Chapter 6
1011 Words
Brail’s POV
The sound of the slap echoed through the Great Hall like a gunshot. I watched, stunned, as the girl crumbled to the floor, her hair curtaining her face.
"You clumsy b***h!" My mother screamed. She loomed over the trembling girl like a vulture. "You reek! You smell of filth and poverty! How dare you stand so close to royalty with that stench?"
The girl didn’t fight back; she didn’t even cry out. She just lay there, small and broken against the cold stone.
"Guards!" Father’s voice boomed from the head table. He didn’t look angry; he looked bored. "Get this trash out of here. Lock her in the cells."
"And summon Madam Lysca!" Mother shrieked, wiping her hand as if touching the girl had infected her.
The crowd parted as an older woman in a gray uniform, Madam Lysca, the head of the servants, hurried forward, trembling.
"My... my Lady," Lysca stammered.
"Is this your doing?" Mother pointed a manicured finger at the girl on the floor. "How could you send such a clumsy, stinking fool to serve the Prince? Is this how you run my household?"
"I... I apologize, Luna. We were short-staffed; she was the only one available..."
"Excuses!" Mother spat. "Guards, take the girl away!"
Two burly guards stepped forward, grabbing the girl by her arms to drag her out.
"Stop," I ordered, stepping forward to block the guards' path. "Let her go."
The guards hesitated, looking from me to Father. "Son!" Father said, leaning back in his throne, frowning at me. "You don't understand. She is a stray found on our borders."
"She is the stray we showed mercy to," the Beta chimed in, stepping up beside his Alpha. He looked at the girl with disgust. "We took her into our castle, gave her shelter, and look at the grievous sin she has committed. She has humiliated us in front of our guest."
"She should be executed!" Mother declared. "It is the only way to wash away the insult!"
A murmur of agreement rippled through the pack. "Yes, execution," they whispered. "Disrespectful." "Filthy."
I looked at the girl, she was on her knees now, sobbing quietly, her hands clasped in a plea she was too terrified to voice. I looked at Mother. How could a Luna, a mother to her pack, be so cold? So hardened? Even if the girl was a stray, she was a living being.
"Please!" Madam Lysca stepped forward, tears in her own eyes. She dropped to her knees beside the girl. "Please, Sire! She is just a child! Please spare her!"
"Silence!" Mother raised her hand to strike the older woman.
"I said STOP!" I roared.
The hall went dead silent. The Alpha’s council stared at me, their brows furrowed in confusion.
I ignored them and turned to my personal guard, who stood in the shadows. "Torian. Bring me a fresh tunic. Now."
Torian didn’t ask questions; he vanished and reappeared moments later with a crisp white shirt.
Right there, in the middle of the Great Hall, in front of the Alpha, the Luna, and hundreds of guests, I unbuckled my belt.
"Brail?" Mother gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
I pulled the wine-soaked tunic over my head and tossed it to the floor. A collective gasp swept through the room. Ladies stylishly covered their eyes with fans, though I saw them peeking through the slats.
"What is wrong with this boy?" one of the council members muttered.
"This is highly irregular," another grumbled.
Some of the guests, uncomfortable with the display, began to turn away. "Perhaps we should leave..."
"No one leaves," I commanded authoritatively as I pulled the fresh white shirt over my head and buttoned it.
I smoothed the fabric down; it looked crisp, spotless, and elegant.
I walked over to the girl. I didn’t drag her; I reached down and gently took her arm, pulling her up to stand beside me. She was shaking so hard I could feel the vibrations in her bones.
"Look at me," I addressed the room, gesturing to my chest. "I have changed the shirt. I look crisp, spotless, and elegant. Moreover, the stain is gone. The 'grievous sin' is erased."
I looked directly at Father, then at Mother.
"Why, then," I asked, "do we have to skewer her because of a silly mistake?"
"She was wrong!" the Beta argued.
"She was wrong, no doubt," I conceded. "But tell me this: how would you feel if it were your sister, your brother, or your family who made the mistake?"
I scanned the faces of the council members as they shifted uncomfortably.
"Would you order their execution?" I pressed. "No. You would laugh it off. You would say it was just wine."
I placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She flinched, but I held firm.
"She might be a stray, but she dwells in your pack and works in your castle. She is one of you, one of us."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, slowly, a young wolf at the back started to clap. Then another, soon the servants joined in, and then the guests. The sound swelled into applause.
Everyone clapped, everyone, except the Royal Council and Mother. Mother looked like she had swallowed a lemon; her face was purple with suppressed rage.
An older Alpha from a neighboring territory walked up to me. He clasped my shoulder, shaking me warmly.
"You make a perfect Alpha, dear boy," he said, nodding in approval. "Mercy is a strength, not a weakness."
I smiled politely at him, but my attention was already shifting.
Across the hall, Madam Lysca had grabbed the girl’s arm. She was dragging her toward the servant’s exit, likely to get her out of Mother’s sight before the mood changed again.
“Poor thing,” I thought, the wolf inside me whining softly as she disappeared through the door.
I had saved her life tonight. But looking at the hatred in Mother’s eyes, I had a feeling I had just put a target on her back.
- Writer
