Page 24 of Alpha Exile

Delphine seems to see our nakedness for the first time since she stripped us, and she glances at our bodies without any kind of emotion, arousal or otherwise, on her face. Bastian flinches and pulls away when her eyes land on him, and I have to resist the urge to slap her in the face. No doubt my hand wouldn't even connect before she'd tighten the noose of her magic around me and steal my will away.

"I didn't realize no one gave you your clothes back. Ambrosia?"

She's hardly raised her voice before the vampire returns, appearing with a large backpack in her hands, its bright pink hue garish and misplaced in her hand. The vampire silently produces our clothing and hands it back to us—most of it, at least. I seem to have my boxers, jeans, and jacket, which is better than nothing, though the polyester lining of the leather jacket rubs against my skin.

Through gritted teeth, I tell Delphine, "Thank you."

Kieran eyes me quietly, his own shirt going over his head, but says nothing. All the other guys seem to sense that I'm trying something, and are leaving me to it.

Clearing my throat, I add, "I just hope we aren't attacked again while we sleep."

"Yes, yes, fine." Delphine huffs out a sigh and raises her hands in the air, calling out sharply, "Begone, bloodsucking beasts! I want all of you out. Sleep in the tunnels, if you still sleep. Guard them if you don't. Get out of my sight and away from me."

The ferals leap to it, seeming to have no thoughts in their head save obedience. Some of the more normal-looking ones take longer, and Ambrosia takes the longest of all. While Delphine isn't looking, she cuts her eyes at the hybrid, which I take note of. Not everything is harmonious in the land of evil bitchery.

Though Delphine seems to have given us a little comfort, I'm not fooled into complacency. There's a sharpness to her eyes, a hunger on her unnaturally beautiful face. The dark hair that grows down to her elbow frames her wicked expression as she watches us sit down and eat.

One of us doesn't sit.

Standing warily nearby, dressed in his pants and a loose top that I'm not entirely sure is his, Bastian eyes Delphine from a distance. He doesn't sit down, doesn't even seem to look at the food. While I choke down another bite to get my strength up, I eye him, wondering if I should intervene or not.

I haven't swallowed when he suddenly spits out, "Why are you doing this to us?"

His question is aimed at Delphine. I glance at her warily, wondering if there'll be retaliation for him having asked it. But just like she gave in to my requests, she seems to indulge in his question, pondering it for a long moment as her fingers slide up and down the four blood vials across her belt.

Mine, I've noticed, she keeps around her neck. Close to her heart perhaps. No doubt because, as the alpha of my pack, her control of me gives her impossible amounts of power.

She's indulged us not because she cares for us, or cares what happens to us, but because she can. Because it doesn't matter. Her control over our bodies is so complete that she doesn't even need to tie us up. All she has to do is pay attention, and we might as well be marionettes at the end of her strings.

After a long moment of staring at Bastian, Delphine stalks towards him and puts a slender hand on his cheek. He shudders, pulling away from her, but she presses her fingers to the blood vial that must be his and leashes him tight. "You'll understand why I'm doing what I'm doing soon, my delicious Otherworldly mate. You might as well know what my plans are now, though. You'll be an integral part of carrying them out."

Her hand trails down his neck, touching him in a way that makes his skin shudder, even though he's unable to pull away from her touch.

I tense, and so does Lance beside me, staring at her closely. But Delphine's hand merely drops from Bastian's cheek and reaches into a pouch at her hip, pulling out the gemstones I saw Cat bring her during the battle.

"We're almost to our destination—the center of these caverns, which were once my prison, but also my escape. When we get there, I'll use these." She holds up the gemstones in her hand, and Bastian winces, a golden light flashing against his neck as the gems light up. "Ancient spirits will inhabit your bodies, and then you will be mine, body and soul. Or at least, body andsomeone'ssoul, I suppose, since yours will no longer inhabit it."

Across from me, Kieran chokes on his dinner, and I feel mine go sour in my stomach.

"You see, the vampires who used this stone on you didn't really know what they were doing." Delphine almost seems to be bragging to Bastian as she takes the golden stone in her fingertips and holds it up, touching it lightly against his mouth. "They didn't have the right techniques."

I can't stop myself anymore. Hurling to my feet, I—

Stop in place, my feet stuck to the stone, my entire body tense and frozen. Beside me, Finn makes a strangled sound, similarly frozen. I hear Kieran mutter a curse beneath his breath, but I can't look to see.

Delphine hasn't even taken her eyes off of Bastian's stricken, frozen face.

"Unlike them, I know what I'm doing." The hybrid practically purrs, placing the golden gemstone back in her palm next to the others.Five total,I notice, with a sinking sensation in my chest. "The magic in the center of these caverns will help me with the placement of the stone. And once they're put into place, I'll be able to mate with each of you, and finally be whole—with mytruefated mates beside me."

I don't know what possesses Delphine to believe thatancient spiritsliving inside gemstones are her fated mates, but I do know one thing.

Once she's used them to consume our souls and replace us, we'll never be able to escape her control.

If we're even still conscious at all or alive afterwards.

We have to escape, and soon.

Or we'll never be able to.

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