Damon’s POV
Tunde was buried six days after his death. We’d managed to erect the Uraniums at the right places and used the stones to make the pack invisible for outsiders and impenetrable for the intruders.
A secret passage was also developed to allow for an emergency exit from the pack and it was done in such a way that it was only one person who knew of its whereabout.
Our pack has lost a large number of lives and they were all buried a day before Tunde was buried. We thought he deserved much more respect and because of this, his burial should be done separately as a sign of honor for him.
I watched as the priest performed the last rite for Tunde. I couldn’t see clearly as the coffin was being lowered into the ground. My vision was blurry. I couldn’t even hear properly but I heard the chants: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.
I had to stop the tears from flowing as I was given the shovel to pick up the earth. My shovel couldn’t pick enough but I still threw it into the coffin and heard the silent noise it made.
I turned and walked away to stay under a tree and looked on as Lyla, Dean and the rest also threw some earth on his coffin before Ashley left a bouquet, his favorite, Roses on his coffin.
Ashley was in tears and that made me wonder the state that his mate would be in. I sent a quick text to Lucas that I needed to see him because he was also involved in their entanglement.
His girlfriend was Tunde’s mate.
He didn’t respond the same way he didn’t the last two days I’ve been trying to reach out to him.
“Hey, are you okay?” Lyla came closer and asked. I nodded and walked away from her, ready to give a speech to everyone present. I didn’t mean to ignore her, I just didn’t know the right thing to say.
“Hello everyone, I don’t know where to start but I’ll start like this. Tunde once told me that he was a part of me, and I laughed in his face but now it’s clear that Tunde was a part of us all. He was a loving brother, an honest and loyal friend, a brilliant warrior, and a great man. He fought for the pack in numerous ways and he was righteous about it. He’ll be missed by a whole lot of people. Tunde has laid down a legacy that we all need to follow even though the void in our hearts will never be filled. Right now and here, we’re invisible to the world, we are just a bunch of werewolves not up to five hundred and there’s a whole lot of werewolves out there fighting for their lives as we did days ago. The vampires had declared war on us even with the help of our people. We don’t know if they’re still much out there or it’s just a small number of them remaining and alive. We’re on our own, help won’t come from anywhere. But we won’t stop fighting and we won’t stop winning because if we don’t win for anyone or anything else, we need to win for Tunde. May his good soul continue to rest in peace”
I finished my speech and let Ashley take over. She had been appointed as the new Beta for the pack. We believed only her could handle such a position. I couldn’t stay behind to listen to her speech so I made my way to the room.
I lied down on the bed and used my hand to cover my eyes from the light that was penetrating through the windows.
When I heard footsteps, I didn’t bother to look up, I knew it was Lyla, my Lyla.
She suddenly placed her head on my chest and wrapped her hands around me. I didn’t hug her back, I couldn’t.
“Are you okay? You can talk to me about anything”
“I’m fine,” I simply replied, gently removed her hands from my body, and stood up.
I removed my shirt and picked up another one, one that was comfortable enough for me to wear.
“Did I do something wrong?” She suddenly asked, surprising me.
“No,”
“Do you want me to leave?” I looked at her surprisingly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve been acting as if you don’t want me around you or anyone else. Yes, I know you’re grieving but please let me share in your pain” she begged.
“I’m fine Lyla. I just need some days to get used to some certain things and after that, I’ll be back on my feet”
“Get used to what exactly? The fact that Tunde is gone and he won’t be back forever. Tunde is dead and we’re all sad about it but please D, talk to me. I know it’s hard, I understand. But you can’t be so silent about your feelings” She cried out.
I dropped the shirt I’ve been holding for seconds and walked towards the bed. I hold her in my arms.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry” I apologized profusely, hating the fact that I was making her cry.
“You don’t have to apologize, D. I want you to tell me how you feel”
I closed my eyes for a second, processing it. “Angry Lyla. Every time I remember his death, I feel so angry and at the same time, sad. I can’t even imagine myself going through life without him. He’d been there all my life and I never got the chance to say thank you for everything he did. He was my friend, he was the only friend I had”
My voice was shaking and a lone tear dropped down my eyes.
“He was a good person. I don’t know how Pearl is coping because she hasn’t been responding to my messages”
“Just a few days, Lyla. I’ll be fine and if not, then days to come because I believe time heals everything and everyone” I assured her and kissed her forehead.
She placed her head on my chest and brought out her phone to play music. We were both silent while deep in thoughts. I reminisced some of my memories with Tunde and even though it was painful, they were still the best of moments.
A thought suddenly came to my head and I hesitated before saying it out.
“Will you marry me?”
She whipped her head up and looked into my eyes.
“What?” She started laughing. “That’s the craziest proposal I’ve heard all my life and no, that’s not the way regular humans propose” She yelled, still laughing.
“I’m clueless about how they go about it,” I confessed.
“Then, find out. That’s your duty as a man and as the father of my child,”
“Wait! What did you just say?”
“I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you that I’m pregnant, two weeks pregnant” She grinned.
How did I miss that? Her smell had truly changed but with how crazy things had been, I’d managed to miss these important parts of our lives.
I smiled widely.
“I’ll propose the human way then” I informed her and she laughed.
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is us being beside each other every day and every moment”
“I promise baby, I promise you. I love you baby”
“I love you too D, always”
Our story hasn’t ended it has just begun but every step will be taken one at a time. Our story is till eternity
THE END