He didn't know before, that a death could make time go by so slowly, that the leaves that fell around him could be so silent, he didn't know that minutes could feel like days.
His tears had long dried since then, being replaced with dull eyes, it was like something in him had snapped, broken like a glass window that shattered, there was nothing left of him, just a memory of the man he was.
A voice echoed at him, but he ignored it, his eyes continued to watch in the distances as the last remaining flames of the fire died out, making him feel like he was the last of them, burning him from the inside.
The voice now having a face as the person stood in his view, his eyes making contact with them, he couldn't ignore them now, not with what followed from their mouth.
"Liam... You have to let her go... We need to start cleaning the place. She needs to be buried." Daughtela said as Liam hugged Narcia closer, he refused to let her go, he hadn't for the last 30 minutes and he refused to do so now.
"Leave me be..." Liam growled, his tail wagging around violently as his ears turned backwards, warding others to stay away, he would keep his mate close to him forever, no one could separate them if he didn't desire so.
"I know its hard to accept, but she is gone... We have to bury the dead. She will start decomposing soon." The lady said as Liam teared up for what felt like the million time this night, he really didn't think he had any tears left, but here they were again, scorching his irritated cheeks.
He pulled Narcia closer to him, laying his forehead on her chest as he sobbed, refusing to let go of his freshly marked mate, he refused to accept that she was fully gone, it wasn't fair.
His chest was now burning even stronger, he was done being in denial, he had anger, and everyone would pay for it, no one would be spared.
"Go away!" He yelled as the lady took another step, his tail wrapping around the both of them in hopes of keeping her close to him for as long as he could.
"I'll kill anyone who dares a much as try to take her from me!" He snared, his eyes glowing as blue as the sky, a deep rumble emanating from his chest, making a few wolves take a step back.
The woman gave him an empathetic smile as she kneeled down, gently petting Narcia's hair, she didn't want this either, burying the young girl was something she wished could have been avoided.
Liam closed his eyes tightly, wanting to take the images of the last hour out of his head, hoping he could magically wake up as though this was just a dream, that everyone was still okay.
This had to be a dream, there was no way this was real, that the cannibals had come here and destroyed everything in his life, he refused to accept it.
This was simply a bad dream he would eventually wake up from.
Liam frowned for a moment, acceptance showing on his face as his eyes opened, he knew this wasn't a dream, the blood that had dried on his hands and made his fingers stick together was as real as he was.
How had this happened? Was security compromised somehow? The cannibals had slipped inside so easily, there had to be a traitor among the packs if not from the Bloodstream wolves.
Liam growled at the thought of their leader, Silviano had ruined Narcia's last moments alive, her last moments with him, it made his blood boil, but the anger immediately vanished as he hugged Narcia's body against himself stronger, the reminder of his lost stabbing him again as he rested his ear against her torso.
Ba-dump.
He flinched when he heard the sound of a heartbeat, his eyes widening as he lifted his head up, seeing Narcia's pupils attempting to adjust itself, her gaze slowly locking with his own.
He couldn't believe it, how long had it been since her heart started beating again? Her eyes were opened now, they had closed them not too long after her passing, her body had grown cold as well, but now it was slowly gaining heat again.
"Narcia..?" He merely whispered in disbelief as he moved a strand out of her face, his heart banging against his torso, he couldn't believe it, here eyes were open, her heart was beathing... She was alive.
"Oh my god..." Matheo said as he covered his mouth in shock, tears escaping the boys eyes as he hugged Daughtela in relief, the woman sighing with a smile as she hugged the boy back.
Narcia seemed to be in all sorts of confusion, looking around herself before staring at him, eyes full of care as she gently reached for his cheek, caressing the red skin with softness.
"Liam..? Is that you?" She asked as she looked at his head, his ears were perked up as she coughed, groaning a bit from her position.
Liam couldn't believe it, her body had already become cold, her heart hadn't beaten in so long, how could she be alive right now?
Liam hadn't really checked for a pulse after he had marked her, seeing the lack of movement or breath, the fact that her eyes no longer moved around, it had all been enough for him to conclude she had passed.
Maybe her heart had started beating again during the time that passed after he claimed her, could it be possible that his instincts had been right, that Liam had somehow saved her by claiming his mate?
"Everyone! The alpha is okay!" One of the girls yelled in excitement, fellow wolves howled in excitement at the news, the crowd that had formed around them jumping in happiness as laughs of relief echoed around, some crying as they hugged eachother.
Liam was still in shock, watching his mate slowly yawn as she sat up and purred a bit, leaning into his chest with a sigh, it warmed his heart to see her breathing again.
Daughtela smiled as she took a step back, placing a hand on her chest with relief, she did not want to have to bury the daughter of her alpha, not when he had passed so recently.
Matheo jumped up, smiling as he ran around the town, yelling in happiness that Narcia was alive and would be okay, hugging the kids with joy as they ran to him.
Narcia frowned while Liam looked at her, his ear flicking for a moment as she chuckled and gently reached out to touch Liam's ear.
"What happened... I can't remember much." Narcia said as she gently ruffled the fur on his ears, looking amazed at how soft and pretty they were, it made Liam hum in pleasure at the touch.
"Well... You died."
"I know that, I meant... Where did these beautiful ears come from... How did it happen?" Narcia said as Liam sighed, he wasn't really sure what happened because, well... He had been too lost in her death to think of anything else, really.
It had all happened so suddenly, he wasn't even sure what he was, none of the shifters he had seen before had parts of their animal showing when they were in their human form.
"I don't know... I'm not even sure what I am."
"I think you're a kitsune... I've seen them in books before, they were cool. You don't even have an inner animal, you're the animal. It's just a theory, but maybe his kitsune was locked under a mate spell... You know like... When a witch seals your animal until you claim your mate type of deal?" Matheo said as he wiped what remained of his tears, having done his run around to yell the news to all, he quickly sat by his friends, smiling at Narcia.
"A kitsune, aye? Interesting... Maybe that's what happened?" He said in a questioning tone, seeing Narcia shrug before looking down at his tail with a pensive look.
"I would have never guessed that you would turn out to be the missing kitsune child..." She mumbled as Liam sighed, looking down to see his white tail wiggle, his fur extremities being colored silver.
"I had no idea either..." Liam said as she gently petted his tail, making him purr to her touch, hugging her closer as she did the same, a sigh of relief left him as he felt her body starting to be as warm as it naturally should be.
This was like a miracle for him, to see her body start to move again, her eyelids fluttering the dryness of her eyes away from time to time, her chest rising and falling down slowly, showing that she was indeed breathing.
Daughtela moved a step closer to the trio, gently patting Liam's shoulder and smiling when he looked up to face her, his tail now relaxed on the ground.
"I will need to examine her to make sure everything is okay." She said as Narcia pulled away from him, hissing as she covered her neck, there seemed to be some wound on her that she didn't remember having before.
Liam nodded, gently letting go of Narcia as the woman helped her stand, walking her slowly to the infirmary house, it was a relief to see that her fatal wound had completely disappeared by some miracle.
"You saved her man... Kitsunes are extremely powerful shifters. Their healing powers are absolutely unremarkable, I've read that they can even bring you back from the dead if strong feelings are involved. I think this is what we witnessed tonight!" Matheo said in amazement as Liam nodded absent-mindedly, not really caring of what he had done and was simply glad it had saved his mate.
He could already feel his heart clenching at how far Narcia was, how long did he have to wait for her to come back? Would he have to stay away as well? When could he get by her side again?
He slowly stood up, wanting to make his way to the infirmary house, his vision growing blurry as he fell to the side, his body felt so heavy, so tired.
"Liam!?" Matheo yelled as he rushed to his side, picking up the exhausted boy, he hadn't realized just how much strain his body had been through until now.
"I'm alright..." He said as he slowly grounded himself with the help of Matheo, his tail swiftly curling itself and helping him balance his body.
"Just go to Daughtela just to be sure... Maybe even get some rest." Matheo said as Liam nodded, both boys walking to the house together, god knew they would have a lot to deal with once the sun would rise, it was best they rested now while they still could.
Liam walked into the house, making his way over to the sofa with a groan, his body was growing heavier by the second with fatigue, he dropped himself down facing the wall, his tail collapsing to the floor as his ears flopped.
He was too tired to catch what Matheo said to him afterwards, his eyes shutting tight as he fell into a deep slumber, he would deal with everything tomorrow.
If only he knew how worst everything was about to get.