Vladlen

I became the leader of the pack when I was barely fourteen. I earned it with blood and sweat. At seventeen, I headed a holding company, at twenty, I had power and fortune, but I couldn't shake off this damn hallucination. This girl had been obsessing over me since I was nine. I watched this hallucination grow and change, mature.

Age 26 years. I was walking down the street early in the morning. Reports, errands, and meetings lay ahead. A familiar little shop appeared ahead, and she, my hallucination, was emerging from it. Enough! I rushed forward, intending to intercept her, even though I knew I'd walk right through her. -How long can you persecute me?! Seventeen, damn it, years! You're going to grow old before my eyes! You... I stopped short. The scent of a true mate hit my nose, and my fingers were holding, without squeezing, a very real throat. My hallucination had turned out to be real, and the scent...