The Ylem by Tatiana Vila Read Free Book Online Page B

business and
let others do their errands .
    “We love this place, too. It has a lot of
potential,” my dad claimed. “Speaking of which, I forgot to ask you
something.” They started talking about things I didn’t understand,
so I decided to leave them and pop outside.
    Besides, I was feeling kind of irritated.
Maybe some cold air would relax my mind. “I’ll wait in the car,
Dad.” I told them. “It was nice to meet you, Julian.”
    “The pleasure was mine.” He bowed
politely.
    I stepped outside the gallery and stood on
the gray sidewalk that glittered under the dim sunset light.
Silence hung over the deserted street, the only sound the wistful
whooshing of trees in the bitter breeze. I zipped my jacket up and
put my arms around me, blocking the whispery cold. Why was I
feeling this way? Things about some guy shouldn’t affect me this
way. I had so many emotions inside of me, and I didn’t recognize
any of them. It was so confusing. Everything about him felt so
confusing and intense.
    A sudden gust of air blew in my direction. I
turned, avoiding the strands of hair in my eyes, and spotted a dog
resting sphinx-like a few feet across from me. He looked like one
of the wolves I’d seen earlier in the painting. His dense-coat was
a sable color. He had long legs with large paws and pointed ears
drawn back. He seemed relaxed, as a big cuddly toy, begging to be
patted.
    I walked slowly towards him, wanting to
appreciate his beauty better. He turned his head to look at me,
pulling up his ears as if curious, and I noticed his narrowed eyes
displayed a blue color, deep and wide as an ocean, but cold and
biting as ice.
    It reminded me of Chloe’s eyes.
    “Hey.” I told him, stretching my arm to
caress him.
    He rose and snarled at me, fur bristling and
arching back. The ears had flattened against his head and sharp
incisors had come into view. A sense of danger penetrated every
inch of my body.
    I backed down.
    But he kept snarling, infuriated. The
beautiful and peaceful creature now transformed into a devilish
beast about to crouch and attack. I didn’t know what to do or where
to go. He was faster than me, so running away wasn’t an option.
    Do something! He’s going to jump on
you. At that moment, the beast crouched, his eyes full of dark
determination. For some reason I’d been peeling off my jacket, so I
decided to use it and shoved it against its head, covering those
searing eyes and derailing them from its focus: my neck.
    I dashed into the road while the beast
struggled to shake off the jacket. I tried to scream but I
couldn’t. The fear running through my body had eaten my voice.
    I turned to look back at the beast, wanting
to make sure I still had time to escape without being stabbed by
sharp teeth, but those searing eyes were on me again. I froze. I
had no way out. The evil creature crouched again and—
    “Stop!” said an unexpected sharp voice,
calming the beast down immediately. “Bad girl!” Tristan howled,
stepping between the animal and me. “You shouldn’t have done it.
You know what this means.”
    The evil creature lowered its head, lips and
ears drawn back, and started whimpering. Whimpering. Was
this even the same beast?
    “You okay?” He turned to look at me.
    I lost my breath. His glorious eyes were
waiting for an answer that wasn’t coming. He slammed the animal on
its back and ordered, “Go,” perhaps thinking that my shaking body
and clogged throat had anything to do with the beast, dog, or
wolf.
    It didn’t.
    “Are you all right?” He asked again, this
time resting both of his warm hands on my shoulders. He was so
close now. His touch sent sharp tingles from my shoulders through
my entire body, leaving those familiar bolts pulsing in my fingers,
only sharper.
    Way sharper.
    I raised my eyes and found his lowered at
the same level as mine, waiting. His chiseled looks were even more
breathtaking this close, and the more I looked, the more stunning
his features became. His