GIVEN TO THE TWIN ALPHA KINGS - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Delaney
I was seething as we drove from the town, heading for the alpha kings' estate in the outskirts of the capital. I refused to sit near Ronan, not after the stunt Vex had pulled, right in my presence. Thoughts about Deborah, the murdered young woman, were still floating in my mind, fuelling the simmering feeling inside. So, Kai sat between us, separating Ronan and me. In the passenger seat, Nyra chatted on her phone before she turned.
"Carter just said hi." She broke the silence, reading between the lines. Even the chauffeur's back was stiff, probably feeling the tension in the car.
"He wasn't in the pack when you came; he was taking one of his trips around the kingdom," she added. I missed Carter, despite the fact that I was still conflicted about what I saw regarding the night I fell from the balcony.
I sighed. "I miss him, is he okay?"
Ronan growled lowly, while Kai tensed beside me, making me raise a brow. I was tempted to ask them questions, but I kept the thoughts aside.
"He's been trying to reach out to you over the phone." As Nyra spoke, my eyes closed as the sudden image of Rick stepping on my phone in the dungeons invaded my mind.
"Tell him that my phone was broken by one of the alpha kings' guards in the dungeon while I was trying to contact Dad," I explained, my voice going up an octave.
"Stress the dungeon part," I added, looking at Kai, then at Ronan. Both men looked away, finding the window suddenly interesting.
"Wait," Nyra stated. "Did the guard pay for that?" she asked.
I leaned on the seat, curling my hands into hard balls on my lap as I recalled what Rick had put me through. The way he restrained me against the wall, violating me in the worst possible way. I could hear an echo of every insult he had directed at me, his vile touch on my skin, and his disgusting body against mine.
"Stop the car," I blurted, the contents of my stomach churning violently.
"You're crying," Nyra pointed out, making me wipe the tears furiously.
I gripped the back of her seat, a sudden rush of heat coursing on my skin. "S-t-o-p the damn car!" I gripped the handle and pulled it, the tightness in my stomach intensifying.
"Please listen to her, something is wrong," Nyra begged, looking at the alpha kings. I could feel their gaze on me, but I couldn't look at them. I pressed my hand against my mouth, the taste of bile creeping up my throat, sharp and bitter. Ronan was the one who finally ordered the chauffeur to pull over. The moment the car came to a halt, I bolted out and ran beside the road, right on the first line of trees.
"Delaney!" I didn't know at that moment who called, Kai or Ronan. I bend over, heaving the contents out, my body convulsing. I felt two hands on my back, rubbing as the pressure in my gut intensified, demanding to be released.
"You are doing well," Nyra soothed, but that didn't help. The putrid smell of the contents triggered another wave until there wasn't anything left. My wolf was quiet inside, sharing the horror of my memories of Rick. Every time I relived his touch, I felt like something slimy was crawling up my skin.
When I was eventually done, I was handed a bottle of water. No words were said as I was led back to the car, each man holding me gently. I expected their touch to remind me of Rick, but instead it soothed me. The rest of the drive was uneventful. I was back to sitting between my mates, but no word was said. It was like they understood I needed the peace, relaxing as they held me.
"What happened?" That was the first thing Maribel asked as she hugged me when we stepped into the mansion.
I smiled weakly, relaxing in her warm embrace. "I missed you." I shifted the conversation, trying so hard to push every thought about Rick. I didn't know why the memories were being replayed in my mind. Maybe it was because I was back in the capital, it might have acted as a trigger when I mentioned the dungeons.
"I am glad you are back, my child. You made the right decision," she praised, smoothing my hair.
"Who's your friend?" She pulled away, smiling at Nyra.
"My name is Nyra, pleased to meet you, ma'am." Nyra stretched out her hand for a handshake.
"You can call me Maribel." She pulled her in for a hug.
"And you," she turned to the alpha kings. "You are lucky she is back. After what you did, I wasn't sure she would accept you as her mates." She scolded them but looked at them with nothing but a warmth only a grandmother could offer.
"We are lucky indeed," Kai responded, throwing a glance at me. Ronan kept quiet but gave Maribel a nod anyway and then excused himself.
"Where is Elias?" I asked Maribel, looking around.
"He had some errands to run," she explained.
"At night?" I asked, observing her.
She shifted on her feet, raising questions in my head. "He will be back in the morning. He did mention about your friend's room, though."
The alpha kings had tasked him with getting Nyra a room when she had insisted on coming with me. We had tried convincing them to let us share a room, but they ultimately insisted that their wing was only theirs and mine.
"Now onto serious business. Do you know what that message on the note means?" Ronan asked.
Maribel signed. "No. Have you brought it? I can study it better physically."
"Unfortunately Delaney asked me to stop when I went to lift the paper. Then she suddenly fell ill," Kai explained, while Maribel squinted her eyes.
"Why did you tell him to stop? Was it a gut feeling?" she questioned, hands interlocked, tapping her thumbs together.
I nodded, swallowing hard. I didn't have to tell her that I felt like something was wrong with it, because somehow she had figured it was just a gut feeling.
"What about you three? Did you feel anything?" Nyra, Ronan and Kai confirmed that they hadn't felt anything. Upon their answer, Maribel's eyes widened, only for a split second before they went back to their normal size.
"I was sweating, unable to breathe properly when I went near the paper, only to feel good when we stepped out of the room." I felt the need to explain to her.
"Listen," she said, lifting her head, her gaze falling on the alpha kings. "Do not touch that paper, not under any circumstances."
"What do you mean?" Ronan asked, pulling his head back.
"Delaney is special, you know that by now. In the prophecy, her wolf, the red wolf, would be magical. Meaning, she would be able to sense magic," Maribel explained, her words making me blink as they sank in.
"That is not what you told us when you were revealing the prophecy," Kai countered.
"There are a few parts I left out, like this one, given the circumstances then. Delaney was leaving, and I needed her to know the prophecy without dwelling on it. Anyway, that is beside the point." She paused.
"The reaction you experienced was your wolf sensing magic, dark magic to be precise. Pure magic would have brought a warm, nice feeling, not a feeling of sickness," Maribel explained.
"So you are saying that the paper has dark magic?" I asked, tapping my foot on the floor.
"Yes, and no one can touch it because we do not know its effects," Maribel warned.
Ronan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, that might be hard considering the fact that Jeriah has already handled it multiple times."