Eclipsed Hearts

In the Moon’s Light

[Ian]

Her name was Bailey. She gave it to me knowing full well that I could use it at any time to break our bond. What Keaton told me about how she might fit into my life whispered through my mind.

Could she really be a fit as my mate? Would she really protect the pups with me? Would she hunt alongside me to support them?

I glanced at where she stood, staring out the window, and I couldn’t help but see how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Her dark hair glistened, reflecting the light that came in through the window. The more time I spent with her, the more I wanted to keep her.

I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was more to Bailey than met the eye. She had a wildness in her gaze, a hint of untamed spirit that drew me in like a moth to a flame. As she turned to meet my eyes, I saw a flicker of vulnerability beneath her confident façade. It was then that I knew she was a kindred spirit.

“You’re staring more than usual. Is this newfound interest because you’ve started accepting the gift you’ve been given?” Keaton asked quietly.

“She told me her name. You might think I’m too impulsive, but she trusts me to do what’s right for everyone involved.”

He sighed. “She doesn’t understand. Ian, Alphas don’t always think things through. You’re one poor decision away from hurting everyone you love. Please don’t reject her until after we’ve got everything prepared and have a replacement for you. Second chances are rare and never as perfect as your original mate. A chosen mate will be better than hoping for a perfect second chance. I might be facilitating you giving her up, but I don’t condone it. You have no idea what an advantage you and she will have.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe having a hunter living with my pack, other than me, would make it safer. It could even make hunting safer. If she married me, then her clan wouldn’t question it if she was out hunting with me. And they wouldn’t question it if she disappeared. Most female hunters essentially disappeared after retiring. They would stay home to care for kids and keep the clan’s lands running.

Honestly, hunter society was similar to werewolf society, with only a few minor differences. Bailey could be comfortable in a pack-like structure. And I loved her name. It fit her a lot better than Mari did.

The thought of integrating Bailey into my pack, of sharing a life with her, sent a surge of warmth through me. The potential for a partnership where we stood side by side, our strengths complementing each other, ignited a spark of anticipation within me. I knew there were risks and uncertainties ahead, but the prospect of having Bailey by my side felt right in a way that surpassed rationality.

I shook my head. It was the bond, the metaphysical tie that held us together and made us more open to the other. Most werewolves embraced it and jumped in with both feet, but I didn’t have that luxury.

What if it was a trap and she would lead her clan to finish the job and kill the rest of my pack?

Without realizing it, my instincts took over as the primal urge to protect my pack surged within me. Betrayal was always at the back of my mind. I really wanted to trust Bailey, but making the wrong choice could ruin everything we’d worked for.

I returned my gaze to Bailey, studying her features for any hint of deception. But all I saw was sincerity in her eyes, a depth of emotion that mirrored my own.

Could I really turn away from this connection we shared? Could I really kill her if I needed to?

It was all too much to think about. Instead, I needed to focus on the werewolf we were hunting. Bailey and I still needed to end his sorry existence before he killed her or tried to mate with two members of my pack who didn’t belong to him.

“I’m not giving her up until it’s time. You seem to think that I’m going to be foolish. If I were inclined to do that, then I wouldn’t be alive right now and my kids wouldn’t be either. Yeah, it wasn’t a well thought out idea to kill the hunter, but I needed what he had and it was convenient. It helped a lot with keeping many people safe over the years. I don’t need you here telling me how to live my life and control myself. Just help us watch over Mari.”

“She told you her name but you still use the alias she gave you?”

“Yes. You’re a short-term ally. It’s her business if she wants you to know her name. If you don’t already know her name. You might say you don’t and act like you don’t, but I wouldn’t put anything past you. I know you know a lot more than you tell anyone else,” I replied.

He chuckled and nodded. “You’re right. My spies can find out anything, but they don’t know her name. We only know that she is a Walker, not a Damson I hope you’ll share anything you learn. It’s to help your pack and your people.”

I didn’t keep pushing. I was done with this and I wanted to go to bed. With a dismissive wave of my hand, I headed toward my mate.

Last night, I had the best sleep I’d had since my pack was destroyed. If I was going to be useful, I needed a good rest. Plus, I was fairly certain she had the same issue with sleep. Something told me we were more similar than I wanted to let myself admit.

Crossing the room, I went to her and pulled her away from the window. Bailey looked up at me with those cool and collected eyes. I wanted nothing more than to see her looking at me with dark, heavy-lidded eyes filled with heat again.

“Come to bed. I’ll protect you while we sleep,” I said to her gently.

“Was my name all you needed to start treating me nicely?” she laughed dryly and tried to walk past me.

I grabbed her arm and spun her toward me. There was no trace of that woman I saw in her occasionally. The shadow of the woman who desired me and cared, the one with soft eyes who sometimes gripped me when she cried.

It was easier to hate her when this woman took over. This woman was a hunter, a killer, and she didn’t care who got in her way. It finally occurred to me that she did this when she felt she was too vulnerable or when she wanted to mask her thoughts and feelings. She was hiding.

“It was your trust. Before you knew I was a werewolf, I believed your trust was just because you thought I was another hunter who wanted to kill all werewolves. Now I know that it’s real trust. You could’ve killed me. I could have killed you, but you trusted that I wouldn’t. Then you trusted me with your name. You had to have realized that there was a reason Keaton didn’t want me to reject you that went beyond the effect it would have on me.”

“Having a hunter from my clan side with the werewolves would make any other werewolf sympathizers in the hunting community switch sides. It would start wars and cause damage to both hunters and werewolves. Information about where the clans hid their communities would come out and they would see massacres like the one that killed the clan of the man you’re pretending to be.”

“Like the massacres that hunters have unleashed on werewolf communities for years.”

She nodded. “Exactly. And that would reveal werewolves and hunters to the entire world. Revealing them in the middle of a war would cause confusion and bring out supporters on each side. When people found out that werewolves weren’t attacking hunters and their homes for most of their existence, but hunters were not only attacking werewolf homes and their children, the tides would quickly turn in the favor of the werewolves.

“The attacks on humans by werewolves would be revealed, but there are werewolves out there who hunt the bad werewolves, essentially policing themselves. We wouldn’t be seen as saviors to humans. We’d be the monsters and werewolves would be the victims. I’m sure he sees it the same way I do. But an explosion like this needs to be planned for and carefully managed. That’s why he wants us to go to Storm Moon. He’s hoping that the time it takes to do whatever he has planned with result in us deciding to stay together.”

“That’s what I was thinking too. I didn’t know you would see everything so clearly.”

Bailey pulled away from me and gave me a sad look before turning toward the dresser.

“I’m not stupid, Ian. My opinions change with any new information I get.” She let out a soft sigh and shook her head. “It’s a good thing we’re on the same page. The sooner we get this over with, the better. I don’t want someone who doesn’t want me.”

With that, she went to get her pajamas, and I just stood there.

She doesn’t want me because I don’t want her?

Not because I’m her enemy?