Goodbyes

The last 3 days had passed in a blur. Micah was constantly busy with the elders making arrangements for the funerals, the pack was on edge and instinctively turning to Ash and Loki for answers and support. Loki, like most of the warriors, was furious at the intrusion and attack on their land and their people. The atmosphere was tense and fraught.

Fights were breaking out in every corner of the packhouse if the warriors were idle for too long. Micah had doubled patrols on the boundaries and increased the training schedule for all able pack members, it was clear to all that he was quietly readying the pack for more. More attacks, more death, more danger, for war.

Ash’s grandparents could see exactly what the pack were preparing for when she finally got around to calling them. Octavia, predictably, demanded that Ash come back to the palace at once since Micah clearly couldn’t ensure her safety if he couldn’t even keep intruders off his land.

“Ashlyn Faye, you get Kit to return you here at once! Do you hear me? At once! Come back right now to where you can be kept safe!” Archibald moved her out of the frame of the call subtly but her ranting could still be heard in the background.

“How is everyone holding up?” He asked “You should be able to sense where the intruder came in, follow the magic trail even if the wolves cannot scent him, especially if he cannot be scented, as that means he was using magic to get past the guard.”

He sighed deeply and rubbed his face “please Ash, keep yourself safe, and look after that mate of yours, I know you dont want to come back here, but if you need to or Micah needs you to be somewhere safe you are always welcome here” he added.

Ash had not yet told them of her suspicions about Kit. But that could wait for another day, her grandmother was already about to have a stroke.

The mood in the pack was taking its toll on everyone. Ash was in the clinic one afternoon when a pair of young boys were rushed in, their wolves pushing forward and on the verge of changing at the age of 9, a full 4 or 5 years early.

Their parents hovering around the waiting room anxiously while the doctor tried to suppress the change that would be incredibly painful and dangerous for the boys.

Reassuring the parents each time, Ash dashed back into the clinic to see if she could help. Blaze at her shoulder, they managed to help the boys sleep and keep their wolf at bay long enough for the doctor to suppress the change chemically. Hopefully this would be enough for them. Ash couldnt stand the sight of small, helpless bodies rendered unconscious, even if she knew it was for their own benefit.

It was almost a relief when the hour finally came for the funeral ceremonies to begin. Ash stood with Micah as the packs future Luna. At last the healing could begin. The elders had been preparing the ceremonies ever since the attack on the packhouse.

They stood before a line of 5 funeral pyres, as tradition dictated, 4 adult sized and one, the one in the middle enough to reduce anyone to tears, barely half the size of the others.

The bodies wrapped tightly in white linen, the smallest of them Ash had carried out herself, was that of a 3 year old girl found rouge on the borders of the pack around the same time as Ash herself had joined the pack. Melody and Rowan took the pyres on the left of her and the two larger warriors on the right.

Ash hardly heard a word that the elders said as they told of the bravery of the warriors and the young girl, their attempts to raise the alarm and their stand in the face in danger to protect their Alpha and Luna.

They called upon the moon goddess to protect their souls and that of their wolves on their next journey. Micah clung to her hand tightly as if there was nothing else holding him to the earth. Loki stood stiffly on her other side.

Eventually, the time came for the pyres to be set alight, a responsibility that should fall to the Alpha of the pack, Micah. He looked down to Ash, his face stricken, shaking his head slightly, Ash understood, she didnt need to hear the words.

Reaching up, she put a hand on his cheek and stepped forward. Adding her own silent words for each of the fallen as she pointed her finger at each of the 5 lighting points on each pyre, tears falling down her own face as she made her way back to Micah’s side.

A wolf funeral is usually a much louder, more cheery affair. The community as a whole is much less combative now meaning death’s like this are extremely rare. Most funerals come after a long life well lived and are a celebration of life.

People would linger around the pyre’s laughing and sharing stories of the person’s life. Dancing and singing songs as the fire took their body, their soul moving on to the goddess surrounded by laughter and loved ones. Tonight however, the fires burnt but the only other sounds that could be heard were suspicious whispers and the occasional sobs.

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Christmas this year was a sad and subdued affair despite the huge tree’s all over and the usual over the top decorations. Presents were exchanged with quiet thanks and soft hugs, there was no massive pack Christmas lunch on the cards this year. The loss of both an Alpha and Luna, plus two highly trained and respected warriors and a child hung heavily over the pack.

Everyone held their own celebrations with their nearest and dearest in the midst of the grieving. And while Loki and Micah both tried to push their own losses to one side for the good of their pack, everyone was all too aware of how much pain they must be in.

Even Ash, usually the key to getting a smile from either of the boys was subdued by the loss of the first real parental figures she could remember and the betrayal by someone she had trusted. She couldnt understand how Kit could have gotten so far into their pack and their trust, how no one had picked up on his true intentions.

Ash had finally spoken to her grandparents about Kit. The conversation had gone about as well as she had predicted. Octavia had demanded that Ash have Kit released at once. She had insisted that Ash was just a silly little girl who didnt know what she was doing and how could she say that Kit was responsible for anything, he was with her at the palace when the attack had taken place.

On the other hand, Archibald shushed his over emotional wife long enough to listen to Ash’s description of the feeling she got around Kit and his behaviour on the night of the attack when compared to Blaze, he agreed that there was something odd there but insisted that Kit should receive fair treatment while he was being held, he should not be starved or left in the cold nor should he be beaten or mistreated in any other way. He should receive a fair trial and a full investigation, to which Ash agreed she intended nothing else.