Breeding in the Academy: Searching for Freedom (All 14)

Chapter 23

"Mom," Mr. Blackbourne spoke in disbelief before he took a step away from her. I could tell that hurt her because of the flash of emotion that crossed her face but I was more concerned about Mr. Blackbourne. He looked as if he was betrayed. "You're alive?"

Her hands played together in a sign of nervousness. She looked awkward because her reunion wasn't going the way she had expected to. "I am. I-"

"Sorry to interrupt," the woman councilwoman interrupted. Her green eyes showed that she was unaffected by the reunion. "But should we postpone our meeting? I know that your reunion had years in the making but we all are busy people, and I doubt that Mr. Blackbourne would want this reunion in front of strangers."

"I agree. We should get this meeting done," Mr. Blackbourne spoke before taking a seat. Sean placed a hand on his shoulder, but Mr. Blackbourne shrugged it off. An expression of pain and sadness flashed through Sean's face before he slumped in his chair.

The Phoenix leader pulled herself together before she sat down at the head of the table. Her gray eyes looked at me and she smiled softly. "Congratulations to another successful mission, Volto."

I nodded my head. "I didn't expect to have my mission to lead to a reunion, Leader Holmes."

"Holmes?" Milo frowned. "Not Blackbourne?"

Leader Holmes nodded. "I changed my name after I joined the Phoenix organization."

"Okay," Damien clapped his hands. "So what do we have to do so we can get out of here? No offense, guys, but I have a time sensitive weapon, if you know what I mean."

I sighed, pinning him with a look which he returned sheepishly. "You have a bomb in your laboratory."

He shrugged. "I was bored. Now chop chop. Time's ticking away."

The woman councilwoman looked at the Prime. "You've been introduced to Mr. Buble, Mr. Damien, and Leader Holmes. My name is Natasha Dusk, and I'm in charge of the missions."

"Hello," the copper haired man looked at the Prime with a kind smile. "My name is Rebel Taryn. I'm in charge of the agents. The first thing that we need is your decision. You can either do the bootcamp and join our agents, or you can be assigned work areas around the grounds. What is your decision?"

The ten prime looked at each other, and I already knew what their answer would be. I sighed, closing my eyes, as they answered. "We'll join your agents."

Councilman Taryn nodded. "Volto will take you to the bootcamp grounds while the Toma team will go to the hospital and rest."

Councilwoman Dusk spoke, "Volto, come back when you're done with the Prime. Liaison Toma, you and your team are to report tomorrow at ten o'clock. We'll have to have a discussion about what happened with Ms. Winchester."

The Toma team and I nodded at her before the council talked to the Prime about the rules. After a few more updates that we could tell in front of the Prime, Leader Holmes concluded the meeting. Before we could move, Damien rushed out of the door followed by Buble and Taryn.

The Prime and I remained sitting when Leader Holmes spoke. "May I have everyone but Owen leave?"

Mr. Blackbourne spoke. "No, I want them here."

Leader Holmes frowned before looking at me. "Volto, Toma team, please exit."

I nodded, standing. Before I took a step, Mr. Blackbourne spoke. "I want her to stay, too."

The Toma team began to stand up, but Mr. Blackbourne looked at them. "Even you. Please, stay."

I froze, looking between Mr. Blackbourne and Leader Holmes. I glanced at the Toma team who were also taking in the scene. Was I going to disrespect my leader's command or was I going to stay for the sake of a hurting Mr. Blackbourne? Slowly, I sat back down. A moment after I sat, the Toma team settled back into their seats. Leader Holmes sighed. She smiled at the other Prime in the room. "I know that this might be weird, but I'm glad that you men were able to become friends with Owen. I'm Elisa Holmes."

Although the atmosphere was awkward, the prime nodded at her. They all seemed tense and nervous. Looks were shared among the nine of them, but they all seemed content on staying beside their brother. It didn't matter if she was the leader of the Phoenix Organization. They were going to be on Mr. Blackbourne's side.

"Owen," she whispered. Her focus was back on her son. "I-"

"Why did you change your name?" Mr. Blackbourne interrupted her. I wanted to bite my lip. The tone he used wasn't happy, and his unreadable mask had replaced the expression he had with me and his brothers. Steel gray eyes pinned onto the woman who disappeared from his life.

She took a moment to answer before speaking softly. "I chose to change my name after becoming part of the Phoenix. When I visited you that day, I had decided to leave my ex-husband. He was very abusive towards me, and I was so thankful that you were spared from his abuse. But there came a moment in time when I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to run away and start a new life near the facility so I could be near you. After the visit, I was abducted by my ex-husband and his friends. They tortured me for wanting to leave him. A phoenix agent was nearby and heard my screams. He was able to chase them away and took me to his house. I didn't know who he was but he was kind and helped me. Months went by until I discovered his identity. He asked me if I wanted to join the Academy, and I chose to go with him. When I came to the Phoenix headquarters, they asked me what my name was. I decided to use my maiden name because I couldn't bear to have any connection with my ex-husband's name."

Mr. Blackbourne flinched at the last statement, and I sucked in a breath. When he was faced with guns or the risk of recapture, he never flinched, yet at that sentence, I could see the pain and sadness in his eyes. I pressed my fingers into the palm of my fisted hand. I knew that they needed to talk, but I wasn't going to stay still if he was going to get hurt.

Before I could say anything, a knock at the door made us look at the door. An uneasy feeling filled me. "Ma'am?"

Marc suddenly straightened, looking at me with wide eyes. "It's Phoebe."

I sucked in a breath at what Marc said. I stood up and looked at Mr. Blackbourne who looked at me and the now standing Toma team with a question in his eyes. "Get up. All of us, we're leaving now."

Unsure, the ten Prime got to their feet, sending me questioning glances. Instead I looked at my leader who I've worked under for years. A guilty look had entered her eyes, and she looked away from my glare. She glanced at Mr. Blackbourne. "I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you before this happened." She squared her shoulders before she spoke louder. "Phoebe, please come in."

Anger welled in me as the door opened to reveal her. She was an older woman around the age of fifties. Her dark hair was streaked with gray, and smile lines decorated her eyes. She had a grandmotherly feeling about her. I didn't hate her but this moment because in Phoebe's arms was a dark- haired toddler. As Phoebe stepped into the room, the toddler turned his head towards Leader Holmes. Gray eyes lit with happiness, and he smiled. "Mommy!"

"Oh, sh-ip" Gabriel faltered after catching Phoebe's glaring eyes.

Mr. Blackbourne's movement might have seemed anti-climatic, but I knew that the soft exhale and slightly sloping shoulders told me that he was devastated. As the nanny walked closer, Mr. Blackbourne took a step back and turned his eyes away at the happy toddler who reached out towards his mother. At the happy sounds of the toddler reunited with his mother, Mr. Blackbourne looked at me with such a sad look in his eyes despite trying to hide his emotion. "Ms. Lyons, you said that we were leaving."

I nodded. As the others left the room, his mother called out to him. "Owen-"

Mr. Blackbourne interrupted her once again. "Please, refrain from calling me by my first name, Mrs. Holmes." He turned to look at the toddler in her lap. "You don't need me anymore, do you? It looks like you have the new life you always wanted."

With that, he stepped out the room and closed the door. 

Sorry for such the long time between updates. I hope that you guys liked it.