Chapter 74

Jacke's POV

We descended the ladder into the cellar below with an empty jar, and once we got to the bottom Alex stood at the ladder to make sure no one else came in, while I made my way to the altar in the center. The ashes were still there in the pile that Lady Muerte had left them, and nothing had looked like it changed, but it was time for a change. I grabbed my knife from my coat and carefully moved the ashes from the alter into the jar, until there wasn't any left and twisted the lid on tight. I was going to take a trip later this week to the Gulf of Mexico and disperse the ashes into the water, symbolizing an end to our chapter of pain and suffering. That section of our life was over, and a new chapter was beginning to unfold before us, one with Alex by our side and a new family that was bigger and stronger than it had been before.

I looked around the room and took in every last detail, from the chests full of coins we'd dug up over the years, to the racks of weaponry that we never found a use for. As we looked around the room, memories came to mind of a time before La Bruja and even before Alex, we were single but had been abstinent simply because sex was never on our minds. We walked alone every night after a successful raid, or after a victorious battle, and would stare absentmindedly at the moon. One of those nights was after a significant battle, where we had almost been killed by a paladin of all things, and after all, was said and done we took a seat on a rock staring into the night. We made a wish that night for someone to find us, and make us whole again. Looking back on that night, I'm glad that our wish came true and even happier that it was Alex.

"What do you think about giving some of this stuff away? Like to a museum or something?" I asked looking back to where Alex was standing, she gave me a cockeyed look, and started looking around.

"I feel like it would be better if instead of giving it away, we put it on display somewhere, like make this place kind of like a museum for the pack. Maybe arrange this all in glass cases and stuff with signs explaining the history behind them?" She said before signaling for me to follow her as she climbed back up the ladder, "I feel like it would be more valuable for the pack to have its own museum showing off your history, give them a chance to learn more about you while simultaneously keeping those items preserved."

"That's not a bad idea, we could work on that later on, but I like that idea a lot," I said as she led me up a flight of stairs and through a hallway until we ended up at the entrance to a room with double doors, "I take it this room is important by the double doors?"

"This is our room, Love, there's not a lot in here just yet as we've yet to get my stuff moved in, and you don't have much to move in after the fire; We're working on getting some of the stuff that was destroyed replaced, Nicki filled out an order for multiple cases of Lucifer's Cola, and the ingredients to make it at home so you don't have to go out to get it anymore if you don't want to," She said before she opened the doors to reveal a mostly empty room, there was a Queen sized bed and a small dresser, but the emptiness of the room made me excited. It meant that we had enough room for both of us to decorate it together, without having to argue or bicker over space, "What do you think?"

"I love it, there's so much space to make it our own instead of a carbon copy of everything else here," I said as I looked around the room, "I'm going to need a clipboard, and like, I don't even know, a full packet of paper? I have so many ideas for how we could decorate this place."

As I continued brainstorming, I was made completely oblivious to the look Alex was giving me until I turned back to face her. She was looking at me like I was her favorite food, and she hadn't eaten in days. She sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her, and laid her arm around my shoulder when I sat down.

"I know you're excited to set this place up, Love, but you're going to have to give it some time while we wait for my stuff to be moved in, and your things to arrive in the mail. Besides, we still have some work to do in terms of renovation, and you still have to address the pack as a whole this weekend."

"I have no idea how I'm even going to go about that. I mean, what should I even be doing when I 'address' them?"

"I still don't know how you're able to lead your own family into a war against a witch, but even the idea of having to give a public speech is enough to freak you out. It isn't difficult, anyways, essentially all you're doing is going on a stage and saying 'I'm Jacke, I accept the position of Luna and Alex as my mate' with more words."

"That sounds like you're making out to be a lot easier than it is, either that or I'm overthinking again," I said before resting my head on her shoulder, easing my nerves as I started thinking about how I would even make this kind of speech.

"I have an idea, instead of a speech, I'll talk to my family and see if it would be possible for you to just make a video accepting your title."

"No, I don't want to end up disappointing your family. What if I just wear a shirt saying 'Alex's Bitch' on it? I feel like that would be easier."

"As funny as that would be, I don't think they'd accept that as you accepting your title. What you could do is just take to my Beta and Uncle Pete, as they're the two closest people to me, and let them know that you don't think a speech would work for you. I'm sure that your war in Necropolis would attest to our bond, anyway."

"I like that idea, it wouldn't be that difficult to do, and I'd be able to continue helping out my people while we rebuild," I said as she started playing with my hair, there was no way for me to express how grateful I was to have her in my life, and I wasn't giving her up for anything.

"I'll send them a message to let them know to expect you to talk to them tomorrow, and if you have any way of explaining to them what happened in the Necropolis, that might help your case out a good bit."

We spent the rest of the day like that, talking about how we would set our room up, how we could set up different buildings for gardening and freezing meats, and eventually, it led to her pointing out that she was going to 'Tie the knot'. She tried describing to me how she was going to make me scream, and lick at my mark to see how I'd react until I finally just kissed her to get her to shut up. I could only handle so much 'Bed talk' before I started freaking out and blushing beat red.