CHAPTER 6: THE ALPHA'S JUDGEMENT
1474 Words
“Continue the interrogation.”
Beta Thaddeus Reeve spoke without hesitation.
His voice remained calm, but his eyes avoided looking directly at the omega tied to the chair.
The guards obeyed immediately.
Another whip struck across Kaia’s back.
Her body jerked violently from the pain.
A broken scream escaped her lips.
Blood stained the back of her torn dress while bruises spread across her pale skin like dark flowers blooming slowly. Her wrists were already raw from the chains binding her tightly to the chair.
But despite everything...
She still refused to confess.
Because there was nothing to confess.
Kaia gritted her teeth painfully.
Her breathing came out uneven while tears mixed with sweat on her face.
Every strike felt like fire tearing through her body.
Still, one thought remained firm inside her mind.
I am not a spy.
No matter how many times they beat her.
No matter how much pain they caused her.
The truth remained the same.
Another whip landed.
Kaia cried out again before coughing weakly.
Her vision blurred badly now.
The room spun around her.
Yet somehow, she still forced herself to speak.
“I... I’m not a spy,” she whispered weakly. “I’m not your enemy.”
The guards ignored her completely.
One of them grabbed her hair roughly, forcing her head upward.
“Confess already,” the guard growled angrily.
Kaia laughed weakly despite the pain.
Honestly, the sound barely resembled a laugh anymore.
“You people are very dramatic,” she muttered painfully. “How many times do I need to say I’m just miserable, not dangerous?”
The guard slapped her immediately.
Her head snapped sideways.
Blood touched the corner of her lips.
Still...
She smiled bitterly.
Even half dead, her mouth refused to behave.
Minutes passed slowly.
Pain became endless.
Then finally, one of the guards stepped back and looked toward Beta Thaddeus again.
“I’ve done what you ordered, Beta Thaddeus, but she still doesn’t want to confess,” the guard reported.
Kaia’s body trembled weakly against the chair.
She was close to collapsing now.
Too close.
Her entire body felt numb.
Every breath hurt.
Even staying awake felt impossible.
But through the pain, she forced herself to speak again.
“I... I’m not a spy,” she whispered shakily. “I’m not your enemy.”
Her head dropped weakly before she forced it back up again.
“I’m just a banished omega from the Obsidian Fang. I’m... I’m... just... a... banished lone wolf...”
Her voice faded near the end.
Silence filled the room.
But Beta Thaddeus never paid even the slightest attention to her words.
Maybe because listening would make this harder.
Maybe because following orders was easier than questioning them.
“Well then,” he said coldly. “Follow what the Alpha said. Send her to the patrol wolves’ tent and make her an example to the Obsidian Fang.”
His expression remained serious.
“Kill her.”
Kaia slowly closed her eyes.
So this was it.
After everything she survived...
This was how it ended.
Not by magical beasts.
Not by hunters.
Not even by Alpha Damon.
But by strangers who refused to believe her.
Honestly?
What a disappointing ending.
The guards untied her roughly before dragging her out of the room.
Kaia barely managed to walk.
Her legs shook violently beneath her weak body while blood continued staining the floor beneath her feet. But somehow...
She remained standing.
Barely.
The moment they dragged her outside, the entire Saberclaw Pack saw her.
Villagers stopped whatever they were doing immediately.
Workers.
Servants.
Warriors.
Everyone stared.
A bloody omega walking toward death.
Kaia felt their eyes burn against her skin.
Whispers spread quickly through the crowd.
Then suddenly...
“You traitor!”
One villager shouted angrily.
“You traitor from the Obsidian Fang Pack!”
Another joined.
“Get out of this territory!”
“You deserve to die!”
Then mud suddenly hit Kaia directly in the face.
The impact made her stumble slightly.
More voices followed.
More insults.
Even the lowest members of the pack cursed her openly now.
Kaia remained silent.
Mud dripped slowly down her cheek while her body trembled weakly.
Then slowly...
She closed her eyes.
“I may die now,” she whispered quietly to herself, “but who cares anyway?”
Her lips trembled slightly.
“No one even listens to me now.”
For a moment, the screaming crowd around her became distant.
Her wolf inside her felt weak.
Broken.
Lonely.
Kaia grasped a weak breath before speaking again.
This time so softly even her own wolf barely heard it.
“If I get through this,” she whispered painfully, “I swear I’ll expose Alpha Damon and the Obsidian Fang Pack.”
Her fingers tightened weakly.
“I’ll swear to make everyone believe that I’m not a traitor... and I’m not a... a... spy.”
Then suddenly...
Everything went black.
Her body collapsed onto the ground lifelessly.
The villagers fell silent for a second.
The guards immediately stepped back.
Even Beta Thaddeus frowned slightly.
For a moment, Kaia looked less like a criminal...
And more like someone completely destroyed by the world.
Then,
Soft warmth touched her skin.
That was the first thing Kaia noticed when she slowly woke up.
Warmth.
Not chains.
Not cold stone floors.
Warmth.
Her brows slowly furrowed.
Confused, she blinked weakly several times before opening her eyes fully.
A ceiling greeted her.
Clean.
Wooden.
Beautiful.
Kaia froze.
What?
Slowly, she sat up.
Pain instantly spread through her body, making her hiss quietly.
“Ow,” she muttered weakly. “Still alive. Unfortunate.”
Her surroundings looked unfamiliar.
The bed beneath her was soft and clean. Candles burned gently around the room while warm blankets covered her body carefully.
Even stranger...
Her wounds were treated.
Bandages wrapped around her body properly. The bleeding stopped, though painful marks still remained against her skin.
Kaia stared at herself in complete confusion.
“What kind of emotional plot twist is this?”
Then suddenly...
The door opened.
Kaia immediately looked up.
And froze.
Alpha Theron Hellcourt entered the room.
Tall.
Cold.
Terrifying as always.
His sharp eyes landed directly on her.
“You’re awake,” he said calmly.
Kaia instinctively moved backward slightly on the bed.
“Unfortunately for both of us,” she muttered weakly.
Theron ignored the comment completely.
“I don’t want you dead,” he continued while walking closer toward her slowly. “No. That would be too easy for someone like you.”
Kaia frowned slightly.
What was that supposed to mean?
Theron stopped beside the bed.
“I want you to atone.”
His gaze remained fixed on her face.
Kaia’s heartbeat strangely quickened.
Not because she liked him.
Absolutely not.
Mostly because he looked capable of murder at any second.
“I don’t know why,” Theron admitted coldly, “but there’s something in me that wants to see whether you’re guilty or not.”
Their faces moved dangerously close now.
Eyes locked together.
The atmosphere suddenly felt strange.
Heavy.
Unfamiliar.
Kaia swallowed slowly.
Why was he looking at her like that?
Then suddenly, Theron stepped back.
The strange tension disappeared immediately.
“I called the best healer to treat your wounds,” he said calmly. “But don’t mistake this for mercy.”
Kaia rolled her eyes weakly.
“Trust me, Alpha. Mercy usually doesn’t involve public torture.”
Theron ignored the sarcasm again.
He slowly circled around the room while speaking.
“If you want to live, you only have two options.”
Kaia stayed silent.
“Serve the Saberclaw Pack as a maid,” he continued. “Do all the dirtiest work. The hard labor.”
His eyes slowly returned toward her.
“Or else...”
The dangerous pause made her chest tighten.
“You’ll be sent to the borders and made an example to your own pack.”
Kaia froze slightly.
Her thoughts immediately raced.
Doesn’t he know?
The Obsidian Fang Pack was already in chaos after the hunter attack.
Sending her there would basically mean death.
Was this another trap?
Another punishment?
Theron looked at her coldly.
“Now make a choice.”
Kaia remained frozen on the bed.
Silence filled the room heavily.
Then Theron spoke again.
“If you want to serve, follow the maid that enters this room after I leave.”
His voice lowered dangerously.
“But if you want to run, the guards will take you to the borders and let the beasts feast on your flesh.”
Kaia swallowed hard.
Both choices sounded horrible.
But one at least gave her a chance to survive.
Even if survival meant becoming a servant again.
Honestly?
Typical Kaia Frost luck.
Finally, after several painful seconds, she lowered her head slightly.
“I... I’ll serve.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD