I face the front row again, and this time I let my eyes settle on Jax’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Carter,” I say, voice gentler, “I know there are no words that make this lighter. I know there is nothing any of us can say that gives you your son back.”
“But I need you to hear this from me,” I continue. “Thank you—for raising him into the kind of wolf who could stand in the fire and still choose others. Thank you for the years you gave this pack through him. Thank you for the love and the strength that made him who he was.” My chest aches, but I hold their gaze. “Your sacrifice will not be taken for granted. And you will not be alone in your grief. You are family here, always.”
I turn back to the pack. “In a moment, we’ll come forward—one by one, if you wish—and leave something at the stone.
