Page 16 of Fated Exile

"No, sweet thing. I'm sorry. Delphine killed your mother shortly after you were born. It was a miracle she got you away from her in time, to the safety of your father, before she perished."

I inhale sharply. Her story matches the one that Niall relayed from my father, but it's not what I was hoping to hear. Now I only have more questions.

"Delphine... who is that? Why did she kill my mother? And my mother—what was her name? My father never told me about her, and I'm not sure he ever told anyone else."

"Your mother, my sister, was named Celeste." Kerry inches her hand towards the edge of the bed, and I reach out to take it, her palm cold and dry against mine. "I'm sorry no one ever told you. I should have sought you out, but Delphine... she was so strong. We were afraid that if I stepped away from the weft for even a moment, it would fail. In the end, it did fail anyway, and my coven paid the price."

She licks her lips, hope sparking in her eyes as she asks, "Did anyone else survive the attack?"

I hate to tell her this just as much as she must have hated to tell me that my birth mother really is dead. "No. I'm sorry. When we found you in the caves, all the other witches there were dead."

"Ah. I suspected as much. No—I knew."

Though I don't want to push her too far, I can't help but circle back to my earlier question. "Delphine—who is she? Did she do this to you?"

Kerry blinks, and I can see the fog of the pain medication slide across her mind. "Your father didn't tell you?"

"There's a lot he kept from me."

"She's the wolf-witch hybrid." That doesn't exactly answer my question, which Kerry seems to sense, because she follows up with, "A couple of centuries ago, she was cast out of the Glass Pack for her heinous crimes. She cursed the pack in retribution, and managed to secure her own immortality in the process.

"My coven has been keeping her kept securely in the mountains as well as we can, using the ley lines that run through it, but she's fought us. For decades, there have been holes in our net, and I fear she's been casting her mind and magic out of them, even as her body remained trapped. Now she's truly free for good—and I'm afraid that the witches she killed in that cavern were only the beginning.

"Delphine won't be satisfied until blood rains from the sky, and every member of her former pack has paid for how they judged her. She's going to kill them... she's going to kill themall."

Eight

Delilah

"We have to do something to stop her." My heart does backflips against my ribcage as I try to figure out my next steps. "Maybe if the whole pack gets together... I can call Niall, and he can gather the warriors—"

"Delphine can't be defeated by even the strongest werewolves. If it were possible, she would've been gone long ago." Kerry's hand reaches towards mine on the hospital sheets, and I lace my fingers with hers. "She killed your mother, you know."

I inhale sharply. "She did? Why?"

"Because Delphine wanted you." Kerry's eyes flutter closed for a moment, her throat bobbing, and I worry that she's straining herself. But when she opens her eyes again, there's a fierce expression in them, and her fingers tighten on mine. "What do you know about the hybrid? Did your father tell you how she cursed the pack?"

"No," I admit, bitterness coating my throat. "I think he believed that certain things were better left unsaid... for some reason, he kept a lot of secrets. I only recently found out about the curse when I returned home."

"Returned?" Her brows wrinkle. "I don't understand."

Neither do I, but now is not the time to dump all my traumatic history on the aunt I only just discovered. So I summarize the sordid story with, "Until recently, I thought I was a shiftless werewolf. I lived with humans, and was raised by my human foster mother, Cat. I only discovered a few weeks ago that I have a wolf form, and that my mother was a witch."

Sorrow crosses Kerry's face. "I'm sorry for that. No one should be kept from their truth, or denied their place in the world."

"Thank you." Squeezing her hand, I murmur, "I'm just glad that I've found you now. Any connection to my birth mother is precious."

"You have so many of her features," she observes, her gaze roaming my face. "And her strength too, I suspect. Celeste was determined to protect you from the moment Delphine learned of your existence. She should've died from the wounds she suffered when Delphine attacked her, but somehow she summoned the strength to take you to your father's doorstep and leave you with him, among the safety of the pack. The last thing she did before she died was send a messenger spell to let the coven know you were safe in his arms."

Safe in his arms.Complicated feelings rise within me. I want to avoid telling Kerry that the safety ended the day I turned fourteen. The truth is, there are so many things about my father's actions that I don't understand. Maybe Kerry can give me answers that will help me see him in a new light—or at least forgive him for the way he treated me, and all the secrets he kept.

"Tell me about Delphine." Squeezing Kerry's hand, I murmur, "Maybe if we know as much as possible about her, if we understand her, we'll be able to find her weakness and defeat her once and for all."

"I hope you will." She's quiet for a long moment, her brow creased as she gathers her thoughts. "To be honest, I don't know where to begin. What all do you know?"

"I know that her pack turned against her. And she got her revenge by cursing them. There's not much else I know, really, except something about her mates being involved? It was so long ago, and the only source I have is a dead alpha's journal, but he wasn't even alive when the curse was cast."

"Ah. There's so much you don't know. I'll have to tell you everything. First..."

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