Chapter 21：Punished

Cynthia’s POV

All I can do is watch as two ruthless Eclipse warriors drag the boy away.

I want to help. I really do. But I’m so weak, and it happens so fast. I stare, mouth agape, the Alpha’s command still rattling through my skull. ‘Take him away,’ the Alpha had said without a hint of mercy, and the warriors had just obeyed. The boy goes kicking and screaming off to who knows where. The Alpha follows behind them, and even from my position twenty yards away, I swear I can see the steel in his eyes.

Once they’ve left, I approach the spot where they’ve just argued. My heart sinks when I spot a small patch of orange fur nestled in the grass.

The fox’s body.

Limp.

Lifeless.

And the way he killed it–knowing how to kill is a skill any Alpha needs, surely, but that’s a measure reserved for enemies. Beings that could actually hurt you. A fox? A small injured fox? Killing something like that is sheer cruelty.

Tears start to fall from my eyes as the heartbreak and shock ricochet through me. My