Never Goodbye, A Werewolf Romance - (Book 1-The Mist Series)

Chapter 59 The Return Home

Chapter 59

The Return Home

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Joseph

My body ached and throbbed in places I didn’t even know was possible as I climbed awkwardly out of the car. It was good that I had my feeling back in my body, but highly fucken painful. I stared out over the front of the packhouse, haloed by the brilliant early morning sun. It was a beautiful building that had watched over us from the beginning of the pack’s early creation. It revealed no signs of the battles fought on its manicured green lawns. And there were no remaining signs of the fight that had taken place a few days back.

Dad notified me that the rival pack’s bodies had been taken to a mass grave and burned. The bodies of our fallen warriors were laid to rest at the town cemetery. Dad and Mum had overseen a memorial service for them the day after the battle. I was paralysed at that time and couldn’t attend. If Louise had stayed with me at the hospital, the time would have gone faster.

“It was beautiful,” Josie-Anna said from beside me. “And emotional… There was not a dry eye in the pack. I feel so sorry for their families…”

Her response pulled me away from my thoughts. I peered down to see her smiling up at me. “What was beautiful…?”

“The memorial service…” She closed the car door and offered her hand. “We lost five warriors during the battle…”

“I know,” I took her hand. “We lost good men and women… I felt each death in my soul…”

“So, you’re about to walk into a crazy house,” she warned as she slowly approached the front door.

Each step I took was ridged and strained, fighting against the pain. I could feel everything—each strained muscle movement, each tensed tendon. But my legs struggled to remember their primary functions to keep me stable.

She glanced from me to the packhouse and then back to me. “Mum has a suit fitting organised for you. It’s nice, but not the one I would choose.”

“She told me at the hospital,” I said, pulling Josie-Anne to a stop. “And it’s purple… it matches Maddy’s dress… So, she mentioned. But—”

“—But you want to know if it would match Louise’s…” She interrupted.

“I mean, I…” I stammered, rubbing the back of my neck.

She grinned mischievously. “I know what colour Louise’s dress is. You should check the suit Kingston and I picked out for you. It’s in your cupboard. Kingston helped me get it.”

“I expect nothing less from the romantic fool…” I laughed, then stopped, fighting a sharp pain in my chest.

The doors opened, and Mum stood before us. She had black material slung over her shoulder. In her hand, she held a tiny cushion covered in pins. Her eyes landed on me.

“It’s suit fitting time…” Josie-Anne sang, releasing my hands. She skipped up the steps and hugged Mum quickly before skipping inside.

“Well, that ruined my surprise.” Mum shook her head. She ushered me inside. “I know you’re not a hundred per cent, but Lord Cassius has travelled a long way to fit your suit.”

I raised a curious eyebrow as I stiffly headed inside. “Lord who?”

“Lord Cassius,” Chuckling, Mum waved the car driver away and took my arm. She closed the door behind us and guided me towards the living room. “He’s my brother’s personal designer. He leant him to us for the day.”

“Uncle Silas?” I shook my head. It had been years since I had seen Uncle Silas. He was Mum and Uncle Levine’s baby brother, the Alpha of the Wysteria clan from interstate. He was only a few years older than me and was a mixture of Mum and Uncle Levine. “Is he coming to the ceremony?”

“No,” She continued to usher me to a small white stall. Beside it stood a tall, slender man with slicked yellow-blonde hair and a face suited more to a mortician than a clothes designer. “This is Lord Cassius. He will make your suit the best in the pack.”

“In the word, Luna,” Lord Cassius boasted, bowing exaggeratingly. He turned to me. “We will make you irresistible to your future mate, young Alpha. She won’t be able to take her hands off you.”

But would it win someone closer to my heart? I brushed my hair back, trying to shake off the thoughts about Louise. There’s a suit waiting for us upstairs—for Louise…

“No!” Zodiac huffed. His words were faint. He was still there, but not as strong as he usually was. The poison had injured not only him but also his pride. “Just do this…”

Sighing, I stepped awkwardly onto the step. “Let’s do this before I change my mind.”

“Wonderful!” Lord Cassius cheered.

The next few hours passed in a blur of black and purple fabric. By the end of it, I had a perfectly tailored black suit with a lavender-purple shirt. As Lord Cassius held up the mirror, I saw my dad staring back at me. The excitement I had hoped to feel was not there, nor was the desire to find my mate and show her. Would that be different if it was Louise?

“Perfect!” Lord Cassius said, rolling his tongue.

“You look handsome,” Mum beamed. “Oh, Maddison’s going to faint!”

My heart quivered in a way I had never known—sorrow? Fear? Uncertainty? Am I doing the right thing?

“Mum!” Josie-Anne called from the steps. “There’s a hole in my dress!”

“What?” Mum roared, making the windows in the room rattle. “Seriously, Josie! What did you do to it?”

“I got it caught on my bracelet. It was an accident!”

Sighing, Mum turned to me. “Put your suit on the coat hanger on the back of your door…. It looks like we need to save your sister’s dress.”

“Let us do this…” Lord Cassius said as she grabbed a strip of shimmering white material. “A stitch in time saves nine…”

I followed them up the steps to see Josie-Anne on the landing. There was a long rip down her left sleeve.

“Oh, Josie…” Mum shook her hair.

As Mum fussed over the tear in Josie-Anne’s dress, I noticed my sister slyly wink at me. A smirk crept onto my face as I realised she had orchestrated this situation. But what was her aim? Was she trying to give me a break from the fitting, or was she hinting at something deeper?

Regardless, I seized the opportunity to escape and dashed to my room, my heart pounding with adrenaline. I shut the door behind me, leaned against it, and breathed deeply. The stress of the bonding ceremony was overwhelming. I rubbed my forehead, trying to calm my nerves. Was a bonding ceremony supposed to be this stressful?

After removing my suit, I absentmindedly hung it on the coat hanger at the back of the door. Before I realised it, my feet led me to my closet. I opened the closet door and spotted the black suit my sister and Beta had hidden away. The shirt was a deep shade of red, with no tie, and adorned with a small gold rose pin on the chest pocket. I moved it on an angle and saw black vines and roses embroidered across the breast, curling beneath the stitching on the pocket. A genuine smile spread across my face, filling me with warmth.

“I like this one a hell of a lot better…” I said, pulling Zodiac forward in my mind.

“Think about the pack…” Zodiac grumbled. “Think about the future…”