The Delta's Daughter Chapter 25

KELLEN

My father leaned against his desk, one arm across his chest, the other massaging the bridge of his nose. At that moment, he looked tired. There was a lot going on. He sighed before dropping his hand down so we could meet his eyes.

“Fuck Marcus, why Lamia?” The Deltas' eyes shot straight at the king, holding them easily. I was taken back that he could hold my father’s eyes. Not many could do that.

“You think I have the answers Alex!” he hissed. I was stunned into silence at the scene unfolding before me. My dad had taken a step back defensively. I glanced at Uncle Marcus, his green eyes glowing and swirling with silver flecks in such a way that reminded me of...

“Your eyes are glowing; I’ve seen eyes like that before... Lamia’s” I said, surprised.

“Hmm,” my father relaxes a little, eyeing Marcus, who is now standing with his fists clenched. “Marcus has a little something else in him besides Wolf.” My jaw dropped at the Kings statement, dumbfounded.

“Don’t ya, Marcus?” My father leaned towards him, almost goading him, “Now Marcus, why don’t you tell us what is really bothering you? We have been friends for a long time Brother, it's time ALL secrets came out. If my son is to be mated to your daughter, he needs to know everything,” he said.

What? What did Uncle Marcus ‘have a little extra’ of? I wanted to know, I wanted to ask. I opened my mouth “…..”

The delta let out a vicious growl, he did not move an inch, but the gravity of the growl was warning enough. He had not looked away from my father yet, when he spoke it was grated. He was trying to control his wolf.

“That’s the problem!” he spat “What if they are not mates?” he pointed to me, his bright orbs never leaving the king. And the Kings never left his.

Both men were on the brink of shifting.

“HE FUCKED HER!” he screamed, lines of saliva hanging from his lips as his face twisted in rage.

“He took her virginity and they don’t even know if they are mates! If they are not, someone is going to get hurt, and it will be my daughter! My fucking daughter Alex! It’s my daughter they will hunt and kill. Or worse, breed and enslave her!” He was seething but I could hear the break in his voice as he paused.

“Will you fight for her? Will you risk the pack for her? She can’t fucking hide! We can no longer trust any pack or Alpha….”

I could feel my temper flaring as the Delta continued ranting. She may be his daughter, but she was my mate! Like a volcano erupting, bursting from the ground, my blood boiled like molten lava. I was enraged. My fangs elongated and my eyes darkened, my wolf pushing through, I couldn’t hold him back if I wanted to.

“ENOUGH!” I growled, shaking the walls of the room, grabbing the Delta by his neck and lifting him in the air until his back slammed against a wall. Me and my wolf were seething “She is my mate! And I will protect her. You will watch how you speak about our queen, daughter or not!” My voice was darker, deadlier, mixed with the presence of my wolf, Conri.

It wasn’t until I heard my father’s voice and felt his hand on my shoulder “Release him, son” that I realized I was squeezing the life from Uncle Marcus, crushing his throat, cutting off his airway.

I let go and Uncle Marcus slid to the floor, gasping for air, rubbing his neck and coughing. The air was thick with tension, the three of us silenced by the severity of the situation. I turned to stare out the window, calming my wolf as much as I could.

“She has Lycan blood in her” If it hadn’t been for my wolf hearing I would never have heard the Delta’s confession. “My grandfather was half Lycan, which is why our eyes glow like those of Royal blood, or like Lycans, because my family comes from a royal blood line of Lycans.”

I slowly turned back around and looked down at his slumped figure. I felt my eyes widen at the revelation. Turning my gaze to my father, pointing at the Delta, I asked my father “Did you know about this?”

He let out a deep sigh, scrubbing his hand down his face, his blue eyes meeting my own, reflecting the tension and anger we all felt.

“Yes, I do. I have known since Marcus came and joined the Royal guard, many moons ago.” He confessed.

“Does Lamia know?” I asked both of them, my head turning from one to the other.

“No she does not” After a few moments, Uncle Marcus finally spoke, lifting himself up off the floor, his head hung in shame, his shoulders slouched in defeat. “I didn’t think it mattered but… now, I’m not so sure.”

I was getting angry again. How dare they keep this from her, this was her life! And with everything else going on with her, did no one think she had a right to know? I said just as much.

“I’m pretty sure Lamia would want to know. Don’t you think she deserves to know what’s happening to her? Or are you all too selfish and worried to even fathom she is capable of making her own choices?” I took deep breaths, reining Conri in.

“I’m not lying to her! I will not keep secrets from her!” I seethed through gritted teeth.

“We are not asking you to, son.”

I slumped into one of the chairs opposite my dad’s desk, holding my head in my hands and rubbing my eyes, my body relaxed as I took-in the Delta’s outburst and his words sunk in.

 “I don’t see how we cannot be mates, we feel the pull, and the sparks, the bond between us has grown stronger.” I took a deep breath, calming myself and turned my head slightly to look up at my Uncle.

“She is an Alpha. She would have lost her virginity to someone else if not me. Do not think for one second she didn’t want me as much as I wanted her. She feels the pull too. She is mine.” The last few words came out with a growl, my wolf claiming she belongs to us.

“That may be Kellen; there has always been a pull between the two of you. You are bound by the moon goddess. However, that does not mean you are fated to be mates. I fear for my daughter’s future. She is stronger than any wolf in this realm. She is stronger than the king, your father. I fear if she is broken, she will fester hate and that emotion can cause us all damage.” He was calm when he spoke this time.

He took a seat in the chair next to me. The Delta’s voice was unwavering but held a sorrow for his daughter’s predicament. “What will happen if you are not mates, have you thought about that?” He asked me.

I had not thought about it, it wasn’t an option in my mind. I couldn’t think, didn’t want to think about Lamia not being by my side. “Uncle Marcus, I love her, with every fiber of my being. If it is the goddess' will that we are not fated for some chance, then Lamia and I will deal with it together. I will ALWAYS be by her side no matter what.” My words were soft yet resolute.

Finally, my father spoke up.

“Marcus, I love Lamia as my own and her well-being and safety are just as important to me as it is to you and Kellen. Kellen is right, we should not keep anything from her. We all want to protect her, but keeping her in the dark could do more harm than good. We should tell her everything and let her make her own decisions. Now can we all keep our game faces on until Sunday and then we can discuss this with her? Preferably without you two at each other’s throats?”

I nodded at my father’s request, even though it would be hard to hide my emotions from Lamia, I was sure that come Sunday we would resolve some of the problems, especially if we were open and honest with her.

“Alex, please, I need you to promise me my daughter will be protected. This is not something any of us could have predicted, not me or Vivian. I need your word as my King.” His words begging and desperate, Uncle Marcus scooted to the front of his chair almost to his knees, his hands clasping together, mirroring the desperate plea in his voice.

Stretching out his arms to his Delta, the delta rose and the king embraced him in a brotherly hug, patting his back.

“Brother,” he began, “I promise I will protect her as my own, like she is. I will do everything as the king to ensure her safety and best interest. This, you have my word not only as the King but as your friend.”

My voice cracked as I spoke, the tension in the room lifting slowly.

“Uncle Marcus, you have my word that I only ever want what is best for Lamia, I will protect her to my last dying breath, no matter what our future holds, I will be by her side.” My words held truth and I swore to the moon goddess right there that, no matter what I would protect my queen, in body soul and spirit.

“Here we are talking about protecting her, yet she has been capable of protecting herself as well as us since she was 15” Uncle Marcus let out a small chuckle, followed by myself and my father. The last bit of tension dissipated, as we all realized that, yes, as much as we would fight to protect Lamia, she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

After a few minutes, we broke up the meeting and I linked Mike that I was going for a run and would see him in an hour. Conri needed to expel some energy to calm himself, he was still wound up like a top, after our heated talks with my father and Uncle Marcus.

I reached the bottom of the steps and headed outback, not even bothering to wait to reach the tree line or remove my clothes. I shifted and reveled in the feeling as my silver paws hit the ground and bounded for the trees.

I needed to clear my thoughts.

Lamia wasn’t just a dire wolf but had Royal Lycan blood flowing through her. It made me realize I did not know much about either side of her family’s history. I don’t think even Lamia did. Couple that with the doubts about our bond and that we were mates, that now invaded the deepest depths of my mind.

I switched my mind off and let my wolf completely take over as we rushed through the low trees dodging and swerving branches, a primal instinct taking over as my conscious thoughts diminished and I let go of the reins for now.