Rational and intelligent, Ella always sees the world with the objective eyes of a scientist. She uses her knowledge to navigate her way through life and believes that hard work and patience would pave the way to her success. When lack of funding threatened to derail her research, a handsome CEO offers his help. Then, after one night of unexpected passion, she uncovers a different reality that her scientific mind could not explain. The world is not what it appears to be. Dragons and werewolves exist, hiding in plain sight. They are locked in an enduring conflict that had gone on for centuries and Ella is caught in the middle of the fiercest battle that could end it all. Ella always relied on her rational mind, but in a world where her reality collides with ancient creatures of legend and myth, where her decisions could tip the balance between two opposing forces, would she let her heart prevail?
View MoreTheir driver stopped the car upon reaching an intersection and waited for the cars in front to move. They were near the center of the city and the traffic had become quite heavy even at that late hour.“How are you feeling now, Dr. Garcia?” asked Red, his handsome face slightly lit by the streetlamps outside. He moved closer to Ella to see her more clearly.Ella could almost feel Red’s warm breath as he leaned his body closer to him. She was glad to have left her handbag between them which acted as barrier between her and the attractive man beside her. She felt uncomfortable and wanted to look away, but Red’s intense gaze held her and she felt that she could not move. Sensing that her body was only reacting to Red’s magnetic personality, Ella blinked her eyes and broke her connection with him. She managed to look in front of her at the translucent privacy screen through which she could barely see the outline of the driver and the red tail ligh
The strong headlights of the black car illuminated the dark alley where Ella found herself trapped. She had not gone to that part of the city before and in her haste to get away from her pursuers, made the wrong decision to enter the narrow alley, only to find herself cornered. She raised her hand over her face to lessen the glare of the headlights as she stood helplessly at the end of the alley.In a moment, she heard the door of the black car open and a man got out. Ella could not see well because of the powerful beams of the car, but she could discern from the man’s movements that he adjusted his coat before slamming the door shut. He then walked in front of the car as he approached her.Ella got hold of her pepper spray and readied to defend herself. As the man walked closer, she tried to see his face but the light coming from behind him meant that his face was darkened.“Stay away from me!” shouted Ella. “What do you want?”The
Ella glanced behind her and saw that the two men who had stood beside her at the intersection were walking purposely towards her. She had already turned a few corners and it would be highly improbable that the men were following the same route. Ella felt the reassuring presence of the pepper spray inside her pocket and decided to quicken her pace. She jogged some distance and turned another corner, hoping that her pursuers would quit following her. After walking a short distance, she hazarded another look behind her and saw that the two men were back. They too had quickened their pace and from the hunch of their shoulders and their purposeful steps, Ella knew that they were indeed following her. She felt her pulse quicken and decided to jog the next several meters.Up ahead, Ella saw two people who seemed to be talking to each other under the streetlamp. She felt some comfort seeing other people on the street. It was short-lived, however, as she saw them stand up straight to lo
Ella passed under a streetlamp and was temporarily enveloped with yellow light. She walked with a steady pace, her footsteps hitting the pavement becoming the only sound in the night apart from the soft rustling of the leaves from the tree branches overhead. After a while, she saw the walking green man of the pedestrian traffic light ahead and walked briskly, hoping to cross the street before the light changed. She was a few steps away when she heard a click and the pedestrian light changed to red. The stationary red man replaced his dynamic predecessor, instructing similar bipeds on the sidewalk to remain still. Luminous numbers on the LED display underneath turned red as well and started counting down the seconds remaining before pedestrians were allowed to cross the street.Slightly disappointed, Ella slowed down before completely halting her steps. She had hardly stopped before the curb when a car came hurtling past, its horn blaring and its headlights full. It disappeared
Having made her decision, Ella was able to take off the burden of thinking about Red and his proposal to have dinner with her that night. She had a lot of work to do. There were samples to prepare, experiments to run, and reports to file. The least that she needed were distractions to prevent her from accomplishing everything that she had planned to do that day. Nancy and Matt had been nice enough not to bring up the topic of Red inviting her to dinner or the grant that Wyvern Minerals had hinted on giving. Ella knew that research grants had been more difficult to find lately and sponsors tend to be more selective in choosing those to which they would provide funding. Still, Ella believed in equal opportunities for everyone and she would not commit herself to activities that she considered unprofessional or unethical just so she could get what she wanted.The day was over quickly and Ella massaged her nape as she started preparing the last batch of samples. She looked at the cl
“What do you mean you’re not going?” asked Nancy once she had recovered from the shock. Matt bent his head to the side and acted like he was hammering himself with his fist.“Exactly what I said,” replied Ella. “I’m not going to dinner with him tonight.” She said it too plainly and without emotion that made it even harder for Nancy to comprehend what she was saying.“I don’t understand, Ella. He’s an extremely wealthy man and definitely not lacking in the looks department. What more do you want?” asked Nancy. She could not reconcile Ella’s objection to going to dinner with probably the country’s most eligible bachelor.“Goodbye, multimillion research grant!” Matt raised his hands as if in surrender, but did not look at his colleagues.“What is it, Elle? Tell me what’s bothering you,” said Nancy, a look of concern on her face.“Nothing&rsquo
Ella did not expect the call from the CEO so soon and was even more disarmed by the fact that he was asking her for dinner that night.“Oh! I’m not sure if I can make it tonight, Red. I have to look at my calendar,” Ella replied. She knew she had nothing to do that night but found it hard to decide if she should have dinner with the wealthy CEO.Matt was listening closely and then made an exaggerated frown when he heard Ella’s reply. He spun around in his swivel chair and then placed both hands over his face.“Yes, Red…. Let me jot that down,” said Ella. She then grabbed a pen and wrote a series of numbers on a piece of paper. “Yes, I will. Thanks!” She replaced the phone on its cradle and turned to her colleagues who were all staring at her wide-eyed.“Well? What did he say?” asked Nancy, anticipation clearly evident in her face.“He asked me for dinner tonight,” said Ella slowly
The plump woman slowly came down the stairs, with a cup of coffee in her left hand and a handbag in her right hand. She could have gone down quicker but chose to take her time as she reflected at the scene outside her building. She wondered why there was a row of sleek black cars as well as a small group of private security men. As senior researcher and deputy head of the Biotech Laboratory, she often got emails and reminders from the university as well as the building administrator if there were important events that would take place in the building. The building’s spacious auditorium was often used by the different colleges or even government agencies to hold special programs and events such as conferences and symposia. Recently, the building administrator permitted students to rent the auditorium for their own functions such as when conducting inter-university competitions and special film screenings. The university, however, was very careful in holding events that mi
Water streamed from the hand shower that Ella held over Red’s feet. Ella had the CEO sit on a stool and place his feet inside the catch basin under the emergency shower as she washed any acid off. Ella ran the shower head over Red’s exposed feet and she noticed that his feet seemed to be unharmed despite the acid seeping through his shoes and damaging his socks.Matt watched Ella with amusement as she washed the CEO’s feet. He approached them with a faint smile on his face while still holding the thermal bag between his hands.“Sorry to disturb you, but would you know what I should do with this?” asked Matt, raising the thermal bag.Red raised his gaze and looked at the thermal bag. “I had that brought in because I want you to look at the specimen and tell me what you think,” he said. He uncrossed his legs and brought both feet on the catch basin. Ella realized that she had washed Red’s feet adequately.“Let m
Water descended from the sky in minuscule drops that mirrored the light of the waning moon. Each tiny drop was a microcosm of the universe of alternating light and shadow, of shifting energies and swirling galaxies, gleaming like diamonds at one instant and then absorbing light and color in a moment. But in her eyes, the raindrops were the color of milk, like little pearls that floated in the night air and danced in the breeze before finally touching her skin. She felt the coldness of the raindrops and the chill brought about by the gentle breeze... and she shivered. Her breath formed a thin cloud above her face that quickly dissipated. Icy air entered her lungs as she inhaled, causing her to cough uncontrollably and making the pain on her left flank almost unbearable. She wanted to feel her side with her hand, but the rope that bound her wrists prevented her from doing so. She opened her eyes wide as she waited for the pain to subside and looked at the sky and its looming clo
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