THE DAWN OF THE TRUTH

Tave was gasping for breath now, lying defenselessly on the floor. Opal's hand pressed down harder on his throat, a twisted smile on her face. A horrified look registered in Tave's eyes as he stood on the brim of death’s door.

Then, out of nowhere, he had a quick change of heart and tried to motion to Opal to stop. She did. She loosened her hold on his throat for one brief moment and kept her eyes on him, urging him to talk.

“You are being betrayed, Opal,” Tave managed to say, “You and the other werewolves in your pack. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you the whole time.”

Opal blinked, and a skeptical look crossed her face.

“What are you talking about?”

“There is a smaller circle in the big circle, one which you’re not a member of,” Tave said. His voice was strained. “And I’m telling you now that you are just a delivery girl. The folks in the bigger circle are using you to get what they want. The gemstones. They’ll discard you as soon as you deliver it to them.”

As much as Opal hated to admit it, he was making some sense. And the fact that he knew she’d been hunting for gemstones only filled her heart with many questions. How did he get his information?

“Look,” Tave said, as if reading her mind, “I know you find all of these hard to believe but it’s the truth. I have to admit, I’m disappointed that you believed that the gemstones would be used to give everyone in your pack a longer lifespan. It’s just not possible, not with three gemstones, that is.”

Opal’s eyes flickered with interest.

“How so?”

Tave seemed eager to explain his point.

“There used to be seven gemstones in the whole world, you know. But it was destroyed during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century during battles by rival werewolf and vampire packs. The only three remaining gemstones were spread apart so that no one would ever find them all together. One has been with The order of Lycan for over a century. The other has been with The Supreme order of Gotham for many years as well. And the last one, well, somehow, you found it already.”

Opal rolled her eyes, getting bored with all the historical talk. She pressed down on his neck once again as if to remind him who was in charge around here.

“Cut the long story short,” She ordered. “Get to the point.”

“Okay,” Tave said in a raspy voice, giving in easily. “My point is, the three gemstones are not enough to fuel the entire pack which is why Mr. Banes and the others plotted to hoard it and use it only among themselves to prolong their life span on earth.”

“That can’t be,” Opal said, her face losing its color, “It just cannot be.”

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I assure you that the minute you get this gemstone from me and give it to Mr. Banes, you’ll realize you just made the greatest mistake of your life.”

Opal was listening with two intentions. To get the truth from him and to know where the last gemstone was. He had just confirmed that he was with it.

Suddenly, without warning, she felt a quick movement underneath her. Tave was struggling to break free once again and like a hunter that was bent on capturing a deer, she tightened her grasp on him and pinned him strongly to the ground.

She peered into his eyes and began to say, “Look, I don’t care about your cock and bull story. I only care about the gemstone. Give it to me and you’ll live.”

Tave swallowed hard, his protruding Adam’s apple rolling on his neck as he did so.

“I'm sorry, Opal. I can’t.”

Opal cursed under her breath, becoming more infuriated. She was about to squeeze out the life from him when Tave said something that interested her.

“I have names if you want,” He said, hastily.

“What names?”

“The names of the people who are about to snatch the gemstones from you and harness all their powers. You’ll want to hear this, Opal.”

“Fine,” She said, breathing heavily. “Give me the names.”

As she heard every name being called and as she listened to Tave recount evidences of their treachery that was too obvious to be ignored, she realized that she’d been a fool the whole time. It was a dog-eat-dog world after all.

By the time Tave was done with his revelation, Opal felt her heart racing and the adrenaline pumping faster inside of her. This was the ultimate betrayal.

In that brief moment that she allowed her emotions to sweep her away, she lost her hold on Tave and he sprawled away underneath her, moving quickly on the ground.

Opal was quick. She rolled over to the other side of the ground, covered with shrubs, wildflowers, and undergrowths, and tried to corner him once again. But it was too late.

The two werewolves struggled with each other on the ground, each trying to pull the other down. It took a moment for Opal to realize that he was not trying to run away. He was trying to kill her. The hunter had become hunted.

She fought fiercely, ripping him off some of his clothes. He tore through her skin and her blood flowed freely, mixing with the rustled dried leaves on the ground.

The moon which had hidden beneath the looming dark clouds presented itself again, this time, a bright crimson shade. Its light shone brightly, illuminating the woods.

That was when she saw it. Lying at the far end of the axis they were fighting on was a shiny circular object. It shone brighter than the moon and stood out from all the debris of the woods.

Without wasting another moment, Opal aimed for it at once. Tave did not realize what was happening on time. He was still trying to stop the bleeding from his torn flesh. He did not notice that the precious stone he’d held had slipped out of place.

When he turned to find Opal holding the glowing object in both hands at the other end, it was too late. He rushed towards her at once but only succeeded in catching a wisp of empty air.

He let out an ear-piercing howl that echoed through the woods, waking every living thing that lived in it.