Chapter 104
Gradel
Inhaling the floral fragrance of my mate and enjoying the warmth of being in her arms was very tempting, but until I took my pound of flesh and ensured that the monster Elda wouldn’t be a threat to anyone in the pack again, I wouldn’t be at rest.
Gently, I slithered from her embrace, feeling cold almost immediately and then I pushed the covers over her body and gazed lovingly at her beautiful lips that were pouted as if she was aware of my plans to be absent for a while.
My heart skipped a beat when she stirred and calmed when she turned to the other side. I giggled lightly and put on a black vest and a pair of black sweatpants.
After ascertaining that she was still deep asleep, I crept out of the room and shut the door quietly behind me, veering toward the same pack cell he had locked me in.
He grinned cynically the moment I stepped in though I could see the faint marks of the strokes he had received from Hegar. After the fiasco last night, I’d asked the sentinels to give him a hundred strokes every two hours and I liked that they didn’t disappoint me.
It felt like they were more enthusiastic than me and I couldn’t blame them after hearing the evil reports they gave.
“You came early,” He groaned, the annoying grin still plastered on his face.
I smirked, my eyes dark with anger. My wolf kept snarling, urging me to let him run free so that he could tear him apart, but I put a leash on his desires as I had other interesting plans for him.
“How the mighty has fallen,” I repeated the same words he told me the day he attacked.
He inclined his head and chuckled. “You thought you’ve won the battle. Just wait till I get out of here, I won’t spare you,” He yelled.
“How’s that going to be possible? You’re in chains and they aren’t ordinary ones. Those are laced with Brium, potent enough to make your wolf latent and to keep you from shifting. I’m the only one who can save you, however, I can’t because you don’t deserve to live,”
The sneer on his face disappeared and reality dawned on him. He began to breathe erratically while staring at the chains frantically.
“No, that’s not true,” He shook his head vehemently.
I sank onto a metal chair and folded my arms. “Try to shift,” I nudged him.
He howled, attempting to shift but nothing happened, instead his veins became more visible and he groaned in pain. He tried again and this time, his vein burst open and blood spilled out.
His body trembled in fear and then he peered up at me, pleadingly. “Please, let me go,”
I clicked my tongue and shrugged. “Remember that I told you I had several fun things to do with you, right? I haven’t even started,”
“Please,” He begged, gasping for air. “Don’t do this to me. I’ll never appear in front of you again, I promise.”
“I wish I could take your word for it, but you’ve made me develop trust issues for strangers so no. There’s no forgiveness for you, just vengeance,” I said calmly, enjoying how shaken he was.
I snapped my fingers and they began whipping him again. I didn’t know that I had it in me to watch a man being beaten like this at my command, but after everything he put me and the pack through, I feared that I’d gotten more hardened.
Tough situation makes tough people, they say and I feared that was my situation.
A few hours later, he was screaming and struggling to break free from the chains while sliding with the painful marks on his body.
We planned to drag him to the execution ground and I was having so much fun, seeing him grovel in trepidation.
The pack came out massively; some of them furiously flung perishable items at him, while the others jeered excitedly at him.
We got to the execution ground and caught the sight of Elder Hanson and Simon who were already on their knees, their faces bowed in shame. Anger was fit to describe how I felt within, disappointment, maybe.
The men I was about to sentence belong to my inner circle, yet, they didn’t find it hard to switch sides as soon as rock hit the fan. I didn’t need those kind of people in my pack.
“Gradel,” I heard behind me and I stilled.
Only one woman could get such a reaction from me. I spun around and smiled at her, disheveled hair showed that she didn’t have the time to check on her appearance or even wash her face before dashing to this place.
“Come, sit with me,” I implored.
She listened and took the seat beside me and I reached for her hand.
“Do you really want to do this?” Her voice was shaky, causing me to sigh.
This was the reason I didn’t inform her of my plans. She was too softhearted. I thought she wanted to punish him for everything that he did.
“Yes, I do, sweetheart and there’s only one thing I need from you,”
Her eyes widened in anticipation. “What is it?” She asked, softly.
“I want you to trust me,” I answered, firmly. “Whatever decision I take right now is in the best interest of our pack so don’t interfere, please?”
She nodded hesitantly and tightened her hold on me. “I trust you,”
With her response, I began to dish out their sentences. “Good morning everyone, I’d like to get straight to the point without wasting any of our time. Elder Hanson, you served my father faithfully and when he died, you transferred your loyalty to me, but how is it possible that you couldn’t stand for me in the days of trial?”
“I’m so sorry, Prince Gradel. The life of my family was threatened and mine too, but now I know better and if you give me another chance, I promise that I won’t fail you,” He cried.
“Unfortunately, you don’t deserve another chance. It all ends today and a new council will be born after we are done here. I need people that won’t jump ship in trying times and you aren’t one of them. So on this day, I banish you from this pack. If you ever set foot here again, you’ll lose your life.”
Tremors ran through his body as he sobbed like a child, but my mind was made up and I didn’t give any attention to his tears.
I gave the same sentence to Simon and I faced Elda whose troubled orbs showed how tired he was of living, even the panic on his face couldn’t be denied.
“Elda, you are sentenced to death by beheading and your remains will be thrown in the forest, the same way you tried to get rid of my body,”