Page 168 of The Delta's Rogue
“Sarina.” The male crosses his arms and stares at the back of her head with a smirk that is nearly identical to the one she loves to give me.
She spins around so fast she almost falls off the deck railing, and my lycan lunges to hold her in place. But before he can grab her, she’s running across the deck towards him.
“Micah!”
Wesley tosses me my pants as I shift back to human form. Now I know why the newcomer’s nose looks familiar. It’s the same nose as King Malachi’s.
Sarina hugs her brother. “When did you get here?”
I tug my sweats on and hop over the railing and onto the deck.
“Just a bit ago,” Micah replies.
“Dad said you’d be coming later.”
“It’s later, isn’t it?” He winks at me.
Sarina returns to my side and wraps her arms around my waist. “Sebastian, this is my brother, Micah.”
“I remember you.” I shake his hand, memories unlocking in my mind like they did when I learned Sarina’s true identity. “You glued your dad’s wine glass to the table at dinner the first night we were there.”
He laughs, and his broad smile matches the grin I saw on King Malachi’s face this morning. “It’s nice to finally meet you again, Sebby.”
My jaw clenches as I avoid releasing a snarl of annoyance. “Sebastian,” I say instead. “Or Seb. But not Sebby. Never Sebby.”
“Sorry, it’s habit. Growing up, all I ever heard from Sarina was ‘Sebby this’ and ‘Sebby that’.” The pitch of his voice raises as he teases his sister.
Wesley covers his mouth as he coughs out a laugh.
“Micah!” Sarina hisses through her teeth, glancing up at me with heated cheeks.
I smile and squeeze her hip to assuage her embarrassment. “Sarina is the only one who can call me that without it bothering me.”
“It doesn’t bother you when Haven calls you ‘Sebby’ either,” Wesley points out.
I shrug. “I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.”
“I get it.” Micah shoves his hands in his pockets.
“You don’t like when others call you ‘Mike’?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No one calls me that. But my full first name is Michaiah, and I never let anyone use it because I hate it.” As soon as the confession leaves his lips, he whips his head side to side and his eyes dart around. “Don’t let my dad hear that, though,” he says under his breath.
“Your parents aren’t here right now,” Wesley reassures him. “They went to Crescent Lake to grab some groceries and other supplies for everyone.”
Micah’s shoulders slump in relief.
Sarina yawns, turning her face into my side to try to hide it from me, but I see it anyway, plus I sense her exhaustion through the bond. I probably pushed her too hard, making her run so I could chase after her, but I don’t think either of us regrets it.
“Come on.” I take her hand and lead her towards the house.
Before I can reach the back door, Rune rushes out from the house, followed by Steele and Landon.
“We found the traffickers,” Rune says, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. “We found their headquarters.”
“You found them? Thetraffickers?” I shove myself away from Sebastian and dart towards Rune. “Where?”
“In the desert. It’s an old, abandoned hotel off a rarely used highway, basically in the middle of nowhere.”
