Chapter 103 103. Go Home
Tabitha’s POV
The next day, after we ate lunch and lazed out in the living room, the brothers announced that they want to keep true to their words and use our five-day camping excuse to explore the forest. Seeing how there’s nothing really entertaining to do in the cottage, I agree. So I find myself in the car with them as we drive deeper into the woods. I ask them where exactly we are going but of course, they want everything to be a freaking surprise.
The car bumps along the narrow dirt road, trees pressing close on both sides. I look out the window as sunlight spills through the leaves. After a while, we climb a small hill, and the forest opens into a wide clearing.
Huh. This is new. I’ve never been this deep into the forest before.
"This is incredible," I say, my voice catching in awe.
It feels like a different world. The brothers know so many places I have never seen. First the waterfalls, and now this.
“What part of the island even is this?” I ask.
“We are near the far north side,” Luca explains as he leans forward between the seats. “If you keep driving past that slope, you hit the old pine belt before the cliffs. That ridge up there blocks most hikers, so no one bothers to explore past it. The whole area wraps around the back of Falcon Bay. We used to sneak out here when we were young.”
I look out the window again and try to piece that together. I never realized the island had this much tucked away. Every time they bring me somewhere new, it feels like they peel back another hidden layer of home I never knew existed. The car shakes a little as it trudges into an uneven road. It’s obvious that this trail isn’t popular even to locals, let alone the tourists. The towering trees have an air of something untouched, almost as if this part of the forest is meant to be hidden from the people around it. I notice the gorgeous assortment of wildflowers that sway in the breeze, their colors bright against the green grass. There are red, purple, white, yellow—and every one of them dotted the forest floor like a splash of spilled paint. The tall trees form a quiet wall around the space. From here, the view stretches endlessly.
The car rolls to a soft stop at the edge of the clearing.
Reed opens his door first, and the sound of the hinges echoes lightly around the quiet field. The others step out and stretch. I climb out and the air hits me with a gentle, cool touch. The clearing looks even bigger from outside the car.
For a second, I lose track of everything else. It is impossible not to. I feel something open in my chest as I take it in. Something warm. Something that makes me wonder how a place like this stayed hidden from me my entire life.
“Why are we here?” I ask as Jace shuts the door behind us.
Luca lifts a hand and points toward the cluster of silver trees ahead. “This is where our mother is buried,” he says as he walks forward.
What?
My mind doesn’t catch up right away. Of all the places they could have brought me today, this was not even in the realm of possibilities. They brought me to their mother’s grave? A flicker of uncertainty stirs in my stomach, and I’m suddenly hyperaware of every step I take.
I follow them quietly.
The brothers move toward a silver maple tree standing near the center of the clearing. Its pale leaves shimmer gently, catching whatever sunlight breaks through the slowly drifting clouds. There is something peaceful about the way the four of them approach it. It screams of familiarity and reverence, as if this place is something sacred shared only between the four of them.
And that’s exactly the reason why I start to feel uncomfortable. I’m not sure if I should be here. I feel like a pretentious little shit standing here knowing that Corinne Aldair was buried here.
They sit at the root of the tree together and start setting up a picnic blanket. Jace opens a basket filled with drinks and light snacks they packed back in the cottage. The scene looks so casual that I start to ease up a little.
“Where’s the actual grave?” I ask as I lower myself onto the blanket’s edge.
“This tree is the grave,” Jace says as he rests his shoulder against the bark. “This exact spot is where we laid her to rest.”
This is the what? I take a double take and my eyes drift up the trunk. I don’t know what I expected—maybe a stone marker or a mound of earth, something that clearly announces loss. Not a tree that stands so alive and bright it almost hums. A mixture of surprise and awe fills my chest as I stare at the proud tree.
Maybe grief looks different when it’s planted instead of buried. Somehow, it reminds me of my dad…
Reed slowly runs his hand along the bark. The look in his eyes shifts, gentle in a way I rarely see from him. I can almost feel him replaying memories behind that look—maybe fun moments he had with her mother, I can only guess.
“Mom loved this,” Reed mutters as he keeps his palm on the bark. “She’s some kind of a nature-junkie. In her free time, she’d find ways to do trekking, hiking, gardening, foraging—you name it. Anything that got dirt under her nails, really. So resting her here felt right.”
“When we were younger, our old man was busy with Alpha work and naval station stuff,” Reed says as he looks toward the hill. “So our mom brought us out here all the time. Sometimes up there, where the view opens even more.” He points to the hill overlooking the clearing. “We used to picnic and mess around. It turned into a tradition. Whenever we were bored, we ended up here.” Reed lets out a small breath and taps the bark. “Mom was… adventurous. She wouldn’t have been thrilled about being buried in a gloomy cemetery or our boring backyard. This place was the only choice that made sense.”
Jace hums in agreement. “Resting her here felt like giving her back the place she loved.”
I nod as I take in the tree and the quiet around us. If I remember correctly, the late Luna died almost a decade ago, so this tree has been growing since that time. And it sure grew up beautifully, a perfect reminder of the vibrant life she had lived.
I take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery around us. It looks like something straight out of a painting. It really is peaceful here. I can see why the late Luna loved it. And the more I think about it, the more I feel that tiny, nagging voice at the back of my mind whispering that I shouldn’t be sitting here. This is sacred to them. This is theirs. Corinne Aldair’s place. The place their mother loved. And I’m the daughter of Alpha Emery’s new wife. I shouldn’t even be standing on the same grass.
But none of them look at me like I’m intruding. I feel no resentment in the air. Just calmness, peace, and comfort. It’s like me being here is the most natural thing in the world even if my mind tells me otherwise.
Well, if the brothers brought me here themselves, I might as well just appreciate the privilege of being here. So I breathe in, set the thought aside.
“So… why did you pick this particular tree to mark her grave?” I ask as I settle between Jace and Luca. Luca immediately throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me towards him.
“Mom liked silver maples. So we planted the seedling here when we buried her. This is her tree,” Jace says with a small smile.
“That’s genius!” I praise as I run my fingers lightly along the grass. “It’s the best way to honor her.”
“I know, right?” Luca says with a smirk. Then, he plants a soft kiss at the top of my head.
Reed picks up a fruit from the basket and tosses it at Luca’s shoulder. “The idea to bury her here was mine,” he barks and narrows his eyes at him.
Luca catches the fruit with one hand and grins. “Maybe, but the tree was my idea.”
I laugh as they start bickering.
“How was your mom like? I mean, aside from the fact that she’s a huge nature person?” I ask.
I was probably in middle school when Corinne Aldair died. I remember how much of a big news it was all over the island—the wife of the Kaelara navy commander had died. It was a big deal for humans, even those who are unaware of the existence of werewolves. But it was an even bigger deal for all the werewolves in the island. A Luna’s death is a very serious matter in the werewolf community, much more so since it was the death of Alpha Emery Aldair’s wife—Alpha Emery who’s arguably the most influential and powerful Alpha in Kaelara. To make matters worse, the nature behind her death was left obscured. A mystery until now.
“Let’s see…” Jace hums, rubbing the back of his neck. “Our mom was friendly. She treated everyone like she had known them for years.”
“She could walk into any room and know exactly how to handle everyone in it, no matter how much of an idiot they were.” Reed shakes his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Sounds like she was cool.” I smile.
“She was,” Luca says, arms crossed but voice steady. “Didn’t matter who you were—old man at the docks, neighbor she barely knew, some kid running around the pier, she treated everyone the same.”
I watch his fingers trace a line over the bark as if he’s learning it again. Something inside me softens. I only recall brief moments when I saw the late Corinne Aldair when she was still alive. I’m not sure if she even knows my name or is aware that I went to the same high school as her sons, but staring at her tree like this makes her feel close.