Embers And Ashes Novels & Stories

I couldn't see through the tears falling from my eyes but I heard their voices, every last one of them, as we cried together for all we had lost. When every word was spoken, the family members eased back, giving me room to stand. Lifting my eyes toward the waiting pyres, I readied my heart. It was time to let the four wolves go. Ever and Asher were already in position. Both held up a burning torch in each hand. Behind us, the drums began to beat. Long arms sweeping down, Ever lit two of the pyres, calling out loudly, "Ashes to ashes!" The crowd echoed his cry, "Ashes to ashes!"

That these were the remains of people we had once known, who had crossed us in ways that could not be forgiven? Ashina took a step back, her eyes never leaving the skeletal remains. She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling with each panicked breath. “This is messed up,” she muttered, more to herself than to us. “This is pretty creepy guys.” Erica chipped in, “And can we please get out of here? It stinks so much I could puke.”

I opened the vase then as I poured the ashes into the water, my uncle, my aunt and me started chanting. "It is time to leave this world and journey into a greater world, There is nothing here for you now, So you must go. Go now, go complete your passing, Go, and with our blessing fare well. Farewell." I poured the remnant of the ashes in the water then stood up.

The weeks June spent in the hospital with Valerie had been the longest of her life. Every tick of the clock on the sterile white walls felt like a countdown, every beep of the machines beside her daughter’s fragile body was like thunder against her chest. When Dr. Mason finally said, “You can take her home, but remember this doesn’t mean she’s healed. She’s only stable for now. Don’t forget what I told you… prepare your heart.” June nodded silently, though inside she wanted to scream at him, scream at God, scream at fate.

He turns back forward, holding Sue's shoulder and patting it affectionately while she shakes subtly from crying. Her eyes red from all the crying and she seems to have lost a lot of weight as well. At the back of where they stood, stands Tara and Raya, carrying Ashley in her hands. The priest reads the Bible in his hands as is the normal procession. The caskets are slowly lowered into the two dug graves. "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust... Please put down sand for the family members first..." Jean goes first, crying, she grabs the shovel, scoops sand in it and throws it down. She passes the shovel to Sue who does the same and then Ford... And it continues like that until almost everyone throws

Whatever she might have said next was lost under the sudden crash of paramedics through the doorway, a stretcher, hands prying mine gently but firmly off Kai’s shoulder, a voice telling me to step back, sir, please, step back and let us work, and I found myself shoved to the edge of the room watching strangers lift the man who’d thrown his own body over mine without a second’s hesitation, watching his blood soak dark into a white gurney sheet while his eyes searched the room and found me one more time before they wheeled him out. “Elias.” Barely a whisper, almost lost under the noise. “The letter. Your father’s desk. Don’t wait for me.” Then he was gone, out through the ruined door, down the

he introduced himself with a stretch of his hands while pulling off the face mask covering his face. "Bethany Jessica Asha," Beth introduced herself with a handshake. George narrowed his eyes on her. She quickly noticed his body went stiff and his face morphed into one without an expression. "You are an Asha?" she hesitated before nodding in reply, and he sneered. "What is an Asha doing in Salem City?" he questioned. Beth shrugged with an amused smile. Ashas are a family of gifted werewolves bonded together by a birthmark instead of blood connection. Each member of this family has a birthmark unique to themselves alone, which also represents the power they hold.

LUCIAN’S POV ‘The Empty Altar’ The rain over Trinity Church fell in heavy, relentless sheets, washing over the black umbrellas lined up along Wall Street like a sea of mourning crows. Inside the ancient stone cathedral, the air was suffocatingly heavy with the scent of expensive white lilies, burning beeswax, and damp wool. Three hundred of New York’s most prominent political figures, real estate tycoons, and high society elite filled the dark oak pews. They had all come to perform their civic duty: mourning the sudden, tragic death of Seraphina Vance, the quiet wife of Manhattan’s most ruthless billionaire.

He stands behind me, arms crossed, a shadow refusing to be drawn in. The old rogue begins to speak. “She came in the season between the moons. The one with no name. The one where wolves forgot their howls. She wore no crown. No mate-mark. No Alpha’s scent.” The hum continues beneath her voice, like breath rising from old earth. “She walked alone into the Bone Lands, where no pack claimed the soil. Her hands bled spiral. Her eyes burned red. Her name was ash. Her tether already severed.” A shiver ripples through the pack. No one looks at me.

Joshua allowed the Alpha privacy, so that he could dress, then without a word, he began escorting the Alpha back to the pack grounds. Asher didn't say a word when he returned on the grounds to find the pack members already holding a vigil for their fallen queen. He didn't say a word when he walked into the room, and found that her body had been removed, and the blood was already clean. Even the window had been blocked with a temporary fabric. Asher remained mute as the Luna's body was lowered into the ground, and one by one the pack members laid flowers on the black mound, some spilling tears, others leaving notes, and stuffed animals for the unborn cub.