Reborn, chapter 19

The council

I'm sorry for the late update. I got so wrapped up in my other story 'Let's pretend' that I forgot to update this one.

It was already dawn when Thalia and Nate reached the mansion. They found everyone gathered up and waiting. Hailey and Mason seemed pretty close and happy. Hunter on the other hand seemed restless

"Where have you two been? We should already be on our way"

"Good morning to you too brother. We're here, we can go. We'll take the car because Hailey won't be able to run with us"

"Sure whatever" hunter said heading to the jeep parked in front of the gate.

"Thank you Nathaniel" Hailey thanked him and went to the car as well while Mason was picking up their bags. 

Thalia went to Nate's bedroom and packed a bag for the both of them. They didn't know how long it could take them with the council. She wanted to take a bath but didn't want Hunter to get angry at her tardiness. She made her way quickly to the jeep "I'm ready".

Hunter started the car and drove through the woods.

"What's the plan?" Thalia asked from the back seat looking at Nathaniel.

"The plan is to get there as soon as possible. I'll first have to take my file, read the charges. I then have the choice to either have a lawyer or any other witness defendant"

"After that?" Hailey asked Nate wanting to know more.

"After that, I will be taken to the jury and see how it goes. Either I'm free to go, or I'm charged guilty. If I'm guilty, either I die, or I rot in jail without being fed."

"That's really awful" Thalia said sitting back feeling worried.

"Don't worry love, it won't come to that. We have Hunter with us. Don't underestimate him".

Hunter smirked "being part of the high council makes your voice heard. I might get them to dismiss the charges without having him to step foot in the court room. So after he takes his file, I do my job and try to fix it."

It was a long ride. The girls fell asleep while both vampires kept teasing Mason on not recognizing his mate.

"Thalia, Hailey, wake up. We're here" Thalia woke up to Hunter's voice and looked around alarmed when she didn't see Nathaniel. Hunter knew what was going on in her mind "He's fine" he told her pointing to a building "He's inside getting his file. I have a house near the council. Once he gets back you'll all go get some rest while I speak with the council members. It shouldn't be hard to convince them he had nothing to do with Karly's desires and cravings".

Thalia nodded sitting properly and looked at Hailey half asleep in Mason's arms. She looked at them questioningly she had just met the guy... "Did I miss something?" she asked them playfully.

Before Mason could even answer her, Hunter burst in laughter "Well little pup here is the witch's mate. He didn't even know it. She had to tell him"

Thalia's eyes grew wide, she didn't know what was fun about that but was happy for her friend.

Hailey sat up looking at Hunter "She won't get what's funny. She didn't know Nate was her mate either"

"What! How is that even possible? We recognize our mate the second we lay eyes on him/ her. How could you not know?"

"In my defense, I was just turned, had a million things running through my mind and I didn't even know mates existed. But Mason, you've been a wolf for so long, you know the legends how didn't you know?"

"I don't know" he said embarrassed.

Thalia smiled and messed up his hair "It's fine shit happens." She then saw Nathaniel coming back and she jumped out of the car to meet him halfway. She hugged him tightly "are you ok?"

"Yes love, I'm fine. I just got my file" they got into the car and went to Hunter's house.

"You call this a house?" Hailey mused "What the thing with vampires and mansions?"

"They like to show off" Mason chuckled earning a glare from Hunter "Sorry man" he smiled sheepishly as he took out the bags from the trunk. They all went inside except for Hunter who went to the council meeting after taking a quick look at Nathaniel's file.

They were all lounging by the pool when Thalia came out with a glasses of blood for her and Nate. "This place looks like heaven"

"It does indeed" Hailey said joyfully.

"So what have you been charged with?" Thalia asked him as she sat next to him sipping on her blood as if it was wine.

He sighed pulling out a paper from the file and handed it to Thalia. She read through it and sighed.

"What does it say?" Hailey asked her curious.

Thalia read it out loud.

"The vampire Nathaniel Black has broken the following rules regarding the council and the vampire treaties of 1870:

-Turning a human

-Letting her live with humans

-Turned another human, taught her the ruthless vampire life

-Fed on humans

-Killed the vampire Cynthia"

"What!" Hailey exclaimed "Cynthia is very much alive and Karly chose to live this way on her own, how can they mark you just for this"

"All this could lead to exposure. That's why they marked me. We've been hiding for so long, a few mistakes could expose us all. This could mean war with humans."

Mason got up and came to stand in front of them "But do you think Hunter could really discharge you of all these?"

"Yes. They aren't extreme charges, I might not even have to go to council court."

"Than why come here at all?" Thalia asked raising an eyebrow.

Nate sighed sitting up "Look, my mark is fading, the burning pain is gone. And all that just because I showed up and took my file. Meaning I'm not running away from the law."

She nodded and finished up her glass of blood "If I knew this place had a pool I would have brought a bikini."

Hailey giggled "This place is just like heaven"

Both girls got up thinking the same thing as they looked at the huge house "I'm sure we could find something in that house right? He sure brought girl over before"

"Don't touch anything girls. We don't want to step on Hunter's bad side. Can you make us something to eat instead?"

Later that evening , Hunter came into the living room with a gloomy expression on his face. "Brother" he pulled a chair and sat with them on the dining table. "Who cooked?"

"Hailey" Thalia said impatiently wanting to know the outcome of his meeting.

But hunter was silently looking at the food on the table. He spotted the bottle of blood and poured himself a glass. He looked up and saw them all staring at him "What?"

Thalia was losing her patience as she started tapping on the table with her fingernails "Just say it already!"

"Jesus Thalia, calm down. I don't even know how to start. The council is very mad. They are afraid you'll go back to your old ways and they think you should be punished at any cost."

"But he didn't kill Cynthia, he turned me because I'm his mate! That's absurd"

Everyone stayed silent looking at Thalia as she paced back and forth. "I can't let them take him I just can't. I just got him back Hunter! Why give me hope when you'll do nothing!"

Hunter looked at her for a few seconds before he burst in laughter looking at Nathaniel "Careful brother, you got yourself a feisty mate" he chuckled getting up "Roll up your sleeve" Nathaniel did as his brother said and noticed the mark was gone. "They lifted all charges thanks to me"

"No way!" she started jumping up and down from happiness and hugged Nathaniel so tightly she might have crushed a few bones. He winced but laughed with her anyway.

She looked up at Hunter "thank you so much Hunter"

"No problem. So when is the wedding?"

"Wedding?" Hailey choked on her juice "Jeez she's barely eighteen!"

Thalia chuckled "Don't worry Hails, I'm not marrying this young, but that is bound to happen. Right Nate?"

"Of course love"

They stayed at Hunter's mansion for a few days, they still needed to deal with Liam. And they still needed to find out who sent out all the photos of Thalia to the whole school. Her mother was still out of the country on a cruise, she found love again after so many years of loneliness and grief. Hailey and Mason were getting closer with each passing minute and they were all over each other which made Hunter groans and threatened to kill them both if they don't control their sex drive. Thalia was happy, she wanted nothing else in the world than be with her mate, here in Hunter's little paradise. But she knew they had to go back to real life, to school, to the friends who betrayed her before.

"Are you ready to go back?" Nathaniel asked her as he packed while she lounged on the bed staring at the ceiling blankly.

"Yes, I'm ready. Amy thinks I faked my death, but I compelled her. She can't say anything about it to anyone. She feels bad of the way she treated me, and she keeps on texting asking where I am. But, I don't know if I can trust her again"

"Baby, everyone deserves a second chance. Look at us, we were a mess and now we are inseparable. I think you should give her a chance without getting as close as you were. Forgive Karly, and James."

"yes there is James too. He's all alone now, do you think he'll turn into a bad vampire?"

"No, as long as Liam stays away from him, I'm sure he'll behave."

"Can't we just file a complaint about Liam? Everything he did to get revenge is against the treaty"

"It's not that easy. He's part of the council, he'll find a way around it."

"Yes, but we could try right?"

"I'll talk to Hunter about it"

The ride back home was fun, Hunter was in a great mood, he kept making jokes and making them all laugh. Thalia was sitting between Mason and Hailey, since all Mason thought about lately was to mark Hailey who wasn't ready yet. He kept trying to steal a kiss or touch her hair or her hand and every time Thalia would snarl at him and he would back off. She felt bad for him but the way he coward away was so fun reminding her of a lost puppy. Not because he was afraid of her, but because as soon as she would snarl at him, the other vampires would growl at him. He was out of luck.

The girls went to Thalia's house to get some rest while the men went to Nathaniel's mansion. Thalia and Hailey showered and put on their pyjamas. They were sitting on the bed watching netflix, eating snacks of all sorts and having a girl's night when the bell rang. In seconds Thalia opened it and saw Amy crying her eyes out.

"Amy? Oh my god what happened?" Amy said nothing but she kept crying so Thalia let her in and sat her on the couch. "Calm down" she started calming her down while Amy rested her head on her shoulders.

Thalia could smell blood, but she didn't know where it came from. And t started getting to her head, she felt the need to feed. She immediately pushed Amy back and got up just as Hailey came down and sighed.

"What's going on? Why are you all flustered and why is she crying?"

Thalia just shook her head backing away even more "I'm not sure but I can smell blood"

Hailey came closer to Amy and gasped "Thalia, her neck. She's been bit".

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I'm not sure how much of a cliffhanger this is, and I hope this chapter wasn't boring. The story is coming to an end, only a few more chapter and it will be complete.

If any of you has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

LoVe YoU <3