Chapter 244 Funeral Disruption

Chapter 244 Funeral Disruption
Lily's POV

I could hear the murmur of voices even before I reached the mansion courtyard.

Hundreds of people had gathered for Gabriel's funeral. Pack members, family, allied Alphas - everyone dressed in solemn black, speaking in hushed tones.

The sight of Gabriel's casket at the center of it all nearly broke my resolve.

But then I felt the hybrid flowers pulse against my chest, drinking deeply from the IV tube I'd jerry-rigged to my wrist. They were growing stronger with every drop of my blood.

I could do this. I had to do this.

The minister was already speaking when I burst through the crowd. His voice carried across the silent courtyard, something about "eternal rest" and "beloved Alpha."

Fuck eternal rest.

I stumbled forward, pushing through the shocked mourners. The IV bag hung heavy in my free hand, blood trailing steadily down the clear tube into the strange flowers pressed against my chest.

"Stop the funeral!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I can bring him back!"

The entire courtyard fell silent.

Every single face turned toward me - some horrified, some confused, some pitying. I could sense Emma standing by my side, her eyes wide with terror as she watched blood drip from my makeshift setup.

I didn't care how crazy I looked.

"The Moon Goddess told me how to resurrect Gabriel!" I shouted, holding up the hybrid flowers. "These flowers can create a resurrection fruit! I just need to give them enough blood!"

The reaction was immediate and explosive.

Multiple voices erupted at once, but one cut through the chaos like a blade.

"The funeral will not be stopped!"

I spun toward the familiar voice, my heart sinking.

Elder Thornwood stepped out from the crowd, his weathered face set with grim authority.

What the hell was he doing here? Wasn't he forced into retirement?

"This concerns the dignity of Moonfall," he declared, his voice carrying across the silent courtyard. "Not even the Luna has the authority to disrupt sacred burial rites!"

Shock hit me like a physical blow. "Elder Thornwood... you're not... I can resurrect Gabriel! The goddess told me—"

"Luna Lily has just given birth and has not recovered from losing her mate," Thornwood announced to the gathering, completely ignoring my words. "Death is final. The dead cannot return. The funeral continues!"

Fucking bastard.

I felt rage building alongside my desperation. "You don't understand! These flowers can—"

"Can do nothing but feed your delusions!" Thornwood cut me off harshly. "The pack needs closure, not false hope built on grief-induced fantasy!"

Several pack council members I didn't recognize stepped forward to flank him. New faces. Younger. Eager to reclaim the authority Gabriel had stripped away.

This was about power. Not Gabriel. Not me. Not the pack.

About the council trying to reassert control while Gabriel couldn't stop them.

"You're wrong," I said through gritted teeth. "Emma saw what these flowers can do. They responded to my blood in impossible ways!"

But Thornwood was already addressing the crowd again, his voice dripping with false sympathy.

"As you can see, our Luna is in no condition to make rational decisions. The trauma of loss, combined with postpartum complications, has clearly affected her judgment."

Multiple voices rose in agreement from pack members I didn't recognize.

When the fuck did they join Moonfall?

But then other voices cut through the growing murmur.

"Wait a minute," a gentle voice called out.

I turned to see Rose pushing through the crowd, her expression filled with concern rather than judgment.

She reached me quickly, Victor's mate moving with quiet authority. "Lily, sweetheart, let me see your hands."

I held out my trembling, blood-stained hands.

Rose examined them carefully, then looked at the flowers pressed against my chest. Her expression shifted from concern to something like wonder.

"These aren't normal flowers," she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Look at how they're growing. That's not natural plant behavior."

Sage appeared beside her, Benjamin's elegant mate studying the hybrid flowers with sharp intelligence.

"The energy coming off them is... unusual," Sage admitted slowly. "I can feel it from here. Something's definitely different about them."

Hope flared in my chest.

Two respected Lunas backing my claims carried serious weight. Even Thornwood couldn't easily dismiss them.

"Mass hallucination brought on by grief," Thornwood declared dismissively. "The mind sees what it wants to see in times of trauma."

But Rose stepped protectively in front of me. "This isn't hallucination, Elder. These flowers are responding to Lily's blood in ways I've never seen."

Sage moved to my other side. "If there's even the smallest chance Gabriel can be saved, don't we owe it to our Alpha to try?"

I felt tears of gratitude mixing with the weakness from blood loss.

Finally. Someone willing to consider that miracles might be real.

But Thornwood's expression hardened. "Dignity and tradition cannot be sacrificed for desperate fantasies! The funeral continues!"

He gestured sharply toward several pack members near the back.

Men I didn't recognize moved forward with purpose.

Shit. He'd brought backup.

But then Iris appeared beside Rose and Sage. "Anyone who tries to stop my sister-in-law will answer to me personally."

Eleanor joined her daughter. So did Grace, moving from where she'd been standing with the other Lunas.

Emma finally found her voice. "What Lily's saying is impossible. But I witnessed it happen. These flowers drank her blood and grew in ways that defy every biological law I know."

The crowd was now clearly split into opposing camps.

On one side: Thornwood and the council members, backed by pack members I didn't recognize and several visiting Alphas who prioritized order over hope.

On the other side: Rose, Sage, Iris, Eleanor, Grace, Emma, and a growing number of pack members who'd witnessed my previous "miracles" with plants.

In the middle stood Ethan, torn between his duty as acting Alpha and his desperate hope as Gabriel's brother.

The hybrid flowers pulsed against my chest, drawing more blood through the IV tube.

They were almost ready. I could sense it building inside them - some kind of concentrated power or essence.

Just a little more blood.

I swayed on my feet, feeling my life force draining away.

The two groups faced each other across the courtyard, tension crackling like electricity before a storm.

Everyone waiting to see who would make the first move.