Chapter 4: The Delta Couple - Amelia

We cross a few more T’s dot a few I’s and I rush out of the office taking my empty plate with me. I run the plate to the kitchen – vowing to return for more food soon – run all the way to my suite, dash into my room and jump in the shower.

Once I’m clean I run into my closet and get dressed opting for black skinny jeans, Vans, and a white turtleneck. I leave my hair down to dry and race down to the Delta suite on the third floor. Days like today I am grateful for wolf speed, although you really can’t rush a shower. Well, maybe if you’re Superman or the Flash.

I ring the buzzer and wait. A moment later Chris is answering the door with a relieved look on his face.

“That was quick,” he smiles.

“You know I hate to keep people waiting,” I say stepping in. He nods in agreement shutting the door behind me.

The suites are all relatively the same with the main entrance of the suites being communal areas. In this one, the door is on the far right side of the room and stepping in the first thing you see is the kitchen area on the right-hand side of the room. It’s all dark wood with black appliances and a long brown marble island with 4 barstools. Next to the kitchen is a large black glass circular dining table that seats six and then the living area makes up the rest of the room.

The living area has a large cream L shaped sectional on top of a large cream rug with a low black glass coffee table in front of it facing a large 56” plasma TV along the wall to the left of the door. There are also shelves on the wall that go around the TV filled with books and movies. There are two doors along the back wall, one leading into the Delta couple’s bedroom and the other door is a small storage room. The door to the left of the room was Evalyn’s until she moved into the Gamma suite with Tyson, but she still uses this room sometimes and the door to the right of the kitchen is Chris’s room.

“How is she?” I ask Chris as I turn to face him. He sighs and rubs his face.

“It was pretty bad; she was screaming so loud I thought she’d rip her vocal cords apart,” he tells me and there’s so much pain in his voice and on his face. “What do I do Amelia? My animai is in pain and I can’t stop it,” he says with tears filling his eyes and my heart breaks for him. “She’s a beautiful person inside and out, she didn’t deserve any of this. I want to hunt down every last person who hurt her and make them suffer for the rest of their miserable lives,” he growls, the irises of his hazel-green eyes glowing as his wolf Axel pushes through.

They want to make the people who hurt Mei pay and I don’t blame them.

I step forward and calmly squeeze his shoulders. “Take slow breaths, Chris, you and Axel need to breathe,” I try to soothe him. “Zara, can you help Axel calm down?” I ask my wolf. She leaps to attention in my head.

“On it, I’ll take care of him,” she says confidently.

I lead Chris over to the sofa and sit with him. “Chris, you need to listen to me. You are doing everything you need to be doing for Mei. You are giving her sanctuary, comfort, patience and most importantly your love. She needs time to heal but she’s strong. I felt it the day you brought her to the pack. She’ll come around when she’s ready, in the meantime just be there for her like you are,” I reassure him as I rub his back. He takes slow breaths and nods his head.

“I love her so much, Amelia. I don’t care if I never get to mark her. I just want her to be okay,” he says sorrowfully. It kills me to see one of my best friends like this. Seeing your animai in pain is some of the worst torture. “You know she smiled for me yesterday. A real full-on smile,” he says with an excited twinkle in his eyes. I can’t help but grin for him.

“Really? That’s great! It means she’s making progress.” He nods in agreement.

“Her smile is so beautiful I think my heart stopped beating,” he tells me making me chuckle. The man’s in love.

“You two are going to have some knock out looking kids, I’m calling it now.” He grins at the mention of children.

“If they look anything like their mother, they’ll stop traffic,” he says proudly.

I notice Chris is dressed down today in just some black shorts and a grey tank top. Chris and Evalyn don’t look very much alike outside of hair colour. He’s two years older than Evalyn at twenty-two and has long brown hair that he keeps up in a bun and a short bushy beard. He’s 6’1” with olive skin, muscles galore and he’s solid as a rock. He has his mother’s hazel-green eyes, whereas Evalyn has sky blue eyes which are a shade lighter than her father’s. Their father has dark olive skin, and their mother has ivory skin. Evalyn got her mum’s ivory skin and Chris got a nice blend of the two. Genetics is a crazy thing, but mix Chris’s genes with Mei’s and damn, no one stands a chance against that genetic combo.

Just as I’m picturing what their kids would look like, Mei tentatively steps out of her and Chris’s room. Chris is instantly out of his seat and over to her before I can blink, taking her hands in his in a comforting gesture.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty? Can I get you anything?” he politely asks in a gentle tone. She shrugs and then spots me, so I give her a gentle wave.

“Good morning, Mei, it’s nice to see you up and about,” I say warmly. She gives me a polite nod and latches onto Chris’s arm. The man is grinning like a dork, and I just know his wolf is preening in his head.

“Can I have something to eat?” she quietly asks him.

“Of course, anything you want,” he says nodding eagerly; love poured into every word. She bites her lip nervously.

“You can ask for anything, Mei, I’ll make sure the chefs whip it up,” I encourage her with a smile. I want her to feel safe and welcome in our pack, but I know we need to take baby steps.

“Even congee?” she asks nervously.

I grin along with Chris, it’s the first time she’s suggested something specific that sounds more in keeping with what she likes versus what’s convenient for us. I quickly link the chefs to whip up three serves of congee. I have no idea what that is, but the chefs seem thrilled at the idea of making it and I’m still hungry so may as well give it a try.

“I think you’ve just made our chefs’ day. They’re excited that they get to make something new,” I tell her. This makes her frown.

“I don’t want to put anyone out,” she says getting anxious and it makes me sad. Chris doesn’t hesitate to calm her, damn he’s a good partner.

“Mei, please don’t worry yourself. She’s being honest. If she says the chefs are excited it’s because they are. They love getting to try new recipes,” he says wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head while breathing in her scent. She slightly relaxes from his touch and closes her eyes nodding against his chest.

They are such a cute couple.

Mei is a stunning young woman. She has dark wavey brown hair down to her waist, cream skin, chocolate brown monolid shaped eyes – very soft feminine features. She kind of looks like Constance Wu, not going to lie. She’s 5’1, so a whole foot shorter than Chris. He looks like a giant swallowing her up when they are side by side, it’s rather funny.

She’s wearing black sweatpants and a white cotton t-shirt and socks. She’s not ready to go shopping for clothes so she’s been borrowing clothes from Evalyn. They’re pretty much the same size so that’s worked out and other pack members her size were more than happy to offer clothes if she needed it. I felt so proud the day they did that.

“Would you like to come sit?” I ask gently as I pat the spot next to me. Mei looks at me and then looks up at Chris. He nods encouragingly.

“Go on,” he encourages gently. She takes his hand, and they walk over and sit on the couch which makes me smile warmly at her progress.

“Chris told me you are going to be the Alpha,” she says quietly. Chris looks stunned to see her starting a conversation. I’m equally stunned but I try not to show it. I want her to have a sense of normalcy, so I nod affirmatively.

“Yes, my ceremony is next week. The day after my birthday. I would love for you to attend. I completely understand if the party is too much, but the Alpha ceremony will be more low key, so maybe if you feel up to it you can stop by for a bit. But there’s absolutely no pressure. You don’t have to come down or meet anyone until you’re ready,” I reassure her. She takes a breath and nods while Chris keeps her hand in his, gently running his thumb over the back of her hand, letting their bond soothe her.

“Thank you for letting me come here. Thank you for welcoming me into your pack,” she says with a small bow of her head. I slowly reach out and touch her other hand and wait till she lifts her head so I can look in her eyes.

“You are family, and we are beyond honoured to have you. I mean that,” I tell her with the utmost sincerity as tears fill her eyes.

Animai of the year Chris is quick on the ball again as he tucks her into his side. He mouths a ‘thank you’ to me while he comforts her, and I give him a smile.

Mei has been here for the past month, and we’ve been focusing on helping her with her trauma before initiating her into the pack. Mei has been through absolute hell and it’s hard to not believe that fate brought Chris and Mei together.

Mei was born in a pack in China called the Tian Pack, which I think she said means heaven. Ironic considering there was nothing heavenly about it. See, Mei isn’t a mutolupus, she’s an entirely different creature and a very rare one at that.

In a lot of Asian countries, her kind was once revered as deities by humans. While like us, they were made by the Gods, they are not Gods themselves. They don’t have packs and tend to keep to themselves as those who used to worship them now fear them – or so I’ve read.

Her father was a mutolupus, but his pack killed her mother when Mei was five after they found out what she was. They were the kind of pack that don’t tolerate other species or mixing of the species. Everything they stand for spits in the eyes of the Gods.

Mei’s father fled here to the United States hoping to find a pack to take them in, since China was no longer safe. But the first pack they encountered thought her father was a cur and chased them into the woods. He was mauled to death in front of her eyes. The pack members had no idea what she was and so they took her in and decided to make her a slave.

For years they beat and tortured her, until the day Chris went to the Albus Mons Pack shadowing his father. They were there on behalf of our pack to get their RSVP to the Vernal Ball since they weren’t taking our calls. As soon as they entered the packhouse Chris was instantly hit with Mei’s scent – which is how we first identify our animas – and when he found her, he and his wolf nearly tore the place apart in retaliation for what was done to her.

His father had to calm things down to prevent a pack war. Ultimately they agreed to release her to us saying – and I quote – “She wasn’t fun to play with anymore.” Chris didn’t hesitate to get her the hell out of there and safe to say we rescinded our invitation. We don’t want people like that on our lands and we don’t want Mei’s abusers anywhere near her. I later contacted the necessary people to handle the Albus Mons Pack.

We were so happy Chris found his animai, but we were heartbroken when we saw the state of her. Her physical wounds have since healed; some bones unfortunately had to be reset. Chris was losing his mind when that happened, not that I blame him. But it helped with her healing. But the wounds in her mind and heart will take longer to heal – If they ever will – but we’re all here for her.

We had no idea what she was, we couldn’t even tell from the scent. It wasn’t until a week ago she trusted Chris enough to tell him what she was and with her permission, he told me. I was beyond shocked. I’m thrilled to have someone like her in our pack though.

Once we get her on her feet she’ll be the greatest asset this pack has ever had, if she wants to be that is, I’d never force her. As long as she feels happy and safe, that’s good enough for me and I know it’s good enough for Chris. I will do everything I can to ensure she feels welcomed into our pack. Anyone messes with her, and they’ll be answering to me. Assuming Chris doesn’t rip their heads off first.