Chapter 4
1226 Words
Elena’s POV
They dragged me across the training yard like a sack of rotten grain. The dirt scraped my knees. My arms burned where the ropes cut into my skin. All around me, people gathered with excited whispers. Of course they did. Nothing entertains the pack more than watching the omega bleed.
The central post stood tall in the middle of the yard, darkened by years of sun and rain and punishments just like this one. I had seen others tied to it before. I never imagined I would be the one bound there.
I should have known better.
The moment they tied my wrists above my head, stretching my arms until my shoulders ached, the whispers grew louder.
“Thief.”
“Shameless omega.”
“Her mother was the same. Stealing and causing trouble.”
My breath froze.
Mother.
Someone laughed loudly. “That is why her mother was executed. She stole from Luna as well. Like mother, like daughter.”
The words hit me harder than any whip ever could. My chest tightened painfully.
My mother was kind. Gentle. Warm. I remembered her humming while brushing my hair. I remembered her arms around me the night my father died. I remembered her smile. Soft and sad. She was not a thief. She was not.
And yet they said it so casually. Like it was fact. Like they had been waiting years to say it.
My jaw clenched and something inside me snapped.
“Go to hell,” I spat at the man who said it. My voice cracked, but the anger was real. Hot. Sharp. Furious.
The entire yard went silent for a moment.
Then someone laughed. “Look at her. Growing wings. No wonder she dared steal what belonged to the future Luna.”
Mira’s voice floated from behind the crowd. Soft. Sweet. Fake. “Please do not hurt her too much. She is still my friend.”
Liar. My glare found her instantly. She stood with all the popular girls, hands clasped like she cared, expression trembling with sadness. But I saw it. The smirk hiding at the corner of her lips.
This was entertainment to her.
This was victory.
My heart cracked a little more as I stared at her. Not the betrayal of the pack. I expected that. The betrayal of the one girl I loved like a sister. That one burned.
The punishment began.
One of the warriors stepped forward with a heavy rod. Not a whip. A rod. Solid. Thick. Designed to bruise bones.
He lifted it. Then struck my back with a loud crack.
Pain exploded through me. My knees buckled, but the ropes kept me upright. The world blurred for a moment.
Another hit.
Another.
Another.
People murmured.
“Hit harder.”
“Teach the omega her place.”
“She thinks she is special because Beta Elias let her speak.”
Someone else scoffed. “She is nothing.”
I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood. My head throbbed. My breaths came in broken gasps. My vision blurred around the edges.
But each time the rod slammed against my back, something inside me refused to break. It hurt. It hurt more than anything in my life. I could barely breathe. But I refused to scream. Not at first.
The fourth hit drove the sound out of me whether I wanted it or not.
A raw scream tore out of my throat.
The crowd did not even flinch. They enjoyed it. They fed on it.
Mira wiped a fake tear and leaned into one of her friends. “I cannot believe she did this to me. I trusted her.”
Another lie. Another knife.
My eyes burned as I glared at her. I wanted her to feel even one percent of the pain tearing through me. Just one percent.
“Again,” Elder Rowan ordered.
The rod slammed into my ribs. I gasped, choking on air that refused to enter my lungs.
Again.
Another blow. This one hit the same place as yesterday’s bruise. My body convulsed and blood filled my mouth.
I spat it onto the ground, trembling violently.
The crowd whispered excitedly.
“She vomited blood.”
“She deserves it.”
“This is what happens to thieves.”
I shook my head weakly. “I am not a thief.”
No one cared. No one listened.
The rod came down again. And again. And again. I lost count. My back felt on fire. My ribs screamed each time I tried to breathe. My throat was raw from trying to hold in screams.
Eventually my voice gave out completely. Only little broken sounds escaped me. My head hung forward. Sweat mixed with blood on my skin.
I was dying. I knew it. They knew it. They were really trying to kill me.
My vision dimmed at the edges. My body shivered uncontrollably. I could not even hold myself up anymore and the ropes cut deeper into my wrists as I sagged.
Somewhere in the haze, my eyes drifted across the yard.
Beta Elias stood near the training lines. Watching me. Not expressionless. Not angry. Something else entirely. Something I could not understand.
Why was he looking at me like that.
Save me. The words formed silently in my mind. Not out loud. I could not speak anymore. I begged him with whatever strength remained.
Please. Please. Someone. Anyone.
His jaw tightened. For a moment I thought he might step forward. For one small second, hope burned weakly inside me.
Then he turned and walked away.
Just like that. Gone.
Like I was not even worth watching die.
My heart dropped deeper than it ever had. I felt something inside myself break completely. Beyond repair.
If this continues I will die.
Maybe that was not the worst thing. Maybe if I die, this pain ends. Maybe my life finally stops hurting. Maybe the Moon Goddess will take pity on me.
But if I survive, I told myself through half fading consciousness, I will never stay in this pack again.
If I live, I will run. I will plan it. I will escape.
If I live.
The rod slammed into my side again and my body finally gave out. My legs folded and my consciousness slipped. I collapsed, hanging limply from the ropes. Blood dripped down my chin and onto the dirt. The world dimmed slowly.
Somewhere far away thunder rumbled.
Someone in the crowd scoffed. “Storm is coming.”
Another elder muttered, “The Alpha has not returned in years. Even if he was here, he would not care about an omega like her.”
People laughed. They actually laughed.
Lightning flashed faintly behind the clouds. The air shifted. Cold wind swept across the yard.
Then it happened.
A sound tore through the pack grounds so suddenly that everyone froze mid breath.
A howl.
Deep. Powerful. Ancient. Not like a warrior’s howl. Not like a patrol call.
This one shook the bones.
This one made the ground tremble softly.
This one made every wolf in the yard drop to their knees instinctively.
I barely heard it through my fading consciousness, but the vibrations ran through my entire chest.
Something was coming.
Something the pack was not ready for.
My head dropped forward and the world finally went black.
- Writer
