Ruin Of The Alpha MxB

7 | Twenty lashes

The next day could not come faster. None of the brothers got a good night's sleep as they had no idea about Wilder's whereabouts. They kept tossing and turning throughout the night. While four of them were sitting at the breakfast table with droopy eyes and a long face, occasional yawns leaving their mouth, the last of their brother strolled in with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey! 'Sup losers?"

Phoenix scrambled off his seat and jumped in the air towards him. "I'll kill him right now." Just as he was about to grab him by the collar and pack a punch, three pairs of hands were on him, stopping him inches away from the smirking face of Wilder. "Leave me. Leave me!"

"We are going to release you and you will turn away and sit calmly on your seat, Enix"

"No," the word was whispered calmly but his eyes had attained a murderous look.

"Fights between siblings are not like this. This is not sibling rivalry, Enix!" Phineas scolded, trying to make his brother see sense.

"You are right, it is not," Wilder spat at Phineas, much to everyone's surprise, and left for his room.

Phineas was beginning to think that there was more to the picture than his brother was letting on. Shaking his head, he turned towards Wilder, only to find him gone too. A sigh escaped his lips, the beautiful weather doing nothing to provide him relief. He opened his mind link with Wilder but found the connection blocked from the other end. "Achilles, please go and find Wilder, bring him back. Tell him about his punishment too so that he can come home and we can find a solution."

"Aye aye, captain!"

Left alone with Aspen, he smiled at his brother and nudged him toward their unfinished food. "Go on Aspen, finish your breakfast."

"You too."

Both the brothers sat at the table.

Within half an hour, Achilles was back sans Wilder. "He is parading around the pack grounds with a very smug look on his face. He told me that he is aware of the asshole's order and he doesn't care. Stop worrying, he will take care of it. He said that," the younger brother answered before Phineas could ask him.

Phineas lifted his head to look at the wall clock. An hour left. He closed his eyes in frustration. His forehead creased as he cursed his brain to focus on thinking. When he suddenly opened his eyes, it scared his brothers a bit.

"Uh, what is it, bro?"

"I have an idea. You go and finish breakfast too. Aspen, go and tell Wilder to shut his mouth when we reach there. Okay." He received a nod from Aspen. "Go!"

Any chore he did post Aspen's departure, he would mess it up. The hands of the clock were moving too fast and too slow at the same time. When ten minutes were left, Enix descended the stairs and quietly joined his two brothers at the door. With heavy footsteps, they began their journey to the clearing. The rich, soft grass tickling his feet was not giving him a feeling of giddiness like usual. The birds singing failed to bring a smile to his face too. The strong fragrance of flowers seemed overwhelming and the slow wind was not helping with his nausea.

Arthur's scent was the first one to hit him full force as soon as he reached his destination. Their eyes meet and everything - the swaying grass, the birds, the flowers, the wind - comes to a standstill. The whole world stops for a moment. Only for a moment. In the next one, both pairs of eyes turned cold, glaring at each other.

Phineas stepped up to the Alpha and declared in a firm, loud voice - "On behalf of my brother, you can punish me. I am more at fault for letting his actions continue rather than making him understand like a brother should."

Gasps rung around the open area, but the Alpha only replied with two words - "Very well."

Enix and Achilles ran to their brother, yelling at him to not be crazy. "This is the peak of insanity. Someday, wilder will push you off the edge of a cliff and you will not know because it will be too late."

"Phin, please. What are you doing? It is Wilder's punishment to bear. I agree with Phoneix this time. This is too much. Insanity."

Phineas remained mum. He knew if he spoke, there would only be more arguments. Silence was the best approach with his brothers. They were equally determined as him if not more. Arthur cleared his throat loudly and for once Phineas was thankful for the man's existence. Shaking his brothers' hands off him, he calmly moved to where the tall man was standing.

"Name?"

"Phineas Grey."

"Punishment?"

"Twenty lashes."

"I hope you and your brother will remember it well from now on not to be noticed by me" - the Alpha warned loudly before whispering his next words - "or come near me." The last words were meant for only his ears.

"You will have to worry about nothing, Alpha."

Arthur stiffened in his place. His wolf was clawing at him to be out. The blatant insult, the sneering voice the other wolf used to address his title was not sitting well with him. The whipper instructed Phineas to remove his shirt. Not moving his eyes away from Phineas, he said in a deadly voice - "It stays on. Now, begin." The whipper did not step forth, hanging his head low, not meeting the Alpha's eyes, making him scoff. "I cannot believe the soft-boned people I am dealing with," he paused before delivering a final blow, "no wonder your previous leader used tricks to defeat others." With that, he snatched the tool of torture from the cowering man's hands. "I'll do it myself."

The atmosphere turned dismal. Even Oliver's family had gloomy faces. Achilles was clinging to Phoenix, pleading with him to stop Phineas. The other boy could only stand there with tightened fists. His gaze was laser-sharp, focused on the whip in the Alpha's hand. As the sound of the whip slashing the air penetrated the ears of the audience, the two brothers shut their eyes to not be a witness to such atrocity. They were dreading the next sound when that whip would touch Phineas' skin, but it never came. Instead, a booming voice graced their ears - "STOP." It was followed by a soft thud and the sound of the whip meeting a surface.

Phineas was in shock. One second he had his eyes closed and he was mentally preparing himself for the whip and in the next, he lying beneath Aspen's wolf. Safe. He was happy but sacred for Aspen. He was about to scold him when a rather strong voice distracted him. He knew that voice. He looked over Aspen's shoulder before telling him to get off.

"Elder Alvis?" The Elder smiled at him. Phineas returned the gesture and bowed to the old man. "Elder, what are you doing here?"

"I heard of the unfair situation you were put in by your pack Alpha when I was on my way with Elder Jason to Alpha Chris' pack, Golden Shadows, so I came here." The Elder turned to Arthur, addressing him respectfully with his title. "We have not met before, I am Elder Alvis. This is Elder Jason. I wish we met under better circumstances. I held no judgment for you when I heard about you taking over the pack. While I have formed an opinion of you based on what my eyes saw, I would still like to have a discussion with you. Can we talk in the privacy of your office, Alpha Arthur?" It was an order disguised as a request, Arthur knew better than to rebel.

"I will lead the way, Elder Alvis."

Elder Elvis would never admit but he was a tad bit impressed with Arthur. The man subtly pointed out who the leader was without offending anyone. A true leader. Sadly, he had a sinister soul.

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Word Count: 1304