And I’m going to work hard to made that ‘one day’ arrive soon.
“Javier died protecting Avalyn. He died protecting his daughter. He always fought for and protected his loved ones.” I said, my voice reaching the far ends of the ground, falling on the ears of every person present here. “To even become half the man he was, we should strive to do the same. It is our duty to protect those whom we love.”
“Javier was one of the best Alphas there was. And I’m going to do the same thing to become one of the best King there will be. I am going to protect my family, my pack at any cost. I am going to carry Javier’s values with me for as long as I shall live. A lot of you have known him as your Alpha and your friend. I had the privilege of knowing him as a mentor and as a father. However short my time was with him, our time was with him, he will live with us forever in our hearts.”
Avalyn was full on crying now.
“Today will be marked in the history of supernaturals- the day all three races of Jivan came together to fight off the great evil. I will make it my cause to eradicate black magic from the universe so that this never happens again. The ones behind this will be caught soon and will not be shown any mercy.” I growled. Adrik was as good as dead and so would be Yolanda and her helpers-whose identity I would soon find out.
“Every single wolf, vampire and witch that died on this soil today shall remain alive in our hearts forever. I would like to personally thank Natalia, Dimitri, Anna and Headmaster Malone for risking their lives and finding the cure and saving the witches. The entire Neos and the Soare-Luna Army for fighting with utmost bravery and to be willing to risk their lives for our people. Special thanks to Andrei for taking charge in Silverwitch Bay and saving the lives that he did and leading half of the Neos Army along with General Ratmir to our neighbours- the Wintercrown and the Red Moon Pack. Mikhail and Max to lead the Neos Army to save Alvar and Imporia along with Chiara and, Symon, for being the reason we made it back home alive.”
“Some of the brave hearts who died were- Breyton, who ended up saving nineteen children and six elders, Kaylie, who rescued multiple families from a burning house, Jansta, who saved eight elders, José, Paula, Langston, Triff and Yemit, who took it upon themselves to help all the injured warriors to the palace, Ursula and Freyla, who saved ten children and four elders. Jan and his comrades who gave up their lives so that Avalyn, Symon and I could survive. It is impossible to take the names of all those who are now in heaven and show the depth of our gratitude towards them so let’s use two minutes of silence to remember and appreciate our fallen ones.”
I raised my hand and placed it over my heart, closing my eyes to feel the broken bonds of my pack members and to realise how brave and selfless they were. It brought tears to my eyes- to feel the excruciating pain they felt while dying, to feel the gut wrenching pain their kith and kin were feeling.
After two whole minutes, I opened my eyes and felt a sense of peace among the hearts of the pack members.
“To our warriors, elders and children. Our fallen brave-hearts. To Javier. A great Alpha, a father, brother and a son.” I raised the flambeau higher before I lit the bottom of the pyre on fire with it and then put the piece of wood in the it.
Josias and Silas followed.
The rest of the pack, whose family members had passed away, followed us as they had up until now and lit the pyres of their loved ones.
Ava was full on crying and sobbing now, hiding her face in my chest and I held her in my arms, trying my best to sooth her.
I felt anger. So much anger.
Xillian deserved a death much worse than what he got. He deserved to rot in hell. No, he deserved to rot in my dungeon and have me at him at least once a day.
Javier did not deserve this. At all.
He had already suffered for ten years. And he was a good man. The kind that is hard to find. I can agree that he was a much better person than me. Today, it wasn’t just a personal loss, the entire pack had lost him, the entire world had lost a good soul.
All I can hope is that he finds some peace now. With Valerie.
Even when he joked, even when he laughed, there was always a lingering sadness in his eyes. He always tried hard to cover it up. But one can’t cover up that kind of loss- the loss of your soulmate.
Now that he has found her, I believe that he is truly happy.
The old man would surely be making a sarcastic comment from the other side of the moon right now, something along the lines of ‘stop crying like a bitch’ or something like that.
Ava twisted in my arms, digging her face in my neck, coming closer, trying to find more comfort in my arms.
I wrapped my arms around her back tighter and rubbed her back soothingly and caressed our bond too.
I watched the all the pyres burn and then extinguish on its own, leaving behind only ashes.
Josias stepped forward and began collecting Javier’s ashes and filling it in a pot.
“We will be pouring his ashes in the sacred Royal Pond of Voda.” Silas murmured, his eyes sad yet cold and I nodded. I understood that we weren’t invited. I figured that it was a sacred ritual they did to the ashes of the Royal family members, just like we poured the ashes of our dead into the ocean or a river.
I wanted Ava to know more about her family rituals. But I wasn’t going to push here, I knew it was a difficult time for his family too and the last thing I wanted was to cause more anger in his heart for us.
“Alpha Nikolai, Queen Avalyn,” the Alphas and Lunas of both our neighbour packs, along with Logan greeted us solemnly. “We are extremely sorry for your loss.”
Ava’s hold on me tightened and I knew that this was the last thing she wanted to hear-the reminder that he was gone. And so I needed to end this quickly.
“Thank you so much for coming, it means a lot to our entire family.” I murmured.
“Thank you so much for the help,” Zain said and Belle nodded, “we wouldn’t have been alive otherwise.”
“Yes, thank you for everything. I had made a mistake. Apologies for that.” Alpha Ralph looked genuinely remorseful. Luna Iris and Logan looked pleased that he did the right thing.
“It was the least I could do.” I replied. “And let bygones be bygones. It would be best if you trust Logan and his instincts to do the best for the pack.”
He offered his son a smile and nodded.
“Avalyn?” Belle whispered.
Ava’s hold loosened on me and she turned in my hold to look at her friend. I let my hands fall from around her but kept caressing our bond, silently telling her that I was here if needed me but she was strong enough to stand on her own and deal with grief in a healthy way.
“Thank you for coming,” Ava whispered in a hoarse voice. “I-it means a l-lot.”
“Oh dear,” Belle stepped forward and hugged Ava tightly with tears in her own eyes, “maybe after some time, we could meet again and have a nice time together, hm?”
“I’d love that.” Ava whispered as the women broke the hug, “you’re welcome too.” She told Iris, trying to be inclusive of everyone as always.
The older Luna blushed a bit before nodding in agreement.
“It’ll be best if we take our leave now,” Ralph said and I nodded, knowing the mountainous amount of work all of us had to do.
Once they were gone, I said softly, “we’ve got to go now.”
A moment later, she turned around to look up at me. I wiped her wet cheeks with my thumbs gently and she nodded.