I Only Want One

Chapter 23

Natalie

"The worst thing I can think of." Jude says darkly. I look up at him confused, no idea what he's thinking. But his eyes are narrowed and angry, looking off into the distance and I can tell he's entirely focused on his task. 

"Bring her out." He barks to the guards standing in front of the building that houses our cells. 

I've only been in there a handful of times. It smells bad and is somehow always freezing cold, despite our werewolf temperatures. It only takes a couple of minutes before the two guards appear with an emaciated looking Corinne. Her skin so pale it's practically translucent in the summer sun. Her eyes have dark shadows under them and she grimaces in the sunlight. Even the skin of her lips is pale, cracking and bleeding. She looks over at her mother and sister, both of them glaring at her as she's thrown on the ground at Jude's feet. He sneers at her, pure disgust on his face and I can't help the sliver of satisfaction that goes through me at it. He must feel it, because he leans over to peck a kiss to my lips before facing Corinne, his body going rigid as he looks down at her. 

She tries to stand, but her legs are too weak and she falters, falling to her knees in front of him. 

"Your father died today." Jude says. 

Corinne's eyes go wide as she looks over at the remaining members of her family. Both of them have tears streaming down their faces and my heart breaks looking at them.

'Can you make her feel their pain?' Eli asks through our mind link. I nod, taking a little of the agonizing pain from them and pushing it into Corinne. I don't want it to be too noticeable. No one knows it was me that caused the turn of the attack. Only my mates and our families. Well, and Corinne. 

But that won't matter much longer. 

I watch as her mom and sister's pain fills her. Her eyes begin to turn red, so dehydrated she doesn't have any tears to cry. Her body shakes with harsh sobs as she holds her stomach, pain as much physical as emotional barreling through her. 

"I can think of no crime worse than betraying your own pack." Jude says, loud enough for the rest of the pack to hear. They all growl in agreement, and I look around. Anger and hurt etched onto every one of their faces. No one ever really liked Corinne, but we were never cruel to her. She was afforded the same privileges as everyone else. Bullying wasn't tolerated, she was still welcome to pack events. The fact that she did this, cost us so many lives is unforgiveable. 

"Please, just kill me." She begs. A cruel smile creeps across Jude's face. 

"Oh, I will. But that doesn't mean I won't make you suffer. Eighteen members of our pack are dead. Their families mourning and plenty more injured. All because you wanted favor in your new pack. You spread lies there as much as you did here. For that, you will pay with your life." Jude spits, his wolf pushing close to the surface. I watch as his claws escape, Jude fighting with his wolf for control. He manages to get his wolf to calm down before he walks over to the fire he built. 

I watch curious as he lifts the pan, silver sloshing inside of it. He carries it over towards Corinne, setting it on the ground next to her before turning to face the pack again.

"Let this be a lesson to anyone who attacks our pack, or considers betraying us. We will show no mercy." He says. Eli grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him, away from Jude, and wraps an arm around my waist. 

"I'm not sure you're going to want to watch this." He murmurs in my ear. 

"Why?" I ask just as Jude speaks. 

"Submit." He growls, his wolf coming forward again. His voice his low, his eyes nearly pitch black as he allows his wolf close to the surface. Jude's Alpha aura is stifling and even some members of the pack follow his order. 

Corinne is so weak she has nothing left to fight him with. She exposes her neck to Jude, still kneeling. 

"Open your mouth." Jude says, using an Alpha command. 

I'm so confused at this point that I look up to Eli for some sort of explanation, but his eyes stay on the scene. His face is grim, his hands tightening around me. I look back at Jude and Corinne, her mouth now open just as Jude demanded. I watch with horror as he lifts the ladle he was using to stir the silver as it melted. 

He pours the silver down Corinne's throat. There are sharp gasps of shock from the crowd as everyone watches Corinne begin to sputter and groan. The sound of the molten silver slipping down her throat fills the air, hissing and bubbling as she chokes on it. 

Jude doesn't stop, he lifts another ladle full, pouring it down her throat again. She lifts her hands, wrapping them around her throat. As the silver cools, it hardens again, making it so no oxygen can get down her throat. The sight is horrific and I begin to squirm against Eli not wanting to watch this anymore. 

'Sit still, sunshine. The pack needs to know that we are united.' Eli mind links me and I instantly still. 

I wish Jude had warned me about his plans, so I was better prepared to deal with it. But Eli's right, we need to stand as one. The pack can't think that Jude went rogue on this or that we don't agree with his punishment. I wrap my hand around Eli's wrist, the one still holding my waist, and wait for it to be over. 

I look over to Jenna and her mom, wondering how they feel about this barbaric punishment, but neither of them seem fazed by it, almost as if they are relishing in her pain. After one more mouthful of silver, Corinne falls to the ground. She begins to writhe, rolling around on the grass and clutching her neck as she tries to breathe. Slowly she begins to stop, her eyes closing and body twitching until she's still. No one speaks, the entire pack quiet as we try to process what we just witnessed. Jude throws the pan of silver down onto the ground before addressing the guards that brought Corinne out. 

"Burn the body. No celebration of life." He says. They both nod and get to work, lifting her body and carrying her towards the back of the cells. 

"You're all dismissed." Jude says, but hurries towards Jenna and her mother. 

He hugs them both and whispers something to them. They both nod, Jenna's mother crying again. They hug him again before they turn to leave, walking away arm in arm. Jude looks over at me, a worried expression on his face as he walks towards me. He pulls me into his chest the moment he can reach me and Eli lets me go, letting him have this moment. 

"You alright?" He asks and I nod, looking up at him. 

"I wish you had told me before you did it. So I knew what to expect." I say quietly, looking over at the quickly cooling silver. 

"You're right. I'm sorry. I was just so... angry." He says quietly and I sigh, reaching out to run my fingers through his hair. 

"You need to learn to control it, Jude. Your anger, your wolf. You are an Alpha. There are no excuses. People look to you for leadership. Trust you to make the right choices. I don't disagree with your punishment, but I feel like we should have discussed it first. No more act first, deal with the consequences later." I say and his eyes drop as he senses my disappointment. 

"You're right. I can do it. With your help." He says and I nod, wrapping my arms around his waist. 

"We do these things together from now on. As a team." I say firmly and he nods in agreement, looking over at Eli. 

"Maybe that's why I was given a twin. The Moon Goddess knew I would fuck it up on my own." He says with a sly grin that makes me smile. 

"Can we go home?" I ask my mates, looking between them. They both nod and I twine my fingers with each of them, leading us back towards our house. 

"What did you say? To Jenna and her mom?" I ask Jude and he sighs heavily before responding. 

"I gave them the option of saying good bye to her. Before, alone in the cells. They said no. I wanted to make sure they were alright. That they understood why I had to do what I did." He says and I nod, tightening my hold on him.

"You'll be a good Alpha, Jude. I really believe that." I say, giving him an encouraging smile. His returning one is so wide my heart palpitates at his beauty.

"You saying that means more to me than you'll ever know." He says, before leaning down and kissing my head. "I love you, sunshine." He murmurs.

"I love you, too. Both of you."