Blood Oath

Chapter 11: Paranoia Is A Breath Away From Insanity

There we stood, swallowed by the suffocating quiet we shared, the darkness pressing in from all sides like a living force. The night was still, it felt as if the world itself was holding its breath. Hours had slipped away since I last saw the sun bleed into the horizon, and it was mere moments after Ava dropped a bomb of a very questionable truth.

Every shadow seemed to whisper secrets I wasn’t ready to hear. Every rustle of the breeze was a warning I couldn’t afford to ignore. It was summertime, but the mysteries everywhere made cold gnaw at my skin, but it was nothing compared to the chill crawling down my spine.

I was standing right in the turmoil, knowing that nothing would ever be the same again.

My disarrayed thoughts zigzagged wildly, crashing into one another like storm-tossed waves. Inside my head, a relentless noise roared louder than the night itself, drowning out the faint chirping of crickets and the haunting hoots of distant owls. The forest’s fear-inspiring soundtrack only fueled the confusion in my mind, each sound twisting into a reminder of everything I couldn’t yet understand… or control.

Still lost in a haze, blinded by the weight of everything I didn’t know, the professor, Ava, and I came to an abrupt halt at a moonlit clearing. The silence settled like mist around us—thick, tense, and waiting to fade away. I turned to face them, my gaze searching for answers neither seemed ready to give. The air between us grew heavier by the second, and then, without warning, a conversation sparked between them.

Ava fractured the silence with disdainful words, “You’re either really brave or really dumb for a human. Bringing two unrestrained werewolves into the forest with no witnesses?” She spoke, clicking her tongue after to make a tsk sound in mockery, “I’ll go with really dumb.”

“You’re not going to hurt me,” He spoke—calm, cold, not unaware of danger, but mostly unbothered by it, “And you know why I know that?”

Seconds after he posed the question, his hand moved slowly and deliberately toward his coat pocket.

Then, instinct kicked in. Ava and I both began to back away, our feet crunching against the dry forest floor. Without hesitation, she stepped in front of me, one arm stretched out like a barrier, her stance tenacious and protective.

Her eyes intently followed his every move, ready to strike if needed, while my heart thundered in my chest, unsure what he was reaching for.

With a solemn look, he unexpectedly raised a golden three-fingered ring with an obscure marking to his eye level and a smug comment, “Because I have this.”

He had a villainous look on, and whatever that ring was, seemed to instantly transform Ava’s expression from bold to alarmed.

“Do I have your trust now?” The professor was pompous, taking the ring back to his pocket now that he had gotten a reaction from her.

“Are you insane?” She gritted, “This doesn’t prove your loyalty lies with the wolves. You just offered us up for bounty. Surprised to see you’re still breathing.”

Her voice slithered with venom, a hiss wrapped in words. Within seconds, her fingernails twisted and stretched—warped into glinting claws that looked like they could draw out blood.

“Let’s fix that.” She said, her tone far too steely.

If anyone ever thought I was hot-headed, they clearly hadn’t met Ava. She didn’t just burn with rage, she boiled. I could’ve sworn I saw a vein pop out on her neck and steam leave her ears like a ticking kettle seconds from eruption.

Looking at her, I noticed her eyes darken with death dancing in them. At that point, I didn’t know what terrified me more; the rising certainty that we wouldn’t make it out alive or the monstrous fury obvious on Ava’s face, sharpened by the inhuman claws she now summoned.

“Ava, what’s going on?” Overwhelmed with perplexity, I asked, reaching out to grab her arm.

Soon, she shook from my grip, smirking as she stated menacingly, “Hunters: Ruthless. Relentless. Fearless. Merciless. As they should be. Each night, they rise. Blades drawn, hearts hollow, eyes like ash. To s*******r wolves mid-howl, mid-hunger. Cunning devils cloaked in fur and anger. In their prime, they must be brought to their very own demise.”

“Isn’t that how the lullaby goes?” She breathed, attempting to suppress her rage, “As much as you hold you consider yourself to be a necessary evil, you can’t exactly wield the Ring of Power.”

“I can’t use it, but I knew a friend who could... right before I took it off his cold, lifeless hands.” He deadpanned, his voice void of even the slightest shred of remorse.

With every word that glided off his mouth, Ava was thrust into a raging inferno where anger was the only emotion she knew.

“Years of hiding thrown away. You’re gonna fix your mess.” She spat every word like a curse.

Not even pausing to breathe, she started marching toward the professor, and just on cue, Jackson limped out from the shadows, a tall dark-skinned man trailing behind him parading in a police uniform.

What was a cop doing here? Was he part of the k********g?

Things were spiraling out of control more and more now.

It was three against two now, but in the condition Jackson was in, it might as well have been two and a half men against the two of us.

“You don’t look so good.” I blurted, infuriated with being sidelined throughout the conversation.

“Surprised you’re still standing.” I added.

“Guess you can thank Ava for my near-death experience.” Jackson groaned, gripping the side of his ribs.

“Say the word. I’ve got five rounds left.” The dark-skinned man icily declared, taking out a black pistol from his pocket and pointing it in Ava’s direction with frightening speed.

Just then, I froze. And so did Ava.

This was the first time I’d come close to a gun.

I’d say my life was relatively normal to this point. I experienced the usual coming-of-age chaos: a rebellious streak that got me grounded more than praised, discovering my parents had been keeping life-altering secrets, getting kidn*pped once or twice, and helping a friend dig a bullet out of her stomach with nothing but a fork.

All completely average things… until now.

While I was in my own world of panic, Ava stood there, unnerved, calculatingly assessing the two new additions to the conversation.

“Ah, so you did bring witnesses.” She chuckled with cruel delight, nodding her head at the professor.

“I didn’t kill the User.” He confessed with an unfiltered voice, forcing the cop’s gun downward, his eyes blazing with what looked like sincerity.

Killed? I scowled.

“I wouldn’t do that to a friend. I’m not a monster.” He spoke, swallowing hard, as a flicker of misery cracked his stone-cold expression.

Exhaling, he continued, “His throat was slashed open when I found him in his hotel room. Either a wolf killed him or someone wanted to make it look that way. We’re just here to figure out who, how, and why.”

“So, what? You expect us to drop centuries of hating your people because you brought up a detective case?” Ava exploded, “Well, newsflash, Sherlock, you had one of your hunter buddies put three silver bullets in me, you kidn*pped us and exposed our kind to even more danger. Now, you expect us to just call a truce over a shared bottle of rum and some puke?”

“I’ll admit, putting you on a slow, hellish ride to the afterlife may not have been the best way to form an alliance. But you two are the only wolves I know in town. So unless one of you has a fresh murder to confess, you’re both targets. And like it or not, I’m the only way out of your current... dilemma.” He communicated, his tone steady, eyes fixated on us like a predator deciding if we were worth saving.

For a Psychology professor, Professor Adam had a remarkable talent for missing every unspoken cue, especially when his words sent a jolt of anger through me, one hotter than even molten magma.

“What the hell are you two talking about? You’re my professor, why did you kidnap me? And what relationship do you have with the guy who showed up at my house with an admission letter to a college I never applied to.” I sneered at the professor, more questions than I had voiced out running through my mind.

Then I realized I never had to watch a heated conversation unfold before me without having to be a part of it or the cause of it.

In that instant, the professor shifted his stare to me and then Ava after, a question slipping out of his mouth, “You haven’t gotten her up to speed, have you?”

“I’m working on that.” She barked, squinting her eyes at him as her nose flared.

Reactively, he uttered, “Well, work faster. We’re not the only ones after you two. The others aren’t exactly looking for pleasantries and a fun chat.”

With an intent look, he pressed on with another bone-chilling remark:

“They’re out for blood.”