The Whipping

Chapter 36

It had been one week since everything had happened.

I had spent the past seven days on bed rest, getting up only once or twice a day to go to the bathroom. I had been staying in Heather's spare room with Logan, whereas Emily had been in the pack hospital, due to her condition being worse.

I hadn't seen Heather much. She had spent most of her time in Millie's room or out in the woods; going for runs that seemed to last most of the day. Logan had tried to be there for his sister as much as he could, but Heather was reserved, and kept her feelings to herself.

Although, I had heard her cry to Logan once or twice when she thought I was sleeping.

Logan and I had spoken about my plan to stop The Whipping, and he had admitted to knowing something was up, hence why he had locked me away, which we had pushed to the side for now, knowing there were more important things to deal with.

I looked up towards the door as Logan entered, doing up the last button of his black shirt. "It's almost time."

I nodded, flattening out my lace black dress down on my body, taking in a large breath, calming myself. Logan took my hand, pressing a lingering kiss on my forehead, caressing my cheek.

We walked out of the house, winding through the now quiet village, making our way through the array of blossom trees. I looked around to see everyone was already here, all dressed smartly in black.

The gathering was small, as Heather had requested that only people who were close to her and Logan attend. I gave Theo a small smile as I made my way over to him, pulling him in for a quick hug.

"How are you feeling?" he whispered, pulling back and gazing into my chocolate brown eyes.

I shrugged. "Better, but I don't think that's really important right now."

Theo nodded, dropping his gaze.

I took a few steps forward, parting the small crowd as I gazed sadly in front of me.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the two tombstones delicately placed underneath the blossom trees, right next to the lively streaming river.

Scanning the grass around me, I knelt down and picked a few bright yellow flowers, placing them down in front of the tombstones.

"Rosalina, you had your whole life ahead of you, and I admire you. Family was what was most important to you, and you were willing to do anything for them. I started to feel like I was part of your family, and you were part of mine. You were a good person, with a soul as pure as it could be. I never had a sister, but you were mine."

I sighed, flickering my teary gaze over to Millie's tombstone, swallowing nervously. "Millie, you were loved by everyone. Your smile and bubbly personality could light up a room, and make even the saddest of people feel something. I know you would have grown up to become a wonderful woman just like your Mother, and you will be forever missed by everyone."

I stood up, feeling Logan lace his hand with mine, smiling at me sadly as he pulled me away to the back of the small crowd as other people said their peace. "Are you going to say anything?" I asked, nodding towards the tombstones.

Logan breathed deeply, shaking his head. "I said my goodbyes before everyone else arrived."

I nodded, leaning up to peck Logan on the lips, knowing he was struggling much more than he was letting on.

I turned, running my hands through my long brunette hair, noticing Heather's stiff form in the corner, watching everyone say goodbye with tense eyes. I made my way over to her, smiling sadly as I looked up into her grey stormy eyes.

"Heather, I'm so sorry," I whispered, furrowing my brows, unsure of what to say.

Heather nodded, her face emotionless as she averted her gaze, looking over me as if I didn't exist.

I sighed, understanding that Heather still needed some time, and she was in the process of grieving, but as I turned to walk away, Heather cleared her throat.

"Eliza...what you said about Millie, thank you," she said, nodding at me, causing me to smile softly, making my way back over to Logan.

"Eliza, this is Rosalina's Mother," spoke Logan, gesturing to a small dark haired woman standing next to him, her mouth set in a firm line.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," I said softly.

Rosalina's Mother nodded, offering me a small smile. "Thank you."

"Rosalina told me about how you two didn't have a pack. Is that true?" I asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Well, you are very welcome to join our pack. We would love to have you as part of our family," I replied, offering Logan a quick smile, flickering my eyes back to Rosalina's Mother.

"Thank you very much for the offer; it's very kind, but there are just too many memories here of my daughter. I know she would want me to move on and live, instead of wallowing in my grief. However, I would be very grateful if I could be granted permission to visit her grave from time to time."

I nodded, furrowing my brows. "Yes of course."

"Thank you," said Rosalina's Mother before making her way through the crowd.

"I like that you are taking charge of the pack now," said Logan, smiling at me.

"Well, I am now the Luna of The Dark Moon pack," I replied, leaning my head into Logan's chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Yes, you are."

.........................................................................

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Please vote and comment if you enjoyed it. It really helps me out.

I still can't believe I have over 430k reads on this book.