The Delta's Daughter Chapter 78

Mathias

3 days until the full moon

When Lamia came to the table for dinner last night, I was pissed to see her not wearing the clothes I had sent with Tobias. She smelled like our housemaid's daughter, Ramona. I rubbed my eyes and tried not to get bent out of shape over another fucking rejection from her.

She sat with her father and Abner, in the furthest seat from me, and conversed freely with them. She even managed to hold a conversation with Tobias and Xander. Telling them about MacTire and the slaughter of the small Clan they found. She was asking them about a small girl, the only survivor who had been the one to alert them of the attack.

“Your highness?” I registered her voice and slowly turned my head, not quite believing she had addressed me. Seeing as she had ignored me through most of the fucking meal.

“Mmm?” I grunted.

“I was saying that I have grown quite fond of Petra, the little girl we found in our territory, and was asking if she could remain in my pack under my care?” irritation laced her words as she waited with bated breath for my answer.

“I wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with her, so, yah you can keep her.” I somehow don’t think that was what she was expecting, as her face burned red with anger, and her hands gripped her utensils tightly. I thought for sure she was going to throw them down the table at me, so I braced myself, waiting for the incoming objects. But they didn’t come. Instead, she asked another question. This time with a little venom as her emerald green eyes burned into me.

“I would like my shit back too.” Not what I was expecting.

“Your shit?”

“Yes, my swords, phone and pack I was carrying” she hissed. How could a woman as beautiful as the gods themselves, so innocent looking, be so… so… fiery and spunky? It was a major turn on, so different to the submissive whores I kept.

“They are locked in my office, secure. I will have them returned to you later this evening.” I promised.

“Good because if I don’t call my 2nd in command, then he will start mobilizing my troops and have them at the borders by the end of next week.”

I had excused myself early from the table. It seemed my little wolf got on well with everyone but me. The only time she spoke to me was about the young cub she had in her pack or to demand her stuff back. Other than that, she wouldn’t even spare me a glance. So I avoided her for the rest of the evening and this morning too.

It was all for the best anyway. Do I really want another mate? I didn’t think so, but every minute I wanted her more. Maybe it would be best if she did reject me. I felt a pinch in my chest at the thought and Arcas began growling in my head.

‘She is mate, we need her, I need her’. Arcas solemnly told me. ‘If she leaves I will die’

I was a little taken back by his statement, and I wasn’t sure if he was speaking metaphorically and realistically. Truth be told, he had been pretty placid since the little Shewolf had arrived. The anger, tension, and energy had simmered and wasn’t eating away at us like the constant plague that it is.

We were now three days away from the full moon and the thought of her rejection was tormenting Arcas' as well as my soul.

*****

I had Lamia placed on my floor, in the room next to mine, to be exact; having her near us soothed both beast and mind.

 I woke up in the dead of night to banging on my door. The storm outside was raging. The wind howled through the trees and whipped the snow into a blizzard.

In the distance I could hear thunder rumbling down the mountains. I looked at the clock. It said 2am. I was surprised I had managed to even fall asleep. I could scent Lamia’s sweet smell of brown sugar and vanilla. I thought it would keep me up, the little wolf only being one door away from me; apparently, it had lulled me to sleep.

I had never felt so calm in my life since she had been here. 

I got up and threw on a pair of shorts, looking out my window at the branch that had fallen on the roof and was knocking against one of the windows. The banging on my door continued.

Throwing it open, I found a panicked looking Tobias, arm raised ready to knock again and I saw Lamia stick her head out of her door in my peripheral vision.

“King your mind link was closed off. We have a situation. Patrols on the Southern kingdom border reported attacks before we lost contact with them. I sent men from the closest outpost, but this storm, Its making it difficult…” I could hear the worry in his voice and it was unlike Tobias “…Mat, this is not good, we have a few small tribes in the area and a large Clan, but I cannot reach the Alpha of that Clan.”

“Meet me in my office”, I told him, and closed the door to put on actual clothes instead of just my boxers.

When I made it downstairs a few minutes later, Tobias, Xander, Abner, Marcus and Lamia were already there. I cast my eyes over Lamia; she was wearing her tight black pants, top and jacket. The same thing she had arrived in.

“Brief me.” I barked as soon as I entered.

“Patrol on the southern side of the main kingdom reported 30min ago that they were under attack. We lost contact with them while on the phone,” Tobias offered.

“I called patrol on the southwest side and told them to immediately send a unit there. We haven’t heard from them. It could be the storm jamming communications”, Xander said, pulling up a map of our main territory and the central kingdom.

Lamia came and stood next to him as he pointed at locations while explaining. “This is where we found the massacred Clan,” she pointed to the map. “Several weeks after that there were some boroughs attacked, here and here just outside of MacTire territory. The evidence indicated the attacks were committed by wolves and bear shifters. However, my head councillor and law enforcement advisor was there for one of the attacks. And he claimed he saw a creature.”

“I remember seeing that report; do you think this may be related?” Abner asked her.

“I’m not sure, but Xander, you said you had attacks here and here and now here” She pointed the marks that Xander had made.

Every time she said Xander's name there was a little misstep in her voice, barely a crack, but I noticed it.

“Yes, this one was definitely done by rogue wolves, we were able to get there before they wiped out the Tribe." A heavy sigh left Xander's lips. “No prisoners, King killed them all.” Lamia rolled her eyes at me.

“Any other evidence?” She asked, looking around the men in the room.

“Yah actually.” I said, and walked around my desk to open the large in-wall safe I had. “Here, we found a silver-tipped arrow in one of the bodies. It had been dipped in nightshade. Deathly to were-bears.” I held out the arrow and a small gasp came from Lamia, her face went pale and she darted a look towards her father.

“Oliver.” She whispered, taking a step back and sitting on the arm of the couch closest to the window.

“Who is Oliver?” We all asked, except for her dad, looking confused.

“He was Silas’ Beta that escaped the day of the battle. He was the one who killed Zane, with an arrow exactly like that one, exactly like what we found at your Clan.” She was rubbing her temple while the other hand sat across her knees.

“We need to get out there. I will not sit here while my Clan members are attacked.” I stood up ready to head out, determined to at least get there and asses the damage.

“King, it’s suicide weather out there. It will take us at least an hour and a half to get there; maybe less if we take the snow mobiles.” Tobias warranted, but all out flat refusing to go.

“I’m coming with you. I can make it there in my beast form in an hour, providing someone knows where we are going?” Lamia stood up, a sure look of resolve on her face and her emerald eyes bright with courage. My little wolf certainly had grit.

“Give me my belongings please”. She held her hands out and I went back to the safe. The door was still open, so I reached in and grabbed her two swords, the beauty of the blades and their inscriptions not going unnoticed. They seemed to sing in my hands, much like my axe. I then handed her the back pack she also arrived with. She attached her swords to the back of her suit, reached into her pack and retrieved a small blade she pushed into her shoe.

“Give me a minute and I will come with you”, Marcus grumbled at his daughter.

“No dad, stay here. We all know I can handle myself; you and Abner will only slow us down. I’m sorry”, Putting a hand on her father’s shoulder, she leant in and kissed his cheek. “I think you should call mom and Uncle Alex, if you haven’t already.” She then offered a small smile “You should call Hunji as well before he starts a war. Explain to him what is going on here. I haven’t been able to link Kellen since being here, I think distance is interfering.” She pursued her lips and knotted her eyebrows in thought.

“Sweetheart… If you see Oliver…”

“Then he will meet the same fate as Silas.” She growled.

The three of us, myself, Tobias and Lamia walked out of the house to the tree line. The snow was deep and the wind was still whipping at a high speed, causing furious flurries. The icy snow and wind sticking to us. If it was anyone else, we would be crazy to go out in this weather. Tobias and I knew the kingdom like the back of our hands and could navigate it blind.

“Ready to go, princess? Hope you can keep up.” Tobias jested, poking at her ego and strapping his sword to his back.

“You worry about you, I can keep up.” Her light-hearted tone indicated she was not worried at all.

 Tobias and I both shifted into our bears, it was clear who the Alpha was. My bear was that much bigger and stronger. I held my battle axe in my large clawed paw, I would run on two legs instead of four, I was just as fast either way.

I don’t know why we expected Lamia to look like a normal wolf, even after being told she was a Dire Wolf, I still expected her to be normal size.

*Dude, she is fucking huge!* Tobias invaded my head.

He wasn’t wrong, on four legs she stood tall, her black as ink fur would be easy to see and the white stripe across her glowing green eyes, gave her a menacing and warrior look. Arcas was rumbling with approval, he thought her wolf form was strong and beautiful. I agreed.

Then out of the blue, as if her wolf form wasn’t stunning enough, she began to stand on her hind legs and morph into a big beautiful beast, something crossed between her wolf and a Lycan. Her height was that of a large black were-bear, and her front paws became clawed hands, her snout shortening.

Her suit had unclipped and was held to her back with elasticized fasteners, while her swords still sat smoothly sheathed and crossed on her back.

I looked at Tobias in his bear form, his jaw slack at the sight of her *That’s your mate?* He asked.

*Fucking MINE* Arcas and I both growled at him.

We set forth towards the Clan on the southern side of the kingdom, Lamia easily keeping up with us as we barreled through the heavily snow-covered ground and into the ramping blizzard.

*****

“OLIVER!” She screamed, running forward towards the cowardly rogue wolf that was retreating quickly.

I shot forward, catching Lamia by the waist, the sparks flying between my hand and the skin I was touching, holding her back from running.

“Let me go!” she screamed, thrashing in my arms, watching him disappear over the ridge. I held her tight against my chest. “Let me go!” She screamed at me again.

“NO. There will be another time. You would be a fool to chase him, Lamia.” I bit back, adding authority to my voice, even if commands did not work on her, I would try. “You are not thinking rationally, and that will get you killed.”