Tempered Steele

Chapter 1

YAY, my first juggling act :D  Trying to write two stories at once :P

So, here's the 1st chapter of this story for you peeps who plan to read.  We'll get more into detail about the where's and why's in the next chapter, but so far...Here's Raiden's POV :)

PS* Not edited, so if you find anything repeated or not making sense, lemme know and I'll fix it ;)

Happy reading :D

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Raiden:

The flimsy cotton material of his unbuttoned white shirt flapped maddeningly in the wind, his eyes focused on the horizon.  Occasional bursts of lightening streaked across the hilltops, followed by the deep rumble of thunder, the deep grey clouds billowing and swirling just like his mind.  Inhaling deeply, he beckoned the pre rain scent, letting it filter through him to try and calm his frayed thoughts.  It didn’t work this time, because along with the earthy aroma, came the unwelcomed scent of a Natural.

A low growl resonated from deep inside his chest, and Raiden’s fists clenched.  He hadn’t been in contact with another person in a very long time.  Hadn’t spoken aloud to one or even glimpsed them in what felt like ages.  He huffed in anger, staring up at the skies before turning to watch the person through the storm.

It had been six months since that day-

The day they killed him. 

Six months since he’d seen Emma- 

Since that day he’d turned. 

It was four months since he’d tried to gather himself into some semblance of the man he once was and realize his goal again. 

Since he’d realized that there was no hiding what he’d become.  

The mind was a strange thing.  Took you back to moments that defined you.  Moments that made you.  One whiff of the underlying scent the man carried, and it took him back in flashes to the day it all began.

Back to the burning warehouse, where the scent of stone and metal assaulted him.  Where the words that echoed in the recesses of his mind came screaming to the fore.  Emma was in the Bylands… 

Took him back to the moment he’d turned, and the moments that followed thereafter.  Where he’d lost control of the beast he’d become quickly.  Adrenaline burned fast, drained him of strength.  By the time he’d managed to leave the barren earth behind, battling through a nasty sandstorm, he’d been a wreck.  There was no one he could turn to.  Those people he once called friends, had become the enemy.  He could trust no one to know that he was alive.  The first month was the hardest.  It was a nasty game of back and forth that his body played on him.  Shifting, turning him without warning, perceiving everything as a threat in his exhausted mind.  His apartment was gone, razed, all traces of his existence removed as if he never was.  Nothing remained of him and Emma, or of the time they’d shared.  Nothing except his memories.

Defeated, he’d turned away from the pain of it.  The cold streets were brutal, forcing him to keep himself hidden.  After the full change, he’d become sensitive to a lot of things.  Light, darkness, emotions…

Emotions were the worst. 

Overwhelming.

Confusing.

One overriding the next before he had time to digest it, ranging from fear, despair and pain, to anger, frustration and brutal torment the next.

How the hell do you explain the madness to those witnessing it take over you in broad daylight, in the middle of traffic, at peak friggn hour?