The Delta's Daughter Chapter 163

Day 12 of The Games

KELLEN

Ajani finally healed and was able to join us for training in the common area this morning, although he was still recovering and a little on the stiff side, he was still one the best fighters here, aside from myself and Teal, Ajani was only second to Rogue.

Often I had found myself wondering who Rogue really was. Or where he came from, once he had been taught to hold a sword properly and trained in fighting techniques, He embraced the role of a Gladiator with the heart of a warrior. He was a quick study, and picked things up easily, a natural like he was born to fight. I was sure if he had a voice he would be a great commander, his loyalty to me was sincere.

Rogue had shadowed my every move, listening, learning, watching my back, and had I watched him strengthen and gain the respect of each Gladiator in the Barracks, he was becoming a force to reckon with and I appreciated him. I trusted Rogue.

After the incident I saved him from, Rogue needed to show his strength and he knew it, his dignity and pride had been bruised. Rogue wanted to redeem himself, take back that self-respect he had lost. He had been made vulnerable, almost violated in the worse way. I had saved his ass, literally, but it was up to him to gain back the respect he deserved. He could only do that by becoming the strongest. And he had.

I had no doubt in my mind Rogue would never betray me. We had a friendship that I would even dare to compare to mine and Mike’s.

I was finding it hard to concentrate, still thinking about my little flame and the taste of her lips from four days ago. She didn’t just smell like Oranges and Sea salt, Tala, tasted like it too. I could still taste her, the salty fruit mix, was aching to a cocktail of juice, tequila, and salt. It was the first and only time I have been able to hold her in my arms. It wasn’t enough, I wanted and needed, to see her again. The primal desire to claim her was great and the bond was burning through me forcing my wild side, wolf, to want to search her out and mate with her.

I picked up the carving of the wolf that sat on the ledge of the barred window, remembering the little boy who had given it to me. Each night I held it like a talisman as if it was an idol used to pray to the gods and I prayed to the moon goddess.

A guard stood in front of the bars, his back turned to me. “Wolf King.” He whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “Be ready an hour after nightfall, someone will collect you to meet with the princess.”

Before I could even part my lips and reply he walked off, leaving me with that message and nothing more. My heart sped up, beating wildly at the thought of seeing my little flame again. The anticipation would stay with me all day and now I would count down the seconds until the sun dipped and the moon rose.

*****

Two Gladiators went into the arena today and they did not return. By the smell of the blood and chaos from the crowd, I had determined that they had died. I asked what happened to the bodies of the fallen and Teal told me one of two things. Either they dumped them in a pit or they were fed to Vargr’s pets.

I still had yet to learn what his pets were. If they belonged to Vargr I could assume they were nothing good. And after encountering the crawlers, created by Orion and Shayna, I dread to think what kind of pets they were.

The Gladiators housed in the barracks with me had begun to improve vastly, learning how to work together, learning to trust each other. There were still three who had kept themselves separated from the rest of us and we were now down to a group of 19, the others dying in one fashion or another.

If I was going to get out of here, I would need as many men by my side to stand with me as possible and that was hard to do when you were thrown into an arena where you were expected to die. In the span of a week, 5 Gladiators had already lost their lives before the two today. So far more than half of these fights hadn’t been fair. It was a massacre. Most of the time it would be two Gladiators against four men, four trained men, where some rode horses, or threw nets over the Gladiators and then dishonorably stabbed and sliced them until they had bled out.

I have no idea why I ever expected anything less. I did come to realize that, to Vargr, some of these Gladiator slaves were expendable, but people like me, he had spent a lot of money on. So I knew he was saving me for something special.

Teal was an Alpha, and he had kept Teal alive so he could witness another Wolf raising his daughter. By Abusing the Luna, Vargr thought he was punishing Teal by causing her pain. However, Teal felt nothing for the Luna, she raped him using witches' herbs. Teal only cared for the daughter that was created that night and still held so much guilt for betraying the mate bond, for causing pain to the one he truly loved, whether it was his fault or not.

I had grown close not only to Teal but also to Rogue and Ajani. I didn’t talk about my encounter with Tala too much to Teal as he wanted to maintain a safe distance, but I did talk to Rogue. He was a very good listener.

Tala had no idea Teal was her real father and he did not want her to know. He said it could cause more problems for her and her not knowing would keep her safer. The same way that we did not want Vargr to find out we were mates. Vargr was too unpredictable; he would either execute me or do something to hurt Tala. I didn’t care what happened to me; I just needed her to be safe and I was not in a position to protect my queen.

I would need to meet with this Jasper. I wasn’t in a position to start gaining trust and grow a rebellion, but this Jasper was and I was sure I could be of some guidance.

When an Alpha wolf meets his mate, their heightened emotions and primal instincts push them to protect, mate, and worship their Luna. Driving them towards an almost frenzy with a crazed need to protect what is his. So you can imagine how riled up Conri was wanting to be close to his mate and her wolf. Not being able to see, feel or smell her for four days drove him insane. His constant need to shift and seek out his other half was becoming unbearable, not just for me but also for him.

*****