004 | Left For Dead
1135 Words
~ARIA~
The whip cracked across my back.
Pain exploded through my body.
My knees slammed against the stone floor before I even realized I had fallen.
A cry clawed its way up my throat.
I swallowed it.
The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth where my teeth had cut into my lip.
Around me...
No one spoke.
Hundreds of eyes watched from every corner of the courtyard.
Watching the omega who had dared raise a hand against the Alpha.
The executioner stepped back, waiting.
My breathing came in shallow bursts.
Blood trickled slowly down my back, soaking what little remained of my dress.
Across the courtyard...
Alpha Aramic sat beside Luna Jenny.
His head was wrapped neatly in white linen.
Only the faint stain of red near his temple hinted at the injury beneath.
He looked… calm.
As though none of this had anything to do with him.
Not once had he looked guilty.
Not once had he spoken the truth.
The realization hurt more than the whip.
Luna Jenny rose gracefully from her seat.
Every movement was elegant.
Measured.
She stopped only a few steps away from me.
When she spoke, her voice was soft enough to sound almost motherly.
"Aria..."
She sighed.
"We gave you a home."
A murmur swept through the crowd.
"We have been nothing but kind to you. The late Alpha brought you in, an orphan omega with no one, no home, no pack. We welcomed you here.”
She pressed a hand lightly against her chest.
"We fed you, protected you, and treated you like our own."
She lowered her eyes.
"And this is how you repay us?"
Silence.
Perfect silence.
Then she looked toward the crowd.
"My husband was kind enough to revoke her punishment.”
Her voice broke.
"Instead… she seduced him."
Gasps rippled through the courtyard.
"And when my husband rejected her..."
A tear rolled neatly down her cheek.
"...she tried to murder him."
The crowd erupted.
"Monster!"
"Kill her!"
"I always knew something was wrong with that omega!"
I closed my eyes.
She was good.
Too good.
I forced my broken body upright.
Every muscle screamed.
My legs shook so violently I nearly collapsed again.
Still...
I stood.
"No."
The single word barely rose above the noise.
No one heard.
I tried again… louder this time.
"No!"
This time the courtyard quieted.
I looked straight at Luna Jenny.
"You lie."
The softness vanished from her face.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then the perfect smile returned.
"I don't know why you're doing this, Aria."
I laughed.
It hurt.
God...
It hurt.
"If you're going to pretend..."
I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand.
"...at least become a better actress."
Several people frowned.
Confusion flickered across a few faces.
Good.
They were listening.
I turned toward the crowd.
"You all saw me."
My voice shook.
Not from fear.
From pain.
"I was punished for stealing food. I was sent into that banquet hall, every servant here knows it."
The courtyard grew quieter.
"There are dozens of witnesses. The Alpha himself called me… He dismissed his Beta, and ordered me to escort him alone."
I pointed toward Aramic.
"He tried to force himself on me."
The words echoed across the square.
Nobody breathed.
Even the executioner had stopped moving.
For one glorious...
Beautiful...
Impossible second...
Hope bloomed inside me.
They were listening.
They were actually listening.
I saw uncertainty spreading through the crowd.
People glanced toward one another.
Some frowned.
Some whispered.
One old warrior slowly lowered his weapon.
Another servant covered her mouth.
Maybe...
Maybe truth really did matter.
Then—
"My Alpha."
A trembling voice broke the silence.
A young servant stepped forward.
I recognized her instantly.
The girl who was trembling beside me that night.
Her head remained lowered.
Her hands shook.
"I witnessed everything."
Hope flared inside my chest.
Thank you.
Finally...
Someone—
"I heard Aria earlier that evening."
She swallowed.
"She said...she would make the Luna regret humiliating her."
My smile disappeared.
No...
The servant continued without looking at me.
"I thought she was only angry. I never imagined she would truly attack the Alpha."
The silence returned.
This time, it was heavier.
The old warrior slowly raised his weapon again.
The servant who had covered her mouth lowered her hand.
One by one...
Faces hardened.
Not one person looked at me anymore.
They looked through me.
Like I had already become a corpse.
I stared at the girl.
"You..." My voice cracked. "You know that's not true."
Her shoulders trembled.
But she never looked up.
"I'm sorry." Barely a whisper.
Yet somehow, It hurt more than the whip.
I searched the crowd desperately.
Maria.
Pierce.
Anyone.
Please.
Someone.
Believe me.
Maria shook her head desperately through her tears.
But she couldn't speak.
Not against the Alpha.
Not against the Luna.
Not if she wanted to live.
I understood.
That...
Somehow...
Made it worse.
Finally...
I looked at Alpha Aramic.
He had remained silent through everything.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Our eyes met.
For a heartbeat...
Neither of us moved.
His fingers tapped once against the armrest.
Slow.
Deliberate.
His gaze lingered on me.
Unreadable.
Then, he looked away.
"As punishment,” his voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Fifty more lashes."
The courtyard froze.
My heartbeat stopped.
"And when she's received every one of them..."
He paused.
"Throw her beyond the eastern border."
A servant gasped.
The Alpha continued.
"If she lives..."
His eyes settled on me one final time.
"...she is banished, but if she dies..."
He shrugged almost imperceptibly.
"...leave her for the rogues."
He rose.
The discussion was over.
So was my life.
The executioner stepped forward.
He slowly unwound the whip from his arm.
Leather scraped against leather.
The sound alone made my stomach twist.
He looked at me.
Almost apologetically.
"I'm sorry."
CRACK!
Fire ripped across my back.
I screamed.
The sound escaped before I could stop it.
My knees buckled.
The second lash came before I caught my breath.
CRACK!
Blood sprayed onto the stones.
My hands clawed helplessly at the ground.
The third stole the strength from my arms.
The fourth...
My vision blurred.
The fifth...
The world tilted.
Someone was crying.
Was that...
Maria?
Another c***k.
Another scream.
Another.
Another.
Time dissolved into pain.
Then...
Through the haze...
I saw him.
Pierce.
His tiny fists pounded uselessly against the guards holding him back.
"No!"
His voice broke.
"Please stop!"
Maria wrapped both arms around him as tears streamed down her face.
I wanted to tell him...
Don't watch.
Please don't remember me like this.
I tried to smile.
Instead...
Blood spilled from the corner of my mouth.
The world faded.
The voices grew farther away.
The last thing I saw...
Was Pierce reaching for me.
Then darkness swallowed everything.
- Writer
