Hushed Willows seventeen

Banner knew this incident would prove more than hard for Stark.  Her brother had kept it together for so long going on so little, but he'd always had the hope that Octavia was well and had simply wandered off to do her own thing for a while.  They all knew she was sick, that something was terribly wrong, but no one knew how to fix it.  Now there was nothing left to fix.  The Marauder's Alpha male didn't have that hope to hold on to.  Their ongoing issue of missing wolves still weighed heavily on her mind, sure, but was that enough to keep Stark focused?  To keep him going day in and day out?

And Tambourine.  She frowned, thinking back to earlier that day when they'd called him and explained that his mother was dead.  He was so young when she left - so young still!  To his credit he'd taken it in stride.  Maybe he'd do some mouring of his own after he'd had a chance to really think about her death.  Blinking away those thoughts, the Beta rubbed her head against her mate's strong chest.  I love you, too, she murmured, her voice thick with emotion.

Thank you.  Never, ever could Banner imagine that she'd stop thanking him.  Buchanan was a steadfast pillar of support for her, an example she'd always try to follow, and the man who had stolen her heart.  Ah, but could one steal what had been given away freely?  That thought caused a small smile to break and she felt just a bit of sunshine peek through the dark storm clouds of her current state.  You are absolutely wonderful, you know that?  He probably didn't.

But she'd never stop telling him.