The Lycan Queen

Chapter Ten

Laramie and I didn’t talk much during dinner. We tried to act normal, engaging in the conversations and banter with our siblings and parents. After dinner and after helping our siblings clean up the table and kitchen, mom allowed Laramie and me to go out for an hour for some ice cream. Clair wanted to go, but mom told her no, knowing we wanted some time alone.

We went to the ice cream shop and got our usuals, banana split for Laramie and a hot fudge sundae with triple the amount of fudge for me. Instead of sitting in the shop and eating our ice cream, we got into her Civic and went down to the barn, knowing it would be quiet there. Once we got settled on a bench outside the barn, Laramie turned to me and pointed her spoon at me.

“Tell me everything,” she demanded. “I know you know something, and you need to tell me.” She is right. My sister deserves to know what I know. So, I told her about the dreams, with mom and dad in them, the little boy, the fire. I also told her about me being followed whenever I leave the house.

“Is it your mate?” my sister asked me after she ate her ice cream.

“I think it is,” I told her. “But what I don’t understand is how this person knows where I am all the time? Do they also live here in the pack too? Or are they camping somewhere in the pack?”

“If they were camping, the patrols would have discovered it already,” Laramie told me, taking my empty bowl, and throwing it away. She came back and sat down next to me. “It has to be someone in the pack.”

“But who? Uncle Lykeon knows what everyone is when they join the pack,” I told her. Then, I got an idea. Laramie saw the look on my face and shook her head.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned me. “If you hacked into his computer, we would be banished!”

“Not his computer,” I told her. I smiled at my sister. “Who else has access to the pack records?”

“You’re not f*****g serious!” she scolded me. “Mom and dad would f*****g ground us for the rest of our lives!” I giggled and took her hand.

“Nah, at least until we are eighteen,” I told her. “I’ll be eighteen next month, and you have eight months after that.”

“Eight months is too f*****g long,” Laramie growled at me. “I do have a social life.”

“What? Nick and Gemma?” I asked her. “That is not a social life.”

“Well, at least I have friends,” she threw back at me. She is right. I have no friends. A lot of the kids my age stay away from me, especially when they heard about me using my powers in the attack led by the former Alpha of Red Dragon, Harvey Jameson. After that day, all the kids stayed clear of me, afraid I would use my powers on them, too. What they don’t know, I do. Just a small amount to make them wonder if they are a klutz, tripping or something would spill on them mysteriously.

Sighing, I looked over at my sister. “I just want to know who is following me.”

“Then, confront them,” she said, getting off the bench, and walking towards the woods. “Come on, we are going to find out who it is.” I shook my head and rushed after her.

“It’s getting late, Laramie,” I told her. “Mom wants us home here soon.”

“Just for a few minutes,” she said, walking down a trail. “Hey! Anyone out there!” she shouted out into the woods, making as much noise as she could. I grabbed her arm, pulling her close to me.

“Will you stop!” I hissed in her ear. “The warriors will think you are crazy!”

“Nah, they will think we are playing,” she giggled, pulling away from me, walking deeper into the woods. Then, I could sense them. The person or creature who has been stalking me. Reagan purred in my head, knowing they are close.

“Laramie, stop,” I whispered to my sister. “They are here.” We both stood there, watching the bushes from where the rustling was coming. Suddenly, a raccoon came out, looked up at us, made a chittering noise at us, and ran down the trail. Laramie and I cracked up laughing, both scared by a little raccoon.

“Scared by a little raccoon,” my sister gasped as we both were trying to catch our breath from laughing so hard. Then, there was another rustle in the bushes, louder than the raccoon. We looked at each other, and Laramie moved closer to me.

“Laken, what was that?” she squeaked out.

“I don’t know,” I whispered. We watched the bushes as the rustling got louder. Then, it appeared. Laramie gasped in fear, moving behind me. It was a Lycan I had seen from the pictures in the book Sienna gave me. It towered over us, being around seven to eight feet tall, covered in black fur. You could have seen the muscles ripple as it moved towards us. It stopped in front of me, reaching up, and gently touched my cheek with the side of its finger.

“Mate,” it growled, looking down at me lovingly. I gasped, couldn’t believe that this was my mate. We stood there for a minute, staring into each other’s eyes.

“Who are you?” I whispered, not breaking our stare.

“Rypere,” it gently said, rubbing its finger along my cheek.

“Do you know who I truly am?” He nodded, not saying a word. “Can you shift so we can talk?” I asked him. He shook his head, not wanting me to see his human side yet.

“Charlotte,” he said, looking at me. Then, he looked at Laramie, pointing his finger at her. “Carolyn.”

“So, you know who we are? Are our parents alive?” I asked, curious about them. He nodded. Laramie and I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we can get answers about our past, about our family.

“I watch,” he said, pointing in the bushes. “You safe.” There was howling, and Rypere’s head shot up, looking towards the direction of the howls. He leaned down and inhaled my scent. “I go,” he whispered gently, breathing a gentle breath on my neck, making me shudder. I looked up, placed my hand gently on the side of his head, and we stared into each other’s eyes.

“They’re over here!” we heard a voice. Rypere looked up, growled low, looked back down at me, and then he was gone. A minute later, warriors surrounded us, looking around.

“Something was here,” a warrior told the other. “I have an unfamiliar scent here!”

“Laken, Laramie, are you two okay?” Uncle Leif asked us when he shifted. We both nodded our heads, and he ordered a few warriors to make sure we got home.

When we got home, mom and dad rushed over to us, pulling us into a hug. Laramie and I were in shock with what happened, meeting a Lycan who knew who we were.

“Are you girls okay?” dad asked us, holding us tight.

“Yes, dad, we are okay,” I assured him. Mom and dad fretted over us, making sure we both were okay. We finally got away from them and went up to my room to talk about what had happened in the woods.

“Are we Lycan?” Laramie asked me, sitting on my bed. I changed into a tank top and shorts, sitting next to her.

“Apparently, we are,” I answered her.

“Laken, when are we going to get the answers we need?”

“Hopefully soon, sis.”