(Dear readers. This is one of my favorite chapters. Please note that there is very sensitive material towards the end. I have kept it clean but some may still be offended. Please skip the last few paragraphs if it makes you uncomfortable. Enjoy!! :) <3 )
Seriously? He just left...just walked out the door. Left her wallowing in agony on the floor while her flesh felt like it was burning off. Marie cursed him several times in disbelief before the pain finally subsided to a dull ache. Her breaths were coming out in short pants when she fell back to the floor from her hunched position. The blissful touch of the cold hardwood against her back drew out a contented sigh. She lay there for a while, staring up at the ceiling, not believing what had just happened and what she had done.
And then it started to sink in more. He left. She needed him there and he just left her. No word, no comfort, nothing. He knew what was happening to her and he ran away. Were they going to kill her? A gentle roll brought her to a lean over the floor, both hands falling to plant and assist in lifting her body until her feet pulled up beneath her and she stood. The aching of her thigh protested the weight but she pushed herself forward to the door. When reached, she grabbed the handle and pushed it down, the restricted click telling her all she needed to know.
He locked her inside; kept her from escaping. Probably thought she'd attack his people. What she thought had been forming over the last few weeks crumbled in a matter of minutes. An emotional, pain-filled scream tore from her throat as she beat at the door.
"Let me out! How could you? I trusted you!" There was no response. Anger unlike any other poured through her. She turned away from the door and tore through the room. Throwing breakable items, pulling the blankets and sheets from her bed to litter about the floor. The length of the room was paced several times, but only once did she look up at the full-length standing mirror. Her steps were slow as she approached it.
What she saw reflected made her cry out in alarm and turn to look over her shoulder. But there was nothing there. Her gaze returned to the mirror slowly, once more seeing that mist-like woman standing just behind her, slightly to the side.
In the world she had known before, she would have freaked, probably would have ran screaming from the room. But now, in a world full of vampires and wolves, she was intrigued. Greyson had not described something like this to her. And where she should have been frightened of the spirit, she felt a sense of calm and completion.
The woman smiled to her in the reflection and bowed her head in respect. She could not help but see the resemblance in her face. They must be related. As soon as she thought it, the reflection nodded in answer. Marie watched as she gathered the bearskin skirt of her dress and lifted it up until the tattoo on her inner thigh was visible. All three stars showed above the crescent moon. An original. She must have been an ancestor.
But why was she here? The woman tilted her head to one side and gestured at the nightgown Marie wore. Understanding her silent directions, Marie reached down and gathered up the skirt of her gown much like the spirit had done before. When she raised it high enough to view the tattoo, she gasped. The middle star was imprinted clearly above the crescent. Instead of feeling proud, a sense of melancholy fell over her. What did this mean? She couldn't kill anyone. The vampire had been self-defense and even with its evil, she felt a sense of guilt for having taken its undead life.
"No...I will not be a hunter." When she looked up at the reflection the spirit no longer looked kind. Her eyes glowed deep amber and her lips turned down in a menacing grimace. Marie froze in terror, watching as the woman reached out and touched her arm, but instead of stopping, they continued, disappearing into her body. Then there was the surge that she felt during her fight with the vampire. It was her...the inner hunter. She'd been the force that controlled her.
"No!" Marie pushed away from the mirror and fought at the powerful strength that was building inside, she knew the spirit was winning. "I'm not a hunter!" The two struggled for control, thrashing about the room, punching holes in the walls, cracking the door when she was thrown up against it. It was more excruciating than anything else she'd ever felt. Like her soul was trying to rip into two. As if the spirit were trying to take out her very essence to replace herself with.
One minute she felt an intense need to track and hunt, the next she was crying, begging to be free of the desire. A split second of hope surfaced when she felt the power leave her only to drive back in full force, slamming her head back against the door. Her terrified scream tore from her throat, fighting herself, fighting the very blood within her that demanded the execution of the beasts outside. One she sensed very close.
His scent filled her nostrils, calling to her, turning her body around to press against the hardwood, straining to get to the monster outside. Her nose flared as it moved across the barrier between them. The scent was beckoning, though she was conflicted between his death and claiming him.
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Greyson had come back to the cabin in time to hear her screaming to be let out. It tore at his heart and forced him to relieve the guards stationed at the front door. They needed to get through this on their own without any prying ears. Once inside, he locked the door and trudged upstairs, his steps were heavy with defeat. He heard the tumult going on inside her room, knowing her temper was getting the best of her. When the crash of something shattering against the door echoed through the hall he slumped and slid to the floor, waiting. For what, he wasn't certain, but he knew it wasn't over yet.
Once the storm had seemed to calm, he was tempted to get up but something held him still. His wolf refused him. That was the first...not wanting to go to his mate. He heard the whimper and felt the sad tail held between the predator's legs. Something was definitely off.
Hunter.
Greyson nodded in answer to his wolf's statement as if it was a question. It was the reason for the reluctance to go into the room. He felt the power that they always avoided, seeping from it. When he heard her screaming that she was not a hunter he couldn't hold off any longer. His wolf be damned.
Greyson struggled up from the floor, fighting against the growling canine inside. The door cracking behind him was the last straw. Foregoing the lock, Greyson broke the handle clear away and pulled the door open. Marie's body instantly collapsed into his arms. For a moment he and his wolf howled happily with the claim. When her eyes opened, both of them froze.
Gone were the deep chocolate eyes he'd come to love so much. Staring back at him, were warm amber hues and they did not mirror the love given. Hatred masked the woman he knew was inside. "Marie?"
"Filthy animal" Marie shoved him away from her with all her strength. He stumbled for a minute, catching his balance with a sturdy hand to her dresser. There was little time to register what happened before she approached and backhanded him across his right cheek, forcing his head to one side.
"Marie this isn't you."
"Shut up!" She raised her hand to hit him again but he stopped her and backed her against the wall. He was not going to take any chances. Refusing to release her wrist, he pinned her with his weight. Granted, she was a hunter, but newly realized and had not even accrued all her powers yet. He needed her to remember who she was.
"Calm down. Remember who you are. You did not want this, remember?" Greyson sighed and dropped his head down to rest his forehead against hers. He could not look at her, perhaps it would have been different had he been there when she started to come into her powers. Awakening the hunter within.
"God, I am so sorry Marie. I should not have left you. The books did not describe this. Perhaps it is because you are fighting what you are meant to be. Fight for it Marie. Fight for me. I know I apologize a lot and it seems that I always mess up when it comes to you. I do not know how to love you properly." Against both of their metaphysical desires, Greyson leaned in and captured her lips. It was tender and sweet, with twined tiers dancing over her tightly clamped, thinned ones in soft coaxing caresses.
Marie wrenched her head to the side and growled in anger at his advantages. "I will kill you." The voice belonged to her but the hatred in its tone was deep. Not even when they fought originally, did she speak with so much disgust towards him. Ice blue hues met amber and he had a fleeting thought that maybe he had lost her, but then he saw a flash of brown, his Marie was still fighting to have control.
Distracted by this hope, he momentarily forgot about her free hand that rose to strike at his shoulder. He grunted in discomfort on impact, then chuckled. "Forgot you have two." Tried as she might she could not keep his hold from catching her other wrist, bringing it up so that his one hand could hold both. His strength was unbelievable. Marie strained against him, fighting him with the thrash of her body. The movements only seemed to entice him from the mold of her body against his. Softness be damned.
"I love you Marie. You are my mate and its time that I claim you."
This time when his lips crashed to hers, they were demanding and pushed for a response that refused her objections. It wasn't long until he felt the softness return to her lips, felt the flex of her body against his, but now in desire, rather than contest. Her moan touched his ears and he knew she was his. Releasing her wrists, he reached down, enjoying the feel of her body beneath his hands as he traced her sides, cupped her hips and dipped lower to grab and lift her against him.
Marie's legs wrapped around his waist, tugging him closer still until she felt his arousal against her bottom. She purred against his lips, nipping at them unapologetically. Greyson carried both of them to the bed and tossed her onto it but quickly followed, leaning over her as his body settled between her legs. The quick glimpse of her eyes before she lowered to steal another kiss found that the amber lost its fire. Only a narrow rim remained around her pupils. He had his mate back.
"Mine"
Her soft gasp filled his mouth with her warm breath when he tore the nightgown in two, ripping it from her body. His wolf could no longer be denied. She was his and he would claim her in every way a mate was meant to be. He felt the prick of his fangs surface and pulled from her lips to bury his face against her throat inhaling her scent. While his tongue teased at her pulse, his hand slipped between them and cupped her core, kneading and coaxing her to a point of need, teetering on fulfillment. But did not push further.
He broke from her momentarily and stood, hovering over her, his eyes feasting upon her nakedness with a hungry growl as he stripped. When he settled over her again both of them moaned in ecstasy when their flesh collided. The dance of their mouths was almost savage now, tongues exploring hungrily until their tastes combined and became indistinguishable between the two. Greyson could no longer wait. He drew back enough to meet her eyes as he aligned himself. Just as he joined their bodies to make them one, his fangs sank into her shoulder, marking her as his and sealing their fate.