The rain had stopped, leaving the campus of University of Port Harcourt (UniPort) washed clean and glistening under a hesitant morning sun. The scent of wet earth and tropical flowers was heavy, overpowering the usual exhaust fumes.
Esther stirred, the rough wool of Samuel's borrowed jacket still clutched in her hand.
She was in her small, neat room in the female hostel, a room she shared with her friend, Kemi. Kemi was a practical, no-nonsense Microbiology student, and thankfully, had been on a weekend trip to her family in Aba, oblivious to the rooftop drama.
The events of the previous night—the revelation of a vampire and a werewolf, the high-stakes confrontation, the declaration of love—felt surreal, like a dream that left a physical ache. Esther touched the silver chain on her neck. It felt colder than usual.
A gentle knock brought her back. It was Samuel.
He stood by the door, no longer the tense, cornered animal of the night before, but the golden-boy rugby player, dressed in a simple white t-shirt that stretched over his powerful frame. Yet, his dark eyes held a weight that hadn't been there before. He still smelled faintly of pine and now, wet wool.
"How are you, Esther?" he asked, his deep voice softened with concern.
"Overwhelmed," she admitted, letting him in. "A werewolf loves me, and a vampire wants to use me to start a war. Just a typical Tuesday."
Samuel smiled, a quick, genuine flash of warmth that eased the tension in her chest. "Let's sit. We need to talk about the pact. The one Fortune mentioned."
He sat on the edge of her small bed, his size making the room feel smaller.
"The wolves of this city my Pack we are bound to a sacred covenant that dates back to the first European contact," he explained, his gaze distant. "The Nkpume Ọdịnala—the Foundation Stone. It's a nexus of natural energy, buried deep beneath the central academic block. Our ancestors, the first wolves, agreed to use their strength to guard that power, to keep the Shadow creatures, like Fortune's kind, from corrupting it."
"And the price?" Esther whispered.
"The price is stability," Samuel said, his jaw tightening. "The stone controls our Change.
As long as we actively guard the city and keep the Shadow out, the beast is contained. It's a symbiotic relationship. If we break the pact if the wolf is taken out of the protective circle the Change becomes permanent and savage. The beast takes over completely, and we become monsters."
Esther stared at him. "So Fortune wasn't entirely lying. He wants to free you by destroying the stone, turning you into a savage wolf in the process?"
"No," Samuel corrected, his eyes locking onto hers, full of a fierce dedication. "He wants to destroy the stone because it is the only thing that limits his kind's power here.
He wants the city's energy for himself, and he doesn't care who he destroys—or what monsters he creates—to get it."
He reached out and gently ran his thumb over the silver bloom pendant on her neck. "This is not just a necklace, Esther. Your grandmother didn't just give you a trinket. Tell me about her."
Esther felt a sudden chill, a sense of a deeper history stirring beneath her feet. "She was a botanist. A wise woman, but quiet. She gave me this and told me, 'It is the colour of truth, and the shape of protection.'"
"The colour of truth," Samuel repeated, a flicker of profound realization in his eyes.
"That silver... it's not just a repellent for my kind, Esther. It's a key."