Chapter 65: A Pact Sealed in Blood.

The ancient oaks reared up like gnarled sentinels into the darkness, skeletal branches looming out to the inky sky with crooked fingers. A haloed moon hung pregnant and full above the secluded forest glade, casting its otherworldly silver glow over a mossy clearing. Despite the fact that she was almost as wet with humidity as if she had been hugged by a second set of wet clothes, Chloe shivered. It was like something out of the occult section that she used to sneak away and read during her childhood at the library: ancient rituals and pagan rites playing out in haunted woodland thickets. "Are you sure about this?" A deeply muttered sound made her start, her pulse shooting up another notch. He seemed to be looking right at her through the shadows, as though wanting to drill holes in her soul by virtue of those ice-blue eyes. Another step closer, and the battle-hardened features seemed to be thrown into sharp relief with the brilliant moonlight. "Once you cross this threshold, there'