200: HIS TWISTED WAY

HIS TWISTED WAY

"If I can, do you think I will come looking for you?" Kaz immediately realized how harsh the words that he said were, but he couldn't take them back.

The truth about how Iris had helped them during their slavery days with the help of Hanna and some servants spread to the rest of the pack members in the Howling Wolf pack too after they arrived here.

Yet, some of them were still skeptical about Iris and only a few of them tried to have an amicable relationship with her if they really had to, just like Kaz.

The steward was not hostile toward Iris, but he wouldn't go out of his way to make her feel welcomed or comfortable in this pack either.

"I will look for Alpha Cane," Kaz murmured, as he backed away, knowing his chance to make Iris talk to the Alpha was close to zero.

And without waiting for Iris' response, Kaz walked away. He gave her a side look before he turned around, which made Iris feel a little bit uncomfortable and guilty.

After Kaz had left, Iris stayed there, staring into the distance, as her mind jumbled up with a lot of thoughts.

She thought she had made progress, but it seemed, the people in this pack would only see her with judgment in their eyes always.

Iris didn't think she would ever be a part of them…

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"Cane, have you reconsidered this decision?" Jace asked Cane after he found him in the east watchtower, the place where you could oversee the execution area. In the middle of the podium, you could see the gallows.

In less than an hour, Aria would be hung there and lose her life. This would be the first execution under Cane's order and who would have thought that the death sentence would befall upon the mistress?

"People are begging you to revoke the punishment because this is very cruel." Jace glanced through the window, where half of the pack members prostrated themselves in front of the podium, pleading for another punishment for Aria.

Meanwhile, Cane was leaning against the window frame, staring at the same scene. Yet, it was hard to tell what was in his mind right now. His dark eyes were bottomless.

"Do you also think it is cruel?" Cane asked Jace instead, but his eyes were still focused on those people.

"We can banish her from the pack," Jace suggested, he had suggested this idea as soon as he learnt about the punishment Cane gave to Aria.

"Where will she go?"

"We can send her to the neighboring pack or…"

"What about the information that she held?" Cane shifted his attention to his beta when he asked this question. "You guys often discussed confidential things in her presence. What about the secret information that she knew? Will she be able to keep it a secret?"

Jace was taken aback at that question, because it didn't cross his mind at all. Because of Aria's constant presence around Cane, they didn't see her as someone that they needed to take precaution against. As a result, they never hesitated to discuss confidential things in her presence, even though Cane was not there.

He really saw her as one of them and not even in their wildest dreams did they think something like this would happen.

"She…" Jace lowered his head.

"Will she?"

Jace didn't have the confidence to say that Aria would keep the secret. What if someone tempted her with Cane again? No matter how ridiculous it was, Aria saw a different goal from them. If she couldn't see the danger of using dark magic and what the King could do if he pinned the blame on this pack, then there was nothing that could make her see how her obsession could cost thousands of people's lives.

It was Aria's bad judgment and even Cane believed she didn't mean to kill those children or harm him. Yet, she would be a ticking bomb in the future for them. Someone could easily use her, especially with her unique status and how easy it was for her to come closer to the Alpha.

Thus, banishment was out of option.

"We can try house arrest…" Jace's voice was not as firm.

"Intentionally or not, killing three children, using dark magic and harming the alpha, will only be punished with house arrest?" Cane questioned his beta, he tilted his head, waiting for his response, but Jace knew how ridiculous the punishment he suggested was for the heavy crime that Aria had committed.

At this point, Jace stopped trying to persuade him and kept his mouth shut altogether. It was a tragic ending for Aria, but she really dug her own grave so deep, ignoring all the warnings that Cane gave to her.

Jace looked at the streets, as many people started to come out of their houses. Everyone stopped what they were doing to join the others, pleading for the Alpha to revoke the punishment.

It was a hard decision, it was not easy even for Cane to come to this conclusion. He had enough of Aria, because she could be a danger for them in the future, but when Jace looked at his face, his expression was devoid of all emotions, as if he had tuned out his feelings and right now there was nothing that could touch his numbness.2

The Beta was standing two steps away from the Alpha, but Jace felt Cane was miles away, someone that he couldn't reach and this distant feeling that he felt scared him sometimes, he felt like he was going to lose him someday when he hardened his heart enough and hid his thoughts even deeper than this.

"Don't you want to see and talk with her for one last time?" Jace asked. "She only asked to see you for the last time." Aria refused to talk and only asked to see Cane.

"No." Cane furrowed his brows. "Let her hate me."

Cane knew hate intimately, so did Aria and it would be easy for that woman to hate than to love him. He wanted to make it easier for her in his own twisted way.

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