The Royal Wolves

Loss

King Stefan’s POV

“Stefan, we’ve got this. Go ahead and put your mind at rest. We won’t be far behind,” Alpha Tate breaks into my mind.

“I can’t leave.”

“All due respect. You’re giving off vibes of frustration and anxiety. The pack will understand. Now, go,” he tells me.

“There could be an attack,” I try to reason.

“Then leave your men. With your warriors and mine, we will be okay. No, go.”

“Thank you, Tate,” I say, trying to convey the gratitude I feel into my tone through the link.

Jenson scrapes his massive paw into the ground and then takes off, he pushes his new form to its max. Within seconds, we are running so fast that objects are just a blur. The sensation makes me feel queasy, but it doesn’t bother Jenson as he confidently navigates around any obstacles. I put my faith in him and try to focus on our surroundings. After twenty minutes, I realise just how fast we are moving. I recognise a mountain formation and it dawns on me that we have covered almost 40 miles. ‘Jenson, this is insane,’ I laugh in disbelief.

‘It’s awesome!’ He answers and flashes a toothy grin in my mind.

Only minutes later, we enter the Blue Moon pack land, the scent of death reaches us and Jenson snarls as he charges ahead. His paws skid to a stop when we reach the group of wolves that are gathered, silently we shift and observe the destruction.

The fertile soil where corn and barley once grew tall is now barren and dead, it has been drowned in a crimson sea which flows down the pulpy mounds in rivers of red, trickling away and seeping into the ground.

Only a few hundred steps away lays a site of devastation. The towering trees have been uprooted and thrashed on the ground like broken matchsticks. Before the beasts, the great timbers are nothing. There are also numerous deep claw marks in the muddy ground, which seem to overlap. A great crater marks the place where the one who lost, crashed on the ground and let out his last breath. His body remains in the crater, battered, bleeding and broken. His face is contorted into a grimace of pain, he did not meet a good end.

“Son, how are you here so quickly? It’s not possible,” my Father asks softly from behind me.

“What happened? An attack shouldn’t have been this devastating,” my voice trembles.

“They were attacked by the werebear King, his Beta and a number of warriors,” he tells me sadly.

My eyes scan the wolves who are gathered, each one is mourning a loss, wearing a look of horror and despair. This wolf was important to each of them. ‘Look again, brother,’ Jenson says in a whisper.

My eyes look upon this broken and fallen warrior again. I piece together his face; ignoring the blood and swollen flesh. A shocked gasp escapes me when I realise who this fallen hero is. This pack has just lost its protector, it’s heart and hero. And, as a great sadness washes over me, I realise that I have lost a good friend.

“Adrian,” I whisper, my words causing me great pain.

“That’s not all, son. Follow me,” my Father tugs on my arm and leads me towards the pack house.

“NOOOO!!!!” Jenson’s roar of anger, anguish and disbelief escapes me, while my eyes and brain still cannot process what I am seeing.

“They used this pack to make an example of the pain and power they can unleash,” my Father’s voice breaks.

“But they were just f*****g children!” My voice quivers as anger surges through me.

“And future soldiers.”

“They are CHILDREN!” I snap.

“I didn’t say it makes it right. We must respectfully help them on their way to the moon goddess’s eternal gardens and then take those who are alive to our land,” my Father says kindly.

Turning on my heel, I pace back to the group of wolves. “Blue Moon…..” il my voice breaks and tears escape me. “I must ask that you prepare this area for us to respectfully follow your traditions and send your fallen to the mighty Selene. We will then return to the safety of the Land of Unity. But mark my words, what happened here today will not go unpunished! I will help you seek justice against those who have caused such needless heartbreak and despair!” I promise those who remain.

“Thank you, King,” they murmur as one and begin to move in order to prepare.

“Whilst they prepare, I need you to come with me,” my Father says and again leads me away from this pack of mourning and broken wolves.

“Arghhhh!!!” Darran’s voice howls and I race to the building.

“It’s okay, Stef. He had some broken ribs, which the doc has just reset to enable his wolf to heal. Physically, he’s fine,” Sadie tells me as I reach the door.

Rushing through the door, I quickly drop to my knees beside my friend who is laid on a small cot. “How are you doing, pal?” I say kindly as I take his hand. I’m taken aback when his eyes meet mine, there’s a sadness to them that hurts my soul.

“I’m sorry. There was literally nothing I could do. I was helpless and useless. I was managing against the Beta, but their King….. well, he’s something else, entirely,” he tells me.

“You survived!”

“And so many did not, because I wasn’t enough. You should consider someone with Beta blood…. Someone who isn’t weak,” he begins to cry.

“Hey,” I cup his face in a moment of brotherly love. “He took down the Alpha of this pack. Adrian was no pushover. I’m thankful that you’re alive. You’ve seen their King fight and you can help me to prepare, so that he will never harm another wolf.”

“But I failed you.”

“No. You’ve failed the unrealistic expectations that you put upon yourself! Now, if you’re well enough to stand, I’d appreciate your help in honouring the fallen and escorting the others back home.”

“I’m almost healed. But I cannot return home. I have to go after him and bring Florence home,” Darran cries.

“He has Florence?” I ask in disbelief.

“If it wasn’t for her, you’d have arrived here and found us all dead.”

“What did she do?” I question as my heart falls into my stomach.

“She told the King that his mission was fruitless, because the Queen wasn’t here. He said he’d take out as many ranked members as he could. She then began waffling about a message from Selene and Balador and something about a series of visions. She walked away with him willingly on the condition that he didn’t kill another. I tried to stop her, and that is when he attacked me. By the time I woke up, she was gone,” Darran frets.

“We’ll bring her home together. For now, let’s honour those who lost their lives here,” I say, offering my hand and helping him to his feet.

The wolves of the Blue Moon pack have lit around 200 candles and created a large grave. I immediately begin by helping them carry their fallen and place them into the hole in the ground, letting my tears fall freely as I think of all the innocent who lost their lives today. We gather around the grave and my heart weeps as the pack begin to sing their funeral song, I instantly recognise the poem we were taught as young boys.

“Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

(Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there, I did not die!)”

“Please, King Stefan,” a young man whimpers as his sobs overcome him. I look around the pack and realise they wish me to speak.

“There’s not much more I can say, the heartfelt lyrics of your song will echo around this land for an eternity. I’m sure that even Selene heard it and weeps with us….” I pause and gather the strength they need from me. “The good people that have passed, leave in us, a part of their goodness, and in that, they evermore live on. You can feel it in the air, that need to reach out and feel it once more, to have that memory keep our soul sparks burning bright. When I acknowledge the pain of others, my own reduces a little, for in this realisation, there is a sense that we are all in this together.” Several members of the Blue Moon pack are overcome with emotion and unable to keep their wolf at bay any longer. I pause my speech and wait for the wolves.

“The pain of loss comes as witness, to bare testimony, to the realness of the love. We are born to love and to suffer upon loss, and these come of having a healthy soul. Grief comes in waves, at first they are so strong, that we will feel swept away. They will come at such random moments, replacing a feeling of normalcy with those familiar tears. Yet in time, those waves lessen and let the good memories flood in instead, they allow for waves of smiles and warmth, those funny or sweet things that were said. So, ride these painful waves, my friends, ride them in honour of our fallen. For those who are lost are never truly gone. We will remember them, we will honour them and we will ensure their names live on……:. Go now, Alpha Adrian. Lead your pack, one last time to the eternal meadows of the Moon Goddess. I promise you, brother, those you leave behind will be cared for and accepted into any pack of their choosing,” I finish my speech with a powerful vow, promising those who remain that they will always have a home and protection.

Jenson joins the pack in shifting and scrapes huge mounds of dirt into the grave, burying those who lost their lives. ‘I promise you, brothers and sisters, we will return here, one day, when it is safe, and we will place a memorial headstone,’ he links the wolves around the grave.

We howl our pain and blessings for a safe passage to the eternal meadows. The sound is hauntingly beautiful and chills me to the core. All too soon, we must turn our backs and make our warriors at to the Land of Unity.

The funeral was sweet sorrow, for in those moments of raw pain, when it feels as if the loving self screams in silent anguish, there are the memories of the good times that come as blossoming spring meadow. There’s now just two pressing issues: how do I tell Jo and Erin that Florence willingly left with the Werebear King? And how the f**k do I bring her home, while ending this war?