CHAPTER FOUR
1688 Words
Dylan’s POV.
The journey through the woods had been serene as we walked on. The sun shooting down its beam to the earth, warming the ground with thread upon.
“Do you feel anything towards father’s death, Dylan?” Devin asked, his body moving in rhythm to the horse’s slow trot. His face limited to the front of his horse as we continued our journey.
My head raised to the forest canopy above as our company followed the trail, “I do not know how I feel,” I said, turning my gaze towards him. His hand gripped his horse tighter. It brayed to the pressure applied.
He hushed the horse, rubbing his hand across its body to calm it before lessening his grip to stare ahead, striding the horse closer to mine, its brown skin shining smoothly under the sunlight.
“I do not feel remorse or pity towards him,” he continued, brushing the horse along. “I still haven’t forgiven him,” he continued.
“I haven’t also,”
“Mother would have been with us if he had the guts to own up to his errors,”
“We have to attend his funeral. We are his only descendants,”
“I know that,” he answered, sighing as he straightened up on his horseback, his white hair glistening as he combed through with his fingers.. A deep contrast to my jet-black glossy hair. Two different folks, people would say.
“What would you do after this?” I asked, seeing he was out of the deep hole he was about throwing himself into.
“Run wild for a while, see how far I can revel in my freedom,”
I chuckled at his answer, brushing my horse as it brayed. The wood was giving way to a wide expanse of grasses.
“We are almost home,” I said to myself as our horses straddled on, watching the town folk stare at us
“We could turn wolves and stroll in to the town,” Devin suggested, a sly smile plastered on his face as we passed, the stares and glare becoming uncomfortable to me. They seemed to be sparse. Most of them must have gone for the funeral, I noted.
“That would be disrespectful,” I countered.
“I never respected the old man, anyway.”
His answer wasn’t a surprise to me as I recalled the events that had happened during that period. Their constant arguments about his infidelities, she had threatened to take them away from him if he did not stop on time. Father had been adamant, opting on bringing a new spouse without her approval.
She had made her threat real after finding out, packing both of them away with little she could find. Kids as we were, we knew nothing of where we would be going. Our giggles and her smile made it look like trouble wasn’t anywhere to be found until it struck.
“After them!” The voice had called as mother transformed, her white fur, a memory I would not have to forget for a very long time.
“Hold on tight,” she had said as she bounded through the expanse of green and brown, both of laughing as wind rippled through our hair.
Footsteps pounded behind us, slowly getting lost in time until mother stopped, huffing and puffing as her great white head turned around, scanning their area. However, there seemed to be no sign of danger as she tucked the both of us into the hollow of a dead tree overgrown with vines.
“Stay here and be quiet,” she echoed through our mind, giving a wash with her tongue on our face before dropping the vines over the hollow; I watched as she went a distance. Her howls filled the skies.
Men surrounded her after a while, while we watched on. I stared at horror as the first hand moved. Her body swayed forward, with others following. The ground tremored not long after, with Father and his squad attacking the crew. Mother laid on the ground, her white fur stained red.
“Heard Father had gotten a pretty damsel to himself during one of his raids,” Devin said, his voice rousing me from the memory lane I had myself walking through.
“We shout extend our greetings to her?”
“Not necessarily. I wouldn’t want to soil my hands in anything that involves that old man’s name.”
“However, we have an obligation to her,” I said as we stopped in front of the castle. They already lit candles as we lighted our horse, servants rushing to carry away the horses from us.
“I see you have both arrived,” an elderly man came greeting.
“Didn’t you say you did not want to associate with anyone bearing the old man’s name?” I asked Devin as the man came nearer.
“Not uncle Carlos. He is different.”
“I thought so,” I said with a laugh, “Uncle Carlos,” He greeted me with a hug before holding me with both hands to stare. Devin replied with a huff, turning away from the man.
“Don’t tell me you are still mad at your father?” Carlos asked, stopping a distance from Devin.
“Don’t call that old man my father,” Devin growled, stepping away from our black clothed uncle.
“He is your father, any way you decide to look at it.”
“Why don’t we get straight to the business,” I cut in, seeing both men were desperate to make their point.
“Come this way,” Carlos said, pointing somewhere behind the house. Grieving people already come to offer their respects and condolences filled the house and its court. It was the family graveyard. Didn’t look like we had lost a lot of persons, I noticed, with the few tombstones.
A hole was already dug somewhere close to mother’s grave.
“He doesn’t deserve to be anywhere close to her,” Devin pointed out, his fangs bore out of his mouth.
“Calm down now, Devin,” I muttered between gritted teeth.
“Aren’t those the Alpha’s twins?” Someone asked, raising voices amongst themselves as we walked through.
His coffin laid in front of the people who had come. Behind sat the elders with a prominent feature in front, draped in black lace with the face cover.
“Let’s do this.” I muttered as I stood in front of the coffin. Devin didn’t mind bowing. He stood straight, eyeing the coffin with rage. If he could kill the old man again, he would. However, it was past mere wishes to inflict death on an already dead person.
“Are you done?” He asked after a while, still seething with anger.
“I am,” I said, turning away from the coffin, just in time for some men to pick it up, moving toward the dug hole.
“I wish they could have buried him somewhere,” I heard Devin mutter, his hands held in a fist beside him. However, traditions had to be obeyed. We poured dirt first into the grave. Devin held a handful. I could tell the old man was already buried in his mind, the same as the veiled figure on the other side of the grave.
“I think it’s time for you boys to go meet your stepmother,” Carlos’ voice rang beside us as they heaped dirt over the casket. The elders would perform whatever ceremony that remained.
“At least, something to take my mind away from that old man,” Devin said.
We walked away from the gathering to an open space. The veiled figure stood against the wind that blew, giving her an ethereal look, despite her clothing being meant for mourning.
“Luna Muna,” Uncle Carlos called out, walking out to meet the veil figure. She turned in our direction, facing the both of us.
“Carlos.” She answered him, pulling the veil from her head. Her looks were mesmerizing, but her gaze seemed to have a glare as she stood facing us. Her golden hair flapped with the wind, but she tucked them neatly behind her ears.
“I would like to introduce you to your stepsons,” Uncle Carlos said, gesturing to us, a wide smile spread across his face.
She walked towards us, more beautiful to me the closer she came.
“This is Devin,” Uncle Carlos said, pointing to my white-haired brother, “And this is.”
“Dylan,” she cut him off, “The elders mentioned their name.”
Uncle Carlos gave a laugh, patting me on the shoulders.
“I would like to be left alone.” She said, “Seeing his lookalikes doesn’t give my stomach any chance to rest.”
“I understand. You should go inside and rest. You’ve had a long day. I will be with the boys,” Uncle Carlos suggested.
“Anything you want.”
“Is it just me or she doesn’t like us?” I thought to myself as she walked away, still looking like she did not belong to this world. The feeling in my guts told me otherwise as I stared at her back.
“You didn’t tell us the old man bagged a beauty,” Devin said with a whistle.
“And she is off limits.”
“I can see that,” I answered. “We should meet with her again.”
“I would do that. I need to do something,” Devin butted in.
“Anything you boys feel like doing, come back in time,” Carlos said.
“Why?” Devin and I asked simultaneously.
“Important things have to be discussed with your stepmother, the Luna.”
“It would be nice to see that beauty once again,” Devin joked, shrugging his shoulders as he stepped away from us.
“Hope he would be okay?” Carlos asked.
“I hope so too.”
- Writer
