Page 11 of Alpha Exile

"We're down but not out," Ian says, his words echoing my thoughts. Setting his jaw, he meets my eyes as he tells me, "Our alpha was taken from us. And our—our other alpha's mates. The entire pack was attacked tonight, and we all thirst for vengeance."

A rumble goes up in the small crowd, growing as I step off the porch and onto the fire-blackened grass, which crumbles beneath my feet. I meet hardened and lost gazes, both new and seasoned members of the pack, of all ages. My heart lifts with hope at their determination, even as I feel the crushing responsibility of holding all their lives in my hands.

"We were talking," Sasha Hill says, striding forward with a limp in her gait, "and we want to head out as soon as you're ready. Wherever that bitch took them, we want to go get our pack members back."

There's a noise of agreement from the pack, and I look helplessly towards Niall. But he doesn't give me any answers or guidance. Instead he's looking to me, waiting for his next order, which is when I realize with cold certainty that I'm the one who has to make this choice.

There's no one here to make it for me. Even if I could look to Kerry, who's tending to the wounded, or Cat, who is off somewhere, neither has the answers. Roarke, my co-alpha, is gone. I don't have Lance's strength or Finn's humor.

All I have now is myself.

Delilah Glass. Former exile, current alpha, and the only one who can decide what happens next.

I thought I knew who I was. But I'm finding out, in this moment, that there's so much I still don't know about myself. Nothing in my life has ever tested me as much as this moment.

Looking at Sasha, then Ian, and Josie, I want nothing more than to tell them that we're about to head out and fight Delphine. Hell, it's what I want myself. My fingers are itching to grab onto the dagger I pulled from Gregor's statue and stab it into Delphine's chest.

But I have a bigger responsibility, to more than just my own desires. I'm responsible for all the lives before me. That means no rash decisions, no jumping into a fight without backup. I have to protect my pack members, especially my warriors. That includes the females like Sasha, who took out her chip in the belief that I'm strong enough to protect her from the curse.

If I jump into a fight with Delphine on my own, risking only my life, that's one thing. Jumping into the fray with all these warriors before me is another. They've already been bled and bruised by the vampires, who could've just as easily killed them all as anything.

So, even though I hate saying it, I have to tell them, "We can't head out until we're ready, and that isn't just yet." Hearing a grumble in the crowd, I raise my voice to tell them, "But wewilltrack down Delphine, bring the fight to her, and I swear to you, I'll finish her off myself."

Grabbing the dagger's grip, I pull it from the hunting sheath strapped to my thigh and hold it up to the morning sunlight. It glimmers and gleams, its unnaturally sharp edge giving off strange and magical reflected light patterns.

I feel a calm descend on the pack at the sight of Gregor's dagger. Holding it tight in my grip, I apologize for thinking of it asuselessearlier. It may not have come to me fast enough to spare me the heartache that is my missing mates, but its point is sharp and true, and I will bury it in her chest.

She will pay for what she's done.

In blood and bone, at the hands of my fury.

"This dagger in my hand isn't just any old dagger."

Looking out at my warriors, I'm struck by their bravery and heart. They came to me, battered and injured, determined to fight for their alphas. I'm going to give them something worth fighting for, a leader worthy of fighting under.

"This is Gregor's dagger. The fabled blade that can cut through anything and end any life." Bringing the dagger down, I draw my fingertip towards its edge and press very lightly. My skin parts instantly, the wound so quick to appear that I barely feel the nick. "It can kill Delphine. Something I intend to doverysoon."

Looking out at them, I admit, "But in order to fight her, we have to find her. And right now, I don't know where she is. I don't know where my mates are."

My throat closes up at the words, and I clench my jaw to tamp down on my emotions. I won't let my weakness show. Instead, I call on my rage, letting it pour out of me in a fiery tumble of words.

"As soon as I have a direction for us to go to hunt down Delphine and her disgusting bloodsucking horde, that isexactlywhere we'll go." The eyes of my warriors shine with determination. "But I don't know when that will happen, which means we have to be prepared to drop everything and head out at any moment. So I need all of you to heal—to prepare yourselves for another battle.

"This time, we won't go out half-cocked. We won'ttryto defeat her. Wewilldefeat her, and slaughter every vampire that's preyed on this land and attacked this pack. All of us, together!"

I thrust the dagger up into the air, my heart hammering, blood dripping from my fingertip.

A howl of righteous fury leaves the throat of a grey wolf before me.

Other howls follow, as well as yips, hoots, hollers, and screams of battle rage.

They're ready for the fight. Right here, right now, even as beaten and battered as they are.

I only need to find them an enemy to battle. That's the tough part. Pushing down my self-doubt, I nod at Niall, sheath the dagger, and pace around to the side of the house.

Walking past the burned siding and the broken windows, I take a deep, gulping breath of air. I can feel the surge of approval and anger from the pack behind me. It bubbles inside me as well: an all-consuming desire to hunt down Delphine and make her pay.

The problem is, I don't know where to begin my hunt.

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