Page 69 of Fated Exile

Along with my overwhelming hunger, and the cranky desire to snap at Kerry, which I'm barely restraining myself from doing.

There's something like amusement in the back of my mind, which I recognize as belonging to him. Followed by a cool, soothing sensation. Then I feel his presence in my mind blossom and flow, filling more and more of my senses—and it's joined, one by one, by other presences as my mates become aware of my overwhelming emotions.

So far, today, I've managed to hold back from letting my emotions leak out of me. As someone who's aware of the entire pack's emotions whether I want to be or not, I know how burdensome and overwhelming it can be. The mating bond is new for all of us, and I didn't want them to feel my negativity. Especially Bastian, who's been downstairs all day, helping Cat around the house and patrolling the back woods in his wolf form.

Now that all the guys are here, though, it's hard to resist the siren song of their comforting presences in the back of my mind. They must have come to the house for lunch; I'm sure if I had my phone on me—if Kerry hadn't insisted I not look at it during training—I'd see the texts in the group chat. I can tell that they're downstairs right now, and a pang of jealous hunger goes through me at the thought of their plates getting loaded with food while I sit up here trying to break a cinderblock with my mind.

Finn's bright amusement bursts on my tongue at this thought, along with a thread of concern from Bastian, and something like curiosity from Kieran and Roarke. It's the fifth presence that I find myself reaching for: Lance, cool and composed, the taste of winter and mint coating my mouth as I brush up against our link.

He senses what I need almost instantly, and sends me his strength.

I gasp, eyes flying open as I tug on it. The well inside me is far from dry; Kerry was right when she insisted that I can fill it up whenever I want. It's not just Lance, either. As I tug on his strength, I feel the other four join in, following where he instinctively leads.

There's a flavor to each of their presences inside me, none of them quite alike. The one who's most different of all, though, is Bastian. When he fumbles along and reaches for me, trying to lend me some of his energy and power, I find myself tapping into something behind the world around me. His mate bond brings me an energy that comes not just from him, or me, or even the earth around us and the pack that's bonded to it. He brings me a strange, eerie strength that can only come from the Otherworld itself. And instead of filling me with energy and strength, it connects me to its dark presence, giving me an endless well that refreshes mine in an instant.

Concentrating my gaze on the cinderblock, I let the energy flow into my fingertips as I did before, when I tore the cardboard into shreds without twitching and broke the vase down into sand within a heartbeat. This time, though, more energy leaves my body than I've ever felt inside myself, and I'm not even tired as it courses through me.

I feel more invigorated, more alive. My mind clears, my stomach quiets, and I swear even my hair feels softer and stronger as I lean forward to concentrate fully on the cinderblock.

Breathing in, I let the energy gather inside me. On my breath out, I force it from me and into the cinderblock.

This time it cracks wide open, shattering down the middle. But it doesn't stop there. The energy that flows through me is so strong, so endless and alive, that it turns the cinderblock into dozens of tiny pieces of concrete. Then it breaks those down, pushing them into the carpet as sand and bits of dust that float in the air.

Kerry blinks at me through the fog of dust—then grins and slaps my shoulder. "You did it! And quite well too. At this rate, you'll be able to make the traveler's charm in an hour or two at the most."

"Great." I wave the dust away, my nose and mouth coated with the stuff. "First, though, mind if we eat? Last time I checked, I'm still a mortal with needs."

"Oh, but it's only—" Kerry glances up at the clock on the wall, and her eyes widen. "Whoops! Time slips when you're in the thick of things. Let's go ahead and eat before we work on the charm. I need to grab a few more things for the spell, anyway, so it's just as well."

I don't wait for her to change her mind. Hopping to my feet, I burst out the door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Once there, I find myself greeted by the familiar smells of Cat's cooking, and the warmth of my mates around me.

Along with the presence of Niall, who's standing just alittletoo close to Cat for comfort. My rumbling stomach drives me to pick up a plate and load it with sweet potato fries, baked chicken, and roasted veggies, but I keep an eye on Niall. The way Cat leans towards him, warmth suffusing her cheeks, makes my stomach twist strangely.

I want to be happy for them. Really,really,I do. But werewolves have a tendency to mate for life, and Cat... well, my foster mother mates for the span of a heartbeat before she's away again. I don't know what worries me more—the thought that she'll break his heart, or the thought that shewon't,and Niall will become my step-father, his life fully entwined in mine despite the distance of betrayals between us.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Roarke slides up beside me, his warmth thrumming through me as he bends to place a soft kiss on the crown of my head. "I hope you did. I tried to wear you out so you'd be able to drift off into dreamland. We all did."

I snort, twisting around in his arms and pressing a kiss to his warm cheek. Stubble brushes against my lips, a tantalizing reminder of his manhood. "I slept well, though not for long."

"Oh?" He arches a brow down at me, and I sense a strange emotion from him, something that tastes hesitant and bitter on the back of my tongue. "Did you sleep with... with Bastian?"

Blinking up at him, I admit, "It hadn't occurred to me." A moment later, I add, "That seems unfair, since the rest of you don't really get the chance to sleep over. Were you... wanting to? Or... something?"

"That is the idea, now that we're mates," Roarke says, warmth suffusing his voice. "Or did you think that you'd never have to share a bed with a man?"

Laughing a little, I admit, "It kind of slipped my mind. The four of you have mainly visited during the day, and we haven't really talked about... well, how to balance things fairly. We've been a little wrapped up in the impending threat to the pack."

"Oh, you and I have beenwrapped upin more than that," he says suggestively. Untangling our limbs, he snags my plate, grabs my free hand, and pulls me towards the dining room, walking backwards so we still face each other. "But now that the threads are bound and the Mating Circle has been healed, it's time to talk logistics. We need to figure out our schedule."

I choke a little as I ask, "Are you really suggesting that the five of you switch off on—onfuckingme?"

A sly grin crosses Roarke's face, and he knits his brows together in feigned confusion. "I was discussing the patrol schedule. After all, our warriors will be spread thin if the six of us don't aid them in protecting the territory from Delphine and her bloodsucking horde. If you were interested in something else, then—"

"Give me my food!"

Embarrassment heats my cheeks as I snatch my plate from him and cross the space to the dining room, where I grab a free spot between Lance and an empty chair. Roarke snags the seat next to me, his face perfectly composed, as if he hasn't just teased me about the idea of a sex schedule.

A schedule, I'm realizing as I shift uncomfortably in my chair, that is going to be necessary. Because as much fun as last night was, I don't think I'll be able to sustain a repeat. It was only the power of the Mating Circle and the fierce desire of the she-wolf inside me that got me through. Now the morning has come, I have magic to study, and my thighs are chafing so much that I have to cross my legs to relieve some of the pressure.

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