The Hunter and The Hex

Chapter 1

》》》 1 《《《

The old clock radio clicked on as the hour struck 10am filling the room with the chorus of a classic "OooOooh here she comes, Watch out boy she'll chew you up… OooOooh her she comes, she's a-" the lump under the deep purple comforter had slipped its hand out from under the security of the covers and extended an index finger. The digit spun a tight circle and upon its second full rotation the radio clicked off before the chorus could finish; plunging the room back into the silence.

The midmorning sun peeked through a gap in thick gold velvet curtains and the lump moved with a groan as the silence was once again broken this time by the jaunty tune from the old flip phone on the nightstand. The same hand popped out grabbing the phone and it was brought back into the nest of warmth and answered without speaking.

After a few moments of silence it was broken again with an exuberant female voice "hello? Marinette? Hellllloooooooo?" Marinette huffed holding the phone away from her ear as her best friend Sam called cheerfully through the speaker. "I'm up, I'm up, I swear." She said to which the woman on the other end of the line snorted her retort, "Riiight, sure. get up, I'll have your usual ready for you." Marinette sat up and yawned, stretching her slender limbs, "Ok OK seriously I'm awake. See you in 45."

She dropped the call without waiting for a reply and slid her feet into the plush jewel tone area rug below her bed. She ran her hand through her short black hair then scrubbed her face with her hand letting the room come into focus. She made her way to the bathroom and went about her morning routine.

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Swiping a hand over the fogged up mirror after her shower she stared at her cat green eyes for a moment then fixed her short black pixie cut hair with a little hair wax before doing her makeup. Never one for a full face of cosmetics she stuck to a tinted moisturizer, a smidgen of mascara on her already dark lashes, and a swipe of lip balm before she headed to her closet to dress.

She pulled her maroon lace cheeky panties and matching strappy bralette on before slipping into a simple black sundress with double spaghetti straps that criss-crossed with the bralette's, a deep v-neck, and a hemline toeing the line of risqué. Knee high black socks trimmed in lace, black leather ankle boots and a maroon sheer kimono style cardi with tone on tone embroidery along the sleeves and hem completing the basics of her outfit.

She adorned her body with a multitude of necklaces and bangle bracelets that all clinked when she moved her arms. Mismatched earrings both in style and length in the multitude of piercings in each ear and a single ring onto her right index finger, a beautiful piece of platinum cradling a trio of gemstones, a polished to perfection sunstone nestled between a moonstone and labradorite.

Marinette headed to the door of her old Victorian house and placed her black sunhat on her head, her dark tinted spectacles on her nose and grabbed her silver hand clutch shoving her cellphone, keys, lip balm and Tarot deck inside it before heading out the door. She wiggled her index finger as she got to the end of the walkway and smiled as the door to her home locked, exiting the low gate she stepped out onto the sidewalk and started her 5 minute walk to mainstreet and The Daily Grind the town cafe run by her best friend, to pick up her brunch before opening her shop at noon-ish.

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The town of Misthaven was as quaint as it's name suggested. Just a small seaside village on a small peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic from the New England coast line. It did a fair amount of touristy type business from big city dwellers looking to enjoy it's pristine beaches, antiques stores, stunning seaside views and historic homes and Main Street.

Marinette had moved here 6 years ago from across the country for a fresh start at the tender age if 16, using her inheritance and a slew of magically back fake identification to outright purchase her home and a small shop she named The Wishing Well that she ran on the end of the town's main thoroughfare closest to the beach. It was the spot no business wanted as it was prone to flooding during storms but Marinette had no such troubles thanks to a few magical upgrades to the property, a fact that raised a lot of suspicion and jealousy in some of the townspeople.

Even after 6 years the townspeople were still somewhat divided on her presence here. They all found her odd, and while the fact she was a witch was the town's worst kept secret, all but a few knew she was an actual witch, not some new age hippie with a fascination with rocks and herbs. Still business was good even in a small town, and even though a decent amount of people still tended to shy away or shun her in public they would also pay her well for the soaps lotions and hair care products she hand crafted in her shop, or her herbal remedies or the occasional card reading. They would pay her extremely well for the occasional spell or charm.

Marinette was what you would call a grey witch, she didn't like to hurt anyone but she had no qualms hexing a motherf*cker especially if they hurt someone and got away with it; for hexes she never charged. The walk was short and uneventful as she turned onto Main Street her smile widened seeing Sam out in the cafés sidewalk seating area talking to a large fair-haired man.

Her head tilted slightly as Duran Duran's hungry like a wolf popped into her head. The chunky wooden high heels of her boots heralded her approach; the man turned his nordic blue eyes on her and she felt her heart skip a beat. Her intuition was sounding every alarm bell it had as she arrived in front of the reincarnation of Thor and her bestfriend, the chorus of the song falling softly from her lips

"Straddle the line in discord and rhyme;

I'm on the hunt I'm after you;

Mouth is alive, with juices like wine;

And I'm hungry like the wolf."

The man's eyebrow arched his eyes moving up from her mouth to her eyes as she peered at him over the top of her glasses. Sam rolled her eyes as her song trailed off, "Marinette is a strange little bird but you get used to it and then you fall in love with her." Her friend announced cheerfully but all Marinette could do was stare at the man. Even as Sam flung her arms around her neck hugging her she couldn't seem to look away from those deep blue pools that filled her with a wholly unexpected, deep aching need and simultaneously a ping of fear.

After a moment she shook her head, clearing the fantasy of the man from her mind's theater and offered him a guarded smile. He continued to stare a perplexed look crossing his features as she turned to her friend. "You're about to burn your buns, babe." She said to Sam who blinked rapidly then gasped out, "oh my cinnamon buns!" Before she scurried inside to save her pastries from the oven leaving Marinette and the man to stare at each other in awkward silence.

Her eyes lowered from his, to his mouth and lingered for a moment before she felt her cheeks warm with the start of a soft blush. She quickly looked lower, averting her eyes but not before she swept her gaze over the graphic on his shirt and the blush immediately fled her face.