My Match (Watty Awards 2013)

Chapter 38 - Part 1

Please read the A/N at the end ^-^

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 38

The bright, sunny weather didn't match anyone's mood at all.

Max's arm was draped over my shoulder as we stood in silence. The grieving faces of various pack members made me want to cry, but I vowed to stay strong.

But it was so hard.

I sniffled. Jayden's body had been so mutilated, so destroyed, that his own little brother wasn't allowed to see him for fear of trauma. In werewolf funerals, and apparently, in a lot of other supernatural cases, dead bodies were cremated. The practice had begun as a way to prevent necromancers from raising them again, but then it took on a much nicer meaning. 

Max had told me, "Werewolves kind of live off the land, so when we die, we're cremated so that our ashes can go back to the land and re-fertilize it. That's kind of our way of repayment."

Mrs. Hollows was holding a small leather pouch containing the ashes. With shaky fingers, she untied the drawstrings and the breeze carried the ash away, blowing it into the forest.

It was done.

"Hanna, I'm sorry," Max kissed my cheek. 

I clutched his arm tighter, as if I were afraid that he'd run away the first chance he got. I wouldn't blame him. "I'll never forgive myself," I choked out. What if next time, he goes after someone even closer to me than Jayden was? What if he goes after Kassia, or even Acacia?

"Oh, Hanna, you couldn't have predicted this." He crushed me to his chest. The wind was knocked out of me, but...it felt nice. "If anything, you can blame it on me. I was the one who said that there was a bigger chance of it being an empty threat a-"

"No," I cut him off. "I'm not using you as my scapegoat. It's my fault."

He let go of me, and my body craved the contact instantly. "Stop it. It's not. It's Sebastian's fault. He's the messed up one in this whole mess, so don't go blaming yourself." After a little while, he asked, "Would you mind if I told the pack what you told me that night?"

My eyes widened in alarm. "Yes! No, don't tell them!" I pleaded. "I told you, and one person got killed. What if I'm the cause of a massacre or something because the whole pack knows?"

Max sighed. "Fair enough. Alright, we'll keep it between us for now, okay?" His jaw tensed. "I still don't know how Sebastian found out though."

We started the walk back to the house after noticing that the clearing was basically empty now. A cloud of thick, heavy tension was hanging over us. 

I spent the entire day just moping on the couch and cuddling with Max. I hadn't seen Kassia, William, Acacia, or anyone really after the funeral. 

The funeral that wouldn't have happened if not for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, Hanna. We're going. I've already got the tickets for it," Max grinned at me.

I stared at the flyer in my hand. "The Christmas Ball?" It had been a little while since Jayden's death, but I was still trying to get over it. Maybe this dance would help?

His voice dropped to a whisper, "You need a distraction. And this is it!"

I gave in and a half-smile graced my lips. "Sounds like fun," I replied honestly. And maybe it would be. "How'd you know I was going to say yes?"

"I bought the tickets just in case. I was praying for it," he laughed. "You'll never guess what I convinced William to do."

I felt a grin starting to come on. "I have a very faint idea. Enlighten me."