Alliance of Shadows, Book 3: HUNTER

Hidden in Plain Sight

Her eyes wide, Maria stared at me as I poured the wine back into the decanter without taking so much as a sip. The firelight flickered across her features, catching in the brown-green depths of her eyes, reflecting uncertainty. She looked like she wanted to say something but chose to stay silent, pressing her lips together in a tight line.

“Would you like to know why Robert once said he was free despite everything that surrounded him?” My eyes pinned her with a gentle glare, steady but lacking any edge of frustration. I wasn’t about to give her hell over her behavior—her reaction meant something.

Her lip trembled, the slightest movement betraying the conflict warring within her. “Hunter, I… I can’t be your Mate. There, I said it. Now you can forget me and move on with your life.”

The words were pushed out too fast, too forced, as if she needed to rid herself of them before she lost the nerve. But she was too nervous, too agitated for what she said to be true.

Inhaling slowly, I fought the urge to let my irritation show. There was too much regret and uncertainty lacing her voice for me to believe she meant it.

“I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

“What?” Her heartbeats evened out, and she stared at me in awe.

“That was why Robert said he was a free man,” I said quietly. “We often forget that we alone are individually responsible for our words and actions.”

Her eyes watered, frustration flickering across her features like something she had fought to suppress. “Why are you so damned patient?! I’ve tried everything I can think of to get rid of you! Y-you stubborn, egotistical ass. I hate you!”

I hesitated, unsure if she was being serious or if the words were just another shield she was throwing up. She was too raw, too exposed for me to believe it was real anger. So I whispered, “Regardless of how you talk to me, I know that it’s nothing more than a front to avoid getting hurt.”

Confusion knit her brows together, her posture stiffening. “Did the Howlers tell you?” she demanded suddenly, her tone sharp with accusation.

“Tell me what?” I asked carefully, wary of the sudden shift in her mood. Her behavior had been strange ever since I met her for the first time just months ago. Her friends had said nothing about her except to inform me of where the marks on her back had come from.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, Hunter. I’m going to go home now.” She jumped to her feet, her movements abrupt, hurried, and ran from the room before I could stop her.

Scrubbing my hands over my face, I realized that while I had finally taken a chunk out of her armor, she was still hiding something from me. Something that made her feel like she had to reject me.

However, her temper was turning into the most fun I'd had in a long time.

My eyes fell to the coat she’d left behind in her haste to get away from me. As I picked up the thin jacket, something slipped from its folds, falling to the floor with a muted thud. I stared down, my breath hitching.

It was the same stone the Witch had held in her hand that fateful night.

Retrieving it from the floor, I was instantly filled with understanding.

Now I knew why my little Mate was so fiercely adamant I stay away from her. I understood why she got so angry when Micah mentioned finding the Breakwaters. She must have thought we were going to kill them—while hiding the fact that she was one of them all along.

Using telepathy, I contacted my cousin. ‘Logan, are you busy?’

‘Not particularly. Why?’ Logan replied.

‘Whereabouts on the territory does Maria live? She left her jacket.’ I hesitated before continuing, turning the fabric over in one hand. In the other hand, I held the amulet – my heart breaking under the weight she’d been carrying alone while traversing Vampire territory. All this time, she’d been trying to see if we were really as bad as our shared confrontational history said we were. ‘Logan, I know her secret now. I get it, I do. The final choice is hers alone to make.’

‘I can go with you. I'm just home from visiting Phillip with Valik.’

He had only discovered he had another sibling a few months ago. Shortly after Micah told Logan, they had found the boy on the run from the Rogues. His father had been holding them hostage, abusing them the same way he had done to Logan and Mariana.

‘How is he?’

‘Good. Give it time, and I'll introduce you in person. He's like me, Hunter. He doesn't want to be like our father, and he's already one of my pack members. Dad made it official a couple of weeks ago.’

I smiled, knowing that he had taken the high road when he met the boy. ‘Sounds to me like he's thriving.’

‘Look, about Maria’s link to the Breakwater Coven—it doesn't bother me.’ I turned the amulet over in one hand, its weight pressing against my palm like an unspoken truth. ‘Maria's existence is a reason for my brothers to celebrate. Her birth broke the curse on us, and she will be key in ending the ban and saving the Breakwater Coven from my father.’

‘Meaning?’ Logan asked.

‘Maria was destined for me from her first breath in this lifetime.’ The admission felt heavier than I expected. ‘Had my father not been so obsessed with recreating the family in his image, I would have had her back then. I lost her, Logan. I can't go through that again.’

‘Let me know how it goes. I'm trusting you not to hurt my Gamma. My packmates are my family.’

‘I wouldn't cross you like that, Logan.’

‘North-east part of the Shadow Storm territory, Warrior housing division,’ he finally admitted after a pause. ‘Please, if you really care about my well-being, don’t tell her I told you? She’ll rip me open.’

‘I won’t’, I promised.

Getting the rest of my work done quickly, I gathered my things, the weight of what I had learned pressing down on me. As I turned off the lamp, I looked up from my desk and spotted Justin staring at me. His posture was rigid, his expression unreadable, but I met his gaze, already knowing what he was thinking just from the look in his eyes.

"Don't be stupid, little brother. She's not worth breaking the law over."

I exhaled sharply, gripping the fabric of Maria’s coat a little tighter before shaking my head. "I'm not breaking any laws of any kind by returning her coat to her. She left in a huff and forgot it." The words felt hollow, as if they barely scratched the surface of the real reason I needed to see her.

Turning the fabric over in my hands, I felt the lingering warmth of its owner, the faint scent of her clinging to the material—a mix of something wild and untamed, laced with something softer that I couldn’t quite name. My fingers brushed over the worn seams, a reminder of how much she had carried in silence.

“She’s a Breakwater, Justin. The very same people we’ve been fighting to find and protect. We’ve had at least two under our noses this entire time.” My voice was calm, measured, but beneath it, my heart pounded.

Justin’s eyes widened, the weight of my words settling in. His breath hitched slightly, the realization sending a ripple of understanding through him.

“Well, what are you waiting for?" He leaned forward, his voice filled with urgency. "Not only was it a blessing to know she was reborn, but she could also turn the tables in our favor. We might finally be able to find and save what's left of her Clan. They keep moving around before we can get to them."

The truth hung between us, heavy and undeniable. Maria wasn’t just another lost soul in the chaos—we had been searching for her people all this time, and she had been walking among us, unaware that she was the missing piece.

“I had the same idea. Maria tried to reject me this evening. She was worried, and I think her connection to the clan is the reason why.”

Justin frowned, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Did she honestly think that we would hurt her?"

I let out a slow breath, gripping the coat tighter in my hands. The fabric was soft, warmed by her body heat, a lingering presence that made her absence feel even more pronounced. "I would bet on that being the case," I admitted, the weight of understanding settling in. "I'm going to find her."

Justin blinked at me slowly, processing what I had just said, but his expression shifted—something between realization and quiet hope flickered across his features. He swallowed hard, his throat working as if the thought was difficult to voice. "What if my Emily has been reborn as well?" His voice was quieter now, laced with something vulnerable. "It would be amazing if we were to all find our Mates now."

I studied him for a moment, reading the way his fingers flexed at his sides, how he fought to contain the hope that was growing despite himself. The idea of finding Emily again, of fate finally working in his favor, was something he hadn’t allowed himself to believe until now.

"Hopefully, we will find out soon," I replied, my grip tightening around Maria's coat as I turned toward the door, the need to find her settling deep in my chest.