CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: NOT EDITED

"Dear Marie-Jeanne, I wish I had better news to report. But even with the support of our Indian allies, we are losing this war to the British. We have heard news that Montreal has fallen. Marcel and I has both suffered injuries. All that keeps us alive is the hope of seeing our home again, and of seeing you, my sister."

Allison's grandfather was explaining the story about the Beast and where it came from. Apparently it started with two men named Marcel and Sebastian, who were in the battlefield during the Seven Years War in 1760. As soon as they lost the war, they went to take shelter in a small shed. A woman was living there and told them that a creature roamed these parts, a shapeshifter, causing them to be afraid.

"That letter would eventually find its way into the hands of a young woman. A skilled hunter who would later face the Beast armed with nothing but a steel-tipped pike," Gerard Argent explained, "She would be known by history as the Maid of Gevaudan. But her real name was Marie-Jeanne."

"Maybe someone should resurrect her," Parrish said, walking to the door.

"Don't leave," Lydia called after him.

He stopped and looked at her, "My dreams aren't like yours, Lydia. I'm not just a harbinger of death. I'm the cause of it."

"Jordan!" Lydia shouted, running after him.

"Let him go," Gerard said, making her stop in her tracks.

"Why?" Lydia asked him.

"Because we have a demi-dragon with us," Gerard explained, looking at me, "Because as much as we believe Parrish could take on the Beast, neither of us think he's our only hope at stopping it."

"Wait, I'm some kind of reptile?" I asked, un-amused, and when he didn't answer I spoke up again, "Lovely."

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, looking at him in confusion.

"We think there's another," Gerard explained, "You."

Lydia closed the book and was about to walk away when Gerard's voice stopped her in her tracks, "Marie-Jeanne was a lot like you, Lydia. Skeptical of her own abilities. And once, actually, just as skeptical of the supernatural."

Gerard started to explain the story again. The Beast was a hot topic at the famous inn, in town and no one knew what it was, but there were rumors. At a table people were discussing about the Beast attacking an eleven year old girl. A lot of the people gave out descriptions of the creature, but the people didn't know which one was true.

"The people planned to send out the town's professional hunters, even a girl named Marie-Jeanne. At first she didn't believe the rumors but when a man named Henri entered the inn with a young boy in his arms she knew they were true. The boy was the son to the bartender's, his name was Emile's and his last words were 'La Bete'.

"Did they warn her?" I asked Gerard.

"Sebastian and Marcel told her everything that happened in the war, but that didn't stop her," he explained, "They searched from dawn till dusk, hoping to find the Beast where it slept. But they knew they'd most likely only encounter it at nightfall. It was just after midnight when the first torch went out. The only one that survived was Marie-Jeanne."

Lydia stared at him, "Did Marie-Jeanne kill the Beast?"

All of sudden, I felt dizzy and almost fell to the floor but Gerald caught me the same time Lydia almost fell to the floor. I looked at her with wide eyes on how we reacted the same way, but I couldn't form the words to ask her. Ever since I found out what I was, I didn't know how to react in the end.

"Something's happening," I forced out the words, making Lydia nod her head in agreement.

"Now?" Chris asked, frowning.

"I don't know. But something's wrong," Lydia stated, heading for the door, "I can't stay here."

"You should hear the rest of the story," Gerard said.

"Why should we be listening to you?" I asked him.

"He knows it better than any of us," Chris explained.

"Everything I've read says that the Beast was killed by Jean Chastel," Lydia told him.

"Who told you that?" Gerard asked, frowning.

"The internet," Lydia said.

"If that's your most reliable source of information, then you might as well go."

"What happened next?"

"Henri brought Marie-Jeanne to his home. A place protected by a circle of Mountain Ash trees," Gerard explained, "He knew that Marie-Jeanne would find the mountain ash from him and also receive the Rowan berries as well. She would then supply the hunting party with them, a useful item to help stop the Beast."

"What did she do?" I asked.

Gerard kept on explaining the story and I was so intrigued by it. Even when he revealed the truth that Sebastian was the Beast of Gevaudan. It took me by surprise that she would kill her own brother but if I was in her position I would've done the same thing. He was killing innocent people and that made me think of Theo and how he was doing the same thing to others. Gerald was getting to the part were Marie-Jeanne finally killed her brother, and when he finished I was intrigued and shocked.

"Damnatio Memoriae," Lydia repeated.

"They erased every detail of him," Chris explained, "Everything he signed, everything he owned.

"They burned it all," Gerard said, "he name Sebastien Valet has been forgotten for over 150 years, but when it's remembered."

"When the Beast remembers, the teenager inside is forgotten," Chris realized, making me swallow hard.

"Gone. Forever."

But Marie-Jeanne didn't do it alone. She was never alone. She had help from Henri, the Magistrate, the town, even Marcel. We need Parrish and I need Carter," Lydia stated, looking at me, "I'm going to go find him."

"Lydia, he's dangerous," Chris explained, "He's still a shapeshifter. And one who's just beginning to understand his power."

"And I'm not?" Lydia said, turning around to look at them.

"You're not the same. You access the supernatural. It works through you."

"But it doesn't control you," Gerard added.

"How would you know?" Lydia retorted, "Why do you care? Why are you suddenly on our side?"

"Because it's my name as well," He stated, "Marie-Jeanne never left Henri after the death of her brother. And their relationship become more than a partnership. They married and she took his name."

"Argent," I said.

"Marie-Jeanne was the first hunter."

"Our name will be remembered as well, Lydia. For killing the Beast," Gerald said proudly.

"But I'm not an Argent," Lydia stated, "And I'm not Allison."

And with that, she left.

While I stayed with Gerald and Argent, a lot of things went down. Scott and his friends figured out who the Beast was and when they told me, I was surprised. It was Mason, Liam's best friend and someone who I was growing attached to and now it's the next day and we were looking for Mason. I was with Gerald and Argent when we arrived to the scene where my brother and the others where. When we got there, I didn't see Mason but I saw a guy standing in his place.

"Who the hell was that?" I asked them when they took off.

"You've seen the Beast of Gevaudan," Gerald said, "That was the Man. Sebastian Valet."

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This chapter eighteen and I'm sorry if it was rushed, I apologize. There is one more chapter after this one. This chapter is dedicated to

Question: How did you guys like this chapter in the end? The story that was told about the Beast of Gevaudan? Predictions on what it's going to happen next?