The Lycan’s Curse
Chapter 15

Larissa

Cassius lifts my hand, pressing a kiss to it and I smile, leaning over to calm him. I'm not thrilled to be returning to the Wellston Pack but it's time to face the past and move forward with him. To do that, I have to allow him to do this.

I've promised to stay next to him no matter what happens, to let him speak, handle it. In turn, he had to promise the only death that will come is Noah's. He didn't want to leave it at that, wanted the blood of everyone that's laid a hand on me, harmed me to suffer, regardless of the curse driving them.

I don't regret the day long mating it took to get him to agree. The immense pleasure I received was worth the sheer exhaustion that hit. Exhaustion I haven't felt once since I marked Cassius and turned in a Lycan. I didn't know it was possible for a Lycan to feel exhausted and told him as much. The smirk on his face said it was rare, which only made me want him again. A bite to his neck took care of that, and we toppled to sleep tangled in one another soon after.

"I'm right here, better than ever," I assure him, ignoring Kai's short chuckle. He's been in an amused state since we started our trip this way.

We stopped in to visit Torin and the others, reiterating again that if any of them wish to join us, they're more than welcome. The camp has had a few upgrades thanks to Cassius, including an indoor kitchen and self-sustaining greenhouse so they won't run out of anything again.

Cassius sent a letter to Matthew last week, informing him of our visit, letting him know that there would be a mandatory meeting and all pack members must be present for it. I'm certain Matthew is trying to figure out why it would be a mandatory meeting, but I guarantee no one was going to speak up and admit guilt.

There's a welcome committee when we pull up and Cassius smirks. I know he's recalling the last time he was here and how no one greeted him. From the few visits we've done on our way here, I'm well aware that he hates them. I wasn't very fond of the last one either when that girl tried to kiss him.

"Now who needs to calm down?" Cassius teases, and I rest my head on his shoulder, laughing at the insane jealousy. As fast as he pushed her away, I knew he wanted nothing to do with her, but oh my stars, my Lycan was ready to tear her to bits, and only Cassius' arms had calmed me down enough to continue on.

Thankfully, only Cassius realized what was happening, moving over to me instantly and all anyone saw was my shocked face.

We move around greeting people until it's time for the meeting to start. Cassius guides me up the steps to the slightly raised platform at the front of the room. Matthew and Diane are sitting to the side, with Samuel as beta, then Conrad as gamma and his wife Elaine in seats just behind them. Their chairs were slightly lower than Matthew and Diane's while the ones Cassius and I move to are higher than the rest out of respect.

I know the room is still stunned that weak, pathetic Larissa is now their queen, but that will be nothing compared to what is about to happen.

Cassius settles into his seat once I'm seated, then takes my hand, making me smile at the soft hold. It's unusual for anyone to see royals affectionate with one another in any public decorum, but Cassius has thrown that out the same as he threw out that the king bows to no one at the coronation. It calms the tiny bit of worry in me, and I let him speak.

"I wish I could say that it was good to be here once more," he begins shocking the room almost instantly. "I am however unable to as I have learnt about several allegations that must be addressed. For those here, I am certain everyone is aware of the alpha's son Noah's catatonic state, but I am also certain that none know how or why he got there."

Cassius lifts his chin further, looking around the group before looking directly towards his parents. "Noah Wellston over the past year has faded to nothing for rejecting the mating bond ordained by the stars."

The gasps from the room are loud and Cassius squeezes my hand before continuing. "If you do not believe me then I give you witness. The following members are to present themselves before this committee: Adam Gamble, David Kusch, Peter Sexton, and Avery Niles."

Seeing the four not appearing to have any concerns infuriates me with what they attempted, what they were willing to do.

"Do you deny to having knowledge that Noah Wellston rejected the call to his fated mate?" Cassius demands on the four. "If you deny, speak now, or your guilt will be noted," he adds but the four know lying to the Lycan King could result in death and seem to at least be willing to admit to that much.

Cassius glances back at the crowd, then towards Matthew briefly seeing the shock on his face. "As you have seen, Noah Wellston's state rests in his own making. No efforts will be made to bring his mate forward for revival. The charges against him are numerous and stand in conjunction with others. First, with the four standing before me now. Do you deny that on the night preceding the eighteenth birthday of Noah Wellston's ordained mate, the five of you entered the woods to locate her, and prior to learning of her true status as his mate, kill her?"

The crowd bursts with noises as the four glanced from Cassius to me, the stark terror on their faces soothing the emotions the memory of it causes.

"Quiet," Cassius shouts, bringing silence to the room once more. "Do you deny it?"

The echoing silence is broken by a slight grunt from Adam until Dominic steps forward making him nearly faint. I know by that look that Dominic's revealed the magic that kept their old conversation hidden and I fight to keep the smile that wants to emerge. "Then guilt shall be noted. Further allegations rest upon you still. Do you deny that on the same night, upon the midnight hour appearing, the four of you promised Noah Wellston that you would replace his intended mate and kill her before his wolf intervened and stood against you? Not from his suggestion, but of Adam's with David's echoing accord, with no argument in the negative from the remaining accused?"

This time the crowd doesn't begin to speak but several soft cries are heard amongst it. I can see three of the mothers' faces buried in their hands, and that is why the punishments that are coming are what they are.

"Guilt is noted. As these allegations have been affirmed, I see no need to await sentencing," Cassius states drawing more cries from the mothers. "Had these allegations been affirmed upon my visit last year, I can assure you all that the sentence would be far harsher. You have only my mate to thank for what you are to receive now. For the crimes of attempted murder times two, you are hereby sentenced to twenty years confinement at Afton Penitentiary. You will be required to work Monday through Saturday and no visitors will be permitted. Upon arrival the four of you will be placed in different units and you will have no contact with one another."

Twenty years for a shiften isn't nearly as bad a human, but it would mean that they could possibly lose out on meeting their fated mates. That I feel is appropriate considering what they were willing to do, especially when combined with the rest.

"The four found guilty will remain standing and I call the following to join them: Jeremy Iris, Hale Marks, Finn Lowe, Joshua Braggs, and Chris Easton," Cassius states, ignoring the slight protests amongst the group. The five finally move forward, shaking as they bare their necks in repentance. "To the group now standing before me, the following allegations are directed. Do you deny guilt that each of you from the time that Noah Wellston turned eighteen until he fell ill, participated in attempts to sexually assault and rape, Her Royal Majesty, and in return, the first that succeeded, would be named his beta?"

My breath sticks in my throat for a moment, but Cassius' squeeze of my hand calms me, even when someone in the crowd shouts out a disgusted 'lies'.

"Silence to the crowd," Cassius shouts, making everyone quake. He turns back to the group and asks again, "Do you deny it?"

No one speaks or moves, and I don't let one single glare from anyone in the crowd get to me. I'm sure most of them feel this is my way to seek revenge against all of them. They don't have a clue how many orgasms it took to get Cassius to agree to imprisonment rather blood-their heads torn from their bodies and hung as warning to anyone else that might think of harming me.

"Silence amongst the group is taken as admission of guilt and is so noted. Again, I assure you, if I alone had made this decision, this sentence would be far greater. Each of the accused is hereby sentenced to four years of confinement at Afton Penitentiary. You will be required to work Monday through Saturday and no visitors will be permitted. To those already sentenced to confinement, the four years is in addition to the previous sentence.

"Sentence for Noah Wellston will be carried out upon the end of this meeting as such. Her Royal Majesty requested pity be given to the wolf living inside him, she will allow no more suffering to be forced upon it. I have agreed to her request and as Noah Wellston will not recover from said condition, the Wellston family will have thirty minutes at the end of the meeting to say their goodbyes before the sentence of death will be executed," he adds and I meet his gaze, giving him a nod. "Guards will remove those sentenced to confinement now."

The crowd looks anxious as the guards step forward moving the group out to vehicles. Not allowing their families to say goodbye to them is as much punishment for them as it is to their parents that did not stop them when they attempted to corner me. I know every one of them saw at one time or another and never went the alpha to protect me. They kept me from him, unable to get one private moment with him to report anything, and I won't be upset for them.

"I now call the following to stand before me: Megan James, Lucy Moore, Kristen Aldiss, Renee Trevor, Jenny Norris, and Danielle Ross," Cassius states and the girls reluctantly move forward. The guilt of what they know they've done is in their eyes and I stare straight back at them without blinking. "Those standing before me now are accused of assault and battery of Her Royal Majesty over a course of four years. Leading to numerous broken bones, ruptured muscles, and severe bruising that were slow to heal. Knowing full well that at the time, Her Royal Majesty was notably weaker than any individual standing before me. And at times also ganging up on her, causing even more severe injuries. All without any provocation from Her Royal Majesty. Do you deny guilt?"

A couple of them began to cry but the others remained silent, biting their lips, hanging their heads and I felt Cassius' hand slip against mine. His use of my formal title I know is to remind everyone here exactly who I am now, who I am to him, without him worrying he'll slip in the endearment I love so much. With each use of the title, they're reminded that I am no longer beneath them but stand far above them, and I enjoy their continued disbelief over that fact. "Silence confirms the presence of guilt, so noted. You may be seated," he adds and shock flows onto faces around the entire room. "The following individual is to stand before me now: Diane Wellston."

I could see Matthew remove his hands quickly from his mate and the stares aimed at her as she moved off the platform to stand below were justified in my books.

"Diane Wellston, you are accused of neglect and assault. On numerous occasions you saw and did not stop others from laying hands on and harming Her Royal Majesty. As the mate of a pack's alpha, your position of power is equivalent to his to and you did not exercise it to help a member of this pack. You allowed the abuse to continue, in varying degrees, while also ensuring that Her Royal Majesty could not get close to the alpha to inform him of such events.

"Furthermore, you also participated in such activities yourself. On one occasion, without provocation, you pinned Her Royal Majesty down in the laundry room and set a hot iron on her skin. Forcefully holding it there until it caused second and third degree burns that required the attention of healers. To whom you lied and told that Her Royal Majesty tripped, hit her head, and blacked out, not knowing the iron was on her. Do you deny these allegations?" Cassius' voice is dark as he describes the incident. It's one of the worst memories that I had relived to him while we were enjoying our time alone together, growing closer, learning everything there was about one another.

Diane hangs her head and shakes it no.

"Guilt is admitted by silence and confirmation from the accused, so noted. You may take your seat," Cassius adds shocking the room once more as Diane slowly climbs to rejoin her mate. She doesn't begin to look at us and Matthew ignores her as he shakes his head looking over the pack.

Cassius lets out a low breath holding my gaze for a long moment, and I can tell he's wishing in this moment that he had no emotions once more. I know because I do as well when recalling those events. I give him a nod, and he returns his attention to the crowd that's staring on with incredulity.

"There are many others within this room that I could call forward as well, but to do so would be pointless. To many it may seem unjust to send the male members off to confinement when many of the females in this room have done just as vile things to my mate. However, there is a significant difference to their actions. The male members followed the lead or acted of their own accord in the actions they took. Noah Wellston did not force them to participate in his attempts to end the mate bond by causing death to his intended mate.

"The female members here, as well as others in packs where Her Royal Majesty resided prior to seeking refuge to save her life, were being compelled by an unknown force. Today as you sit there, I ask you this, do any of you harbor ill wishes against my mate? Or do you express remorse for the pain and suffering inflicted upon her? I am certain in nearly every single case it is the second. I know this because I saw it within my own staff, within my personal advisor's mate, who by her own words, felt a deep hatred towards my mate just by looking at her," Cassius adds shocking the room once more.

"But something truly magical happened at the coronation, and I ask Diane Wellston to confirm this. When Her Royal Majesty first arrived to stand beside me, did you still harbor a hatred or dislike for her? There will be no punishment for answering truthfully," he states when Diane looks reluctant to answer.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she gets out.

"And then upon the pronouncement of my mate, as Queen Larissa, something happened, did it not?"

"Yes, I..." She stops, choking on her words and Cassius lifts my hand to press a kiss to it.

"That change was felt throughout the crowd, within my personal advisor's mate, and seen within those that were first requested to provide her support upon her arrival at the palace. Where she finished recovering from a near fatal attack performed by two bearen that did not stop themselves at just bruises and a broken bone or two.

"That change was the breaking of a curse, put over star-blessed mates long before anyone in this room was born. This curse was enacted as revenge because witches were jealous of their abilities, of their potential strength and power, and towards one in particular for winning the heart of a magician they all admired. And so, within each generation, star-blessed mates became fewer and fewer. Those that lived past infancy, were often killed in childhood by enacting a jealousy within a female, and even greater within females with male children-particularly those whose male child was mated to them," Cassius states turning to look at her as Diane lets out a low gasp. "The curse could not be broken, but a counter-curse was placed upon it in hopes that one day, it might. That one day, a star-blessed mate would survive against great odds and reach adulthood, and when that mate was crowned queen, the curse would end. Stopping all that previously hated or wished ill upon my mate in an instant.

"Now, what sort of potential strength and powers did these witches hate? The type that allowed a star-blessed mate to choose whom they gave their heart to, she would be free to ignore the pull of an ordained mating bond if she wished, or she could accept it and upon the claiming, mutual claiming," Cassius adds making me smile as he gives me a wink. "The star-blessed mate would reveal their true self, their final self. The self that would take the same species as that of their mate. And should any of you need further proof that my mate was such, see with your own eyes."

I stood with him, letting the shift come, and my Lycan let out a growl sniffing at Cassius before she allowed me to return.

"None here can deny that the wolf you once saw, is the same as the Lycan that just stood before you. And that curse that compelled your actions is what keeps you from punishment now, per request of Her Royal Majesty. Should I hear that any pack allows abuse towards the smaller or weaker amongst them in the future, I will not be so lenient. As for those now in confinement, upon their release, with noted proper behavior within, I permit your alpha the right to accept them back into your pack. Any with noted improper behavior may be rejected and if so, will then be sent to the Kaiser Pack to live for the remainder of their lives. This meeting is now adjourned," Cassius states, moving me down the steps and with Kai on my other side, out the door to our vehicle to head home. "How does it feel to be leaving now little wolf?" he asks me as we pull through the gates and all I can do is grin, loving this mate of mine beyond words.