Passion for Blood

Chapter 23:

"I must say I am very excited to spend the day with you," Valerie grins as we walk through the forest. "Yes, Cole says it may be good to experience your ways and learn something about your world," I smile back at her. "Well naturally it's your mates' job to educate you but he is otherwise invested in killing Lucian so I'll be your mate for today." She loops our arms together as we continue down our walk. We soon stop for a break and sit on logs enjoying the nature around us. "It's so peaceful here," I say as I breathe in the fresh air. "It's one of the greatest gifts Selene has given us, nature and the peace it offers." "I thought mates are the greatest gifts," I say looking at her. "Oh they are, your mate is your whole life, I could never imagine losing them it would hurt far more than anything else." "What do you mean?" I ask confused. "When you lose your mate a piece of you dies that's the piece of you that they attached themselves to, it's almost like your souls intertwined and when they are gone...your soul is incomplete," she says as she stares off into the distance. "I didn't know they had a much deeper meaning than being anchors," I half smile thinking about mine and Fit's relationship, I can't understand what we are really. "They are anchors, they hold down the most human part of you the emotional and loving part that your animal or dead part can't."

"Well that all sounds lovely and very heart melting if only it were true," I sigh as I stand. "What are you going on about? Of course, it's true," Valerie defends as she too stands. "If it were don't you think Fitz and I would be normal?" I ask taking her aback. "Yes you and Fitz are quite odd but that's why you two were put together, I know Fitz has done terrible things but you seem to only focus on those terrible things." It's true I have been focused on his bad side but at the same time, I have hardly seen any good in him. "Fitz has left me to choose between right and wrong on my own, between what I know and what I don't know, I could learn about your ways and understand your world but how does that solve the real problem?" I ask. "What problem is that Madeleine?" "The undead attacks, the council lying about their origin, Lucian maybe wanting revenge and Fitz just popping in out as he pleases, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind," I say waving my hands everywhere. "Come with me." Is all she says before walking in the direction of the village.

"What is this?" I ask as I stare at a statue of a woman in a cloak sitting with what looks like the moon in her hands. "Selene, when I feel stressed or lost I turn to her for she knows what you need," valerie says. I look around the place admiring the candles everywhere and the artwork telling the story of their world. The place reminds me of a church this must be theirs. I notice on the one side the art tells the story that Thea shared about the gifted being burned and so on. I see a woman in a red cloak holding a child while standing around dead bodies, Fitz's mother? I follow the story onwards, eventually reaching the formation of the council. Instead of people symbols replace the different groups, claw marks for wolves, a sword for man and a tree for the gifted. They all form a circle with long strokes representing light around it. As I continue looking I come to the packs' story, I notice two symbols one with claws and another with a half-moon. "What is this?" I ask, soon Valerie joins me as we stare at the pictures. "That's the two packs that initially joined the council," she says. Two? "I thought it was just one," I say confused. "Coles pack was also a part of the council alongside Lucians, when Fitz came to our lands, Anastasia was drawn to him much to her brother's displeasure, after Fitz's mother died, Fitz's father sought revenge and so used his magic to control the wolves to kill his son, during that time the council was breaking apart and so Coles pack," she points to the claws, "left before their people got hurt. As you know our minds are not that simple and so in the end Lucian killed Fitz's father, much to Fitz's displeasure. "So Fitz is angry with Lucian because he killed his father?" I ask trying to fit the pieces together. "No actually Fitz was relieved, Fitz is angry at Lucian because of the death of Anastasia."

"Why do have their story in your temple, why not just your species only?" I ask as we walk out of the temple. "Cole's father decided that we should have these types of stories here because of the impact it made if not on us then the people around us, to remind us of the power we were given and the wrongs that could be done with it and its consequences." Interesting how they view Fitz's story as a life lesson.