Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings (by jessica hall) novel Chapter 106

~Zirah~

My heart thumps wildly against my rib cage at the sight of so many broken souls, their faces reflecting a deep despair that seemed to have no escape. My heart breaks as I take in this horrific scene, my stomach turning like a thousand daggers piercing through me. It is almost too much to bear, and I can’t comprehend such a bleak reality.

“This is what he didn’t want me to see?” I ask, turning to Zeke; he clenches his teeth and nods once.

“Now,” I say, my voice as cold as ice, “I want to know why these people are here.”

The guards share a nervous look before one steps forward, fear making him twitch.

“Miss, these are... these are criminals,” he stammers. Criminals? There are children in these cages!

“Criminals?” I echo, letting my disbelief fill the word. “What crimes did they commit?”

The guard gulps, stealing a glance at Zeke before looking back at me. “Petty offenses, miss. Thievery... vandalism... noncompliance with the rules...”

His words echo in the chilling silence. Noncompliance with the rules? A snort escapes me, bitter and disbelieving.

“And littering, miss,” another guard adds in a small voice, as if this justifies everything.

“And their punishment?”

“They’re on death row, miss,” the words hang heavy in the air, and at first, all I can do is blink at him, praying I heard wrong. I turn to Zeke, his avoidance of my gaze confirming my fear.

“You’re telling me,” I spit, my hands clenching into fists, “You lock these people up, sentence them to death... for littering?”

My voice rings out, a sharp note in the quiet afternoon. The guards flinch, their faces pale.

“That’s not our call, miss,” the first guard responds, his eyes downcast. “It’s the law. We just enforce it.”

“There are children in there!” My voice is like a thunderclap, my anger erupting and echoing around us as my aura slips out, so powerfully it stuns even me for a second, and both guards whimper.

The cold anger in me boils over. I march over to the fence, magic sparking at my fingertips. “Well, I am making a call. Release them. Now.”

“We can’t miss,” one of the guards says. “We don’t have the keys. Everything is controlled by drones and King Regan. The gates open automatically when... when it’s time.”

The thought of what ‘time’ means for these people churns my stomach. “And what happens then?” I demand, my gaze fixed on Zeke. “Where are they taken?”