The Arrangement |1|

Chapter Twenty-Five

A/N

Wow. This is officially my longest chapter. It is exactly 3200 words long. Which is about over a thousand more words than normal. My chapters are usually around 2000 words. Hope you enjoy.

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   The following two weeks were hard. Madeline took time out of her day to visit every family of the deceased. There were a few that had killed themselves, for it was their mate that had died and they had no children to stay for. The others were in mourning. She cried with them more than anything else. She didn't know everyone in her Pack. She had only been there for a couple months. She didn't really know everyone, as much as she had wished. But that didn't mean it was any less heartbreaking.

   The funeral was even worse. All Pack members that weren't on duty were required to attend. Madeline had managed to hold in the tears until they got to the children. Each one that was lowered into the ground, she had helped take care of at the day care. Little Lindsey, the shy, sweet girl who always hid in the corner. Aaron, who loved to run around with pointy objects. Landon, one of the children who loved to tackle her. Charlie, the little girl who loved to paint. Braxton, the boy who loved to play.

   Madeline sobbed. She couldn't stop it. She didn't try. And Emerson didn't scold her for it. He just held her and rubbed her back. After the funeral, she made her way to Casey, who had lost her older brother. They went to her parents' house and cried together. Emerson came and collected her as the sun began to set.

   He took her back to their Wing. It was salvageable for the most part. Their bedroom was unaffected, though his office and a couple of the other bedrooms had some damage to it. the living room was the worse, it had a big gaping hole. The bombs had taken out their tv, their coffee table, and part of their couch. Most of the carpet was scorched. Their kitchen had received some damage, just part of the wall was missing along with the stove and oven.

   Everything that had been damaged had been cleared out and there was covering over the holes in the walls. Emerson had assured her that he would get everything replaced and the holes fixed while they were gone.

   Gone. They were leaving tomorrow to head to the Alpha meeting. It was to be held in Alpha Zachary's territory. Out of all the Alphas, he was the most neutral. He rarely took sides in an issue.

   The clock by the bed read two a.m. but neither Madeline nor Emerson were asleep. They just lay together, their naked bodies pressed up against each other. He ran his fingers through her hair and she traced his chest.

   "Are you okay?" His gruff voice broke the silence.

   She tilted her head up at him. "No. I just need time. We all need it."

   He nodded and brushed a stray hair out of her face. He kissed her forehead. "You'll have as much as you need. As long as you promise to try. I won't let you wallow in pity."

   "I won't. It's just hard, you know, loosing so many people. But I'll be okay, in time. Though I'm sure the Alpha meeting will take make focus elsewhere."

   "That, or give you a headache with everyone screaming at each other."

   Madeline rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you say."

   "You're right. It's worse. The last time we met, we were barely able to form a battle plan for the last war."

   "I guess I'll be finding out for myself soon," she sighed and snuggled into his warmth. His arms tightened around her and her eyes closed.

   "Get some rest. Today has taken a lot out of you."

   "And you," she mumbled, "You should sleep too."'