The Delta's Daughter Chapter 56

KELLEN

When Lamia fell to the ground, holding Zane in her arms, her heart-wrenching sobs met my ears, I felt her bond to Zane snap. I gasped at the dreaded reality of what had just happened.

“No, no, no, no. Zane! Zane baby, hang in there, you are OK, Zane baby, stay awake”, she cried out.

I wanted to go to her, to hold her, to take her pain away. But I couldn’t. I was fighting bear shifters and couldn’t turn my back on them. I could hear her sobs and turned in shock when I heard her cry her confession.

 “Baby please don’t leave me, not like this, we were going to have a pup, please don’t let them take you from me too!” She sobbed, pounding on her dead mate’s chest. Her body was strewn across his as she desperately tried to wake him.

But it was no use. I could no longer hear his heart beat. No longer hear his lungs expand. He was gone. 

Pup? She was pregnant! Was? Or, is she still now? With more determination, I cut down my enemies so I could go to her when, suddenly, a howl so imposing and full of pain filled the morning sky, silence engulfed the battlefield as every shifter paused at its sorrowful and harrowing meaning.

I dared to turn my gaze back to Lamia and watched as she reached for her swords and stood with blood dripping from her palms. Each drop hit the ground with a thud like the slow, slow beat on a drum.

Thud, thud, thud.

Her hands wrapped around the handles and an ambience of orange and green surrounded her being, the blades glistening in the morning sun making them look like they were on fire. She let out a battle cry and propelled herself forward into the thick of the battle. Cutting down enemy shifters, like the wind blowing leaves; gracefully yet fatal. Not pausing for a breath as she dropped body after body until she reached her target.

Silas.

He knew his death was imminent. I could smell the fear on him; see it in his rusty colored eyes. Yet he barked back when Lamia called him out and had the balls to shift and attack.

My jaw was slack at the sight of the massacre she had created. Killing more shifters than the whole battle had produced. She was a one-wolf army, capable of total destruction and inhalation.

I had never feared Lamia, yet right now, seeing her pure strength and true form and how powerful one person could be. Something had me and my wolf shivering at her exhibition of power and magnitude of strength. She stood on her hind legs, morphing into something that resembled a Lycan form. My jaw dropped more.

She was still a wolf but more, her front paws like clawed hands, designed for killing. She was the perfect killing machine in this form. She moved with speed I had never seen and batted Silas down like a fly. When he came at her again, she snared him by the neck and held him high as she tore his arm from the socket. The sickening pop as his arm separated from his shoulder made me cringe. When he cried out in pain, she tore the other arm off, a gruesome and unsatisfied look in her eyes.

I felt no emotion from her, just emptiness and darkness. It left me feeling cold, chilling my blood as I watched my once caring and loving girl take her revenge.

“Lamia! Enough!” Her father called to her.

She spared him a quick glance, it was then I noticed her luminous and flaming green eyes. She flung his body to the floor and whispered something we could not hear before she tore his head from his body and held it up like a trophy for all to see.

“I, Alpha Lamia Langley, The royal Delta’s Daughter, here by claim this territory as MINE! As far as the eye can see, this land now belongs to me! Who dares to challenge me for the right to claim this land?”

*Father* I linked the king, as I watched him walk towards her.

*Son, I will support her, I would be stupid to challenge her claim* I replied. *She has full rights to claim this land. She killed the rogue king, what was his, now belongs to her.* He said before voicing her support.

I looked for Mike and found him next to Tawny, who was bent by Zane’s lifeless body. An impassive expression was on his face, but the sorrow his eyes held was a different story.

 *Kellen, I need you. Take me out of here quickly* Her sweet and tired voice filled my mind. I stepped to her quickly.

 *I got you babe, I got you, always.*I replied, wrapping an arm around her waist securely.

*Help me walk out of here* she asked and I nodded my head. The show of power she just exuded did not need to be tainted by the weakness that was engulfing her so fast.

Through our bond, I felt a murderous concoction of emotions from her; anger, despair, guilt, hollowness. They were all consuming her and her heartbreak of losing not just her mate but their child too, was becoming too much for her.

I wanted to take the pain away, but I didn’t know how. I felt useless. All I could do was what she asked and started to help her walk away from the carnage we left behind. I felt her knees buckle and swiftly lifted her into my arms like the bride I had once hoped she would be to me, rehashing the feelings of lust and want for her. 

When her arms went limp and her head slumped against my shoulder, I knew she had given all she could today.

She held on for so long, we fought so hard for her, only to have the future she dreamed of taken away from her.

A deep feeling of remorse filled me up as I tightened my grip and pinched my lips together in a bid to keep the unshed tears in my eyes from escaping.

She would never be the same, not my Lamia, not the sweet, caring, strong Lamia. I just hoped she could bounce back from this, I hoped her humanity would stay intact.

The heart break from losing a fated mate can be lethal; some survive the death of the other half of their soul, usually if they have young children, most do not. Sometimes it takes weeks, months, even a year or two, but most lose themselves in the self-pity and sorrow the emptiness causes and wither away and die. A slow heart break.

This could not be her fate, please Goddess, I prayed. Please grant her life and love and let her live. I asked.

*****

The original plan was to take her back to the Crescent pack as it was the closest pack to MacTire territory. However, when I walked away I found myself going in the opposite direction and ended up by the convoy my father had arrived in on a further side of the mountains. I got in one of the cars and told the warrior who had trailed behind us to head home to the Palace. Thanking him when he handed me a blanket to wrap around Lamia’s naked form. I was taking her home.

It was a two-day drive and I held her in my arms the whole way, her body pressed against mine as she peacefully slept.

I wanted to take her straight to my room, but thought better of it. She wasn’t mine and she was suffering from true heartbreak. So I took her to her room and undressed her. I thought she would wake when the warm water from the shower rained down on her, but she didn’t.

To others it may have seemed creepy, seeing me stand in a shower, holding her and washing her down, but to me I was caring for her, like I have always done and always will. I washed all the blood and sickly smell from her until I could scent her natural aroma of brown sugar and vanilla and her hair was soft and free of caked in blood. I dressed her in a long shirt her mother handed to me and deposited her in bed.

Aunt Vivian stood in the doorway, unshed tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to fall. It was a tough pill to swallow to see your child in a state of unrest, whether she was awake or not, again.

Slipping behind her and pulling her close to me. I held her like that all night. I couldn’t sleep, I was too afraid. Afraid she would have nightmares, or she would wake and freak out, not knowing where she was. Aunt Vivian sat in a chair by the bed, neither of us speaking.

I didn’t know what to say to her. Every time I thought I should, a lump would gather in my throat and I would open my mouth but no sound would come out. She would shake her head and cover her mouth to stifle a sob. Although she had no open wounds, Lamia’s body was covered in scars that we didn’t know if they would fade in time or if they would always be there.

“Sleep baby girl” I whispered into her hair “I will be here when you wake up. I will never let you get hurt again. I love you Lamia”, I admitted. I did love her, in every way possible. We may not be fated, but we are a part of each other. Forever bound by the moon goddess.

It was my destiny to protect her, support her, to be her rock. It was written my oracles. We had seen it in our dreams.

For two more days she slept, and I didn’t leave her. Only to shower, eat or talk with her mother. I wanted to be there with her, needed to be there with her when she woke up.

It was the early hours of the morning when I heard her gasp jolting up from the bed, scaring me half to death.

“ARRRGGHHHH!” She wailed and howled. Her skin was burning up. I tried to lay my hands on her but she was so hot to the touch I felt my palms burn and expected the bed to go up in flames, her eyes were glowing bright and I could feel a burning sensation running through my body, my chest constricted and an in explainable burst of heat grasped my heart and I cried out in agony with her, my body ceasing tightly.

This is it, I thought, she was going to die. I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t catch my breath. I couldn’t move. Was I feeling her death? Was this what it felt like to die of a broken heart? Is she dying and I can feel her pain? Was I going to feel her take her last breath?

She stayed like that, just screaming as I watched her skin turn a bright pink before she slumped back down into the bed closing her eyes with a sigh. As soon as she did, I could breathe again and my heart started to beat normally, the afore pain dissipating like it was never there.

I took a shaky breath and laid my head against the backboard. What the fuck was that? I hardly had time to gather my thoughts when her father and Mother burst through the bedroom door.

“What happened?” Her father shouted. “We could hear her from the king's office" he exclaimed.

I shook my head; I didn’t know how to begin to explain what just happened.

****

LAMIA

The darkness was vast, suffocating and heavy. I drew a deep breath.

Was I dead?

My eyes strained to see into the darkness when a soft glow appeared from within the obscurity, faint but never the less there. With heavy feet, I moved towards the soft glow that became brighter with each step.

All I could think as the golden illumination became radiant was that this was the light at the end of the tunnel people talked about, the light they walked towards before crossing over. I paused, my shaking hands clasping together at the fingers in a bid to stop them trembling so much.

I hesitantly moved forward again towards the light. If this was my death, then I would welcome it. Tears sprung from my eyes at the thought of meeting Zane in the afterlife. Would he be there waiting for me?

“Come closer child, do not fear me”, a soft caressing voice spoke, seemingly coming from the light that now began to wash the darkness away the closer I got.

“Who… who is there?” I asked, with a weak and shaky tone. My eyes glanced around in search of the comforting voice.

“Come sit, I have much to tell you, child.” The voice whispered close to her ear.

I spun around to find the same daunting library that had filled my dreams in the previous months. I gasped at the sight. It was the same library; the same books lining the shelves, but this time, instead of rows upon rows, in the centre stood a fireplace, flames a blaze licking at the charred wood, and in front of that, were two high-back arm chairs with red leather padding. Very fitting for the period-looking library. 

My brows furrowed in confusion and caution. One chair stood empty, in the other sat a woman. Recognition crossed my face. The same lady I had seen in my dreams before. With her silver white hair that reminded me of the moon and skin as black as night. Her eyes shone a vibrant hue of violet.

She lifted her hand towards the empty seat, a small smile playing at her lips. “Come, please sit child.” She insisted.

Tepidly, I stepped forward and lowered myself into the vacant seat, resting on the edge. Not allowing myself to get too comfortable. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Am I dead?” I asked.

“No my dear, far from it, you are in a state of… let’s say, lucid dreaming.” The dainty woman chuckled softly. She appeared to be old with only a few lines marring her ethereal face, yet her eyes sparkled like a giddy teen. Her unusual violet orbs trained on me, with her hands clasped in her lap, lying on the shimmering fabric of the silver dress gown she wore.

“Who are you? Are you the moon goddess?” 

The flickering flames caught my gaze for a moment, but her light chuckle had my attention turning back to her. This woman liked to chuckle, and the look on her face told me she had a secret she wanted to share.

“No, not the moon goddess…” She shook her head. “A demi-god, yes. Your moon goddess would be considered a great grandmother to me in some way.”

She paused, and I took that moment to ask another question, scooting more to the edge of the chair. “Then who are you, and why are you in my dreams. If I am not dead, then why am I here?”

“Slow down child, and I will tell you. Patience.”

I scoffed. One thing I was not, was patient. But I bit my lip and held back the boundless questions I was dying to answer.

“First let me introduce myself. I am Ashe, daughter of King Lycoan, the first were-wolf and Fortuna, Goddess of justice, fate and chance. I am the first were-wolf child and your great, great, great, great grandmother. I think. Either way, you are of my blood. As is your father, your mother is a descendant of my dear cousin. A son that was born from one of my father’s other fifty sons. Confusing, I know, unfortunately, us gods and Demi-god’s live for so long and bear many children, it is hard to keep the lines and lineage straight.”

She must have seen the puzzled look on my face before she carried on.

“My children are at war again, the god Zeus has already lost so many of his children, humans. I had a child who once brought peace to your world. Unfortunately, her mate was betrayed and murdered and she was hunted down and killed, but before she gave birth to the child who would one day carry my heir. She was hidden away and the promise of a new Queen forgotten, lost amongst history and war. Until you, that is. It was written in the stars the day you were born; two ancient bloodlines shall mate and bear a daughter who would become a queen. More powerful and stronger than any other shifter, the Dire and the Lycan, born of first blood, will sit on the throne and give birth to the next line of Demi-Gods.

That is you sweet Lamia. Your off spring will become the next line of Demi-Gods, they will protect this world. You are the future.”

“Why me? Why not my cousin’s or father, or uncles?” I queried. While I was still trying to wrap my head around what she was telling me.

“These… genes have a habit of skipping generations until the right wolf or shifter is born. In this case, you… your mother and father, each carrying a gene of the first born's, the blood of the gods.”

My eyes flitted from the goddess before me, to the fire and around the room, finally landing back on her. My eyebrows met in the center and my lips pulled tight in annoyance. “You talk about me baring children, do you not watch over your children? Have you not seen what happened? Do you not know that I lost my child along with my mate? Did you not know the moon goddess had my wolf reject someone I thought I was destined for?”

I stood up with my fists clenched, I was seething at her ignorance of my broken heart.

“Are you that ignorant, that you would not know that us (I wave my hand around) wolves rarely get second mates, never mind a third? How can you overlook my sorrow and pain? I was ready to accept death to be with my love!” I spat the words out harshly, glaring at her. All the while, a weak smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Now you tell me I am destined to bear the next line of Demi- gods! What does that even mean?”

Was this lady for real, was my life a joke, just a game to her?

“I am a toy for you to play with. Is my life a fucking game to you?” I said just as much. Her impassive face suddenly turned to anger as she rose from her seat and pointed a long dark finger at my now vacant chair.

“Sit down Lamia!” She commanded.

Her eyes glowed bright with the spirit of her wolf; she was not amused by my disregard of her status. And I felt my butt come into contact with the plush leather. Like a scolded child and slumped back. My eyes welled with tears, but I refused to let them go. I would never appear weak again, not even to a god. Her face softens again and her fingers intertwine in her lap.

“If you were so ready to accept death, then why do you still live? Why not die on that battlefield with your mate? No you are not ready to die.” She took a breath to pause. "I must apologize for… your burdens. Let me explain, your moon goddess is the one that gave shifters mates and Fortuna is the one who gave you the fate to find them. Sometimes – sometimes, mistakes are made…”

Mistakes! Mistakes? What does she mean by mistakes? Was I a mistake, Kellen, Zane? What the fuck was the mistake? 

Here I am questioning my very existence and she is calmly telling me everything I have gone through was a mistake. Seriously, who fucks with someone like that? I was about to ask when she cut me off, so I closed my mouth again. I did not die because I had not fulfilled my promise of vengeance.

“One. Your prince could not be your fated mate, as you share a blood line that is too close. Your fated mate will be the only one stronger than you that can carry you, the only one whose children you can bear. The only one you will bow down before.”

“Well, that doesn’t make sense! I was fated to Zane and… and I was pregnant…” The tears began flowing down my cheeks. The gates to the water fall had opened. I swiped at them furiously, while trying to ignore the clenching of my heart when I thought of him.

“I’m so sorry child, you were never meant to be fated to him, he was not strong enough, and he was not a descendant of the firsts. And I am sorry for the loss of your son.

Which brings me to my second declaration; you are fated to another who will need you. He doesn’t know it yet, but you are what he needs and through him you will rise.

"Fortuna has granted you chance, justice and fate. When the time is right, you will find him. I can feel the love you have for your deceased mate and the sadness around you. Trust when I tell you the moon goddess will take care of him and he will find eternal peace in the afterlife. Your heart and mind are in a dark place. The only thing I can offer is to take your pain away.”

Take my pain away? “What do you mean take my pain away?”

“Your heart will heal in time, but you will survive the loss. This is your gift of chance.” She said, rising from her chair again. “Your gift of fate is to find another worthy of your love, and you have already been granted the gift of justice, from the day you and the Prince were born. Your Prince is your bother, and your fates will be interwoven forever.”

“Ashe, I don’t want to forget about Zane; I don’t want to forget my love for him and our unborn child.” I sobbed.

My warm tears falling down my cheek and splashing on to my lap. I bit my hand in an attempt to stop the garbled sounds leaving my mouth. “How do I go on, how do I keep living knowing he sacrificed his life for me? I can’t go on without him; I can’t live with the guilt!”

“Oh child, you will not forget, but there will be no more heart ache. You will need to find yourself and free yourself of guilt. You have more important things to do than wallow in self-pity and what ifs. It is time for you to go now. You have slept for too long. By the next full moon, your heartbreak and agony will be a thing of the past. Now go child, go find yourself and rise to be the queen you were born to be! Save your world.”

“What about your third declaration?”

“Your weapons are blessed by the spirit of Inanna before she ascended as a wolf to serve the three goddesses. In your weapons you will find ancient magic. Keep them close.”

She loomed over me and her long black fingers decorated with silver polish on her nails touched my temples.

An internal heat rose from the depths of my body, burning my soul. If this is a dream, I shouldn’t be experiencing the actual physical effects, should I?

Yet here I am swiping the wet tears away. The intensity of the burning fire within grows, heating my skin to a scalding temperature. I feel like I am going to combust and cannot help the pained scream that escapes me.

As I cry out, my surroundings turn back to the black abyss. The library and Ashe, swallowed by the darkness.