The Lycan Prince (Book 2)

Cayden POV “Yes mom we have enough food and we’ll get water on the way” I said hugging my mother goodbye “Okay, you boys be safe. Oh and honey” she said and I looked back before mounting my horse “Yes mom?” she placed a hand on Dimitri and my shoulders “Have fun, don’t fear anything and come back alive, otherwise we’ll raise you from the dead and kill you again” she said smiling but the looks on her and Aunt Valerie’s faces clearly said it’s not an idle threat. “Yes Aunt Isa” Dimitri said smiling and hugging his mother “We’ll see you soon, Leo look after them okay?” I said fist bumping my little brother. “Sure thing” he said puffing up his chest. We greeted everyone and mounted the horses riding North first. We want to explore the world, see if we can help other people or countries in trouble. Dimitri and I have dreamed of this since we were 13. Our mothers and sisters wiped their tears while our fathers stood there with proud expressions, although we could see the sadness in their eyes. We waved and rode off. “Let the adventure begin!” Dimitri said in his deep voice laced with an old English accent “Hell yeah!” I yelled back as the wind whipped through our hair riding into the unknown. That was 7 years ago, we went back home once a year for a week like my father requested, every time it got harder to leave but we weren’t done with our quest. There were still places to see, so we set off toward Terre de paix. From home it will take us at least 3 weeks to reach so we did what we always do, travel from town to town or just sleep under the stars. *1 week into travel* “Dimitri let’s camp here for the night. There’s a river nearby and I’ll hunt something down. My back is killing me” I said stretching in the saddle watching the last rays of sunlight disappear. “I agree Cay, I think my ass went numb 30 miles back. So I’ll get some wood and start the fire, you get us some nice oh I don’t know deer or something. I don’t care as long as we eat, I’m starving” he said stretching his hands over his head “Deal. The horses needs to rest as well” I said getting off the horse and leading it to the stream and tying the reins on a branch. Good thing Granma gave us horses, they’re much bigger and stronger than well “normal” horses. Let’s just say Mustangs (the horses not the cars) look like ponies next to them. She gifted us with two midnight black ones. “See you in a bit” Dimitri waved and disappeared in the foliage looking for fire wood. I stretched out and shifted into my Lycan. His name is Nima (no it’s a boy’s name) I’m dark chocolate brown with black patches on my ears and the tip of my tail and a snow white patch on my chest shaped like a shield. Yes I realize I look a lot like my biological father’s Lycan but he was all brown. “So what are we looking for?” Nima asked “Dimitri is very hungry so either something big or two smaller animals” I answered lazily “Gotcha” he said and sprinted off running through the dense woods smelling the air for prey. We found a stag grazing in a small clearing and Nima took his sweat time stalking the stag. “Hurry up Nima” I whisper yelled “Hey you can’t rush perfection you fool” he said while crouching “Really? I’m a fool? I let you out because I thought it would be nice, but I will do it myself next time. Goddess we’re going to die of old age” I grumbled “You have eternity, we’re immortal you buffoon” he retorted and I scoffed “Not at your pace. A freaking snail is faster than this” I snapped back but then he pounced and quickly killed the stag. Lifting him by the neck he dragged him back to camp. “There happy you ungrateful human?” he scoffed placing the stag down next to the fire Dimitri made. “Yes thank you” I said shifting back and started preparing the stag. “Now that’s what I’m talking about” Dimitri said with a glimmer in his eyes. When we finished eating I grabbed my bag from the saddle and laid down on my make shift pillow. The forest was peaceful, eerily silent except for the sound of crickets and an owl here and there. “Good night Cay” Dimitri said with a yawn and turned on his side “Night bro” I said drifting off to sleep. The next day we traveled onward and by late afternoon we reached a small town. We had a nice and very needed bath and a nice home cooked meal. “I miss my mom’s cooking” I said to no one in particular but Dimitri also nodded in agreement “Yeah, me too. I love my mom to death, but goddess knows that woman can’t even boil water without messing it up. If it weren’t for your mom, Devon and my dad I think Amora and I would’ve starved” he said rolling his eyes dramatically. I laughed at his description, because I knew all too well Aunt Val can’t cook to save her life, but she had many other qualities so mom never minded cooking for all the families. We finished dinner, thanked the innkeeper and went to bed.   *3 weeks into travel* We finally reached the first city in Terre de paix. We found a cosy inn and led our horses to the stables. It was just on the outskirts of the city. The innkeeper was a middle aged woman and very friendly. Leading us to our rooms we settled in and an hour later we were sitting down for dinner. It was nice here, small but nice. “It almost feels like home” I said and Dimitri agreed “It does, except at home we have higher ceilings. I keep lowering my head” he said and I chuckled “Me too, it feels as if I’m going to bump my head everywhere” we chuckled and the lady now introduced as Lily placed the steaming containers of food on the table “Well, we didn’t build it for giants boys” she said with a joking tone “Sorry miss Lily, we meant no disrespect” I said and her face changed into an expression of happy and impressed, a small smile on her lips making the wrinkles around her eyes deepen “Such a gentleman. Haven’t had many of those in the last few years. And it’s just Lily, I am married, well was” she said taking her seat at the table and dishing up for us. I glanced at her ring finger and sure enough there was a ring. “Sorry for your loss Lily” Dimitri said bowing his head slightly. She just smiled a sad smile and placed our plates down, overloaded with food in front of us. She dished up for herself and we were about to start eating before she slapped our hands simultaneously “No. In this house we say grace first” we looked at her a bit confused but followed her lead and bowed our heads. She said a small prayer and then we were allowed to eat. “So where are you boys from? If you don’t mind me asking” she said taking a bite of food “We are from a land far from here” I stated, not wanting to reveal too much, we never disclosed our true identities. These people are different from the ones we have encountered in the past few years. They have strange customs and they’re mostly human. We haven’t seen or smelled another creature for days. “That’s no lie. I can’t remember the last time I saw two tall and handsome men like yourselves in this city” she smiled and we both blushed a bit. We had girlfriends in the past but we both decided to wait for our mates. Yes I know lame right? No you’re wrong, it’s not wrong or lame or stupid to wait, what if she waited and I whored around like there’s no tomorrow? Would you like it if your partner or you for that matter had to walk into one of the exes around every turn? No? Then see, a few fights and awkward situations automatically averted. Our parents raised gentleman, not idiots. “Thank you Lily, and if I may this stroganoff is delicious” Dimitri said and she smiled brightly “Oh you, it’s an old family recipe. But eat up we have dessert as well” she said as we cleaned our plates. We chatted about ordinary things and later we went to bed. Lily gave us a few tips on places we have to see in the city so we decided to prolong our stay for a few days. It’s an adventure right? Couple of days later we were sitting in the garden enjoying the warm sun, we became close to Lily. She was motherly although we knew she never had children of her own and that her husband went missing 5 years ago. He was a lawyer and went on a business trip but never returned. “I still believe he’s alive, the police gave up the search eventually but I will never give up hope” she said looking at the blue sky sadness and longing crossing her face. I reached out and placed my hand gently on her shoulder “We’re traveling all over the country, maybe we can find him. Never give up hope Lily, if he’s out there he’ll come back” I said soothingly, she turned her gaze to me and smiled again “I hope so, God knows I miss him. But he is out there” she said again and I nodded giving her a reassuring smile “Do you have a picture of him?” Dimitri asked and Lily nodded. She stood and went into the house returning a few minutes later with a picture “This was taken on our last vacation. It’s about 10 years old but this is him. My Dave” she said tears brimming in her eyes as she handed the picture to Dimitri. I stood up and wrapped my arms around her, I hugged her the same way I would my mother. She hugged me back, I felt her shoulder shake lightly as she sobbed. I rubbed her back soothingly “We’ll bring him home if we find him, I promise okay?” I said softly and she nodded and stepped back wiping her tears. Dimitri handed her a handkerchief and she smiled “Dear Lord, I need to thank your mothers for raising such amazing boys. They must be very proud of you” she said chuckling, we chuckled and rubbed our necks in half awkwardness. If she only knew “Maybe you can one day” Dimitri said giving her a side hug. We spent the rest of the day lounging around and helping her with dinner and the next morning we were off. She packed us some lunch for the road and we each got a thermos with hot chocolate. We promised to stay over upon our return and she smiled and waved watching us leave. “Now that was a nice lady” Dimitri said as we rode out of the city on our way to the next “Yeah, it’s a shame she had so much sadness in her life. But she’s strong” I said and he just nodded “It is, but you know I think she’ll never forget us. I won’t forget her” he said and I laughed “You don’t forget, period” I said and he chuckled “True. It’s a vampire thing” he said shrugging. The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence as we made our way to the next town. 2 days later we arrived in the next town and after about an hour found a place we can also house the horses at. A guest villa they called it, with a huge barn for the horses and a single story old time farm house. The family was very accommodating, but they also had someone that went missing a few years back. Again we took a picture of the man’s sister with us when we left a few days later. The same thing happened at the next three towns, wherever we stayed someone was missing. But there were no other similarities in the disappearances other than they went missing. “This is too coincidental” Dimitri said halfway to the city “I agree. So many missing people and the police seem to give up after a month or two. Something is not right” I said frowning “Maybe we need to try and find out more in the city. Someone there is bound to know something right?” he said and I nodded “I hope so bro, I don’t know who is doing this but we have to find out. It might not be our kingdom but it’s our duty” I said firmly “Indeed” Dimtri said determined. So the investigation began