't bring myself to say it, my eyes welling up with unshed tears,
"and I heard what you were saying. Who are they? How am I an experiment?" it all came out at once. I promptly slapped my hands over my mouth. I told you my big mouth would get me into trouble. Nigel looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"You remember that?" he asked, surprised. I nodded. Wolves have good memories.
"Remind me to never underestimate you," he said, seemingly to himself. I nodded again.
"The Edison group are an agency of scientist originally formed by the American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison," he explained. "They take young, sometimes even unborn, supernaturals and perform genetic experiments to either dampen or increase the child's power." He paused, letting me take it in. I nodded absentmindedly. What does this have to do with me? I asked Ethel. Just listen to Nigel, Charlie she told me. My attention focused back to the pale man in front of me.
"There were five werewolves involved in the project; four males and a female. All but one of the boys was put down, the other was rescued by a fellow scientist. You were rescued by your biological father. You were so special because the chances of a young werewolf being born from a human-wolf relationship is only 5%, you were a rare find as it is. Not only that, but when it turned out that you were a girl, the odds of that skyrocketed," he said. I cocked my head to the side, like a dog when it doesn't understand.
"I don't understand," I told him. He sighed almost inaudibly.
"The possibility of a female wolf in a human-wolf relationship is 0.35% of the 5%, making you an incredibly rare find,"
Great, I thought, I'm a rare find. Whoopdidoo for me.
"Not only that," he started again.
What would they have done to me? I wondered to myself.
Listen, Charlie; this is important said Ethel. I listened.
"But your mum was given a course of injections during her gestation period that increased your genes. She's not a wolf, not even close," he said at my look of horror, "but because everything that entered her body whilst you were an embryo in the womb, all the extra genes were incorporated into did the same on a lesser scale to one of the male ones, too. You've completed the change, yes?" he asked. I nodded, still silent. My foot was staying on the ground, thankfully, and I wasn't saying anything I would regret. That's definitely a first.
"Most wolves don't until they're eighteen. Minimum. You're different; more than you know," he ended on a mysterious note.
More than I know? What does that mean?
You'll find out when you need it, child said Ethel.
My name's Charlie, ya know I grumbled. You know, don't you? I asked suspiciously. The red wolf just smiled a mysterious smile and went to sleep.
The months passed quickly, boringly, and I got to know Rickie better. Apparently, he was changed when he was sixteen; a rogue vampire raided his town and bit him. Then he found his way to Nigel and learnt everything he needed to. Thankfully, I didn't have any more untimely changes. Everything was going smoothly. And then Nigel dropped the second biggest bomb in my life (second only to our first conversation).
"Remember that werewolf that was saved from the Edison group by a scientist?" he had asked me one afternoon.
"Vaguely; he had really bright eyes," I said, somewhat ambiguously. I didn't enjoy being pulled outta my thoughts like that.
"Well, they have formed a small group of supernaturals that are fighting the Edison Group. I've arranged for them to come and pick you and one other person up. The other person is of your choosing, but they must agree. Understood?" he had left without giving me a chance to answer. I knew who I wanted to go with me, but whether they agreed was yet to be seen.
"Err…. Rickie…" I started awkwardly, the day after I was told.
"hhhuhhhh, spit it out," he sighed; he knew when I wanted to say something. I shook it off and started again.
"I'm leaving," I said, taking in his broken, horrified look. I sped through my pre-prepared speech.
"Nigel's arranged for one of my old packmates from Edison and his misfit pack to come pick me up and take me with them, wherever they're going. He said I'm allowed to bring one person, as long as I have their permission," I said quickly. His face lifted at the last part.
"Can I come?" he asked tentatively. A smile lit my face.
"Well duh, genius, that's why I'm saying all this in the first place!" we laughed off the horror we'd been feeling. It was the most fun we'd have in a while.
… And how was it? I know it's really short, but I can't make it any longer. I'm sorry. I tried to get the Charlie/Nigel relationship right, but I suck at that sorta thing… did you like? Please let me know!
~PiptheSnake~