Page 46 of Fated Exile

"Get up there and claim what's due to you," Lance says in a low, steady voice. "You deserve it just as much as he does."

"Me?"

Finn chuckles. "Yes, you, Delilah. The savior of the pack? Our only chance to be reborn?" He gently shoves me to the front of the crowd, then catches my wrist and tugs me around to face him. "By the way, your hair looks stunning in the setting sunlight."

The kiss he drops on my lips is sudden and deep. Before I can even think about how public this is, and how it looks right when I'm going up to join Roarke, he tongues my lips open and tilts my head with gentle pressure. A moan escapes my mouth as he swipes his tongue against mine, and I hear a wolf whistle from the crowd, closely followed by anactualwolf yip.

Then Finn pulls back, a smirk on his face, his eyes trawling my skin from cheeks to chest. "You've blushing," he murmurs. "Must be the heat getting to you."

"You're shameless."

"That's how they made me."

He twirls me around and pushes me towards the platform again. Roarke is waiting for me at the top, a patient smile on his face, one brow half raised. Holding out his hand, he watches as I cautiously step forward and take it.

Behind me I hear, "Oh!That'swhat mate-kin must be."

There's a chuckle in the crowd, which is now becoming liquored up, thanks to Cat's punch. I down the rest of mine and toss the cup aside as I step up to join Roarke. It feels like the platform is swaying beneath me, which is why it's a good thing when he pulls me against him.

"It's true, my mate will have more than one mate," he says, his voice carrying effortlessly across the crowd. My blush burns hotter, and I send up thanks for the setting sun and the cooling air, which hides me from view and keep me from melting into a puddle. "Delilah is a wolf-witch hybrid, as all of you know. That means she's fated to more than one male.

"But the mate bond we share with her won't be weakened by the multiple connections. Our threads are stronger, varied, and more powerful because of what we share, both with her and with each other, as pack brothers. It's that bond which will strengthen the pack, lift the curse, and defeat the hybrid who cursed us in the first place. Already, the Mating Circle is healing because we've accepted our connection and taken up our rightful place together. Look. The cracks are healing."

They do, and so do I. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and I'm only able to see it because of the setting sun. When I do, I gasp, looking from Roarke, to the cracks, and back down again.

Not only are the cracks shifting, healing, and disappearing, but they're doing so in a pattern. Wherever the guys are, the cracks there glow with magic, which is strongest closest to their feet. What's more, I can sense their energy signature in the earth beneath us, pouring into the ancient stones of the Mating Circle and strengthening it even as it heals.

Roarke continues, "I know these are strange, difficult times, and what we're proposing is completely new to the pack. It's unconventional, and may even be a bit scary, but..."

He motions to me, holding out his hand. I take it and join fingers with him, curled up close against his side.

"I believe that together, we can face the new world together. As two alphas instead of one, with mates and mate-kin at our side."

Nineteen

Delilah

Silence falls over the crowd, and for a moment I'm afraid again. Though it's been years since my exile, I can't help but feel like a little girl again. Only this time, I know the loneliness that's waiting for me if the pack doesn't welcome me in, and I'm not prepared to face it a second time around.

Then my eyes find a familiar face in the crowd. Niall parts through the sea of shoulders to stand at the edge of the platform. Though he's already given his totem to Roarke, he has something in his hand. With a solemn expression on his face, he reaches up to hand it to me, and I bend down to take it from his palm.

It's a thick, silver ring with an ice blue gemstone set into it. Shocked, I nearly drop the thing, but manage to catch it before it slips from my fingers.

"This was Dad's." Clearing my throat, I raise my voice to point out, "It's the alpha's token. It belongs to the leader of the pack."

"It's yours now." Niall shrugs one shoulder. "He left it to me, even though he left everything else to you. I think that was a mistake. It should've been yours."

Glancing helplessly over at Roarke, I point out, "He's the one who has the totems, and who the pack was always going to nominate. Roarke, maybe you should have it."

"No." He shakes his head emphatically, those summer blue eyes bright in the glow of the pack flame. "Take it, Delilah. It'syourtotem."

Dislodging my hand from his grip, I bring the ring up and put it over my thumb. It fits, barely, the silver band oddly warm against my skin and the gemstone reflecting the night sky. As it settles onto my thumb, I feel a spark of recognition inside me.

It feels like it belongs there.

A feeling that only grows when I look out into the crowd and hear a whoop of exaltation come from somewhere in its middle. Someone steps forward and throws a bouquet of flowers at my feet, laughing gaily. One of the warriors—young Ian, I realize as he gets closer—tosses a wreath around our shoulders. A few of the older members of the pack bring smooth gemstones and small statues.

Somehow a chant starts up. "De-li-lah! De-li-lah!"

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