SWNOVELS Chapter 5 ~ Good or Bad! Right or Wrong!
Delilah’s birthday is three days away.. Her wolf.. Blue.. has awakened. She hasn’t shut up. She’s funny.. sassy.. and highly intelligent. Delilah can’t wait to meet her.. They have spent countless hours bonding and learning everything they could about each other.
Venom has made ten copies of the locker keys. They send teams of four out.. checking every train depot.. starting with Delilah’s parents hometowns. And then stopping at every train station between there and the next town they moved to.
Delaney said process of elimination is the best way to handle the search. It canvasses a greater area and eliminates the probability for mistakes.
Emily walked into the diner with Bethany and Sophia.. Delaney asked “You want me to take them? I know she hasn’t been too overly nice to you..”
Delilah laughed “Are you kidding me? It’s the highlight of my day.. she gets so frustrated when I don’t act all butthurt or pissed off.” So Delaney hung back.. but not out of earshot.. just in case this is the One time Emily actually succeeds in getting under Delilah’s skin.
She stepped up to the girls’ table and asked if she could take their order.. and Emily smirked “I don’t know.. Can you? It does require some semblance of intelligence.. and you so seldom exhibit any.”
Delilah sighed and responded “Oh Emily.. just stop. We both know whose intelligence is in question.. You are lucky to score a C and that’s with blowjobs for the teachers.. But damn those female teachers for failing you.. maybe you should consider going Bisexual?”
Delaney barked out a laugh and said “That’s my girl!” Then she looked at the three girls “Either order something.. or get out. We haven’t got time to play your little mean girl games.”
They all ordered salads.. Shocker!.. so Delilah went to prepare them. Valerie came in with Brock and Derek.. having just gotten off shift from their part time jobs.
Valerie went to wash her hands.. and Delaney was talking to the boys. No one noticed Bethany and Sophia head to the bathroom.
When Delilah brought the salads to the table.. and Emily demanded extra ranch.. Delilah went to get it. She returned to the table.. wondering where the other girls were. She glanced over at Delaney and the boys.. then back around the diner.. “Where’s Valerie?” She was already moving towards the bathroom.. and could hear noises… she took off running.
Slamming into the door.. realizing it was locked from the inside. Derek and Brock had reached her.. and kicked the door in. Valerie was on the floor.. bruised and bloody. Delilah went crazy. She grabbed both girls by their hair.. dragged them outside.
She snarled “Two against one? How did you do it? Sneak attack!? Sucker punch? You couldn’t have taken her unless you got the jump on her. You cowards! You pathetic jealous petty cowards. Can’t fight one on one, can you? You have to gang up on someone before you stand a chance to win. Well.. I’m giving you the chance to prove how big and bad you are.. Both of you.. bring it. Let’s see how it works out for you when your opponent is facing you.. Because I gotta tell ya.. That was your last opportunity to put hands on Valerie ever again.”
Bethany swung at her and Sophia tried to kick her.. Delilah took two steps back and laughed “Damn! Y’all suck! Let me show you how it’s done..” she stepped into a lunge.. punching Bethany in the face.. making sure to strike the bridge of her nose for maximum damage.. while kicking Sophia in the solar plexus.. sending her sailing about eight feet.
She grinned “I was right. Pathetic.. and when you try explaining to mommy and daddy why you’re both beat up.. best tell the truth. We have video surveillance cameras all over this place. I would hate to have to upload what you’ve done to all your social media.. Imagine.. Everyone of your followers seeing your true colors.. Bet! That shit would go viral in under two hours!”
Delilah moved back so Delaney could give them both medical attention.. then they went back to Valerie.. She was awake.. and Venom was sending a transport to take her to the infirmary.
Delilah held her hand “I’m so sorry, Val. I should have gotten to you sooner.. How’d they get the jump on you?” Valerie tried to smile.. and whispered “They hit me on the back of my head with the toilet tank lid.. Once I was on the floor they had a field day.. Bitches!”
Delaney walked out to the front of the diner.. straight to the girls’ table.. Someone had given Bethany an ice pack.. Sophia was still trying to catch her breath.. “You both may want to get some x-rays.. and never come back to my diner. None of you! Not even if it’s an emergency.. I wouldn’t piss on you if your guts were on fire!”
Delaney closed the diner.. saying she wouldn’t miss out on anything important.. and she wanted to make sure Valerie was okay.
Delilah went to school every day.. making sure to bring Valerie’s assignments home. The cheerleaders were giving her a wide berth and that caused her to giggle.. every time she saw them. Especially Bethany with her two black eyes..
On the day before her birthday.. she noticed everyone kept giving her dirty looks.. especially when Valerie walked in with very few bruises left. Delilah let it slide until lunch.. her hearing had intensified and she was picking up the whispering..
She stood up… looking for the cheerleaders.. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her.. “You apparently didn’t heed my warning.. you didn’t take me seriously? I have heard what’s being said.. and you should have told the truth.. Everyone! Check your little cheerleading buddies’ social media in about twenty minutes.. I will be tagging them in a couple videos.”
She sat down.. uploaded the videos.. and looked at Bethany “Last chance, Popular Girl… tell the truth..” Bethany screamed “I told the truth, you fucking bitch! You broke my nose!” Delilah laughed.. “Well.. now I’m going to break your reputation.. your social status.. your pedestal that you’ve built upon the sand.. You aimed too high. Shame on you!”
Everyone’s phones started alerting to notifications and Bethany screamed “You fucking bitch! I hate you. I will destroy you!” Delilah chuckled “Good luck with that! And Emily? You really should choose better friends.”
Delaney had planned a beautiful sweet sixteen birthday party for Delilah.. with all the club and pack kids that she goes to school with.. She had asked that only Delaney and Venom be with her for her shift..with Valerie. And as she felt Blue coming to the surface.. she headed to the backyard.
She and Blue had bonded so deeply.. that it only took twenty minutes for them to shift.. A beautiful smoky gray wolf laid where Delilah had been. When she found her feet.. she stretched out.. bowing to Torin.. and then to Lexi.. letting them now she submitted. The moonlight hit her fur.. and what they had thought was dark gray.. was actually smoky blue.. with eyes as blue as the sky at twilight. A beautiful deep azure blue.
After the pack run.. she shifted back and Venom brought her into the pack by joining their slashed palms. She felt the pack bond strengthen and swell.
Everyone gathered in Venom’s office.. Axe had found the locker.. in it was several flash drives with pictures of Elizabeth meeting repeatedly with a man who looked suspiciously like pictures of her dead husband..
A voice recording of a medical examiner doing an autopsy on Delilah’s mother. As they listened, it became clear that her mother had been targeted.. She had been killed by a silver bullet tipped in wolfsbane.. which would have killed her anyway, had the bullet not nicked the aorta.
Venom said “So your mother was murdered to clear the path for Elizabeth to marry your father. And then, I am nearly positive they killed your father. Hoping to get their hands on your money.”
Delaney smiles at Delilah “I am so sorry, baby girl. Now the investigation truly begins. We backtrack and follow their footsteps.. our first priority is to figure out how they knew about your inheritance.. and move forward from there.”
Delilah responded “I want to know how deep Emily is involved.. She’s the same age as me.. it bothers me to think she is as corrupt as her parents.” Valerie asked “If Eric’s death certificate is a forgery.. how do we know Delilah’s dad’s wasn’t falsified, as well? What if he’s alive.. and they’re trying to get information about the money Delilah stands to inherit?”
Venom said “Holy shit! You might be onto something.. I am so proud of you girls.. Valerie.. you’re already thinking like a Beta! Good work!”
Delilah said “I want to go over to Elizabeth’s and beat the shit out her.. repeatedly.. until she tells us what she knows.”
Delaney laughed “You’ll get your chance.. but right now, we don’t want her knowing we know. Like I said, the real investigation starts now. We will find out what’s happened.. Good or bad. Right or wrong.”