EARLY MORNING AT THE GRAVEYARD

Grandpa Alpha's funeral was a very quiet affair. We left before sunrise to the pack's Warrior's Resting Place, a graveyard along an upward slope. At the top of the hill was where the Alphas and Lunas of Night Forest had been buried, and before them, the Alphas and Lunas of Night Howling Pack, Grandpa Alpha's original pack.

Night Forest was one of the few grand old packs that managed to retain its original lands after the Great War.

Warrior's Resting Place was a half an hour drive out followed by another half an hour of following the hearse along a gravel path on foot. It was a cold and miserable walk, silent except for the crunching of icy stony steps. We only had a few lanterns and the hearses' headlights. The smell of exhaust and icy mud. It was miserable.

The hearse finally stopped at the end of the graveled road. Dad and his brothers were the pallbearers. They would have to carry the coffin to the burial site from here.

I stood silently with Mum and Savy. My cousins hadn't giggled at all. They had to lead Aunt Jade in the darkness. I think the short trek and cold and dark was much harder on a human than on us.

Oscar carried his little Alpha on his back. Eddy had thrown a tantrum about Grandpa Alpha going away at breakfast this morning. He was certain that Grandpa was going to the candy store without him. His sisters had told him that Grandpa Alpha was going to where there was a lot of cotton candy last night.

Eventually, Uncle Louis promised that if Eddy would be a good boy and do as he was told, they would stop by the candy store after the burial.

This cheered me up too. I looked hopefully at my Dad. At this point, if he wouldn't stop for candy, I would have told Ki or Harvey to drive Savy and me in a separate car.

But Dad said, "I suppose that's fine. We can make a stop, Pierre and Andre could bring home something for their pups too."

Everyone thought it was a good idea. Dad patted me on the head kindly. Omo, it was the same way he looked at my when I was a little pup. I guess I was still a little pup in his eyes, and this morning, that thought comforted me a great deal.

Especially since Grandma Luna's words about needing to grow up and mate and have babies were still lurking in my head.

"Mother, your ring? Where is it?" Uncle Louis suddenly noticed at the breakfast table. Now that Eddy had calmed down and started eating his eggs. We had all settled down to eat too.

Grandma put down her fork and knife daintily, "I've kept it in a safe place."

"But you always wear it." Uncle Louis said.

"I've decided to stop wearing it till I return here again." Grandma Luna said.

There was silence. I chewed on my slice of bread and pretended I didn't hear anything.

We got to the top of the slope, Dad and his brothers set the coffin next to the rectangular hole in the ground. The grave marker was already placed there.

I just stood on the side watching the men lower the coffin. The undertaker helped give instructions, he got all of us to drop flowers over the coffin. And then the betas, including mine, had to take up the shovels to finish the burial.

I just stood there watching the scene playing out in the first light of morning. Only the Alpha and Beta families was present.

Grandma Luna stood on the other side of the grave watching. I couldn't see her expression pass her veil.

I felt so sad. So so sad.

And then it was suddenly over. The betas gave the ground a final packing in. They gathered the flower wreathes from the wake and arranged them roughly over the raw earth. Like a pretty bandage to cover the wound in the ground. I looked at the mound of flowers as the sun came up, and then at the plain grave stone.

There was a feeling of finality. I guess I was more like Eddy than I realized. I kept thinking Grandpa Alpha would come back and laugh at me for thinking he could die. But we had just buried him and there was his gravestone. It was as if the words "The End" was carved into it.

Looking closer, there were words engraved in it, "Alpha Silas Kingsley". It had the year of his birth and death. And then the words, "I had no regrets."

Savy came over to me and took my hand. It was time to go.

I followed everyone down the slippery slope. Dad now held Mum on his arm. Savy and I clung together. Then we left the hearse behind and walked back to our cars.

A while later, we were outside the candy store. It had to be the only candy store that opened at 7am in the morning. Actually it was the only store opened on the street. I suspect Beta Larson had made a few calls.

Now in the light of day, I realized we had been traveling in quite an impressive convoy. Uncle Louis' and his family in his black town car, Grandma Luna and Mindy in a grey one, our family traveled in Dad's town car. And each of my uncles were driven in one of my navy blue Mercedes Benzes. Now stopped along the road outside the candy store, the cars gleamed in the morning sun. The Betas driving them all got out and stood next to the car while we went in.

I didn't quite feel like it anymore.

Grandpa Alpha was buried six feet under and I was at a candy store. Unlike Eddy, I couldn't quite believe Grandpa was surrounded by cotton candy.

Savy followed mum about be shop while I waited at the counter.

"Are you going to get candy?" Esmeralda asked me. She had just stepped aside while Estella and Oscar tried coax Eddy to choose one out of two of the bags of cotton candy.

"I dunno." I said, "I don't know what's good."

Esmeralda nodded, "You can try the chocolates. Our cholates are handmade." She pointed to a glass cabinet with slabs of different chocolates.

I went over to look. Mum and Savy came over.

Aunt Jade was with them, "The chocolates are very good."

Mum looked at me, "Did you see something you wanted?"

"Okay." I said.

Mum gave me a funny look.

"Let's just buy some back for everyone." Savy suggested.

The lady behind the counter started serving lots of samples. I ate a piece, it really was good chocolate. The rest of the samples I collected on my napkin.

Uncle Andre and Uncle Pierre decided they would buy chocolate too. It looked like we were going to empty the display case. I took my handful of samples and left the shop for a breather.

The Betas were doing it again. Standing in a tight circle with phones in their hands. Even Beta Larson and Oscar were in it. They looked up and stopped when they saw me. I shook my head and went over to them quickly.

"You can continue, they haven't finished buying out the whole shop yet." I joked. I offered my chocolate, "Want samples?"

I shoved the napkin to Ben. I knew Ben would eat it. He held it out to share.

"How about you princess?" Harvey asked.

I shook my head, "Don't feel like it. I just want water when we get back."

Immediately, Killion opened the town car's boot and retrieved with a bottle of drinking water.

Beta magic.

I grinned, "Thanks!"

Then I leaned back on the car to drink while the Betas continued rescheduling. Now that Grandma Luna was going to travel with Uncle Pierre and Uncle Andre, we would need more drivers.

Originally, it was planned that Beta Larson would drive Grandma Luna and Mindy. Harvey would drive Uncle Pierre and Uncle Andre, and Oscar would drive the pack van with the luggage.

However Uncle Pierre really wanted to test drive the Porsche, so now, Harvey would ride in the van with Oscar and drive the Porsche back after.

"What Porsche?" Beta Larson frowned.

"Harvey's car." Oscar answered.

"It's actually my Alpha's car." Harvey corrected.

Oscar looked at me, "How many cars do you have?"

Beta Larson immediately hit him, "Don't be rude, Oscar."

I laughed and shrugged, "I've got no idea."

"Alpha Sam currently has five cars." Killion replied, "These two formal Mercs, a Porsche, a Lambo, and a Peugeot."

Oh. That's nice to know.

"What about the other blue Merc?" Oscar asked.

"That one's mine." Killion answered sanguinely.

"No way!" Oscar said, "How does a Beta get that kind of ride?"

"It was a gift." Killion answered.

I kicked Killion on his butt, "Stop showing off."

Oscar looked at Ben, "Are you going to get a car too?"

"He's getting the Lambo." Harvey smiled wryly.

Ben grinned. He was that happy.

I didn't see why. The Lambo was like riding a rocket with wheels, and noisy like one too.

"If the Lambo is Ben's, then the Porsche is Harv's." I said. Fair is fair.

"Thank you, Princess, but I must decline. I do not care to have to maintain it. I'll just borrow it as needed, if you don't mind." Harvey said.

Ben looked seriously torn, and then thoughtful, he was doing the math. And then he said, "Can I have the Peugeot?"

I laughed at that, and I almost said yes, but, "No. I like that one."

Killion said, "Since no one wants the Lambo, we could sell it and get something else instead."

"Like a pickup truck?" I asked hopefully.

"Who exchanges a Lambo for a pickup truck?" Killion face palmed.

I'm laughing again. Hahaha. Me, of course!

Then Ben had a brilliant idea, "Let's swap the Lambo for a pick up and some motorbikes."

My eyes lit up, "You're a genius, Ben!"

Beta Lucas' eyes looked slightly panicked, "Sam... I mean Alpha Sam... This isn't because of the story I told you..."

"About how you and Dad and Gamma Harry would hunt rogues on motorbikes?" I asked, "It is totally because of it."

"Don't worry, Dad." Ben smirked, "We won't tell if you don't."

Beta Lucas looked at Beta Gerald for help. Harvey's dad who had been silent throughout spoke then, "There is a budget for a vehicle when Ben gets his license. It might be enough for a basic pick up truck and a couple of bikes."

Oh, well that was helpful (to me).

By the time Dad came out of the store, I was feeling peachy again. I wondered if Dad needed a breather too.

The Betas broke out of their circle to return to their cars. Ben opened the car door for Dad to enter. I followed Dad into the car. Beta Lucas had gotten in the driver's seat and started the engine. Ben waited outside, I could see his back from inside the car.

Dad frowned a moment before he decided to tell me, "Hank mind-linked while I was at the shop. There had been a suspected break in at our apartment at Night Forest. I gave him permission to proceed with caution."

Grandma Luna's ring!

"Shouldn't we go back?" I asked.

Dad shrugged, "Hank will take care of it. Returning ten minutes later won't hurt."

Suddenly Uncle Louis ran out of the shop, he had Eddy protesting over his shoulder. The women and his two other brothers followed out behind. The betas rushed forward to take the shopping, and usher their passengers into the right cars.

Ben put Mum and Savy into the car and the shopping bags into the boot. Yes, it was a single candy store and Mum and Savy could leave it with shopping bags. I wouldn't be surprised if the store immediately put out their "closed" sign and called it a day.

"Louis said Mother had returned to the pack house to find her safe had been ransacked." Mum informed us.

"Our apartment had a suspected security breach too." Dad told her. He was on mindlink shortly after.

Our convoy sped across the small pack town and into the long pack house driveway. It was unsuspectingly calm and we all alighted with our betas and shopping.

It was almost like nothing had happened.