Chapter Nine: Secrets in the Rain
The rain didn’t stop.
It fell through the night in rhythmic waves, soaking the earth, the trees, and everything within the Rainfall Pack lands. It soaked Faith and David too — but neither had moved from the balcony.
Their clothes clung to their skin. Their breath misted in the cold. But it didn’t matter.
Because in that moment — in that rain — something had shifted.
Faith lay curled against David now, her head resting on his bare chest as they sat together inside by the fire. A thick blanket had been draped over her, but she still shivered, though not from the cold. It was the way his touch still lingered beneath her skin. The bond between them pulsed stronger now. Restless. Alive.
David’s fingers traced slow circles on her back, but his eyes were far away.
He hadn’t spoken much since they left the rain.
But Faith could feel him unraveling. Not from doubt — but from something deeper.
A memory. A wound.
“You’re quiet again,” she whispered.
He glanced down at her. “There’s something I should’ve told you before all this.”
She lifted her head slightly.
“I’ve kept secrets, Faith. Things about myself. Things about my past.”
She blinked. “Is this about Divine?”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “This is older than that — and deeper. And it’s the reason I never trusted the bond. Not until you.”
Faith pushed herself up to sit fully, wrapping the blanket around her. “Tell me.”
David leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring into the fire.
“When I was sixteen,” he began, voice low, “I had my first shift earlier than most. It was violent. Uncontrolled. I hurt someone I cared about.”
Faith’s heart skipped. “Who?”
“My uncle. He was my mentor. My second father. He tried to calm me, to guide the beast through its first rage, but I snapped. I tore into him. Nearly killed him.”
“Oh, David…”
“He survived. Barely. But after that, everything changed. My father started training me like a weapon instead of a son. Like a time bomb he had to keep on a leash. The Council kept me under watch for months. They were afraid I’d lose control again.”
Faith placed her hand gently over his.
“You’re not that boy anymore.”
He gave a bitter laugh. “Aren’t I? I still feel it. The beast. Always right there. Waiting for something to trigger it. That’s why I’ve always kept people at arm’s length. Why I never marked Divine, even when I was told to. I didn’t trust myself not to destroy her.”
“And me?” she asked, voice small.
He turned to her, eyes softer now. “You’re the first person who ever made the beast kneel.”
Faith’s breath caught.
David leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. “That night in the clearing, when I lost control… it was your voice that brought me back. You didn’t run. You didn’t flinch. You stood there — trembling, scared — and still, you reached for me.”
“Because I saw you,” she whispered. “Not just the beast. You.”
They sat in silence for a beat before Faith asked, “Why tell me this now?”
“Because the bond will only get stronger,” he said. “And I want you to know everything before it does. No more secrets. Not from you.”
Faith nodded slowly, letting the weight of his words settle into her bones.
“I have one too,” she said after a long pause.
David looked at her sharply. “A secret?”
She nodded. “It’s not as dark as yours, but it still matters.”
He waited patiently, his hand never leaving hers.
“I didn’t grow up believing in bonds,” she said. “My mother — she was an omega too. She loved a male who never claimed her. He used her and left. When I was born, she told me never to expect a mate, never to wait on one. ‘Love is for alphas,’ she said. ‘Omegas survive and that’s all we get.’”
David’s face darkened. “She was wrong.”
“She wasn’t trying to be cruel,” Faith continued. “She was trying to prepare me. That’s why… when I was told I was destined for your brother, I didn’t fight it. I thought… maybe that was all I could hope for.”
David growled low in his throat. “You were never meant for my brother.”
“I know that now,” she said, meeting his eyes. “Because when you look at me… I don’t feel small. I don’t feel like a burden.”
“You’re not,” he said fiercely. “You’re the only thing that makes me feel whole.”
The fire crackled between them.
But outside the safety of the den, whispers slithered through the pack.
Rainfall warriors exchanged glances. Divine sharpened her claws in silence. And in the shadows of the council, old wolves conspired.
Because not everyone believed in the bond between an omega and an alpha already promised to another.
And some would stop at nothing to sever it.
Later that night, as Faith drifted off against David’s chest, a knock shattered the quiet.
David rose, eyes sharp again. He opened the door to find his beta, Marcus, soaked and grim.
“We have a problem,” Marcus said.
David stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him. “What is it?”
“There’s word from the southern border. Divine’s family… they’ve brought in outsiders. Rogues.”
David’s jaw clenched. “She’s gathering support?”
“She’s preparing for something more than a council challenge. She’s preparing for blood.”
Inside the room, Faith stirred restlessly in her sleep.
Outside, the rain fell harder.
And secrets continued to bloom beneath it.