The Alpha's Warrior Princess

Ch. 6 Meet April's Parent's

(Tyler’s POV)

I’ve been lying in bed for over an hour just thinking…

Yesterday went well, I believe. Well, aside from what happened last night with the rogues last night as they were leaving. But Wyatt and Alex handled that without much of an issue. Other than that, I felt like April and Alex seemed to hit it off alright and Wyatt certainly seemed to love being around my girls. Crystal was in her glory giving orders and directions, fussing over making sure everyone was fed and was staying hydrated, making us take little breaks every now and then so we wouldn’t ‘overdo it’. My little mate was still the most adorable creature I’d ever met. Even after nearly nineteen years, aside from my Princess, that is.

My April.

I know she thinks that I don’t love her. I know she thinks that I completely ignore her. But how do you explain to your child that it hurts just to look at them? It hurts to always be reminded of the biggest failure of your life. I’ve always watched over her and her Mom. I’ve tried to protect them and give them the tools to protect themselves with. But even after seventeen years, I still can’t forgive myself for what happened the night she was born. It was all my fault. I should have been there. I should have stopped her.

I don’t even know why I let Wyatt talk me into this. What right do I have in becoming his Beta again when I can’t protect the ones that are most important to me? Wyatt has full confidence in me, but I surely don’t. All I keep thinking about is what if I f**k up? Who will be the next one to get kidnapped or killed because I’m too busy elsewhere to watch over them? You need to stop that, Ty. It wasn’t our fault. My wolf, Thunder, scolded me. How can you say that, Thunder? He’s dead because of us. Because we lost him. Because we couldn’t find him in time. I was growling, I was so upset. But he calmly answered back. Because I have faith, man. The Moon Goddess always has a plan, Tyler. We just have to put our faith in her that we will be where we need to be when we need to be there. We may have lost our boy, but we haven’t lost our little girl. Yet. Though we will if we don’t pull our head out of our a** and start making things right.

I just sighed. I knew he was right but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I wasn’t sure how I was ever going to let go. But for her sake? For my princess? I knew I had to try. Letting go of my son, ending my search for him, and accepting he's dead, has been the most difficult thing I've ever done. But I'm tyring. And I'm also trying to start over and mend fences.

That’s what this move was all about, after all. New beginnings. Coming home was about putting the past where it belongs, in the past, and moving on with life. Yesterday was the start of that process. I just hope that when my girls find out the whole truth I won’t lose them anyway. It’s been almost nineteen years since I met Crystal. In those nineteen years, we’ve been through a lot together and we’ve always weathered anything life threw our way. I just hope this won’t be any different.

I sighed again as I noticed the sun was starting to come up, its vibrant rays filling our room with the oranges, reds, and yellows of the early morning light that filled a body with hope for what might be to come. A very vivid reminder of what a new beginning can look like. A promise of a good day ahead. Hopefully, that's what we'll get. A good day.

Wyatt was bringing Lilly with him when he came today. Or should I say 'Uncle Teddy Bear' was. That still makes me chuckle when I think about it. Only my Princess, I swear. April is the only one who would dare to look someone like Alpha Wyatt Ajax Moon in the eye and refer to him as a 'big ole teddy bear'.

Anyway, it’s been years since Lilly and Crystal have seen each other in person. Sure, they talk on the phone and even Facetime with each other. But it’s not the same and I know both girls were excited about spending time together. I’m also hoping April and Alex can begin to grow a friendship over the course of this week. They start school together a week from Thursday and it would be nice to know she’ll have someone there who will have her back if need be. Not that my daughter can’t defend herself. Even against a young werewolf. At least those who haven’t come of age yet.

What does that mean, you ask?

Well, a werewolf typically gains his or her wolf at the age of sixteen and generally right on their birthday. But they can’t actually shift until they turn eighteen. Again, this generally happens right on their birthday. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but that is the general rule. Those exceptions include Alpha wolves, Beta wolves, and special wolves. On rare occasions, other higher-ranked wolves like Deltas and Gammas will too, but obviously, the lower down in rank you go, the less likely it is to occur.

Basically, any high-ranking or powerful type of wolf. Even then, however, there's no guarantee that they will gain their wolf, or shift, at an early age. Alex is an example of an early shifter. He got his wolf nearly eight months before his sixteenth birthday and shifted nearly six months ago. He'll be eighteen in about three weeks.

But it’s really just a crap shoot because the wolf may be strong but the human might be weak or following a darker path than the wolf approves of. No one really knows how it works, we just know it happens. From what I understand, there are some old myths and legends that talk of humans born with their wolves or that gained them in their very early childhood. But to my knowledge, those are just legends. Even if they were true, there has never been one such instance recorded in over a hundred-thousand years. So the assumption is they are extinct now. Just like the lycans, the dragons, the elves, and many other races. Which is a pity if you ask me. I always wanted to meet a dragon.

That thought made me chuckle a little. Maybe I could catch an hour of sleep now. Yah think?

(Crystal’s POV)

Oh my god, yesterday was so much fun. I have missed Wyatt so much. And Alex? He’s grown up so nicely. Wyatt and Lilly have so much to be proud of. She’s coming by later today! I’m so excited I can hardly sleep. Of course, Tyler’s tossing and turning isn’t helping in that department either. I know he is thinking about being back here and what the repercussions of that could be. He tries so hard to protect us from the bad things in life, but I worry that it’s getting to be too much for him. That’s why when he suggested we move back home I was so happy.

Sure I’ll get to be around my oldest and dearest friends again. But so will he. Now maybe he will be able to face some of his demons and begin to move past what happened. Once he does, he might even be able to repair his relationship with his daughter.

A girl needs her Father in her life. Especially at this stage when she is still a child yet becoming an adult. That inbetween phase of life where you're not one or the other but both. For girls, it’s a time when they need their Father’s guidance, need to see what a good man truly is before taking that leap with a man of their own. Tyler has his many faults, don’t get me wrong, but the one thing he has always been is a good man. It’s why he still, to this day, blames himself for what happened.

Me? I’ve learned to cope with it. I will always love, and mourn for, my son. But I will not sacrifice my daughter in favor of my pain. She doesn’t deserve that. And while it took me years to come to understand this, I know now that I don’t deserve that either. Destiny helped me figure that out.

Who’s Destiny? She is one of my most trusted friends. She also lives in this area though we only met about seven years ago while Tyler was out this way on business. But she has been there for me ever since and I love her to bits. I can’t wait for her and Lilly to meet. I just know those two will hit it off straight away and the three of us will become inseparable.

Then maybe we can find Desi a man and we can all go out to places together. A triple date, if you will. Doesn’t that sound fun? I can’t wait to see her, either. She and her daughter will be stopping by on Friday. We’re going to have lunch together, then we're taking the girls shopping. It’ll be fun! The girls haven’t seen each other in a long time. I know Beth is looking forward to surprising April so I haven’t said anything about our plans.

I'm hoping that maybe the girls can have a sleepover or something. It’ll be nice for April to spend some time with her bestie. Maybe introduce her to Alex and they can all go hang out wherever all the kids hang out these days.

I guess I should get up and get started. I just can’t bring myself to get out of this comfy new bed. Tyler was right. Getting a king sized bed was definitely the way to go. Maybe I’ll just catnap for another hour.