Chapter 150: Execution & Parting

Laurel didn't want to watch the execution, yet she stood at Adolph's side as Delia was dragged up to the execution block. She cried and wailed, declaring how innocent she was as the herald read the charges in a sharp brisk tone.
The guards held her down against the chopping block as she screamed and pleaded for mercy, tears streaming down her face, yet she felt nothing.
No remorse.
No guilt.
Had she been a real threat to their plan? Basil didn’t care for her while she was alive. It was only after she was gone that he’d seemed to realize her worth, and what woman needed that? Still, she wondered. If she hadn’t died. If she’d never have met Adolph and Basil had come to find her, would she have gone with him? Would she have forgiven him if not for his love then for the kingdom?
Alice scoffed, and she almost laughed at the thought.
No.
She wouldn’t have because even at her lowest, she’d believed that she deserved better than the sham of a relationship they’d had. When Adolph had returned from war, it would have just been a matter of time before they met.
Adolph wasn’t the type of man who would have stood by and allowed his ex-daughter-in-law remain without shelter.
The thought eased some tension in her heart. Maybe, instead of finding her killer, she had been looking for the answer to that question all along.
She looked up at Adolph and smiled.
“What is it?” Adolph asked.
“I love you.”
He smiled back at her, “I love you too. You don’t have to stay and watch.”
She squeezed his hand, “I know.”
Adolph stared at her for a few moments before nodding and turning back to watch.
The knight who had been chosen to behead Delia was familiar to Laurel. A kind knight who had always looked out for her when she was Laura. His eyes were furious as he lifted his sword.
Delia screamed. The blade fell. Her head rolled down the platform before the sound of her voice finally faded into the wind.
The people dispersed after it was over. Adolph left her side to speak with the Wiccan envoy. Laurel walked out of the room and found herself heading to the infirmary.
She entered and found it mostly empty. Basil was in a bed across the room with a circle of stones floating over him. He stared at the ceiling, relaxed against the pillows.
“How are you feeling?” She asked politely.
Basil turned his head, “This… must be satisfying for you.”
“No. It isn’t.”
His lips twitched, “Not even a little?”
“No.”
And that was true.
“I don’t want to forgive you, even if it wasn’t exactly your fault… It was still your personality fueling everything you said and did.” Laurel shrugged, “I just don’t care.”
“... I don’t want your forgiveness,” Basil said. “I don’t deserve it… And I don’t want to see you either.”
Laurel nodded in understanding, “Your father should be down to see you soon.”
She got up and turned to leave.
“Laura,” Basil called. “I… I never wanted anything bad to happen to you.”
Laurel turned back, “You just never cared if you did anything bad to me… And it’s Laurel.”
She exited the door and closed it behind her as Adolph walked down the hall. She grinned at him.
“He’s awake.”
Adolph nodded, stopping at the end of the hallway. He looked down and clenched his hands.
“I still want to kill him,” Adolph said.
“Because he feels like a threat?”
Adolph turned his head, “... You were going to leave with him.”
Laurel chuckled and walked towards him, taking his hand, “Not romantically… My heart was set on you even then. Even if I didn’t want to admit it…”
Adolph looked at her, lifting her hands to kiss her fingers and sigh.
“I thought about leaving and never coming back because I was terrified that I would end up in a position I didn’t want to be in… Everyone knew that Luna Laura was… miserable. Some thought she had killed herself, and…”
“Laura,” Adolph said softly, cupping her face. She gasped, frozen in his gaze. “I know.”
She blinked, her lung tightening keeping her from breathing.
“I know, and I have known for a while. And I love you.”
Laura lowered her gaze, “Wh-What do you mean?”
He chuckled and pulled her close, “We can talk about it when you’re ready. For now, I’m going to go speak to my son. I think Lily and Sarah have set out a spread for you if you’re hungry. I will join you soon.”
He kissed her head and she caught him by the hand, unable to look at him.
“How… did you know?”
Adolph hummed, “I’m not sure when exactly you let your guard down around me… but as soon as you did, you stopped pretending and acted as if you had been the luna before… Finding you in the secret passage was obvious.”
She winced, “I… don’t know what to say.”
Adolph chuckled, “So long as you plan on… fulfilling your marital duties later–”
“Adolph!” She cried, her cheeks burning as she gaped at him in horror and embarrassment.
He laughed and winked at her before entering the infirmary.
She turned away from the door and headed towards the royal wing of the castle. Sam walked out of a corridor down the way and led her towards the parlor where Lily and Sarah had organized a lunch for her. She heard Raven and the rest of Adolph’s family inside, chatting amicably, and smiled as she pushed the door open.

Under Wiccan care, Basil recovered quickly. Adolph left Chasel to run the military and Laurel to run the castle before disappearing with Basil for about a week. When they returned, Basil was on Adolph’s back unconscious like a small child after a long day of playing with friends.
“Where have you two been?” Laurel asked, amused at the sight of them. Adolph leaned down to kiss her, eyes bright as he grinned.
“A bit of… paternal bonding. A tradition. I’ll tell you all about it over dinner. I’m starving.”
“Adolph, you didn’t!” Raven called as she came down the corridor. Her eyes were alight with mischief. “Is the little prince okay?”
Adolph laughed, “He’ll… be alright I think. Though he’ll probably spend all the time he has left in the castle asleep.”
Raven outright cackled as Adolph hurried down the hallway towards Basil’s rooms. Later, Adolph reappeared in their parlor, cleaned up, and changed. She’d had a full spread laid out for them so he could tell her the story over racks of meat and loaves of bread.
“My father taught me how to shift,” Adolph explained. “As his father had before him. We went out into the forest and camped out. It’s… dangerous for an alpha werewolf to shift for the first time without some guidance.”
It turned out that Basil had never learned to shift. His first attempt had ended up with Basil passing out from trying to force the shift. Adolph was overjoyed with the chance to share the tradition with his son and it seemed like Basil was excited to partake in the tradition.
They’d raced and hunted together and it honestly sounded like they just spent a bit of time getting to know each other truly.
“He’s blonde,” Adolph cackled. “Imagine that. No one else has been a blonde wolf to my knowledge.”
Laurel laughed, “That… feels ridiculous.”
“I’m sure he’ll get a hard time about it on the border,” Adolph smirked. “He’ll be leaving in a week.”
“Leaving?”
He nodded, “And before you protest, it was his choice.”
Adolph had offered him his choice of where he wanted to take his martial training, even offering to teach him. Basil’s eyes had sparkled at the concept, but he shook his head and asked to be sent as far as possible.
*I don’t want to be in the castle right now.*
Laurel hummed. She would have never thought that Basil would willingly give up the comforts of the palace to go and live on the front lines, but it pleased her in some way.
“I think the revelation that he married the woman who killed his ex-wife had something to do with it.”
Laurel nodded, “Maybe.”

“Your father is sending you to the border?” Gavin asked as Basil finished packing his bag and checked his room. His silk suits and fine clothes would have no place where he was going. He was almost grateful for that. After running around the forest with his father, he learned that he had so much to catch up on.
“I asked to go as far as possible,” Basil said as he passed him and walked down to the front of the castle to where the caravan would be leaving. He mounted the horse meant for him and looked down at his grandfather who looked distraught and confused.
“Just keep your head down, grandfather,” Basil said. “And he won’t kill you. Go back to the estate and live the rest of your days in peace.”
He turned his horse and waved at his father who was watching from the balcony. Adolph waved back and Basil followed the caravan out of the city.
Gavin stood to watch him go, glaring after him. Basil would be impossible to deal with if he stayed away for too long. He would just have to clear his grandson’s path to the throne sooner rather than later.