"Yeah, I guess I'm a disappointment, Doing everything I can, I don't wanna make you disappointed. It's annoying, I just wanna make you feel like everything I ever did wasn't ever tryna make an issue for you. But, I guess the more you
Thought about everything, you were never even wrong in the first place, right?"
- NF
(Let You Down )
KAI COACHMAN
[October 25th, 2020]
Blood coats the floors, staining the hard wood and coating items nearby in the deep violent red. Bryn groans, clutching her left arm as she clenches her teeth in anger and glares at Elijah who stood at the entrance of the living room, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck with an apologetic look covering his features.
Ailee was gone, as if vanishing magically.
"You had one job!" Bryn spits out at Elijah.
"You know I have shit aim," Elijah replies, disregarding the gun in his hand to rush over to a still weeping Elliot.
"I'm so fucking confused," I breath out.
My heart was racing so fast, I expected it to burst out of my chest. Large, warm arms engulf me in a comforting embrace and I melt, enjoying the feeling of Declan close to me. I nearly bursted into tears because moments ago, my life might've ended. Moments ago, it could've been the last time I'd see him.
He brings me onto his lap and instantly, I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into his neck. Sniffing his classic scent, I find myself relaxing but also drowning myself in a scent that was the very definition of home to me.
He gently holds me by my waist and I feel pressure at the top of my head so I assumed he buried his face on the top of my head.
"I don't know what I would've done if I lost you," he murmurs softly, his voice wavering but also trying to hold some composure.
"You won't lose me," I tell him quietly but I was so unsure in saying that because I knew Ailee was around.
"Can someone please explain to me why Elijah had a gun and why Bryn didn't kill us all for basically killing her mate," Vera says, confusion lacing her tone.
I turn my head to look at everyone with my head still laid onto Declan's shoulders. Elijah is comforting Elliot who refuses to raise his head or say anything to Elijah who continues to ask him what's wrong. Marcus is holding Vera firmly as if afraid she'd disappear from his sight if he let go.
Killian is hugging Finnick tightly to him, burying his face into the crook of my best friends neck and taking in a deep whiff. Bryn is gingerly sitting on the handle of a loveseat, eyes watching all of us with an emotion I can't really comprehend. Her right hand cradles her left arm, applying pressure to the gunshot wound.
"Well, our pack heard news that your territory had been breached so Elijah and I formulated a plan that I'd come in and disarm the snipers and Elijah would come in afterwards because we've been told about Ailee and her antics so we assumed she'd bring up my deceased mate," Bryn said and I look at her with surprise. She looks at me and smiles gently, "I know it was your pack that killed her but I also know why it was done."
"Who told you?" I ask carefully.
Bryn shrugs, "Finnick did, he said I deserved to know."
I look at Finnick as he peaks from Killian's chest to look at me. I don't think I'd ever felt this grateful towards Finnick until now. Of course I loved the guy for numerous reasons and I can't imagine what my life would've been like without him but it was in this moment that I was most glad he was with me.
I was certain that Bryn might've shot a bullet through my head if she hadn't been told about who killed Lyn before. Emotions would've overwhelmed her and without her realizing it, I'm sure she wouldn't hesitate to end my life whether she went to regret it afterwards or not.
"The most important issue at hand is that we have a traitor amongst us," Killian says and his eyes shoot daggers at Elliot with his fist clenched as he holds Finnick to him.
Elliot looks up as if feeling Killian's scalding gaze, the young boys eyes meet the alphas and he flinches. Chewing on his lip, I can see the guilt swimming in his eyes as the 17-year-old looks from Killian to the rest of us. Marcus spares Elliot a glance before looking away while Vera has the most hurt in her eyes but it feels like that hurt is an accumulation of multiple sources. Finnick just looks sad as Elliot gazes at him and I'm not even sure what look Declan wears because his face has been buried in my neck for a while now.
"Traitor?" Elijah asks, eyebrows furrowing as he looks at everyone and our gazes shot at his mate, "what're you talking about?"
"Your mate has been feeding Ailee with intel about our pack, that's how she was able to get pass our border protection. It's because of Elliot that many of my warriors that were protecting my territory lost there lives, he's the very reason why about six women are now widows and about ten children are now fatherless," Killian spits out angrily with his eyes flashing from black to their natural color.
"Killian," Finnick says softly, looking up at Killian.
Killian looks down at him and his eyes shift finally to their original color and I can tell his anger is simmering down but it's obviously still there.
Hearing all of what Killian said made me release a tense breath. I liked Elliot, he was like a little brother to me and he reminded me of Finnick when he was seventeen and a junior back in high school. Elliot was the best person to play video games with and although he was naive to the point of irritation, he was ultimately adorable and I never in a million years would've thought he'd do something like this.
I didn't even know how to look at him knowing people died because he gave Ailee information on us. I didn't know how to look at the small boy knowing children didn't have a father figure anymore because of the betrayal of Elliot. Women lost their mates and it was because of the innocent boy we looked at as our friend, someone close to us.
"There has to be a reason behind his actions," Elijah presses on, his eyes looking at his small mate and urging for him to give him some type of explanation.
"No way would Elliot do this without a reason," Vera looks at Elliot pleadingly, hoping to restore Elliot's name and confirm him to be the little boy she adored like her own son.
"Elliot, please give us some type of reason, don't leave us in the dark," Finnick pleads softly.
"I-I," Elliot begins, struggling to speak because of the lump in his throat, "My Mother...Ailee has her."
Elliot begins to cry again but the tears stream down his face softly without any sound escaping his lips. He chews on his bottom lip, wiping furiously at his eyes as he sniffles and tries to compose himself because he wants to say more. Elijah wrap his arms around Elliot, soothing the younger boy with his touch.
"After I left m-my previous pack and joined this pack, I went b-back to find my mother but I-I couldn't find her anywhere. Outside, d-deep in the woods I saw Ailee and s-she approached me and told me that she had m-my mother. I begged her to release my mother but Ailee w-wasn't willing to do that without being given something in return. It was a 'give something, get something,' World we lived in is what Ailee t-told me," Elliot whimpers sadly, covering his eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears.
He hiccups relentlessly but continues, "That's h-how I began living with you guys w-while sneaking off from time to time and telling Ailee what she wanted to know. A few days a-ago I pleaded to get my mother back who w-was in a cell with tears streaming down her face. Ailee t-told me that my m-mom would be r-released to me in five days time, but I didn't k-know this would happen. I didn't know t-that in exchange f-for my mothers release, t-the important leaders of this pack would die as w-well as innocent p-people."
There was silence after hearing Elliot's explanation. No one could say anything, there wasn't anything anyone could really say but there was a sympathetic look that crossed over Vera and Finnick's features. Elijah could only cradle his mate as he most likely silently thought about everything his mate said.
"Why didn't you say anything before," Marcus ponders gently, "we could've helped you."
"I was scared. Ailee said anything I do to mess up her plans would kill my mother," Elliot's bottom lip quivers and my heart wavers seeing him broken like this.
"Even so, we have to account for what Elliot has done," Declan lifts his head up as he says this but keeps his arms around my waist.
"But he had to listen to Ailee, she's to blame. His mother would've died," I argue back.
"And what about the men who lost there lives?" Declan questions and I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Declan looks at me gently as he says, "women lost there mates, children lost their fathers. A traitor cannot go unpunished no matter the reasoning, Cub."
I swallowed because there wasn't anything to say. Elliot didn't do what he did because he wanted to, it wasn't his fault that a conniving bitch like Ailee took his mother captive and controlled him. It isn't his fault that he was manipulated and bent to do Ailee's spy work.
But on the other hand it would be selfish to overlook the grief Elliot's spying has caused the pack. Not to mention we all would've been dead if not for Bryn and Elijah. If not for them, we all would've been dead and it would've been caused by Elliot. That simple fact breaks my heart.
'I hate this,' I whisper sadly through mind link.
Declan cups my face in his large hands and looks at me tenderly.
'I know,' he replies and places the softest kiss on my forehead.
"There has to be something we can do," Vera rips herself out of Marcus's embrace and approaches her Alpha.
"Vera, you know well how the rules go," Killian tells her.
"B-but," Vera splutters out, trying to say something to convince Killian to change his mind.
"The death penalty is too much for him, Alpha Killian," Marcus says.
My eyes widen and I leap off of Declan's lap instantly. Finnick wears the same shock on his face and he wiggles out of Killian's embrace, taking steps back until he's by my side. Elijah glares at Killian and holds Elliot even tighter to him if that were even possible.
"Are you out of your mind? You can't kill him!" I burst out without thought.
"Traitors get the highest degree of punishment, not to mention his actions caused the death of my warriors. Who's going to give those women and children justice? What do I say as there alpha if they know that the perpetrator of their husbands death got away Scott Free? No matter the reasoning, they will be devastated. I understand why he did it and if it were up to me, I'd find another punishment less harsh but we have to abide by pack rules that were enforced to us centuries before," Killian explains, eyes especially looking at Finnick who looked at Killian with so much anguish.
"Rules or no rules, I will not allow you to take my mate away from me. If you so much as attempt to kill him, there will be war," Elijah snaps angrily, looking at Killian with dark eyes.
"Elijah, you know well that we have our own rules and we follow them. It's disrespectful to call out war on an alpha who is just following rules that nearly every pack follows. We have the same traitor rules, it's a mandatory rule in all packs and you know that," Bryn reprimands her brother.
I kept shaking my head.
"He's seventeen," Finnick spat out looking at Killian and Bryn in anger, "do you even realize how broken he'd be losing his mother?"
I, as well as everyone else, was surprised at Finnick's anger especially because it was directed at his mate whom he's never had a single fight with. Killian was stunned and had nothing to say but there was some hints of hurt in his eyes as his mate looked at him with an expression that was never directed at him before.
"He wasn't a traitor because he wanted to be, he was a traitor because he was forced to be and you have to take that into consideration," I say, laying a hand on Finnick's shoulder to calm him down a bit because he was upset and for Elliot's sake.
That's what made Finnick who he was. He was so damn kind to everyone, even those who did him wrong. You would never be able to find someone like Finnick because people like him just didn't exists. He was the very definition of kind, considerate and naive but he was just someone who you just had to be friends with because he was Finnick.
"I know rules are rules but I don't believe that Elliot deserves the death penalty," Declan says, coming up close to me and wrapping his arm around my waist.
He was touchy, even in this situation but I didn't have the strength to pull him away because I enjoyed the feeling his touch gave me.
"This isn't something we need to debate on, You will not kill my mate," Elijah states as if his word was law.
"I deserve the death penalty," whispers Elliot.
"Don't you dare say that," Elijah scolds Elliot with a dominant tone, "This was not completely your fault."
"Fine," Killian sighs and runs a hand down his face, "Elliot will not get the death penalty but instead he will be punished in another way."
"What is his punishment?" Finnick questions.
"He will be banished from our pack."
What do you guys think? Do you think Elliot deserves the death penalty or do you think banishment from the pack is a better punishment or should he not be punished at all? Happy Valentine's Day lovelies <3
~xoxo, Babybird.