The Hunted

Chapter 13

(Present time)

Alexander walked to his parents  home from the bakery. He cursed under his breath as rain started to pour down. He qwickined his pace as he hid the freshly baked croissants under his jacket. He thought back to earlier that night. The young Witch he vanquished earlier must have put one hell of a spell on herself to disguise her true form. Most witches he came across didn't bother... except for one other, but he didn't wish to think of her now.

He ran up the front porch steps then wiped the rain water away from his face. Before he could reach for the doorbell the door itself swung wide open to reveal his mother behind it. She brushed lose strands of gray hair behind her ears and shot her son a smile. Her aged blue eyes lit up as he revealed the now slightly damp bag of baked goods under his jacket. "My sweet alex." She said as she snached the bag from him. "You are a angel!" she placed a kiss on his wet cheeks. "I can always count on you to bring the good stuff!"

He smiled as she pulled back and held the door open for him to enter. "Angel" she had said.. if she only knew. He hated not being able to share his secret with his mother, but he knew it were a sacred rule that could not be broken. Humans could not know the world of magic or what lurks in the night.

He walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of his father. A cooking Towle slung over his broad sholders as he stirred the ingredients into the pan. His short hair also gray, and his eyes a unforgettable blue much like his own. He chuckled when he noticed that he was wearing his mother's "kiss the cook" apron. Alexander thought that for such a strong and wise Hunter his father looked rather Normal in that moment.  "Pink definitely suits you Dad." He said as he took a seat on the table stool.

His father spun around with a smile, spatula in hand. "You should know better then to sneak up on a old man like that! You are going to give me a heart attack one of these days!" He joked. They both new that he had sensed Alexander's presence before he even walked up the porch steps.

"That Smells delicious honey." His mother spoke to his father as she came into the kitchen. She took a single croissant out of the bag he had brought her then placed the rest into the fridge. She smiled brightly as she sat next to her son, then took a large bite out of the baked goodness. "How was your week?" His mother asked him in between bites. "Busy." He spoke truthfully. "Today was especially eventful." He said this time directed to his father, knowing that he would understand what he truly meant by "eventful."

"Thats nice, I'm glad to see you are settling back into things since...." She stopped mid sentence and she could see the pain flash over his eyes at the very mention of the topic. "Clare.." He finished her words. "Since Clare."

"I'm sorry honey, I know it's still a  sore topic for you, but it's been almost  two years. If you ask me she was a idot for leaving you." His mother said as she placed a loving hand on his sholder.

He took a deep breath. He wished it were as simple as his mother believed it to be. It would be so much simpler to put behind him if that were the case.  She believed the love of his life just decided to up and leave him one day. In reality however he found out that she was a witch disguising herself in order to learn the hunters weakness, and techiques. The hardest part for him was that The sick, twisted creature actually had him deeply 
in love with her. He had planned to spend the rest of his life with what he thought at the time to be a normal, wonderful woman. It was along while later that he learned the Truth, and vanquished the creature. Her memory however still hunted him. Not the evil creature he had found her out to be.. but the woman she pretend she was. He could still remember the way her red hair shined against the grass as they laid together with a picnic basket between them. He could recall the sound of her laugh being his favorite thing in this entire world.
How could he move on from something like that? How could he ever trust someone again?

He glanced up at his mother sadly. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't even began to understand his life or the real reasons for his separation with Clare. He sometimes envied the peace that must come with the unknown.

"Thank you mom." He said as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Anytime." She said as she placed a kiss on his forehead before leaving the kitchen.

"Oh mother." He wispered to himself as she left his sight. "How do you do it? He asked his father.

His father let out breath. "By knowing  it's for the best that she doesn't know.." He said as he served his son the now cooked dinner. " I love her more then life itself, but she is still a human.. there minds are different, less complex.. she wouldn't understand... It's not safe you know that."

Alexander nodded in agreement. However It was still strange to watch his mother walk around completely oblivious to the world around her. "Now what happened today?' His father asked curiously remembering what he had mentioned earlier about the day being "eventful".

Alexander thought back to earlier in the evening. "I vanquished a well disguesed Witch in the allyway next to the bakery." She had reminded him much of Clare with how well she hid her wickedness from the world. Most of the other witches he had vanquished over the years didn't bother with blending in. "It was pure chance really." Alexander continued. "For some strange reason I couldn't sense her, but I heard the cemotion in the ally when I walked by. Strange luck isn't it?" He asked his father as he picked up a fork, ready to eat.

His father smiled widely. Alexander asumed it were because he took pride in how well he had thought him. "Strange luck indeed." His father answered.
            
                              ~~~~~~

New chapter!! New characters! Hope you enjoyed it! Please like and comment your thoughts! Mariska98