Chapter 58

My eyes were swollen, red, dark bags underneath them while my lashes stayed damp. I closed the compact mirror and breathed out before grabbing the tissues from my bag and wiping my nose. It had been a couple of minutes since Aunt Carol's funeral was finished. Her casket was taken from the church, prepared to be put down whilst I sat inside the church and remained alone with myself.

I couldn't see her go down, six feet in the ground of the cemetery I often visited while remembering my parents who were murdered by the same people. Now, they had taken the last of my family, my precious Aunt who I loved and grew up with.

"You don't have to just stand in the corner..." I trailed off, sniffing and wiping my nose once more.

"I have orders to observe you from a distance till he would return," Arnold replied, clearing his throat and standing taut against one of the walls inside the church.

King had gone with the other people to bury Aunt Carol. Beatrice was with him as well whilst I was here, alone, mourning her death. It had just been a few minutes earlier when Carol's friends spoke about her and how wonderful of a woman she was. The sweet words from everyone bought a little comfort but not enough to wipe away the itching pain in my chest.

"Come, sit with me. I could use someone's company." I said to him while turning my head around a little and meeting with his careful gaze.

He lowered his head and walked toward me from the end of the church. Walking in between the seats, he sat down closely and looked ahead at the altar.

"Death is a painful thing, Ms. Eos, especially when you have a promise of immortality for yourself and they aren't there to be with you," Arnold spoke, his voice was dull.

The sorrow was thick in the air.

"I wished she was a werewolf. It would have been harder to kill her, right?" I asked him.

"Indeed. A trained werewolf has enough strength to beat any odds against him that's why it's a blessing in disguise." The side of his mouth curled into a smile.

I remembered the time when I told King that what he had supposedly given me was a curse but after all of this, I realized it wasn't. If it weren't for the wolf within me, I would have died or been immobile with all the injuries I got back in the forest.

Beatrice was still in pain, healing while I was completely fine.

If Aunt Carol had been a werewolf, she could've fought against whoever came to kill her, and she could've won. She would've been here with me, only if it was possible but it was already too late to think about that all.

"Have you ever lost someone, Arnold?" My face tilted.

"Quite a few times. I've lost count," He shook his head before lifting it up. "Nearly seven years ago, I watched this pack get wiped away with all my family and friends in it." The pain flashed in his eyes before he closed them.

I pursued my lips together while King's words rushed into my head. He had told me about the attack that took place seven years ago. The town was evacuated then. Something clicked in my mind.

My parents were killed only a little time after that.

Could it be possible? Could it be the same people that had killed his family and mine?

My voice rose and I asked Arnold, "Did you or King ever manage to find the people that had killed the people in this town?"

"No," He straightened his back and sighed, "It was out of nowhere and it left a traumatic memory for Mr. King that he wouldn't wish to recall ever. But as the time passed, we had learned it had been the hunters that had killed all those people years ago."

"Do you know who were the hunters? Or where they came from? Or what they wanted?" My ears perked and I began wanting to know more about it.

What if the same hunters had killed my parents and Aunt Carol? It was a reach but it was something to go on for.

"Unfortunately, they wasn't much information on the family of hunters that had hunted ours. They live in secrecy, just as we do. It could be anyone." Arnold shrugged.

I blew out a breath and leaned back against the chair. Just at the same time, I heard a few voices nearing the church and it made me assume that King was back along with Beatrice.

Aunt Carol was buried.

Arnold stood up from the seat, straightened himself and walked a few steps away from me whilst people walked inside the church. I continued staring at the altar, with sorrow and anger both in my heart until King arrived and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

He crouched down beside me on the ground and worry filled his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked me, hollow in his words.

I nodded, "I just want to go—" I pressed my eyes to close, remembering the home I had with Aunt Carol. Now that was gone, I couldn't live there, not without seeing her everywhere. "Anywhere—just anywhere."

"I'll take you with me." He whispered before lifting his head and signaling Arnold to come to him. A moment later, he asked him to take Beatrice along with him and drop her off.

Beatrice's parents were flying to the town later at the evening and they were going to take care of her as she was still quite injured from the accident.

As soon as Arnold left, King looped his arm around me and whispered, "Come."

I stood up from the seat and walked alongside King while narrowing my eyes to the ground as people passed by me. A lot of people had attended the funeral and a lot of condolences were shared.

Everyone spoke well about Aunt Carol and grieved along with me.

When I stepped out, Beatrice and Arnold were long gone. The sky was a wonderful shade of orange and red and the weather was rather calm today.

Just as I closed my eyes to take a breath, tears gushed out in the memory of my Aunt and how much she enjoyed calm weather. She loved spending her day at the beach when the wind was mild and there was no storm approaching but it rarely happened around here.

"It's okay," King wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed in his chest. My heart ached at the memory. "She's always going to be here with you, Eos." He rubbed my back, comforting me as we waited for the car.

My pulse slowed and I stopped crying after a couple of minutes. As I pulled myself away from King, his hands reached and wiped the wet tears away from my face before he leaned in and placed a kiss over my forehead.

"Let's go." He said as the car arrived in front of the church.

Opening the door for me, he let me in at first before sliding himself in the driver's seat. As the car started to move, I looked outside of the window, and smiled.

She would have been happy knowing all these people came from her even when she had no family except for me.

My gaze froze at the familiar guy standing outside of the church. Bryce. I blinked a couple of times, clearing my vision as anger pumped into my veins.

What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be gone or something?

I snapped my head around and my jaw tightened. Before anything, King started driving and he quickly sped out of the street where the church stood.

I didn't look back but I was furious that Bryce came to the church for my Aunt's funeral.

Why?