Flogged

Kira's POV


My feet carried me to the kitchen, where all the female servants were gathered. The moment they saw me, their eyes were filled with hatred and disgust. I hadn’t wronged any of them, yet they all despised me due to the fact that my parents had a hand in the death of our Luna. Something I knew was a lie, which I was going to prove one day.
“Kira, come forward,” the head maiden ordered.
With a hard swallow, I moved my feet towards her. The moment I got to where she stood, a loud slap hit my cheek, forcing my head to move the other way. I gasped in pain as tears stung my eyes, and then slowly, I looked back at the head maid.
“You have been stealing from the storeroom!” she yelled at me, and I furrowed my brow while a single strand of tears falls on my cheek.
“Stealing? How? I’m not a thief,” I said amidst sobs.
“Don’t lie to me!” she snapped, cutting me off. “Food has been disappearing from the storeroom for weeks. I kept quiet, waiting to catch the thief. And just a moment ago, a carton of juice went missing. So I ordered the guards to search every maid’s room. Guess what they found?” She gestured toward a carton of juice beside her. “This was under your bed, Olivia. You stole it.”
Another slap landed across my face, sending a sting of pain through my already throbbing cheek. I staggered back, shaking my head in disbelief.
“I didn’t do it! I didn’t steal it,” I cried out, but the look on her face told me she was never going to believe me. Angela, the head maiden, was brutal to us. She didn’t forgive and would never have a soft heart. I moved my gaze around, staring at the other female staff. They all had different emotions in their eyes. Some stared at me with anger, some with hate, others with pity, and some with satisfaction—like I deserved it.
Angela glared at me, her eyes cold with hate. “You think you can lie your way out of this?” she sneered. “You’re nothing but a traitor’s daughter, and now you’re a thief too? You have been stealing from the pack house, and now you’ll face the consequences.”
She lifted her hand as if to strike me again but instead lowered it, her gaze hardening. “You will be tied and flogged in the yard,” she declared. “Everyone will see what happens to a thief. You will learn your place.”
A gasp escaped my lips. My chest tightened with fear, but I couldn’t speak. No one stood up for me. And no matter how I defended myself, I knew no one would believe me. After all, I was a traitor's daughter.
“Guards, carry out the punishment,” Angela ordered. The guards stepped forward, grabbing my arms roughly. I struggled, but their grips were hard. My heart pounded as they dragged me toward the door, my feet barely keeping up. The sunlight outside was harsh, and I was being roughly carried to the wooden pillar in the yard.
I was made to stand before it, and then the guards tied my hands to the pillar and stepped away to get the whip. As I waited for the first lash to land on me, I closed my eyes. This wasn’t the first time I was being flogged. Over the years, I had been flogged countless times—sometimes for small mistakes, like mistakenly breaking a utensil, or for crimes I never committed, just like this one.
Whip!
The first lash landed on me, and I gasped as the familiar pain of being whipped hit my back. I didn’t have time to dwell on it when another strike hit me. I muffled my pain and noticed a few mansion workers loitering about. Some seemed entertained by my fate.
Whip! Whip! Whip!
More lashes landed on my back, and a loud sob escaped my lips.
I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for another strike to hit me, but suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in the yard.
“Enough!”
I gasped and opened my eyes. Despite not being able to see who had commanded the guards to stop, I knew instantly that it was Darius, the eldest of the triplets.
His presence alone silenced the yard. The guards hesitated, lowering the whip as he stepped forward. His sharp gaze swept across the scene before landing on Angela.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice filled with annoyance and anger, which made me wonder if he was angry with me or at something else.
Angela bowed her head slightly in respect before speaking. “She was caught stealing from the storeroom, sir,” she said. “A carton of juice was found hidden under her bed.”
Darius turned his piercing eyes to the guards. “And you’re sure she did it?”
The head guard nodded. “Yes, Alpha. The evidence was found in her room.”
Darius let out a low growl, his anger obvious. “Untie her.”
I gasped in shock. My body was trembling from the pain, but his words sent a new wave of confusion through me. Was he… letting me go?
The guards quickly obeyed, cutting the ropes binding my wrists. My arms dropped weakly to my sides, my skin burning from both the lashes and the tight restraints. I couldn’t wait to turn eighteen in a few days and get my wolf. If I had my wolf, the pain would have been lesser.
I swallowed hard, unsure of what to do.
Then I made the mistake of looking at him.
His green, piercing eyes snapped to mine, and any hope I had of freedom was crushed under the weight of his glare.
“Kneel,” he ordered, his voice laced with authority.
My breath hitched. What?
Darius didn’t wait for me to process his words. He turned to the guards, his expression cold and unreadable. “Make her kneel under the sun instead.”
A lump formed in my throat. He wasn’t setting me free. He was simply choosing a different punishment.
The guards grabbed my arms again, forcing me to the ground. The scorching sun burned against my skin, and the rough gravel dug into my knees. I clenched my jaw, holding back another sob as Darius turned and walked away, leaving me under the merciless sun.