Chapter 62: Funeral

Levi woke to the sound of feet moving across the floor. Servants crossed the room in quick, quiet lines, one opening the wardrobe, one setting out water, one checking the formal clothes laid across the chair. None of them spoke louder than they needed to. For a moment Levi only watched them from the bed, still half under the covers, then let out a lazy yawn before stretching himself out.

He did not rush.

There was no need. He was no longer the blood debt omega, no he was something far more important than that now. He was the husband of the Alpha of the pack, and today was important. It was also a sad day, at least for other people.

The old Alpha was being buried. Levi could not honestly say he felt grief, after all that man had never been kind to him. He had called him a debt, drawn lines under his life, and treated every mark on his throat as a problem to be managed. Still, Levi had to attend. Kai would not be pleased if his husband stayed home while the territory put the previous Alpha in the ground.

Levi sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair.

He had not set foot in that castle for over four months. He had good reasons. Too many enemies still walked those halls, and many rooms carried memories he had worked hard to put away. Going back, even for a burial, felt like opening a door he had closed on purpose.

He was still sitting there, gathering himself, when the door opened again. Kai walked in with a bright smile on his face, one that did not match the occasion of the day. A man heading to his father’s burial was not supposed to look like that. Levi blinked at him, half amused and half thrown, as Kai crossed the room in a few easy strides and stopped in front of him.

"You’re still in bed," Kai said.

"You’re smiling," Levi answered. "On today of all days."

Kai’s smile did not fade. He reached down, tipped Levi’s chin up with two fingers, and kissed him.

"I’m allowed to," Kai said against his mouth. "I have you. The rest of the day can be heavy, but this part doesn’t have to be."

Levi huffed a quiet breath and let his forehead rest against Kai’s for a second. The lovey mood was easy to fall into. Months of shared rooms and shared decisions had made it ordinary. Kai’s hands settled at his waist, and Levi’s fingers curled into the front of his formal coat. For a short stretch of morning, the burial and the castle and the old ghosts waited outside the door.

"We have to go," Levi said eventually.

"I know."

"I don’t want to." Levi finally confessed. He knew Kai wouldn’t let him stay home, but he had to try at least.

"I know that too." Kai pulled back enough to look at him properly. "You won’t be alone in the crowd. And we won’t stay longer than we must. But I need you there."

Levi nodded. He did not bother pretending he was eager. He stood, let the servants finish dressing him in the dark formal clothes required for the day, and checked his reflection once in the mirror. The claim marks on his throat were no longer something he had to hide. They were simply part of him now. He had been claimed by all three brothers before they left that cursed palace, but Levi had made his choice.

Kai waited by the door, still carrying that quiet, misplaced brightness. After convincing himself that this was just a funeral, and everybody would be too sad to notice him, Levi headed out and met Kai who was already waiting.

***

The ride to the old castle was short and silent. Levi watched the familiar walls rise ahead of them and felt his stomach tighten. The place looked the same from the outside — stone, gates, the long approach he had last seen when he was still counting days in supervised rooms. Inside, the air was different. Gloom sat over everything. Servants moved in black, guests from allied packs spoke in low voices, and the great hall that had changed his life and the courtyards had been cleared and arranged for mourning, not for politics, though Levi knew the two would mix before the day was over.

Kai’s hand brushed the small of his back once as they entered.

"I have to speak with the councilmen," Kai said quietly. "Some of them came early. I won’t be long."

Levi nodded. He watched Kai walk away toward a cluster of older Alphas near the inner doors, the new weight of the territory already settling on his shoulders in public view. Alone, Levi turned toward the edges of the gathering, looking for a place to stand where he would not have to talk and would not have to remember too hard.

He did not get far.

The crowd shifted, and a gap opened near one of the stone pillars. Levi stepped into it, desperate to escape to some quiet corner. He however did not get far when his past stepped into his path.

The second prince, or should he say Alpha, stood a few paces away in formal black. He looked older in small ways, harder around the eyes, and a lot more mature than Levi remembered.

The Alpha however had not seen Levi, but he knew it was only a matter of time before that happened. Regardless, he tried his best to avoid that path and find another, but the crowd was much, and navigating it was a lot more difficult than Levi expected.

When he looked up next, his eyes locked with Aaron’s, and he felt his heart skip a beat. He was frozen, and Levi should not have been frozen by another man’s stare. He looked away, and made to escape, but Aaron was already walking towards him, and with him came the last eight months that Levi had tried so desperately to forget. 0