Chapter 3 Awakening Powers
1196 Words
Night fell as I drove out to the suburbs, stopping in front of my mentor's house.
The sky had already darkened, and the once serene courtyard now felt abandoned and desolate. I hadn't been here in four years. Out of nostalgia, I hired someone to clean the place once a year, but the decay was undeniable.
Finding the key left in the mailbox, I unlocked the gate with ease. The rusty, weathered iron gate creaked loudly, adding a sense of eerie solitude to the night-shrouded yard.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the house, heading straight for the study.
I crafted every reagent backup I'd ever made into a special pen as a keepsake for Professor Andrew.
He had displayed these pens on a bookshelf like trophies.
The study was pitch dark.
I flicked on my flashlight and began searching the shelves until my hand brushed against a protruding button.
"Is this a switch?" I wondered aloud, pressing it without much thought.
With a pop, a hidden compartment sprang open.
A small glass bottle fell to the floor, clinking as it rolled across the hardwood.
I quickly shone the light on it, exhaling in relief.
'Good thing the vial didn't break. It must have been something precious to my mentor, or he wouldn't have hidden it here.'
I bent down to pick it up, intending to return it to its place.
But then, the contents inside caught my eye.
It was a queen bee, carefully preserved in the glass vial.
What surprised me most was its size, which was far larger than any queen bee I'd ever seen, almost twice as big.
Its vibrant colors shimmered mysteriously, and I found myself unable to look away, mesmerized.
"Is this a specimen or just a toy?" I murmured, curious.
Suddenly, my heartbeat quickened, and my breath grew rapidly. My body moved as if it had a will of its own, driven by an overwhelming urge.
In those few seconds, my mind went blank. Then I realized that I had somehow unscrewed the vial's lid.
As soon as the air rushed into the bottle, I heard the unmistakable sound of wings beating.
The queen bee moved!
It sprang to life the moment the lid came off, flying out in a flash.
"Ah!" I let out a startled scream.
The bee flew straight to my neck, and I could feel its weight pressing against my skin.
A sharp sting followed, sending a wave of dizziness through me before everything went black.
In a haze, I felt as if I were dreaming.
A peculiar fragrance filled the air, accompanied by a tingling sensation that spread across my entire body.
Images flooded my mind. I became a giant queen bee surrounded by countless bees. I could distinctly sense which ones were drones and which were workers. The drones adored me, desperate to mate with me, while the workers obeyed my every command without question...
Fear crept in, and I instinctively wanted to drive them away, fearing they might harm me.
The moment that thought formed, the entire swarm turned and flew away without hesitation as if utterly loyal.
A wild thought flashed through my mind. 'What if I had this power in real life?'
With that idea, I drifted into a deeper sleep.
I had no idea how much time had passed before footsteps echoed through the house, pulling me back to consciousness.
I opened my eyes, finding a large shadow looming over me. A faint scent of blood wafted through the air, carried by the night breeze, causing me to frown.
As my vision cleared, I saw a stranger staring down at me.
'Why would there be a stranger in my mentor's house in the middle of the night?'
My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I became alert, trying to get up and defend myself.
But he was quicker. Before I could react, a strong arm wrapped tightly around my neck, and a raspy voice sounded near my ear. "Don't move!"
His rough hand scraped against my soft skin, sending a tingling pain through me.
At the same time, a sense of suffocation began to choke me.
I struggled desperately, my back colliding with his solid body.
"Who are you? Let go of me!"
I could feel the heat of his body, strong, muscular, entirely in control, leaving no room for resistance.
If it weren't for the looming threat of death, this would have been the safest I'd ever felt in someone's arms.
"Don't move! I don't want to hurt you. Come with me!" He growled, strained and rough, urged as he began dragging me outside.
I couldn't move, pressed tightly against him, feeling the warmth seeping from his body, along with the overpowering scent of blood.
'He is injured!'
"You'd better let me go, or we're both going down!" I threatened fiercely.
He shut the door, his hand clamping over my mouth to muffle any cries, the other gripping my chin to force me to face him.
Through the glare of the flashlight, I squinted, my eyes adjusting to the light before they fell on his face.
He was like something carved from stone, cold, rugged, and undeniably handsome, exuding a dangerous, primal energy.
Once he got a good look at me, his voice turned cold as he demanded, "What are you doing here?"
My mind raced. 'Why couldn't I be here? But from the way he spoke, it seemed like he thought I wasn't supposed to be here.'
Before I could think further, a beam of light from outside swept through the window, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Someone cursed loudly outside, "Check if he's hiding in this house."
The voices drew closer.
In a split second, the ruggedly handsome man tightened his grip on my waist and swiftly pinned me onto the couch.
The closeness, the feel of his body against mine, it was all too much, solid muscle pressing into me.
My temperature spiked, and the sudden, overwhelming contact left me breathless.
I hadn't been this close to anyone in a long time. Instinctively, I wriggled, trying to break free from the suffocating embrace.
"Don't move if you don't want to die!"
He buried his head against my neck, his hot breath sending a shiver through my whole body.
The flashlight beam swept over us briefly before moving on.
I froze, gritting my teeth as I growled, my voice trembling with barely contained anger. "Get off me!"
He ignored my demand.
I clenched my teeth. Desperation flared up inside me. 'I needed to find a way out of his grasp, my mind working frantically.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a familiar tingling surged through me, spreading warmth across my body.
A sweet scent began to fill the air around us.
I realized it was the same scent from my dream, the scent of the queen bee.
I watched as his expression shifted, his eyes going from cold to fervent, filled with an intense, unexplainable yearning and devotion.
He released his hold on me, his voice trembling as he murmured, "My queen, tell me, what must I do to earn your favor?"
- Writer
