Page 50 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
It was time to pull himself together.
18
The lamp cast a harsh light over the corpse’s back, blinding Viktor to everything else in the autopsy room. His heart’s frantic pounds echoed off the stone walls, tiny beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. The air was thick with the stench of decay and crushed hopes.
He stared at the tattoo on the corpse. Three intertwined triangles.This can’t be…But it was. The wolf’s reaction confirmed it. The beast was grumbling beneath his skin, desperate to run away. Viktor craved escape as well but couldn’t move while his mind struggled to comprehend the sight.
His thoughts drifted back to the times whenthe same tattoohad ruled his world.
France, Sixteenth Century
France was awash with chaos and violence. The wars over religion had been ongoing for four decades. Protestantism was gaining followers despite the rampant raids of the Catholics. Led by the Queen Regent, the Catholics, it seemed, would not give up until they’d washed the streets with the last Huguenot’s blood.
For days, the kingdom shook with recountings of the events. The wolf was strolling through Lyon, picking up bits and pieces of information.
Over seven thousand murdered…
… sliced into bits…
… carnage…
… murdered on their own doorsteps.
His appetite awoke again.
Picking up the scent of clean skin, he tracked a young woman. The sleek crimson fabric of her long dress suggested she wasn’t a mere peasant who had arrived in town to sell her goods.
Last night, he had been content with a sheep. Now, he wanted a gazelle.
He followed her along the street…
Don’t do it! She is innocent!someone whispered, but the wolf didn’t hear.
Why her? You can feast on animals!
His conscience. He thought he’d put it to rest a long time ago and yet…
The accusatory thoughts disappeared at the sight of the young flesh wrapped in red veils. Would he kill her quickly or make love to her first? Sometimes it pleased him to charm his victims, sometimes it pleased him to scare them to death.
Today, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be good or bad.
Don’t! I can’t take it any longer!
There was nothing more beautiful than a body split open. The perfection of the mechanism that drove life was incomparable. Every small piece of it had its role to play as part of one whole living organism.
Especially a young woman’s…
Please! Don’t do it! Not again!
The thrill from the upcoming chase mixed with irritation. If only he could live without hearing his pathetic conscience, always trying to domesticate him…
His own palms landed on either side of his face. Despite his fierce attempts at resisting, his hands clenched around his neck like pincers. The wolf yelled. Thumbs pushed against his Adam’s apple, depriving him of the ability to scream, and began suffocating him.
His conscience was trying to dominate, but he – he was thealpha.
Then, his legs went numb, his hands dropped on either side of his torso, and the wolf was no longer in control.
Viktor took a deep breath.
