Chapter 27

I woke up groggily to the sound of birds chirping noisily through my bedroom window. Glancing at my watch, I realised it was almost 9.30 AM. Feeling panicked, I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the closet to get dressed. I was supposed to be downstairs meeting all of my Warriors and the Beta in five minutes, to take James and Julianne to the crypts. We still hadn't found Louisa yet and tomorrow, we were sending out another search party to look for her.

Two days had passed since I made my decision on what to do with them and all my pack leaders had tried to talk me out of such a drastic punishment. They believed instant death was the right thing to do but, in my eyes, it was only an easy option. I was made to suffer as were my parents, so why couldn’t James and Julianne suffer?

Yesterday, I had escorted my parents, alongside Alistair, Blake and Nick down to the big city to a big care home for humans. These humans also had mental health problems and memory problems, and they too, would need round-the-clock care. The care home was perfect and none of the residents there would even know that they were sharing a residence with former beasts.

I followed my mum and dad as they were led to their rooms. Due to the care home policy, they would be in separate bedrooms, but the home was nice enough to put them side by side. Not like my parents recognised each other anyway. I don't even think my mum knew what was going on, while my dad, however, believed he was going on holiday.

The home was nice, clean and was well suited for them. It was situated within a gated community, that had security on the gates to make sure none of the residents wandered off. They had a small, heated indoor pool, cinema facilities, large comfortable lounges with squishy armchairs, group activities every night and a large library filled with books. They also ran art classes, group classes and therapeutic classes such as foot and hand massages, manicures, and pedicures. They also had a hairdresser who visited once a week to give regular cuts to the residents.

I knew they were going to be content there and it made the pain in my heart a little easier to bear. It was hard saying goodbye but as I said my goodbyes, I could see that both my parents didn't know what was going on or where they were. It was easier to remember them as they were in my mind than to see them like that.

Six minutes later, I was fully dressed and standing in the great lobby in front of Alistair, Blake, Marii, and a large group of Warriors. They were all dressed in special, ceremonial outfits that were only worn when someone was to be committed to the crypts. A rare punishment in our world.

“Are you really sure you want to do this to them, our Luna?” Alistair asked for the final time, looking at me warily. He already knew my answer.
“How many times have I got to repeat myself, Alistair?” I replied coolly, staring at him sternly. “Blake accepts my decision, so why can’t you? Jared, Jenson, please go and bring the prisoners out. Let's not make this any longer than necessary!”
“If you are sure,” Alistair breathed before nodding to Jonas. “I just want you to be sure. It is a rare punishment. One that is not executed much due to the brutality of it.”
“Oh, I understand the brutality of it,” I smirked as I crossed my arms impatiently. “They both deserve to pay for not only what they have done to me, but what they have done to my parents. They may not be dead, but their minds are essentially dead and so are their wolves! There is no crueller fate. For any person!”
“I have to agree with my mate,” Blake blurted out as he walked towards me and protectively wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I wouldn't normally agree to such a punishment, but I think this seems fitting. Jail time would normally suffice but not this time!”
"I must admit. I have to agree with my son and his mate," Jonas chimed in, his face deadly serious. "We need to show the rest of the packs that we aren't a pushover when it comes to crimes like these."
“Okay! Your word is my command!” Alistair nodded before turning to Jared and Jenson. “Bring them up. Let’s get ready to roll. Like our Luna said, we don't need to drag this out any more than we need to!”

Our heads all simultaneously turned as we watched the two warriors disappear behind the staircase and down into the depths below. After what seemed like an eternity, the two warriors finally emerged, each frogmarching a visibly weakened prisoner. They had only been encased in silver for a mere number of days and already the effects were visible.

James could barely stand and was being dragged across the lobby by Jared, while Julianne was stumbling as if she were heavily intoxicated. She was definitely a fighter, I thought to myself. Silently, I followed the group and stood back as I watched the prisoners being safely secured in a transportation van, ready for Alistair to drive them to our sacred crypts up in the mountains.

“We will follow you in the car,” Blake’s voice called out as he made his way over to the car and proceeded to open the door for me, beckoning me to get inside.

The sound of gravel crunching under the tyres met our ears as we skidded out of the compound and towards the city. Many of the city’s residents were human so they took little notice of our convoy snaking its way quickly through the streets. The ones that did notice, however, were from our world and were fully aware of what was going on. They immediately stopped what they were doing to bow their heads as we whizzed on past.

Was it a mark of respect to us, or to offer their sympathies at what fate we were passing down to our prisoners?

It was not long before the hive of shops, bustling highstreets, office blocks and skyscrapers had turned into quiet sleepy suburbs. Quaint little houses and parks filled with children and humans walking their dogs soon turned into farms and woodland that crept up on us, signalling that the edge of our territory was not far away. As our convoy steadily drove out of the city and up to the mountains, a huge temple facade that was carved into the mountain face, began to rise above us. Huge stone pillars raised above us with intricate carvings of wolves and runes carved into the red stone. Burning torches led the way to the entrance that was heavily guarded by the largest, fiercest-looking wolves I had ever seen.

As our vehicles pulled up to the entrance, the wolves began snarling in our direction, their thick fur standing up on edge, making them seem bigger than they already were. Blake cut the power to our car and I watched in silence through the window, as Alistair climbed out of the van, The wolves sensed his importance as they immediately stood down, and one by one, they shifted into their human forms. taking a deep breath, I opened the door swung my legs out and proceeded to walk over to the group.

“Can I help you?” one of the large guards grunted at Alistair while peering at the van inquisitively and licking his lips hungrily.
“Yeah, I'm dropping two more toys off for you to play with,” Alistair smirked while gesturing to the van. “Worst of the worst, this lot. If I had my way, it would be certain death for them, but my Luna wants it done this way.”
“What did they do?” a second guard quizzed. “Can't be that bad surely?”
“I don't have time to go through everything,” Alistair drawled, looking somewhat bored. “Here is their paperwork. You'll find all the answers to your questions in there. Plus, their crimes and information about their victims. I'm sure it will make for pleasant reading!”
“Okay, so you will be wanting two cells then!” the first guard gruffed, as he turned to open the door to the crypt. "It's a good job we have plenty!"
“No! I blurted out suddenly, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks as multiple pairs of eyes landed on me. “No. I want them placed together. I want them to see each other suffer. Like my dad did when he was chucked in with my mother. He would have known it was her to start with. I want these two to feel the same pain and humiliation as my parents did!”

“Very well!” the first guard nodded approvingly. “I do infact have the perfect cell available on the ground floor. Get your prisoners and let's get them inside!”