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We strolled silently until we came to the first tree which was also the oldest. I bowed my head, murmuring a blessing, as Liam hung back. Wind whispered through the bare trees and I lifted my head, entering the burial grounds of our Pack. I glanced over my shoulder but Liam just stood respectfully at the edge of the grove. He was originally a Hanley and so none of his family were laid to rest here, not that I thought he’d visit their graves anyway since he had no love for his former family.
The tree had grown since we’d planted my father’s bones beneath it, but there was no mistaking the cottonwood. Staring at the thick branches, I waited for something to come to me, for the words I’d never been able to say when he was alive to suddenly spill forth, but there was nothing. I crouched, picking up a handful of dirt and letting it run through my fingers, as I finally said, “I came back.”
The words were petty, but honest and I sighed, rubbing the dirt between my fingers.
“You should have trusted me, Dad.” I glanced at the older tree next to him, the one that had been planted years before I’d been born, the bench sitting underneath it worn with use. “I didn’t understand it, you know, how much you loved Payne’s mom. Why you favored Payne over me, but,” my chest squeezed tight as I thought about Dru, “I get it now. She was it for you and my Mom was just a poor substitute. Still don’t make it right how you treated her though.” Old, familiar bitterness coursed through me at the memory of Mom leaving and Dad forcing me to stay, binding me with an Alpha order to make sure I never left Pack land. All because his true mate had died and the son he’d had with her wasn’t a shifter, which meant Payne would never become Alpha.
“I don’t think it worked out the way you wanted,” I told him, pushing to my feet. “Life rarely does, but Payne is happy and I’m getting there so I’m not going to be bitter anymore. You did what you did and it’s done now.” Weight I hadn’t known I carried slipped from my shoulders and I breathed a little easier. I turned, ready to walk away, when I paused to tell him, “I have a mate.” A smile creased my cheek as I considered the two of them meeting. “You’d hate her, that’s for sure, but she’d like you out of sheer spite. She’s complicated like that.” I touched the trunk of the tree, the bark rough under my fingertips, and laid our past to rest. “Goodbye, Dad.”
Liam stood were I’d left him, his gaze sweeping over the trees, silently counting. He whistled quietly as he finished. “How old is this place?” He asked, his voice hushed. I glanced around, memories of coming here with Dad and Payne flashing through my mind.
“Over five hundred years,” I answered, each tree standing as a marker for a deceased Pack member. “Every Pack member is buried here, not just the shifters.”
“You honored them all,” he whispered in awe.
“Returned to the earth so their wisdom can continue to guide and shelter us under their canopy.” I bumped his shoulder. “Now, let’s go hear the story of how we came to be.”
Liam nodded, but his gaze lingered on the trees, some ancient and others barely a decade old. Something in his expression tipped me off and I grasped his shoulder. “You will be buried here, Leah too.”
“I’m not…” he swallowed, the protest dying in his throat as I curled my lip, baring my teeth at him.
“You are.” I shoved him forward. “Now, let’s go.”
***
The round community house was packed when we got there, every man, woman, and child squeezed onto rough wooden benches circled around an open center. Dom and Anna stood in the middle with Gregory and a few of the other Pack elders. Dom motioned to me and I made my way to his side, Liam right beside me.
Everything okay? Dom asked silently as we drew near.
Yeah, just paid Dad a visit, I answered and he nodded, appearing unsurprised. Liam’s gaze scanned the room, searching for Leah, and Dom pointed to the corner. I followed his finger and saw Leah bouncing, craning her neck to look around the room. Liam took off the second he saw her, not sparing a backwards glance for us.
I took in the curve of her belly and leaned toward Dom. “Is there something in the water here?” He snorted, shaking his head as Anna stepped forward, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled warmly, her hands outstretched to me.
“Welcome home, Caleb.”
“Anna,” I greeted her, bussing her cheek and a low growl vibrated the air. I leaned back, releasing her hands as one side of my mouth lifted. “It’s been too long.”
