Page 37 of Fated Exile

"I know. I'm... glad that you can see past this. I forgave myself long ago, but I wasn't sure if you'd be able to understand."

"Of course I can. My heart hurts for you, Lance. No one should have to go through so much pain. I'd take it away from you in an instant if I could."

My mouth quirks up a little as I gaze down at her, and I can't stop myself from reaching out to caress her cheek with my thumb. Sparks dance across my skin wherever we touch, and she shivers, her eyes half-fluttering closed. The wolf in me hungers for tonight, hard and fast. An ache stretches inside me, all the way from my chest to my groin, which pools with heat and anticipation.

"I can't believe that I get to have such a warm, beautiful, caring woman as a mate." Delilah slides her hand against my chest, and my breath hitches at her touch. "What did I do to get so lucky?"

Before she can answer, Finn calls out, "Hey you two! Whatever you're up to, it's gotta go on hold. We've got places to be."

"He's right, unfortunately." Roarke approaches us and claps me on the back as I step away from Delilah. "Niall just called to say that Delilah's aunt is out of urgent care, and one of the border patrols turned up worrying signs."

"I guess it was inevitable that life would catch up," Delilah says, sighing and stretching. "C'mon, let's go."

As we head towards the cars, she takes a look around, her eyes pausing on each of us. Before we're able to break off into groups and head home in our respective vehicles, she holds up a hand, a spark in her bright green eyes as she whistles for our attention.

"I just wanted to ask..." Her eyes meet mine briefly, then move to Kieran, Roarke, Finn, and finally, Bastian. "Are all of you okay with the idea of being my mates? Or, I guess I should say, are you okay with not being myonlymate? I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm hopeful that maybe, after seeing all the threads..."

Finn chimes in first. "I was okay with it from the start. Not that I wouldn't mind getting you all to myself—every man has his selfishness. But there's more than enough of you to go around, and I can't imagine a finer group to share with."

"I'm just glad that I get to be your mate at all," Kieran says, shooting Delilah a wry smile. "There'll be hiccups. We'll have to talk about living arrangements, schedules, and... well, everything you talk about with a mate. But I'm sure we'll find a way. And at least one of the wolves I'll share with will be my best friend."

As Kieran claps him on the back, Roarke shoots his best friend a wry look. Then he meets Delilah's eyes and speaks with a surprising amount of warmth and patience. "It's not what I would've imagined if you'd asked me a month or two ago where I'd be. And I have to admit, there have been times since I met you when I wanted to be your one and only. But there's no denying what the mating threads show us. We make each other stronger, and bind the group together. I'm willing to share... just as long as Finn doesn't make me have a devil's threeway with him."

Chortling, Finn quips, "In your dreams, Bell."

Delilah smiles and glances over to me, only for her eyes to quickly skip to Bastian. Before I can speak up, he shyly tells her, "I'm so thankful for what you've done for me, Delilah. I know we only just met, but I feel things when I'm with you, things I thought I'd never feel. I'm more than happy to have even just a little of your affection. Even if I'm not the most important man in your life."

"You won't have to take the crumbs left behind," Delilah vows, sweetness and conviction in her voice. "You're just as important to me as anyone else here, Bastian. If Vivia made anything clear, it's that each of my fated mates represent their own special direction on the compass, and we can only move forward together."

That just leaves me. I feel a few curious glances in my direction, but I only have eyes for Delilah. Stepping towards her, I make sure to meet her gaze calmly and clearly so that she'll believe what I have to say.

"I admit, when you gave us the news about having five mates, I wasn't thrilled. I struggled when you told us you wanted to date all four of us, so adding one more wasn't something I was prepared for. Now I realize how wrong I was."

Swallowing, I reach out to brush her hair back behind her ear, my fingers skimming her cheek. She leans into the touch, and sparks race across my skin.

"There's more than enough of you to share, Delilah, because a moment with you is a lifetime with someone else. Havingmoreto cherish, more to love, and yes, an obnoxious Finn to annoy us all," Finn laughs at this, "only means there's more joy, connection, and pack strength to go around. I'm sure that when I have you tonight, it won't matter who else you've had before, or who else you have after. Because you're enough."

Her eyes shine with emotion as she murmurs back, "Thank you."

I mean the words, as much as I can at least, without knowing what tonight will lead to. I've accepted what I am to Delilah, as well as what her other mates mean to her.

My only concern now is whether the pack itself will accept her, because if anything is clear to me now, it's that Roarke isn't the only natural-born leader of the pack.

There's another, maroon-haired beauty stepping up to the plate, and if the pack can't accept the idea of her sharing power with her fated mates, it'll be our downfall.

Sixteen

Delilah

"Of course that's when we realized that he was talking about smokingmeth, not weed or cigarettes. At this point he'd taken the baggy out and was absolutely certain we were on the train to meth town with him."

A familiar story greets my ears as I enter the house, and I turn the corner to find Cat regaling Kerry with it while Niall listens from the other side of the room, a bemused smile on his face. Leaning up against the archway into the living room, I watch Cat's hands move animatedly while Kerry sits in rapt attention.

"What did you do?"

Cat's mouth widens into an infectious grin. "Well, Meghan and Louise didn't have the guts to tell him no, and frankly, I was pretty certain he was packing heat, in addition to the machete on the wall. So when he offered me some, of course I accepted."

"No." Kerry gasps a little, eyes widening as she leans forward. "You didn't!"

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