Chapter Twenty

Twenty seven years later…

The sound of wood clashing against one another rang throughout the gym. In rows of twelve were two initiates practicing against their partners. They wielded bamboo sticks and moved in formation to counter the attacks their partners threw. Every initiate took the same step and used the same attack as they had been taught. Together the ten rows moved back and forth in sync with precision. In the center were initiates who wielded two sticks while the outer rows practiced with one long stick.

Pacing around the rows were Mehrcy, Phride and Rebekah. Today was their turn to watch over the class since Nightmahre, Ahnger and Adam taught last night. Tomorrow would be Gabrielle and Victor's turn with the help of one of the Brothers.

It had been twenty seven years since Wrath had set up a special program for the initiates to take. The class was to teach them how to use older weaponry and the eight were in charge of the class since that was what they specialized in. Turned out there had been many pretrans willing to sign up for the class. And what made it interesting was that Wrath didn't limit the class to only males.

In the center row going at it were two females.

Both of their hair was long so it had been pulled into a tight ponytail which meant locks of gold and black went flying everywhere. Unlike the males who were keeping the form they had been taught, the females were moving so fast that they were now throwing in their own moves. As if sensing the two were about to go to a whole new level, Mehrcy called for the others to stop now that the females were taking up most of the space. Once the floor was cleared, the females started swinging their sticks at one another as if they were really fighting the other.

Rebekah passed by the young males and took her spot next to Phride who was rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. The female with black hair swung wide at the other female who dodged. Her green eyes shined bright before narrowing as she came in for another attack. The female with blond hair kicked her leg up and pushed the other female back. Using her same foot, she came down to knock the stick out her opponent's hand and followed up by bringing her other stick on the female's head. However, the black haired female held on to her stick while using her other stick to block the attack. Red eyes glared into green as both females pushed away before coming in again.

"How many times are they going to do this?" asked Rebekah.

"I don't know," Phride answered honestly. "I think she's going through some rebellion phase or something."

Rebekah chuckled. "Well, she's your daughter. Have fun figuring that out."

"And you? That's your cousin's daughter."

The male had her on that one.

And speaking of blood, the blond female came in close and locked her sticks under the other female's the same time she opened her hand. A light sky blue color appeared out of her hands and patterns in the form of seals surged up along her opponent's sticks, shattering them instantly. The black haired female was caught off guard for a split second that the blond female spun on her heels with her sticks together and took out her opponent's legs.

"No seals!" roared Mehrcy.

Tapping his wooden sword on the floor, the male approached the two females and helped the one who fell back to her feet. "You are here to practice fighting," he instructed. "If you want to practice your seals, do it on your own time. Now give me twenty laps. Now!"

As if it would make a difference, the female peered over at Rebekah.

"You heard him, Esther. Get to it."

Grunting, Esther broke out in a mad dash instead of a steady pace to give the male his laps. When the other female snickered, Phride cleared his throat and called out to his daughter. "You too, Rhose. And make it twenty-five while you're at it."

Rhose's mouth dropped open and looked like she was about to argue when Mehrcy tapped his sword on the ground a second time. Just like Esther, the female grunted and started sprinting as well. Soon it became a race between the two females.

"As for the rest of you, today's lessons are over. Clean up and go home."

The males made their way over to the locker room while avoiding the dangerous racing of Esther and Rhose.

Sighing and looking around, Rebekah spotted the younger pretrans who were a few years away from transitioning. It was pretty hard to miss the multicolored hair of Ahgony. Phury's son still had some time to go but he was a quick learner when it came to training. In fact, the male might one day be good enough to wield an actual sword since that was the weapon he preferred. Walking next to Ahgony was Fhear, Wrath and Beth's son, who patted his friend on the shoulder since they had been practicing together. Even though the male was the prince, no one took it easy on the male and he liked it that way.

Since Esther would more than likely go past her twenty laps just in hopes of beating Rhose, Rebekah ran her hands through her hair which was once again short. The female had cut it a long time ago since she no longer had the taste for long hair. Back in a bob style, Rebekah's black hair curled around her face while a portion on her right side was long enough to fall over her shoulder. The long part had been dyed in red before going black in the middle. As her fingers trailed over the long portion of her hair, she noticed a boy standing near the bleachers. She sighed again. There was so much family drama she could take care of.

Handing her wooden scythes to Phride so he could put them up, the female stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked over to the boy. She did have to pause when Esther and Rhose came barreling past her. Their competitiveness made her wonder what the two had against the other. They had been going at it since Rhose was nine and Esther seven.

The little boy looked up at Rebekah when she stood in front of him. Shaggy brown bangs nearly obscured his red eyes. When Rebekah raised an eyebrow, the boy looked away with a blush on his cheeks. The female noticed how his tiny fists shook and the same colored seals like Esther fluttered over his skin.

"What are you doing here, Adam? Shouldn't you be with the others?"

Adam shook his head and curls of hair drifted around. "Evelyn and Frédérique wouldn't let me play and Nhaomi is busy with Nalla."

Rebekah could understand Adam's frustration. It wasn't fair that those closest to his age were all girls. Evelyn and Frédérique were Mehrcy and Victoria's daughters. The twins were just as wild as their mother and might as well play rough. As for Nhaomi, she was Sohrrow and Lhyra's daughter. The female was kind and gentle so she became quick friends with Z's daughter.

Time had passed where the others now had families of their own. Nightmahre and Gabrielle now had Octavia and Dhespair. Ehnvy and Annahbell were expecting a young in a few months. Turned out it was Ahnger who inherited the twin gene because he and Sayge had Bayne and Hhavoc. The twins were old enough to join the first year initiates while Dhespair was only half a year behind them. Dhusk, Nightmahre and Gabrielle's firstborn, already went through his transition and was now a member of the Brotherhood. As for Adam and Edynn, Rebekah's dear cousin was once again pregnant with their third young.

As for the rest of the Brotherhood, Tohrment and Autumn had a daughter they named Lydiah. Butch and Marissa now had two sons named Hhurt and Ahnguish who were in the same class as Ahgony and Fhear. It was a bit of surprise when John and Xhex had Dhanika but the female was just as strong as her mother.

"Go find your mother. Esther's going to be here for a while and I have some other stuff to take care of."

Making a pouting face, Adam stomped his foot on the ground. "I never get to do anything fun," he complained.

"Uh, if you want something to do, just ask your dad. I'm pretty sure he has a bunch of stuff for you to do." Watch the kid take off when she mentioned his dad brought a smile to Rebekah. Adam had a good heart but was too eager to jump into battle. The whole patient lessons Adam was giving his son needed some improvement.

Figuring she still had some time before Last Meal, the female dematerialized and appeared in her room in the mansion. Well, it wasn't really her room anymore. Rebekah just crashed there when she was too tired to make the trip back to the estate. She had decided to move in there after what happened twenty seven years ago. Being in the mansion felt too personal for her considering she and Sam spent some nights together there.

Thinking of Sam had the female remember his last words. As if sounding sure of himself, Sam had promised he would return to her one day. Then he literally disappeared from her arms. He just vanished without a trace. The Brotherhood had spent the next month or two looking for Sam only to come up empty. It was only Rebekah who believed he was out there. His last words to her was that he loved her and would be back. There were some things that had confused her like how he knew about the seal and that he had ran out of time fixing it.

None of that matter.

For twenty seven years, Rebekah was still waiting for his return.

Quickly changing into a black tank top and jeans, the female pulled out the dog tags she still wore from under the top and threw on a jacket. She left her scythes in the room since she was just going to Iron Mask and dematerialized to the club. Rhage, V and Qhuinn were off tonight so the males were hanging at the club so Rebekah didn't mind raiding the party.

Appearing on the side of the club and approaching the front, the bouncer let her in and people complained in the line as she entered. The club was full of people dancing and drinking that the flashing lights somewhat blinded the female. Some people either bumped into her or some drunk men tried to dance with her. All Rebekah did was smile and push them away or she just flat out shoved them aside. She didn't like how the drunks were trying to please her. There had been a time when she might've allowed it but those days were over with. Rebekah didn't like how men looked at her and that was bringing out her old habit of punching first and talking later. Besides, none of them was the person she had been waiting for.

Figuring the safest way through the crowd to the VIP section was close to the bar, the female shimmied over through the narrow line as she saw the section grow closer. Making it to the edge of the bar, she had to arch over a guy who was drinking a Corona. His head was low like he intended to get drunk and had his jacket laying on top of the counter. With his head bowed and shoulders slumped, Rebekah didn't bother giving the guy a second look when she finally made it over to the VIP.

Rhage was the first one to see her because he waved for the waitress to bring another drink for the female. Giving the Brother her thanks and taking the drink from the waitress, she made herself comfortable with the males as they laughed and enjoyed their night off.

"So how's the training going?" asked Qhuinn.

"Crazy. Rhose and Esther went at it again. This time Esther used her seals to get the upper hand on the female."

"Again," V laughed. "I swear, one might think using seals would be an upgrade on weaponry. Now we have four young ones using them." The male was referring to Esther, Adam, Bayne and Hhavoc. All four of them had the ability to manipulate seals. Because of their unique abilities, Sayge had her work cut out for her in teaching them how to use the seals in combat.

It was a mystery how Esther and Adam could create seals. It made perfect sense for the twins since their mother had the ability. Everyone assumed the two would've gained the ability over an element like Adam. Then Esther showed signs of creating seals when she was little until her ability began to advance. Soon Sayge was taking the female under her wing so she could control it. And just like his sister, Adam began creating his seals that Sayge now had another student to teach.

No one would deny that it was weird. It was even weirder that no one could find a logical solution. All they could do was accept it and go on from there. That was pretty easy. In the back of everyone's minds, they didn't want to deal with the possibility of the mansion either flooding, bursting in flames, suffering gale winds or falling into the earth. They had faith in Adam teaching his children how to control the elements if they had possessed the ability. Now they were grateful for never living the possibilities.

Rebekah had just finished her drink when she realized it was time to head out. The males must've sensed it as well because V placed the tip on the table and stood up the same time as the others. Soon the four of them began making their way to the door. Things were looking bright as they crossed over to the middle of the room when Rebekah heard something. Turning over in the direction of the sound, she spotted two males in a heated argument. The others stopped as well to see what was happening. Apparently there was a female standing to the side as the two males continued to grow louder. There were even some people moving away from the two since they now started shoving each other.

"Damn," mumbled Rhage. "And I was hoping to have an easy night."

Since the two were males, the Brothers and Rebekah decided to break up the fight before things got out of control. They were a little too late when one male pushed the other a little too hard and knocked him into the man Rebekah had passed not long ago. Bumping into the man, he fell over the counter and spilled his Corona all over the top and his chest. The male didn't bother checking the guy to see if he was alright because he was up and throwing punches.

People scurried away when the two began brawling in Iron Mask.

Because she was closest to the two, Rebekah made a move forward in preparation to knock one of the males on their ass when one of them dodged the punch of his opponent. The male throwing the punch had no control and was coming straight at Rebekah. Seeing the punch coming, the female got ready to deflect the punch and possible flip the male over her shoulder when an arm shot out in the middle and caught the male by the arm.

Rebekah looked over to see who caught the punch and saw it was the human who had spilled his Corona. She then noticed how his other arm was drawn back and in a fist. The punch he threw came so fast and strong that when it made contact, the male went flying and hit the table before flipping over. The other male looked shocked to seeing a human interfering that he actually had the audacity in attacking him when the man not only dodged his lousy punch but grabbed him by the neck and lifted him clean off his feet before slamming him hard on the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" roared Trez when he came to see what was going on.

Both of the males were now unconscious thanks to the human.

"A little dispute," explained V. "But it's taken care of. We'll pay for the damages if there are any."

Ignoring the male, Trez turned his gaze over to the man as he stood up over the male. All Rebekah could see was his back with was thick thanks to his muscles. His brown hair was thick that it layered down around his neck.

"Don't worry," he said in a low voice.

His voice.

Rebekah didn't have to wait for the man to turn around. His body looked more muscular and he was a bit taller. Even the way how he held himself looked different. But right when the female heard his voice, everything in her body yearned to run up to him and hold him with all her might.

The man turned around.

"I was just leaving."

Rebekah could feel the males go still when they saw who was standing in front of them.

It was Sam.

Doing just as he said, the man Rebekah knew in her heart was Sam reached over for his jacket and shoved right past her and the Brothers like they were nobody. Trez called in for some people to get rid of the males while the humans tried to get back to having fun. As for Rebekah, the shock quickly wore off that she practically ran after Sam. The Brothers broke free from their own shock and followed the female who was already outside and looking around. It was there she spotted Sam walking down the street with his hands in his jacket and shoulders pulled up.

"Sam!" she shouted.

He stopped and looked at her. Then he looked around as if he was expecting someone else to show up. Rebekah jogged up to him and stopped a few feet away. "Sam," she breathed again.

His brown eyes searched her face as if to find some recognition until they latched on to the dog tags around her neck. He brought his gaze back up to her and shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm not this Sam. My name's Simon." Looking back at the tags, he gave her another shrug. "Sorry for your loss."

Rebekah couldn't believe it. This was Sam. She knew deep in her heart that the man standing in front of her was Samuel Thomas St. Lawrence. Sure there were some things different about him but that was only physique. His age, build, and height were different. Even that scruff he was sporting looked different. But as Rebekah took one good look at him, everything else about him was completely identical.

It was when Rebekah got a good look at Sam that she noticed something peeking through his jacket. Made out of metal and dangling from a steel chain were two dog tags similar to Rebekah's. However, the name wasn't Sam's.

Printed on the tags was Simon St. Peter.

"Sorry," she lied. "You just look like someone I knew."

As if understanding the mix up, Simon gave her a nod and turned around to continue down the street. Once he was on the other side, V and the others joined her. She looked up to notice the disbelief in their eyes. Surely they were thinking of some logical explanation on what they just saw but not Rebekah.

Sam had told her to be patient. He told her to wait until he remembered who he was in his life. Now she understood why. The how was a mystery. As for the why, the female didn't care. Something had brought Sam back and she had to find a way in helping him remember who he was and what she meant to him.

Only then would Sam know how to get rid of the seal he claimed to have created. All Rebekah had to do now was wait. Wait for Sam to return to her as the man he once was.