Page 37 of Exiled Mate

Thorne unfurls himself from his truck. After he chats briefly with Iris, he turns to the crowd.

“Rylan James,” he says. “We need to talk.”

I grip Terra’s hand. “Okay. Here I go,” I whisper.

She holds me tight. “No. Not alone. Whatever happens, we do it together.”

I nod. Through our mating bond, I can feel her nerves, but I do my best to send soothing images her way.

Thorne clears his throat. “You led not one, but two of our most valued pack members to an illegal shifter fighting ring. Ember participated in a sport that is not only illegal, but highly dangerous. You yourself have often been there, as evidenced by your name and familiarity with the place.”

I straighten my back. “Yes, Alpha.”

“You put your mate and her friend in danger, James,” he growls. Terra opens her mouth to speak, but Thorne shakes his head. “I’m not finished.”

We all wait for him to speak again.

Thorne looks at his mate, then back at me. “You also came back to the pack, even when I had banished you… and when I previously had not believed you. You showed us that there was a traitor in my inner circle, and you sacrificed yourself so that Ember wouldn’t be hurt.”

“I wasn’t going to—” Ember protests, but Rhea lightly taps her on the shoulder.

“You have gone above and beyond, and I would like to formally rescind your exile. And,” Thorne adds with a wry twist of his lips, “I’d like to extend a formal apology. I should have listened to you two years ago, Rylan. I should have listened to you a month ago. I’m sorry.”

The whole crowd sucks in a collective breath. An apology from an alpha is no small thing.

“If you would like to continue to live in Oakwood, we would be blessed to have someone with your particular skill set,” he says, giving me a look. “And if not… I understand as well.”

Next to me, I hear Terra make a noise. I look up at the alpha and grin. “I think my mate would prefer if we stayed here.”

“Then I will do my best to make up my errors, and welcome you as part of our pack,” Thorne says. Then, he winks. “Now, let’s get you two officially mated, shall we?”

Chapter 11

Terra

ONE MONTH LATER

“Rylan. Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on her?”

My mate shakes his head. “No way. She’s the one who asked for this!”

I look at Ember, who is standing across the makeshift boxing gym that Rylan just finished constructing. She’s glaring at Rylan, her amber eyes flashing, and a really nice bruise peeks at us from her cheek.

“I’m good, Terra! Come on, Rylan. Don’t go easy on me!” she barks as she slams her boxing gloves together.

Rylan shrugs. “If Terra says no, Terra says no.”

“Boring,” Ember huffs.

I wave at her. “Um. Hi. Hello. Why don’t I get you some ointment to put on your face there?”

“Oh, this?” Ember touches the rapidly spreading bruise before she shrugs. “It’ll be gone in about an hour.”

Normally, I’d say no, that it would probably be purple for at least a day. But with Ember…

I shake my head. “Fine. It’s your face. If you want to walk around looking like a blueberry, that’s on you.”

“As long as I’m the hottest blueberry you’ve ever seen!” Ember shouts back.

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