Page 15 of Dragon’s Revenge (Irresistible Dragons #7)

Chapter Fourteen

A s much as Delton admired Adar for being so passionate and determined to free the omegas held by the Murphys, he was also worried. Maybe even more because Delton and Oliver would be staying behind. There was little a psychologist could contribute to a mission like that. Delton felt powerless and even a little useless, and he hated it.

“I don’t like this,” Oliver whispered as if reading Delton’s mind. “I want to go with him, even though I know I wouldn’t be any help.”

Oliver had been asked to participate—his skills as a scientist might come in handy—but he had refused, fearing being back in the place where he’d suffered such brutal abuse would trigger him and render him useless, maybe even a liability. Delton had agreed with that decision, but he knew it couldn’t have been easy for Oliver to make it.

They stood with the others staying behind as the two groups got ready. One would be heading for the Murphys, the other spreading out and encircling their pack land to ensure no one attacked them. Sivney had assured them they didn’t have any evidence an attack was imminent, but they wanted to be prepared just in case, which Delton could only applaud and appreciate.

Delton reached for Oliver’s hand, threading their fingers together. Funny how natural that felt, despite everything that had happened. “I know, I don’t like it either. But we’ll keep each other company until he’s back, hmm?”

Oliver’s eyes widened. “You’ll stay with me?”

Of course he would, but when Delton opened his mouth to reassure Oliver, it hit him that it was anything but obvious. Considering their history, it shouldn’t have been, so why had he not hesitated? “Yeah, I will. We can worry about him together.”

Oliver swallowed. “You’re worried about him?”

He shouldn’t reveal this much. By being this honest and vulnerable, he was asking to be hurt again, and yet he couldn’t help himself. Lying and pretending were so not his style, and if nothing else, he respected his mates too much to…

His mind came to a screeching halt.

Wait, what?

His… mates ?

For fuck’s sake, now he received that elusive confirmation he’d been desperately seeking for so long?

“Delton?” Oliver asked hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

No, he wasn’t, but at the same time, nothing had ever felt so right. He was confused and relieved and happy and so damn angry all at once. Why hadn’t he known it before? Why had fate not let him know before everything had blown up in his face? If it had, if he’d had this deep sense before, he could’ve prevented so much pain for all of them.

But as much as he wanted to rant and rail about that, now was not the time. He’d have to work through those emotions later. Right now, Adar was about to leave, and Delton couldn’t let him, not without knowing the truth. He tugged on Oliver’s hand. “I need to talk to Adar. Come with me.”

Oliver didn’t protest, though confusion was painted all over his face as he walked with Delton to where Adar stood. The big alpha was exchanging some last-minute advice with Bray and Gregor, who would be in charge of the defense of the packs and the clan.

“I need to talk to you,” Delton said.

Bray frowned. “Can it wait? They’re about to leave.”

Delton didn’t even hesitate. “No. It needs to be now.”

Adar held up a hand to Bray. “Give me a moment.”

Bray muttered something, but he stepped back and walked over to Blair.

“What’s wrong?” Adar asked Delton. “You look…agitated.”

Well, he’d certainly picked up on that emotion correctly. Adar had become more perceptive, something he’d worked hard on over the last few weeks, Delton had noticed. Again, something they’d have to discuss later. “I need to tell you something, and you’ll have to forgive me for the timing, which is not ideal, I know, but I literally didn’t realize it until now, and I didn’t want to let you go without knowing, in case…” He swallowed, the thought too ghastly to finish. “Let’s not go there. But you need to know.”

Adar paled. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving the pack. Please, Delton. Stay. Give me a chance to win your heart, to prove to you I can be the man you need, that you deserve. I hurt you, and nothing I say will ever make up for that, but I’m so sorry, and I vow to never do it again. All I want is time. Time to show you that we belong together, you, me, and Oliver. I know we can be good together if you give us a chance…”

Delton stared at him. Had he ever seen Adar this distressed? This almost panicked, to the point where he was rambling and word-vomiting? He’d never heard the man cram so many words into such a short time, which was strangely endearing and worrying at the same time. Also, it proved how genuinely stressed out he was at the thought of Delton leaving. It was…sweet. Heartwarming. And also somehow arousing, though Delton had no clue why.

“I’m not leaving.”

Adar blinked. “You’re not?”

“No. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“I don’t understand. You said it was urgent and the timing was awful, so what else could it be?”

Delton cupped his cheek, a soft tenderness filling him despite his frustration. “It’s good news, even if it makes me angry at the same time. We’re mates. That’s what I just realized. You, Oliver, and I are mates.”

Oliver and Adar gasped and then looked at each other as if to check if this was real. Pure joy filled Adar’s expression, and it stole Delton’s breath. If he’d even doubted for a moment how Adar would react, he no longer did.

“Why are you angry?” Oliver whispered. “Aren’t you happy with us as mates?”

Oh, he hadn’t considered Oliver’s tender heart in this, and now Delton felt ashamed. “I am, but, baby, I can’t help but be frustrated and question why I didn’t feel it sooner. It would’ve saved us so much trouble, so much pain. It angers me that we had to go through this.”

Oliver’s expression softened. “But we wouldn’t be where we are now if we hadn’t. We needed this.” He straightened his shoulders. “ I needed it to change, to realize I was selfish and inconsiderate of your feelings.”

“And I needed it to learn to let Oliver go and not put him on a pedestal,” Adar said. “It still makes me sad that you got hurt, but I think Oliver is right. This was the path we needed to walk to become who we needed to be so we could fit together.”

Delton’s eyes filled with tears. “I think you guys are better at my job than I am because you’re right. You’re so right. I just wish… I hate that we took so long to see the truth.”

“No, don’t.” Adar took Delton’s hand and kissed it, then did the same to Oliver. “Let’s focus on the good because this is the best news ever. Knowing we belong together, it’s…”

His voice broke, and Delton’s eyes widened. Was he…? Was Adar crying? Oh gods, he was. Those gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes filled with tears that spilled over almost instantly. “Adar…” he said, alarmed.

But Adar smiled through his tears. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Hell, I’m so much better than okay. You’ve given me a precious gift, and I’m so relieved and grateful.”

“We need to leave,” someone shouted in the distance, but Delton only had eyes for his mates. They stood holding hands, connected in a way Delton had never felt before, like their hearts and souls were linked as much as their hands.

“Please be careful,” he whispered to Adar.

“I promise I’ll come home safe to you.”

But Oliver shook his head. “Don’t promise that. You can’t tempt fate like that.”

Adar leaned in, waiting a second for Oliver to give an imperceptible nod as permission, then softly kissed him. “I’m not tempting fate. I’m trusting that the universe wouldn’t be so cruel as to take me from my mates when we’ve just found each other.”

That was a lot of faith to have in something so elusive, but Delton didn’t say that aloud. He’d never let Adar leave without the confidence that he’d make it. People who operated under the fear of getting hurt or even dying were less focused, and he didn’t want that on his conscience.

“Delton,” Adar said, meeting Delton’s eyes.

His name had never sounded sweeter, and he nodded too. Adar let go of Oliver’s hand, curling his hands around Delton’s cheeks. “I vow I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself worthy of you.”

Delton smiled. “You already have.”

He closed his eyes and then Adar’s lips met his in the softest of kisses, like butterflies landing on a leaf. Someone made a sound, a little whimper. Was he doing that? He must have because Adar deepened the kiss, and Delton let him in. Goosebumps broke out all over his skin as their tongues met, and his belly twirled and spun until he was almost dizzy with it. Adar kissed him until Delton lost all sense of time and place.

When the alpha finally let go of him, Delton was floating, his cheeks glowing and his heart racing. Adar pressed a last kiss on his forehead. “Take care of each other while I’m gone, okay? I’ll see you later.”

Delton nodded, barely registering Oliver taking his hand and lacing their fingers. Hand in hand, they stood and watched as Adar stalked off without looking back, and then he and the group of attackers left, little Fallon in the middle of all the big alphas.

His legs still shaky, Delton sat down on a bench, Oliver right beside him. “I’m gonna need a moment,” he told the omega, who grinned.

“Adar’s a good kisser.”

That was an understatement. Delton had never been kissed like that, like he’d been consumed instead of sampled. Devoured instead of nibbled on. “Yeah. My brain is fried.”

They sat until Delton’s heart had calmed and the sweat on his skin had evaporated. Oliver sat quietly with him, seemingly content to hold his hand and play with Delton’s fingers.

“How do you feel?” Delton finally asked him.

Oliver took his time answering, but Delton didn’t mind. He was grateful and also proud that Oliver was using his voice in the first place. Besides, they weren’t in a hurry and had nowhere to go since the pack was on lockdown until everyone returned.

“I’m scared,” Oliver finally said, barely audible.

“Scared?” Not the answer Delton had expected. “Can you tell me why?”

Another long pause. “What if you change your mind again?”

Again? When had he…? Oh. He had been wishy-washy about the whole thing, hadn’t he? At least, from Oliver’s perspective, it sure had to look that way. “You mean like when I said I would try and then decided I didn’t want that after all…and then still spent time with you both?”

“Yeah. Not that I blame you… We hurt you, and…” He dropped his shoulders. “I hurt you, and you had every right to walk away.”

Ouch. That was the problem with someone holding up a mirror, wasn’t it? As necessary as it was, it also meant facing uncomfortable truths. “That caused you pain.”

Oliver stole a sideways glance at him. “But is it fair to be upset about that?”

Delton shrugged. “Your feelings don’t care about fair or not. They just are. You can’t help what you feel. The only thing you have control over is how you respond to those feelings. In your case, you can’t help being upset, but you do have a choice on how to deal with that.”

“It feels wrong to feel hurt.”

“The feeling itself is not wrong. If I put myself in your shoes, I can imagine that my walking away and thus rejecting you caused you pain.”

“I’m scared you’ll do it again…”

Oliver sounded so fragile when he said it that Delton’s heart clenched. He might now be certain they were mates, but that didn’t mean everything was peachy-perfect all of a sudden. They still had a lot of issues to work through, not least of all Oliver being emotionally vulnerable. Delton couldn’t protect him from everything, but he could offer reassurance where possible.

“Look at me, baby,” he said softly, waiting until Oliver had lifted his eyes. “I can’t promise that you’ll never get hurt again by me or by Adar or even both of us. Unfortunately, life doesn’t come with guarantees like that, and I may not have a lot of experience with relationships, but I do know they come with a lot of challenges. But what I can promise is that I’ll never walk away from you and Adar ever again. I’m staying. I may be upset, I may cry or need some distance from you for a little bit…but I won’t walk out again. I’m in this now. You’re my mates, and I will never leave you.”

Oliver’s eyes filled with tears, and then he all but launched himself at Delton, who suddenly had his arms full of a dragon omega who didn’t want to let go. So he held him on his lap and hugged him, breathing him in until their heartbeats synchronized.

And then they waited for their mate to return.