The Good Wolf Delilah

Chapter Seven

Delilah’s POV

I woke up the next morning at 6:30 like I always do to get ready for my training. When I sat up I saw a bag sitting on the foot of my bed. I climbed over and saw a note with my name on it.

*Hey Delilah, it seemed like no one was home. If you need me I’ll be at training at 6 tomorrow morning. Text me to let me know you made it home safe*

Damn it. I didn’t even see this when I came home last night. I was so tired between shifting and the half-hour run. I think my adrenaline finally crashed on the way home, making me exhausted.

I slugged out of bed and fought my hair like every morning into a bun. I pulled out a pair of maroon leggings and a black sports bra. I sat back down on the edge of my bed to put on a pair of black Nikes, then jogged downstairs.

Mom must be at work and Dad must still be sleeping. I’m not too hungry so an apple should do it for now. I locked the front door as I left to jog to training. The neighborhood I live in is beautiful, the houses may be similar but the pack goes out of the way to personalize their homes. I turned down a trail that was lined with a mix of giant pine trees and weeping willows. The smell of flowers mixed with cut grass filled my nose, and I waved to a couple of neighbors before getting out of my neighborhood. Between here and the training ground is a straight stretch of businesses, most of them not even open yet.

As I got to the training ground I could immediately pick out Zander and Amelia. They were talking by the entrance waiting for me. They are the best friends anyone could ask for. I had a huge smile on as I walked up to them.

“Zander! I’m so sorry I didn’t see your note until this morning. I got home safe and my mom is alright. She got dizzy and passed out hitting her head on the counter and cutting her arm with the knife on the way down. It probably looks much better this morning already.”

“Honestly I went home and went right to bed. I didn't realize how tired I was” he said back to me with a big laugh. “Why didn’t you text me this morning?”

“Wait, I didn't know your mom hurt herself! I’m glad she is okay!” Amelia said with a look of hurt on her face. I understand why, we usually tell each other everything.

“Amelia I'm sorry last night was so crazy and my phone died. I think it’s in my mom's car which is why I didn’t text you this morning Zander. I’ll have to swing by after training to grab it. My adrenaline crashed on the way home so it is probably still dead. When I hit my bed I fell right to sleep.” I said all of that with one breath.

She is so understanding as well, she walked over and gave me a big hug “No need to explain I am happy your mom is okay.” The three of us linked arms and walked across the training field towards the gym.

Today was a normal Wednesday at training. We always just work on the machines we have in the gym. It wasn’t too bad and we got to have a partner so Amelia and I got to hang out all morning.

“So, you’ll never believe what happened last night,” I said, giving Amelia a mischievous grin.

“Ooo tell me tell me tell me,” she said clapping and jumping up and down like a teenage girl about to hear gossip for the first time.

“Okay, so I had dinner with Zander, Luna Sarah, and Alpha Tobias. But whe-“

“Wait, you had dinner with Alpha Tobias?” She cut me off.

“Yes let me finish” I giggled and pushed her slightly “Anyway Zander came to my door to pick me up right. After he came inside he told me that Tobias had rode with him so I was stuck sitting in the back. Which is fine but Alpha didn’t make me sit in the back. Which is weird considering how he treated me growing up right?”

She raised her eyebrows and started staring at me, almost like she was trying to read the words in my mind before they could come out.

“Anyways, it was the weirdest thing. He asked me how I was doing and opened the door for me. Which is super gentleman-like of course, but I got the weirdest feeling when my hand grazed his. It was almost like I touched an electric fence that restarted my heart but in the most pleasant way. It was like the world stopped and at that moment it was just us. That’s weird right?”

“OMG Delilah what if he’s your mate?” Amelia asked me with a hint of seriousness.

“As if.. there’s no way a gamma like me would ever be mated to an Alpha, I'm not even sure if I would want to be his mate.” I told her feeling the shame and disappointment flushing my features.

Amelia came over and just started holding me. “The moon goddess has a plan for us all Delilah Rose, it’s going to be okay I promise” she whispered so only I could hear.

The rest of the day and the following week went by as normal. Now it’s Thursday. My birthday is tomorrow. I’m super excited but also feeling a little nervous. I don’t want to go through another birthday wondering if I’m going to find my mate or not. Nothing could distract me from that. Not the new movies coming in the theater, not the weekend I spent with my family, this week was starting to feel like it’s taking forever. Maybe dinner with Amelia and Zander will help me feel better.

As I started to pull my phone out of my pocket I could hear someone knocking on the front door. I hopped out of bed and made my downstairs. When I answered the door I was shocked to see Amelia and Zander were already there.

“Hey, Delilah Rose,” Zander said, giving me a huge smile as he picked me up and spun me around.

“Hey pretty lady,” Amelia said, flashing her gorgeous smile. “We came by to see if you want to go have dinner. We know how antsy you get before your birthday.” I do have the best friends a girl could ask for.

“Yes! I would love to! Give me a couple of minutes to change!” I ran upstairs and threw on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, they fit perfectly but I had to wiggle a little to get them past my thighs. I matched those with my favorite white crop top. I decided to leave my hair down, I was not ready for that battle, and rushed down the stairs. I sat down pulling my outfit together with the finishing touch of my black low-top Converse.

They had ridden here in Zander’s car. Amelia got in the back seat letting me sit in front. On the ride to the diner, they started to tease me about Tobias, I’m guessing Amelia told Zander.

“Tease me all you want, we all know there is no way that he would EVER be with someone like me,” I told them feeling suddenly very shy about the topic.

“Why not? You're hot” said Zander. What a guy thing to say. Amelia leaned forward and slapped his arm.

“I think what he’s trying to say” giving Zander one last dirty look, “is that you are smart, kind, considerate, and you put everyone in your life above yourself, Alpha or not he would be a fool to reject you.” She squeezed my hand and leaned her head on my shoulder. She is such an amazing friend, they both are.

When we got to the diner we all climbed out of Zanders car and headed inside. The reason I love this diner so much is because it reminds me of a 50s diner. The booths have checkered tables with red leather on the seats of the booth. There is a jukebox in the back corner that has a lot of amazing songs and bands. My favorite part is the workers. They welcome everyone like they are family seeing family for the first time in ages. With a heartwarming welcome and lovely smile all around. When the waitress came over we all took turns ordering. She returned soon after with all of our plates.

Instead of resorting to my normal cheeseburger and fries, I decided to have breakfast for dinner. A plate of fluffy French toast with a dollop of butter partially melting down the side. The most delicately and precisely placed strawberries made the powder sugar look like snow had fallen along a line of mountains. I could smell the bacon before they even brought my plate over. It is perfectly crispy and explodes with flavor in every bite. I’m not a fan of eggs so I didn’t order any. I picked orange juice to drink with it, making the whole meal phenomenal. Zander had the same thing I did except he ordered apple juice and an egg fried over medium. Amelia ordered a strawberry crepe which was also covered in the same mountains of strawberries and powdered sugar. She got a glass of chocolate milk to go with it.

We had a pleasant conversation as we ate dinner, I finished every bite. “I should get home soon. My mom is making me breakfast for my birthday in the morning." It's a tradition she’s done for me since I could remember.

“Oh Delilah Rose I forgot to tell you, Tobias was worried about you last week. He was wondering where I was going tonight and when I told him I was picking up you and Amelia, he double-checked to make sure you were okay. The moral of the story I gave him your phone number.” Zander said to me.

“Wait what? Don’t you think you should’ve started the night with that information? You know I'm not his biggest fan” I’m not mad but I just know I’m gonna be waiting for a text now. Zander just shrugged at me and put his coat on. “Well okay then thank you for letting me know.” I’m not sure if they could tell I was blushing but I sure could tell I was.

When we got in the car the first thing I did was check my phone. Nothing. We made our way through the dimly lit streets of our territory before finally pulling up to Amelia’s house. She grabbed my arm “Hey come over tomorrow afternoon I have a gift for you.”

“In that case, I’ll just come with you now” I joked to her.

“No silly it won’t be as special if you see it tonight come over tomorrow. 3 o’clock sharp. Don’t be late” she said as she hopped out and closed the door leaving me and Zander alone. We didn’t talk very much during the drive. One of the qualities that makes Zander such a good fighter is he is very observant. I know he can tell I’m lost in thought and I appreciate the silence. We pulled up in front of my house.

“For what it's worth Delilah Rose, Amelia is right. Alpha or not my brother would be a fool not to like you. Any man would. Who knows maybe you are his mate, and I know for a fact you would make an amazing Luna. I would love to have you as my sister.”

I could feel the dam of emotions I had been shoving down all week starting to break. My eyes welled with tears and I could feel them threatening to fall. I do love my birthday, everyone tried to make the day special just for me. There is just this loneliness in the back of my mind. Like a piece of my soul is missing. Birthdays are just a reminder and that feeling is so strong around then. Zander leaned his hand up wiped the single tear that I had shed off my cheek and hugged me. That’s what did it, the dam broke and I’m positive I soaked his shirt. We stayed there for a minute before I pulled away.

“Thank you” I climbed out of his car and made my way inside and upstairs to bed.