[ Blackmoon Territories]
There was this atmosphere of perpetual gloom. Like the land had never seen sun... or happier days.
Even the skies above the pack were heavy with clouds, as if the heavens themselves were holding their breath... or tears maybe. It didn’t rain. Neither did the sun come out... for some days at a stretch.
A wind swept through the courtyard of the Pack Central. It was the place mostly reserved for pack celebrations like weddings or victories...or rites of passage...seasonal blessings.
Today, it was set to be the stage for humiliation.
Gamma Kael Blackmoon was being marched across the square like a criminal, though his back was straight and eyes burned with fury.
His shirt had been torn away, exposing the raw muscle of his back, and his wrists were shackled in chains that clinked mockingly with every step... Ahhh! It literally mocked the number of times he put those chains on actual criminals.
Behind him, six guards walked in step.They were not his Deltas. Not his men.
Some Curzon guards and a few Blackmoons... traitors to be exact. Enemies in his own home.
Kael’s jaw clenched. His feet left bloody prints where his heels dug into the stone...he had fought when they tried to bind him, of course he had. But the moment the Luna’s seal was invoked, and Roanoke wielded it like a crown of thorns, the resistance became legally useless.
And so, the lunatic sat on the Alpha’s throne and passed this judgement.
And Kael was to be punished... for intentions of revolting...treachery to be exact.
The pack courtyard was full.
The entire Blackmoon population had gathered...elders, warriors, young ones perched on rooftops, women gripping hands tightly with other women, men who couldn’t look Kael in the eye...Because shame clung to all of them.
The traitors stood close to the dais, clapping, cooing like vultures, their voices high...brimming with arrogance.
"Make the stupid mutt pay!Show him his place."
"He dared attack the Act in Alpha!"
"Show him what loyalty costs!Not too cocky now...Serves him right for killing Garrick!" (...Mind you, it was Dax who had actually killed that bastard. But hatred and cowardice doesn’t use logic...)
On the other side, the loyalists stood in lines...stone faced...silent...because there was nothing they could actually do. Deltas. Farmers. Even a few Curzons...all stood there ashamed of what was happening before their eyes. Some wept openly, even before the first lash had been raised.
They tried to protest. Some had shouted at Roanoke earlier. One woman even tried throwing herself in front of Kael when they dragged him up the platform.
She was dragged away. Her mouth was still gagged now. Her son held her hand, whispering "It’s okay, mama...justice will be served. You just wait..." over and over like a prayer.
Kael said nothing.He climbed the wooden steps himself.
Two guards locked his chains to the central beam. He stood with his back exposed, arms stretched out in a humiliating crucifixion pose. His chest rose and fell with controlled breath. But his eyes swept the crowd.
He saw them. Every one of them.
Those who looked away... and those who met his gaze with pride.
"Gamma Kael Blackmoon," Roanoke Curzon’s voice rang out across the plaza, dripping with pomp...cruelty. "You stand here today,not as a warrior, nor as a protector,but as a rebel against your own pack."
He stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back, expression as smug as a man delivering a victory speech.
"You dared assault your Act in Alpha. You cursed his judgment. You incited insubordination in front of the Luna’s decree. For such behavior, even your station cannot protect you."
He looked around, addressing the crowd now, his voice swelling with faux nobility.
"But let it be known...this is not vengeance. This is not tyranny. This is justice."
He paused, turning back to Kael with a predator’s grin."Hundred and fifty lashes. Publicly administered. So that all may know the price of reckless defiance."
Gasps echoed through the courtyard.Even the Curzon supporters stiffened.
That was close to a death sentence.
A punishment reserved for traitors, not Gammas.
Kael’s lips barely moved. "Make it two hundred."
The crowd stirred, horrified.Roanoke blinked.
"...What did you say?"
Kael’s head turned, blood already beginning to drip from his torn bindings.
"If you are going to put on a show..." he sneered, "don’t do it half assed."
Roanoke’s nostrils flared.
"Very well," he said coldly. "Since you insist."
He turned to the executioner. "Begin."
Instantly...the first lash cracked like thunder.
Kael’s head jerked,but he didn’t scream.
He gritted his teeth as blood instantly welled up, ribboning down his spine.
The second lash came across the same spot, deeper. Flesh split like parchment.
A cry went up from the crowd. Someone collapsed. A child sobbed. An old wolf whispered, "This isn’t justice. This is barbarism..."
The third lash hit harder.
Kael’s knees buckled slightly...but he didn’t fall. He would not fall.
"Still standing?" Roanoke mocked from his perch. "Stubborn fool."
Kael coughed. "Still talking? I thought rats only squeaked in the dark."
Roanoke’s face twitched."Hit him harder."
The whip lashed again. And again.
By the tenth, Kael’s back was unrecognizable...red, torn open, glistening... dripping... bone exposed...
By the twentieth, he was shaking violently, blood pooling at his feet.
The crowd had grown quiet. Even the Curzon supporters were shifting uncomfortably...this was too much gore...
A murmur rippled through the mass. Tension crackled.Roanoke raised a hand.
"Let this be a lesson," he declared, eyeing the growing discontent. He was definitely one who didn’t push his limits...a coward that he was. "Any Alpha, Beta or Gamma...No station is above the law! " He smirked and turned to Kael again.
Kael spat blood." Did I ask you to stop? "
Roanoke raised an eyebrow."Very well! Break his legs."
"You have made your point!"
Deltas began pushing forward.A line of guards raised spears.Roanoke’s loyalists... the traitors...raised their weapons too.
The pack teetered on the edge of rebellion.