The Delta's Daughter Chapter 316

CRIMSON

Hunji crosses his arms over his wide chest and stares me down “You can wait your ass here. You’re not going anywhere until I say you can.”

A menacing growl rips from my throat and jump up from the chair. My fists clench and re-clench, my nostrils flare - I feel my beast bursting to come out.

I try to reign him in, as I know if I let go and let my temper take control, I was going to kill Hunji. He was standing in between me and getting to Tawny.

Through my haze of aggravation, a delectable and sweet smell tickles my nose when I breathe in trying to calm myself. The scent, one of the gods. Nectarine. A scent I wanted to rub myself all over one that had my manhood twitching as he too recognized the peachy honey scent of his mate.

“Let me out Hunji,” I say slowly and pointedly. A warning behind my words.

“No.” He states flatly.

This time my growl is louder, longer and I pounce at him. Determined to plow through him if I have to. He wasn't going to stand between Tawny and me no matter who he was to her.

The crack of his fist hitting my jaw shakes me. The power behind it, stunned me for a fraction of a second until I counter it with one of my own.

Hunji staggers back, not expecting the force of my fist. He rights himself, snarling and baring elongated teeth. His eyes begin to darken as mine begin to glow an intense red. He puffs his chest out making his large frame even bigger. I do the same not intimidated in the least.

Hunji is a large wolf, but compared to King Mathias… I’m not worried. “Step aside Hunji,” I hiss and spit as he moves to block the only exit from me.

“You will have to go through me.” He bites back, flashing teeth and planting his feet.

I didn’t want it to come to this, but he has left me with no choice. I scent my mate, she’s close and just want to see her. I need her. I owe her an explanation and this big oaf of a fucking wolf is preventing that. “I won't ask again Hunji. Move. Out. My. Way.”

“You have no idea what they did to you or who it was. No way are you leaving here.” He growls back standing his ground.

“Fuck!” I yell out with another harrowing growl. Hunji growls back making it clear that he is not going to make this easy.

I fly forward, claws coming out and digging into Hunji's arms when he blocks my attack. He slashes my side with his claws, he cuts me deep, a move meant to weaken me. I sidestep his swipe, maneuvering behind him, and throw him against the wall.

The room shakes with the impact, the light green paint cracking under the force. A foot to my stomach has me stumbling back slightly. Hunji takes the opportunity to turn. The air is thick and permeated with the scent of our blood as we square up to attack each other again.

Lost in our own rage and distaste for each other, neither of us notices that the door has opened until I’m engulfed by the scent of nectarines. My hackles rise as my instincts give way to protect my mate from the fight.

Hunji’s eyes widen and move to look at something behind me. They suddenly soften and feel a tiny hand wrap around my bicep. “Enough” The calm and sweet sound of Tawny’s voice commands me.

“Hunji, please.” Another female voice speaks, and I whip around when I feel and hear that same thrum of magic. Except, this time it’s a hundred times louder and a thousand times heavier.

The white-haired woman's magic only holds my attention for a fraction of a second before my eyes cast down to the bright yellow orbs I’ve missed so much.

The fight is forgotten as I wrap her in my arms, bending to nuzzle my face in the crook of her neck and gulp her in. “You’re here. You're really here.” I whisper, trailing my lips over her skin, tasting her, scenting her.

All the fight in me whooshes out as I hold her tighter.

The door crashes open once again, banging into the side of the wall, creating more indents in the paint job. A large hulking man, bigger than Hunji stands there seething. Hazel eyes glared with a fire so fierce. A lesser shifter would have cowered at the Beta’s powerful aura.

He looks around the room, I follow his line of sight to see the white-haired woman curled into Hunji. Noticing he too has relaxed, and the woman must be his mate.

“All good here?” The Beta who I know as Michael Pike Jr. asks, his gaze trained on Hunji.

Hunji grunts and nods his head in my direction. “It's fine Mike,” Tawny replies for all of us.

The Beta huffs and retreats back through the door where I can see Mason, Rhett, and a few other people crowding the hall to get a good look at what went down in the holding cell.

I loosen my grip on my Kitten so I can look her in the eye. It tears me up when I see the look she holds. Unsettled and vexed yellow orbs burn into mine. I open my mouth but the crack of her hand across my face has my mouth shutting as my head swings to the side.

My Kitten can pack a punch.

I turn my head back, licking my lips as the sting from her smack dissipates. I deserved it. I know I did. I will take anything she decides to dish out and hopefully one day she will forgive me for my fuck ups.

I can't hide the hurt in my eyes, and I swallow down, before dropping to my knees in front of her. “I’m so sorry baby,” I apologize. “I should never have left, I thought I was protecting you. I see that hiding the truth from you was a mistake. I will tell you everything, anything. I always planned to…” I’m not above groveling to her, because that’s what I’m doing right now.

I can't lose her. I won't lose her. I refuse to lose her.

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into me. I nuzzle my head against her stomach as she says nothing, so I carry on begging for her forgiveness. “Goddess, I love you and I’ve been a fool, Tawny. It broke my heart driving away from the Palace, it physically hurt to leave you.”

“That could be because I rejected you, Kolby.” Her words have me stilling against her.

Deafening silence engulfed the room with her admission. The silence shattered when the white-haired woman drew in a sharp breath, and I heard Hunji grumble. But I wasn’t listening to them, no my head, or rather my ear was straining to hear the faint and tiny thumping that came from my mate.

A first I thought it was her heartbeat, but then I was able to differentiate between Tawny and the other thump, thump, thump that beat away. The sound, so slight, I could barely hear it.

My lips part and a tear roll’s from my eye. My hands begin to shake. Elation would be the understatement of the year to describe the feelings coursing through me.

“Kolby?” She whispers, the sound of her saying my name has the trembling of excitement turning into tingles of craving and passion.

“Tawny,” I choke out pulling back to look up and eventually standing on my feet to my full height. Does she know? Has she realized yet? My sweet, sweet Kitten carries our cub I hold her eyes with mine, asking without words if she knew she has just made me the happiest shifter in all the realm.

“What the fuck is wrong with two?” She hisses at me and casts a crucifying look at Hunji.

Hunji’s eyes jump between the two of us. Can he see what I discovered; does he know? My heart rate picks up as hopeful images of our future flash in my mind.

“Nothing,” I say because honestly at this point, I’m over it. Hunji means nothing to me. Tawny and the cub that she carries, mean everything to me. If it means putting aside my distaste for the wolf, for her. I will but only for her.

“I have a lot to tell you and Hunji was only looking out for you,” I tell her, my voice coming out gravelly as I’m still on an emotional rollercoaster that I’m going to be a father.

I’m going to have a family. Something I dreamed about since I was young. Something I thought I would never have. I could only hope when I was with Gillian. When Tawny and I mated our chances became so much more. Every time I made love to her, I could only pray that she produced a family for us.

Now that hope and wishful thinking are real. My reality. I don’t know how to sort through the emotions I feel. They're all so big!

“Baby we need to talk… In private,” I announce looking at all the nosey eyes set on us.

“Yes, Crimson. We do.” She sighs long and hard. The effect has me worried, but it was not a good sigh. It was a sigh full of heartbreak and torment.

*****

“Oh, my goddess Crimson! What the hell was going on between you and Hunji?” Tawny screeches the minute we are left alone in the room. I knew Hunji hadn’t gone far. Nor Mason.

I didn’t care if they heard everything, I had to say to her. She was my only concern. the only one I cared about that was listening to me. Everything else faded into the background as I held her hands in mine, maybe a little too tightly, and locked eyes with her.

I wanted Tawny to only hear me but see me too.

“Tawny,” I rasp. “Give me a chance to explain. Let me tell you, my truth. Then, I will hear and answer everything you have to say and ask.”

Her head bobs, “Okay,” She purrs.

I slowly blink, and draw in a deep breath, thankful that she was willing to listen and wasn’t going to fight me before I could tell her why I left as I did.

I begin, “Last year I met Abner Brooks at a winter festival in MacTire. The night you left for Cambiador. Queen Lamia had kindly offered for me to stay as a guest in the Castle. I agreed and stayed at the event longer, that’s when Abner Brooks approached me. It wasn’t until many drinks later, and a lot of stories he told about Armand, did he ask about a book.

“He told tales of a book that supposedly existed, a book that King Mathias’ father gave to Armand for safekeeping. The book we found hidden in the bedroom wall.

“When Abner asked if I had seen it, after explaining what the pages of said book contained, I told him no. It was the truth I had never seen that book, nor had I ever heard of any tails about a magic mirror that opens a portal to the realm of the gods. I stupidly made a blood pact with him. One I couldn’t get out of.”

“I swear Tawny,” I bend at the knee again, submitting to her. “I swear, I asked your grandfather, and I searched the palace far and wide for that book. And he denied its very existence. So either he was lying or he really didn’t know it was hidden in his bedroom wall all these years.

“Then… Then you happened. And I forgot about the damn book and my pact with Abner. Tolba, ugghh. When Althea, the mirror, and then Queen Lamia. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t very well blurt out something I had agreed to keep secret and then solidified that promise with blood.”

I search her face, her eyes, looking to see if she’s following along with me. For her reaction. Anything to let me know she understands. She nods, and bobs her head once, insisting I keep talking. She’s willing to listen that much I know, I just wished I knew how she was feeling.

I keep talking because I need to get it out, to be honest, because she deserves the truth. I love her and want to move on to more important things like our cub and whether she knows or not. If not, I can’t wait to break the news.

I just hope we, she and I, still have a future after I spill my guts.

“The whole time, Kitten. From the moment Althea showed us that mirror till right now, It ate away at me. I let go of her hand and slam my fist on my chest, over my heart that’s bleeding out for her love and understanding. “It ate me up from the inside because I was lost on what to do.

“When I left, I went to Abner’s home. I gave him the folder and he gave me more information. Not just about the gateways, but about me. The ones I didn’t think I would get after Maydor died. But none of that makes it worth it because I failed you. I let you down and shattered your trust.

“But please Tawny, Know it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. I wanted to but I couldn’t. Every time I opened my mouth to say something, anything. I physically couldn’t. Anyway…

“…When I left Abner Brooks, I was on my way to New Moon. I was coming for you; to explain what I told you. But there was an accident. I was run off the road. Attacked with bats that electrocuted me. When I woke up…”

“Crimson,” She gasped, her eyes leaving mine to look me over for injuries, when she found none, she returned those yellow orbs to me. Right then, I knew we weren’t over. She and I were going to last for forever. “What happened?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” I sheepishly say, “I think someone stole my blood. That was a few days ago. I ran here as far as I could until a pack on the outside of the kingdom helped me.” I sigh, knowing what I’m going to tell her next is either going to solidify or destroy her relationship with Hunji.

Hunji is just as good a friend as Lamia, and whether I like the wolf or not, He’s important to her. “Hunji can probably fill in a few details, but… He and his mate saw me crash, and by the time they got to where my car veered off road, it was dark. He waited for back up and when they trekked down to the crash site I was gone. They searched for me all night and the next day. Hunji headed this way thinking I might have kept going.

“Although, when I woke up. I woke up at the crash site and it was morning. Or at least daytime. Hunji was ahead of me and when border patrol mind-linked I was at the border, Hunji had me detained.

“I knew you were here, Abner told me you were coming.”

I drop to my knees again, my large hands splayed across her tiny waist. Just the knowledge that a life my Kitten and I created was growing inside her had me giddy all over again. “I just wanted to see you. That’s all that mattered.” I mumble against her stomach, while my hands find the edge of her shirt and slide under so I can feel her smooth skin against my fingers.

I lean my forehead against her flat stomach while my thumbs languidly rub circles over her skin. The motion calming, grounding me. I had her. I was holding her. That’s all that mattered. “We were fighting because he didn’t trust that nothing had been done to me because the circumstances were strange. He was in my way, stopping me from getting to you. I had been patient, I couldn’t anymore.”

“You’re it for me Tawny. I love you and nothing will ever get in the way of us again. I will never let anything get in the way of me and my family never, ever again.” I plant a kiss on her stomach, then look up at the goddess of my mate. “My everything,” I whisper the words to her.

No other words could be truer.