Horres

I didn't doubt Oxley's ability to deliver in the slightest, but I only felt curious about what he planned to do. Deep down, I wish I could just squeeze her neck so tightly and watch her face turn blue as she struggled for her last breath. However, that would just be too easy for the daughter of a murderer. 

I would so make her suffer for every life her father took from the Iron Fang Pack. She may be wolfless trash, but she would pay her dues to this pack.

My feet took me to the one place I knew Oxley would take my whore. After we spoke two days ago, he carried out a seamless attack on all the spies from the Moon Howler Pack. 

Afterward, he went to clear out that shed. I could tell without a doubt that it was the accommodation he prepared for the daughter of Alpha Holmes. 

As for me, I didn't give a damn about where they placed her. She could even be housed in a stable, yet I wouldn't give a damn. After all, she wasn't here to enjoy the pack. She was a prisoner whose only duty was to pay with her blood.

She was nothing compared to all the fine men I lost in her father's territory, yet Alpha Holmes decided to slap my face with a wolfless trash. He may scorn this child of his for being wolfless, but she still carried his blood, after all. 

Making sure he was kept up to date with the fate of his daughter would be my first step in torturing that evil beast. He didn't really think I was stupid enough to make his wolfless trash Luna of the Iron fang Pack, did he? 

Celeste Holmes couldn't even compare to a strand of hair on Gamma Lorna's head, yet she was disillusioned into believing she could be my luna. Tsk! This spy mission really failed before it even began. 

I guess I arrived at the right time, when my whore started begging to see me again. However, Oxley wouldn't indulge her. How he taunted and scared her shitless with the whip was amusing. He even allowed her to beat his steps by taking two steps back whenever he put a foot forward. Well, I already had enough of the drama. Did she think they were playing hide-and-seek or what?

"What the heck are you doing to her?" 

I swore I was about to tell Oxley to start the punishment at once. How the heck did someone else beat me to it? Wait! That shouldn't be the problem. 

The crux of the matter was that the toad claiming to be a knight in shining armor was one of the tributes sent by Alpha Holmes. A warrior, huh? One of the warriors from the Moon Howler Pack felt he could order my beta around because of his princess. Tsk!

"Aaaahhhh!!!" 

Exactly! That was the only sound deserving of an ant from the Moon Howler Pack. He began writhing in pain as soon as my whip landed on his body. Well, he didn't see that coming, and none of them even expected me to appear at this place right now. The element of surprise added enough agony to the whiplash. Tsk!

"Alpha,"

"Alpha,"

"Alpha,"

My men went on their knees, but the toad still stood there defiantly. It was only when his dearest princess went on her knees, exchanging a terrified glance at him, that he followed suit. Was he by any chance challenging my authority?

Hmmph! Interesting. 

Hold on... Why did this suddenly look so much like a lovers' interaction? For some reason, my blood boiled at the possibility of this warrior having his eyes set on my breeder.  I wouldn't hold back if I had to gouge out those treacherous eyes of his.

Well, I had no plans of laying a finger on this wolfless trash, but she was still mine, after all. How could she have eyes for another man? That too, in my presence?

"I hope I'm not too late to the lovers' reunion." As soon as my words fell, she lifted her head and locked eyes with me, albeit briefly. However, I was able to tell the panic in her gaze. The horror she tried to hide couldn't escape my gaze. If that wasn't an admission of guilt, then what was it?

She wasn't only wolfless, but also... How best could I put this... Never mind. 

"What? Cat got your tongue?" I barked out these words without even thinking twice, my alpha aura spreading out uncontrollably. How dare she disregard me this way?

"Please, Alpha, it's... It's not what you think. There's nothing between Slater and me. I swear by the moon goddess." Did she take me for a fool, or what? Tsk!

"Alpha, please, it's not what you think." Even though she was shivering on the ground, she still dared to defend her lover in my presence. How lovely!

"Fifteen lashes for today and the next two days. As for the remaining five, handle it however you want." I spoke to Oxley as the two guards quickly dragged my whore and placed her on a wooden stand in front of the shed.

Oxley really planned everything.

"Alpha, I think twenty lashes for a start would be great." Beta Oxley enjoyed this so much that I could tell he wasn't going to take it easy on her. Well, I wouldn't allow that. We lost some fine warriors because of them, after all. Every pack member was upset about that.

"You..." I gestured toward her warrior and commanded, "Twenty lashes for deceiving the Alpha. Go soft on my whore, and I'll show you how to do it better." 

Oxley quickly threw the whip his way, and he had no choice but to catch it. Nothing made me more pleased than the trembling young man who had to whip his lover just so he could save their heads.

Under our watchful gazes, he threw out the whip, only for Oxley to curse out loud, "Son of a bitch!"

What the heck!

None of us saw this coming.

Celeste 

Oh my God! I'm doomed. Why did Slater come here? He was supposed to remain wherever he was assigned to. He shouldn't have followed us here. 

Now, he could get both of us killed if care wasn't taken. 

"Please, Alpha, it's... It's not what you think. There's nothing between Slater and me. I swear by the moon goddess." Alpha Horres wouldn't take my word for it, but the only thing that could make him believe me is the moon goddess. Nobody would lie and use the name of the moon goddess, right? That would just be like cursing oneself to have a terrible end. 

Why wouldn't he say anything? He couldn't possibly be thinking that we were truly lovers, would he? Shit! Could things get any more awful?

Please say something, Alpha. The punishment for cheating on you would be too grave for me to bear. How could I dare to make a cuckold of the devil in his own pack?

His silence got me petrified, and I tried to look into his eyes, only to meet the coldest look ever. It felt as if he could order our execution in the next minute. I bet the words were just at the tip of his tongue. 

"Alpha, please, it's really not what you think." I was panicking, and I knew he could tell. Why else would I be trembling like a leaf at the thought of this accusation? I was already in a mess here, yet the alpha just had to compound my issues. 

If things continue this way, I may lose my life before sunset. 

"Fifteen lashes..." Huh? Did he believe me? He even reduced the punishment from fifty strokes to fifteen. At least, it was better than fifty...

"For today and the next two days. As for the remaining five, handle it however you want." What! No! No! No! No!

Wouldn't that mean splitting my skin open every day? How? How was this better than being whipped fifty strokes at a go? This even sounded worse. 

I can't die. No. Not before I fulfilled my mother's dying wish. I can't possibly die here after everything I've endured. 

"A...Alpha," The words were at the tip of my tongue, and I wanted to plead for mercy, but they just wouldn't come out. That look alone was enough for me to know I would only sign our death sentence if I dared to say any more. 

I'd just need to endure it. At least, I know he wouldn't wish to kill me so easily. Now, that beta of his just had to add five more to the strokes I was supposed to take today. 

I guess, to them, I was just a measly trash who didn't deserve their pity. 

"You..." W... Why would Alpha Holmes gesture toward Slater? He really didn't do anything. "Twenty lashes for deceiving the Alpha. Go soft on my whore, and I'll show you how to do it better." 

What! This was bad. Slater wouldn't be able to whip me. They would just end up whipping him as well. How could they be this ruthless? 

I couldn't even warn Slater to take this seriously before the two warriors pounced on me and dragged me to a wooden stand at the side. I was forced to bend down and await the pain that I couldn't avoid anymore.

[Pa!] 

Shit! How could he call that hitting someone? That stroke would only get both of us into further trouble. 

"Son of a bitch!" 

The beta's words hit me harder than the light whip Slater landed on my body. At this point, I knew we had already fallen into their trap. There was no way any of us was going unscathed.

[Pa!!!] 

I watched helplessly as the beta's whip landed harshly on Slater's back. He didn't expect it, but I knew it wouldn't make the pain feel any less. "Motherfucker! Now, that is what I call a whiplash. We could do this all day, you know." 

This stubborn mule. He was already gritting his teeth so harshly, yet he wouldn't allow himself to drop those whiplashes the way he should. Slater's look scared me, and I knew what his next words would be without being told.

"You wish to take the punishment for her, don't you?" 

"No. No. It's my fault, alpha. I... I'll accept your punishment." If Slater dared to respond to the alpha's words with an affirmative answer, the two of us might just die without a burial ground. 

[Pa!!!] 

A whiplash from the beta landed on Slater's back, and his face contorted in pain, yet his defiance remained intact. 

[Pa!!!] 

Another whiplash followed, but this time around, it wasn't targeted at Slater. It wasn't even the beta who took action. It was none other than the alpha himself. His whip landed harshly on my back, and I felt my soul fly out of my body at that moment.

"Anything less than this, and I would need to show you again." He commanded in an icy tone, and I could only brace myself for Slater's whiplash. This time around, I could only hope he would get this over and done with.

My body hurt like hell, but I had to begin my count, lest the counting begin from the first. 

As the first whiplash came, I felt pain shoot through my entire body, but I could only brace myself. I needed to work with him to get through this... I... I can do this. 

"One..." You have endured worse, Celeste. 

Brace yourself. "Two..." 

Whip after whip, I counted, feeling my skin getting torn and blood oozing out of my fresh wounds. My body suddenly felt so foreign to me that I realized I was about to pass out. 

Halfway... We were more than halfway through, and I would be damned if we had to start again from the beginning.

"Thirteen..." I almost passed out from the pain, but I still counted. 

Then the final stroke came, and I gave in to the darkness that had beckoned me since the whipping began. I could even taste a metallic substance in my mouth, and I knew without a doubt that it was my blood.

"Twenty..." 

I heard the Alpha dishing out some threats vaguely, but I was too wasted to make sense of anything. I could finally escape into this darkness, where there was no Alpha Holmes or Alpha Horres.  

To top it all off, there was no pain in this endless darkness...