JACKAL AMONG SNAKES - Chapter 51: Hothouse Flower

A pill, a tiny capsule encased in a biologically harmless water-soluble shell; A shell whose very existence is a result of a century of research and technological advancement. A manmade synthesis of Chemicals and product of complex processes.

And in the end, a means to an end.

A way to deliver a concoction of other Chemicals for an agenda; Vitamins for nutrition, medication for treatment, or… perhaps more.

We trust that what we eat won’t do us harm, and trust that those who are responsible for its creation had the best of intentions. But in the end, it is difficult or perhaps impossible to truly tell what lies within a pill.

That is until one day I entered a research institution as a test subject. All I did was swallow a pill I was told to be a health supplement.

[Warning: This book contains Strong Language and Mature Content]On her eighteenth birthday, Ravenna felt the weight of exile as she was outlawed from her home because she could not shift to a werewolf, a mark of shame in their world that revered power. Away from all the ridicules and hate, she had at least a more peaceful life, until a beautiful storm knocked at her door. Deceived by its enchanting waves, Ravenna welcomed it with open arms until she was swept away into the deepest depth of the ocean of love. Being a daughter of an alpha, that was not supposed to happen even if she was not living in the pack anymore. Falling in love with the king of darkness.Alaric! He is the epitome of danger. But then, she turned his life upside down. From a heartless man to an obsessive lover. All he wished was to keep her with him. Even if it meant chaining her to himself. Whether what he felt was infatuation, desire or... he just would never ever let her go. Let no man or beast separate him from what he had claimed and marked; else they would face his unceasing wrath.****************“Am of no use to you, why do you still insist on keeping me?” She just wanted to hear him say it. That he loved her as much as she did. She was becoming more desperate as days went by, maybe more than desperate to the extent of destroying herself in this love.Alaric paused and kept his laptop aside. He held her hand and brought her in front of him before pulling her to his lap.Silently, he sniffed her neck and licked it, then replied, “Because I want to.” He continued his actions, and his hands were already moving under her dress caressing her thighs.Ravenna took a deep breath trying to stop herself from diving into pleasure as always. “Will you ever say it?” Her voice came out as a low yearning plead and with his advanced hearing ability, Alaric did not miss a word.“Say what?” His hand reached her pant ready to tear it apart.“That you love me.” Her words made him pause abruptly before looking at her. As usual, his eyes were blank with no hint of emotions making Ravenna feel like she was just fooling herself. For howlong could she endure this?“Do I?” He asked not tearing his gaze away from her eyes that were already tearing up.

'Divinity Online'. The new breakthrough in the Full-Immersion Virtual Reality technology. After decades of work, Divinity Corp had achieved the impossible. Creating a massive video game world that people can enter and live in as if it were Earth. Their goal was clear, to create a world other than Earth that we can call home.A place where the laws of reality vanish, and the true ceiling of power shifts completely.Naturally, the shockwave Divinity Online created across the entire globe was unlike anything else. Every single person has heard of it, even those who have had no interest in video games before.Giant corporations and even governments immediately rushed to start planning to invest in this new world and just like that, billions of people had their eyes on one single date: the 19th of July.***Arthur, like everyone else, had heard of the game and was as excited as everyone else to try it, if not even more. With how much he grew bored of his life on earth, this fantasy world was like the divine call he had been searching for. However, there was a very small problem.He had no money to buy the machine required to access Divinity Online. His wretched life had turned him into a broke teenager with no parents, and no relatives. But, by some kind of luck, he got his hands on one of those machines.Not knowing what was awaiting him in that world, Arthur was simply seeking one thing... A new opportunity in life and to find a purpose he could work for when he had none so far.[Welcome to 'Divinity Online'.][Assimilation Started...]