Chapter 75 – Solaris
••• Aleena’s POV •••
It was a busy morning and afternoon for us. Tonight, we were going to board the plane to go to Solaris, and thus, Kyson and I had to take care of the pack’s matters before we left.
As always, Kyson was busy dealing with paperwork with Liam while I was packing for him and myself.
I had felt uncomfortable since yesterday, but I didn’t know the cause until I saw Gamma Hector and Gamma Lisa during breakfast.
I went to the study and asked Kyson, “Kyson, where is Gia? Did she move to another pack?” I hadn’t seen her since the last time Andre and Rose had captured me.
“She’s been punished,” Kyson replied without looking at me.
“Punished?” Was she banished? “Did she go to Colton’s pack?” Once someone was banished, they became a rogue, and naturally, Colton would take them in.
“No.” Kyson stopped looking at the paperwork before him and looked at me. His gaze was unreadable. “She’s been sentenced to death.”
I froze hearing his words. I knew Gia’s fault was unforgivable, and I knew one of the punishments would be death. But to know someone being sentenced to death was still… unbelievable. I thought she would be banished since she would still belong to a pack.
“Hector and Lisa were the ones who decided her punishment,” Kyson said.
Her parents chose death over banishment? If there was no Colton, maybe death was the best choice, just like I hoped for death rather than banishment when I was judged. But they know Colton’s existence as Alpha or the rogue. Why would they still choose death over banishment?
“I need to see Gamma Hector and Gamma Lisa,” I told him.
He looked at me long and hard before he nodded.
I opened the mindlink to Gamma Hector and Gamma Lisa and asked them where they were.
“We are currently at the training ground, Luna. Is there anything we can help you with?” Gamma Hector asked through the mindlink.
“Wait for me there. There’s something I need to talk to you and Gamma Lisa about,” I told him and closed the mindlink.
I went to the pack’s training ground hurriedly.
“Aleena, don’t be too hard on yourself. It wasn’t your fault that Gia was punished. It was her own doing,” Kyson’s voice came through the mindlink.
“I know. Thank you, Kyson. I just want to give them my condolences,” I replied. I knew he was trying to comfort me.
Once I arrived at the training ground, I saw Gamma Hector pointing and giving his thoughts to those pack members who were training while Gamma Lisa was watching silently.
Feeling my presence, Gamma Hector advised the pack members to keep training and came to me with Gamma Lisa.
I led them to a space further away from the training ground in case they wanted to avoid the others from listening to our conversations.
I wasn’t sure how to begin. Should I tell them that it was Gia’s fault and that she deserved to be punished? No, that wouldn’t do. They must be feeling sad about having to send their only daughter to death.
I was mulling over how to approach the subject when Gamma Lisa spoke. “Luna Aleena, it was our choice.”
Seeing her bringing it up, I decided to just offer them my condolences. “Gamma Hector… Gamma Lisa… About Gia… I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to punish her that way.”
Gamma Lisa stretched out her hand and took mine, giving it a light squeeze. “You don’t have to worry about it, Luna. What she did was beyond saving. She betrayed her pack. A quick death was all we could give her.”
I kept quiet, not knowing how to respond. It was true that death was a better punishment than banishment. Seeing their choice and knowing Colton, he must not want to take Gia into his pack. But… Now, the Black Heart Pack was no more. I was now the Alpha of the new pack.
Thinking about it, would I accept Gia to become one of my members? The answer is no. I couldn’t possibly accept anyone who had betrayed their pack. They might betray me in the future. An indescribable feeling settled in my heart.
“Thank you for your concern, Luna. But what’s done is done. No matter how painful it was for us, we have no regret,” Gamma Hector said.
“I… I’m really sorry for your loss,” I repeated my words. That was the only thing I could tell them.
“Thank you for consoling us, Luna. You are a great Luna,” Gamma Lisa said with a smile.
“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to tell me,” I told her with all sincerity. That was the least that I could do for them.
They thanked me again and went back to training the warriors while I went back to the pack’s main house.
I was feeling sad for Gamma Hector and Gamma Lisa, and I didn’t realize my steps brought me to the study instead of the bedroom.
Kyson noticed me and left his desk to pull me into his embrace.
“Don’t be sad. I gave them a choice either to banish her or sentence her to death, and they chose death. It was their decision. We can do nothing about it,” Kyson tried to comfort me.
“I know… I just… I feel bad for them. Although Gia was a traitor, for parents to sentence their flesh and blood to death must be heartbreaking,” I let out a sad sigh.
“And I feel bad for thinking if Gia were still alive, I wouldn’t take her in as one of the Silver Shadow Pack members,” I confessed.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Aleena. No one will want to take in a traitor,” he comforted me again.
I kept silent as I leaned against Kyson and buried my face in the crook of his neck, taking in his scent to calm myself down.
“Ready to go to the airport?” Colton suddenly appeared in the doorway.
I was sure he was going to tease us for being lovey-dovey, but maybe because of the strange atmosphere, he kept his mouth shut. Thank Goddess for him to have a conscience still.
“Ready,” I told him and pulled back from Kyson’s embrace.
The Omegas had placed our luggage in Kyson’s car, and we all went straight to the airport in two different cars, with Witch Lily coming with us. Liam was the one driving our car, and Lucas’ Beta was the one driving his.
We arrived at the private hangar, and I was amazed when I entered Colton’s private plane. It was huge, with two separate bedrooms. The chairs were big, kind of like one-seater sofas, and they looked comfortable. How in the world does Colton have this kind of private plane? Who exactly is he?
“Alpha, Luna, you guys take the bedrooms,” Witch Lily’s soft voice sounded.
With only two bedrooms, I had no choice but to agree with her. “Thank you, Witch Lily.”
It’d take around fifteen hours for us to reach Solaris, and thinking we might need to fight with the Alpha King, we all decided to go to the bedrooms to rest after dinner.
***
“Ding!” a sound sounded, indicating we needed to put our seatbelts on as the plane was going to land.
I looked outside the window and could see Solaris. This was the first time I had ever been to Solaris. From what I heard and saw on TV, Solaris was a vast city and a favorite tourist destination.
Alighting from the private plane, my jaw dropped as I saw a limousine ready to take us around. I looked at Kyson with the question, ‘Who in the world is Colton?’ and he shrugged in response.
“We’ll have lunch first,” Colton said as we all got into the limousine.
I kept looking at the beautiful scenery we passed by. There were many parks, but there were also many shopping centers. Overall, it wasn’t hard to imagine why tourists loved Solaris.
Humans didn’t know that Solaris was basically another name for the Night Shade Pack. The habitants were mostly werewolves, while the tourists were a mix of werewolves and humans. It was a werewolf’s territory, but they could live along with the human tourists. Of course, it would be closed to tourists every full moon to prevent humans from getting hurt while the werewolves shifted.
Colton’s driver drove us to a high-end restaurant. We all ordered steaks and were not really surprised when we saw the size of the servings. After all, werewolves needed more food than humans.
I looked at Colton in confusion. He seemed familiar with the city, and many people were looking at him with respect.
He noticed my puzzled gaze and shrugged nonchalantly. “I used to live here.”
That explained why he seemed at ease in the city, but it didn’t explain how he got a private plane, a limousine, and a driver. Maybe he was the son of someone rich… The Gamma? Or perhaps the Beta? But why did he go rogue?
Kyson squeezed my hand and stopped me from inquiring further. We all finished our meals quickly and left without the need to pay. Another mystery…
Colton returned to the car quickly, and we could do nothing but follow him silently.
After around forty minutes drive, I saw a huge white mansion surrounded by a vast garden, and there was a huge gate separating it from the rest of the area.
“That’s Alpha Zane’s residential place,” Kyson whispered.
“Have you been here?” I asked him.
“I have, with Liam. But I never saw Alpha Zane,” he replied.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
I hummed in response.
Just as I thought the car would stop in front of the gate, it passed it by and instead kept driving and rounded a bend.
I looked at Colton again.
“I told you we are going to infiltrate that bastard’s house with no one knowing about it,” he said indifferently.
Ooookayyy…
The car stopped in front of a gate that was covered with vines. Colton stepped out of the car, and we followed him.
He opened the gate and kept going forward through an unkept garden until we saw a wooden door on the ground that was covered by leaves.
He squatted down and brushed away the leaves. “We’ll go in through this door,” he pointed to the door before opening it.