Page 93 of Mated Exile

Ambrosia frowns. "Is that what you believe? Who told you that?"

"It was my misdirection, I'm afraid," Demetri says, while Marcellus and Helene pace to either side of us. Finn and I break apart, hands dropping as we track the vampires. "You see, Bastian wouldn't stop asking why I'd gotten a new mutt. He was getting so frustrating, as you remember—all those years as a wolf—and I wasn't certain what he'd do if he knew he was being replaced. So I told him she was a special delicacy."

"As if we'd eat amagkos," Helene scoffs. "Why consume the most powerful weapon there is?"

Marcellus mutters, "Obviously we won't be needinghimonce we have her."

"Obviously," Demetri agrees. "Do try not to mention that, though. You know how he gets when he's in one of his moods. Speaking of."

Demetri is staring over my shoulder with a pleased smirk on his face. There's a growl behind me, and despite myself I startle and look back, heart pounding. What I find myself looking at breaks my heart in two—even as I prepare to do battle.

It's Bastian in his wolf form, lean and leggy with dark brown fur that turns tan along his belly and forms two dots over his eyebrows. Those strange red eyes are glowing, and his lips are peeled back to show long white fangs.

Ears pinned and tail lashing, he's crouched in an offensive posture, prepared to pounce at any moment.

His target? Quite clearly, me.

But that isn't what breaks my heart. The look in his eyes is the same one I remember from my time in the arena, when one of the vampires ordered him to kill me and his expression went slack. Or that night when he went after me and I thought he was sleepwalking.

As he stalks towards me, his movements jerky and his growls growing louder, I feel a moment of déjà vu. He looks just like John deLance did when I used the curse to take his free will away. Whatever the vampires did to him, they've somehow hypnotized his mind and brought it under their control.

Thewrongnessof that is a knife in my chest. Because I did it to someone else, too.

There's not time to dwell on any of it, though. Bastian tenses to attack. I get enough time to tell Finn, "Go for the vamps!" Then I have to let my inner she-wolf out as Bastian lunges for me.

My white wolf ripples through my body as I'm mid-leap. Just in time, because Bastian collides with me and takes me to the ground. His wolf is bigger, stronger, and he had more time to prepare.

Jaws snap at my neck and chest. Rolling out from under him, I kick out my legs and leap towards his middle. He avoids my attack and curves around to slap me with a paw.

We retreat, circling each other for a moment. In the darkness, Finn faces the four vamps with strength and cunning. I can't help but notice that instead of attacking him, they mostly feint, drawing him towards their positions then away.

Be careful,I warn him. An instant later Bastian attacks again, and I become too consumed by my own battle to pay attention to him.

He throws me to the ground. I roll, slash my claws across his underside, and slip beneath him. I go for his back legs and he kicks outward towards my face. Curving downward, he lunges for the underside of my throat—and I twist my muzzle around to sink my fangs into his neck.

But I don't want to kill Bastian. And despite whatever the vamps have done to him, he doesn't seem to want to kill me either. Maybe because of whatever bullshitplansthey have for me. So neither one of us tears at each other's throats. We wind up pulling back again, endlessly circling, stalking and swiping.

As my sides heave with adrenaline and I search for a weak spot, I wonder what the point of it all is. I don't understand why they're feinting at Finn. Why the vampires are waiting in the woods. What the point of Bastian slashing and snarling at me is, except to make my heart shrink with despair. Even now, the rest of the pack is returning to us, and in just a minute or two they'll be here.

The vampires seem to sense it too. Ambrosia looks towards the mountains, tilting her head as if listening—then smiles. "Here puppy puppies."

My heart sinks and my stomach churns. Whipping my head around, I peer towards the distant spot where the wolves are. With all my heart I shout to Roarke,Don't! Run!

I don't know what she's planning, but I know it isn't good.

As soon as my eyes lift from Bastian, he moves. This time, he doesn't attack—he just pins me to the ground. His eyes are bright red and unfathomable as his claws dig into my chest and his muzzle lowers to my neck, lips peeled.

In the same moment, Ambrosia, Helene, and Marcellus converge on Finn. They grab at him and throw his body into the darkness—away from me, towards the waiting vamps. A snarl leaves my muzzle and I twist beneath Bastian, struggling to get free.

There's one vampire missing.

Demetri stalks up behind him, reaches down, and puts his hand on my belly. His fingers splay, claws extending from them. The snarl in my throat turns into a pained whimper as he digs them into my belly until blood flows and venom burns through my veins—then deeper, and deeper, until it feels like he's two or three knuckles deep.

The pain is so overwhelming I nearly pass out from it.

But something won't let me. Despite the paralysis spreading through me and the exhaustion from using so much magic at once. Through the pain of vampire claws sunk in my middle and betrayal turning my heart to stone. I'm kept here, anchored and strong, the land beneath me supporting the last of my power and keeping me warm. It's not enough to fight back, but it is enough to do something else:survive.

Distantly, I hear Roarke's voice, worried and confused.Delilah? What's wrong? What should we do?

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