Chapter 72 - Loss

* * * Eve’s POV * * *

The walk home is slow, and a sadness fills the air around us. Not only have we lost two of our pack members, but Max has also lost his mother. Despite it being years ago, finding her now makes it fresh and raw for him. He doesn’t say it, but I know that he was hoping that she would be alive after all these years, just as my mother had been.

Five of our pack members have volunteered to help Max carry the makeshift coffin, while the wizards work continuously to maintain the illusion that they’re carrying a sofa.

I walk beside Max, quietly loaning him some strength to get through this walk. I can feel his swirling emotions through the bond, rage, sadness, anxiety, anger, sorrow, loneliness and grief. I feel powerless and useless, all I can do is to be there for him. The beauty of the nature around us has lost its majestic appeal.

We’re just going through the motions. Each of us wondering how a world so beautiful can be so messed up. Are living beings just programm