MY ALPHA {18+}

6. MACKENZIE

"47," I whispered, refusing to count louder.

My wrist and arm ached, but it was nothing compared to my heart. It was breaking with every slash the whip made on Ryken's back.

There was so much blood.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and I couldn't even stop them. I wanted to seem strong before the monsters making me do this but couldn't.

My hand shook as the whip broke through the skin of Ryken's back again.

"48," my voice got quieter and the urge to vomit was right there in my throat.

I had tried to stop so many times but Sullivan had his whip and he was willing to use it.

When I had dropped the whip after the first five, I had considered running to Ryken and just refusing but Sullivan had shaken his head at me.

He had eyed Hope and I knew in that moment that this was the reason Hope was still here.

She wasn't here so Viking could turn her, Cerberus was keeping her here as a pawn.

Cerberus had figured out Viking's weakness and now he had it. And apparently mine too because I wasn't going to let her get whipped either.

She was still human, no human could survive what this was.

But Ryken hadn't made a sound.

He still clutched the pole, his breaths labored, his jaw clenched but he had said nothing.

The pack had gone quieter around the 30th slash. That one had cut deep, spraying blood over the packed dirt.

Cerberus was still smirking, his eyes still watching with his eyes glittering like it was Christmas.

I couldn't wait to kill him. My hand twitched and the urge to use the whip on him grew stronger.

He must've known what I was thinking because his smirk grew.

"Do it, Hybrid. Give me a reason," he said quietly.

I narrowed my eyes and flicked my wrist again.

"49," I gritted out.

"Your boy is strong," Gregor said looking at Ryken like he was a prized winner. Cerberus nodded once.

"He is." Cerberus agreed.

"And your other boy? Where is he? Is he not older?" Gregor asked.

Cerberus's eyes darkened, "He is where he belongs. Anywhere but here."

That had me using the whip for the final time, "50."

I dropped the whip and ran to Ryken.

He sighed, sinking to his knees, leaning against the post as I ran my hand over his face, checking his pulse in his neck.

"Ryken," I whispered, the tears refilling and spilling onto my cheeks.

"I'm okay, Kenz," he said but his voice was croaky, his breaths harsh.

"Where is the healer?" I asked, prying his hands off the pole and pulling him onto me.

I put his arm along my shoulders as he sagged against me.

"Arlo," he breathed, his eyes fluttering closed.

I didn't trust Arlo yet but I wasn't about to argue. Not when Ryken was barely conscious.

Before I could move him a single step, he was hauled off me.

"No!" I screamed as three of the pack members carried him off. He couldn't even fight them off, "He needs a healer!"