Page 84 of Feral Mates
First, the building began to vibrate, shaking to the point I was certain we were experiencing a powerful earthquake.
And two, Dr. Blackwell opened his mouth, exposing sharp fangs and allowing me to understand exactly what he’d been reborn as.
CHAPTER 20
Savannah
Vampire.
In all the books I’d read as a child, none had scared me like the sight standing next to me.
There was no rhyme or reason to what I was seeing. It was as if I’d been transferred into some twisted nightmare where creatures of all kinds thrived on blood and bones.
Blinking, all I could hear was the rapid thrumming of my heart, the sound echoing in my ears.
Dr. Blackwell dragged his tongue across the sharp points, canines that glistened in the harsh light. I was mesmerized even as fear trickled down my spine.
Carl and I had mused over drinks one night early in the project about the what-ifs. That had been after the source of light had been confirmed as the first sighting from the recent discovery of the portal. We’d enjoyed vodka martinis while laughing over thepossibility of eventually seeing aliens of all colors, shapes, and sizes.
The thoughts had been ridiculous, but we’d enjoyed the conversation, even imagining a life where creatures of the night walked the earth with animals, reptiles, and humans alike. Horror and science fiction brought to life.
“How?” I whispered, a lump forming in my throat. I suddenly felt completely suffocated, incapable of thinking clearly. Another rumble occurred and I sensed with every ounce of my being my wolves were trying to get to me. They were awake and pissed. “Vampires don’t exist.”
He closed his mouth, peering down at me as if I was a morsel. My skin suddenly crawled, wondering whether he now needed blood to survive or if his newly created lifeform fed off energy. Based on what I knew from the experiments, I suspected the latter.
“Come now, Savannah. You’ve heard stories of vampires from centuries past. They were as vile as what was depicted in movies and books. As you heard in the very classes you were just lecturing me on, there are endless possibilities of lifeforms in a vast array of universes. We’ve only touched on one. Beings in the parallel universe feed off our fear and imaginations. They adapt and form as desired. They can utilize legends from ancient civilizations as well as modern day predators. They simply reform them and make them even better. Stronger. Faster.”
He paused, a sick smiling twisting his face. “I can tell you that from experience. The man you knew as Dr. Blackwell is gone, but his mind and memories will usher in a new era. In his limited moments of resistance he called me Thanatos. You may as well.”
His chest was rising and falling from excitement.
I continued to shake, horrified at his words and actions.
“So you’re saying any type of creature could potentially be formed.”
His eyes lit up as if on fire. “Exactly. As proven already. The experiment with the wolves was successful, more so than I could have dreamed. I’d feared the creatures would be revolting like the others, incapable of surviving on Earth.”
“That’s why you had them killed. Because they weren’t good enough and you couldn’t control them.”
“Correct. Now that you understand, it’s time to begin phase two of my experimentation.”
“You won’t get away with this. The oversight committee will stop you.”
He chuckled. “As far as the committee is concerned, the project is dead. It went up in flames right in front of their eyes.” He pulled his hand away from my pussy, holding his fingers under his nose and taking a deep breath.
“That’s why you had to blame someone. Why kill Carl? Why?”
“Because he planned on telling the committee members everything he knew. Carl was much more important than he allowed you to know about, Savannah. He was my eyes and ears on your floor.”
“You made him watch me?”
“I was curious as to how far your research would take you.”
Another wave of horror settled in. I couldn’t think clearly. How could we get out of this? My God. “What do you want with me? To kill me?”
He laughed. “That would defeat all the work I’ve put in over the last few years. Now, wouldn’t it? I had hopes that you would be my prize pupil, but there’s too much good in you, Savannah. I truly believed that you would finally see how important our work was, but you simply can’t look past the notion I made the mistake of putting into your mind all those years ago. Of course I’m not going to kill you. That would defeat the purpose entirely.”
“Then what?”
