Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 78

Slade

It was a solid month of peace and quiet. His father left him alone. All their fathers left them alone, in fact. They trained as a unit as expected, and he attended border patrol as per his rostered schedule. Studied pack related business things, and discussed attending mating balls with his mother. It was to start on the next full moon, she’d told him.

He was often seen walking about with his earbuds in when not with Palmer or Yuri, just practicing his Mandarin. It stopped his mother and father from interacting with him, unless it was absolutely necessary.

He’d had an omega go and collect Oriana’s things from the Beta’s family suite, which had not gone. over so well with Anders and Bronnie, but he’d refused to relinquish them back to those two. Stated point blankly to their faces “She is never going to live with you, after all you both did, to drive her away. Made her feel unloved and unwanted,”

He could punish those two simply by reminding them of how they’d made Oriana feel. He also never used the water daughter, just her name, corrected them when he heard them stated it even. They did not like that. They’d learned to leave him alone quickly.

He spent time with Palmer and Yuri and worked out in the pack’s gym every day. He was biding his time until Hayden came off that shaming

Malandra Post. He would get no reprieve and go straight from that shaming post to the pack’s cells.

His father mind-linked to him be released tomorrow.’

‘I’m aware.’ Was all he stated.

We before Hayden was due to be released ‘Slade, Hayden will

‘I’d like for you and your unit to release him. To show him you are willing to accept his punishment and let things go.’

‘His punishment is not yet over.’ Slade stated simply.

‘I’m aware, but that will be heard in my office, after he showers and has a proper meal.’ His father commented.

‘Why? Prisoners don’t get luxuries.’ He stated flatly and they didn’t.

Slade heard his father sigh a little heavily ‘Slade, he is not a prisoner, is a pack member under punishment, is all.’

‘Fine, one hour is all I will allow, then to your office and off to the cells.’

‘Right, thank you son.’ His father stated.

‘Make sure Anders brings the Cat of 5 Tails.’ Slade stated.

‘Slade, that is not what we used for pack punishment.’ His father stated instantly.

‘No, but it is what we use for those harming the Alpha’s family. Bush up on the pack laws if you must, father.’

‘Son?’ he could hear the frown in his own father’s voice now.

‘My heir, could have been harmed. You were the ones that claimed Ori was to be my Luna, he attacked her. That means he harmed the Alpha’s family. It will be the Cat of 5 Tails, or the deal is off the table.’ He told his father and cut the mind-link. He was playing by their rules now.

They could either accept it or decline it, but declining it would see him out everything they’d done. To the pack elders and he’d make sure he was Alpha Ordered by his own great-grandfather, so they all knew it was the truth.

Hayden was unlikely to survive inside this pack at all if he was outed, to have attacked his sister that was carrying the future of the pack. Regardless of whether he knew about it at the time or not. They already didn’t like his attitude towards his sister, and had been out there for his shaming, and this would be seen, as just one more thing he’d done, to try and get her removed as the future Beta.

Ślade walked out to the shaming post with Palmer and Yuri the following morning, reached out and unlocked that shackle. “Hayden, you have one hour to go and clean up, get something to eat, and then you are to present yourself to the Alpha’s office.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The boy stated and got himself up off the ground.

“What you said, was wrong. Do you understand that? Wrong in more ways than one,” Slade stated.

“Yes.” Hayden nodded “I’ve always been jealous of her, hard not to be in my family.” He murmured quietly “I will try to let it all go.”

“You’d best let it go, unless you want to live on this shaming post.” He told him.

“Can you?” Anders asked.

Slade looked at him. “I don’t take any joy or pleasure from punishing Hayden, Anders. To be honest with you… I thought I would relish in it, but I do not.” He shook his head. “There is nothing to smile about in any of this.” He stated simply and there wasnt.

“So for Hayden’s crimes…” he sighed himself, as he heard Bronnie take in a shaking breath “I cannot see fit to punish him for attacking my unborn heir. Seeing as no one knew about it. I am not going to punish him for that. But in reality, he still did this.

“With all of you in this room believing Oriana was to be the future Luna, my Mate. You allowed him to roll his aura at her, attack her physically, and then be all smug and gloat about taking her position from her, all of which hurt her. So I will, still be insisting on time in the cells. As for the lashing.”

He looked from Anders to Bronnie. “I have the right to lash him for everything he did. With what we know, even after the fact, according to pack laws, it is one lash for each time he intentionally hurt her. One lash for each time he unwittingly could have harmed my heir, so that is six lashes with the Cat of 5 Tails.”

“Please,” Bronnie begged him. “Slade, it will scar him for life, he didn’t know anything, we never told him.”

“I understand that, and I have a compromise for you all. For Hayden to see that I am not so cruel and heartless. Can be fair in my judgement and the administering of pack punishments…” he looked at all those in this room.

Six people, all of whom knew or thought they could meddle in his and Ori’s lives, believe she would be the future of this pack. Not just, his Beta. Yet did nothing but cause her pain in the end, allowing Hayden to insult her at will and treat her terribly.

“Slade?” his father prompted after a full minute of silence.

“Six lashes with the Cat of 3 Tails, one last to be dealt out by each of the Alpha Unit, one from the Luna and one from Hayden’s mother Bronnie.”

“Son?” his mother gasped, sounded a little on the horrified side to him.

“This is me being lenient on Hayden, but also punishing all of you who thought it was a good idea, to intervene and meddle in things that go against not only the Wolfen Kingdom Laws, but our Goddess herself. Laws all six of you willingly and knowingly broke.

“But none of you saw fit to stop Hayden from hurting, that one, you thought would be the next Luna. Makes me wonder at times if you even wanted Oriana as my Mate, or if you did this to drive her away on purpose, so she wouldn’t be.” he raised a hand to stop anyone from saying anything at all, “You all must be punished, as far as I am concerned. It would be far worse if I took it to the Wolfen Council, would it not…” he stared at them all in turn and no one said anything.

“Hayden won’t be scarred this way; it is the only thing that I will accept for all of your parts in this matter, and the pain Hayden himself has caused Oriana herself. The pain you have all caused myself as well, with the meddling that ought not to have happened, meddling that lost me my Beta, one of my best friends, the mother of my child, and my actual child. The future of this pack.”