The Genius Delta novel Chapter 9

Shit, shit, shit! I quickly got up from the booth as my future ran out the door dragging her sister behind her. Scott at least had the self-awareness to look remorseful. “I…” He opened his mouth but quickly shut it when I glared at him.

“You pick up the tab. I need to chase down my mate and hope to Goddess that she forgives me.” I growled, jabbing my finger into Scott’s chest. “And you get to answer to Logan for your slip.”

My identity is supposed to be a fucking secret. It has been that way since I launched the company. The only way someone outside the pack finds out who I am is because they are mated to someone in the pack. The only tiny sliver of gratification I got was how pale Scott turned when I said he’d have to answer to Logan.

‘She’s our mate, and your dumbass couldn’t find time in the conversation, like when she asked about your family to mention you’re Silvercloud?’ Jaci scolded me. ‘If you ruined things with our mate, I’m not forgiving you, and we are beating Scott so bad his mother won’t recognize him.’

‘I hadn’t thought about it. I don’t generally think about my name. And I was still going to tell her. If not during lunch on the way back home. Scott’s the one that screwed me.’ I grumbled as I rushed out of the restaurant, following her scent.

‘While he’s the dumbass that opened his mouth and inserted his foot till his toes poked out of his ass, you are the one that was responsible for informing our mate of such things. Now it looks like we were keeping secrets.’ Jaci reminded me.

Of course, he will not let this slide or let all the blame go to Scott. Darn wolf and being a moral compass. I know I need to make this right with Persephone. It’s not like I planned never to tell her, but I did want to tell her in my own time and away from the office. Fuck Scott for taking that option away from me.

I rounded the corner, following her scent, and felt like even more shit when I saw her on the ground. She was wrapped in a hug as her sister consoled her in a dingy alley. I hated to see her upset. I hated even more that it was my fault. She knew I was there but stubbornly refused to look in my direction.

“I didn’t lie.” I sighed.

Well, at least opening my dumb mouth got her attention. It got the attention of both Fayte sisters, and nearly identical green eyes narrowed at me. To my surprise, the little one was the one that got up and poked me in the chest.

“I don’t know whom you think you are, but nobody makes my sister cry. I may not have a wolf to unleash some gift on you, but you can bet your ass I’ll be sure our sister Crista sees you put in your place. No one gets to mess with the Fayte sisters.” Delilah scoffed.

It would be scary if she were anyone else threatening me. I mean no disrespect to the younger Fayte, but she’s not intimidating. I’ve dealt with enough women, especially those I don’t find intimidating like Hana, to know how to handle this situation. I held both hands up in surrender.

“I am Persephone’s mate. No matter what anyone calls me, that will always be true. And I don’t like upsetting Persephone or anyone, especially her.” I sighed.

Delilah frowned and glanced at her sister. “I think you should listen to him. He doesn’t come with some long list of deplorable rumors like Alec did, and Crista still gave him a chance.” She encouraged stepping aside.

Well, at least she’s sort of on my side. I sighed, taking cautious steps toward my mate. If I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s always to be careful when approaching a she-wolf that is upset for any reason. I knelt in front of her and took the risk of touching her chin, so she had to look at me. I didn’t like the hurt I saw in her eyes or that it looked like she’d been crying.

“I am sorry I hadn’t told you earlier. I couldn’t say anything in the office. No one else but my assistant knows who I am. And I should have told you at lunch, but we were talking about many things, and I didn’t.” I apologized, hoping she’d accept my reasons.

“I had fully intended to tell you on the drive home tonight, but dumbass Scott blew that for me.” I sighed. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. I’m not sure if this was her calming down or just that she didn’t want to look at me. I hope it’s the first one. I don’t want her to be mad at me. This is day one of us being together, and I’ve already screwed it up. But so long as she doesn’t let this get in our way, I can and will make it up to her.

“It’s not just you that I’m mad at.” Persephone sighed. “I’ve talked about your company and wanted to meet you for years. And in all that time, no one said they knew you. Kurt, Isis, Darren, André. None of them told me. Yet one dumbass I barely know accidentally does.”

“Don’t be mad at them either, please. When I launched Silvercloud Industrial, we all agreed my identity should remain a secret. I couldn’t handle the public eye like John, and to a lesser extent, Logan does. So to protect the pack and me, it became a pack secret.” I explained, letting my hand cup her face, wiping a stray tear.