Nze's chest felt like a storm, lightning cracking against his ribs, thunder reverberating in his skull. Every word Eli and Naomi threw at him stuck like shards of glass in his skin, sharp and burning. A bloodline cursed by deals with forest demons? Werebeasts? Witches? Vampires? His family sounded less like a lineage and more like a rejected Netflix pilot. 

And now, apparently, Bee that had charged in earlier, fangs bared, wasn't just a passerby in this story. No, she was bound to him somehow—"I hope that leopard isn't bonded to him," Eli had said to Naomi while Nze was wearing his clothes. What did that even mean? He was still stuck on that when his uncle spoke again, his deep voice cutting through Nze's spinning thoughts. 

"So," Eli asked, the words slow and deliberate, "do you know her?" 

Nze's brain stuttered. He scrambled for an answer, but nothing coherent came. Her? The leopard? His Bee? What was he supposed to say? Oh, sure, Uncle Eli, we just had scintillating sex multiple times upstairs in my bedroom. Instead, he stammered out a clumsy, "No. I... I don't know her." 

Eli sniffed the air—a low, animalistic thing that sent a chill creeping up Nze's spine. The man's nostrils flared, his piercing gaze locking onto Nze like a hawk spotting prey. "You're lying," Eli said, his voice as calm as it was terrifying. "I smell her all over you." 

Naomi gasped audibly, crossing herself so fast it was like she feared missing a beat might summon something. "You need to be careful," she said, her voice tight and trembling. "Werebeasts aren't like us. They're not family." 

Eli, predictably, took the harsher route. "They're predators," he said flatly, his eyes narrowing. "Especially when they're not family." 

Nze blinked, the word predator echoing in his head like a warning bell. A knot of frustration, fear, and something else—something hot and uncontrollable—curled in his stomach.

Nze stared at the floor, his mind drowning in the noise of everything—what was he supposed to do with all of this? He'd come to his uncle and aunt's house looking for solace, but instead, he'd found himself caught in the middle of some supernatural nightmare. He'd dared to hope—just a little—that his family might be normal. You know, the kind of normal that didn't involve witches, werebeasts, and a general disregard for the laws of nature. But, of course, that was asking too much.

His chest tightened, a quiet rage bubbling beneath the surface. Why couldn't life just slow down for one damn minute?

His voice came out sharper than he intended. "I just need some air." 

Eli's head snapped up, his eyes flashing. "You need to stay here," he said firmly, every syllable weighted like an iron chain. "It's not safe out there. Not now. Not for you." 

Nze scoffed, the sound sharp and bitter. "Oh, yeah? Because it's so safe in here?" He gestured wildly at the shattered furniture.

"It's safer than what's waiting in the dark," Eli shot back. The air in the room thickened, tension buzzing like electricity. Eli's jaw clenched, the muscle in his temple ticking like a countdown. "You don't understand—" 

"No," Nze cut him off, his voice rising. "You don't understand. Ever since I got here, I've been thrown into one supernatural freak drama after another. I didn't sign up for this shit. I swear fucking down. I didn't ask for any of this—curses, witches, werebeasts—whatever the hell this is." His voice cracked, but he powered through it, turning toward the front door. "I just need to breathe." 

"Lots of air to breathe in here! It's safer in here, Arinze!"

"News flash!" Nze's voice cracked, his anger spilling into the room like water through a cracked dam. "We were just attacked by a fucking witch—in our house! THE 'SAFE' HOUSE! This house isn't fucking safe. None of this is safe!"

"We stay together. That's the only way we survive." Naomi now said.

"Survive?" Nze scoffed, wrenching himself free. "I can't even breathe in here." He turned for the door, but Eli, faster than anyone had a right to be, blocked his path.

Eli's hand clamped down on Nze's shoulder—firm, unyielding, and heavier than seemed possible. His eyes bore into Nze's, fierce and wild, the edges of his control fraying. "You're not leaving," he said, his voice low and dangerous. 

"Eli, no," Naomi said softly, but there was steel in her tone. 

Nze felt his chest tighten, fear and defiance warring inside him. His uncle's grip was unrelenting, but Nze wasn't about to let that stop him. He glared at Eli, his hands trembling but his voice steady. "I said I need air." 

And then, summoning every ounce of courage—or stupidity—he had, Nze shoved Eli's arm away. 

The action stunned them both for a moment. But before Eli could react, Nze bolted through the door, the night swallowing him whole. The forest loomed ahead, dark and alive, the kind of darkness that whispered threats from unseen corners. His heart hammered in his chest as he stumbled over roots and ducked beneath low-hanging branches.

Behind him, his aunt's voice echoed faintly, a desperate plea to come back.

What if Eli and Naomi were right? What if stepping outside was a worse mistake than staying? But the memory of the witch's attack flashed in his mind. He couldn't stay. He wouldn't.

The walls of that house had felt suffocating, but out here... Out here, he felt free, exposed, like the forest was watching him, waiting.

The air outside was sharp and it was cold, biting against his skin as he ran. Trees blurred past him, shadows dancing like ghosts in his peripheral vision. His lungs burned, his legs ached, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. 

His world was a mess, a cacophony of questions and fears he couldn't untangle. But here, in the chaos of the woods, with the wind howling through the trees and the earth firm beneath his feet, he felt something close to control. 

Even if it was an illusion.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚

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