Punished By Cruel Fate.

THALIA

My eyes were all puffy and swollen, I'd cried for hours until the point I had no tears left to shed. I sat hopelessly on the ground at the corner of the dungeon cell I was thrown into.

Images of Lena smirking before the door had closed still reflected in my head and the question baffling me which I had no answers to was…

Why?

Why does a part of me feel like she had this all planned out?

She had set me up…

I sniffed, awaiting my cruel fate. What had I done to deserve this from the hands of the people I called my own and sister?

Why would Lena accuse me of a bracelet that I had nothing to do with? I know I had made a huge mistake in the past, never for once, had I stopped blaming myself for what had happened.

It was my fault for taking her to the forbidden forest when she had begged me to, but lying to the whole pack I had tried to kill and leaving her alone in the forest is what I don't know.

What exactly had happened that day?

It's such a pity that the only thing I could remember was being unconscious and found by the pack's rescue team before Father and Mother emerged with a worried look on their faces asking about her.

The sound of jingling keys snapped me out of my thoughts and I stared at the guard who was unlocking the cell gate.

It's time.

Time to face my punishment, my eyes welled up with tears again and the guard walked up to me, roughly grabbing my arm as he pulled me up.

I was too weak to talk— too weak to fight.

My heart raced, knowing what I was about to face. I was going to be stripped naked and flogged in the presence of the whole pack members.

But that's not what hurts the most, what hurts me is Father turning his face away and Mother saying she has nothing to do with me.

My feet scuffed and tottered as the guard led me out to the punishment ground, everyone had gathered, and all eyes were on me as I was led to the podium, the executioner with large biceps and muscles with no shirt on revealed his perfectly sculpted abs with a chain in his hand and my throat went dry and sour.

The crowds parted a way for me, their eyes gleaming with scorn, pity, and disdain.

"She deserves it, does she know how much a diamond bracelet costs, and she had the guts to steal it?" someone from the crowd said.

"She deserves death!"

"I heard she's been trying to hurt her younger sister again, she's so cruel and jealous," another scoffed.

"I always knew she was pathetic!"

"Such a loser!"

They all had one thing to say, to throw against me. I lowered my head dejectedly. It would have been better off if I were being sentenced to death, it's not like any one of them cared… they never did.

I was made to kneel on getting to the podium, and my hands were cuffed to the pillars in front of me to stop me from thrashing around.

I looked up, and my eyes fell on Father and Mother, they were seated with the Alpha, watching from where they were with hooded eyes.

Of course! They would be present to witness the punishment carried out on the daughter they'd despised so much.

I shifted my gaze to the right, and they fell on the quadruplets, Ryder was grinning when our eyes met and Sage, he had a blank expression like he didn't give a damn. I glanced at Mael and Derek, and they had the same cold, steely expression on their faces.

My eyes searched for Lena among the crowds, and I saw her walking up to where the Quadruplets were standing. She turned to look at me and her face glinted mischievously.

They were present and gathered like it were a movie show they were about to watch.

The prison head guard walked up to the podium and blew a whistle, and the whole crowd became eerily quiet. My heart was thumping fast that I could hear the beats loudly in my ears, and my feet were shivering from the cold that had arrested them.

"Thalia Starblade, the eldest daughter of Beta Cormac Starblade has committed a great atrocity in the pack. She is charged with the crime of stealing the diamond bracelet bestowed upon her sister and will be receiving fifty lashes of the stainless chain without being stripped naked on pleading behalf of the future Luna, Lena Starblade," he announced and I gasped.

The crowd began to murmur again.

I won't be stripped of my dress? And did he say Lena had pleaded on my behalf?

Was that supposed to make me feel better or what?

"That witch doesn't deserve her mercy!"

"Strip her naked!"

"Slut!"

"Witch!"

The crowds roared angrily, and I lowered my face staring at my trembling, shaky hands and I laughed— an agonizing, bitter laugh erupted from my lips.

That moon-forsaken manipulative bitch!

I whimpered softly as tears began falling freely from my face. It was useless. How was I going to defend myself from people who hated my existence more than their own shadows?

The burly executioner stepped closer to me, his eyes were soulless like the darkness in his heart and when he raised his hand with the chain, I shut my eyes, sucking in my breath.

A thrilling scream left my mouth when the first strike of the stainless chain hit my back, and it stung and burned my skin despite my clothes on. The second strike came again, and another loud cry erupted from my lips out of will and the crowds cheered on.

I cursed all of them, I curse the day I was born into this pack, I curse my parents too for not believing a word I say, and neglecting me when I needed them the most.

The third, fourth, fifth, down to the tenth strike came landing brutally on my back and I slumped to the ground, but the cuffs holding my wrist aggressively kept me in place.

My body weakened, as I coughed out blood. The distant noises from crowds started echoing in my ears, and my vision started to get impaired and blurry.

The strikes still kept coming down harshly, the executioner enjoying the sole purpose of his job, I lost my voice unable to scream again and with the next strike, I blacked out.