Chapter 269 The Decree of Doom

Chapter 269 The Decree of Doom

Over three hundred members of the IronFangs pack stood in orderly rows across the front yard, their attention fixed on the stone balcony.

Two senior scouts dragged a figure onto the balcony, their hands firmly gripping the iron chains wrapped around him.

It was Dax and he was canned on his wrists and ankles.

Dax stumbled slightly, his right shoulder still bandaged from the motorcycle crash, his head bowed.

The purple bruises on his face were ugly and a little unsightly, the crowd murmured angrily at the sight of the former commander in chains, but the noise ceased instantly when Ryker stepped up to the balcony.

Lyra walked right beside her husband, her fingers lightly brushed against his arm to offer her support.

Ryker wore a simple black shirt and leather pants, looking down at the crowd gathered before him.

Then he raised his hands and everyone went silent.

"People of the IronFangs," Ryker said, his voice loud enough that it could be heard throughout the entire yard. "We have survived the biggest threat to our home, which were the bloodsuckers. Indeed, the Blood King is gone.”

Many began to cheer and clap but Ryker held up his hands again.

“But today, we must address a treachery that comes from within our own walls, from our own bloodline."

He turned his head slightly, looking down at Dax, who remained silent in his chains.

"Commander Dax has been stripped of his rank and his authority," Ryker continued firmly. "He has spent half his life executing a series of treasonous crimes against this family. Out of a personal obsession with my wife, the Luna, Dax actively chose to dismantle the safety of our territory and risk her life and mine, trying to take her from me."

People began to gasp and murmur but he didn't give them time to gossip yet.

"It was Dax who opened our borders and invited Cassian back into the pack," Ryker revealed, "he knew Cassian was a close friend to Lyra from her childhood and he hoped that by bringing him back, he could dissolve my marriage. He wanted to break my spirit so he could claim the Luna for himself. When that failed, he allowed the human prisoner, Sylvester, to escape our cells, using a self-inflicted injury to cover his tracks and lie to the scouts."

Lyra looked at the crowd, seeing the shock and anger on the faces of the maid, the trainers, and the young guards.

"And his cruelty did not stop at the borders," Ryker said and almost growled at his next words. "Dax rejected the sacred mating bond with our scholar, Rex, in front of the elders. When she tried to heal from that rejection, he locked the library doors and used an enchanted medallion to place her under a severe hypnosis, forcing her wolf into a mental breakdown just to hide his tracks. He sought to destroy her mind entirely."

"He deserves death!" a warrior from the front row shouted angrily. "Treason against the Alpha is death by the claw! Execute him!"

The crowd began to shout in agreement, the demand for blood rising quickly from the entire crowd.

They expected the commander to be killed for the agony he had caused the pack.

The old priestess stepped forward from the balcony doorway. She wore an immaculate white robe and so many beads that it seemed the very weight of it pulled down her frail bones.

But somehow, her voice was pretty loud and strong.

"According to the ancient foundation laws of the Iron Fang bloodline," she announced, her eyes fixed on Dax, "any member who invites an enemy species across the boundary line, releases a secured prisoner of war, or deliberately practices dark magic has committed high treason. The mandatory punishment for these actions is execution by the Alpha's hand."

The crowd went completely still, waiting for Ryker to step forward, draw his blade, and execute the sentence.

But Ryker looked at his brother's bent head and took a slow step back from the stone railing, his hands trembling slightly at his sides.

For the first time since he had taken the Alpha title, he had never looked so broken and shaken.

No matter how much he tried to clench his fist, he was actually vibrating. His face was stony but many who knew him could see the emotions on his face.

“Take the sword and deliver justice," the old priestess said and then gestured at the sword that two of the guards held on a padded surface.

At once, they passed it to him and he picked it up, feeling the weight of it.

He inhaled deeply and raised the sword, looking at Dax who was still kneeling on the floor.

"Do it, then. Kill me and take the woman I've ever truly loved,” Dax said sternly and looked at him, "kill me, do it!”

Ryker raised the sword and brought it down, but it landed on the floor heavily and he cried out.

Everyone stared in shock at the missed mark and then Ryker raised his head.

"I cannot do it," Ryker whispered. "I cannot kill my own brother."

When he looked down, a lone tear rolled down Ryker's cheeks. It was an incredibly rare sight for the fierce leader who had led them through decades of borders wars without ever showing a single sign of weakness.

"When we lost our mother to the southern fever," Ryker said, his eyes fixed on Dax’s chained form, "I swore an oath to her that I would always protect him. He is the only true family I have left from my bloodline. My love for him has been my weakness, and though he has broken this home, I do not have the power to take his life."

Lyra saw the deep agony in her husband's eyes.

She didn't care about the watching crowd as she immediately stepped close to him, reaching out with both hands to wrap her fingers tightly around his large, trembling palm.

She squeezed his hand firmly, taking the sword from his hands and dropping it on the floor.

Ryker squeezed her fingers back, breathing heavily as he turned back to the elder.

The priestess looked at the Alpha and the Luna, then looked down at the old scroll she was holding.

“This is against the law!" Someone screamed from the crowd, “he has to die! Kill him or I'll do it myself!"

“Don't be weak, kill him!"

“He's not above the law!"

But the priestess lifted her hands, “enough!"

Then she looked at the old book she was holding. “the alpha is under law to decide against the old laws.”

Lyra turned to the priestess, "Really?”

The old woman nodded, "Yes, I know how it feels to kill your own blood. Believe me, it haunts you.”

Then the priestess turned to the crowd. "Since the Alpha has granted mercy from the final execution," she announced, "the council decrees the secondary punishment. Dax of the IronFangs is hereby banished from this territory forever."

The old woman looked directly at Dax. "Your pack link is severed from this moment on. Your name is erased from the historical chronicles and no one yet unborn shall read stories of your deeds. Your evil will go with you and so will your memories. As you are being taken away from the pack right now, you are cast out into the neutral waste lands."

Dax lifted his head and glared at the old priestess but she didn't seem affected but his murderous glare.

"Listen to this decree carefully, rogue," she warned loudly. "If you should ever return again to the territory of the desert, the northern passes, or anywhere close to the Ironfangs, you will be killed on sight by any guard on duty. Nothing will be able to save you from the law.”

Then she turned to the Alpha and added. “And anyone who would dare to protect you or hide you from this law, friend or foe—including the Alpha himself—will be regarded as a traitor to the bloodline and will face the exact same fate by the law!"

Ryker did not look back as the two stepped forward, grabbing Dax roughly by his chained arms and dragging him toward the gates.

“Brother! You're a coward!" Dax screamed, kicking as they led him away.

Ryker turned and marched back into the house.