Chapter 38 Drag them out!
"Shut up, Kael. It's not your place to decide!" The alpha cut him off aggressively.
"But Dad, Seraphina won't be able to endure such an amount of pain," he defended.
"So she accused the innocent girl who ended up taking 50 strokes because of her stupid jealousy, and you dare stand here to tell me she won't take it? Of course, she should be able to take whatever she dished out to the girl, don't you think?" The alpha asked.
"50? But the alpha prince made it 80," I said pitifully, and the whole council gasped.
"80 for what exactly? So the alpha gave 50, only for the alpha prince to go behind him and make it 80? Now I think the alpha prince is holding a grudge against the poor girl. The way he's been defending Lady Seraphina says it all!" One of the old men in the castle chipped in.
"Yes, even after she admitted she lied about the poor girl, the alpha prince still defended her. I'm sorry to say this, my Lord, but I think it's high time you examine the prince properly to make sure he's fit to take over from you. A man who sees the truth and pretends not to cannot lead the pack; else he'd let his emotions get in the way, and the enemy will see that as his weakness!" The old alpha's beta told him. The old man is pretty much interested in the throne, from what I overheard him say the other day.
The fact he's raising doubt among the elders will only anger the alpha, and that alone will make him punish him. I think things are working to my favor. Even though I know he'd come for me later on.
The alpha sprang to his feet, his glare not leaving the alpha prince. I could see the anger in his eyes as his gaze moved from his son to Seraphina. She's the curse of it all. She's the reason the council will doubt his ability to provide an heir. He's always been said to be fearless and all that. But now his own son is acting like a coward, hiding the truth just because of his emotions. This single act will shake his position to the core, and it angered the alpha.
"How dare you, Kael! How dare you go against me! You followed them to the dungeon to impose more punishment on her, even after knowing she's innocent. Where has your sympathy gone?" The old man yelled. Funny how he talks about sympathy when he doesn't have it either. If he had investigated from the start, none of this would have happened. But his favoritism made him punish me. Now he's doing his best to heap the whole blame on his son; he deserves it, though.
"That's such a bad thing to do, to begin with. You knew she was innocent; you couldn't fight for her. Then why didn't you leave her to receive the punishment the alpha issued? I even heard from the guards that you made them use the bigger whip on her. Why? You should know this isn't how a soon-to-be alpha should behave. Imagine if she had died. The moon goddess would have poured out her anger on the whole clan for allowing an innocent person to die. You nearly pushed us into calamity because of your emotions. This is bad!" Another old man said. From now on, I can tell they're no longer saying it for my sake. They are voicing their frustrations about him being the future alpha.
"Kael! Look what you've done! Haven't I warned you about making decisions without informing me? If you hadn't known the truth, I would have considered forgiving you. But the fact that you knew Seraphina was lying through her teeth and still chose to punish her is evil on your part. You disobeyed my instructions and made her get double what she was supposed to get. As if that isn't enough, you still stand in front of me and accuse her of something you know she didn't do, just to make Seraphina feel good? Is this what I taught you? Answer, you fool!" The next minute, the alpha was standing beside him, and what I heard next was a slap—one loud enough to be heard by the guards outside.
Kael still didn't say a word; he just stood there as if none of what they were saying was his concern.
Seraphina, on the other hand, was kneeling, sniffing repeatedly even though there was no trace of tears in her eyes. She just doesn't get tired of pretending!
"You think I'd appreciate you for nearly leading us to our doom? No! Since you've decided to act mean, then I think it's your turn to face the music." The alpha turned to the guards beside him.
"Take them out... give the prince the 80 strokes..." he paused, then turned to Seraphina, "give her 50... make sure she leaves the castle immediately you're done with the punishment!" He's issuing the punishment out of shame and fear of being judged by the council—crazy, but fun.
"But, Dad!" Kael tried to object.
"No buts! Drag them out and issue the punishment!" The alpha blurted.