Page 22 of Alpha Exile

I inhale slowly, daring to look around me.

The moment of tension breaks, and the crowd hoots and hollers. Ian claps me on the back. Other warriors follow suit. Yips and howls break out, leaving the throats of humans and werewolves in human form alike.

I dare to smile, imagining the puddle of melted marble as Delphine instead. Grabbing the sheath strapped tightly to my waist, I reassure myself that the dagger is still there, and promise she'll taste its blade soon.

A voice calls my name urgently.

I ignore it, thinking it's another congratulations.

Then it rises up, louder, and a name catches my ear.

"What was that?" I hold up a hand to hush the crowd, shocked as the warriors around me fall silent. Their eyes are on me, rapt in attention. "Who spoke?"

"It was me." Lionel slides forward, nervous and twitchy, his eyes darting to my face then back down again. "I didn't know for sure, but... I think..."

"Out with it."

"I went out into the trees to piss," he motions behind him awkwardly, "and I swear I felt Alpha Roarke's presence out there."

Nine

Roarke

Ican see through their eyes.

When it happened, I'm not sure. How it happened, I have no idea, though I suspect the caverns we stalk through have something to do with it. But at some point in the past few hours, I realized that when I reached out to feel the pack, I feltsomething.

It's not the same as the mate bond I had with Delilah, which is now a curled, weakened thing inside me, untethered from her spirit. And it's nowhere near as strong or vibrant as my bonds with the pack as its short-lived alpha. But there's something there inside me, something that lets me reach out to see through the eyes of my pack.

Including one of the young warriors who's standing near Delilah.

I see her through his eyes for a brief moment. My heart jumps at the sight of her pale skin in the moonlight, her dyed maroon hair pulled back from her fierce face. If I could pull away from Delphine's control and make my legs move, I could go to her—

A second later, the connection snaps. The young warrior becomes aware of my presence. He looks up suddenly, gaze roaming the darkness, and whispers, "Alpha Roarke?"

My concentration slips away the moment he says my name. Blinking, I look around myself and am crestfallen to realize that I'm still in the tunnels, still marching in lockstep behind Delphine.

Who hasn't let her eyes off us for long since the moment Lance escaped from her control.

It's been hours, and she should be tired by now. I certainly am. My stomach feels heavy and leaden, desperate for food that doesn't seem it'll be forthcoming. The rocky ground has roughened and calloused my bare feet, and there's a dampness in the air that chills my naked skin.

I'm starting to think that Delphine stripped us naked for a reason that has nothing to do with our bodies. The condensation of the tunnels around us drips down and onto my shoulders and arms, oddly colored blue droplets of water rolling off me. I have to wonder if something about this place is starting to affect me, because I swear that more than once, I see the water droplets sink into my skin instead of roll harmlessly off.

Almost as if this place is becoming a part of me.

The image of my entire body turning to stone and rotting down here passes through my mind, but I shake it off.

"Hey." Finn's hissing whisper catches my attention. I frown over my shoulder at him; he's several feet behind me, barely out of the range of Delphine's hearing, but he continues on anyway. "I think I can see something."

I snort and mutter, "Is it my ass? Because from your point of view, that should be all you can see."

"And what a sight it is."

The dancing mirth in Finn's eyes is almost a welcome relief after what's been, I think, a long day. At least that's what seeing through the warrior's eyes has told me about the passage of time. I can't actually be sure; something about the spell forcing my limbs forward and the darkness of the caverns around us has messed with my senses.

Finn murmurs, "Actually, I think I can see magic."

This startles me enough that I actually stumble and stub my toe, the rhythmic marching of my feet coming undone. Delphine's head whips around, and she tightens her fingers on the vial of blood hanging from a necklace around her neck. Instantly I'm forced to my feet again, my mind slipping away from my control completely.

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