Anchor of Secrets by Tessa Hale

50

The amphitheater erupted around us,and Declan hauled me off the stage. The rest of the guys instantly surrounded me, taking up a defensive posture.

“Enough!” Marjorie bellowed. Her voice was so loud it vibrated through me.

The mayhem died down to whispers and murmurs.

“Everyone sit,” she commanded.

A hush fell over the crowd, and they obeyed.

Her gaze cut to us. “You, too.”

We slowly retreated to the stone bench. The guys glanced around, as if taking stock of any potential threats. As I sat, my hands trembled.

Declan covered them with his own and leaned into me. “It’s going to be okay.”

But I couldn’t stop shaking. Maybe it was facing my mother and exposing my scars for the world to see. Maybe it was a simple adrenaline dump. Or maybe it was that flicker of hope at hearing the word magic.

“You need to sit, too, Patrick,” Marjorie informed him.

He puffed up his chest. “I wasn’t done speaking.”

“Yes, you are,” Delphine snapped.

Patrick’s eyes flashed silver again, but Delphine wasn’t cowed. She kept his stare until he was seated and turned to Saoirse. “Tell us what you sensed.”

Saoirse’s warm gaze found me. “There is magic in her. But it is buried deep. Almost as if it were being blocked somehow.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. I wanted her to be right so badly that hope hurt.

The wolf shifter scoffed. “That’s because she never manifested. I’m sure there’s a glimmer of magic in her. But it’s not enough for her to ground them.”

“We don’t know that,” Delphine argued. “There may be ways for her to break through her block and fully come into her power.”

I glanced at Colt in question.

He grinned. “Told you there was a way.”

“This is ridiculous,” Alister snapped. “She doesn’t have the mark. That tells us all we need to know.”

“There is a first time for everything,” Saoirse said coolly.

“You would put the fate of all of our clans on the chance of a miracle?” he demanded.

“They will not be whole, fully in their power, unless they have their anchor and their mate. We know when that is found in two different people, it can make both bonds unstable.” Saoirse’s eyes narrowed on Alister. “But maybe that’s what you want. Instability so that you can grab power?”

Alister’s jaw dropped in affront, but it was forced. “I would never. How dare you even suggest—”

“I was simply asking a question. Remember whose house you are in, Alister.”

He snapped his mouth closed and leaned back against the bench, muttering something under his breath.

“I have to agree with him,” Patrick said. “It’s too risky.”

“We need to give them a chance.”

I heard the words, but who they belonged to shocked the hell out of me.

Darius stood, dipping his head in respect to The Assembly. “We cannot tear away their happiness without reason. We have time. We risk nothing by giving them a chance.”

“If they mate with the girl, claim her, it’ll make their bond with another anchor tenuous,” the woman next to him said. “They can reject their true mate and bind themselves to their chosen anchor in heart and magic.”

My gaze flicked to Colt, pain slicing through my heart. They could choose to be with someone else. Someone who wouldn’t mean risking insanity or death.

Not going to happen, he mouthed.

Darius cleared his throat. “This is true. We can ask them to hold off on any mating.” He glanced at the crowd, then at The Assembly. “You know that I was doubtful. I thought it was safer to simply bond them to Chloe.”

There were murmurs of agreement in the crowd that made me sick to my stomach.

“But I was wrong.”

Colt sucked in a breath, his eyes beginning to glow.

Darius took a deep breath. “I saw her when Colt was injured. She threw herself between him and me, a full-grown wolf. She wouldn’t let me near him because she doubted my motives. I have no doubt that she would’ve given her life for his. That is the kind of love and devotion they all deserve.”

He turned to face us. “I’m ashamed that Leighton would have any reason to doubt my loyalty to you. It was a wake-up call. I want you to know you have my complete fealty.”

Darius sank down on one knee, placing his fist over his heart. “I will serve you for all my days.”

Colt pushed to his feet, crossing to Darius and placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s my honor.”

Darius looked up and then rose.

Colt engulfed him in a hard hug. “Thank you, my brother.”

Darius thumped him on the back and then released him.

“As touching as that was, feelings won’t solve this problem,” Patrick sniped.

Colt glared at him as we took a seat.

“Give us a moment,” Marjorie commanded.

There was complete silence, but The Assembly’s expressions looked as if they were somehow conversing.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Declan dipped his mouth to my ear. “They can mind-speak to one another.”

My eyes bugged. “Seriously?”

Declan nodded.

All at once, The Assembly turned to face the crowd.

“We will vote,” the wolf shifter informed us. “Whether to give the girl thirty days to manifest or if she will be cast out of Emerald Bay.”

My spine jerked straight as the guys growled.

“Quiet,” he snapped, then turned to his right. “Saoirse, how say you?”

She gave me a warm smile. “Thirty days.”

A little of the pressure eased in my chest.

The wolf shifter nodded. “I say cast out.”

The panic was back.

He turned to his right. “Delphine, how say you?”

“Thirty days,” she said serenely.

“Raphaël, how say you?”

I knew his answer before he even spoke.

“Cast out.”

The wolf looked to Marjorie. “You are the final vote. How say you?”

Marjorie’s gaze met mine. There was the same searching I felt before, only this time, there was a heat that took root in my chest. It was just shy of pain, and then suddenly, it was gone.

“Thirty days,” she said. “Use it wisely.”