Page 80 of Fated Exile

I can't help but crack a little smile at that, even though I can feel how fiercely and sincerely he means it. There's no corner of the Earth he wouldn't travel to, no one he wouldn't bargain with, to save Cat for me.

Which means he'd sell his soul to the devil to saveme.

It makes me shiver a little in fear, not because it overwhelms me, but because I worry for him. Instinctively, I reach into my pocket, pull out the traveller's charm, and push the white evergreen bough against his chest, feeling its energy pulse against my fingertips.

"I made this with Kerry," I tell him, looking up into his eyes. "It'll help me escape if Delphine gets the jump on us. Two hundred steps in an instant. If it comes to it, I'll use it to save myself, but I don't want to. Because I don't want to leave any of you behind in the middle of danger."

"You should, though." His brows furrow, and he folds his hands around mine. "You're the one she wants. So you should save yourself, because that's the smart move."

"I don't know..." Clutching the bough in my hand, I admit, "I made the charm with Kerry because she said it was the smart thing to do, and it was a good basic spell. But now it feels wrong. What kind of alpha runs from the threat destroying her pack?"

"The kind who wants to live to fight another day." He leans down and brushes a kiss against my forehead. "Your job is to protect yourself. Delphine wants you for something—that much is clear, or the vampires wouldn't have taken you. Part of the fight to stop her is to keep her from getting you."

Maybe. I can't help but wonder, though, why she's attacking Cat if that's the case, or why Ignacio came alone on the night of the Mating Circle instead of with an entire horde of vampires. I haven't faced her at all yet, and she's been free for long enough that I expected to by now. Instead, there are just glimpses, snatches, little portents in the woods and darting attacks against others.

Almost like she's waiting for something to fall into motion to complete her plan, which for all I know has changed since her escape. She wanted my power while she was trapped in the caves by her coven, but maybe she wants something entirely different now that she's achieved that goal. The vampires may be convinced that they can use me to turn the pack territory into theirownvampire-friendly territory, but I'm not so sure that Delphine's goal is the same as theirs.

What I do know is that if Roarke is endlessly loyal to me, just the rest of the guys, I have to be just as courageous for them. That means never leaving them to fight an enemy who could kill them in an instant. Delphine was willing to suffer the loss of her mates in a cowardly grasp for power—I won't make the same mistake.

My conversation with Bastian, and this one right now, does make my next aims clear. Twining my arms around Roarke's neck, I look up into his eyes and tell him, "I'm going to talk to Vivia again tonight."

* * *

I leave the house shortly after sunset, nerves skittering across my skin. Though I've barely left Cat's side all evening, and watched as Kerry tried spell after spell to bring her fever down, she's only worsened as the hours go by. The only chance of healing her is to find out exactly what kind of curse she's been affected by, and only Vivia can give me the answers I seek.

That, and the key to killing Delphine.

As I step barefoot off the front porch and onto the lawn, I push my toes down into the cool earth and press my awareness out in rippling waves. There are patrols gathered along the borders, looking keenly into the darkness for further signs of vampiric attack. Lance and Kieran are among them, and later in the night, Bastian and Finn will join a different patrol, while Roarke is scheduled to lead warriors out in the early morning. They've found nothing so far, though, and the land sleeps, unaware of any threats to the wolves within its borders.

An itch gathers beneath my skin, blossoming into a sharp, unwise desire: to run out the borders of the land, race up to the mountains, search the caves for Delphine's scent, and track her to whatever hovel she's made for herself. Whether she's hiding nearby, far away, or in the vampire lair near the arena, part of me wants to face her already. To fight with fangs and claws, and get it all over with.

It's hard to resist the temptation. The truth is, I know I'm not ready to fight her. Some part of me wonders that if one reason why she's dragging this out, feinting and teasing instead of attacking head-on, is to get under my skin. I feel like a coward just sitting around waiting for her to make the first move. I want to take the fight toher.

Soon enough I will. Shifting into my wolf form, I stretch muscular legs and dig my paws into the ground. There's a late spring breeze in the night air as I race across Juniper towards the Mating Circle. I can sense my mates' presence in the back of my mind, and take courage from their steadiness and warmth. They believe I can do this, even if I often don't believe in myself.

I reach the Mating Circle too soon. Shifting back into my human form, I dig around in my loose athletic pants and take out my short utility knife. The blade gleams in the moonlight as I tip it towards the thick pad of my thumb and slice my skin open, hissing at the sharp pain.

Pacing forward, I tilt my hand and let the blood run across my palm to drip on the ancient stones at my feet. It runs in rivulets through the spaces between each stone, staining the grey a dark red. Already, the cut on my hand is healing over, new skin knitting together over the injury.

My breath catches as I look up at the statue of Vivia waiting at the edge of the circle. Walking towards her, I search her stone eyes for a sign of the glow of magical life. I even close my eyes and think of all the danger we're currently in: the threat of Delphine and her vampires, the tenuousness of the pack, and the uncertain future of my mother. I let all the emotions course through me, hoping that my blood—the blood of an alpha—combined with the pack's need will be enough.

But when I open my eyes, she's still nothing but a statue.

A heavy pit of fear and resignation grows in my stomach, but I can't turn around and leave without trying everything. So I make another attempt, parting the skin of my palm despite the flash of pain. Smearing blood on my fingers, I smear them like red-stained paintbrushes against the surface of Vivia's statue.

"Please." Tears gather in the corners of my eyes, and I don't bother to wipe them away as they race down my cheeks. "I need you. We aren't done with our earlier conversation. There's still so much I don't know."

I wait until the blood dries and flakes off.

Then I wait a little more, my jaw cracking with a tired yawn.

Still she doesn't come. Whether it's because my need isn't great enough, or because the dark presence chased her away, she doesn't make an appearance. I try to remember the exact words she said to me, but I'm not sure if she told me how to make her appear a second time around. If I have to wait for the conditions of the next Alpha Summit, during a full moon, then all is lost, and Delphine may as well come to slaughter us all now.

Far too late in the night, I put the knife away, brush the dried blood from my hands, and run back home in wolf form.

I'm not going to get any more easy answers or offers of help.

It's going to be me and my mates on our own against the monster from now on.

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