Chapter 5

Anonymous

An hour and a half.

That's how long it took before he began to see anything that could potentially be Malena's home. For the past hour and a half all he saw was trees and darkness. But as he was nearing the border, he soon found a small cabin. If it weren't for the smoke coming out of the brick chimney, he would've overlooked it. 

Not smelling a definite scent, he made his way to the cabin. 

Balancing Emerald in one arm, he knocked repeatedly on the door for someone to answer. His heart was pounding, hoping he found who it was he was looking for. 

He heard movement coming from inside and eventually the door opened. A woman who looked to be in her late thirties opened the door. She was stunning. Couldn't be any taller than 5'4'' but with her petite stature, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Her cheekbones were highly accentuated, her luxurious black hair tumbling down her waist, her lips plump. She was petite in her stature but no doubt men and women could feel intimidated by her. 

"Malena?" he questions unsure. 

She grew surprised at him knowing her name but before she answered she sensed something. Disregarding a woman in his arms altogether, she sensed that he was a werewolf. "I don't speak with your kind."

And with that, she instantly began to close the door. But he quickly placed his foot in between the door and the frame. 

"Wait please," he begs. "I need your help- well actually she does."

Malena annoyedly opens the door and looks at him. When she noticed that he was looking down at Emerald, she did the same. At first she didn't understand what he could possibly need her for but then she felt a drawing to her. Stepping closer, she overlooked features that seemed familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on how she knew her. Almost about to step back and repeat herself, her eyes were then drawn to the necklace around her neck. 

And with that she knew. 

"Emerald Taylor," she said mostly to herself but he heard nevertheless. Looking up at him, he nodded, concluding her statement. Instantly opening her door wider, she beckoned him inside, which he quickly did. Closing and locking the cabin door, she easily snapped her fingers to which candles all around the room were lit. This made him confused. "I suspect that this conversation is confidential," Malena said. "Therefore I have put up a barrier so no one can hear us." He was grateful and he soon placed Emerald on the couch. "What do you need me for you child?"

"She's dead," he simply says. 

This instantly gets Malena a reaction and she quickly makes her way Emerald, placing her hand over her chest- searching for a heartbeat. But to no avail. "How did this happen?"

"Her brothers... After the death of their parents they locked her away from the pack, beating her relentlessly, everyday. I believe they beat her so much that her body couldn't properly heal and soon she would grow subject to the wounds and die... Like tonight."

"How do you know this?"

"I followed one of her brothers one night and saw him go inside the room they were holding her captive. He was there for quite a long time so when he finished, I went inside and found her."

Malena didn't ask anymore questions about that. "When did she heal?"

"Not too long after she died. There was this light that went over her body and healed her. I've never seen anything like it."

"A light you say?" she questions, which he nods his head to. "I have to move quickly."

Quickly she was moving around the living room, pulling small bottles from the shelves. As she did so, she was mumbling something under her breath. He couldn't interpret it and he didn't try to. After she had everything she needed, she got a small beaker-like glass and started to pour a concoction into it. Going to a random plant, she takes off two leaves which she then grinds in a mortar and pestle. Once it was smashed, she scoops it into the beaker, swirling it around. 

Her chanting began to get louder and she made her way over to Emerald's corpse. Placing her hand on her forehead, then her chest, she then opens her mouth. Raising the glass to her lips, she tilts it so that the small content would go down into her throat. Once it was all in her mouth, she tilted her back to have it travel down her throat. 

For a moment, nothing happened other than Malena continuing to chant. But then Emerald began to rise. Her body floating off the couch, just about a foot, nothing more. Her thin, matted hair floated underneath her. Her arms crossed delicately at the wrists in her lap. She seemed to be at peace. 

Again a light overtook her body, more subtle this time than the last. 

Malena continued to chant the same word at this point. "Αφροδίτη." Over and over again.

Meeting his ears it sounded like "Afrodíti" which he knew was translated to Venus.

The light overtaking her body moved from her feet upward. Her calves which were once fragile grew thick and muscular, the same with her thighs. Her stomach remained flat but her waist was accentuated. Her chest then expanded, lifting itself to a bigger cup. Though her arms were covered with her sleeves, he knew that they were more toned and muscular. Continuing onto her face, nothing much changed from the first light he saw. Her cheekbones were defined, her lips were plump, her eyelashes long, and her eyebrows arched and thick. Her thin, black, matted hair was made luxurious and thick, made longer than it originally was. 

And just like that, she fell back onto the couch. The difference this time. 

She was breathing.