Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder)

Chapter 245

Xena's Pov

Logan walked toward the pile of wood where Dad's body lay. The tor flickered in the breeze, casting dancing shadows across his face. When he touched the flame to the kindling, the fire caught immediately, crackling and growing with each passing second.

"Goodbye, Dad," Logan whispered, his voice barely audible over the sound of the flames.

I closed my eyes as the fire grew higher, the heat warming my face ven from this distance. The smell of burning wood filled the air, and I knew that soon there would be nothing left of the man who had shaped my entire world.

Ryder's arm tightened around me as my body shook with silent sobs This was really it. Dad was gone, and there was no bringing

him back.

elm tree. After placing it into the pit, he finished the planting with his shovel. "We're not moving his ashes. We're letting them become one with the land where he died. This is what Dad wanted, Logan said as he walked

wind before settling into the earth. A low rumble in the distance told us a storm was approaching. How perfect that his body would seep into the soil, truly becoming one with the

there, watching what little remained of Dad until the flames died out. Leonard stood and began digging a pit to bury the bones that hadn't completely burned in the fire. Only after Dad

the freshly dug grave to

just felt numb. Not sad, not angry,

Logan's, so I fell behind as we quietly walked down the hillside toward the pack house.

Martha wasn't here, that I was finally safe here. I could safely come back to visit my brother, to see my old pack members, friends, and any children they might have

he and Penelope had arrived a few minutes before us. When we walked in, he was doing something on the computer. Penelope sat in an armchair, so I took the other one. Ryder stood behind me as we

ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed his face before looking at me. "Dad left you this letter. He wrote it this