Eclipsed Hearts

Celebrate the Rain

[Ian]

Mari looked stone cold when she walked out of the house. Just like a fuсking Damson. If I had any doubts about killing her, they were gone when she said it was okay to kill kids. My heart got even colder.

How the goddess thought a woman like that would be a good fit for me and my pack? It was disgusting.

Now that I was by myself, I felt more relaxed. I couldn’t believe how easily she managed the swinger party. Honestly, it shouldn’t have surprised me.

Since I became a hunter, I’ve learned there’s a lot that goes into hunting. I was ready to go above and beyond to keep my pack safe from hunters. The things I’d done in the past few weeks was…

Mari didn’t seem to have that problem. She played the innocent but curious girlfriend perfectly. The Petersons were really particular, and I had to work my butt off to get them to like me and trust me so they’d take me to the parties. They were the best option, though. They had very specific tastes.

She had them wrapped around her finger in less than ten minutes. Mr. Peterson sent me to the wrong room, probably on purpose, and it took me a while to sniff her out. Rage poured through me when I saw her being touched by them.

I paused my angry typing. Her face was desirous, but her eyes…. It was like they were begging me to save her. It focused my anger, driving me to get her away from them.

The way she relaxed when I carried her out of that room made me think maybe she wasn’t the emotionless hunter I thought she was. But I was wrong. She wouldn’t be worth trying to save. Goddess only knew how many children she’d already killed.

I couldn’t hold in my anger. It seemed like every time my heart softened to her; she proved again that she was just as horrible as the rest of her family. For a moment, I’d been thinking of simply rejecting her. It didn’t have to be a formal thing. Thank the goddess for that.

Facing her would have made it harder. Rejecting her to her face might be too hard for me. I didn’t want her to learn the truth about me being a werewolf. The satisfaction wasn’t worth risking the kids.

The memory of throwing her over my shoulder and walking through that house filled my mind. With the intense smell of ѕex in the air, I wanted to take her somewhere private and…. But I couldn’t, not right now.

I returned to my work. When it started raining, I took a deep breath. The house wasn’t perfect and some cracks let in the rain's scent as it worked to cleanse the area.

When I was a kid, my mother said it was the goddess crying. I asked why the goddess was sad, but she told me it was because the goddess was happy. She loved us so much that it made her cry and those tears, like everything else she provided, nourished us.

On rainy nights and days, I would close my eyes and breathe in the scent. Sometimes, I swore I could hear my mother’s voice on rainy nights.

Celebrate the rain. Celebrate hope and growth.

The memory of my mother made me smile. She was a perfect match for my father. They were both loving and caring people who opened their doors and their hearts to anyone in need. Sometimes, I would pretend to myself that I was nothing like them, but I knew I was.

If I wasn’t like them, I would’ve abandoned all those pups once the pack was dead. No, I couldn’t be the opposite of them, but I was more cautious. They would have welcomed Mari into our lives with ease and acceptance. It’s amazing how they lived as long as they did, considering their poor decision-making skills.

But as I sat there reminiscing about my parents, a nagging feeling tugged at the back of my mind. Mari. Despite everything, I couldn’t shake the image of her pleading eyes when I rescued her from the Petersons. Maybe, just maybe, there was a sliver of humanity buried beneath her cold exterior. The thought made me hesitate.

I pushed away from the computer and took a walk outside in the rain. The cool droplets came down on me, soaking my clothes and hair, but somehow washed away some of the anger and bitterness I’d been carrying since meeting Mari. It was exactly what I needed. I could see things more clearly.

Maybe tonight the goddess was mourning a little. She loved me, but she arranged for me to be mated with my enemy. More than any hunter in existence, Mari was my enemy.

She was a Damson, a monster.

I rubbed my face and tilted my head back, just letting the rain drench me. I had to wrap up my work and head home. If this rain kept going, I knew we couldn’t eat outside like the kids wanted, but we could still grill.

Returning to the run-down house, I stripped off the soaked clothing and hung it up in a place where it was certain to dry. After getting some black sweats and a muscle t-shirt on, I set Mari outside of my mind and focused on the plan.

While researching, I found reservations through a third-party site where people could post tickets and stuff. I quickly picked them both up and changed the names to the fake names we were using. They were on opposite sides of the hotel, so we would have an advantage of eyes on both ends. That was good for a few reasons, most of which was getting Mari away from me.

The event would last for an entire week. I was glad Mari picked that office to exit through. We would have spent a whole week trying to track someone who wasn’t even here. Then what would have happened? Everything would have fallen apart.

Mari would have called in more family members or hunters because not seeing a sign of him would have made her want to call for a bigger hunt. That would have endangered everyone. I couldn’t let that happen.

I put my head in my hands. Why did that aѕѕhole have my pack in his notebook? What the fuсk was he planning?

She called us a rogue family, not a pack. Too small to be a pack. But, if I really thought of it, they were my family now. I cared for those kids as if they were mine.

As I sat there pondering these thoughts, the sound of footsteps approaching broke through the pitter-patter of rain. I tensed, ready to defend myself if needed, but then I recognized the familiar scent that wafted in with the intruder.

“Fern, how long have you been here?” I asked.

“A while. I was going to sneak away after she left, but the rain started. You don’t look like you’re doing well. I’ve never seen you go out for a walk in the rain, only stare at it. Your scent is distressed,” Fern replied.

I sighed. “You wanted more info on the Damson woman. You’ll be able to check out her things next week. The rogue’s heading to an event and we’re booking rooms at the hotel. Figure out where her clan is hiding. I want them all dead by the time this is over.”

My Beta smiled darkly. “I was worried you’d have second thoughts about killing her.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s not redeemable and I’m not inclined to believe any of them are. To echo her perspective, even the children are monsters waiting to happen. We’ll give all of the information to Blood Moon and let them take it from there.”

“You’re doing the right thing, Ian. For our pack and for every other pack out there. I don’t know why you’re not more proud of yourself. Being the werewolf to take out those fuсking psychos…. Goddess, we’re blessed to be able to avenge our pack and families.”

The stabbing pain came back. The one that hit me every time I thought about killing Mari. My heart didn’t want to kill her. The wolf in me felt confused because it operated on instinct, and the mate bond instinctively made me want to protect her from danger. It was clueless about what to do if we endangered our mate.

“Bloodthirsty doesn’t look good on you, Fern. I’m sorry I made you into this,” I mumbled to the girl who had clung to me all those years ago as I herded them all away from the gruesome scene of our pack’s destruction.

“You didn’t make me into this, Ian. They did. How long until you’re done? I want to head home. It looks like you might need a night of cuddling with me and my brother. Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do to help you feel better?” she asked, moving closer with an exaggerated sway in her hips.

“I thought you said you gave up on me,” I said, turning away.

Her arms wrapped around me. “I gave up on getting you as my mate. But a Beta must care for their Alpha,” Fern purred as her hands slid down to the waistband of the sweatpants I was wearing. “Let me help you relax, Ian. I can make you feel so much better.”

I gently pushed Fern aside, shaking my head. “Not tonight, Fern. I appreciate your offer, but I need some time alone to think.”

Fern pressed her head against my back and gave a defeated sigh before she quickly composed herself. “Of course, Ian. I understand. Just know that I’m here for you, whenever and however you need me.”

“I appreciate it. I’m almost done here. We can go home afterward. I need to have a pack meeting in the morning to go over everything the kids need to know. You go rest while I finish up.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she replied and left the room without another word.

Why was my life like this?