008: Darkness

Celeste 

Oh my God! I’m doomed. Why did Slater come here? He was supposed to remain wherever he was given. 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? 

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 is 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 is 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 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, but 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.