The Delta's Daughter Chapter 353

LYRIC

I think I'm going to make it, I know I can.

One little misstep and the spiked beam barrels at me. I turn, but not enough, and two of the spikes cut into me. A sharp excruciating pain shoots through my leg and arm before I feel the heavy hit of the beam swinging back and knocking me off the obstacle course.

All the breath wooshes from my lungs as I fall anticipating crashing hard onto the frozen ground.

Suddenly warm arms grasp me. Holding me tight. It feels like… comfort and protection. The sparks that travel over my skin ease the hot searing pain I feel in my leg and arm. But only for a moment.

How badly was I hit? I had never felt agony like I do now.

I could still feel the sparks and tingles, but they were being overridden by the thump of my heart and the burn where my wounds were bleeding. I think I got hit harder than I thought.

Everything wobbled and my eyes couldn't hold focus. "I think I need medical attention." It was the last thing I remember before passing out.

That and being surrounded by my mate's scent and his strong arms.

It was nice.

*****

I woke up to the sound of lowered voices, "She's in no condition to meet with the council, Kellen."

"I can see that, but she still has to appear before them. There is proof she didn't murder anyone. However, she still committed a crime against the crown."

"She had no choice…"

"I'm glad to see you defending her Mike, instead of accusing her. Understand I have not brought these charges against her. The council has."

I blink my eyes open to find a white ceiling. I shift trying to turn so I can eye the familiar voices, and groan at the stiffness in my body.

'Note, did you heal me?' I ask my wolf wondering why I still felt like I had been hit by a truck.

'You are healed but still bruised.' She replies.

It feels more than a bruise to me.

"Welcome back," The Beta's deep baritone voice rumbles through me.

I know my wolf loves being near him and if I'm honest, I do too. The pull of the mate bond grows stronger each day and I find myself looking for the Royal Beta whenever I am at training or in the common areas of the palace.

Except, I know I can never be the mate he needs. The mate he deserves. Or the mate he does or would want. I just… can't. He would expect something more from me. Something I just couldn't give him.

"You don't need to watch over me. I'm fine. My wolf is healing me." I say in a blasé tone. I can't help it. Pushing people away is a defense mechanism. The fewer people I am close to, the less I have to lose. Besides, I'm not very likable. Or so I have been told and that suits me just fine.

"Actually, he does." King Kellen interjects and comes to stand at the end of the bed I'm laying in. His hands are folded behind his back and he's wearing a stern look on his face. To stern for such a handsome face. "You are still under house arrest and attempting to complete the obstacle course alone - without supervision - was just plain stupid."

My wolf growls at the king, her offense tumbles out of my mouth involuntarily. I clamp a hand over my mouth with embarrassment and dare to look the king in the eye. Only to find his deep blue gaze furrowed. He lifts a brow, but he doesn't look mad, he looks curious.

"Lyric, the council wants to meet with you to discuss the charges of theft. I have pushed the meeting back until tomorrow in light of your accident. Queen Tala has spoken to Miss Lizzy, and she has expressed that should you choose to join the New Moon pack, she would also be willing to do so. We would be able to set her up with a job and living arrangements off the palace grounds."

"Why would I stay here?" I asked, looking between the king and my mate. My eyes linger a little longer than necessary on the Beta.

"I assumed you would want to stay wherever your son is?"

"Say what now?" My head swinging back to the king so fast, I'm sure I cricked it.

"You made a deal with the Beta that you would tell us the truth if we protected your son. That protection and the revelation of who he is, means he will be staying here. I assumed you would want to stay with him."

I could feel my irritation growing. I did say that and more. But it felt like the choice was being taken away from me. As if my voice held no value. "That's it, he stays whether I want to or not?" My fists curl in and I feel Note rise to the surface. There was no way, like me, that she would abandon our pup. It didn't matter whose DNA he carried. He was mine. "And what if the Beta doesn't want me to stay?"

"It's not his choice." The king spoke as if the Beta wasn't even standing there. "Whatever happens between the two of you, is your business. But the boy, Zane - he is my business, and he is Queen Lamia's business. Queen Lamia was gracious enough to understand your bond with the pup and would never deny you that right."

"You mean her mate wouldn't allow the pup into their lives," I obnoxiously say, knowing that isn't true. I like Queen Lamia and it seemed as if she liked me. Not one of them, she or King Mathias, had said anything that led me to believe they, in any way, held hostility against my son.

I rub my forehead, using my fingertips to massage the spot. "I'm sorry," I sigh knowing I'm the one being unreasonable.

"No one is forcing you to stay, Lyric, but if you are as good with electronics as you have demonstrated, we could use your help. The king is offering you, Lizzy, and Zane a home. One where your son will be protected. Join New Moon - become part of the pack. It would please the council too if you show you are willing to work with us." The Beta draws nearer as he finishes speaking, along with his scent.

I briefly close my eyes and take a deep whiff of it. Note bounces around in my head eager to smell more, wanting to touch him again. I can feel how much she wants to meet his wolf again. She wanted to run with him, not be hunted, though I could sense she wasn't opposed to the idea of her mate hunting her down and catching her again either.

Just the thought of being pinned by her mate made her giddy. It had the opposite effect on me. The thought or idea made me nervous.

"Will you reject me now?" I ask the Beta, looking over at him "Because…" He holds his hand up to me In a halting motion, the words dying on my lips as his eyes glaze over. I look to the king whose eyes are also somewhat glazed.

"Are you talking about me?" I begin to get frustrated, "Because if you are that's just rude!"

"Shush female." My mate barks at me. Then to the king, he says, "Meet you in ops in twenty minutes." They share a look between them before the King nods and leaves the room.

The air in the room becomes thick with tension, or maybe concern, I'm not sure but I can feel my mate's distress. "What's wrong?" I ask hoping he answers me, but also dreading what his look of displeasure and anguish could mean. Hoping that it wasn't Zane.

The Beta's hazel eyes land on mine, locking in place. "How good are you with electronics?" He asks in all seriousness.

It takes me a minute to pull my thoughts from how gorgeous his eyes are, how everything on him is... just so… big and strong and… "the best." I finally manage to answer him.

"Okay, come with me, little thief."

I swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed, feeling much better than when I first came to, and standing on my feet. Thankfully they weren't shaky, and the pain had subsided some. I look down at my training clothes and the dried, caked blood that clung to them.

Then I look up and catch the roaming gaze of my mate. The way he eyes me has my skin heating and I feel the blush rush up and over my body, probably turning my face a nice shade of red.

The Beta clears his throat and turns his back on me, "Follow me." He commands. I don't miss the way he adjusts himself over his jeans as he strides across the room and opens the door, holding it open. Waiting for me to exit first. I guess I don't need to be seen by a nurse or doctor.

*****

Yet again I find myself in the ops room, the Omega wolf Damon sits behind the keyboard, furiously typing away.

Another man stands in the room, by his scent I know he is a werebear. Tall and stout, similar height maybe an inch taller than the Beta, but just as broad. He turns to face us as the Beta and I walk in. His green eyes immediately twinkle and a wide grin forms across his face.

"Well hello, gorgeous!" He says looking me up and down and giving me a wink.

"Fuck off Tobias, she's my mate!" The beta growls out causing my heart to thump harder and louder.

Whether he meant to or not, he just claimed me as his. I don't know how to feel about that, but I don't have time to dwell on the meaning of his words as the large werebear steps forward. Instead of a lustful look, he now wears a confused look.

"I thought… Jonda…"

"You thought wrong," The beta cuts off the werebear.

"Let's start again." He says and extends his hand to me. "I am Tobias, Second in command to King Mathias."

I take his hand and shake it. "Lyric Swift, along for the ride. I think." He chuckles at my reply, letting go of my hand.

"I think I like you. I hope you're giving your mate a run for his money."

"Tobias," My mate warns. "When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago, I came straight in to see Damon. I was in here when the report came through."

"What report? And why am I here?" I ask the three males looking around at them.

The door swings open, and King Kellen, along with Rogue, the former beta, and the wolf whose name I know as Tyron enter.

"You are here because you demonstrated exceptional tech skills. And you also commented on us not having the only working satellite in the realm." The king sits down in one of the chairs in the center of the room, like a captain at the ship's helm.

"Twenty minutes ago, a report came in that multiple vehicles were spotted on the southeastern border of the kingdom's territory. Cars, vans, and cargo trucks have been spotted close to and heading in the direction of the Golden Circle Pack." The king starts.

My mate picks up where he left off. "Usually that would not be a concern. However, their border security spotted over 50 vehicles making their way toward their border. Alpha Bret is keeping a watchful eye on the convoy's movement, but it has made them nervous. Rightly so."

"This could be an act of war, or simply a pack outside of the kingdom moving." The former beta says.

"Highly unlikely Sir," Tyron says, Adding his opinion.

"I agree, It is more realistic that this convoy poses a threat to the Golden Circle Pack," Rogue says. "Have they requested assistance yet?"

"No." My mate states. "They are observing their movements as of now."

"They have reached out to the Black Moon Pack. As their closest ally, this could affect Alpha Timothy's pack." The king says thoughtfully. "I don't like this. Not one bit." He says rubbing his fingers over his mouth eyeing his Beta.

I was confused. I didn't know these other packs they were speaking of, but it couldn't be good if there were more than fifty vehicles close to pack lands that didn't belong there. It's akin to how the Rogue King snuck up on us. "Does this pack, Golden Circle, have cameras?" I ask forming a plan in my head.

"They do." Damon replies, leaning back in his chair "What ya thinking?"

"Do you have access to their cameras?"

He shakes his head "No."

"Can we get access, or do we at least have the coordinates to their cameras around their pack?" He looks around the room, mostly at my mate and Tyron.

The beta crosses the room and picks up a phone, pressing a few keys on the receiver then holds it to his ear. I can hear the phone ringing on the other end before someone answers and a voice comes through. "Alpha Bret, it's Royal Beta Michael Pike. Do you have any updates on the convoy of vehicles near the border?"

He grunts and nods a few times, Asks the Alpha for his camera locations, writes something down and hands it to Damon. "Hold on let me put you on speaker." He clicks a button on the receiver, "Bret you there?"

"Yes Beta, sir. As I was saying the convoy is moving closer to the border, they seem to be spreading out. We have notified the Black Moon Pack and suggested they too go on high alert. We have no way of knowing who is in those vehicles, or their intentions. I have sent scouts in hopes to get more answers, but honestly Beta, This is making us all very nervous. This could be an act of war."

"Alpha Bret, King Kellen here. What do you need? How can we help you?"

"Honestly your highness, I'm not sure. If each car holds four warriors, that's a two-hundred-strong army. Anymore and we don't have the numbers to defeat that even with Black Moon's help."

"Alright Alpha Bret, we will be in touch. I'm sending elite warriors your way I will have them deployed within the hour."

"Thank you, your highness." The line goes quiet with a subtle click of the Alpha hanging up.

The room is still, each person thinking of the situation at hand.

"Lyric," Damon calling my name pulls me from my thoughts. "I have pulled up the coordinates of the cameras. I'm still not sure where you are going with this?"

I smile at him and gesture to his chair and keyboard, "May I?" He looks at the King and my mate before shifting from the chair and making room for me.

I begin to type away, bypassing all security on their systems. They really are advanced with technology in the Kingdom's capital, but it could still be improved.

I find a backdoor into a long-ago forgotten system locking on a channel that is still active and connects to a live satellite that still orbits the realm.

"Holy shit! Well, I'll be…" I hear Damon's astonishment from behind me as he realizes exactly what I'm doing. "You smart little she-wolf." He laughs.

Before humans all but became extinct, many of these were out there. Once the disease came, killing the humans, they were forgotten about. Except they were never deactivated. There weren't enough shifters to maintain them and through time the technology was lost, like so many other things. But believe it or not, if you know how to work your way around them, they are memory banks for just about anything, and if you know what you're doing… "Voila!"

I slid my chair back, and point to the largest monitor in the room. There on the screen is a satellite view of the Golden Circle pack and you can clearly see the trope of vehicles miles away from the pack. They are still too far away to initiate an attack on the pack, but close enough that they should be worried.

"How did you manage to do that?" Damon comes to stand over my shoulder. "How did you even know about these other satellites? We thought ours was the only one still active."

I smile with pride; happy I could be of assistance and show off my skills. "With the coordinates of the cameras, I was able to lock on to their locations and triangulate them, then all it took was hacking into the satellite data banks, shifting its position and from there I can get a view of the land from amongst the stars."

The truth was, I didn't know how I could do it. It just came to me. Like all things with technology. Old or new. I was never taught, in reality, the Swift Paw Pack was a minimalist pack. They didn't believe in technology, only the way of the wolf. We had one phone in our pack that was in my father's office. I had never been in a car or knew how to drive until Lizzy and I had run for our lives, and we were in Lonely City.

"Well, they weren't embellishing on the numbers." My mate says coming to stand on my other side. His scent wrapped around me; my skin bristled with his nearness each little hair stood on end and like a magnet, gravitated towards my mate.

I took a deep breath to steady my inner self, except all I inhaled was more of his masculine scent. Each day the smell of him became more and more intoxicating and the more time I spent around the Beta, the more my wolf gravitated toward him. She wanted our mate, she wanted to taste him, to run with his wolf, to feel his hands on her.

I shudder at the thought. It was a catch-twenty-two situation. On one hand, my body was starting to crave his closeness along with my wolf. On the other hand, I couldn't bring myself to think of mating with him, or anyone. The very thought churned my stomach and had that fear rising inside me.

The nightmares had started to come back, simultaneously, the betas scent on his shirt which I still had, had begun to fade. Coincidence? Maybe.

Some nights thoughts of the beta laying next to me and his scent comforting me filled my head. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like to feel his lips against mine. Bram had been the only person to kiss me and it wasn't horrible. Would my mate's lips be just as soft?

But then… The idea of him touching me, in a sexual way, would make its way into my fantasies. It always started out the same, his lips on mine, his hand wrapping in my hair, the feel of his muscular body pressed against mine.

In my mind, it all felt wonderful until I, or my wolf began to imagine it going any further. That's when I would begin to panic, visions of what Silas did to my pack, the sounds of laughter and jeering after what they did to my mother.

It was always a stark reminder that I couldn't be his mate. I was damaged goods. I couldn't give him what he wanted, never mind what he needed. Yet the idea of him rejecting me tugged at my heart and my wolf would whimper. But that was the best course of action, wasn't it?

I believed we would find his chosen mate, and when we did, I wouldn't stand in the way of his happiness. I could be a bitch at times, but I wasn't selfish. She could give him what he needed. I couldn't. Except would she still want him now that she and the one they call Rhett realized they were indeed true mates?