The Alpha's Little Witch | Completed ✔️

Chapter 30

"Conrad," Reece smiled mischievously, "Meet Alpha Alrik's bitch. Sorry, I mean mate."

"Not you too," I groaned as the Beta and Commander duo laughed aloud. 

Beta Conrad shook my hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Luna Jaslynn. The Minister and I had quite a laugh when we he told me of how you and Alpha Alrik met. I hope he's treating you better than he treats the rest of us."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "How does he treat you?"

Reece cleared her throat, "She hasn't been yet, Conrad," she said, giving him a pointed look

His lips parted in understanding, and he shook his head, "Pardon me, I didn't mean to be so outspoken. How about I walk you to the third sector?"

"Would you do that?" Reece asked, "I need to run to the hospital for a moment, but I'll meet you two there."

"It'll be my pleasure. Take your time," Beta Conrad nodded, placing a hand on my back to turn me in the right direction. Reece thanked him and ran in the opposite direction, while Beta Conrad started walking me back the way we came and explaining how the pack warriors' training worked.

"They train every day for about four to six hours depending on the techniques they are practicing. Every warrior specializes in a certain war form, like fighting with swords or battling with spears. So when it comes time to fight another pack or species, they are ready to combat any sort of attack."

"It's incredible," I said, watching a group of warriors fight with spiked maces. They were all professionals at what they did, and I could hear the pride in Beta Conrad's voice.

As we came to the end of the training field, I turned to Beta Conrad and cocked my head in curiosity, "Your accent. Tu parles français?"

He grinned, "Oui, Mademoiselle Jaslynn. Je viens du Sénégal."

"I thought your accent sounded familiar. Did you grow up there?"

"I did. I moved here after I found my mate and after the pack split. Alpha Alrik chose me to be his Beta when he saw my skills as a warrior and communicator."

I nodded, "And what does your mate do?"

"She is a part-time nurse at the hospital," he smiled, his eyes glazing over fondly at the thought of his mate, "And when she isn't working there, she is a full-time mother to our two pups."

Before I could ask him about his pups, he stopped in his tracks, "We are getting closer to the third sector. Luna, I want to warn you that the sights you see are not for the faintest of heart."

My heart skipped a beat, and a deep frown formed on my face, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," he started walking again, slower than before.

We hadn't passed Alrik's house, and I realized that there was a split in the road that I hadn't paid attention to before, one road that led to Alrik's house, and the other which Beta Conrad was directing us toward.

As we continued on the path, the number of buildings began to dwindle, and I could make out large wooden poles standing tall above the roofs of the remaining structures. The closer we got, the sound of painful groans became louder, and a lump formed in my throat as realization slowly dawned on me.

This was the punishing grounds.

And the first thing my eyes were drawn to were the large wooden poles. 

Wolves were collared with silver chains and attached to the poles, their fur matted with dried blood from whatever punishment they had faced first. They stared at us weakly, some even teary-eyed from the pain of the silver that drained into their bloodstream and fried their nerves.

My eyes widened as they landed on the wood structures next to the poles. There were wolves placed in pillories, their hands and head stuck in holes of the wooden structure. Their skin was pale as if they had lost a lot of blood or hadn't had much to eat, and their lips cracked as if they were dehydrated.

When we got closer, the stench of vomit and blood became prominent, and I gripped Beta Conrad's arm as I stared at the helpless, desperate faces of the punished wolves, "Beta Conrad, wh–what is happening?"

He clenched my hand in his, "We haven't seen everything, Luna. Turn around."

I spun around, my eyes welling with tears as they traced the large metal structure that almost resembled a swing. But instead of swings hanging from the pole, it was wolves chained with their arms up and their feet barely touching the ground. I could see the pain on their faces as their arm muscles ached from being held in that position for so long.

"This is actually the mildest punishment one could receive," Beta Conrad said quietly, watching me with sorrowful eyes.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my tears at bay as I turned to the last station.

It was a whipping post. 

A young adult wolf was being whipped hard by a pack warrior, and his loud groans were filling the air as drops of his crimson blood stained the concrete below him.

My vision went blurry, and I clasped a hand over my mouth to stop the bile rising in my throat. A hand grabbed my shoulder gently, and my head snapped to face Reece, who was staring at me grimly,

"You wonder why Aleksei left? This was why. Welcome to the Venom Pack, Jaslynn."

On that depressing note, what do you guys think of this? Do you believe the forms of punishments are acceptable? Do you think Alrik has a good reason for them? And what do you think Jaslynn will do?

Love you all *mwah*