Chapter 101

I decided to break it to his Lisa’s family at the same time. Now, in one of the interrogation rooms, sitting in front of me was Benjamin, his mate Lexi, and their son Calvin.

Justin and my father came with me to break the news.

So, I told them. I went through how I ended up deducing that she was killed and who her rapist was. I went through his confession, leaving out some of the uglier things that he had said about their daughter.

The moment I said the words, Lexi broke down in Benjamin’s arms. He had tears in his eyes and I could tell that he was trying to be strong for his mate and son.

The main thing that they kept asking me was “Why?” and “How could he do this to our baby?”

My heart broke for them. I could never imagine going through something like this. I could never imagine the pain of losing a child and what was going through their minds.

“What happens now?” Benjamin asked. I could see the fear in his eyes. I could see that he was worried that I would tell him that it was too long ago or that I would not allow them to have the closure that was needed for her rapist and killer.

“I have sentenced Jacob to death. I am allowing you to decide about his death and who will deal the final blow. I know one thing you have wanted as a family was closure from this nightmare and that was never something that any of you received. I know this will never bring Lisa back, but I am hoping this will ease some of your heartache and pain. I cannot give you back your ten years of grieving, but I hope this helps in some way. We are going to go now. I am going to give you some time to think and be with each other. For what it is worth, Benjamin, I understand the pain you are going through. While I have never been there, I understand. You hated my father for what you thought was him not trying. I saw how what happened to Lisa tore my father up and he could not figure out how it happened on the territory. Lisa had told him it was rogues…which is why he never considered it to be a pack member. Sometimes, it takes someone from the outside, a fresh pair of eyes if you will, to see something that was missed. So, while I cannot condone you nearly getting me killed, I can understand your reasoning. I just wish you would have talked to someone before it got to this point. Punishments will be carried out in the morning, for everyone awaiting their punishments.”

Benjamin nodded his head at me with tears in his eyes. “Thank you,’ he mouthed.

With that, we left the room. I spent the rest of the day training with Indigo and her telling me about the various abilities that female Alphas tend to have.

The night passed quickly and before I knew it, it was the next morning and I had to attend to the punishments.

My father told me that I needed to be the one to deal out Anna’s punishment, but he said that I could leave Benjamin’s punishment to someone else. I just didn’t feel comfortable punishing him, even though he betrayed me and his pack. I had decided to ask Justin if he would do his punishment for me.

I was preparing the whip that was going to be used on Anna. I had sent a formal request to the High Elders of the Guardians for the use of hell fire to give out a punishment. They had agreed and told me that since King Lucas’s guardian was in my pack, one of his gifts was hell fire and he would be able to do the hell fire for me, instead of them sending another Guardian to do it.

I was currently standing with him and we had just finished dunking the whip in the monkshood. Justin was busy getting all three prisoners ready for their sentencing in the center of the town. The punishment was mandatory for all pack members to attend, save the children and the elderly.

“You know, with how often you are in my pack, I don’t think I even know your name.”

“My name is Edward,” he laughed, “Typically, that is how it goes for Guardians. Usually, we remain nameless unless our charge introduces us. I think sometimes Lucas forgets that I am here. Whenever I am with his Luna, she will usually introduce me, but it does not bother me either way.”

I laughed. That did sound like the King. I have noticed that he does tend to be forgetful at times.

“Were you a wolf before you became a Guardian?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I am a warlock. I only became a Guardian when my coven was attacked. I was the last living member, so I was approached by one of the Elders for their council to become a Guardian. I was hesitant at first, but I did eventually agree to it. It just took a lot of convincing. The hell fire was actually one of my gifts before becoming a guardian. When I became a Guardian, I then received the gift of healing.” I watched as he took the whip I was going to use and ignited it with his hell fire. It burned a bright blue and I watched as the monkshood collided with the fire, causing the flames to burn brighter.

“This will hold, but most likely, if she has not died by halfway through, then you will have to reignite the flame and use some more monkshood,” he told me. He started working on getting the whip for Benjamin ready for me.

“Do you like being a Guardian?”

He nodded his head, “It does have its perks. I enjoy helping others and I don’t mind dealing with the King. Many of the Guardians were terrified at the thought of having him as a charge because they had heard about how ruthless he is. I wasn’t worried about him, so I agreed to it and I am glad I did. They were all missing out. He is quite funny when he wants to be and he is only ruthless about 99 percent of the time,” he finished with a laugh. We put the finishing touches on both whips and proceeded to make our way to the town square.

I waited for about ten more minutes for everyone to trickle in. As I was staring into the waiting crowd, strong arms wrapped around my waist, delicious sparks were flying across my skin. I could never tire of these sparks. I twisted in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck and laid on his chest.

“You ready for this?” he whispered in my ear.

I nodded my head. “I am ready for this to be all over with. I am ready for us to be finished with all this shit. I am ready for us to just move on and leave all this shit in the past.

I turned and stepped out of his arms and faced my pack. I cleared my throat and allowed my voice to travel across the courtyard.

“Welcome members of the White Fang pack! I have called you here about a somber issue. Recently, we have had a few things come to light regarding issues within our pack. We have had two traitors! One was one of your pack elders, who was selling information to rogues in response to them kidnapping your future Alpha.” I paused for a moment while several of the pack members gasped and spoke outrage in reference to Benjamin’s deceit. “Then, another of your pack members sold your Alpha and pack to the same group of rogues for petty jealousy. She thought that if she got your Alpha kidnapped and killed, she would then be allowed to have her mate to herself. She was the cause for the recent rogue attack on our pack. An attack where we lost several of our dear pack members.” I, once again, paused, giving the pack time to speak their anger towards what Anna did. I raised my hand, silencing the pack. “And finally, we recently had something come to light regarding the death of Lisa Walter, the daughter of Elder Benjamin, who had committed suicide eight years ago, following her brutal assault that had happened ten years ago!” I could tell the pack was confused as to what happened with Jacob, but that was not my job to disclose, unless the family wanted everyone to know what their daughter went through at his hands. “Today, we are here to bear witness to their punishments. We will first start with Jacob Jessup. Jacob was sentenced to death. I left it up to the family of Lisa Walter to decide how he is to die and at whose hands. Benjamin, Lexi, and Calvin please step forward. Have you decided who will deliver his death?”

Lexi stepped forward, “We request that you allow Benjamin to kill him by hand. Benjamin wants to castrate him and then rip his heart out.”

“I will allow this request.”

I motioned for Justin and Aziel to take off Benjamin’s cuffs and escort him to where Jacob stood on the platform.

Everyone watched silently as Aziel and Justin held onto Jacob as his pants were removed. Benjamin grabbed a knife off a nearby table and sliced off his dick. He then took the dick and shoved it down his throat. I watched as Jacob tried to refuse to eat his cock. Benjamin waited until he had swallowed, before he used his claw and ripped out Jacob’s heart.

The courtyard was quiet as they waited for me to continue. “Next, we will deliver Benjamin’s punishment. His punishment is double. He will be whipped 50 times, with the whip being soaked in monkshood, and then he will be demoted to the rank of Omega. His punishment will be delivered by Justin Warner.” I motioned for Justin to step forward.

For the next thirty minutes, the only sounds that were heard were his cries of pain every time the whip hit him. His screams only increased in volume after his skin broke open. I watched as several of their pack members closed their eyes or turned their heads, trying to avoid having to see what was happening to one of their former Elders.

I remember the few rare times that my father had to publicly punish someone. As the Alpha’s child, my brothers and I had to attend and I hated every moment of it. While I think it is barbaric, I think there are certain crimes that need it. Some crimes need to be made an example of. I remembered after the first punishment that I endured watching, my father pulled me aside afterwards and tried to comfort me. “Kataleya,” he had said, “These punishments can be horrible and hard for the pack members to watch. But, honey, as Alpha, you also have to show your strength and let your pack know what you won’t tolerate. It is okay for it to upset you and it is okay for you to feel distress. Remember that they did something to end up here. They need to take responsibility for their actions.” His speech resonated with me and I remembered it each time someone was publicly punished, which was not often.

When the first part of his punishment was over, I walked over to his slumped over form. I forced out the full weight of my Alpha aura, “Benjamin Walter, I, future Alpha Kataleya Frost, demote you of your Elder rank, and force your rank to that of an Omega.” His final scream rang out before he slumped over, passed out.

I called for Dr. Leigh and had her meet Justin and Aziel at the hospital, so that he could be treated.

I turned back towards the pack. “We have finally reached our final judgement of the day. Anna was sentenced to 100 lashes, dipped in monkshood and hell fire. If she survives the lashes, she will then be sentenced to live the remainder of her life as a rogue and cast aside, forced from pack lands.” I turned towards her and picked up the whip. Edward stayed on standby to reignite the whip as it was needed. I turned off my emotions and slammed my walls into place. I didn’t want Justin to feel my inner turmoil. I truly hated these types of punishments, even if they were deserved. I think about it and I consider how misguided they were. Benjamin thought that my father did not care about the rape and death of his daughter. Then, Anna thought that Justin would be hers if I was out of the picture.

But I knew I could not back down now. Don’t get me wrong, the anger? It is still there. I am incredibly pissed at what both of them did, but I understand their reasoning, even if I don’t condone them.

I listened as her screams rang out. She was continuously pleading for me to have mercy on her. I could hear her mother in the background crying. I really hate these types of punishments. More so, I hate that the family observes them. By the time that I reached sixty-five, there were no screams left. I had Aziel paying close attention to whether she died from this. If she dies, I will automatically stop and allow them to take the body and clean it, so her parents could say goodbye to her…

By the time I hit seventy, she was gone. Aziel gave me the signal and I stopped, turning to face the crowd.

“I know these types of punishments are cruel,” my voice rang across the courtyard, “However, it is important that pack members know that their Alpha will take threats against their pack and its members seriously. As a child, I hated these punishments, even though they were few and far between. I used to think that it made me weak to hate them, until I realized that my father hated them too, even though he still went through with them. I have always admired my father and realized that he would do them to show pack unity. He would do it to show that he would do what it would take in order to protect his pack from danger and that is what I came to do as well. When Benjamin and Anna took it upon themselves to help those rogues, they inadvertently harmed the pack. They not only tried to take away the future Alpha, but pack members were injured, several died, and there were some that nearly died. For this reason, I will continue to do what is needed to show that I will continue to protect this pack with all that I have. All that I am. Now, rest. I have had a meal prepared in the dining hall for those that wish to stay.”

I waited for the last person to leave the courtyard before I stepped down from the platform, turning to look at the carnage that resided. The blood, the vomit, the tears....I felt the first tears trickle down my cheek...

I truly hated punishments such as these.