The last light lingered at the edges of the cemetery as Mark knelt one final time between the two headstones.
He didn’t say much — just laid his hand gently on the cool stone of his father’s name, then leaned in close, pressing his forehead to the grass one last time.
“Love you,” he whispered. “Always.”
Then he stood.
The pack didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. They just moved with him, as one. Silent, present, respectful. The gravel crunched beneath their feet as they made their way back to the waiting bus, the wind catching one last time in the maple branches overhead.
Diesel opened the door without a word. The wolves stepped on board, the others trailing in quietly behind.
And just like that, they rolled back onto the road.
Inside the Bus
The bus had been moving for about an hour now. Erie was slipping behind them, fading into shadows and memory. Most of the pack had retreated to their bunks or curled up in quiet corners, letting the silence stretch wide and respectful.
Diesel drove with quiet confidence, his eyes on the road, his presence steady and unspoken. He didn’t ask questions. He knew what this meant.
Up front, only the three wolves remained.
Mark sat in the passenger seat beside Diesel, staring out the side window. His posture was still, but no longer rigid. Just… settled. Carried.
Gabriel lay stretched along one of the front bench seats, holding an empty coffee mug like it still had warmth left to give. His eyes were half-lidded, ears soft, tail barely twitching with the gentle sway of the bus.
Thane sat on the floor near the door, one arm resting across a knee, the other draped over his audio bag. His gaze flicked between the road, his packmates, and the shadows drifting past the windows.
It was Mark who finally spoke.
“I didn’t think I’d ever go back.”
His voice was quiet — low and steady, but raw in the way only truth can be.
Gabriel didn’t look up. Just nodded.
“Too much pain?” Thane asked softly.
Mark took a moment. Then: “Too much unknown.” He exhaled slowly. “I kept thinking… if I went back, I’d be one of only a few who remembered who they were. That there’d be no proof left of them. That maybe it would all feel… small.”
He turned his head slightly, eyes still on the dark trees beyond the glass.
“But it didn’t. It felt… big. Whole.”
Thane shifted forward, resting a paw on Mark’s arm. “Because they were.”
Mark didn’t speak. But his paw shifted over Thane’s, pressing gently in return.
“You gave them a hell of a tribute,” Gabriel said softly, eyes still half-closed. “And you didn’t do it alone.”
A pause.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Mark murmured. “Either of you.”
“You won’t have to,” Thane said.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Gabriel added. “You’re stuck with us. Claws and all.”
Mark gave the faintest smile. A real one, small and tired and honest. He leaned back in the seat, finally letting himself breathe.
Outside, the forest blurred by, fading into fields and distant hills. The road stretched ahead, long and open and full of stories yet to be told.
Inside, the wolves sat in peace. Together.
And for the first time in a long, long time… Mark didn’t feel heavy anymore.
Just held.