The Delta's Daughter Chapter 69

Lamia

“Kellen” I sobbed. He was here, he was really here.

“Did you think I would leave you alone on one of your most important days?” His tone was light and airy and I could hear the smile behind the words.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t think you could come” I said while pulling away from him so I could look into his comforting ocean blue eyes. Goddess, how I had missed seeing those blues, “I’m so happy you are here” I admitted, smiling up at him.

“Beautiful, I will always be here for you. Now shall we go greet your guests, or do you want to high tail it out of here?” I knew Kellen was joking about getting out of here. Oh but how I wished I could just escape.

“I would love to ‘high tail it’ out of here, alas, I guess I should go mingle and play nice.”  I couldn’t help smiling at him. Him being here, made my night and with Kellen by my side, I was ready to tackle anything.

“How long are you staying for?” I wanted to know how long I had him for, any amount of time was good with me. The longer the better, but I knew how busy he was and in a few short months, his father would be handing down the crown to him, once he was 21.

So I would take what I could get for now.

“I’m here until tomorrow afternoon” he sighed, sounding disappointed. “Just until after the meeting with the high council, I wanted to be here to support you.”

I hummed at his answer, then a thought occurred to me and my eyebrows pinched together. “Is my mom here?” The one person who I assumed would be here. But I haven’t even spoken to her this whole week.

“She is not. She… Your mom had to stay behind and help the queen. Besides, I think she is missing your dad.” The hesitation in his voice didn’t sit well with me and I would be bringing this up before he left for home.

I felt like there was something Kellen wasn’t telling me. It was unlike my mother to miss out on any important events in my life, and despite the distance, there was no way she would not have been here. Even if my dad was away on a mission and she missed him.

She would still have been here.

For the better part of the night, I made my way around the guests, talking with various council members and trying to appeal to their better nature. In other words, Brown-nosing.

“Alpha Lamia,” A tall, naturally tanned man stopped in front of me. I noticed the captivating yellow of his eyes before seeing his hand held out in greeting.

“And you are?” I said as I took the large and rough hand belonging to the large were-cat standing in front of me, but instead of shaking it, he bowed and brought my knuckles to his lips.

“My apologies Alpha, I am Crimson, Kolby Crimson. First Zeta and Deputy, to King Armand, It is a pleasure to meet you.” He said, releasing my hand and must have noticed my confusion. “I am like your Beta, a second in command. Our ranks differ from the wolves and bears,” he explained.

I nodded in understanding, “It is nice to meet you Crimson.” I tipped my head back at him, not quite giving him a bow, as my ranking is higher, to do that would be to show weakness.

“So tell me Crimson, what does the king of the were-cats want with his grand-daughter? The grand-daughter he disowned for twenty years?” I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips, not quite giving him a glare, but close.

He chuckled, giving me a quick flash of perfect white teeth. He was handsome, I would give him that. What I really wanted to know was if my friend was safe. And as if reading my thoughts, Kolby Crimson smirked, tilting his head and then looking around us to see how far or near other attendees were.

“She is in safe hands, that I can promise you. Not everyone agreed with King Armand’s decisions or his lack of tolerance for other shifters, myself included. I can not disclose what he wanted with the princess, it is not for me to say, but I will tell you, Armand is old and after the attacks our kingdom has suffered these past months, I am afraid he is not doing so well.” He held a solemn expression, one full of sincerity. However, the only thing that really caught my attention was that they had been attacked.

“Are you telling me that Armand brought his grand-daughter into a kingdom that is not safe? Is my best friend in danger? Because I will tell you now if any harm comes to her…” The were-cat interrupted my rant, and I clenched my hands. There would be hell to pay if they sent Tawny into an unsafe kingdom and something happened to her.

“Alpha, I apologize. I promise Princess Tawny is in no danger. The attacks that have occurred in our kingdom have been located on the outskirts and they have been smaller Clowders, prides. Not to say, they were not brutal attacks, as three Clowders were completely wiped out and we are still trying to find the culprits. All we know is they must be rogues. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to track them down, or engage in full battle.” Crimson truly did look unhappy for his fellow were-cats and I could see the dispiriting look in his eyes.

“That is one of many reasons I am here tonight. I hope to speak with the high council as well and hopefully make some alliances tonight, before our Kingdom falls.” He said, looking at me, now with some hope in his eyes.

I had been mulling over his words, and finally cast my gaze back onto him, meeting those intense yellow eyes. “Will you be staying the night at MacTire, Crimson?” I asked, knowing full well he had been assigned a room.

He shook his head as I thought he would.

“In that case…” and I waved an omega over, who had been serving drinks to the party goers. “Lisa, would you please have a room assigned to Mr. Crimson, and then bring him his key once sorted out.”

“Yes your highness.” She addressed me before scampering off to fulfill my orders.

“You are too kind, Alpha Lamia…”

“Think nothing of it, but when you return to your kingdom, promise you will take good care of my friend? She is more important to me than you know. If not, you will not find an alliance with me.” I was precise and resolved with my words as I addressed him.

“Yes, you have my word. I look forward to meeting the princess and I will put her under my personal protection.” He promised. I trusted him, I didn’t detect any lie from him and his body language indicated he would do just that. I hoped he would. I excused myself, and with Kellen, who had been quiet throughout the conversation with the were-cat, found ourselves making our way around the grand ballroom once again.

I had to remember to thank Ria for the beautiful job she did, putting this together on such notice. She had really out done herself, decorating the place in emerald green and light blue, in our pack colors.

And I really had to stop saying pack, because we were no longer a pack, we are an Empire. So would that make me an empress? I guess it’s the same thing as a queen.

I stopped and spoke with councilman Smalls and council woman Cindra. Both were polite and council woman Cindra had let it slip, how impressed she was with the progress I had made at such a young age. “For a twenty-year old, you have accomplished so much; I personally have invested in the pharmaceutical company in Avon Wilts. Did you know Chandra’s mother and I went to school together?”

I did not know that, but I quietly and politely thanked her for her support.

Kellen excused himself, spotting Travis across the room. “I’m going to go greet Travis; he looks bored talking with some of the other Alpha’s. I will catch up with you by Uncle Michael and Aunt Olivia.”

“Of course” I nodded, offering him an encouraging smile.

I sent Travis a quick mind link.

*If you value your life, you will keep our escapades hushed from Kellen* His eyes caught mine from across the room, a small smirk and a shake of his head in amusement told me he would not be saying anything. Not that I thought he would, but I had to point out that it would not be cool, and I could not guarantee how Kellen would react to the idea of mine and Travis’… arrangement.

*****

The night had passed fairly slowly and without issue. So when I had finally found myself in the comfort of my chambers and closed my eyes, trying to will sleep, and it, sleep, finally taking me into its dark embrace. My dreams were filled with the words of Ashe ‘There is another, he is waiting for you, he doesn’t know it but he needs you’.

Silver eyes, like the cool steel of my blades, began to invade my unconscious thoughts. I tried to see his face, but it was cloudy. The only prominent feature was those steeling and alluring eyes.

I was drawn to them in my sleeping state. I felt the heat of them caressing my body, the intensity of them burning into my own. I woke up in a heated and panting state, beads of sweat clinging to my body and an ache between my thighs. I slid my hands down my body and reached in between my legs, trying to satisfy the cravings. Finding relief but still unsatisfied, I huffed and stormed to take a cold shower.

How could one pair of eyes, and eyes I had conjured in my own imagination at that have this affect on me? It was not natural. Unhealthy, she deemed, washing away her arousal.

For the second time, Lamia found herself heading to the pack dining hall to have breakfast with her guests and pack. Today was a big day and they would be meeting with the members of the high council after breakfast. She had met two of the members last night, but the others were driving in this morning or had opted to stay off her territory grounds, sighting it would be unconventional.

Whatever the fuck that was meant to mean? Maybe they meant unethical?

She rounded the corner and halted in her tracks as she heard whispered but obviously angered voices. She pressed herself to the wall recognizing the two voices, eaves dropping on purpose.

“…If you don’t tell her, I will. She has a right to know.” She heard Kellen’s strained voice.

“The king, your father, has ordered us not to tell her anything until he has more information. I cannot go against his orders. Besides, she is not part of our kingdom anymore…” Beta Michael seethed and then softened his voice “…She does have a right to know, but we don’t even know where he is. You know what she is like.”

“I do but… Fuck it’s her father; you know how close they are. She knows something is going on because Aunt Viv wasn’t here last night…” Kellen trailed off, he had caught a whiff of my scent, and I could feel his pause through our bond.

I stood straight and plastered a smile on my face as I rounded the corner, seeming clueless about the conversation I overheard. I would get to the bottom of this later. Knowing when I cornered Kellen about it he would not be able to lie to me. “Good morning, Uncle, Kel” I greeted them. Still keeping a mask of ignorance and fake joy on my face.

“Good morning” they both murmured, feigning a smile at me.

Uh huh, there was definitely something they were keeping from me and it involved my father.

I walked into the dining hall with them, taking my seat next to Aunt Olivia, who greeted me with a hug. As conversation flowed around the table, I turned to my Aunt.

“Aunt Olivia, I have been meaning to ask you for quite some time now about the suit you had made. I was wondering where it had been made and of what material? I would like to commission enough pieces to fit most of my army. “Her eyes brightened with my question.

“Yes, of course. I would be happy to give you the details. We have actually been thinking of the same thing for the Elite guards. It is made from a unique pairing of Kevlar and Cashmere, from what I understand. I can give you the details of the creator.” She happily offered.

“That would be great. The sooner the better and I have an old textile factory in Avon Wilts, abandoned long ago. But I am sure we can get that machinery up and running with a few adjustments.” I said, as I started listing plans in my head.

“Lamia,” My aunt regarded me, gripping my hand, her soft and light brown eyes taking me in with love “We are so proud of you. You have accomplished so much.”

“I agree. You have really turned this place around since the last time I was here.” Beta Michael said, but there was a hint of awkwardness in his words. Probably remembering the last time he was here, was when they had rescued me.

I smiled. It was all I could do. “Well, I would love to take credit, but we would not be the well oiled machine we are without Hunji and, of course, Travis.” I pointed to the other end of the table where my second and third in command sat.

It was true. Without Hunji, this place would never have been organized, as for 6 months I sat and wallowed in self-pity at the Golden Circle pack until I left and Travis came with me. By the time I had arrived at MacTire, Hunji had already established training and who would be initiated into the pack. Weeding out the true rogues who had no intentions of conforming to the rules and laws we were going to set in place.

At that moment, Rhett walked in, clad in black military-style boots and black cargo pants, with a hunter-green long sleeve shirt that hugged his body. His blond hair was uncombed and fell over his forehead and his mossy eyes held a look of determination as he made his way across the hall and stood beside me.

“It is time the throne room has been set up accordingly.” He whispered into my ear, bending down close. I nodded.

“Where is Ria?” I asked, folding my napkin and standing.

“She is with the pups, too many unknown shifters here for her.” He relayed sadly. I hummed at his response. Ria had socialization issues when it came to shifters she was not familiar with, especially wolves. I can’t blame her, when I met her and Rhett she was in a very scary predicament and if I hadn’t been there she would have been taken by a ruthless Alpha from the boroughs and I would hate to think about what would have happened to her.

“Kellen, Uncle. I would like you to meet Rhett. A valued member of my council, as well as chief of our law enforcement.” I introduced him and was thankful when both Kellen and Uncle Michael greeted him back with warm smiles and jovial handshakes.

“Well, gentlemen, shall we? The high council waits for no one.”