Transitioning

Visitors

Around lunch time, my parents were able to come visit. As the doctor said, they were not allowed to visit alone. There were two armed guards standing at the door the whole time. My parents were allowed to call my brother for me to facetime with him. I was instructed to let him know that I was fine and had begun the early signs of labor. I was happy to hear that they were getting the pack back together, although they still had no idea where Alpha Terrell was. I knew the council was listening to everything, so I tried to send him a discreet signal by showing him my face and with a simple phrase, "It has begun." Letting him know that this war we were anticipating is at the brink of eruption.

My parents were not allowed to stay long. Shortly after that call, my parents were escorted out of the suite. I was told they were staying nearby in a hotel. There must have been some sort of barrier put up because I was unable to mindlink them to get any information about where they were or what they were being told. When hugging them goodbye, my mom whispered that I should eat the steak, saying it was nice and bloody like I liked. I knew it had to be code. Wolves typically only eat their meat bloody if they can't gain access to a fresh kill. I've just always preferred my meat cooked. Smelling the container, I knew exactly what she meant and was glad they allowed my mother to bring in a food container with a large steak filled with human blood. The wolf in me was ready to devour the meat, although it was uncooked.

"How are you going to cook that steak? We don't have any dishes or utensils."

"It's not meant to be cooked. I'm pretty sure she infused it with blood just in case I was unable to get any here. Here she cooked one for you and brought sides also." I whispered as I handed her food.

"I'm vegan, so you can have my steak if I can get your non-bloody sides."

"Deal. My wolf is starving for meat. My mom's cooked carrots and potatoes are delicious. I'm sure you will enjoy it" I said, biting into the raw steak."umm yes this is what I needed," I said, as I tore through the steak, hoping I could eat it all before the guards noticed what I was eating.

"Lex, that is disgusting. I mean, I can kinda get rare, but that is raw and super bloody. Is it warm at all?"

"That's the point. Wolves have a cardinal need to hunt, kill, and eat their prey. Typically, we're satisfied with hunting local wild animals like squirrels or rabbits, sometimes a deer or elk or whatever the region offers. There's a tension that builds up if we are unable to hunt. You add that to my vampire side, which is also hunters in a sense. Being pregnant, I can't hunt. In a typical situation, a pregnant wolf would enjoy the spoils brought home by her mate like a wild wolf would. I have no mate, so that's why my parents brought me the meat. It's like them wanting to make sure I'm taken care of," I explained.

"Hey, you! What are you eating?" a guard asked, walking into the room.

"GRR.." Sierra peaked through letting out a defensive warning growl to let the guard know I wasn't putting down my meat without a fight.

"Dude, you might get your hand bitten off if you try to get that steak from her. You know how wolves can get when they get a fresh cut of meat. Tack on the pregnancy hormones. Dangerous territory. You may not want to go any closer. That breakfast of cereal and fruit didn't look like it held her over well." Amhurst says, shaking her head, warning the guard.

"I know. You're right. It just looks like there's extra blood in that meat. The marker on the door is for new blood vampires that are detoxing from blood. I just need to take it and I promise I will make sure it's replaced by some good food." He said, cautiously approaching.

Sierra extended her claws and canines to allow me to tear through the meat faster. The feral appearance must have scared Amhurst. She ran to her room and slammed the door to take cover.

"Woe Jack! Step back. My man, it's okay. Remember we want to keep this one calm, and it looks like she is going into defense mode. She's probably just really hungry. I doubt she wants to harm anyone. Let me take over. I know her very well and from what I remember, even before she was admitted to the academy under me, she was never the one that attacked unprovoked. We inspected the food. It was tested to only being animal meat and vegetables." I heard from the door as the guard began to slowly retreat. " Lexi, can you pull back some? Even with those cuffs, your aura is overpowering. You can leave now." he said, turning to the guard before looking back at me. "I came to visit you, old friend. I've been cleared already. We can talk unguarded."

I was speechless when looking past the guard and hearing that familiar voice. I haven't heard from or seen him in such a long time.

"Jacob? What? How... how did you know I was in here?" I asked, shocked.

"I work here now, Lexi. News is spreading about you being in early labor. Then I saw your parents on my way to work. They were extremely worried and I just wanted to come check on you."

As the guard walked out, I walked over and gave Jacob a hug.

"Thank you. I'm feeling better after eating some meat." I said, looking at him, trying to gauge how much he knew.

"Good." he gave me a large knowing grin and sending out relaxing energy, " I'm glad to see you are able to get the nutrients you need. I remember how it drained my mate when carrying my pups. And they were normal pups."

"Pups? More than one?" I excitedly asked.

"Yes we had a boy after my term at touring with the academy and my mate just had a little girl." He put his hand on my belly and the other on my shoulder before whispering "I know if I was you I would kill whoever stood in the way of me and my pup. I'm her to tell you. I understand what you are feeling, but be careful. You have no idea what you are up against. I have confidence in you and your abilities. You are much stronger than you were when we first met and have so much more strength to gain. When we first met, I told you I would be there to guide you. I'm a man of my word. I will do what is within my power to keep you safe. I promise."

"Thank you. You guys were the best mentors." I said, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

"Lexi, about that. I'm sorry. I was so busy with my life I didn't check in like I should have. I wish I could have protected you better. You just can not trust everyone."

"Well, I learned that. Keenan had to pull me out of quite a situation my first year there. I'm sure he told you that. I'm sure you got a report about my mate. There's nothing you could have done about that. I'm probably better off without him. My pup and I will be alright. All I want is to just go back to my regular life. I have a good job now in my pack. I love it there. I just need you to convince the Council that I am no threat. My pup will be no threat. I mean if I had a quest for power wouldn't I have gone with some of those ranked wolves that were pursuing me? Power is all they want."

"I did hear about your progress and I am so proud of you. You have been through so much. Keenan did tell me about the situation in your first year at the academy but.. he is the situation now. We found out about his father. You know the attack on your pack? His father was behind it. We suspect Keenan told him how to get in. And not just with your pack."

"OH MY GOD! I knew something was up. His dad was almost obsessed about my blood. He suggested Keenan taking me as chosen mate. Is that how they knew about abducting my brother on his transition night? I invited him to my pack's celebration. We... you know.. did it. The first time was after I was sent on assignment with him and we went to the pack, then multiple times afterwards. Including the night my brother was abducted." I began tearing up.

"I'm sorry Lexi. I didn't know when he was at the academy. I just pieced it together recently. I would never have sent you with him if I knew. We had a confrontation and he confessed it all. He thought, because you went through so much, that you would be eager to join him. Please don't let this do that to you. We are honestly just trying to keep you safe."

"I'm not siding with anyone, but you really think holding me captive would gain my trust? The Interspecies council just want to weaponize me and my pup just like the Inimicus Clan. I just want to have a normal life! Now, I found out I was having s*x with my brother's captor. That's how they knew how to get into the pack. OH MY GOD! The packs that were attacked... We visited like half of them. Why is this just clicking? How did he know I was visiting my cousin's pack? Is my cousin involved? " I started pacing.

"Lexi, what's the matter? Why is she mumbling? What did you do to her?" Amhurst came running out of her room with a lamp and some scissors like she was ready to start attacking.

"Woa. I'm a friend. I just filled her in with some disturbing news. Can you put that lamp down? I'm not here to hurt her. " Jacob said, reaching for the lamp in Amhurst's hand.

"It's okay Amhurst." I walked over to pull her head to look at me. "I just found out I was having s*x with the person responsible for the attack on my pack when my brother was abducted. He was f*****g me all over the country finding packs to attack and abduct their young wolves. He's the one that introduced me to old man Walt. Wait. Jacob, there was an attack on his pack right before I went to visit. I actually went with his pack's Beta to visit my grandmother's cousin, Walt. His parents helped me with a healing potion."

"I think that was to throw the council off and to see how advanced you are with your abilities. They have a very well-trained pack, but there were fewer injuries there than any other pack. Only one was slightly injured. He knew your strength as a wolf, he saw some of your vampire strength but needed you to show your strength in witchcraft."

"His dad was obsessed with my bloodline. He could have been trying to impregnate me, for all I know. Vampires and Witches are like humans and can get pregnant fairly easily, but the chance of she-wolves getting pregnant by anyone besides their mate is very low. Well, unless he was to have marked me. There was a time when I actually considered that. Then he found his mate and I found mine. And I don't want to go there. I was actually surprised I went into heat with my mate without being marked. Especially since I found out he had a chosen mate before me."

"That's right! I honestly think you were spellbound. You must have consumed something to cause you to go into heat and that's how he impregnated you" Amhurst said.

"I know you're right. I had tea with his mother beforehand. Its just simple potions but potions like that don't usually work on me."

"Only that they joined forces with some very powerful dark witches. That family has a long history with them," Jacob stated.

"Dark Magic? Lexi, you have to be careful. Ma'dear has always warned us against that after seeing what happened to your grandmother. Our family line can go one way or the other. You have to be careful, especially with your other powers."Amhurst urged.

"I know cousin Ma'dear gave me the whole lecture."

"Wait? Cousin? Are you two related? I thought you were..together.' Jacob said, causing both Amhurst and I to go into a fit a laughter.

"Yes, our grandmothers were cousins," Amhurst explained.

"That's interesting." Jacob said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing on the screen. "Hey, I have to go. I'll come back later if I can. No one will hurt you two as long as I am breathing. I promise." He said, walking out preoccupied with his phone.