GIVEN TO THE TWIN ALPHA KINGS - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Delaney
It had been two days since the burden of the prophecy was placed right on my shoulders, without a warning. Two days since I disregarded it and left with my dad, back home to our pack. Two days since I told the alpha kings I couldn't be with them. Despite choosing what I felt was best and safe for me, I felt trapped.
"Why?" I mumbled in my empty room, staring blankly at the wall. Hollow; that is how my chest felt. The emptiness I was experiencing each second felt like an important part of me had been ripped out and left in the capital. My wolf thrashed incessantly inside of me, wanting her mates, our mates. She clawed; she was restless, and every time I tried to push the alpha kings out of my mind, she retreated so far back, I thought she was vanishing.
"Can I come in?" My dad asked, already walking into my room.
"You are already in," I shrugged, turning my attention back to the purple-painted walls.
He sat at the edge of my bed, letting out a loud sigh. "I did knock, honey, several times."
I closed my eyes, biting my lower lip. "I'm sorry," I croaked, the words barely making it out.
"Since we came back, you've only been out of this room twice and both times you were coming down for food, which you barely ate," he pointed out, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"A mate bond is not something you can just shake off, Delaney," he added. "Especially not when you have two mates. Your wolf wants them, and she will keep on pushing until..."
"I know, Dad, okay?" I snapped, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to stop the forming moisture in my eyes.
"No, you don't really know the extent of staying away from your mates," he insisted.
"I have tried to get her to see my side, to realise that the men she wants almost killed me. But she's forcing, pushing and I feel like I am losing it, like she's punishing me." I admitted, wincing as the pounding in my head intensified.
He pulled me into his side, embracing me as my shoulders shook, the sobs filling the room, even though they were muffled.
"If you keep denying the mate bond—"
"The werewolf community will collapse; Maribel made that clear," I interrupted harshly. "But am I just supposed to forgive and forget?" I pulled away, throwing my hands in the air.
"Yes, Delaney," he whispered, his voice breaking while I recoiled.
"They tried to kill me, Dad! You could have lost me at the hands of your friends." I drawled the last part, scooting away from him.
"Or are you taking sides with them because they are your friends? You are scared of them, aren't you?" I shook my head, crawling off the bed. It was official, everyone wanted me to move on with the alpha kings like nothing had happened.
"Yes, I am scared but not of them." I chuckled bitterly.
"If your wolf detaches from you because of the mate bond, you will become one of them," he continued, running his hand over his face.
"One of who?" I arched my brow, not bothering to wipe my tears.
"A rogue. You will lose your sanity, Delaney." I froze on my feet the moment he revealed, blinking rapidly as if I hadn't heard him clearly.
"No, no. I didn't have a wolf before, and I was perfectly sane."
"It's not the same anymore, she awakened, and she completes you. You just admitted you feel like you are losing it, Del," he explained, making me nod, a cycle of thoughts bombarding me.
"I don't want to accept them, Dad, but at the same time I do. And I have kept questioning myself, what kind of a person would accepting them make me?" I hung my face, suddenly feeling drained.
He got up from the bed and took my hands, the same way he did every time I used to panic about someone finding out I didn't have a wolf.
"Their betrayal was necessary for your wolf to awaken. I know you don't want to hear about the prophecy, but you can't deny that some of the things that were written about you have already come to pass." I snivelled, my wolf pushing for me to listen to my father.
"What am I going to do?" His face was blurred by my tears, but the pain in my heart remained sharp, turning my chest into a kiln.
"Take it one step at a time. I don't want to lose you, honey. I know it's selfish of me, but you are all I got," he admitted, his eyes glistening. Then all of a sudden he stilled, his eyes staring at me, without blinking.
"Dad?" I shook him, my pulse beginning to rise.
"It was the mind-link. Come with me." He pulled me towards the door, not even giving me the chance to make a choice.
"What happened?" I asked. He didn't answer, he led me down the stairs to the living room. A gasp left my mouth when the scent of cinnamon and lavender hit me, wafting through the door from outside. My wolf stilled, then started panting, pacing inside of me.
"No, Dad, I can't." I tried pulling my hand out of his grasp, but he didn't let me go until he opened the door and we stepped out.
The alpha kings were leaning on their SUV, looking unkempt. They had similar eye bags under their eyes. Kai stepped forward fast, his shoulder stiff, followed by Ronan, who looked like he had a permanent frown on his face. My wolf swished her tail, a warmth filling me. The very part I felt like had been torn when I left the mansion pulsated, beginning to fill.
"Delaney." It was Kai who spoke, his voice washing over my entire body, sinking into my bones.
"We came to say sorry," Ronan said, his voice thick.
Kai nodded. "And we won't stop saying it until it means something."
Despite everything, a part of me exhaled, as if it had been waiting for them.