The Third Rebirth to Survive

Maeve and I dragged a dying animal out of the rain. We thought we were saving a life. Instead, we invited a monster to our door for a blood oath. In my first life, I accepted the oath and died screaming. In the second, Maeve took my place and was skinned alive. This is our third chance.

——

Silas stood on our front porch. His amber eyes locked onto mine in the pitch dark.

"Elara, don't be afraid." He lowered his massive, hulking frame. "You saved my life. I will never hurt you. A blood oath has no side effects. I will be your protector for three years and grant your deepest desires."

The same humble, pleading tone.

If I hadn't felt his fangs tear through my windpipe in my first life, I would have fallen for it again.

I glanced at Maeve. Her face was entirely drained of color.

We knew exactly what this monster was capable of.

Our parents shoved us forward.

"Silas," Arthur rubbed his hands together. "Which of my daughters has earned your blessing? Is it Elara?"

Silas shifted his weight. "Maybe."

"What about Maeve?" Eleanor asked, pushing my sister closer to the beast.

Silas let out a low, guttural growl. "It was pouring in Blackwood Forest. I was bleeding out in the mud. I couldn't see straight, let alone memorize a face. But I know one of you dragged me into the cabin."

Arthur clapped his hands. He grabbed Eleanor’s shoulder.

"It’s them. Only the girls went into the woods that night! This is it. "

He turned his greedy eyes on us. "Well? Speak up. Which one of you saved him? Don't make him wait."

Maeve leaned in. Her breath hit my collarbone. "If you take it again, we're both dead. Last time you accepted the oath, someone dragged me into the attic the very next day. They used piano wire on my neck."

A cold spike drove itself into my chest.

When Maeve died taking the oath for me, I hadn't even made it to the next morning. Someone had severed my vocal cords while I slept.

Accept the oath, we die. Refuse the oath, the beast kills us.

"We didn't see anyone in the woods." I squared my shoulders and looked straight at Silas. "We turned back at the edge of the trail. You have the wrong house."

"Exactly," Maeve chimed in, stepping back. "If we saved you, we would claim the reward. Why would we lie?"

Arthur’s face twisted in rage. He grabbed my arm, his nails digging into my skin. "Stop lying to his face, you ungrateful brat—"

"Enough." Silas stepped forward. T

he sheer mass of his body made the floorboards groan.

The contract required the savior to willingly accept the bond. My father couldn't force it.

Silas dropped low to the ground. He dragged his snout through the air, inhaling deeply.

He didn't just smell like a wet dog. He smelled like copper and rotting meat.

In a flash of movement, Silas raised his arm. A massive set of claws extended from his fingertips. He swiped sideways.

The solid wooden pillar holding up the porch roof split cleanly in half.

The top half crashed into the yard. Dust rained down on my shoulders.

"I know that scent." Silas barred his teeth. Saliva dripped onto the broken wood. "It's inside this house. The scent of the one who patched my wounds."

He lunged closer. His snout was inches from my face.

"Do not delay my humanity anchor. If you waste my time, I will turn every living breathing thing in this house into a bloody stain on the floorboards."

His tail lashed against the side of the house.

He tilted his head. The ultimate, fatal question.

"My savior... tell me. Am I a mindless beast, or a rational man?"

Arthur dug his knuckles violently into my spine, urging me to speak.

My palms were slick with sweat.

I squeezed Maeve's hand so hard her knuckles popped. One wrong syllable meant a bloodbath right here, right now.

Before I could open my mouth, the church bell in the center of town tolled.

The first sliver of morning sunlight crested over the treeline and hit the edge of the porch.

The second the light touched Silas's shoulder, his skin hissed. Thick grey smoke plumed off his flesh.

He flinched, immediately stumbling backward into the heavy shadow of the roof overhang.

His amber eyes flared with unhinged desperation.

"Three days." He pointed a massive, clawed finger at us. "I will be back for my answer."

He turned and bolted into the thick tree line of Blackwood Forest.

Within seconds, the woods swallowed him whole.

My knees gave out.

I hit the floor. Maeve collapsed right beside me.

We sat in the debris of the ruined porch, gasping for air.

He was absolutely certain the scent came from this house.

This won't be over until we find the real person who saved him.