Ascendant Moon

Chapter Six: Secret Solver

Gideon flipped through the pages of a worn book he'd found towards the back of his library. He had already settled on the fact he would accept the strange woman's help. There were more positives than negatives to that decision. Dex had also come around to the idea a lot more since spending time with Romina. Gideon wasn't going to question why or how, (and he wasn't certain he wanted to know the details) but he was glad his Beta and friend was lending more support to the idea.

      The real obsession had been trying to figure out what she was. There was challenge in that woman's eyes, but considering her warrior status, Gideon imagined she saw everything as a challenge to overcome. His Google search had provided promising leads and the vast majority of beings he'd found in Wikipedia lists or blog posts were easily wiped out from his list. While he had stuck to predominately humanoid creatures, he hadn't completely ruled out things that could shift shape. Obviously werewolves were straight out, but things like nymphs or kelpies had remained on his own list marked "Possibility." 

      He sighed, turning another page. This book looked as if it had been in the library since before his grandfather's time. The pages were yellow with age and felt delicate beneath his fingertips. But what had caught his attention in the first place, was that the book was simply called "Bestiary." Inside were inked illustrations and descriptions of all kind of creatures, but so far, nothing resembling the woman had turned up. 

      Gideon turned another page, barely glancing at it as a knock on the door interrupted his perusal. "Come in." He uttered, fully aware that the wolf on the other side of the door would still be able to hear him. Of course, Dex strolled in. Not many other wolves would bother him while in his study. Dex was the main exception to the rule, though Gideon could honestly say he didn't mind much.

"Hey Gideon, I won't stay long. Just got a quick message from Romina. She said to rule out elf and pixie if you haven't done so already." 

"How does she know?" Gideon asked curiously.

Dex shrugged. "She said something about doing her own research, but she was on her way to patrol so I didn't catch much else." 

"Well it's nice of her to help." Gideon said, appreciation coating his tone. That was what pack did, helped each other out, protected each other. As Alpha he felt that need very acutely. It was the main factor in his decision process.

"Oh well it looks like I gave the message too late. Seems you've found out what she is after all." Dex inclined his head towards the open book on the desk. 

      Gideon flicked his eyes downwards, drinking in the pages. There was an illustration in black ink of a male and female figure. Their ears were elongated and they were garbed almost exactly like the odd woman. Though there was no colour in the image, their irises had a purposeful dark ring separating them from the scleras. The male figure was grinning outward, showing rows of triangular teeth, while the female figure clutched a very familiar blade. Anticipation bubbled within him as he scanned over the information page. 

      There in elegant, bold lettering was written "Unseelie Fae." Yes, he had her!

 "Indeed I have," Gideon grinned up at Dex, the full satisfaction of this simple knowledge evident across his features. "It appears our friend in the cell is an Unseelie fae." 

"Never heard of them." Dex uttered, stepping closer in his curiosity. 

"That might be because according to this, she comes from another world or dimension." Gideon responded as his eyes flicked quickly over the page.

"Huh." Dex murmured, which was frankly an underwhelming response to this information in Gideon's opinion. "So, if she's from another place, what's she doing on pack territory?" Dex continued. 

"I don't know, but I fully intend to find out before agreeing to unlock her cell." He slipped in a scrap of paper between the pages and closed the book, before rising from his chair tucking the book under one arm. "Besides, it's almost time for dinner. I think I'll take it to her personally." Gideon headed towards the door, leaving Dex with no choice to follow. 

"If you say so mate. You want me to come down with you again? Just in case she decides she wants to strangle you for keeping her in a cage? We don't know what she'll do when you let her out." 

Gideon nodded. "In fact, I have an idea..." 

                                                                                    ***

How many more footsteps were going to disturb her peace? If Marwen didn't know any better, she'd have thought her popularity had increased. She stood up as usual, waiting to see who was going to stop on the other side of the bars this time. Well, this was an honour. The Alpha himself had decided to grace her with his presence, along with a large russet coloured wolf that was clearly ready to strike at any moment.

"So, are you giving him to me as a snack or the other way around?". Marwen asked, inclining her head towards the wolf. 

She would swear the Alpha almost smiled. "Not quite." 

"But you did bring me something to eat right?" The lack of plate being held by anybody did not sit well with her. 

The Alpha did not answer. Instead he pulled a book out from under his arm. "So tell me, why would an unseelie fae be roaming around amongst us mere mortal werewolves?" 

      She was impressed. The sliver of respect she'd been hanging onto from their earlier interaction grew without her permission. His resourcefulness was appealing. Though at least she now had the term for these wolf people. Werewolves. She played with the word in her mind, it was new, unusual and she found she liked it. 

"Congratulations on your victory. Tell me, how much do you know?" Marwen countered. Let us see how well he has done his research. 

"I know that unseelie fae come from another world. Which begs the question, if you're from another dimension or whatever you want to call it, why would you be wandering around a forest near nightfall and far from home?" 

Well, that was perhaps the most obvious question. Marwen smirked. "All in good time. First, I want out of this cage." 

      The Alpha seemed to consider her words carefully, his eyes falling to the russet wolf before he directed a narrowed gaze her way. His lips spoke one firm word.

 "Done."