CHAPTER FOUR

There was an absolute silence, something deeper than what he had ever felt. Mark couldn't tell if it was just within him or if the environment had also adapted to the emptiness that he felt within.

The movement of the winds had caused his ears to tingle, and the smooth feel of his skin had sent impulses down his body, causing the loneliness within him to increase.

There and then he remembered her, the main essence of his existence. He remembered the moments when she would shiver and quiver at the sense of the cold winds.

He remembered her smile anytime he would walk up to her and wrap his hands around her. He remembered the way he cuddled her like a stuffed toy and make her feel warm with an ordinary clothing material could never offer.

“This is a lot better!” Her words echoed in his ears, and it seemed as though he had transitioned to the past, where he could watch the moment between them both.

“You enjoy this?” He asked as he buried his face down her neck and kissed it playfully, causing a sweet-sounding chuckle to elude her mouth.

They sat under the beautiful sky, which happened to mostly be her favorite part of the day. She was an indefatigable lover of the bright sky, that which had the stars sitting and illuminating the sky alongside the moon.

“Hey, look at that part!” She tapped his thighs out of excitement as she pointed towards a far region of the sky.

“Wow! That one is shaped like a knight!” She exclaimed her face beaming with a smile which caused her face to become even more beautiful as the night sky

While she sat, she could feel nothing but the warmth of his embrace, and with her nose picking up the sweet scent oozing from his body, her eyes never departed from the stars which had aligned themselves like the knight she claimed to have noticed.

He sat behind her, watching as she pointed at the sky, lost in thoughts he couldn't describe, and all through that period, his eyes never departed her bright face, and he was also beaming with a smile that was fuelled by hers. 

“I bet they aren't as powerful as I am!” He replied with a low-toned voice, giggling slightly as he placed his hands on some strands of her hair and ticked them behind her ears.

His smile became brighter at the very instance when she paused for a second and a slight chuckle escaped her lips. His words had pierced through her heart, and there didn't seem to be the best reply to what he had uttered into her ears.

“You think so?” She asked with a smile on her face, trying to view his face with the corners of her eyes.

“I don't think so.” He started, “I know so!” He claimed with slight laughter before he stared into the sky, into the region where she had called his attention towards.

And she was right. The stars had found a linkage that had caused its new shape to look like a man with a sword, though the height would have made him unfit for the task ahead.

“I don't doubt it!” She shrugged her shoulders before she stared at the stars again. She sat in the comfort of his embrace, and his grip on her was firm and soft at the same time, which caused her to enjoy every second which passed.

I mean, you've always been protecting us, Mila inclusive.” She said again. Mila was just a decade old at that point, still naive and inquisitive about what the future would hold for her. Yet, her little self still had a way of stirring joy into both their hearts.

“I will keep on doing it! I won't let anything happen to both you and Mila!" He assured as he lowers his lips and landed a soft kiss n her cheeks, which felt cold the moment his lips had departed her gentle skin.

“I won't let anything happen to both you and Mila!” The words echoed in his ears loudly yet gently. His eyes were opened, with liquid running down his masculine cheeks, and there he realized, he was holding Ashley in the exact position he did a decade ago.

How the time had passed. Her favorite position he held her in, yet there happened to be no response or gestures from the other party. Truly she was gone, none of which had happened was a trance or a vision capable of being changed.

She would usually let her smooth hand touch his masculine, and her smile acted like a relief to him, a remedy to what he felt within him. 

This time, it was cold. The winds had an effect on him this time, and the sky was void of stars, and the only illumination was from the full moon.

He believed the moon goddess watched every single moment of that evening, evident in the way the moon shone so brightly on them both. Left for him alone, he would have caused the light to fade off and the darkness to envelop them both.

This was a moment that he never thought would come. He expected something better. A fragment of his imagination had shown him a peaceful death, one which was still having love blooming and oozing out of them both.

Did he fail? His spoken words from a decade ago still kept on echoing in his ears, like he had uttered them seconds or minutes before his mate had been taken away from him.

Tears rolled down his eyes as his hot skin wrapped her cold skin tightly, his tears falling on her skin as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

His mate, the thoughts of her alone was something which had caused him to smile and leap for joy inwardly, yet this time around, the thoughts of her were the opposite of what he felt.

"I'm so sorry, Ashley!” He whimpered as he sniffled hardly. His eyes were beyond wet, and his hands were shaky. His skin was filled and beaded with sweat drops, which surprisingly weren't drying up even with the strength of the wind.

Each second passed with the constant thought of placing the blame on himself. He wasn't fast enough, he wasn't strong enough. 

He believed he could have done better. Being a powerful warrior of the Silver moon pack came with obligations and the belief that family security was first, but running away just like Mila suggested was never an option.

“Mila!" He whispered out of his thoughts, having his eyes search for her in an environment in which the silence was graver than what he had ever witnessed.

She was the hope for a better future. It was safe to say she was the main reason for his existence. He was on the verge of joining the one who meant all things to him in the world beyond, yet he considered what Ashley would say and how Mila would feel 

“Mila!” He whispered again, sniffling hard as he took in a heavy breath, searching for her with his eyes. She needed to be close by. He needed her safe around him. Losing another loved one would cause him to finally bend to the thoughts of suicide. 

Where was she? He remembered what she sounded like just before he was left alone in the silence. Her continuous hoping against hope was something surprising, yet it was worth studying.

Then he sat with Ashley in his arms to evaluate the possibilities in her words, the reality of her statement. Possibly, there could be a way to hunt down this beast, yet how long wouldn't take to study the ethics of its domination and movement?

He picked himself up from the ground, laying Ashley on the ground as he walked around, bending downwards, picking up broken tree branches and twigs.

Each werewolf pack had its own beliefs and principles. One which remained for the silver moon pack for years was the principles of cremation. 

They never believed in the burying of their dead, they thought of burning their bodies to avoid the cases of having a rebirth which could cause something drastic in the pack. There might have been someone out there who had thoughts of the phantom being a product of an unholy resurrection.

He gathered enough, and with consistency, he began building a thick bed for his dead mate. And with each tree branch he placed above the other, he constantly shook his head with the belief that all things which occurred were a product of his imagination, yet to become a reality.

His skin roughly moved against a twig, which caused it to tear open, and from there did blood flow. There he knew he wasn't imagining. His mind had blocked the aches and the pain which he got from the ferocious battle with the phantom, and at that moment, he felt them all return to his body.

It wasn't imagination, after all, his mate was truly gone. Even in her death, the thoughts of her were his natural anesthesia which kept him going even in the pain.