Chapter 2 - The Punishment

"Say!" Iron spat, wrapping his hands in the back of her hair to force her to look him in the eyes again “Show that there is still at least a drop of wolf honor left in you and admit that it was you who conspired with the lions! It was you who stood next to my sister at the gates that day and made it easy for our enemies to invade our Kingdom that day! It was you who allowed children to be killed, women to be raped and so many of us to be tortured in their dungeons! You’re the reason Hannah was almost dying in that bed, unable to wake up!"

Deborah even tried to open her mouth to say something, but the shock ended any words she could have formulated, while Iron just continued, his tone increasingly full of hatred and pain.

"Every day, I have to control the urge to tear apart my own skin, to get this off me! And do you really think this last year was enough to punish you? Nothing I can do to you will come close to the pain you made this kingdom feel, Deborah!”

As had happened a year ago, Deborah remained static, just staring at Iron, until the burn flowing from her eyes and staining her face made her part her lips.

“So... That's the reason...?” If he hadn't been so close, she would certainly have collapsed to her knees on the floor “That's why you locked me in this place, made me suffer through rejection and slept with my cousin?”

“Don’t you dare play the victim! The guards told me they saw someone with red hair talking to Hannah before she fell from the guard tower. They saw this person use magic that could only be performed by a follower of the God of Discord! Someone who has no connection with the Goddess... Not even a wolf spirit.” His disdainful tone managed to gnaw at her a little deeper “Maybe that's why the Goddess never allowed you to transform. She knows what kind of person is unworthy of receiving this blessing. And don't you dare keep pretending to cry! I will never allow myself to be fooled by your act of purity again! I've had enough of all the mistakes that the heat of mating forced me to make in your bed, over the last year! Do it! Admit your sin and beg for the mercy that none of those lions showed for your people!”

“I can't admit guilt that I don't have.” Her tears continued to fall, but Deborah kept her voice steady “This pack never treated me like one of you, but it still never even crossed my mind to do something like that. But what's the point in saying I'm innocent, right? You didn't even think to question me about this, before you tried to destroy me from the inside out. In the end, the reason is exactly what I imagined. You never really loved me, not even enough to hesitate for a moment before using me to take out the hate you feel.”

“I never loved you?” One of his fists slammed against the wall, the claws making a loud growl as they pierced the stone “Do you have any idea what would have happened if I had revealed to the pack that it was you who tried to destroy them? Your body would have been torn to pieces slowly, until there was nothing left! You would have been killed and I could only watch...” Gradually, his eyes dropped to her neck, the blood pounding through her veins as Deborah realized what he was thinking.

No! He couldn't kill her! Not there, not after she had regained her will to live, after months of thinking about ending that nightmare herself.

Not now that she had something truly precious to protect.

“Please, Iron...” she found herself begging, as one day she would have begged for the version of Iron that she once loved “Please, no...”

A part of her hadn't expected her desperation to have any effect on him. But little by little, that bloodlust disappeared from his face and, for just an instant, Deborah had the distinct impression that she was looking at her Iron again, the man she wanted to marry and start a family with. The male her body still yearned for and her mating mark burned.

However, in the next second, he released her, so abruptly that she almost fell.

“If what you want is to continue with all of this, then so be it.” He growled, his tone harsh and his eyes cold “From tomorrow onwards, you will become Evangeline’s servant. I'm sure she'll have a lot of fun giving you all the worst tasks possible. And, don’t forget, when I return from my visit to the borders in two days, I hope I don’t hear another word from the maids about you trying to kill yourself without food.” Iron ordered, turning his back to her “That's a death too easy for someone as despicable as you.”

Watching him walk away, Deborah took a moment to catch her breath and keep her head straight, even after everything she had discovered. More than ever, keeping her feet on the ground and thinking clearly was what she needed.

Yes, she would go back to eating and staying healthy from then on. Not for him, but for the wolf who had truly given her a reason to live.

The baby she was carrying in her womb.