Delilah Restrained (Destined Mates 2)

Delilah Restrained (Destined Mates 2)
Ashlynn Monroe
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2015 Ashlynn Monroe

"Vash! Where is my nephew? Why were the boy and his mate not brought to me?"

Reyhan was not a man Vash wanted to piss off, but sometimes it was unavoidable. This was one of those times. "Alpha, he doesn't understand what he is or why he's here. They are both unprepared. To them I am just a human named Jonathan."

Vash took a step closer to his leader and friend. "I've known you a long time. You're impulsive. Until Michael realizes the girl is safe he'll be caught between man and beast. He's your only living blood relative. If you want the line to remain, you need him to be whole when you make him your heir."

Reyhan slowly nodded in agreement, his long black hair swaying with the movements and his amber eyes, so like Mick's, glowing. "How long until he's ready?"

"This will not be an easy process. The girl has been successfully mutated, but I only have part of the research. I'll need samples of her blood. Peter used Michael to create her, so their link is intense."

"How are they?"

"They have just woken up. Michael is fully transformed. He has damaged his cell, but the door is holding."

Reyhan grinned and slapped his hands together. "Excellent. He is strong alpha material. At least my bastard half-brother Tiv did one thing right, gods rest his tormented spirit. When Casdri died giving birth to the dead female infant it broke him more than I've ever seen another break, but his insanity put all that has transpired in motion."

Vash nodded. "Let's walk down to the observatory. I'm sorry I had to have them locked up, but there is no precedence for this and your safety is still my priority."

"Can she have his child? Will she be able to continue the line?"

Vash wished there was an easy way to avoid the question. "I am hopeful, but that is something we won't know until time has proven her capable. She is already bonding to him." His tone turned sad. "Even if she is able to have a child of our race, it will never be yours, my friend."

"When he names a second to keep the beast inside him calm, I would demand that he name you," Reyhan confided. "As his uncle I would never be an appropriate choice, but I would not have just any male join our family line."

"I am honored, but I'd rather have no mate than one who is forced to accept me against her will."

Reyhan clasped Vash's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Someday we will feel the connection. You will unlock the secret to creating hybrid females, women who will keep our species from dying out like the ancient ones."

Vash followed the leader and his bodyguards to a secure bank of elevators that would take them to the restricted floors. They stood in silence as the car descended down to the lowest level of the ruling house.

* * *

Mick was in full animal form and throwing himself against the door again and again. The thick steel was so dented the integrity of the frame was compromised, but the lock and hinges held, for now.

Vash rushed to Delilah's cell. "We have to do something before he breaks out and kills someone. Let me in."

"Of course, healer." The guard scanned the lock. The warning light turned green and the door popped open.

Delilah rushed into his arms the moment he stepped inside. "Thank God you've come. Where is Mick? Is he locked up somewhere too? Why are we in jail?"

"You aren't in jail. You were here for your own protection. Mick is in an unpredictable state. Come with me."

"Protection from who?"

"Every male on the planet. Follow me. I'll take you to Mick." He didn't like startling her, but he wasn't going to sugar coat the truth. He knew her well enough to know she'd never appreciate him holding back.

He kept glancing at her as they walked. Vash was having trouble taking his eyes off of her. Something deep in his primitive mind begged him to run with her and claim her for his own.

She opened her mouth as if to speak and then shut it again. Pausing for a moment she looked around at the uniformed guards and very non-Earth architecture. Her eyes appeared a deeper green in this dim light. Delilah gazed up at him and he wished he could draw her close and comfort her. "Even Mick?"

"Especially Mick. He's unstable, but his connection with you might be the only thing that can pull him back into a human state. We need to bring you near him, but keep the situation controlled for your protection."

"Where is he? What did you do to him?" she demanded.

Vash tried not to grin. She was as lost as young Mick. They were united now. All they needed was for her final stage of the transformation and a claiming from both Mick and his second. "He has not been harmed."

"I -- I feel his anger. He's afraid I've been taken away forever." She said the words in a quick rush. "It's awful. We have to help him. This feeling, it burns in me. It's like I'm part of him."

"That's because you are."

Knowing Mick didn't trust him cut Vash deeply, but he couldn't fathom why. When they came close to his cell the sound of flesh crashing into metal made Delilah cringe. Vash put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her from going any closer.

"Are you ready for this, Del? There's a risk he could be so far gone he'll attack you. I have the guards here. Try to reach out to his mind first."

"I'm ready. But are you sure I'm enough to soothe him?"

And if he hadn't already been falling in love with her, that would have done it.