The Delta's Daughter Chapter 255

FINNEGAN ARTOS

Walking through the infirmary doors, the smell of disinfectant, medicines, and sickness assault my beast’s senses. I shake my head in an attempt to block the insulting and saturating scents. The only reason I stayed here overnight was to be with my sister, Morgan.

I had only just gotten her back. Being reunited with her - the last time I had seen her was almost three years ago. The last time I was in Andora with our sick twisted father.

I found Xander’s room and gently knocked on the door. I could smell that Ria was already in there. She had been by her mate’s side for the past week. That’s how long it had been since the attack, and we were no closer to finding the culprits than we were that night.

Mathias was being a little bitch. He still didn’t trust me. Not that I can really blame him. I did poison his mate with silver dust, hold a knife to her throat and grope her in front of him.

Not my finest moment.

“Come in” I hear the soft sound of Ria’s voice. A human turned Den Mother, unheard of. But Xander was the Alpha of the Kodiak Kingdom so his mate in return would become Den Mother, the equivalent of a Luna in a wolf pack.

I open the door to find Ria right where I imagined her to be. By her mate’s side, holding his hand.

“Finn,” Xander greets me. He looks tired, with dark circles around his eyes, and his usually tanned skin pale and sickly. I give a tight smile, pitying him as I glance down at the vacant area where his left leg used to be.

Xander and Ria had been good to me. They took Lamia’s side when she said I should be released from the cells on the Clan Mansion property. Since then, I was hellbent on helping where I could. Grateful that, for one they didn’t kill me, two their band of merry men found my sister, and even though it was a shit storm getting her back to this side of the realm. Hunji protected her and fought for her.

I still couldn’t believe my sister is now mated to a fucking wolf of all shifters. Just as Mathias is mated to Lamia a Dire Lycan Wolf.

Xander and Ria had become the closest things to friends I have ever had. My life in my father's shadow at his beck and call was not easy and saying that is a huge understatement. You couldn't trust anyone and no one trusted the son of a tyrant King. So yeah, I had never really had a friend. 

“Xander,” I greet him back. “You, hanging in there?” I’m not sure what the best way to talk to him is, but you can’t ignore the elephant in the room.

“I’ve definitely seen better days.” He doesn’t smirk or chuckle like he normally would. No, his voice is low and dull, His usual upbeat personality sucked from his very being. This was not the Xander I had come to know; it was a shadow of him.

“I’m sorry…”

“Save it, Finn. No matter how many sorries I hear from people, none will be as sorry as me.” He says, cutting me off.

“Ok” I nod, getting where he is coming from. “I was hoping to speak to you if you feel up to it?” Shifters heal, some faster than others. But losing a leg, there’s nothing to heal from. A shifter can’t grow back a limb.

“I’m going to step out and grab us something to eat, let you boys talk for a minute.” Ria, ever the gracious woman, says standing up and leaving the room, but not before kissing her mate.

I think of Farah, my mate I met the night before the battle of Riocht, wondering if I will ever see her again. If I will ever have the chance to find her. 

“Thank you,” I tell her as she walks out, closing the door behind her.

“I hope you are here to help me escape?” Xander grumbles “I lost a leg for fuck’s sake,” he shakes his head, eyes rolling “I’ve been in here a week and Mat isn’t telling me anything!” He raises his hands in frustration.

This is more like the Xander I am used to. “We don’t have anything to tell you. The trackers came up empty-handed. There was no trace of the bastards and Tobias didn’t leave anyone alive, he only managed to get two of them. Both human.”

“How are you doing?” Xander waves a finger at me, pointing to my face that still has light pinkish marks from the silver infused and soaked in poison net they through over me.

“Well, I’m not missing a limb.” He glares at me “Too soon?”

“Definitely too soon.”

“Sorry.”

“So why are you here, if you have no news?” He asks me, the irritated look slightly falling from his face.

I gesture to the chair Ria vacated. “May I?” He bobs his head and I sit down. “King is cutting me out, he doesn’t realize I want to find these bastards just as much as everyone else.”

“Mat… can be, pretty stubborn. He doesn’t trust you yet. I don’t know if he ever will, to be honest, Finn.”

“That’s why I’m here. Let me go track them. I still have connections in the underworld, he forgets I met every single one of Orion’s higher-up goons. I know where to ask, who to ask and where to look.”

“That’s probably the reason he doesn’t want you involved. Because you have those connections, because of your past affiliations. He needs to trust you.”

“I know,” I huff. Annoyed that my half-brother won’t see reason. “How am I meant to prove myself if he won’t even give me the chance?” The truth is I didn’t need to prove myself. I knew what I was capable of. I was a Hybrid bear shifter who still had the skills of a witch to manipulate herbs. I could very easily walk away and never come back, yet my beast, swore loyalty to Queen Lamia the day she spared our lives.

Another reason why I haven’t left the Kodiak Kingdom to search for Farah, the mate I found the night before Orion had us attack Riocht. Otherwise, house arrest or not, nobody could keep me in one place if I didn’t want to be there. Not even the Mighty King Mathias himself. I only adhered to his orders out of respect for Lamia.

The only reason Orion could keep me by his side for all these years was because of the bloody inhibitor chip he put in me. Some father he was, controlling me with technology. I endured it for my sister, otherwise, I would have given him cause to kill me long ago. I had and still do hate everything about him. He killed our mother and kept my sister locked away, how could anyone admire, let alone love a man like that?

“Put me in a position to help Xander, give me a position under you, where I can prove my loyalty to you, to the queen. I can find these bastards; I know I can.” I grit my teeth giving a low growl, my beast wanting to bring down the assholes that attacked our convoy and brought harm to my friend and his mate, as well as our sister. Mad that they got the better of us, trapping us like some wild animal. “Their weapons technology was advanced. It was familiar, I had seen prototypes of those nets and bombs before.”

“Where?” Xander growls out, his attention on me fully now.

“When Orion was working with the Rogue King, Silas.” I tell him “Shit, If Oliver was still alive, he would have been able to tell us.” I speak of the late Beta to the Rogue King. Who had finally been captured a few months ago in Bhakhil, transferred to MacTire, and executed by Alpha Travis.

“What position do you want Finn?” Xander comes back to the original conversation, shifting his position in bed and sitting up more.

“I don’t care, tracker, warrior. It doesn’t matter just give me a place where I can do some good. I promise Xander, I will find these people.” I speak with finality and determination, giving him my word with firm determination.

“You get me the fuck out of here today, and I will make you, my Beta.”

I look at him with wide eyes and arched eyebrows. “I’m not after a position with power…”

“Yet, that’s where you could do the most good.” He sighs and runs a hand down his face “Finn, Abner Brooks has been a fill-in Beta for longer than I care to admit. Tobias is here with Mat. I had been thinking about this for a while now, I know your beast is an Alpha. Shit, you would probably kick my ass all over the Kodiak Kingdom if you challenged me.”

“I would never challenge you, Xander, I respect you. I acknowledge your position and you are good at it.” It’s true, I have no desire to rule the Kodiak Kingdom and certainly no desire to fight Xander for the position or face Mathias for the title of King.

I have seen enough greed for power to last me a lifetime. That’s why I asked for a position more akin to a tracker or warrior. I wasn't sure if I wanted the responsibility plus, the people of this continent would not be so quick to forget all of Orion’s misgivings.  And I am guilty by association, no matter what. You can’t lead a Kingdom if the people don’t trust you.

“Then agree to be my Beta, the Clan’s will learn to trust you, they will see how hard you are willing to work for the greater good. Let Mat see you for who you are not what Orion determined you to be.”

I catch Ria’s scent just as she opens the door bringing a tray of food with her. “Do you boys need some more time?” She looks between us. Her blond hair was tussled from sleeping in the hospital next to Xander for the past week and her blue eyes were weary.

“We’re good, but you wasted time on the food.” Xander gives her a cheeky grin.

“Why is that?” her eyes dart between us again, this time with a quizzical look.

“Because Finn is here to bust me out” He waggles his brows at Ria.

“Xander,” Her voice scolds but her expression says she knows it’s going happen anyway, but still doesn’t approve.

“Ria, I’ve been sitting still for a week. It’s driving me insane!”

Her shoulders drop and she huffs “Fine.” Then turns to me with a ferocious glare “You’re as much of a pain in the ass as the rest of these Alpha shifters.” She accuses. “Either you carry him out or get him a wheelchair, if you’re breaking him out of here, he’s your problem.”

Xander chuckles at his mate. Ria is a tough little cookie and takes no shit from anyone, shifter or human. Her brother, Rhett is the same way, a hunter who takes no shit from anyone. “Rhett is already here, arrived two days ago,” I tell Xander while the guy was on my mind. Travis stayed in MacTire after hearing about the attack, I was slightly disappointed because he was going to bring Petra with him, the little girl I kept safe and had formed a friendship with. Rhett originally wasn’t going to make it, that’s why it took him a couple of days to get here as he was out in Myrtle Cove a town MacTire controlled.

“Yeah, I heard. Ria saw him yesterday; he stopped by while I was sleeping.”

I stand up clapping my hands. “Right, how are we doing this? Am I carrying you, are you hobbling out of here, or do you want to ride in a wheelchair?”

“I’ll fucking walk out of here.” Xander sits up more and swings his one leg over the bed, the other cut off just above where his knee should be. “Get me a pair of crutches, my love,” His tone immediately softens when he addresses Ria. Who just shakes her head and goes in search of a pair of crutches.

I scratch my temple, “Think you might want to put some clothes on first,” I tell him looking away from where the flimsy hospital gown opens at the front bearing everything.

“Over there” he groans, pointing to a pile of clothes on a small table in the corner.

I grab them for him, and he puts his jeans on, shucks the gown, and pulls a t-shirt over his head. Ria comes in with a pair of crutches, “Found some.” She announces handing them to her mate.

“Here goes nothing,” Xander stands on one shaky leg and positions the crutches under his arms, and takes a step forward. “This feels so fucking weird. I don’t think I will ever get used to it.” I gulp feeling sorry for him again and shift my eyes away, unable to look at him. I couldn’t imagine.

Ria ties his limp pant leg so it’s not swinging and getting in the way, then all three of us are heading out of the room and leaving the hospital.

Twenty minutes later we’re walking into Mathias’ office. “What the fuck? I just got a call from the hospital telling me you walked out of there!” Mathias stands growling at his brother, mad that he escaped from the prison of his hospital room.

The walk over here, which Xander insisted on doing, tired him out. Sweat beaded at his brow and his cheeks turned pink. At least he had some color in him now. His leg may be cauterized, and the skin healed over it, but he suffered a huge blood loss and truthfully still needed to be resting.

“Oh stop. My leg is missing, not my brain.” He slops down into a seat, laying his crutches over his lap.

“I’m swearing Finn in as my Beta.” He cuts straight to the chase.

“The fuck you are!” Mathias growls, his eyes shining with his beast, Arcas.

“The fuck I’m not!” Xander growls back. “I need Finn. We need Finn. He still has connections that can get us answers. And if you stop being so pig-headed for one moment you would realize he is an asset and part of this family whether you like it or not!”

“Abner is your Beta…”

“Abner is old! And he has his duties to the council! This not up for negotiations Mat!” He argues with vigor. Mathias stares back at him and then casts a heated look my way.

“And I suppose you put him up to this? Took advantage of his disabled state. What’s your angle, Finn?” He growls, his fists clenched ready to start throwing punches. Gods the guy could be a real ass, worse than myself.

I deflect the anger he throws my way. “No Angle King, just want to help. I know I can.”

“He didn’t ask for the position I offered it to him” Xander cuts in.

“On whose authority?”

“My authority, I’m the fucking Alpha, you made me the Alpha!” Xander bites back at his brother.

“Are you though? Can even still perform your duties?” Oh shit, my eyes are wide, astonished at how heated this conversation just got and the accusation King just threw at his little brother.

Without warning Xander fly’s out of his chair, over the desk towards his brother throwing a punch and falling to the ground, forgetting he only has one leg to stand on now. The punch missing Mathias by miles.

I stand up growling, my beast Arthur, coming forward as we move to defend Xander when Mathias picks him up by his shirt - His beast showing in his eyes and snarling. I had heard Arcas, Mathias bear could be uncontrollable but had never seen it firsthand, only during the battle where he killed our father. But that was war, that was different. The aggressive way he was handling his brother didn’t sit well with me.

We were already in Beta mode, wanting to protect our Alpha before we had even been sworn in.

Arthur pushes forward, sending a rumbling growl through our chest in warning toward King.

He drops his brother who scrambles to stand, balancing on one foot. “You ready Finn? Your beast wanna test me?” His anger is completely directed at me, his beast seeing my growl as a challenge. “I’ll fucking tear you apart, you piece of shit!”

I hear Ria scream, Xander yell for her to get out of here, and Mathias begins to shift. My beast rears up, I feel fur sprouting across my arms, my teeth grow, and my hands start to shift. In seconds the two of us are in our bear forms.

Mathias as Arcas, a huge bear, his brown fur so dark it almost looks black, and Arthur my bear, white as snow and almost as Big as Arcas, yet still bigger than any other bear shifters beast.

Arthur is the first to attack, plunging toward Arcas who swipes a paw at him, catching his front arm. I growl and attack again a paw hitting Arcas in the chest, only to be met with a counter swipe that has his claws drawing blood on my beast.