Book 1: Chapter 97

I hopped the ledge as I saw Nate struggling to set her down. Coming up next to him, I got my hands under his arms to help with the weight. Noah came on the other side and all three of us lifted her onto the wood structure. Finn came up behind us and stepped up, taking the a small stone and pressing it to the white silk. It must have been infused with some type of magic because the white silk faded. It happened so quickly I didn’t have time to prepare. My body started to shake and I reached out, grabbing the closest thing for stability which happened to be Nate’s shoulder.

They had dressed her in her uniform. It was a far cry from the bloodied and mud-caked version that I carried back to the tent. Her face looked peaceful, and even though you could see how thin she had gotten, there wasn’t the immense dark circles. She didn’t look sick. With the eyelids down, I wondered if they left her eye in. Her leg and arm were missing but I knew what originally was holding that together was her.

I clutched the ribbon hard in my hand before I reached forward and placed it onto the wood next to her body. Nate inhaled sharply and I dared to look over at him. He was staring at me, wide-eyed, and looked back at the ribbon.

“All this time…you kept it…?” He didn’t even look at me as he spoke.

“Maybe…deep down…I couldn’t accept it either.”

Nate’s voice was quiet. “But now…now she’s really gone.”

No one would have heard it out side of all four of us standing up there but we turned our heads to him. Tears streamed down as his eyes were locked onto her body. Finn stepped back and wrapped an arm around him, pulling his head to his shoulder. There was an intense need to growl at Finn but I wouldn’t allow that. Instead, I just made sure I held tight onto Nate’s arm.

“Physically, yes. But not here…” Finn tapped Nate’s head. “…and most importantly, here.” He splayed his hand over Nate’s chest, where his heart was.

All of them chuckled and I wondered if Aelia had said something to them in regards to that. We took a minute before a throat cleared next to us. Turning, the Alpha King as standing next to the pyre, giving us a sad smile. All of us stepped back, heading back over the river to join the people who had gathered near the edge.

“Some of you may know her as Aelia Fae Penn. Some of us know her as Solaris Ulrich. Either way, we are all here because she touched our lives in some way, shape or form. She’s proven that no matter who you are, all races can come together in a single moment. Sadly, in this case, it is to pay our respects to someone who probably deserves our respect most.”

He took a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s just say though, she was a piece of work.”

The crowd chuckled and there was a hum of agreement amongst everyone.

“She lived hard, played hard, fought hard, and ultimately did everything the hard way.” The emotion he was struggling to keep back made him take a moment. “When I unzipped that body bag on the edge of the river, Solaris wasn’t what I was expecting. For a long time, I didn’t know if I did the right thing in saving her. I’d wondered if the Hunters had done too much damage to her that there was nothing left.” He nodded his head for a moment. “She proved me wrong. Maybe not in the cleanest way or the healthiest way but she still proved me wrong. Her hands were stained while she smiled in the middle of a bloody battlefield but she was nothing if not a survivor. What was shocking was her love for others somehow still remained intact.”

The Alpha King looked at me and then at Nate who was standing next to me. “Seeing her back where she was born and getting to know the people she originally grew up with, just seems to drive that point across. She loved with the entirety of her heart and she showered that love where it was needed most. Whether it be a wayward rogue trying to find their way in this world, a vampire struggling with their nature, or a human looking for companionship. There are so many examples of how she touched others lives.”

“I’m sure I could speak to every one of you and you’d have some variation of that. How Solaris stormed into your life and then left such a lasting impression that you’re standing here today. Coming from all over the world just to either to simply pay your respects, thank her, or throw a middle finger up at her.”

The Alpha King chuckled and turned to the pyre. His look was that of pure love, a love between a father and a daughter. One that I knew of she had stayed with us, she never would have received. Hell, all these people that she managed to reach wouldn’t be here. It was bitter to think she was better off being taken but a seed of jealous popped up as well. Aelia had things, relationships, that I would never have. Behind us the crowd chuckled and murmured their agreements. Nate looked up to me and I wondered if he felt the emotions that were rolling off me as much as I felt from him.

“My sweet daughter, you shinned so bright in my life for the short time I had you. The…the world is a little darker without you in it. Let us release you to the Moon Goddess. You were chained to the world for far too long. Stuck in a body that was failing you for far too long.”

The Alpha nodded into the crowd and a woman stepped forward. She had wild colored hair and was dressed in a black dress that looked like it was from the fifties. The Alpha King reached out and squeezed her hand. Standing in front of the pyre, she rubbed her face with her palm.

“Goodbye my friend.”

With that, the pyre exploded in blue flames. The same blue that held Aelia’s extra limbs together. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement. Without a second thought, I reached out and Nate grabbed onto my arm. He held tight in order to not fall down but he was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. The heat from the flames was bright as they shot up into the sky. Her body as well as the ribbon I had placed disappeared as we all stared quietly for a long moment.

Behind us, someone cleared their throat and all four of us turned around. Keri was holding a box out to us. Noah chuckled and took out a bottle from the box. I leaned over and saw that there were multiple bottles with our names on it. Reaching in, I grabbed mine as Nate grabbed his. There were still a few more and it looked like that Finn got a non-alcoholic sparking cider. Keri then moving over to where Maggie was standing and handed her one of the wine bottles. Apparently, she even thought of the Alpha King, Luna Queen, and the witch who had set the pyre on fire. Glancing back, I noticed most people had some kind of alcohol out with a smile gracing their faces.

“Here is to Solaris. To our First Alpha Prince. To our Rogue King. To our friend, lover, family, and commander. To the storm and the sun she brought. She said if anyone was sober at her funeral that she would haunt us all.” The Alpha King winked at Finn. “Sorry, son, you’re going to have to take one for the team.”

Everyone laughed and even I cracked a smile.

“To the wolf who will always be someone to look up to and someone to strive to be like. We drink to you, my dear girl.”

The Alpha King uncorked his bottle and took a swig from the bottle. As did everyone else. I smiled down at the 17 year Hibiki Japanese Whiskey. It was my favorite and something I had joked about with Aelia while she was serving some of her top shelf whiskey. Nate next to me had some Don Julio 1942. Noah cursed next to me and I looked at his bottle. Finn was trying not to laugh but was struggling. His bottle was of Monte Alban Mezcal. A tequila that was known for having a worm in it. Finally, Finn couldn’t hold it in and he snorted. I looked behind and Charles was also laughing, with Sam looking a little confused.

Taking off the top, I took one swig. Then a second. Then a third. It warmed me and I felt it deep in my chest. Someone for the back of the mass of people yelled ‘To Solaris’. Everyone else chimed in and we all took another drink. The four of us stood as statues, drinking and staring at the fire as licked into the air. The plum of smoke could probably be seen for miles around. I don’t know how long we stood there before anyone spoke but some of the people behind us had started to leave.

Apparently, Noah and Finn had set something up at the Tap but neither moved to join the dispersing guests. All of us just stood, staring. Maybe half expecting her to jump out and say ‘fuck you’ or ‘I’ve come back to haunt your ass’ or even ‘tried to get rid of me before I could truly annoy you’. Whatever it was, I was halfway through my bottle when Nate finally said something. His words were slurred and I had a feeling he was further down the bottle than I was.

“So…where do we go from here?”

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***The End.

Thank you so so much for your support. Every single one of you who has made it this far, thank you.You make my day and I love your comments, no matter how mad you are at me that I made you cry. I love every single one. <3 And I hope you enjoyed Solaris' journey. And while this was the end of her journey, Nate's journey to becoming the Rogue King is only beginning.***