GIVEN TO THE TWIN ALPHA KINGS - Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Delaney
As soon as I left my bedroom, I went straight to Maribel's room instead of Nyra's. The tension between my legs was still pulsing, a cruel constant reminder of what Kai and Ronan had denied me. I threw my hands in the air, cursing them under my breath. Before I knocked at Maribel's door, I stood outside, drawing in quick breaths to calm myself down. I leaned on the wall beside the door, eyes closed, willing my heartbeatto slow down to normal.
"Will you stand there the whole night?" She opened the door abruptly, catching me off guard and making me jump.
"Jesus, Maribel, you scared me," I breathed, placing my hand on my chest. "How did you even know I was here?" I asked, eyeing her.
She smiled, beckoning me inside. "I told you my senses are always on point."
"So tell me, trouble in paradise?" She arched a brow, sitting on the sofa near the foot of her bed. There was a half-crocheted blue scarf, a ball of yarn and a crochet hook on the sofa.
"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled, sitting down beside her. Her room smelt of jasmine, a smell that was once my favorite; it reminded me of my mom.
"My mom used to crochet a lot," I began, picking up the scarf and the crochet hook.
"I still remember her trying to teach a 7-year-old me how to crochet a scarf for my doll," I continued, chuckling at how horrible I was at it. After all, I had been a child, and I hated it, because what I wanted was to play, not sit down and crochet.
"I miss her so much and my dad," I paused, biting the inside of my cheek. "He misses her too," I added. At that moment, I would have given anything to see my mom, to tell her about my annoying mates.
Maribel placed her hand on mine, but her eyes were staring intospace, glistening as if she was in deep thought.
"Have I said something that hurt you?" I asked, scooting closer to her. I could see the struggle in her eyes, an emotion that I couldn't describe, but it was there.
She forced a smile, blinking back the tears. "I am sure wherever your mom is, she thinks about you too."
"Honestly, it's been over fourteen years since she just vanished. Deep down I know she is not alive, because if she were, she would find a way to come back to me, to my dad." I swallowed, soothing the growing lump in my throat. "Despite knowing that I find it hard to admit that she is gone forever." My voice trembled, the inside of my eyes burning.
"There is something I need to tell you before we go." Her grip on my hand trembled, so did her voice.
My curiosity piqued, and I remembered that she wanted to tell me something when I came to the mansion. Even before I found out that the alpha kings were my mates.
"Delaney," she said, taking my other hand when I let go of the scarf and the hook.
"I am—"
Her phone ringing interrupted her. Elias's name lit up the screen.
She answered immediately. "Yes?" Elias spoke on the other side, while her eyes flicked to mine.
"Actually, there is no need to wait until midnight, because Delaney is already here. We will be right there," she said, ending the call.
"But you were to tell me something?" I complained, blinking rapidly.
"It can wait," she said softly, getting up. "Innocent lives can't."
I heaved a loud sigh, standing up. She was right, the spell would really come in handy. So with my heart beginning to race, I walked towards the door as she draped a shawl over her shoulders.
The backyard was bathed in beautiful moonlight, with Elias standing behind the orchard. According to him and Maribel, the guards contacted a round of patrol and wouldn't go for another one for at least 30 minutes, so we had time. Elias had arranged candles in a circle, with the map of the kingdom representing the five packs and the capital in the middle. Besides the candles, there were several small bowls of water and soil. In the centre of it was a small heap of sea salt.
"I have performed a cloaking spell around the circle. We wouldn't want the alpha kings to hear us, or would we?" he teased, ushering me inside the circle, beside the map.
"Are you ready?" he asked, standing to my side, while Maribel stood outside the circle of candles. She gave me a nod of reassurance, and that is all I needed to give Elias a go-ahead.
"I need you to close your eyes and just concentrate. You will lose strength, but if you start nose bleeding, then I will have to stop, whether the spell is completed or not."
"Why would I nosebleed?" I asked, pulling my eyebrows together.
"Because this spell will suck strength from you and your wolf," Maribel answered as Elias reached for my hand and raised the other one toward the moon.
He began whispering, his voice soothing yet commanding. "Kwa hewa, kwa maji, kwa moto na kwa ardhi, ninaziita nguvu za mwezi na zako, ewe mbwa mwitu mwekundu." I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel a buzzing flowing from my hand to Elias's and a pull between us.
"Nainua ukuta wa ulinzi, mashariki, magharibi, kaskazini na kusini. Ninaunganisha na nguvu zangu na za red wolf." His voice rose with each word, making the wind pick up. I opened my eyes as the candles flared to life in large flames.
And then I felt it, a tug, from deep in my chest, head, from my bones, my blood. It was like a magnetic force pulling everything outward. My knees buckled as I sank down onto my knees with Elias squeezing my hand. The sound of my bones snapping came next, eliciting a loud scream as my body shifted. It was a good thing Elias had performed a cloaking spell.
"Aah!" I threw my head back, claws extending, bone after bone realigning, sucking the breath out of me. I could feel power rippling through me in waves with each scream, as skin turned into fur, my wolf taking over forcefully.
Then my wolf stood proud, tail high, chest heaving, soaking up the energy that danced in the air as Elias continued chanting louder and louder.
"What the hell..." Maribel whispered, and when I looked at my paws, they were glowing red on top of the map. I had no idea how I ended up stepping on it, but each paw was on the corners of the map. The salt that had been in the centre had spread under the glow of my paws, aligning itself around the lines of the map, like a wall. I felt a certain pull towards the moon, prompting me to lift up my snout towards the sky. Then just like that, the glow faded, the wind stilled and Elias dropped to one knee.
"It's done," Maribel exhaled deeply, stepping into the circle, between Elias and me. I shifted back, breathless, clutching Maribel's shawl as she draped it on me. I stood easily, even though Maribel insisted on helping me up.
"You should barely be...conscious," Elias said, tilting his head, looking at Maribel. I felt a weird connection to him, not like mates but a bond of some sort. It was hard to explain how I felt.
"But I feel fine; actually, I feel more energetic than I felt before coming here," I confessed, shrugging, only for my knees to give way suddenly.
As I sank on the ground, my head was pulled back by an invisible force. I felt as if an axe was cracking my skull; my back arched, chest pushed forward. Then it hit, a blinding light right behind my eyelids, pushing forward a string of 6 female bodies, laid in a circle of fire. I couldn't stop the vision as a tall cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, dark.
The person pointed at me. "You are too late," she spat, then broke into a loud cackle that left my ears ringing, and just like that, I was jolted back to reality.