6
895 Words
SORA
I lay there, shaking, weak, alone, and broken.
The cold ground pressed into my cheek. My blood soaked into the dirt beneath me. My breath came in short, sharp pulls, like each inhale was fighting to stay inside my chest. The world felt far away, like I was sinking underwater while everyone else remained above the surface.
Lucien stood tall in front of the pack. His voice cut through the night like a blade.
“According to pack law,” he said, his tone cold and firm, “the Luna will be flogged fifty times for betraying her Alpha and her pack.”
There was no sadness in his voice. No grief. No hesitation.
Only power.
Only control.
Only the man who wanted me gone.
A murmur ran through the crowd. The pack,my pack,looked at me with anger, confusion, fear. Some had tears in their eyes. Some looked away. Some looked relieved.
All of them believed him.
Lucien lifted his hand. “Bring the rope.”
And just like that, the night turned darker.
The guards seized me again, yanking me up though my legs barely held me. Pain shot up my spine. My vision blurred. I felt every wound from the rejection, every bruise, every burning ache.
“Please,” I whispered. My voice cracked. It felt like it was coming from somewhere far inside me, some place that was giving its last push. “Lucien… don’t do this.”
He didn’t look at me. Not once.
He picked up the whipping rope himself.
The pack gasped.
An Alpha flogging his own mate?
It was unheard of.
But Lucien wanted everyone to see this. He wanted every pair of eyes to watch my downfall. He wanted Cecily to smile. He wanted power.
I felt it.
I tasted it in the air.
He lifted the rope.
And then the first strike came.
Pain exploded across my back.
Sharp.
Hot.
Bright.
I screamed, but the sound barely left my throat. My body shook. My nails dug into the dirt. My head hung forward as I gasped for breath.
Strike 2.
Strike 3.
Strike 4.
Each one felt multiplied. My wolf, Akira, was gone,silent, weak, blocked by the poison Lucien shoved into my mouth. Without her, I had no strength, no healing, no shield.
My back tore open.
My blood poured out.
My vision dimmed around the edges.
I heard someone in the crowd whisper, “Please… stop. She will die.”
Lucien heard it too.
But he did not stop.
He hit harder.
Strike 10.
Strike 15.
Strike 20.
My body jerked with every impact. My skin tore again and again. My breath came in broken pieces. Tears ran down my face without permission.
The pain was not just physical. It was emotional. It was the pain of being betrayed by my mate. The pain of my pack turning on me. The pain of my pup growing weaker inside me.
I tried to speak. Tried to defend myself. Tried to tell the truth.
But every word came out soaked in pain.
“Lucien… please… stop…”
He looked at me.
And for one moment,one tiny, cruel moment,his lips lifted in a smile.
Then he brought the rope down again.
Strike 30.
Strike 35.
Strike 40.
My muscles gave out. I collapsed forward, but the guards pulled me back up so he could continue. My blood ran down my legs. My head pounded. My ears rang.
I felt something inside me fade.
My kidneys burned. My chest tightened. My pup kicked once,weakly,and then went still.
“No… no… no…” I cried inside my mind. “Akira… please… help me…”
But nothing came.
Only silence.
Strike 45.
Strike 47.
Strike 49.
By the time the last strike hit me, my vision was almost gone. The world tilted left and right. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. My heartbeat slowed.
I knew I was dying.
And maybe that was what Lucien wanted.
But then he stepped forward and spoke loud enough for the entire packground to hear.
“Luna Sora Raine Ashera of the Bloodmoon Pack,” he said, “for your betrayal against me, your Alpha, and your pack, you are hereby banished.”
The pack fell into stunned silence.
Banishment.
Flogging was punishment.
Rejection was cruelty.
But banishment?
Banishment was a death sentence.
Especially now.
Especially with the Black Forest waiting on the border with its rogues, monsters, and dark spirits that even warriors feared.
Weak.
Crushed.
Barely breathing.
Lucien’s voice rose again.
“Take her,” he ordered. “Drop her in the Black Forest. If the beating doesn’t kill her… the rogues will.”
I heard a few gasps. Some nodded. Some lowered their heads.
The guards dragged me across the ground. Dirt and stones dug into my open wounds. My blood left a trail behind me. My head rolled to the side, and I saw Cecily watching me with a smile carved across her face.
She blew me a kiss.
Lucien put an arm around her shoulders.
No one said a word to defend me.
No one stepped forward.
Not even the pack doctor.
For the first time since the night began, Lucien looked directly into my eyes.
There was no love there.
There never was.
Only victory.
Only satisfaction.
Only hate.
And then he turned his back on me.
- Writer
