The Lost Lycan Princes: A Journey Home

Meet The In-Laws

Chrissy POV

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that boulder go flying through the air. Were these two crazy?! Something in my gut was telling me I could trust these two giant twins that I had only met earlier that night, and Daya insisted that they were what they claimed to be, but who in their right mind flings a boulder at someone like that?

I breathed a sigh of relief when Jonathan caught the boulder with ease. I knew they were out to impress me, and honestly, it was working, but I wasn’t ready to let them see that. I mean, either that boulder was a lot lighter than it looked, or these guys were seriously strong.

Daya seemed impressed too, which was surprising to me. She was a warrior, for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t easy to impress. Trust me, the male warriors tried daily, but she never gave any of them the time of day. She only dated warriors from other packs, saying that when she met her mate, she didn’t want to have to deal with any ex-lover's jealousy daily.

Daya and I had known each other since we were kids and my parents had unknowingly moved just a quarter of a mile from the border of a werewolf pack – Daya's pack, the Shawanoe Pack. (I had learned later that Shawanoe is how the Shawnee Indians sometimes referred to themselves, and since they were native to this area at one time, the pack’s name was a nod to them.) My parents, as well as most of the rest of the human population, were unaware that werewolves even existed at that time. I was five when we moved here. I’ll never forget the day I saw a werewolf for the first time.

FLASHBACK

It was just a couple of months after we moved in. Dad was at work, and Mom was distracted, refereeing yet another fight between my three older brothers. I had wandered out of the yard and ended up lost in the forest. (I later found out it had taken my mom about ten minutes to realize I was missing. She and my brothers had been screaming my name, searching everywhere, but they had gone to the right when they left the yard, whereas I had gone left.) I had been in the forest for a couple of hours when these huge animals started surrounding me. I still don’t know why, but I wasn’t scared. I guess that was because I thought they were big dogs, and I love dogs. They all had plastic bags with clothes in them tied around one front paw. I might have wondered about that more if I had been a little older, but as a little kid, I just figured their owners had done that for some weird reason. One of them – the big black one that was leading them all – had gone behind a big tree, and the next thing I knew, a big Native American man with long black hair came out, dressed only in a pair of black shorts and a pair of flip flops. He knelt down in front of me with a kind smile on his face.

“Hello, little one,” he greeted me in a smooth baritone voice. “Are you lost?”

I nodded, remembering that my mommy had taught me not to speak to strangers and wondering if I was allowed to answer him.

“My name is Alpha Moon Shadow,” he continued gently. “But you can just call me Shadow. What’s your name, little one?”

I reasoned with myself that since I now knew his name, that meant he wasn’t a stranger anymore, right? Surely I could talk to him now,

“M-my name is C-Chrissy Matkins,” I managed to whisper shyly. “I-I can’t find my mommy or my house.”

He smiled at me. I later found out that they’d heard that there was a little girl missing and had come out to join the search party. I also found out that this was something they did quite regularly. Their sharp noses could sniff out missing people, and if the person was an adult they usually didn’t let them see their wolf forms. Instead, some of them would shift before the person could see them and they would “find” them in their human forms. But in the cases of children, they had found that usually their wolf forms brought the child a sense of comfort.

Shadow led me back to my house, with his “wolf friends,” as he referred to them, following us. He later told me that he was able to follow my scent back, even in human form, which is how they’d found me to begin with. I had been surprised to see all the police officers and other first responders all over our yard and in our house. Shadow explained to me that my mom had called them all to come out and help look for me, and that my dad had come home from work and they were both very worried. I later found out that he was friends with the police chief, and the police chief was the one who had called them in to help search. They had been on their way to meet him at my house when they had caught the scent of a little girl in the forest and knew it was me.

Dad was out with the search parties looking for me, but the police had requested Mom stay at the house in case I came home. She spotted me as soon as we walked out of the forest, and had run to me while screaming my name. She immediately swept me up into her arms, crying and clinging to me for dear life, while a cheer went up around us.

While I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details after that, I do know that Shadow and the police chief – who knew who and what he was – ended up explaining to my parents about werewolves, although I’m not sure why. Something about rogue wolves sometimes wandering outside pack borders and needing to keep a close eye on us kids at all times. My brothers – who were 7, 9, and 11 at the time moaned and groaned about that the rest of the summer, but Mom heeded the warning Shadow gave us and refused to let us out of her sight.

After that, we gradually met most if not all of Shadow’s pack members. There was quite a mix of races and ethnicities. White, Native American, African-American, Asian, etc. I ended up befriending several werewolf kids – whom I learned were called pups – and quickly became close friends with Daya in particular, and her older twin brothers, Kyle and Kevin. They had quickly become family to me.

END OF FLASHBACK

Daya was snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Woohoo! Chrissy! Earth to Chrissy! Where did you go?”

I shook my head to clear it and smiled at her. “Sorry, just taking a trip down memory lane.”

She smiled back. “What were you thinking about?”

“The first time that I met Shadow,” I replied.

“Who’s Shadow?” Jonathan asked curiously. “Sorry, I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but it’s almost impossible not to with this Lycan hearing.”

I laughed. “No worries. Shadow is the Alpha of the Shawanoe Pack, and the very first werewolf I ever met.”

I told them the story of how I’d met him, finishing with him telling my parents about the existence of werewolves.

“That’s pretty cool,” Jameson remarked. “Sounds like he’s a pretty cool Alpha to have.”

Daya smiled. “He’s the best. He’s still Alpha, since his oldest son is only fifteen, and he still goes with a group of our warriors to search for missing people. They’ve found around 20 that I know of. I’ve even gotten to go on a few missions.”

“We’d love to meet him,” Jonathan told us. “We’re going to be here for a few days anyway. Do you think that would be OK?”

I nodded. “Shadow probably wouldn’t mind, although we’d need to ask to be sure. He - “

“He says that would be great,” Daya interrupted. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him who you were, just that you’re Lycans and Chrissy’s mate.”

I sighed. “For the millionth time, it must be so convenient to mind link.”

Daya laughed. “You’ll be able to too, soon enough.”

I stared at her. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t even think about that. I will, won’t I?” I turned to the twins. “What else will I be able to do that I can’t now?”

Jameson shrugged. “Honestly, we’re still fairly new to this whole Lycan thing too, so I’m not sure. But I do know who would know.”

“Who?” I asked.

Both twins grinned at me. “Ready to meet our parents?” Jonathan asked.

I immediately felt the butterflies in my stomach. I wasn’t someone who got nervous easily, but the thought of meeting a king and queen who could very well be my future in-laws, within just hours of meeting their sons who claimed to be my mates, would make anyone nervous. But I had never let nerves stop me from anything before, and I wasn’t about to start now. I shrugged, as if it were no big deal. “Sure. Do they, like, teleport here or something?”

The twins laughed.

“No,” Jameson replied. “To the best of my knowledge, Lycans aren’t magical or anything like that. But we can video chat.”

I nodded. “Ok. Let’s do it.”

Jonathan pulled his phone out of his back pocket and tapped a few buttons. “After they answer, I’ll turn the screen where they can see you two,” he told Daya and me.

“Hello?” The voice that answered the phone sounded a lot like the twins’ voices, just maybe a little older. “Oh, hey, boys!” He must’ve covered the speaker or turned away from the phone, because the next sentence was slightly quieter and obviously directed at someone off the screen. “Havannah? Dear? The boys are on the phone!”

A few seconds later, I heard a female voice enthusiastically greet the twins, and both men smiled and waved.

“Hey, Sebastien! Hey, Havannah!” they greeted them. It seemed odd that they were calling their parents by their first names, but then I remembered that they had been raised by a human couple. It was likely that they still thought of them as Mom and Dad, even though they knew that the king and queen were their biological parents.

“How’s it going with your mate? Is she pretty? Is she nice?” Havannah asked.

Jonathan grinned at her. “See for yourself.”

With that, he turned the screen to where Daya and I could see. I immediately saw where the twins got their good looks – King Sebastien was an older version of them, and Queen Havannah was stunningly beautiful with her long, flowing blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Daya and I both waved at them, and they smiled and waved in return.

“Hello, Your Majesties,” I greeted them. “I’m Chrissy, and this is my best friend, Daya.”

“Hello, girls!” King Sebastien replied. “It’s very nice to meet you both.”

“Hello to you both!” Havannah chimed in. “As my mate said, it’s so nice to meet you. Are my boys behaving themselves?”

We laughed. “Yes, of course,” I replied with a smile. “They’ve been teaching us some things about being Lycans, and showing us some of the things they can do. They even beat Daya here in a race, and she’s the fastest runner in her pack.”

The king’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so you’re a she-wolf?” he asked Daya. “I thought you might be, but I can’t exactly catch your scent through the phone,” he added jokingly.

She laughed. “Yes, Your Majesty, I am. I’m the head warrior of the Shawanoe Pack.”

The king and queen both looked impressed. “Wow! Well, first off, the both of you can drop the whole ‘Your Majesty’ thing. Chrissy, you’re already family in our minds, and Daya, you’re obviously like family to Chrissy, so that makes you part of our family. Please, just call us Sebastien and Havannah, or even Mom and Dad. Second, Daya, that’s very impressive, being a she-wolf and the head warrior. I know your Alpha quite well, and I know he trains hard and expects no less of his warriors. You must be quite a warrior for him to put you in charge.”

Daya blushed, something she very rarely did, obviously pleased by the king’s praise. “Thank you, Your – I mean, thank you, Sebastien. Alpha Shadow promoted me awhile back, after I won what the humans call a triathlon – tailored for werewolves, of course.”

The king and queen both smiled at her. “That’s amazing, dear,” Havannah told her. “Your mate must have been quite proud of you!”

Daya shook her head. “No, ma’am. I haven’t found my mate yet. I hope to very soon though.”

Sebastien smiled at her again. “I’m sure you will soon. Don’t give up hope.” Then he turned to me. “So, Chrissy, what do you think of us Lycans so far?”

“I’m very impressed by how fast you guys are, and your strength,” I told him honestly. “But I do have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”

Havannah nodded. “Sure. Ask anything you want.”

“Well, first off, how long will it be before I become a Lycan?” I asked.

“That varies a bit,” Sebastien replied, “but it’s usually anywhere from three to ten days from the day you accept the mate bond. Being that you’ve been around werewolves and were already aware of the existence of supernatural beings, it may be on the faster side for you. Most people take a couple of days to recover from the shock of it all, and your Lycan can’t start growing inside of you until you’ve recovered from the shock.”

I nodded. “That makes sense. Is it painful, turning from human to Lycan?”

Havannah shook her head. “I was a werewolf before, so my change only took three days, and it wasn’t painful at all. Weird feeling at times, but not painful. But there are some members of our court who were born human, and all of them have told me that it’s not painful. Basically, they’ve said the same thing as what I felt – a few weird sensations, but not painful.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I was a little worried that I was going to be in pain for days on end. What about enhanced abilities? What will that be like?”

“Basically, whatever the twins can do, you’ll be able to do too,” Sebastien replied. “Speed, strength, mind linking, fast healing, all of it.”

“So, even though I’m female, I’ll still be as strong as the men?” I asked.

Havannah nodded. “Yes. Sometimes, when the king is away on business or for whatever reason, the queen may have to defend the castle if intruders get past the guards stationed outside. So yes, you’ll be just as strong as the men if not stronger, and you will be training with our warriors on how to fight.”

I smiled. “While I’m glad for the opportunity to train, I should let you know that I've already been training for a few years now. Daya has been training me.”

Both of them looked impressed. “That’s great!” Sebastien exclaimed. “So you can just pick up where you left off with your training and don’t have to start from the ground up.”

“She’s already a tough fighter, and that’s with her being a human,” Daya told them. “I would imagine that she’ll be unstoppable when she becomes a Lycan.”

After we chatted with the king and queen for a few more minutes, we said our goodbyes, thanking them for answering my questions.

On the way back to the motel, I tried to get to know the twins a little better. They told me about their life growing up in California, and about their parents and their sister. From the way that they talked about them, I was pretty sure that I was going to like them, should I decide to accept this whole mate bond thing. And honestly, it was sounding better and better all the time.

I told them about growing up with three older brothers, and how my brothers had defended me when necessary, but also taught me how to fight for myself.

“How much older are they?” Jameson asked.

“Well, Carter is two years older than me, Cash is four years older, and Charlie is six years older,” I told them. “Carter and I are the closest, but honestly, we’re all pretty close to each other.”

“Wow, your parents had a thing for the letter C, didn’t they?” Jonathan joked.

I laughed. “That they did. Then again, their names are Connor and Casey.”

He laughed. “Well, that explains it then.”

By then, we had arrived back at the motel.

“Do you have a ride home, Chris?” Daya asked.

I shook my head. My old clunker had breathed its last a few weeks ago, and I hadn’t been able to replace it yet, so I was currently without a car. “I was supposed to call Cash to come and pick me up, but if it’s all right, I’ll just let him know I’m catching a ride with you.”

Daya literally had to pass right in front of my house on her way home.

She nodded. “Sure thing.”

I turned to the twins. “I’m off tomorrow, so what time would you two like to go to meet Shadow? I’m free all day.”

They looked at each other. “Maybe around noon?” Jameson asked. “We’ll probably both sleep late. Travelling, plus all this tonight, has worn us both out.”

I nodded. “Sounds perfect. I’ll shoot both of you a text so that you’ll have my number.” I looked over at their motel room. “What’s that bag hanging on the door?”

Both of them turned to look then burst out laughing. “Does anyone know if Chinese food is still good when it’s been hanging on a door for an hour or two?”