Discovering Me

The long ride home

This weekend gave me a lot to evaluate. Listening to the music Keenan is playing is starting to lift my mood. He said that he felt bewitched. I wonder if that's some of my grandmother's traits seeping through. If that was the case, it must have been really hard for him to abstain.

“I like him. He really is a good guy and is like the big brother we never had,” Sierra says.

“Yes he is. I feel so bad that he had to be there and I was put in another bad situation because I trusted the wrong person to be there for me.” I replied.

"I know. It makes me sad to loose a friend like that too. You know sometimes you have to prune the dead leaves for the flower to flourish. She showed that she's a dead leaf. We need good people in our circle to help us grow."

"You've been paying attention to that literature class I see. I think you're right, but losing someone that has been in our lives for so long hurts."

"Yes it does, chica. Yes it does. "She says, and she lays back down.

I heard my phone going off, alerting me of a new notification. I saw it was Tia and was going to ignore it but she kept texting, so I finally decided to reply.

Tia: Hey! We’re just waking back up.

Did you get in trouble with your sexy mentor?

Did he punish you in a fun way?

Seriously, are you okay? You seemed shook up this morning.

I just wanted to make sure you had a good time last night.

Please, text back.

Lexi: A good time? You drugged me!!!

Tia: Oh come on.

It’s not like you were left with strangers.

It wasn’t anything harmful, I promise.

It was just a party drug. I took it too, remember.

Worst case, you’d have a good trip and mindblowing s*x.

Look, I’m sorry!!! There. I've said it.

I wanted to make sure you had the most fun while you were here. I promise I would never do anything to hurt you.

Lexi, we've been friends forever. You can't seriously think I would do anything to hurt you, right?

Lexi: Tia I'm pissed. You said it was just liquor when I asked. Even if you just wanted me to have "fun", you did not have my consent to give me drugs!!!

Tia: Oh come on! I’m really sorry.

I knew you wouldn’t have given your consent if I told you what it was.

You’re always so uptight. Always the 'goodie-goodie.'

I just wanted you to calm down and have fun for once.

We even made sure you had a hot guy that would have made sure you stayed safe.

I don’t even want to reply to that. She's just not getting it. I didn't know that guy. That drug made me want to have s*x with any and everybody and I had planned on saving myself for my mate. It's like I don't even know her anymore. I just throw my phone back down on my lap and look out the window.

“Let me guess. That was your 'friend'?” Keenan asks, looking over with an annoyed expression on his face.

“I don’t know if you can call her that anymore. I don't know who she is anymore.” I said, still looking out the window.

“You want to talk about it?” He asks.

“Not really.” I said, still looking out the window.

“Okay” he says as he pulls over in the middle of nowhere.

“What are you doing?” I asked. Looking around, there's nothing nearby.

“You need a release. Come on into the woods.” He instructs.

“I hope it’s not a release like those jerks were trying to provide last night.” Sierra says, still mad about the whole situation.

“I don’t think that’s what he means.” I replied, confused as to why we were walking into the woods in the middle of nowhere.

“Okay Sierra. Are you ready to come out to play? I don’t sense any rogues around.” He asks, going behind a tree and begins to strip off his clothes.

“Oh, he’s asking for me? Wonder what he’s up to.” She perks up in my head. I can tell she's excited about going out.

I strip and shift behind another tree. I came out to Keenan’s giant dark brown wolf, Sahil, signaling for me to follow him. In training, Sierra struggles to keep up, but out here in the woods it’s a whole other beast. He’s zipping through the trees hopping over logs and stops at a ravine before he shifts back. He puts back on his shorts and turns, saying, “I think we’re far enough away. Now you hunt. There are a lot of animals out here, some not edible, some dangerous, so be careful. I’m sure you can figure it out using all of your senses. I’ll keep a look out for hunters or anything else that may be threatening. Take out whatever frustrations you have on the hunt and kill. Just don’t tear it up too much and try to take down something big. We can eat it for dinner, then we’ll head back on the road for the rest of the long drive home.” He then grabs my clothes out of Sierra’s mouth.

Sierra has limited experience of going on a hunt or even killing anything, but it's part of a wolf's natural instinct, just like eating the meat raw after a kill. It's how things were done in the old times and how many rogues survive in modern day.

“Yes! This should be fun. I can sense a lot of animals around us already.” Sierra says excitedly.

“Yeah, but watch that snake over there. We don’t know if it’s poisonous or not and that spider too. It looks weird.” I warned her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not putting my mouth on any of those or those weird mouse-looking things under that log. I think I will grab one of those deer. I sense some by what sounds like a stream. We haven’t caught one of those since our first shift." she said, bringing back memories.

Hunting in the south was way different than in the Midwest. Trees were different, sounds in the forest were different, even the animals were different. Fortunately, we were able to use the same tactics we were taught to hunt the deer at home and Sierra was able to quickly take the deer down. It really was the perfect release for my feral side.

“Looks like that helped a lot,” Keenan stated, as we walked back to the car.

“Yes it did. I do feel much better now” I said.

“You look like you had a lot of aggression. Sierra made that deer meat bite sized.” He laughed while walking around the car to get to the driver's side. As I entered on the passenger side, Keenan handed me napkins to wipe my face from the compartment in his armrest. Remember the night prior, curiosity got the best of me.

“Hey Keenan,” I said, looking up at him. " You said you felt bewitched last night when you wanted to..you know? How were you able to abstain?”

He closed the door and started the car, looking like he was thinking for a minute before answering me, asking, “When do you turn 18?”

“October.” Now, I am curious how that will affect his answer.

“Lexi, first off, you're a minor still and I have just turned 20. Also, I just would never want to complicate our current sibling-like relationship ever by acting on impulse." He turns to look at me before pulling off, " I am a straight unmated male wolf. It takes a lot to control our animalistic side, especially in the presence of a beautiful female that’s aroused. Last night was insane to have some power pulling me. As your mentor, I shouldn’t be saying this, but in all honesty, after your birthday, if you tempt me like that again, I don’t know if I’d be able to hold back. I really do adore you and feel protective of you like a big brother. It's just whatever that lure was..” He replied, shaking his head, and I can feel his sincerity.

“I understand.” I said. I think I know what lure he was talking about also. I'll have to be careful with that. I will have to research things about myself a little more to be certain.

He must have felt my relief in his words as well, because he gave me a smile before driving off. I may have lost a friend, but I'm glad I have someone at least that will always look out for my best interests.

Aside from the music, it was a relaxing quiet that eventually allowed me to drift off to sleep for the remainder of the drive back.

The next day, I welcomed my roommate into our dorm and things got somewhat back to normal. The months flew by and I was really enjoying my time at the academy and the new friends I was making.

I went home to visit my family for the weekend of my 18th birthday. I didn't make big plans, just a small family dinner for me and our pack bonfire. I was a little nervous because Alpha Donnie usually goes all out for them. There will be people from other packs in attendance as well as members of our pack and I will be able to sense my mate this year.

Jacob, Shelly and Keenan stopped by before I left, bringing me a necklace and earrings with our school cress on it that they all collectively got and dropped me off at the airport.

I landed in Cleveland at 6pm and Janet was there at baggage claim to pick me up.

“Oh my goodness I’ve missed you.” I hugged her, saying.

“You missed me? You do realize you guys left me here all alone. I only had Amber, who is now mated to Jeff. But let me tell you about your girl. Tia went haywire after you left”, she says as she drove off.

“She told me Alpha sent her to school early, but I don’t know the whole story. All I know is, I’ve had my fill with her. Let's just say, she and I are not friends anymore.” I say, thinking back to my last encounter with her.

“ Girl, what happened? Wait. Let me tell you first. Yes he did. Her parents couldn’t control her and she had gotten wild. It started almost right after you left this summer. Corey had his 18th birthday bash at a club called The Zone in August. We didn't get an invite but Tia brought me to the party with her.That night, he met his mate, Phil. ” She started.

“Phil as in Phillis?” I asked for clarity.

“NO Phil as in Phillip.” She says, with a coy smile.

“I knew it. He defiantly wasn't into her like that ever. What was there to get upset over and you're mated to the best person for you?" I asked.

“But girl, that’s not it. So you know how obsessed Tia was with him. She was heartbroken when she found out he was mated to someone else, none-the-less a male, and next thing I knew, she was making out with some random guy. Her behavior had become so sporadic. Sleeping with any random guy and flirting with mated ones. I was surprised she was accepted to the warrior academy.” She concluded.

“I understand her heartbreak but that behavior is nothing but self harm. She's playing a very dangerous game. When I went to visit, it was like I didn't know her at all. I don’t think I could ever forgive her for what she did to me.” I stated.

“Wait. What did she do to you?” Janet asked. I went on to explain the whole situation to her. “No way! She drugged you then set you up with some stranger and expected you to be okay with it? Did you report her?”

“No, I'm not a student at that academy, so my account wouldn’t be credible. Instead, Keenan, my student mentor, has friends in the academy and notified the adviser that an investigation needs to take place for students and date r**e drugs.” I replied.

“Good, I'm glad something is being done. So this student mentor guy, is he hot?” “ she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

We spent the rest of the ride home catching each other up on the event that went on while I was away. And went straight to the dining hall since my parents were at work and my brother was going to meet us for dinner.

On the way in, we ran into Mrs. Ameir.

“If that isn’t my favorite assistant. My office has not been the same since you left me.” She says, giving me a huge hug.

“Awe. Thank you Mrs. Ameir. I learned so much working with you. I’ve been able to use a lot of the things I learned here in the academy.” I said, returning the hug.

“Oh really? How are things going there? Are they treating you okay? Don’t look like you’ve been eating enough.” She says in a motherly tone, making me laugh.

“I really like it there. I work at a cafe down the street from my dorm and have a campus meal card, so I'm eating OK. I didn’t think I’d like to be a warrior, but at the academy it's different. I’ve been learning so much about the different packs and my ability to help with protection decals and mediations between species. I’ve learned how to fight but more importantly, how to diffuse. You taught me so much about the different packs. My coursework has been easy.” I explained as we were walking up to the food bar and she piled my plate up.

“Sounds interesting. I’m glad you were able to use what you learned here to become successful there. Enjoy your dinner. I see your brother over there” she says, pointing at my grown-up-looking little brother. I can’t believe how much he has grown since I’ve last seen him.

I hurried over to his table and set my plate down. He stood and I ran up, jumping into his arms. My baby brother is so much bigger than I am now. When we were little he used to always run, jumping into my arms. Now I can do that to him.

“Sister!” He yells, swinging me around like I’m his teddy bear he used to carry when he was little.

“How has my handsome little brother been?” I asked, looking at his facial features, looking so much older than I remember. He finally put me down, sizing me up.

“Little? I’m bigger than you are now” he says as he sits back down at the table.

“You might be bigger but I can still take you down.” I said, sitting across from him, raising one eyebrow.

“We’ll have to see about that tomorrow. You can come to training with me and I can show off my bad as.s warrior sister. Do you get to go on any fun secret missions yet?” He excitedly asks.

“EJ I haven’t completed my first year yet. I won’t get to go on any missions until I start my internship next year.” I answered, taking a bite of my food.

“Oh. I see you got the logo on your necklace. I thought that meant you made it into some secret club or something.” he said, making me touch my necklace.

“Oh this. Yes, I'm officially a member of the X-Man, Advengers, Justice League Squad. " I said, laughing and causing him to choke on his juice laughing."Just kidding! Keenan, Jacob and Jacob’s mate got this for me and my ear rings as a birthday gift.” I said, showing him and Janet, who had just walked over.

“I always knew you were a mutant. But, seriously, it's really nice. I'm glad I didn't get you that necklace though,” he replied.

After dinner, Janet dropped EJ and I off at home. We talked for a little while before my dad came in hugging me and asking a million questions. When it seemed like he was content with the answers, I was allowed to finally go to my room. I’m so happy everything was left exactly the same. It made it easier to get comfortable and go to sleep.