Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,87

a force to be reckoned with. “I’ll have to keep that in mind in the future.”

“See that you do,” was Merc’s only response. Then he reached his hand to me, an offering I could accept or refuse. A soft gesture in a complicated time of mourning. “Shall we help the others prepare Knox’s body?”

Sorrow swept through me. “I don’t think I can. I want this to not be real. Tell me it isn’t real...”

“I wish I could, Piper, but that isn’t our reality.”

I choked back a sob. “He’s really gone, isn’t he?”

Merc took my face in his hands and wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks. “He really is, but I'm still here, and together, we will get through this. We will face this harsh truth hand-in-hand. You will learn to live a life without Knox, and I will do all I can to ease your pain.”

I looked into his dark eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t know anyone better at taking pain away than you.” I pulled away from his hold, and when his hands fell to his sides, I slipped mine into his. “I’ll gladly assign the task to you—but don’t tell Dean. He’ll be heartbroken at the thought of his goofiness not being enough to cheer me up.”

The vampire king pulled me closer. “Your secret is safe with me.”

I stifled a small, sad laugh as he led the way to the mansion. I didn’t know what life would hold for us now, but I knew that, with him and the others around me, nothing could defeat us.

I, alone, wasn’t the force of nature.

We were.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

We stood outside the remains of the pack’s former home in Alaska, the cool wind biting at our cheeks. The brass urn weighed heavy in my arms as I took in the place where I had been taken in by Knox and his boys. The place where our story had begun.

It seemed the proper place for it to conclude.

Foust took the urn from me and opened the lid so he could remove the ashes. “If this bag breaks, I’m not going to be happy,” he said as he carefully removed his former alpha’s remains.

“I doubt Knox would be pleased about being laid to rest in your raggedy hair, either,” Brunton said, jabbing at his new leader. “He’d give you shit for a century, at least.”

“Yeah, he would. Maybe we should have a bonfire tonight and tell stories about him until the reality that he’s gone fully sinks in.”

“Then we can drink until we forget again,” Jagger added. The sadness in his eyes impaled me, and I wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled him close.

“I’m game if you guys are.” I turned to where Merc and his brothers stood. “Can we?”

“Of course,” Merc replied without pause. “We can stay until just before the sun rises on the east coast.”

“Then perhaps we should stop talking and start spreading his remains so we can get to the drinking part,” Kat said, leaning an elbow on Jase’s shoulder. “I could use a whiskey or ten.”

“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but did anyone bring booze with them?” Brunton asked. “Because we sure as fuck aren’t going to salvage any from in there.” He pointed at the remains of his former home, and our hopes for drowning our sorrows disappeared in an instant.

“Well, I can’t do this sober,” Kat said.

“Neither can I.” Sadness leaked into my voice, and Merc wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“Your pain honors him.” He looked at everyone in attendance, meeting their hollow stares. “He felt more for you than any of you fully understand, so tonight, we will do the same for him.” He took the container of ashes and held it high above his head. “Trevor Knoxville was a warrior, a savior, a hero, and a mate. He will be missed beyond measure. But he will never be forgotten.” He handed the bag back to Foust and clapped his hand on the new alpha’s shoulder. “Though they are your wolves now, they were once his. Let them each have a hand in laying him to rest.”

Foust nodded, his keen eyes wet and shining in the moonlight, then opened the bag and took a handful of Knox’s ashes before passing it along to Brunton, then Jagger, and on and on until every one of the Alaskan pack held a piece of their fallen alpha.

“Piper,” Foust called, looking back at me. “A little wind, if