Chapter 165 165.The punishment

Chapter 165 165.The punishment
Tabitha’s POV

“Mate?” Alpha Yoseff’s eyes widen. “I thought you were to be engaged to my daughter?”

“That was my father’s arrangement,” Evren replies and shurgs. “But he’s dead. We killed him. And I don’t care what he wanted, anyway. I choose Tabitha. I will always choose her.”

I almost choke at his words. I can’t believe he is saying all that while looking straight in Yoseff Beckett’s eyes!

“And if you make an enemy of her, you make an enemy of us,” Reed warns coldly

A choked sound draws our attention.

Elsie stands a few feet away, tears streaking her cheeks, blood marking her sleeve. It seems like she’s been listening to the conversation.

“R-Reed? You have a mate?” she asks, her voice breaking. “And to your stepsister?!”

“I’m sorry, Elsie,” Reed says gently. “I told you before. I only see you as a friend.” He looks at me. “Tabitha owns my heart.”

Heat rushes to my face, and my mind spins.

Their father is dead at our feet for fuck’s sake! The island is in tatters after a bloody battle, and my mom is being carried away on a stretcher.

And they decide this is the perfect time to proclaim their feelings? In front of everyone?

Damn these men.

They never fail to make my heart flutter even after almost a life and death situation!

“And what are you planning to do now?” Alpha Eliott asks. “We are in the aftermath of war. We managed to capture the majority of the rogue forces. And now, your family’s pack is in tatters too. Your father is dead and the four of you should face the consequences for the act of killing your own Alpha—your father. Yet all you ever seem to care about is protecting that girl.”

“You’re right, Alpha Eliott.” Jace nods. “Our main priority is Tabitha. And to also make sure her mother recovers from this.”

“She’s a traitor, boy,” Alpha Yoseff rumbles.

“My mother just wants to avenge my dad! She believes that Alpha Emery was the one who orchestrated his death.”

Alpha Yoseff sighs and shakes his head.

“Emery… he was probably the most powerful Alpha on this island. But he was drunk with power. He killed a lot of people to keep that power.”

“And you let him.”

Alpha Yoseff’s cold gaze almost froze me in my place. “The foundation of this island are laws that have been created by the three main packs. By our family. The rogues threatened that and Emery did what he thought was right to maintain order.”

“And his methods resulted in this! The rogues you’ve had ostracized for years to finally have enough and decide to destroy everyone and everything once and for all!”

“Are you defending their cause, girl?” Alpha Eliott asks.

“Listen, Mario was right.” Jace raises his arm and steps in front of me and Alpha Eliott. “Our family is cursed with the rare ability to turn humans into werewolves when we bite them during the full moon. We’re not denying it. Maybe Mario has some merits in his plans to eradicate us. I don’t blame him, honestly. My dad didn’t care that he and our ancestors have ruined many lives because of this power. I didn’t want it. Me and my brothers refuse to continue his ways which had always disappointed him. Not that he can complain now.” He gives the lifeless body of his father a flat look.

“You speak as if you didn’t use to hunt rogues on this island by your own hands,” Alpha Eliott scoffs.

“Oh, the rogues are not saints, alright,” Reed says. “A lot of them had caused actual havoc. They ignored the pack laws that protect other humans from werewolf activities. Maybe our ancestors have turned them into beasts against their will, but over time, they become the monsters that they despise. So I don’t regret hunting them down all these years.”

Reed glances at me before looking back at Rhett’s dad.

“What I regret though is the fact that it had to end like this. Both sides have made mistakes that resulted in a lot of spilled blood,” he adds.

Alpha Eliott sighs.

“However this plays out, we’re dealing with the fallout one way or another. The island’s going to need a new order after this mess. It’s going to be long. It’s going to be ugly as hell. But it has to happen.” He casts the brothers a sharp look. “And you four… you don’t walk away from this. Killing your Alpha—your own father, for fuck’s sake—breaks every law Kaelara was built on. Those rules were here long before any of you were born.”

“You can’t punish them for defending themselves! Forget about me—Emery Aldair was about to snap Jace’s neck earlier. I had to shoot him in the leg just to stop him. If things hadn’t turned out like this… he would’ve killed his own sons!”

“That doesn’t excuse their behavior—”

“Really? Can you do that, Alpha Yoseff? Will you have enough reason in your bones to kill your children? To snap their necks? To discard them as if they didn’t mean anything to you? Are your children only meant to serve as a way to serve your purpose for power and connection?” I clench my fist and bravely walk toward front of him, meeting his fierce eyes. “Because that’s exactly what he was doing. That’s the kind of father they had.”

My chest rises sharply as I stare at down.

“I was there when they pulled the trigger. And you know what I felt?” I swallow hard. “Nothing like what you think. There was no anger or hatred or even triumph. No satisfaction after they saw their father dead on the ground.”

My fingers curl at my sides. “All I saw were men who—” My voice falters.

Jace steps closer and gently strokes my back, concern written all over his face. I glance at him and manage a small, reassuring smile before turning back.

“—men who were trying to protect the last piece of love they had left in a place that’s been drowning in hate and vengeance for years.”

I can feel the brothers’ intense gaze at me, and I continue.

“They didn’t look like murderers to me. They looked like sons who ran out of choices.”

My gaze hardens as it lands at the two Alphas in front of us.

“So tell me, Alphas… who’s the real villain here?”

Yoseff Beckett and Eliott Sharpe don’t answer. They exchange brief glances and I see how the fury that was in Alpha Eliott’s eyes earlier turns into something close to shame.

“Whatever you say… the four of them will still have to face the consequences of their actions. A punishment has to be made.”

“What—”

“We’re ready,” Evren says, nodding once.

“What? Evren, no!”

“For a crime this grave, the usual punishment is death,” Alpha Yoseff says.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! THAT’S NOT FAIR—”

“—but a more fitting punishment for you would be exile.”

“You can’t do this—sorry, what? Did you say exile?”

Evren also looks taken aback by this.

“Evren, Luca, Reed, and Jace Aldair,” Alpha Yoseff thunders. “As the Alpha of the Stormblood pack, I am imposing upon you the punishment of exile. You will never set foot on this island again. If you do, you will expect no mercy from any of us. All your properties here will be sold, and with Emery Aldair dead and no heirs left, the Crystal Ridge pack will be dismantled. From this moment on, you are lone wolves. You may build a new pack if you wish, but it cannot be on Kaelara. You are also forbidden from reaching out to any werewolf on this island unless they leave this place and approach you first.”

Evren, Reed, Luca, and Jace exchange looks of uniformed disbelief.

“We will be giving you twenty days to settle everything. After that, you must be gone from this island forever,” Alpha Eliott adds.

I am stunned. Exile? I almost can’t believe it. The brothers were born and raised here. Kaelara has been their whole life and now they’re being kicked out of their home just like that?

This is definitely a better punishment than death! But it doesn’t make me feel less sad!

“We accept the punishment,” Luca declares and his brothers nod in agreement.

Eliott Sharpe nods his head before he turns to me. “By the way, this punishment also applies to your mother, Tabitha. Tell her that.”

Just like that, Yoseff Beckett and Eliott Sharpe turn around and leave us stunned.