Unbetitelt

Description

AE-786 presents itself as a plain 24-karat golden ring, 22 mm in diameter, with no visible engravings, markings or anomalous radiation under standard testing. When placed on the finger of a living human being the ring fuses to skin and bone, becoming a permanent part of the wearer's body. From that moment the wearer becomes the king and gains the ability to propagate the effect through any skin-to-skin contact. Each new instance becomes an exact physical and mental replica of the king but without a ring. Replicas retain the same propagation ability until the ring is removed from its host. The effect includes rapid physical overwriting, cognitive simplification and compulsive drive to obey the king.

The exact origin of AE-786 remains unknown. Moreover, proximity to AE-786 has been observed to cause unexplained malfunctions in nearby electronic devices. The effect is selective and not replicable under a controlled environment.

Part 1 - Blood Calls

"Welcome to Igniteriders..." Xander mumbled, stifling a yawn. He had a rough night with barely any sleep because of his double shift and barely managed to roll into the motorcycle repair shop after snagging a two-hour nap right after leaving the damn Drive-Thru where he worked on alternating nights. “How can I help you?” He continued, totally zonked, barely seeing the customer in front of him. Even though the job was chill, he was on the edge of crashing.

“Xander, why don’t you take a break and grab some coffee? You look like you’re about to pass out,” Gabe, his boss, chuckled, giving him a light slap on the back that nearly knocked him over.

After pouring himself some coffee and slumping onto the break room couch, he found himself trying to figure out how to escape the mess he was in, which quickly turned into a doze that was interrupted by Gabe’s entrance. “Wake up, sleepyhead, you can’t keep dragging like this, dude. I’m sure if you put that brain of yours to work, you’ll figure something out,” he said, plopping down in the chair across from him while Xander just grumbled again and took a sip of the brown liquid.

“You would know the feeling if you worked as hard as I do, Gabe,” Xander said, stretching out, finally starting to wake up with the caffeine kicking in.

“Wanna swap places and get your hands dirty with some grease, punk?” Gabe laughed, pouring himself some black coffee while Xander jumped off the couch. Gabe was just a few years older and practically the opposite of Xander; Xander was small and looked fragile, barely holding it together, while Gabe, though even shorter, was built like a brick wall and could easily crush Xander with an arm lock— not that the mechanic would ever try that with the younger guy.

After waking up a bit, thanks to the miracle of coffee, Xander returned to his spot at the reception desk. He still had a few hours to go, so he focused on the fact that he could finally crash when he got home.

For hours he served customers on autopilot feeling like a zombie until someone approached his counter. He was taken aback by the dude walking up to the register. The guy’s hair was pitch black, and he was rocking aviator shades—something Xander never understood, why people wore sunglasses indoors? But working at the shop he kinda got used to it. Not that he’d ever say anything about a customer’s getup, especially not this one. The guy was massive, both tall and wide, and none of it looked like fat; Xander would bet his paycheck that under that leather jacket was pure muscle. “Hey, bro,” he said, stepping up to the counter as Xander stammered.

“W-welcome to... uh... greetings... er... how can I help you, sir?” he finished, dazed, while the giant man looked at him with a sly grin spreading across his bearded face.

Extending his hand over the counter for the kid to shake he read the name on his badge. “Xander... interesting,” he said cryptically, his voice deep and mysterious. “Well, Xander, I didn’t come here to buy spare parts, you see, I’m after something else.” He said, and Xander raised an eyebrow.

“Some kind of repair?” he asked, feeling a bit dumb as the man shook his head and leaned closer to the counter, making Xander lean in too. A smell invaded Xander’s senses; it was a musky animalistic scent mixed with a strong whiff of the outdoors, and he found himself thinking about wild animals running through ravines as they got closer to each other. They got so close that Xander blushed when the when the guy repositioned the aviators, and he saw momentarily deep yellow irises like an animal staring at him.

“You,” he said, and Xander's eyes widened in shock, thinking the guy was about to hit him. But he just burst out laughing, then stepped back a couple of paces and pulled out a flyer for a roommate that Xander had handed out around the neighborhood when his roommate split, leaving him to bear the whole rent burden. Xander sighed with relief upon hearing that; he thought the guy was going to clock him for who knows what reason—he was used to life throwing punches at him.

“Uh... sure... my shift ends in an hour... you can catch me there.” He really just wanted to sleep a bit, but having a roommate would take a load off, meaning at least a few shifts less at the drive-thru. The guy gave off a weird vibe, but he wasn’t in a position to be picky.

“Sure thing, see you later, little bro.” The guy replied with that mysterious smile before walking out of the shop.

“OK, that was definitely the weirdest thing to happen around here. Who the hell was that guy, Xander?!”, Gabe asked stunned, as he watched the man walk over to a Harley Davidson parked down the street.

“I don’t know... just someone interested in Jack’s old room.”

“Did you at least ask the guy’s name?”

Feeling dazed, Xander just muttered that he forgot to do that while a warm sensation spread from the hand the man shook while his scent clung to him stubbornly. Leaving work the feeling began to spread throughout his body; it felt like at any moment he might burst into flames. Did that strange guy pass some disease to him?” Xander wondered while pedaling furiously on his bike, only thinking about taking a cold shower.

But as he got closer to home, he didn’t feel tired anymore; in fact, he felt like he could pedal for miles, so much that he decided to take a few more laps. He kept a steady pace while circling the small square in front of his building, but it wasn’t enough; his body felt like a furnace, his heart seemed to pump fire through his veins, pushing him to go faster and faster. He craved the wind on his face and the relief it could bring, so he started pedaling hard, hoping the fatigue would kick in, but it never did. He kept pedaling and pedaling, going around the block until a biker started to keep pace with him.

“Unless you’re gearing up for Race Cross America, it’d be more interesting to ride something beefier; those tires won’t hold up much longer.” The mysterious guy grinned while taking off his helmet and parking his Harley, while Xander blushed as he dismounted his bike and headed home.

“Um... they’re old, probably worn out...” Xander replied. “I’ll just stash the bike and show you the apartment in a sec,” he said, noticing that even after all that exercise he hadn’t broken a sweat; his clothes felt a bit tight, but it must have been the pump or something.

After getting home, Xander kicked off his shoes and only then realized how tight his feet felt, like he’d accidentally put on a smaller size, which made no damn sense. To make matters worse, a strong, pungent odor wafted from his bare feet, something he’d never dealt with before. Mortified, he turned to the older guy.

“Sorry, this has never happened to me before, must be from the ride.”

“It’s just a bit of man musk, little bro; it’s all good.”

Thinking about what kind of odor that dude must put out if that was all good, Xander wondered if he really wanted to share an apartment with him. Then, before he could chicken out, he started showing the small space to the other guy.

“It’s not much; I get the master suite but pay a bit more for rent, but the shared bathroom has hot water, the couch is... comfy... and the location is pretty sweet, Mr. …?”

“No Mr., little bro, just call me Velkan,” said the man, whose bulk seemed to take up most of what was the living/dining/kitchen area while looking at Xander with scrutinizing bright hazel eyes, like he was waiting for some reaction. The only response he got was a “nice to meet you” before being led to the empty room by a confused Xander, who swore he’d seen big yellow eyes behind those sunglasses Velkan had the decency to take off upon entering his apartment.

“Um... maybe you’ll feel a bit cramped in here.” He commented, half-laughing, seeing the giant squeeze himself into the room.

“I’m used to living on the road, little bro, with the grass for a pillow and the starry sky for a roof, but right now, there’s no place better for me than this, trust me. So, when can I move in?” Velkan boomed, this time with a big grin on his face.

After getting everything sorted out with Velkan, who surprisingly asked to move into the room that very night, Xander hurried to take a shower to get rid of that smell, but no matter how much he scrubbed with that lemon and herb soap, the odor refused to leave his feet, and he could swear it was getting stronger. “I must be going nuts.” But if the bathroom walls had something to say about it, they chose to stay silent. While he aggressively scrubbed his pits, he didn’t notice that the brown hair he had there was turning black and starting to spread, becoming a new source of odor. Luckily, the cold water wiped out the burning sensation that had taken over him, and he managed to sleep, although the pungent smell intensified even more, dominating the room as he snored.

The next morning, Xander had no work but also no set plans. Upon waking, he felt that musk dominating the space again and was shocked to see that the source of the odor was his pits, but the bigger shock was seeing the bushy hair they had turned into, with long, wild black strands. What the hell was that? With no explanation for it, he decided he’d just take another shower to cool his head and see if he could finally get rid of that smell. He was pretty freaked out when he walked into the bathroom and found his hair jet black and longer, topped off by the fact that his skinny body was being replaced by surprisingly developed muscles. “What... what?!” he barked, touching the reflection as if that could undo some kind of illusion.

“What the hell is happening to me?” he asked again out loud. He could go to a hospital... and say what? “Hey doc, I’m living out the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie!” He’d be lucky if he wasn’t kicked out of the place, or worse, ended up in the psych ward! Still clueless about what to do with all this, he left his room intending to grab a strong cup of coffee.

As he walked into his living room, Xander jumped seeing someone sitting on his couch, only to scream as he bumped his head on the door frame.

“Now you’re training for the high jump, little bro? With your height, maybe it’s better to do it somewhere the ceiling isn’t so low,” Xander just let out a groan of indignation as Velkan stood up, picked him up like a rag doll, and plopped him down on the couch. His nostrils were invaded by the characteristic odor he’d sensed the day before, a smell that oddly resembled the one he was exuding, but which he had forgotten to acknowledge in the heat of the strange events that morning, or had he just gotten used to it? Preferring not to think about that he turned to his new roommate.

“Hey! Not cool, dude, I’m not a kid; I can get up by myself!”

“Chill, little bro; though I could just call you big guy now, right?” Velkan commented with that annoying grin that made Xander want to punch those perfectly white, pointy… canine… teeth… He felt a shiver run down his spine at the memory of those bright yellow eyes. Somehow, Velkan... and what kind of name was that, anyway? It didn’t matter; somehow, the other guy had done something to him! How could he have been stupid enough to let a stranger into his house? It was almost like he had been guided to accept it, like he was forced to go along with it...

“W-who are you? What... what are you? And what did you do to me?! Who the hell are you?!” he asked, jumping up and glaring at the bigger man.

“Calm down, little bro; you’re asking too many questions, and I need time to answer them. Why don’t you sit down and let me explain everything at a chill pace? Sit down, please... damn it... I said sit down, kid,” Velkan barked with authority while slapping his hand on the empty space next to him on the couch, and inexplicably Xander found himself compelled to sit, making the spot tight due to the other man’s massive size and the bulk he’d gained overnight.

“Good boy. Let me introduce myself properly first; my name is Velkan Stoian, and I’ve been looking for you for a long time, little bro.”

“I... looking... for me? I... don’t get any of this. What did you do to me? These changes... how... how is this possible? And what’s with the ‘little bro’ thing?”

Relaxing on the couch, Velkan grinned. “Well, it’s because that’s what you are.” And then, with a serious expression: “Did you ever wonder what happened to your family? Never thought about looking for them?”

“I... how do you...?”

“Just answer the question.”

“I was told they were all dead, that there was no one left... that I... I... have always been alone.”

“Bastards.”

“I don’t get it!”

Xander thought that might be his new mantra instead of the usual “how can I help you.”

“No, you don’t get it... Sandu.”

“What?”

“Your nickname, given by me when you could fit in the palm of these hands.”

With a sad, distant look, Velkan opened his massive hands, which could easily hold a baby rhino.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Alexandru Alupei Barbaneagra is your real name, kid, son of Dragos and Mihaela and... younger brother of… Velkan.”

“What?”

“Can you say something other than a variation of “I don’t understand’ just to mix it up a bit?” Velkan grinned, but at that moment, Xander realized there was sadness along with the teasing and maybe... affection?

“Sorry... I... don’t know what...”

“Stop talking like a weakling! Sorry, bro it’s not your fault. It was an atrocity what they did to you, to us, Sandu. But I’m here to fix it all, to hand over the inheritance you’re entitled to.”

Xander finally lost his voice at that absurd idea. Surely, if he had family, the social services would have said something, and he wouldn’t have been shuffled from one foster home to another like a stray dog until he hit eighteen and was tossed out on the street, lucky enough to land a decent job and an apartment that wasn’t a total dump. And even if he did have family, it surely wouldn’t be some huge muscle-bound dude like Velkan; they didn’t even look alike, for god’s sake... except that... he thought, except that both their hairs had the same color now, and his arms and legs were almost as hairy as Velkan’s... no, that was absurd...

“Now’s the time for you to say something,” Velkan barked.

“Velkan... if I had any inheritance to get, surely one of the bastards I lived with would’ve found a way to snag it a long time ago.”

“The inheritance I’m talking about, little bro isn’t any material good but rather your story, your past, and your future. You’re just a fragile pup and have been like that for way too long. I wish I had found you sooner to hand over what’s yours at the right age like our father did for me, but I lived my own hell. You need to understand one thing, kid: we are Romani, and just for that, we’re already hated. But you and I are more than that; we are children of the night, we run under the moonlight and that makes us even more hated, even among our own people. Your birth should have marked a peace treaty between us and the human men. Alexandru, the defender of men, what a joke. The men took advantage of your baptism to commit a massacre. Only you and I survived. And it probably should’ve just been you. I believe there was still enough humanity in them not to kill a baby in arms who was still far from transitioning. There’s a reason we look fragile and delicate until we’re ready to take our place, but after the process is complete... if I hadn’t managed to escape, I would’ve been executed without mercy. By eleven years old, I was already a pack man, bigger than you were yesterday when I found you.”

“Pack?”

“Come on, dude, how many hints do you need to realize this?”

“You’re saying you’re some kind of werewolf?” Xander asked, still trying to piece his thoughts together.

“Sandu, we’re both wolves. Though you still don’t pass for a pup who took too long to mature. Though this started to get sorted out the moment we met, bro. If things had gone the way they should have, there would’ve been a ceremony when you turned ten, but the way it was, I figured it’d be better to give you a welcome present; after all, the ceremony was just a formality. All it takes is for the pup to catch the scent of the alpha for the process to begin.”

“You’re completely insane! I want you out of my house now!”

“No, you don’t want that. You know what’s happening tonight, Sandu? It’s a full moon night, and you don’t want to go through that alone. The Wolf is hard to control even for the most experienced; I shudder just imagining what one that’s been trapped for so long will be capable of. If after tonight you don’t want to know about me, that’s cool; I’ll help you through your first transformation, and I’ll be out by morning. But I want you to know that during the years I spent as a wolf wandering through the woods, I could only think about what might’ve happened to my little brother, and as soon as I finally managed to deal with my pain and get back on track, I started searching for you. I was just a fifteen-year-old kid at the time, scraping by, stealing when I needed to eat, and when things got too tough, I’d shift back to being a wolf. But still, I never stopped hoping and looking for you.”

Xander stayed quiet as he looked at his bare feet; they were even bigger than before, with black fur covering the tops of his toes, even thicker and denser fur covering his legs and thighs, and a slightly darker skin tone seemed to spread right before his eyes. Not knowing what to say, he stood up and, with Velkan’s eyes following him, positioned himself in front of a mirror in the living room. What he saw scared him; his face was different, with an aquiline nose, a wider chin, and a more square jaw, covered in stubble, skin a shade of olive, and Velkan’s hazel eyes. Suddenly, the idea of being Velkan’s younger brother didn’t seem so absurd. And if something like that transformation was possible, why not the rest?

“Stay. That doesn’t mean I believe you, it’s all so extraordinary that... just stay,” he said, only to be nearly knocked over by the giant’s weight on him. Velkan remained silent as he embraced him, and Xander wasn’t sure what to say as he felt the weight of the other man’s emotion and that scent violently invading his nostrils, so he let himself get lost in the strength of that hug. They stayed like that for a while until Velkan pulled away and flashed that grin. “Where do you keep the booze in this place?” he asked, and Xander sighed as his eyes sparkled with amusement.

…..

Velkan introduced himself a bit more to Xander, telling the story of their family and talking about what their parents were like, the traditions, the travels, and the inevitable disaster that followed the death of both and the rest of the tribe. To Xander’s surprise, the tribe was made up of all kinds of people and not just what they still called gypsies today.

“Not every guy has a wolf inside him, bro. But it’s the Alpha’s job to identify those who do and bring them into the Tribe, and our dad was especially good at that. It took me a long time and training, and I haven’t reached a fraction of what he was, which is why it took me so long to find you. It’s a matter of scent, you see: the scent of the Alpha, his touch is what frees the wolf. But all of us, with the right training, can sense the scent of other wolves, even those not born yet, and in my search for you, I found a good number of wolves trapped in human flesh. There were many times I thought about giving up the search and starting my own pack, but I knew I couldn’t do that; I couldn’t leave my little brother trapped in a pup’s body for life. Those other trapped wolves will still have a chance to be freed, even if it means changing the flesh prison. We’ve arrived.” The trail in the woods ended in a large clearing, and Xander wondered if he had completely lost it while following the other man. This was all just insane. But with each step he took, as night fell, that torrent of heat began to surge within him again.

“How much longer?” Xander asked, looking up at the night sky where the moon hadn’t yet risen. Without warning, his skin began to burn as a sharp pain shot through his spine, causing him to groan and drop to the ground; his bones cracked as they seemed to stretch longer.

“I think it’s now, bro,” Velkan said, and Xander groaned as black fur began to spread across his skin like thousands of bugs crawling on him, making him want to scratch like crazy, but his body refused to obey his commands.

His clothes started to rip as a mix of muscles and fur expanded, tearing the already tight clothing to shreds. “Oh... I should’ve warned you; this happens,” Velkan laughed, and Xander growled aggressively. The pain was excruciating. His feet, which had already grown quite a bit, swelled even larger, stretching and widening, his thighs like corded steel, striated and wide, and his calves like footballs. In his abdomen, four, then six, and finally eight small blocks of muscle appeared, and his pecs broadened and pushed forward while his hands doubled in size, as his biceps formed into cannonballs and his triceps shaped like perfect horseshoes. His back widened, with lats so broad that he wouldn’t fit through some doors; finally, his neck grew to the point where no collar would ever fit. At this moment, Xander let out another growl that quickly turned into a howl. His eyes turned that deep yellow shade that had scared him, his hair grew, cascading down over his eyes in black curls. Suddenly, along with the pain, an orgasmic pleasure surged in his cock, which slowly grew to its usual 5 inches hard, but it didn’t stop there; it went to 6 and his muscles surged again, to 7 and his skin hit the same olive tone as his brother's, to 8 and his bones stretched once more, putting him just one inch taller than his big brother at an impressive 6’7”even though Velkan's broadness had no competition, at 9 and finally his cock thickened, nearing the size of a beer can. Unable to handle that mix of pleasure and pain any longer, he finally came, shooting a torrent of cum, and with the release, the pain ceased, leaving him sprawled on the ground, naked and drenched in sweat, trying to catch his breath.

“Wow... that was... intense,” he commented to Velkan while trying to reposition himself to get up.

“And who said it’s over, little bro? That was just you reaching all the potential you should’ve hit a long time ago. You’re no longer a pup, but you’re still not an adult wolf.” Velkan stood beside him, completely naked, and for the first time Xander... Sandu... could see the sheer glory of his older brother’s body, a gigantic mountain of defined muscles covered in black fur, with a cock hanging down between his legs that, when hard, must have been even bigger than his. And that damn... pungent... wonderful smell permeated everything. It was his own scent, but also the scent of the alpha, of his leader, of his brother, from whom he realized at that moment he would obey all orders and do anything to protect and... love, yes... now he understood everything, the reason for his brother’s years of searching; if what he felt in that moment was close to what Velkan felt for him...

“Brother... thanks,” he said, standing up and facing the other man without needing to look up for the first time, and he hugged him, their naked bodies meeting, sweat mixing, and their scents enveloping everything; it was too much for him.

“Shh, calm down, little bro; the best part is coming now,” Velkan said, bathed in the silver light of the full moon. As if he felt no pain at all, Velkan’s body transformed, his bones reshaping and fur growing as a snout formed and his teeth sharpened, and he dropped to all fours on the ground, his hands and feet becoming giant paws. In no time, where there had once been a man, there was now a massive black wolf howling at the moon, soon followed by another slightly smaller but equally shining-coated wolf. Then both took off running through the woods, howling and playfully knocking each other down like two pups, not two huge beasts.

At dawn, in the clearing where the wolves had snuggled up to sleep there now lay two young men with thick black hair and beards, lying naked on a bed of dry leaves, their skin glistening with dew under the first rays of morning sun filtering through the treetops, the smaller one resting his head on the bigger one chest, who at that moment was waking up with a vague smile of satisfaction on his face.

“Wake up, little bro, we’ve got a lot to do.” As he felt the giant hand of his brother run through his hair, Sandu stirred awake.

“Wow, that was fantastic, Velkan.”

“That was just the beginning, brother. Now let’s get up and hit the road, there’s still a lot to do, and I’ll explain on the way.”

“But my clothes…”

“You think a kid’s clothes would fit a man like you, Sandu? I brought an extra set knowing you’d need it.” Velkan said, tossing at his brother’s feet a set of clothes that consisted of Levi’s jeans, a tank top, thick knee-high socks, a leather jacket, and combat boots.

“The boots might be a bit loose, but we can swing by the city to grab you some new ones,” he concluded, reaching for a metal chain with a dog tag that had the name Alexandru Stoian engraved on it, along with a pair of aviator sunglasses identical to his. “We’ll need to swing by there anyway to grab your ride.”

“You want me to bike in that thing? It wouldn’t even hold up with all this new weight.”

“Don’t be an idiot, little bro; I’ve got a brand new Harley waiting for you!”

“I... wow... but I thought we were broke.”

“I never said that; The tribe left money stashed all over the damn country, not to mention bank accounts I had to hustle to get access to. We’re good, brother. Now get dressed and let’s roll;”

“If possible, I’d like to stop somewhere first.”

….

“Welcome to Igniteriders, I’m Gabriel, how can I help you, sir?” The attendant seemed a bit flustered, like he wasn’t used to doing that job.

“I just wanted to say thanks for your help; you had my back when no one else would.” The guy was young, absolutely tall, and super muscular, even if he wasn’t as wide as Gabriel, no those are a predator muscles, firm, agile, perfect to hunting. Wearing a leather jacket and rocking aviator shades, he looked a lot like that fella who had been in the shop on Saturday wanting to rent Xander’s extra room. Xander who still hadn’t shown up that morning, leaving him pretty worried.

“No problem, sir, but sorry to ask, how exactly did I help you?”

“I’m sure if you put your brain to work, you’ll figure it out.” The man replied, almost leaning in close to Gabe, bringing with him a scent of musk and the outdoors, before leaving the shop and jumping on the back of a Harley Davidson, taking off at full speed.

“X-Xander...?” he asked, shocked at the empty store.

….

“How did it go?”

“I left my new number on the counter, and he took a good whiff of my musk. If it’s his fate to unleash the wolf he’ll come to us.”

“A mechanic in the pack would make a huge difference. But now it’s up to him.”

“And us?”

“Us? First we take your ride, then we will recruit in ways you can’t even imagine, little bro.”