Chapter 1- Breaking
Keo
Everyone here feels pain at the loss of Travis and Anna. They had an impact on the lives of every single person present in one way or another, myself and my family included. My eyes skim over the large crowd of hundreds who showed up to the main pack lands to mourn with the Silverhearts.
My arm wraps tighter around my mother, whose head rests against my chest as tears slip down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe they are gone.” Uricha whispers while using her knuckles to wipe her cheek.
“I know, Mom, I know. The house feels off without them. I keep looking towards the stairs like they should be walking down them any moment. Do you think Jesse will keep the resort open after this?” I sigh, remembering how hard they worked to convince their parents to reopen it a handful of years ago.
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t.” She tries to give me a weak smile.
With a sigh, I nod my head and give her a quick peck on the cheek before moving away from her to approach Rieka and Jesse.
“Hey dogboy, how are you holding up?” I try to grin at Jesse, resting my hand on his shoulder as his eyes flick up to mine.
Jesse forces a halfhearted smile to his face as he stands up, giving me a hug. “Still hoping I wake up from this hell and that all of this has been a nightmare.” He murmurs, his eyes swirling with grief as he steps back. “How are you, though?”
“Same, once I figure out where I am going to start my search, I will be heading out.” I lean against the wall and slouch.
Jesse nods, sighing. “Don’t leave before telling me. I want to make sure you have backup. I don’t—I can’t deal with any more loss right now.”
“I will, you have my word.” I drag my hand over my black hair, which is pulled back in a low ponytail.
Rieka’s arms quickly wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug. “We are all here for you, just like you are for us. You know that, right?” Her voice is muffled slightly by my shirt.
My arms wrap around her as I close my eyes, resting my head against hers. “I know, sis, but right now everyone here has their own issues to deal with. The pack needs everyone here, especially after losing—” I pause midsentence, glancing at Jesse, seeing pain flicker across his features at the mere mention of the recent deaths of his parents.
Reika nods, pulling back as she sighs before moving back over to Jesse, slipping her arm around his torso. “We will all make it through this and come out stronger in the end. I know we will somehow.”
“Mommy! Daddy!” Carla cries, running up to us with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I want my Nana and Papa!” She whimpers as her little hands wrap around Jesse’s larger one. “Daddy! I need my Nana!”
My eyes flick to his face as I watch his eyes squeeze shut for a moment.
Reika starts to bend down before Jesse’s hand catches her arm, his icy blue eyes opening to meet her violet ones. “Jesse?”
He smiles weakly before kneeling down and picking Carla up in his arms. “Come on, precious. Where is Seth? If we are going to talk about this again, he needs to be with us so I know you both understand, okay?” He gives her a gentle peck on the cheek as they make their way through the crowd to Kai and Leilani, where Seth sits next to Rosalynn while the triplets play nearby.
Reika rushes after Jesse with tears glistening in her eyes.
As my eyes sting from the tears, I groan and collapse into a chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. My chest tightens as I relive the events leading up to the battle, from our first encounter with the Stinson family. As I lower my head and lock my fingers behind it, their smiles and laughter reverberate in my mind.
Tears finally start to leak from my eyes. Between losing them and not learning anything new about Melody, I feel broken, like nothing more than a hollow husk. Travis may not have been my father but he always treated me and my siblings like his own. He was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to, even if I wasn’t aware that I needed to talk. And now he’s simply gone, and Anna is too.
Feeling a gentle hand rest on my shoulder, I snap my head up.
“Keo.” Mai, my youngest sister, looks at me. Her eyes are back to their deep violet that I am used to.
I reach up, resting my hand on hers, squeezing it tightly. “Hey, Mai.” I tilt my head over, resting it against our joined hands, letting my eyes close again.
Days stretched into weeks as everyone came together to honor the Silverhearts for losing their former Alpha and Luna. Kai and Leilani, along with the others, have returned to their lands leaving only Kiarra and Lorenzo here with their daughter.
The silence in the packhouse feels oppressive now.
Shaking my head, I glare at the coffee pot, willing it to brew faster, as the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattering down the stairs causes me to look up. A messy mass of jet-black hair greets me before a tiny hand pushes it back, letting a pair of watery violet eyes meet mine. “Hey, Carla. What are you doing up so late, baby?” I move around the counter, squatting down in front of her and opening my arms for her.
Carla quickly wraps her arms around my neck, a small sniffle sounding from her. “I miss them. My Nana, Papa, and Melody. She’s not going to die too, is she?” Her voice trembles as her face presses against my shoulder.
When I hear Carla’s question and Melody’s name, my breath briefly catches. Taking a deep breath to regain my composure, I lift Carla into my arms and rub a tiny circle across her back. “I know you miss them, baby girl. I do too. We all miss them very much, but they will always live inside us. In our hearts.”
I can feel Carla’s tears slowly seeping through my shirt as she lets out a little sob and clutches my shirt.
“Uncle Keo, what about Melody? I want her to come home.” Her tiny voice trembles.
“I am doing everything I can to make sure that happens, and so is your daddy. I promise somehow we will find her.” My arms tighten their hold on Carla as I press my lips to the crown of her head.
After a few more minutes, Carla begins to relax, and I hear her stifle a yawn against my shoulder.
“Come on, sweetie, let’s get you back to bed, okay?” I start to make my way up the stairs and back to her room. Pushing her door open, I walk over to her bed, turn on the small lamp on her nightstand and lay her down.
Carla curls up and lays her head back down on her pillow before glancing up at me. “Can you read to me until I fall asleep like Papa would?” She murmurs, her eyes glistening again as they glance at a well-worn book on the nightstand.
My eyes moisten as well as I nod, giving her a small smile before I pick up the book. Shifting, I slip up on the bed, lean against the headboard, and lift my arm so she can cuddle up against my side.
“Please read this one. It was one of our favorites.” Carla murmurs, her head resting on my stomach.
“Okay.” I run my hand tenderly through her hair while holding the book with my other one. “Norse Lullaby, by Eugene Field.”
A few hours later I wake up feeling the book slip from my fingers as Carla sleeps soundly curled to my side.
Yawning I carefully slip out of the bed, pressing a light kiss to her cheek as I make sure she is covered up, and click off her lamp before making my way back downstairs. Back in the kitchen, I sigh and run my fingers through my hair before I pour a cup of coffee and reheat it in the microwave.
My eyes glance outside the window, looking up at the night sky as my mind drifts off to Melody, when I hear another set of feet make their way down the stairs. They are heavier this time so at least I know it’s an adult and not Seth or Carla. My eyes flick towards the archway as I see a mass of short red hair.
“Oh, hey, Keo. Couldn’t sleep either?” Mathew murmurs, his deep green eyes meeting my amber ones.
“No, not really.” I sigh, gesturing to the pot of coffee. “Want a cup? It will need to be warmed up but the pot is almost full.”
“Sure, thanks.” Mathew nods walking over grabbing a mug and pouring himself a cup before heating it up.
For the first time, honestly, since we all made it back here, I take Mathew in, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and how his face looks a little thinner. Shaking my head, I sigh as I set my cup down. “Mathew?”
He looks over at me after shutting the microwave, holding his mug full of coffee. “Yeah?”
“We are going to find her. We will bring Melody home, and I don’t want her seeing you looking like a walking corpse when we do. So take care of yourself, okay? If not for yourself, then for her, so you can help us bring her home.” I try to smile at him encouragingly even though I know it looks forced. But that is because it is. Even I am struggling with maintaining right now.
“How? How can I even think of helping bring her home when I lost track of her there? If I hadn’t lost sight of her, I could have helped her then.” Mathew mutters, squeezing his eyes shut. “She just ran off so damn fast and it was so hazy from smoke. Everything happened so fast, too fast.”
“I know, but it isn’t your fault. And you know she would tell you that too.” I squeeze his shoulder tightly. “Remember you said not that long ago you know she is still out there somewhere, right? That you can feel her?”
Mathew nods, looking back up at me.
“Well, for now that will have to be enough to keep us going.”
