*Maddox*
I sit behind my desk, silently swiveling my chair back and forth, just an inch this way and an inch that way, but it’s enough to keep my mind locked on the issue at hand.
I have a decision to make, and it won’t be an easy one.
Seth clears his throat from the chair across from me. That’s his way of saying he wonders if I’m ever going to respond to the question he asked several minutes ago.
It’s one I don’t have an answer for, one that I’ve been mulling over since before I even told him he needed to come to my office to talk this through. Of course, I don’t expect him to have an answer either, but for the most part, Seth is the one I turn to when I need answers. He’s level-headed, smart, insightful, and doesn’t get distracted easily.
Right now, I am not distracted either, for once. Lately, it seems like every time I try to make a decision, Isla leaps into my mind, and I’m completely sidetracked. Today, even though I am looking forward to relaxing in her arms at some point, but for now, I’ve got to figure out what to do with these soldiers from Hill Country pack.
“I’ve double-checked with the families,” I say to Seth. He already knows this. I’m just thinking out loud. “Everything I’ve been told is true. The children really were kidnapped, and those who didn’t have children to take had someone else gathered up–a grandmother, a spouse. Not that there weren’t some people who went along with it willingly.”
Seth nods at me. “I have a list. We have the names of the three who were acting of their own accord without any coaxing by anyone. According to the others, they’ve always been loyal to Vinny.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a notecard. Placing it on the desk, he taps it, and I know what it says.
I already know which three are the ones who had no trouble following along with Vinny’s vindictive attack.
With a glance down at it, I sigh and say, “You think we should just take these three out and end them? Let the others live?”
He gives a shrug which tells me he wants to do what I think we should do, and while that’s how it will be anyway, I would like to know his opinion, though. I would like to know if he agrees with me.
The fact that he’s saying nothing usually tells me that he does agree with me. When he disagrees, he usually shrugs and tells me he thinks we should do something else. Instead, he’s tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. “I will support you, whatever you decide.”
“And the others? They might not have had much of a choice in their own minds, but they still need to pay for their actions.”
He nods. “According to Mike, most of the ones who didn’t want to be there didn’t actually participate in the killing.”
“But they didn’t stop it either,” I remind him.
Seth half-shrugs. “True.”
I drag a hand down my face. I know I need to be decisive. I need to be fair, and I need to be quick to act. If I wait too long, I’ll seem weak. If I don’t hand out fair punishments to everyone, I’ll be weak. If I hand out some punishments to some people but don’t follow through with what I’ve promised will happen, without a reason that makes sense to everyone, I’ll seem like I am capable of being swayed and changing my mind.
It’s never an easy position to be in, and that’s why when these other Alphas threaten to come and overthrow my throne, I wonder if they really have any idea what they’re getting into.
I open my mouth to tell Seth what I’ve decided to do when my phone rings. With a loud sigh, I pause and pick up the receiver.
My secretary, whose office is down the hall, says, “I’m so sorry to bother you, sir, but there’s a woman on the phone, crying, and she’s begging to speak to you.”
Cradling my head in my free hand, I ponder who it could be. “Fine,” I say, not sure. I can think of a lot of women who might be calling me and crying right now. It could be any number of women from Hill Country or the sister of the slain Luna.
I hear the phone click over and say, “This is Alpha King Maddox.” My tone conveys I’m actually asking the unspoken question of “what the fuck do you want?”
“Oh, thank the Moon Goddess!” a woman proclaims. “I’m so glad I am able to speak to you, Your Highness!”
I catch Seth’s eyes, and his brows are raised as he wonders who it is. I shrug because I still don’t know. “Who am I speaking with?” I ask.
“This is Nancy Weaver,” she says. “I would like to speak to you about my husband, Mike.”
I take a deep breath and try not to keep rubbing my forehead, but I don’t really want to be speaking to this woman, not right now. “HI, Mrs. Weaver,” I say so that Seth’s unspoken question will be answered. “I’m sure you’re calling to inquire about the welfare of your husband?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been speaking to him through the mind-link, and he told me that he had a chance to tell you what happened, about how they took our baby. They took all of the children, you know? All of them. And some people’s mothers and grandmothers… even some of the men had their wife taken!” The way she is speaking, it’s hard to understand her because she’s so upset.
“I have heard that from several of the men that were in Duster pack yesterday,” I assure her. “But you do understand that your husband and the others could have chosen another path?”
“With all due respect, Sir, what path? They could’ve been killed. They could’ve gotten our loved ones killed. My baby needs her father! Please, Sir, I’m begging you to have mercy on my husband and the others who had their loved ones taken prisoner to persuade them. You must know our pack is in the situation where we’ve been brainwashed to think of you as a horrible monster for years under Alpha Bryant and Beta Vinny. Showing our warriors who acted in duress mercy would go a long way toward making amends with our people.”
I notice that, despite her tears, she is very well-spoken, and the arguments she’s making are solid.
Hill Country pack has usually pretended to be loyal to me, unlike Green pack and Duster pack and a few others that have come right out against me in recent months. But I’ve always known that Alpha Bryant and his minions, Vinny being at the top of that list, would be some of the first to snap my throat if they got a chance.
Now, Nancy Weaver is telling me that she believes I can begin to win their confidence back over if I am merciful to the men who had no choice but to fight against me.
I’m not usually keen on being merciful, but in this case, I believe I can make a decree to the public to explain the situation, and most of them will be accepting of my decision, so long as I punish those who are at fault by taking their lives.
And it will need to be public.
“Very well, Mrs. Weaver, I will consider it. I will let you know my decision tomorrow,” I tell her.
“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!” she says, and I hear a baby blubbering in the background. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your consideration.”
“You do understand that I have already declared that your husband and all of the others should be put to death for their crimes, don’t you?” I ask her, not wanting to get too soft.
“Yes, Sir, I understand, but I believe in a merciful Moon Goddess, and I believe that you are a just king. I know that you will make the right decision. And for doing so, the Moon Goddess will bless you and keep you!”
Her words hit me in the heart for reasons that I cannot quite explain. “Thank you, Mrs. Weaver,” I tell her. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I hang up the phone before she can further sway me, and I look straight into Seth’s eyes.
“She seems… persuasive,” he says.
“Yes, she was,” I admit with a nod. “So… we will move forward with the plan as we were discussing before. The three who took no persuasion to help Vinny with his devious plan will be executed. The others will serve… ten years.”
He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly, and I know he disagrees with me.
“Too much?” I ask.
“No, I don’t think it’s too much,” he says. “I’m just thinking… Mike’s baby will be ten years old before he leaves the prison.”
He has a point, but that’s a consequence of a number of actions taken by Mike Weaver and others before this came about. “He could’ve left Hill Country pack as soon as talk about going against me arose. He could’ve decided not to be a warrior in the service of an Alpha who spoke out against me. He could’ve done several things differently, made a series of decisions, that would’ve put him in a different situation so that he wasn’t called upon to help kill innocent people.”
“Even though those people were also in the service of a man who hates you. Theoretically, they could argue that they were actually trying to serve you.” Seth wears a small smirk.
“You are impossible, you know that?” I ask him, and he chuckles. “What would you do? Five years? Two?”
“NO!” he says. “I think… seven?”
“It’s an honor to barter with you, Mr. Negotiator,” I say, shaking my head. “Fine. Seven years it is. Anything else?”
“No, Sir.” He has a winning smile at the corners of his mouth. “Shall I have them set up the gallows for tomorrow? Party of three?”
This time I do not hesitate in my response to him, and any semblance of laughter is washed from my face. “No, not three prisoners for the gallows tomorrow, Seth. Four.”
His eyes widen slightly, and then he nods in understanding. “It’ll be a first,” he says.
“I know. But it must be done. Four.”
He gets out of his chair. “I’ll see to it. Anything different for… her?”
“Nope,” I say. “She can commit treason, murder, kidnapping, and all other kinds of atrocities like a man, she can hang by the neck like a man.”
“I’ll see to it.”
If nothing else, at least I’ll have that pain out of my ass tomorrow.
Zabrina.