The wolves howled, and the hawks screeched overhead as I lowered my head and mourned. We had lost seventeen pack members as a result of Alden’s betrayal. However, we had lost more than numbers. I had lost two of my triplets. I had lost my family. And I had lost something inside myself that I wasn’t sure I would ever get back.
Sage put her hand on my back, and I looked down at her, aware that I’d almost lost her, as well. She had nearly bled out in my arms. It had only been Rowen’s quick thinking and our pack’s healer that saved her. Laurel was still healing as far as I knew, but she was stiff, and I could smell the burnt flesh on her body. Nobody spoke of it. There was nothing to say. Nothing we could do.
We had all lost enough at the betrayal of our pack and our town. Now, we needed to face what came next.
Faith was gone, but someone had given her the power she wielded.
This Oriel, whoever he was, needed to be stopped.
“I think your parents are coming,” Sage said after a moment once the song of our people had ended, and the pyres burned.
There would be nothing left for a necromancer to take. We would never allow that. Rowen and Sage and Ash and possibly Laurel would do a spell to keep the spirits of those we had lost away from the necromancers. We had to hope it would be enough. Penelope had been buried, as was done for witches of her family line. Her bones would be safe, and her spirit had been sent to wherever witch souls went in the afterlife.
It was odd to think that our lives included keeping our afterlives safe, but there it was. We were mourning everything we had lost, and I still wasn’t sure we had considered what would never come.
“Rome,” Sage whispered again.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I see them.”
My parents walked towards me and stood on the opposite side of the circle from me. This was traditionally how two alphas met. He was my father, my Alpha, and I felt like I had failed him. I lowered my head as he came closer, something I had not done in years. I didn’t need to lower my gaze when it came to him. The other alphas of the country understood that I had the power to challenge him, but I wouldn’t. This was my father. And I trusted him.
“Rome,” he said softly as he rested his hand on the back of my neck. “Don’t bow to me. Look at me, son. You are an alpha, too. You are strong. And your people need you.”
“As does your mate,” my mother added, her voice steady. She was tall, her shoulders broad. She was a bear sow, one who had raised triplets who would become three of the country’s most powerful bears. She ruled at my father’s side and kept our people safe. My mother was not weak. And right then, I wanted her to hold me and tell me that everything would be okay. However, I was not a young child anymore. I couldn’t think that way.
“I’m glad to meet you,” Sage said after a moment. “I’m just sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
My mother reached out and pulled Sage close, hugging her. “It is an honor to meet our son’s mate, the alpha of the Ravenwood pack. “I am glad we found you. That we are here. And I am glad that you are with Rome during this time. He will need you more than ever.”
“I will always be here,” Sage said softly. “For him and our people. Always.”
Nothing she could have said would have been better. My father smiled softly and tugged her close, giving her a big hug. Sage let out a little oompf, and a small smile played on my lips. She was so tiny compared to the giant bears around her, but she didn’t falter. Instead, she hugged him back, and my father kissed the top of her head.
“We will mourn our sons and the choices they made. In the end, Trace protected. He did so much. My heart feels as though there can be no hope, but I have to hold onto the fact that my son died protecting those he loved.” My mother’s voice broke, and my bear mourned.
We did not speak of Alden. There was nothing more to say. He had gone down the wrong path, and we couldn’t change that.
I slid my hand into Sage’s and nodded as Ash, Jaxton, and Aspen came over. Aspen, as the fae leader, looked calm and remote as he nodded at my father. “We are sorry you’re here for this occasion but know we still stand with your son and the shifters. We will stand against the necromancers.”
“All of us,” Ash whispered.
“We will fight, and we will avenge your sons,” Jaxton added, and it wasn’t lost on any of us that he had mentioned both Trace and Alden.
My heart would forever have a jagged crevice at losing my triplets, but Sage was here and could fully help me heal it. I could feel her within our bond, wrapping herself around my bear, my anchor, and my heart.
She was healing me, and I wasn’t even sure she was aware that she was doing it.
We spoke to my parents and the others as Ariel came up, her expression solemn. She was my beta now. Perhaps not as strong in power as Trace, but she would be strong enough. She would protect our pack. Honestly, she should have been our third, to begin with. However, there was no time for those regrets now.
“It’s my shift now on the perimeter. I just wanted to stop by and give my condolences.” Ariel nodded at my parents. “We’ll meet soon?” I lifted my chin in affirmation. It had only been two days since the attack in the pack circle that had changed everything. It had taken those two days to make arrangements, to get my parents here, and for our wounds to heal. And even then, they weren’t fully healed, not physically, and definitely not emotionally.
“We’ll speak soon.” Ariel met my gaze for a brief moment before her bear forced her to lower her chin. “Alpha.” She turned to Sage. “Alpha.” My beta walked away just as the three triplet cubs ran over. They had shifted to bear form, far more comfortable that way with so many strangers. Sage immediately dropped to her knees, and the three hugged her tightly, crawling all over her. She let out a soft laugh, and my bear hummed, relaxing slightly at the sound of her voice.
My father cleared his throat. “She will be a good mate. And despite what Alden thought, it will be good to have a connection to the coven.”
“He’s always had a connection to the coven,” Ash corrected my father.
My father gave Ash a look. And there it was again, those unspoken words. We did not speak of why Ash had left, nor why he had come back. At least, not yet.
I knew we would have to do so soon. “There’s always a connection to the coven, but my mate is part of its heart and soul, so the connection is even greater now.”
“Take your mate home and hold her. Tomorrow, you will make plans, and you will tell us of those plans,” my mother ordered, and I smiled softly.
“We’ll tell you what we know, but you should also protect your den. We don’t know where this necromancer might reach out to next.”
“Understood,” my father said, “We’ll protect ours, but you are ours, as well. Remember that.”
We spoke a bit longer, and then I watched as Laurel walked away, limping. I knew we would have a conversation later. She would kill herself if we weren’t careful, and I knew none of us could handle that. She had lost Trace, just as I had. We needed to speak, but first, I needed my mate. We met with the elders and the other bears who needed us but were soon in my home, our home, as I held Sage close.
“We haven’t even had time to talk, beyond a few mentions about the fact that we’re mated.”