The Lost Lycan Princes: A Journey Home

Send In The Warriors

Jonathan POV 

  The three of us piled into the SUV to follow Daya back to the packhouse. I drove this time, since I drove faster than Jameson, and according to Chris, Daya drove like a bat out of h**l everywhere she went. Jameson sat in the back, both of us keeping a constant eye out for the yellow minivan. And sure enough, even with my lead foot, I had trouble keeping up with Daya. She flew around curves with the ease of someone who’d been driving this road their entire life. But I managed to keep up with her, and within minutes we were entering pack territory. Daya paused for a few seconds to speak to the guard, then he waved both vehicles through. 

  When we arrived at the packhouse, I noticed there were several warriors patrolling the property. Some were in human form, while others were in their wolf forms. They all greeted us with brief nods of their heads, then we went inside. Shadow and Nadie were in the common area waiting for us. Both of them had concerned expressions on their faces. They both stood up and greeted us when we entered, with Shadow immediately wrapping Chris and Daya in a hug while Nadie did her best to pull Jameson and I into a group hug. Then she turned and pulled Chris and Daya out of Shadow’s arms while Shadow gave first Jameson then me a one armed “bro hug.”  

  “So did Sebastien have any idea who those four men following you might be?” Shadow asked as we all settled ourselves on couches and chairs.  

  “He’s pretty sure that they have something to do with Arthur,” Jameson told him. “Right now he and Havannah are focusing on notifying the families of the men they killed, but Jessup and his mate are going to the castle tomorrow morning to try and figure out who the men might be.” 

  Shadow nodded. “If anyone can figure it out, Jessup would be the one. I’m surprised that he couldn’t get past that mental block. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never known Jessup to be unable to get past a block.” 

  “Jessup thinks his sister Bethany is the one that placed the block,” Chris told him. “He said that she’s the only witch he knows of that’s strong enough to place a block in someone else’s mind that he can’t get through.” 

  Shadow sighed, and Nadie rolled her eyes. “We’ve had our fair share of dealings with that b**ch,” Shadow spat, anger flashing in his eyes. “I don’t know how she manages to skate by the Witch’s Council every time. If they won’t do something about her, Sebastien is going to have to step in and take care of it.” 

  I nodded. “He said as much earlier,” I told him. “If she’s truly involved in his men getting killed, she’s put herself right into his crosshairs.” 

  “About time,” Nadie grumbled. “She just recently tried to help a band of rogues take out a white wolf. We only have one white wolf born every thousand years, and she tried to help them kill her so her powers could be transferred to her biological dad.” 

  I could feel my eyebrows shoot up. “Did she succeed?” 

  Nadie shook her head. “No. The white wolf is strong as h**l, and she managed to get free and took her father out instead. But Bethany got away, and she barely got a slap on the wrist from the Witch’s Council. It’s disgusting. Our council would’ve had her put to death, but they just basically swept it under the rug.” 

  “So is the white wolf all right now?” Chris asked, sounding concerned.  

  Shadow nodded. “She is. She’s the Luna of the Howling Wolf Pack, and recently gave birth to triplet girls. I heard she even met her brother she never knew about while the rogues had her held captive.” 

  “Wow,” I replied. “Sounds like quite a story there.” 

  Nadie laughed. “It really is. Her name is CandiAnn – well, her human name is CandiAnn. Her wolf is Ashanda. Anyway, Luna CandiAnn and Alpha Cody are younger than us, but they’re doing great things with their pack. I hear her brother has even moved to their pack after he found his mate there.” 

  “Where is their pack?” Jameson asked them. “If it’s not too far out of the way, maybe we could stop by and meet them on our way to the castle.” 

  “It’s in Wyoming,” Shadow replied. “Near Grand Teton.” 

  “Oh,” Jameson replied with a laugh. “That’s kind of in the opposite direction. I guess we’ll have to meet them later.” 

  Shadow started to respond, but then stopped. I saw his eyes glaze over briefly, and knew that someone was mind linking him. I saw his face turn grim, and Daya’s face turned stony as well. 

  “Yellow van spotted near the pack borders,” Shadow said grimly. “Fifty of our warriors are going now to try and run them off.” 

  “Fifty werewolves isn’t much of a match for four fully grown Lycans,” Jameson said quietly.  

  I very quickly shot a text to Sebastien, letting him know what was going on. I got a reply back almost immediately. He informed me that Jessup had been concerned enough that he’d come to the castle already, and that he would be teleporting himself and four Lycan warriors to the packhouse in a matter of minutes. I had just managed to tell the rest what was about to happen when Jessup appeared in the middle of the room, along with four big, muscular men that all looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties.  

“Hello, Jessup,” Shadow greeted him, stepping forward to shake his hand. 

  Jessup grinned at him, but his face quickly turned serious again. “Hey, bro,” he replied. “I hear you guys have a little trouble going here.” 

  Shadow nodded as the rest of us shook hands with Jessup. “It appears that the four men you saw earlier have tracked the boys and Chris here. My men are attempting to run them off, but as you know, fifty werewolves against four Lycans is a tough match. So far they’re holding them off, but I don’t know how much longer they’ll be able to.”   

  Jessup nodded. “That’s why I brought these dudes along with me. They’re four of the most decorated warriors in King Sebastien’s army. I want you to meet Lonnie, Marc, Kelton, and Jordan.” He pointed to each of the men as he said their names.  

  Lonnie was the biggest of the four, standing at least an inch taller than Jameson’s and my 6’7. He was the only one of the bunch to have short hair. His hair was a spiky blonde, and his blue eyes held a fierce look in them that told me he would be quite a formidable opponent.  

  Marc was the shortest, but not by much. He was only a couple of inches shorter than us. His shoulder length brown hair was pulled back into a stubby ponytail, and his green eyes looked just as fierce as Lonnie’s.  

  Kelton was the same height as us, and his long black hair was tied back in a ponytail that hung halfway down his back. His green eyes held the same determination in them as the first two.  

  Jordan was also the same height we were, with long blonde hair that he had tied back in a ponytail that was almost as long as Kelton’s. I could see the anger and fierce determination shining in his hazel eyes as well. 

  All four of the men were built like brick houses, looking as if they spent pretty much all day every day tossing weights in the air for fun. 

  Lonnie was the first one to step forward, greeting Jameson and I first. “Hello, Your Highnesses. It’s an honor to finally meet you. We’re honored to be chosen to come and escort the two of you back to the castle. The men that died were friends and family to all of us, and to kill the men that killed them would be our privilege.” He then turned to Chris. “And it’s a privilege to meet you as well, my future queen.” He bowed to her before shaking her hand, which seem to take her by surprise. He then proceeded to greet everyone else in the room, thanking them for allowing them to come to their packhouse.  

  The other three men nodded in agreement. They all stepped forward one at a time, greeting us and Chris first, just as Lonnie had, then greeting everyone else in the room.  

  “My father was one of the men killed,” Jordan told us somberly. “I will avenge his death if it’s the last thing I do. I’ve just had to witness my mother screaming inconsolably when she felt the bond break, and it only got worse when King Sebastien and Queen Havannah came to inform us of what she already knew. No one should ever have to suffer the pain she’s suffering now, along with the rest of those men’s families. They all had mates and children, and grandchildren. To have their lives snuffed out like they never mattered is - “ He broke off as he struggled to control his emotions, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths as he fought back tears. “I’m sorry, it’s just - “ 

  “You don’t need to apologize,” I told him. “Our deepest condolences go out to you and your family, along with the other families. I’m so, so sorry that this happened.” 

  “It’s not your fault, Your Majesty,” Marc spoke up. “Jordan is my cousin, so it was my uncle that was killed, along with three other men that I considered good friends. The blame lies entirely on those men that are right now trying to get onto this territory.” 

  “Speaking of that,” Kelton interjected, “we need to get to the pack borders immediately. We’re not much assistance to the pack warriors here at the packhouse.” 

  “I agree,” Lonnie replied. “Can someone please tell us where we need to go?”  

  “I’ll do better than that,” Jessup told him. “I’ll teleport you there. I can tell exactly where the warriors are, and they have the men in their sights. You dudes ready?” 

  They all nodded, and Jessup snapped his fingers. Immediately, the four men disappeared. Jessup remained in the packhouse with us.  

  “Shouldn’t we go help them?” I asked. 

  “No!” chorused everyone with the exception of Jameson. 

  “The idea here is to protect you guys and Chris,” Shadow told me. “If you’re out there, it’s going to be that much harder to protect you. And besides, you three can’t shift yet so I’m not sure how much help you would be against four Lycans. Let the warriors and the guards Jessup brought take care of it.” 

  Jameson and I nodded reluctantly. I wasn’t used to letting someone else fight my battles for me, and sitting there in the packhouse while others put their lives on the line to protect us was not sitting well with me.  

  ‘I don’t like this,’ Jameson told me through the mind link. 

  ‘Me neither, but I don’t guess there’s much we can do about it,’ I replied. 

  He sighed through the link. ‘I know you’re right, but that doesn’t make it any easier.’ 

  ‘I know,’ I told him. ‘But just tell yourself we’re doing what we have to do to keep Chris safe.’ 

  ‘I’ll try,’ he replied before cutting off the link. 

“So what do we do now?” Chris asked.  

“I need to get out there with my warriors,” Shadow replied. “I wouldn’t be much of an alpha if I expect them to fight and I don’t. The rest of you need to go into the safe room, and I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out, or Jessup will know.” He turned to Jessup. “Jessup, would you mind staying here to help the guys protect Nadie and Chris?” When Jessup nodded, Shadow then turned to Daya. “Well, head warrior, it’s showtime. Let’s go kick some a**.” 

She grinned at him. “Aye aye, Alpha.” 

With that, the two of them left the packhouse, shifting into their wolves before the door had even closed behind them. Nadie led the rest of us into the safe room, where Aiyana, Halona, and Ahanu were already waiting. I was the last one to enter the room. I sent a quick prayer up for the safety of everyone protecting us, then closed the door behind me.