Chapter 124: The Public Execution And The Proposal!
After the messenger left, Neve clutched his chest hard, his breathing becoming rapid and uncontrolled.
He was trying so hard to breathe properly but his lungs felt like they were collapsing. His heart was pounding so fast he thought it might burst out of his ribcage.
Kelly immediately wrapped his arms around Neve, pulling him close and pressing him against his own body protectively.
"Hey, breathe," Kelly said softly. "Neve, just breathe. Focus on your breathing."
"What if it’s Cael or... Doris?" Neve asked desperately, his voice shaking. "Did she get caught? Did Soren find out about our plan?"
Kelly did not have an answer for that question.
Popi’s expression became serious and calculating.
"Who is Doris?" Kelly asked, still confused about who they were talking about.
"That’s not the main thing right now," Popi said, her voice cutting through the panic. "That beastman must have listened to our entire conversation out there. What if he heard about the fox exchange too? What if he heard about our plan to eliminate Soren? Just how long has he been standing there listening?"
The implications were terrifying.
"We’ll deal with that later," Kelly said, snapping Popi back to focus. "Just get some water for Neve right now. He needs to calm down."
"Oh yeah, sorry," Popi said, shaking her head to clear it. She ran to the kitchen and returned quickly with a wooden cup of water.
Neve gulped the water slowly, trying to control his breathing as he exhaled deeply.
After a moment, he stood up.
"Let’s go to the village," Neve said, his voice becoming firm despite his panic.
"I can’t let you watch something that gruesome," Popi frowned, clearly worried about Neve’s health and the stress it would cause.
"I’ll be fine," Neve said, already heading toward the entrance. He needed to know what was happening. He needed to see with his own eyes who this traitor was.
Popi and Kelly exchanged glances. They knew better than to argue with Neve when he had made up his mind. So they followed him behind, walking through the thick snow until they got to the village.
.
.
A lot of beastmen had gathered in the village square.
The crowd was massive. Everyone had been summoned to witness whatever punishment Soren was about to hand out. The entire tribe was here. Men, women, some children. All forced to attend.
Neve forced his way to the front of the crowd, pushing past bodies and ignoring complaints.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Doris was tied up with her hands behind her back. She was bleeding from a wound on her head. Her face was bruised. Her body was covered in marks that suggested she had been beaten.
"Doris," Neve whispered her name, his voice filled with concern and guilt.
He heard crying voices and turned to look. He saw some young beastmen children. They were small. Fragile. Obviously very young.
They were Doris’s siblings. The ones she had talked about wanting to protect. The ones she was willing to die for.
They were crying. Sobbing. Calling out for their sister.
Neve shook his head in disbelief at the cruelty of the situation.
He looked at Soren standing on a raised platform. The leopard chief was not alone. That guard from earlier was standing beside him. The guard leaned forward and whispered something into Soren’s ear.
Soren grinned as he looked directly at Neve.
The message was clear. That guard had been listening. He had heard their conversation. He had told Soren everything.
Popi saw the exchange and clenched her fist.
"I knew it," she muttered under her breath.
Soren opened his mouth and greeted the crowd with a loud voice.
"Hello everyone!" Soren called out cheerfully, like this was a celebration and not an execution.
But there wasn’t a single smile on anyone’s face in the crowd. They clearly did not like where this was heading. They were clearly uncomfortable with being forced to watch this.
"Popi," Neve called her name urgently.
"Can you take those kids from here?"
Popi looked at the crying children, understanding what Neve wanted.
"Got it," she said.
She managed to pull the children away from the crowd, even though they were crying and resisting, trying to stay and watch what would happen to their sister.
Soren did not even pause as Popi took the children away.
"You must be wondering what happened," Soren said to the crowd. "Well, I’m not here for too many talks. I’m the chief and I can do anything. I have absolute power. So I can skip the reason and head straight to the action part."
He stretched his hand to the side.
Neve froze.
Cael walked toward the small podium where Soren was standing. The leopard prince was holding something twisted and sharp.
It was the same weapon. The shark horn weapon that Doris was supposed to steal.
That means she had failed.
"I should have stopped her," Neve whispered to himself, his voice filled with regret. "I should have told her not to go."
Soren started speaking again.
"She’ll be killed for disobeying me and—"
"Doris has done nothing!" a voice spoke out from the crowd, cutting Soren off mid-sentence.
"If she’s getting killed for disobeying you, then Bella should have been killed also!" another voice joined in.
Soon, more voices were adding their support. More beastmen were speaking up, defending Doris, pointing out the unfairness of the punishment.
Neve watched them with a mix of hope and despair. These people were speaking up. They were resisting. They were showing that they would not accept this injustice.
He shook his head in disbelief as he realized something. This place was almost no different from his former life. The way people are treated. The way their requests are ignored and their rights are taken from them. So many similarities but also so many differences.
He hated it. He hated all of it.
Soren was trying so hard to call the crowd back to order. He tried using his hand, screaming and doing everything but nothing was working. The crowd was not listening to him anymore.
His patience snapped.
He angrily snatched the twisted horn weapon from Cael and without hesitation, without giving Doris a chance to speak or defend herself, he thrust it directly into her neck.
Everyone gasped as everywhere went silent.
The silence was complete. No one was moving. No one was breathing. Everyone was frozen in shock.
Soren pulled the weapon out.
The blood sprayed over his cheek, but he did not care. He grinned widely, looking at everyone’s shocked and horrified expressions.
"Have you all finally turned to me?" he asked mockingly. "Good. I’m glad we understand each other now."
He was breathing heavily, his eyes wild with the power he had just exercised.
"The second important notice I’d like to share," Soren continued, his voice carrying through the silent crowd, "is that I’ll be bonding with my new mate to be."
His eyes found Neve in the crowd.
He met Neve’s eyes directly.
"Neve," he said, his voice dripping with possessiveness. "I’ll wait for you so do not REJECT me. You will become my mate. You will carry my cubs. You will bear my children."
He grinned like he had just announced something wonderful and not something terrifying.
Then he turned and burst out of the gathering, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.
Neve felt so disgusted and filled up with emotion that he did not know what to say.
Doris was dead. Dead because she had tried to help him. Dead because she wanted to save her siblings. Dead because Soren wanted to display his power and his cruelty to everyone.
And now Soren was claiming Neve as his mate. Announcing publicly that Neve belonged to him.
The disgusting feeling grew stronger.
The rage mixed with despair.
The injustice of it all.
"Fuck," Neve said quietly, his voice barely audible in the shocked crowd. "I should just do this myself."