Chapter 2

Delaney

I sat on the edge of Kai's hotel couch, rocking back and forth as thoughts bombarded my mind from every corner.

"What just happened?" I whispered to the empty room, my right hand above my chest. One minute I was watching Alpha Ronan devour a woman in his hotel suite, and the next I was dripping in rogue blood. I couldn't decide what terrified me more: the rogue jumping towards me, Roman's recurring sex scene in my mind or the way Kai's arms around me made me feel safe and needy at the same time.

"You shouldn't have been out there." Kai emerged from the bathroom, dressed in grey sweats that outlined his member pretty well. I shifted on the couch, snapping my eyes away from his front. I couldn't believe that within a span of a few minutes, I had seen both alpha king twins nude, and damn, were their bodies a sight for my sore eyes.

"I can handle myself," I replied, my voice sounding rough.

"Not against that." His voice sounded almost monotonous.

"I am not an alpha's daughter for nothing. I can defend myself," I retorted, tapping my right foot on the carpeted floor.

"An alpha's daughter who can't tell when a rogue is cloaked?" He let out a light mocking chuckle.

"Cloaked?" I asked, tilting my head.

Kai nodded, his jaw tight. "That rogue did not have any smell on it, not until I killed it. Otherwise it wouldn't have managed to get past anyone without their usual sewer-like smell selling it out," he explained, making me narrow my eyes.

"B-ut, how is that possible?" I pressed, shifting on the seat yet again.

Before he could answer, the door burst open. His brother Alpha King Ronan, followed by my father, strode in, dressed. They were clean, as if they hadn't fought or even transformed.

"You're covered in blood; are you okay?" My father observed, closing the distance between us.

"It's not my blood," I chuckled, trying to calm down my dad.

"It's the rogue's; she disobeyed you." Kai threw me under the bus, his eyes dancing with amusement when I glared at him.

"I told you to stay in your room, Delaney! How could you endanger yourself like that?" my father roared, his alpha power rolling off him in waves, though I could feel the alpha kings' aura overpowering his.

"Why do I train if I can't use the skills when need be?" I muttered, casting my eyes on the floor.

"Because you don't have a..." He stopped himself from finishing the statement, making me snap my eyes to him. No one was supposed to know what he was about to say, and he knew I wouldn't forgive him if he blurted my secret out, especially to the alpha kings.

Ronan stood between us, facing him. "She disobeyed you, yes. But we wouldn't have known that the attack was coordinated," he spoke.

"What do you mean by coordinated? Rogues are feral beasts, unable of planning a good attack." My father took a step back but sent a glare my way, sending a silent communication that he would deal with me later.

"First of all, they retreated when I stepped out, all of them except..."

"The one that made it to the hotel," Kai finished his brother's statement.

"Rogues fight to death; they have nothing to lose. So why would they run away when they sensed me?" Ronan's question only raised more questions than answers.

"This town is bordered by the neutral grounds on the north, and this hotel is near the border. It's not the first time rogues have been sighted lurking around the border either," my father clarified, looking at the two alpha kings.

"We came to inspect the situation because you called us at the headquarters, saying that the rogues seemed to camp just outside this territory in organised groups. Is that right, Alpha Thorne?" Kai asked, arching his eyebrow. I could only tell them apart because Kai was shirtless; otherwise, I would have been left guessing as to who was who.

"Yes," my father spat.

"Then the night we arrive is the same night they decide to invade the pack, with their scents cloaked. Doesn't that make you question the entire thing?" It was Ronan who spoke, exchanging a look with his brother.

"But only witches can cloak scents..." My father trailed off.

"Meaning, they are working with a witch," Kai finished, making my father run his hands on his face.

"But witches don't exist," I chimed in, looking at the three men alternately.

"There are so many things that you don't know, honey," my father began, sitting down beside me.

"Then tell me," I almost begged.

"Can we talk to you alone?" Alpha Kai joined in, cutting off mine and my father's conversation. My father opened his mouth to speak but quickly pressed his lips together in a firm line and then nodded, standing up. I knew that the three men had mind-linked with each other, keeping whatever they were saying away from my prying ears.

Minutes went by as they conversed via the mind link, keeping me floating in whatever was going on. A weird feeling began to bubble inside the more silence filled the room.

"Go get your things from your hotel room," my father instructed, his eyes not meeting mine. His voice trembled a bit, even though he was trying to keep it steady.

"The Alpha Kings will accompany you home, and there you will pack your essentials and..." He couldn't finish the statement without swallowing hard.

"What do you mean, pack my things, Dad?" I stood up, looking at him, trying to read something out of his demeanour.

"I am so sorry, Delaney. If only there was something I could do to change things and make this territory safe for you. If the rogues managed to breach the town, they might as well advance deeper into the pack, into our homes," he continued, his words heavy.

"I don't understand, Dad. What do the rogues have to do with me packing?" I held his hand, attempting to look into his eyes.

"You are coming with us," I don't know who spoke between the Alpha Kings, because my gaze directed at my dad didn't waver.

"Why? Just because a rogue got into the hotel room?" I shouted, letting go of my dad's hand.

"Yes, Delaney. The alpha kings' guards just raided the rogues camps outside the borders, in the neutral grounds." He paused, heaving a deep sigh.

"They discovered a paper scribbled with your full name, Delaney Imara Thorne, alongside a picture of you in the lobby earlier today." I opened my mouth to speak, but no word could come out. What could werewolves who had lost their humanity possibly want with me?

"You were the target today, and until we find out why, you will be safe with us at our estate," one of the twins spoke, his voice low and rough.

How was I going to live with the same men my body was craving, knowing well that they were not only the alpha kings but also my dad's close friends and age mates?