In Reach?

Mira’s POV

This morning at breakfast I was kind of annoyed that I didn’t have my table buddy, Katy with me, to keep me distracted from these lingering eyes.

She must still have some things to do at her place. The dining room is full of chatter when suddenly Dimples stands up abruptly. The loud scraping of his chair on the floor brought everyone to silence. Not a few seconds later and a man come running through like he just saw a ghost.

“Alpha! In the woods!” He points outside and Dimples doesn’t even wait a second when he runs outside, like he already knows where to go.

The others follow him immediately. I don’t know what’s going on, but it has me curious. I take a step, but a hand grabs my arm, and I see who it belongs to, -Teddy.

“You should stay here. Alpha asked me to stay with you.” Teddy sound serious, but his soft eyes make me think whatever the situation is, that it must be sad.

We sit there in the kitchen for what feels like hours. That’s when we start hearing people outside again. I look through the window and see them walking out of the forest.

I rush to the open doorway to get a better look at all of them as they come walking out. But I can’t make them all out clearly as Dimples’ large frame in front is blocking some of them.

I hear whispers from people just outside the house, “It’s her. It’s her fault.” I look and they’re staring at me with disgusted looks on their faces.

Me? What did I do?

I see Dimples’ face, and he looks like he’s about to kill me or something. He must have heard what the others said. He must think the same if he looks like that. That’s when Teddy pulls me inside, making way for Dimples to walk through.

He walks in, not even sparing me a second glance and punches a hole in the wall next to him. That’s when the others start walking in one by one. They’re filling the foyer that my small frame can’t see past the tall people anymore. What is going on?

I’m starting to hear whispers as they all remain standing there, like they’re making a circle around something.

“How can this happen?” Liz asks.

“The marks around her neck suggests she must have done it earlier this morning, before sunrise.” That’s Aiden’s voice.

“But why in the middle of the woods? She stays in the western sector, why would she go all the way to the eastern sector of the woods?”

A loud gasp from the staircase gets everyone’s attention. It’s Aubrey. I can see her face as she’s on the stairs, probably on her way down. She looks like she also just saw a ghost, that her hands are trembling.

“Shit!” Noah runs up the stairs, grabs her and drags her back up.

What is going on!

I look at Teddy and with his tall figure he can most likely see what’s going on. But even he looks like he’s about to cry. I start to push through the crowd. I need to see what’s going on.

My breath hitches, as I see a cold body lying on the floor. I know that face, that’s, -Katy. Why is she on the floor?

“Katy?” I try to say, but my voice comes out as a whisper. My hand slowly and tremblingly reaches out to her, hoping she’ll come running if she knows I’m calling her.

“Where were you last night?!” Someone grabs my outstretched arm. It’s Swimfan, -Mason.

I look up confused. “What?”

“You heard me. Where were you last night!?” He shouts, I’m sure one of my ear drums probably popped.

“I was here. Everyone here should know that. You always have someone keeping an eye on me.” How can he think I would do this to her? Who would do this to her though?

“You know she was here Mason.” Teddy speaks from behind me.

“Besides, it’s suicide. She hung herself.” Aiden stands up from her body. I can see the dark purple marks around her neck. It makes me feel like I’m the one who can’t breathe.

“But this doesn’t make sense. She’s not the type to do something like this.” I agree with Mason on this one. He turns to me again, “Two days, barely two days with you, and she winds up dead!”

I look at him even more confused.

“Enough!” Dimples gets everyone’s attention. He takes a deep breath. “Theo, I’m going to have to put you in charge of her” He points to me. “Liz, get a report from the patrols from last night on the southern border. Mason, find out about Katy’s whereabouts from last night and who saw her last. Aiden, prepare her body to be incinerated.”

They all just nod and get moving. What just happened?

I stand there still lost and finding it difficult to adjust. But I’m pulled from my thoughts when I see Aiden picking up her body. He’s walking out the front door.

“Wait!” I rush after him. He stops and looks at me. “Where are you taking her body?”

“I’m taking it to the incinerator.” He looks sad but says it so flatly.

“You’re not going to give her a funeral?” I don’t know if they, wolves, do that sort of thing. But don’t they have like a ritual or something for stuff like this? I remember reading something about it.

He huffs. “She doesn’t have any blood family here, and quite frankly, we don’t condone death by suicide. It’s an insult to our kind. No one will be willing to send her off properly.”

“I will.” I say almost immediately. “Let me. Please she deserves as much. Please”

“You have no role in this.” I hear his voice behind me. “Why would you offer something like this, especially when people here blame you for her death?”

“I’m not bothered by what others think of me, and besides, this isn’t about me. It’s about her.” I look at him pleadingly.

He’s quiet for a while, as if thinking about it.

“Okay, Aiden, help her. Theo, stay with her.” They both just nod.

Dimples walk up the stairs, probably back to his office. Both Aiden and Theo are looking at me expectantly. Crap! I didn’t think this far.

I remember the books mentioned something about wolves sending their dead off by burning them in the woods. That the wind then carries their ashes to their next life. Something like that. And Katy did say she wanted to become a woods-spirit. I guess I’m going to have to improvise. Where can I bury a body in the woods, without the whole forest taking flames? The ruins! The ruins in the southern sector. I remember when Katy took me there to have a look around.

They’re both still looking at me. “Aiden, take her body into the woods. Take her to the ruins in the southern sector.” He looks questioningly, but gives a brief nod and is on his way.

I turn around and Theo looks at me. “I just have to get a few things.” I say to him. I will need a few things. I’ll need oil to help put the body on fire, which means I need some matches as well. I’ll need something to wrap her body in, like a huge piece of cloth. I need flowers, to cover the stench of death. And a knife to call on the ’spirits’.

Hey, the rituals in that book may be just a bunch of hocus pocus, but the symbolism behind this is far deeper. This is what she wanted, and this is what I’ll give to her. Besides, the book did say this is how wolves have their funerals.

I don’t know where to find all these things though. Maybe Theo can help. “Theo, do you maybe know where I can get some matches and perhaps some old bed sheets?” He just nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

I head to the kitchen to get the oil and the knife. I’ll pick the flowers on our way through the forest.

I wait for him in the foyer. He didn’t take long though. We’re already on our way into the woods.

It took us a while to reach Aiden at the ruins. But it means I also got a huge bunch of flowers for the ’ceremony’. Aiden just gives me a questioning look.

“Please put her body on the slab.” I point to the large stone sticking out the tallest from whatever was built underground here.

He puts her down and backs away, as I stand next to her, still not believing that she’s dead. They’re both staring at me like they’re curious as to what I’m going to do. They’re probably wondering if I know how to do this properly. But I can’t dwell on that right now. She needs my focus.

It’s almost midday and I have till sundown to prepare for this. “Are you both just going to stand there and stare? This is going to take a while you know.”

“Well I can’t leave your side.” Theo says shrugging his shoulders.

“And I am actually interested to see what you’re going to do with all that.” He points at all the stuff in front of me. “Not to mention, I have to report back to the Alpha about what you did with the body. You know, I have to make sure you’re disposing of it properly.”

“Well I’m going to be setting up for a while, one of you should probably get some snacks then.”

“We’ll wait it out.” Aiden says confidently. I just think he’s too curious.

So, I start. I start by oiling her body, all they way from head to toe. I make sure that every strand of her dirty-blonde hair is soaked in oil. I make sure to handle her with care, telling myself that I’m preparing her for her next life, as a wood-spirit. I make sure every finger and toe is covered, even her back that she is lying on. She’s wearing a simple tank top and some jean shorts, so it’s easier to oil her.

I then use the knife to help cut and rip the bed sheets into strips. I use the strips to wrap around her body. The oil is helping to keep it in place. I make sure that every piece of her body is covered. It looks like a king-sized bedsheet and she’s quite small, so there is enough to cover her body.

I then start with the flowers. I arrange them around her body neatly, creating a barrier around her body on the slab.

I’m so entranced with what I’m doing, I forgot the other two were there. They both are looking at me like they’re equally entranced with what I’m doing.

I’m done prepping her and I sit down on the ground beside the slab, looking up at the sky. It looks like it’s some time in the afternoon. Damn, I was really focused, I didn’t even notice time passing by.

“What now?” Aiden looks like a kid in class.

“We wait. I have to wait till the sun sets.”

“That long?” I’m really starting to wonder about Aiden’s age.

“I told you to go get snacks or something.”

“Aiden, just hold out, the sun will set in a couple of hours.” Theo really is like a teddy, a big mediator.

After a while I think the silence got to them because they started chatting away. I just sat there and started humming tunes with the wind blowing through the forest.

I know that if I want to make this funeral proper, I will have to get into the gist of things. I will have to believe in what it is I’m doing. This isn’t a joke. I started this whole ‘wolf funeral ritual’ thing, which I know I have no experience in, but I should be sure to finish it.

I know I would have preferred to do this without an audience, but I can’t back out now. I’m doing this for you Katy. I will let your ashes be carried by the wind of the forest, as I ask their spirits to guide you. The moon goddess with have her daughter back.

The moon goddess, or as the books called her, -Selene. The goddess that gifted her children with their wolf-spirit, and looks after them in times of trouble. She’s the one who gifts them with their mate.

You know, thinking back on it now, on the night of my accident, I think I remember seeing a woman. She was beautiful, I can’t quite recall her face, it was too bright, but I remember thinking that she was so beautiful. She was there! Selene was there that night, that night everything went all weird. But why then?

A cold breeze drags me from my thoughts and I notice it’s getting dark. The other two are still chatting, but sitting on the ground leaning against trees while facing each other.

I get up, and they seem to notice my movement as they look my way.

“Is it time now?” Aiden’s once curious voice is filled with boredom now.

I just nod.

Here goes nothing.

I take off my shoes and throw them in their direction close to their feet. I feel like I need to be in tune with nature to do this, and being barefoot seems to make me more comfortable.

I use the remaining oil to soak it into the cloth strips on her body.

I hear footsteps and I already know who it is. I see Dimples making his way next to the guys, and he’s not alone. An older looking woman is walking beside him. Oh great! Now my audience just doubled.

I take a deep breath and strangely enough, looking at Dimples helps me to calm down. That is strange, because I was expecting his presence to make me nervous, as it always does.

It’s getting darker, and the only light out is the moon. Perfect. I lean down and whisper to the side of where Katy’s ear should be, hoping the others won’t hear me, “Selene is here, she is waiting for you. Now go and be a woods-spirit”. I whisper so softly that I don’t want to even hear my own voice.

I rise, I take the knife which was resting next to her body. I look straight ahead of me. Luckily everyone is standing to my right.

“I call on you, the spirits of the woods, the spirits of the wolves. I bring to you one of your own.” I pause taking a deep breath, to help calm my nerves. But then a big gust of wind blows our way, I can see the dead leaves on the ground rising in small swirls. “With the heart of a warrior, she offers herself to you, I offer her to you.” As I say this, I raise my hand and hold the knife against it. I know this is going to hurt, but I need to do this. I make a quick cut and let the blood drip on her middle. “The daughter of Selene awaits your guidance.” I place my bloodied hand on her forehead an let the cloth soak up the blood. The wind picks up again, and it almost seems like it’s blowing around me and Katy. I don’t feel the wind, but I can see the swirls of leaves flowing around us. I put the knife down, raise my bloodied hand and take the matches. “May her spirit be free, free to protect those who aren’t free.” With that I light the match and drop it on her. Her body instantly catches aflame, and I step back to watch. “You will be missed, Katy.” I say in finality but more to myself, as I picture the wind carrying her soul away.

I stand there for a while until the size of the fire dies down a bit. I turn and walk away, and I see the others looking bewildered at the scene behind me.

I just stand there not knowing what to do. Dimples looks like his face can’t decide what emotion to display, and frankly, I’m worried he’s going to settle for angry. I doubt he’s going to smile.

He slightly turns his head as if wanting to say something over his shoulder, but he doesn’t. Instead his eyes glaze over, and everybody else just walk away, even the woman.

I stand there and he just looks at me. He walks up to me and stops right in front of me. He holds both my arms, and leans down, his forehead almost touching mine. “Who are you?”

“What do you mean?”

His grip tightens a bit. “Don’t lie to me, please. Please.”

His eyes look……..desperate. I want to hug him. But I don’t know what he wants though.

“You say you don’t know of anything here, that you didn’t know about wolves. But how, how can you know about the ‘old ways’?” His eyes are closed, like he doesn’t want to see me, but he holds my arms like he doesn’t want to let go.

What can I say, that I read about all this in some so-called magic books? If I say anything related to magic, they’ll most likely put me to death. ‘Punishment for witchcraft is death’. That’s what Noah said. I know it’s probably hypocritical for them to have those very same books in their library, but what if they just had it for research purposes.

I don’t know what to say. So I try to take a step back.

He opens his eyes and looks angry. “What is it that you are keeping from me?”

I want to say ’nothing’, but the words don’t want to come from my mouth. I don’t want to lie to him.

But I don’t want him to hurt me. What if he gets angry again? There is only one way out of this, - the truth. I don’t need to give him the specifics of it though, right?