Chapter 4

My father's cremation was held before dawn.

Only my mother, a few old friends from the Laurel Pack, and I were there.

No flowers, no eulogy. Just an endless, heavy silence.

I clutched the urn, feeling the last of my father's fading warmth against my skin.

This was the end for a good man.

"Let's go," I said, helping my mother to her feet. "We'll find Caleb."

My mother nodded. She hadn't said a word since last night, the light completely gone from her eyes.

We drove to the Blackwood Pack's cemetery. We planned to bury my father next to his ancestors, then leave this place forever.

The cemetery was on a hillside, ancient headstones barely visible in the morning mist.

I carried the urn toward the Laurel family plot.

But as I got closer, my heart nearly stopped.

A new black marble headstone stood right in the center of our family's section.

"Dante Morrison, Brave Warrior, Beloved Brother."

It was Seraphina's brother's grave. Right in the middle of our family's land.

"This can't be..." I whispered.

This was the Laurel family's resting place. Three hundred years of our ancestors were buried here. How could they let an outsider be buried on our sacred ground?

"Mom, we're taking Dad's ashes with us," I said, turning to her. "This sacred ground has been desecrated."

She gave a weak nod.

I was about to leave when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Tricia!"

It was Seraphina's voice.

I turned to see her and Baton walking toward us.

When Seraphina saw the urn in my hands, her face went pale.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked, rushing at me. "This is my brother's resting place!"

"This is the Laurel family cemetery," I said coldly. "You had no right to bury him here."

"Are you trying to desecrate the dead?" Seraphina's voice was shrill. "You, the daughter of a murderer!"

She lunged for the urn.

"Give it back! You don't deserve to touch anything here!"

I instinctively stepped back, holding my father's ashes tight.

"Let go!"

In the struggle, Seraphina lost her balance and fell against her brother's headstone.

"Seraphina!"

Baton's roar shook the entire cemetery.

His eyes burned with murderous rage as a shockwave of his Alpha power crashed into me.

"How dare you touch her?!"

The force of his aura hit the urn in my hands.

Crack!

A fracture appeared on its surface.

"No!" I tried desperately to shield it, but it was too late.

A second wave of power hit.

The urn shattered. My father’s ashes exploded into a gray cloud, stolen by the wind.

"Dad!"

I fell to my knees, frantically trying to scoop up the scattered ashes, but the gentle breeze was already carrying them away.

Sharp pieces of the broken urn cut my hands, and my blood stained the stone path.

"Draven..." My mother let out a heart-wrenching sob, sinking to the ground beside me, trying to gather the dust.

Baton stared at the mess on the ground, his expression suddenly complex.

He realized what he had done.

I slowly got to my feet, looking at the ruin before me.

Even my father's final resting place had been destroyed by this man.

"Tricia..." Baton tried to step closer.

"Don't touch me," my voice was terrifyingly calm.

I pulled my mother up, ready to leave.

"Wait." Baton blocked our path. "Whose ashes were those?"

Pain and confusion flashed in his eyes.

"Tell me, whose ashes were those?" His voice began to tremble. "Say it again. Just say the words, and I'll believe you."

I looked at him, the man who had sworn to protect me for all of my life.

A cold smile touched my lips.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I said, my voice a blade severing the last thread that bound us. "From this moment on, we are done."