A/N: Hello Readers. Thank you all for reading, once again. So below is chapter 17 and I hope you like it. To the right is a picture of Jamie's tattoo so if you get confused of how it's described, there you go. Yes, I am a Samoan woman, had to put a Samoan woman in this. Enjoy!

P.S. I will be posting a picture of Greg and Kenny in the next chapter. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

         My mind always seem to go back to Connor. I would hit myself in the head to just be done with the thoughts of him. It was only two days since he's been gone so why was I even worried. Caine would tell me that he was busy and the contact between them was short. I would just nod and act like I didn't care but I did. It was something about knowing he was in the vasinity of where I was that made me secure but now, he had his own business to tend to. I shook his name out of my head and stared red eyed at the lap top in front of me. I've entered the name Swope in the search box and the city New York, all I was getting was thousands of names that showed. One name I got was a Jake and Dana but other then that, nothing. This was a bit irritating. How would I be able to find a way to find them. I grabbed my cell phone. I was going to call Brody to see if he had anything on the family. I knew he was at the bar with Gina, it was a Wednsday night so I knew the bar was't as packed. Hopefully he was working on finding the family.

               "Thank you for calling Wicked, this is Brody speaking, how can I spice up your night?" he answered on the second ring and I laughed when he said that line. I knew if I called the bar phone he'd actually answer.

                   "It's Eryn. Wondering if you've found anything or if your searching?"

                   "Drawing blanks kiddo. I've been at it all night and nothing. It's dead here . . ." he paused because I could hear Gina yelling about some witch drunk off her ass. Gina needed help with escorting her out of the bar. 

                  "I've gotta go . . . Gina is having a heart attack, I'll call you once I'm done here." he said and I said okay as he hung up. I threw my cell phone on my night stand and sighed. This was going to be tough. 

                  [The joy of the internet] The voice said and I rubbed the headache that rose in the back of my head. That damn voice did it only to give me the headaches and never talk for a day. I didn't dare talk back to it, too afraid to black out. Instead, I tried to ignore it but the small headaches were irritating. I've been at it all day and once the sun setted, my eyes had gone red from staring at my lap top all day. I set the lap top down and got up, feeling my legs thanking me for the stretch. I could hear the TV on downstairs, Caine and Greg watching a basketball game. I swear, that's all they seemed to watch was sports. A little chat with them would probably make me feel awake. I walked out of my room and down the steps where I found Greg  glued to the TV. Caine was no where in site,

                    "Caine take off patrolling?" I asked Greg, who turned for just a second, nodded and turned back to the TV. I joined him on the couch and he jumped up cheering. It was the Miami Heats against the New York Knicks and from the looks of it, he was going for the Knicks. I wasn't too into basketball but I knew enough to watch. Football was my sports and my team, of course, New York Giants. I was totally prepared for this season, I was going to attend a game. 

                      "Looks like a good game." I said, seeing the score was 89 - 85, the Heat was leading. He nodded again. Greg didn't seem to talk much but I did sit and watch the game with him. It was interesting, the Knicks came back but just at the end of the game, Lebron shoots the winning basket and wins it for the Heat. Right when the game went to commercial's, Greg finally looked over at me, "Bull crap game. We were so close."

                   "Thanks to Stoudemire, we can all blame him. That was his cover." I said and Greg raised an eyebrow, surprised, "You know your sports?" He asked. I gave him a crooked smile, "I use to play sports in high school. So watching it was not a problem." 

                    "It's rare to find your types. My mate hates sports. Her thing is shopping. I keep in contact with her constantly and since she's the Beta's sister, she's got eyes on me. She has nothing to worry about, my love is only for her." he said and I smiled at that. For werewolves that was natural to have someone to fall in love with but for Connor and I, how was that possible?

                    "Is it rare for a wolf to mate with someone who isn't a werewolf?" I asked, now very curious. He gave me an expression in thought as he set his finger on his chin, tapping it,

                    "To be honest, I've never heard of it. We don't really question the fact of who your mate is. Whatever the moon gives is what we go with. Like love between a human only it's a bit harder for humans, they will go through men or women before they know who they really are in love with. With werewolves, it's destiny. They find there mate or they can wait or they can mess around until they find that one." 

                     "Lucky for werewolves." I said and he laughed, "You've got nothing to worry about. Connor is your mate and you his. The way he stares at you, he has no eyes for anyone else. To be honest, this is the first time I've seen Connor happy to be around a woman. I've know Connor for almost 5 years now and he's a tough guy, even on women. With you, it's nothing but love." he said and I almost blushed. Yes, I noticed the way he stared at me, I always thought it was creepy. It made me feel a bit good inside. Then I aske,

                      "So the rogues that are said to be spying on the campus you all go to, what does that usually mean?" He looked surprised that I knew this. I probably shouldn't know this, after all, I was persistant to get it out of Drayden. He seemed to ignore the question and instead said, "Caine is on his way back." Great, another wolf who doesn't spill the beans easy but I wasn't too worried, it seemed all under conrtol if they were only spying, for what, I don't know. An hour of silence between Greg and I made me happy when Caine walked in. He was in a plain gray shirt and khaki shorts. His nice white puma's went well with his outfit as he joined us, "My Heat's took it home." he said and Greg glared at him,

                          "Nothing but luck. Even Jeremy could block that shot and guard better then Stoudamire." he replied, the glare still on his face. 

                               "It's like the Knicks to blame one player and Jeremy couldn't cover Lebron if Lebron was blind. It's all in the skills buddy!" Caine laughed. 

                            "Whose Jeremy?" I asked out loud, not really meaning to. It was suppose to be in my head but they didn't seem to bother with answering, "One of the members of our pack, and best center on our baskeball team." Greg answered. I nodded at the information. All night, I just conversed with the guys, which was actually a good thing for me because being crammped in my room for two day, of course until I had to leave the room.

          I was bascially getting to know the guys. Caine, I knew, was the rookie of the pack. He was the one I connected with easily. He was the only child in his family, his mother was a chef and his father was a lawyer, one of the best in Pennsalvania. He was part of a faternity at the University. He was also part of the football team with Drayden as the quarterback. It was his Freshman year at the University. As for Greg, he was the oldest of the group, 23-years-old. It was his Junior year and he was the kicker for the football team. He also played soccer and he met his mate at a soccer game, found out it was Drayden's younger sister and Drayden, of course, gave him a hard time but in the end, excepted him as a brother-in-law. I told them a bit about me, things they didn't know. I played sports in high school but soon had interest in journalism. It was my last year in College, I would be graduating in the fall and I was a bartender at a young age but it didn't really apply to the America laws, under age bartending that is. That night I was happy I had walked down stairs to converse with them and now that we know a bit about eacother, I guess it wouldn't be so awkward. 

          Since I've been out for a whole month and a few weeks, getting things situated at school was hardship. Unfortunatley, Caine came with me for the next evening but made sure to keep his distance. Now that Penelope was dead, I didn't have anything to worry about. Wait, that wasn't a good thing because I felt as if I was missing something? Yes, Penelope was gone but there was a small bit of me saying I was missing something. I stood in front of the Administrative building of NYU, thinking of what I was missing.

                   "Hey Eryn!" A female voice came, and I was brought out of my thoughts as I turned to be facing Jamie. My eyes widen at the very site of her, someone I was very thrilled to see at the moment. I quickly threw my arms around her, trying to keep to my tippy toes because she was tall, especially with the heels she wore,

                     "Jamie. It's so good to see you again." I said as we let go of eachother. She had her hair in a styled bun and her make-up was on point. The red lipstick made her full lips even fuller. Her slim jeans hugged her thighs perfectly as her white V-cut shirt formed her torso, making her body shape a coke bottle. Her brown eyes took in my look, I had a NYU sweater on with flared jeans and my converse on. Yeah, I wasn't in the best day of dressing but I was just hear to talking to the school board, I wanted to graduate and I wanted everything to be in good graces with the school.

                     "You too. At first, I was wondering if it was you, I didn't want to be complete weirdo and ask but when I walked closer, I could tell. Where are you headed?" she asked and I pointed at the administrative building, "I've got some strings to tie." I said, trying to sound as if the business wasn't too important. I didn't want to go into details.

                      "Oh good, me too. Why don't we walk to the building together?" She asked and I nodded. We started for the tall gray building, with it's school color of purple and yellow lined on the side of it. The walk was just a few feet in front of me and as we kept to walking, we talked about small stuff like how our life has been since we last seen one another. She got the job at Cosmo and was loving the fact of graduating in the fall, same time as me. The only thing I was slacking in is doing my intern project, in which I planned on doing at the end of this semester. We reached the office we were both waiting for and both walked in. There was a line so that meant us waiting for about 30 mins until at least one of us was able to go.

                         "I can't believe we've only got a year and we actually get to be able to call ourselves graduates." I said and she smiled, "Yeah . . . I can't wait. That's all I can think about." after she said that, an older woman at the counter called her to go up next while I waited for my turn and Jamie walked up. The woman had a cup of pens at the counter and when Jamie set her purse on top of the counter, her purse bumped the cup and it fell to the floor as the pens fell out, spreading on the floor.

                        "Sorry, clumpsy sometimes." she said, bending down to pick it up. I was going to help her but her shirt went up just a bit but enough for me to catch a tattoo on ther side. At first, I had to really look at it and then I noticed the outlining of a turtle but it was formed out of different lines, shapes and really nice. Then I seen the hibiscus flower also in the form of lines and different geometric shapes. It was designed to form the turtles shell. Where have I seen those kinds of tattoos? It was really nice. She quickly stood and looked at me and I hadn't noticed I was still looking at her tattoo until she caught me, looked at what I was looking at and quickly pulled her shirt down. I looked away as she placed the cup on the counter and the lady started to ask what she wanted. Was it me or did she not want me to see that. After she was done, she looked at me, "Well I have to get going . . . I just realized I have a meeting with the staff at Cosmo." she sounded as if she had to make up the excuse but I nodded as she rushed out. That was weird but the lady called me over, it was my turn. 

          That went better than I thought. I had straighten out my attendance but making up the work from classes was what I had to crack down on. Great, another assignment added to finding my mothers family,

                   [I do love hide and seek] the voice said and I had to pause because the headache appeared. I rubbed at my neck. Damn her and her  . . . Her voice. I walked down the steps and to the side walk of the streets and caught the site of Caine, he was standing next to my car, waiting for me.

                   "You okay?" he asked as I continued to rub my neck. I nodded and he got into the passenger side of the car as I got into the driver side. I started the car as he said, "Connor wanted me to let you know he'd be back later then he thought." I looked at him for a second before signling to get out of the parking way and onto the street,

                         "Oh!" Was all I said and he cleared his throat, "The good news is that you'll have more time to figure things out. If you have any questions on anything, I'm here to help, so is Greg." he said and I just smiled, "Thanks." I said but how long would Connor be gone? Maybe another week? The rouges must be more then what I thought it would be. Damn, was it me or was there too many things going on. I wonder if I was human and my uncle was never bit, would I be in this kind of mess? My thoughts automatically answered yes. I would be normal. I would be in school, worried only about homework. Probably dating a human man . . . But would I want that? Not now Eryn, dwelling on what could have been isn't a good idea. 

         We arrived at the house where we found Gina and Brody sitting in the kitchen. It was only 3 in the evening and why was Brody up? Gina was dressed for the bar, she looked stunning as always. Brody had a coffee cup in his hand and I already knew it was blood in it. Gina greeted us as we walked in and Brody asked where I had taken off to,

                             "The city. I straightened out some business with my graduation shedule. It's been fixed." I said and Brody drunk the rest of the blood as he set the cup down, 

                                "With everything that's going on, you care more about graduating." he was serious and I rolled my eyes, "Just because I'm what I am doesn't mean I've gotta act it. After I find this family, get things done and control this curse, I'm going back to being a human, even if I have to act like one." I said. Caine gave me worried look and Gina sighed, "Well, we've all got our future to look at. Me, I plan on marrying your uncle." she said, winking at Brody. Brody choked on his breath, don't ask me how the hell he did that, but he did. He gave her a creeped out look as she stood, "Boy, don't act like you don't want this." she said and Brody ignored her stare as he looked at Caine, 

                                  "When's Connor getting back?" he asked. The question was a surprise. I didn't think he cared or that he noticed that he was gone. 

                                      "Not too sure . . . He might be longer then he said. At this point, it seems the rouges are appearing as more then often." he said. Gina looked at me, probably trying to see what my face would show but nothing, I masked my feelings. Thought I wish he would be back, I knew if I cared about that more then having to find a sorceress, it would just make all shit crazy. Brody seemed satisfied as he said he had to get ready. Caine communicated with Greg, who was grabbing something to make for us all for the night. Caine let me know as he went to the restroom, he had eaten a huge bean burrito while I was at the administrative building. It was just Gina and I and I sat across the table from her. She looked at me,

                                      "So . . ." she said and I raised an eyebrow, "So?" I said back. She threw her hands up in the air, "Girl . . . Don't play stupid. You miss him, don't you?" What in this world was she, a damn psychic? I glared at her, "NO!" Yeah, I did. And the way I said no, she knew I was lying. 

                                       "What did I tell you about lying to a sucubus?" she said and I rolled my eyes. 

                                       "Your a crazy sucubus . . . I don't miss him. It's not like were offically together." I said and I know I sounded stupid to her.

                                       "I should smack you in that hard head of yours." she said and I looked at her, "Right now, I've got other things to think about. I can't keep track of him as if . . . As if I was some kind of clingy girlfriend. He's not my priority at this moment." I had to keep telling myself that or I'd miss him more then Gina was giving off. She laughed, "Whatever boo. Fine, since you seemed so stressed, why don't we go out to a club?" she said and I laughed, "Clubs? How about to the bar?" I said instead. She laughed back at me, "NO! That aint nothing but crazy drunks. I'm talking about Club Cielo. It be poppin on Saturday nights."

                                  "Oh joy . . . More Drunks only most of them are humans." I said sarcastically. She ignored my sarcasm, "Look, just one night of being normal. In a place of dancing, you wouldn't even have to drink. Not that it would hurt. But this Saturday, you and me. Girls night out." she said and I actually liked the sound of being in a crowd full of humans. She gave me pleading eyes and I grunted, "Damnit . . . Fine. I guess I need some stress relieving dancing but I don't dance very well." I said and she laughed, "It's going to be dark, ain't nobody gonna see you." I laughed. I then thought about Jamie, "Maybe I can bring a friend?" I said and Gina nodded, "Yes you can. The more the marrier." Why did I have a bad feeling? Right, because I was going with Gina who was a paryt in herself. I guess I'd need this, I had to much on my head.