The Delta's Daughter Chapter 47

ZANE

2 Weeks Later

“Two fucking weeks! Two fucking weeks, Kellen! And not a single fucking lead! Where the fuck is she?” I pounded my fist into the wall of my office, stopping mid pace, I couldn’t control it, the anger. The insanity of not knowing where she was, I was out of control, my wolf was out of control. I was losing it.

I felt empty, enraged, saddened, infuriated, lost… Every emotion was wracking through me all at once. The fuckers had come out of nowhere, somehow sneaking past our border security. They took her, they fucking took her. I failed. I failed to protect my mate, our Luna, our Queen. Guilt riddled me, eating me up from the inside out. It had only been hours before that I promised I would protect her.

I could feel the sting of unshed tears welling up in my eyes. I didn’t cry. I wouldn’t cry. I couldn’t control it when the single drop slipped down my cheek. I slumped onto the couch, throwing my head in my hands, letting my hair fall to my forehead, I started to sob uncontrollably. “I can feel what they are doing to her, Kel…” I choked on my words “I can feel every fucking thing.”

I felt him pat my shoulder, while I hung my head in shame.

“I know you do man, I have too.” He growled out.

I lifted my head to him. I had forgotten the bond they share, a connection similar to twins, and he could feel the pain she was in, but he couldn’t feel what I had felt.

“Not all of it” I whimpered.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Mike jumped up to ask, his question laced with agony, eyebrows scrunched into a frown. I gave him a look, just one pained look and opened my shirt to show him the scares that adorned my chest and he understood what I was saying. They had touched her, violated her. 

“Mother fuckers!” his fists clenching and jaw twitching as fury ignited in his eyes.

Kellen and Mike had been here at my pack since the day after Lamia was kidnapped. Apparently, we were not the only ones to get hit that night. A large group of rogues had stormed the royal pack, creating chaos, but had retreated fairly quickly, like they were testing the patrol, or looking for something. Only attacking if needed, otherwise just running through the grounds.

When they found out we had managed to capture a bear shifter and two rogue wolves that we had currently holed up in our dungeon, they came immediately to question them. But for two weeks we had been searching, sending out trackers, along with ourselves looking for any sign, hint or scent of Lamia, to no avail.

Delta Marcus, Lamia’s father, was still out amongst one of the search parties. His refusal to come back, despite his condition, until he had found his daughter, was taking a toll on not just him but his mate Vivian too. We had sent Hunji and Tawny to the Crescent moon pack to lead in the assistance to search for her.

They were a more northern and westerly pack but because of the fact that they had had a few rogue attacks and the young female were-bears were found around there, Hunji had thought it might be a good place to start searching also. We couldn’t disagree, as we had no idea of where to even begin new searches. It’s like they just fucking vanished. My chest constricted tightly, pulling the air from my lungs, and a sharp stab in my heart rendered me speechless at the thought of never finding her.

“Don’t think like that man… I can see your thoughts. We will find her. Have faith that she is strong.” Although soft and concerning, Kellen’s words did not help in calming my aching heart or fear of losing her for good.

Bret and Cyrus were also in the office. They had a huge map of the kingdom's territories spread out over my desk. Marking off where we had already searched and looking at potential places to start searching.

“What I don’t get, is how did they know she was here?” A concerned Bret asked. “I mean didn’t everyone think she was still at the palace? You…” he pointed at me “…and Luna Lamia came under the cover of night through the back of our lands. This proves that yes they were after her, but how did they know she was here when the note that was left for the King, your father…” now pointing at Kellen “…indicated that they thought she was with you?”

“Excellent fucking question” Kellen frowned, lacing his hands together behind his neck and tipping his head to the ceiling “We had suspected a traitor but can’t find any clue as to who it is.”

Mike walked over to the white board and started writing on it. “Well let’s think, who knew she came to Golden Circle? Obviously us and our families, the hand full of warriors that came here… Then Tawny and Hunji…”

“Our whole pack” Bret cut in, “But I can guarantee they would never betray their future Luna…”

“What about Jody?”Cyrus asks.

“Who the fuck is Jody?” Both Kellen and Mike simultaneously say with a scowl.

Bret groans “Oh come on now, I doubt it was Jody, she didn’t even know about Lamia, she just thought she was some she-wolf after Zane.”

We were given questioning looks from Prince prick and his Beta sidekick, so Bret quickly filled them in on the whole Jody debacle. “…Yah, so she may be a jealous idiot, but she is not harmful and would never put her pack in danger.” He finished.

“ OK, so what about the ceremony? Who was invited to that?” Mike turned back to the board, ready to start writing names.

Amongst all this mess, I had forgotten about the Luna ceremony that would have been held yesterday. Another sob threatened to break out as I choked out my reply “We uhhh… we never sent the invites. She only told you guys and her friend Kara, or whatever the fuck her name is.”

“Kira?” Kellen asked in surprise.

I nodded my head at him. Yah that was it, that was her friend’s name. “She called me last week, asking how Lamia was doing, said she couldn’t get a hold of her. I lied, of course, and said she was fine. Not once mentioned she had been invited to her Luna ceremony.” Kellen hummed.

“On your birthday, when we were attacked, she said she went for a run with the pack, but I didn’t see her… come to think of it she was already gone on that Sunday when the King asked for all guests to be sent home.”

I watched as Kellen and Mike looked at each other, like they were having their own private conversation. Could they link with one another without their eyes glazing over like Lamia could?

“Mind fucking sharing?” I spat out, annoyed at their noticeable lack of sharing their thoughts.

“Nah… no way” shaking his head at Kellen, Mike had the look of denial on his face.

“Bro, we have to consider all options…” Kellen then turned to me “Where’s Lamia’s phone? I want to go through it, maybe it has a clue as to who this traitor is.”

I linked Chris, my top warrior, to retrieve her phone from our room and to bring it to me. A short few minutes later, he knocked on the door, only entering after I had called him in. He handed the phone to me. It was locked, darn it.

“Give it to me.” Kellen instructed. I did and watched him expertly unlock her phone. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Yah, hate to tell you Zane, I still know her better than anyone.” The fucker gave me a sly smirk. “Seriously though, both Mike and I had her pass code, luckily she didn’t change it.”

Chris was still in the office when he gave a little cough and pointed to the white board where Mike had been writing “Excuse me Alpha… for the interruption… but is that Kira Fowler… my cousin, Travis’ mate? That Kira?” he hesitantly asked.

An eerie feeling filled the air, thick and uncomfortable as the Prince and his Beta exchanged confused looks, both becoming rigid as their expressions morphed to a look I didn’t recognize. The exchanged look caused me and my wolf to become on edge.

It was Mike that spoke first, an edge to his tone. “Mates? Kira told us they weren’t mated, said she hadn’t heard from Travis since they left the academy.”

“Oh no, quite the opposite sir, Travis turned 18 a couple of days before graduation, called me himself, told me he had found his mate” He corrected Mike. “A couple of weeks later, like 2 weeks, he told me who she was and how happy that his girlfriend had turned out to be mated to him. He was over the moon.” He paused and hummed in thought before he spoke next “I was told she was devastated when he disappeared and locked herself away in her father’s pack house.”

“She mentioned none of this, to Lamia or to us, and was clearly not upset when we last saw her. Pretty sure she fucked one of our warriors when she stayed with Lamia too.” Mike harshly stated, then moved away from the board and took a seat.

“Doesn’t sound like a heartbroken mate to me,” Cyrus chipped in.

I was just listening and watching the discussion take place as the traitor is revealed. Kellen pointed out the timing of Lamia and Kira's calls as he went through her phone. I could hear Bret exclaim that’s how the rogues must have known that Lamia was here at Golden Circle. Shit was starting to add up. I will tear this fucking bitch to pieces when we find her.

Caught in my own self-loathing and madness, picturing exactly how I would peel the bitches' skin off; I was caught off guard when a hot searing pain erupted in my chest.

I heard myself cry out at the excruciating pain. I fell to the floor, scrunching my eyes closed tightly, pleading for the pain to stop. Not again, please not again. This was the third time I had felt this intense and unbearable torture like my chest was being ripped open since she had been taken. This was worse than them whipping or cutting her.

The tears fell from my eyes as I called out her name. My claws coming out to tear at my chest, it feels like I am on fire, hot, scorching and scalding lava burning through me. “No… no… please…” I begged. I don’t know who I’m begging, but if the moon goddess can hear me, then please make it stop. Dacia is howling in my head, ready to come out and kill whoever is violating my mate.

‘We need to find mate, mate is hurt’ He whimpers and pines for her, knowing what they are doing to her this time.

I blocked him out. I can’t take both of our pain, I can’t handle it.

“Get the pack doctor!” I heard Bret scream before I blacked out from the intense agony.

*****

I don’t know how long I have been out for but when I eventually come too, I find myself lying in our bed, drenched in sweat and blood. I knew I had tried to claw my chest out again. I hadn’t been sleeping in our bed since they took Lamia. I couldn’t stand to come in here, and I couldn’t sleep in our bed without her. Her scent of brown sugar and vanilla with that hint of honey was still strong. I groaned as I felt the all too familiar sinking feeling in my heart of her not being here, the gaping hole of her absence.

I slowly dragged my body up and leaned over to the bedside table, opening the drawer and removing the small box I had kept hidden there. Opening the box, I ran my fingers over the delicate emerald and diamond-encrusted ring that matched the earrings I gave her for her birthday.

I was going to give this to her when she became my Luna. I had it all planned out. At the end of the ceremony, I was going to surprise her, present her with the ring and ask her to take my name, to be my wife, not just my mate and Luna. In the hopes that she would say yes, I had already arranged for the pack elder to perform the nuptials. I wanted to be tied to her, make her mine in every sense of the word.

It wasn’t until he spoke did I realize anyone was even in the room with me. “How many times?” came his gruff voice full of woe?

I swallowed the lump in my throat; I knew what he was asking me.

“This was the third.” I sighed, again, choking back the tears and trying to push down the rancid taste on my tongue. “They raped her Kellen, they fucking raped her.” I sobbed.

I was broken, a shadow of the Alpha I should be. I was useless, a useless, weak mate and Alpha who couldn’t protect his Luna.

“I’m sorry Zane, I can feel her pain but I had no idea that they had done that to her.” His sincerity was apparent and honest as he spoke delicately to me, as if I was a fragile flower. Maybe I was, because I certainly felt like I could shatter any moment.

“Why are you here Kellen?” I questioned, not even trying to hide the dislike in my voice.

“You have been out for two days, Zane,” I was shocked, and raised my head towards him, finally looking at his face.

Two days? Two fucking days wasted on not being out there looking for my doll, two fucking days wasted when I could have been searching for her. Did they sit around for days waiting? Why the fuck weren’t they out there looking for her? I had all these questions pounding to come out but they were stuck, lodged in my throat as I tried to regain my composure.

He leant forward in the chair he occupied in the corner of my room, bracing his elbows on his knees, a stern and determined look on his face his next words gave me hope and brought me to my feet. A newly found willpower that I thought had been drained from me.

“I wanted to be here when you woke up, to give you the news myself. We have a lead on where to search.” He said.