Page 77 of Mated Exile

"No one who's chosen by the flame can be exiled like that," he says, approval ringing out in his voice. "William isn't alive to say whether she should be accepted back into the pack or not, but it's no matter. We have no alpha, and the choice has been made without one. Delilah Glass is one of our own."

Snatching her hand from the flame, Delilah jumps onto the ground and takes a step towards Michael. Her expression is full of excitement, though her next question has nothing to do with being welcomed into the pack. "What else do you know about the elders? Is there a way to wake them and ask for their guidance?"

"Of course there is." He frowns, while around us, the crowd gathers closely, their voices fallen to whispers. I cross my fingers that some are moving towards acceptance, or at least curiosity. "But waking them will be hard if not impossible without an active alpha among the pack."

Roarke takes a step forward. "There are ways, though. I know there are. I just can't find them written down anywhere."

"Probably because the ways to wake them change depending on the need," Michael says, which is hardly reassuring. "When the pack has needed healing, the elders woke at the spilling of our lifeblood. During times of war, a bomb that landed near the circle woke them up. Other times, a strong alpha has awoken them, though not without paying a price—once woken, they rarely go to sleep again easily, and are notorious busybodies."

I snort a little at that. Given Delilah's mother, a busybody would hardly be a new nuisance. Michael glances over at me and raises a brow in my direction, so I keep my mirth to myself, even as I move closer to Delilah and Roarke.

In a quiet voice I ask them, "What is it that you want the elders for exactly? Maybe if we know, we can figure out how to wake them."

Michael snaps, "Speak up!" I repeat my question for him, louder this time. "Ah. Yes, that's true. The purpose of your question may lead us to our method of waking them."

There are more eyes on us now, and a quiet settles among the crowd as they listen closely. I get the sense that if Delilahdoeswake the elders—if she achieves what even her father couldn't—at least some of them will have no choice but to accept her. The rest will follow when she lifts the curse, and no one among the pack will be able to object to her presence then. Even if they fear her, or resent her powers, they won't be able to deny her strength.

"We want to ask them about the curse," Delilah says haltingly. "I'm sure they've been asked before, but never by a wolf-witch hybrid. Since I'm different, I'm hoping that means I may be able to do something that the others weren't able to do."

"Well, that makes things easier." Lifting his cane, the old man points its end towards the head of the circle, between two of the columns. "The elder you're looking for is Vivia, and the way to wake her isyou.Simply find the blood of an alpha, any alpha will do, and spill it at her feet. She'll wake for you."

Delilah's brows knit together. "But why Vivia? And why would she wake for me if she hasn't already?"

"Because she was like you." He sets his cane on the ground impatiently, even as all the eyes of the pack members around him settle on the old man's face. "Vivia was a wolf-witch hybrid, and one of the founding members of the pack. How else do you think we have such a strong connection to the land? She built it. And she'll be able to give you the answers you seek, if you simply find the ingredient to wake her."

* * *

Delilah

The old man's voice echoes in my head.Because she was like you.He said it like it was simple and obvious.

After he told me the key to waking up the elders, he just melted back into the crowd, saying something about finding the lady with the snacks. Then the circle's flame burned down low, giving off enough illumination to light the circle and little else. Niall called the meeting to order, and I was left with more answers than I wanted, along with even more questions.

The chief of which spills out of me as I follow Roarke down the trail towards home, Kieran behind me. "How are we supposed to get an alpha's blood to wake the elders when we don'thavean alpha?"

"He said it could beanyalpha," Roarke points out. "John deLance will be here for the Summit. That technically counts as an alpha."

Kieran snorts. "Somehow I doubt he'll be willing to just up and offer us hisblood.Especially since he's coming here to take over our pack."

"That also cuts it pretty close," I point out. "He's showing up one day before the Summit. We'd have to get exact answers from the elders in order to break the curse before it's time to choose an alpha."

"We could ask some of the other packs for help, but I don't know that any of them will be willing to travel so far." Roarke reaches a break in the trail and offers me his hand. I take it, enjoying the warmth of his palm. "It's a big ask, and none of them are as invested in lifting our curse as we are."

Chewing my lower lip, I consider our options. "There has to be another way. Maybe I missed something in one of the spell books. Or Kieran's Aunt Tabitha has more for us."

"Maybe," Kieran says, though he sounds doubtful. "I don't know, Delilah. At this point, the elders seem like our best bet."

I'll just have to try to wake them up, then. Frowning, I jokingly suggest, "I guess if worse comes to worse, I can use my hybrid powers to force the visiting alpha to give us his blood."

To my shock, Roarke actually considers it. "That's not a bad idea. He'll have to visit the Mating Circle to have his connection to the land and pack judged anyway—we could easily get him to spill a little blood while he's there."

"Roarke!" Horror twists my stomach. "He's analpha."

"So?" He raises a brow in my direction. "I'm sure between the two of us we can pull it off. Especially when the other options are letting the curse continue, or giving up on the pack."

Kieran notes, "So you'renotgoing to just give up on the pack that easily. Even though you're the one who called the alpha in the first place. Did something change your mind?"

Looking away, Roarke lets my hand slip from his as we reach the end of the trail. "Not something. Someone."

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