"Julie, did you take a granola bar?"

"Nope." My tail twitched as I fought to keep it from wagging, betraying my already-suspected guilt. The sharp-eyed cook spotted it.

She paused. "Did you take two granola bars?"

"Nope."

"How many did you take?"

My tail began wagging full-tilt. "I took all five of them!"

Fighting a grin, she eyed me up, knowing I wouldn't have been able to eat even one of those bars. "What did you do with them?"

"I hid one in each of the kid's homework bags! So they'll find theirs as soon as they decide to do their homework!"

"Let me guess, they get carrot sticks for their snack today?"

"Good plan! They can't call me a rabbit if they're the ones eating carrots."

With a chuckle, she replied, "And you'll probably still beg a carrot stick or two from them."

"Probably."

We both paused, as did the other three people in the kitchen. There was a tension across the general pack mindlink, as if a guitar string had been strung too tight. Something was very, very wrong.

"Nix! No!" the Luna's frantic cry tore across the pack mindlink.

"The mining tunnel D4 is collapsing, and people are trapped!" the Beta called out. "Get to your places! This is not a drill!"

The people in the kitchen raced out various exits in their rush to get wherever they were most needed. My feet slid across the wooden floor in my haste to get to the front porch. The children would know to look for me there if they got scared. It also kept me from being underfoot while people ran to and fro.

I froze mid-stride as a sensation like lightning flashed painfully against the pack mindlink. Despite never feeling it before, I knew what it meant. Our Alpha had died.

I threw back my head as a howl escaped my throat, trying to echo the pain of my loss. The man who had taken me into his pack, the one who carried me around and found my pranks amusing, was gone. It felt like my heart was being ripped out.

My Comforter senses vibrated from the waves of others' anguish; there were too many for even it to know where to send me first – with one exception. The Luna. She would have felt her mate die.

She was already racing to the mine, inconsolable and in denial, simply trying to get to her other half. There was no way I could catch up or even reach the mine on my own power.

The main packlink was a chaos of voices as people tried to find out what had happened while getting organized. Normally, we couldn't sense someone's death across the packlink, but Alphas and Lunas were different since their powers were what amplified the packlink's abilities. If either of them died, everyone in the pack would feel it.

The storm of emotions battering my senses wasn't any easier to bear. My head was starting to pound, both from my grief as well as everyone else's. I had to partially raise my mental shields to keep from being completely overwhelmed.

Half-blinded by my tears, I stumbled out the front door and curled up on a cushion as sobs wracked my body. It wasn't long before a young girl came out and sat on the floor beside me, weeping even though she didn't really understand the full extent of what had happened. Her need overruled mine, and I climbed into her lap and increased my aura, trying to offer comfort while I was also mourning.

The loss was finally sinking in as I got over my initial shock, and the fur under my eyes quickly went from damp to wet. I truly wished my aura could affect me since inner calm and peace seemed so distant at the moment. The worst part was that there wasn't anything I could do to help right now. My wolf shape was too small, and I couldn't hold my human form long enough to perform even simple tasks.

In the distance, I could feel the Luna wishing that she would have died instead. Her sense of duty and the needs of the pack should be enough to keep her from seriously contemplating suicide to make the pain end, but I kept tabs on her just in case. It wouldn't be the first time the loss of one's partner had driven the survivor into madness. Sometimes they even went feral.

As tears finally began dripping from the underside of my muzzle, another child and a couple of elderly people joined me on the porch, seeking comfort while they waited for updates from our distant pack members.

Somehow, even with over thirty people crammed into a room meant to hold a dozen, the eerie silence was only broken by the occasional sob, someone blowing their nose, or quiet murmurs. Some couldn't bear to be near others and were in their rooms or out in the forest, but most had gathered here.

I sat on the Luna's lap, and she occasionally wiped a damp rag under my eyes in an attempt to wash away my tears. As much as I wanted some alone time to cry myself out, I remained where I was needed most. My strengthened aura was spread across the room as it provided comfort, although a small part of it targeted the pain when they tried to recall their memories of Nix. It was a delicate balance that let them remember and grieve while feeling fully supported.

Even Sorrin was here, and as far as I could tell, he wasn't resisting my aura's influence at all.

Eventually, one of the women sniffled and got to her feet, quietly telling her husband, "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Several other women also stood up, many dabbing their eyes with tissues.

"We'll come with you."

The husband commented to another man who was similarly abandoned, "They say that wolves travel in packs, but those women have us beat."

Faint chuckles came from around the room at the attempt at humor. It was also enough that the mood shifted, the cloak of mourning pulling back for the moment. One of the children asked for a snack, and his parents left the room with him.

Gradually, others began dispersing as well, until just the Luna and Sorrin remained.

"I wish I had been there," Sorrin said, his voice cracking. "I might have been able to help or do something." He shook his head from side to side as he gripped the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to teach me for years. I haven't even found my mate yet."

The Luna's arms tightened around me as she thought about the lost future, her tears freely flowing once more.

She struggled to speak but was unable to get her words out. She finally mindlinked me, still barely able to form coherent thoughts. "Can you increase your aura? I need to be able to function."

My aura increased, battling against her heartbreak and despair. I continued amplifying it until her staggering level of grief subsided.

"If you let go of me, I'm not sure my aura will be sufficient to keep it at this level," I warned her. Having that much pent-up emotion unexpectedly swamp her would probably send her to her knees. The grief from a shattered matebond was a far cry from rage at an insult, and much harder for me to help with.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, her voice now level and clear. "I'm not ready to accept that he's really gone, but there will be time to mourn and come to terms with it later. For now, there are things that have to be done, and there is no one else to do them."

I knew she would go off by herself later tonight and cry herself to sleep. There were times when someone would accept comfort and sympathy, but there were also times they just wanted to be alone.

She told her son, "My help will be limited, but I'll assist where I can. With both Betas helping, it should be manageable. Once things are under control, you can make trips to nearby packs to see if your mate is there."

Sorrin gazed at her uncertainly, his eyes red from crying. With me in her arms, the Luna stood up with a heavy sigh. "We only need to focus on the essentials for a few days. The cooks told me they are making food for the children. There will be soup and bread for others. Only four are on patrol, but it will have to suffice for now."

"Is there anything I need to do right away?"

"We need to make some funeral plans, and I'm glad we managed to rescue everyone else trapped in the mining shaft. We also need to start working on the ceremony to declare you the new Alpha. That will be in three days, as is custom. The pack can pretty much run itself, so we have a week or so to figure things out."

Sorrin followed his mother as she carried me out of the room.

Even the darkening sky was overcast and dull as I watched the last shovelful of dirt bring Nix's grave level with the grass. Everyone formed a circle around his resting place and shifted into wolf form.

As one, we all raised our heads to the sky and howled a farewell song. The eerie sound rose and fell as we truly said goodbye to our previous leader. Many voices hitched in pain in various places, but they kept singing.

The sun had completely set by the time we finished. Sorrin, now with a true Alpha's aura after this morning's ceremony, waited for everyone to focus on him.

His mind filled with iron-hard resolve. "He shall live on in our memories, and his efforts shall not be forgotten. His strength shall become ours as we make this pack the best that it can be!"

Howls echoed around the clearing.

"The moon is high," he continued, "let us run with his memories tonight."

He turned and ran down a trail, his mother and the two Betas close behind. More wolves followed as our pack ran as one. Mary grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and joined them.

The older children kept up as best they could, while the younger ones were carried like I was. It was a pack run, and none would be left behind. Nor would we rest or go back to the packhouse until the sun rose.

It wasn't really possible for me to turn my head to see the long trail of wolves. The thick undergrowth flew past me with our speed; occasionally, a leaf or branch brushed against my fur if Mary didn't notice them in time.

The darkness of the night brightened as the waning moon peeked through a gap in the clouds. The momentary glimpse disappeared, although the clouds in the distance were thinner and would probably let more light through later on. Perhaps the clouds would completely disappear closer to morning.

The pack continued flowing through the forest, letting our minds remember the past while our bodies continued forward.