The Wolf In Me

Chapter 17 Never Forgotten

Part 1 The mourning

"We have gathered all here concerning our dead. To mourn our lost brother, sister, father, mother and mates. They have all fought with courage knowing that the world without vampires around would give us not just freedom, but also peace of mind. Now, in the old days, our kind had a tradition called the candle mourn day. It has not been celebrated since 1937. I believe that due to this circumstance, it would be a great opportunity to organise it this coming weekend, honouring the dead for their bravery. Let's have a moment of silence before we start the burials".

I walked down the temporary wooden steps that were placed for me to stand on for the short speech and placed it aside, walking back amongst the crowd of wolves.

Silence filled the newly built cemetery a few meters away from the largest packhouse in the world. I was thinking about the previous two days. The few days I had the chance to be with my father, yet I needed to forget my ego and be a responsible King to my kind. I miss him so much and knowing that I gave him only a little bit of my attention filled me with guilt.

"It's time," I told the undertakers.

They all placed the fifty-four coffins beneath the ground and covered them neatly, placing a memorial message on each and every one of the graves.

I hid for a while to have some time alone under the shade of a large tree right opposite the large packhouse, looking at its scene contemplating if I should organise a ceremony to make this place the official packhouse of the sixty-eight existing packs. It would be used for large gathering activities that I am planning to organise once every few months to help make every pack more united than ever. Flicking the zipper, I looked down at the cigar I had on my right hand thinking of the last time I had time for this sh*t. I smiled by myself remembering the first time I tasted one. It was back when I was sixteen and I was out with some human friends of mine. We stayed in touch till a month ago, but since then I

was too busy planning and plotting the best possible way to get rid of those pesky vamps. I lit the cigar and as I closed my eyes I inhaled, filling my lungs with its wonders. The silence outside gave me the time to appreciate the sound of nature, birds, bees and the light breeze hitting the trees, dropping some leaves to the ground. With my wolf's good sense of hearing, I could listen to even the slightest of movement. My moment was interrupted by something moving in the bushes behind me. I stood up and turned around facing the forest. Sure enough, I see a pair of eyes peeping from behind a bunch of leaves and my instinct kicked in. Tearing off my clothes I turned into wolf form and got myself ready, growling and angling myself forward. Suddenly what was hiding in the forest emerged and landed on my back, rolling me down. It was Nala, trying to play tricks on her mate. She covered herself with mud, hiding her sweet scent from me.

"Oh no you don't," I said telepathically, "not after making me tear my favourite shirt for the third time."

I leapt on her as we both turned into human form laughing and giggling feeling the soft grass on our backs as we looked at the sky.

"Look. My belly popped. I look like I have eaten a whole dear all by myself," she said giggling.

I smiled and lifted myself slightly to reach her belly to kiss it.

"You are so beautiful. I can't believe how lucky I am to have you by my side." I gazed at her for a while enjoying the moment.

"I'll help you prepare for the candle mourn day. I think that you have made the right decision for the occasion " Mei said staring at the sky.

I looked at her smiling, then shifted my gaze at the shapes of the white clouds forming above us. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but I could have sworn that I saw my father's face looking down at me. I sat down and stared at him for a few moments in silence.

"Luka...Are you ok?" Mei asked, shaking me off my glaring.

"Uhm.." I turned my attention on Mei.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I said looking back at the sky.

His apparition was now sadly gone but I couldn't get the image of him off my mind.

Mei's POV

"Steph, please don't forget to order everything for tomorrow. It will be too chaotic to fix any problems by then."

I took my last bite off an apple and threw it in the bin before exiting the kitchen.

"I will not disappoint you my Luna," she teased back whilst looking through the list and checking everything.

I rushed to the hall knowing that I would find the witches there.

"Lylah. Hey, listen I need your help with organising tomorrow's big event."

I looked at Nelly and shifted my gaze back to Lylah whilst holding each hand over their shoulders.

"Will you both assist me with...." Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

"Yes," they said together interrupting my sentence. "Our lady," they said giggling. "Anything you want, we're in."

I smiled and hugged them tightly.

"Thank you so much for being a part of us. We wouldn't have managed to win the fight without you."

I got teary-eyed as I shifted my eyes from one to the other. Lately, my maternal emotions must have kicked in as I started to feel more sensitive. Nelly wiped a tear that was rolling down my cheeks and looked at my belly, noticing that it is starting to grow.

"Candle shopping?" She suggested.

"I'll drive," I said taking out my car keys.

"Shotgun," Lylah screamed as she ran towards the exit.

It was around eight o'clock at night. I stood on top of the platform in our outside territory beside Luka listening to his beautifully made speech. My eyes leered over the crowd of lit candles being held by each wolf. There is one word that describes the view in front of me. Breathtaking!

"As I promised you, today will mark the day that we will restart this ceremony that will be held yearly as a reminder of those who sacrificed their lives for a better future but did not make it to the end. Since I plan on keeping everything according to the original tradition, I would like each of those that lost a loved one to present an item that reminds you of the person and place it on the altar offering a short speech."

We both sat back and waited for the first person to come up. It was a very young girl with beautiful green eyes and golden hair. Her mother was holding her hand as tears rolled down her face. The brave young girl stood behind the altar, facing the crowd of wolves and fixed the microphone to her size.

"This is my papa's favourite baseball hat. He used to wear it all the time. He gave it to me before he left to fight the bad vampires to keep it safe for him for when he comes back."

She looked at her mother for a moment. Mama smiled at her and nodded for support. The young child looked back at the crowd.

"I will miss you, daddy. I love you forever and ever," she continued before placing the hat on the altar and they both walked away, back to their places.

More people walked up and said a few words before placing the chosen item in place. Luka stood from the seat and walked towards the altar. He gazed at the crowd for a moment thinking of the right words to say.

"My old man came back to me when I needed him the most. There are no words to describe how grateful I am to have had a few more spare days with him after his tragic accident years ago. He remained loyal to the pack even after his passing and made sure that we could all make it to the end of the tunnel. Dad, if you are listening, this offering is for you."

He placed his father's favourite necklace on the altar, then moved a few steps back. Suddenly a strong white light emerged from the altar, making everyone cover their eyes. Everyone gasped in awe as the scene was beautiful to look at. It felt like there was the presence of the dead with us for a moment until the light slowly faded, leaving an empty altar. The offerings have been accepted by the deceased and sure enough, their loved ones were all now smiling feeling better for having one last chance at being reunited for a moment. I thought of my parents and of how I wished I had something to offer but unfortunately I was not lucky enough to possess anything they owned, not even their own summer house since it was burnt down by some vandals a few years ago. I miss their presence dearly, especially that I am going to have my first child without them. They would be so proud of my achievements if only they were alive.

It was time for dinner before everyone went back to their rooms for their final night at the main pack member's house. Everyone was chatting, talking about the candle mourn day event which was organised perfectly. Luka sat by my side as we exchanged smiles.

"It was perfect, you know?" I said as I watched a helper place the plate in front of Luka and myself.

"Thank you," I told the young brunette before looking back at my mate.

"I'm glad to have made it happen," he said now looking down at his plate. "Mmm, this tastes really good," he said moving his second bite of the lasagne close to his mouth.