Chapter 113: A Family Turned Foe.

Chapter 113: A Family Turned Foe.
Lottie POV

A heavy silence settled. Then Knox spoke again, quieter now.

“You’re… you’re not leaving us, are you?” I felt his heartbreak like a physical ache, and it nearly undid my resolve.

“Never,” I whispered firmly. “But you must understand I’m used to being my own person. I cherish your input, truly, but I have to work through my feelings on the betrayals by myself at least to start with. And I promise, once I’ve sorted it out, I’ll let you both back in.”

“Ok.” They both reluctantly agreed to respect my wishes. I felt their resignation settle into a vow of patience.

“I love you both.” I whispered as relief mingled with sorrow in my chest as I withdrew again, steeling myself behind my mental walls. It would hurt them—hurt me, too—but for once, I needed my head to be clear of their loving, overwhelming influence. Because if I was going to stand as Queen one day, I had to learn to stand on my own two feet, no matter how much I craved their closeness.

"I know what they're planning," I told Sage as I zoned back in. My wolf and I suddenly determined to get this over with quickly so I could get back to my life with my mates. "Feigning memory loss until the right time, then… executing Leigh and Bash. And the worst part is that I'm starting to feel relieved at the idea."

"It doesn't make you a monster to protect your own," Sage offered, gentler now. "They forced your hand." I swallowed back a wave of sorrow.

"I hate that it's come to this," I whispered inwardly, pushing off the wall. "But I won't let them keep hurting the people I love--or the children I'm about to bring into this world."

With that thought, I squared my shoulders and zoned back to the others, resolved.

"We'll do what needs to be done," I told Sage. "No matter how it breaks my heart."

"I'm with you," she promised. "Always."

Adam cleared his throat, stepping closer to the centre of the group. "I've already started setting up surveillance," he stated. "I want to keep track of Leigh and Sebastian's every move. If they suspect we know anything, we might lose the advantage."

Liam nodded. "Good idea. In fact, I'll keep an eye on Sebastian personally. He's always been the less cautious of the two; he might slip up first if he thinks no one's watching."

"Surveillance?" Knox repeated, eyebrows raised. "So you're bugging our home now… their offices?"

"Everywhere we can manage discreetly." Adam shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Yeah, let's just remember that there are certain boundaries." Chase shot Adam a pointed glance as he spoke. "We've had problems in the past with cameras being placed in, shall we say, too-personal locations." He tossed a grin toward Liam.

"Are we really going there?" Adam asked, eyeing our brother with a grim smile.

"No, please, no." Liam's cheeks reddened.

"Oh, definitely we are," Knox laughed, desperate for the lowdown. I smiled to myself, grateful for a moment of banter and normality.

"Adam thought it was wise to bug all our bathrooms… but he got more than he bargained for… didn't you, bro?" Chase teased, a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Am I missing something? Surely that's a crappy place to put a camera. Pun intended." Knox frowned in confusion.

Chase laughed. "Long story short, I got caught trying to see if you could wank into the toothpaste… turns out no. You can't." My annoying brother admitted unashamedly. If anything, he seemed rather proud of himself. I was internally not surprised at all.

"We left her to live with these morons," Knox snorted to Kane, who was watching me like a hawk but at least through the bond I could sense Knox had relaxed slightly. Kane's worried gaze swept across my features again, and I resisted the urge to lower my barriers, to let him soothe my conflicted emotions. Instead, I offered him a small shrug, my mask firmly in place.

"And I have many stories to share that are far more surprising than this." I grinned with a wink at Chase. "I planned to wait till his mating ceremony to share them… but… Well that won't be happening now." Sucking down a sigh, I forced myself to remain distant, ignoring the subtle brush of concern Kane sent along our mate bond. Despite my gnawing stress, a small smile tugged at my lips for some reason I could not explain.

"It is because you have these memories of Liam and Chase to keep forever despite the outcome," Sage offered with a zeal for the future that I needed. The image of one of them scolding the other over bathroom cameras was almost comical. I felt a flicker of warmth in my chest; these were my brothers, my mates--my strange, dysfunctional family. Maybe we really could all be on the same page now.

"You guys are unbelievable." Knox snorted again, shaking his head.

"No worries. We'll keep the surveillance out of private quarters this time." Adam held up his hands.

"But we do need audio in the main living areas, meeting rooms, offices… anywhere good old dad or Sebastian might discuss their next move." Knox addressed the group as he stepped away from the sofa, pacing a short line across the carpet.

"Good. While Adam handles that, I'm still for a swift end to those two. I don't see why we're bothering with a show." Kane finally spoke.

"Because the pack deserves closure," Knox answered, calm and measured. "And Lottie--" he lifted his gaze to me--"needs to be seen as the rightful Queen: public trials, public punishments. We can't have them quietly vanishing in the night. That would only fuel rumours and conspiracies."

Kane grunted but didn't argue the point. I suspected he understood the logic, even if he hated the wait. He wanted blood, and he wanted it now.

"So, we pretend Astaroth wiped our memories." Chase asked as he leaned forward, arms draped on his knees. "Leigh and Seb think we're clueless; we gather enough evidence to convict them at Connie's Luna Ball, and then… good riddance, yeah?"

"Good riddance indeed," Kane voiced grimly. "And as for their punishment, we all agreed: death."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight. "I… yes. I know it has to happen," I muttered in a near whisper. "I'm just not used to this kind of finality. I don't enjoy ordering executions."

"No one expects you to enjoy it," Knox expressed surprisingly gently. "But they deserve it."

A tension-laden silence followed. I cast my gaze toward the bedroom floor and nodded before making my way down the corridor that led to the bathroom--needing a moment to breathe and process, given the swirl of conflicting feelings in my gut.

The gentle pull of our mate bond prickled through me once more as I sensed their worry rising. My steps quickened; if I lingered, they'd probe further into my head, and I wasn't ready to lay bare the full extent of my doubt. I still yearned for a simple life, untainted by vengeance and power struggles. But that life seemed farther away than ever.