Page 25 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

Down!

Viktor hurried to suppress the wolf within him. The animal was always looking for a chance to emerge, and when his own emotions were volatile, it was almost too easy. Even more so when he’d been toeing the edge of the Vaka Hara abyss – a state that fully surrendered control to his wolf. A wolf who, if left to his own devices, would erase every morally good part of Viktor… and then some.

As if sensing the wolf’s attempts to take control, Alex entered the room. She wore a protective vest down to her knees, rubber boots, and oversized protective glasses. Her blonde hair was tucked into a medical cap. “Before you ask, I can’t stand the smell of death seeping into my hair and clothes every time I come here, so I decided to take extra precautions.”

Viktor had not planned to ask. “You know you don’t need to be here.”

She glanced at the body on the table and frowned. “You’re obsessed, Vik.”

“I’m just doing my job, sugarplum,” he replied, returning to the autopsy of the abdominal cavity.

“Who is this woman?”

“A nymph.”

“What’s her name?”

Viktor examined the empty stomach. “How should I know?”

“What happened to her?”

“Brain trauma.”

“I mean, what led to this trauma?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“How did she end up in the Hospital?”

“I don’t know.” Viktor gazed up from the corpse. “What’s with all the questions? Do you know her?”

Alex looked at him with undisguised disapproval, prompting him to raise his eyebrows.

She indicated the corpse. “I don’t knowher, but the Viktor I know would always have been interested in her story. You’ve never treated patients just as work. And actually”—Alex glanced around the room—“this isn’t even your job.”

“Mikhail wants every corpse checked for unusual findings.”

“There are hundreds of healers in the Hospital. Why you?”

“Because he relies on me?” Viktor said, knowing that lately, the trust between him and Mikhail was hanging by a very thin thread and he was doing everything possible to keep it steady else Mikhail realised he was close to Vaka Hara once more.

Alex removed her protective glasses and stared at him. “As I said, I think you’re obsessed with finding evidence of the eighth species.”

Viktor remained silent. Alex was too astute to be deceived.

“Vik, tell me what’s going on with you,” she insisted. “You hardly ever leave the morgue, you barely talk to anyone.”

Her tone made him see her for real. For the last month, he’d been either drowning in corpses in pursuit of evidence for reptilians or engaging in infuriating dialogues with the wolf in his head. Come to think of it, he hadn’t been in the lab with Alex for weeks.

“Please, talk to me, Viktor,” she murmured.

There she was, the little child whose voice penetrated his skin and even made the wolf pause. Viktor had adopted Alex and her twin brother, Grigor, right after their birth, and since then had shared work, leisure, ideas, and experience with them. He hadtaught them many things, and they had given his life meaning. Through them, he believed, he had somewhat atoned for the sins of his past. If there was anything in this world that could pull him from another fall into Vaka Hara, it was the twins. Yet he had kept his distance from them. Why?

The wolf growled, sensing a threat.You will always be a monster, fool. I am you, and you are me. We are one!

Viktor dismissed the thought of salvation. To seek help from the twins meant revealing what was happening to him, and he was ashamed. Vaka Hara meant weakness. Loss of control. How could he pretend to be a mentor to them, a role model, when he couldn’t even keep his wolf in check? How could he expect them to listen to his strict rules, when he struggled himself?

But was the alternative any better? Viktor was still on the edge, yes, but how much longer could he keep control over his wolf?