Would Be Hunter - Completed

Chapter 25 - The Original (Edited)

"I know one Alpha who will be happy to know you've been found Marie. Alpha Greyson has turned the world on its side and called in several favors to bring his mate back to him." She couldn't believe it. Part of her believed that perhaps she had actually passed out and in the act of dying and desperation, her mind concocted the wolves to lend her some comfort in her final moments.

Seeing the surprised wide-eyed gaze she directed up at him, her savior smiled and shifted her more comfortably in his hold. He generated the heat her body sorely missed and sought to be closer to with the natural curve of her frame to lean against him. "We'll get you home Marie but first let's get you inside and warmed up." 

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Warmth....comfort....the soft, soothing sound of a woman's voice...

Marie sat up with a start. She was near panicked and gasping as she looked around her in fear and confusion. For a moment she believed that her escape had been a dream and she was right back in the clutches of Daniel and Moira. Instead, she found herself staring into a pair of kind, grey eyes who looked back at her with concern but the woman did not move, feared that she would startle Marie even more. 

"Where am I?" 

The question spurred the woman to close the book she had been reading and set it on the bedside table between them. 

"You're in my home. My mate, Xander, found you out in the woods. He brought you back to our pack house and left you in my care." She stood then and Marie had a hard time diverting her eyes. She held an elegant regality that demanded attention and respect.  Her eyes also contained a warmth and kindness that helped Marie to relax and lean back against the headboard. Seeing this, the woman smiled and stepped closer to sit on the edge of the bed. 

"I can see that you have a good sense of character. Your moral compass leads you well. Never doubt it." She smiled slightly and nodded her head in gratitude and understanding. The woman smiled in kind and reached out to lay her hand over Maries "I am Aerebelle." Her hand was cold, so unlike the other werewolves she had met and in that moment she felt her hunter rear up from within. She's a vampire.

"I'm Marie." Civil necessity forced her to answer in kind but there was a new stress in her voice. It did not go unheard by Aerebelle.

"Yes, I'm a vampire, but we are not so different you and I." She did not need to elaborate, Marie knew what she was referring to and instantly crossed her legs beneath the covers even though her Hunter's mark was not visible. Seeing this, Aerebelle smiled again and patted her leg through the blanket reassuringly. "Do not fear child, your secret is safe with me as I know mine is with you. None outside our pack knows what I really am and we would like to keep it that way." 

Her eyes followed the woman as she stood and moved to the dresser on the far end of the room. Atop it sat a small pile of folded clothes that she brought back and set on the bed near her. "Get dressed. You and I have much to discuss before the others come back." The cue of Aerebelle's turned back pulled Marie from the bed to stand and quickly change into what she had given her. The jeans and t-shirt were a little big on her but it was better than walking around in just a nightgown. She was still adjusting the  hem of her shirt when the vampire turned back around and smiled before offering her hand for Marie to take. Hesitation and caution rushed to the surface initially but something else told her to relax and trust her. Reaching out, she slipped her hand into the woman's who quickly led her out the door and down the hall. They passed several wolves as they walked, all of which bowed their heads in respect with barely a glance at her. 

It wasn't long before the pair slipped into a heavy set of doors at the end of the hall. Once they shut behind her, Aerebelle removed her hand and quickly climbed a ladder near them that with one push sent her down a long row of books. Marie gasped and looked around them, awestruck by the size of the library. Hundreds upon thousands of books lined the shelves. Several of them the normal size as you would expect but there were some books that were easily larger than her torso. There was also one shelf dedicated to scrolls alone and that was where she found herself moving to. If just to pass her hands over the bronze and silver tips of the metal bar that some of them were wrapped around. 

"These are mine. I have been collecting them for centuries." 

The woman's voice broke through her dazed cloud and made her jump slightly. Feeling like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she quickly snapped her hand back from the curled paper and joined it with the other to hold in front of her. Seeing this, Aerebelle chuckled while grabbing the book she was looking for. 

"Tis alright. You may look at them. But I assure you, none will captivate or intrigue you as much as the one I have here. Come." Marie moved forward at her beckoning, a subtle command she couldn't help but obey to meet her at the table in the middle once she descended the ladder and walked to it to place the book down. She spent merely a second of thumbing through the pages before she opened to the one she wanted. The paper was old and yellowed. If not for her delicate touch Marie was certain it would have crumbled to pieces. 

"Marie, you are a born hunter. That much is obvious by your tattoo but you are not just a born hunter. You are the hunter. The first." A gentle push of the book pulled Marie's attention back to the pages and the portrait of a woman sketched in black and white on one side. In her face Marie saw her own. There was a very strong resemblance that pulled her upright quickly - it was the mirror image of the entity she had seen before her hunter possessed her the first time. Beside her, Aerebelle continued. "You're the reincarnation that is born every three centuries. This is the third time that I've introduced you to your true self. Though you are much older than I. Outside of the original you're the first that accepted your supernatural mate. The other two chose their hunter." 

Marie was eager to hear more. She had so many questions but when her lips parted to ask the first she heard a loud crash behind her. Her body turned quickly to face the threat when her eyes clashed with those of her mate. 

"Greyson..."