Read The Half Blood Luna by The Black Daisy
Chapter 14
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 p@ssout.
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 na*ked 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 K*ll 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 aud*ience. “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”
He stopped a little to take a breath. I saw the pack whisper to each other. Some were not happy about this change; pure bloods particularly, half-bloods looked excited. “The last thing I want to talk to you about is what most of you must have heard about this morning. One of the servants tried to run away and leave the pack at dawn, when she was confronted by someone, she tried to attack him and hit him with a knife. However, in the end she was captured and brought back to the pack house. After questioning the servant, she turned to be underage. The person she attacked was actually me, but she didn’t know who I was at the time. As you may know, such actions only lead to one punishment. Death” my heart skipped a beat. Oh my god, he played me!
I looked at Joseph in panic, but he was shaking his head at me in rea*s*surance.
“In light of this, despite her attempt to run away and trying to K*ll her alpha; although she didn’t know who I was, I am still willing to show her some leniency because of her young age. However, do not mistake this for weakness. Consider this as my first and final warning, if anyone steps out of line and breaks any of the pack rules from now on, I will not be so tolerant next time. As punishment for attempting to leave the pack without her alpha’s permission and, attacking a member, I punish her to be whipped 20 lashes” he turns around and gestures for Joseph to bring me to the stage. Joseph looks at me expectantly but doesn’t attempt to touch me. I walk on my own and reach the front of the stage.
Everyone was looking at me and whispering. I looked each one of them in the eye without being ashamed of who I was and what I was about to go through.
“Sit down on the ground Ella” alpha Klaus ordered behind me.
I knelt down on the ground and sat on my legs, swept my hair to the front to clear the path for him, bowed my head down, and put my hands on my knees.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself.
WHIP!
I gasped involuntarily as the first lash hit me exactly on one of my cuts. I was about to count out loud, but held myself as I remembered that I wasn’t asked to count.
WHIP!
I dug my nails inside my palms to keep from screaming. He wasn’t holding back at all.
WHIP!
I clenched my jaw so tight; it was all I could do to keep myself from screaming out in agony.
WHIP!
His hits were just as precise as alpha Grey’s. He was distributing the lashes everywhere not just on one area.
WHIP!
Each whip hit or came close to my open cuts, maximizing and doubling the pain I was supposed to feel.
WHIP!
My guess about the shirt I was wearing was true.
WHIP!
It was the same as being na*ked, it didn’t lessen the hits at all.
WHIP!
I closed my eyes, but the tears kept falling down my face anyway.
WHIP!
I don’t know how many lashes were left, but I was starting to feel dizzy from the pain.
WHIP!
Please god, don’t let me p@ssout before he was finished, or I will have a lot of explaining to do.
WHIP!
Please god don’t let me bleed through my shirt or I will also have to explain why only 20 lashes made my back bleed so fast.
WHIP!
The second I finished with my last prayer, I felt something trickle down my back.
WHIP!
Please god let it be sweat and not blood.
WHIP!
Please god do not make the alpha ask me to lift up my shirt to see the damage he did to my back.
WHIP!
If he asks me to do that, he will make me tell him how I got those cuts on my back.
WHIP!
And that was something I never wanted to speak about to any soul.
WHIP!
I hope someone is keeping up with the count because I certainly wasn’t, and I wasn’t in a position to receive more than 20.
WHIP!
I could feel my nails digging through my flesh as the pain on my back kept intensifying. My tears were falling down in streams now.
WHIP!
I don’t think I can take this anymore. I was on the verge of begging him to stop, as the lashes never seemed to end.
WHIP!
I heard the whip drop on the ground indicating that my punishment was over. I have no idea what sort of state the shirt was in. Did it have any blood on it? God, I hoped not.
“Stand up and turn around Ella” alpha Klaus ordered in a very tight voice.
It took me a second to feel my legs, as the only thing I was feeling right now was agony.
I shakily got up and turned around to face him. When he saw my face, I saw a flicker of pain cross his features. It was gone in a blink it must have been my imagination. I also heard multiple gasps from the pack when I turned to face the alpha. Ok, my back was definitely bleeding through my shirt. The question is, how much bleeding was there?
I saw him take the same knife I tried to K*ll myself with earlier and cut his palm to draw blood for the ritual. He let a few drops fall to the empty cup on the table to my right. Then, extended the knife for me to do the same thing he did. I took it, as my hands were shaking so badly from the pain I was trying so hard to hide, I did the same thing, the cut I made on my palm not even registering on my pain scale, and let my blood mix with his. I put the knife down on the table and lifted the cup. I cleared my throat and took a breath to steady my voice as I looked up into his eyes, which were a little concerned.
“I, Ella Forbes, submit myself fully to you alpha Klaus Morgan” my voice was surprisingly steady, thankfully. I swallowed the contents of the cup in a single shot and put it back on the table.
“You are dismissed” he said to his pack loudly.
Everyone left the auditorium at once. I was about to dismiss myself too, when alpha Klaus stood in my way. I looked up at him and saw deep anger itched into his face. Oh, god what did I do to him now?
“Are you o…” he cut himself off before finishing the question. I was silently praying that he wouldn’t ask me to lift my shirt up.
“I want you to go see a doctor at the pack’s hospital, Ella. You are bleeding through your shirt. I know it will heal, but until it does, it should probably be sanitized so you don’t get an infection or something” he said tightly barely controlling his temper.
I couldn’t quite understand his reaction. He wanted to punish me publicly to make his new pack see what will happen if someone breaks his rules, and yet he gets mad that I was bleeding because of him. I would have expected him to be delighted that the pack; after seeing me bleed from 20 lashes only, was clearly scared of getting on his bad side now. His message couldn’t be more expressed. What the hell was he mad about then?
I only manage to nod. He steps out of my way, and I try my best to walk out of that place quickly, as I feel his eyes looking at the back of my shirt. I hurry quickly to my room to grab clean clothes and a towel, then make my way to the bathrooms. It was empty of course because everyone else is working.
I slowly unb*ttoned the shirt and took a look at it. To my complete shock, it was almost completely covered in blood. I don’t think that’s what the alpha and the rest of the pack saw. I probably drenched it in blood when I knelt down in my room to get a clean pair of slippers. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to believe that twenty lashes would do such damage with only a typical flogger whip.
I discard the shirt and step into the shower. I turn the cold water on and sigh in relief as the fire on my back begins to diminish. I look down to see bloody water falling through the drain. I stay like this for about fifteen minutes, relishing in my short term, pain free, bliss. I wash my whole body from the left-over mud and blood, then wash my hair.
When I finish, I don’t have the heart to wrap a towel around me as it will sting my back. I get out of the shower na*ked and go to the tall mirror at the end of the bathroom. I turn around and gasp, my eyes tearing up at the sight of my back.
I didn’t know what it looked like before, but it looked so bad now. My open cuts were still bleeding a little, not to mention the various whip marks all over my back, some more pink than others indicating which ones were received by which alpha. My tears were falling down and I put my hand on my mouth to stifle a sob. It looked so bad.
None if this should have happened to me. It wasn’t fair at all. I didn’t deserve it, none of it, that’s why it made it so horrible to see my body this way. I was broken in every way imaginable.