𝙴𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚍

Chapter Twelve

"Filthy mongrel!" Someone shouted from my left.

"Beat her! Beat her to a pulp for attacking the Alpha's daughter!" Another spat in my face.

"Useless fuckin' Mutts need to know their place!" A male howled.

"A useless fucking Mutt, huh?" I repeated loud enough the man could hear as I tried to wipe the spit from my cheek. "At least I don't go around spitting on others like a degenerate."

Gamma Direvuld's tight lips slightly curled into a smirk as she tried to hide her amusement. She had clearly found my comment funny, something I had not expected of her.

Before I could react, one of the larger wolves to our right grabbed me by the face with breath reeking of alcohol and snarled, "You think just cus' you're the daughter of a lord that your life is actually worth anything? Even the Goddess hates your kind!"

"Unhand the prisoner, now." Gamma Direvuld growled with glowing eyes. "If any of you continue to delay her punishment, I'll make damn sure you're all flogged right alongside her!"

The drunken wolf shrunk into himself, cowering from her aura, while the rest of the wolves parted, giving us room to continue onward without obstruction.

"Come on." She yanked me forward, though not as hard as before.

I followed after, occasionally having to duck from things being thrown at me, mainly small rocks, until we reached the main square. The place where all of this had started, and where it all would end.

Wolves encircled the square, wearing fancy and common clothes alike. All of them had come to watch me suffer, no matter what their place in the pack had been. Everyone except the Mutts.

In the center, next to the fountain and in the exact spot where I had been shoved to the ground by Alison the day before, waited the wooden whipping post I was to be tied to. I swallowed hard at the sight of it, already bloodstained from previous floggings. Though none of the blood was fresh.

In the direct line of sight of the post, and in front of the hungry crowd, stood my family. Father watched me with misty eyes full of pain and anger as he held on to my three little sisters. Luci stood firm, as she tried her best to stay strong for the other two, while Mira and Katie cried.

I hoped Katie wouldn't blame herself for what was about to happen to me. And even if she didn't, the memory of that day would have been burned into her mind for the rest of her life regardless.

It was awful of the Alpha to make Katie bear witness to my punishment, let alone the rest of my family. But why he felt the need to torment a child was beyond me.

A small tickle in the back of my mind sent a chill down my spine. "What was that?" I mentally gasped. It was an odd sensation I had never felt before, and I started to wonder if all the stress had started to eat away at my sanity.

Everyone around me fell silent, and before I knew it, they were all on their knees. Gamma Direvuld bowed her head in submission, though stayed on her feet beside me. Alpha Randel came into view behind my family, his presence and aura nipped at my skin, though hardly strong enough to cause me any discomfort. His amber cloak billowed behind him as his long legs carried him across the main square in seconds.

Something was missing, however, and it made me uneasy to say the least.

"Today you all shall bear witness to what happens to those who defy pack law." His deep voice, intertwined with that of his wolf's caused all the hair on my neck to stand as his glowing eyes glanced around the area until they finally stopped on me. "Proceed."