Mourning

**Emily’s POV**

The days after the first attack flew past like the wind on a stormy night. A mass burial had been done for Malcolm and the other soldiers who had died during the war, while Alpha Marcus’s soldiers' corpses had been burnt.

I couldn’t even face Abby, Malcolm's younger sister, due to the guilt I felt about his death.

I was the reason he had come out of that bunker. Something kept whispering to me that If I had adhered to instructions and remained in there, he would’ve still been alive.

But at the same time, we might’ve lost the war.

My mind was conflicted; I didn’t know what to do or think anymore. I didn’t even know for how long I could live with this amount of guilt pressing down on my chest.

As I stood in front of Malcolm's tomb, crying with a banquet of flowers still in my hands, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, followed by a head which suddenly snuggled into the crook of my neck.

"Alexander…” I said softly, wiping away the tears that had fallen from my eyes.