Moonlight Ridge

7

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She was in a deep concentration. Her brows furrowed as she read a book. A knock on her door finally brought her eyes up. She looked to Rem to see if he felt threatened but Rem slept on peacefully. She went over to the door and opened it a crack. Brandon stood at the door with his eyebrows raised.

"Evening, Leo. I didn't mean to startle you."

Upon seeing that it was just him, she opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. He took his hat off and hung it on her coat rack before going over to sit by the fire. She followed him and sat across from him then looked at him expectantly.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He sighed.

She chewed her lip for a second before responding.

"Everything, sheriff."

His eyes narrowed at her being formal with him but he nodded.

"It is a lot, so I'll give you general information and be more detailed as we come across situations. So our beginning is a bit of a mystery but it's said that shifters, fae, magical animals, and the like were created by elemental gods in a place called Athrea. That for the most part, all the races lived in relative peace. The elves were explorers. They used their magic to open a portal to the parallel realm. Earth. Many races besides the elves moved into Earth and lived in harmony with humans for a long time. During that time, was when the elemental gods created the first vampire. Cassius. Cassius was supposed to live off of the essence that the old trees gave to him willingly. He was the gods' enforcer. Making sure all beings lived in peace or helping to settle disputes fairly. But it's said that the vampire crossed over to Earth and smelled human blood. Human blood called to him in a way no other being's blood nor plant essence had. Temptation was great and he violated what the gods demanded of him. He took without permission. He took so much that he stole their lives. Made immortal. Then he did a worse thing in the gods' eyes. He turned humans into creatures like him. Creatures that thirsted for blood and cared nothin' about the gods rules or value of life." He paused as if he was reliving another time. "So in response, the gods made the first Master Shifter. The only defense against the vamps. Master Shifters have taken over Cassius' duties and also exist to kill 'em. There is an old prophecy. That the lost daughter of elf King Theodre is supposed to help a Master Shifter destroy Cassius. But I ain't so sure how long we can wait for her to come along."

He stopped talking and looked deep in thought. To say she was shocked would be the understatement of her life. It couldn't be a coincidence. He spoke of things that were mentioned in the journal. Which meant that what was in her ancestor's journal was true and the last bit was the other part of the prophecy. She tried not to feel overwhelmed but the weight of everyone's future on her shoulders was a burden she never asked for. A weariness overtook her and she sighed.

"What's the matter?" Brandon's voice brought her attention back to him.

"Nothing in particular but this all sounds so....-" She broke off and shrugged. "Let me ask you, sheriff, if I may....how old are you?" She asked hesitantly.

Brandon gave her a raised eyebrow before answering.

" 'Bout a hundred years or so."

"What?! How is that possible?" Leo questioned.

"Well, for starters, us shifters live an immortal life until we find our true mate, make someone our mate....or death. I guess it's the way we were made."

"True mate? What is that?" Leo looked curiously at him.

"A true mate for a shifter is someone who was made 'specially for us. Two halves of a whole. I never did find mine, so I figured if I ever found a good woman, I'd make her into mine." He looked at her with meaning.

She squirmed a bit at his insinuation but ignored it to ask her next question.

"But how do you know if you've found this true mate? And how would a shifter make someone into one?"

"From what I've seen, first you smell them. Their smell is like heaven to you and vise versa. Then when you look into their eyes, that's when you just know. Something inside tells you. But there's a process to what comes after. If we find our true mate, we mark 'em with a bite where the shoulder and neck meet. Then the pair have to complete the bond by....becoming one in flesh." He averted his eyes from hers in an attempt at modesty before continuing. " When a shifter hasn't found their true mate, they can make a bond with someone by marking them. That takes a bit longer but can be sped up by completing the bond as you mark...."

Again he stared at her intensely but then abruptly cleared his throat and stood.

"Well, I best head out to check on my pack but I'll be back in two days to collect you."

He walked to the coat rack to get his hat. Leo followed behind him but kept her distance. She was still mulling over everything as he tipped his hat to her and went out the door.

He stopped just outside the door.

"For what it's worth, we figured out the reason that you were attacked. The shifter was force fed vamp blood and that caused his rampage." He said.

Dread filled her body knowing that a vampire had tried to kill her using the shifters. Then a thought came to her.

"What of the shifter that attacked me?" She asked.

The sheriff's shoulders tensed.

"His punishment should be death." He ground out angrily. " But on account that he wasn't in his right mind, I'll give him a thousand lashes."

Leo gasped and shook her head.

"No! I know that he tried to harm me and killed my animals but as you said....it wasn't like he wanted to do it. Please, spare him the harm." She reasoned with him.

Brandon's eyes flashed yellow and he growled. It took him several moments to calm himself.

"If that is what you want, I s'pose I can oblige you. But he will owe you dearly." He scowled.

Leo felt relief flood through her.

"Thank you, Brandon. I will see you in two days." She said quietly.

His eyes went to hers at her using his name. He regarded her a moment and gave her a half smile before turning and leaving. She closed the door and let out a sigh. It appeared that she was not safe on her own any longer. She went over to where she kept her trunks that had carried her belongings from England and began packing.

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