🖤🖤

My hands raked through my hair, pulling at the scalp. I ignored the numbing pain from my tugging fingers and looked up at my empty closet. It seemed like something so trivial.

How could I decide what to wear when I was going to my best friend's funeral?

This was the first time I had come back to my own apartment since that day, but now I had to face reality.

In fact, it was going to smack me in the face tonight at the start of the ceremony.

I had never attended a werewolf funeral.

And a few months ago, I never would have thought I was going to be saying those words. And that thought made my knees weak.

In a matter of no time, my life flipped upside down, before I was staring at it and attempting to turn it back. I was finally learning, once and for all, that I needed to accept the new perspective instead of fighting it. That included welcoming the new Adira. I wasn't going to beat Artemis if part of me was fighting myself.

I was going to need every last inch of me working against her.

I looked down at the discarded clothes on the floor. I picked up a black dress —the same one that I had already looked at a thousand times— and just decided to put it on.

If I got through today... I could kill her tomorrow.

Klayton and I had switched strategies; much to his aversion, I was no longer going to train. He finally agreed that nothing was really going to prepare me for what was about to happen.

She knew I was coming for her, it was just a matter of when.

I smoothed the dress, I looked in the mirror and took in my appearance.

My stark white hair, purple eyes and athletic build were not so foreign anymore —even though no one from my old life would recognize me.

I left my apartment, not even bothering to lock the door. I had a weird feeling I wasn't going to be back for a long time. It was hard enough coming back as of recently, due to the traumatic events that happened here. But it needed to be done.

However, the persistent feeling that told me I wouldn't be coming back lingered. I needed to move out; and stay out. I no longer could live in the place that housed so many dark memories.

~

The sun was setting.

Werewolf funerals happened at night, Klayton had explained. The significance was that they are supposed to be given back to the moon. Klayton had modified parts of the ceremony but pack traditions could be hard to overrule —even as Alpha.

The families didn't want a spectacle and turning the funerals in a political fuck you to the Moon Goddess wasn't seen as exactly impartial.

People outside of Klayton's immediate circle don't know the whole story.

To come out and throw such accusations at the Moon Goddess would mean civil war, and I couldn't bear to have more blood on my hands.

Not unless it was Artemis's.

The new Beta had arrived to pick me up. He hadn't taken his oath yet, but someone had to step up in these times. I kept forgetting his name, Corey... or something like that. I didn't want to get too attached.

I couldn't.

He didn't speak much anyway. He seemed unlike Issac in every way, which made is easier, yet harder all at the same time. I craved a warm smile and some friendly teasing, but I don't know if my heart could take it.

Instead, his features were cold, and he hardly smiled, but Klayton said he did the job.

One day Issac's little brother would take over, but he was far too young to begin training, let alone bear the title.

Of course, the ride was silent. I played with the hem of the dress and as soon as the car stopped I jumped out. Met with my favourite embrace.

Klayton. My face dug into his suit. I knew, without even looking, that he was immaculate. I wanted to see him in his kind of suit on a less sombre occasion.

The Beta cleared his throat behind us, clearly uncomfortable with the show of affection. "Sir, we should get going before the moon rises."

I could feel Klayton's arms unwrap from my waist. However, his touch never left me as he grabbed my hand.

I could feel his chest rumble as he talked, even though I was no longer pressed against it.

"Ah yes, thank you, Callum."

I giggled a little under my breath, earning me a questioning stare from my mate, but he didn't pry.

Corey... Callum... close enough.

I wasn't good with funerals. In the few that I attended before my move to Myserdale, I often struggled to keep my composure.

I often felt the uncontrollable need to laugh, like I was a five-year-old child; one who couldn't comprehend their own emotions.

The moon was starting to rise, and everything would start shortly.

It was a full moon.

How fitting.

I ask the question that has been weighing on my mind all day.

"Klayton, will I get to... to see them... their bodies, I mean?"

I felt his hand tighten around mine. He had left out quite a few of the details.

We stopped in our tracks. He held up his hand to Callum and in silent command, told him to go on without us.

He turned towards me and looked down. I could feel his eyes search mine for any sign of alarm. When he seemed satisfied that I was just asking, he sighed and answered me.

"Well... as the Luna, traditionally you would kiss their foreheads to send them off —a kiss from the crown before sending them into the ground,"

It was if he was reciting from a book. He continued.

"They won't be in caskets, normally they would be wrapped in Datura, a type of flower that only blossoms at night... as a tribute to the Goddess. However, I had made the arrangements for it to be lilies... as that seems more fitting for this occasion."

I am overwhelmed when he says 'Luna', the title sounding foreign. A mounting responsibility falls heavy on my chest. It's almost as if I can feel it physically, and breathing suddenly becomes a little harder.

We stand in silence for a second before I get the courage to ask. Choking on my words halfway through.

"Um, where will the... um... the bodies go?" I ask, thinking of the cemetery, on the outskirts of Meyersdale, where I often met Destiny.

"Well, we have cemeteries if that is what you are thinking. But... as I said, we bury them almost bare, to give them back to the earth which they have come. A gift to the Goddess' of the earth: the sun, the moon, the stars, the ground, and water,"

I am slightly taken aback at Klayton's word.

I hadn't realized, or even considered the possibility that the Goddess' extended past the ones with who I was acquainted.

My thoughts are cut short by a sudden tug on my hand.

We had started to walk again.

The sound of gravel crunching beneath my feet is the only thing filling my mind. I have let it run blank, in fear of where my imagination might take me.

There are so many people. Their figures made more ghostly by the lanterns lining the area.

Faces blur together, and I wonder how many of these faces truly knew Lenna and Issac as I did.

Klayton turns to me. His hands find the side of my face.

"You are mine, my Luna, don't forget that. You were fated into this position. Fate is not often falsely bestowed, and the sacrifices you have made, and continue to make prove that Adira."

And so we stand.

Hand in hand, at the head of the bodies. It all seemed to happen in an instant, we were whisked in front of the crowd, silence falling over them. Klayton spoke but the only sound I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears.

And the faint echo of my shoes crunching against the ground.

The moon was high in the sky at this point, almost at the apex.

I could not bring myself to look down. I know I will be met with pale skin, skin that doesn't resemble my friends.

I feel Klayton's hand on my back. He is pressing me forward, giving me the cue. I step forward. Unsure of how my legs are even carrying me.

I bend forward, and tears, that I didn't know were running down my cheeks, splash against Issac's forehead. I bend down and I see the flash of his smile, the picture went away in a second, but its impression would be everlasting.

As my lips reach his forehead, I taste my salty tears for a second before jerking back, as if I have been shocked.

Another image played through my mind. A girl, whose reddish hair flew out behind her as she ran. She looked back at me and smiled. A smile filled with the same warmth, but devilish smirk, that often accompanied Issacs.

I knew it was Everleigh.

I was caught off guard by the sudden vision. My feet get trapped underneath me. Klayton's hand wrapped around my upper arm, making sure I stay upright.

To him it probably looked like I was just overcome with emotion... he had no idea.

I looked up, back into the crowd. I couldn't pick out individuals but I knew these were my people. Suddenly everything felt right.

And then I saw her.

Her hair gave her away.

I was looking at Artemis and my breath hitched.

How dare she!

The funeral for the people she killed! With her bare hands... yet right there she stands.

I can feel Klayton following my gaze.

As he realizes, I can feel his wave of anger. Suddenly the crowd is scattering. Their screams fill the air.

Klayton's silent order passed down, through the mind link, and had reached the public. Soon the crowd was sparse, people running to safety.

They are in danger and it's my job to protect them, as their leader and Luna.

In the middle of all the chaos sat Artemis, as she had done so many times before. My eyes met hers as I stalked forward. The person staring back shook me to the core.

It was me.

It was like we were twins.

But I knew, deep down, we were nothing alike.

Klayton tried to jump in front of me, but he should have known this was my fight.

It was like the earth had spoke for me.

There was rain. It pelted down. It was the type of rain that stings when it hits your skin, drenching you in seconds. The clothes on your back quickly weighed down by the water.

A rain so intense that you can't see your hand in front of you.

Yet, I could.

In fact, it was almost like my vision had been cleared by the rain. I could see Klayton stumbling, searching for me.

And Artemis standing, waiting for me.

And then the ground shook; Klayton was knocked down. Somehow I kept my footing. In fact, it felt as if I had never been in more control of my body.

The earth continued to tremble, the rain continued to pour.

Artemis fell... finally beneath me. The sight made power swell within me. She may be a Goddess but I was the Queen.

And then there was sun.

In the middle of the night, it shone, just one beam.

It hit me suddenly, it made perfect sense.

It was Theia's essence, her trace of power taking vengeance on the sister that took her life.

We were giving back to the Goddess' of this Earth, and now they were giving back to me.

Artemis screamed, her body contorting. The sunlight had reached her body perfectly; scorching her amidst this dark night. Her skin turning bright red. Steam rose from her body. She was burning alive.

I knew this opportunity wouldn't last long.

I felt the pull.

The same dangerous pull that I had felt for the first time so long ago. It was like I was underwater all over again, searching for Hana's grave.

I looked down, but only for a second at the sight below me.

Artemis —The Goddess of The Moon no longer seemed godly.

My body had a mind of its own as I reached down. I felt a sharp movement, that I later realized was my arm.

Finally, the screaming stopped.

I looked down.

My hand.

My hand was inside of the Moon Goddess' chest.