Page 78 of Mated Exile

My heart does a foolish little kick in my chest, and I have to bury my smile by turning away. But my eyes find Kieran's, and I search them for some sign of pain on his part, worried that my growing connection to his best friend might push him off the path to sobriety.

He's looking at Roarke with a small smile on his face, his expression absurdly pleased, like he thinks he has something to do with this change of heart. Glancing at me, he winks, and I actually flush.

Kieran Salt, best friend and matchmaker.

Who knew.

* * *

Kieran

I hesitate by Roarke's car, flicking invisible lint from my pants. It's time to say goodnight to Delilah, but there's something I want to ask her. Something I only want to talk to her about if I'm sure it's okay.

Finding Roarke's eyes, I make a motion with my head. He immediately understands. We step aside, excusing ourselves for a moment, and he dips his chin towards me.

"What's up?"

"I want to spend some alone time with Delilah, but I wasn't sure if you already had plans." Watching her lean up against Roarke's sedan, tugging on a stray bit of hair that's fallen from her bun, I feel something tighten in my chest. "It wouldn't be sporting of me to monopolize her time, after all."

Roarke is studying me, head tilted. "We don't have patrol tonight, so I suppose there's no reason why you couldn't."

I snort at him. "I'm not planning on patrolling for vampires with her, dummy."

"I figured that part out." He reaches out to squeeze my shoulder, emotion passing across his face. "But while you're with her, have you considered asking her about the broken mate bond?"

Frowning, I shake my head. "It hadn't occurred to me. I don't know why it would."

"You saw the flame tonight. It leapt for her," he points out. "Normally it only does that for alphas during the ceremony. If she can make the flame do that, maybe she can close down the bond, since her father opened it in the first place."

"I don't know..." I've felt her touch against its blackness, but I don't dare to hope. "It can't be that easy. William tried, but he wasn't able to do anything. Tara's death is connected to my spirit in a way that no one seemed to be able to explain."

"Just ask her to try." He shrugs a little, though I can see hope blooming in his eyes. "What's the worst that can happen?"

I can answer that question with a few different things.

But I decide that I might as well try.

* * *

Delilah

Kieran and I are standing on the front porch, watching Roarke's car pull away down the long winding road, when he meets my eyes and takes a deep breath.

I expect him to ask me something intimate, or maybe say something romantic.

Instead he says, "Would you mind experimenting with me a little?"

* * *

Experimenting, in this case, doesn't seem to meanthatkind of experimenting. Since my touch somehow affected the mate bond once before, Kieran wants to find out if I can maybe close it up.

I'm more than a little nervous about trying. The mate bond isn't just a romantic connection. It's a part of our souls, opened up for each other, and bonded at our very centers.

There's a reason why all the broken bonds have turned into scars and wounds that I can sense inside the spirits of the pack. They're no simple thing to destroy.

It's one thing when the bonds are only those of an intended, like the ones Finn and Roarke had that witches were able to dissolve. Once a pack member steps onto the Mating Circle and heeds the call of their alpha, opening their spirit for a lifelong connection, they make room for another's soul. If the bond isn't finished, the way Kieran's was, their soul remains open forever—and in his case, the sudden violent death of his intended infected that space for good. Now, where another pack member's spirit should be, only darkness resides.

"Just give it a try," he says, beckoning me over as I stand on the other side of my father's office from him, staring mulishly at his chest. "You don't even have to perform any witchcraft like with the addiction cravings. I just want to see if something happens when you touch it, like last time."

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