The Delta's Daughter Chapter 29

LAMIA

It was 11.51pm when I plopped down on the bench facing the fountain, one of many in the royal gardens. This one happened to be a carved stone piece, depicting the Moon Goddess.

The artist had captured her image impressively. A silhouette of a woman with long flowing hair down her back, one hand rose towards the moon, holding a sword trimmed with gold, the only splash of color. The other hand was resting on the nape of a large wolf. Tying the essence and beauty of the goddess, with the spirit and power of the wolf.

I smelt him before I heard him and heard him before I saw him. Taking a seat on the bench next to me, the cupcakes in between us, Kellen silently slid next to me. Folding his hand in his lap, he slumped down.

“Nervous?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Was his short reply.

“Kellen…” I started, my fingers fiddling together.

“Lamia..,” He turned his head to look at me. Worry was clear in his eyes, along with apprehension and slight fear he was trying to mask.

I laughed nervously. It was not a sight I was used to. Seeing Kellen with any kind of fear, even if it was just slight. Throwing my head back and groaning loudly.

“Goddess, this sucks. Your face looks how I feel.” I admitted.

“Glad I’m not the only one uneasy.” He smirked, glancing at me.

“We shouldn’t really feel this way,” I said, still holding my head back, looking at the sky twinkling with stars. They were bright tonight, casting a great deal of light, illuminating the world below. 

“We will always have each other, no matter what the future holds for us, Kellen.” I softly spoke, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.

Did we want to be mates? If we weren’t, would everything change? Whatever happened in the next 5 minutes, neither of us knew how we were going to proceed, or react towards each other in the short, near future.

“The buildup is killing me Lam’s” he admitted, pursing his lips and cradling his head in his hands. Then sweeping those same hands through his ash-brown locks, he then turned to me, his ocean blues meeting my emerald greens.

“I love you, you know that, right? You know I would do anything for you, die for you. And nothing will ever change that?” he stated.

Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them drop. “I know. I feel the same.”

The silence between us was almost stifling, for the first time ever. I took the lighter out of my pocket, opened the box of cupcakes and lit the candles stuck in them. Kellen took out his phone and showed me the time, 11.59pm.

We gave each other a small smirk, both reaching out for each other’s hand.

Just like every year, this year should be no different.

As we held each other’s hand’s, waiting for the clock to click over to midnight, I felt my senses heightening. Suddenly the hue of our surroundings became bright, more detailed. I could see every ornate detail of every tree in my sight, every dip in every petal. My hearing sharpened to the rustle of a rabbit in a bush a mile away. I could hear its teeth gnawing at some bark, its heart beat steady, the little animal smelled of contentment, unaware of the dangers that lurked within the forest. Unaware of the predators that stalked him and would have him as a snack. Predators like me.

I was taking in these heightened and new experiences when Kellen spoke.

“Happy Birthday princess.” He said with a slight crack in his voice and an audible gulp in his throat. I slowly turned my head to him, wondering if he was experiencing the same magnitude of change as I was, my mouth slightly agape at the new sensations.

Our eyes locked. And I still felt the same tingles as before, the same pull, the same comfort and feeling of love. He stared back, his gaze not leaving my eyes once.

My wolf was silent. Unease crept over me and the perception of disappointment crawled across my skin.

I reached out to my wolf. ‘Inanna, is he our mate?’ I questioned. I was met with silence for a few moments, panic rising up from its depths.

‘Inanna’ I called to her again.

‘He is ours.’ She replied.

‘But is he our true mate?’ I asked more forcefully. I didn’t know, I truly did not know. I was expecting to feel something snap into place, and I hadn’t. I needed to know, I needed confirmation. Confirmation of what I wasn’t sure.

‘He is not. Only if you so choose.’ Her voice in my head was shallow and full of disappointment.

My heart clenched and my stomach sank. A gut wrenching ache spread throughout me.

Hurt, pain, disappointment and… love. I felt it all through our bond. His usual brilliant blue orbs were now dull and saddened. I’m sure his feelings were reflected in my own expressions.

He swallowed hard, but never once did his eyes leave mine.

“Conri, wants me to reject you. We are not true mates.” His words were choked and strained. And they hurt. His eyes glazed with unshed tears. “I don’t want to.” He finished.

Goddess, this was hard.

‘He needs to reject you as his queen. We are not meant for him, not this time, not today’. Inanna's barely audible thoughts resonated in my head. I nodded at what she was saying.

“We can do this. I don’t know what the future holds for us, Kel, but my wolf agrees.” I gulped, straining back a sob.

If we weren’t mates, why would he need to reject me? But if both our wolves were in agreement, maybe that was the right thing to do.

“I don’t want to Lamia. It hurts. I’m not sure if I can.”

My chest pinched hard, again.

“If I reject you, what does that mean for us? What does it mean for our bond? I don’t understand, if we are not mates why would my wolf want me to reject you?” he croaked. The pain in his voice was obvious.

I turned my gaze from him, looking at the still lit candles on our cupcakes. He was right. It hurt. A LOT. Not gonna lie. I was fucking devastated, yet I knew this wouldn’t break me. I just hoped this wouldn’t break us. Even though I wanted him to be, even though I hoped with all my might, even though my wolf said he wasn’t.

I wanted to go against her, yet at the same time I was strangely not willing to go against the Moon Goddesses wishes. We were not fated. It meant we both had a mate waiting for us somewhere out there. I thought I would have more resistance if this was the outcome.

“Let's make a wish first” I said, forcing a smile. I picked up his cupcake and handed it to him, then picked mine up. “Happy birthday.” I didn’t mean it to sound as sarcastic as it did. And I knew Kellen had missed the tone of disappointment in my voice.

We blew out the candles. I made a wish, hoping that he and I would still have a bond and be close no matter what. We sat in silence for a minute, the gravity of what needed to be done weighing on both of us.

I finally broke the ice and punched him in the shoulder, playfully. It was time to rip the band aid off. There was no way around it. Ignoring what we needed to do was not going to get us anywhere. Delaying the inevitable was not going to make this situation any better.

“Come on then, let’s not beat around the bush, the more we think of it, the harder it will be. I love you Kellen, we can get through this. We are so much more than mates.” Although I was saddened, there was conviction in my words. It was true. We were so much more. We weren’t mates but we were brother and sister, best friends, lovers, bonded, tied together by the soul through a goddess given bond of a different kind.

He breathed in deep, his perfectly hardened, muscular chest rising. And just as sharply as the intake, he let it out. Turning to me and taking both my hands in his. The tingles of warmth flickered across my skin, travelling up my arms. Again, making me question why our wolves wanted us to reject each other. He cracked his neck and squared his shoulders. His eyes bore into mine with determination.

“I don’t understand this, if we are not mates, why are our wolves telling us to reject each other?” I nodded, my lips pursing, a scowl forming on my face. I did not understand it either, but it seemed both our wolves were adamant that this was what needed to be done. They were content with the decision.

“I Kellen Moon, future king and alpha of the New Moon pack reject you, Lamia Langley, daughter of the Royal Delta, as my queen, luna and mate.”

His words were not harsh, they were sad, quiet and apologetic, but I felt it. I knew he did too, a break and sharp stab to the chest. I winced at the feeling.

“I Lamia Langley, accept your rejection, as your future Luna and Queen.” An over-whelming surge of sadness plowed through me. I watched as Kellen clutched his chest at my acceptance. Did it affect him more than me? It seemed so.

After a minute or so, Kellen seemed to be at ease.

Still facing me, he brought his hand up to my cheek, cupping it softly. The warmth and tingles were still there. I was surprised. I gasped as he drew in a sharp breath. My eyes felt as wide as his.

He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes, his lips lingering for a few seconds more before pulling away.

His hand still cupping my cheek, I opened my eyes to meet his intense blue orbs. Sadness and confusion stared right back at me, reflecting every emotion I was feeling.

“I don’t know what this means for us, Lamia, I don’t know what the goddess has in store for us. I don’t know where we go from here.” He spoke, a single tear slipping from his eye and sliding down his cheek.

I gulped. I had no words but my hand lifted and gently wiped the tear from his cheek.

What could I say? Even if I had words of comfort or an explanation, I couldn’t voice them. They would be stuck in my throat. I was sure if I tried to say anything, the flood gates would open. I was holding back my urge to scream and cry. I gave him a weak smile instead.

“No matter what, I love you Lamia Langley. I can’t live without you.” He admitted in a matter of fact tone. The next words were said in a whisper, a defeated tone, “I just need time.”

He stood, leaving behind a coldness on my cheek where his palm previously occupied. My voice cracked when I finally found it. My throat was as dry as a desert.

“W-what do we tell people, Kellen?”

“The truth.” He sighed before turning his back and walking back into the palace, his shoulders slumped in a demeanor of defeat and debilitation.

I watched his retreating figure until I was sure he had left the gardens. It was then that I let out an audible sob. My hands flew to cover my mouth as the tears came, streaming down my face faster than a raging river. I tried to choke back my sobs but it was futile. I didn’t know if I was crying more for myself or for Kellen.

It’s true I was heartbroken that we were not mates. I was also confused as to why our wolves insisted that we reject each other. That was heart wrenching. More so, I didn’t know where we would go from here either. I must have sat there sobbing to myself for a good 10 minutes until I felt the presence of another wolf. I sniffed the air.

“Mike, it’s OK” I said, not bothering to turn around as his figure stepped out from the shadow of a tree behind me.

*****

KELLEN

I looked into her eyes and when the mate bond didn’t snap into place, I asked Conri if we were mates. I couldn’t feel a difference. Nothing less and nothing more than the pull that was already there.

‘We are not. She cannot choose us this time. It is the Moon Goddess's will. We must reject her. I am sorry my human’, He replied in a barely audible tone that hummed through my head, before he retreated to the depths of my mind and became silent.

The rejection and acceptance didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, maybe because we are not true mates. Still there was a sharp pain that pierced my heart like a knife and a burn in my chest that made me want to claw it out. But it was gone faster than I could react to the discomfort.

“I don’t know what this means for us, Lamia, I don’t know what the goddess has in store for us. I don’t know where we will go from here. No matter what, I love you Lamia Langley. I can’t live without you,” I admitted. It was true, I meant every last word.

“I just need time.” I whispered and croaked. The ache in my heart of failure was a huge blow. My limbs felt like heavy weights, all the energy was sucked out of me.

I stood. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. I needed to deal with my overbearing sense of sadness.

“W-what do we tell people, Kellen?” She choked out.

My back faced her as I was leaving. “The truth.” I sighed, slumping my shoulders in loss and absolute defeat and walked back to the palace, not even casting a glance back at her.