Beautiful Nightmare

Seeing Red #2

Although Gabriel was fouryears older than Tristan, the two of them had virtually been joined at the hip since they were kids. No one had the nerve to tell Tristan off to his face except Gabriel and Tristan's mother. Well, this time Gabriel knew he was going to have to wait to tell Tristan off unless of course he wanted his throat ripped out by his literally crazy alpha. And as he charged after his alpha, Gabriel tried to ascertain what had triggered off his friend's current state. If anyone could figure it out, he could. He knew Tristan too well.

As Tristan ran hard and fast, all he could think of was having a talk with Gabriels father, Matthew He needed to talk to the elder who was also his mentor. Tristan really needed to ask the elder whether what he'd felt about the hunter could have been a mistake. He wasn't gay for f**k's sake. But even the Ojah controlled Tristan respected the man too much to go before him in his current state. He knew the elder would definitely be disappointed if he got to know what had caused him to lose control of himself. He would wait until he was himself again no matter how long it took, Tristan thought as his paws pounded the earth.

***

Kenneth Ricks moaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. "What the f**k!" He muttered as he got to his feet and looked around.

He realized he was in a huge cage in a very dark place. The only light was the moonlight that was streaming in through the small window. He didn't have his glasses on so couldn't see very well. The idiots who had taken him must have thrown his glasses away. But even without the glasses, Kenneth could tell that he was alone. He felt a painful throb at the back of his neck and raised his hand to touch it. What was it with that man anyway...biting him so painfully, he thought, touching the still wet sore. One minute the man was stalking towards him with an angry look, and the next, he was biting him. Kenneth had never felt such excruciating pain in his life. What the f**k was the man's problem anyway? And they didn't even clean the wound. What asshole actually treated people like that, he wondered.

"Oh my God."Kenneth groaned as a bolt of pain flashed through him, causing him to fall to his knees. "What is happening to me?" He moaned as he writhed in pain. It felt as if his insides was about to explode.

Kenneth breathed deeply in and out till the pain subsided. What had he gotten himself into, he asked himself for the umpteenth time. Since his infancy, Kenneth Ricks had learnt to stay out of trouble. He'd been an only child of a single mother. His mother said his father had disappeared on her before she'd even realized she was pregnant with him. She'd explained when he was old enough to understand that she hadn't been married to his father. Since as far back as he could remember, his mother always sheltered him, not allowing him to play with other kids or even have any friends. It was only when he came of age that he understood why his mother treated him that way. Kenneth was a freak and he got to know that the hard way.

When he was nine years old, the basketball coach contacted him to join the basketball team but the thought of him sharing the bathroom plus his disability scared him, he really would have love to join, he loved basket ball and often watch games on TV and he had learnt all the basis of basketball..

After school, he followed his mates to the basketball field area. Coach Vic told everyone to change into any of the school costumes. When all the boys started stripping openly in the boys' changing room, Kenneth too quickly striped, equally excited...till he heard the shrieks and the laughter. Everyone was pointing and staring at his penis...maybe he should simply call it, p*****s. Yes, Kenneth had two whilst every other kid had just one. He hadn't been around kids much so he didn't know that very important fact. He'd always had two. One was slightly smaller than the other but he could pee with both just as p*****s were meant to be used. So he didn't understand what the fuss was about till the laughter and shouts had gotten rather loud, attracting Coach Vic' attention to the boys. The coach's reaction, when he came in and saw Kenneth, was something that scarred little Kenneth for life. He'd called him a little freak and ordered him to dress up and go home.

Kenneth had gone home in tears. He remembered all too clearly, his mother hugging him to her and crying with him. She hadn't allowed him to go back to that school again but had rather packed their stuff and moved them to another state by the end of the week. And Kenneth had kept to himself ever since. He never did things that would make people see him naked...like attend a boarding school, use public bathrooms, or hook up with anyone. He'd never entered into any relationship for fear of hearing someone shout the word freak to him again, which was rather unfortunate as he got propositioned by a lot of ladies due to his looks. They claimed he was beautiful and that always amused Kenneth. But for his abnormal nature, he would have really enjoyed the ladies as he was highly sexed. Kenneth's prostate got inflamed if he didn't ejaculate enough. But with the help of his own hands and s*x toys, he always saw to his needs. Though he always wished he could get someone he could share his life with, he knew that would never happen.

Kenneth was hit with another bolt of pain so intense, he screamed. Although he instinctively started to breathe in and out just like before, the pain wouldn't stop.

"Somebody help me please." He screamed but no one came to help. "I need a doctor please." He kept screaming for help till the pain subsided again.

The way he was panting harshly would have amused Kenneth under any other circumstances. He'd watched a documentary once in which a woman in labour had been asked to breathe in and out just as he was doing. That woman would have envied Kenneth's skills... Hahaha. Kenneth wished it was all a bad dream from which he was going to wake up hopefully soon. But if it was a dream, then it was a real long one...going as far back as his conversation Stephanie, he thought. If only he could get his hands around the neck of that conniving lady, Kenneth fumed. He was in his current predicament because of curious Stephanie. He would never forget that fateful day when Stephanie, his colleague at work who was trailing lab had approached him after a lecture.

Dr Kenneth, can I have a moment of your time please?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

Kenneth was a Dr of Anthropology in UCLA. Since he was a kid, he'd spent most of his life friendless, and had therefore ended up spending time alone trying to understand the human beings. He'd developed a liking for human characteristics and an even greater interest in their behaviour. His mother, bless her soul, had not been surprised at all when he'd ended up becoming a Anthropology Doctor,. She always told him that there was nothing better than your job being your hobby as well.

"So Ken there is something interesting I read....

"Read about before." Kenneth finished with a chuckle. "Found anything interesting?"

"You could say that." Stephanie had responded cockily. "And that part about getting extra marks if our discovery is really new was no joke I hope..."

"No it wasn't Stephanie." Desperate times, Kenneth thought with amusement. What new specie could a woman discover?

"I'm so glad you were serious about that because I've discovered something which will blow your mind."

"Really?" Kenneth closed his laptop and slipped it into his bag. "I'd love to see what you've discovered Stephanie, Do you have a picture?" Kenneth asked as he started towards the door.

"Oh we have to go check it out Doc, Steph said, falling into step beside him.

"And where exactly do we have to go to see this new specie?" Kenneth asked, turning towards his office.

"A couple of friends and I are taking a drive to the Freefall to check out the animals. Why don't you come with us?"

"The Freefall. Isn't that area restricted property?" Kenneth, opening his office door.

"Oh the part we'll be visiting is open to the general public so there's nothing to worry about. We just have to stay together. You know the dangers that sometimes lurk in the forest."

"I know." Kenneth had chuckled. He always tried relate with his colleagues by listening to and checking out their stories whenever he could. It was no bother at all. After all, he wasn't a busy person. "So when can we go and see this special specie?" Stephanie had asked.

"Is next week Saturday okay?" Stephanie had asked eagerly.

"Sure. It's not like I'm busy on Saturdays anyway." Kenneth chuckled.

"Cool. I'm so glad you've agreed to come, Doc"

"Don't be surprised. The last time I checked, I was a Anthropology Doctor, My work is all about researching into different species.. And like I said, I don't have anything better to do anyway."

"Can I ask you a question, Doctor??

"Feel free to." Kenneth gestured for Stephanieto sit down.

"Thanks. What do you know about werewolves?" Stephanie had asked, making Kenneth burst into laughter.

"They don't exist, Tim. They are fictional and therefore can become whatever a person wants them to be. You want people to become werewolves by a scratch; say that's what happens."

"What if I told you they were real?" Stephanie asked with all seriousness.

"I'd tell you, you watch too many movies. Hey... Don't tell me that's what you're going to show..." Kenneth tried very hard to keep the amusement and incredulity off his face.

"No, no." The boy had quickly said.

"Thank God. So, next week then."

And that was how he found himself riding into the Freefall with Stephanie and one other colleague around five p.m. that day. According to them, they had to wait a while for the strange species to show up. Although Kenneth doubted Stephanie had anything interesting to show him, he wasn't really bothered because he knew he could use the opportunity to look around himself. After all, for a Anthropologist one of the most fascinating place to be was in the forest. He should however have listened to the ladies and stayed close to them. They'd specifically advised Kenneth to stay close to them because according to them, they'd come prepared with tasers with which to daze wild animals should they encounter any. Kenneth had thought at the time that, that was a real smart thing to do. So why the f**k had he wandered off, he asked himself for the umpteenth time. If only he'd stayed with the ladies, he wouldn't have been caught, seeing as none of the ladies had been caught except him. Now he was in pain in some dark cage God knew where, and didn't know what to do. He'd tried to explain to the men who had caught him that he'd only been researching, but they wouldn't listen. Kenneth had been sure he'd been caught because he was trespassing on restricted property, till that man had bitten him. Who the f**k were those people? Probably a cult of sorts. He'd heard stories about secret cults with weird practices but hadn't thought barbaric acts such as biting people could actually be accepted by normal human beings. Were they cannibals? Oh God! If only someone could...

"Oh f**k!" Kenneth screamed as he trashed about in pain. This time his insides felt as if it was rearranging itself.

Whatever was happening to him was too painful for words. Kenneth threw up. He'd been in that cage for almost eight hours and nobody had bothered checking up on him even though he was obviously not well. Kenneth didn't know how to accurately describe what he was going through but he just knew he was going to die. His skin was burning as if he'd been dumped into blazing fire. Surely even hell wouldn't be that painful. He ripped his already ruined shirt from his body forcefully and unbuckled his belt. But before he could pull out the belt, a gut-wrenching scream tore out of him as he hurled himself at the wall that was made of solid stone. Kenneth slammed onto the floor and watched in shock and horror as his fingers began to elongate into claws. Christ, what was happening to him?

"Help me somebody." He tried to scream but the words that came out didn't even sound human.

He watched as fur sprouted all over his arms, abs, stomach...he was burning up all over. What the f**k was happening to him? He felt a burning sensation in toes and looked down just in time to see his toes forcefully push through his boots, ruining them.

"Holy Moses." He gasped, pulling off his ruined boots and socks.

Kenneth yanked off his jeans but before he could get to his boxers, he fell to the floor as the greatest pain ever, rocked through him. He closed his eyes and allowed a scream to burst forth. But this time his scream sounded like an animal in pain, which rather shocked and confused Kenneth. Not even having the strength to move, he just lay quietly on the floor, willing the pain to fade away but it didn't. It came hard and fast, slamming into him, taking him into a sea of excruciating agony. He curled into a ball, his insides convulsing in painful waves. It felt as though something was moving within him...taking over his very being. It was terrifying as hell. Kenneth was in so much pain his vision dimmed as sweat poured out from his pores. His gums tingled agonizingly. It felt as though he suddenly had more teeth. He curled into himself even more, trying to escape the pain but it kept slamming into him again and again. For the first time in his life, Kenneth wished for death. He tried to scream, but what came out was a howl. He was in too much pain to wonder where that came from. Kenneth didn't know how long the pain lasted. It could have been hours, days, weeks... All Kenneth knew was that death had never sounded more appealing.

Suddenly, a sense of calm came over Kenneth, He no longer felt any pain at all. He felt...strong, fresh and energized. He opened his eyes and immediately thought a light had been turned on where he'd been locked but soon realized it wasn't so at all. He could just suddenly see better in the darkness. Hell, he couldn't even see that well in his glasses, Kenneth thought, surprised. He quickly turned around with the intention of grabbing his jeans to pull on before someone came in to see him naked. And that was when Kenneth realized that he didn't have hands but rather, paws. He slowly turned his head to look at himself and realized that, not only did he have a tail, but his whole body was covered in fur and he was standing on all fours...

He was a wolf!

***

Tristan heard his mate's howl and sprinted towards the dungeon. In just a pair of jeans, the muscles in his naked upper body rippled beneath his beautiful caramel coloured skin, which was covered in a fine sheen of sweat as he ran. He'd come back earlier than the pack just so he could see the hunter in his wolf form. Much as he still had the urge to kill the bloody hunter, he had an even greater urge to see the hunter's wolf. And Tristan couldn't fight that urge. The other reason he wanted to see the hunter's wolf before it shifted back into human form was to compel the fool not to dare attack anyone. Until he learnt to control his wolf, the hunter would try to kill anything that moved. Tristan clearly remembered his own first shift. He'd ripped out the wooden door to the room he was being held in and escaped into the night. By the time he was found, he'd slaughtered about forty horses he'd found in a barn. It was the thirst...the hunger...the urge to kill that every wolf had. That deadly urge was blindingly strong in every newly shifted wolf. As alpha, Tristan had the ability to compel members of his pack if it was to protect them. And compelling the hunter was for his own good because Tristan knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill the hunter...mate or not...if he so much as put a scratch on any member of his pack. Killing his mate would cause his own painful death but in his current state, Tristan didn't care at all. He was on a killing spree.

All he wanted was to kill the man that he believed was posing as his mate..

PS.. Beautiful People I really hope you're enjoying story and you're doing okay?