The Delta's Daughter Chapter 24

KELLEN

I had been kicked out of Lamia’s room for the night as they had a girl’s only sleep over. I was bummed I wouldn’t have her by my side tonight, even though I did spend some nights in my bed, but I preferred to be there with her.

I was happy that Kira was here and that she begged me to convince her father to allow her to come a week early. I knew the girls would enjoy their time together. I was still a little surprised that she had called me asking to come earlier as a surprise to Lamia.

Aunt Viv and Uncle Marcus had even come to terms with us sharing a room before we were even of age. Although some mornings Uncle Marcus would give me the stink eye, that was usually after a night when Lamia’s moans were louder from me making love to her.

Those morning's, I knew Uncle Marcus had heard us. All the more reason to mark Lamia as soon as possible once we turned of age, so she could move to the Royal floor and into my room, which was sound proof. Then she could be as loud as she wanted. I loved nothing more than to hear her scream my name in the throw’ of passion. Just thinking about it made my dick strain against my jeans.

Now was not the time though. I was sitting in my dad’s office with Mike, waiting on Uncle Michael, Uncle Marcus and Hunji. I adjusted myself hoping Mike or my dad wouldn’t notice I was sporting wood.

Just then the door opened and in they walked with Tyron close behind. He had been shadowing Uncle Marcus, learning the Delta duties for when he took over with us. He would be in charge of patrol schedules, training, and other day to day pack relations, as well as filling in in for the Beta position when needed. Tyron took a seat next to Mike on the couch. I was sitting on the other side of Mike. He nodded and offered a knuckle bump to us both as he sunk down into the couch with us.

My dad went behind his desk, opened the mini fridge and started handing out beers to everyone as he began the meeting.

“Right let’s get down to business, I don’t want to be here all day and I don’t want to be working tomorrow, I’m looking forward to the cookout tomorrow and would rather relax and enjoy the day with family.” We all nodded in agreement, taking our beers and opening them.

I was a little surprised that he handed one to the three of us, but then again, both Mike and Tyron were 18 and I was only a week away, plus he knew we drank anyway and the fact that werewolves had a much higher tolerance to alcohol than that of the humans that lived in our realm.

“First things first,” My dad began, leaning against his desk to face everyone. Hunji was propped against the window as usual, the Beta and Delta on the leather seats across from his desk, so we were looking at the back of their heads. “Both the Lunar and Waning pack have reached out for help, their numbers have depleted due to the rogue attacks they have both suffered. I will be sending out two sets of warriors to each pack, 12 in each group, along with an Elite warrior to head up each team. I will be dispatching them with orders tomorrow morning at first light. They will assess the damage to each pack and report back to us.”

“I suggest we send Cole and Aaron as liaisons and acting lieutenants”, Delta Marcus suggested.

“Great idea. They are both very trusted and remarkable warriors, and have excellent battle skills as well as diplomacy. Marcus, you and Tyron will be leaving next week for the lunar pack after the party. I want a royal presence there.” The king then turned to the Beta. “Michael, you or Mike will be going to the Waning pack. It seems during the last attack, the Alpha had taken a hard hit and although they won the battle, a lot of warriors' lives were lost, as well as a few innocents.”

I shifted, taking a swig of my beer before I interrupted my dad.

“Do we think the attacks on these two northern packs are related to the rogue problem we have been having? I know we toyed with the idea, but” I turned to Hunji who was quietly observing the conversation “Have you been able to find out anything about your hunch Hunji?” I asked, hoping he had more.

Hunji is a man of few words; I have never heard him raise his voice, not even during training back at the academy. When he does speak, his voice is as flat as usual.

“No. I have reached out to many contacts and the only thing I have come across is a pack in the west that had found a couple of young bear shifters on their borders. They have reached out to the bear king in an attempt to find their family but have heard nothing back.” Our eyes are wide at the revelation. Why would bear shifters be anywhere near wolf packs?

Hunji turned to address my father, a grim look on his face. “Your highness, there were two cubs found, one is no older than 7 and the other is around 14, maybe a little older, as the elder of the two was found already shifted trying to protect the younger one. The pack is keeping them safe for now.”

“Have the cubs given any explanation as to why they were found on the border?” My father asks.

“Yes, it seems they were both being held captive by a group of rogue wolves. The little one was born into slavery and the elder girl said she was taken a few years back, but does not remember what clan they belong to. They managed to escape the rogues; I am a little sketchy about how they managed it though.” Hunji casts his eyes to the floor, sadness creeping across his face in a dull expression and he links his hands behind his back before resolving and snapping his head up

“After being checked out by the pack doctor, it appears that the elder girl had been violated severely, numerous times, your highness.”

There was a collective growl throughout the room. Wolf or not, this angered every male in the room. The girl was still young and not of age. I couldn’t contain my anger. I looked around wildly for something to smash.

“These sick fucks need to be eliminated!” I spat venomously. I could only imagine the pain and horror this girl had been put through. I tried not to think of how long they must have had her or when the abuse started. “What of the younger girl?” I asked, my voice cracking, scared of the answer.

“It seems the younger girl was untouched in that sense, but they both bear scars, and were beaten. The older girl was also scared by silver chains.” Hunji took a deep breath as he explained. This was hard for him. I could see that. He was a peaceful man, some would consider him a man of cloth. He had helped Lamia rein in her anger issues and helped her control her wolf’s more feral side. My heart bled for these girls.

“There is more, the elder girl stated that the rogues had wolf girls as slaves and breeders and even a few were cats.”

“Holy mother, this is out of control!” Beta Michael stood up from his seat exclaiming while rubbing his temples.

“Agreed, but what I don’t understand is why we haven’t heard about this, about wolves going missing. Have the other kings not heard about this?” My father was quick to ask, tone harsh, expecting some kind of answer.

I had never met any of the other kings, but had heard about the various shifter kings of our realm.

There were four ruling kings: my father, King Alexander of the werewolves, King Phanton Armand of the were-cats, King of the rogues and then the king of the bears, whose name I did not know. They just called him King. There was another King, said to rule the jungle, but he had not been heard of in many years.

There was meant to be a fifth king, one who ruled over all the kings and Alphas, but to my understanding, the throne had sat empty for centuries, after the last king was betrayed by his brother. No heir had stepped up to take the throne, and no one had challenged for the throne either. The high court, that was devised by Cardinal elders from each kingdom, had held laws in place since then, but they were also diminished and the court had fallen apart. Only 4 remained that I knew of.

Supposedly, the brother that had betrayed him was sentenced to death but had escaped long ago, never to be seen. As it stands, each king now manages their own people. Different shifter breeds usually stay away from each other as each kingdom has its own set of laws.

This is how it has been since the demise of the human race 250 years ago. Once humans had all but become extinct due to disease and their bodies' weaknesses, the shifters took over, splitting the realm into what used to be 6 kingdoms. Now only 4 remained and were separated, no longer working together under one rule but divided.

The humans, although depleted in numbers, still managed to survive and live in their own territories but were ruled by whichever kingdom they lived in. Some lived outside of kingdoms in Boroughs, small towns.

We did not believe in owning slaves, yet still some Alphas owned them and other kingdoms saw humans as nothing but dirt. There were also no man’s land territories, places that were not under the rule of a kingdom, where rogues, humans and separate packs who did not pledge to a king, lived. Some were run down cities, some were small towns or shanty villages. These were not favorable places to live and were lawless.

I have no idea about the other kings, but I do know that my father is a just and fair king and is not discriminative towards species. Hence, Lamia’s friend Tawny and how she came to live in the royal pack. My father did not tolerate discrimination. As far as he was concerned, we are all shifters and all people.

I hadn’t seen Tawny shift yet but I was curious, she was the first non-wolf shifter I had ever met, not including the bear shifter Lamia killed.

The Delta broke me from my thoughts when he began to speak, “I believe we should at least reach out to the Bear King and, as well as liaise with the pack that has the two bear shifters, what pack is this Hunji?”

“The crescent moon pack, Delta” he replied to Delta Marcus.

My eyes popped open at the name of the pack. I quickly looked at Mike and he nodded, knowing what I was thinking. “Actually, I think I could contact them. Mike, Lamia and I were at the academy with future Alpha Greg and future Beta Sam. We all became quite good friends and they will be travelling here for the birthday celebrations next weekend.” I paused, choosing my words “Maybe the girls who had been snatched came from no man’s land? It would make sense as to why these abductions did not come to our attention,” I asked.

“Maybe” my dad mulled the thought over “I will leave it in your hands to discuss options for the girls with them. Remember, we want them safe until we can return them to their own clans.”

“And if we can’t?” Mike asked, “return them to their clans?”

“Then we will cross that bridge when it comes to it.” My father grimaced.

“Kellen, when the others are away, you will be running patrols and schedule training. Tyron’s father will help train the royal guard and elites with you, Lamia will help head up security and also combative and weapons training. This brings me to my next subject. Lamia.” He turned to look at Uncle Marcus now. “Marcus, is her surprise ready yet?”

“Yep sure is, I’m still not sure how she hasn’t seen it being built and has never asked why we moved out of the house.” He said.

Uncle Michael chuckled “you still plan on showing her tomorrow?” Uncle Marcus nodded, a huge smile on his face. “She will love it Marcus”, he assured him.

“Alex, what are we going to do about her shifting? We all understand the implications but this is Lamia we are talking about, she will only listen for so long before her wolf demands she shifts. We can’t hide her forever. As her father, I want to keep her safe, but even I can’t demand she stays in human form all the time, eventually she will snap.” Uncle Marcus frowned in frustration.

“Umm, exactly what is the big deal, whether Lamia shifts or not?” Tyron interjected, asking the Delta.

Uncle Marcus looked at him like he was crazy. “Boy, you do know she is a dire wolf, right?” Tyron nodded his head. Wolves were once hunted and became extinct like the Lycans. They were hunted for their strength and power, or they were killed off because Alpha’s feared them. Some were kept as breeders so they could produce powerful heirs, despite having a mate or not. Alphas would claim them as their chosen mate and Luna just for the power that came with them.”

Tyron shifted in his seat uncomfortably while Uncle Marcus explained “Shit, I did not know that Delta Marcus”. He was now feeling embarrassed.

“For now, I think it would be best if Lamia tried to avoid shifting, until we figure out some things, as we have rogues snooping around our borders, I would hate for her to be discovered. And I know you are all going to hate this, but I think it would be best if Lamia did not shift next week for the coming of age celebration.” My dad said.

“HA HA HA!” I laughed to myself, or at least I thought I did, until I looked up and everyone was looking at me like I had lost the plot. “Shit did I laugh out loud?”

“Mind telling us what is so funny?” Uncle Marcus asked me. Brows furrowing and green eyes glaring as he leaned over the back of his chair looking at me. An eerie, yet familiar glow to them.

“I was just wondering which of us is going to have the balls to tell her?” I chuckled, knowing she was going to flip her shit. They all stared at me. “What?” Then I realized “Oh hell no! Nope, not doing it. You’re her father, you tell her.” I pointed to Uncle Marcus. There was no way I was telling her. I looked at my dad who had now sat down behind his desk. “Dad, if I tell her you may not have an heir, never mind my birthday because I won’t live to see it!” I was practically begging not to be the one.

I threw my hands in the air, fuck it. “You know what, it doesn’t matter who tells her, we're all dead anyway.”

“Personally, the king suggested it; he should be the one to tell her.” Thank goddess Mike was in my corner, I patted his back as a thank you for having mine.

My dad sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face and cast his gaze between me and Uncle Marcus. “Very well, the three of us will tell her together, Marcus, Kellen, we will meet with her on Sunday afternoon” he pointed to us as he said our names.

Well, at least I wasn’t on my own with this.

My father had ‘privately’ asked me and Uncle Marcus, through a link, to stay behind. I, in turn, as everyone rose to leave the office, linked Mike and Tyron to meet me in the rec room. I gave Mike a glance as he left the room, cocking his head and furrowing his brows questioningly. With a quick nod and narrowing of the eyes, I had assured him quietly, that I would fill him in later.

When it was just the three of us left, my father walked around the desk and closed the door, locking it. Shit. This was getting serious. This wasn’t just about telling Lamia she couldn’t shift.