Finding the Missing Lycan Princess

Quiet Moon

Marcia

Marcia stood on the front porch of the old farmhouse staring at the darkness surrounding her. Being so far from the city, the stars looked like diamonds in the sky sparkling down on her. The house stood in the center of a hundred-square-mile wolf sanctuary that had become her sanctuary over the last year. Looking at the peaceful surroundings, she could not shake the feeling that things were about to change but didn't know why.

The sight of headlights coming up the driveway allowed Marcia to relax for the first time in days. Her best friend, and the owner of this preserve, Cain, had gone to pick up an injured wolf from a neighboring state and had been delayed in his return. Marcia stayed behind to feed and care for the two wolves currently recovering from injuries in the barn. When Cain did not answer his phone last night, she became concerned about his safety. There was nothing more important to him than the welfare of the animals in his care, and he never failed to check in every night.

Before she could return to the house, a howl from the barn caused her heart to drop. Without a thought, she grabbed one of the shotguns that Cain kept by each door and ran to see what had scared the recovering animals enough to emit such a noise. As she ran she heard other wolf join in, the sound increasing her fear. Before she could reach the barn doors, she realized that the headlights approaching were not those of the large farm truck Cain had left in, but were, in fact, coming from a car traveling faster than she had ever seen someone come down the driveway. Behind the racing car, Marcia could make out another set of lights, causing her protective instincts to engage. Bracing her feet shoulder-width apart as Cain had taught her, Marcia took position to protect the injured animals in the barn from whoever was coming at this early hour of the morning. She knew she was not large but she would die before anyone got near those animals. In the past, they had issues with poachers and Cain had told her time and time again that no one could ever get near their charges.

As the car skidded to a stop, Marcia did not have time to admire the lines of the tough-looking GT before the doors popped open, and two of the largest men she had ever seen stepped out. Between the distance, the dark, and the glare of the headlights, she was unable to make out details but could tell that she had never met these men before. The driver immediately turned to her, legs braced wide and arms crossed, creating a silhouette that showed his size. While she saw the second figure move closer to the first, for some reason she could not take her eyes off the first large form. Since she had been little she had learned to trust her instincts, and right now they said these two were not a threat, but there was something about the taller one that drew her focus in a way she had never experienced before.

“Stop right there”, without a quiver in her voice to betray her fear, Marcia pointed the gun at the men standing in the shadows. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” Proud that her voice remained strong, she faced the intruders. The way they faced her made her doubt that they were poachers, but she still had no idea who they were, or why they would be there at this hour.

The taller of the two, a mountain of a man that had to be at least six and a half feet, raised his hands and spoke into the early morning air. “My name is Marcus and I am here to claim Clint's body”. The voice was strong but full of loss. As he spoke, he and his friend started walking towards her until they heard the distinct sound of the shotgun pumping action. When his step immediately stopped Marcia fought the urge to smirk, they might be larger but at the moment she was the one in control of the situation.

“You are in the wrong place Sir, there is no one here by the name of Clint and no bodies, yet, so please leave this property. We are a sanctuary and you are upsetting the animals.” As she spoke Marcia tried to see details of her visitors but could make out little in the early morning light. She was getting concerned about the noises she could hear from the barn. It sounded like the wolves were going crazy and she didn’t want them to reinjure themselves. This made getting rid of the unwanted visitors so she could check on them her highest priority.

“Marcia,” The sound of the mystery man saying her name caused her to freeze, “I am not in the wrong place, but I think we need to talk. My name is Marcus Stone and this is Jackson. We are here looking for my older brother Clint”. Maybe this is what her instincts had been trying to tell her, but Clint had said his family banished him. Why were they here?

Her breath caught in her throat at the sound of the names, but she had been told that if this happened it might be a trick. Remembering what Cain had drilled into her head, she knew she had to be careful. “Walk towards the house, I need you under the security lights' “. Keeping the gun trained on them, she watched as they approached the light. As the men's faces became visible, Marcia could not believe her eyes. The man in front of her was a near twin to her dear Cain. The only way to distinguish them appeared to be the scars that littered Cain's face. The face that stared back at her was unmarked and spoke of exhaustion and internal anguish. More than that, the face is one she had seen recreated and heard spoken about whenever Cain had been drinking and upset over the last year.

“Scrappy?” The whispered question went out into the night just before Marcia lowered the gun.

Marcus

Marcus fought for control as he drove down the long drive toward the glowing house in the distance. The guards had driven a majority of the time with him and Jackson sleeping fitfully in the back of the SUV. After waking from another nightmare, Marcus had insisted they pull over and switch vehicles, hoping the distraction driving could quiet the thoughts that swirled in his mind.

When he was just thirteen, his father had returned from a normal patrol trip alone, having left with Cain, his seventeen-year-old son. The pack never questioned what had happened when the Alpha told them about how they were overtaken by rouges and his son was killed, his body being carried off. It had taken Marcus over four years to learn the truth, or what he had thought was the truth, about what had happened that day, and that knowledge had changed the course of his life. During one of his vicious training sessions, the previous Alpha admitted to killing Cain to prevent him from taking over as Alpha, saying he was weak and defective.

Shaking off thoughts of the past, Marcus tried to focus on the present, and today he was going to claim his brother's body and return it home to be laid to rest as he deserved. As the car got closer to the house, Marcus saw movement near a large barn to the left. From it, he heard the muffled sounds of inhuman howls, warning of the intruders. The sound did not come from a normal wolf, it was a warning from a were that knew others were approaching. With a silent look at his Beta, Marcus slowed the car to a stop about fifty feet from the house where a woman stood, back to the barn, watching the visitors arrive. They could both see the shotgun clutched in the woman's hands and knew by the expression of resolve on her face she would not hesitate to use it to defend herself.

Through their mind link, Jackson was the first to make the connection, “This must be the Marcia your brother mentioned. Who do you think she is to him? His Mate?”

Not wanting to go into details Marcus simply replied, “No. I am not sure who or what she was to him but she was not his Mate”. He knew that Jackson would not care that his brother had been different from the rest of the pack, but now was not the time for more revelations.

What confused Marcus about her posture was that she seemed to be defending the barn more than herself or the house. What was a small human woman doing protecting a barn that clearly contained multiple wolves? With the strongest smells coming from the barn he felt sure it contained at least two shifters, a fact proven when he heard more howls from inside. At first, Marcus assumed this was the reason that Dax was pushing, trying to get his attention, but he did not seem to be aggressive, for some strange reason, he seemed joyous. He pushed back in his mind, gaining a bit more control of his wolf before proceeding.

He carefully stepped from the car, not wanting to further scare the woman he assumed was the Marcia his brother had spoken of. The scent of the wolves was not the only scent he detected in the wind. The scent of vanilla and spice floated above the others and before Marcus could register it, Dax began to go wild in his mind, jumping and howling “Mate!”

Marcus froze afraid to move, he knew that the direction of his life was about to be altered and his next actions could spell his doom. He and Dax had longed to find their mate for years, but due to the unrest of the pack, when he came to power he had put the search on hold, knowing that as Alpha others always had to be put first. A Wolf's Mate is their other half, the stronger side of themselves, and there was nothing more important. Wolves are raised knowing that it is vital to both partners that they keep their mate with them, but as a human, she would not feel the instant bond and if they pushed too hard they would lose her. This was a dangerous situation for any shifter to find themselves in, but it was even worse for Marcus. He was already older than the average age for a Mate, and as an Alpha, he was likely to go insane or even die should she reject him.

“Stop right there” As her firm words washed over him, Marcus froze allowing the woman to aim the weapon at him. It was not what he wanted, but even knowing her focus was on him in the slightest, calmed Dax and allowed Marcus to stay in control. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” Choosing his words carefully as he stared at the vision in front of him. Tall for a woman, she had to be nearly six feet but she kept the look of a delicate fairy. Even with his wolf's vision, he was unable to identify the true color of her hair in the dark of the morning, but he watched the way it snaked around her body, bound in the confines of a long braid. He wanted to rush forward and take her in his arms, drown in her scent, and feel the shock of his mate’s touch. The struggle to control himself and Dax, had his hands shaking as they fisted at his sides.

Clearing his throat, Marcus decided to keep with his original goal of claiming his brother's body and protecting the human that Clint had said was so important. Somehow he had to find a way to convince this strong human woman that she was intended to be his mate and the pack's Luna. “My name is Marcus, and I am here to claim Clint's body”. With this, he and Jackson began to approach Marcia only to freeze when they heard the distinct sound of her readying her weapon.

“You are in the wrong place Sir, there is no one here by the name of Clint and no bodies, yet, so please leave this property. We are a sanctuary and you are upsetting the animals.” This simple statement held a wealth of knowledge for Marcus, most of it bad. First, it was clear that Clint had been living under a different name. Next, judging by the inflection in her voice, it was clear that she truly believed she was protecting simple animals and was unaware of what was in the barn. This knowledge, above all, made it clear that Marcus had to be extra careful, despite living with a shifter, she did not appear to know of their existence. His night had just gotten much harder. When a shifter found their mate, they wanted to claim them and the mate bond would draw them together. In this case, Marcus felt the pull, the desire to claim and protect, but Marcia would not feel anything more than a mild attraction.

Trying to calm her and get a better read on the situation, Marcus decided to put his cards on the table. “Marcia, I am not in the wrong place, but I think we need to talk. My name is Marcus Stone and this is Jackson. We are here looking for my older brother Clint”. This was enough information to placate her without revealing exactly what was going on.

As he spoke, he watched the gears in her mind turning, his words meant something to her, but he could not tell what. He could not track the emotions that flickered across her face, and more than anything before in his life he wanted to go to her, hold his mate. The situation seemed to be overwhelming her, but he knew he could not, he had not earned that right yet. Before he could decide what to say next, she asked them to step into the light, but nothing could have prepared him for the response that came next.

Willing to do whatever would make her more secure, he did not hesitate before moving into the light, motioning for Jackson to do the same. As he reached the light Marcus saw his Mate pale and lower her weapon. The whispered word that came off her lips did what his father never could, it broke him. Clint had always called him “Scrappy” after his favorite cartoon character as a child. The teasing that had triggered many brotherly fights over the years and a name that only Clint would know. To hear it from Marcia’s beautiful lips meant that his brother had remembered him and spoken of him to her. Unable to hide his emotion, Marcus hung his head, awash with memories, until the moment was broken by a growl from his Beta. The sudden sound caused Marcus to whip his head up and look at his Beta, returning the growl with a fierce sound meant to put Jackson in his place for ever for daring to make such an aggressive move toward his Mate.

Marcia approached the men, gun down but still in her hand when she had seen the instant reaction he had to the old nickname. To protect his Alpha, Jackson stepped between the two but was instantly met with a more aggressive growl from his back. “Step aside Jackson”. It was the first time in all of their years together that Marcus had used his Alpha tone on his Beta, a tone that forced a wolf to obey instantly, and its use was not in his control. The situation had drawn Dax too close to the surface and Marcus was holding his control by a thread. If his Beta tried to block him from his Mate again, his control would be gone and he could hurt his best friend.

With a quick step to the side, Jackson lowered his head in submission while shocked at his Alpha's actions. Before he had a chance to wonder at the reason for this sudden and unheard of aggression from his dear friend, his mind was filled with the angry sound of Dax’s mind link “Do not step near our Mate! She is ours! You will not growl in her presence or I will remove your vocal cords to prevent it from ever happening again. Do you understand Beta?”.

Jackson's eyes widened as the truth of the situation settled upon him. Everything just got more complicated and touchy, the last thing he wanted to do was interfere. Marcus had been looking for his mate since his eighteenth birthday and there was nothing that would keep him away from her but they still did not know how much she knew about their kind. When a wolf met a human mate, they had to act with care because often the human would reject them out of fear, resulting in the wolf slowly going insane from loneliness.

The sounds from the barn had died off somewhat but it was still clear that the wolves were agitated in the presence of the Alpha and Beta. “I think we should all go inside and talk,” Jackson said, wanting to calm the situation while bringing them into a place where she would feel safer, and more open to Marcus. These whispered words had Marcia turning on her booted heel and heading to the large covered porch, clearly expecting the men to follow. A move that had Marcus smiling despite the situation, enjoying his Mate's power and ability to take ownership of the situation.

Keeping his head down, Jackson motioned to his Alpha to proceed with him into the home, knowing he could not step between them if he wanted to keep his head intact. He and Marcus may have been brothers in every way but blood, but Dax was still on high alert and would not take kindly to any male getting between him and his mate, even for a fraction of a second. As Marcus passed, Jackson stepped behind seamlessly matching pace as they approached the house with its door standing open, inviting them inside. Neither man said a word as they entered the home, but Marcus was immediately thrown for a loop.