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2. Forty- one

Author: Shanika Rana
last update Last Updated: 2025-01-24 03:45:12

~ Harper’s POV ~

It has been two days since the attack and these two days have been a living hell for me. Seven more gravely wounded pack members succumbed to their injuries in these last few days, which totaled the death count to 40. I had no idea if there would be more because many of the wounded were still teetering on the edge and fighting for life.

40 lives were taken and I had to supervise the organization of 40 funerals. Trust me, it isn't fun!

There has always been a set of protocols for a mass funeral in the packs. All the members don't get buried; all the dead don't get treated the same way. Like they were different while they were alive, they are treated differently when they are dead.

The infants below the age of one year are completely burnt on a funeral pyre. This is done to make them be one with nature again. Fire easily disintegrates their small bodies and the elements are quickly mixed with the environment, mixed in the cycle of nature.

All the wolves ranging from year one to eighteen years old, are buried in the earth. It has been a way to thank nature for the gift of children, however short time they spent with us.

All the adult wolves are burnt on funeral ashes but as they are mature, their bodies big and complex, their ashes remain which are then treated based on their gender. The female ashes are flown into the nearest river, praising the fluid and changeable mature of the female kind, while the male ashes are buried, praising their hard headed-ness and solidity. 

When a mated couple dies together, their bodies are burnt and their ashes deposited in the roots of an old tree, respecting the fact that even though they are dead they are still contributing to the betterment of mature.

These different forms of final rites are done one by one, starting from the smallest age groups.

I was thankful to the gods that no infant's death befell me. I didn't think after all I had been through in the last few days, that I was up for the funeral of a small child. 

There were children though, including teenagers like myself. Eight in number. Eight young lives were extinguished way too early because they couldn't reach the safe house in time and were caught in the cross fire. It was hard on me because as the alpha, I had to attend to everyone and listen to the heart-wrenching cries of the parents and their loved ones.

After that came the funerals of adult females, some of which were un-mated while some were mates and had left behind a family. Fourteen females lost their lives and their ashes would be taken two days later by their Luna, my mom.

Sixteen males lost their lives and their ashes would be taken two days later into the deep woods, where they will be respectfully buried.

At last, was a mated couple who left behind, two children aged four and six, too little to understand where their parents had gone and why they hadn't returned yet. The children would be taken under my wing and live in the pack house orphaned as they were. Their ashes would also be taken by me, to be deposited in the roots of a forty-year-old tree deep in the woods.

In the past two days, I had attended forty funerals and I had to act like they didn't affect me because I couldn't afford to show weakness to my fellow pack members, especially when their loved ones were dead and they were looking to me for support and hope.

In addition to that, in the little time I found between the funerals, I was running back and forth from the hospital. There still hadn't been any new news on dad, which wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't necessarily good either. Mom had chosen to stay with him, in the ICU ward with Katelyn. She also helped look after the wounded wolves wherever and whenever she could.

Aiden and Samantha had helped by strengthening the border patrol and checking the cost of the damages. They worked efficiently which let me take a breather once in a while.

I had probably slept four hours in the last sixty hours and I was beyond exhausted. My body felt like Jello and I doubted if my legs could support me anymore. My wolf was beyond tired because he had been supplying me extra energy to do the needful.

I was just walking out of the hospital after visiting one of the stable warriors of the pack when Aiden's car suddenly stopped at the entrance. He got out of the driver's side, opened the back door, and lifted a body into his arms.

He looked panicked and because my body was slow and lethargic I didn't notice that the body was shrieking in pain and blood was dripping down the legs of what appeared to be a female.

My face paled as a dark thought came to my mind. Was it Samantha that Aiden was carrying? Did she encounter a rouge while she was doing rounds at patrolling?

My feet took me in front of Aiden and his face somewhat relaxed when his eyes met mine. I wasn't going to leave now, not when my friend needed me.

"What happened?" I inquired, giving him time to get to the entrance of the hospital.

As he got closer to me, I noticed that the girl in his arms wasn't Samantha, it was Natalie. If I had been alerting, I could have easily recognized her petite body.

Why was she dripping blood? I grew terrified of the realization. All that blood. Was she having a miscarriage? Not being able to think anything more, I took Natalie form Aiden's arms and took her in mine. She moaned in pain when her body shifted and I looked down at her quivering form. 

I didn't know what to think so I didn't. I was way too tired to analyze the situation and think about the repercussions. I just let my muscle memory take control and asked for a doctor immediately. My alpha voice for everyone's attention.

The next thing I knew Natalie was taken from my arms and the fate of my unborn child with it. They told me they were going to do a few tests and do their best to stop the bleeding and save the child.

I blinked rapidly, forcing myself to not pass out and hear what they were saying. But everything blurred and their voices seemed so far away from me.

I somehow made my way to the waiting room for the third time this week, the fate of someone close to me, hanging in the balance. How did this even happen? Couldn't I catch a fucking break?

"She was with me and Sam when she suddenly hunched over and started bleeding." Aiden's voice sounded like background noise, but my brain did register him sitting beside me on the hard plastic chairs of the waiting rooms.

I checked the time on my wrist watch to check it was 4 in the morning. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the back of the very uncomfortable chair. I took a deep breath, waiting for some good news to greet me. I desperately needed it.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the soft sunlight streaming in through the window. I moved my neck and groaned because it was very stiff. 

I ran a hand down my face and checked the time on my wrist watch. 6 a.m. I was still tired and my movements were sloppy. I didn't feel energized, I felt like shit. I desperately needed to lie in a bed otherwise I would crash.

Two hours. I had slept for two hours. It will have to do for now. Aiden wasn't sitting beside me anymore and I moved my shoulders to relieve myself from the stiffness.

What happened to Natalie? Was she still in surgery? What happened to the baby? Why didn't anyone inform me? Questions swirled inside my head and I got up from the crappy plastic chair to go to the nurse's desk.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing and I absently took it out of my jeans pocket. I sat back down on the chair after reading the name of the person who was calling me.

Zara.

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