The Delta's Daughter Chapter 308

CRIMSON

1 week later

I pull up to a large Mansion, the location Abner Brooks gave me to meet at. He had been staying in the Kodiak Kingdom from what I understood, filling in the gaps that King Mathias left when he moved to Riocht with Queen Lamia. Neglecting his duties to the high council.

When Alpha Xander made Finnegan Artos his Beta after losing his leg, Abner left, coming back to his home in the far northern part of the bear kingdom.

As I open my car door a blast of iciness hits me. I shiver at the stark contrast to Cambiador’s muggy heat. No sooner do I make it up the short steps, bag in hand, containing the leather folder we found hidden in the wall of Papa Armand's room.

Our room I mentally correct myself. Hoping there would still be an us when I returned home.

I had left Tawny, heartbroken with a half-assed and shit explanation. I know she is hurting. It hurt me just as much to walk away from her, knowing I hadn't told her about this, knowing I couldn’t even disclose who or where it was I was going.

Even if I had tried to give her a better explanation, I doubt she would listen, doubt she would even hear it.

I could have brought her with me but I had no idea what I would be facing. And there was no chance in hell I would put her in danger. I was coming here on faith, I dint know Abner enough to trust him and it seemed like this topic was one he wanted to keep under wraps.

I bound up the short steps, taking in the dark features of the house. Wood was black as were the trimmings and the large wooden door. It looked like something right out of a horror story, its appearance immediately making my spine tingle.

The door opens and an old man appears. “Sir Crimson I presume?” The old man asks, his light eyes giving me a once over. Smirking at my button-down shirt and lightweight black slacks. “I hope your brought warmer clothes.” He chuckles, holding his hand out and gesturing for me to come inside.

Stepping over the threshold, I feel the warmth of the house immediately, thankful for the heat. Unlike the outside, the interior of the mansion is modern, with vaulted ceilings and wooden beams. The furnishings are all in natural wood with red accents.

“This way, Sir Crimson.”

I’m through the house and down a short hall to where Abner Brooks sits behind a large redwood desk. The walls are decorated with wood paneling, the far wall lined with books. In the center of the room sits a red leather couch and two matching chairs.

“Welcome young Kolby Crimson,” Abner stands to greet me, buttoning up his grey suit jacket and then smoothing down the front. “Thank you for taking the long journey here. Who knows you are here?”

Straight to the point, I like it. I want to spend the least amount of time here possible. Every minute I am away from my Kitten is torture. And every day I am away I feel the gap in our bond growing. Yes, I want answers about me - what I am. But not at the cost of losing my mate.

The whole way here I argued with myself, and several times I stopped the car determined to head back and plead my mistake to her. I just hoped this would all be worth it. I hoped Abner could deliver on his end of the bargain.

I drop my bag on the floor, then bend down to take out the folder. Stepping up to Abner's desk I throw it on top, “I believe this is what you were looking for.” His eyes briefly scan the leather folder before lifting them and meeting my eyes.

I’m not sure old Abner Brooks is, maybe in his 50s, his face looks young but the paleness of his eyes and hair makes it hard to determine if he is in fact much older or not.

Abner holds a hand out toward one of the red leather chairs, “Please sit.”

I do and no sooner has my ass met the comfy cushiony leather seat, does the older man appear again with a tray of food and warm drinks.

“Thank you, Harold, that will be all for this evening,” Abner instructs. He rounds his desk and takes a seat in the opposite chair, the tray sitting between us, the folder in his hands. “Please eat Sir Crimson, there's some hot tea in the pot, help yourself.”

Even though the house is much warmer and I had heat in my car, the chill from the north has seeped into my bones and I gladly pick up the pot and pour myself some tea. Welcoming the warmth and steam from the cup as I hold it in my hands.

Abner sits, looking through the folder, his facial expressions morphing now and then, from perplexed, to surprised, to thoughtful.

“Is it what you thought it would be?” I finally ask, sipping down the last of my tea after watching him read through each page.

“And then some.” He replies, still lost in the enigma of the pages. “And you found this hidden where?”

“Behind a wall in Armand’s old room,” I confess, “Abner?” I tentatively catch his attention, “The folder never made it to Tolba, as you can see. However, one of those… gateways is hidden there in a library underground.”

His head snaps up so fast, I’m surprised I didn’t hear it crack. His eyes are dark and concerned. “You saw this gateway?”

“Mmm” I tilt my head back and forth slowly, “It was the mirror” I point to the folder where a page depicts the gateway hidden underground in Tolba. “Queen Lamia found a book, that explained how to…” I think of the right words, “…Open the gateway.”

Abner mumbles, but I can't make out what he says, “I read the letter from Argius to Armand, one of those precious, I’m assuming he was speaking of the jewels, sits around the next Queen of Cambiadors neck.” I wait a beat for his reaction when he gives me none I ask, “What will you do with this information?”

“I intend to do nothing.” He closes the folder and stands up making his way to the side of his desk, where he bends down. Pressing something and part of the floor slides away revealing a hidden safe. He punches in some numbers, opens it, drops the folder into the safe, and removes another item. A small black book, before closing it and coming back to sit opposite me.

“To my knowledge, Orion never intended to open the gateways to the god's realm. He wanted the stones and the power they could give him. That folder gives clues as to where they were hidden. His twin brother Agrius knew Armand had one and had an idea of where the others were.

“He sent the scriptures to Armand, hoping the further away they were from him, the less chance Orion had of finding the stones and taking the power for himself.”

“What and how do these stones give you power?” I ask, the memory of my blood falling on the stone's face and what came after it.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure. Saying that, I have been led to believe that… certain shifters who hold genes close to the gods, powerful DNA, can access the power or magic those stones hold.”

“Like a Grimalkin?”

He pursed his lips, pale eyes narrowing on me, “Like a Grimalkin,” he confirms.

Abner tosses the small black book at me and I easily catch it. It’s plain, with no writing, and thin maybe only twenty pages.

“That is everything I have on Grimalkins, if there is any other information out there on what you are then I don’t know about it.” He shifts forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees, “Tell me Crimson, what do you know about yourself? I will try to fill in the gaps as much as I can. And hopefully, that book will help you understand what you are.”

I tell him what I have learned so far, what Althea explained, and what she said about Senko. Bringing him up to date with as much information as I know. “That’s everything I know about myself and have learned in the past months since meeting you at MacTire.” I finish after disclosing everything we said we would keep secret.

My instincts told me I could trust Abner, I had to prove myself right. But he had yet to prove me wrong.

“Show me what you are Crimson.”

I chuckle at Abner's demand, “You sound like King Mathias,”

“Yes well, after his father's death, his mother's banishment, I was there to help as much as I could. Maybe a little of me rubbed off on him, although his anger comes from another place. His spirit animal is ancient and hard to control. Most days he is Arcas, just as Lamia is Inanna. And you young Crimson, you are the were-cat.”

I contemplate his words, understanding his meaning about Mathias and Lamia being their spirit animals, but me? I wasn’t a were-cat. I had no spirit animal.

I stood, half shifting, and letting my body morph into a larger size. Abner watches me with admiration, a twinkle in his eyes. I take pleasure when his expression turns to astonishment as I speak to him in my half-shifted state. “I can take the form of any cat, and change the color of my fur,” I speak while letting my fur shimmer from deep red to a light yellow with painted black spots.

“Fascinating,” Abner says as I let my skin ripple and shift back into my skin form. With wide eyes he sits back in his chair, bracing his head with his fist under his chin. “And you say your mother was a werelion and your father was… a what? An alchemist?”

“Blood Alchemy, supposedly a very powerful witch.”

“I would assume so to have conceived you,” he hums in thought.

“Althea said he used blood alchemy so my mother could conceive me.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure he did, because there is no way something such as you could have been born any other way. You were born of magic son, an old and powerful magic one that came from the darkness. And you say your father may still be alive?”

“Yes,” I gulp down the truth, as I still haven't come to terms with the fact that my biological father may be something evil. “I’m a hybrid,” I state.

“Oh no, dear boy. You are no hybrid. You are a Grimalkin, through and through. You have no spirit animal because you are the spirit animal. You and your spirit animal fused together the moment you were conceived, becoming one as you grew in your mother's womb.

“Like a Lycan, you are the beast, but so much more. I can tell you are attracted to magic. I can also see that you hold magic within you.” Abner's eyes hold mine with fascination as he talks.

“I was never able to mind-link, until recently when accidentally a drop of my blood fell onto the stone in the ring, I can now mind-link. The stone absorbed my blood.” I wait for his reaction, hoping he can offer me a better or more detailed explanation as to why that happened.

A few long moments pass until he finally speaks, “The stones empower the bearer, helping them to become the strongest and best versions of themselves, I think what happened, was the stone helped to unlock parts of your brain that shifters have access to, areas of the brain that have laid dormant within you. The possibilities of what you can do could be endless. It’s just a matter of tapping into those closed-off areas.”

His words give me thought. I have never worn the ring, even on Armand's deathbed, he gave it to Tawny. Did he know? Did he suspect? If he did was he scared of what I might become if I possessed the ring? A million thoughts and reasons swim around in my head.

“Our pact has been completed Sir Crimson, Our business is done. You are welcome to spend the night, or as long as you need. Be assured the information you gave me will stay here, safe.”

“And if Tawny tells Lamia and Mathias?” It’s really not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

“The fewer people who know the better, however, if the Princess does disclose it to them, Mathias will come and ask me. When that time comes, I will not lie to him. Much has happened in the past year, with the attacks on the Clan Mansion, I fear something else maybe be coming our way. History has a bad habit of repeating itself and if any of these gateways were to be opened I would want Mathias on my side.”

With those last words, Abner excuses himself, bidding me good night. No sooner does he leave me sitting in his study than the old man appears again. I thought I had seen the last of him when Abner dismissed him before. Apparently not, as the old man leads me up the stairs and shows me to a room.

Once settled and washed up, I lay back on the bed opening the small black book Abner gave me, my eyes settling on the first page.

The Grimalkin:

A faery cat shifter, dark and magical.

Said to stem from the mating of a werecat and a demonic creature.

Familiars to witches and gods alike.

It doesn’t take me long to read through the thin book but I’m left with more questions once I close it. According to lore, I should be able to perform some sort of alchemy, usually whatever the parent specialized in. In my case, Senko specialized in blood alchemy. A dark and sinful magic. Not one I was excited to know, nor did I have intentions of delving into learning about blood alchemy. I was happy to stay far, far away from it. Nothing good could come from it.

I was already in hot water with Tawny, playing with dark magic would only further push her away.

In the morning I would leave, go back to Cambiador and beg her forgiveness. Tell her everything, and hopefully, my Kitten would listen to me, understand and forgive me.

I drift off to the image of my sweet mate, blocking out our last moments together and holding onto the image of her beneath me, telling me she loves me. Conjuring the look in her bright yellow eyes when I admitted how much she meant to me, and pushed away the image of those eyes dull and full of tears when I left.

My heart aches at the thought that I was the one to fill her eyes with tears. Again. No matter how much I tell myself I had no choice – I did. I chose to walk out and leave her behind. I chose to keep these things hidden from her, the one person I should never lie to, or hide anything from.

“Please forgive me, Tawny,” I whisper into the night. Praying my words echo through the night sky and reach her. “I love you. I’m sorry.”

At least now I know a little more about myself, and what I am. But at what cost? The woman who loves me with all her heart? My Queen?

I have faith we can mend this rift. Couples fight all the time - she will understand. I’m sure of it. It will just take her a little while to forgive me, until then I can sleep in the dog house, metaphorically speaking.

At least I hope she will forgive me.