Fatal Attractions [Charles Xavier | Book One]

Chapter 1: Chicago

 Prequel to Broken Promises & Shattered Bonds 

        The Egyptians once worshiped felines because of their belief that they were of God origin. This is the reason one would often find figures with cat-like features in ancient hieroglyphics and those sculpted from the stone itself. But in the middle of a crowded American city, no one held these creatures at any such standard. In fact, it was common to spot cats abandoned down darkened alleyways, for those undomesticated felines were left to prowl the streets in search of scraps for food and puddles to satisfy their thirst.

        Yet among these small animals, a young goddess of their own mingled. A young girl left abandoned by her own parents before she could remember. A thin little thing, terrified of the world that could only look at her for what she believed herself to be for so long. Something her parents might have said, something people who saw only glimpses of her would say: a freak.

        She couldn't remember exactly long she had been out on the streets. In fact, she could barely remember a thing before the alleyways and lonely sidewalks, empty buildings and winding dark roads to nowhere. All that made sense to her at such a young age was the reason why she was abandoned; the normal people walked about the planet with purpose, while this little girl was forced to hide in darkness. Left to find her reflection in those puddles of water, or in the shards of glass that littered old factory floors.

        With ears atop her head like a cat and a tail protruding from her back, it was no wonder at all.

        In this life, the other cats and kittens adored her; dogs despised her. The same routine for years, always running and never belonging except under the moonlight, for only then could she truly rise to power, to purpose.

        That is until the year of 1962 when she would meet a man by the name of Charles Xavier.

        Chicago was a great place for business. Big cities were always so promising when it came to her crowd; businessmen were always looking for a good time with little to no questions asked, just how she preferred. As a grown woman she ruled over them, using her own naturally beautiful features to create an illusion that fit society's demands in the night. Men liked her like so, with her cat-ears hidden against her head and under her auburn hair, her tail curled behind her back and out of sight. Normal in appearance, with piercing green eyes and a body one could find to be quite flexible.

        At the right price, that is.

       Rich, important men paid good money for an evening with her. It was a job she took to suit herself, something she learned to live with and learned to have her own way. Undocumented and invisible to the world beyond the moonlight, the pay was worthwhile and the anonymity perfect to her likings.

        It was this job that led her to nights at a private club known as "The Red Halo" where she was bound to find good business on Saturday nights like so. The interior was dim enough to spot her in a lovely new red dress towards the end of the bar, the music loud enough to feel but not enough to drown out the voices of other guests.

        Undoubtedly, no one matched up to such young and attractive woman with an air around her that could pull men in like a gravitational pull with their wallets out and requests for the evening already on their tongues. 

        As always, it worked like a charm.

       It took all of twenty minutes before someone finally found the courage to take the empty seat to her right at the bar—the unmistakable presence of a man who knew he was important. A man who knew he could have her if he wanted.