Chapter 4 Punishment

"Where were you today?" Floyd's voice was cold, laced with venom, each word striking like a lash.

"In the pack," Alora answered, her voice shaky, her body stiff with tension.

She kept her eyes down, but she could feel his stare, slicing into her like she was nothing.

"You missed the ceremony."

"I didn't, Alpha." Her fingers twisted into the fabric of her dress, gripping tightly as her breath quickened.

A scoff left his lips, low and mocking. His eyes darkened, his fury palpable. "So you dare call me a liar?"

Deep inside him, Kylo, his wolf, stirred. "Mate," it whispered. He silenced it instantly, forcing it back into submission.

"No, I di... didn't, my... my Alpha." Her voice broke into stutters, fear pressing the air from her lungs.

"Otto!" Floyd's voice thundered through the chamber.

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto her knees in submission. She knew what came next.

Punishment.

And it would be brutal.

"Forgive me, Alpha," Alora pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Fear painted vivid images in her mind, punishments, pain, humiliation.

But Floyd's heart was stone, his ears deaf to her suffering.

Otto entered, his presence commanding yet tense. He was Floyd's beta, chosen over Alora's father after the old alpha's death. Once, her father had been the right hand of the pack's leader, but when Floyd took the throne, he cast him aside, replacing him with Otto.

"Let her work in the fields for a week!" Floyd ordered, his voice devoid of emotion. Then, without a second glance, he grasped his Luna's hand and walked away, his arrogance evident in every step.

Otto's gaze followed them before he turned to Alora, his expression tight with suppressed anger. "And what did you do this time?"

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she shook her head. "Nothing." Her voice was barely audible, broken by grief.

Otto clenched his jaw. Must Floyd always do this to her? The cruelty, the torment, it was needless, sickening. She was wolf-less, but did that justify the constant suffering?

His fists curled as rage bubbled within him.

"Go back to your room. I'll send for you."

Then, without another word, Otto stormed out, anger burning hot in his veins.

Alora rose to her feet, swallowing the lump of sorrow wedged in her throat. She wiped her tears, bit down on her lower lip, and forced her weary legs to move. Each step back to her room felt heavier than the last, but she trudged forward, carrying the weight of her torment in silence.

Meanwhile, Otto stormed into the royal chamber, the heavy door groaning under his force. He stopped just inside, his sharp gaze locking onto Floyd, who stood by the window, surveying his pack.

"I know damn well she did nothing wrong," Otto bit out, his voice laced with barely contained fury. "Do you take pleasure in breaking her?"

Floyd stiffened, his face twisting in rage. He turned slowly, his fists clenching by his sides. A deep growl rumbled from within him as his wolf, Kylo, stirred violently. Let me out!

His eyes darkened, flashing with an unspoken warning. "And who are you to question me, Otto?" Floyd's voice was low, dangerous. His piercing stare was like a blade, daring his beta to defy him further.

"Aside from being your beta, I'm your best friend, Floyd!" Otto's voice carried both authority and frustration as he stepped closer, his gaze unwavering.

Floyd met his eyes with an impassive stare, but Otto saw through him. He saw the battle waging beneath the surface, the storm raging behind his cold exterior.

"She's your mate, Floyd," Otto murmured, his once firm voice softening.

"A wolf-less mate, Otto?" Floyd scoffed, but there was an edge to his tone, one that hinted at something deeper. "I'm an alpha, you know what that means."

"A heartless alpha tormenting an innocent girl, one whom Selene denied a wolf," Otto countered, his words laced with quiet accusation. He wished he could pry into Floyd's mind, shatter whatever wall he had built around his reasoning.

Otto stepped even closer and grasped Floyd's wrist. "I thought you always loved her," he said, his voice gentler now, as if coaxing the truth from him. "You were fond of her back then. What changed?"

He remembered the way Floyd used to treat Alora before he ascended as alpha, how he doted on her, how he protected her. Those memories weren't so easily erased.

"I never said I loved her," Floyd muttered, but his voice was too low, too uncertain.

Otto narrowed his eyes. "You didn't have to say it. It was obvious," he said, studying Floyd's face. "That kind of love doesn't just disappear. So tell me, do you hate her because you love her too much to accept that she has no wolf?"

Floyd's jaw tightened, and for the first time, his gaze faltered. He looked away, unwilling, or unable, to answer.

Otto arched a brow knowingly. He didn't have a mate himself, but he understood matters of the heart. And if he wasn't mistaken, his alpha wasn't being truthful-not with him, and certainly not with himself.

Otto exhaled sharply, pulling his hand away as if touching Floyd any longer would burn him. He turned away, dragging a hand through his hair before speaking again, his voice laden with frustration.

"Reject her, Floyd! Free her! End this senseless torment!"

His words struck deep, a blow sharper than any blade. Floyd clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as a familiar weight settled over him, a suffocating burden he had carried for years.

If only it were that simple.

He couldn't reject her. He couldn't send her away.

The Seer had warned him.

The prophecy was his secret, one he bore alone.

If he cast her aside, his authority as Alpha would wane. His wolf, his power, everything would be weakened for years, leaving him vulnerable. A single challenge from an ambitious contender could strip him of his title.

And forcing her to reject him? That would be even worse. The consequences were dire, an outcome he couldn't risk.

No, the only way was for her to reject him willingly.

But that was where the problem lay.

For four years, he had tormented her. He had made her life unbearable. And yet, she remained.

He had subjected her to endless cruelty, pushing her to the brink, hoping she would break. Yet she endured. She stayed.

Why?

Why wouldn't she leave?

And why, despite everything, did it anger him that she hadn't?

His wolf growled in frustration, aching for something Floyd refused to acknowledge. He had made his decision years ago. He couldn't, wouldn't, mate her.

Not until her wolf appeared.

Not until she became worthy.

"I can't reject her, Otto."

Otto's gaze bore into him, heavy with unspoken sorrow.

"Why?"

Floyd exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. A strained smile ghosted his lips, but it held no humor, only resignation.

"If I do, I'll lose my title as Alpha. My strength will drain for years, leaving me vulnerable. My enemies will seize the chance to strike. Otto, I could lose everything!"

Silence pressed against the chamber walls, their hushed voices the only sound.

Otto's mouth parted, but no words came. His lungs forgot to draw breath, his mind stalling under the weight of Floyd's confession.

He blinked, as if trying to reset reality. "What?"

Floyd slumped onto the sofa, rubbing his face with both hands, his regal composure unraveling.

"Yeah, man. That's how it is." His voice wavered, stripped of its usual authority.

A hundred thoughts stormed through Otto's mind, furrowing his brow. "No other way?"

Floyd shook his head, the motion slow and heavy. "Only if she chooses to leave."

"Then let her be. Maybe she will."

The room fell into stillness, the weight of uncertainty thick in the air.