Chapter 30 #2
“I… it’s… complicated. To turn against him would have meant death for many of us,” she said.
“Except if a number of you would have, like today, I could have—”
Quinn stepped onto the porch. “Vehicles are approaching, Auntie. It’s time to go to the creek.”
Iva stood up. He offered his hand and helped her down the stairs, where she walked through the yard and onto a small trail at the edge of the woods.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” he said to me.
“I’d like to go, if anything, to see how all of this works,” I told him.
He nodded and then reached his hand out to mine. Once I stood, he brought the back of my hand to his lips, and then interlocked our fingers. Then we followed the same path Iva walked.
Hyder walked out of the woods on the same path. He gave a curt nod to Iva.
“Send them all down here, as they arrive, Hyder,” Quinn said.
We walked through the woods, and it was a slight decline almost the whole way, getting flatter as we got closer to the creek. Once there, there was a small wooden raft, just big enough for a body, sitting on the bank. Ravik’s body sat on top of it. Nothing else.
We all stood on the creek bank in silence. One by one, others joined us. This was his final goodbye. I hated the man, but I was sad for the man Iva was mourning. The man he was once. Corruption is a bitch, always sinking her teeth in deeply.
Four older couples joined us. All of them stood close to each other, holding each other's hands. There were a handful of others who joined. Some of them I’d seen around the grounds from the window in the room. Hyder walked through the woods and joined us.
“I believe all are here who wanted to join or were invited,” Benji said, in a loud, dominating tone.
Hyder gave him a nod.
“We are here to say our farewells to Ravik Faherty. He was the father of Daxyn and me. The husband of my mother, Iva. He has led the Novo position to the Wears Valley Werewolves,” he said.
He stood tall, shoulders back. “I’ll be assuming the position of Novo if the Zenith agrees.
I understand that these aren’t normal circumstances; however, I believe I can still lead, with the support of the current Nova, my siblings, and my cousins. ”
“This isn’t normally how any of this goes,” one of the Zenith males said.
“Did you end his life, Benji?” another one shot out.
“No, sir’—”
“Then who did, because the next Novo is supposed to be appointed by the current Novo, and a transfer of power ceremony is completed, or the person who ends him takes the power,” the one said, cutting him off.
“Unfortunately, Pierre, a human, ended his life; therefore, option three will have to do,” Benji said.
“There is no option three,” Pierre shot out.
“Actually, there is,” Iva said.
“If the ceremony can't be concluded and a non-pack member ends the Novo, then when his body is set afloat, only the person who will receive the power sends the arrow,” Iva said.
“How do you know this?” Pierre questioned.
“We did it with Ravik’s brother,” she said.
Everyone was quiet. Pin drop quiet. My stomach felt unsettled. I knew part of that story. I knew that Quinn’s father was supposed to become the Novo, and that Ravik had him killed.
“Ravik never shared that with us,” the gentleman who first spoke said.
“Yeah… he didn’t like to talk about what he did to gain power. Shame and all,” Iva said.
“Now, you all know the process. Can we carry on?” Benji said.
“You’re not married, dear,” one of the females said.
“No, I’m not, Helene,” he said.
“But to be Novo—”
“Yes, I’m supposed to be married; however, no qualified heir is married, therefore, I’m asking for an exception from the pack. My mom will continue being Nova until I get hitched,” he said.
“What about Quinn? He looks like he’s closer to being there, and he’s the true heir,” another female said.
“Miss Dorothy, while that may be true about the heir part, I’m no longer interested in being Novo,” Quinn said.
“But, Quinn—”
“Respectfully, no. If Benji doesn’t find someone in two years, we can have this discussion then,” Quinn offered.
“I can agree to that… I guess,” Dorothy said.
“Me too,” a couple of them said at the same time.
“Perfect, then as you all heard, I’ll be the one setting my father’s raft ablaze,” he said.
Quinn tightly squeezed my hand. I looked up at him, and a deep frown crossed his face.
Benji walked over and grabbed a crossbow and an arrow that had been modified with some type of fabric on the end.
He loaded the arrow. He gave a nod to Daxyn, who then shoved the raft off into the creek.
It started to float. Benji reached forward with a lighter, lighting the end of the arrow.
Flames blazed at the tip. He aimed and fired.
Once the arrow hit the center of Ravik, the entire raft exploded into flames.
A huge burst of sparks traveled back to the bank, almost as if they went straight to Benji.
The body and the raft continued burning as it floated down the creek. It eventually rounded a corner, and the flames disappeared.
Everyone started to make their way back up the path until only Quinn, Callie, Raphael, Benji, Daxyn, and I stood there.
“We need to mend ourselves. The five of us used to be close. I’ll need all of you more than you know in the coming years,” Benji said.
I felt awkward and like I didn’t belong. This was a conversation for the cousins, not me. As if sensing my discomfort, Quinn gave my hand a quick squeeze.
“I agree, we need to let the past go, grow up, and be there for each other,” Quinn said.
“Agreed,” the rest of them said.
Everyone started walking up the hill.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Zay?” Daxyn said.
Quinn and I came to a stop and turned around. The other three kept walking.
“There isn’t much to say,” I said.
“Oh, there is plenty to say,” he said.
“I don’t have much to say to you, Daxyn.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry that our child didn’t make it. I’m sorry for everything. I’m truly sorry, and most importantly, I’m glad you’re alive,” he said.
“His name was Izayuh,” I said, my eyes fixated on the ground. I didn’t need to look at him to see that he was barely holding himself together.
“It was a boy… God… Izayuh is beautiful,” Daxyn said.
“Yeah…” I said.
“For what it's worth, Zay, I’d have found a way to stop him. I don't know how, but I know I couldn't have stood there and let him take your life. Not yours,” he said.
“But keeping me locked up was okay?” I said.
“No, no, it wasn’t. That’s why my mom and I fought to have you moved to the house. A compromise I made,” he said.
“What did you lose?” I shot out.
“I agreed to marry Annabelle when the time was right. Something I’d been fighting. I won’t have to do that now, thankfully, because she was wretched toward you,” he said.
“I hate to break it to you, but you probably would have been too late. I had actual plans to take her far from here before the baby arrived,” Quinn said.
“You were gonna take my baby away from me?” Daxyn said.
“It wasn’t about you. If I thought you could have kept their location a secret, and Zay was willing, I’d have shared with you when the time was right,” Quinn said.
“I guess we were all planning to defy my father in some way, huh?”
“And yet, it wasn’t quick enough,” I muttered. Quinn squeezed my hand. He apologized so many times, and I’d forgiven him, but sometimes it reared its ugly head.
“I’m truly sorry,” Daxyn said.
“We all are,” Quinn said.
“Where did you guys bury him—Izayuh?” Daxyn asked.
“We didn’t,” I said. I reached out and grasped the pendant in my hand. “He stays here around my neck twenty-four seven.”
“Can I?”
I nodded. Part of me hated him, but part of me knew he was a victim in all of this, too. He may not have wanted the baby initially, but it was still his baby.
He stepped forward, reached his hand out, and cradled the pendant in his hand. He stared at it, his thumb rubbing the pendant up and down.
“I’ll honor him on every December Seventh until I die,” he whispered.
I reached out and pulled him into a hug. Tears rolled down both of our cheeks. I needed this closure more than I knew. He did too. We both lost parts of ourselves that day that we would never get back.
I let go and turned around to head up the path.
“Hey… another thing,” Daxyn said.
“Yeah?”
“You need to go home… Paxton’s new girlfriend… Asil is really fucking weird. She has him on drugs, she’s abusive toward him and Aspen when your mother’s not home. And your mother… she… the drinking is the worst I’ve seen it,” Daxyn said.
My heart sank into my stomach. I instantly felt nausea creep up to the back of my throat. My heart was hammering.