Challenged by Darkness (An Urban Fantasy Novel) (Befallen Tides series Book 2) by Anna Sanders

if he were listening. “She will have a proper service. If you want.”
    She had nothing to offer him. She hadn’t known Stori all that well, and someone who hadn’t met Stori at all was comforting him already. So Winx turned and walked back down the trail. Every turn seemed to earn a blow to their side. Another life lost, another family member felled.
    When was the opposition going to suffer? She hoped it would be soon.
     

CHAPTER 6
    The next day was bleak, and even the forecast mirrored it.
    Stori’s funeral service was short and filled with those who didn’t know her. Keaton tried to equate her death to one that all of the bandits had suffered, one that would unite them through the commonality of loss. But Sabrina’s makeshift pack wasn’t a very welcoming one. Those who stood vigil with him remained silent as he sang native prayers to his cousin before placing a wooden plaque over her grave.
    Winx was beside him as well. She had helped transport the remains, and then she had helped him with the small monument, decorating it with the beads that she’d found around the former crime scene. But all the while, she had barely talked to him, and she’d remained curt with anyone who intruded upon her thoughts. A part of him understood. The other part wanted to reach out to her. But there were too many things in the way now.
    Sabrina had been the one to insist that they move Stori’s body to her property. While Keaton prayed for his cousin, she wove her fingers with his and leaned against his shoulder. He even thought that he saw a tear trail down her cheek.
    After the rituals, Keaton was just tired. He would have liked to stay and give proper vigil for Stori, which could have lasted for hours. But he could not remember the last time that he had slept. He was not even hungry, just bone weary.
    “Is there anywhere that I can…”
    “Yes.” Sabrina started to lead him away. “Come with me, we’ll get you some rest.”
    Keaton was conscious enough to know that they were walking past the hammocks and sleeping bags in the living room, then past the kitchen and guest rooms. Soon enough, he crawled beneath a quilt on an overlarge mattress, and sleep stole over him before he could analyze any of it.
    All of this was irritating. Winx didn’t want to be stuck at Sabrina’s shelter for homeless animals. The dubious looks they were giving her made her want to scream.
    Then again, her clothing was still covered in all sorts of yuck. She’d only had the opportunity to clean the parts of her skin that were exposed, and she had open wounds to take care of as well. But honestly, who could expect her to be clean after all of that? After having the muck of a dying savage land in your mouth, you get pretty fucking humble.
    She stood by Stori’s grave for a tiny bit longer without really knowing why. Maybe because she was still so shocked. If anyone should have gotten killed, it shouldn’t have been the happy mate to the alpha. All Stori had wanted was to find Ottanu, and she had defied everything to try to get back to her in a timely fashion. Then after everything, Stori had died thinking that her wife had hated her. Winx couldn’t imagine that sort of pain.
    “God, your wife is going to be so, so sad,” Winx whispered. “You will be honored. Because you didn’t deserve this.”
    She wandered away from the grave, but she had no real destination. If Keaton hadn’t been dead on his feet, this time would be useless. But the guy was in hell and totally sleep-deprived. She just hoped that he’d be able to return to his whimsical self.
    Winx headed over to her duffel bag sitting on the porch step and took out her toiletries and some fresh clothing. She fully intended on cleaning herself before going back to mulling their situation over. It was going to take a lot of planning to figure out where to go from here. The lixyns wanted them to continue on to Washington. But the lixyns didn’t know what had just happened here…or so