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Chapter 22
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Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 23
Clementine The sound of the howl made me jump out of my skin. I turned and looked in the general direction of the backyard. Idiot, I smiled fondly. I turned my head to see if I could hear anything else, but all I could make out was the shower running. The water was scalding hot by the time I stepped into it. My entire life had changed within twenty-four hours and learning about everything had exhausted me physically and mentally. The aftereffects of the Rohypnol were unapparent. There was no queasiness or hangover-like symptoms now—just pure exhaustion. I simply wanted to burn the essence of the day away with this hot shower, climb into bed, and sleep for a million years. I pushed my face right into the spray of water, then lowered my head, letting it hit the back of my neck, groaning as the heat hit my muscles. Eventually, I grabbed the soap and loofah and washed myself in slow, soothing circles. After my shower, I dressed in shorts and a comfy threadbare t-shirt and headed toward
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 24
Liam Monday rolled around faster than I would have liked. I tapped my foot against the empty chair in front of me as I listened to the professor at the front of the hall drone on about economics. Lucian was snoring softly in my head. I found it hard to concentrate. My mind kept wandering back to Blackfern Valley. Clem hadn’t so much as sent me a text message since I left her place on Sunday. I thought she may have checked in, but when I rolled over this morning and checked my phone, there were no messages or missed calls from her. I told myself I was worried for her safety, and it was normal for me to want her to check in after she learned about werewolves. Her entire life had been thrown into disarray, and she needed someone to help her navigate this world without humans. Even looking around this small lecture hall of sixty-odd students, only three of them were human. Humans that didn’t know they were sitting in a room full of werewolves. There were less than one-hundred humans th
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 25
Liam stood up and reached his hand out to me. He flashed me an award-winning smile that made my insides turn to Jell-O. I wiped my hand on my shorts then placed it in his, allowing him to help me off the ground. The static electricity instantly started the moment my hand touched his. I was beginning to enjoy the sensation. After I was on my feet, I took my hand away from his, picked up my bag and then waited for it to be offered again. He didn’t repeat his offer. “Come on.” He grinned as he threw his arm around my shoulder. “Look how little you are! You fit!” He chuckled. I jabbed him in the side, which made him chuckle more. His side was as hard as the rest of his body—not an ounce of fat anywhere. I had already accepted that he was a marbled god, but it made me push back my insecurities. “Have you already had lunch?” I asked shyly. “I had food before my class, but I’m due for my second lunch.” My brows raised. “I had a sandwich before, but it was more like a snack. I’m hungry; l
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 26
Liam I watched her walk through the door of Lupus’ and blinked a couple of times. My stomach was in knots, and Lucian wasn’t helping. He’d been agitated ever since we left Kempthorne. I parked the car into a vacant spot, then proceeded to follow her into the bar. I stopped at the wooden door with the glass panels and looked in. When I peered through the glass at the front door, I saw her hug Ryan hello with a smile that lit up her entire face. Lucian growled in response. I didn’t enter. Instead, I observed her from the door for a moment, tuning my hearing to them, once again trying to convince myself that I wasn’t spying; I was simply keeping her safe. “So, a little birdie tells me you have a Red Riding Hood fetish,” Ryan teased. “Why, are you the big bad wolf?” she flirted back. My chest tightened as Ryan laughed and flashed her a grin that I had seen work a thousand times on the she-wolves in the area. She rolled her eyes, then gave him a smaller, more reserved smile. “The whol
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 27
Clementine “I’m going for a walk!” I called out on Wednesday afternoon as I exited the mudroom and over the back lawn where Vinny and Dad were wrestling. Or at least that’s what it looked like. “Now brace your position, just like I taught you. I’ll come in from the left, and you need to counteract my weight.” “Right,” Vinny said, bracing himself into a low crouch. I watched for a few moments as Dad slammed into him with the full force of a freight train. “And here I thought you always wanted a son, yet you’re obviously trying to kill him,” I teased as Vinny was pummelled into the ground. “Vinny, just kick him in the gonads. He’ll go down like a sack of potatoes.” “Vincent, do not kick me in the gonads,” Dad warned, and Vinny laughed, then dusted himself off. “I’m just trying to go through some training techniques with your brother. Where are you going?” “For a walk. Through there.” I pointed to the trees. “You’re going into the bush?” “Um, yeah.” “You’re a city girl, Clementi
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 28
Liam My paws pounded through the bush as I cantered around, chasing a rabbit. I was supposed to be studying for my economics test, but I needed to run. I spent all Monday afternoon and evening filling my brain with the necessary information for Friday’s test. After my morning training on Tuesday, I spent the entire day at Kempthorne University. I didn’t leave Kempthorne until late, as my classes ran late on Tuesdays. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to study. Wednesday held no physical courses for me, so I woke up early with all intentions to study, and the plan soon went out the window. I got through an hour or two and then went to find something to eat. My dad had come into the pack house kitchen and made himself a sandwich. He had been performing his alpha duties all morning and was keen to get out and work with his hands. So, after we finished our food, I went outside to help him do some work. He was renovating a cottage at the back of the pack house. Our pack house
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 29
Clementine My ankle wasn’t broken! Well, at least it wasn’t broken anymore. After a quick X-Ray and an ultrasound on my injury, they found that I had a severely twisted ligament, some bad bruising, and a freshly healed hairline fracture. He asked me to bear weight on it, and when I stood, I was surprised that my ankle could take the pressure. The pain had been subtle and dull, but nothing I couldn’t handle. There was no way I could walk on it earlier, and with a twisted ligament, I should have been at least given a moon boot and some crutches, but the doctor shook his head and told me that I was already starting to heal, so there was no point. I blinked a few times, half hobbling over to the mirror and noticing that the scrape on my face was mostly gone. Then I studied my knees. The scrapes had healed entirely, leaving a baby-pink splatter of new tissue. What the fuck? Liam studied me curiously. He looked like I felt: we had a million questions running through our minds. Dad arrive
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 30
Liam I was tense. I figured it had been the stress from my economics test. Or maybe it was something to do with the approaching full moon, but we were still a week out from it. I paced my room back and forward, deep in thought. I couldn’t be this jittery around Clementine, she was bound to ask questions, and I didn’t know how to answer them. I hadn’t responded to her questions since I left her with her dad at the medical centre. Her text messages had been left mostly unanswered too. This morning I received a message from Clementine wishing me luck on my test, and my entire stomach twisted into knots. I hadn’t replied to that one either. Instead, I turned my phone off and drove out to Kempthorne University. I had told her I would go to Lupus’ after my test, but I couldn’t bring myself to go. My mind was all over the place. My body thrummed with unwanted tension. I felt like I wanted to burst out of my skin. Lucian was lying down with his head between his paws, watching me pace but of
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Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 75
Clementine The full moon had come around again, but this time, it was different because I was a bundle of nerves. Okay, so I might have been a bundle of nerves the first time too, but at least I had Circe. My wolf still hadn’t shown up, and although I was wearing a brave face, the idea of being mated without a wolf made me nervous. Liam kept reassuring me that she would come back eventually, but as we got closer to the full moon, I became more agitated because I believed I couldn’t be with Liam without a wolf. Not if he remained alpha. I tried to convince him to hold off the mating ritual until we knew if she was coming back. I was trying to be pragmatic and develop a strategy in case I was left wolfless, as a human couldn’t be luna. Liam had simply shaken his head, dropped a drugging kiss to my lips, and inhaled along my neck. “Your scent is the same; that intoxicating honeysuckle and pear with the underlying scent of canine and human. Your eyes haven’t changed back to the pure tu
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 74
Liam The full moon was approaching, and the entire pack could feel it. Everyone was on edge. There were several ex-pack members still missing. Everyone seemed convinced it would lead to another battle and more pack members would die. Our pack had lost fourteen members in our quest to rescue my mate. Fourteen families had received visits where Clem and I delivered our heartfelt condolences to personally. I was unsure how many the rogue army had lost, but there were a lot of deceased wolves when we started to clean up and sort through the bodies. I had left Clementine the next morning, tucked safe and sound in our bed. I knew she would be pissed about it, but I needed to go and help identify the bodies. Twenty of us marched out to the battle site and started to sift through the woods, pulling wolves out of debris and resting them together in a small area where their loved ones could collect them. Usually, we would just burn the rogues, but as much as I kept saying it, these rogues we
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 73
Clementine I watched as Liam sprinted away and felt my heart fall into my stomach. My feet moved on their own, and Milo cut me off before I foolishly ran into the middle of a wolf fight. He growled, and I knew he was telling me we needed to get the fuck out of Dodge. “Sorry, I’m not exactly light,” I apologized as I clambered onto his back. He huffed and spun on his paws so fast I felt myself buckle. I grabbed fistfuls of fur and tugged. He grumbled. Oops! I tried to loosen my hold, but there was no good place to hold onto. I had no experience riding a horse, let alone a wolf. If I wrapped my arms around his neck, would I choke him? I felt awkward and clumsy on top of him. “Milo, you need to stop and let me down.” I got a grunt as a response, and, not surprisingly, he didn’t slow as he whipped around the trees. “Milo, I’m going to fall.” Another grunt. Vinny grumbled at me too. His eyes darted around the forest and back to me, watching me fumble as I tried to balance on the bac
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 72
Liam The sound of battle was emitted from deep within the forest. I was still a fair distance away, but the echoes and vibrations pushed my paws harder into the forest floor. The smell of Clem’s scent caught on the wind, and Lucian barked, scaring a small frog off a rock and back into the nearby creek. I followed the scent and the sounds of fighting in the distance, running past wolves in a combination of different fighting forms. Most of them were fully shifted, but those who had their level-three training swapped between wolf and human forms with the grace of deadly dancers. Clementine was cornered against a dirt wall. Her hands were bound, and even though she looked calm, I could sense the fear rolling from her. There were four wolves with her, encasing her in a semi-circle—standing sentry. Her brother was closest, as if the others had pushed him back to protect him too. Two large werewolves the colour of molten chocolate guarded the middle front from attack—Milo and his broth
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 71
ClementineThe lower side of my face was swollen. My throat felt like I’d swallowed razorblades, and my lip was split. “Put some ice on your face,” an unknown voice snarled. I opened my eyes and winced. I assumed I was still in the cabin, lying on a very uncomfortable cot in a small room. I met the brown eyes of someone I had seen around town and flinched back from the ice in his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He rolled his chocolate eyes and offered me the ice again. I gingerly took it, looked up at him again and took in his chiselled jaw and brown wavy hair. “I don’t understand. Why are you helping me?” My voice was rough and scratchy. “Because you’re injured.” “You were part of Lincoln’s pack,” I stated. “I was.” His eyes travelled down my torso as I sat myself up and placed the ice onto my jaw. “And you know I’m a half-breed,” I whispered timidly. “I know. Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked. “No. I don’t think so,” I mumbled. “Good. I just came in to give you s
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 70
Liam Half an hour later and the meeting had disbanded. Ryan and Stacey had taken off with a couple of trackers from the warrior squad. Patrick went to inform Vinny about what had happened, and Jerome and Dad helped me organize an urgent meet with the entire pack for this afternoon. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was getting cooler now in the fall air. The mountains and thick forest made it almost impossible for the sun to warm up the valley. The sun tried desperately to shine through the trees, but it was met with an invisible frosty wall that couldn’t be penetrated. The chill in the air was almost foreboding, making me feel like I would never be warm again. Patio heaters and gas barbecues were lit up throughout the grounds. I smiled at the pack members as they filed in, wearing their summery clothes as if they were oblivious to the changes in the temperature. I smiled at the five hundred odd people who had turned up. Five hundred wolves would be enough to start
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 69
Clementine “He’s my true mate, Brady. I’ll never let you dishonour him by marking me. I’ll kill you first.” I coughed out as he continued to drive. “Oh, honey. I would like to see you try and fight with the wolfsbane running through your system.” “He’s going to wake up and figure it out,” I glossed. It didn’t seem like a good idea to tell Brady that Liam was already awake and was strong enough to heal without my constant presence. “That’s fine too. Maybe I’ll let you gain your wolf enough so he can feel you and track you. Or maybe I’ll just torture you and let him feel that. He’ll heroically and foolishly come to your aid. And I’m sure I can handle one weakened alpha. He’ll be dead soon enough, regardless what I decide.” “He’ll come with his warriors, Brady.” He chuckled deeply as he turned onto an old highway that travelled into the mountains. I tried to reach Liam. He would be freaking out the moment he realized I was gone. I had to keep trying. I even tried contacting other
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 68
Liam I shifted in my seat and grimaced at the pain in my stomach. I knew this injury was going to take some time to heal. Even under the watchful eye of my fussing mate, it would take more than a week to get me back on my feet. My first official pack meeting was going to shit, too. I listened as Dad and Patrick argued heatedly, letting them hash it out like an old married couple, but I didn’t intervene. I needed to hear this as much as they needed to argue. “I told you when you were alpha that those blood-haters were dangerous. Your gentle approach put my children at risk, Josiah. Again!” Patrick spat. “And I told you that killing isn’t the answer! That’s how Jed ruled the pack. Do you not remember how many pack members he executed for small misdemeanours? Do you not remember how we lived in fear that he would get bored and start killing us for sport?” “Of course, I fucking remember, Jos, but there’s a difference between executing people for misdemeanors and crimes like attempted
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 67
Clementine As Liam lay in bed, pale and covered in a cold sweat, I had a horrible sense of déjà vu. There was no smell of chemo, no impending death, but the feeling was the same. The first time I watched someone I loved dying I couldn’t do anything about it. This time, I would do everything I could to save him. My arm still hurt from where I shoved the central venous cannula into my vein, almost piercing through the other side. That didn’t matter, though. What mattered was that Liam needed blood, and I needed to give it to him. All of it if that’s what it was going to take. After he was stitched up, placed into our bed, and hooked up to monitors, my dad suggested that I have a shower. I had shaken my head vehemently in refusal. I couldn’t leave him. What if I was showering and he– Dad, unfortunately, didn’t take no for an answer. I stepped into the enormous ensuite but left the door open a crack so I could hear what was going on in the bedroom. Circe’s possessive side had come thr
