The Crystal Moon Curse: Book 5: TAKEN

Chapter 33. Execution

VIGGO

"You should have seen this coming." Sebastian snaps at me as we stand on a knoll looking down to the fighting arena below us.

I crack my neck and glare at him in return, heated anger boiling in my gut. "I'm not fucking psychic, and that is the last time I hear you judge me. It's been a fucking shit day and now I've got to kill my men. So unless you want to do it yourself, I suggest you take a fucking step back and let me do my job."

Sebastian's jaw clenches before he takes a step back with a bow of his head.

He walks down the knoll to join the gathering of lycans assembling around the dirt ring where Costas waits with Nico and Lucas.

Above the fighting grounds, I stand under the shade of a single red maple tree. Touching the bark with reverence I feel a connection to my ancestors.

The ancient maple was planted by the first lycan king to claim these lands when Lycanos was settled hundreds of years ago. Like this tree, the traditions we keep are firmly rooted and it is the care and attention we give to them that keep our pack strong.

I do not question my duty not matter what I feel about the matter. Instead, I draw from the strength of my heritage and find the calm I need to focus my mind on the task at hand.

Down below in the center of the fighting ring, Costas pushes Nico and Lucas to their knees. Around them, their fellow lycans jeer and the noise level rises.

It has been a long time since these grounds were used for an execution and my Lycans are angry and hungry for blood.

Tariq has been a bane to us all for three long years. The deaths of each of my Betas and their mates were felt as personal failures by each warrior. To have two of their own fail their duty for something as stupid as a blow job is beyond unforgivable in their eyes.

Lucas and Nico's act of stupidity very nearly cost the pack its Luna.

The thought brings Kyros to the fore and he breaks my skin bristling dark fur through my arms.

I rip my shirt and cast it to the ground knowing I will be in a partially shifted state until this execution is over. Toeing off my leather shoes that tighten painfully with Kyro's mid-shift, I curl my toes in to grass, raising my face to the slowly setting sun. The warmth in my chest is a contrast to the cold in my heart. I don't relish the task I must carry out, but such is the weight of the role I was born into.

We are ready. Costas links me and I begin to walk down the knoll.

I pause as I catch the sound of the old wooden gates creaking open with a loud grating sound. Turning to see who the late arrivals are, I frown at the two she-wolves entering the arena.

Silence descends across the field. My warriors part like the red sea for Quilla and Neo. Every head bows, eyes cast to the side as my mate is led up the knoll to me by her mother.

"You shouldn't be here," I say to Quilla as they reach me. Sebastian breaks away from the crowd and jogs up the knoll to join us.

"Genesis, why is Quilla here?" he asks his mate.

"Why shouldn't she be?" Neo glares between Sebastian and me. "She was the one whose life was threatened by the actions of those two. Vengeance belongs to her. That is the law."

Neo moves away with a sharp glance at Sebastian who nods and follows her back down the knoll leaving me with my mate.

A soft breeze picks up and caresses the ends of her hair blowing her sweet scent around me.