“Kat?” Ezra whispers as his hands drop on my shoulders.
I don’t realize I have been staring at my father’s body in the coffin. I completely zoned out and thought of what if I found another way.
Would he still be here? His death is one skeleton I don’t want to live with. It was his choice, his life to sacrifice, but it doesn’t change the fact it was the man who raised me. The man that taught me to ride a bike, the man who tossed his pack away, and his title for me. He was my father, my safe place, and the hero of my stories growing up. And I killed him.
“Kat?” Ezra repeats, and I look at him, finally able to pull my eyes away from the man that raised me.
I still wait for him to wake up and call me that god-awful nickname, but now I will take the teasing, anything to hear him repeat it.
Instead, I have been listening to his voicemail on repeat, just so I can hear his voice and pretend he is still here and is just too busy to pick up.
Andrei walks up behind Ezra and pats his shoulder, nodding at him. Ezra looks at him, walking off, only for Andrei to take his place. He is wearing a suit. I am used to seeing him dressed casually, yet he looks handsome. I can actually see the similarities he shares with our father.
“I don’t know what to say,” Andrei admits, and I nod, feeling his hand wrap around mine, engulfing it. He rubs circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.
“We don’t need to say anything, dad knows. He knows already,” I tell him.
“I never would have put you in that position. I understand the consequences of you having to do that for me, but I can’t thank you enough. I can’t make this up to you or dad.”
“Yes, you can. You can live for him. He died to make sure you kept on living. He knew Sage was the only way that would have happened. You needed her more than him.”
“But what about you?” Andrei asks.
“You’re my brother. His death, I will learn to deal with. Neither dad, nor I could live with yours. I didn’t have to do what he asked. I could have saved him, but I would have been condemning you and your family. One life for three, it was the right thing to do, and it is what he wanted.”
“I’m sorry, Kat. I know that would have been the toughest decision to make.” Andrei whispers.
“It helps to know it was the right one. I have no regrets about choosing Sage. I regret being the one to do it, but I don’t regret saving her. This was his way of giving you back everything he took from you. His way of showing to you that you meant more than his own life and that he would give up everything to make sure you have the life you deserve, with your mate and your son. He gave it up for them and you. If our roles were reversed and it was for one of my children, I would lay my life down in a heartbeat. I would give my last breath to ensure they got to take another.” I tell him.
Andrei tugs me closer to him, draping his arm across my shoulders, pressing his cheek to the top of my head, and kissing my hair.
“I love you,” he whispers. I wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him back.
“I love you too,” I tell him before following him out of the church. Sage is waiting for us outside, her eyes bloodshot from crying. The guilt on her face is undeniable.
She hesitates as she approaches me like she thinks I will turn away from her, cast her away for his death. She looks at Andrei as if she is worried that she shouldn’t approach me, so I move to her instead and open my arms. Her hug is tight as she hugs me like she can’t bear to let go.
“I’m sorry, Kat,” she whispers, and I let out a shaky breath.
Her hug is warm, and seeing her heartbreak makes my heart swell. I made the right decision, and so did dad. He saved his son, but also killed me in the process. That is the beauty of sacrifice.
Someone is always left pained no matter what. I may not have my father, but he was right, saving their family was worth the sacrifice. Knowing my brother would be happy, Jonah would have both parents, Sage gets to live after a life full of heartache, and finally, the cycle of Donnie’s and Sierra’s torment had come full circle.
He saved more than Sage; he ensured Jonah and Andrei had a future. He will finally know peace, knowing that he proved his love for his son outweighed his own life.
“Family, we are nothing without them, and I am glad to have you as part of mine,” I tell her, and she sniffles and nods against my shoulder.
Survivor’s guilt. But I know her life was worth saving. She deserves a happy ending after everything she endured. She deserves peace and happiness, and Andrei and Jonah deserve the love she will give them.
“Come on, we should get home. Everyone is waiting,” I tell her, knowing that both packs are at home to celebrate my father’s life.
His funeral differed from my mother’s. He earned his place in both packs and earned the respect of everyone and his place amongst both. He redeemed himself for his past failures. My father thought he failed me by leaving, but I knew he would come back, and he did. He just needed time.
He never failed me, and neither did mom because I know everything they did was never to hurt me, not intentionally anyway.
Now to do this all over again tomorrow, but for Dominic, the man that gave his life for my daughter’s, the man I realize I have painted wrong from the beginning. All a misunderstanding based on fear of each other and fear for the packs we both served.