After 2 days of hard travel, Griffin finally set down just outside of what remained of Dark Moon Pack. He stood there for a moment, letting Nathan take in what became of his village before gently prodding, "Nate, love, why don't you get down."
As Nathan stiffly climbed down, he refused to even look in the direction of the plaza. Turning back toward his dragon mate, he began to undo the knots that held their travel trunks. After unraveling the last one, Nathan simply let them crash to the ground.
Nathan continued to stare into the distance when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind, Griffin's comforting warmth pressing against his back.
"I want to see them," he whispered.
Griffin's arms tightened briefly before he replied, "Okay." After releasing Nathan, Griffin grabbed his hand and guided him to the burial site Griffin and his fellow dragons had made.
Seeing the grave markers lined up in front of him, Nathan was surprised. He'd expected to see bones scattered throughout the village, not actual graves. Griffin clearing his throat had Nathan looking up at his suddenly timid mate.
"I probably should've mentioned it before, but myself and a few other dragons actually tried to get here before the attack on your pack happened. We were hoping to stop this from happening but were a few days too late. The only thing we could do by the time we got here was give them proper burials." Griffin kept his gaze fixed on the graves in front of them, not wanting to see the expression in Nathan's eyes as he felt the shock resonate through the bond.
Nathan reached up, lightly gripping the back of Griffin's head and forcing him to look down, his eyes filled with love and gratitude. "Thank you," he whispered. "Any chance you know which ones belong to my parents?"
Griffin hummed, "Not exactly, but I know where the top tier families are."
Wrapping an arm around Nathan's waist, Griffin pulled him further into the burial ground. As they reached the center, Nathan could see a larger, more elaborate stone marker that was engraved. The engraving was simple, 'Here lies the Dark Moon Pack. May they find everlasting love and grace with the Goddess.'
"The top tier are here," Griffin whispered from where he was standing behind Nathan.
Nathan stepped forward, pressing his hands against the marker. He took a moment before stepping back and walking away. Curious, Griffin followed him until he saw Nathan stop at the edge of the forest and begin collecting flowers.
"How many graves are there?" Nathan asked, not looking up from where he was picking different colored flowers.
"Six hundred and thirteen."
Nathan nodded. Standing, his arms full of flowers, Nathan walked back to the beginning and began placing a flower at each grave marker. As he set each one down, he said a small prayer, "May the Goddess watch over you."
Griffin watched over him as he did this for every single grave, only offering to help once. When Nathan declined, he stepped back and let Nathan do what he wanted.
Nathan left the top tier's graves for last, going out of his way to find white flowers for them. All the others had varying colors but no white. As he placed the last one, saying his final prayer, Nathan felt like a weight he had no idea he was carrying was lifted off his shoulders.
Sitting back on his heels, Nathan finally let the tears that had been building fall. As he wept, Griffin finally approached him, sitting behind him and pulling him into his chest in a tight hug.