Marshall Twins [2 - Twins Series]

20 - City Beneath The Sea

Book: Marshall Twins
Chapter 20
Word Count: 2079

In the bayou, Hayley, Avery, Jackson, and the rest of the Crescent pack were busy unloading their vehicles while Avery held onto both Hope and Miracle.

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Jackson was in the middle of digging a grave out near his grandfather's when Avery came outside with Hope and Miracle to update him on what was happening. Jackson was in the middle of hammering a wooden gravestone, which had been carved and burnt with the initials 'A. L.' and a crescent moon. Sitting next to Jackson was a homemade coffin with Aiden's body inside.

"Elijah called. Freya is doing a locator spell to find us. We need to leave. Now." Avery finally noticed that Jackson was digging a grave for Aiden. "Wait — you're burying Aiden here?"

"We can't keep carrying him around forever." Jackson sighed. "Just give me a minute to get him in the ground and we'll get out of here."

"You said that this is how wolves bury murderers and traitors." Avery reminded, appalled. "I know that Aiden was answering to Klaus, but he was loyal to the pack in the end! That's what got him killed, Jack."

"You don't think I know that? You think this is how I wanna put Aiden to rest?" Jackson mumbled, frustrated. Avery looked at him sympathetically. "I don't have a choice, Ave. You said it yourself, we gotta go."

"It's not right." Avery shook her head sadly. "If we expect the wolves to put their lives on the line for Hope and Miracle, then they deserve to know that those lives matter to us. We'll take Aiden down-river, give him a true Crescent funeral. Too much has been taken from our pack — I won't let them lose this, too."

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Avery, who was still holding Hope and Miracle in her arms, was walking with Jackson and the rest of the Crescents through the forest on their way down the river. Several of the men were carrying Aiden's coffin, and all of them were wielding weapons. Jackson and some of the others had a bow and a quiver, while others had axes, shortswords, or machetes. While they walked, Jackson and Avery talked quietly.

"You used to run these woods when you were cursed to your wolf form?" Avery spoke.

"And before it. I was an angry kid — I was pissed we were exiled, I was pissed at my parents, pissed you were gone..." Jackson responded.

"Every kid with the wolf gene is angry. Hayley and I were nightmares. We turned only two weeks apart, with me turning first. Triggering the curse actually settled both of us down."

"Not me. I got worse. Of course, it was different — you know, when I triggered my curse, the Crescent curse kicked in, so I was stuck as a wolf all month long. One full moon, our Alpha didn't show up. He was killed. So, I stepped up. Protected these people, kept them safe, and that calmed me down... at least, for a little while." Jackson explained.

Suddenly, Hope started crying loudly, clearly tired and unhappy... which, like always, woke up Miracle and made her start to cry to join her sister. Avery looked stressed out, turning to Jackson.

"Hey, I need to stop and feed them."

Jackson and the other wolves stopped walking and turned toward her.

"There's a hideout about a half a mile south from here. Grab some guys to watch your back. I'll round up the rest and we'll make a perimeter. This bayou is our territory, and we'll defend it." Jackson stated.

The wolves all split up to start to set up their security arrangements, leaving a very worried Avery with Hope, Miracle, and several other wolves.

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