Under The Skin

C h a p t e r F o u r t e e n

                  

©  Amber Kalkes 2015

Song: "I Walk The Line" By Halsey

C h a p t e r F o u r t e e n >

The punishment is not one often seen.

Cassidy had asked about it to both Connor and Rae after leaving Poppy's room the night before and both of her answers were grim. Though the punishment this Alpha's son was putting on their sister was legal by pack standards, it was frowned upon. Most packs never even implemented the clause but as Cassidy had learned from Rae the night before, Samuel's pack was not like others.

His father was an Alpha not by blood but by challenge. According to rumor he had been raised a rogue and lived a rogues life until his thirtieth birthday. The man who would become Alpha was crafty and after working his way into the inner circle looked for a weakness in the ranks to exploit. He found it in the lack of heir between the Alpha couple. He already had Samuel at that point and as Rae was quick to tell Cassidy, Alpha Manuel Cortez was not a man to waste a chance at advancement.

His rule was without question and after twenty years of dictatorship, the pack had risen to great power. Colton's pack was the only one that could rival it and Rae admitted that he was starting to feel Cortez's searching gaze on his land for the past few years now.

Still, Cassidy can't think of any excuse for what she's witnessing, a cruel father included. Tears have been present in her dark colored eyes since Poppy was dragged from the house and into the hotbox. Connor has been with her every moment he can but he's also been busy trying to figure a way to get Poppy out of this mess.

It didn't work.

She's not supposed to be here. Connor made her promise she wouldn't come but she disobeyed him. What other choice did she have? Her sister could be killed because of this asshole's idea of justice! She couldn't just sit in her room and twiddle her thumbs knowing that! So, she snuck down into the crowd and hid behind a tree as the whole surreal scene unfolded before her.

"You approve of her behavior?" She hears Samuel snarl as she approaches the tree.

The sound of her sister's voice heightens her anxiety as she answers, "I approve of her defending herself against someone who pushed her too far."

"You want my blood for revenge Alpha? You think you are owed it? What do you think I am owed then? For the pain and suffering of my mate, what am I owed?"

"You are owed nothing!"

"Then we have nothing more to discuss." He says tightly before turning to the man with something cradled in his hands, "Fergus give me the whip."

A whip?! Cassidy can't believe her ears. She knew it would be something brutal but she never thought it would be something as sick as this! Cassidy's eyes fill with tears as they move to her sister on the ground before Samuel. Her hair is matted and greasy, her clothes dirty and soiled. She doesn't look like Cassidy's sister anymore. She looks like a shell of that young woman Cassidy has always looked up to, even after the incident.

And that is the most heartbreaking part of all of it.

Rae's growl has Cassidy ripping her eyes away to look at her pissed off oldest sister, "Poppy never attacks without reason."

Samuel ignores her, "Fergus give me the whip."

"She'd never kill anyone!"

"This is none of your concern Alpha."

"This is my land!"

Samuel's snarl makes her jump before he snaps his cold gaze to the man a few feet away, "Give me the whip!"