It was an hour and and twenty minutes of not walking, but running for my sore ass before I found civilization--a gas station. No way I was going to run the rest of the way to the Clan, so I did what most people would do and called a taxi. Another twenty minutes and I was right outside the gates of the clan house.

Taking in a deep breath, I stepped forward towards the silver gates coated in wolfbane that surrounded the old mansion up ahead. I reached out to open the gate and was met with bolts of pain spasming through my body.

I cursed loudly and jumped in place, trying to get over the shock of pain. Why? Could I not touch silver or wolfbane now that I was mated to a dog? I continued to mutter curses under my breath until I heard someone clear their throat.

I looked up to see an unfamiliar hunter standing next to Sorrel on the other side of the gate. Great, they must have seen the whole thing.

"Why couldn't I touch the gate?" I inquired, scared to hear the answer.

"You were mated by a werewolf, so now you're turning into one of them," Sorrel answered.

Shit. "Really? Oh my--"

"No not really. We just modified the gate so now it's electric, you stupid girl," She scoffed.

Bitch.

Well, there goes my will to be polite. "Can you just let me in?"

She laughed. "Can't do that."

"Yeah, I get you can't take me back into the main clan house now but this is--"

"No, I mean that you are no longer accepted into the whole clan. You're out, Red Hunter. You embarrassed the council, so they made it so that you could never do so again."

The blood drained from my body as I stared at her through the gate. I'm no longer a hunter?

"Well Sorrel, actually she hasn't been severed from the clan yet. But still, the Council has issued your . . . retirement from your duties, it just needs to be passed." The hunter standing next to Sorrel added. He looked to be about in his fifties, so he was probably resigned and working as the Council's messenger. To prove my guess, he was dressed in a black, red, and gold hunter uniform--the color's the Council wore.

"And when will that be?" I croaked, remembering what the man had said.

He sighed and looked at me closely through the gate. His old, blue eyes held pity as he looked over my form. He slumped in defeat and took out a remote from his pocket.

"Gabel?" Sorrel questioned.

Gabel clicked one of the buttons from the remote and the soft hums coming from the gate quieted. He then opened the gate and motioned for me to come through.

"Gabel!" Sorrel warned sternly. "As the head of this clan house I demand you not let her in here. She is no longer welcomed."

"Be that as it may," he said after ushering me to his side and glancing at Sorrel, "I still outrank you as the Council's first advisor. And, as you seem to have forgotten, Rose is still technically a hunter still, which means that as one of the Twelve Moon slayers, she outranks you as well." With a sly grin, he passed her with me a step behind. Sorrel was left by the gate fuming and as red as a baboon's butt. Serves her right.

Dumbfounded with the new cards played out on the table, I stayed quiet as Gabel led me into the mansion. We then walked down the hall to a storage closet and made our way into the room. The storage closet in fact was no closet, but instead was a large room with an elevator inside. You see, nobody lived inside the mansion--that was a mere display for mundanes passing by. The real clan house was underground--almost like district 13; an ant farm if you will.

Gabel sent me a smile before he practically skipped to the elevator. Still silent and dumbfounded, I followed him into the elevator without a complaint.

He pressed the down button and the elevator started moving. He cleared his throat and began to talk.

"I've never liked her." He stated. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's true. She's such a wretched witch to be around. It almost makes me want to pour water over her head."

"Water?"

"Yes, to see if she would melt like that western witch from that mundane movie . . . what was it called?"

"The Wizard of Oz?"

"Yes!" He chuckled at his own reference and I couldn't help but join in.

"Thank you." I told him as soon as the doors opened.

"Of course."

There aren't any hunters around when we get out of the elevator, so it was easy for me to follow him in the shadows unnoticed. He lead me into one of the clan house's guest spaces and closed the door behind me. Awkward silence choked the air before he let out a sigh.

The room is more of a business space with its large desk, table, and couch. Gabel motions me to the table and I take the seat across from him, the door a clear view from my seat.

He clasped his hands together before getting right down to business.

"Rosemary, being mated to a werewolf is one of the highest acts of treason that can be committed. You know this right?"

I didn't trust my voice, so I nodded instead.

"And as Sorrel kindly supplied, the punishment is banishment. No contact with the clan. No relationships of any kind with any of the hunters. And most certainly no possession of sacred weapons--all will be taken from you."

I couldn't breath. A snake was constricting my body as I thought about it--no scythes, no Jack, no clan. No purpose.

"All will be taken from me." I whispered.

I couldn't meet his eyes, hell, I couldn't even look at my own hands. Instead I looked at nothing as my mind tried to shield itself from the threatening information being presented.

There was a moment of silence before Gabel spoke again. "Peter and I, we're cousins. More than ten years older than him, he was like a baby brother to me. I knew Jasmine as well," He clears his throat when he sees my darkening expression, "but Peter, he was really something. We haven't seen each other in years, which is why he's probably never talked about me, but trust that I would do anything for him in a heartbeat. You may not be Peter's child by blood, but you are most certainly his daughter. To not be allowed to speak to your own kin, I know the feeling." He cleared his throat before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is I don't want this to happen to you. You're a good kid Rosemary, and I don't need to ask to know that your situation wasn't by choice." I swallow as Gabel thought to himself. "His head . . . the Council has issued that all hunters from this clan house attack Kane and any of his associates--that was what I was sent here for, to tell Sorrel the council's wish. Whoever this Kane is, he's more than your typical big, bad wolf. If you can kill him and bring his head to the council, they might forget your . . . condition and come to a compromise. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I breathed. "Kill Kane or be banished. I think I understand what I need to do."

Gabel noded. "Just remember that all hunters will be after him, not just you, so you can't do what you've been doing for the last month." I nodded and started to get up, but he stopped me.

"Before you go, there are two more things you should know. First, Jack is in holding."

What?

"Why is Jack in holding? He's done nothing wrong to be put behind the clan house's bars."

Gabel sent me a look I didn't like whatsoever.

"What happened?" I hissed.

"He attacked Cleora when she told the whole clan that you abandoned them to be with a werewolf. He kept shouting that she was a liar and that you were only still looking for your scythes. He caused quite a ruckus--broke two chairs and a table. He also gave Cleora bruises she's not going to forget for a while, was trying to knock some sense into her by the looks of it. Anyways a couple hunters had to wrestle him into a holding space. Quite a strong kid, Peter would be proud." He chuckled out the last part. I on the other hand, was unamused.

"Let me see him."

"I can't." He said solemnly. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Your situation is very delicate. While the part about you being mated by a werewolf is true, Cleora also did add a couple lies to the mix."

Of course the bimbo did.

"She said that Jack knew that you had "eloped" and was trying to hide it from the clan. She said that the two of you attempted a conspiracy to make it work. Obviously that was a lie, but Cleora's family has friends in the council and that stupid stunt could turn into a life of imprisonment for Jack. Rosemary, for Jack's sake I need you to stay far away from him. Your interaction with him could be in Cleora favor if the right webs are spun." He sighed and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Please understand."

Understand, my ass. Like I was just not going to see Jack again. I'd find a loophole, there was always a way when it came to the law. But for now, I would oblige to Gabel's logic and go with it until things cooled down. "And the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, this isn't bad news, but on top of Kane being added to the "wanted list," the beast the bit you is added as well."

Shit. I could feel the blood drain from my body as my body went lax and I lost my strength for a short moment.

"Rosemary?"

"You can't kill him." I mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"If you kill him, the bond between us will kill me as well. If one of us goes down, so does the other."

Gabel didn't say anything.

"Gabel?" I asked after he didn't speak for a while.

"I-I'm sorry Rosemary. I just don't know what to do. Bloody hell." he grabbed his hair and pulled. Abruptly, he stood and walked towards the doors. He opened the door and turned back towards me. "Rosemary, you need to leave now. A couple hunters were sent to kill him an hour ago. I can't believe I'm saying this, but if what you said is true, then you need to get back to whatever rock that werewolf lives under and save his ass."

I got up and cursed to myself. I exited the room and turned towards Gabel once more.

"Gabel?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure Jack eats while I'm gone."

--------------------------------

And here's the part I promised for this week! I will update again on the weekend, in case if you were wondering. I'm sorry if this chapter was boring, but there was information that needed to be said!

Song: Heathens Artist:  21 Pilots

Let me just say that I. Love. This. Song.

I know it doesn't quite fit with this chapter . . . at all, but then again, when do my songs ever fit?! Anyways it's a pretty new song (as of 6/22/16) and I've been listening to it non-stop. Figured I would spread the word about the song in case some people haven't heard it yet. Fun fact: this song was not suppose to come out this soon, but it was leaked and so 21 pilots was forced to release it on iTunes. Sorry that was random, but hey, if you like 21 pilots you should check out the song ;)

Yours truly,

~ B e l l e