The return

Kaiden's POV

The air was so humid with so much anticipation as I stood at the gates of the packhouse and waited for the scout party to arrive.

The sun had dipped below the horizon and it had made the entire pack to look like it was covered in some sort of orange blanket.


The evening was fast approaching and it did a lot to mute the twilight.


I took in a very deep breath and exhaled all the same, I was trying to steady myself, but the knot in my stomach tightened continually.


No one could bear the feelings I was feeling inside me.


No one could bottle it up better than I was doing.

I was doing a pretty good job, I got to give myself credit.

This was a moment I'd been dreading for long, one I never imagined I’d face and so soon.


The low hums or engines finally reached my ears, and my heart clenched and unclenched, threatening to combust as I saw the black SUVs approach the pack.


The pack members were already gathered, and they had all managed to form a somewhat respectful silence that only heightened the solemnity of the occasion.



Yeah, you could say that this was the most saddest moment in the history of the blue moon pack. Never before had the Alpha and the Luna of the Blue Moon pack been assaulted while on their journey back to the pack, talk more of assassination.


And never before had there been conducted a burial for both an Alpha and a Luna at the same time.


I watched in silence as the vehicles came to a stop, and I forced myself to stand tall, exuding the strength and composure expected of an alpha, even though inside, I was crumbling.


It was no longer news that I was to become the next Alpha of my pack following the demise of my parents. And that would make Lilian the next Luna of the pack since, apparently she was my mate.


Lilian.

My heart clenched again. This time longing for her, for her warmth. To open up to her and to let her in.

But somehow I managed to do the exact opposite.

The doors were soon opened, and the somber faces of the pack elders entered first.


They were followed by the enforcers, who carried on their shoulders, the shrouded bodies of my parents, Alpha Arthur and Luna Caroline.


The mere sight of it made my breath catch in my throat.

I found it unable to breathe.


My breath hitched not once and certainly not twice at the sight, but I clenched my jaw tightly and my fists even tighter.


I refused to let any emotion break through my stoic facade. The facade that I had kept up for far too long.


I had to be strong at the very least—for them, for the pack, and for myself.


I watched with the best of my abilities with a straight face as the bodies were quietly and gently laid out in the ceremonial area.


And then, clearing my throat and bracing myself, I stepped forward and assumed my role, something I was becoming perfect at doing, acting as the Alpha of the pack.


"Fellow pack members, we have gathered here to honor the lives of Alpha Arthur and Luna Caroline," I began.

I found it surprising that my voice was steady, I mentally patted myself at the back. "They were more than just our Alpha and Luna; they were our guiding lights, our parents, our mentors and they were my father and my mother.


Their parting from us has left a huge void in our hearts, but we must honor their memory and we have got to do that by staying strong and united as that would be what they would want if they were here right now." I said as I looked around the pack at the faces that stared back at me.



There was a moment of silence and I looked around me at the pack members as they bowed their heads in reverence, and so I went on.


"Tonight, "I said. " We will prepare them for their final journey, a journey to the stars and to the Moon.


A journey to go back to be with the Moon goddess, where they will watch over us, having now become one with our ancestors.


And so while we commit their bodies to the flames, let us also remember the lessons which they taught us while they were here with us, the love they shared with us, their kindness, and the strength and values which they instilled in us." I told them and I could hear murmurs of agreement from the members of the pack.



I wanted to say more. But I simply couldn't. I had done so well to hold it up to let all of that off now.


So rather than continue to speak, I couldn't do that anymore as that would make me break down and so I signaled for the elders to step forward.


They began the ritual, chanting the ancient words that would send my parents' spirits to the afterlife.


The air in the pack meeting ground was filled with the scent of incense and herbs, a sacred aroma that seemed to wrap around us and it offered some sort of comfort and peace.


I felt a lump form in my throat, but I swallowed it down, focusing on the ceremony.


As the chanting continued, I scanned the crowd and my eyes landed on no other person than on the person I wanted to see just at that moment, Lilian.


She stood a little apart from the others, her eyes were fixed on me with a sort of pressure that made my heart ache and I didn't know whether it was for her or for me.


Her standing there was like some sort of balm to my soul, it made me know that I wasn't entirely alone in this.


I desperately wanted to go to her, to have her hug me, to feel her arms around me, but I knew I had to stay strong for the pack and for her.


She didn't know this but being weak and vulnerable in front of her would be bad for both our sakes.

But still and somehow, the thought of her comfort made me feel in a good way, some sort of light in the darkness of my grief.