Oath Sworn - K.N. Banet Page 0,8

My patience was wearing thin already. He was a smart human. He knew there was something off about me, but I wasn’t foolish enough to ever tell him what separated us. The world was already dealing with the fact that werewolves were real. They even knew of the fae now, though the fae were still living in human disguises. A few witches were even going public, though it wasn’t going as well for them. Salem wasn’t that long ago.

“Are you a witch?” He blanched, and I couldn’t stop a laugh. Of course he would pick the one everyone seemed most scared of. I didn’t really understand it, but it was probably because witches were the easiest target. They didn’t have the illusions of fae or the strength of werewolves. They were humans with some magic. They were the same, yet different from their own kind.

Different is bad.

“No, you fucking idiot. I’m just saying, you always ask werewolf and maybe you can shake it up sometimes. I mean, it doesn’t change the answer!” I was still chuckling as he glowered at me. I pushed his new beer to him slowly. “I just wanted to own a bar, Joey. This happened to be a good place to do it.”

“Fine.” He swiped his drink off my bar top and walked away.

I felt stung for a moment until I reminded myself that Joey wasn’t a friend. He was different than my other patrons, more willing to reach out and talk to me, but friend wasn’t it. Really, if I thought he was a friend, I might have brought him into my life, exposed him and given him something better than what he had.

I also heard his friends, and several other humans in the area, talk about supernaturals. It made my stomach twist into knots. They always wanted to know if I was a werewolf. Why would I ever admit that to men who thought a werewolf skin might look good as a rug? Sure, they were joking. Texas was a hunting state, and I was one of those hunters, but they didn’t make the small connection that a werewolf pelt to a supernatural was the equivalent to having human skin as wallpaper. It was disgusting and distasteful. It was inhumane. There was no way in Hell that I would ever tell them that I was a werecat. I would be a new and shiny thing, a unique pelt to adorn their walls and floor.

I ignored most of the humans for several hours, working and being pleasant, but not open to small talk. I couldn’t find the mood. The werewolf drama already had me edgy, and from the TV and the news, it didn’t seem like it was going to quiet down any time soon.

“The Werewolf Council of North America has stated that they are going to send in their own team to help stabilize the precarious situation. After the initial violence, there have been no injuries or fatalities reported, but we still recommend all humans lock their doors after getting home and not stay out past midnight. The deposed Alpha is still currently missing, believed dead. His family, two werewolf sons and a human daughter, are also missing as well.”

I sighed, ignoring the woman at the bar waiting on a beer while I listened. God damn. There was a human girl involved. By the Law, she was exempt from all supernatural politics. No werewolf was allowed to hurt her, no matter who her father was. I hoped that her brothers had taken her to safety and someone who could care for her, since their father was most likely dead.

“Jacky, I want my beer. Worry about your packmates later,” the woman said, snappy.

I worked hard to keep my mouth closed and not bare my teeth at her. “Sorry, I’m not a werewolf—therefore they aren’t my packmates. It’s just interesting. I hope everyone is going to be okay up there.” I grabbed a beer from the ice behind the bar. I wanted to be mad, as I finally got the human woman her drink. Mad that a child was out there, in the middle of the mess, but I couldn’t. I knew the score. She was probably safe, no matter what side had her. Even the reckless wolves took that sort of thing seriously. Children were precious, and humans were supposed to be safe. End of story.

My grip on my rag tightened. It wasn’t like this wasn’t normal. It was just too close.

“How does a werewolf