Chapter 46: Orvyn's Rage

Olive's POV

The day of the execution finally came. The pack gathered at the castle gate, caroused in heavy pelt and leather coats, facing a fairly large raised platform on which a guillotine stood erect. The elders and nobles stood to the left of the platform, while the commoners maintained the right. Separating them were the pack

Standing rigid between Orvyn and Conrad, I scanned the crowd, looking for the puerile faces of children, but I found none. I applauded Orvyn for leaving out the innocent pups from the execution. In retrospect, my father would have done otherwise. Back home, father would summoned the entire pack, including the children, to witness an execution.

"A good soldier must not be afraid of death," he'd say. "Learn to be at peace with your ultimate enemy and you'll kiss it on the lip with a smile on your face." Up until now, the true meaning of his words evaded me.

I was four years old when I saw an executioner's axe descending on a man's neck. Blood bubbled from his