Witches & Werewolves: A Sacred Oath

by Bella Raven

  I collapse on the edge of the bed and break down in sobs. Lucas sits next to me.

  “For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could be happy,” I say.

  “You’ve got a lot of time to find happiness again,” Lucas says. “Give us a chance. I think you’ll fit in here.”

  “I want to go home,” I say, through sobs.

  “Do you want to put your family in jeopardy?”

  “I would never hurt them.”

  “Think of an addict who will do anything for a fix,” Lucas says. “If you go without blood for long enough, you will lose all sense of rational thought. You will do anything to get blood. You will kill anyone.”

  “How do you control it?”

  “Years of practice.” Lucas smiles. “Look, when you are ready, come down and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the coven.”

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

  “You are going to have to decide if you are joining us or not. Might as well find out who we are,” Lucas says.

  “What if they all hate me, like Scarlett?”

  “You’re just going to have to win them over with your charming personality.”

  I think I detect a note of sarcasm in his voice. “What’s wrong with my personality?”

  “I like your personality,” he says. “But, you should cultivate a more positive outlook.”

  I arch an eyebrow at him. “Have you been paying attention to all the craziness in my life lately?”

  Lucas chuckles. “I’m just saying. A good attitude is infectious. And you’re going to need all the help you can get with this crowd.”

  “Thanks, that’s encouraging,” I say.

  “You can go it alone. But without us, you have no protection. Just think about it.” Lucas leaves, pulling the door shut behind him.

  The moment he leaves, Ethan leaps into the open window, startling me. I leap forward, embracing him. “Ethan, what are you doing here?”

  “Come with me.”

  I stare at him hesitantly and bite my lip. “Where will we go?”

  “I don’t know. Anywhere. Away from here.”

  “I don’t know. So much has changed.”

  “Has the way you feel about me changed?” Ethan asks.

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Then come with me. Now.”

  “I don’t know the first thing about being a vampire. Maybe I should stay here and be with my own kind.”

  “The thought of you in this place drives me crazy. Being away from you drives me crazy.”

  “I’m not sure how sane you were to begin with,” I say, with a slight grin.

  “I’m certifiably crazy. Crazy about you,” Ethan says.

  My heart flutters. I feel my cheeks flush.

  “We’ll go. We’ll get in my car and drive all night. We’ll stay in some seedy motel on the highway. Then drive as far as we can the next night. We’ll do that night after night until were far enough away from here that none of this will matter.”

  I stare into his mesmerizing eyes for a moment. Then I nod in agreement. Ethan clasps my arm, pulling me to the window. I peer over the window sill at the ground below. It’s a long way down.

  “Jump,” Ethan says.

  I look at him, terrified.

  “Jump. You can handle it.”

  I climb onto the window sill. The wind gusts through my hair. I almost feel a twinge of vertigo.

  Suddenly, the door bursts open. Scarlett lurches in, hissing like a cat with her back hunched up. Scarlett brandishes her fangs. She dashes toward Ethan. The two collide with fury.

  CHAPTER 35

  ETHAN TRANSFORMS INTO a towering werewolf. He slashes and snaps at Scarlett. Despite his strength and speed, he is outmatched by Scarlett. She’s faster and stronger.

  She dodges and weaves, evading his brawling style. Scarlett grabs his fur and slings him across the room, smashing the pillars on the four post bed. The canopy crashes on top of Ethan.

  Ethan springs to his feet, brushing the debris aside. He charges her like a bull, but Scarlett sidesteps. Ethan crashes into the wall, destroying the sheetrock. Candlesticks topple.

  Ethan lunges, tackling her to the ground. Scarlett kicks him off, launching him upward, slamming Ethan into the ceiling. He crashes back down to the ground, along with bits of plaster.

  Scarlett pounces on top of Ethan, pinning him down.

  I smell smoke, then see the plush velvet curtains erupt in flames.

  Scarlett looms ready to strike. “There’s nothing sweeter than werewolf blood!”

  Scarlett lunges for Ethan’s jugular.

  I rush to her, yanking Scarlett from Ethan before she can bite him. I react instinctually, tossing her aside. I expected to just brush her away. Instead, she flies through the air, crashing down on the bed. The broken wooden post spikes into her back, stabbing through her heart, puncturing her chest.

  Scarlett’s lifeless body slides down the bloody post, skewered. I stare for a moment, eyes wide, slack-jawed. I didn’t mean to kill her. I’ve never killed anyone before.

  By this time, the room is engulfed in flames. Ethan grabs me by the arm and pulls me to the window. We leap to the ground below as a coven of vampires descend upon the room. The raging fire keeps them from entering.

  Ethan and I sprint across the lawn, racing toward the giant wall that encloses the property. I’ve never run this fast in my entire life. My body is like a finely tuned machine. The speed and agility are amazing. I could out run the fastest sports car.

  I glance back to the front door of the gothic mansion. Vampires swarm out like angry wasps from a hive that has been rattled. The flames are spreading.

  The perimeter wall is easily a thousand yards from the front door, yet we reach it in seconds. The landscape blurs by. Ethan and I scale the wall effortlessly, and disappear into the forest.

  We run full speed for almost an hour, until we are certain that we have lost anyone who might be following. Despite the massive effort, I am not winded. My legs don’t burn. I feel as fresh as I did before we ran.

  I lean against a tree. The dappled rays of moonlight beam down upon us. The cool night air is filled with the sound of chirping crickets.

  “Are you okay,” Ethan asks.

  I nod. “Are you?”

  “I think so,” he says, looking himself over. Werewolf bites are fatal to vampires, but Ethan seems unscathed.

  “I didn’t mean to kill her,” I say.

  “One less vampire to worry about.”

  “Is that what you’ll say when I die?”

  “Of course not,” Ethan says. “Besides, you’re not going to die.”

  “But you will someday.”

  “Someday is not today,” he says, taking me in his arms. “I never want to be away from you. As long as I live, nothing will keep us apart.”

  I stare into his deep eyes. “Promise?”

  “Promise,” he says.

  His full lips meet mine, and he kisses me passionately. His hand against the small of my back, pulling me into him. My whole body is alive with excitement. His touch is electric. My knees wobble. My stomach flutters. I’m a quivering ball of nerves.

  We devour each other. I want to say the words, but I’m afraid if I do, it will ruin it. I love him, there’s no doubt about it. But I keep that to myself. I find that I don’t have to say it—he says it first. Score.

  “I love you,” Ethan says.

  I grin and say, “I know.”

  We embrace each other lovingly.

  As a vampire, everything tastes sweeter. Feels better. Ethan’s lips are like fireworks. My skin is alive with his touch. The moon glows above, and the night cradles us. This is better than blood. And for a vampire, that’s saying a lot.

  Ethan gently takes me to the ground, and we lie in each others arms underneath the stars. I can’t get enough of his luscious lips. But a wolf, howling in the distance, ruins the moment. A painful reminder that we are being hunted.


  “We should stay on the move,” Ethan says.

  I nod. “The entire coven is going to be after us.”

  “Well, you did kill one of them. And you burned down the house.”

  “That was Vincent’s daughter. And technically, you burned down the house.”

  The wolf howls again, this time the howl sounds closer. After a moment, another wolf answers.

  “We need to go,” Ethan says.

  We make our way back to Ethan’s car and take the highway out of town. We stop at a dingy little motel about an hour from Haven Hill. A tiny strip of rooms just off the highway.

  Ethan parks in front of the office. The glowing neon vacancy sign casts a red-orange tint on Ethan’s face. “Go in and get us a room,” he says.

  I’ve never rented a hotel room before. “Don’t you have to be eighteen to rent a room?”

  “We’re not renting,” Ethan says. “Go in and compel us a room.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “You’re a vampire. It’s what vampire’s do.”

  “Well, excuse me. It’s not like being a vampire comes with a handbook.”

  “Go in there, smile, and put a friendly suggestion in the desk clerk’s head to give us a room,” Ethan says.

  I step out of the car and stroll to the office. Inside, it smells like a mixture of stale cigarettes, mildew, and cheese puffs. The desk clerk is a woman with straight, stringy hair. It looks like she hasn’t showered in days. She sits behind the desk watching a small, portable TV. I stand there waiting patiently for a few minutes.

  I clear my throat and make a few noises, trying to get her attention, but she doesn’t look up at me. Finally, I ring the little silver bell on the countertop.

  She looks up at me, annoyed. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I’d like to rent a room.”

  “I’ll need to see a drivers license and credit card.”

  I slide my drivers license across the counter. “I don’t have a credit card.”

  “No credit card no room,” she says. She turns her attention back to the TV.

  “Do you think you could make an exception? I can pay cash,” I say.

  “$99 for the room.”

  “But the sign out front says $39?”

  “$99 is the cash price,” she says.

  “I don’t have that much on me.”

  “Then I don’t have a vacancy.”

  “Listen, we really need a room. Is there any way you can help us out?” I ask.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. Just because you want to whore it up with your boyfriend doesn’t mean I need to help you.”

  “I’m not whoring it up with my boyfriend,” I say, frustrated. “I’m a virgin.”

  “Even worse,” she says. She stands up, looking me right in the eyes. “You kids come here and throw your parties and do your dirty business. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

  I’m enraged. My eyes narrow, blazing into her. “You are going to give me a room, right now. On the house.”

  Her angry face relaxes. I’d almost go so far as to say she smiles. “I’ve got number six available. It’s the honeymoon suite,” she says, with a wink. She grabs the key from a pegboard and hands it to me.

  I take it and snatch my drivers license from the counter.

  “Enjoy your stay,” she says, as I leave.

  I think I’m going to like this compulsion thing. I dash to the car, and we pull up to cabin number six. Inside, there are two double beds with orange comforters. The walls are lined with faux wood panelling that is warping out in areas. The carpet is, or at least was at one point in time, lime green.

  I pull the door shut, twist the deadbolt, and latch the chain. I close the curtains tight. I don’t want any rays of morning light beaming in, singeing my flesh.

  I plop onto the squeaky bed and grab the remote from the nightstand. After running through all ten channels, I realize there is nothing on TV. The only channel that even comes in clearly is a shopping network. I toss the remote aside and let it drone on.

  Ethan crawls onto the bed next to me. The rusty springs squawk.

  “So, this is what it’s like to be on the run?” Ethan says.

  “Bonnie and Clyde, eat your heart out,” I say.

  Ethan’s seductive blue eyes pierce into me. He pushes on the bed, squeaking the springs with a naughty glint in his eyes. A suggestion that we use the bed for something other than sleeping.

  “Oh, no, mister. Not here. My first time… we’re talking candle light, rose petals, chocolate covered strawberries, bubble bath—“

  “—Whipped cream?”

  “Whipped cream, yes,” I say, with a glimmer.

  The guy on the TV is blathering on about a silver matching set of rings. There is only 19 items left, so order now. It trips a circuit in my brain.

  “The rings,” I say.

  “What rings?” Ethan asks.

  “Cerise wears the rings around her neck.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I saw them. Two silver rings. She wears them on a necklace,” I say.

  “So?”

  “The rings she used to start the werewolf curse. The rings Ludolf and Valeria wore.”

  “Who told you about that?”

  “Vincent.”

  “I’d take anything a vampire says with a grain of salt,” Ethan says. I glare at him, and he quickly changes his tune. “I mean, I’d take anything Vincent says with a grain of salt.”

  I begin to put all the pieces together. “If Cerise forged the rings and bound the curse to them, then destroying the rings could break the curse.”

  “Not every werewolf thinks of it as a curse,” Ethan says. “It’s an incredible amount of power to be a werewolf. That’s not something that most werewolves are anxious to give up.”

  “Is it something that you would give up?” I ask.

  Ethan sighs. “I don’t know. I like being a werewolf.”

  “You like devouring human flesh?” My question hangs in the air a moment.

  “I’ve learned to control the darker aspects of the beast within me,” he says. “Let’s see how long it takes for you to control your inner demons.”

  “What do you mean?”

  You should be in need of a feeding any time now. How, exactly, are you going to handle that?”

  I glare at him. “I haven’t eaten you yet.”

  “That’s part of the problem,” he says, lasciviously.

  “Shut up.” I roll my eyes at him.

  The TV guy hustles the set of rings. Only 15 sets remain. Call now.

  “If you could lift the curse, would you?” I ask.

  “Only Cerise can destroy the rings. And the werewolves are sworn to protect her,” Ethan says.

  “Only Cerise?”

  “Or someone that shares her bloodline,” Ethan says.

  I ponder this a moment. “If that’s true, how am I involved in all of this? How am I the one? I mean, I’m not related to Cerise.”

  “That’s why I think this whole thing is ridiculous,” Ethan says.

  “If it came down to it, would you protect Cerise?”

  “We are creatures of instinct. It’s in my nature to protect her,” he says, almost ashamed. “That’s why we need to get as far away from her as possible.”

  He looks sad and tormented. “You have no idea of the conflict I feel inside. Every fiber of my being wants to protect you. But every instinct I have says you are a threat to my way of life, and my kind.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “We are no good for each other,” he says. “You know that?”

  “Yeah, but we’re stuck together,” I say, with a hopeful smile.

  “Yeah, stuck together,” he says, smiling.

  I lean in and kiss his perfect lips. “I need to call Jake and let them know I’m okay.”

  “What are you going to tell them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I roll over and grab the phone from the nig
htstand. I dial nine to get an outside line, then call Jake. A strange voice answers the line.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong number,” I say.

  “Madison?” the woman’s voice asks.

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  “If you want Jake and Noah to live, you’ll do exactly what I say,” the voice says. The voice belongs to Cerise.

  CHAPTER 36

  “MEET ME AT the Haven Hill cemetery. Come alone,” Cerise says.

  The line goes dead, and I hang up the phone.

  Ethan and I drive back to town. His foot mashed against the floor. The tachometer almost redlining. The engine growls as we race back to Haven Hill.

  In a few hours the sun will be up. In a few hours, I’ll most likely be dead. We twist and turn through the mountain roads, eventually finding ourselves a few blocks from the cemetery. Ethan pulls to the side of the road.

  “I’m coming with you,” Ethan says.

  “No, you’re not,” I say. “Cerise said to come alone.”

  “She’s going to be waiting for you with a pack of werewolves.”

  “Exactly. So why get two of us killed?”

  “I’m not letting you go alone.” Ethan’s eyes are full of worry and concern.

  I lean into him and kiss his lips. “You want to make me happy? Get as far away from here as possible. My life isn’t about what I want anymore. It’s about what’s best for the people I love. If sacrificing myself will save Noah and Uncle Jake. Then I’m happy to do it. The best thing for you is to drive away an never look back after I step out of this door.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” he says.

  My eyes are faucets.

  “You’re going to have to.” I kiss him once more and step out of the door. I march to the cemetery gates. Moonlight cascades down through the looming oak trees. A fine mist hangs in the air. My vampire ears hear a faint whisper, “Madison.”

  I pinpoint the direction of the sound—it’s coming from the center of the cemetery. I hear Ethan’s car rumble away behind me as I enter through the gates. My eyes scan the cemetery. Cerise waits for me past rows and rows of ornate monuments and statues. I notice some thing else lurking behind the hedges and monuments—werewolves. Hundreds of them. Their eyes glowing in the darkness.