Warrior Princess
Chapter 9

Jakes POV

When Carson called saying he had received a phone call from the Royal family we were all a bit nervous. They never contact you directly unless you’ve done something wrong, you’re under investigation or if they are answering a request for aid or warriors. We haven’t requested Aid, and as far as I know we haven’t broken any laws.

Carson had requested my mom, dad, and myself to meet in the alpha’s office. It was close to 9:00PM so this had to be serious. After knocking I Carson granted us access to enter.

“Alpha.” I say and bow my head. My parents follow me in, and we all sit on the sofa waiting for a reason to why we were all called in so late.

“Alpha, may I ask why you’ve requested the whole Beta family? Have we done something wrong?” My mom asked timidly. She hasn’t been the same since Sam left; hardly ever comes out of her shell.

“Of course, not, Lucy.” Alpha Aaron said, “We actually have something to discuss that would make you all very happy.”

“Sir does this have anything to do with the phone call from the Alpha King?” he nodded.

“Jake, Lucy, David, they found her.” He said, his face lighting up.

“Don’t play games with me, Aaron. This isn’t funny.” My dad spits out. Hes taken this as hard as the rest of us. Sam was his baby girl, his warrior pup.

“We’re not joking. She stumbled onto Royal pack lands, but she did get injured she is currently in the hospital. I told his Majesty that we would be on the first flight out. I did confirm vague details. They said the rogue they have in custody had the scar above her eyebrow that she got when jake and her were sparring. She has all the tattoos that Samantha has. This rogue has long brown hair, green eyes and is Samantha’s height.” No one said a thing. Processing the information, I guess.

“We have to go, David; we have to be sure. Thank you both. When does the flight leave?” he hands us tickets for a flight to Colorado that leaves in 4 hours.

“I am coming with you, David, you and Lucy are family to me. Samantha was like a daughter to me. I won’t let you do this alone.” My dad hugged Carson’s dad tightly. No doubt grateful that his friend is going to be there to support him replaceing his daughter.

After boarding the plane, I try to calm my nerves. Nanuk has been pacing nervously in my mind at the possibility of being reunited with his twin. I try to think of what I’m going to say when we reunite. It’s been 2 years she can’t possibly be mad still. She’ll have to listen to us.

“She will listen. She is our sister. Sister is family.” Nanuk is so excited she can’t even speak in proper sentences.

“She will, buddy. She will. In the meantime, let’s get some sleep.” He retreats to the back of my mind.

“You said she was injured. Did they say what happened?” dad asked Alpha Aaron.

“They said they found her fighting with a group of rogues. They said it was 3 against her. She took down the first 2 and was in the process of battling the 3rd. The Royal beta and a group of warriors approached, and she submitted and was placed in custody. This other rogue apparently resisted and threw a Silver Dagger towards the beta when he had his back turned. She pushed him out of the way and took the dagger herself. That’s the story I got told I don’t know any other details than that.”

That is just like her. Protecting those she doesn’t even know. Putting herself in harm’s way.

“I guess that silver training you put us through when we first started training came in handy.” I told dad. He nodded in response. You can see he’s worried, but at the same time him and Cain seem to be proud of their pup both for the battle and her selfless act. Nanuk puffed his chest out in agreement. With that I shut my eyes willing this plane ride to be swift and easy.

Unloading our carry-on bags from the overhead compartments. It’s Dawn here in Colorado. You can see the first rays of the sun peeking through the clouds. There is 3 Black Suburban’s parked on the tarmac with 3 warriors standing in front of each. What seems to be the Royal Beta steps to us. He’s exuding enough power to make even Alpha Aaron bow. I guess it pays to be a royal. We bow our heads in submission.

“Layne family, Alpha Aaron marks?” We nod.

“My name is Beta Josh. I am here to escort you to the Royal Pack. My warriors will take your bags. Please make yourselves comfortable.” He says with a look of disdain. I wonder what his problem is.

The car ride was about an hour from the airport. Pulling onto the pack lands, you could see sentinels patrolling the border. Different squadrons of warriors battling. There was a village, market, park, all of them seemed to be filled with wolves, and pups.

“Are we going to the hospital or pack house Beta Josh?” My dad asked. His eyes glazed over signaling he was linking someone.

He stiffened and growled. “We’re going to the Castle. The alpha King would like to speak with you.” His grip had tightened on the steering wheel. His knuckles turned white; I was sure he would snap the damned thing from the dashboard.

“Why aren’t we going to the hospital? If my daughter is there, that’s where were going.” My mother piped in. The Royal beta growled, and his eyes flickered. My mom bowed her head and extended her neck in submission.

“This order comes directly from the Alpha King. I am not in a position to defy any orders from him.” We all nod.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER?” We could hear the beta yelling through the closed door. Shortly after, we heard a loud thud and a crash, muffled words, a whimper, and then silence. The door opened and the beta stormed out and down the hall without saying a word to us. Who I am presuming to be the Alpha King is standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He is tall about 6’3, black hair, blue eyes.

“My name is Kasen Edwards. Welcome to the Royal Pack. Please come in and have a seat. There are some things we need to discuss.” He doesn’t wait for a response. His Aura is strong, but he seems tense, sad, worried, angry.

We all walk in and there is a leather sofa against the wall with 2 armchairs in front of a desk. It seems regal yet modernly comfortable in here. We occupy the sofa while he leans against his desk with his arms crossed. He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times before his jaw ticks.

“Your majesty. Is my daughter okay?” my mom asks. My dad wraps his arm around her rubbing small circles on her shoulder to calm her down. It’s amazing the effects of the mate bond.

“Mr. and Mrs. Layne, I believe your daughter is the rogue we found. However, upon learning that her family had been called and would be coming to retrieve her, she bolted and ran. We have trackers out searching for her. She has been missing since late last night. If you would like I can take you to her hospital room that she was in to retrieve her things. She didn’t have much just a duffle bag and a cell phone. No other personal effects.” He says. His voice is void of emotions.

“I don’t understand this is the royal pack. How could she have just escaped?” My mom said.

“She seemed to be very well trained. Almost as well, if not better than some of my most trusted warriors. We will replace her though. There is going to be a shift change in the next 20 mins and more trackers will be sent out as well,” he says. He seemed to blush a bit at the mention of how well my sister was trained. Something is going on here, the beta is acting weird, the king is acting suspicious.

“I will be joining them. She is my twin. We have a link I could potentially replace her sooner than your trackers can.” He nods. We all eventually offer to join in, even the king.

“She must have made an impression on you for you do join in the search for her, your majesty.” My dad mutters.

The King stiffened but shrugged it off as doing his duty. “If it is not too much trouble to ask. What was Samantha doing out this way anyways? We weren’t able to interrogate her for trespassing on pack lands as we usually do with rogues. When we retrieved her belongings, the phone had some information on it, but I think it would be better to hear a family members point of view.”

Both my mom, Alpha Aaron, and my dad all glared at me, which in turn caused the king to look at me. Almost as if he was waiting for me to explain. I sighed. “It was a misunderstanding really.” I felt a sting on the back of my head as my dad popped me.

“She heard something she wasn’t supposed to hear. Samantha had always been a loner. Me and her were close, but we had an agreement that outside of the house I would do my own thing. I knew my friends didn’t like her. They all thought she was weird. She’s one of the only female warriors in our pack, so everyone tried to steer clear of her. It didn’t help the Alphas girlfriend of two years at the time had turned everyone against her. Samantha is beautiful, a lot of people were threatened by that, and people who feel threatened with their own insecurities tend to take things out on others. She was constantly bullied, physically and emotionally. But I never stepped in and that’s something that I will have to live with. I didn’t stand up for my sister. My wolf always berated me for it, but I was a stupid kid who thought that my friends would abandon me too. I never once thought that if I stood up for her others would too. The day she left had started as normally as every other. We had finished training and I had gone off with a couple of the guys. I thought sam had already headed home…” I paused. I know I f****d up and no one has let me forget it. I won’t let myself forget it.

I look to my family and Alpha Aaron and they nod for me to continue. The King looked pissed. His eyes flickering between that of his and his wolfs. Sam must have really made an impression on him.

Sighing, I continue with the ugly details. “She heard one of the warriors berating her, calling her a fat, ugly, cow. Asking how I could stand to have her as a sister. My exact words were, ‘Yeah, it isn’t easy. She gets on my nerves 99.9% of the time. She has mom and dad wrapped around her finger though, so nothing I can do about that. I wouldn’t let her become Beta even is Carson decided to go out of his mind and grant her the Beta Position. I’d challenge her in a heartbeat. She doesn’t have what it takes. She’s weak and no one would take her seriously. Shed fail within the first 5 minutes’ I don’t even know why I said it. I should have known no friend was worth losing my twin over. I didn’t mean any of it. She heard me and she ran. That was the night we first shifted. Her 18th birthday. Our 18th birthday. She had run off before the shifting ceremony. She shifted all alone out there and it’s my fault. She left a note. A goodbye note. She apologized for being a burden, she apologized for being worthless, said sorry repeatedly for not being good enough. She just said sorry so many times as if everything was her fault. She said that we didn’t have to pretend to love her anymore. She thought that we don’t love her, that were better off without her.” I had tears flowing down my cheeks.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth though. We all love her, hell she was my father’s pride and joy. She didn’t give me a chance to explain. It’s all my fault. I wasn’t the only one who hurt her, and I never physically hurt her. But I guess words hurt just as much as throwing stones does.”

I couldn’t say anything else. What else is there to say? My dad grabs my shoulder sensing that I could use support. I have changed in 2 years. I am not the same immature scared kid. I would do anything to have sam come back.

“You’re right. It is partially your fault.” We all snap our eyes to the king. Yes, I get it I’m to blame here but geez was he blatant enough?

“Granted, you didn’t act alone, but you scarred her just as much, if not worse than anyone else. You were the one person she should have been able to trust, you were the one person who was supposed to be able to understand her better than anyone else. You’re twins you can feel emotions, feel each other’s pain. The night she was stabbed I bet you felt her pain. In your shoulder? What I don’t understand though is you’re a beta. You can command just as much respect as any alpha can. Why didn’t you stand up for her? Why didn’t you show your friends that she deserves the same respect as you? Anyone who can fight as good as your sister can could have clearly put any warrior in their place. But she wouldn’t that’s not who she is. She just wanted to be loved. That’s the least she deserves. But the past is in the past. You have a chance to right the wrongs. We will replace her. You all are welcome to stay at the palace as long as you need. Shift change is in about 5 minutes now. Those of you that would like to join the search for her follow me.”

I get up and fall in line I can only hope she will give me the chance. I don’t know what I would do if she didn’t give me a chance.

We get outside and we decide to split up into teams. The King, his beta, one of his trackers, Alpha Aaron, mom dad and me in one group and the others are sorted into their own. We decide to shift.

We have strong senses in human form, but as a wolf our senses are unrivaled. The king looks similar to Alpha Aaron. All black except as a wolf his eyes are blue like his human. They glow like the moon too. Mom and dad shift into their grey and tan wolves, and alpha Aaron shifts as well. The Beta shifted into a Chocolate wolf and the tracker is a red brindle. We decide to take the area headed towards the mountains.

30 minutes into the trip and the sin is starting to get a little higher in the sky. The dew is still covering the grass. Nanuk takes control for the time being and lifts his snout in the air and sniffs.

“Trees, grass, water, smoke, honey, vanilla, cookies, sugar! It’s her!” Nanuk yips.

I link my parents that I have her scent and they all start following me. The king is walking side by side with me and the beta is flanking his right side. I get a searing pain in my stomach. It’s too much for me to keep walking. I shift back into my human form and notice my stomach is fire engine red.

The king trots to me and sniffs my stomach and growls. “you’re not injured. This must be Samantha.” He linked me.

I freaked out for a second. Forgetting the king has the capability to link all wolves. Mom and dad catch up with us and alpha Aaron and the beta keep their eyes out looking for trouble or sam while everyone is occupied with me.

“I’m fine. Let’s go. If this is her pain, we need to get a move in and fast.”