Page 35 of Alpha Exile

We kiss, sinking into a tight hug as bright white threads swirl around us. They tie around our embrace, holding us together almost forcefully as our mouths meet with passion and greed. Kieran's hands press against my lower back and hold me close as we part, lips stinging, panting breaths shared in the air between us.

I clear my throat. "Finn told me that you can see the past now."

"Did he? I'm surprised you had time to talk in between all his jokes."

"Is it true?"

Kieran's face grows thoughtful. "I think so. At least as far as I can tell. But it may just be a temporary effect from the cavern's magic."

"We have to get out of here." I lick my lips. "Speaking of..."

"Yes, you have other things to get back to, like burning vampires alive with a flick of your wrist, apparently." He shoots me a playful grin, grabs my waist, and spins me around to face the center of the battle. "Bastian is in there, surrounded by those vampires that keep going flying through the air. Oh, and by the way? He can see ghosts now, so I'm not the only one."

With that revelation ringing in my ears, I plunge back into the battlefield again. This time it's even easier than the last time. My warriors range out from my side to meet our vampiric enemy, whose numbers have decreased so much that they no longer fill the cavernous tunnel from wall-to-wall. I let flames flow into my palm and revel at how much easier it is now that I can feel three renewed mate bonds within me, their presence like three additional hearts beating alongside mine.

Bastian is an intimidating fighter, slashing tirelessly through the vampires around him, his eyes glowing in the cavernous light. Blood smears his lips and his fur, and his growls echo between us. Raising my hand with the flames, I let them flow out of me, searing through the vampires between us and stopping just short of singeing his fur.

His eyes snag on me then, and I hear him whimper. Rushing forward, I kneel in front of him and sink my fingers into his fur, leaning my forehead up against his and feeling his warmth.

"It's going to be okay now," I murmur, feeling him shift beneath my touch, as the warriors gather in close around us. "I've found you, and you're never going to be her captive again."

"It was so scary, Delilah." Bastian takes my face in his hands and presses sweet kisses against my mouth, shivering against my touch. "She took control of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.Nothing."

I shudder as well at the thought, opening my eyes to watch the black threads of the Otherworld snake between us, re-forming our mating bond and linking our minds, bodies, and souls together once more.

I promise Bastian, "I'll never let something like that happen to you again."

My fingers slide through his silky black hair, which throws a long shadow against his face, catching on the scars in his left eyebrow, right cheek, and the cupid's bow of his lips. I draw my thumb against the scar there, my heart hurting at the thought of what he's been through in his life. His amber eyes gaze into me and stare into my soul, and I feel my heart beat faster as he slides his lips against the pad of my thumb, his pulse hammering against his neck.

"I never want to be parted from you again, Delilah," he murmurs, taking my wrist and sliding my hand down his neck, then his chest, and over towards his heart. "You've been my savior, my salvation, over and over again. This isn't the first time you've freed me, and I know we're meant to be together. I love you."

Heart catching in my throat, I realize that I'm ready to say it back, to him and to each one of my mates. "I love you too, Bastian. I'm so sorry that I was asleep while you were taken."

"It isn't your fault." He slides his hands against my cheek and draws our mouths together for a scorching kiss that leaves me breathless. "I'm just glad we all get to be together to see this through to the end."

"Me too," I agree, my head snapping back as I realize we aren'talltogether. "Hold on to that thought, though. I have to go find Roarke. Have you seen him?"

"No." Bastian's eyes roam the darkness around us, a frown creasing his brows. "Not for a while, actually."

Reaching out through the bonds, I snag against the minds of the others, who are all making quick work of the last of our enemies.Have any of you seen Roarke?

Finn answers.He was at the back of the battle, making sure none of the vamps who ran from your flames got away. Maybe he's further back in the tunnel.

We should go look for him,Lance says, sounding alarmed.Together.

We do, leaving the warriors behind to work through the last of the vampires, whose number is so depleted that the battlefield we're fighting on is mostly the ash of their dead bodies. That should give me hope, and it does, but I can't help wondering why they haven't reformed and come back to life.

As Bastian shifts into his wolf form beside me, I let flames come to my hands, and hold them up to illuminate the darkness. Clearing my throat, I ask the question that's been on my mind since I realized Roarke was missing.

"Where is Delphine?"

At the bottom of a crevasse,Kieran answers, sounding certain.That's where we left her. It was hundreds of feet down. There's no way she could've gotten out.

Finn sounds hesitant as he asks,Couldn't she, though?

I don't know if there are spells that let witches fly through the air or climb hundreds of feet up a sheer rock wall, but I'm certain Delphine has found them if there are.

If she escaped from the crevasse... and she didn't return to the battlefield to help her vampire army survive our attacks... then there has to be a reason.

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