Chapter 31: Sacrifice

Asher

I rush out the door behind Candice, my heart beating out of my chest as my hands shake. My knees feel like they may buckle under the unbearable weight of my body, but I know I have to keep going.

Margaery takes my hand, squeezing it tightly. “I’m right here.”

But I barely pay attention to the sensation because there’s a mob of people making their way to the pack square, which is only a few blocks away from our home. They’re gathered around something, a huge crowd drawn under the cloudy night, barely lit by the moon. The street lamps are on, illuminating something.

A stage.

But I can’t tell what’s on the stage as I fight through the mass of people gathered around it. Margaery, being much skinnier than me, can sneak her way through the crowd nimbly, holding onto my hand as she drags me behind her like we’re at a club.

But I already know we’re walking into something far worse.

She stops dead in her tracks.

I bump into her back and ask, “What is it?”

Her breath quivers as she turns around, pressing her hands on my chest as she tries to push me back. “Asher, I-”

“What is it, Margaery?” I roar, pushing her to the side as I force my way through the rest of the crowd.

“Move! Fucking move!”

I break through to the small gap between the people and the only slightly elevated stage, and that’s when I see the flogging pole.

It’s archaic, a relic of the past when packs used to do public executions and punishments. We, and most packs, discontinued using these barbaric tools decades ago. But we always had ours in a museum.

Yet, here it is. Genevieve leaned against it, a smirk on her face and a whip in her hand.

My brother, Carter, is strapped to it, tears streaming down his cheeks, his hands bound in the leather straps.

“Carter!” I cry, leaping onto the stage, a fury like no other burning in my belly. “What is the meaning of this, Genevieve?” I growl, grabbing her wrist tightly as I twist it, causing her to yelp and drop the whip.

The crowd gasps.

“Alpha!” She cries. “Why are you hurting me like that?” She asks, her voice dripping with ingenuousness.

“Why do you have my little brother strapped to the fucking flog?” I scream right back in her face, dropping her hand as I tower over her.

“Asher!” I hear in the crowd. It’s my mother’s voice. Tears stream down her face as she sobs, “Th-They have Tobias and Jaime, too!”

I growl at Genevieve and ask, “What the hell are you doing?”

She ignores me, turning to the pack. “Black Opal pack members. My loyal, upstanding citizens. I am at a loss.”

She sighs, bowing her head. “I hate to have to come to these measures, but something needs to change.”

She turns to face me and says, “The Alpha’s youngest siblings, Carter, Tobias, and Jaime, have been stealing from multiple businesses for some time now. The Alpha requested that I keep it under wraps and force the business owners into silence in order to protect his family’s image, but…” She shakes her head with a sad frown. “I simply can’t allow this special treatment anymore.”

She gestures to the crowd, four men and two women stepping forward. “These are the business owners affected by their constant thieving.”

My eyes widen. “You’re a fucking liar, Gen!”

“Are you really going to try to pretend like this isn’t happening?” She gasps. “Alpha Asher, I can’t cover for you anymore! We tried to reason with them and give them help! I helped you by ensuring they didn’t go through the justice system the way the other pack children would have had to, but I can’t any longer! These poor, poor people have lost thousands of dollars over the months because of your unruly family!”

“That is not true!” I cry, stepping in front of my brother. “They haven’t stolen anything in their lives!”

“Are you telling me these six people are lying to me?” She asks, gesturing to the so-called “business owners” in front. “Is this one of the boys who stole from your stores?” Genevive asks, gesturing to Carter.

All six of them nod, and I notice that almost all look reluctant to do so.

What did Genevieve threaten them with? Or how did she bribe them to lie?

“Ash!” Carter cries. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I know, I know,” I tell him, glaring at Genevieve. “Have you lost your mind? Even if it were true, why do you have him tied to the fucking flog?”

“Because he needs to learn that there are consequences to his actions,” she insists. “Everyone in this pack must learn that these behaviors will not be tolerated! No matter who you are or what connections you have! There will be no preferential treatment!”

I glance at Margaery, who is attempting to comfort my mother, father, and sisters as they look on in horror. Behind me, I can see my thirteen-year-old brothers shaking as guards grip them tightly, their hands behind their backs.

“That is why I’m bringing back public punishments like these,” Genevive announces. “No longer will I be soft on crime! We are going to eradicate theft, assault, and harassment by making sure people know what will happen if you commit these crimes! Starting with the Alpha’s brother, as even he is not above the law…” She trails off, tilting her head innocently. “Unless you have any objections, Alpha? Unless you think he shouldn’t be held accountable?”

I clench my fists at my sides, aching to drive them through her face. She’s never looked so ugly as Cato growls, practically begging to shift and tear her to shreds.

But I can’t. The entire pack is watching me. And they’re eating her words up because they don’t know what I know about her.

Margaery has her fingers pressed against her mouth, her arm draped around my mom.

The crowd is silent, awaiting my response.

I glance at my terrified brother, my heart swelling. I can’t let her hurt him.

“I’ll take their lashings,” I announce, glaring at Genevive. “As the Alpha and their older brother, it’s my fault they have acted out like this if it is true. I’ll take their punishments.”

“You want to take the lashings of three people?” Genevive asks, a little surprised.

She wasn’t expecting me to do that. She wanted me to watch my family suffer because she knew that would hurt me more than anything in the world. She could plunge a knife through my heart, and that would hurt less.

“Yes,” I answer, my nose twitching. “You heard me loud and clear. I will take their lashings for them.”

I approach her, looking down on her, my shoulders back.

“So let my brothers go,” I order, turning my attention to the guards. “Now!”

The guards, without consulting Genevive first, quickly release my youngest brothers to my mom, then release Carter from his bindings.

“Don’t do this, Ash!” Carter begs. “I-I can take mine! Just take Tobias and Jaime’s!”

“Carter, go to Mom and Dad right now,” I tell him as he’s released, and he rushes toward me. I hug him close, ruffling his hair as I kiss the top of his head. “Tell Marabelle to contact me as soon as she can. As soon as it’s safe.”

“Asher, what’s going o-”

“Don’t argue with me,” I interrupt. “Go to mom and dad and make them go home. I don’t want them to see this.”

I pull away from the hug, squeezing his shoulder, and whisper, “I know you didn’t do anything wrong. I believe you.”

“Then why are those people lying?” He asks, his voice cracking along with the innocence of his childhood. “Why is Luna Genevive lying?”

I sigh, looking over my shoulder.

“Not having second thoughts, are you, Alpha?” She spits.

I turn to my brother and reply, “Do what I said, and everything will be okay.”

“O-Okay,” he answers as I pat him on the back, nudging him toward my parents as he hops from the stage, and I rise, straightening my posture.

I glare at Genevive as I pull my shirt over my head. “Why don’t you do the honors, mate?” I hiss as I walk to the flogging pole and kneel in front of it.

“Why are you doing this, Gen?” Margaery shouts, rushing to the front of the stage. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t have wanted this barbaric punishment to be on our pack grounds!”

“Mom and Dad are dead, Margaery!” Genevive hisses. “And they don’t know how bad things have gotten. How rebellious our pack members have become.” She gazes across the crowd and shouts, “Let this be a warning to anyone who would dare defy their Luna! Even the Alpha is not above punishment, so don’t you dare think you’ll get away with anything!”

She grabs my wrist and straps me to the pole, pulling the restraints tight, cutting off my circulation.

Cato, I need you to help me keep a brave face. I will not show any weakness in front of the pack.

I’m here with you.

“The punishment for theft of this nature is forty lashings,” she announces to the group. “So, times three, you will receive a hundred and twenty.” She pauses for dramatic effect, which almost makes me laugh. “May the Goddess have mercy on you.”

She brings the first crack of the whip down, and I tense up, gripping the pole as my legs clench around it, my teeth gritted. The sting is unlike any physical pain I’ve felt, and I only know it’s going to get worse. My back will be scarred with this punishment, but it’s better me than my brothers.

I glance back at the crowd, making sure my family left as I told them to, letting out a sigh of relief when I see the vacant spot where they were standing before. That spot is filled by Margaery, the people around her giving her space.

“Fuck!” I grunt as a particularly hard strike cracks against my back, and I feel wet droplets dripping down my back.

You can do this. You are so strong, Asher. Stronger than her.

“Ten!” Genevive shouts above me, her voice filled with sadistic glee as she brings it down once again, and I cringe, screwing my eyes shut as I struggle to breathe through the pain.

There’s no way I’ll be able to stay conscious through the whole thing.

Soon, fifteen, twenty, thirty, thirty-five, and forty are called. Sweat drips down my body despite the cold night air, my legs shaking as I’m barely able to keep myself up, hanging from my wrists as my cheek presses against the wood, my bangs clinging to my forehead.

The floor around me is littered with droplets of my blood, Genevieve having wiped the whip off a couple of times, flinging the contents in my face.

And she doesn’t relent.

Forty-five, fifty, fifty-five, sixty.

My back feels numb, my throat raw from screaming through the pain, my muscles convulsing as I struggle to stay awake. I don’t want to pass out, but it feels inevitable.

And I’m only halfway through.

She strikes down again and again and again in quick succession like she’s in a slasher film, ending the life of the innocent victim who had no chance. But I don’t want to be her helpless victim anymore. I refuse.

I take a deep breath, digging deep into my soul as I force myself to sit up, holding my head high as I glare over my shoulder.

“Is that all you got?”

Her nostril flares ever so slightly, anger swirling in her eyes even though she says, “It brings me no pleasure to hurt you like this, my love.”

I’m sure the crowd will love that one. What a beautiful romance trope: The woman reluctantly hurts the man she loves but will surely nurse him back to health later. Oh, how horribly she must be suffering!

Sixty-five, seventy, seventy-five, eighty.

My stomach churns, the pain ripping through my head, my back raw and probably torn to bits. I don’t even want to know what it must look like.

Bile rises in my throat, but I catch it in my mouth before I throw up, swallowing it down. I spit out the saliva pooled in my mouth to the side as I seethe through my teeth.

Forty more. Only forty more.

I close my eyes, aching for a distraction. But all I can think about is the pain. There’s nothing else my mind could possibly fixate on except…

Rose.

I smile slightly when I think of her smile. I replay her voice in my mind, imagining that she’s comforting me, her hand on my shoulder telling me she’s here. That she’s with me.

I think of how her body feels when I hold her, my heart soaring at the memory, warmness flooding my body. I can practically smell her vanilla and rose scent in the air now. It washes over me, bringing a sense of calm I can’t escape. Nor would I want to.

I want to see my mate.

“One hundred and ten!” Genevive shouts, bringing the whip down again, and this time, my knees buckle under me again, and I crash to the floor, my vision darkening in the corners of my eyes.

My head throbs, my ears ringing as I cough violently, my muscles shaking. Sweat drips off the tip of my nose onto the ground, an alarmingly large pool of blood soaking the wooden floorboards now.

My neck muscles give out, my head hanging as my eyes close.

“One hundred and fifteen!”

Her voice echoes through a tunnel, the feeling in my back numb along with my whole body. I feel lightheaded, the world spinning and spinning and spinning.

Shit. I’m going to pass out.

“One hundred and twenty!”

I don’t even feel the last lash, but I do feel my body crash to the floor like a wet blanket once she lets me out of the binds, my face pressed into the boards.

I try fruitlessly to push myself upright, but my shaking arms give out as I fall in and out of consciousness.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” I hear above me.

Margaery’s voice.

“D-Doctor,” I groan through my shaking lips.

“I know. I’ll have to take you somewhere off pack grounds,” she whispers, stroking my hair soothingly. “Genevieve is gone.”

I don’t care; I couldn’t possibly. All I want is for the pain to go away.

And, of course, Genevieve wouldn’t allow any doctor on pack grounds to see me.

“I know where to take you, though,” Margaery reassures. “Just hang tight. I’ll get you help.”