Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 28: Pt. 1

"It's here! It's here! It's finally here!" Kathie sang as she danced around the kitchen, swinging a spatula over her head and banging the overturned pots on the table that she and Ananya were waiting to dry.

"Kath, tone it down, will you?" Ananya laughed, plugging her ears with her fingers. "You've been singing the same thing all day. At this point, the whole world knows what's happening."

"Yeah? I want the whole galaxy to know, though," Kathie decided, continuing to bang on the pots and pans. "It's here! It's here! It's finally here!"

"What the fuck is going on here?" The door slammed open and a disgruntled, disheveled January Bayor marched into the room, glaring at Kathie. "What in fuck's name are you doing?"

"Having fun, something you clearly have never done before," Kathie retorted. "What happened to you? You look like something the cat dragged out of bed. Did somebody keep you up last night?"

"Hardly," January Bayor scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it were your screeching that left me unable to sleep." She turned to Ananya and nodded. "Kaushikh. Are you going to the festival later tonight? Actually, why am I asking you? Of course, you're going." She rolled her eyes. "It's with werewolves and humans, right? Your mate will be there, won't he?" She spoke venomously.

Ananya sighed. "You still don't like them, do you?"

"Why should I? That damned Karsten just gets on my nerves!" January Bayor growled in irritation. "I don't know how you can stay with them, Ananya. They drive me nuts. All of them!"

"Do they?" Kathie began clapping the spatulas together. "I think you drive them nuts, Officer."

"Right now, the only person driving me nuts is you!" January Bayor stomped through the living room and grabbed the spatulas from Kathie's hands. She flung them out the window.

"Hey!" Without thinking, Kathie jumped on the counter and dove out the window. A cry of roosters followed with the yelling of both Kathie and a group of teenage boys.

"Oh, you've upset the delinquents," Ananya commented dryly. She observed January Bayor's wrinkled clothes and baggy eyes and frowned. "Are you alright, Officer?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" January Bayor snapped. "I've spent the last few days dealing with that shithead Karsten. I'm just dandy." She flopped on the couch with a scowl. "I saw your Alpha on my way here. He asked me to escort you. Dafowick's got him running around like a chicken looking for seeds."

"Really? They must be under pressure since the festival is soon," Ananya mused. "Hey, did Mayor Dafowick tell you anything about my detective situation?" Her eyes lit up hopefully.

January Bayor cringed. "Nothing yet, sorry," she said. When Ananya deflated, she quickly added: "But I'm sure he's working on it! You know how busy Mayor Dafowick can get. He's the mayor, after all."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ananya sighed. She sat beside January Bayor. "So, you'll be at this festival, then?"

"Didn't I already say yes?"

"You did, but I just don't understand why you're unhappy. I know you aren't fond of werewolves, but we're trying to have a better relationship with them here." Ananya searched for January Bayor's gaze. "They're not bad wolves, Officer. Sure, they can be rowdy and competitive, but they have feelings, just like we humans do. They eat like we do, talk like we do, and sleep like we do. Apart from their powers, they're no different than we are."

January Bayor scoffed. "You're biased," she sneered. "You think you've got that pretty boy Alpha Yuen wrapped around your pretty finger? Ha! He's using you, Ananya, all for his agenda. He doesn't need a human for a mate. Look, no offense, but why would he - a large, burly wolf - choose a human like you to be his Luna? Hm? It's obvious that he wants something from you."

"A human like me?" Ananya repeated angrily. Her eyebrows drew together. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Fuck, don't be such a prissy, Ananya," January Bayor said with a scowl. "Just get it into that thick skull of yours that he's not with you for any good reason. He wants something. There's got to be something that he wants."

"I take offense to that," Ananya snapped. "It's very insulting! Do you seriously think that I'm so naive that I'd be with someone who wouldn't want me for me? Oscar loves me, Officer. He's proved to me that he loves me and he's loyal to me. He doesn't care about what I look like or what species I am!"

"He's saying all of that just to butter you up!" January Bayor stood and aggressively shook her hands. "He doesn't give a damn about you, Ananya. Why can't you listen to me?"

"Why can't you listen to me?!" Ananya hopped down from the couch and glared up at her head officer. "You don't even try to get to know them, Officer! All you do is make assumptions. You've never tried to interact with them. All you do is make faces and scowl and whine like a bratty child!"

"A bratty child?!" January Bayor's eyes narrowed. "Are you calling your commanding officer a 'bratty child'?"

"Yes, I am. You're whiny and bratty and totally biased! You only care about what you know. You don't want to change. You don't want to learn!" Ananya's mind spun with every fume that puffed from her ears. Her body was overheated with rage. "You know nothing!"

"Nothing? Nothing?" January Bayor's eyes flushed a dark red and she stepped back. Ananya noticed that she was shaking and her fingers searched blindly for her gun - the only thing that could protect her. "Nothing? You don't know jack shit about me!"

"You don't know anything about them!" Ananya retorted. "You just think that they'll hurt you because of one man, who is dead! Oscar is nothing like Banastre, but you won't give him or any other wolves a chance!"

"BECAUSE THEY KILLED MY PARENTS!" January Bayor screamed. She pulled her gun out of its sheath and pointed it at Ananya. She was trembling from head to toe and her face was pale. "He killed my parents, and nobody did anything to help them. They just stood there. They just watched as he killed them. Not even your precious Oscar tried to help! That coward hid behind his dear mother while Banastre slaughtered them!"

"Officer--" Ananya put her hands up, trying to placate January Bayor. "I..."

"And don't even try to tell me to calm down." Her nose twitched and her finger added pressure to the trigger. "Don't...don't try to tell me that they've changed...they haven't. They're cruel. They're ruthless. All of them!"

"Bayor-!"

"ENOUGH!" Rage consumed her, flushing her cheeks. January Bayor lifted her arm toward the ceiling and released the trigger. A bullet flew into the air and cut through the plastic chandelier. The mobile of used water bottles and dollar-store candles crashed to the ground right in front of January Bayor and the candles slid across the floor. She stood immobile, staring at the mess. The gun fell from her pale hands.

"Officer..." Remorsefully, Ananya tried to approach January Bayor.

"No...no...stay back..." January Bayor's eyes were aghast. Her throat bobbed and she retreated toward the door. "What...what have I done...I..."