Chapter 33-The Mourning

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Chapter 33-The Mourning

Sydney Carrington's POV

"We are here today together as a pack to mourn the loss of Cara Kingston, friend to all, sister to our esteemed Alpha and Luna, and is cherished and loved. And to also mourn the death of Thomas Johnson, Leader of the West area, a loving husband, a doting father and a wise and responsible leader to the people in the West." The minister spoke softly and I shifted slightly in my black dress.

Beside me, Brendon was tensed and held onto my hand tightly, our fingers were intertwined and he was staring at the caskets in front of us with a blank expression on. I knew he wanted to break down but he couldn't. Not in front of the whole pack.

He had an image to uphold after all and breaking down would show to others that he was weak.

Brendon and I, along with my siblings and Rhett and the other three leaders were on the stage with Cara's body along with the vicar.

It had turned out that the other man who was killed when Brendon was attacked was the West leader, not Rhett. Brendon hadn't mentioned to me that he was expecting some sort of attack and as a result, he had informed Rhett that if any unusual circumstance occurred, he was to get the Alpha King to come to our aid.

Rhett and the royal army that had been sent by the King had been too late to save Cara and my mother, along with the West leader but luckily, they had been on time to stop the mutiny that had been arising and had captured the rest of Nora's men.

"Let us now light the candles." The vicar called out and the crowd which was filled with darkness was soon lit up by thousands of candles. I slowly lit mine and passed the flame to Brendon's candle.

The pack members would then proceed to walk passed the caskets and lay down white lilies while holding their lit candles.

The candle symbolised life and light. It was like a celebration of the life that the deceased had lived. The white lilies symbolised the pureness and innocence of the deceased. And the act of placing the lilies on the caskets was a sign of respect.

Brendon looked at me, his grey eyes gleamed with sadness and anguish before facing front. "Let us proceed with the ceremony." The vicar announced and the music started. The sound of haunting violins sounded out and the choir sang a low hymn.

The pack members proceeded and slowly, each stepped up onto the platform and lay a white lily on both Cara and Thomas' caskets before walking away.

As Alpha and Luna, our jobs were to stand there until everyone had placed their lilies while comforting Thomas' family members. When everyone had placed their lilies, Brendon and I would do so and then we would lead the caskets to be buried in the pack cemetery.

Brendon intertwined our fingers tighter as the ceremony went on. I could sense that he was still grieving and blaming himself terribly for the loss of Cara. I too was mourning her and the death of my mother.

My mother was given a private burial with Brendon and my siblings in attendance. She wasn't officially a part of the European pack but I decided to bury her here anyway with the rest of her family considering she and my father were originally from the European pack.

But now, I was numb. I had shed too many tears over the past two days since the death of my mother and Cara. Brendon had demolished our home because we didn't feel too comfortable living there when so many awful and horrible things have happened there.

Instead, we were to live in the pack house temporarily while our new home was built. I guess you could say we wanted a fresh start. Away from all the bad memories that had happened there. Such as the death of Cara and my mother, the death of Kelsey, the memories of where Brendon had hurt me in the past.

Soon, everyone who had attended the mourning ceremony had placed their lilies. Brendon and I stepped forward and I gently placed a white lily on Thomas' casket and another on Cara's while trying to hold my raw emotions at bay.

As Brendon placed the white lilies, I noticed his hand was shaking as he placed one of the flowers on Cara's casket. I bit my lower lip and slid my hand onto his back comfortingly.

The minister cleared his throat and Brendon and I stepped back. "Let us now proceed to the cemetery." He gestured for the men who were going to carry the caskets and they hefted the caskets and began walking. I held onto Brendon's hand tightly as we followed in silence. Behind us, the pack followed with the candles still lit.

We proceeded in silence and Brendon and I watched as the men lowered Cara and Thomas' caskets into the ground. It was then the minister said some kind go blessing and benediction before the mourning ceremony is over.

As Brendon and I walked back to the pack house, his arm slid around my waist and his hand caressed my belly unconsciously. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder as we entered our bedroom.

I undressed and slid into a comfortable shirt of Brendon's before quickly brushing my teeth and whatnot. When I was done, I was met with the sight of Brendon still sitting on the bed with his black outfit on as he stared at the ground vacantly.

I chewed on my lower lip and approached him. "How are you feeling?" I questioned softly. Brendon remained silent and I got into the bed and peered up at him.

"She's gone. She's really gone." His tone was soft and yet filled with sadness and pain and guilt. I stroked his back comfortingly. I didn't know what to say but I knew that my presence was helping him.

Nora and her men, including Kyle was captured by the Royal army and are to be imprisoned until Brendon and the Alpha King can come to a suitable punishment for them. It had turned out that the Alpha King was in debt to Brendon because a few years ago, Brendon had managed to stop an assassination on the Alpha King's mate.

Apparently, Nora's men had spilled that Nora would cause a mutiny in the pack and as a result, she would place Kyle as Alpha while controlling him. That way, she would be indirectly ruling the European pack. Fortunately, Rhett had managed to get to the Alpha King in time to prevent it.

"Enough about what I'm feeling. What about you? How are you dealing with your mother's death?" He asked softly, his grey eyes studying me carefully.

I chewed on my lower lip and shrugged. "I'm fine," I said, not wanting to unload all the emotional baggage unto Brendon considering he had his to deal with.

"Sydney." He warned lowly which meant that he wasn't giving in this time. I frowned and sighed before continuing. "Alright. I've made peace with her death but, I can't help but feel so much regrets over it."

Again, I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. It was strange because I had thought that I had no more tears to shed. "What sort of regrets?"

I glanced up at him before looking down at my hands. "I never told her how much she meant to me and that I love her. She died for me-for us and-" I cut myself off before burying my face into Brendon's chest.

He softly threaded his fingers through my hair and murmured soft comforting words as I broke down in his arms. The guilt was eating me up alive. Why hadn't I told her that I loved her? Why didn't I manage to overcome the wolfsbane earlier and maybe Cara would still be alive.

So many scenarios ran through my head and Brendon comforted me silently. "It's my fault they died. I could have tried to fight the wolfsbane harder and maybe they won't be dead!"

Brendon lifted my chin up and looked at my face sternly. "Sydney, it isn't your fault. Wolfsbane isn't something you can just simply get over. There is nothing you could have done in those circumstances."

I sniffled and nodded my head, not wanting to argue with him now. I quickly brushed my tears away and breathed slowly.

"It is my fault that all of them are dead."

My head snapped to look up to see Brendon staring at the ground with an expressionless face on. I frowned, not liking that he was hiding his feelings from me. "Why do you say that?" I questioned.

"I'm the Alpha and thus, I'm responsible for the safety of the pack and the pack members. I should have posted more guards, I should have had more patrol around the boundaries. If so, I could have prevented the death of Cara, Thomas, and your mother! Thomas has a family. And he's now dead." Guilt seeped into his tone as he avoided my gaze.

I stared at him and reached up to caress his cheek softly. "It's not your fault Brendon. Do you hear me? I'm fine. I just need time to deal with this. We all need time."

Brendon sighed and kissed my cheek before ambling towards the bathroom. I lay in bed and pulled the covers up and waited for Brendon to get into bed with me.

I was almost asleep when I felt the bed dip beside me and arms wrapped around my torso and rested on my belly. I snuggled into Brendon's waiting arms and he pressed a soft and tender kiss on the back of my head.

"I love you Sydney." He whispered and I let out a soft grunt as I fell asleep.

***

I walked towards the graveyard as my guards Owen and Sam trailed behind me. I was glad that they were fine and were not harmed in any way. The dosage of wolfsbane given to them wasn't too high and luckily they just woke up from killer headaches.

Earlier today, I had woken up pretty late due to the emotional day during the mourning ceremony yesterday. Turning to the side of the bed, I had realised that Brendon had already gone to the Alpha King. Most probably to decide the punishments to give.

I entered the cemetery and stopped in front of my mother's grave. Looking at the name printed on the stone, I sighed heavily and placed the bouquet of pink roses on her grave. Pink roses were her favourite and I brushed some stray leaves away.

"Hi, mom. I-" I cut myself off and pressed my lips together. I didn't know what to say without choking up. I touched the cool stone affectionately, hoping it was a way to link my emotions to my mother. But of course, it was wishful thinking.

I simply pressed a kiss on my fingers before touching the stone before moving on to Cara's grave. It was sad. Sad that the cheerful loving girl I knew was now forever silent.

I placed the bouquet of pretty red hibiscus on the ground and stood there in silence. I knew Cara only wanted affection, acceptance, and love from Nora. But my guess was that Nora took advantage of that need from a nineteen-year-old and twisted it.

For that, I hated her. It was even more horrifying that she had killed her own daughter. I could never wrap my head around that. I was going to be a mother and I already knew that there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to help my child.

I had also guessed that the reason why Nora had changed her mind to killing both Brendon and I because I was pregnant, was due to the fact that an heir would weaken her chances of fully getting the whole pack's cooperation.

I gently rubbed my belly and a soft smile crossed my face. While Brendon and I had gotten to the pack medics to check out our wounds, the medic attending to me did clarify that I was indeed pregnant.

I had been filled with utter joy and amazement and I had caught Brendon staring at me with a stunned expression on his face as he looked at me.

Back to the present, the sound of dead leaves crunched behind me and I turned around to see the tall and broad figure of my mate walking towards me. I offered him a small smile as he neared me.

"Hey. How was it?" I questioned and Brendon grunted and pulled me into his arms. "It was fine. Kyle is set to be executed tomorrow at dawn by beheading. On the other hand, Nora and her men are not to be executed."

I frowned and demanded. "What?"

"Apparently, the Alpha King, Andrew has a new scientific programme for biological warfare weaponry and I offered to give Nora and her men as future test subjects," Brendon explained and I blinked.

"Oh. I see." I murmured and Brendon pressed a soft kiss on the top of my head. "How's the baby doing?"

I looked up and grinned, "He's fine. He just wants to know what his name is going to be." A grin cracked onto Brendon's face as he stroked my belly softly. "That can be arranged."

We exchanged smiles before I leaned over to press a kiss on my fingers and then pressing it on Cara's tombstone. Brendon watched with a hint of sadness in his eyes before he followed me and placed a single pink daisy on her grave before turning away.

I laced our fingers together and together we walked back slowly. "I love you." I murmured softly and Brendon raised out intertwined hands and pressed a kiss on my hand.

"I love you too."

***

A/N: Hey! I know another update? Yes. Uh this was a filler to tie up all the loose ends and if I left a part unanswered or a detail missing. Let me know. I hope you guys like this chapter and please vote and comment! Also, three more parts for this book before it ends. One closing chapter, an epilogue and a bonus/extra.

And I would like to say that you guys are amazing because this story hit #5 in Werewolf! Like sheesh you guys are bloody amazing! Like ♡ ♡ ♡! Maybe we can make it to #1? Hehe. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and God Bless! I hope you guys love this so please vote and comment!