Discovering Me

Bumpy Ride Home

What should have been a simple ride home on the highway ended up being a lot more complicated due to a detour sending us on a state route. There were so many twists and turns. The street signs are barely visible and it doesn’t help that we ended up leaving way later than what was planned due to the guys wanting to make sure we had dinner before we left. Now we’re on a very bumpy road in the middle of nowhere and all we see is forest and corn fields.

“I hope there are no rogues around. It doesn’t look like we’re anywhere near any pack lands. I'm not sure there are even humans in this area. I haven't seen a farm house or corn field in a while. Where does your GPS say we are Janet?” Tia asks. The warrior in he is coming forward and I'm sensing panic coming off of her.

“I think something is wrong with it. It keeps on going out.” Janet replies, and I can feel her worry.

“I don’t have a cell signal.” I just noticed. I’ve been texting Rashawn and he hasn’t replied to my last message.

“Me either. I just hope it comes back soon, ” Tia says.

**BOOM**

“Did you just hit something?” Tia asked Janet.

“No, it’s this road. I've been avoiding pot holes this whole time. I think my tire blew” Janet says as she steers the car to the side of the road.

We got out to check and yes, the tire was definitely blown. There’s not a house or building in sight. Good thing our parents taught us how to change our own tire in circumstances like this. “ OK, so you have a spare and a jack in the trunk, right? Let's move that stuff in there so we can get it and change the tire.” I suggest.

“Good idea. I do have everything in the trunk. My dad made sure of that before we left.” Janet replies.

While we’re pulling stuff out, I begin to have an eerie feeling.

“We’re being watched. Can you feel that?” Sierra asks.

“Yes I do. But it’s not a wolf. I can’t smell any scents besides a few rabbits, some squirrels, deer, trees, flowers and..oh..”

“Guys, you need to get in the car right now and lock the doors. Don’t unlock them unless I tell you to do so. Keep trying to call for help. Maybe you’ll be able to get a signal”, I instructed my friends.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Janet asked, now in full panic mode.

“No time to explain, please just do it now.” I pleaded.

“Lexi, I'm a good warrior. I won’t let you fight without me. Is it a rogue?” Tia asked.

“No. Vampires. Please get in the car.” I begged and they hesitantly listened to get in the car. Janet cracked the window to say, “ You should get in too. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“They won't hurt me,” I replied, confidently.

“How do you know?” She asks, petrified.

“Because they are family. Now roll the window up and call!” I commanded.

“Are you sure they are family?” Sierra asks.

“Nope, but they smell like our family bloodlines,” I stated.

“Where are they?”

“We’ll see in a minute.”

I told her as I cast a protection spell on the car. It will only last an hour, but hopefully, that's long enough for them to get in touch with someone. I began walking towards the woods. I hope I'm not walking into a trap. I'll be able to see better in wolf form, but I need to stay in this state so as not to be seen as a threat if it is family. I'll be able to siphon as a last resort. I hope I'm strong enough to at least protect my friends.

"Friend or Foe, let yourself show!" I said, using my family shibboleth.

“Hello, little hybrid.” A tall slender figure stepped out from behind a tree with red eyes focused on me. “It’s not safe for three defenseless young ladies to be in these parts with the sun setting.”

“Hello, cousin. It’s been a long time no see." I say relieved. "We weren’t meant to be in these parts this late. We detoured from the highway and lost our cell signal.” I said, recognizing him as my cousin Timothy. His grandfather and my grandfather were siblings.

“It has been a long time, little cousin. You’ve grown up to be a beautiful young lady. If we weren’t related, I might have had to claim you as one of my brides. Who are the beauties you have with you?” He says, eyeing my friends in the car.

“Timothy, please, like your wife would have you, bring another home. What are you doing walking around these parts?” I asked.

“My wife is from these parts. We felt it would be easier to raise all our kids here as opposed to in the city,” he explained. " You have to come meet them. If I remember correctly, you have always been good with the babies."

“I think I will take you up on that offer sometime. But this is really no mans land. We got so lost and you’re right, it’s not safe to be out here any later. I need to get home, cousin, before our parents get worried.” I said, drawing his attention back to me.

“ I suppose you are right. Ronald, please fix the tire. This little hybrid is my family. I need to take care of her. Have you eaten Lexi?” He asks, walking up and touch the top of my head. Another tall slender man stepped out from behind a different tree, eyeing me. His gaze is full of lust and it's making me a bit uncomfortable. I know my cousin wouldn't let any harm come to me but I don't know who else is in the forest. I hope this doesn't end badly.

“Ronald stop eyeing her before I slit your throat," Timothy says, exerting his aura." Cousin, I can’t sense that you haven’t fed anytime soon. We have some freshly delivered blood in our coven since we just had our summer solstice celebration. Are you hungry?” He asks me again.

“No, thank you. You don’t sense it because I don’t have a need or desire to feed off blood. That's the hybrid part of me that's more dominant. I just had dinner before we started this drive, so I’m okay.” I replied.

“Interesting. So you don’t feed on blood like your first cousin Jasmine, you must be able to siphon." He said with his eyes lighting up. "This will make you a hot commodity be more careful and learn to protect yourself. Remember your family in this coven will be here if you ever find yourself needing protection, especially from those wolves. We must stay in touch better. Put my number into your phone and promise you will call me anytime you might need me.” He instructed, now holding my head, so I'm looking at his face. That's something our family does when they need to make sure you're paying attention to what they are saying. I nodded and did as he said, giving him the acknowledgement I understood what he was saying. I gave him a hug and thanked him for being there to help me. He then gave us directions to the main road and how to get back to the highway.

My friends are watching intensely as Ronald finishes changing the tires and walks over, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss. I thank him for changing the tire for us and he tells me to stay safe and to feel free to get in touch with him for any other needs that need servicing. I know he means servicing other things beside my car and, although I’m not interested, I just smile as I wave and walk to get back into the car.

Most vampires don’t hunt anymore, but there are a rare few. Many are secluded with no coven ties, some are an equivalent to our rogue wolves who chose to because of some vendetta and the most dangerous are the new bloods. There are certain laws preventing any species from turning humans without consent from the supernatural council but there are rebels that don't adhere to them. Stumbling into the wrong group the situation could have turned dangerous even for me. I’m glad I ran into my family.

I knocked on the window for the girls to unlock the door and let me in. The look on their faces was like they had seen a ghost or something.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked, concerned because neither had anything to say.

“Um, I guess. I mean they were your cousins? Do you have a lot of family out here?” Tia finally spoke.

“Well, kind of. Tim is a cousin. His grandfather and my grandfather were brothers. I have just met his friend Ronald but he has a wife and kids that live here,” I answered.

“How did you know they were there?” Janet asked.

“I could sense their presence, but I also could smell them.” I answered.

“They were a distance away. I’ve been working on my tracking but still didn’t know what to look for. How could you sense them?” Tia then asks.

“Well, I felt their presence and energy. Then I could smell a copper-like scent. That's blood, but not quite as strong, like after a battle it was kinda like the scent of meat before you cook it. I wasn’t certain it was family until I got enough of a smell to identify Timothy’s scent.” I explained.

“Well, what would you have done if it wasn’t family or someone you would have been safe around?” Janet asked, and thinking of my plan scared me a bit.

“That’s why I asked you to try to call any and everyone you could. I put a spell on the vehicle for your safety. I was going to try to siphon them, hopefully weakening them enough to buy time for help to get here or killing as many of them if I needed. Were you able to get in touch with anyone?” I asked.

“Yes, I was able to talk to my dad temporarily. I tried to ping my location but don’t know if it went through.” Tia answers.

“You should call him and let him know we are okay if you have a strong enough signal. We don’t want him to worry, “ I suggested, and she agreed to do so.

“Great, here's the highway coming up. We were a far way off. I'm grateful that your cousin gave us directions and didn’t eat us.” Janet says as she goes on the entrance ramp for the highway.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. It took us almost an hour to get back but it went by fast with our car ride karaoke. As soon as we crossed the border, we were greeted by our family.

My mom insisted on checking us all out, making sure there were no injuries, especially me. They were able to smell the vampire on me more than normal since I hugged my cousin. When I told my mom who helped us, it put her mind at ease. She explained to the other parents the family relationship.

Janet’s dad was concerned about the vehicle, wanting to get it immediately repaired in case she needed it to go anywhere else. As soon as we pulled into her driveway, he ushered us out of Janet’s car and unloaded our bags so he could take it to the repair shop.

Seeing the garment bags caused a stir of excitement. Our parents wanted to know where they came from. We explained how Luna Dianne made us all gowns and our moms immediately wanted to see them.

As I was walking to get my gowns I noticed a new notification on my phone.

Rashawn: Hey, it’s been a while and I didn’t get a text that you made it back okay. It would make me a horrible “bf” if I wasn’t concerned.

(Ugh he’s not my boyfriend. Or is he? I don’t know.)

Lexi: Hey. Yes, it took us longer to get home than normal because we had to go on a detour and got a flat tire. We’re just getting back. Thanks for checking on me.

Rashawn: Of course, I would check on you. Are you guys okay? You should have called me. I would have come or at least sent a ride for you. I’m just glad you didn’t run into danger.

Lexi: Actually... we ran into some vampires but it’s cool.

Rashawn: WTF!! Did they try to attack you? What coven are they? Where were you at? I’ll contact the grand elder and will make sure they are taken care of.”

Lexi: We’re fine. It was my cousin and his friend who changed the tire for us.

“Earth to Lexi! Let's see what's in your bags. I’ll have to thank Luna Dianne. She's done a wonderful job with those dresses we’ve seen so far.” My mom says. I grabbed my garment bags and walked over to show the dresses and send a quick message to Rashawn.

Lexi: Hey, I will call you later. We’re with our parents. Please tell your mom we really love the dresses.

Rashawn: Okay, I will let her know. I look forward to hearing from my beautiful girl-friend later.

(He's persistant. It's kind of cute. Guess I have a boyfriend now. )