The Werewolf's Vampire Mate
Chapter 37: Funeral Rites.

Chapter 37: Funeral Rites.

Beau

I have seen a lot of dead bodies; this is not my first rodeo but looking at his lifeless body on the ground hurts too much to handle. I am not allowed to cry; I can’t show any form of emotion and the only person that makes me strong enough to handle anything is not here right now. The funeral preparations have been going on for a couple of hours.

There are three stages to saying goodbye to the dead.

We first provide a proper honour to their spirits, this usually takes roughly an hour to perform, Alby the elder of the pack will be the first to smear a small amount of his blood unto the dead and also on their gravestones and then the rest of us follow suit.

The second stage gives us an opportunity to make our peace and say the final goodbyes, even though I am not the alpha yet due to the fact that I haven’t done my mating ritual, I am still the next in line, which means I will be the first to say goodbye. Fallon will be the next and everyone will take turns until the pack as a whole is complete.

The third stage of the ritual is the incantations that will be done by the spiritualist—in this case, Alby. This helps to speed the spirit of the dead on its way to the ancestor realms.

The whole thing is stressing me out, the fact that after today, I will have to accept that he is gone. He is not the only one I have to say goodbye to, my cousin Mali and Win from my mother’s side are gone too. This is too much loss at once.

This funeral is rushed, I am trying to speed it up because I need to focus on protecting everyone. i know for a fact that my father would do the same thing if he were in my shoes. He had lived his life protecting everyone, he died being the only one I knew that was strong enough to be a hero. I want to be half the man he was. I will live the rest of my life trying to be the man he was. I watch them as they lay Mali and Win’s bodies at the back of their fathers.

Their mates are crying deeply. I don’t know how they feel and I pray to never go through what they are going through, but I have gone through my own fair share of loss. I know how it feels to lose people that you never wish to see die. I know they are in pain; I know they feel like their world is crumbling down on them. I can see the pain in their eyes, they are still in shock. It is not real to them yet. Even though they are staring head front at their lifeless bodies. They won’t believe it.

i still don’t think he is gone; someone could just wake me up from this nightmare and I could be in my father’s arms. He would still be the alpha, still, be alive.

"The ritual rites will begin soon," Alby notifies us and I frown because Lanis is not back. I need him here with me. I grab my phone from my pocket and dial his number. He answers immediately.

"Where are you?"

He sighs into the phone "I’ll be there soon, we just had a lot to discuss," he explains.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, at least I think so. It’ll be alright. Do I have at least thirty minutes?" he questions.

His words are confusing. I don’t know what he means but I just need him here. "Just hurry up please, I can’t do this without you. I need you here."

"Okay baby."

*******************

The ceremony begins just as Lanis comes. I am glad that he is here and I can’t help but wrap my arms around him, in an attempt to get some relief from all the emotions I am feeling. He takes me in his arms and I release a sigh of relief "I’ve missed you," I breathe into his ear.

"Are you okay?" he asks me when he notices my father’s body on the cold hard ground, the last time I saw him, his head was decapitated off his body. The healers must have stitched it back together.

I nod because that is the only answer I can give him. Deep down, I am not okay. This is a lot for me to handle and I need him to help me.

"Let the ceremony begin. Beau, I need you upfront," Alby calls me. I know I am supposed to be the leader of this but I don’t want to be upfront acting like I have the faintest clue what I am doing. This is scary and very emotional for me.

I have to say goodbye to all of them.

I don’t want to say goodbye to my family.

Lanis grabs my hand in a compassionate squeeze. This is supposed to make me feel better, don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to have him by my side at this moment but nothing can make this feel better. I have to bury my father, I have to say goodbye to him and I am not ready—no one is ever ready but it is something I have to do.

I squeeze his hand in a way to reciprocate the feelings he is sharing with me and he manages a smile. We are in the graveyard; this is the same place he died. The memories will forever be plastered. Anytime I am here, I will remember.

He lets go of me and I walk to the pave-stone in which they are all placed. I look at my father closer and this is not the man I remember; this is not the last face of him I want to remember. His body is the palest white, his eyes are closed. There is no life in him. I hate that I have to see this. It is unfair to make me see him like this but I have no choice. I am the next Alpha, if I show weakness, no one will believe in me.

"We lost great men, now we have to say goodbye to them," Alby speaks up and I realize everyone is watching me, waiting for me to show emotions. I am not allowed to cry; this is my father’s funeral and I can’t fucking cry. All in the name of being a leader.

"Rick Foxly, you were a great man, a true leader and it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you, we say thank you for everything you have done for this family, this pack." I watch Alby as he grabs a knife and cuts his palm. I watch as the blood drips to the sand and mixes with nature. He walks over to my father and I watch him as he smears the blood on his body, he does the same for Mali and Win and I close my eyes in an attempt to stop the tears from gushing out.

After he is done, he looks at me "Your turn," he instructs me. My feet are stuck to the ground and for a second, I wish the ground would just swallow me whole. this is a lot for me, I look at the crowd and I see him, Lanis manages a warm smile and that Is what gives me the strength to move. Just the fact that I know he is there, he will always be here for me, is enough.

I stop in front of his body and my heart beats heavily in my chest. The nerves kicking in and pulling me into the void I don’t want to get into. I inhale as I get on my knees and then I exhale. Alby passes me the knife and I stare at him and then my hand. I am supposed to put my blood on his and his gravestone. This is somehow supposed to send him over to our ancestors.

"Begin," he tells me.

I place the knife on my hand and feel the sting as I press it harder. The blood draws out slowly and I ignore the pain. I reach for his arm and smear a little of it to him. I watch as the blood dissolves on his arm. I close my eyes to fight the tears from falling. This is the moment I say something. What can I say?

I have no words.

"Thank you, dad, thank you for being there. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I will never forget you." I bend over until I am close to him. Even though he has been gone for a couple of days, I place a soft kiss on his forehead and I watch a teardrop unto his body. From where I am, I know no one can see it. It is just between me and him, the way it has always been. He is the only one in this pack that knows the real me. He is the only one that knows my weakness.

He is my father.