Revolting
Chapter 85 -

William Our little pack has never lost a member before. When we were designing our pack grounds, we completely ignored the necessity of designating a location as a burial ground. We were all so young and naïve, we faced our future as though we were immortal creatures who would always be young, strong and beautiful. Losing Gabe brought us all back to the stark reality that we are all going to die someday.

But man, it was too soon for Gabe. Twenty-six years old, in the prime of his life, with his beautiful wife, and so many plans for his future. With his degree in architectural design, he had helped draft all the plans for the remodel on our farm house. He was going to lead the team in all the construction projects on our land. I ran a hand through my hair and groaned. I was going to ask him to help me make a small house for Heath and Hannah. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I would never be able to talk to my friend again. There would be no more late-night sentry duty together, no more sparring, no more pizza-and-beer parties.

As hard as it was for me, it was a thousand times worse for Daisy.

Daisy, our ever happy, always smiling ray of sunshine, had fallen into an almost catatonic state. She wouldn't eat. She only took sips of liquid if Nina held the cup up to her lips. Her beautiful blue eyes had gone hallow, with deep shadows beneath them. Nina had to dress her like a child, and then sit her in a chair. Daisy would sit wherever you left her, her posture slumped, her eyes staring, her hands limp in her lap. It was bad, really bad.

It got worse when it came time to bury him. We had hurriedly made him a simple casket. When we lifted his body and laid it gently inside the rectangular box, it felt like someone was driving nails into my heart. I didn't think it was a good idea for Daisy to see him like this, but Nina brought her. "She needs to see," Nina had whispered raggedly. "She needs the closure." Nina led Daisy in, and sat her in a chair in front of the casket, which was set up on a sturdy coffee table. Daisy sat a long time, staring at the body, her face flat and without emotion. Then she stood, her legs shaking, and walked to the box. Tears flowed down her face like a river, dripping off her chin as she reached in and straightened his collar, smoothed out the lapel of his suit jacket. Then she leaned over and kissed him, kissing his dead cold lips. We all turned away, wanting to give her this private moment, but looking away was a mistake. Because when we turned back, we found that Daisy had climbed into the box with the body, and was laying with her husband, her cheek resting on his chest, her hands clinging to his shoulders.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

Nina choked on a sob and covered her mouth. "Just... let her be for a while."

We left her like that, laying in the coffin with her husband for a long hour, and then with a great deal of difficulty, Shane and I pulled her back out. She clung to him, trying to hold on with all her strength. "No! Leave me!" She cried, breaking her silence. "Bury me with him!"

Shane shuddered and we passed Daisy back into Nina's arms. Daisy fought against Nina's embrace, trying to get back to the casket, but Nina held her tightly, until Daisy collapsed against her, weeping, her hands fisted in Nina's shirt. When her tears ran dry, she withdrew inside herself again. Nina dressed her for the funeral in a navy-blue dress, one that Gabe had bought for her only a few months ago, saying it made her eyes sparkle like sapphires. Her blond curls were tamed back with combs, and one of the kids brought her a bouquet of wild-flowers which she held in her limp hands.

Out in the field, some of the men had dug the hole, the first ever grave in our burial ground. We carefully lowered the box into the ground with ropes, while Nina kept a watchful eye over Daisy to make sure she didn't try to fling herself into the hole with Gabe. Shane stood up, wearing his suit and his tie, looking somber and sad as he tried to speak words of comfort to Daisy, and to our pack family. But what are words? What comfort can they bring? Nothing could sooth the raw ache we all collectively felt. Having finished, the Alpha rolled up his sleeves, and took a shovel, and personally began the work of back filling the hole. I left Heath's side and joined him, doing this last service for my oldest friend. Others joined us. There weren't enough tools, so they used even their bare hands to push the soil back into the hole.

This was Rebel Moon, a pack of misfits that had found belonging and home with each other.

When the task was completed, I found Heath. He was looking worried and distracted.

"What's wrong?" I asked, snaking my arm around his waist.

"Have you seen Hannah?"

I wiped my sleeve over sweaty forehead, my eyes scanning the dispersing crowd as people wandered back toward the farm house. I shook my head. "Not since this morning," I said. I rubbed his back. "I'm sure she's around." He nodded absently, but the worried look didn't leave his chocolate brown eyes. "Come on," I tugged at him, "Let's get a shower, and then I will help you look for her."

My heart was heavy and I was distracted. I paused by Daisy and Gabe's room to see Nina helping Daisy into bed. Daisy whimpered and hugged the pillow, burying her nose in it so that she could get Gabe's scent. I gulped and reached for Heath, needing to reassure myself with his solid body. I stripped off my clothes which were stained with sweat from the funeral, and stepped under the shower in my old claw-foot tub, pulling the curtain closed around me. Heath followed me into the bathroom, and sat on the closed lid of the toilet, his elbows and forearms resting on his knees as he waited for me. Once I toweled off and dressed in some shorts and a fresh t-shirt, we went in search of Hannah. I poked my head back in Daisy's room. Nina was staying with Daisy, and had pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Have you seen Hannah?" I asked her. She gave a tired, negative shake of her head. Since Hannah usually hung out with Daisy, I wasn't sure where else to look for her. We checked through the common areas of the house, the gardens, and even went down to check the old barn. I felt Heath's anxiety growing with each passing minute. When she did not make an appearance at dinner, Heath pushed away from the table and headed for the back door. I gave the table an apologetic look and followed after him. I caught up to him at the tree-line, where he stopped to strip off his clothes before shifting. I joined him in wolf form and shifted as well. He was trailing around the edge of the trees, his nose to the ground, looking for a scent. When he found it, he gave a small whine and took off into the trees. It was easy to recognize the direction he was following, there was practically a well-worn path by now that lead from the pack house back to the little camp in the woods where they had stayed for so long. I half expected that we would replace her there, with a fire blazing, a pan of food sizzling over the coals, her tiny form squatting there with spatula in hand. But the camp was dark and still. Everything was exactly as we left it. The little pine bough lean-to was sagging, and the cracked and broken dishes were lined up neatly on the flat rock. There was no sign of Hannah, but her scent lingered. Heath yelped and shifted back into his human form. He squatted on his haunches and picked up some stems which had been recently stripped of leaves and discarded.

I returned to my human form and kneeled beside him. "What is it?" I asked, looking at the remains of unknown plants scattered around the spot. He squeezed his eyes closed and crushed the stem in his hand. "She's not here." "What? Are you sure?" I had smelled her scent on the trail in the wood, and it had led straight to the camp, and no further. I scanned the dark woods around the camp, still searching for her small body.

He opened his palm and showed me the crumpled bit of stem. "She's masked her scent," he said, his voice tight and pained. "She knows how to mix herbs to cover her scent, so she can't be tracked." "But... "I looked around the camp, starting to feel his panic as my own. "Why would she cover her scent?"

"So that I can't replace her." He swallowed and swore, throwing the stem down. "She's gone."