Chapter 6 Punishment for lying to the alpha

Celeste

No! No! No! No!

I know he has hated my father for ages. Alpha Horres wouldn't think twice about killing my Alpha Holmes. Meanwhile, he just lost seven warriors so unjustly.

My days in the Iron Fang Pack weren't supposed to be all rosy, but as the Luna, I would still have been able to achieve my goals. However, Alpha Horres' words truly confused me. He told Alpha Holmes that I would be his Luna. He agreed to that offer. How then did I become his breeder? Why would he even decide to treat me according to the customs of the Moon Howler Pack? I'm confused here.

I just rattled everything about how the Moon Howler Pack treated their breeders, but nothing else registered in my brain. How could I accept this fate?

Could it be that he requested me to draw nearer so he would take a closer look and reconsider? I know this thought was highly unlikely, but I would give anything for him to rescind this order for me to be his breeder.

I was scared shitless when his hand drew close to my head. I feared he might even choke me to death. No. He would have claimed my head earlier if he wanted to.

Moreover, I haven't taken a bath since I arrived in this place. Wouldn't he...

"You stink. Next time you appear before me, make sure you look like a she-wolf worthy to breed my pups."

This was no fault of mine. I haven't come in contact with bathing water since I arrived here. I didn't even get the chance to bathe on the journey. Why did he have to make it seem like I was some filthy rag?

Oh, moon goddess, please save me.

My whole body trembled at the thought of what else they were about to do to me. I haven't had a morsel of food since the journey began. I just couldn't stomach anything, and I hoped for a warm bath and some hot meal on arrival.

Yet...

Before I recovered from my reverie, we were in front of a shabby, standalone shed somewhere in the pack.

"You dared to lie to the alpha, huh? It wasn't enough that your father slaughtered my brothers in your land. The sucker Holmes had to send his wolfless trash to dampen my Alpha's mood. Did your father think you had the power to make my Alpha pissed to the point of having a heart attack?"

The hateful look in the beta's eyes wasn't news to me. Everyone in this pack hated Alpha Holmes to the bone. Talk less of a ranked member who lost his fellow warriors.

"Please, I need to see the Alpha. I didn't plan any of this. I really had no hand in this. Please, just give me one chance. I can explain everything to the Alpha."

I knew this was a huge gamble, but I had no plans of suffering for my father's sins. If only the alpha would listen to me. I'd explain everything and...

"Such a dreamer we got here, huh? Your father already told you this pack was yours, right? Wait, did he tell you to kill the Alpha? Could that be your mission here?"

What the heck! How could I have plotted anything with that crazy man? If he were an ally of mine, what would I need an enemy for?

I could only shake my head at the beta's words. Nothing I said could make sense to him right now. My only chance would be to speak to the alpha.

"You know, you could save yourself if you spoke now. Tell me, what's the plan?" Would he even believe me if I told him there was no plan?

"Get the whip." I heard the beta's voice and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. It reminded me of how Tabitha and her mother usually whipped me just for the fun of it. Sometimes, Alpha Holmes witnessed everything, and the family of three took my screams and whimpers as some sort of entertainment.

"You know what this is, right?"

Two soldiers joined, and I watched the beta flex the whip in the air, making it hit the ground harshly. He planned to scare me, and I swear he already succeeded.

"Please, don't do this. I didn't visit the alpha in this state by choice. Please..."

"Oh, complaining of our hospitality now, are you?" Goddess, please help me.

"The crime for lying to the alpha is losing your head." Huh? The beta's words caused my blood to run cold. I even felt a tingling sensation on my neck. The earlier sight of the maid losing her head quickly replayed in my head and I lost hold of my body. I trembled all over, looking like a really scared mouse.

Well, it's not like I felt sorry for the dead maid. She was Luna Fiona's lapdog, after all. She nearly cost me my life, and I was no saint to pity such a person. However, I feared for my life even more. Killing someone over such a trivial issue... Alpha Thorne must really be as ruthless as the rumors said he was.

"However, the Alpha wouldn't allow you to die so easily. For today, your punishment will be fifty lashes of this whip."

What!

"F... Fifty lashes?" I stared at the beta with trembling lips. My teeth chattered at the thought of the incoming pain, but I despaired in the reality of how helpless I was in this place.

"Oh, and you must count after each stroke lands on your back. You wouldn't want me to start counting from the beginning because I lost count, would you?"

I shook my head vigorously, protesting against whatever torture this beta had in store for me.

I wasn't a shifter, so I wouldn't heal from those wounds anytime soon. I would be naive to even think they would allow me to heal quietly after the torture.

What was I even thinking? How could I survive fifty lashes from such a whip?

He flexed the whip once again, taking some calculated steps toward me. I knew the beta was intentionally taunting me, but I didn't care about taking two steps back after every single footstep of his.

I was weak, but I kept moving backwards, hoping I could somehow escape this nightmare. Before I could regain my footing, I tripped on a stone, falling butt-down.

"Aahh!" A loud hiss escaped my lips as I hurt my hand badly. In a different setting I might have been bothered by how ungraceful I looked right now, but who cared about grace at this moment?

"What the heck are you doing to her?"