Delta [Epsilon #2]

Chapter Thirty-Four

Then, something hard grasped my elbow, and my entire body seemed to come alive. It was as though someone had injected me with renewed vigour, clearing the fog of my vision and the haze of my mind. A pair of orange-and-purple eyes met mine.

"Epsilon, come," The Delta beckoned. His words buzzed in my ears, and against my better judgement, I stood, swaying on my feet. A steadying arm braced my back. I was tired. So, terribly tired.

"Do you need me to accompany you, Delta--"

"I've got it," he growled at the Luna, walking us away. I stumbled forward, head spinning with the information. Images of the Gamma and Alia flashed through my mind, making my stomach lurch. Hot liquid streaked down my cheeks, and I didn't know if it was tears or blood.

We walked across the carnage of the ground. I slipped every now and again as stepped on a pile of blood or mud or tripped on a body part. The Delta caught me every time, his arm like a brace around me, a pillar of certainty. He didn't say a word, but neither did I. I wasn't sure I could, not when I could barely breathe.

Once we reached the tree line, I broke away from the Delta's grasp and scrambled for the nearest tree, scratching myself against the rough bark as several retches wracked my chest. Bile burned my throat as I threw up what little I had eaten those past few days, a low keening sound forming in my throat. Liquid dribbled down my nose, my face, my chest, and I realised I was crying. In fact, I was sobbing.

The Delta stayed silent. I almost forgot he was there until I turned around, his eyes hard on mine. I didn't have the energy to mourn over my lost dignity. I just stared at him, tears of agony carving rivers down the caked blood of my cheeks as his eyes scanned mine.

"It's not fair," I finally said, shattering the tense silence between us. I sucked in deep, ragged breaths, trying to align my distraught thoughts. I'd never seen the Delta hold an expression of pity, but the look in his eyes at that moment would probably be the closest I'd ever get to it. "She doesn't deserve that. I don't... I didn't--"

Wind caught in my throat, and I fell silent. The Delta, silent as ever, just continued to stare.

Finally, he said, "I don't think I've seen you cry before."

I blinked, angered by the blow to my pride. "They're tears of frustration. She doesn't deserve that torture. I do. I can endure it, I can--"

"You've endured enough," the Delta snapped, and we both found ourselves shocked into silence by his tone. Quickly, he cleared his throat. "What I mean is, you've endured enough of being beaten down by those bastards in the South. It's time to stop crying and take back what's yours." His gaze softened. "And I wouldn't take what that man said to heart."

My body throbbed. "Why?"

"Because werewolves lie, Epsilon. We don't care about moral high ground. We will tear down our enemies in any way possible, including their mental state." He crossed his arms. "Besides, having sex with humans is seen as dirty. Unless he wants his reputation burned to the ground, I'd say he stayed far away from that."

I scowled. "Alia is an Upsilon."

The Delta shrugged. "Same difference. Upsilons have no Lunar blood in them, unlike us. They're more human than you and I will ever be."

Slowly, my muscles loosened, and the sunlight filtering through the canopy seemed to brighten. So, Alia was okay, but...

"How do we know he is above that? And what if he meant torture? I'm not sure that's any better."

The Delta stepped forward. "I've lived in this world for seven hundred years, Epsilon, and I've met monsters more wicked than he. For torture, I cannot say, but I can say with almost full certainty that he did not mean what you were thinking."