Chapter 83: Solidarity in Loss
Lily POV
I dropped the teacup, and it broke against the kitchen floor with a sharp crash that made everyone in the room freeze. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t hold anything anymore.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, looking at the broken pieces. "I can’t seem to do anything right today."
Mrs. Rivera, who had been telling me about her late husband, quickly knelt down to help clean up the mess. "Don’t worry about it, dear. We’ve all been there."
That’s when I noticed something strange. Instead of looking angry or frustrated, every woman in the room was nodding with understanding. These were the pack’s war widows - women who had lost their mates in fights long ago. Dr. Chen had suggested I meet with them, thinking it might help me deal with losing my memories of Caleb.
"The shaking gets better," said Elena, an older woman with kind eyes. "After my Marcus died in the border wars, I couldn’t hold a cup for months. Everything reminded me of what I’d lost."
I looked around the circle of faces, seeing something I hadn’t expected - real understanding. Not pity, not the fake happiness everyone else gave me. Just quiet knowledge of what loss felt like.
"But this is different," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Your men died as heroes. You have beautiful memories to hold onto. I can’t even remember loving Caleb."
Silence fell over the room, but it wasn’t awkward. It was the kind of quiet that comes when people are really thinking about what you’ve said.