Page 28 of Alpha Exile

Every stitch of clothing, every small item, is transformed with him from his human form to his wolf form. Delphine won't be able to get the vials of blood back unless she can make him shift—and she's no alpha, not even a werewolf anymore, so she won't be able to do that.

As she screams in rage, Roarke shoots me a thankful grin, and we both race towards the battle in front of us. "Thanks, K. I wasn't sure anyone was going to notice that I was still stuck inside that spell."

"Don't worry about it."

We catch up to Lance and Bastian, who have wrestled a snarling Delphine to the ground and are debating what to do with her.

"She won't die, no matter what we do," Bastian points out. "We should just tie her up and get out of here before she shows us plan B."

Finn's voice rings out in my head, strangely echoey.Plan B is a spell, based on all the magic she's gathering.

"We can't stick around here," I tell the others, as I pick up the sound of a wolf yip, then a howl of pain. "We have to help the pack. They're here for us, after all."

Lance, who has his hand down Delphine's mouth, winces when she bites him. Hard. "Whatever spell she's trying to cast, she'll be able to speak as soon as I let her tongue go. But I have an idea. There was some kind of deep crevasse down the tunnel that way—let's take her there and drop her down it."

It's an ingenious idea. Even immortals can't climb quickly, after all. Maybe we'll get lucky, and she'll wind up stuck for eternity.

Bastian grabs her feet, I grab her shoulders, Roarke holds tight to her hands, and Lance keeps her tongue firmly between his fingers, even as blood begins to pour from a bite wound on his hand. Between the four of us, she isn't able to cast any magic—and Finn stays in his wolf form, our blood safely tucked away within his fur coat.

If we weren't so busy right now, he'd probably make a joke about how we're all inside of him.

As if on cue, Finn's thought floats into our heads.Hey, it just occurred to me, since all of your blood is inside me, technically—

"Here's the crevasse," Lance announces, mercifully sparing us all. "Let's heave and ho, then drop her in on three. One..."

We swing her forward.

"Two..."

We swing her back.

"Three..."

As we swing her over the lip of the crevasse and let go, Lance has to jerk his hand out of her mouth. Which leads her free to scream out as she falls into the darkness, "This isn't the end of anything!"

Despite her megalomania and the now-healing tooth marks she left on Lance's hand, I get the feeling that she's right. The only thing is, I don't really give a fuck. We're free, and no matter what trick Delphine has up her sleeve next, she won't keep us away from her.

Delilah.

As we all shift, I find myself picturing her face in my head. It's barely been a day and change, but I'm still desperate to see her again. To bury my face in her hair and tell her that I love her. To feel those elegant fingers wrap around my wrist and tug me close.

She's my everything. The strength inside her inspires me to be a better man. Getting her to smile fills me with warmth. The thought of the pain and doubt she must've suffered while we were missing is enough to twist me up inside.

We have to get through the tunnels and back to her.

The only problem is, when we reach the next fork in the path, we realize there are more options than we counted on.

Which way?Roarke's voice fills our heads.Finn, find the pack's scent trail.

He does, stepping forward and tilting his nose up to inhale the air, but a moment later he shakes his head.Whatever breeze brought their scent our way is gone now. All I can smell is lichen and damp.

Though I can hear the distant sounds of battle, they echo up and down the tunnels so thoroughly that I'm not sure which way they originate. Frustrated, I pace back and forth from one tunnel to the other, looking into the darkness for a familiar marking or sign, but I spot nothing.

Until suddenly, Idosee something.

More specifically, someone. As I stare down the central tunnel, a pale figure with dark hair stalks towards me, her unnaturally beautiful face striking fear into me.

Delphine.

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