Page 213 of The Delta's Rogue
“Don’t kill him yet,” a commanding voice says from behind us. “We have questions for him.”
Selene floats towards usacross the grounds. The moonless night brightens as she draws nearer. Murmurs run through the crowd of Crescent Lake pack members as they watch her entrancing stroll. Many of them lower their heads in reverence while others crowd closer, hoping to get a glimpse of the goddess responsible for our existence.
Nolan glares at her. “Nice of you to join us,” he snaps.
Cassandra’s face pales at Nolan’s incivility. Of all of us—other than Haven—Nolan is the least…enamored…with the idea of Selene.
None of us blame him. Haven is practically his little sister. Anyone who hurts Haven ends up on Nolan’s shit list. Mix that protectiveness with the brutal rejection he endured at the hands of his first mate, and you get the pure ire dripping from Nolan’s hazel eyes as he watches Selene.
Selene pivots her head towards them. She looks first at Nolan then at Cassandra, and then back at Nolan. “I’m sorry. I’m not perfect.”
I’m not sure if she’s apologizing to him for what happened here or for what happened to him seven years ago.
“I was doing what I said I would do. What I promised Wesley I would do before I took Haven to Peter’s,” Selene continues.
“And what was that?”
“Stay with Haven until we had Lyall subdued, no matter what happened to any of us,” Wesley answers for her.
Wesley shoots Nolan a warning glare as he approaches. Nolan looks like he’s about to snap back at Wes, but he grimaces and clenches his teeth together, deciding against it.
Exhaustion and anguish weigh Wes down, painted across his face in tears and swollen eyes. He leaves Maddie behind, crumpled over our dad’s body with Cav curled up beside her.
Cassandra slips away from Nolan, taking Wesley’s place at Maddie’s side. Nolan tries to follow her, but Wesley’s glare bears down harder on him, and he stays in place.
So the four of us are together. Like we should be.
Together. Stronger.
Even if it won’t be that way for long.
Leaving will be that much harder now that my dad is gone. How can I leave behind my family after such a heavy loss? How can I abandon them when what we need is to stand together, to hold each other up, until we’re healed?
Not that any of us will ever truly heal from this.
“How is she?” Wesley asks Selene, his glare morphing into a concerned frown.
“She is safe.”
“And my mom? Is she— Did she—”
My heart flies into my throat as Wesley struggles to get the question out. Fresh tears fill his eyes and mine.
Our mom.
Losing a mate is one of the most painful things a werewolf or lycan can experience. The strongest of us can die from the death of a mate. Even with our parents being chosen mates, this loss will be brutal for her.
I hold my breath as we wait for Selene’s answer.
She takes Wesley’s hands in both of hers and squeezes them, her own eyes filling with unshed tears. “She is mourning, but she is strong.”
“Can— Can you…can you bring them back?” Reid stares at the smoking ground where Dominic used to be, and when he brings his gaze back to Selene, intense hope blazes in his eyes.
“You already know the answer to that question,” Selene whispers.
Reid’s jaw clenches. Nolan grips Reid’s shoulder, offering him his silent support. My lycan whimpers, and my heart aches at the confirmation that they’re both truly gone.
Two fathers taken from their children too soon. All because of some petty feud between Selene and Lyall’s “benefactor”.
