Novel & Cerita The Life We Bury

Her words give me a small boost of confidence, but the weight of the decision still sits heavy in my chest. "First," Octavius says, his tone softening slightly, "we bury our dead." The sombre reminder slams back into me like a physical blow... . . . . . That evening, the burial ceremony is silent. Heavy. Twelve graves. Twelve lives lost. I didn’t even know most of them, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The entire pack gathers in the burial grounds, heads bowed, faces drawn. The only sounds are the distant calls of birds and the occasional sharp sniffle from someone trying, and failing, to hold back tears.

Uncle Harry has no family and friends, so no one will ever come looking for him. We don't have any neighbors because of how poor the infrastructure in this particular part of the street is, so I look at Mom, and she nods, the last option; we bury him in our yard. I rush into the apartment and return with a shovel. The worms in my stomach and tired muscles are revolting against me to drop the shovel and reverse my little energy, but I ignore the hunger and lower myself and start digging. Tired, sweating, panting, and covered in breath, I keep digging until it's 6 ft deep, or I think it's 6 ft deep, then we push Uncle Harry's lifeless body into his grave.

We were dealing with an actual goddess after all. Grandma spent the day showing me around the pack house, and specifically where my parents were truly buried. She explained that we couldn’t be buried with normal humans, just in case the human world found our bones, or our DNA. This amazing life was overshadowed by the fact that we had to hide our true identities from the world.

They were stuck so deep in my thoughts that I couldn't shake them. Of course, I hated her and Henry! Meanwhile, Eva had found where Mom and Dad were buried. I never got the chance to say goodbye to them. "Brina, hang in there. There's still so much ahead of you," Eva said, giving my shoulder a comforting pat. I stared at the overgrown patch of ground before me, consumed by nothing but boiling, helpless anger. Joanna had taken Mom and Dad's ashes back to her hometown—a place surrounded by sewage pits, with a stench so awful it hit me in the throat. But I had no clue where exactly they were buried.

But in this moment, I value my life just a little bit more. "Well," I start. "it could be the duct tape, shovels, rope, and plastic garbage bags in the back seat." He doesn't take his eyes off the road for a second. "If I was going to bury you, I'd have brought a coffin. More air trapped inside when you're buried alive." And that's a fun fact I don't ever need to think about. "So," I start quietly. "where are we going?" "I'm done babysitting you." That's all he says and then he goes back to pretending I don't exist.

“Have you forgotten President Valenti was my stepdad too?” I just nodded and hid in Liam’s chest again. He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. “We’ll get through this, okay? Together. We’ll make sure your dad’s legacy lives on.” I believed him. With Liam, Victoire , and Elena beside me, I almost believed I could survive this. The burial came fast; the club doesn’t wait when the President falls. We laid him to rest under a full moon that felt like it was mocking me. I stayed at his grave all night, sitting in the dirt, I lost track of time.

“They’re in the tunnels.” He looked at her, hand tightening on the chip. “There’s only one place left to go. But you’re not going to like it.” “Where?” she asked. He held her gaze, dead serious. “His grave.” Ariana blinked, heart pounding in her ears. “I thought you said he disappeared.” “He did,” Liam muttered, already moving. “But the man everyone’s still quoting like scripture the mind behind all of this he had a burial plot. Wexley Grove. It’s not what it seems.”

"A man of your standing, Lord Alaric... I can hardly imagine anyone being foolish enough to take anything from you. Or perhaps, you simply misplaced it." A tight, dangerous smile tugged at the corner of his lips. It wasn't a smile of warmth; it was the look of a predator who had finally cornered its prey and was enjoying the frantic struggle before the strike. "Oh, it wasn't misplaced. It was buried. Deep beneath the soil where everyone thought it would turn to dust. But the thing about bad seeds is that they always find a way to grow back towards the light, no matter how much dirt you throw over them." The breath caught in my throat. The metaphor was too precise, the delivery too deliberate

This made me laugh self-depricatingly. Seriously, I must be really blind in the past. It had been the same in the previous life. Ryan had hurriedly whisked me away. Eve was left to wait for his return all by herself. When he came back with the rescue team, the pod had already been buried under thick snow. Eve was left behind on the cold mountain forever. After that, Ryan showed very little emotion, even appearing indifferent at times. I had suggested taking Eve in as my adopted sister in order to help elevate her status, but he rejected it.

Asher muttered under his breath, shooting me a venomous glare. "This is all fake, isn't it? You hired someone to fake this! A body burned this badly could be anyone! My mom's still out there. I know she is!" I looked at him with quiet pity, then reached over and pulled the white sheet back over Teresa. "Don't you recognize the place from the news? Asher, stop lying to yourself. It wasn't just me. Oliver's been trying to get through to you, too. But you chose to bury yourself in that little love story of yours. You killed Teresa."