Desire for you - ALPHA ILAY

NAEL

I was at the end of my tether. The whole situation in Volterra had shaken me up and I was terrified of losing Delilah.

When Dimitri demanded her blood in return for a conversation with Ragnol, I couldn't help but blush. He was a selfish arsehole who was only looking out for his own advantage.

Why hadn't I realised this before... A Nephilim. When he whispered that in my ear, I felt like the whole world stood still.

Who would have thought that? I looked at Delilah, who was now lying in her bed and hadn't yet come round.

It was the third or fourth time she had used such a power to help one of us. She was a hybrid. A hermaphrodite between demon and angel. She had barely got to know her demonic side properly... Ragnol had explained to me that her angel only breaks out when she is in need. She can't yet categorise and control her powers, which leads to her using more power than necessary.

Why had Chris never told me that his wife was an angel? Hell, why had he never told me about his wife? The only thing I knew about her was that she was dead and he had been widowed at a young age.

Questions upon questions.

I rubbed my temples and sighed in depression. All I wanted to do was take Delilah and go home with her.

I had clearly told her to leave when things got dicey, but she did not. She stood firm like a lioness and almost blew up Volterra.

Dimitri was history. When I saw that Delilah was nowhere to be seen, I panicked and killed everything I could get my hands on.

Dimitri struggled with me until I found his weak spot and grabbed his heart with my bare hands. Before I pulled his heart out, I squeezed hard and savoured every second of his death.

He had messed with the wrong brother. Ilay might have been more careful with him, but no one was allowed to touch my Delilah, no one.

Anyone who so much as touched Delilah would die at my hands, that much was clear.

There was a knock at the door and Ragnol entered the room.

"Yes?" I mumbled and looked up at him.

He smiled at me and sat down next to me "Well Prince, who would have thought that miracles exist," he said and looked over at Delilah.

"A Nephilim is something rare, almost forbidden, and yet they exist in ignorance of what they are," he said, looking at me now.

I nodded slightly, "That explains all her behaviour... She's always so kind-hearted, never vindictive... I could list so many more things that make me doubt her behaviour, but now it's clear to me. She must be an angel to put up with so much," I looked at my hands and didn't know how to help her in any way...

It was that moment of helplessness again, just like with Valentina when she died. I looked at the ring I was wearing as a memento of her and touched it. It was the only comfort I'd had all these years and now I was at the same point. I was afraid for Delilah...

"Your father didn't lie about your brother... But he didn't know the whole truth either," Ragnol began and I frowned.

"Can we help Ilay?" I asked confusedly, looking him in the eye now.

He nodded slightly: "The fact that he ran into Delilah was no coincidence... The moon goddess sometimes has strange habits and one of them is to put people to the test... Ilay's challenge was to turn his back on Catherine and fall in love with someone else, but as we can see, he didn't fall for it and is still suffering because he never questioned certain things," Ragnol shrugged and looked at Delilah.

"Are you saying that if he had asked himself the same question and done a little research, he could have counteracted it?" I was shocked....

Ragnol nodded: "Well, in life you should question everything, Nael, especially if you're having trouble letting go."

"How can Delilah help him with that?" I asked him confused and he smiled into space "I hate to say it, but the solution is right in front of you.... It's the key to a lot of problems. Your brother just pulled the arse card with the moon goddess, as far as I know it was a fifty-fifty chance who pulls it. It could have been Ryan who would have had to reject her.... He too would have met Delilah one day in a different way," he finally said and stood up.

I frowned and looked up at him, "Seriously? Are you going to leave me guessing here now?" I asked him angrily; after all, he could be glad that we had freed him.

"He's good at that," Ryan said suddenly, "Last time we needed his help, he said the same thing. You can't think too far ahead," Ryan finally said, leaning against the doorframe.

"See, he gets it," Ragnol winked at us and ran out of the room again. The old grey had a lot of nerve, now that he was washed, shaved and groomed again, he actually looked like George Clooney.

Son of a bitch, I could have come up with the idea of just claiming that the solution was right in front of me. At least he could give us a few clues...

I rubbed my temples again and sighed softly. I seriously considered how Delilah could help Ilay.

"For being just an escort for you, you were pretty upset when you couldn't see her... Well, what you did with Dimitri was almost a work of art," Ryan said with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows. "In fact, I almost think she was the catalyst for you going so crazy..."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Delilah. "Ryan? You are indeed right, she is more than just an escort, but if Ilay finds out, he'll pull the wool over my eyes single-handedly and I didn't want that... I need the damn solution before I can tell him. Until we have the solution, you'll be silent as the grave, or you'll have to find out what happened to Dimitri," I said, getting angrier and angrier.

What could this damn solution be that was in front of my eyes and linked to Delilah?

"You know what I wonder more? Why Dimitri was so keen on her blood and how he was able to realise so quickly that she wasn't just a demon."

"Dimitri was an original vampire, he probably saw some kind of vision in her when he stared at her and figured it out that way..." I surmised, at least. As soon as we entered the room, he barely took his eyes off Delilah.

Suddenly we were both staring at each other at the same time, and we were staring at Delilah.

"If Delilah's blood had solved Dimitri's problem with the sunlight..." Ryan began to speak, looking at me open-mouthed.

"Then... her blood could solve Ilay's problem..." damn Ragnol, that bastard was actually right. The solution was right in front of us... I was beginning to get the feeling that Ragnol was amused by our puzzling.

Anyway, as long as it remained a puzzle and everything worked, I didn't really care.

I could only hope that Delilah would wake up soon... Because I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, and so did Ryan, apparently.

"Michael's better, thankfully, it would be good if you sent us back... before Catherine makes any assumptions," he said, biting his lower lip.

"How are you going to teach her that Ilay is coming back?" I asked him, watching him seem to swallow.

He shrugged his shoulders "I put up with him then and if that's our fate.... Then so be it," Ryan replied.

He looked at Delilah again and couldn't help but smile: "I seriously thought she was going to blow me up too..." he said and had to laugh.

Yes, this power that emanates from her can be tremendous," I had felt that in my office.

I got up and didn't really want to leave Delilah alone, but I had to send Ryan and his friends back.

I walked out of the room with Ryan and into the dining hall.

Everyone was there, even Nair's parents "Thank you for your support," I said to them.

Robert suddenly burst out laughing: "Oh, my dear, actually I have to thank you! You solved my problem within five minutes, even though I've been struggling with Dimitri for years... It's about time that bastard disappeared from the scene. Let's see how long it takes before the next vampire thinks he has to come to Italy to annoy me? I know he'll turn to me," Robert winked and grinned.

Michael stood by the crutches and looked at me too: "Colette will cut my balls off for this, but at least we were able to help you," he said with a grin and nodded at Ryan: "It'll be fun to have your competition among us again.

Ryan rolled his eyes and waved at me, "Come on, get us out of here before it gets awkward," he said and I nodded in agreement.

I teleported them all away and returned to Delilah, who was just about to wake up.

I looked at her in amazement and sat down next to her. "Delilah?" I asked her quietly as I looked at her.

"Hmm?" she said quietly, holding her head.

"How are you?" I asked worriedly and helped her up.

"What's happened? Where am I actually... and who are you?" she suddenly wanted to know.

No or...? That couldn't be. Please don't...

If she really had lost her memory, how the hell was I supposed to convince her of anything?

That couldn't happen, not after we had overcome this hurdle.