Sam

I liked Ian, he had such an easy-going way about him, and always had a joke followed by a goofy smile.

He was currently giving me a tour of the grounds, asking me questions as we walked. He asked me what school I went to, about old boyfriends, about my friends. I told him all about Anna and felt the sadness creep into my voice.

"We're looking for her Sam, and Lori." He said comfortingly. I nodded silently as we approached a massive statue of a werewolf in the middle of the park.

"Who is that?" I asked, looking up at the towering figure. I shivered as I looked into his stone eyes. I could almost hear the howl that was leaving his mouth, frozen in time.

"That's Indulf. He was the first of his kind in a long line of very powerful wolves." He explained.

"Aren't all wolves powerful?" I asked, not looking away from the statue. I felt mesmerized by it.

"Not as much as these wolves." He said, I could see him shaking his head out of the corner of my eye.

"They're called the Descendants. They're our protectors. There is only one in every generation, born to an alpha and luna, on the first full moon of the summer solstice. They have strengths and abilities more powerful than the average wolf." He explained.

"Hmmm." Was all I said in reply, finally tearing my gaze away from the statue.

I looked back at Ian, he had a blank look on his face and I figured he must be mind linking with someone.

"Gage wants us back." He said, walking off in the direction toward Gage's house. I felt a small thrill at the thought of seeing him.

"Hey Ian?" I jogged to catch up with his quickened gate.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a mate?" I asked. His mouth turned down into a frown and he shook his head.

"No." He said flatly. "At least I haven't found her yet."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I muttered.

"No need to be. I'll find her one day." He said, his usual grin sliding back onto his face. We reached Gage's front door and he opened it for me.

"After you." He said, bowing as if he was some kind of butler. I chuckled and walked past him into the house.

My eyes immediately found Gage where he sat at the dining room table with several other people. He smiled and I felt that little flutter in my stomach as I returned it. I turned my attention to the woman sitting next to him. It was the same woman from the picture in his bedroom, his mother. Her eyes lit up as I walked closer and she looked at me with a wide, excited smile.

"Calm down Mom." I heard Gage mutter to her.

He stood up from the table and came over to me as Ian took a seat.

"Hi." He said quietly, kissing my cheek as he pulled a chair out for me.

"Hi." I replied, smiling as I sat down and he pushed in the chair, my cheek felt hot where his lips had been..

"Sam, you've met Dr. Amanda, and elder Alex." He said, motioning to them as he sat in the chair next to mine. I nodded at the doctor and elder.

"This is elder Jane." he motioned to a short, plump woman with a blonde bob. She looked to be middle age, although I now knew that she was much older than that. 

"Hello." I said politely. She smiled at me kindly.

"And this," he motioned to the woman now across from us. "Is my mother, Megan."

"Sam, it's so nice to meet you." She said warmly.

"Thank you, you as well." I smiled at her.

"I'm so happy my son has finally met his mate." She looked between the two of us and I felt my cheeks turn warm.

"You and me both." I said quietly, looking at Gage sitting next to me. He stared at me for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Sam, I asked everyone to come here because you wanted me to explain everything that's going on to you. There's a lot you need to know." He explained. I swallowed nervously and looked around at all of the faces watching me.

"Ok," I said, taking a deep breath. "Lay it on me."

"I'll start." Said the doctor. She pulled out a manila folder from her bag and laid it on the table. "Sam, what do you remember about your parents?" I frowned and looked at Gage, he nodded encouragingly and I thought back to my childhood.

"Um, I remember growing up in north Philly, we had a house there, that was back before the neighborhood went to hell. My mom was a teacher and my dad was the branch manager of a bank."

"I'm sorry Sam, but that isn't true." She said. I frowned at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your mother and father, Marcus and Jane Knox, were alpha and luna of the Appalachian pack. Of this pack." She said calmly. I shook my head.

"No they weren't." I said.

"Yes Sam, they were." She pulled a photo out of the folder and laid it on the table in front of me. It was a picture of my mother and father, smiling happily as they embraced each other, standing where I had just stood, in front of the massive werewolf statue. I felt my heart stutter as I looked at their happy faces. I picked up the picture and stared at it, looking up only when someone eventually cleared their throat.

"Sam." The doctor said, "you grew up here. With your mother and father... and your brother."

"I don't have any siblings." I said slowly. Ian fidgeted in his seat.

"Actually, you do." He said quietly, pulling out his own photograph. He slid it across the table to me and I picked it up. The edges were dog eared after years of being held. It was a picture of me as a little girl, with French braid pig tails and chocolate all over my grinning face. I was being given a piggy back ride by a much younger...

"Ian?" He watched me nervously as he nodded his head.

"I don't understand. I don't remember this place." I said, looking around at them all. "I don't remember this." I held up the picture. "I don't remember you." I said, looking at Ian. His eyes held so many emotions and I knew in my heart that he wasn't lying.

"Sam," Gage said next to me, I looked up at his concerned face. "Your memory has been tampered with. We believe it's the work of a witch." I scoffed.

"Witches aren't real." I said, cracking a small smile, this had to be some sort of joke. When none of them said anything I looked back at my mate. "Are they?" He nodded his head sadly and took my hand in his.

It was Jane that spoke up now. "We think she's behind your kidnapping and torture, and possibly even your parents murder. We don't know who she is but we do know the wolf she is using- Derrick." I growled at his name and Gage's hand tightened around mine.

"Derrick used to be a member of this pack." Gage said. "My father banished him when he was alpha."

"Why?" I asked.

"He gave information about our lands and strategies to hunters." Gage growled as his expression grew dark. "We were lucky to be able to stop them before they invaded, or else many lives would have been lost."

"So how did he get mixed up with a witch?" I asked. It was elder Alex who spoke up now.

"We're not sure how they came to work together, but we do know what their end game was."

"And that was?"

"To bring forth and take control of the power of the next Descendant. Whoever controls that power and manipulates it can wreak havoc on an unheard of scale." He said. I stared at him blankly, unsure of what he meant.

"It's you Sam." Ian said. "You're the next Descendant."

"What? No. That can't be right. I'm not some powerful ancient werewolf. I'm just... me. I'm nothing special." I looked around the room, waiting for one of them to confirm what I was saying.

"That is farther from the truth than you can imagine." Gage said, tracing my cheek bone with his finger tip. I shivered and shook my head.

"No, you guys must have made some kind of mistake." I stated, my voice sounding more confident than I felt.

"You blew up that house we found you at." Ian said.

"I did that?" I asked. I hadn't even thought about the destruction of the house, I had been too distracted by everything else going on.

"Have you had any other instances?" Jane asked. Immediately, I thought back to how I had escaped from the white room.

"Back at the hospital, when Grant..." Gage growled and I paused, shuddering as I thought of his hands roughly grabbing the waistband of my jeans. "I felt this huge surge of power and somehow I threw them against the wall. I had this feeling in my chest..." I put my hand over my sternum.

"So they succeeded. They were able to aggravate and stress you to the point that your powers were triggered." Alex said. I looked down at the table, feeling ashamed that I had let Derrick win.

"No they didn't." Gage said, placing a hand on my back. "Her powers would have emerged eventually, they just forced it on her."

"That is true." Alex agreed. "But she is now the youngest Descendant we've ever seen. Naturally, she wouldn't have come to full strength until she was nearly fifty years of age. Her magic would only begin to show at this young of an age."

I stood up from my seat, wincing as the wood hit the floor with a clatter.

"I need some air." I said quickly, turning to rush out of the door.

"Sam!" I heard Gage call. I ignored him, running out of the house. I ran until I stood again in front of the statue in the park. I let out an exasperated sigh and sat on the bench across from the massive stone beast. I buried my face in my hands as a few tears slipped down my cheeks.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps in the gravel, headed towards me. I turned my head to see Gage walking toward me, a sympathetic look on his handsome face.

I rested my chin in my hand as I looked at the statue while Gage sat down next to me. He pulled me towards him and I rested my head on the hollow of his shoulder. He ran his hand through my hair soothingly.

"I don't even know who I am." I muttered.

"This has always been who you are Sam, now you just know more." The words rumbled through his chest as I lay with my ear to it. He placed his finger under my chin and gently pulled my face up to look at him.

"Now you know just how extraordinary you really are." He said. I felt my cheeks turn warm as he looked into my eyes. He placed his lips on mine, igniting those now familiar sparks. I leaned into him, kissing him back. This kiss wasn't hungry and lustful like our previous kisses. I could feel his care for me pouring through his touch as he pulled me closer, weaving his hand through my hair.

I pulled back, slightly breathless and smiled. He laced his fingers through mine and stood up, pulling me with him.

"C'mon, your brother wants his time with you, too." He said.

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