CHAPTER 7: FOREVER

ELENA'S POV,

Black smoke rose quietly into the grey sky from the small chimney built at the very end of the crematorium, which was an hour away from the pack. I was standing inside the old building, all alone, waiting for my turn while looking outside through the glass window. It was about to rain soon, I felt it when I woke up that morning.

The wind was cold against my cheeks, though I couldn't tell if it was the breeze I felt or the numbness that had taken over my entire body. I felt empty somehow and broken from the inside. The pain of her absence was getting unbearable with every passing second.

The lightning flashed in the clouds, making me turn away from the window, and my eyes fell on the wooden coffin sitting next to me. Molly was inside it, finally resting, far from the pain and suffering my little angel had to endure over the last few days. But she fought bravely... till her last breath, she fought, and I couldn't be more proud of her.

“Are you ready, Luna?” The man in a black suit asked, looking down at the coffin with the pain I hoped to see in Julian's eyes.

She was his daughter after all, and the loss should have been devastating for him, yet he wasn't anywhere to be found. I tried everything but couldn't reach him, even the doctor treating Molly wasn't able to get hold of him. So, at the end, I released her body from the hospital myself.

I was done waiting for him to show up, to meet our daughter for one last time before she's gone forever. I knew I couldn't keep her soul waiting for longer because she needs to go to the Moon Goddess and be happy in the afterlife, under the care of the Goddess. After everything that had happened to her, she deserved that more than anyone else.

“Luna?!” The man snapped me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I wiped my tears and once again looked at the polished surface of the casket. “I just... I don't know how to say goodbye to her.”

“I understand that... just close your eyes and know that she's going to a much better place,” the man said, rubbing my back affectionately. “Set her free, let her go to the Goddess, where she will be cared for eternity.”

“Okay,” I rubbed my nose and touched the coffin with all the love in the world. “Please forgive me, daughter, for letting you down when you needed me the most. In the next life, I'll make up for my sins and I'll give all the love I couldn't in this life.”

The man gave me one more sorrowful look before walking away with her body. It didn't take him long before he loaded the coffin on the roller, and I watched from behind the glass partition as Molly's coffin slid slowly into the fire. My eyes were filled with tears, and my heart was heavy with anger and grief.

And with it, the heart inside my chest turned into a rock.

I watched as her body was cremated, and no one stood beside me to share the grief or to support me through the hard time. It hurt me because I had been helping the pack members for years with every little problem they faced. Yet no one showed up for me. No warriors. No family. Not even my husband.

It was just me and the raging fire that devoured the love of my life, my little princess.

I pressed my head against the glass and whispered my goodbye through trembling lips. “Rest now, my angel. You don’t have to wait anymore for anyone. The place you are going is free of pain. You won't have to face any more lies or broken promises anymore.”

The man returned to check on me and asked me to sit down because it would take a while, but I shook my head and looked at the stone arch with a metal door. I wanted to see, to remember, how my world collapsed in just a few hours. I wanted the pictures to be printed in my head for the future.

Finally, when the flames consumed her, my legs gave up. I sank to the ground, eyes locked on the metal door of the furnace. She was gone, forever. I stayed there until two young women came to collect the ashes from the furnace. My tears had long dried out, and my voice was too hoarse to cry anymore.

The man in the suit from before came out and handed me a small urn with her name written on the neck. Looking at it, a sob left my mouth—the urn was too small for everything she had been. I clutched it to my chest and walked out into a world that no longer made sense to me.

I walked through the drizzle and lightning because I didn't want to waste any more time looking for a shelter and waiting for things to get better. I was in a hurry to go back home, and when I finally reached the house, I pulled out two big trolley bags and filled them with our things.

I packed her dresses, her shoes, and her favorite toys in one bag. While filling the other bag with my clothes, books, shoes, and other essentials. I hoped to pack the memories we shared in the house, but there were too many to count. Every second with Molly was special to me in a way.

Then, I pulled the divorce agreement from my purse and left it on the kitchen table. It was signed, sealed, and final. I knew he wouldn't need an explanation. He had already made his choices, long before I even thought about getting a divorce from him.

There was nothing for me to explain when he was the one who ruined our family.

I looked around the house for one last time, taking in the familiar scent that now only made me tired and cold. It had been home once, a place for dreams and laughter to fill every nook and corner, but now it was just walls and broken promises.

I carried Molly's ashes to the car first, and then the bags. Thankfully, no one was around to stop me from leaving, and once the bags were in the trunk and the urn was safely tucked away, I hit the road without any hesitation.

I had no destination in my head or any plan for the future. All I knew was that I needed to be away. Away from Blackstone. Away from Julian. Away from the life I had tried so hard to protect.

Julian and I were done. Forever.