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“AZALEA!”
I came up swinging. Ares caught my wrist in his strong hand. “Woah,” he said. “Calm down, it’s me.”
“Azalea, we’re here,” Hawk said from my left. He climbed onto the bed and pulled me into his arms.
My heart was beating so hard in my chest it actually hurt. “You’re here?” I whispered.
“We’re all here,” Berrion said.
I looked around the room and saw them all staring at me with concern. I leaned into Hawk’s chest, letting the heat from his bare skin sink into my very soul. They were alive.
“What happened?” Sky asked. “I can feel your terror. You’re sad, mourning. Is this about your father?”
“Decker is alive,” I said as I pulled away from Hawk.
“He’s dead,” Ares said. “Trust me, I put his rank body into the ground.”
I shook my head. “It was an illusion. He’s alive. I had a vision. Just like you, Hawk. Maybe I inherited the ability from my mother. He’s alive. In my vision, he killed all of you. He killed the whole pack. He used his charms to subdue you all and then he killed you.”
“That wasn’t a vision,” Hawk said. “It was a nightmare. Decker is dead. He can’t hurt anyone.”
I vehemently shook my head. “No! I saw it! He was standing in the kitchen. He is alive!”
“It was a bad dream,” Sky said. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s only natural you would have nightmares after what you went through.”
I slapped my hand against the bed. “It wasn’t a fucking nightmare! He’s alive!”
“Why don’t we take you to where we buried him?” Radolf said. “We’ll dig him up if you want us to.”
“That’s a good idea,” Berrion said. “She needs to see he’s buried six feet under. Do you want to do that?”
I didn’t but I did. I had to know for sure. “Yes. I have to see it for myself. Decker is like a cockroach. He’s invincible. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“All right, we’ll go dig up a stinky corpse,” Ares said. “Get dressed.”
“Wait,” I called out. I didn’t want to be alone. The nightmare was too real to ignore.
“I’ll stay,” Sky said, sensing my fear of being alone.
The others left. “I’m sorry,” I told him as I crawled out of bed. “It was too real. I don’t know if it was a vision, but if that’s what Hawk saw, I understand why he was upset. I didn’t see him kill you guys, but I saw the blood on his hands. He was covered in it.”
“Don’t be sorry. We should have let you see him be buried. You need that closure. The man put you and your family through hell. This is fine.”
I dressed in front of him. I was still shaking and found it difficult to tie my shoes. He kneeled down and did it for me before getting to his feet and giving me a warm hug.
“What if it wasn’t just a dream?” I asked him. “What if he really is alive? What if he still had someone from the pack under his spell and they dug him out of the grave? He could be out there right now.”
“We are about to find out,” he said and kissed me on the forehead.
He took my hand and led me downstairs. The others were already out back with shovels. I saw them talking. They thought I was losing my mind. I wasn’t. I knew what I saw. Decker always came back. Sky took a minute to dress before we set off into the forest. No one talked as we moved. Ares and Berrion were at my side with Sky behind me. Radolf and Hawk were in front. They said they thought it was a nightmare, but I could feel their tension. They weren’t entirely convinced it wasn’t real.
This little excursion was for them as much as it was for me. “Did you mark his grave?” I asked.
“No,” Ares answered. “He doesn’t deserve to be memorialized in any way.”
I agreed. We walked outside of our territory and ended up on the outskirts of the Ironclaw land. “There.” Radolf pointed to an area of disturbed dirt.
I walked over and stared at the spot. It was still covered. It didn’t look like anyone had dug it up, and no one had dug out from under the pile. It wasn’t enough. I needed to see. “But—”
“We’ll dig,” Ares said.
I stood back and watched them take turns digging up the grave. It was probably a little macabre to watch such a thing or to want to see a dead body, but I had to. I knew there was no possible way I would ever be able to go on with my life if I didn’t know he was dead and buried for good.
“He’s here,” Berrion said and climbed out of the hole.
“Ready?” Hawk asked and gently took my arm.
I nodded, taking a deep breath and walking forward. Ares leaned forward and scraped dirt away from the body lying in the ground. There he was. A sickly pale with blood still caked to his throat. I stared at him for several long seconds. I half-expected him to move. The guys didn’t rush me. They all stood beside me and waited.
I stepped back. “Okay. He’s dead.”
“He’s very dead,” Hawk assured me. “He might come to you in nightmares, but that’s all it is. He is never going to hurt you or anyone else. He’s dead.”
I nodded and stepped away. “All right.”
“I’ll take her back to the house,” Hawk said. “She doesn’t need to be here.”
We started back toward the house. “I’m sorry you had to see my death,” I told him. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like. What I felt in that dream when I thought you were all dead, it gutted me. I can’t imagine seeing the actual killing. I saw the blood and that was enough.”
“I don’t think I can promise you there won’t be any more nightmares, but just know that’s all they are. He cannot get to you.”
“It’s going to take a while.”
“Yes, it will, but we will all be here for you. One of us will be in your bed every night if that’s what you want. We don’t expect you to go through this alone.”
“Thank you. Thank you for being so understanding. I know digging that up was not at the top of your list of things to do today.”
He smiled. “The only thing at the top of my list is you and making sure you are happy and safe. If digging up a crusty body is what does that, then it is on the top of my list.”
I smiled, feeling much better already. “I’m going to call my mom. I was thinking we could get started on the healing of the packs. Maybe we can have a gathering here.”
“I’m not sure they will be ready for that just yet,” he said. “Some of them lost loved ones. They are going to be grieving. The deaths might have happened weeks ago, but to them, it will be like yesterday.”
“You’re right. Maybe just us should go. We can offer condolences and help them in any way we can. It’s hard to say how much damage Decker did.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m going to go to Mrs. Lincoln’s house. She always has casseroles and baked goods in her freezer. I’ll bribe her into letting me take some over.”
He laughed. “You’re going to pass of her cooking as your own?”
“No, definitely not. No one would believe that for a second. I’ll let them know it’s a gift from our pack.”
“That’s a good idea. Why don’t we put out the word that we are making a peace offering? Others might want to send over some stuff as well.”
I nudged his arm. “That’s a great idea. Look at you, always thinking.”
He grabbed me, picking me up by my waist and spun me around. I leaned down and kissed him. “I’m sure glad you are alive,” he said with a laugh.
“Me too.”
When the others got back to the house, we worked on collecting care packages for the Ironclaw. We loaded up my dad’s truck that had sat in the driveway since his death and headed over to the Ironclaw territory. It felt strange to be in his truck without him behind the wheel. I had not been able to bring myself to drive it, but seeing Ares behind the wheel now seemed right.
When we arrived, my mother was sitting at a picnic table with several kids. Her long hair blew in the breeze. “I’m so glad you guys came by,” she said as she hugged me.
“How are things going?” I asked.
She sighed and looked around the small village. “It’s been difficult. We had a combined memorial service for those that died. Sadly, many of them didn’t even realize their loved ones were dead. Decker had them so deep in his control, they could only function enough to survive. The kids are bouncing back much quicker than the adults.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked.
“There are some widows that need a few things fixed around their houses if you guys would be willing to help out. Some of the men are already forming task forces to tackle these projects, but there is so much other stuff to do.”
“Did Declan go back to his job?” I asked.
She nodded. “He did. He left this morning. He told me to tell you thank you and he’ll be in touch.”
“We brought food,” I said gesturing to the truck. “We want to help, but we weren’t sure what you needed.”
“The food will be very appreciated. With Decker keeping them busy guarding the town and watching you guys, the fields have grown over with weeds. One of the dairy cows is missing, and the backyard gardens everyone kept are either dead or so covered with bugs they aren’t usable.”
“We’ll help,” Ares said. “We’ll all help, and I know there are people back home that would love to help out as well. They’ll offer cuttings from their plants. Whatever it takes.”
I was beaming with pride at his willingness to jump in. “Just tell us what you need, Mom. We’re here all day.”
She was smiling, tears in her eyes. She waved a hand in the air and caught the attention of a few men. The came over and after a five-minute discussion, we had a plan of action. We spent the entire day with the Ironclaw, helping them rebuild after the destruction Decker caused. I knew there would be a lot of healing that had to happen, but they were strong people. With my mother leading them, they would be just fine.
