Chapter Ten
Thirsty, Delta slipped out of bed, his entire body infused with a wonderful ache. After he swiped his boxers off the floor and pulled them on, he walked to the glass balcony door, staring out into the darkness.
Since the lights in Kalen's bedroom were off, Delta could see perfectly outside without any interference from reflections on the glass.
Running his fingers over the spot where Kalen had bitten him, he remembered how his orgasm had felt like an actual explosion inside of him.
And now he was mated to Kalen, his big, gorgeous wolf shifter who had simply appeared in Delta's life and… A thought began to form in his head, a realization that started to steal his breath and make him tremble.
Oh my god!
If he was mated to Kalen… Did that mean… Elvine had kept calling him Daddy Frost. At the time, Delta had simply thought she was a bit bonkers. The fairy, shit, fae did have an odd personality.
But now it made sense. He wished it didn't. Delta was only twenty-five years old. Too young to become a stepfather to three grown wolf shifters probably hundreds of years older than him.
Oh boy. He pressed his palm to his forehead, feeling a bit dizzy.
Swear, if anyone started calling him mommy, he was going to flip the hell out. No, no, no. Delta didn't want to be a parent and never had the desire to start a family, especially when he was fabulously screwing up his own life.
A kid didn't stand a chance with him.
They're grown, moron. What're you panicking about?
He just needed to creep downstairs and grab something cold to drink and maybe search for a parenting pamphlet on how to raise three adult wolf shifter stepsons.
Kalen probably had them lying all around the house.
Stealing the guy's black T-shirt from the floor, Delta slipped it on then held the fabric to his nose with a tiny grin. The material smelled just like his mate.
Dark and smoky, only stronger, more concentrated in the fabric. He wasn't sure what combination of cologne, deodorant, and body wash Kalen used, but the blend created a masculine scent that would drive any woman or gay man wild.
The shirt also reached his legs mid-thigh. Thankfully, it was long enough to cover his underwear and leave him with some dignity if he was caught roaming the house.
Delta quickly grabbed his cell phone when the screen lit up. The light was bright as hell in the darkened room. It was a text message from a number he didn't recognize, the sender telling their mom they were on their way home.
The mother wouldn't get the text since it was sent to the wrong number, so Delta replied, making them aware of their mistake. He also saw it was 3:47 a.m.
In three hours and thirteen minutes, he had to be at work. But he didn't even have a change of clothes at Kalen's and didn't want to wear the same ones he'd had on yesterday.
Since he would have to wake up Kalen to drive him to work anyway, he didn't feel so guilty about making his mate get up an extra hour early to take him home.
But first, something to quench his thirst. He glanced at Kalen's sleeping form. Even in his sleep, his mate seemed to radiate strength and sexiness, and Delta had to fight the urge to straddle his lean hips again.
I still want to ride his beard .
If he didn't rip his gaze away from the gorgeous hunk, he wouldn't make it out of the room. The sheet had slipped aside, revealing Kalen's naked, honed body, causing Delta's fingers to itch for another chance to touch him all over.
Drink!
He eased out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. It was bad enough Kalen had to get up at the ass-crack of dawn, but Delta didn't want to make any noise and disturb him any sooner than he had to. Let the man sleep until the very last second.
That was how Delta woke up every morning. In a frenzy.
His mate's house was pretty darn big. Since Delta knew diddly-squat about square footage, he wasn't going to even hazard a guess at just how ginormous it was. He just knew it was large enough that it felt like a mission to get from Kalen's room to the top of the steps.
As Delta glanced around the upstairs hallway, he wondered which junior slept in which room. To hell with it. If he'd officially become a daddy, he was going to have fun with it.
At least in his head. Delta still didn't want anyone calling him mommy. Or even daddy for that matter. It would just be plain weird.
Too late. Elvine has officially renamed you.
Freaking fantastic.
But Delta snickered when he thought of introducing the twins and Jax as his sons. More than one eyebrow would raise.
Finally, Delta made it to the kitchen. The room still smelled like burned noodles. Now he knew to leave Kalen alone when the man was cooking. Clearly, he was a distraction for his mate.
Admittedly, Delta liked being someone's distraction. Just as long as Kalen didn't burn down the house.
Standing in front of the numerous cupboards, he wondered which one contained the drinking glasses. There was only one way to find out. As Delta opened and closed cabinet doors, he became aware that someone had come into the room. When he felt someone watching him, he turned around and saw a muscular guy standing by the table.
"You must be Damon's mate."
He was the only family member Delta hadn't met.
"Yes."
The guy gave a tight-lipped smile, his brown eyes observing Delta a little too closely, just as Arion had done earlier.
Did this guy think Delta was a threat to his pregnant mate as well? Was his silent observation supposed to be some sort of intimidation tactic? Jesus. Shifters needed to chill out. Delta was going to choke to death on the high levels of testosterone in this house.
"Look, you have nothing to worry about. I'm hardly a threat to Damon."
Why did the guy continue to stare so intensely? Delta was starting to feel uneasy, and he didn't have Kalen there as a buffer.
He really wanted to be at ease with the Frosts, not uptight and anxious, but Mr. Stoic was killing any chance of that happening. The combination of his dark eyes and short, spiky hair, shrouded in shadows in the dim kitchen, caused horror movies scenes to come to mind. Thankfully, Delta could see both hands lacked a slasher knife.
Seriously, how could someone as humorous as Damon end up with someone as somber and… kind of creepy, if you ask Delta, as this guy.
So far, aside from Arion, everyone seemed pretty warm. But at least Arion had eventually returned Delta's greeting.
"I'm sorry. It's just late, and I'm tired."
Damon's mate waved a dismissive hand. "Don't pay me any mind."
He chuckled and flicked his temple then said as he yawned, "I kind of zoned out for a minute. I think I fell asleep on my feet just now."
His charming smile made Delta feel more at ease. "I only woke up because I'm thirsty. Trust me. I'm going back to sleep."
"Hey, I was wondering if you might help me with something."
The man moved slightly to his right, which caused his features to become even more shrouded as he spoke.
"What do you need help with?"
Delta reached for the pitcher of tea in the fridge. As he poured it into his glass, he could smell the sweetness like little popping fragrances filling his nose. Ooh . There were even whole strawberries floating in the pitcher, one of his favorite fruits. He took a long sip, feeling the cool liquid soothe his parched throat.
"I can show you better than I can tell you,"
Damon's mate replied.
"Show me what?"
Delta set his glass down and continued, "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name, and I don't remember Damon mentioning it. I'm Delta, in case no one told you. We didn't get a chance to meet earlier."
"I'm aware of your name."
There was something about the man's sly smile that made him uneasy.
"And what's your name?"
Delta pressed, a sense of foreboding creeping over him. The guy glanced toward the kitchen doorway, his eyelids barely cracked open. His arm twitched, and Delta noticed the guy's hands flexing.
His smirk turned menacing. "You can just call me Mr. Fox."
A sinking realization struck him. This man was not Damon's mate.
"Looks like you're starting to figure it out,"
Mr. Fox said with a hint of amusement. "It was very considerate of you to let me know I sent my message to the wrong person. Your reply not only told me that you were awake, but the bright screen showed me exactly where in the house you were located, Delta."
Hearing his name on the stranger's lips sounded icky, making him shudder with revulsion. It also dawned on him that Mr. Fox had sent that text on purpose.
"All I had to do was wait for your next move. Nighttime thirst really sucks, doesn't it?"
"Whichello sent you,"
Delta managed to say with a trembling voice.
Mr. Fox's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer.
"Scream or give away my presence, and my friend outside will torch this place. He's pretty skilled at creating fast and devastating fires, so think twice before you open your mouth,"
he warned.
"What're you going to do, kill me right here?"
Delta sounded a lot braver than he felt.
He didn't know if Mr. Fox was lying about his friend, but he couldn't risk everyone's lives by calling his bluff.
Mr. Fox motioned to the right with a jerk of his head. "Quietly walk out the back door, and remember, lives depend on your cooperation."
Delta's heart was already pounding loudly, but when Arion casually strolled into the kitchen, his face glued to the screen of his phone, he was completely unaware of the danger he was walking into. Delta quickly moved toward him, pushing the small man behind him and causing Arion's phone to fall to the floor with a loud clatter.
"Snatching two wasn't part of the deal."
Mr. Fox's expression hardened as he drew a gun from the back of his waistband and aimed it at them. "Step aside, Delta."
"Fuck you."
He held out his arms to shield Arion. "And stop saying my goddamn name like you know me."
Arion poked his head around Delta's side and asked, "Is that a gun?"
Did the guy have no sense of self-preservation? Jesus. He pushed Arion's head back behind him.
"You'll have to shoot me before I let you kill him,"
Delta stated defiantly. Did you really just challenge this lunatic to shoot you?
But Mr. Fox had said "snatch,"
which led Delta to believe he wasn't here to kill him. He prayed he was right, even though the gun suggested otherwise.
"Move away from him now,"
Mr. Fox ordered, his voice low and threatening.
It was one thing for this maniac to threaten him, but Arion's scars said the man had seen enough pain. Plus, he had a baby on the way.
Delta knew what it was like to grow up without a father, and he would be damned if he allowed the innocent child to lose one of their parents because Leo was a piece of garbage for starting all of this in the first place. "No,"
he replied evenly.
A deafening bang filled the room. Delta felt a searing pain in his gut as something hot pierced through his body. He looked at Mr. Fox with wide eyes and witnessed Arion moving lightning-fast across the room to tackle the stranger. Then Delta's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the floor.