It was raining.

Which seemed fitting since today was Shane and Peter’s funeral. At first I’d told myself I wouldn’t go, that it would be disrespectful and cruel of me if I did. Then, I thought about how it would look to Alec, Becca, Benji, and Ridley if I didn’t go.

I didn’t want to look bad in their eyes, so I agreed to go with them.

Ridley knew more about what had happened than anyone else. The truth behind all the Hopkins deaths had traveled fast among the supernaturals of Mirror Lake. Everyone knew what happened in the city.

Word traveling so fast might have also had something to do with our alpha bringing in outsiders to clean things up simply because he didn’t want to acquire any more debt with the Caraway witches or the Montevallo family.

I admired his decision.

He would be giving the role of alpha over to Eli soon, and he didn’t want him paying for the deals he had made. Figured he’d already be handing him enough when the time came.

I understood, and so did Eli. Honestly, he was thankful.

As for the people our alpha had brought in…well, they were unique individuals. While I wasn’t on site to witness their magic as it happened, I wished I had been. Apparently, they were cloaking witches. They had the ability to clean up a supernatural mess or accident by using a cloaking spell to make it appear as though the person’s death were caused by a natural happening. Something to divert suspicion from anything related to the supernatural world. They were geniuses, this brother and sister duo. They’d turned their gift into a profitable business.

A company called Sight Unseen.

Any time someone had a death on his hands from a supernatural-related event, Jasper and Piper Ward used one of their many cloaks to cover it up for the humans.

While I hoped we never had to use their services again, it was nice to know they were out there should we need to.

I thought of the cloaks the alpha had paid to have placed on Shane and Peter. What would I see when I looked at Shane? Would I actually see a gunshot wound? The Wards had placed a cloak on him that made it seem as though he’d been cleaning his gun while in the woods and the thing had gone off, killing him. They’d also placed one on Peter that would make his autopsy show he’d died of an aneurysm.

I felt horrible for their mother.

In the span of a few days, she’d lost all three of her sons. The town was rallying to do as much to help ease her pain as possible but still. I couldn’t deny how awful I felt for the part I’d played in the death of her three sons, regardless of what they’d all done to my pack and me.

“Here,” Gracie called from the threshold of our bedroom, startling me. “Let me help you,” she insisted as she crossed into the room to clasp the silver necklace I was struggling to secure in place for me.

It was a gift from my mother. A duplicate of the one I remembered her wearing when I was little. Dad had bought us all one, even Gracie, yesterday.

I would cherish it forever.

“Thanks,” I said.

“I don’t know why you’re torturing yourself by going to this. Do you really think Alec and the others would be that upset with you for skipping?”

“No, but I feel like I have to go. I need to.” She wouldn’t understand.

“There’s no reason,” Gracie insisted. “The Ward witches made sure everything looked legit. No one suspects our pack had anything to do with their deaths. You shouldn’t have to go pay your respects to those two; they did horrible things to us.”

“No one else knows that though,” I insisted.

Alec would think I was being petty, Becca and Benji too. I couldn’t let them think those things about me.

I wouldn’t. Gracie wouldn’t understand even if I did try to explain it to her.

“Whatever. I know no matter what I say you’ll still go,” Gracie muttered as she stared at me through the mirror on top of our dresser. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Yeah, I will,” I said, flashing her a small smile.

“What does Eli have to say about it?”

“He understands this is something I need to do. These are my friends. They need me there. For support. To them the Hopkins brothers weren’t horrible people. They were friends they lost too soon.”

“Sometimes you’re braver than you give yourself credit for,” Gracie said as she pulled me in for a hug. “I love you.”

Her words shocked me.

“I love you too,” I said as I squeezed her tight. “I’ll be back soon. Want to watch another episode of The Originals with me when I get back?”

“Oh, it’s getting so good! Wait until you see what happened in the last couple of episodes. I’ll fill you in when you get back so that you’re caught up,” she said as she bent down to pick up Winston. He was at her feet, whining.

I reached out to pet him between his ears once she’d picked him up. His tongue slipped out to lick my thumb, and I felt my insides warm.

“Aw, he loves you,” Gracie cooed.

Something brown hung from the corner of his mouth. I reached for it and realized it was a piece of my leather sandal.

“Yeah, which is why he enjoys chewing up my shoes, right?” I snapped as I glared at him.

“Could be.” Gracie smirked.

“I doubt that,” I said as I started toward the door. I needed to leave now, if not I would be late.

“You look nice, honey,” Mom said from the couch where she sat reading a book. Dad was beside her, and for the first time in forever, he looked sober at one o’clock in the afternoon.

Having Mom home again was doing wonders for him.

“Thanks.” I smiled still unable to get over the sight of her back in our house again.

It was as though we’d woken from a nightmare, one where she had been stripped from our lives, only to realize it had been a bad dream and she’d been here all along.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” I said as I made my way to the front door.

I noticed Eli leaning on the hood of my car the second I stepped outside. His eyes appraised me, soaking in every inch of the outfit I wore.

“You look beautiful,” he said in a low voice.

“Thanks. You don’t think it’s too much, though?” I smoothed my hands over the simple black dress I wore that hit at my knees. It wasn’t tight, but moderately loose. It was a sleeveless number I had paired with black heels I’d borrowed from Felicia.

“No. I think you look classic,” Eli said as he crammed his hands into the front pockets of his shorts.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I neared him.

We both had decided it wouldn’t be right if he came with me to the funeral. It was something I needed to go to with my friends. Something I needed to do without him.

He reached for me, pulling me close once I stepped to where he stood. “I wanted to see how you’re holding up.”

“I’m okay.”

“Good.” His hands cupped my face. “You are one brave woman, Mina Ryan.”

“I’m not brave. Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m only doing what I think is necessary.”

“You’re going to the funeral of two guys who did more damage to our pack than anyone ever has before, all because you want to be respectful of their deaths. Because you don’t want to upset your friends. That’s brave.”

“When you put it that way.” I grinned.

“Yeah, when I put that way,” he whispered before his lips pressed against mine. “Let me know when you get back.”

“I will, but I’ve already told Gracie I’d watch a TV show with her when I got back.”

“Okay. Call me after, or come by my place.”

“I will. Promise.”

He brushed his lips against mine one more time before pulling away. “I’ll let you go. I don’t want to keep you any longer and risk you being late. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said as I stepped away from him to climb in my car.

I watched him walk away as I cranked the engine to life, glad he understood my need to go, my need to be there for my friends even at a time like this.

Eli Vargas was the best, and I was so thankful he was mine.