Cernunnos - 57. Chapter 57

Waking up, Cyn sweltered. He inched away from Shea’s smoldering body and poked his feet out from the blanket. The cool air blasted the toes, providing instant relief. Cyn sighed and nuzzled his pillow, only to feel his mate’s shifting weight. A warm arm pulled on his chest as Shea mumbled, “Get back here.”

The buck gave in, but lowered the blanket more. “You’re hot, Sheamus.”

“Old news, pup.”

Cyn withheld his giggle. “No, you’re sweaty. We fell asleep.”

Shea rolled away and grabbed his phone. “Right. We got a few hours before the meeting. Arric didn’t want a meal at this one, so you want to head to town and grab something?”

“Can I get more fries?”

“You want more? Jeez, it’s like you found a new favorite food.”

With a smile, Cyn got up and headed for the bathroom. Once clean and dressed, the two made their way to the local deli. On the drive there, Cyn paid attention to how Shea operated the vehicle. It’s the same process, at least until we start moving. Door, belts, turn the key, pull the lever, then drive. The deer asked several questions about the several knobs and switches across the Camry, and he noticed the ones pertaining to driving were within Shea’s grasp. All of them between us are more for comfort than operating. Then there’s the pedals below, so it takes some coordination between the feet and hands.

And he has to watch where he’s going? Uncertainty and anxiety swelled in Cyn’s instincts. I’m… I don’t think I can do all that. He put his hands inside his jacket pockets and hummed.

“What’s going on, Cyn? You’re acting a little off.”

He sighed as Shea patted him on the knee. “You make things look easy. I know it’s a culture thing, but I don’t think I could ever drive a car.”

The wolf caressed Cyn’s leg. “And that’s okay! No one’s saying you have to.”

“But it looks like driving is a normal thing among the humans. I feel… expected to learn.”

“Baby, you shouldn’t feel that way.” Cyn looked at Shea’s momentary glance. “Just because everyone knows how to do something doesn’t mean you have to. There are plenty of people who don’t drive; Rel, for example. She has anxiety issues and the thought of being behind the wheel frightens her. There’s a reason she works from home.

“You can do anything you want, and you don’t have to do anything everyone else does.”

The words made sense to Cyn. He smiled and interlocked his fingers with Shea’s. “Okay, so when we get to the restaurant, I want to pay! Arric gave me money for working with Melinda this week.”

Shea growled under his breath, “I guess that’s one way to take my advice.”

***

Satisfied with the meal, Cyn relaxed in the wooden chair. His french fries were even better than the previous experience a few nights ago. I understand Sheamus when he said different places sell the same food that taste different. Those fries were seasoned!

What the buck had trouble figuring out was the pricing of their orders. He examined the bill as he counted out the cash from his new wallet. “Is this normal?”

Shea nibbled on the last of his sandwich. “What’cha mean?”

“I went to the food store with Melinda last week. This place sells french fries for three dollars? The store has a small bag of potatoes for four.”

“Yes, but those are raw potatoes. The restaurant has to cut and cook them using machinery that costs them money. All the while, employees work here to use those machines, and serve you the food, and they have to be paid for their wages. That’s the concept of a restaurant, pup. They do the work, and you don’t have to cook. By paying the three dollars, you saved yourself a lot of time and effort.”

Cyn scratched his head. “I guess that makes sense. But we could have stayed at your apartment and cooked.”

“Maybe so,” Shea said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, “but there’s a couple problems with that. I didn’t have any potatoes for you to cook, so that means a trip to the grocery, and we wouldn’t have made it to the meeting on time.

“That, and it’s not my apartment anymore; it’s ours.”

“Ours?”

The lycan grinned. “You’re my mate, so my home is your home.”

“My… home?” Cyn’s words trailed off. His mouth stayed open slightly as he dipped his head. Visions of the small house in Arthur City whizzed around in his mind, then some of Arric’s manor. Comparing the two, Shea’s apartment seemed to be the perfect combination of the two places he had lived in.

“Cyn?”

He looked up, seeing Shea’s waving hand. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

The buck shook his head. “N-no! I… I guess I was just thinking.”

“About?” asked Shea.

“The house I grew up in didn’t have much furniture, and it was small like yours. Arric’s is really big, and it felt overwhelming. Your… Our apartment has everything it’s supposed to have and more.”

Shea raised an eyebrow. “Really? You don’t think it’s too small? Because I thought about looking for a two or three bedroom home.”

“You don’t like the apartment?”

“I do, but with being Pack Enforcer, I got a hefty pay-raise. I can afford to live better now, and I’d like to move closer to the outskirts of town where we can go running on all fours.”

Cyn understood. “To be closer to the forest!”

“There ya go. Maybe we can find something we both like. I’d like to stay near Arric’s, if possible.”

The cernunnos immediately thought of the trails outside the alpha’s manor. He smiled. “I like it!”

Shea backed his chair out and stood. “Alright, we’ll start looking around this week, okay pup? But for now, let’s head to Arric’s. It’s going to be a rough night.”

“Rough?”

“Yeah. Arric’s sentencing Eike tonight, and I think I know what’s going to happen.”

***

“Is everything prepared?”

“Yes, Alpha. It’s melting as we speak.”

Arric tilted his head to peer out of the kitchen window. The bonfire was lit and sputtering ambers into the sky. He saw the iron handle poking out from the base. Turning away, he leaned against the island and wrapped an arm around Kieran. “You aren’t going to watch, are you?”

The beta’s head pressed against Arric’s shoulder. “I don’t want to, but I will.”

“No one will think less of you if you look away,” whispered Arric.

“I know, but as sick as it sounds, I want to see the ending to this nightmare.”

The alpha curled a smile. “It doesn’t sound sick. He deserves what’s coming to him.”

“Are you sure this isn’t too much like Game of Thrones?”

Arric bent his neck backward and cackled. “I didn’t even think of that! No, pup. It’s an archaic tradition from the werewolf clans. Some current packs honor death sentences of violent criminals by these means.”

Kieran bit his bottom lip and stared off into nothingness. Arric couldn’t help but smile. I love his little thinking face. It’s only a matter of time before he recalls the ans—

“Old Nordic folklore, late Bronze Age. Warriors in southern Scandinavia captured a feral werewolf that couldn’t change back after the lunar cycle.”

Arric kissed the messy head of hair. “One of these days, I’ll stump you.”

Kieran snorted, “Doubtful, but has the pack always had the tools for this kind of sentencing?”

“Yes. Had to call up Maire and he said it was in the corner of the council’s storage unit. Apparently, it hasn’t been used in almost a century.”

The beta shivered in Arric’s arms. “Creepy. It’s almost time for the rest of the council to show up.”

Tightening his hold on the lycan, Arric whined in Kieran’s ear. “It’s not time to put your beta pants on yet.”

He was met by Kieran’s grin and a peck on the lips. “Let me put them on now, and you can take them off later, ‘kay?”

Arric growled, but gave in. He watched the pajama pants walk away as they threatened to fall past Kieran’s hips. Returning to the window, he sighed and mentally prepared himself.

***

The energy among the pack members was different. Cyn could feel the anticipation flowing through the evening air. Everyone seems tense.

Kara and Jaime were nowhere to be found, but he expected their disappearance. Sheamus told me they’re now on the lower council. Looking around, all he saw were unfamiliar pack members. He sat away from the larger group, content with watching everyone mingle.

His instincts tingled in the back of his mind. Someone’s watch—

“Well, if it isn’t Detective Cyn!”

The voice and its drawl was instantly recognized. He turned to see Alpha Rogier wearing a green polo and khaki pants. The man swiftly claimed the seat next to the buck and put an arm over Cyn’s shoulder. “Figured I see the Turbins or someone else sittin’ with ya while the head honchos chat. Where is everybody?”

Cyn dipped his head in respect and looked back to the manor. “Kara and Jaime are lower council now, so they’re in there too.”

“Well, damn! Arric’s been making some moves, ain’t he? No worries, I’ll keep ya comp’ny if you don’t mind.”

The alpha’s presence was a mystery to Cyn. “Alpha Rogier? Why are you here? I thought you had your own pack?”

Ken boisterously laughed. “I do, I do! I’m here as a warranty, if ya will.” He threw a fisted thumb behind him. “Prisoner’s last request.”

Cyn turned in his seat and gasped. Between two burly officers stood a shackled Hauser. With a beige outfit and a steel loop around his neck, the lycan looked away just as Cyn saw him.

Ken whispered, “Told ‘im about Eike’s capture. He wouldn’t stop whining about wanting to see the bastard get his just-desserts.”

Staring at the cuffed lycan, Cyn exhaled. “I understand. The silver wolf made him kill.”

“That was Claude’s thinking. That man always had a thing for the dramatics. It took some convincin’ but I agreed to it all.” The larger man turned in his seat. “You do know what’s going to take place here, right?”

Cyn swallowed. “Y-yes.”

Ken stared, almost as if he was studying the buck. He huffed and returned to face the stage. “That group to your left’s been starin’ for a few minutes.”

Following the alpha’s notice, Cyn saw the leporidae twins, Orson, Anton, and the trio of foxes. “They’re my friends. Do you want to meet them?”

The wolf grinned. “Any friends of yours are friends of mine!”

***

Leaving the manor’s back-door, Shea walked at Arric’s right side toward the center platform. The silence was only disrupted by the crackling bonfire. Everyone knows why we’re here. I can almost feel the tension rising! He climbed the stairs and turned, standing before the pack. Despite attending two prior meetings in the position, seeing every face empowered his wolf.

He scowled. The meeting’s agenda was to be short and sweet. Shea took a slow and deep breath, exhaling cautiously to camouflage his nervousness.

Arric’s voice boomed, “Good evening, my pack! I call this meeting in the name of justice. After tonight, our families can rest easy. The disgraced Doctor Morgan has confessed to his malpractice, and faces a lifetime in prison. We see one rogue in cuffs, and the other will join their fallen brother.

He peered off to the left. “Bring him before the council!”

A handful of uniformed officers approached the side of the stage. Shea watched as Eike, garbed in his prison clothes and cuffs, shuffled along. Surprisingly, the rogue remained silent behind a toothy leer.

When Eike stood before Arric, the alpha spoke, “Eike Thomas, my former Pack Enforcer, you are charged with coercion of pack, disobeying pack and governmental laws, attempted kidnapping of a pack member, attempted murder, and from your turncoat underling, over twenty counts of murder of former-prey shapeshifters. How do you plead?”

Eike craned his neck backward toward Hauser and cackled, “Thought I smelled someone worthless!” Snapping back to Arric, he uttered, “Guilty as fuck. Go ahead and slap another forty or fifty counts, would ya Alpha?”

Whispers and swears littered the yard. Shea’s first instinct was to search for Cyn in the crowd. No, I won’t let him see where I’m looking. He gritted his teeth. The last thing I want is for—

“Nevertheless,” Arric stated, “the council accepts your decision. As Pack Alpha, I hereby sentence you to death.” The alpha’s face exhibited little restraint. With furrowed brows, the lycan ventured to the base of the fire and retrieved a mitt.

Donning it, he grabbed a metal handle that held a glowing cup. “In the olden days of early lycan settlements, pack alphas and enforcers found punishing troublesome members to be never-ending. After decades of labor and death sentences, nothing was being accomplished to culling the pacing of misbehavior. Until one brilliant beta thought to attack a lycan’s strongest prize; their honor.

“With this melted silver, your death will be painful and fiery, just as the suffering you’ve inflicted upon the innocent lives you’ve touched. Before this council and pack, what are your final words?”

Eike’s eyes darted to Shea, causing him to bare his teeth. “What a disgrace! C’mon, Arric. Your new enforcer can’t even do his job properly? You have to be the one to send me to the afterlife?”

Arric’s gaze, along with the weight of the packs’ followed. His wolf was circling in his mind. The threat of anger washed away as he saw Cyn in the crowd. Shea stepped forward. “I’ve already had the pleasure of having your blood drip from my knuckles.”

“Pansy!”

The insult flew over Shea’s head as he continued, “My mate and I have had our fill of your embarrassment. It was him who caused your capture. It was my mate… your prey, that took you down! Killing you wouldn’t give me any more satisfaction than what I already own. I’ve given my duty as Pack Enforcer to my leader."

"Enough," exclaimed Arric. The alpha's glare toward Eike was dominant. "Kneel."

Eike scoffed.

"Kneel," whispered Arric. The voice lingered and made Shea shudder. Trembling, Eike's body obeyed.

Shea watched as Arric approached with the glowing tool. Then, without ceremony, he tilted the cup.

As the thick liquid landed on Eike's crown, a scream echoed into the night. The aroma or singed hair and seared skin blasted Shea's nose. The flow paused as Eike fell back. Following the rogue, Arric poured another helping over the delta's face, ensuring the metal went into the mouth.

Shea bit his cheek. He wondered how much longer Eike would last. If he's ingested it, it won't be long. A few more seconds of verbal agony lingered, but as the lycan's feet fell limp, Shea exhaled harshly. He's… he's dead? Examining Eike's chest, he saw no inflation of the lungs. Yeah. It's done.

He watched as Arric continued to pour the remainder of the iron cup's contents over the body. He dropped the tool on Eike and scanned the audience. Arric took a deep breath and bellowed, "Let this be a demonstration! All lives, both within and outside of my pack, are to be cherished! Fangs or hooves, it doesn't matter. This pack is your home, and everyone here is family. And as your Alpha, I will protect you with my dying breath!"

The alpha looked down at the deceased and snorted. "This meeting's adjourned."

Whispers grew throughout the pack as Arric stepped off the stage with Kieran in tow. Shea stepped down and made his way towards Cyn. On the approach, he saw Orson's arm over the buck's shoulder. Cyn rose slowly as Shea entered the row of chairs.

He held his deer and slid fingers through Cyn's hair. Shea whispered, "It's finally over, pup."

The world around him silenced as he listened to his mate's sobbing.