GIVEN TO THE TWIN ALPHA KINGS - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Delaney
After my mates left me in the dining room pondering about my misplaced choices, I finally came up with a brilliant idea. There was a way to stop our women from being kidnapped under our noses, used up for rituals by the dark witches and later dumped back into the kingdom. To make it work, I however needed Elias, so I had to suck it up and go talk to him.
"We need to talk," I said when I found him in the kitchen, exchanging a conversation in hushed voices with Maribel.
"What's there to talk about, Delaney?" Elias asked, raising a brow.
"I'll be in the pantry," Maribel excused herself, leaving the kitchen to us.
"I'm sorry for avoiding you these past days. It's just that I got hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me that you were a witch," I spoke, taking in a deep breath. I couldn't have my mates and Elias too, not talking to me.
"You didn't trust me with your secret either, Delaney. It goes both ways," he pointed out, leaning on the counter.
"I know," I whispered. "But Elias, surely, put yourself in my shoes..." I trailed off, swallowing hard.
"What would you have done if you found out that you almost died and almost got raped for something your friend did and didn't tell you?" I forced the words out, the mere utterance of them pushing back memories of Rick that I didn't want to remember. Or the rope tightening around my neck, with hundreds of people watching.
"I'd be mad and pretty hurt," Elias answered.
"The first day you walked into this mansion, I felt an abnormal pull to protect you," he began, while I sat on a kitchen stool.
"I also knew that you had no wolf, and I swore to protect your secret no matter what. If I had known that it would land you in the dungeons, I wouldn't have. I hurt you, Delaney, and for that I am sorry." I pressed my lips together, heaving out a breath.
"You are like the brother I never had," I admitted, feeling my eyes beginning to burn. The admission even surprised me, but it felt true.
"I was so mad I didn't even thank you for saving my life and for saving Kai's life from Lucy's poison," I continued, trying to rein in the growing knot in my stomach. Isn't it weird to feel this type of connection with a person I don't even know that much? I thought.
Elias gave a crooked smile. "Well, I have been known to be charming."
"Don't let Nyra hear you," I laughed, slapping his side gently.
"How about I make it up to you?" He wiggled his eyebrows, walking over to me.
"Actually, I know how you can," I smiled, blinking back tears. It felt good to be back on good terms with Elias.
He chuckled. "I should have known you wanted something from me. But do tell, if I can do it, I will."
"You were able to mask the turkey, kill the rogues and also awaken my wolf." I lifted my eyes to him.
He sat beside me, placing his elbows on the counter. "So what are you getting at?"
"I was thinking, can you cast a protection spell around the entire kingdom? That way, intruders won't be able to get past your magic or breach the borders," I revealed, holding my breath, waiting for his answer.
He took some seconds, probably evaluating my suggestion. "It would require a lot of magic, a lot of power that I don't think I have."
"It isn't impossible, though." Maribel's voice rang out as she walked into the kitchen.
"Were you eavesdropping?" I asked, eyeing a laughing Maribel.
She shrugged. "Of course. And I am glad I did because that is a brilliant idea, my child," she dismissed, letting out a light laugh.
"Right," I muttered. "So Elias, Maribel just said it's not impossible. Think about it: we'd be saving a lot of lives. Who knows how many more she-wolves the dark witches are planning to kill?"
"I have never performed a large spell like this one, I..." He trailed off, tapping his index finger over his lips.
"You can channel power from the alpha kings," Maribel suggested, and as much as it sounded good, I didn't want to involve my mates.
"No, I didn't want them to know." I shook my head, getting off the stool.
Elias looked at me like I was saying something crazy, something out of the world. "You want me to perform a spell to secure the kingdom borders without informing the rulers of the kingdom?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows.
"They won't talk to me or even look at me, Elias. I want to do this for them, to show them that they come first." I knew I sounded crazy, but maybe stepping up and taking my future Luna role seriously could prove to them that I was there to stay, that I wasn't sidelining them.
"So this is not about the safety of the kingdom anymore?" Maribel probed, crossing her arms.
"It is, you know what? Forget it." I threw my hand in the air.
"I will do it, but like Maribel said, it might not work if I don't channel enough power," Elias stated, his words warming my heart, lighting up some ephemeral hope inside.
I could feel my wolf stirring, trying to communicate something to me. "You don't need my mates," I stated, waving my hand in the air.
"My wolf is magical, Maribel. If Elias channels its powers, then it will make the spell even more solid," I excitedly said, reigning in the urge to jump up and down when my wolf howled inside. It was what she had been trying to communicate with me all along.
"Absolutely not, Delaney! You are not endangering yourself. No way." Elias shook his head, looking for Maribel for backup.
"It is actually a very good idea. Her magic combined with yours will ensure that any breach of the border will result in instant death for the intruder. However," she paused, spotting a frown on her face.
"If you do this, the borders will be linked to you, and should the dark witches manage to breach the spell, then one of you might die," she finished.
"And if they reverse the spell completely?" Elias asked, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
Maribel closed her eyes, then answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then the power of the spell breaking and collapsing will kill you, both of you."