The Delta's Daughter Chapter 19

LAMIA

I woke up early at 5am to a cold bed, sensing Kellen was not in my room. This was strange, as he was not an early riser. Heading for the shower, I sent him a quick mind link.

*Hey, where did you sneak off too?*

*We had a rogue issue again. We got called out at 3am, heading back now. I didn’t want to wake you babe. I will see you at lunch at school*

*OK, fill me in then. I have early training with Hunji*

I closed the link and stepped in, letting the warmth of the water sooth me. Rogues again, I thought. They have seemed to be persistent at our borders lately.

But why wouldn’t they wake me to come and help? Everyone knew I was the fastest and strongest wolf in the royal pack. It irked me a little, maybe more than a little. I felt like I was getting pushed further and further from being involved in pack business. OK, I may not be Kellen’s choice for Delta. I got over that, but still, I felt like I was being shoved to the sidelines more and more and it didn’t sit well with me or my wolf.

I threw on a pair of training shorts, sports bra and tank after drying off and throwing my hair into a messy bun. It was bright and warm, the morning sun peaking from up over the horizon casting a painted orange glow across the kingdom. It was my first day back at training and I was hyped up. The new surge of energy that ran through me was poking my muscles, giving me an excited bounce to my step.

News had travelled fast around the royal pack and city about my encounter with the bear shifter. Some praised my strength and kill, some leered that I was lucky. News of mine and Kellen’s relationship had also reached those rumoring ears, not that I cared, but the murmurs and stares irked me. It was none of their business. The truth be told, what some said may be true. Our birthdays are less than 2 weeks away now.

We may not be mates. Even though the pull for each other was so strong, there was still that possibility.

I saw Hunji already waiting for me as I approached the training grounds. For an older man in his mid 30’s, he was still very attractive. His long dark hair tied at the nape of his neck, his dark eyes never held emotion, yet always looked kind. He wasn’t as tall as some, only an inch or so above me, but his dark skin and defined muscles were shaped to perfection. His pointed jaw set hard. He was shirtless, showing off his scars from battles long ago, deep claw marks littered his chest, wearing a pair of red shorts and no shoes.

He smiled as I made my way over to him, bowing as I came closer and greeted me “My Queen.”

My brows furrowed. What a strange thing for him to say

“Hunji, I am not a Queen, we have a queen. You cannot address me like that.” I stated, still confused. “Why did you address me like that?”

His gaze lowered and his own brows came together “I am sorry, my wolf recognizes you as our queen, and insists we address you as such. You have the mark of a queen.”

“Goddess shit just keeps getting weirder around here.” I sighed, not understanding “Can we just train please? And Hunji, I am not your queen!”

“Whatever you say.” He cast me a smirk and clapped his hands together “No meditation today, today we work on defensive form, we will ease you back into it. I know you are strong, but brute strength does not win a fight on its own. First, I want 20 laps around the training grounds.”

“Yes sir!” half saluting and smirking before taking off at a fast-paced run, my wolf stirring at the idea of expelling some of this energy.

Hardly out of breath and not a trace of sweat, I stopped in front of Hunji. No break was needed. I was ready and eager.

He turned to take an offensive stance and waited for me to get into position.

When we were at the academy and I trained with Hunji, he would always present me as a challenge. His demeanor was always calm and focused, much like it is now. One of the only wolves since I turned 15 that has successfully managed to put me on my ass. He helped me reign in my wolf, teaching me to meditate and control mine and my wolf's emotions when fighting.

Yet as I stood there and he came barreling towards me, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I watched his feet, his shoulders, listened to his breathing and as his form was inches away from me, I side stepped, letting him go flying past me. He turned and snickered and advanced on me again.

This time his movements were what should have been a blur to anyone else, but I found them to be slow and weak. I stepped from his reach again, this time tripping him, and watched as he skidded across the dirt. He got up, no emotion on his face, but I could tell he was a little rattled and he motioned for me to attack. I bounced forward and threw a punch to his face; he only narrowly dodged it but neglected to see my left fist come up and connect with his jaw, sending him up in the air, landing with a heavy thud on his back. I heard the wind wheeze from his lungs before he coughed, trying to get his breath back.

I was stunned. I hadn’t even called my wolf forward to use any of her strength yet. I stood staring at my fist before I realized Hunji was back up and advancing towards me again. A light sheen of sweat covered his now dusty chest and back and blood caked his lip where he must have bit it when I uppercut him. We were only into 20min of training and I hadn’t even broken a sweat.

He threw a punch and I grabbed his fist, he threw another and grabbed his other fist and I stood there holding his clenched fists in my hands. He threw his legs up and kicked me in the ribs. I felt the sting but my body didn’t flinch. Instead, I lifted my foot, took it between our bodies and kicked him square in the chest, letting go of his hands as I did. He barreled backwards, doing two summersaults across the ground.

He lay on his back for a few seconds. I waited for him to get up but he just started laughing, still lying in the dirt. I dropped my guard and walked over to where he lay, just laughing loudly like someone had told him the funniest joke in the realm.

“Hunji?” I was alarmed at his sudden outburst, sounding like a mental patient. I had never heard him laugh. I peered down at him offering my hand for him to get up. “Are you alright?”

He took my hand and stood by me shaking his head, still chuckling and shaking his head.

“There is nothing more that I can teach you, at least not in the art of fighting.” He says, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looked into my eyes and held my gaze for a moment, his eyes swirling between his dark brown and obsidian black. I could tell his wolf was on the surface.

Suddenly, he gets down to his knees in front of me and bows his head. At this point I panicked. What the fuck is he doing? He grabs my hand and holds it, a strange warmth spreading through me. I looked around the training fields nervously hoping nobody could see this. I open my mouth to tell him to get up and try pulling my hand away, but he holds it tighter.

“I pledge my allegiance to you, my queen. I pledge my life and swear to protect you till the moon goddess sees fits.”

My jaw is slack, eyes wide, is he seriously doing this? The king could have my head for this! He tilts his head up to me and I realize it’s his wolf speaking through him. I shook my head, still stunned at what the fuck was happening. Not to mention how embarrassing this is.

“Hunji! Get up! I am not a queen and you can’t keep saying that!” I dragged him to his feet. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You may not realize it yet, but you are a queen. My wolf recognizes your aura, dominance and title. You will be a queen Lamia.”

“Kellen and I don’t even know if we are mates yet! How can you say that? When we don’t even know yet?” Now I’m just downright frustrated, annoyance resonating through my words, as I look at his submissive figure before me.

“With or without the prince, you are a queen in your own right. You would be best not to forget that. I will see you tomorrow for weapons training?” He bowed his head before turning and leaving the training field. Leaving me there stunned and confused amongst many other emotions that were racking through my mind right now.

After a few minutes of standing there dumfounded, I finally came out of my stupor, grabbed my backpack and headed back towards the pack house. It was still early, way too early to go to school, figuring I would grab breakfast in the dining hall first. I shoved my pods in my ears and turned the volume up and trekked back. My stomach agreed that food was a great idea.

The loud chattering and scrapping of plates came to an abrupt halt as I entered the dining room. People paused from eating or halted their conversations and all eyes were cast on me. An eerie feeling washed through me. Was there something I was missing?

I made my way to the buffet, piling my plate with bacon, pancakes, sausage and eggs, doing my best to ignore the heated gazes at my back. I felt every pair of eyes on me, the hair on the back of my neck bristling in annoyance.

I turned around and each person cast their eyes down resuming their meals or quietly whispering. Whispering about me?

“She took out a shifter bear on her own”

“She will be our next Luna”

“Bitch thinks she is something special.”

“She is the prince's new fuck toy till he finds his mate”

“So beautiful and tall”

“I wouldn’t mind a piece of that ass.”

A guttural growl left my throat, loud enough to make the room pause again. I didn’t need to say anything, but still my mouth opened before I could think. My eyes narrowed as I cast them around the room.

“If you have something to say to me, say it to my face because my wolf is itching for a challenge!”

I huffed as no reply came and sat myself down. Screw these idiots! I let out a deep sigh, releasing the tension, and put my head down to eat. Just ignore them, I thought.

“Lamia, may I sit with you?” A low silky masculine voice behind me inquired. I turned to see Damon, a lean short kid with dirty brown eyes and matching hair. He was in my engineering class but I hadn’t taken the time to really connect with any classmates or old school friends since I came back.

From what I had observed, he seemed nice, genuine, although I would imagine he was a kid who was bullied. For a wolf, he was short and lacked muscle, although to my knowledge and observation, he was smart, genius level smart.

I nodded and he flashed me a smile before taking up the seat next to me.

His voice now carried an air of nervousness as he quietly spoke “Thank you for allowing me to sit with you…”

I interrupted him; his words pissed me off, allowing him to sit? What? “Damon, seriously? Do I come across as that much of a bitch? Why wouldn’t I allow someone to sit with me?”

“Uh um, well, you are a higher ranking member and uh….” He stammered trying to find his words “I... I need a partner for our upcoming project and... And no one else wants to work with me.” He finished, his head cast down ashamed. “I was hoping maybe you would be my partner as you don’t have one either.” This time his voice was hopeful, his head still down, but a sideways glance at me showed the fear of rejection in his eyes.

I smirked at him, of course I would be his partner, he was the smartest kid in the class, but instead of answering him right away, I shoved a large piece of pancake into my mouth.

“It's okay, I thought I would ask” he sighed in defeat. Shifting his legs like he was about to stand up. I tapped his arm and held my finger up to him in a gesture to wait a minute.

When I finished chewing, I linked my fingers together and lent my chin on them, while staying focused on him. Slowly I spoke. “Damon, do you have a car?” He nodded quickly. “Good, if you drive me to school, I would be happy to be your partner.” It was about time I made some friends outside of Kellen and Mike.

His eyes lit up like stars, his dirty-brown orbs shinning and his smile stretched to meet them.

It turned out Damon was a hoot! We chatted on the way to school as he drove. I found out his dad was a lead engineer for the pack construction company and his mom a pack doctor. He, unfortunately, didn’t have many friends as most wolves saw him as an Omega, a weak and puny wolf, but he didn’t mind so much, he threw himself into coding and computer science. Something that came naturally to him.

I didn’t see him as weak or puny, he was an asset to the pack, a wolf with valuable skill, a wolf with worth and one with a really up-beat personality. I like Damon.

Once we reached school, which is located towards the southern border of the pack city, we decided to meet in the library in our free period right before lunch, before we parted ways.

The school housed not just the royal pack but two other surrounding packs which did not have a high school or community college. So some faces I recognized from our pack and some I didn’t. Any outside pack members I recognized were those of higher ranking. Again, since I had been back, I really hadn’t made the time to interact with peers, sticking to my classes and staying with Mike and Kellen.

My morning classes went by in a blur and in no time I was making my way to the library to meet with Damon, before, I met up with Kellen and Mike.