The Delta's Daughter Chapter 22

MIKE

Luckily, my dad walked in just then looking between me and Lamia, his eyebrows meeting in the middle with a glare.

“So what did you want to show me?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I looked at Lamia and back to my dad, then back to Lamia again. “Lamia, I’m gonna need you to shift in front of Beta Michael.”

“Why?” her brows forming deep lines and scowling. “What is going on? What am I missing?” She asked, getting annoyed and shoving her hands on her hips.

“Just trust me Lam’s, please; it’s better if you see.” My voice was soft and pleading for her not to argue.

My dad and I turned around so she could shift comfortably. We heard the slight crack of bones and when we were sure she had shifted, we turned around. I kept my eyes on my dad to gauge his reaction, to see if it was the same as mine.

“Holy shit!” He gasped out. Yep, his eyes were wide like saucers, his mouth hanging open and his body visibly stiff with the shock of the sheer size of Inanna.

*What? What is going on? Why do guys look petrified?* Lamia asked through the link panicked.

*Hold on Lam’s, I’m gonna shift too, then you will understand* I took my shorts off and shifted, not bothering to ask anyone to turn around or try and hide my nakedness.

Duke came and stood next to her towering form. He nudged his snout against Inanna’s shoulder and beckoned for her to come and stand in front of the long mirror on the backside of the gym. We didn’t even have to go all the way across to the mirror. As soon as Lamia caught sight of herself in front of the mirror standing next to me, I could visibly see a shiver run through her coat.

*What the fuck!* She gasped through the mind link.

She was at least 3 heads taller than me, the size of a frickin’ bear! I was in no way a small wolf, but standing next to her I looked like a little pup again. Duke whimpered and inwardly cringed at her sheer mass. I walked back over to my shorts, shifted and pulled them on. My dad had remained quiet so far, until he picked up Lamia's clothes and walked towards her.

“Shift back Lamia.” He commanded, dropping her clothes by her feet and then turning around and giving me a look of pure confusion mixed with surprise and awe.

*See dad, I told you, better to show you.* I chuckled through the link.

*No shit, if I hadn’t seen it myself I wouldn’t have believed it. When the heck, did her wolf double in size?* He asked.

I just shrugged.

“Um Mike, Uncle Mike? Can someone explain why my wolf is so big? Inanna just said it’s because we are powerful, and then went to the back of my mind. What the heck is wrong with me?” Panic rose in her voice, she was confused, clearly.

My dad cleared his throat. “I have just linked your father and the king to come down here. They need to see this.”

“Goddess! Now you are making me feel like a freak!” her hands were clasped in her hair, head tilted back and eyes closed as she tried to rationalize that this was big, the size of her wolf was beyond normal. But I wouldn’t say that out loud. I’m pretty sure I didn’t need to. We could see it was beyond normal.

Shortly, The King, Delta Marcus, Aunt Vivian, Kellen and Tyron strolled into the gym all with a curious and cautious aura. They all stood there waiting for an explanation of why they were called down here so late at night.

“Lamia, when was the last time you shifted before tonight?” my dad asked.

“Umm when Kellen and I went for a run a little over a week or so ago, why?” she cast a look to Kellen.

“Did you notice anything unusual about Lamia’s wolf, Kellen?” his arms crossed over his chest as he questioned my best friend.

Kellen shook his head, a scowl forming and lips pressed tight. “No, should I have?”

With a deep breath, I asked Lamia to shift again so she could show the rest of the group as well as her father, her wolf.

After shifting to her wolf form, yet again, the reaction around the room was as expected. All their faces had that same bewildering shock and awe in them.

“Nope, defiantly wasn’t this big when we went for a run” Kellen voiced, trying to shake the astonished look from his face.

“Well shit. This explains a lot now.” We all turned to Aunt Vivian as she spoke; her words held a defeated tone. She backed up and sat on the closest bench, leaning her head into her palms that rested on her knees.

“Care to enlighten me, my love?” Delta Marcus asked his wife, his stance stiffening, looking uncomfortable as it seemed his wife knew something he didn’t.

“Well dear...“she raised her head to look at her husband, giving a short pause “Do you remember the stories about my great grandmother's sister?” she asked. Uncle Marcus nodded his head slowly, then his eyes opened wide, his green ones peering at his mate.

“Yes” Aunt Vivian confirmed. “It seems like the gene skipped a few generations.”

“Do you two mind enlightening the rest of us?” Uncle Alex asked, annoyed, his gaze burned between the Delta and his mate.

“Umm yes, mom, dad, what are you not telling me? Why is my wolf so large?” Lamia threw her hands up in the air and huffed out.

“Well sweet heart –“Aunt Vivian’s tone was soft as she regarded her daughter “First of all, there is nothing wrong with you. In fact your wolf may grow a little larger in the next coming weeks with you turning eighteen.”

Was this woman serious? How much bigger could Lamia’s wolf get before she really was the size of a bear!

Aunt Vivian carried on with her explanation “ Second, it is a recessive gene on my family’s side that only affects women. The good news is, we now know what you are and why you are so powerful and non-submissive”, she glanced at the king quickly before averting her attention back to her daughter. “Bad news is I think we should hide this as there may be some people who want to use you for your power.”

“Mom! Get to the point! What is wrong with me?” Lamia all but screamed in frustration at her mother, running her hands through her streaked hair.

“Lamia, you are a Dire wolf. The last one I know of was my great grandmother’s sister. Before that, no one had seen or heard of one for a few hundred years, maybe even thousands. The gene can skip generations, and because I wasn’t first born, it never even crossed my mind that you would inherit the rare gene. However, it does explain your strength, power, the crown mark you bear on your hip and your wolf spirit. And in all honesty, I have heard about the gene in my family, heard stories but never paid any heed to them. If anything, if the gene was to show up, I would have thought it would have come out on my cousin’s side of the family. Not ours!”

I zoned out, lost in my own thoughts. A Dire wolf, damn! I remember reading about those in one of the history classes we were stuck in at the Academy. Usually I wouldn’t pay attention, but for some reason, that topic had gained my interest.

I looked at Kellen who had been quietly listening, but my gaze shifted from him to Lamia. I knew they were having their own private conversation. My thoughts trailed back to the fact that Lamia is a Dire Wolf, still in silent awe. Like her mom said though, it makes sense and really does shed light and understanding on how strong she is. Lamia’s wolf had always been big, matching the size of the prince and his father’s, but she almost doubled in size and her mom said she could grow a little more as she was yet to turn 18.

Seriously, how much bigger will she get? Her size is already impressive and daunting, beautiful yet intimidating.

Note to self: Research Dire Wolf.

It wasn’t until the king spoke did my attention turn back to the group I was in. Aunt Vivian and Delta Marcus were sitting on the bench with his arms wrapped around his mate, while the rest of us had formed a kind of semi-circle around us.

Kellen stood by Lamia’s side, his hands firmly situated on her waist as he stood behind her, nose pressed into the side of her neck, as he regarded everyone and Lamia’s eyes still bore into her mother’s shockingly at the realization of what she was. My dad stood next to me, his posture casual, hands slunk into his pockets. Tyron stood next to him, his face paling, seemingly not knowing who to look at or where to cast his sight.

The King, who stood in between us all, lifted his head, drawing in a deep breath, turning to face his son and Lamia, his features softening, lips pulling into a tight line and eyes holding compassion and what seemed to be remorseful “Lamia, it would be a good idea for you not to shift”

Her head snapped up, fire burning in her eyes as she regarded the king's words.

“At least not for now, until you know what you are dealing with and we know who can be trusted. I will not risk you being put in harm’s way or being compromised. You are like a daughter to me. I hope you know that?” His last sentence gave her the affirmation that he said this with love and concern.

He was doing this to protect her.

Lamia’s shoulders slumped against Kellen’s broad chest and she leaned back into him, “Yes your highness. I understand” She said, full of defeat.

“It’s just until we understand and gather more information babe. We don’t want to, nor do we want you to put yourself at risk”, Kellen soothed.

I walked over to where she was embraced by Kellen and grabbed one of her hands, my hazel eyes meeting her beautiful green orbs, feeling the warmth of hers as my hand wrapped around her smaller one.

“Lam’s your wolf is beautiful, surprisingly huge but never the less beautiful. Let’s just figure out what all this means, if anything, before showing the world ehh?” My tone was soft but held a little playfulness.

*****

LAMIA

Sleep escaped me last night. Even wrapped tight in Kellen’s arms, I was still restless, staring up at the shadows cast across my ceiling all night until dawn broke.

When we had come back from the gym, my parents sat with Kellen and I and told us as much information as they could about her great grandmother's sister, my great-great aunt, and the story of her wolf.

As werewolves, we live much longer than humans, not by a huge amount, but can easily reach 130-160 years of age. It was said that Nessie died around 250 years ago of a broken heart when her mate died in a war for the kingdom. I seem to remember that it was about the same time the original palace that stood here was burnt down and I wondered if they had anything to do with each other, or if the time frame was just a coincidence?

I didn’t like being told I couldn’t shift and Inanna was pretty pissed about it too and retreated to the back of my mind, staying even more quiet than these past weeks. Everyone could speak to their wolf counterpart, but the stronger the wolf determined how much interaction they had with you. For example, Damon had little to no contact with his wolf, being an omega, a weaker wolf spirit.

I met up with Hunji in the morning for training but we ended up just talking for a good hour or more instead. I trusted Hunji and his wolf had pledged to me, so I told him what happened last night and that Inanna was a Dire Wolf. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. Just hummed, and nodded, taking in the new information I divulged. We parted with him, promising me he would help research Dire wolves and the gene I guess I had.

I skipped going back to the dining hall for breakfast and instead took a long slow walk to school, arriving 30min before the first bell. I hadn’t been able to concentrate all morning, neither at lunch or now, as I sat in my last class of the afternoon. The teacher, Mr. Smithe was explaining thermal imaging, as our project was to create a working security system using thermal imaging, by our own design. I found myself raising my hand and asking to be excused, saying I wasn’t feeling very well. It was a blatant lie, as werewolves very rarely get sick, but my teacher must have taken pity, or just didn’t care about releasing me from the class.

I took a slow walk home, not bothering to wait for Tawny or Damon.

I linked Mike and Kellen to let them know I was walking home. They were a little worried but I told them I just needed to clear my head. It was the truth. Realistically, I just needed to shake all the emotions and thoughts from me. I was excited about the truth about myself, but I was also apprehensive and somewhat scared of what the future now held for me and Inanna.

My mom was going to contact her cousin to see if he had any books or more insight into the story of Nessie and her wolf. My dad and Beta Michael were going to try and dig up more information on Dire wolves, as would Kellen, Mike and Myself.

I would be interested in knowing more about Dire wolves but I somehow thought it was futile trying to find out anything else. We had already determined, neither myself or my wolf were part of any prophecy, and certainly didn’t hold any ‘magical’ powers or ‘gifts’ like some wolves in the past have. So really, I wasn’t too bothered. At this point, I didn’t think there was much to being a Dire Wolf, except for my strength and my wolf form being humongous!

Something had also shifted in Kellen last night. He didn’t say anything except for supportive and calming words, but I felt the tension in his body and the shift of emotions, feeling more protective towards me and an almost feral anger seeped from him. I shouldn’t have been, but I was surprised and enriched that even though we all know I could kick all their asses at once, he still wanted to protect me, whether that be physical, mentally or just my heart.