Every vampire in the clearing bowed their heads, tears in more than half of our eyes as Cecilia's limp hand fell to the ground. Jackson was absolutely pitiful. His head fell back as he wailed mournfully to the heavens. The heart wrenching sound was soon picked up by every wolf in the clearing, their noses lifted to the moon before falling to the ground in silent respect for their fallen beta female.

The battle was over. Bane was dead and his wolves had already retreated. Everyone else crowded around Jackson and Cecilia. Many of the wolves had changed back to their human forms, including the one that Ceci had introduced us to at the beach, Mason. Tears were dripping down his cheeks as he looked down at Ceci and I understood how he felt.

"We have to get her back to Fangs for her transformation," Levi whispered to me.

"I know," I whispered back to him, watching as Jackson completely broke down while holding my cousin's lifeless body. I stepped closer to him and knelt down, resting a gentle hand over the one that held Ceci's. "Let me take her, Jackson," I told him.

Jackson shook his head stubbornly, his head dropping to her chest as he sobbed again in anguish.

"I'll take care of her, Jackson, you know that. "Let me take her. You can come and see her later."

"I can't!" he growled, his voice tormented. "She was mine! Mine! And I failed to protect her!" His head fell right back to her chest as he apologized in incoherent mumbles that made no sense to anyone but himself.

I felt someone kneel beside me and I looked over to see Nila with tears streaming down her face. "Let him mourn, Xavier. He needs it." She looked sadly at Jackson's shaking body as he held Ceci close and we all understood what she was saying. If he couldn't handle Ceci coming back, he would need this time to mourn because it wouldn't change anything for him. It could mean the same as death to him. He deserved to mourn.

The silence in the clearing was suffocating. Even the insects and birds had fallen silent and you could've heard a pin drop on the forest floor in the silence mourning Cecilia's death. Even the coven mourned the loss. We were all well aware that Cecilia hadn't wanted this fate, that she hadn't been ready for the transformation. We mourned for the life she'd wanted and lost.

It wasn't long before a woman resembling Jackson entered the clearing and went to his side. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and held him as he curled up in her embrace like a child, clutching her shirt and sobbing pitifully. She nodded gently at Cecilia's body, her eyes watering as she indicated that we could take her.

I bowed my head and carefully lifted Cecilia's limp and cooling body into my arms. The rest of the coven formed a protective circle around us and we began a slow journey back to Fangs. We did not run; we walked at an even pace through the woods and down the darkened streets, in respect for Cecilia. She hadn't wanted this, but we were going to take her to Fangs and do everything in our power to make this a positive experience for her.

Please don't forget:

Vote•••Comment•••Share

Thank you!!