That night, Lyra lay awake in bed, unable to go to sleep. Julian’s words rang in her ears, filling her with apprehension.
You need to be disciplined. And I’ll do it personally.
A shiver ran down her spine the same way it did when she heard those words. They had sounded so dangerous, so sinister…and the worst part was that she had no idea what was in store for her. Would he hit her the way Devon would? Starve her? Lock her up for weeks?
Her mind was tired from thinking all day, trying to figure out his mindset. He had asked for her opinion, done as she said, and then accused her of forgetting her position. Was he toying with her? Indeed, why would the Lycan King ask a slave’s opinion? Or was he just looking for an excuse to antagonise her?
She had reprimanded Gloria in the heat of the moment, forgetting the consequences that could come from such an action. She should not have done something like that. But something had irked Lyra so much with the way they were all over each other, and the way Gloria regarded her like a pesky bug.
So, throwing all caution to the wind, she had said what was in her mind. She was still shocked that Julian had not ordered the guards to discipline her right there and then. Or, he would have left it up to Gloria to decide what punishment to give. Why did he upset the daughter of one of the most powerful Alphas in the kingdom because of her?
Maybe he…did not hate her as much? Maybe he…cared about her?
Lyra shook her head. Just because his punishment methods did not match Devon’s did not mean anything. He regarded her with pure disdain. It would be nothing but wishful thinking to try and convince herself otherwise.
Maybe he would forget about it, she told herself. After all, he must be quite busy with affairs of the kingdom. If she did not get into any trouble…
Lyra’s thoughts ground to a halt as the door to her room opened. She knew it was him even before he appeared through the opening. She lay in bed frozen for a moment. He switched on the lights.
She jumped out of bed quickly and stood beside it, her hands clasped in front of her. Lowering her eyes to the ground, she said, “Your Majesty.”
Was this it? Was he going to discipline her? Why was he doing it in the middle of the night when everybody was asleep? What if he wanted to kill her and dump her body without notice…right, as if the Lycan King would need an excuse to get rid of an Omega slave.
Something caught Lyra’s gaze. Julian was holding a flogger with leather tassels attached to one end. So he was going to whip her after all. She swallowed, bracing for the pain she had experienced so many times before. He would not do it here in the dorm, right? She would rather the others did not hear her.
“Kneel.” His voice was cold like a winter wind and hard like frozen ground.
She went down, the thin fabric of her nightgown not protecting her knees from the hard floor. Her hands clutched the sides of her gown while her teeth bit down on her lip. It’s fine. She would bite her lips so hard no sound would escape.
Julian walked around to her back, and she waited for the familiar sound of the tassels swishing in the air. But he soon walked back around to her front. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her like prey.
She flinched as he suddenly landed the flogger on her shoulder. “Remove this.”
She looked up at him. “What?”
“Did I stutter?” he questioned back.
She swallowed, remembering how he had torn her dress off her body the previous night. He was here to discipline her. Why would he save her the humiliation?
Her shaking hands held onto the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. She did not wear a bra to bed, so her breasts were instantly revealed. She placed the nightgown on the bed and waited.
He walked around her again, dragging the flogger along her bare chest, back, neck. She hated it. She wished he would just get on with it.
“What was it you were saying about the man in your bed?” he asked. He was standing behind her, the whip resting on her shoulder, the tails falling over her breast.
The sudden question surprised her. But she was not going to lose the chance to finally plead her case. “I did not sleep with him,” she said. “I only found him in my bed when I woke up, just before you walked in. Somebody framed me.”
“Who would frame you?” he asked.
“Alpha Devon,” she replied. “He wanted to reject me, so he made it up so you would give him the permission to.”
“And why did he want to reject you?”
Did he really not see why? “Like he said, I’m an Omega with a curse. He did not want me.”
Julian walked to her front again and raised her chin using the handle of the whip. When she looked at him, he asked, “Really? It’s not because you were being a little whore around the pack?”
His tone suggested that he did not believe a single word she uttered. Frustration coiled in her stomach. “No,” she replied emphatically. “He was the one being the whore. He tied me up and made me watch him have sex with other females. When I refused to, he hit me. I’m sure you can see the marks on my back. He has abused me for three years. I was his mate, but he treated me worse than a slave!”
One corner of Julian’s lips lifted in scorn. He took a step back. “You are quite the actress.”
“I’m not lying.”
Julian drew the whip back and hit her across her chest. It was not a hard hit, but it stung enough to hurt her breasts. “I don’t like liars.”
“I’m not–”
He hit her again, harder this time. She raised her hands to her chest instinctively. “Drop them,” he growled.
Her hands fell to her side.
“Get on the bed, on your stomach.”
Lyra got up and onto the bed. Seconds later, she felt the sensation of the cords dragging along her legs, towards her thighs. They disappeared for a moment. When she felt them again, they came down hard on her behind.
She gasped, her hands clutching onto the bed sheets.
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