Chapter 43

Luciano

We were going to attend the funeral of Red's late Mother, Martha. I threw on a black coat while trying hard not to not go back in the time where I had to attend Red's funeral. It was difficult to not think about it when the atmosphere was the exact same but the people were different and the body wasn't Red's.

"You doing okay?" Ben asked, throwing a comforting hand over my shoulder.

I pressed on the button on the car key and nodded before walking inside Dillion's house—where the funeral was going to be held in a couple minutes.

Last night was a difficult night for Red and Anna. We had to leave them alone to talk to their Father. When the news of a funeral got to me, I jolted up from my sleep and headed straight here.

How could anyone convince Dillion to bury his wife, the woman he couldn't forgot for over twenty years? How?

There was no way in hell I could ever bury Red again, let alone watch her die or kill her.

The mansion was filled with a couple strange people, they threw odd glances at me and suddenly narrowed their gazes whenever I crossed by them. I didn't understand. Did I look weird?

"They know who you are now." Ben mumbled, pulling out a glass from the bar and pouring himself a drink.

Fuck. That thought didn't even cross my mind. It wouldn't take a lot while before I would began getting calls from Alpha's who thought I was dead. When I left Brittleburgh, I walked away from a lot of other things as well—pack problems, rogue and hunter problems, non-discussed treaties, agreements that needed to renewed and a whole lot more things.

"Shit. This is going to be hard." I bought the glass upto my lips and took a sip of alcohol early in the morning.

"It's not like you haven't done this." Ben swirled around and leaned against the bar while watching everyone pass by us. "And it's fun—controlling people and being a King."

I scoffed, shaking my head, "The only reason I am taking my title back is because of my family. I rather be a King then give that title to someone who would misuse it and destroy what the Hanson's have been building for centuries." I never thought about it before and it was my Father who shoved this thought into my head when I arrived here.

We drank a little before I got impatient. A night had passed by and I hadn't seen Red. I was too possessive about her to not see her in every few hours.

I walked into the room where I sensed her and her sister along with Dillion—the room where the body was being kept.

"Luciano." Red reached for me and curled her hand around my arm. She was wearing a black tears and her cheeks were stained with tears.

I flickered my gaze to the woman standing beside Dillion. Cordelia. It was my first time seeing her. She was doing something. Magic—at least a form of it. There were candles and ashes placed around the casket, and they slowly began to rise at her words.

"Cordelia is getting rid of the spell put on my Mother to keep her body intact. It's just going to take a couple minutes." She whispered, pressing her head against my arm. "Thank you for coming here."

"You know I wouldn't miss it." I touched her face and allowed her to rest over my shoulder till the casket could be closed and the spell would be worn off.

Once the spell wore off, the casket was shut closed and before it did, I got a glimpse of Martha—it wasn't going to take long before she'd began rotting like a normal dead body. Whoever did the spell for Dillion ruined his life and made it miserable. If he had buried her long ago, we wouldn't have been seeing this day.

"It's done." Cordelia said, sighing loudly. "I'm sorry for your loss, Dillion. If there was anything I could do, I would've done."

Dillion gave her a nod, "No, that's all. Thank you for coming. Please stay for a little while."

"Of course."

—

Red

We walked over to the dug up dirt where my Mother's body was going to buried in. It was nearby Dillion's house so he could visit her whenever he wanted too. As they lowered the body to the ground, I saw my Father hurting, too much. Deep down, he was probably crying from within and shaking at the scene of it.

"She's in peace." I whispered to him. "You did the right thing. She deserved to be buried." It was a horrifying thing to keep someone's dead body stored in a room.

He faced me, tears collected around his lids and he blinked them away. "I'm letting her go and it feels horrible but I can't be more thankful for having you and Anna here with me."

"You'll always have us!" I gave him a smile and he got down to hug me quickly.

The spell on my Mother was a permanent one and we weren't able to reverse it so I called who could—Cordelia. She came here with honesty and concern and managed to break the spell that some other witch had done.

Once my Mother was buried, we returned to the house, gave her our prayers and wishes. Dillion shared his memories with us, there were happy—most of them and we a laughed a little bit. The mood in the house was lightened and I was no longer sinking in sorrow.

A couple hours later, when the guests cleared out of the house, Dillion and Cordelia went into a room to talk and the rest of us were gathered near the fireplace, drinks in our hands and our minds buzzed.

I watched the flame in the fireplace grow large. "It's over." I said in the silence.

"Yeah, it is, finally." It was Anna's voice.

I turned around, looking at all three, "It means we can return now and began our new lives in the States."

Anna approached me, sober, and she smacked the back of my head. "Let's not forget you still have to deal with something there."

Shit.

"Lisa—" I groaned.

"And Damon." Luciano added.

"God, when is this ever going to end?" Another rumble of frustration vibrated out of my throat. It hadn't been many days since I received the call from Jacqueline. I could stay here for longer but I didn't want too.

I wanted to run back home, grab Fiona and be with her and my family for the rest of my life.

"We are going to leave today—right now and I'm going to go to Lunaris to take my crown!"

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