Chapter 92 LOOSE END
Eclipse’s Pov
I left the pack house through a side entrance and walked to the woods at the edge of the territory. It was dark now and most people had gone home after the ceremony ended early because of Medea's collapse.
I checked my phone and saw the message I had been waiting for. The rogue assassin I hired to eliminate Derek had asked to meet me here to confirm the job was done and collect his payment.
I walked deeper into the woods until I reached a small clearing. A figure stepped out from behind a tree and I recognized him immediately. Marcus the rogue. He was wearing all black and had a hood pulled up over his face.
"It is done," Marcus said.
"Tell me exactly what happened," I said.
"I followed Derek as you instructed. He went to a bar in the bad part of town last night. Got drunk. Started walking home alone around midnight. I approached him in an alley and made it look like a mugging gone wrong. Quick and clean. Nobody saw anything," Marcus said.
"And you are certain he is dead?" I asked.
“Very certain,” Marcus said without hesitation. “I made sure of it.” His expression was grim, deliberate. “The body was found early this morning by a group of humans. The police are treating it as a random mugging—wrong place, wrong time.” He exhaled slowly. “No witnesses came forward. No connections traced. They have no leads, no suspicions, nothing tying it back to us. As far as the authorities are concerned, it’s already a closed path.”
Good. Derek had been a loose end, and I couldn’t afford loose ends threatening my plans. He knew too much—far too much—about Medea’s fake pregnancy, about the lies layered so carefully over the truth. If he had spoken to the wrong person, even once, everything could have unraveled. All the careful manipulation, all the patience, wasted in a single careless confession. I had weighed the risk and made my choice without hesitation. Loose ends were dangerous, unpredictable. And I had learned long ago that mercy had no place in plans meant to survive.
"Did he say anything before he died?" I asked.
"He begged. Said he would do anything. Offered money. The usual things people say when they realize they are about to die," Marcus said.
"And you did not mention my name or Medea's name?" I asked.
"Of course not. I am a professional. I do not leave evidence and I do not talk," Marcus said.
I reached into my jacket and pulled out an envelope filled with cash. The balance of what I owed Marcus for completing the job. I handed it to him and he quickly counted the bills.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Marcus said.
"One more thing. You need to disappear for a while. Leave this region entirely. Go somewhere far away and do not come back for at least six months," I said.
"Why?" Marcus asked.
“Because if anyone starts investigating Derek’s death, I do not want them finding you,” I said coldly. “And I do not want you anywhere near my sister—or me.” I held his gaze, making sure every word landed. “So you take that money and you disappear. You leave this city, this territory, this life. No calls. No messages. No looking back.” I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Understand this clearly: if you stay, you become a liability. And liabilities don’t get second chances.”
Marcus looked at me for a moment and then nodded.
"I understand. I will be gone by tomorrow," Marcus said.
"Good. And Marcus if you ever tell anyone about this job I will make sure you regret it. I have connections everywhere. There is nowhere you could hide that I could not find you," I said.
"I believe you. Do not worry. Your secret is safe with me," Marcus said.
He turned and disappeared back into the woods. I stood there for a moment and listened to make sure he was really gone. Then I walked back toward the pack house.
I felt no remorse over having Derek killed. None at all. He had been weak, foolish, and entirely expendable, and he had served his purpose exactly as intended. Medea needed someone—anyone—to sleep with in a desperate attempt to make the pregnancy believable, and Derek had been convenient, eager, and careless enough to step into that role. Once that was done, he stopped being useful and started being dangerous. He knew too much, talked too freely, and lacked the intelligence to protect himself or the secret. In my world, that made him a liability. And liabilities don’t get to linger.
He knew the baby might not be Raphael's. He knew about the affair. If he had gotten drunk and started talking or if someone had questioned him he could have destroyed everything.
So I eliminated the problem before it became a bigger issue. That is what I do. I see potential threats and I deal with them before they can hurt my sister or me.
I reached the pack house and went straight to Medea's chambers. I knocked once and then entered without waiting for her to answer.
Medea lay in the bed, her skin pale and drawn, exhaustion etched into every line of her face. The ceremonial gown was gone, replaced by a simple nightgown that did little to hide the fragility she exuded. She lifted her head weakly when I entered, eyes flicking toward me with a mixture of curiosity and guarded apprehension. Her movements were slow, deliberate, as if even the smallest effort took all her remaining energy. The room felt heavy with tension, and for a moment, the air between us was charged with unspoken questions.
"Eclipse what are you doing here? I am supposed to be resting," Medea said.
"I need to talk to you. It is important," I said.
I closed the door behind me and walked over to sit in the chair beside her bed. Medea sat up and looked at me with worried eyes.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Medea asked.
"Derek is dead. He was killed last night in what the police think was a mugging gone wrong," I said.
Medea's face went white and her hand flew to her mouth.
"What? Is Derek dead? How?" Medea asked.
"I had him killed. I hired someone to make it look like a random mugging. The job is done and the assassin is leaving the region. There is no way to trace it back to us," I said.
"You had him killed? Eclipse how could you do that?" Medea asked and she looked horrified.
“I did it because he was a loose end,” I said calmly, my voice steady, almost clinical. “He knew too much—far more than was safe. If anyone had questioned him about his relationship with you, even casually, he could have unraveled everything with a single careless word.” I met her eyes, unflinching. “I couldn’t allow that risk. Not after everything we set in motion. So I removed the threat before it had the chance to grow. It wasn’t personal. It was necessary.”
"But he was a person. You just had him murdered like it was nothing," Medea said.
"He was a liability. And I do not let liabilities threaten our plans. You should be thanking me instead of looking at me like I am a monster," I said.
"Thanking you? You killed someone Eclipse. That is not something to be proud of," Medea said.
I rose slowly from the chair and walked closer to the bed, each step deliberate, measured. The room seemed to tighten around us as I stopped at her side. I looked down at Medea, letting the silence stretch, letting her feel the weight of my attention. She flinched, shrinking back against the pillows, shoulders curling inward as if to make herself smaller. The intensity of my stare unsettled her; I could see it in the quick flick of her eyes, the shallow breath she tried—and failed—to steady.
"Listen to me very carefully Medea. We are in too deep now to turn back. You faked a pregnancy. You slept with Derek. Elder Janice confirmed the pregnancy even though we both know there might not be a baby. If any of this comes out we are both ruined. Do you understand?" I said.
"I know. I know we are in deep. But killing Derek seems extreme," Medea said.
"It was necessary. And you need to stop being weak about this. You made choices that led us here. Now you have to live with the consequences of those choices," I said.