Chapter 67. Killed My Heart
AURELIA
the dots.
Katie called the terrified kids out and I watched them move forward like spineless chicks. Two boys and a lanky girl. They appeared to be about ten years old each and from the striking resemblance between them and the two useless men I sighted earlier, I could connect The kids that bullied my kid were Matoe and Leo's kids.
They were just as rotten as their fathers.
Of course, the kids weren't trained properly which was why they chose to bully a girl who was five years younger than them.
Shameful!
"Are you sure they were the ones that dragged you to the forest and left you thereafter injuring you, Katie?" Raiden asked Katie not because he doubted her but because he was trying to enlighten the pack members that had gathered to witness the punishment the bad kids would receive. Katie nodded, "Yes, Daddy. Thank you for finding them for me."
My daughter was really happy and neither she nor Raiden seemed to care when the crowd gasped in response to Katie calling Raiden daddy. I was used to it by now but it didn't change my decision to leave the pack with my kids as soon as Kyle was found. Raiden offered Katie a wide smile that disappeared from his face the instant he faced the crowd again. He took a minute to tell the story, careful not to upset Katie by going into details. When he finished, Raiden gritted, "What do you have to say, former warrior Mateo and Leo?"
Former warriors? What the hell happened to them being two of Raiden's best men?
It's no wonder they reek of weakness. They had been demoted.
The two men fell to their knees simultaneously. I noticed two women sobbing behind them as they looked at the kids with worry. Those women have to be the kids' mothers. Despite their tears, they must have contributed to the kids' rotten upbringing and after my daughter nearly died, I couldn't bring myself to pity them.
"We failed as warriors. We also failed as parents. Punish us instead, Alpha. Please punish us." If the man that spoke was Mateo or Leo, I couldn't tell.
The other man added, pleading as well, "We are to be blamed, Alpha. Please show mercy to the kids and punish us for their-"
Raiden snarled, "I should show mercy to your kids? Did they show my daughter mercy when they almost killed her!"
Katie flinched while the three bad kids broke into tears. I pulled my daughter closer, shielding her from what I knew would be too harsh for her young mind to handle. However, when Raiden saw how Katie reacted to his outrage, he inhaled sharply, walked up to us, and knelt before Katie.
"I know it's scary but I also know you want them to be punished, Katie," Raiden muttered softly and Katie nodded. "Good, baby. I'll step back and let you determine what punishment is best for the bad kids. Is that okay?"
Katie contemplated for less than a second before she happily agreed to come up with a punishment. "I like that very much, Dad. Thank you."
"Anything for you," Raiden replied, earning a smile from Katie.
"I just wished Kyle wasn't at the hospital. I'd have loved for them to see that my brother isn't a freak under that mask. He looks better than any of them." Katie's smile fell at the mention of Kyle but she still stuck out her tongue at the bullies.
"They will get to know that someday soon, Baby. Think about the appropriate punishment. We are all waiting for your decision." Raiden called Katie's attention to the body of people standing before the high podium we were standing on.
Katie didn't waste any second as
she announced what she had come up with. She pointed to the bullies, "You three will apologize to me now and apologize to Kyle when heas out of the hospital. You were bad but I'll be friends with you after you apologize genuinely."
While I felt proud seeing my daughter display the pureness of her heart, Raiden questioned, "Is that all?"
"Yes, daddy. Asking for a genuine
apology is a good enough punishment for bad kids." Katie shrugged yet she added, "Well that's what Kyte believes. I'm doing this for Kyle Left to me, I'll like to beat these rascals until they shit themselves."
The crowd roared with laughter as Katie expressed herself with a small roll of her eyes. She was completely real and that made me chuckle too. That was my girl. Raiden laughed, his eyes twinkling, "You can make them apologize and still beat them till they shit themselves, baby. You can do both."
"Really?" Katie gasped, jumping when Andrew stepped towards her with a cane.
I didn't think it was right for Katie to use the cane on the bad kids but I knew Raiden would do the flogging himself if I tried to stop Katie and that would be so much worse.
"This will be fun." Even Inara commented as the bullies were made to lie on their stomachs.
Katie started with the boys, whooping their asses until both of them peed in their pants. Although she didn't get them to shit themselves like she wanted, my daughter still laughed heartily, letting go of the traumas of that night. Rather than use the cane on the girl, Katie stunned us all by pulling the girl up with her hair. I stepped forward to stop her but did otherwise when Katie stated, "Now you know how painful it is to get pulled by one's hair." The girl did the same thing to her...
Katie didn't release her hold on the girl's hair until her face turned red. My daughter returned to the podium with a lighter heart and she smiled at the kids after they apologized, offering to be their friend if they promised not to hurt anyone ever again. I wasn't sure I'd let her hang with them. Heck! I wasn't sure I could stop Katie from doing whatever she wanted.
"As a way of showing their remorse, the kids are to actively engage in community services for the next month together with their parents Raiden announced and dismissed the crowd with a warning, "Dark Moon Pack doesn't support the chronic disease called bullying. You won't get off as easy as the kids if you are caught."
Right, that was the man I fell in love with many years ago. I could see him resurface on that podium.
It's a pity the man he became after our marriage killed my love for him... Killed my heart too.