Page 167 of Mated to the Kings
“Gallows,” I say. “I will give them the chance to step off on their own otherwise we will do it for them.”
“We?” Leli asks with a smile.
“Yes. Trauma affects more than just the survivor. It affects everyone close to them as well. You all deserve peace as well,” I say. “I will inform the public.”
I turn away from everyone and walk back over to where the press is still standing. They all perk up when they see me and my mates walking toward them.
“I just have one last thing before we take a little break,” I say. “The twenty members of Zypher Fallin’s pack that assaulted my sister, numerous fox shifters, and myself not only while I was a maiden but also while I was a captive have been apprehended. By executive order, they are being charged with treason and rape. At one time they will be hanged. Please bear with us while we set everything up. Thank you.”
The crowd is larger now. There are hundreds of people gathered to watch the queen and her three kings hang a pack of wolf shifters. I expected some backlash for this, but no one is coming to their aid. No one thinks they are deserving of mercy. The only complaint that I am getting is that some citizens were hoping that the twenty men would also be beheaded like Fermin was. People are a sucker for morbidity, I guess.
I watch from below as the twenty men are led up to the gallows and a noose is fashioned around each of their necks. I expect at least one of them to look confused, but they don’t. They know why they are here. None of them look at me at first. They all keep their heads bowed. I have my back to the crowd with my mates standing behind me.
“I will save my breath and skip the spiel about why you were here. You know why you are here today. You know what you did to me… to my sister… to so many other innocent women. You put your pleasure and desire for power above basic morals, and for that, you will hang,” I say simply. “You may step off your box, or we will come remove the box ourselves. You have five seconds to decide.”
None of the men move in the allotted time, so members of my family, the council, and their mates happily take a spot behind each of the twenty. “May the gods have mercy on your soul,” I say with a soft smile. Burlap bags are placed over their heads before Leli gives the countdown.
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… let ‘em hang,” Leli says just loud enough for us to hear, but not the crowd. The boxes are swiftly kicked out from under each of the guilty to allow the noose to tighten and cut off their airway when gravity takes over and their bodies free-fall before being caught by the rope. My mates return to my side, and we all watch as their jerky movements slowly come to a stop.
“Burn them,” I say.
“Transport is already here,” Alasdair says. “Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this.”
“You’re welcome, Alasdair,” I say with a smile. “Thank you for choosing to walk away that day.”
“If I could do it all over, I would’ve saved you, no matter the outcome for me,” he says. “That will always be my greatest regret.”
“Alasdair… We live and we learn. I do not blame you for protecting yourself and getting away,” I say with a smile. “Go home and enjoy your evening.”
Chapter Fifty Two
Lilith
I’veonlybeenasleepfor a little while when I open my eyes, and I am hovering over my body. I look down at myself and my mates sleeping peacefully. I smile and turn around when I hear my mother’s voice.
“Lilith,”she says.
“Mom! You’re here,”I say as I hug her tightly.
“Of course I am here,”she says.“I wanted to give you some time to process things.”
“You mean my mates raping me,”I say flatly.“That was you? Well… your body.”
“That’s not me, honey. The only reason I’m telling you this is because I don’t want you to think that I would ever do anything to you,”she says tearfully.“I don’t want you to think that there’s hope for me only to get hurt.”
“What’s going on, Mom? What do you mean?”
“I’m… not technically dead,”she says cautiously.
“What do you mean… Are you alive? Can you come back?”I ask.
“Technically, yes. Brion Morwen had a rogue witch separate my soul from my body so the witch could take over. I’ve been just… floating around.”
“Why would he do that?”I ask.
“He wanted a sex zombie, basically. With that collar on, the rogue is useless. She is just a shell. That allowed Morwen to do whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted with my body, including having the rogue witch inside do his bidding. I try not to check in on my body. It just ends up making me angry. When he died, I went to my body and saw that it was locked away. I assume you did that?”
“Leli did,”I say, sniffing back tears.“I… I have to find a way to get her out of your body so you can come back to us.”
