Chapter 116

Chapter 116
Aidan's POV

I don’t remember the exact moment when my consciousness slipped out of the driver’s seat.
It happened slowly, like sinking into deep water, but it was as fast as being shot in the head.

Mr. Petrova stood in front of me with a calm and satisfied expression, like a puppeteer admiring a masterpiece.

“Stand,” he commanded softly.

My body obeyed without hesitation. Inside my mind, I pounded at invisible walls, screaming at my muscles to resist whatever he commanded it to do. But that was useless. I was dead.

Petrova brushed imaginary dust off his coat and smiled. “Good. Now come with me, Aidan.”

My legs started moving. I followed him out of the building we had been in and into the street. It was late and the cold wind blew, scraping across my skin. In the distance, sirens wailed faintly, people chattered and walked past us.

I saw the way Petrova stared at them with utter disgust and hatred. If looks could kill, his would.

Petrova walked like he owned the night. I could see pride in every stride, while I followed him like his chained pet.

"You know, humans are stupid," he murmured without looking back. “They cling to their delusions of superiority, forgetting who roamed this land long before their species learned about fire.” He glanced over his shoulder, smirking. “I’m going to remind them.”

We turned a corner and kept walking. A young couple stumbled out of a bar, laughing, drunk and bright with life. I missed seeing this a lot. The moment the woman saw me, she paused and tugged at her partner.

"Is there a problem?" Petrova asked in a polite tone that sounded creepy to me.

"Hey, back off, sir. You got a problem?" The man pulled the lady behind him.

Petrova smiled, lifting his forefinger. In a blink, I grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him clear off the ground. His feet kicked uselessly in the air as my claws touched his neck. The woman dropped her purse and backed away, trembling violently.

“Bow,” Petrova said to her.

She didn’t understand, or maybe she refused to, because she shook her head desperately.

"I said, bow."

Her knees buckled instantly. She knelt on the pavement, crying, shaking, unable to look up.

I felt my claws press deeper into the man’s neck. He choked, struggled and gasped for air until he went limp.

Petrova strolled closer, examining my work with clinical satisfaction.

“Humans,” he said to her gently. “Always so eager to pretend they’re at the top of the food chain. Yet one glimpse of real power, and you crumble.”

He snapped his fingers. My hand released the man. He crumpled on the floor, blood pooling around his head and neck.

"Tell me where your mayor's office is," Petrova said to the woman.

She pointed down the street to a large building.
"It's at the town hall," she said, shivering.

Petrova walked away, gesturing lazily for me to follow. I followed without saying anything.

The town hall was a large building with brown walls. It has fancy cars parked around it. They must've had an important meeting that evening. Petrova led me to the main entrance that was guarded by three policemen.

One of the officer's hands went to his gun the second he noticed us.

“No need for that.” Petrova stopped him.

The guard blinked twice and his grip slackened.

“Open the door,” Petrova ordered.

The man obeyed, stepping aside like someone whose strings had been snipped. He walked towards the door, but the other men pulled their weapons and pointed it at us.

"Stop there right now!" one barked.

The other one pressed the black pod stuck in his ear. "Send down some men to the main entrance. We have some intruders."

Petrova smiled. He snapped his fingers and everything blurred. My body began to transform again. Soon, I was looking down at the scared, armed police officers.

They fired at me, but it felt like a mild sting. I caught the first one and crushed him, muffling his screams. The second one tried to escape into the hall, but I ripped his head off his neck before he could reach the door.

Petrova bit into the first guard's neck, sucking out blood till his face went pale. The man dropped dead at the door.

Petrova nodded approvingly at me. He snapped his fingers again and I changed back to my human form. He marched inside with me stalking silently behind him.

The town hall was quiet, lights dimmed to night-mode. Empty hallways stretched ahead, filled with cold air.

Footsteps clattered and in a few seconds I spotted more police officers with their pistols pointed at us.

"I'm not here for you, gentlemen. I just want to see the mayor."

The men glanced at each other.
"Leave now, or face the law," one of them said.

Petrova smiled, "What law? Human laws don't apply to me."

"Leave now. I won't repeat myself again," the man said.

Petrova scoffed, "Neither will I."

He snapped his fingers and I bursted out of my own skin. My arched back scraped the ceiling, raining down the ceiling boards.

With a single swing of my claws, I wiped out half of the men. The rest were taken care of by Petrova's fangs. He returned me back to my normal shape with a snap of his fingers again.

We took the stairs. We walked past a row of offices and finally stopped at one.

He gestured to the door. “Break it.”

My arm swung before I could resist. My claws shot out, ripping through the wood like it was wet paper. Splinters exploded into the room as I kicked the door off its hinges. Behind the large desk, the mayor was struck with fear. Three other men turned around with the same terrified look as the mayor.

"Who the f—"

Before the mayor could finish his sentence, Mr Petrova had already sucked the other three men dry.

"I am here to warn you. I give you a day to step down and pack out of this office. This is my seat now. And I'm not asking."

We left the terrified mayor, and Petrova led me all the way back to his mansion. I stood there watching him sit on his sofa.
The main door creaked open and a face I hated so much walked in.

My skin crawled at the very sight of him. I had never liked him. Something about him made the devil in me wake up. Did he follow us here?

“Ah, Doctor Myles,” Petrova said warmly. “You’re here.”

Myles’s eyes landed on me, gleaming with fascination, before he walked to where Petrova was.

The two shook hands.

"I see you've handled the beast quite well," Myles said, nodding at me.

Inside, I felt like dashing at him and strangling him.

"Nothing I can't handle, my friend."

"Then it's best we move to the next stage."

Myles began unpacking a satchel filled with old tomes, bone fragments, and vials of shimmering dark fluid.

Petrova cleared the floor and moved beside him. He commanded me to sit on the cleared floor.

Myles stood behind and Petrova stood in front of me, holding hands.

They began chanting some words in a strange language, just like Legrange did.

As they did, I heard echoes filter into my head. It sounded like chants too. Both chants fought to take a space in my head.

"Find your trail, protect your base..."
I heard a voice say amidst the echoes of chants. That same voice, that same echo.