The last light lingered at the edges of the cemetery as Mark knelt one final time between the two headstones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t say much \u2014 just laid his hand gently on the cool stone of his father\u2019s name, then leaned in close, pressing his forehead to the grass one last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLove you,\u201d he whispered. \u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pack didn\u2019t speak. They didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diesel opened the door without a word. The wolves stepped on board, the others trailing in quietly behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And just like that, they rolled back onto the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diesel drove with quiet confidence, his eyes on the road, his presence steady and unspoken. He didn\u2019t ask questions. He knew what this meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up front, only the three wolves remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark sat in the passenger seat beside Diesel, staring out the side window. His posture was still, but no longer rigid. Just\u2026 settled. Carried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Mark who finally spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think I\u2019d ever go back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His voice was quiet \u2014 low and steady, but raw in the way only truth can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel didn\u2019t look up. Just nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToo much pain?\u201d Thane asked softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark took a moment. Then: \u201cToo much unknown.<\/em>\u201d He exhaled slowly. \u201cI kept thinking\u2026 if I went back, I\u2019d be one of only a few who remembered who they were. That there\u2019d be no proof left of them. That maybe it would all feel\u2026 small.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He turned his head slightly, eyes still on the dark trees beyond the glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut it didn\u2019t. It felt\u2026 big. Whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane shifted forward, resting a paw on Mark\u2019s arm. \u201cBecause they were<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark didn\u2019t speak. But his paw shifted over Thane\u2019s, pressing gently in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou gave them a hell of a tribute,\u201d Gabriel said softly, eyes still half-closed. \u201cAnd you didn\u2019t do it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it without you,\u201d Mark murmured. \u201cEither of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou won\u2019t have to,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going anywhere,\u201d Gabriel added. \u201cYou\u2019re stuck with us. Claws and all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark gave the faintest smile. A real one, small and tired and honest. He leaned back in the seat, finally letting himself breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, the wolves sat in peace. Together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for the first time in a long, long time\u2026 Mark didn\u2019t feel heavy anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just held.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The last light lingered at the edges of the cemetery as Mark knelt one final time between the two headstones. He didn\u2019t say much \u2014 just laid his hand gently on the cool stone of his father\u2019s name, then leaned in close, pressing his forehead to the grass one last time. \u201cLove you,\u201d he whispered. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2962,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions\/2962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}