Jesse

16

I awoke to a quiet sleeping house. I made myself a tea and took it out to my back porch and just enjoyed the sounds of birds and dogs and... slowly moving people.

The sun was melting and creating steam from the grass and stones around my back yard and I enjoyed feeling like I wasn't the biggest thing in the world for a half hour or so.

I heard the first person awake next and I made sure that I would be seen so they didn't think I disappeared or was taken away again. Eli made his way out to sit with me, a juice in his hand and I thought about him as a child, not much different other than the traveling. but he sat with me in silence and I waited for something else.

"How was last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't hear? Apparently mum made out with you when she took you to bed. Don't remember that?"

"Not at all. She wanted to force his hand and she kissed her hand and used her knee to make my bed to creek and then he kicked my door in to get a look at her pulling away and getting off the bed." I told him and he nodded so he knew that I knew we weren't that way. His mother was the only woman I would ever love but there was no going back to her, especially since she had a mate now.

"He's going to cave before the weekend is over." I knew it was Friday, but if Immie could swing it, he would be hers completely by tomorrow night.

"I say tomorrow night." I told him and he nodded before getting a small laugh out. "What?"

"Luke said tonight, but I think we might all be surprised." He told me and I had to admit I wondered if that old vampire cracked last night.

"I still can't for the life of me remember his first name." I told him honestly when I tried to think about it.

"It's Ryan. But he says he was more known as Ryland before he recently changed it." I knew he added that last bit to see if it would ring any bells for me, but I just kept thinking about it.

"Ryland McCoy."

"McConner." He added with a snap of his fingers and I just nodded but I still didn't' know it. Nothing in my head, not even if I heard this before. Nothing came to my mind but I knew it now.

"Do you remember... when you were a boy, your first season with your brother?" I asked knowing he wasn't 15, there was something in that memory that had me dragged away from the names.

"I remember he didn't want me to be seen with him as he filled every dance card that he could. He was in a dark blue suit, mum made it for him, and she certainly wasn't too picky about my black blazer as I watched the others." Eli told me and he seemed to be thinking about a fond memory. "There was this one girl, had to have been older than me, maybe 17. She was in a bright yellow dress with a corset on the sides, she was the one girl I danced with and I could remember feeling the sides of the ties when I danced with her."

"Brunette?" I asked knowing he seemed to lean that way, just like Jr.

"Yes, I can't remember her family name but she was Rose." He sighed and smirked before looking around. "I always wanted to find a family I used to know and follow the heritage until I could meet the new generation." He laughed lightly and shook his head.

"Want to be a good mate?" I asked him and he snapped his eyes over to me, listening intently.

"What?"

"She never knew her family. Couldn't find them anyways. That's why Aaron and Grey got to adopt them. They never found their real family or what happened to them." I told him and he hummed like he was interested. "Find them, find out what happened to them, give her closure."

"Sounds like a good plan in theory." He told me and then he raised his drink and took a long sip. "Where would I start?"

"Missing kids? Packs? She's going to be in college and you'll have some years to figure it out and present her with the truth. Something like that." I told him and he hummed as he nodded slowly now, understanding that he could keep himself busy being a great mate to Lina.

"So, I start my search when she goes off to college."

"Yeah. That starts in..." I blew a breath and counted. "3 months, but she graduates in 3 weeks... should be a fun start." I told him and he sighed but nodded slowly. "You could go and spend some time with her if you want."

"I don't want to put her in any danger as it is. When this is over I plan on trying to be around for her as much as possible until she heads off. Then I will head right into the whole mystery of her life. Wherever that takes me."

"You can start with what we know and go from there." I told him and he nodded and before he could open his mouth the back door opened again and out came Jr.

"What are you two doing up before the sun?" He asked us as he squinted and found the seat on the other side of me.

"Talking, planning, some plotting." Eli told him and then went on and on about what we had planned for him to do for Lina.

"Super sweet of you little brother. Now, how is that going to work?"

"With help."

"And if she finds a long lost family? Is she going to push you off even longer to completely mate?" Jr asked a serious question, I knew that it would be another thing for her to think about, to process and Lina wasn't the biggest on vocalizing her feelings or her mindset. She might just take the news in stride and bring him deeper into her guarded heart.

"It's just going to have to be a process. I won't find them right away, just until she's out of college. I wouldn't make her meet any family I would find out everything I could about them." I listened as they started to plot their first moves, their entire lives were going to merge, and I knew from now on there wasn't a whole lot of me time... they'd be here all the time, when they wanted to visit, my doors would be open.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?" I asked and looked over to see Jr smirking and I looked over to see a curious Eli. "What?"

"A man in New Orleans huh?"

"Jr!" I hissed and sighed before shaking my head.

"He wanted you and you wanted him. I don't have to be gay to see a man wanting someone."

"He isn't mine. He can't be. Just a new friend." I felt the mild ache thinking about Brian, his smile flashed across my face and I raised my cup and made sure to hide my smile. I would go back for him... one day. Even if he wasn't my mate, I would see what we could have together. If it was more than a weekend fling.

"He looked at you when you left him... he didn't want you to leave."

"He would have shoved me out to keep the whole danger menace man who took me away." I laughed out knowing no man would want to stick around an almost dead horse.

I finished my drink and still felt them looking at me but I made sure to give nothing away, it wasn't their job to worry about me and my love life, I was still their father.

"How are you going to go about finding your mate?" I asked Jr and he looked confused.

"Isn't she supposed to just come across me like fate?"

"That's what happened for me." Eli said and I just sighed. 

"Did you learn anything about wolves and mates and why they're important?" I asked looking from each and I saw them both shake their heads after making eye contact. "Great Goddess Luna, you know about her?"

"Yeah, she created wolves?" Eli assumed and I heard the question in his voice.

"She was one of the first witches in the world, and she wanted her true love to find her faster, wanted to have a man made just for her to feel comfortable with. She imagined him strong and gentle, she wanted so many things from this man she was in the wood conjuring alone." I told them and thought about the woman who told me this story... she had been sick once upon a time and had gotten to ask about the first mate. "She was grinding these seeds, stirring her potion, and as it got darker, full moon in effect, there were wolves howling near by, she got worried and tried to rush it, and when she heard a growl behind her, she took her pot, spilling the hot potion on the wolf trying to scare it away... and as it screeched and whine, it's noises went from howls to groans, sounds from a man rather than a wolf. Luna stopped trying to get away and she hid behind a tree and peeked around as a man arose from the steam and the wolf was gone."

"She threw her potion on a real wolf and he became a man?"

"She did. And he did. He arose a full grown man, confused, angry, but when he saw her in the moonlight.. she calmed him, his eyes glowed in the fires light and she thought he was the most beautiful man she had seen in years. She walked to him and offered her shall, his touch was electric, and she felt the zing through her body." I paused and tried to remember the next bit, it was a rush of emotions that took over Luna, and as she was brought into his arms as he claimed her, she was taken in by the feel, the smell, the need for him so suddenly. "She fell into a bed with him as soon as they could find comfort. Creating a love child, and when her coven found out what she did, who he was, what he was... they disowned her and hunted them. As they hid in the woods his old pack came to protect them, following the scent of a familiar wolf, as he begged her to change them as she changed him, she started on her potion, adding in the emotions she felt for the man she loved, her wolf. She didn't wish for more men, but rather human wolves to help protect her husband and their baby. When the pack was turned they were more back and forth with their wolves and they made sure to defend what she would call the den."

"She created werewolves to protect herself?"

"To protect her family. She became the female leader of the pack and her mate was the most dangerous of protectors so the wolves looked up to him, he became Alpha, explains the Alpha and Luna of packs." I told them and licked my lips. "When the witches tried to reverse her spells, they failed, until she had three babies, two sons and a daughter. Luna was sure that they would be shifters like their father or not, they hadn't shifted no matter how many times they tried after seeing their fathers and pack do it. When the witches came, tossing their spells and hurting more than accomplishing their goals, Luna stepped in, taking the pain, taking the curses and spells until she was dead. She was early 20's still. Lifted up by the love of her people. The love of her mate and her children. She was summoned when they buried and begged for her to come back."

"Her spirit."

"She became a goddess for creating them, summoned at will. She sees each of them as her children since she had made them. She has blessed couples in the way she was blessed, and she had tried her hardest to never give up on the people she had been created, and when things, big things happened, there was always the three wolves, sisters she would choose out of the family of wolves to give her powers to. Witches born to wolves so we would know her story as well." I told them about the Ames sisters, their powers, how they're near by.

"And her mate?"

"He led their pack until his first son took over and she welcomed him into her arms into eternity." I whispered knowing that is the mates need. To always be with their mate. The first time she ever gave a second chance mate was to her granddaughter who had barely met her mate, and she was too young to join him." I looked off into the distance wondering if they knew a fairytale of vampire origin as well. If I wanted to get into that as well. "When you find your mate Jr... if she is a wolf, she will love you more than she can love anyone else before, until you have babies, if you can."

"Is it really that instant?" He wasn't looking at me as he asked it, and when I saw the far off look Eli had, we both had our answer, love is instant between mates, it shouldn't ever falter.