Wolf Spirit Awaken, The Summoner Series

Chapter 7

POV Tessa

The following week, my dad was able to convince Marrisa, the witch, who was working as a nurse at the hospital in town, to perform the blood oath for us. She agreed to come by on Friday night this week. I planned on having Ella and Jonah over for a movie night so I could tell them then. I was getting a little anxious about showing them my wolf. I just have the smallest doubt in my mind that they would react negatively. The week couldn’t fly by fast enough. Training was going well now that I felt like I could control myself while training with others. It was amazing to think how much I had to restrain myself.

I am waiting patiently on the couch in our living room while strumming my thumb against my leg and bouncing my foot up and down in anticipation of their arrival. It is 5:40 pm and they should be here in 20 minutes. Marrisa said she would come at 6:30 pm to do the ritual once they were both told and, hopefully, both in agreement to keep my secret. My parents are at work but should be home on time for when Marissa arrives. I stared intently at the fireplace and the wood mantel while lost in thought. I heard a knock on the front door, and I jumped out of my seat and rushed over to the door. I swung the door open with unnecessary force and came face to face with Ella and Jonah’s surprised faces.

“Well, hello there?” Jonah chuckled. “You must be excited to see us!” Ella added.

“Of course, I am always excited about hanging out with my bestie nuggets!”

I move aside for them to come into my house. They shuffled their way in and settled in the living room. “Did you guys already eat or do you want something to munch on?” I said, trying to make small talk.

“I ate.” they both said in unison.

“Maybe some popcorn or chips and salsa for the movie?” Ella added.

“That sounds good, I’ll get that and you both decide on the movie, that’s if you can agree on what to watch.” I laughed out loud. They both looked at the DVD selection that was under my TV console. I decided on the salsa and chips and prepared them quickly while keeping an eye on both of them in the living room. I made my way back to the spot I was previously sitting on the couch and placed the chips and salsa on the coffee table. I laid out some napkins.

“Darn, I forgot the drinks. What do you want to drink?”

“I think I’ll take sparkling water if you have it?” Jonah mentioned.

“Ella?” I asked. “Mhmmm….I’ll take a root beer.”

“Great, I have both, let me grab them. Have you decided on a movie yet?”

“No,” Jonah grumbled. I heard them bickering back and forth about an action movie or a comedy.

“If you guys can’t agree then I’ll subject you, Jonah, to watching Bridgerton!” I sing song over my shoulder as I entered the kitchen and grabbed the drinks out of the refrigerator.

“Yeah, no!” He responded quickly. Ella and I both chuckled at his reaction.

“What, why not? Afraid you might like it?” I teased. “Doubtful,” he said.

As I walked back with our drinks in hand, I got more nervous to broach the subject with them. I passed them their drinks and settled down on the couch and tucked my feet under my butt and grabbed the blanket that was draped on the back of the couch. I tucked myself in with the blanket, creating a safety barrier.

I cleared my throat, “Ummm… I have something I want to tell you both before we start the movie.” I played with the blanket nervously as I spoke. Jonah is sitting on the floor looking through the DVDs and Ella is on the recliner looking back at me.

“What is it, Tess? Is everything okay?'' She eyed me curiously.

Normally we just talk about anything and everything and do not ask for permission. She must have realized that it must be important. Jonah placed the two DVDs he had in his hands down on the floor to give me his full attention. I tried to muster up the courage to tell them and the only way it seemed like it was coming up was, of course, to word-vomit the whole story at once, without interruption. “Soooo, something happened to me on my birthday and I haven’t told you guys. I don’t want you to think that I was trying to keep something from you, but it was such a shock to me and my family that I couldn’t tell anyone yet. I want y'all to know but you must promise me you can’t share it with anyone. It’s important that no one else knows, it could be dangerous to my family and me if anyone else knew.”

“Oh, my goddess, what happened Tessa?” Ella inquired with worry laced in her words. Jonah got up from the floor and came over to sit next to me and hold my hand.

“You can tell us anything, you know we will take it to our grave. Anything you have to share will be safe with us. You know that, right?” Jonah said softly. I raised my head up to meet Jonah’s concerned face. I nodded slowly, trying to communicate that I do trust them.

“I got my wolf, I shifted on my birthday,” I said. I looked from Jonah to Ella and back. Both of them looked shocked and their eyes widened at the mention of my wolf emerging.

“Ahhh..how is that possible?” Ella asked. Jonah squeezed my hand, “What does that mean?”

“I honestly don’t know what it means,” I responded. “But that is not all,” I added softly.

“What?” Jonah said. “How is that not mind-blowing enough!” Ella stuttered.

I smiled softly at both of them, “my wolf is very powerful, large, almost like an Alpha, and I have bright golden eyes, like fireflies.”

“Oh, my goddess!” Ella jumped up from her seat. “Are you an Alpha?” she exclaimed.

“I don’t know what I am, I don’t know my family history or have many memories from my childhood. I don’t know what my rank is. For all I knew, I was an omega or warrior. I am just as shocked as you both are now from all of this.”

Jonah seemed to be taking all the information in stride. He smirked, “So maybe that's why you have been so good at fighting and stronger than most, even as a human. You think you can rival the Alpha or future Alpha?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out nor do I intend for them to find out. I don’t want them to think I am challenging them. That is not my intention. I just want to be a warrior for the pack, but how can I do that when I already stand out with unusual golden eyes and I could possibly be stronger than them.” I stated.

“Oh my goddess!” Ella said again.

Jonah eyeballed her, “Do you know any other words?” He chuckled.

“I am just shocked. Our best friend has a wolf at age 16! What am I supposed to think?” she said.

“Well, I, for one, want to see your wolf,” Jonah stated.

“Well, before we get to that, which I am more than happy to show you, I need you to promise to keep this a secret. Ahhh, more than a promise, I think it is best to do a blood oath, just in case future Alpha Justin or Alpha Lorenzo try to use their Alpha powers on you.”

“A blood oath seems extreme, but when you put it like that, it makes sense. We can keep it to ourselves, but if we were forced and ordered by an Alpha, we couldn’t resist unless the blood oath was in effect. A blood oath would help us resist an Alpha order,” Jonah said.

“I would be okay with doing a blood oath, whatever you need to help protect your secret. You know we are on your side,” Ella stated. “Okay,” I smiled softly.

My parents both walked into the house at the same time. They scanned the living room for us. They both walked over to join us and my dad asked if everything went okay. I nodded my head.

“Yes, and Marissa should be here any moment now too.” My parents smiled and took off their jackets and placed them in the coat closet. Jonah and Ella looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“The witch! For the blood oath,” I clarified.

They mouthed the word “ohhhh”, “well that is fast,” Jonah said.

“Yeah, I had to be prepared. Thank you both for accepting me.” I released a deep sigh and extended my hands to bring them into a group hug.

“Well, let’s hold the verdict on acceptance until I can see your wolf,” Jonah teased. I slapped his shoulder and rolled my eyes. “You're going to accept me regardless, you buffoon.”

Jonah groaned, “of course I am.” He dragged both Ella and me into a bear hug together.

“I love you nuggets,” I said with tears pricking my eyes.

As we were distracted in our hug, a green plume of smoke caught our attention in the corner of the living room.

“Well, isn’t this a cute little party,” Marissa says. We all jumped apart as we were startled by her voice.

“Marissa, welcome to our home. Thank you for helping us.” My father said, and then proceeded to introduce us all.

“How could I turn down an old friend?” Marissa added. “Well, let’s begin, shall we?”

We all sat on the couch as Marissa prepared and organized the necessary items to perform the blood oath. I moved aside our snacks and drinks as she pulled out a jeweled metal chalet from her burgundy velvet sac and gently placed it on the coffee table. She also placed a sharp knife that was secured in a sheath around her waist on the table. We were all vaguely familiar with what the ritual needed in order for it to be effective, but we couldn’t help but widen our eyes upon seeing the knife. This became very real quickly.

“So how much blood is needed?” Ella asked, blinking her eyes rapidly while still staring at the knife.

“Just three drops each,” she responded tenderly.

She proceeded to explain the process so there was no confusion. I must state out loud what will be honored in the blood oath. Ella and Jonah both have to verbalize that they agree. We will all prick our fingers with the knife and drop three drops of our blood into the chalet so it mixes together and then Marissa will chant her spell over the chalet to enforce the blood oath amongst us. We followed her instructions to the letter, cutting my finger didn't hurt much with my wolf abilities, and it healed rather quickly. Marissa was chanting in a language I had never heard before but it sounded ancient. Gosh, I wondered how old she was, I thought. As soon as she said the last word, there was a flow of magic that passed through me. It was almost like a personal attachment forming to both Ella and Jonah.

“It is done,” Marrisa stated. Marissa nodded at everyone and gathered her items from the coffee table.

“Thank you,” I stated, relieved that it was over. She smiled at me and nodded, then she was gone in an instant while green smoke filled her place.

“Well, isn’t that cool,” Jonah muttered.