The Three Who Chose Me
Chapter 42: Blood for Blood

Chapter 42: Blood for Blood

Varen

I cussed so hard it made the Beta flinch.

"This is bullshit," I growled, dragging a hand through my soaked hair. "You two are acting like pups when our mate is literally fighting for her life. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Neither of them spoke, but their silence only fueled the fire burning under my skin.

"I swear," I continued, my voice edged with venom, "I must’ve pissed off every Moon Spirit in existence to get stuck sharing a mate with the two of you."

Thorne turned, his eyes cold, but steady. "Round it up, Varen."

The way he said it—calm and flat, with that dangerous Alpha bite underneath—made my jaw lock. Still, I followed him as he pushed the doors open and walked into the pack house. Kiel trailed behind me like a beaten mutt, sniffling like he was ten years old.

I turned to him mid-step and narrowed my eyes. "Cut that out."

He stiffened and straightened instantly. Good. He needed to hold himself together, not fall apart when we needed clarity.

The three of us moved together now—united by fury if nothing else—as we entered the throne room.

The sight that greeted us sent a strange pulse of satisfaction through my chest.

Josie’s parents were on their knees, hands shackled behind their backs, their clothes ripped and stained with mud. Blood lined the corner of her father’s mouth, and her mother’s eyes were wide with disbelief and exhaustion. Exactly how they should look.

I let out a low growl. "Look what the rats dragged in."

Thorne didn’t waste time. "Speak."

They stared at us. Defiant.

Varen cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. "You sold her. You gave her to that fucking bastard Ian. And now she’s clinging to life, and you expect we’ll just sit on our hands?"

Josie’s mother opened her mouth, but her husband beat her to it.

"We were in custody. How could we have possibly tried to kill her again?"

Kiel’s lips curled into something that barely resembled a smile. "You don’t need to do the dirty work yourselves, do you? People like you always find someone else to wield the knife."

"You think I’d fail if I wanted to kill her?" her father sneered, as if it was something to brag about. "No. If I’d done it, you’d be burying her, not hoping she wakes up."

Rage vibrated through every cell of my body.

He leaned forward, mouth curled. "I hate that girl. Always have. If I had my way, she would’ve never been born."

The slap that echoed through the throne room was as sharp as a whip crack.

Thorne stood over him, hand still raised. The older man’s head had snapped sideways from the blow, a trail of blood trickling from a split lip.

"William," Thorne barked, not even sparing him a glance. "Take them to the center of the pack. The both of them."

William, our highest-ranking Beta, stepped forward with grim nods. The others moved into position without hesitation, yanking Josie’s parents to their feet as they began to struggle and shout.

"Get your hands off me!"

"I swear, we did nothing!"

Their protests echoed down the hallway as they were dragged out. I didn’t watch them go. I didn’t have to.

We already knew what came next.

Thorne turned to us slowly. "They die."

There wasn’t a sliver of doubt in his voice.

For the first time in what felt like ages, none of us disagreed.

"I don’t care if they had someone else do the job," I muttered. "Their blood is still on it."

Thorne’s jaw ticked. "They’re the rot that started this."

"And it ends with them," Kiel said, softer now, more certain. "We can’t risk her again."

I nodded grimly. "We’ll increase security. Put guards at every entrance. Every hallway. Josie breathes differently, I want someone to feel it."

"And the guards who failed today?" Thorne’s tone was deadly quiet.

I didn’t have to ask what he meant.

Thorne’s eyes flickered like ice. "I’m going to behead every single one of them."

A cold smile tugged at my lips, and even Kiel didn’t argue.

"Let them watch," I said, "so the rest understand the price of failure."

Together, we moved through the hallways like shadows of war.

The courtyard was already flooded with the pack. News of what happened spread too fast, as it always did. Most of them had gathered in a wide circle, jaws tight and eyes wide as they saw the condemned dragged to the center. Guards. Josie’s parents. Others who had been found napping during their shift.

The rain had started again, soft at first, but quickly turning into a relentless downpour that drenched the earth and stained the stones dark.

Thorne stepped into the center. His sword gleamed despite the gloom. He didn’t need a speech. We never did.

The first guard—a man who used to patrol the north wing—tried to drop to his knees, begging for his life. It didn’t matter.

Thorne’s blade arced through the air and ended his plea.

The next fell.

And the next.

Seven in total.

The pack didn’t cheer. They didn’t blink. They watched, silent and soaked, bearing witness to the punishment carved from steel and blood.

Josie’s father was forced to his knees again. Her mother beside him, trembling.

He looked up, even then, with hatred in his eyes. "She was a curse. She was a burden. You’re fools to waste yourselves on her."

Thorne didn’t hesitate.

His sword plunged into the man’s chest with a sickening crunch, sliding through flesh and bone. The old bastard gasped once—and collapsed into the mud.

Her mother screamed.

It didn’t save her.

One moment she was there, shrieking. The next, her head hit the ground beside her husband’s.

The pack shuddered.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as blood mingled with the rain, soaking into the soil that had raised them.

William stepped forward again, his face pale. "We just got word," he said tightly. "Josie... she’s out of danger. Stable, for now."

My lungs deflated.

Kiel collapsed to his knees in the mud with a broken exhale.

Thorne wiped his blade clean on a fallen guard’s cloak.

We didn’t speak.

Not then.

Because the blood we’d spilled tonight—it wasn’t revenge.

It was a warning.

A promise.

She lives... or everyone else dies.

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