Page 120 of Mate to the Alpha Of All Alphas

The rest was a blur of activities. They took her father's body away. Alphose was holding a sobbing Sandra beside them.

Wolfaraine led her to the nearest chair, knelt down in front of her, and told her firmly that she should stay strong now.

"Now is the time to stay strong for your family, Ismena. For your mother and little sister. You have always been strong, now is a time to bea little bit stronger than you usually are. You can break down later...much later, when we get home."

Home. For some reason, more tears flooded her eyes. Something has changed between them, Ismena can feel it. Something has changed in him.

Will Naturiah still feel like home again?

"Is that how you do it? You keep it all in, tying a rope around them and burying it deep down...even when it hurts so much?" She asked, softly. Tearfully.

He averted his eyes, "Yes. At least, until I'm alone." His voice was so low, that she almost didn't hear him.

Then, he took a deep breath and looked at her with tired eyes again, "Alphose and I will take care of everything. Just get some rest and wait here."

With that, he turned and walked away, with Alphose following behind him.

Ismena took his advice, keeping it tightly reined in, staying strong for her mother and her little sister.

Three days later, her father was laid to rest. The burial rites were simple, with only a few people in attendance—just the way they wanted it.

Ismena was happy the priest skipped all the parts of opening the casket, it made it all a bit more bearable. She would have broken down and bawled like a child if she had to see her father's dead body again.

She stood beside her mother, who surprisingly wasn't crying out loud, but tears were streaming down her face. Amelia has been crying non-stopfor the past three days, so Ismena didn’t know if her mother was just being strong now or if her tear duct has gone dry.

Her poor little sister was the only one sobbing out loud, while plastered tightly beside Ismena who returned the hug. Thankfully, Wolfaraine was there for her for the past three days.

He was there. Like solid rock, he stayed by her side.

Whenever she wanted to break down, his presence kept her strong.

They haven't talked about her father's confessions. These past few days have been a wind whirl of activities. There was just no time for it. Or, maybe they just didn't wanna talk about it.

Three more days later, they were ready to go back to Naturiah. Wolfaraine made it clear that they cannot stay any longer in the human world. Wolfhunters have attacked twice, he'd confessed, but he and Alphose had managed to take of them in secret to avoid scaring her mother and sister.

"Please, come with us, mother." Ismena pleaded again for the umpteenth time. Wolfaraine had agreed already for her to bring her family to Naturiah if her mother was in agreement. But she wasn't.

Again, Amelia shook her head, pasting a smile on her face. She seemed to have aged more in the past few days, and the changes tugged on Ismena's chest so much. Her father's death hit her mother harder than she's letting on.

"I can't, Ena. I want to stay here," she gestured to their home, "Here... Your father's memories are right here. When I move around the house, I can still feel him."

Ismena swallowed tightly, glancing behind her at Wolfariane’s inscrutable face before staring back at her mother. "Mother, don't you think it'll make you miserable? Father is dead."

Amelia flinched, but met her daughter's eyes squarely. "So, what if it makes me miserable? I want to mourn my husband, Ismena."

"He was involved in horrible things he never told me about, but he was also one of the best things that happened to me these past few years. It's not even been a week since he died to think of forgetting him. He deserves to be mourned." Her voice cracked in the end.

Ismena moved forward and hugged her mother. "I understand, mama. I'm sorry..."

Amelia nodded against her shoulder, before pulling back and sniffling softly. "I'll be fine, honey. You can take your sister with you too, but I'll be fine."

Ismena met Valentina's eyes behind their mother. The teenager pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I'm staying with her." She mouthed.

Ismena expected nothing less, she smiled at her sister. Her little sister might be a typical rebellious teenager, but she's also very protective of their mother.

To their mother, she said, "Tina is staying with you." Pulling both women together, she embraced them tightly, "Call me if you need anything, I'll come running. Call me if you wanna visit Naturiah and they'll come pick you up. Anytime, mama."

---