Man, I Feel Like a Woman Ch. 10

Thanks for reading continuously! Sorry for the wait. Just balancing life and hobbies is stressing.

Love, EJ

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When I woke up the next day, it was cold and wet. Dripping water erupts my ears. I look around to see I'm in some sort of basement. I gasp, getting up too fast. Hunter...he made an illusion. He is Pride...what the fuck?

Everything is a fake.

My dad.

Victor and Matt.

Quinn...

Is he even real? He must be if Hunter tells me that I am his and not Quinn. Or is he just saying that?

I don't know what's real.

All I know is...I want out.

"Hunter! Let me out now!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, it feels like its gonna burst. "Hunter!"

"What princess?" His voice appears behind me. I turned around and saw that he was leaning against the wall, dressed how I last saw him. Suit and his blonde hair in place. But instead of seeing his blue eyes, they're red. Fake.

I march right up to him and poked his chest. "Where am I?! Take me back!"

He covers one of his ears. "Jeesh princess, you should thank me. I gave you more history about yourself than your history teacher could ever."

I gulped. "You mean they're real?"

Hunter scoffs. "Well not the illusion, duh. But the people? Your dad? Real. But the events? Fake as fuck. Do I have to repeat myself? Or are you naturally this dumb?"

I slap his chest, repeatedly. "Fuck you," I grit my teeth. "How long have I been here?"

He grabs both of my hands. "Longer than you think. Hurt princess?" He growls. "Good. Quinn will be very happy that I got his betrothed in my hands, HA! That will show him for stealing everything."

"Huh?"

He smirks. "Of course I didn't tell the whole story. My story. Sit." He lets go and gravity made me sit on the floor.

"Gently asshole," I sneered.

"Hmm," he smiles, sitting across from me. "I like it when you're nasty. I hate that goody two shoes shit."

"Aren't you gonna tell me the story?" I roll my eyes.

He chuckles and leans back against the wall. "Well, I explained that I am one of the sins right? Of course. But am I the first ones? No. The power was passed down to me by the OG himself. Before my pride and joy moment, I was a warrior. Along with Quinn. Old souls you know?" He looks at me. "Quinn is like you, too good. Follow by the fucking rules, no matter what consequence is. Get a few people killed here? Sure. Kick your best friend out of Heaven? Ha. Number one."

Hunter stares off in the distance. "The biggest war in history between the two realms. I was the best warrior, I wore the red symbol. Meaning, I was the right hand man. Quinn, the second best." He pursed his lips. "The betrayer was in your lineage. Your great-grandmother. She fell in love with the original Pride. The thing is? I loved her too. But Pride didn't kill her. It was Quinn." Hunter glares a me. "He killed her because he was ordered too and he knew I loved her." He rolls his eyes. The gleam in his eyes. Tears?

"Quinn," he says. "Started the war. Pride found out that your great-grandmother was killed. But they were connected, somehow. So he was dying. He found me. I felt the hurt, the madness, everything. " He stretched out his arms and a red glow came around him. "He said with this gift, I can change everything."

Hunter puts his arms down. "I stop the war by killing my leader. He made a decision that led to the war. But you know what? He power went to Quinn. He fucking wrote his name as the successor in the golden scroll. Not me."

Hunter laughs and then he looks at me. "You were bound to him since you were born. I knew this much because you are the first girl after all these years." He shakes his head. "He loves you the moment he read the prophecy." He sighs, "Then he got married to another girl because he loved her too. Too bad, she couldn't resist my charms."

"You're horrible," I blurted out.

He laughs. "I'm horrible? After what I told you? You're just like him. Ugh, stupid." He gets up. "You'll get your food soon. But do me a favor? Call me if you actually need me. Not dumb shit like this." He smirks. "If you want a bed tonight, you know you can just call me and try seduce me." Then he disappears.

I groaned. I didn't even get to put in a piece of my mind. I looked around for something that will help me if it's day or night, time, even date. I sighed heavily when I saw nothing. I started looking at myself. My nails were a bit longer and I know the estimate of how long my nail grows.

A month.

I groaned and cover my eyes with my hands. "What do I do?"

All I could do is cry.

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[Quinn's POV]

I shot right up with a gasp. Sweat dripping down my chest and I hear nothing but my shallow breath. I peered to my nightstand. 3:00am.

I chuckle. Witching hour, what a way to play with my mind. I didn't dream anything, I just heard a cry. It sounded so close.

It's been a month since I got the news from warrior Cain. They lost her. They lost Elizabeth. My Elizabeth. To none other that my enemy himself.

Hunter.

I slowly lay back down, trying to find a comfortable spot.

I don't know the girl, much haven't seen her. All I know is that the prophecy will bring us together as one. Once she comes home to me, I will wed her at once. Big step, I just have to find her. Alive. I search for her non-stop since the bad news. But just last night, I was forced to take a full eight hours of sleep by my colleague, Sebastian.

We will find her, he told me.

Boy I hope so. If the prophecy is true to its word like usual. Then my connection with Elizabeth should be strong.

"I will come for you," I said, closing my eyes. "Just wait for me."

The next day, I was in the conference room with Alex, Sebastian and Elizabeth's father and brothers.

"Scrying doesn't work," Sebastian said, putting his necklace away. "I've been scrying for hours. I used everything that Matthew and Victor gave me of hers. But I see nothing! His spell is too strong!"

Alex came up to him and slapped him in the face. "Calm the fuck down," he said bluntly. "You do realize being overdramatic is not helping you."

"Rest for now," I tell Sebastian. "You're overworked."

Sebastian sat down, catching his breath.

"I got an idea," Elizabeth's brother, Ethan, stands up with a book. "We could try a blood ritual. We just need a map and our blood of course."

"Blood rituals are forbidden," I glare at him. "We don't do things that way."

The other brother, Sharp, the felon, spoke. "Well, if you want to find our sister faster and alive," he sneered at the last word. "Then a little dark magic won't hurt. Did you forget where we come from?"

"Sharp," his father, Aaron, said. "Watch your tone."

Sharp scoffed. "We ran out of options here!" He throws his hands up. "White magic don't work. So why don't we match? Fight fire with fire."

"Correction," Ethan intercepts. "Fight fire with a fire extinguisher."

"Yeah," Sharp said. "Whatever. But listen, when I was in my gang, the only way to know the enemy is to know their moves. We can't fucking see a thing so it's either one, you do the blood ritual or two, do you have a contact?"

"Actually," Sebastian says. "We have Corina."

I shook my head. "It's too risky. You have to do her favor on her terms."

"I'll do it," Sharp suggests.

"That's okay dear cousin," Sebastian says. "Corina is very interesting. She prefers interesting people she knows. She doesn't know you."

Ethan shook his head. "So what is she? A witch?"

"No," I tell him. "Corina, we grew up with her. But one day, she committed a sin. A very bad one. She then received an eternal punishment. She can travel to all three realms whenever she pleases."

"You know, I don't like stories," Sharp rolls his eyes. "Just get to the point."

I sigh. This is my future brother-in law? I should really love the girl in order to get on his side. "Corina is Lust."

Sharps snaps his fingers. "Connection to you?"

I gulped.

Sebastian laughs. "That's easy. She's his ex-wife and is still very much in love with him."

"You're fucked," Sharp grunts.