--WARNING THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER--
I was standing in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I still looked the same, but I felt like I shouldn't. I had admitted so much yesterday, not just to Jared, but myself as well.
I gritted my teeth as I pulled my hair back into a bun. It pulled at the stitches in my shoulder but it wasn't as painful as it had been. Some pieces fell from the hair tie but I didn't care enough to sweep them back again.
I looked down at the gun and dagger still sitting on the counter. Jared hadn't moved them yesterday. I picked up the dagger holding it in my palm for a moment. I looked at the shiny blade and was invaded by memories. All the times I'd plunged my dagger into those hearts, sides, or slicing straight through those necks.
My hands were coated in layers of blood and there was nothing I could do to wash it off.
The dagger clattered into the sink as I gasped. My heart was racing and the panic closed in on me.
"Electra, are you okay?" Jared was at the door. The worry in his voice was clear, I didn't even have to look to see it on his face.
"I'm...I'm fine. Um, do you think you can take that back to Trevor?" I asked not looking up at him. He slowly made his way to the sink, picking up the dagger. He was looking at me questioningly. How was I supposed to tell him that I couldn't touch it? That even holding the dagger was too much for me to bear.
"Can you please just take it to him? I don't want it." I placed my hands on the sink, watching him from the mirror as he nodded, not taking his eyes off mine until he turned to leave.
I looked down at the gun sitting a few inches from my hand. I was afraid to even attempt to pick it up. I was afraid that I'd have the same problem with the gun that I had with the dagger, but the thought of being unarmed scared me as much if not more so than the thought of those memories invading. I knew that we would meet more werewolves and other creatures along the way, and while I accepted the fact that not all supernaturals were evil, there were still some out there who wouldn't hesitate to hurt me; especially if and when they learned what I was, or what I'd been.
I picked up the gun and wasted no time putting it in the waistband of my jeans. I just wanted it out of my hands for the time being.
I went back into the room and looked through the rest of the clothes my sister had gotten me. At the bottom of the bag I pull out something familiar, a black leather jacket. It was a new one. I held it up and looked it over. I shoved it back into the bag and tied the handles so none of the contents would spill out. I just couldn't wear the jacket at the moment.
The door creaked open and I looked back to see Jared coming into the room.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Just about. Do we have the transportation worked out?"
"It just arrived. I gave Trevor money to go to a dealership. He brought us back a Hyundai."
"A Hyundai?" I was a little skeptical about the car but we were running on short notice and we couldn't really be choosy.
"Yeah. Apparently he got a few strange looks when he handed over the money in cash."
"I can only imagine." I shook my head slightly. As if we weren't already on a list of people to look out for, we just send someone out to dump a few thousand dollars on a car-in cash.
I grabbed my stuff and went out to the living room. Josh was looking all sulky on the other side, away from everyone else. Alex was standing near Trevor. I'd noticed they'd been near each other since shooting practice in the basement. I wasn't sure if there was something going on there, but if there were, they would be good for each other. I wasn't sure Jared believed the same though.
Alex made her move first, coming up to Jared and me. She hugged first me and then leaped at her brother. I turned away to give them their brother sister moment. I smiled at Trevor and hugged him as well.
"You better keep her safe, or I'm going to have to protect you from a werewolf and Jared from a hunter. Got it?"
Trevor chuckled lightly. "Got it, and you better keep you both safe. And when you're better, teach that guy to fight."
"Oh I plan on it." I pulled back and smiled then went to my brother. I was sure he was pretty upset with me, but he was Josh. He was my brother and I knew he cared about me, and he thought he had my best interests in mind. I also wasn't sure if or when I'd see him again so I might as well leave our last meeting on a good note.
His face was stern, most definitely not happy. Then again, I was sure mine looked much the same. I hugged him, hesitated a moment before hugging back. I heard and felt his large sigh.
"You drive me beyond crazy, you know that? I just don't understand you."
"I could say the same about you," I shot back. I felt him shake his head.
"Take care of yourself, El."
"I will."
Last up was my sister. This one hurt because I'd thought she would have been on my side during this. Everything she'd said since she moved out made me think she thought the same way I did now. However, almost everything she'd said since coming here contradicted that.
Sarah smiled sadly and pulled me in for a hug. She rubbed my back, careful of my shoulder and squeezed me hard.
"I thought you of all people would understand," I whispered.
Sarah shifted uncomfortably and when we pulled back she looked shocked. I grabbed my stuff again and we went outside. I stopped when I saw the car Trevor had chosen, a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Steel gray.
It was sleek, it was fast, but it wouldn't draw too much attention. Needless to say, I approved. I threw the bags in the back seat and Jared got behind the wheel. I ducked into the passenger side and waved as we pulled away.
It didn't feel real. There was a chance I would never see any of those people again. Half of them were family, the other half felt almost as close as family.
I shifted uncomfortably in the seat and took the gun out from my waistband. I tossed it into the glove compartment and sat back.
Jared shot me a sideways glance as I did.
"Do you want to talk about that?"
"About what?" I asked, feigning ignorance. Just a few moments to stall.
"The gun, the dagger."
I sighed and told Jared what had happened when I picked up the dagger. How every memory from each kill I'd made with my old dagger had flooded back. All the blood; too much blood, and all the death I'd been responsible for.
I just couldn't hold it; it had been too overwhelming.
He had taken my hand, listening while he drove and I felt comfort in it. It was nice to be able to talk about it.
I told him how I was afraid that the gun would result in the same thing; that every memory would rush back. A possibility that I would never be able to hold a weapon again was disconcerting.
When I was done talking we sat back quietly. I knew where we were going and I wasn't particularly comfortable with it. I only knew vague stories of Jared's old Alpha, and he didn't seem like a person I would particularly care for. I believed Jared; he was proof that not all supernaturals were bad. However, that didn't mean that I wanted to walk into a pack of werewolves, let alone one that was headed by the man that had turned Jared.
"Electra, we're here." Jared shook my arm gently. I opened my eyes, blinking a few times. I couldn't believe I'd actually fallen asleep in the car.
I sat up and opened the glove compartment, looking at the gun sitting there. My hand rested on my knee and I was warring with myself on whether I should grab it or not.
"You don't have to take it," Jared said calmly.
I turned and stared at him. I didn't have to take it? I didn't have to take the gun with me?
"You know who I am, right?"
"Yes."
"And you know what they are, right?" I asked gesturing outside the car.
"I do."
"Then you know there's no way I would step outside this car without some form of protection. I may trust you, and I may believe that not all werewolves and supernaturals are bad, but that doesn't mean I'm going to step outside in an area filled with werewolves without a weapon."
With my mind made up, I grabbed the gun and put it back in my waistband. I got out of the car and rummaged through the bag in the back seat, taking out the leather jacket. I shrugged it on and closed the door. Jared came around to stand next to me.
"You could wait here."
"We don't know how long this is going to take and I'm not going to sit in a car for hours."
"Alright, then let's go. I have to let the Alpha know that I'm here and what my business is."
Jared's voice was tight. I understood that, it was a similar reaction I'd had when I came into contact with any paranormal creature.
Jared grabbed my hand and pulled me close to him as we walked through the pack. We went into one of the buildings located in what appeared to be the center. He walked straight in and looked around.
"Hayn," Jared said stiffly.
A man stopped and looked toward Jared. He had a piercing in one of his brows, his eyes a piercing green. I found myself wondering briefly what happened with the piercing when he shifted.
"Well if it isn't Jared Rolten. What are you doing back here? Have you finally come around?" The man asked coming up to us. His eyes traveled over me and there was an odd look in his eye. No doubt he realized I was human.
"Not exactly. We're here on a short trip. Business. I was hoping to just stop in to let Alpha Marek know. We shouldn't be more than a few hours."
"What sort of business?"
"New identities." Jared's hand squeezed mine tighter. It almost seemed like he didn't want to give the full nature of why we were there.
The full story, I thought to myself. Of course he didn't want to. We were being hunted down by a group of hunters, which I'd happened to be a part of. He didn't want them to know my relation.
"New identities?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, the piercing glinting in the light.
"Correct."
"Alright. I'll let Marek know. You should head on out to Jones if you're hoping to be getting them done today."
Jared nodded and thanked the man-Hayn? He led me through the pack again. There were many people out and about. My free hand subconsciously went around and touched the gun at my back. I took comfort in knowing it was there. I was hoping that I wouldn't need to use it, but just knowing it was there made me feel safer, even with the memories it threatened to bring back.
I'd been glad that we'd gotten away without having to see the Alpha.
A small shop came into sight and Jared pulled us into it. There was an older man at the counter. He looked up when we stepped through the open doorway.
"Mr. Jones, it's good to see you again."
"Jared Rolten. How have you been boy?"
"Not too bad. Could be better could be worse." Jared paused for a moment and ushered me forward to stand directly in front of him.
"This is my mate, Mr. Jones. Her name's Electra."
"What a striking name for a striking young woman," the older man said.
I nodded, all language having failed me. He seemed like a nice older man, nothing like what I'd envisioned werewolves to be like. Yet another person who disproved The Org's beliefs.
"We were hoping to get some new identities," Jared said. "We're in a bit of a situation and we need to disappear."
"Disappear. How deep of a job?"
"Pretty deep. Background lives would be nice. We need to be completely different people. Ones that won't be traced back to us."
"What names are you looking for?" The man asked.
"James Ryce," Jared said quickly. He'd already decided on what he wanted, he'd needed to for the bank account. I was completely at a loss. I hadn't given it a moment of thought.
I wasn't going to be Electra Jaeger anymore. I'd been Electra for eighteen years of my life and now she was going to disappear. My last name had turned into my life, and now like that part of me was going to vanish. I was getting the chance to start over.
"And you little lady?" Mr. Jones asked.
"Eliza," I said hesitantly. "Eliza Jacobson."
The man nodded jotting it down on a piece of paper.
"They should be ready by the morning," the man said.
I turned around to Jared with wide eyes. The morning? There was no way we were going to stay over night here. Were we?
He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Is there a way we can get them done today?"
"Today might be pushing it. We need to create everything from scratch. You might get your IDs today but there's much more that has to be done. You're going to need passports, birth certificates the whole works. Not to mention we're going to have to build you both up in the databases."
"Jared," my voice was a quiet whisper, tension oozing from it. His hands started rubbing up and down my arms trying to calm me.
"I'll see what I can do for you two," he said. The man could sense my unease, and like the others, he could probably tell that I was human. I saw a scar that looked like a bite on his arm. He probably understood a human's worry about being in an area full of people that doubled as wolves.
"Thank you," Jared said. He looked down into my eyes and kissed me briefly. "It's going to be fine."
I closed my eyes hoping he was right.
We spent the majority of the time in the small shop because it was where I felt most comfortable. Mr. Jones had us go around the counter to take our picture at one point so he could have the image to put on the IDs. While he had all the documents going he was clacking away on a computer and talking on the phone.
I heard the names we'd chosen a few times and watched as the man frowned at the screen. He must be working with some people to do whatever it was he needed to create the aliases.
Jared pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. His face nuzzled into my back and his hands clasped with mine.
I loved the feel of his hands on mine. I loved the feel of every touch we shared. I didn't think I fully started appreciating it until yesterday though. It was the moment that I'd let my walls down and admitted the one thing I'd been keeping in, the one thing I never dared to say to anyone.
I heard footsteps on the wood flooring and the man from earlier appeared, Hayn. Beside him was another man, one who looked scarier.
His eyes were darker than Jared's, his dark brown hair tousled to make it a just-rolled-out-of-bed style. His shoulders were broad, well muscled, and the way he held himself; he was important and he knew it. He looked older than Jared but not drastically, however the air about him made him feel older than he looked. Judging by the way that Hayn stood just a step behind, and the way that Jared shifted, this was the Alpha.
My hand instantly went to the gun at my back and with even quicker reflexes, Jared's hand was over mine, pinning it to my back. His other hand squeezed the one in front of me tightly making sure I didn't move it. He was essentially making me helpless.
"Jared," the Alpha said.
"Alpha Marek," Jared said carefully.
"Who is this you have with you?" The Alpha was looking me over, but the way his eyes moved over me made me feel dirty.
"This is my mate, Electra."
I let the arm he was holding behind my back go limp, but Jared wasn't letting go. It was probably a smart move on his part, but I wasn't happy about it.
"I was told you were getting new identities. Why?"
"We need to escape without a trace."
"Why is that?"
"With all due respect, Sir, I'd rather keep that between my mate and me."
"Well if you wish to continue here in my good graces, then you will tell me why you are needing new identities to get away."
It was a command. I could feel the power held in his words and it sent a shiver down my spine. I knew that if it had that effect on me, Jared would be at a loss in disobeying.
"We're running from hunters. They were after us and we're trying to get away," he said through gritted teeth.
"Why were they after you?"
"Because I'm a werewolf," Jared said as if it were obvious.
"They wouldn't waste their energy and resources to hunt you down if you got away. Why are they still after you?" The Alpha demanded.
"Because..." That was it, Jared couldn't think of a partial truth to tell him.
"Because I'm Electra Jaeger and I was one of them."
His hand tightened around the wrist at my back and I knew I probably shouldn't have spoken up.
Within the second I heard the growl rip through the air from Marek I had pulled myself free from Jared, standing off to the side with the gun out and trained on the Alpha.
It really wasn't one of my brightest moments; there were two of them against one of me. One of me that was injured and only had one gun. One gun that I was afraid may carry too much of a burden at any moment.
"I really don't want to pull this trigger, so please don't give me a reason to," I said evenly.
I heard another rumble from Marek.
"Electra stop right now," Jared demanded, his voice cool.
I didn't look his way. "I can't, Jared. I have no guarantee that he won't do anything if I do. I'm not putting down my only source of reinforcement."
"Listen to your mate, girl and put the gun down."
I heard the creak of the chair and soft steps as Jared slowly made his way toward me. His hands started at my shoulders and made their way down my arms just as I'd done with him when teaching him to shoot. I felt the tension leaving my body with his touch and he slowly started to pull my arm down to my side.
He snaked an arm around my waist keeping the arm with the gun pinned at my side. His stance was protective yet authoritative.
"Can we please get our identities and be on our way?" I could hear the strain in Jared's voice as he asked the question. He was just about done with everything.
I was past done.
"Very well, get it and leave. And don't come back again."
"That won't be a problem," I muttered under my breath.
Marek narrowed his eyes at me and I just smiled sweetly. He and Hayn turned and left the shop. I let out a sigh, relaxing into Jared.
"That was completely and utterly stupid, Electra," Jared scolded me.
"I'm sorry, what was I supposed to do? I was faced down by an Alpha who was probably ready to rip my throat out because I was a hunter. If you didn't see that one coming you have terrible foresight."
"I was hoping that it wouldn't have come to that."
"Did you have a plan in case it did? Because I didn't see any of your bright ideas, unless they were making me as vulnerable as possible."
"Electra, I'm not going to let them hurt you. No one will hurt you, I promise."
"You can't make promises like that unless you mean to keep them."
"I promise to do anything and everything in my power to keep you out of harms way."
"Don't say that," I whispered.
"Why not?"
"Because when people say that and they mean it...just please don't say that."
I didn't want him to say those words because I was afraid of what was in his power. I didn't want him laying down his life to save me; that would be the one thing I couldn't handle.
We sat back down and waited for a while longer.
The sun was nearly setting when Mr. Jones finally called us over to the counter. All the documentation was complete and it all looked official. It was high quality and could rival The Org's handiwork.
"All the documentation is here. I'll be working a little while longer to make you both appear as if you've lived entire lives. That information is in this packet here."
"Thank you so much Mr. Jones."
"You're welcome, son. I hope you two get along fine. Stay out of trouble."
"We will."
Jared gave him one last smile and a shake of the hand before he pulled me out of the shop and back to the car. He turned the engine over and we started our way out of the pack limits and on to who knew where. I opened one of the packets dumping out two drivers licenses. I turned them over in my hand, examining each and every detail.
Electra Jaeger and Jared Rolten were officially gone; James Ryce and Eliza Jacobson were left in their places.
***********************
This was the final chapter of The Huntress' Mate. Yes, it has officially come to an end.
First things first, I have added an external link below that should take you to the sequel of this story. Secondly, there is also going to be a novella for Trevor, it's called Walking the Line: Trevor Durin. Head on over to my page and add both of those to your libraries :)
I hope you all liked the story and I hope you will all stick around for the sequel.
Thank you all for being awesome. I <3 each and every one of you for making this book a success. I hope to see you again in the future.
~Red