Page 157 of As The Shifter World Turns

“What about you?” Ryder kept his eyes on the road. “Do I toss your body on a bonfire and raise a glass of wine in your honor?”

“Ryder!”

“Kidding, mate. Kidding.”

I squirmed in my seat, his joke making me uncomfortable.

“My attempt at humor didn’t sit well with you, love. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. My family always spoke of death in whispers, we never discussed our feelings.”

“That’s probably the same for most families,” he suggested.

Having a new life inside me and discussing a life that had just ended had me worried that mentioning death was bad luck. “Hopefully our little one will be all grown up by the time I die and maybe with a family. All I ask is that you keep me in your hearts.”

He patted his chest. “Already there. Your name is scrawled over mine.”

Being pregnant and talking about our deaths wasn’t a great combination and had me wiping tears from my eyes. Ryder reached out and put a hand on my thigh. “No one likes it but we do it for those we leave behind, so that when they’re grieving, they don’t have to worry about dealing with the unnecessary hassle of lawyers and courts because we didn’t leave a will.”

“I guess.” The thought of dying and leaving my baby had me properly sobbing but I dabbed at my tears with a tissue not wanting to arrive with a tear-stained face.

“Life is short, love. We need to live it to the fullest.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and when we arrived we hugged Archer and Ron and greeted everyone else. While Elune was too young to understand what was happening, she was more subdued than usual, observing everyone and cuddling her toy bunny rather than chattering and waving.

When everyone had arrived, and Daire had filled our glasses with champagne, Archer and Ron stepped forward and we stood around them in a circle. Our wolf shifter friend held his dad’s hand. “Thank you all for coming.Dad and I appreciate it. I’ll keep this short because my father hated long speeches.”

Everyone laughed which brightened the mood a little.

“My father, who you all knew as George, would want us to remember the good times we had with him and not focus on the past few months and weeks when he’d been unwell. He adored his family and loved spending time with Elune.

Elune gurgled on hearing her name.

“He loved generously during his life and received it in abundance. I think that’s all anyone can expect. I ask you to raise a glass to George, mate to Ron, my father, and grandfather to Elune.”

“To George.”

We milled around sampling the snacks and I was heartened to hear Ron and Archer laughing as they related stories of George’s life.

Ryder put a hand on my back. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Archer and Ron are obviously sad and missing George, but I love that this is a celebration and not a funeral.”

“When everyone is ready, we’re going to scatter my father’s ashes in the woods,” Archer informed us. “He hated the water and said, and I quote, “Don’t put me in that damned lake. It’s always freezing.”

I chuckled because it was true.

“And as soon as we do that, we’re going to shift. As the wind carries away the ashes, we’ll run, acknowledging my father’s last journey.”

I put my face on Archer’s chest to stifle a sob. Being pregnant, my hormones were all over the place and hearing my friend use the expression “last journey” was too much. Ryder put his arm around me and Neil squeezed my hand.

Archer and Ron each gripped the urn as they tipped out the ashes, and we all said, “Vale, George,” meaning farewell.

Everyone apart from me, Neil and Toby removed their clothes. While humans were often dressed in their suits and black dresses when farewelling someone, getting naked was the norm for shifters. Archer and Ron’s wolves led the group, while Neil and I watched until they disappeared through the trees.

Toby played a video game as Martin had refused to allow him into the woods after the time he got lost, especially with no Patch to protect him.

We went back inside, Neil pushing Elune’s stroller. She had fallen asleep, clutching her bunny.

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