The burial field was completely silent.
No wind. No birds. Not even the crackle of the torches.
Only stillness.
Moira knelt beside Beta Wayne, cradling his body like she could hold his spirit in place. Her midnight hair fell over his blood-stained tunic as she whispered his name over and over, as though the act could call him back from the edge.
"Wayne… please. Please," she murmured through shaken lips.
Lyra stood frozen. Her legs locked as if rooted to the ground, her hands trembling at her sides. Her eyes were wide and blank, staring at what should not be. The man who raised her lay still and broken.
Rael was the first to catch her before she fell. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. She did not cry at first, she only trembled.
Alpha Thorne dropped to his knees beside Beta Wayne, pressing a hand to his chest. No pulse. No rise and fall. Just unyielding stillness.
