★The punishment★

~Chapter 4~

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"Tas!" The first lash came, hard, striking Isabella's spine. She suppressed a scream, the pain searing through her like a branding iron.

Her life had been full of neglect and abandonment. Everyone viewed her as a defective, scapegoat for their anger.

Someone to vent their anger upon before discarding her.

As an alpha child, she'd been the target of hate and jealousy. Growing up, everyone had fawned over her and her twin brother, the future alpha heirs.

But Isabella knew she'd never ascend to the alpha position – it was forbidden for a female to hold the title.

And she'd resigned herself to becoming a beta, supporting her brother as to when he led their pack.

Fate, however, had other plans. When they were just five, her brother died saving her, earning her the eternal scorn of their pack.

His death had changed everything. At seven, when shifters typically met their wolves, Isabella's never showed up.

The werewolf community's disdain for her only intensified when she failed to shift.

Many branded her "The cursed one," a disgrace to their kind.

"Tas, tas, tas..." The pain consumed her as the lashes continued, relentless in their brutality.

Isabella lost count, her back bleeding from the wounds, her loose gown barely clinging to her. Her vision blurred, the whipping was neverending, and she couldn't hold in the screams of pain.

"Ahhh!" Her voice was hoarse, screaming in so much anguish, she couldn't take it anymore.

She tried to act tough, didn't want to let the monsters get the satisfaction of seeing her break, but it was so damned hard.

All her life she had been broken, why she?

why me?

Tears of rage poured down her eyes while the whip fell upon her like rain.

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In the dense forest, a being ran with reckless abandon, driven by an unseen force.

The morning sun cast dappled shadows on the forest as the being burst through the brushes, barely visible to the naked eye.

"Ahhh!" The being slammed into a tree, its red eyes blazing with a pain that wasn't its own.

Its back felt like it was on fire, and its mind reeled with questions. Where was this pain coming from?

What was happening?

His back burned with an intense, fiery sensation, and his neck throbbed with a strange, primal energy.

Just like when he'd fed on that girl's blood.

He struggled to regain his footing, his thoughts becoming clearer. He remembered feeling uneasy, like something was pulling or controlling him to do whatever it said.

Different emotions had been swirling through his mind since the moment he fled that forest to find his people– arousal, anger, rage.

But now an overwhelming pain dominated his body and mind.

He'd been running aimlessly, he couldn't pinpoint where his people where.

Now, he felt an overwhelming urge to return to the place he'd fled. A scent drawing him, a smell of blood and pain.

With a sudden burst of speed, the being's eyes snapped back into focus. It turned, dashing back through the forest with incredible speed.

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The old seer's eyes widened in horror as she was pinned down by three burly warriors.

Her frail body trembled with fear, watching as Isabella endured the forty-firth lashes.

Isabella's back was completely drenched in blood, her backbone visible beneath her torn flesh to the onlookers.

The air was heavy with the stench of blood and sweat, and the old seer's stomach churned with nausea.

She was in a thin line between life and death, and the old seer prayed to the goddess of love to spare everyone's life.

Just as the next lash was about to strike, a deafening roar shook the pack lands, echoing beyond the square.

Next, the executor's head rolled on the floor, severed and detached from its body with a sickening crunch.

A loud scream pierced the air, shrill and terrified, as another head was pulled off with a wet, tearing sound.

The crowd erupted into chaos, panic-stricken voices rising above the chaos.

Something moved at incredible speed, invisible to the naked eye, leaving a trail of dead Lycans in its wake.

Kane, who had been quiet until now, let out a loud, anguished howl, like a wounded animal.

His pack members were being slaughtered like, like meats and he seethed with anger towards the perpetrator.

"Show yourself!" Kane's voice was hoarse with rage, shouting at the top of his voice.

Wind brushed past him, carrying the scent of damp earth and decay. "How dare you," The being hissed, sending shivers to those who heard him.

Kane's eyes widened as the smell of dead leaves wafted up, and he realized the being was a Nekro.

The Nekro vanished from sight, only to reappear and slash at Kane's neck with its extended claw.

The sound of tearing flesh made Kane's stomach turn, and his hand flew to the open wound on his neck.

He stumbled backwards, his vision blurring, as the Nekro's rage was unleashed upon his pack.

Sounds of snarls, screams, and snapping bones filled the square. His pack was perishing just like that old crazy woman had predicted.

Isabella's eyes drifted out of focus as her life slipped away, her body broken and battered.

A faint smirk spreading across her pale face; she was dying, but she had the satisfaction of watching her tormentors die too.

Kane's rage boiled over as he called out to his Lycan wolf, Cane.

There was no response. "Cane!" he growled mentally, panic setting in.

If Cane doesn't show up, they were doomed.

Half of their pack was already dead, and more were falling by the second.

The Nekro's voice was low and menacing as it snapped its next victim. "Lycans, have you gone weak?" It questioned, snapping the neck of one Lycan wolf and slammed another to the ground.

The Lycan whimpered, trying to stand on its paws, but the Nekro ended its life with a swift snap of its neck.

A surge of pain shot through the Nekro, and it turned its gaze towards the dying girl.

She was the reason he was here. The mark on her neck had drawn him to her, though it didn't understand how.

He had just bitten her, but how the hell did the girl now possess his mating mark? The Nekro had no time for this; it needed to find its people.

But now, it had to save this frail looking girl. It approached the ropes, and a howl resounded as a large brownish Lycan stepped into the Nekro's path, growling protectively.

"Move," the Nekro growled, its gray eyes shifting back to red before flashing black.

Transforming into a massive black Lycan wolf, twice the size of the Lycan king, Kane's Lycan form.