BLEAK

Stiff

Chapter Twenty-One

A Year Later...

It shook me the first night I dreamt of him sitting by the pond next to grandpa and grandma. I hadn't realized he was there until he turned to look at me with a questionable look upon his face. He stood, the bag of bread crumbs falling from his lap as he walked over to me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. Gunner looked healthy and happy. There was an aura of peace that radiated from him as he stared at me with his hypnotic blue eyes.

"I could ask you the same question." I replied.

"You must be dreaming." He said, his head lowered and he turned to walk back to the bench. I grew confused as I looked to my grandfather. Grandpa greeted me with a kind smile and stood to embrace me. Holding me tight he thanked me for coming on this lovely day.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, gramps." I replied.

"Gunner showed up unexpectedly, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He must have died in that coma."

The words had brought me back to reality. I had awoken to a thunderstorm, the wind was violent as I watched the hard drops of water decant against the window to my room. With a protesting groan I had pushed out of bed. Ever since that night I hadn't had a decent night sleep. Gunner was always there with grandpa and grandma, always talking and feeding ducks by that forsaken pond.

I had lost my gramps six months ago in his sleep. On the very night our new Alpha had hunted and tracked down the Pallid Nation leader only to defeat him and claim domain over our Nation once again. They should have known better than to challenge the Cobalt Nation. We didn't train like the animals we were for no reason. Our people had slowly begun to rebuild and fix the damage the force had done in the rage of war.

I was left on my own, left to gather the pieces of my life after burying gramps next to my grandmother, Anita. The house at times was too much to bare. There were times I considered selling the damn place and then I'd feel I didn't have the heart. Too many good memories haunted every part of this home. I couldn't part with it even if it felt like a burden at times.

I was still waiting for the Ardent family to make a memorial or a burial for him, yet no news came. Maybe they had chosen to keep the whole thing quiet and had held a private viewing and memorial for him. Part of me hated how guilty I felt. Yet day after day I pushed myself to ignore that guilt and simply move on with my life. Mariel mourned his death day after day, she stirred within me with a terrible sadness to cloud her. It didn't help that I was affected too. There were times I found myself wiping tears while I did chores around the house.

I didn't pester her about it nor did I push her to stop. She was allowed to grieve over the loss of our Alpha's wolf. She never did get a chance to bond with him after all.

The screaming of children playing about brought me back from my lost train of thoughts. I looked to the two small kids running across the mall. I knew I should stop them but I could help but soak in the laughter and happiness written all over their faces. A mother chased after them as she held numerous bags in her arms, her face breathless and tried.

Gathering my courage I walked over to her and offered some help. She gladly accepted as she went about gathering her kids and leading them to the parking lot.

"Thank you, so much." She said with a bright smile as she placed her things inside the minivan. She settled her children inside and then waved over at me as she pulled out of the parking lot. The idea of a family seemed more than thrilling to me as I pictured myself running after two small children. However, I knew I wasn't capable of having them, the thought brought a terrible sadness over me as I turned to walk back into the mall.