Chapter 8: on death bed

  I know I've been a lot of things, I know I've been a bad person sometimes, I know I've said many things, many times, but this accusation against me was just too much.

  When did I slap Luna Perry?

  She might have stolen my mate, she might have taken everything that should have been mine, including my rightful place in this pack but not once have I ever tried to hurt her.

  So when I heard what she was accusing me of, I couldn't think straight anymore. The air around me clogged my lungs.

  The fact that she even had witnesses against me was more shocking.

  The Alpha abandoned his breakfast and took me to the council. A while later, Perry showed up with a red mark evident on her face. It looked like someone had clawed her face.

  "Alpha, there she is. There's the witch who did this to me!" She shrieked the moment she saw me.

  Me? What? When? The only time I saw her today was when she came to wake me up. She didn't even have that mark on her face when she came.

  "Alpha, it was really omega Jade's fault. She openly assaulted the Luna yesterday when the Luna asked her to get her a glass of water." A girl who was always around Perry pointed at me while she spoke to the elders of the council and the Alpha.

  Goddess, when did that happen? Wasn't it Perry who assaulted me yesterday? Wasn't it she who wrung my neck when my blood dropped on her rug?

  "Yes Alpha. We were present and tried to stop Jade but she shoved us away. She said she was going to kill our beloved Luna. Even when the Luna has done nothing to her." Another omega charged.

  I was dumbstruck. First, I was an omega, a wolfless omega. Perry was a wolf from a strong beta line. She wasn't only stronger than me, but her pheromones will always make me succumb to her. How on earth was it possible for me to attack her and even shove those two away?

  "Alpha, we tried to stop her, forgive us but she was too strong. It wasn't until the delta came that we able to stop Jade." They continued with their lies.

  "Where's the delta?" Alpha Leo asked, scanning the faces in front of him.

  "I'm here, Alpha." A masculine voice said from the back. The man made his way to the front and bowed.

  "Is what they are saying true?" Alpha Leo asked, giving him a piercing look.

  At this point, with the look the Alpha was giving him, I was sure the delta would speak in my defense and tell the truth but my heart sank at his answer, "Yes, Alpha. Whatever the Luna and her maids have said is true."

  Goddess, even he was part of this evil scheme. No, I lowered my head and shook it, refusing to believe this was happening.

  "Omega Jade, do you still have anything to say?" The Alpha was talking to me. My head was bowed, I'm sure I looked guilty.

  Slowly, I raised it, tears clouding my eyes but f*ck it if I cried. "I didn't do anything to the Luna." The words choked out of me.

  "Drop this act, you wretched witch. You did this to me!" Perry yelled at me. "You did this." She said again before breaking into a fake cry.

  I shifted my gaze to her, unable to speak. " You're all lying." I whispered.

  "And why would we lie? Even the delta witnessed this. He has sworn his loyalty and honesty to the Alpha, why would he lie?" Gretna, the first omega to accuse me asked, her eyes twinkling with the hate she had for me.

  She did have a point. Let's say the omegas lied because Perry was above them and might have threatened them or used her position as Luna to manipulate then, what excuse could I use against the delta?

He was a warrior, he couldn't be manipulated so easily by the Luna.

  "I..." I couldn't speak. The council began to murmur.

  "See Alpha, she's as guilty as charged." Perry sniffled.

  The Alpha moved his gaze through the people, then back at me. When his eyes rested on me, I shivered.

  He believed them. Well who wouldn't? They had planned it out so well, even I would have believed their story if I I wasn't the victim here.

  "Omega Jade, you have been found guilty of assault and disrespect of your pack Luna. For this, you shall be stripped and whipped two hundred times with a silver whip. Then "My mate ruled, his words sending frost down my body.

  The elders nodded. They all agreed with the Alpha's judgment. I could see Perry's smirk as she winked at me.

  I didn't do anything wrong. She was the one who wronged me but I'll be whipped? I wanted to protest but before I could move, two guards had bundled me and taken me to a post outside the pack house.

They tied me to the post after stripping me of my shirt.

"Alpha, isn't this a bit too harsh?" An elder asked when they had assembled to watch my punishment.

"Do you sympathize with her?" Alpha Leo asked him. "Or do you two have something going on?"

The elder was quick to deny it. "It's nowhere near that Alpha. It's just, she's a weak woman, a mere girl. What if she doesn't survive? This is silver we're talking about." The elder probed.

"If she doesn't survive, it's her problem. Her loss will not be felt by the pack." His nonchalant statement cut through my heart like a dagger.

He was right. My loss will not be felt by the pack. At the moment, I didn't care if I died. They could do their worst.

They've already embarrassed me, now they could kill me.

Closing my eyes, I felt the first lash hit my back and a piercing scream left my mouth, despite the pain in my throat.

Next came another and by the tenth strike, blood splurted out my mouth. I don't know how but I managed to reach a hundred strokes.

But after taking a few more, my body went weak, either from the loss of blood from the open wounds the whip sliced on my skin, or from the effect of the silver on my body.

"Don't stop, make her pay." Perry screamed seeing the guard go hesitant on the hundred and twentieth strike.

I was already on the brink of passing out but she didn't want them to stop.

The guard looked over at Alpha Leo, waiting for his instructions. But I knew he wouldn't pity me.

"Don't stop. Go on. She still has eighty more." The Alpha said, confirming my thoughts on him. The guard had to comply.

A few more whips on my back and I gave in to the pain, passing out.