Discovering Me

Saying Goodbye

I love spending time with my mother, but while waiting for word of how my brother is doing is pure torchure. We watched movies, she braided my hair, we made a huge lunch and dinner and still nothing. From my understanding of what everyone keeps saying, it seemed like this group appeared out of nowhere and disappeared without a trace.

Evening came and dad and Keenan finally came back famished. Fortunately, we had plenty of food prepared for them.

“So, honey, you couldn’t find anything? What could they want with my baby?” Mom asked worriedly.

“I have no idea. But I'm not giving up the search. The trackers found some leads and we got some assistance from neighboring packs but nothing solid today. I'm working with the coven tomorrow and seeing if we can do a location spell. From what they said, these creatures that took him may have been altered. I just hope it wasn't by dark magic.” dad said, sounding disappointed.

“Lexi, can I talk to you?” Keenan asked.

“Just take him to your room dear.” Mom said.

“Okay.” I said, showing him to my room. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m going to need you to fill in for me at the academy. There was another attack on my pack and I need to go help with that. I have a feeling all of this is all connected somehow,” he says.

“Wait, what? What do I need to do to take over for you? And there was another attack? Was anyone hurt? Was there enough of the healing potion? Maybe they should call Mr. Walt. He has some amazing potions and I’m sure he can or maybe some spells or…”

I was interrupted by a kiss.

“Please calm down. Yes, I need you to fill in.You’ll just be doing the same thing we’ve been doing all summer. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I’m not sure how many were injured, but from what I understand, your potion has come in handy. Your father actually will be contacting old man Walt and it will be like a bridge for the packs and the local covens.” He explained.

“Okay.” I said, taking everything in he just said. “How soon will I need to get back to the academy? And how long do I have you here?” I asked, walking over to sit on my bed.

He walks over and sat next to me. “I need to book a flight as soon as possible but I can wait until tomorrow to, look into the flight.” He glides his hand under my chin, causing me to look up and lightly places a kiss on my cheek.

“Knock, knock…I’m just checking on you…oh.” My mother said, walking in.

“Don’t worry. We’re not doing anything. Keenan was just telling me I needed to go back to the academy within the week to fill in for him. He will be leaving to go back home soon.” I explained to my mom.

“Oh, is everything okay there?” Mom stepped into the room and asked Keenan.

“We’ve been having odd rogue attacks as well. There’s a lot of work I need to do, so that’s why I’ve asked Lexi to fill in for me. I’m sorry she’ll have to go back early.” He explained.

“I’m sorry to hear about your pack. So you think Lexi will be ready to fill in for you?” She asked.

“I know she is.” He said, turning to look at me.

“Well, it seems you have a lot to talk about. I’ll give you two privacy. There's food in the kitchen if you are hungry, Keenan. We're going to go to bed. Have a good night.” She says, before walking out of the room, closing the door.

“Should I leave?” Keenan asked me.

“Nah, you’re good. Do you want something to eat?" I asked.

"I am really hungry." He replied and I led him into the kitchen to make him a plate. "This is so good. Your mom is a good cook." He said as he forked more chicken and rice into his mouth.

"Thanks, I actually made that but will heat up a slice of pie. She made that and it is so good." I said, slicing the pie and putting it in the oven to heat up.

"Beauty, brains, and she cooks. My dad might be right. I might have to pack you up and take you back with me." He said, laughing, but thinking of him leaving made me sad.

"I’m going to miss you when you leave. You were there with me the whole time I was at the academy. You really think I’m ready to take your place in training?” I asked, wrapping my arms around him.

“I know you are. I’m going to miss you too and feel bad about leaving you with all that’s going on.” He said, pulling me on to his lap.

"You have a duty to your pack. I've always known you were going to go back. Just didn't think so soon." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He laid some soft kisses on my neck as I moved my head to give him more access, getting caught in the moment.

"If you two keep this up he's going to mark you." Sierra said, knocking me back into my senses. I stood up to get his pie out of the oven.

"I don't think he was going to mark me, but you're right on time. We needed to get back to our senses. Can you imagine mom or dad walking in on that?" I asked.

"They would flip."

"I know, right. So how are you feeling about everything? Taking over for Keenan, leaving mom and dad without finding EJ. You did a lot of work during that fight. I know you've been tired and sleeping, so I didn't want to bother you too much today."

"The fight did take a lot out of me. We'd never used that much strength before but it felt amazing. I hope we can find EJ, but I think we need to go back to the academy to learn how to use all of our strength. Here we have to stay suppressed, there we can be our true self."

"You're right." I told her as I looked up to see Keenan finishing up my mom's blueberry pie.

"I love your mom. This pie is delicious." He said, smiling.

"I'll make sure to pack you some for your flight back home." I said, taking his plate to wash it in the sink. I then went to the linen closet and grabbed a blanket. "You can stay in my room with me." I said, quietly cueing for him to follow me.

"Will that be okay with your parents?" He whispered.

"My mom knows about us. I don't think my dad does, but that's why I brought the blankets." I lay them on the floor.

Keenan lifts me up and lies me on the blanket as he engulfs me with a passionate kiss. "I want to tell you something..." He said lowly, kissing me again and pulling me so I'm straddling his hips. "On your birthday. I had hoped that the mate bond would have kicked in..." He removed my shirt. "That my mate would have been you." He removed my bra, placing my n****e in his mouth, causing me to hold in my moan as I grind on his hardened manhood. "I want you to know that you mean so much to me. I want to give us both some time to find our mates." He lay me back down on the blanket and began kissing down my stomach, causing my core to ache with anticipation as he worked on removing my shorts and panties. He placed his head between my legs, kissing my upper thigh, then finished his statement saying, "but if neither of us find our mates I plan on claiming you as mine." His mouth dived in devouring my nether regions.

Keenan booked a flight and went home the next day. Dad resumed his search for EJ and mom and I spent another day together. The search went on for the remainder of that week and we still had no idea what happened to my brother and the other missing wolves. There were reports from different packs as well of abductions with no trace of where the wolves came from or where they were going.

I didn’t want to leave without knowing what happened to my brother, but eventually it was time for me to return to the academy and prepare for my first time filling in as a trainer.

It was a pretty weird experience coming back to the academy without Keenan or Jacob. I quickly had to learn how to do things on my own. I was assigned to train new students in three sessions a day and was given a team to assist me. My duty was to assess each new student, come up with a challenging training regiment that incorporates academic training, as well as assign a position for each assistant assigned to me.

The courseload was a lot more challenging but also a lot more intriguing. This went on for the entire year until it was time for me to leave for my spring internship at the conventions.

There was a more senior trainer that took over Jacobs training in Ohio and, since I was the most junior, I was assigned an area where the other senior trainers didn’t preference. The first convention alone, I was sent to an area that was mostly made of smaller packs and my hybrid classes were very small. I mean maybe one or two wolves in each class and some conventions don't have any. Those areas still had very biased views of mating outside of your species, so it was very uncommon. The physical training sessions were with the Elite Warrior group that was there and I really had to show my strength at times, so they knew I was not going to be intimidated.

Coming back at the end of the summer, I found out I was assigned permanently to fill that role. Keenan was still very busy with his pack work and was unable to return. The next few summers, it was the same routine in different locations. I honestly welcomed the change of scenery. I fell in love with traveling to different places. I was able to learn about completely new areas, make new friends and really found a passion for educating young minds.

It took a few years but I eventually moved up to becoming one of the lead trainers. During each break, I would go home and assist with the search for my brother. It seemed the attacks in my area had slowed down, but from my travels while training newly shifted hybrids I've noticed a routine in the attacks in different areas.

The big attacks were done in smaller packs that had hybrid teens and typically happened on the night of their first shift. Smaller attacks were done on larger packs and there weren't any abductions done in those packs.

I sent my findings to the Supernatural Council, who have been comparing it to statements provided from packs all around the United States. I was excited to find out they were researching my findings and took them seriously, but was completely shocked when I received a call asking me to join the team of researchers and work as an aide to overcoming the situation.

That was an opportunity I could not pass on. I was hoping I would be able to come across some information that would help find my brother and the other missing wolves. I would have access to all the different supernatural species when it came to this project.