AUTHOR'S POV
The Devlin ballroom had witnessed generations of celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, charity galas, and winter banquets. Shimmering chandeliers gleam over people dancing in the music spilling the room until dawn. Today, not a single chandelier was hung, and not a single note was played. The vast room have been transformed into a place of mourning. The only light that shined in there were the hundreds of white pillar candles surrounding the ballroom. Its flames tremble whenever the night breeze slipped through the windows. White roses, orchids and baby's breath filled every corner, with its fragrance was so soft to hide the scent of the burning candles. Reina had overseen every detail herself.
Rows of black steel chairs, cushioned with dark velvet, faced the center of the ballroom, where a raised altar holds two urns. Black onyx marble urn rested in a white roses arrangement for Damon. It's the only flowers he could tolerate, thinking flowers are only for girls. Beside it, a garnet red marble surrounded with white chrysanthemums, red gladioli, purple and pink hydrangeas for Priscilla. Vibrant, as how she would want it to be. No parent should ever share a funeral with their child Yet fate had been cruel enough to demand it. Wearing nothing but black suits and dresses, the siblings, stand before their lost loved ones. No one spoke, enduring the heavy silence upon them.
Stanley watched everything from his wheelchair. His fading mind could no longer hold onto dates, names, or conversations. But grief reached places illness could not erase. One weathered hand clutched the silk scar he had given Priscilla during their first winter together. Its faded fabric work smooth by decades of love. The other rested Damon's baseball. The one they played together during his son's childhood. His fingers never loosened. He stared at the altar with glassy eyes, unable to remember why his heart felt as though it had been torn open. He simply knew, his chest burns, that no medicine could mend it.
Everyone paid their respects. The old butler stood with reddened eyes. The housekeepers quietly wiped away tears. The gardeners, chauffeurs, maids, cooks and every servant in the Devlin estate home united in silence. Beyond them were the pack. Lowering their heads, unable to meet the sight before them.
Even Lily had come. She lingered near the entrance in a short form fitting black dress, watching the solemnity before her. She surveyed the room for a while, then quietly slipping back through the doors without a word. No one stopped her, no one actually cared enough to.
In a moment, Reina broke. A single sob escaped before the dam within her shattered. She covered her mouth but it did nothing to hide the sound of a daughter mourning for her mother. The woman who embraced her as a mother when no one did. She cried it out loud as a sister for Damon. The sibling who make all things light in the midst of the heavy times.
Sebastian caught her before her knees gave away. He pressed her head against his chest, as his own tears fell soundlessly. Cory grabbed a chair, and placed it close to Reina. But the siblings chose to find solace in each other's arms, bearing the same pain they couldn't fathom. Scott stood beside them, his jaw locked tightly, with his other hand clenched inside his pocket. He looked at those urns with a vacant stare. No words in that room could lessen the weight where stillness becomes the loudest presence for their grief hoping that the tears would take them away.
The ballroom slowly emptied. Leaving first, Scott thought he is needed some place to be. Eventually, the servants retired to their quarters. Reina wheeled Stanley back to his room, deciding to stay in her father's room again tonight. The loneliness gets heavy on her, especially when she's alone. Sebastian and the pack remained at the ballroom, with the white flowers, and burning candles before the two urns. They watched over them from the altar as no one found the heart to leave just yet.
They scattered across the the front rows. Ties loosened, jackets over chairs. Sleeves rolled. Glasses of whiskey and beer slowly made their rounds. For the first time that night, someone finally spoke. Cory leaned back in his chair, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "How did you know, Sebastian?", he asked.
Sebastian looked at him. "Knew what?"
"That the Luna was underwater.", said Cory. All eyes shifted then on Sebastian. "You didn't hesitate. You just went for it".
Sebastian stared at the urns before answering. "When someone matters to you...", he paused. "...your instincts are rarely wrong".
Allen nodded to himself, while Austin raised an eyebrow. Lucas knew it was a bullet shot at Scott. "He didn't stop, you know", Lucas revealed. "Scott? Pfft..", he smiled. "He kept is ears open, had his eyes everywhere. He chose not to make a move because the Nagual might find her through him".
"He did?", surprised Sebastian.
"Yea..", Cory agreed. "It was hard for him.. too hard".
"Then answer one thing", Austin shot him a warning look.
"Austin", Allen called him out, but Austin was ready to dive into
"No", Austin shrugged. "We've all been wondering", he looked straight at Sebastian. "Do you like the Luna?".
A few groans escaped around the room, slumping on theirs chairs except for Sebastian who was caught off guard. "Here we go", Lucas clinked glasses with Cory.
"Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezed his eyes, and sighed. "Is that a yes?", Austin continued.
"I'm gay.", Sebastian dropped it like a bomb. "I thought you all knew"
Allen blinked. "I did."
Sebastian slowly turned to him. "You did?".
Allen shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah", he answered. The one by one, the others nodded. "We all do". Except Austin.
"Don't look at me" Austin widened his eyes, shaking his head. "I didn't know".
Sebastian stared at the others. "How?"
David scratched the back of his neck. "I.. uh.. kind of saw you at bar a couple of times.", he wisely refused to elaborate. He drank another round of whiskey, unsure if his flushed cheeks were from the liquor itself or the abashed feeling seeing Sebastian kissing another guy.
Lucas chuckled. "To be fair, you weren't exactly hiding".
"I thought I was".
"No, you weren't!", Cory teased, as the room erupted into laughter. Sebastian groaned, covering his face with one hand. He could feel the embarrassment flame his ears.
"Scott didn't know?", he mumbled, peeking through his fingers. Every head shook.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
Lucas grinned over the rim of his glass. "Honestly, he was too busy being jealous of you", that earned another round of laughter.
Sebastian laughed harder than anyone. Damon knew what he was. He saved him from all the trouble when Stanley found out he was not the son he preferred him to be. Losing his brother was like losing a protector. The heaviness hanging over the ballroom eased only for a little while. "To Damon", he raised his glass.
"The fastest wolf this pack ever had", Cory finally admitted, after racing with him too many times.
"The only idiot who thought racing trains was a good idea", Allen says, clutching on his glass hard.
"...and wins", Cory rolled his eyes. More laughter came after that.
"To Priscilla", Lucas says.
"To mom", Sebastian
"To the woman who can feed an entire army with thick long feathery lashes", Allen
"To family", David nodded.
Their glasses met with a quiet clink. The candles flickered. Then every flame bent in the same direction until it all of them doused in a blink. The ballroom bathed in a dark blue hue, with only the moonlight pouring through the tall windows. They all rose from their seats senses up, eyes glowing gold as a cold breeze slipped beneath the polished floor.