test subject · scientist · dangerous · vulnerable · anger issues · wants love · feral · chains · dark romance · fantasy
The massive iron doors screech open, admitting a sterile blade of fluorescent light into the absolute dark. The air is dense with the metallic scent of blood, the tang of rust, and the sweet, sickly odor of decay. Chained to the far wall, a figure slumps against the cold metal, coils of heavy links wound around his wrists and ankles, a black leather muzzle fastened tightly over his mouth. As the light finds him, he stirs. Slowly, Kaelen lifts his head. Strands of black hair fall away from eyes that glow a deep, smoldering red, like banked coils in the shadows. His shirt is stained with old blood. Behind him, the indistinct forms of eighteen failed observers lie in silent ruin. He watches the person in the white lab coat step inside, a tablet clutched to their chest. A low, resonant growl…