Book 1: Chapter 96

Tucking in my shirt, I took a couple of deep breaths. I hadn’t really slept last night. My mind and heart being pulled very which way. It was frustrating and exhausting. Today though, all I needed to do was to show up. Grabbing my watch off my dresser, I was securing the clasp on my wrist when the door to my bedroom opened.

“Alpha, are you almost ready?”

“Yeah, one second, Sam.”

Turning, I started to walk towards him but he stared at me, looking me up and down. “Alpha…are you…not going to wear a tie?”

I smirked. “Are you seriously criticizing how I’m dressed?” For the second time in two days, my jokes didn’t land.

Sam frowned and furrowed his brow. “You look like you’re going into the office to work. You can’t…”

Charles put his hand on Sam’s shoulder and pulled him back. “Why don’t you go get Nate? We will meet you down at pools.”

Sam looked up at his mate and nodded, disappearing down the hall. Charles walked into the room and my eyes narrowed. We hadn’t spoken since he slammed the door in my face. Bypassing me though, he disappeared into my closet.

“Look, I get your upset at Solaris…”

I snorted.

“…but you can’t do this, Silas.”

Charles came out with a suit jacket, a tie, and the box I had my cufflinks in. He sent them down on bed and walked over to me. Taking my arm, he unrolled my shirt that I had rolled up to just below the elbow. As he did the other one, he sighed.

“You are welcome to try and throw a middle finger up to her. Or cuss her out. Or tell her she will never beat you so she comes back to haunt your ass. Honestly, none of us care. We get that your are suffering. However…” He grabbed the cufflinks and put them in my hands before grabbing my tie. “There are people down there who do care about it. Her entire army just lost their commander, the Alpha King lost a daughter and from what I was told, the Luna Queen is also here. There are supernaturals from all walks of life, Silas. Vampires, witches, warlocks, rogues, everyone gathering wants to pay their respects. So if you don’t have respect for her, fine. But have some respect for the people who are showing up for her.”

I finished my cufflinks, just as he did the final adjustments on my tie. He handed me my jacket.

“Come on. Lets go.”

Following him down the stairs, I spit off to my office. Charles followed me as I went to the far cabinet and opened it up. Inside was a safe that I kept most of my important physical documents. There were also a few personal affects though as well. The lock clicked open easily and I searched through the shelves, pulling out two thing. One was a bag that looked like it had been sewn by an elementary student. Partially because it had. Turning around, I dumped the contents on my desk that was empty for the first time in a very long time.

“Are those…” Charles came forward, looking at the scattered pieces that fell out. “…you kept stuff?”

I chuckled. “Of course I kept stuff. She was my sister, Charles. I was angry and bitter but I loved her. My father burned most of her belongings but I snagged the things that meant most to me.”

My hand brushed over the notebooks that she always kept with her. There were three of them. It had the most random crap inside as well. ‘How to fix a kitchen sink’, ‘Design for new faire booth’, ‘Nate and Silas’ Math Homework’ and everything in between. She’d literally document different things she needed to know in her notebooks. The best one was her continuation of the house all three of us would stay in. That was depicted so vividly that you would think it was done by an amateur architect.

Opening the bag that she had made and used to carry around her tools that she seemed to always need for us, the item I was looking for was stuck in there. I pulled out a ribbon. It was a white ribbon with strawberries printed on it. While I forced myself to believe Aelia was dead, I kept the ribbon that fell from her hair as they took her that day. I’d held in my hands as I cried when we woke up in the forest. This was always my hope, locked away in a safe never to be touched or looked at. Not until now. Until I needed to actually let my little sister go.

The rest of the items that had fallen out, I quickly scooped up and put back in the bag. The bag went right back to the shelf and I grabbed a black bag from a different shelf. That went into my pocket whereas the ribbon I clutched in my hand.

“Let’s go.”

-

As we approached the pool, I was dumbfounded. I was aware of the amount of warriors she had under her and they were all dressed in their full uniforms, but it wasn’t just them. There were a smattering werewolves from every princes armies and I even saw the second and third prince as well. The Alpha King and the Luna Queen were speaking with Maggie, Nate and a vampire I didn’t know as though it was seemingly normal for those four to be talking. Sam rushed up to us and grabbed Charles, pulling him off to do some last minute help with the arrangements.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of it all, reeling from the amount of people who had come out to say goodbye to my sister.

“Did you think she was only yours?”

Growling, I turned to Keri but she didn’t have the face of someone who was looking for a fight. She was dressed in her uniform, but for the first time I saw her medals and tassels that she wore. I hadn’t realized how decorated she was within the army. There were more ribbons and tassels on her than there were on the second and third prince, outside of their specific prince emblem.

“I knew she wasn’t. I wasn’t even in the majority of her life.” The words hurt to say.

“Damn right. Try not to forget it, Alpha. She was ours. She always will be ours.” Keri turned and walked away, disappearing into the sea of blue uniforms.

Sighing, I made my way across the sea of people and the clearing of the woods until Maggie saw me. She broke from speaking with the Alpha King and pulled me into a tight hug. It was so motherly and lovely, I felt the pain and tears start to bubble up but I stamped them down the best I could.

“I’m sorry for your loss, sweetie.”

I chuckled softly. “You knew her for more than I did. I should be saying that to you.”

She brushed my cheek. “Silas, she was your little sister. Out of everyone here, only you can claim that. She will always be special to you just as you were special to her. Don’t try to bottle it up dear…I will do you no good, now or later.” Maggie’s eyes looked at me worriedly.

“I’m struggling but I can’t very well show it.”

She snorted. “Please. Not a single one of these people are looking for you to be pulled together, Silas. They aren’t looking to you to lead by example. Hell, if they were, they would want you to allow them to morn too. Don’t…”

Her voice stopped as she looked behind me. The people split in half as I saw Noah, for the first time I’d seen him in his full First Alpha Prince uniform, carrying a body that was wrapped in white silk. Finn was behind him, looking far worse that any of us, also in his uniform but his jacket was left open to account for his pregnancy. Everyone who they passed either put their hand on their chest, bowed deeply, or showed respect by baring their necks. I bit the inside of my lip as I watched, trying induce some kind of pain for me to not fall to my knees.

A hand clamped my shoulder and I looked over to see the Alpha King, tears running down his cheeks as he watched Noah and Finn. They stopped at the part of the river that as bridged to the other side with two rocks.

“Go son.” The Alpha King pushed me a bit forward and I stumbled a step or two before I realized that Noah was barely able to hold himself up, let alone my little sister in his arms.

I didn’t think. Everything in my mind empties as I walked over to them, stepping around them onto the first rock. Holding my hands out, Noah tried to give me a smile but it never formed completely. My little sister, my Aelia, was placed into my arms and she felt so light. Her body limp and I choke out a sob as the tears fell. Turning, I took a large step to the next rock. Looking up though, Nate was standing on the far side of the river.

Placing her body in his arms, I felt the racing fire as our hands touched. His face showed nothing though, as though it hadn’t existed. He was so broken, in so much pain. I could feel it. Nate was on the edge of numb. His arms tightened around her as he turned and stepped up to the pyre that was built for her.

I’d never seen one in person. It was an old tradition and one that was more common in our early years as wolves. The tradition stated that a body must be burned and the smoke as large as possible to carry the weight of the soul back up to the Moon Goddess. Now a-days we stuck to the tradition of cremation but not of pyres. They were saved for those who were usually royalty or heroes. Once the pyre burned out, a standing stone, or stone monument would be placed on top of the ashes. Here, my sister would be immortalized. Here, her ashes would stay but her soul would be free.