Consequences

I always knew that my father would get us into trouble. He was reckless, and all he cared about was making money. My mother cried all the time, and begged him to change his ways before he ruined us all. He never listened, and my mother's prophecy came true.

In the middle of the forest in our pack's territory was a clearing. It was used for a lot of things; pack ceremonies, initiation rituals, and punishment among others. I had been there a few times for joyous occasions but there was nothing good about what was about to happen.

My eleven year old twin siblings and I were kneeling down, our hands tied up and chained to tree stumps in front of us. My father's hands were tied together and hoisted up with a strong rope. He was barely able to stand on his two feet at the moment, only managing to use his toes. The pack warriors would occasionally raise the rope and leave him hanging every now and then as they questioned him. My mother, on the other hand, was tied onto a long thin tree and had been crying since they took us there. Efforts made by father to stop her were futile. 

The pack warriors who were laughing stopped when our alpha and his beta arrived. Alpha Aragon was a big man made of hard, sinewy muscle. Every feature on his body was hard and sharp, especially his piercing black eyes that had the power of intimidating everyone him.

Apparently his insides were just as hard as the outside and that gave him one hell of a reputation. He was a very tough and ruthless man. He was said to be very hard to kill. Many had tried and failed. Why my father thought he'd get away with betraying him was beyond my understanding.

“Has he admitted to it?” the alpha's deep voice pierced the air. 

All the warriors nodded. Just a few minutes back they had been acting like they owned the world. Now they were like tiny ants standing near an elephant. The whole werewolf world shuddered at the mention of Alpha Aragon's name.

“He has,” a warrior called Tom said.

Alpha Aragon looked around. “Where are the stupid whips? I knew this bastard betrayed me.” He stalked to my father and grabbed his chin, tilting his head while one of the pack warriors ran to a nearby cabin. “You’re going to face the consequences of your actions before you die. It’ll be the last thing you remember.” 

Two burly men entered the clearing.

“Alpha Aragon,” one of them said.

Aragon turned to the pack wolves. “Untie the twins.”

My mother started wailing and Alpha Aragon turned and kicked her stomach. She screamed even more and seemed defiant to not stop it.

The twins were untied within seconds.

“Take them,” the alpha said as my mother yelled.

“Stop, don't take my children. They're all I have. Please I'll do anything you want, alpha Aragon.”

I could only sob as I watched my siblings taken away by two strangers.

The ruthless alpha was deaf to my mother's pleas. Two whips were handed to him. He threw one to the group and looked my way. Our eyes met, mine going wide with realization when he started walking towards me. 

I screamed before the whip hit me on the back. Since I was chained to the stump, I could not move at all, and had to endure the hot whips hitting my back while I screamed loudly. My mother was also filling the air with her screams and pleas for the alpha to stop.

Every lash sent searing pain all over my body. My back was burning hot like fire was razing it. The whips continued, growing with intensity every time. I screamed in pain until my throat was hoarse and words could not come out. 

Glancing at my father, I noticed his poker face. He just stood there doing nothing even though it was his fault. When the whip finally stopped moving, I started to sob, not only because of the physical pain, but also the emotional pain from my father's indifference to his family's suffering.

When my mother's friend Caroline had advised her to leave my father because he'd never change, my mother had thought she was jealous of our family. Caroline had divorced from her husband and lived with her two daughters, fending for them alone. My mother had thought she was jealous that she had someone who could provide for her. I wished mother had listened to Caroline.

Alpha Aragon left me and ambled towards my mother who was beside herself. “Pathetic woman.”

“Let her go, please.” she begged. “You can kill me.”

Aragon smiled and turned to a pack warrior standing behind him. He motioned for the dagger in the warrior's hand.

“Nooo,” I yelled when the alpha grabbed the dagger, turned and rammed it into my mother's chest. He twisted it while she screamed and writhed in pain.

“Please stop.” I kept yelling as I broke down, energy seeping out my body. All I could do was sob after seeing my mother's head fall limply to the side. She was gone.

I wanted to yell at my father, condemn his to the deepest pits of hell but I had no energy. I lay on top of the stump which had seen more blood than anything in all its existence. I could smell blood but couldn’t do anything about it. 

I watched as a noose was placed over my father's head. I didn't feel anything as I saw him being hoisted up by his neck. Numb, I watched him die. He never screamed for help, or showed any weakness. He just let himself go, almost peacefully. When he was dead, his eyes bulged and a warrior cut the rope making father's body fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

My parents were dead, my siblings gone. I breathed and waited for my end. It didn't come. Instead a warrior unchained me and pushed my body to the ground. I didn't complain, didn't try to resist. I just waited, staring at alpha Aragon who was smoking calmly as the warriors gathered the bodies of my parents near a fireplace which had been stocked with piles of wood.

Two thin men soon came to the clearing and spoke to the alpha. One pulled out a ward of cash and handed it to the beta who counted the notes before nodding his head and gesturing to me. The men walked towards me, and grabbed my body as I kicked my head trying to put up a futile resistance.

One of them placed a handkerchief over my nose. The smell of a drug hit me and before long, the world morphed into darkness.