Page 43 of Mated Exile

But like a wound exposed to the air, once the magic has left me, it refuses to close back up again.

Suddenly I can feel all of them, their bright frustration, bitter envy, deep sorrow, and harsh pain. While the alcohol flows smoothly, the flirtation continues, and voices raise in laughter, nothing can hide what they're feeling beneath. The death and misery of the past few years has hollowed the pack out, weakened and wounded every single one of them.

What's worse is feeling their emotions as they look at me, their eyes easily recognizing my face, the brown chip in my green eyes identifying me as William's daughter just as surely as the rest of me.

They feel it all: irritation, disgust, curiosity, anger, and worst of all, hatred. Their thoughts swirl just beneath their emotions, ugly and untamed. Many of them can't believe that I'm back; most are frustrated that William left anything to me at all. More than a few are certain that I caused the curse somehow, that my father sensed a defect in me and exiled me from the pack, but was too cowardly to finish it off entirely.

One of them briefly imagines what it would be like to kill me. To sink teeth into my throat and tear my flesh out. I wince at the imagery, searching the crowd for the source, but the image flashes through my mind too quickly to place it to a face.

Then I feel it suddenly, an oasis of calm in the middle of a swirling storm. Finn's emotions and thoughts are easy and open, his easy charm masking nothing brutal or angry. He's in the middle of telling a story to his friend when he looks up, scans the crowd, and frowns. I move towards him, sensing that he's looking for me, and when two bodies part to reveal him to me I stumble forward into his arms.

"Delilah?" Grabbing my elbows, he holds me up, clearly confused. "What's wrong, did something happen?"

Shaking my head, I gulp in air, staring desperately into his eyes. He's confused, concerned, and more than a little uncertain—but not angry or full of pain. Just being near him somehow draws the ocean of my magic back into me and drops it into my center like a stone. A few more breaths of air, and I can't sense any of them at all.

"It's too much," I tell him, aware of his friend's concerned eyes on me, but unable to meet his gaze. "I want to go home."

"Right away."

He closes out his tab with a flick of bills from his wallet, flicks through an app on his phone, and calls the cab. Grimacing, he tells me, "It'll be ten minutes, if that's okay with you."

"It's fine," I tell him, the press of the crowd getting to me. Grabbing his arm for support, I ask quietly, "Can we go outside?"

Finn immediately whisks me to the front doors, his tall frame and no-nonsense manner cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. Moments later we're out on the sidewalk, under the night sky, a cool breeze in the air. There's a rumble of chatter from the patio crowd, but it's distant and easy to ignore, their emotions somehow flitting past me without notice now that I'm not trapped between four walls with them.

Though I can sense Finn's restlessness, and I know he's waiting for an explanation, he doesn't press me. Doesn't ask anything at all. Just stands beside me, and after a brief moment, carefully draws his arm around my shoulders. When I lean into it, he pulls me snug against his side, warm and comforting. I grab onto his shirt with my fingers and close my eyes as I lean into his sweet scent.

"My father was right," I tell him, my voice only shaking a little now that I've got my bearings again. "I have the powers that the witch—my mother warned him about. I can sense their thoughts and emotions."

Finn is quiet for a long time. "Is that so bad? If it breaks the curse somehow, it seems like it should be worth it. I don't mind the occasional Vulcan mind meld if it means the mass death stops."

"I don't think your opinion is widely shared," I tell him, though my mouth quirks up at his imagery. "The things I felt from them—they hide it well, but most of them hate me. Many blame me for the curse."

He's quiet for a long moment, and when I dare to look up into his eyes, I see anger in his face. An emotion that's echoed in his harsh words. "If they think something that monumentally stupid, they are absolute idiots, and not worth your time."

I smile up at him, relief going through me. "I know. But I can't exactly blame them. Their whole lives, the pack has been a sure and steady thing, until one day the alpha exiles his daughter for being shiftless, and suddenly all the females start dying. Some of them seem to think I'm bad luck, but others... I'm not sure, but I think they believe that once I was exiled, I somehow convinced a witch to curse him."

Finn's jaw sets, and he glares off into the darkness. "Maybe going to a bar was a bad idea. We could bring you to one of the pack's family events, or you could have that wake, and make it a big party. That way they'll take the chance to get to know you, and things will change."

Though I want to believe him, as I tiredly point out, "They don't even know that I'm a hybrid yet. What will they think when they discover the truth?"

"That they're damned lucky the one person who's been treated the worst by this pack is more than willing to save it."

I laugh, the sound hollow. It drains from me quickly, leaving nothing but sadness in its wake.

"I don't think they'll see it that way." The cab rounds the corner as I tell him, "One of them wanted to kill me. I don't think he would've done it—it was just a thought, before you go back in there half-cocked and start some shit—but it was a thought I could feel. And if I'm honest, I—I don't know if I can walk around feeling all that shit all day long."

"I don't blame you." He squeezes my shoulder, his expression helpless. "So what do we do? Tell me, and whatever it is, I'll help out."

I wish I knew.

"When I figure it out, I'll let you know." I shoot him a grim smile, the best I can manage at the moment. "For now, I think the priority is figuring out how to use this new ability of mine, so I can turn it off at will. I'll figure out the rest later."

As I get into the cab, I glance one last time at the bar, its cheery tiki facade somehow mocking me.

Unbidden, my thoughts roll out towards it, and my awareness stretches.

It's just for a moment.

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