Chapter 8 The Second Punishment
Aurelia
I longed for the days when my greatest battle was burying my secrets deep and melting into the shadows of the crowd, unseen, untouched, and safe.
Now, I was thrust into the merciless spotlight, forced to wear a gown that was little more than a whisper of transparent silk.
The fabric clung to my skin like mist, leaving nothing to the imagination.
My nipples peaked visibly against the sheer material, the curve of my ass outlined for every hungry eye in the pack to devour.
Tonight was the Claiming Ceremony, the sacred ritual where Alpha Zhayad would bare his fangs and sink them deep into my neck, solidifying our bond under the watchful gaze of the entire Onyx Fang pack.
But why did it demand my near-naked humiliation? Why parade me like a trophy, exposed and vulnerable, before he marked me as his own?
The young maid who’d delivered the dress had barely managed to hang it before my protest. The moment I demanded she take it back and fetch something, anything more decent, her face drained of color.
She’d bolted from the room in panic, the door slamming behind her like a final judgment.
No one seemed to want to defy the Alpha’s orders except Ravina and Irina.
I stood alone before the mirror, the cool air teasing my exposed skin into traitorous goosebumps.
The door flung wide open, but I didn’t flinch. I was done jumping at shadows.
In the mirror, my own hard eyes met Ravina’s venomous glare as she stormed in.
The memory of scalding water still seared my skin, a debt I hadn’t forgotten. One day, I’d carve my pound of flesh from her, just not today.
“You think I’ll stand by and watch him sink his fangs into you tonight?” she spat, acid dripping from her words.
I let out a bitter laugh, holding her stare in the reflection. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing right now?”
Her fists clenched, her knuckles whitening. She advanced, claws sliding free with a soft, deadly snick.
She knew about my magic. She’d felt its edge before. And still, she came to test me. Very foolish of her.
She lunged, her claws aimed for my throat. I didn’t even turn. With a flick of thought, I wove a shield, a mirror-bright and unbreakable shield directly in her path.
It snapped into place behind me, catching her mid-strike. The force rebounded like a hammer.
Ravina flew backward, slamming into the heavy door with a bone-rattling thud. The impact echoed through the room like a gunshot.
“You never learn, Ravina,” I said coldly, tightening my invisible grip.
Magic hummed in my veins, dark and eager to unleash terror.
“First you. Then your daughter. I’m the prisoner here, caged by your Alpha, yet you both treat me like I stole your throne.”
She growled, shoving against the shield pinning her to the wood. I pressed harder, flattening her mercilessly.
“I won’t let you reach your full power,” she rasped, blood flecking her lips. “I know your game, witch. You want to seduce him, you want to wrap him around your finger, then alert your father. So that monster can swarm in and slaughter us all.”
Her words struck me like a blade, sharp, twisting.
For one fatal second, shock loosened my focus.
But my grip didn’t loosen with it. I was too distracted to notice the damage I'd done.
Blood burst from her nose, then her mouth, bright crimson pouring against her pale skin.
The door shoved open again, harder than when Ravina had stormed in.
A young maid stumbled in, her arms full of linens.
The sudden force shattered my hold. Ravina crumpled sideways, sprawling limp across the marble like a broken doll.
The maid froze. Her gaze darted from me, still facing the mirror, my hand half-raised, to the matron bleeding on the floor.
A piercing shriek tore from her throat. “Goddess above! She’s killed the Matron!”
She screamed it again and again, her voice rising into hysteria. “Murder! The witch murdered our Matron!”
Boots thundered in the corridor. Shifter-guards poured into the room, their fangs already bared, their claws out, ready to disembowel their victim.
Irina shoved through behind them, her eyes widening in horror as she took in her mother’s crumpled, bloodied form.
Time slowed painfully. I hadn't meant for any of this to happen. None of this was supposed to happen, I'd reacted out of pure self defense, and the need to prove I wasn't a weakling
Irina’s gaze snapped to me, pure, blazing hatred bleeding from her eyes.
Then she dropped to her knees beside Ravina, cradling her head, and let out a wail that promised vengeance.
The guards advanced, circling me like wolves closing on wounded prey. My magic stirred, ready to lash out again.
But one look at their faces told me everything.
This time, there would be no shield strong enough.
I was cornered. And the entire pack had just found their perfect reason to tear me apart before Alpha Zhayad could ever sink his teeth into my neck tonight.
Ravina was lifted off the floor and carried away, blood still trickling from her nose and mouth.
Guards moved fast, their faces grim as they worked. She was alive, I’d felt the stubborn thud of her pulse when she lay there, but I had come heart-stoppingly close to ending her.
The weight of it crushed the air from my lungs.
Then Alpha Zhayad stepped through the doorway, and the room shrank around him.
I finally turned from the mirror, dread pooling cold and heavy in my stomach.
His eyes collided with mine. They were unreadable, blazing, and terrifying to stare into.
“Is it true?” The question cracked like a horsewhip.
“I—” The words tangled in my throat. “She attacked me first. I only—”
“We were right all along!” Irina’s voice rose behind him, shrill with triumph. “She’ll damn us all! She's heartless, evil, just like her father! She’s a weapon!”
One of the guards growled his agreement. “Alpha, she should be banished tonight. She’s lethal. Next time she might just finish the job.”
Alpha Zhayad didn’t even glance at them.
“Everyone out,” he snarled. “Now.”
The room emptied in seconds, the sound of their boots retreating.
The door pulled almost shut, but Irina hesitated in the threshold. “My mother—”
“Out.” He cut her off without turning, the single word laced with such absolute authority that even she obeyed, her teeth grinding as she vanished.
The door slammed shut on its own, his power alone forcing it closed with a boom that rattled the walls.
Then he advanced in quick, predatory strides that ate the distance between us. Each step echoed like a countdown in the bedroom.
My heart galloped, pounding against my ribs.
“Get on the bed, Aurelia.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” I blurted, my voice shaking. “She came at me with claws. I was only defending myself. You have to know I wouldn't—”
“Get. On. The. Bed.” His tone was pure midnight. Cold, velvet and lethal. I shivered from the effect.
I swallowed hard, the sheer gown suddenly feeling like nothing at all.
“Your punishment this time,” he said, stopping inches away, towering over me, “will be nothing like the last.”
His hand rose, his fingers brushing my jaw with deceptive gentleness before gripping it firmly, tilting my face up to his burning gaze.
“I’m going to break you apart,” he whispered, his voice rough with dark promise, “send you straight into the arms of darkness… and drag you back screaming my name.
Fear flooded me in sharp, electric currents. And beneath it, shamefully, I felt heat.
I hated how my body answered him, how my lip trembled not just from terror, but from twisted, aching want.
I was slipping, falling into something wild and unhinged.
And goddess help me, I didn’t want to climb back out.
Slowly, with a ragged breath, I backed toward the bed. The claiming ceremony waited outside these walls.
But in here, the real claiming was about to begin.