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Chapter 8
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Kaugnay na kabanata
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 9
Clementine I raced out of that bar as fast as my feet could carry me. My hand was still tingling with a strange sensation, like hundreds of little water droplets were running over its surface. Liam must have some weird static electricity thing going on. It was the only thing that made sense. I had lost myself in the warm brown hue of his eyes and the gentle caress of his voice, but most of all, I had lost myself in his kindness. Guys who had god-like features like Liam were rarely nice. I was beginning to find myself laughing at his dry humour and wit. I felt comfortable. And then I looked around the bar and noticed three things: The first was that there was not one ounce of fat on any of the people in the bar. Every single person was slim and gorgeous. The women all looked athletically fit and like they should be on the runway for Victoria’s Secret. The men all had bulging muscles, their arms corded and their abs hard. There must have been a gym around here that everyone went to be
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 10
Liam I woke in my bed. The sun was glittering through the crack in the curtains and streaming right into my face. I groaned and tried to cover it with my pillow. “Good morning.” The voice startled me out of my sleep delirium. I sat up and saw a mane of red hair, long bronzed legs and a black t-shirt barely covering her ass—my black t-shirt. “Morning, Cassie,” I murmured. She bounced back from the ensuite doorway and rejoined me on the bed. Leaning in slowly, she brushed her lips against mine. Her cinnamon and vanilla scent wafted around me, and I felt Lucian rumble happily. I smiled as she pulled away from the kiss. After Clementine left the bar and grill last night, Cassie managed to be a beautiful distraction, and I soon was laughing and partying with her. After a few rounds of pool and plenty of alcohol, we managed to tumble back into my bed in the early morning hours. “What are your plans for today, Alpha?” she asked. Lucian puffed himself up proudly. “I am not alpha,” I gen
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 11
Clementine Crash. Bang. Slam. The sound of a loud, angry voice rang out. More crashing, more banging. I rolled over in bed and looked up at the ceiling. I knew I had to get up and deal with this—go play referee. I hated playing the arbitrator. I rolled out of bed with a groan, shoved my glasses on my face, and padded out of the room. I walked down the hallway to find my brother in the kitchen, slamming cupboards. My father was nowhere in sight. “What the hell is going on?” I snarled. “What do you mean?” Vinny asked. “I heard you yelling at Dad.” “I wasn’t yelling.” He looked at me curiously. The silver flecks had gone from his eyes, but his green eyes were red and glassy once again. “Yeah, you were. You woke me up.” “I didn’t mean to wake you, Clem.” “So you weren’t just calling him an asshole and still ranting about the fact that Murdoch deserved it?” I asked. Vinny looked at me curiously. “Well, yeah, I did. But I was talking to myself, Clem. Dad isn’t even here.” “What?”
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 12
Clementine I walked into the salon feeling a little nervous. A kind woman with blue-grey eyes smiled at me. “Hi, I was wondering if I could book an appointment to cut my hair,” I rushed out. I felt the tears in the back of my eyes, and my lip started to wobble. “Hi, honey! Of course, you can. I have time now if you want?” “Oh yes! Please!” “My name is Steph.” She offered her hand for me to shake. I reached out and shook her hand. “Clementine. Clem.” I studied Steph, who was middle-aged and reminded me so much of my mother. She had the same wheat-coloured hair and a short stature with a petite figure. Steph led me to a chair and wrapped a black smock around my neck before running her fingers through my hair. “What would you like done?” “Just shorten it. It usually sits around my shoulders, but my mom got sick, and I got distracted.” “Oh, honey! I’m so sorry.” She reached around and gave me a quick hug, her eyes tearing up ever so slightly before she continued to run her finge
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 13
LiamRyan moved just before my fist connected with his face. Dirt and dust kicked up where his feet bounced off the ground. “What the hell, dude?” he growled as he dodged. Lucian didn’t care. He was out for blood. “Lucian, stop!” I commanded. He wasn’t going to. I had no control: left punch, right punch, front kick. Ryan was blocking as Lucian charged forward in my body. “Lucian!” I shouted, wrestling to regain control. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” “Liam! Get control of your wolf,” Ryan snarled as he defended himself. I pushed Lucian back with all my might, just long enough to grit out three words. “Knock. Me. Out.” “You can’t be serious?” Ryan’s arms tried to encase mine, but getting a good hold was proving impossible. Lucian was frothing at the mouth, trying to come forward. “Now,” was the last word I managed to grit out before Lucian took over again. Ryan looked perplexed as he kept defending Lucian’s advances. Suddenly, Ryan’s eyes blazed, and his fingernails changed
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 14
Liam Ryan and I nabbed a booth around lunchtime and ordered a couple of burgers with a side of Gary’s infamous poutine. As soon as the beers flowed, we laughed and joked, and it was as if the fight at the training grounds never happened. Ryan’s sister Sophie came in with a bunch of textbooks and one of her friends, Stacey. It was apparent they had come in to study together, but when Sophie noticed us sitting there, that plan hit a roadblock, and Sophie and Stacey joined us. The textbooks were pushed to the side and forgotten as the beer flowed. Sophie was cute. She had light brown hair that waved into the middle of her back, blue eyes, and the warmest smile you’d ever seen. The light smattering of cinnamon-coloured freckles on her nose and over her shoulders popped against her suntanned skin under her white shoe-string camisole. She looked me over with those big blue doe-like eyes, but even I wasn’t enough of a jerk to break the bro-code, no matter how hot Sophie was. Stacey on the o
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 15
Clementine “Okay. Sure. Sounds fun.” My heart thumped in my chest. Did I just agree to go to a party? I had never really been to a party before. Shit. Why did I say this sounded like fun? It sounded like the complete opposite to be honest. I looked at the four different sets of eyes staring back at me. Grey, blue, hazel and finally, the warmest shade of brown I had ever encountered. Liam flashed me an excited smile, and I felt my lips form a grin and my face warmed. His smile was contagious. He was contagious. “Okay, give me your number,” Liam said, pulling out his phone. I shook myself out of my daze, and my already warm cheeks now felt like a furnace. “S-sorry?” I stammered. “Your phone number, so I can contact you. About the party.” “Oh, right.” I nodded and wiped my hands on my apron before I picked up his phone and entered my digits. I fumbled the number twice before I entered it correctly, saved it, then handed the device back to him. Our fingers touched briefly, and that
Enlightened by the Eclipse Chapter 16
Liam My phone buzzed against the table. And I looked down at it. Clem: 911. ANGRY REDHEAD. And it buzzed again a few seconds later. Clem: Let me know if I need to create a diversion so you can escape. I looked up and over at Clem curiously, then saw who she was referring to. Cassie walked up to the bar and had just started conversing with Clem. Lucian frowned and tuned our hearing over to listen in. “Hi, what can I get you?” Clem asked politely. “A glass of Sav Blanc and you out of my way.” “I’m sorry?” “You’re Clementine, right?” Clementine picked up the bottle of white with poise as she gracefully poured the woman a glass of wine. “I am.” “Good.” Cassie picked up the glass, took a small sip, and then threw the wine all over Clementine. I snarled and jumped out of my seat, then was next to Cassie in a flash. “What the hell is going on?” Clementine removed her glasses which were covered in wine. Her hair and face were soaked. Ryan was behind the bar before I could blink,
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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
