145- The End of the Eclipse
POV Edric Eldoria:
“I suppose that’s something we’ll have to agree on,” I stated. “Your son is, in fact, a piece of shit.”
“If he weren’t so... obsessed with that girl, we would have achieved everything we ever dreamed of.”
I examined him carefully, trying to understand his true intention.
“Are you here to die?” I asked, gesturing around us. “Or should I take you to watch your son’s death first?”
He scoffed.
“I’m here to make a deal with you,” he declared, staring at me through his lashes.
“A deal?”
“Yes.”
I almost laughed. Almost.
“I’m listening.”
“I know you’re destroying the packs, killing all of them. But I offer you a proposal: I’ll tell you where my son is with his mate, then you let me go and allow me to take a she-wolf of my choice, so we can procreate and I can start Eclipse anew.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all I want.”
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.
“You know your son is going to die?”
Kellan let out a strangled laugh.
“I don’t give a damn what happens to him. Alessio stopped being important to me the moment he started acting without reason because of that bitch! Years of a meticulously calculated plan and he threw it all away over a bruised ego.” My lips pulled into a smile, and a warning growl vibrated in my chest. Kellan blinked, terrified. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have criticized Lunara in front of you.”
I rounded the counter, approaching him with slow steps.
“So, you’re going to hand over your son in exchange for your freedom?”
He cleared his throat.
“I’m an old male, not a fool. I know there are hierarchies of strength in our kind, so I recognize when a male is stronger than I am—and you are, Edric Eldoria. So yes, that is my deal with you.”
I stood before him and examined him with my head slightly tilted.
“Alright, I accept your deal.”
His gray brows drew together.
“Really?”
I nodded.
“I want my mate and your son’s head. If you tell me where they are, the deal is done.”
For a few seconds, silence stretched between us as Kellan studied every fleeting reaction on my face. He seemed suspicious, as if deciding whether to believe me or not.
He extended his palm toward me.
“Deal sealed, in the name of honor?”
I squeezed his hand tightly.
“Where is my mate?” I hissed.
“To the south, there’s a small road that leads into the dense forest. Follow it and you’ll find a grotto among the rocks—it belonged to Alpha Giovanni. Alessio took Lunara there.”
I broke into a wide smile and inhaled deeply.
In the blink of an eye, my hand was on his—but in the next, my fingers were around his heart, buried in his chest.
Eyes wide, unable to register my swift movement, he lowered his gaze and watched my hand vanish into him.
He coughed, blood spilling from his lips and staining his chin.
“You made a deal,” he whispered, breathless.
My smile widened.
“Years ago, you made a deal with my mate’s father, for her hand. And you didn’t keep it. You deceived her, just as I’ve deceived you now.” I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You should have known I would avenge her, that I would collect this debt. I swore to destroy the Eclipse wolves, and that is exactly what I’ll do, Alpha Kellan.” His name left my lips dripping with disdain.
“You damned liar...” he breathed, struggling, his white teeth stained red.
“You made a blood pact and failed to honor it. You have no dignity and no word.” I twisted my hand inside his chest, hearing him moan. “I’m here to break the damned pact for good. I’ll kill you and eat your heart. As soon as I walk out that door, no blood pact between you and Alpha Grimwald will persist.”
He had deceived my partner, lied to her for years, and humiliated her on their wedding day. I would never make a deal with a male like him. I avenged my she-wolf.
“You’ll burn in the valley of hell.”
I laughed, shaking my hand inside him. His heart throbbed against my fingers in a frantic rhythm. His life in my hands.
“Wait for me there, Alpha Kellan, leader of the Eclipse. Your life ends now.”
I pulled my hand back, ripping out his heart. He exhaled one final breath before his head fell backward, eyes frozen wide.
I stared at my bloodstained fingers and at the large, warm heart. I extended my fangs and brought it to my lips, biting into the soft, delicate organ that dissolved between my teeth as I chewed. Its flavor was mild, contrasting with the wolf’s blood, metallic and salty.
I tossed what remained aside and grabbed his head by the hair. I dragged my claws—sharp as blades—across his skin, slicing it open. I tore through muscle and tendon until I reached bone. A surge of blood burst from the open wound, staining his clothes, dripping and forming a pool at my feet.
I pressed his shoulders down and pulled his head upward. There was some resistance. I turned it from side to side, trying to separate the interlocked bones that hindered my intent. They cracked, slowly giving way to my pull. I strained harder, finally severing it. His head hung from my hand by the hair, while his body hit the floor with a hollow thud.