Liora Ashwin POV
I wasn't given time to brace myself, to prepare for the pain, as guards stepped forward, chains chattering in their hands as they attached them to my wrists and legs like ceremonial beads. Not even one person objected. I watched familiar faces, mothers I had greeted, fathers I ran errands for, and girls I once played with, turn their faces away, tongues frozen within their mouths.
Two guards dragged me to the center of the hall, their grips tight and painful, but I swallowed every cry. This was nothing compared to what was to come.
I was forced to kneel, and without delay Alpha Eric announced, "Begin."
His voice cut through the hall, and the first whip sliced into my skin like a knife.
"Ahh!" I cried, unable to hold back the pain.
"Ryan, please… Liora has a weak wolf. She will die," Selene cried, tugging into Ryan's arms pitifully.
But her charade irked me. It scratched at an uncomfortable itch beneath my skin. Unable to stand it anymore, I turned to her, my gaze cold.
"I don't need your charity. Weak wolf or not, this punishment I will take."
"No… this will kill you," she begged.
But I knew Selene better.
She wanted my lifeless body.
"Then let me die. At least you will get to have him all to yourself."
A harsh glint flashed in Selene's eyes despite her tears.
"Selene, you care too much. She deserves this," Ryan whispered, tugging her closer.
I didn't breathe when the second strike came. Then the third, as the guards counted.
The pack watched, some with hatred, some with satisfaction, some with curiosity, but none with mercy. There was no hope.
By the time they counted twenty, my body jolted violently. Warm liquid spread across my back, my legs trembling as I gasped for air. I choked on my sobs, but nothing stopped them. They continued relentlessly.
"Thirty-five," the guard called.
By then, my wolf was barely hanging on. She was weak, folding and fading, and so was I.
"Please," I begged. My voice was no more than a whisper.
Nothing changed.
I struggled to look at Ryan, but he spared me no glance. One hand rested around Selene's shoulder, the other on her invisible baby bump.
Five years… what a joke.
"Thirty-nine," the guard announced, and the whip tore through me again.
My vision blurred. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I bit down on my bottom lip, blood spilling out.
Then the last strike hit.
My body trembled, and suddenly my stomach twisted. A sharp pain ripped through me. My legs buckled, my head growing heavy… too heavy.
"Enough," Alpha Eric said.
The whip halted midair.
My body collapsed onto the cold marble floor with a dull thud. I was bleeding, raw, and sore, the thin fabric clinging to my skin, soaked with blood.
"Drag her to the borders, and from this moment, let this serve as a lesson to all," Alpha Eric announced.
Two guards stepped forward, lifting me as if I weighed nothing.
I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't move. But I forced my eyes open to watch my parents as they let me be dragged away like a nobody.
Selene's victorious smile was hidden beneath soft sobs as she cried into the arms of the man I once called mine.
I barely felt myself being dragged away. The pack faded from view, then my family, and then the trees came into sight. Slowly, all that remained were shadows.
The cold air stung my open wounds, making my teeth grit painfully.
When we reached the boundary,
"This is it," one guard muttered, shoving me forward.
I hit the rough earth hard.
"If you don't survive, it won't be our problem, just your misfortune," he sneered.
Then they walked away.
The vast land stretched before me. Howls echoed in the distance. My body shivered from pain and fear, but one thing was certain: I had to survive.
I struggled to move, but a sharp pain ripped through my lower abdomen. My vision blurred as my fingers dug into the earth. I gasped for breath, my wolf whining in pain.
No one came.
Help was nowhere.
The wind blew wildly, leaves rustling around me. I gritted my teeth, biting down on the pain, but something else felt wrong.
Warm liquid trailed down my legs.
My breath caught.
The pain shot sharper than before. My body trembled uncontrollably as I twisted on the ground, too pained to scream for help.
Minutes ticked by, fear swallowing me whole.
Was this my end?
A bitter laugh choked out.
Just as darkness threatened to swallow me, I smelled it.
A strange scent, yet awfully familiar. A mixture of moist earth and mint.
Then a branch snapped.
My throat went dry.
"Please…" I whispered hoarsely into the empty forest, desperately wishing help was near. "Please, Goddess, let this not be my end."
The pale moon shimmered above me like a watchful guardian.
Time seemed to freeze.
The footsteps grew louder and steadier.
I was losing consciousness fast, but when I tilted my head, I saw him.
Between the trees stood a tall figure cloaked in the night. Moonlight stretched his shadow long, his pale, wolf-like eyes piercing through me as if reading my thoughts. A few silver strands slipped free from beneath his cloak.
He stood still, as though contemplating whether to help me or not.
I prayed he would step forward.
But then he turned away.
"Please…" I forced the word out, clinging desperately to my last will to live.
His steps halted.
He didn't turn immediately.
"Why?" he asked.
One word.
I had no answer.
I was nothing special. A weakling. A burden.
But I still wanted to live.
"I… I will do anything," I stammered, the words sounding distant even to me.
I waited.
Just before darkness swept me away, he stepped closer and lifted me as if I weighed nothing.
"I collect every debt," his voice dripped like silk.
And then darkness swallowed me.