Wayward Wolf - Completed

Epilogue

 

Epilogue

 The next night, after we cleaned everything up from the battle, we made arrangements for Hank's burial beside Mary and Jess' graves beside the Native's land. Dressed in all black, we all made our way out to the procession. Mason's hand in mine, we walked alongside the casket until the set it down on top of a platform. 

It was a beautiful night. Too beautiful under the circumstances. The whole pack was in wolf form. Mason explained to me that it was customary that only the immediate family remain in human form. Naturally, that meant Duke, Holt, Flynn, Austin, Mason and I remained standing and in front. All of them in suits, slightly watery eyed, but not sorrowful. No, we weren't distraught with grief. We were sad, but we were content as well. 

Qillaq, being one of Hank's good friends, was in charge of the funeral procession.

"Tonight," he started, "we are gathered to celebrate the life of one Henry Reid." 

I gripped Mason's arm tighter and leaned into him slightly. He kissed the top of my head. 

"A loving father, friend, and an honorable warrior. He gave his life for the good of his pack, and for love of his son. I have known Hank for a very long time, and in all my years, I have not known a man more likely to compare to the character of a hero. He lived his life with hope and love, and always saw the good and best in everything despite his troubles." He sighed and placed a white rose on the casket, the same type that was in each of our hands. "It was an honor to know you Henry. You will be missed by all and forgotten by none. May your spirit be content and rejoice alongside your family once again. Goodbye...old friend."

A tear drained down my face but I smiled up at Mason. He too held a warm smile. I let go of his hand and walked up to the casket, dropping the rose down on top. "I'll be seeing you, old friend," I whispered. Then I walked off to the side.

One by one, the others said their goodbyes and dropped their roses. Then they joined me by the side and when Mason gave them the nod, the whole pack of wolves let off a musical howl. More than a hundred wolves' howl pierced the warm night so strongly that I could have sworn the moon howled itself in response. 

"How do you feel?" I looked up at Mason.

He smiled down at me warmly, taking me in his arms and hugging me softly. "I feel...content."

I nodded and squeezed him tight.

"Hey," Flynn said softly and Mason released me to look up to all the others. "What do you say we go have a drink?"

Mason and I smiled. "I think that would be the perfect tribute," Mason replied.

We made our way to Moonshine. Gerald was long gone, as if he was never there. I told Mason what happened with him and he understood. He was proud of me and he thought Hank would be too. I agreed. I suppose Hank was on my shoulder after all.

I poured everyone a drink and we all sat down on a round table, our old table, and sipped away at our whiskey - Hank's favorite. 

"So...what do we do now?" Holt said.

"Ya, there's no more wars to fight," Duke replied.

"Well, there's always that hair that you refuse to cut," Holt teased him and messed up his hair.

Duke raised his eyebrows. "Do you want the whistle back or not?"

Holt shut up then and we all laughed.

"Seriously, though. What is there to do?" Flynn said.

"Ya, our lives are going to get a whole lot more boring," Austin said.