The Delta's Daughter Chapter 28

KELLEN

I was a little worried for a moment. Ah, who am I kidding?

I seriously thought Lamia was going to lose her shit there. She can let a lot brush off her shoulders, keep her emotions in check for the most part. Hunji had done a lot of training with her, not just physical and sparing, but also meditating. Helping her to connect with her wolf on a stronger emotional side, reining in that temper she has been known to have.

Every now and then it slips, my thoughts bringing up the memory Tawny had explained to us about Lamia stepping in when that slut of an Alphas daughter, Ella from the neighboring pack, Blue moon, had laid into her a little while back.

Tawny had said she scared the shit out of her and her two sidekicks, Maryanne and Bethany. I don’t doubt it. I remember a year after we had first shifted, we must have just turned 16 or just shy of it. Either way, it was super hot, so it was summer.

Flash back 3 years ago

We were having a royal party in celebration of the New moon and the aligning up of planets. the Royal pack had hosted a huge cook out inviting neighboring packs and high ranking leaders from all other packs in our kingdom.

A bunch of us boys were kicking a ball around and then wrestling too. Guys and their testosterone, of course, we had to see who was strongest. Well, like it always does, it gets a little out of hand. Lamia didn’t have many friends at that point, especially not females. Mike and I were and still are her best friends. The three of us, inseparable.

So it wasn’t uncommon for Lamia to be hanging and pissing about with us males. She was tough and she could hang better than most. We thought nothing of it when the guys slack talked, even when the older boys talked about fucking some girl and what she was like. We always figured Lamia didn’t care or was just used to the smack talk, she had heard Mike and I enough. She could be just as crude as us.

Zane Noir. That was the first time we saw how dangerous Lamia could be. Like I said, here we all were hanging out, testing each other, talking shit when Zane fucking Noir hones his sights on Lamia.

Even at 15, Lamia was a knock out, catching all the boys’ attention. Zane was four years older than me, so he was about 19 years at that point, when he openly challenged everyone for the right to fuck Lamia.

“She’s not a fucking trophy nor is she of age dipshit!” I growled. How fucking dare he speak about her like that! Sick fuck!

I heard a soft laugh, and then the slow clapping of hands. I turned to see Lamia walking down from the bleachers that outlined the training field we were all hanging about on. She was pissed.

Her bright emeralds bore in to Zane, and if she could have set him on fire with her eyes, I was sure he would have been ashes by now. I had never seen her looking so…. Sinister, jaw clenched as she made her way over to where me and dumbass stood, she slowly clapped until she stood in front of Zane. I remained silent. I knew she could handle herself, even though he was a head taller than her, she squared her shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. Shit, if she could take down the royal Delta and Beta! Then I had no doubt she could wipe the floor with this asshole. But that didn’t lessen my anger any.

Her mind-link came through *let me handle this Kel, he won’t get off easily* I nodded at her, only.

She spoke calmly, while Zane glared in annoyance and seethed at her. It appeared he held no regard for women and certainly loathed the idea of one standing up to him.

“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, Zane Noir…. But… if you are to challenge anyone for the right to fuck me, then it is me who you should challenge.”

“Get on your knees bitch, I’m an Alpha and you should show some respect. You’re nothing but a pack whore!” He spat his words at her, trying his best and exuding his aura to make her submit to him. Dumbass, this was Lamia.

“I bow to no man!” she spat back, glaring harder at him. I could see him getting agitated, his wolf showing through his eyes as they darkened. She didn’t let up though. “I, Lamia Langley, future Delta, challenge you, Alpha Zane of the Golden circle pack, to your right and position of Alpha” Her words rang out loudly. Now she had everyone's attention.

Shit!

My dad and Uncle Marcus were going to kill me.

I looked to my right and caught Mike’s eyes, a look of unease meeting mine. Before either of us could interfere, Zane the dumbass accepted the challenge.

“I, future Alpha Zane of the Golden Circle pack, accept your challenge.” His smug face, smirking thinking he had this in the bag.

10 minutes later, they were circling each other in a ring, all the young wolves there gathering around to watch. Hushed whispers and gasps, murmured throughout the growing crowd.

When Zane finally lunged for Lamia, it was over in seconds. It took three hits. Him hitting her, landing a nice punch in her gut, her hitting him squarely in jaw, and him hitting the floor.

Knocked. Out. Cold.

He was only down for a few seconds; in that time Lamia had turned around and began walking off. Zane shot up from the ground, shifting midair, attacking her from behind.

A stunned audience watched as Lamia shifted and turned right as Zane was about on top of her, claws out, aiming for his neck. Gasps rang out as, quicker than lightening she turned, her sharp canines catching him by the throat. Slamming his wolf to the ground, her teeth bore into him and claws attached to his chest. A feral growl leaving her wolfs throat. Threatening him to submit or die.

She was going to kill him. This was not good. Mike and I were by her side immediately, pulling her crazed wolf off him. He was bleeding out from the chest and more blood scented the air as her fangs sunk deeper into his neck.

Luckily, Uncle Michael came along and commanded her to let go and shift. She didn’t have to obey, but hearing his authoritative voice brought her back to reality and from the brink of tearing his throat out.

Uncle Michael had used his Royal Beta tone to command all pups that they were not to speak of this and the challenge was null and void. He had been pissed but seemed proud when the three of us had to explain what had happened. Zane had left with his tail between his legs.

PRESENT

Her steady voice brought me back to the present. Embraced in her father’s arms still, he swayed them to and fro. I needed her back in my arms.

I was jealous of her dad comforting her. Which should just be plain silly, but it wasn’t. I reached out and gently took hold of her elbow and brought her back to me. She was calmer now, once she was back in my arms. Her face was buried in my chest, it was always something we could do, give each other what the other needed. Always. We could naturally calm each other. When she agreed to air on the side of caution and not shift right now, I felt relief, a temporary respite, to the situation.

I knew this was going to be hard for her and I knew her wolf would fight her on this. My chest filled with pride as I puffed it out. My girl was rational, thinking with her head. Letting us protect her. Goddess knows I needed her safe. She had had too many incidents in the past 6 months, almost dying at the academy. Then she almost died at the hands of a bear shifter. My heart still pinched at the thought of that day, not just for the state of Lamia, I almost lost both my best friends in one day.

I would give my life for both of them, without hesitation, which makes it that much harder to digest. Because essentially that is what she did. She was willing to give up her life to save our best friend. Mike. She did what anyone one of us would have done.

I don’t want her put in that position ever again. I don’t want her to almost die. And I will do everything in my power to make sure she is never in that position again.

I couldn’t live without her. I just needed to make sure she was safe.

*****

LAMIA

I was right.

It was a long and stressful week. Just the thought of not being able to run with the pack or Mike and Kellen and shift on what was meant to be one of our most memorable days was eating away at me. It wasn’t just that, the impending full moon and turning eighteen, finding out if Kellen and I are truly destined to be together or not was always in the forefront of my mind. 

I busied myself with my last few classes I had before we broke for summer, trying to take my mind off the explosion of emotions going on in there. I helped out in the packhouse day care with the pups a couple of afternoons. It was great running around with the kids playing hide and seek. I also took Damon to meet with the head of our security team, to put up some infra-red cameras along our borders and help update our computer system. But it did little to tame the brewing storm of anxiety.

 Tomorrow was mine and Kellen’s birthday.

I have hardly seen Mike or Kellen all week. I’m not sure if I was avoiding them, or they were avoiding me. They had been busy organizing warriors, dispatching units to a few northern packs for assistance and aids. As well as investigating the numerous rogue attacks on those packs and the sightings that are still a frequent occurrence around the royal pack, the New moon pack. They were no closer to figuring out what they were after or what their motive was.

With the help of Damon, we set up some new security measures, installing infra-red cameras around the border as well as laser sensors. To, hopefully, alert us to intruders faster.

We had been shopping for dresses earlier in the week. I couldn’t wait to dazzle and dance the night away.

As excited as I was about the party, I was also nervous and apprehensive. I admit to myself.

Kellen and I had agreed for him to stay in his own bed for the week after our meeting in his dad’s office this past weekend. It was hard and lonely. My bed had felt cold and I was left feeling like we had taken a step backwards. It felt odd, but at the same time I was strangely OK with it.

It also left me wondering more about Kellen and I. Are we that comfortable with each other that we were okay having some distance? Or was it something else, a small sign that maybe, just maybe we weren’t mates?

Either way, the 'what if’s' were playing on my mind. Planting an unwelcomed seed into my brain, that was growing and manifesting. I caught myself several times throughout each day this past week wondering and dwelling on the outcome of turning 18.

Each time I had managed to push the doubt to the back of my mind, brushing off the deep apprehension that snaked its way in. Reminding myself that I would never lose Kel, no matter what the goddess had in store for us. Leaving me satiated with my resolve for the time being.

Kellen and I had a tradition every year since we were young pups that we would meet in the garden on our favorite bench, just before midnight, so we could celebrate together, alone. We usually talk, recapping on the past year. We talked about our future hopes and dreams. We would guess what the next year could hold for us or at least voice our hopes. 

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about carrying on our tradition tonight. I had stopped at the bakery this morning to pick up two giant chocolate cupcakes with butter cream icing, decorating each one with a single candle, for us to blow out and make a wish.

I had imagined every scenario once it struck midnight, us being mates and embracing each other, us not being mates and our hearts being broken. If we were, would things carry on as normal? If we weren’t, how would we react? What would happen… to us? As much as I tried not to dwell on these thoughts, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, a melancholy feeling rooting itself deep in my intestines.

I dressed in a pair of grey sweat shorts, a navy tank and tied my strawberry blond, black-streaked hair in a messy bun, grabbed the cupcakes from the kitchen fridge, negating my shoes and headed down out of our suite, downstairs and out to the gardens.

Making sure not to wake my parents or Kira.