The Wolf of Dorian Gray - A Werewolf Spawned by the Evil of Man

Chapter 2 - Dorian Gray Part 1

As Sage put her hand to the door of the parlor she turned back to Lady Helena. "I am trusting you." She fixed her with a glare then slowly opened the door. "Dorian, hello! You are just in time to sit for me a bit longer as I finish".

"I am so tired of sitting. Let's do something fun today instead, oh," he trailed off as his gaze took in Lady Helena's alluring figure standing in the background. "I didn't realize you weren't alone." A slight bit of color reached his cheeks as his eyes traveled her enticing torso.

"Dorian, I would like to introduce my good friend Lady Helena Wotton to you. Lady Helena, this is Mr. Gray."

Lady Helena slowly strode forward, with a distinctive sway to her hips as she bowed her head gracefully. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gray. Sweet Sage here has been telling me about how the two of you met, but I am afraid I have so little other useful information. Pray tell me, what do you do for a living?"

Dorian paused with a sudden frown reaching his face. After a brief second it disappeared and he gave a handsome bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Wotton. As to my profession, well, I am a musician you see, but really I dabble in quite a few things including philanthropy for theatre and the arts mainly—oh yes, and also the operation of my late father's business."

A certain naive look that was yearning for approval reached the bold-blue eyes, as the shiny, blond-haired head remained slightly inclined.

Lady Helena took it all in at once and immediately understood the youth and the purity, the face that inspired trust and trusted immediately, the impeccably sharp and expensive clothing, the demeanor of a young man who had been raised by his mother alone—until she too had passed away, leaving him flush with cash from a trust fund that had been endowed by his deceased father's business. No wonder Sage worshipped him.

"You are far too charming for philanthropy, Mr. Gray. Please do call me Lady Helena, I insist." Helena cooed as she took a long cigarette from her purse and placed it suggestively between her lips before igniting it. "Lady Wotton was my overbearing mother-in-law, may she rest in peace."

"Dorian," Sage interrupted, "come sit for me so I can finish your painting today. Helena, it was nice seeing you but we really must finish. I hope you don't mind leaving so soon, I don't mean to be rude." She immediately moved out of the parlor and to her art studio. She stopped by her easel and began mixing paints and preparing her brushes.

Dorian and Lady Helena both followed her into the room. "Oh, no Lady Helena, please don't leave—we have only just met. I think Sage is just in one of her bad moods, and it would be nice to have someone to talk with while she paints. She concentrates so much that she absolutely refuses to speak a word and it gets quite dull. Besides, I am intrigued to hear why you think I am not well suited for philanthropy. You don't mind do you Sage? It would be nice for me to have someone to talk to while you work."

Lady Helena sat back down on the sofa, flicking ash recklessly towards a bowl—that was definitely NOT an ashtray, while managing to show even more cleavage.

"I suppose it would be alright if it helps Dorian sit still. Then you must stay, of course."

"Well, I would but I am afraid I have some pressing business of my own and must be leaving. I am meeting an associate at the Orleans."

Dorian's eyes widened at that and his jaw tightened with resolution. "Sage, if Lady Helena must leave, then so too will I, for it does get dreadfully boring. You must ask her to stay."

Sage surrendered to his stately petition immediately. "Very well then, please stay—I insist. Surely you could reschedule and meet this associate of yours at another time?"

Lady Helena gave a reproachful look. "Very well, if I must. I suppose I can send him a letter through my valet, begging his forgiveness and propose that we meet later this evening."

"Perfect!" Dorian's face lit up with a broad smile and he strode confidently towards the fireplace while removing his tailored jacket. "And how is my sleepy little wolf doing today? Have you eaten well? Wake up sleepy one, it is time for us to sit for Sage while she paints. Then, maybe you can have some treats!"

Dorian lifted the wolf out of the chewed dog bed, to excited yips and licks all over his face and hands. He laughed playfully as he seated himself, and the two turned towards the easel, assuming a comfortable position. "Lady Helena, have you met my wolf pup? He thinks I am well suited for philanthropy. Don't you boy?"

Lady Helena laughed in an inviting manner. "Why my dear, you do have a clever wit about you. I will tell you my thoughts on philanthropy. You see, there is far too much danger of influencing people in philanthropy. To influence someone, is to give them a piece of your soul. Then that person's passions and thoughts are no longer their own. Their sins—if there is such a thing as sin, are but a borrowed thing. Their music, is but a recording of the real notes and they are but actors, playing a role for which they themselves were not written."

Lady Helena paused to make sure she still had everyone's attention and smoothed her dress, before reclining further and continuing on in a thoughtful tone. "The purpose of life is to develop and grow, to reach the heights of one's potential, and to experience all the pleasures and joys that this existence has to offer. To do that, you must understand your own nature. This can be a difficult process involving extensive experimentation and exploration—sometimes even pain. People are too afraid to learn about their true selves and thus they never understand the meaning and value of their lives. Courage in the face of fear has fled society and people are governed only by an outdated sense of moral and religious ideals."

Sage spoke without taking her eyes from the canvas. "Dorian, turn your head a little to the side and try to hold that fuzzy trickster still. No, to the other side. Perfect."

"And so," Lady Helena went on in a musical voice, ignoring the interruption, "I believe if a man were brave enough, he would live his life to the fullest and most complete level—then he would experience every feeling and thought, every dream and beauty, and every impulse and joy possible. At that point he would no longer fear himself, but truly understand his own mind and the essence of his body. There would be no purity or sin, only the memory of pleasure or the luxury of regret. For temptations are only ended when you give into them."

Lady Helena let that thought sink in, while looking on with half-lidded eyes and slowly stroking her fingertips along her leg and thigh. She delivered Dorian a seductive look that would quicken any man's pulse. "The sickness of longing can be cleansed from the soul only by not forbidding anything from yourself—despite invasive laws or societal norms. And of course, this all begins in the mind. Surely, Mr. Gray, you have had unfulfilled passions or thoughts that have made you afraid to act or limited your experiences. Tell me, do they come to you through brief day dreams or by means of extended nighttime fantasies?"

Dorian's face once again colored, as he struggled to respond in a coherent sentence. "I, well, I have never heard things explained in that way before or thought about them in such a manner." Dorian glanced out of the open window and out at the trees with a thoughtful look.