Chapter 91
Skye’s POV
Dawn broke over slabern with unatural brilliance, as if the sun itself sought to mark our griet with its cheerful
The mining light filtered themich the nasis trees, casting dappled shadows across the procession as we made our way in the small clearing that served as our pack’s memmfal grounil.
Nadia’s body, wrapped in the traditional black shroud reserved for fallen Betas, rested on a wooden platform carried by six warriors.
Adrian led the procession, his face an emotionless mask that couldn’t quite control the devastation in his eyes, fehind him walked the council members Vienus, Marcus, Lydia, and Carrell–each bearing tokens that represented Nadia’s life and service.
I followed a few steps behind, unse of my place in this solemn ritual. Though.
with bad named me as her successor, I felt like an impoitier
The weight of her Beta insignia pin rested heavily in my pocket, a burden 1 wasn’t centein I was ready to bear
The entire pack had gathered at the memorial ground, forming a perfect circle around the freshly dug grase. Even the children stond in respectful nience, their young faces solemn as they clutched small white tunes–offerings to guide Nadia’s spirit on its journey.
Adrian stepped forward as the warriors lowered the platform beside the open grave. His voice, when he finally spoke, carried one of the commanding authority that typically defined him as Alpha. Instead, it emerged rough and hollow, as if scraped new by unshed tears
“We gather today to honor Nadia Bennett,” he began, his hands clenched at his sides to hide their trembling. “Beta of Oasisbon Pack, daughter of Steven and Katherine Bennett, sister to none by blood but to all by choice.†
A murmur of agreement rippled through the assembled wolves, many nodding as they recalled Nadia’s fierce loyalty to our makeshift family.
Nadia was the first
to follow me into exile, Adrian continued, his gaze fixed on the shrouded form before him. “When I lost my birthright, my home, any family–when I had nothing to offer but an uncertain future and the promise of hardship–Nadia never hesitated. Not once.”
Venus stepped forward, placing a single combat glove atop the shroud. “She was our strength,” the one–armed woman said, her voice steady despite the tears streaming down her face. “When resources were scarce and hope seemed distant, Nadia’s determination never wavered.”
Marcus followed, his sightless eyes somehow conveying more emotion than many sighted ones could manage. He placed Nadia’s training whistle beside the plove. “She built our warriors from nothing,” he said, his deep voice resonating across the clearing. “Weak became strong under her guidance. Broken became
whole.”
Lydia approached next, her steps measured and graceful despite her grief. She carried a small wooden box, which she placed gently beside the other offerings. “She trusted me when others wouldn’t,” the masked woman said, her melodic voice thick with emotion. “She saw past appearances to the truth beneath.”
Each pack member came forward in turn, adding stones or small tokens to the growing collection of memories- hair ribbon from a young girl w. nightmares Nadu had soothed, a carved wolf figurine from an elderly Omega whom Nadia had defended from harassment, a pressed desert flower from : warrior whose life Nadia had saved during a border skermish.
Then Garrett approached, his uneven gait mode pronounced than usual as he limped to the platform. In his hands, he carried a small copper circuit board, carefully preserved in a clear protective case–the first project Nadia had helped him complete when he joined Oasisborn. She had sat with him for hours, holding components steady with her strong hands while he soldered, never once complaining about the tedious work.
“We build things together, she had told him. With trembling fingers, he placed it gently atop the shroud, then pressed his forehead against the dark tabri in a moment of intimate farewell.
“She never knew,” he whispered, his voice barely audible even to werewolf hearing. She never knew how much…”
He couldn’t finish, his shoulders shaking with/silent sobs as Venus gently guided him back to his place in the circle.
Finally, Adrian gestured for the warriors to begin lowering Nadia’s body into the grave. As the rupes creaked under the weight, he turned and nodded to Marcus, who stepped forward carrying a wrapped bundle–the severed head of Kane, preserved since that night of bloody justice
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Chapter 91
The pack téli ment as Adrien unwrapped the grisly trophy, Kane’s once handmme lectures now fretem in an miernik
younger wolves guped or looked away, but Adrian
hatice has been served, Adrian announced, his ejes burning with old fire. “Nadia killers have paid the price for their mielty. Her sacrifice mê forgotten, not will it be in vain.
He placed Kane’s head at the foot of Nadia’s grave, then retrieved a torch from a nearby witrior. The flames danced in the morning light as he lowered it the severed head.
“May your enemy’s suffering accompany you into the next life, he said as the fine caught, engulfing Kane’s head in bright flames. “May his eternal tonbelt Tant you the peace you deserved but never found is this me
The pack watched in solemn silence as the head burned, neriid smoke rising into the clear desert sky. The symbolism was clear to all present– Adrian hind fulfilled the ancient werewolf tradition, ensuing his Beta omuld not travel to the afterlife alone, but with her vanquished enemy as an eternal servant.
One by one, pack members approached the grave, each tossing a handful of earth onto the shrouded form below. The patter of dirt against fabric created a rhythm like gentle rainfall, a natural percussion accompanying mir grief..
When the last handful had been cast and the grave filled, Adrian knelt beside the mounded earth, his fingers tracing patterns in the loose soil. The others began to disperse slowly, moving back toward the main compound in small, subdued groups.
1 lingered at the edge of the clearing, uncertain whether to follow or to remain. Adrian hadn’t moved, his form silhouetted against the brightening sky as he maintained his vigil beside the fresh grave.
