Whipped by the Alpha After Sacrificing My Wolf Soul

A crimson blood moon hung high in the night sky, like a cold, ruthless eye staring dead down at the vast, desolate earth. In the sacred square of the Blood Moon Pack, dozens of massive bonfires roared violently. Blazing sparks flew into the dark sky, filling the air with a suffocating, dry heat. Tonight was the pack's grandest annual event—the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The fierce firelight reflected onto the flushed, excited faces of hundreds of pack members, their eyes burning with a primal thirst for power. But standing right in the center of the square, Ella couldn't feel a single shred of warmth. Only a piercing, bone-chilling cold flowed through her veins. Today was her eighteenth birthday. According to the iron law of the werewolf race, every member who turned eighteen must commune with the Moon Goddess on this very night, awaken their inner wolf, and complete their first shift. "Awoo—!!" With a high-pitched, powerful howl, another young warrior transformed under the faint glow of the sacred stone, shedding his human form to become a sleek gray wolf. His muscular frame and glossy fur instantly drew thunderous cheers from the crowd. "Next, Ella!" the priest's ancient, detached voice pierced through the noise, laced with a heavy hint of impatience. Ella took a deep, shaky breath. Under the watchful glare of countless mocking and scrutinizing eyes, she walked step by step toward the massive sacred stone at the center of the square. The night wind whipped violently at her thin dress. Her pale face and frail body looked utterly pitiful, completely out of place among the tall, muscular werewolves surrounding her. She slowly extended both hands, her fingertips trembling violently, before pressing them flat against the cold surface of the sacred stone. One second, two seconds, ten seconds... Time passed silently in the suffocating stillness. The sacred stone, which was supposed to erupt into a dazzling, blinding light the moment a werewolf touched it, remained as dark as an ordinary piece of scrap iron. It was dim, freezing, and completely unresponsive. The loud cheers and chatter gradually died down, replaced by a wave of suffocating mockery and dead silence. "What's going on? Why didn't the sacred stone light up?" "Heavens, her inner wolf didn't respond... She failed!" "An unawakened Omega? This is an absolute disgrace to our Blood Moon Pack!" "Bah! We've wasted the pack's food on her for so many years, and she turns out to be a total waste!" Sneers, insults, and whispers of pure disgust washed over Ella like a tidal wave, drowning her instantly. Ella’s face turned deathly pale, completely devoid of color. She slowly closed her eyes and, in the deepest corners of her mind, desperately and frantically called out, Natalia... please, wake up... Natalia, don't leave me... However, in the depths of her soul, that golden wolf, who once possessed a powerful and pure ancient bloodline, remained locked tightly in eternal ice. No matter how Ella screamed and cried until her soul bled, the wolf slept on peacefully, not opening her majestic golden eyes even a fraction. A bitter, desolate smile curled at the corner of Ella's lips. Why did it turn out like this? She was the only one in the entire world who knew the brutal truth. Three years ago, on a night just like this one, with raging thunder and pouring rain, the man she loved and followed with every fiber of her being was on the brink of death, poisoned by the most lethal toxin. To save his life, the fifteen-year-old Ella had hidden from everyone and frantically used a forbidden blood-exchange ritual, draining three whole cups of her own ancient healing blood. She had almost died in that pool of blood. Though she barely survived, the price was catastrophic—her ancient wolf had burned out all its source magic, falling into a permanent, frozen slumber. Because she couldn't explain to her pack why she had suddenly become so weak and fragile, she had silently endured all the cold shoulders, mockery, and bullying over the past three years. Dragging her broken body along, her only hope was that a miracle would happen on her eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, that Natalia would finally wake up. But reality dealt her the most brutal, sobering blow. The Moon Goddess, after all, did not bless a broken person like her. Ella numbly turned her head, casting her gaze toward the highest point of the square—the supreme trial dais. There sat the supreme ruler of the Blood Moon Pack—Alpha Killian. He wore a flawless, well-tailored black suit, his collar slightly open. The flickering firelight outlined his perfect, marble-carved facial features. Under his high nose bridge, his thin lips were pursed into a cold, merciless line. Those signature, dominant dark-golden eyes were currently looking down at Ella. There was not a single trace of past warmth in them; there was only high-and-mighty disgust and cold impatience. And in Killian's arms, a woman in a magnificent white dress, looking like a holy angel, was leaning limply against his chest—Chloe. Chloe covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with hypocritical tears as she whimpered in a voice only a few could hear, "Oh, Killian... how could poor Ella end up like this? Without a wolf form, she is a disgrace to the pack. According to the rules... she has to be completely exiled. She is so weak, how can she possibly survive out there?" Hearing the soft words of the woman in his arms, Killian's icy face finally softened slightly. He gently patted Chloe's shoulder, his voice deep and magnetic. "This is her deserved fate, Chloe. You are too kind; you shouldn't waste your tears on a worthless piece of trash." Ella stared fixedly at Chloe's hypocritical face, her fingernails digging so deep into her palms that blood began to drip down through her fingers. Three years ago, when Ella returned to the outskirts of the castle, covered in blood and dying, she had collapsed in the bushes due to sheer exhaustion. It was Chloe—her most trusted best friend at the time—who stole the antidote and the token from her body, claiming the identity of the savior. When Killian woke up from his coma, the first thing he saw was Chloe crying beautifully by his bedside. From that day on, Chloe became the cherished saint of the Blood Moon Pack, the future Luna. Meanwhile, Ella, who had truly sacrificed everything, lost the protection of her wolf and became a despicable, scheming girl who supposedly "tried to gain favor and seduce the future Alpha." On the trial dais, Killian slowly stood up. His terrifying, suffocating Alpha aura exploded outward, instantly sweeping across the entire square. All the chaotic chatter stopped dead, and every werewolf submissively lowered their head. Killian looked down at Ella by the iron post, his thin lips parting to deliver words harsher than the deepest winter frost: "Ella, the Blood Moon Pack never feeds useless waste. Your failure to awaken your wolf means you have been rejected by the Moon Goddess. As your Alpha, I sentence you—you are stripped of your right to remain in this pack!" "However, given the numerous disruptions you have caused over the past three years and your repeated disrespect toward Chloe, you must accept punishment before your exile." Killian paused, making no effort to hide the sheer disgust in his eyes. "Someone, come! Chain her to the execution post, use the silver-thorned whip, and give her thirty lashes! After the execution, throw her out of the borders to fend for herself!" Boom. Ella’s body shuddered violently.Thirty lashes with the silver-thorned whip? To a useless failure like her, who possessed no werewolf self-healing abilities, this was nothing short of a death sentence! Heavy, freezing iron chains wrapped around her instantly, pinning Ella’s slender, fragile body tightly to the cold stone pillar. And right at that moment, in the shadows at the edge of the square, a tall, terrifying silhouette cast a long shadow over the firelight, approaching step by step with heavy, ominous strides. The Chief Executioner, and that lethal silver-thorned whip, had officially entered the field.