Honoring Scarlett

Honoring Scarlett
Epilogue (2 years later)
Scarlett
I waited patiently in the line to walk across the makeshift stage that had been placed on the football field to get my diploma. I turned my head to smile at Osprey, who stood proudly at the railing of the stands, watching Elena and I graduate. When my name was called, a loud roar went around the field as the sleuth and some of the wolves cheered for me. I waved at Osprey, who was hooting loudly with his eyes glued to me. I had never seen him so excited, but knowing exactly why he was, I couldn’t blame him. After Silver’s death, we had leaned on each other so much during the healing process, needing each other desperately to survive our grief.
When my junior year started, I had to run home every day to be near him. My days were too hard without him to hold me when I got overwhelmed by grief. Slowly, the pain of losing Silver had lessened to the point where we could begin to function again. Tomorrow we would celebrate the second anniversary of his death, and we had made the decision to get married and start trying to have a family. Silver had asked me not to cry over him, and I was now at a point in my healing process where I could honor his wish, so we decided instead of wallowing in sorrow that we would live for Silver. We would do everything that he never got to do. Loving our mates and being loved in return was the first step.
I returned to my seat to wait to be dismissed as sadness threatened to consume me. Almost immediately, my link with Osprey opened, and warmth filled me, shooing the sadness away. I turned a little in my seat to give him a grateful look, which he returned, letting me know that he was feeling it too. Elena took my hand beside me, squeezing it. I knew she had never liked Silver, but she was there for me. She never said a bad word about him in my presence, and that meant the world to me. I laid my head on her shoulder.
“Thank you for being here for me, Elena,” I whispered.
She kissed my cheek. “Always, Auntie.”
As soon as they dismissed us, Elena and I jumped up to rush back to our family. All the sleuth members patted us on the back, congratulating us as we hurried past them. I immediately jumped into Osprey’s arms, kissing him passionately while he wrapped his arms around me tightly. When my mother cleared her throat beside us, he set me back down on the ground, keeping me close to his side.
“Mom.”
“Congratulations, Scarlett. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “Do you think we could have a moment to speak, honey? Without your mate?”
I glanced at him before giggling a little. He hated when I spent any time alone with her. He was afraid that she would say or do something to cause conflict between us, but he gave her a sharp nod before letting me go to walk over to Elena. My mother led me a little ways away from the rest of our family before holding out an envelope to me. I took it from her.
“What is this?” I asked as I began to open it.
“I just wanted to say that I am so proud of you and Osprey, Scarlett. You two were made for each other. I know that I haven’t always been the best supporter for you guys, so I paid for your hotel for your honeymoon.”
Tears filled my eyes as I threw my arms around her. “Thank you, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Would it be okay to strengthen our relationship when you guys get back? I miss you.”
“I’d like that, Mom,” I said, sniffling a little.
She squeezed me tightly before letting me go. “You have some others who want to congratulate you coming up now. I’ll see you at home.”
“Okay.”
I turned around to see Laura coming up to me with a woman holding a child walking behind her nervously. My eyes slid over the child curiously before coming to rest on Laura, who hugged me.
“Congrats, Scarlett. How does it feel to be part of the adult world now?” She asked.
I chuckled a little. “I’m not going to lie; I’m so glad to be done with school.”
“I bet.”
She fell silent, and I turned back to the woman behind her. I studied her and the child in her arms for a moment before nodding my head at them.
“Who are they?”
Laura hesitated before pulling the woman forward. “Scarlett, this is Mallery.”
My eyes went back to the child, who was watching me curiously with eyes I knew very well. I tilted my head as we all stood silently before Mallery shifted the boy on her hip.
“It’s okay, Junior. Give it to her,” Mallery told her son.
The little boy held out an envelope to me with a chubby hand. I reached for it with my hand trembling. I looked down at it, and tears immediately crept up into my eyes when I recognized Silver’s handwriting on the front of it. I touched the only word that he had scrawled on the front of it. Scarlett. I swallowed hard as I looked back up at the child. An arm wrapped around my waist, and I was immediately grateful that Osprey always knew when I needed him. I opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of folded paper inside. I smoothed it out to give myself a few more seconds of avoidance before I read whatever he had put into this letter.
To my dearest Alpha Sow Scarlett,
I want to let you know how much I appreciate everything that you did for me in my final days. You gave me all the love that I had ever wanted, and you never asked for anything in return but for me to live for you. I am sad to say that I was never able to honor your request during my lifetime. I was never the innocent person that you saw in me. I was pure darkness that would have consumed every last ray of your goodness until the world lost its sun.
I am praying that my last attempt at fulfilling your request works. There is a she-wolf that I was close to before the pack’s mentality took me over. Her name is Mallery. She has agreed to try to help me give you the purity that you so craved in me. If this works, she has agreed to let you be a part of our child’s life. I hope that you accept my apology for not choosing to live for you the way that you wanted me to.
I wish we could have celebrated our children together, but I know that Alpha Osprey and the rest of our family will celebrate enough with you that you won’t even think about me. I hope you didn’t mourn for me too long, Scarlett. You were, are, and will always be the best person that I’ve ever known. I hope that this will be enough to help you through. I love you. Forever and always, as my Alpha Sow.
With all my love forever,
Silver Quintin James
Osprey kissed my neck softly before sending a sorrow-filled cry into the sky that was echoed by the rest of the sleuth, with mine being the last one heard. I turned into Osprey’s body, and he held me tightly while I got myself under control enough to turn back to Mallery. I took a deep breath before walking up to Mallery to hug her. She relaxed as she hugged me back. When I stepped back, she lifted her son a little.
“His name is Silver Quintin James Junior,” she said softly.
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye as I smiled at the little boy. “Hi, Silver. My name is Auntie Scarlett.”
“Hi,” he whispered before burying his face in his mother’s neck.
I hesitated for a moment before she bounced him a little. “Would you like to hold him?”
Happiness surged inside of me. “May I?”
“Of course.”
She passed him to me, and Silver eyed me for a moment before wrapping his arms around my neck. I closed my eyes as I hugged him, drawing in deep breaths as I memorized his scent. Tears flowed freely down my face as I picked up on the former Silver’s scent, which was meant to protect him long enough for him to grow up to get his own scent. I opened my eyes to meet Mallery’s eyes.
“Thank you.”