Her Promise

Her Secret | Chapter One

DELILAH

The summer sun beat down on me as I laid at the pool’s edge. My knees were bent over the side, my feet dipped into the water. Leo and Lucas were off at soccer practice, but they wouldn’t hang out with me anyway. Little Az was out wandering around the woods with Calix. It was nice that Aunt Lea was letting her go off on her own more.

I sighed, letting my head fall to the side. Junior needed to come home because I was way too bored for it to be summer. He was at some wrestling clinic with the older Alpha Michael in Stary Pack. Even though he wasn’t the Alpha anymore, the guy scared me, and I couldn’t bring myself to call him Mr. Galbraith or just Michael. Miss Quinn was way more approachable. Junior loved going to Stary because he took his captaincy of the wrestling team very seriously. I had to stifle his ego a little when I reminded him he was captain our freshman year because he was the future Alpha.

The back door to the packhouse slid open as I contemplated going to the kitchen in search of food. “Delilah!” I heard Azeron call. I opened my eyes just a crack to see him crossing the patio toward me.

“What’s up?” I asked, pushing up to my elbows. Azeron worked for Aunt Lea, although she hardly needed a bodyguard.

“If you told your parents you don’t want a birthday party, then they threw you one anyway, what would you do?” he asked. He looked a little stressed.

“Uh, I don’t know. Mom and Aunt Lea always make a big deal out of our birthdays, so I’m not sure…” I said. “Who’s birthday is it?” I tried to rack my brain, but I was coming up short. I knew everyone in the packhouse and most of the kids at school. Out of all Junior and I’s friends, my birthday came first.

Azeron sighed. “Nevermind.” He spun around and left as quickly as he came.

“Weird,” I muttered. Grabbing my phone, I got to my feet and headed into the kitchen. I shot a message into the group chat to see if anyone wanted to hang out. No replies came right away, telling me everyone was probably busy.

When I looked up from my phone, I saw Mel sitting at the small table to the side of the kitchen with a sandwich. Uncle Liam put the table in a few years before Miss Marci retired so she could take more breaks, but it never moved. “Oh hey,” I said.

Mel was a super nice girl but also really shy. She showed up at school sometime after all the vamp stuff was over. Junior tried to be friends with her for a while, but she was so quiet and shy that he never managed. And that was saying something because he was friends with everyone.

“Um, hi,” she said before ducking her head and going back to her sandwich. Mel was at the packhouse sometimes because Azeron always dragged her along. It made sense when we were little and his mate was at work, but I was positive he still did it to get her out of the house. What high school senior tagged along with their dad to work?

I went to the fridge to find something to snack on. Pulling out a bowl of sliced fruit, I turned back to Mel. “Whatcha up to?” I asked her, not expecting a response. She looked at me and blushed. She held up her book and went back to reading. I looked down, remembering I was still in a bathing suit. Like I said, shy and possibly a little prude.

“Want to go swimming? Or go for a run? I got some extra suits. I’m sure something will fit you,” I offered. I wasn’t so conceited that I would exclude her, and I was also super bored with Junior gone.

Mel just held up her book again, not making eye contact. I rolled my eyes. My phone chimed in my hand, distracting me.

LJ: coming home 2moro

LJ: my sis is bringing Mav too

Maverick was Junior’s nephew. It was a little awkward, considering we were 16, almost 17, and Mav was only six, but he was still a pretty cool kid. Junior took it upon himself personally to make sure he taught him the finer points of being a good Alpha, as he would take over Serenity Waters one day. Mav was a total momma’s boy, though.

Me: sweet

Me: get home. i have no one to train with

None of the guys in our age group would fight me. My dad took care of that a few years ago when he almost broke one person’s arm when he thought I was intentionally hurt. The girls weren’t as aggressive as me. I grew up training with Junior and his dad, then later my dad. I had a leg up on them all, and it got boring. I lived for the challenge and only got it with Junior around.

“See you later, I guess,” I called to Mel as I exited the kitchen. I opened up the group chat with my basketball friends to see if anyone wanted to hang out. Someone in this pack had to be free. If I couldn’t find someone, I was tempted to run to Serenity Waters and hang with Sadie or Missy.

MEL

Delilah left the kitchen, and I relaxed. I never knew how to act around her. She was the epitome of everything I wasn’t. She was tall and gorgeous, looking exactly like her mom, with tan skin and caramel brown hair. She was confident too. You had to be to walk around in tiny shorts and a bikini top. She had a huge family that absolutely adored her. I had my dads, who were amazing, but I was a consolation prize. She was also athletic as the second-year captain of the girl’s basketball team. It was the only thing she didn’t do with Liam Jr.

She also had all of Liam’s attention. He was the future Alpha and friends with basically everyone. No one had bad stuff to say about him. But if you looked closely enough, he pined for Delilah. And who wouldn’t?

Lesser mortals like me couldn’t hold a candle to her.

And really, how could I? I was a mutt. A stray. A lost kid brought to a strange pack.

I was positive Liam didn’t know just how big of an effect on my life he had. He probably didn’t even remember. I was static to the background of his Delilah radar.

He would make an incredible Alpha that I knew. I would smile and play my part as a loyal pack member at his ceremony, hiding my never-ending crush while he took his title with his Luna. Who everyone thought was inevitably going to be Delilah.

The worst part was I liked Delilah. She was a little blunt and lacked a filter, but she was aggressively righteous. Back in elementary, she got herself and Liam into a fight to stop someone from bullying me. I was pretty sure they got grounded by their parents over it too. How could you dislike someone like that?

I set my book down and finished my sandwich, no longer needing the shield. Delilah was just too intimidating. The kitchen door swung open. I peeked over to see who I might need to hide from now, realizing that the small table in the kitchen might not have been the best hiding place.

“There you are,” Luna smiled at me.

“Good afternoon, Luna,” I said, bowing my head in respect.

“Oh, Melody, that really isn’t necessary,” she said, coming over to me.

I really liked Luna Azalea. Dad had told me stories about her when I asked why she needed a bodyguard only sometimes. She had been an orphan like me. Dad didn’t know everything since he grew up in Serenity Waters, but he knew that there were some issues surrounding Alpha Liam being mated to her.

Despite all that, she was one of my favorite people in the packhouse. She exuded motherly kindness, but I also witnessed Liam cower under her glare. Papa said she was the reason they found me. Any time Dad brought me to the packhouse, she was always kind to me and even remembered my birthday every year. Which was probably why she had sought me out.

“Did Dad send you in here to convince me?” I frowned.

Luna laughed. “Azeron might be a little wound up over the whole thing. I had to get it out of Dario, though. You really don’t want a birthday party? It’s your 17th.” She took the other chair across from me, worry settling on her face.

I shook my head. “I really don’t. Who would I invite? Who would come? I would just rather have dinner with my dads.”

“Junior and Delilah would love to come, I’m sure. And I’m sure there are a few other people you could invite from school. It doesn’t have to be big. I think your dads just really want to make it special for you,” she said.

“I’m sure they have other stuff going on. It’s okay,” I told her. While I adored Luna Azalea, I was positive she overestimated how many friends I had around school. And forcing her son and his best friend to come to my birthday party would not fix that situation for me. “I’m more than happy to have a nice night with my dads. I promise.”

Luna let out a long breath. “Are you nervous about finding your mate?” she asked.

I immediately felt my cheeks heat. I ducked my head, unable to admit it. I was terrified of finding a mate. I barely talked to anyone at school unless they had to speak to me. Even then, I wasn’t sure many people remembered my name. Those that did probably partook in the occasional bullying.

“Oh, Mel, there is nothing to worry about. You might not even find them right away. I promise, if you give it a chance, you’ll probably find that your mate is just what you need,” she said reassuringly.

“Maybe,” I agreed with her so we could stop talking.

“You know my office is always open, right?” she pressed. I looked up, meeting her green eyes. “I know Azeron and Dario try, but they aren’t girls, right? You can always come to talk to me. Or Lily, Lacey, any of us.”

I gave her a soft smile. “Thanks, Luna. I’m okay, but I appreciate it.”

“Well, think about it for your dads. We would be honored to come to your birthday party if you’d have us,” she smiled back as she stood from the table. With a wave, she left me alone in the kitchen again.

When Leo and Lucas pushed their way into the kitchen, reeking of grass and sweat only a few minutes after Luna left, I was out of my seat and headed for the opposite door. The kitchen was the worst place to hide.