75

Valen POv.

I sat alongside my father's dead body, stunned at how he died so suddenly. There was no mention of any kind of discomfort or disease. My mother passed away several years ago. My father has been both a mother and a father in my life. Death has now snatched him from me.

I am alone in this world. Just yesterday, my father and I were discussing how tomorrow's pack patrol would be. We were both excited, and he even promised he would come out despite his age. My father is 61 years old, and up until now he was still working at one of the hotels up north. He refused to retire, no matter how hard I tried to convince him. He was playful and always happy.

"What is it? I am hearing that your father, whom I was just with two days ago, is dead. Just like that?" One of our elders asked a question and gave a grimace with flattened lips. He used to be my father's close friend. I remember how he helped my father pay my fees many years ago when my father's business went bankrupt.

"His death i