Page 85 of Mated Exile

Those twoare Roarke and Niall, whilethat assholeis the Stone Pack alpha, John deLance. He's showing the man around town while we wait for him at the trail leading to the Mating Circle, along with several higher-up members of the pack, including a few who cast wary eyes in my direction.

"They'll be here soon," I tell Finn, dragging my attention away from Bennett Green, one of the werewolves currently giving me a mistrustful stare. "Roarke promised to try to butter him up and relax him before he gets here and we ask for his blood. It's a lot to spring on someone, after all."

The plan formed slowly, with the help of Niall and a few older members of the pack who were willing to go to bat for our ideas. We'll treat John deLance like we always planned, wining and dining him, giving him and his entourage a tour of the town. Roarke will subtly use his alpha influence as much as he can along the way, assessing how he's feeling and gauging what is likely to work on him.

Then, once he's here in the Mating Circle, Roarke and Niall will persuade him to willingly give up his blood to wake Elder Vivia and help us break the curse. We'll offer whatever we have to him in exchange—a few of the younger mateless male werewolves are willing to join his pack if needed—and hope that it's enough.

If it isn't enough, Roarke has a backup plan, one I'm not sure I like, though I have to admit it's necessary. We'll do what we can to take deLance's blood, through persuasion or force, and hope it doesn't cause an all-out war.

Roarke is certain we can influence him to give his blood up willingly, if it comes to that. I'm not so sure. All I hope is that itwon'tcome to that.

If it does, though, we're prepared. In addition to Bennett Green, Tim Ocean, Ian Rivers, and a few other males in their thirties, Finn, Lance, Kieran, and Bastian are here, all prepared to be Roarke and Niall's backup in case a certainotherkind of persuasion is needed. I tried to convince Bastian not to come, since it isn't his fight, but he insisted. After some talking I had to grudgingly admit that it isn't the first time he's fought another werewolf, and given how many scars he bears and how much fighting he's survived, there's a good chance he may be the only wolf here who can take deLance down.

I hope it doesn't come to that. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I nervously check our group text chat. Roarke has been sending updates as he shows the alpha around town. In his latest, he lets us know how many werewolves came with deLance: six, three females and three males, all mated pairs. That feels a little like rubbing it in, especially since deLance left his own mate at home with his pack, but apparently he's sending a message about what he can offer us.

Feeling Bennett's eyes on me again, I glance over at him. He's leaned up against his jet black pickup truck, gaze narrowed and firm. Tall and tanned from the sun, he has dark brown hair and is in his thirties. I know little about him except that he's a single father—because the curse, of course, killed his mate, the mother of his children.

"That dude is giving me the heebie jeebies," Finn says, frowning in his direction before glancing back at me. "Did you eat a baby in front of him or something?"

"No clue. Though you know how I love baby flesh," I joke, feeling tension gather between my shoulder blades. "It's probably because I'm a hybrid."

"Nah, no way." Finn gives me a confident smirk. "I bet he's just jealous of how insanely hot you are and he wishes I was looking at him instead. What can I say, this ass of mine attracts people ofallgenders and races."

Rolling my eyes, I can't stop my curiosity, and decide to give in to it. If there's something besides my nature keeping the pack from trusting me, I want to know. Anything I can do to change their point of view should help.

"Hey, Lance." Snagging his attention, I motion him over towards me and Finn. "What's that guy Bennett's deal? Don't look at him."

Raising his brows, Lance glances over at me and Finn. "No idea. Why don't you ask Kieran? He's been in the pack longer than me."

Kieran and Bastian are leaned up against his truck, in some animated conversation that probably involves sports, which K has gotten him into lately. I can't get his attention without it being obvious, so I slip my question into the group chat, which we've added Bastian into recently. The answer I get comes quickly, but not from Kieran.

His mate was the second to die of the curse, after Anastasia Lansing,Roarke texts.

A moment later Kieran adds,He's one of the ones who drones on about pack purity bullshit. Thinks the curse and the blood rot are because we let too many humans and shiftless wolves into the pack. He wants Sasha exiled because she chose to have a chip inserted in her neck instead of shifting, even though she's literally the only female Glass Pack wolf between the ages of eighteen and eighty who's still alive.

My stomach churns. It's exactly what I feared, which isn't reassuring. There's nothing I can do to change the opinion of someone who was bound to hate me from the start.

Bastian texts an optimistic opinion.He'll come around once he sees how awesome you are.

"Seeing the curse get lifted will change his mind," Lance murmurs, reaching out to gently squeeze my arm. "They'll all realize that you're meant to be a part of the pack, not kept from it."

"If he doesn't get his head out of his assmetaphorically,we can always stuff it up there literally," Finn suggests. "I'm sure Roarke has figured out a way how to do that."

"Thanks guys, but I'm good." Sighing, I turn away from Bennett's gaze and concentrate instead on the trail up towards the Mating Circle. "I'm bound to be disliked by some people. Hell, even Cat has her haters, and if you ask me she's one of the coolest people in the world. You can't win them all."

Thankfully I don't have to put up with Bennett's stare for long. A few minutes later, three cars pull up the road, all large black shiny SUVs. Roarke, Niall, and John deLance get out of one. The other two disgorge half a dozen young, slick people I can only guess are the mated pairs.

They walk towards us and make their introductions. Roarke meets my eyes and gives me a small, short head shake which I take to mean his subtle influences haven't gone well. My attention is taken by the rest of the group for a moment as they greet our pack. Even just having young female werewolves around, their eyes bright, hair shiny, and skin supple, is having an affect on the males we assembled. I can feel their attention on the women, their eyes greedy, not for the mates of other males but for the hope of having their own.

If we aren't able to get quick and easy answers from the elders, I fear the pack may turn on the idea of having our own alpha and give in to the siren call of John deLance's leadership. I can see it as Bennett takes his hand and firmly shakes it, the respect clear in his eyes. He gives the alpha a look I could never imagine him shooting my way.

Niall brings him over to our area, where he's introduced first to Lance, then Finn. I hang back, studying the alpha in all his general nondescript glory, from his werewolf-average height (six-foot-four or so) to his thick brown hair, five o'clock shadow, and the runic tattoo on his wrist.

He cuts an imposing figure as he nears me and I feel his gaze land on my face, a question in his expression, but the imposing is all pheromone-based. My wolf can sense his powerful connection to his own pack, and even the human in me trembles, knowing that in an instant he can have the six strong young wolves at his pack transformed and eager to attack us. Eyes follow him where he goes, and his influence is a rippling wave through the air.

This is what an alpha is—not the tallest or the strongest member of the pack, not the loudest or the one with the worst temper, but the most influential.

"...and this is Delilah Glass, our late alpha's daughter," Niall says, motioning to me. "She's returned to town to settle his affairs and attend the Summit."

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