We reached her cell. Joseph opened the door. As I walked inside, I saw her jump to her feet quickly and clutch a silver knife identical to the ones she threw at me in the forest. She was shakily holding it in both hands and aiming its end at her own heart.
Ella’s POV
As soon as Joseph left, I collapsed on the floor of the cell. My body was beyond exhausted. I laid on my stomach for god knows how long. My head was blank. I tried not to think of anything. Nothing I would think about mattered anymore. I am going to die this morning. Maybe there is something much better on the other side. Maybe I’ll finally get to see my mom. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.
I drifted for a while until my back felt like it was on fire that I had to do something to ease the pain. I slowly got up. I had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been an hour or three. I went to the toilet, removed the tank lid and tried to clean my hands, neck, and face from the dried up mud. I think I got most of it by the time I was finished. I don’t know why, but the thought of dying filthy and smelly in public wasn’t something I wanted. My clothes however were a lost cause. Suddenly, I remembered that I put on two long sleeved shirts. I removed the top one, which was the muddy one. The one under it was clean thankfully. Well, only the jeans was muddy now, and that was fine by me. The cuts on my back were burning me. There was nothing I could do about them. I sighed, soon it won’t matter. I’ll be dead. I won’t feel anything anymore. I sat on the ground against the wall opposite my cell door, when I felt something in my left back pocket. I pulled it out and saw the last silver knife I kept hidden. I couldn’t help but feel like there was something I was supposed to do with this knife.
I figured it out instantly. Alpha Klaus was going to kill me in public, but how? Burn me to death? Whip me to death? Cut off my head? If he wasn’t going to kill me he would probably make people remember me whenever they lay eyes on me. Like cutting off my hands, or burning them beyond healing. Point is, he was going to make me suffer severely. But no, I won’t give him that satisfaction. As soon as the guards come to take me, I will put this knife in my heart. It won’t be painless but it will be instant. A lot of pain for maybe less than a minute, then nothing. Or maybe I should do it now. What if I didn’t have time when they came? I took a deep breath and held the knife, the tip was facing where my heart is supposed to be. I stayed like this for a couple of minutes. Do I have the guts to do it to myself? It was either that or at the hands of the alpha, which will probably be more painful. I closed my eyes and prayed to find my mother on the other side. I was about to stab myself when I heard the door unlock. Damn it, I need to do it now. I got up fast and positioned the knife, as I looked up at my visitors. I froze in place. I was expecting guards but instead I was staring at two very shocked alpha and beta. Why the hell was alpha Klaus here?
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” said alpha Klaus angrily
I hesitated between wasting time on conversation or shoving the knife in my heart right now. But I needed to know something first.
“What is my punishment alpha?” I asked him quietly
“I asked you a question first, answer it and I will tell you what your punishment is” he ordered
“Well, I figured whatever your punishment is, it sure as hell not gonna be less painful than this. If I am going to die, I’d like it to be pain free. So, what is my punishment alpha?” I asked him, as I clutched the knife tighter with both hands and prepared myself.
His eyes were shining in anger and fear. He raised his hands slowly and spoke calmly this time “Calm down, I wasn’t planning on killing you, you have my word”
His word meant nothing to me, but I didn’t tell him that.
“Then I guess you are going to cut off my hands or something in that area, I think I’ll pass” I said
He closed his eyes briefly then said “your punishment is public whipping, 20 lashes”
“You’re lying” I said instantly without filtering my words. Which caused him to seethe in anger “What did you just say to me?” he asked in a deadly voice.
I ignored his anger and said “There is no way in hell you are letting me of the hook that easily. I broke your rules and ran away, then I tried to kill you! You are just saying that so I don’t kill myself here” I was done listening to this crap. He was lying to make sure I get executed in public and I wasn’t going to fall for that trap.
I lifted the knife a little and was about to stab myself, when alpha Klaus was in front of me in an instant, stopping my hands from reaching the target. He held my hands and twisted them so painfully I cried out in pain, as he snatched the knife from my hands. He kept his hand on my twisted ones, just a little twist and I was sure something was going to break within me. He tugged me a little closer to him, we were inches apart from each other.
“First of all, I don’t need to lie to get you to do whatever I want. Second, I was showing you some mercy, which you clearly don’t deserve as you need to be taught a lesson about speaking to your alpha respectfully. Third, I will forgive your little idiotic move and keep your punishment as it is. But next time you do anything to piss me off again, I won’t be as merciful” he said this in a cold yet angry voice, I involuntarily shuddered at his threat.
Het let go of my hands and backed off a little. I saw him hide the knife inside his pocket. “Joseph will come take you in a little while. After I finish the submission ceremony, you will be punished, and after that you will have to submit yourself to me as your new alpha, understood?” he asked firmly
“Yes… alpha” I said in a low voice. I was about to say yes only, then I remembered a bite of a whip that alpha Grey always hit me with whenever I forgot to address him as alpha.
He was about to turn around and leave when my curiosity got the best of me “Why did you come here yourself alpha? You could’ve sent someone to take me right to the ceremony” I asked and secretly prayed that I didn’t piss him off again.
“Yes right, your little suicide move almost made me forget why I came down here. I wanted to ask you a question, and I need you to answer it truthfully, otherwise we will be having a problem with each other. And trust me when I tell you, I’ll know if you’re telling the truth or not” he said threateningly
I’m getting a little angry with his unending threats. Typical alpha, always trying to scare people into submission. I said nothing and waited for his question.
“Why were you running away from the pack Ella?” he asked curiously.
I am sure as hell not gonna tell him about what the ex alpha and beta did to me, that’s for sure. And I can’t exactly tell him I was afraid he was going to treat me the same way. So I opted for half the truth.
“I ran away because I don’t want to be a servant my whole life. That’s not who I am. But alpha Grey never allowed any half blood to be something else. I was forbidden from learning in the school after I turned 10. I wasn’t allowed to participate in training like the other kids my age. Half bloods were always mistreated and our rights have always been fortified by alpha Gray. We were nothing to him, just because of our blood. I couldn’t take it anymore. So, when he died, I took my chances and tried to leave” I had a lot more to say regarding our rights, but I didn’t want to anger him.
He was staring at me in wonder and shock. He recovered in a minute then said “Well, had you stuck a while and maybe had a little faith that the new alpha would be different, all of this could’ve been avoided. Let me tell you this, I am nothing like your old alpha. I treat people all the same, pure bloods and half bloods. In my pack, everyone gets educated and trained. Everyone gets to make their own choices regarding their future and who they wanted to be. Your pack will follow the same rules, I will make sure of that. But if that wasn’t the only reason you ran away, if there is something else you are hiding, then you need to tell me right now. Because if you try to run away again, I will be forced to take a more severe action”
I thought about what he said about his pack. Could it be true? Does he really treat us the same as pure bloods? If it’s true, I can become whatever I wanted to be. I answered him “There is no other reason, alpha”
“Good, I have a submission ceremony to get to” he turned around and left, followed by his beta, whom I actually forgot was here. He was just watching our conversation without saying a word.
Ella’s POV
I sighed. 20 lashes is a piece of cake. I’ve had much worse than that. Well, considering my back had 20 open cuts across it and a dozen other whip marks, it wasn’t really a piece of cake. I was grateful actually that it was only 20. Any more lashes, and I would probably pass out.
After 15 minutes, beta Joseph opened the door for me. He was holding a white shirt that he handed to me.
“You’ll need to change into this shirt” he said almost sadly. “I’ll be waiting outside to take you when you finish” he closed the door without locking it, and gave me his back.
I took a look at the shirt. It was super light and almost see through. Realization hit me, I had to wear it because I can’t be naked in public. And the point of punishment was to make it hurt, so I can’t exactly be whipped in the thick shirt I was wearing.
I took off my old shirt and put on the white one. I was practically wearing nothing, which was the point. I opened the door and let Joseph take me to the back door of the auditorium, where I was supposed to enter straight into the high stage. The door was half open, Joseph was standing next to me and waiting for the alpha to signal our entrance.
I was fidgeting a little. Being whipped in public was a little different than being whipped in the privacy of a bedroom. Joseph was looking down at me “I’m really sorry you have to go through this Ella. I tried to reason with the alpha, but he was determined after word got out that you tried to kill him” he said sincerely. I have no idea why he was acting this way. Was it because of the whole equality thing they had in their pack? I didn’t want to linger on it. I said nothing to him.
I saw the last member perform the submission ritual and go back to his seat. Alpha Klaus turned to face the audience. “From this moment, this pack is called the Crescent Moon pack, welcome to our pack new members” a round of applause erupted from the room.
After that, alpha Klaus continued “I have three topics to discuss with you today. First of all, half bloods. The Crescent Moon pack treats all of its members equally, regardless of their blood origins. Half bloods are the same as pure bloods we do not discriminate between them. I know alpha Grey had a completely different perspective. However, you are part of my pack now and I will not be tolerant with anyone who treats them poorly. From this moment on, any half blood who wants to continue their education or participate in training is more than encouraged to. If you are unhappy with your current job, you can apply for another one and the beta in charge here will review it. Which brings me to my second point, I will be appointing my beta Marcel in charge when I am not here. Anything you want, or questions you have, you may talk to Marcel about it”
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