The Delta's Daughter Chapter 27

UNKNOWN POV

It had been a number of weeks, close to two months, since the Alpha had ordered the attack on the Prince, his informants alerting us of his departure from the Academy.

With the help of a few rogue Bear shifters, we thought we had the upper hand. The plan was to capture the prince, killing all others with him. The Alpha wanted to keep the prince until the time to kill him was right, weakening the werewolf king and then striking the royal palace while the iron was hot, so to speak.

Unfortunately, for the Alpha, his plans had failed. Now his ambitions had turned to another wolf, an infatuation that was slowly driving him further insane than he already was.

Lost in my thoughts as I wandered through the run-down stone castle to deliver my report to the rogue king, my alpha, my mind wandered back to four days after we had made an attack on the prince’s convoy. A couple of the rogues who had survived made it back to our castle. I had walked into the throne chamber where our Alpha and lord, the rogue King, sat, when Simon had staggered in with two others flanking him.

“My Lord! I have come with news!” He shouted, his breath ragged, dried blood stained his tattered and frayed clothes. The metallic smell of his own blood mixed with that of a royal warrior.

The rogue king: A disgusting man who cared for nothing or anyone except for power. A tyrant I served loyally only because I wanted revenge for the death of my mother. He waved one of his slave girls over as Simon knelt before him. I propped myself against one of the stone pillars ready to hear Simons, excuses about why they came back empty handed and, of course, to watch his inevitable end, as surely the king would kill him for not bringing him his prize.

I watched the Alpha direct the slave girl to bend before his lap. Obediently she knelt and took his cock from his pants and began sucking him, her body quivering from nerves and most likely hatred. I knew he had favored this girl for a few weeks now, boasting how tight her pussy and ass were. Bile had risen in my throat as he described taking her virginity and he laughed when he told the warriors of the state he left her in. He had defiled her in every way possible.

 “Where is my little prince!” he bellowed at the cowering Simon. Who was indeed shaking under the pressure of his aura and power.

“M - my lord, we were not t-told of the powerful wolf he would be travelling with.” His head bowed as he stumbled to get his words out. My brows creased. Powerful wolf? I stood up straight, waiting to hear more from the coward rogue to explain himself.

“I-I saw her shift, my lord. She ripped Henry's head off.” He paused and looked up, his eyes hungrily watching the girl who was still sucking off the rogue king “While he was shifted.” He mumbled.

This caught the king’s attention. Pushing the girl from his lap, he stood up. “Sit and stay” he pointed to the poor slave girl who had tumbled across the stone floor, before walking down the throne steps and stopping directly in front of Simon.

“Her? Tell me boy...” he snarled, his amber eyes darkening into something sinister. “Tell me who she is.”

“I- I don’t know my lord, but her wolf was huge, she saved the Beta boy, and in her human form fought Henrys bear. I watched my l-lord, I hid. She is powerful; she tore his head from his body.”

Shaking my head and coming back to the present, I reached the rogue king's chambers. Taking a deep breath, I opened the heavy door and walked in. The room was dimly lit by a lamp in the corner, casting menacing shadows around the room. He was sitting at his desk as I walked over and dropped the manila folder on his desk.

“My lord, we found the Dire Wolf.” I kept my face stoic and emotions in check as he opened the file, an evil grin spreading across his face as he glared at the photos in the file.

I watched as he licked his lips, his canines protruding as his chest rumbled and his amber eyes glowing, seemingly more reddish. He finally lifted his gaze to mine, his grin morphing to a sneer.

“Such a pretty girl, all ready for me to ruin. My new Queen.” I had to agree with him, I had read over the file and found her not only intriguing, a unique beauty, a girl I wouldn’t mind keeping for myself, but something else allured me towards her, even just from a picture. I could see the appeal, those green eyes engrained into my memory. Would they be just as captivating in person? I had no doubt they would be.

I turned to leave and had my hand on the door knob when he called back to me “Oh and Oliver, once she is in my possession, I will have the throne, you have served me well and will be rewarded. Don’t disappoint me.”

I smiled broadly, the death of the royals. Nothing could be sweeter.

*****

LAMIA

Yesterday was such a great day! In the morning, I had been surprised by an obstacle course Uncle Michael and my father had built. It was amazing! A quarter mile of walls, ropes, nets, beams and wires. It was exactly what I had designed last year and to the exact specifications too.

The surprise certainly answered the question as to why my parents had moved back into the castle. The course had been built on the grounds where our house had originally been, which was just past the training fields. Making it an extension for training and would be implemented into all wolf cardio sessions and headed up by me at some point. I couldn’t be more fucking ecstatic. I was beaming with excitement!

I was so excited I couldn’t wait and ran the course immediately. Tawny, who had never really trained, ran the course with me a few times. I have to say, she is very agile and quick and maneuvered through the course with ease, giving me a run for my money. Kira, she was impressed but not enough to want to run it. She said she was afraid she would break a nail. So while we ran, Kira had sauntered off to find my mother and help her prepare the BBQ.

I was reluctant to leave the new obstacle course. I haven’t mastered it yet. Something I wanted to do before I started training wolves on it. I’m a very competitive person and this was a new challenge, so I had to be the best. Plus, it was my design, that and I really had no competition when it came to sparring anymore.

I was eventually pulled away to attend the BBQ, giving Tawny a much needed break and rejoining Kira, who had left to change to help mom and meet with the boys by the pool at the back of the castle.

It was a perfect day; the parents and Tawny’s dad sat around talking, more likely about pack business and us kids, as well as next weekend’s upcoming birthday celebration for Kellen, Mike and I.

We kids sat around, messing in the pool and joking about. When the parents had finally decided to call it a night, the seven of us, Kellen, Mike, myself, Kira, Tawny, Damon and Tyron lit a fire and hung out drinking and talking.

Tyron and Tawny had cozied up next to each other, finally. They had been checking each other out all day and I had smiled at their innocent flirting. It seemed they were both into each other, much to Damon’s displeasure. I think he had a thing for Tawny too.

I had finally seen Tawny shift when we were running the obstacle course and her were-cat form was as beautiful and intriguing as her human form. A sleek black cat, which donned a deep hue of orange spots with orange-tipped ears. I had never seen a were-cat in person and although she’s small, she was fast and sleek, and held power in her agility. She could scramble a wall or tree like nobody’s business. She was a ninja. When I told Mike she moved liked a ninja, he didn’t stop calling her by her new nickname ‘the ninja kitty’.

Luckily, Tawny took it all in good humor thankfully, because I knew Mike wasn’t letting that one go, it tickled him too much. Fuckin’ Mike ha.

Damon had taken Tawny home and the three boys had to run patrol that night, so Kira and I had headed back to mine where she was staying in our guest room for the next week.

Such a great start to the weekend. If only every day could be like that. Carefree, fun and all smiles.

*****

Now it was early Sunday afternoon and I was called into the Kings office. I was sat here in one of the leather seats across from the king’s desk with my father and Kellen.

I had managed to stay calm and collected when my dad and the king explained my heritage and wolf. Their explanation of my heritage had cleared up a lot of questions I had about myself. Not only had the Dire Wolf gene manifested in me, making me bigger and stronger and giving me a more powerful aura, but then my dad had dropped the bomb shell that his blood line held a Lycan gene, a royal one at that!

Not quite like the Kings and Kellen’s, but a distant cousin of the royal family but still powerful. They explained that when I turned 18 and under the first full moon of my birthday (which happened to be the same night as our birthdays), I may gain new powers, powers being Lycan traits of speed and semi-shifting, and that my wolf may grow and change and become even stronger.

I had taken it all in and understood what they are saying about not letting my abilities and strength be known.

“Lamia” the king cut into my thoughts, “we don’t think it’s a good idea for you to shift and partake in the pack run next Saturday.” He stated.

My brows furrowed and I looked up into his piercing blue eyes.

“Why?” I asked, curiously.

My dad took the helm of the conversation and spoke gently “I won’t sugar coat it.” His green eyes turning a shade softer as his brows furrowed and lips poised, he looked down for a moment and when he met my same eyes again he had steeled them now holding a look of determination as he spoke. “Because dire wolves are rare and had been hunted to extinction for hundreds of years, they were killed in fear because of their power and strength, told to be the purest and the firsts, even before Lycans. There are historic wars where Dire Wolf females have been captured and used for breeding to create the ultimate wolf and heir. Because of your genes, there will be men who want you. To either kill you or use you.”

What? Seriously? We aren’t in the dark ages anymore. Certainly that wouldn’t happen in this day and age, would it?

My attention snapped to the king as he spoke next.

“In fact, Lamia, we don’t think it would be a good idea to shift at all right now, we need to keep the fact you are a Dire Wolf in a very small circle only. So you won’t be running patrol and I don’t want you shifting for the time being, even on pack grounds.” His words held finality, I could sense his Alpha order in is tone… but... that shit didn’t work on me. And he knew it too.

I whipped my head around to Kellen who was sitting behind me on one of the sofas. I could feel my wolf pacing and becoming agitated.

“And you support this?” I glared.

My arms were still stiff by my sides and my fists clenched tight. My nails dug deeper until I could smell a trace of metallic in the air as I cut into my palms.

He gave me a small, weak smile of pity, as if to say ‘sorry’. It was too late. Any self-control I had was dissipating at a fast rate. I whipped my head back around looking from the king to my dad, a deep scowl on my face.

“Are you fucking shitting me?” I yelled. They could not be serious, could they? And I asked as much, “You seriously expect me not to shift? And for how long until I’m ALLOWED to shift?”

“Honey, we just want to keep you safe.” My dad’s pleading was a look of guilt plastered across his face.

I felt Inanna pushing forward, trying to come out. She really didn’t like the idea of anyone dictating to us when we could and couldn’t shift, she saw it as a challenge and didn’t take well to anyone telling us what to do. It also hurt that Kellen agreed with this. I would have thought he would have my back at least.

“You’re out of your fucking minds!” I seethed “And how long do you think it’s going to take before my wolf takes over? You all know her need to shift and hunt!” At this point my blood was boiling.

I tried to rein in my anger but my blood was scorching through my veins and I could feel the heat rising. I was sure steam was coming from my ears. Inanna was irate, to say the least. I felt my claws digging into my palms again as I clenched my fists tightly fighting my wolf. I squeezed my eyes shut, counting like Hunji had taught me, but it wasn’t helping.

“I can take care of my fucking self!” I bellowed, standing up and letting my Alpha aura seep out into the room. It was strong and smothering. I could see the king shy away along with my father who sat next to me. I took deep breaths trying to calm myself and tone down the power that was rolling off me. No matter how mad I was, I couldn’t let myself lose control.

“How long?” I asked coldly, looking at the three men in the office, and their puzzled expressions, “How long until YOU decide it’s OK for me to shift?” I rephrased. There was silence. They hadn’t thought that far ahead.

It was Kellen who finally piped up, standing and coming behind me, laying his hand on my shoulder. It was comforting and warm. “Just until we can figure out how to handle all this Lam’s.” He said, gently caressing my shoulder.

As I glared at Kellen, all I saw painted across his face was concern and love. He stepped forward and pulled me to him, slight tingles skating throughout my body, his scent and warmth calming me as his strong arms wrapped securely around me. I buried my head in his chest, closing my eyes, breathing in his scent of spice and pine deeply.

Instantly my wolf calmed. She retreated calmly, satisfied and feeling protected. I felt a wave of relaxation, rippling over me like the tide meets the shore. I truly loved this man and I knew he loved me. For whatever reason, the Moon Goddess bonded us from birth, no matter what, we would always be in each other’s lives; Together. I had no idea what the future held in store for us.

I won’t lie, long before Kellen and I started having a sexual relationship, we had agreed that no matter what fate throws at us, however the Goddess deems us to walk through our lives, we would always do it together. No matter what, whether that ‘together’ was as mates, friends, lovers, siblings, we would never be enemies. We had forged a bond for a week shy of 18 years. There is literally nothing we don’t know about each other, our connection is considered ‘bizarre’, as Kellen and I felt and reacted more to each other than other siblings or even twins, for that matter. Not just mentally, but physically too. And let’s not exclude that our wolves were once mated centuries ago or some shit. Our wolves don’t really speak to us a lot, really only when they have something important to express, but they do, however, express their emotions often, like a 6th sense, an almost primal gut feeling.

I have always had a good relationship with my wolf, Inanna. She was strong, a direct descendant of the goddess herself. Her spirit was older than most. I had read that and my wolf had confirmed it. She had also told me I could choose when it comes to my mate and has called Kellen ’ours’. I didn’t know what that meant.

I refused to dwell on it but I admit it had been stressing me out. It made me wonder if Kellen and I were mates or not. Kellen and I were so connected, bonded, on a much deeper scale than any twins we had come across. But we shared no blood, no DNA, no cheating parents, no apparent reason for our identical crown marks.

I got it.

I let out a deep sigh, not turning to face my father or the king, but wrapping my arms around Kellen's waist, his huge biceps pinning my arms to my side, lightly squeezing me impossibly close. I could feel every hard muscle of his body from his chest to his torso, His muscular body pressing on my leg. The man was perfection. Body… mind, and soul.

I knew what my father was saying; I didn’t want to be hunted and killed, I didn’t want to endanger the pack. And I certainly didn’t want to be raped for the pure reason of producing Dire Wolf pups so some sick bastard could rule the fucking realm!

I understood the king loved me like his own, I also understood why Kellen was so concerned. He had seen me almost die twice.

I knew they all loved me and just wanted what was best for me and wanted to protect me. They all did. My mom, I was sure, would speak with me later, although I would have thought she would have been here for this ‘discussion’, as they call it.

I turned in Kellen’s arms finally towards my father and the king and took in a deep breath, leaning my back on Kellen’s hard chest. I feel like all I seem to be doing these days is taking deep breaths.

”You know, I’m really not sure how me not shifting is going to help or solve anything. I can’t hide forever, I can’t not shift forever. It’s going to come out sooner or later. Shit, our pack already knows I’m freakishly strong and have a big wolf. Honestly. I’m not even sure why we are having this conversation. “ I sighed heavily, again; this conversation could go on forever, going around in circles. My dad opened his mouth to say something but I held my hand up and spoke before he could get a word out.

“Look, I will do as you ask for now, but I can’t make any promises. I understand you want me safe, I understand you don’t want threats against me and I understand you want to protect the pack against future threats. But don’t isolate me. Don’t keep secrets. I am stronger than any wolf here in just my human form, but I will heed your words and concerns and for now do as you ask.”

“That is all we are asking for, Lamia,” the king said with a look of relief.

“Baby, we just want you safe and with these rogue attacks and sightings happening we don’t want to give any enemies fuel or reason to attack. And you would be a good reason if word got out about you.” My dad admitted, reaching out to take my hand, pulling me from Kellen’s arms and into his own embrace. Kissing the top of my head as he held me tight and swayed me back and forth slightly, rocking me like he used to when I was a small pup.

I wasn’t happy. Not by a long shot. And neither was Inanna, but they had our best interests at heart. That I knew. So we would listen and not shift, risking someone sighting my wolf.

‘For now’. My wolf growled at the back of my head.

She really didn’t like being told what to do and part of keeping her calm were frequent runs. And being close to Kellen, I always felt safe in his arms, soothing my wolf.

This was going to be a long, stressful week, just knowing I would not be shifting for a pack run on our birthday. Not being able to run with Kellen.

 I guess I would sit around and wait for everyone to come back? I’m not sure why this, of all things, bothered me the most. I loved my family and if it meant me being restricted made them happy and kept the pack safe, then, yes, I would do it.

I sighed out slowly, and inhaled Kellen's scent as I felt him pull me from my father's arms and into his. His warmth and large arms, his calming scent surrounded me, soothing both me and my wolf.

I smiled, ‘I never did mind about the little things’, I repeated to myself until I could feel it sinking in.