Chapter 17 - Delilah
“Oh, my Goddess! He's so cute!” I beam as I crouch near Cecelia, gazing fondly at her newborn son. Reaching out, I touch my fingertip to his cheek, and a pair of eyes that match mine like a reflection focus on me, and he coos. “So cute…”
A tiny hand settles on my shoulder, and four-year-old Noah peeks at the baby from beside me, wearing a curious frown.
“Is cute,” he agrees with a firm nod as if he means business. “Mama also having one. I hope he cute aso.”
Behind me, the other ladies burst out laughing.
“Of course he'll be cute, Noah,” Cecelia giggles, her face glowing as a new mother. “If he's anything like you, he'll be the cutest.”
Arianna comes over and places her hands on her son's shoulders. “Why don't you go see where Daddy is, Noah-kins? Aunty Cecelia will want to feed Darius and put him to sleep.”
Noah nods eagerly and runs out of the room.
“Will you guys be staying for dinner?” Cecelia asks as she nurses her baby. “Delphine was so excited when she heard our friends were coming over that she prepared a giant feast.”
“Yeah, Mom's been preparing since this morning,” Donna, Cecelia's best friend and sister-in-law, adds as she takes Darius from Cecelia once she's done feeding him. “I don't think she's left the kitchen since.”
I turn to the others, and Emily and Arianna nod. Only Gwen remains hesitant, and I notice her reservations since it's her first time being surrounded by the werewolves who captured her before in a more comfortable, easy setting.
“Is that okay, Gwen?” I ask as I head over to her. “We don't have to stay if you don't want to.”
Gwen nervously peeks over my shoulder, scanning the room as if she's searching for danger. She finds nothing, then returns her attention to me.
“I guess I'm cool with it. I just don't wanna be overstepping.”
Sighing, I place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. I'd brought Gwen along to visit Dominic and Cecelia as a way to make up for wrongfully capturing her. I want her to feel welcomed, and Hunter agreed with my sentiments.
What I saw during the ritual to see into Gwen's past and find out if she was innocent shocked me. Perhaps it's why I felt compassionate when Hunter told me about his past, and how he spent many years as a lone wolf between Virginia and Maine.
Being a lone witch wasn't easy for Gwen, with no coven and sisters to rely on to support her through her transitions and help her train her powers.
I felt the sadness in her memories, and that's why I've been feeling so guilty for plucking her out of those woods that were the only home she ever knew, a safe haven for her where she didn't have to deal with people.
I can only hope that bringing her out here to join my friends makes her feel welcomed and makes up for the way we treated her since we found her.
She didn't deserve that.
“You're not overstepping, Gwen,” I assure her with a warm smile. “You're one of us now. I consider you my friend, and you're a sister.”
Gwen's blue eyes light up like crystal balls. “I am?”
“Of course you are!” Arianna yelps excitedly behind us. “Delilah welcomed me into the sisterhood back when I wasn't even sure I was a witch. I know what it feels like to be alone, but you don't have to be.”
“Exactly,” I add. “Being a witch means you have sisters around to support you. I know it can be hard sometimes, but it doesn't have to be that way.”
Gwen blushes as she nods thoughtfully. “Gosh! I never thought I'd even meet others like me. I always thought I was the only one who was different,” she shrugs.
I take her hand and lead her to the sofa, where the other girls are seated.
“Different?” Cecelia scoffs, rolling her eyes. “I know what that feels like. My mother was a human. I'm only half a wolf because my father was a shifter. I've felt different my whole life.”
“That didn't stop you from snagging Nightmist's most eligible bachelor!” Emily teases, and we all giggle, even Gwen.
“Yeah, Dominic is hot, and this is coming from a married woman,” Arianna chimes in with a suggestive whistle.
Cecelia blushes. “Come on, guys! I didn't do anything special. It was fate that dictated our bond.”
“Oh, come on, Cece!” I snickered. “I've seen the way Dom looks at you. That's more than just the fated mate bond talking. He's only got eyes for you.”
Cecelia's blush deepens, while Arianna taps my arm lightly. “Yeah, same way Hunter looks at you, D.”
I gasp in shock when the conversation suddenly turns to me, and I feel heat rising on my face. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
Arianna tilts her head to the side, arching one brow suspiciously. “Oh, I know everything, Delilah. I sensed it at my wedding. You don't have to hide.”
Flustered, I feel like I've been put on the spot. “I can't believe you'd expose me like that!” I gasp in shock, playfully lifting a hand to my chest and dropping my jaw.
“Come on, it's like you said, we're all sisters,” Gwen chimes in with a playful smile. “I sensed the tension between you two from the moment I met you.”
Groaning, I throw my face into my hands, my voice muffled when I speak. “Fine…Hunter and I are fated mates….”
“See? I knew something was going on between you two during black ops!” Emily exclaims, excitedly clapping her hands. “I just didn't realize it was so serious.”
“Oh, there's nothing serious about this,” I blow out a breath through puckered lips as I lift my face, shrugging nonchalantly. “Hunter simply helped me out of my predicament with my parents and the prince. We've just agreed to be friends.”
“Right…” Cecelia rolls her eyes as if she's not convinced. “Friends….”
I'm hardly convinced myself, but it's something I've been trying to maintain, despite how drawn I am to Hunter. He'd just opened up to me, and suggesting friendship seemed like the right thing to do when I didn't want to scare him off.
The same thing goes for Gwen, and to deflect, I turn to her and take her hand.
“I'd love to see what spells you know,” I tell her. “Maybe you can show me your tricks, and I'll show you some of mine when we're back in Scarborough.”
Gwen's eyes twinkle with wonder as she smiles. “Really? I'd love that! Oh my God! That trick you did when you stopped me from using my powers was really cool!”
Chuckling, I nod slowly. “That's a spell that'll take time to use; it takes a lot of practice. But I'll show you how I did mine.”
“Thanks, Delilah,” Gwen sighs as she leans back into the sofa, staring at the ceiling with glittering eyes and looking more comfortable than ever. “I think I like being with other witches. Being a sister and all.”
“I'm glad,” I smile just as Cecelia tells us that Dominic's mother, Delphine, is calling us for dinner.
We make our way to her house, but not before meeting up with the boys, who'd been chilling outside and having beers in the garden.
“Hey, D…” Hunter drawls as he comes toward me, prompting the girls to giggle as they walk away to give us privacy. Lowering my gaze, I timidly tuck my hair behind my ear, becoming giddy for no apparent reason.
Calling a truce with Hunter wasn't what I expected it to be, and I've been feeling like a little girl around him ever since he opened up to me. Perhaps because his truth is out in the open, I've been feeling safer with him, knowing I can trust him and be as open as he's been with me.
“Hey, Hunter…” I whisper shyly, noticing how different things feel between us. “Enjoying your evening?”
“Yeah, I'm glad we came to Nightmist today. But I am starving now,” he chuckles, rubbing his tummy in circles that lift the hem of his T-shirt, allowing me to catch a glimpse of the dark hairs forming a trail into the waistband of his sweatpants.
Gulping as I look away, we continue our stroll toward Delphine's house, and I enjoy the comfortable silence between us. Gwen enters the house alongside Emily, and I'm glad the two have been getting along.
“I'm really glad we brought Gwen with us. She seems to be enjoying the company of our friends.”
Hunter slows down, turning to me. “What did you see when you looked into her past? It must have been something that made you feel guilty.”
“It's not so much what I saw,” I say as I shrug. “I felt the sadness of her being alone for most of her life. Her father abandoned them, and her mother died when she was twelve. She has been living on her own since then, without anyone to guide her powers.”
Hunter nods thoughtfully as he proceeds toward the porch. “I guess I know what that feels like,” he shivers as if a chill is running through him. “I was alone for most of my life, until Bloodclaw discovered me on their borders.”
“Why didn't you feel like you belonged with them?” I ask curiously, and Hunter turns to me when he's at the door, sighing despondently.
“It had nothing to do with them, and everything to do with me,” he admits. “I was so used to being alone that I'd become resistant to allowing myself the freedom of belonging. Until I was sent to black ops, and I met you guys. It was impossible not to feel welcomed.”
“Well, I'm glad you joined black ops and felt that way.”
Hunter smirks. “I'm glad I met you specifically. I guess it was fate.”
Feeling heat creep up my cheeks, I look down sheepishly again. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”
“Come on,” Hunter says with light amusement in his tone. “I'm starving.”
Hunter holds the door open for me, and I wait for him to close it before entering Delphine's dining room. The others have already taken their seats at the table, and Hunter pulls out a chair, nodding at me to take it.
I thank him softly for the sweet gesture, highly aware that the girls know there's something more than a fake marriage going on between us. But they say nothing, even as Hunter takes the seat beside me, only glancing discreetly at us and giggling under their breath.
I roll my eyes at them, and we proceed with having dinner, enjoying the different entrees Delphine prepared for us.
Chatter echoes through the room as Dominic and Sean speak about the alliance their two packs are signing in the coming week, and Nicholas and Donna chat about her studies.
Cecelia and Arianna continue asking Gwen questions about her life prior to being found by us in Oakland, and Emily questions why we would have been led to her at all, suspecting that it was perhaps fate that led us to her as a way to give her friends and a group that could do her some good.
Gwen seems to agree with Emily and throws me a quick smile that warms my heart.
Just then, Hunter leans in and whispers in my ear, “This is nice, isn't it? Being away from Scarborough and having dinner…”
“It is nice,” I concede with a nod.
“What if we did this again, but just the two of us?”
I frown as I turn to him. “What? Dinner?” I whisper, and Hunter smiles.
“Yeah. Dinner. Just me and you. Tomorrow night.”
I smile warmly at him as I nod, blushing as I do. “Yeah. I'd like that.”
“Good. It's a date, then,” Hunter winks and returns to his meal, leaving me to wonder if this is not a second, but a third chance at pursuing something between us.
Smiling to myself, I return to my meal, feeling as if it's the first time that there aren't any obstacles in the way of Hunter and me being together.