The Trial

Chapter 11

Four hours later, I'd finished the diary and was in a state of shock. Kathrine had made the beast himself fall for her. unfortunately, she was only tricking him to get close enough to kill him. she had complications with her mind though. some days, she seemed to actually write about him like she had feelings. other days, she was so disgusted by him that she'd write furiously about how much she wanted to kill him. there were some days that she couldn't remember what she was doing, who she was, who the beast was, or where she was. day by day, she became more and more confused. 

at first, I thought she was confused about things because she cared for him. then, I realized that she was loosing her mind. he had seen it too, and she knew he had. some of things she would write about him being so kind and gentle surprised me. one of the days that she seemed to have her wits about her, the beast had offered to turn her. she had refused and wrote about how horrified she was by the thought. a few days later, she wrote that she had reread her last few entries because she couldn't remember several things. that day, she wrote that, even if he had changed her, her mind wouldn't be able to fix itself. the most surprising part was that the beast himself had told her that. she even wrote how sad he seemed that he couldn't help her. 

it was strange. I'd never seen the beast be anything but angry. the one moment in time that I've spent the past three years studying only showed him as the beast we know, but, according to Kathrine, there was a soft side to him. one that wanted peace and calm. a side that was tired of the constant fighting. 

Kathrine had been a hunter. not a true hunter, or shifter, but a human that helped them hunt down vampires and kill them. somehow, she had gotten lost and stumbled upon the beast while he was feeding. he had taken a liking to her blood, but, over time, he became to enjoy her company. 

in the end, the true hunters and the human hunters used her to draw him out. they nearly succeeded in killing him, but she had allowed him to feed from her and unknowingly showed him her true intentions. it also showed him that he was right about her mind failing her. 

the true hunters and set a trap with her as the bait, but he didn't come. they accused her of telling him, and she denied it. they locked her away for a few days, and, before her ramblings ended, I got the strong sense that the hunters, true or human, we're going to execute her. 

there were so many details in the diary  that I had to rethink my plan on what I'd say to him, if I did manage to get him to stop long enough to listen to me. I still had a few hours, before dinner would be served. I needed to clear my head and think, so I left my room to go for another jog. it seemed that was the best way to clear my head. it always worked. I got my best thinking done when I jogged alone with no destination and no distractions. 

I didn't bother putting on my uniform jacket. my v-neck t-shirt would be better, less restriction and breathable. I could jog for hours. as I stepped outside, the warm sun heated my skin, and I took in a deep, calming breath, before I started off to my left, hitting a steady pace before I rounded the corner. 

**** 

about an hour had passed, when I rounded the corner by the door for what I'd guessed to be the hundredth time. I'd came up with what I was going to say to him, but I still wasn't sure how I was going to get him to stop and hear me out. I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't sense someone behind me. 

right before they grabbed my shoulder, I ducked out from under their hand and spun around to face them, stopping dead in my tracks. I was half ready to fight at the sudden attempt to grab me, but I wasn't expecting to see Ares, standing there with a slight smirk on his face. "want some company?"

shaking my head internally, I let out the breath I was holding and half sighed "sure." I didn't wait for his response. I just turned back around and took off at the pace I'd been keeping for the past hour. he quickly fell into step beside me; a little too close for comfort.