Jade's POV
We all turned our heads toward the direction of the voice.
"Father?" Ronan called out first.
Alpha Dante Ashridge stepped into view, walking toward us with the calm, confident stride of a man who owned every piece of ground he stepped on. His presence alone seemed to make the air heavier, tighter, more dangerous.
"Good morning, Dad," Ryder greeted, straightening his posture.
"Morning, Father," Renzo added.
Alpha Dante acknowledged them with a small nod. Then his gaze shifted, landing on me through the bars of the cell.
Just for a moment.
But that single moment was enough to send a cold shiver through my entire body.
His eyes were sharp. Calculating. The kind of stare that made you feel seen and invisible at the same time.
"The girl will not be stripped naked and flogged fifty times," he repeated, his voice firm, leaving no room for argument.
"Why?" Ronan blurted out in disbelief.
I wanted to know that too.
Why would he, the Alpha, the man who had signed off on my father's death, intervene for me?
Alpha Dante turned his attention back to me, and my breath caught in my throat.
"Your mother came to beg me to help you," he said.
My heart twisted painfully.
Of course she did. She would do anything to save me, including throwing herself at the feet of the man who ordered her husband's death.
"You might be a traitor's daughter," he continued, his voice deep and steady, "but you are still part of my pack. And your father's end might have been.. unfortunate," he paused, choosing his words carefully, "but before he allowed himself to be corrupted, he was a great asset to this pack. A man with great accomplishments."
I swallowed hard, disbelief swirling inside me.
I've never heard him speak about my father like that.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
Not ever.
"So because of that," Alpha Dante concluded, "and because of your mother's pleas, you shall only be flogged twenty strokes. And no stripping naked."
Only twenty.
Only.
My stomach clenched.
Twenty is still a lot!!!
Alpha Dante turned around without another word, his cloak sweeping across the floor as he strode away. The moment his presence vanished around the corner, the sound of heavy boots thundered toward the cell.
Two guards appeared almost instantly.
The bars screeched open.
Cold hands clamped around my arms.
They dragged me out like garbage being pulled to the curb. The triplets stood exactly where their father had left them, shoulder to shoulder, blank faced, empty eyed, as if I were a stranger.. or worse.
A problem.
Ronan didn't flinch. Ryder didn't blink. Renzo's jaw was locked so tight I thought it would crack, but he said nothing.
None of them said anything.
I didn't cry. I had learned now that crying did nothing but feed them.
My feet scraped against the stones as the guards dragged me through the main courtyard toward the punishment grounds, a raised wooden platform with iron loops bolted into a table stained by old blood. The air smelled of dust, rot, and the metallic sting of dread. My dread.
People began gathering the moment they saw me being hauled toward the stand. Whispering. Pointing. Hungry for the spectacle.
"She's the former beta's daughter"
"The traitor."
"Just like her father"
Their murmurs rolled across my skin, but I kept walking. Or rather, I let myself be dragged.
The guards slammed me onto the cold wooden table. The restraints snapped over my wrists and ankles, forcing my cheek flat against the wood. My breath trembled, but I didn't fight.
"Twenty lashes," one guard barked.
The crowd quieted.
The whip cracked.
Pain detonated across my back like fire ripping through paper. I sucked in a sharp breath, biting down on my scream. The wood under me blurred as tears threatened, but I refused to let them fall.
Second stroke.
My vision sparked.
Third.
My lips parted. A sound almost escaped.
And then....
I saw her.
Linda.
Standing in the front of the crowd, arms folded over her chest, her expression blooming into the widest, sweetest, most venomous smile I had ever seen. She watched the whip carve into my skin as if she were watching fireworks. Her eyes glowed with something sick. something triumphant.
The anger that roared to life inside me was instant, hot, electric, feral. It ripped through the pain, swallowed it whole. And as if the universe felt my fury, the strokes grew weaker. Slower. Like the guard was tiring.. or my rage was numbing every nerve in my body.
Either way, by the time the twentieth lash landed, it barely stung.
The crowd had begun to lose interest, murmuring and drifting away like bored spectators after the main act was done. The restraints were released, and I slid off the wooden table, wincing as the sore skin stretched.
Before I could take a full breath, she stepped forward.
Linda.
Perfect hair. Perfect clothes. Perfect cruelty.
"Oh my Jade," she cooed, tilting her head with exaggerated pity. "How did this happen to you on your birthday?"
Her voice was dripping with sweetness, so sweet it made me nauseous.
I stared at her, disgust crawling up every inch of me. "Stop with the stupid act, Linda. I know you're behind this."
She gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest. "Jade, that's such a horrible thing to say. I would never do this to you."
She took one slow step closer, her breath brushing my ear as her tone dropped into its true form, cold, sharp, poisonous.
"Too bad you were just flogged and not sentenced to death like your traitorous father."
My heart stuttered.
"If you don't want more.. accidents like this," she whispered, "then stay away from my boys."
She pulled back with that same fake smile plastered across her face as if she hadn't just threatened my life.
Then she extended a glittering envelope toward me.
"Anyway," she chirped, voice bright again, "I'm having a birthday party this evening. My wolf will be awakened, and it'll finally be confirmed that the triplets are my mates."
Her smile sharpened.
"You should come, since it's your birthday too." She glanced meaningfully at my bleeding back. "Though it seems you're already having so much fun."
Linda laughed, loud, bright, cruel, and sauntered away, the invitation dangling between my fingers.
I stared at it, the anger was still burning in my veins.
Linda's laughter echoed in my head, poisonous and sharp, and for a moment, all I wanted was to turn around and claw that smirk off her face.
But then....
A movement caught my eye.
Renzo.
He was walking across the yard, fast, purposeful, but strangely.. discreet. Hood low, shoulders tense, steps clipped like he didn't want anyone to notice him.
Renzo never walked like that.
He moved like a prince, confident, loud, unavoidable.
But right now?
He was like a shadow.
Curiosity tugged at me, overpowering even the throbbing pain in my back. Something about his posture. the secrecy.. It was enough to pull me away from my rage.
So I followed him.
Keeping my steps light, head low, staying behind collapsed crates and stone columns as I trailed him past the main houses, past the training grounds, and toward the stables. He didn't look back once. If he had, I knew he would've sensed me instantly, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
He slipped behind the last stable, the part no one used anymore because the roof leaked and smelled like mold.
I crept up silently until I was close enough to hear voices.
Then I froze.
Renzo wasn't alone.
The guard who flogged me, the same man who had dragged the whip across my skin twenty times, was standing in front of him, head bowed.
"I did as you said, my prince," the guard murmured. "I loosened my grip on the whip and didn't flog her half as hard as I normally would other people. And I tried my best to make sure no one noticed I was going easy on her."
My stomach dropped.
What?
My breath caught in my throat as Renzo reached into his coat and pulled out a small pouch, heavy, judging by the metallic clink that sounded when he dropped it into the guard's hand.
"Do not mention this to anyone," Renzo said coldly. His voice was low, sharp, the kind of tone he used when he issued commands meant to be obeyed without question.
"Yes, my prince. My lips are sealed," the guard said quickly, bowing again. He pocketed the coins eagerly and sauntered off, whistling under his breath.
Renzo turned to leave.
I ducked behind a stack of wooden buckets, my heart pounding. If he caught me spying, I didn't know what he'd do to me.
I waited until his footsteps faded before I slowly stepped out and watched him walking away, his shoulders rigid.
My mind spun.
Renzo. paid the guard?
Paid him to go easy on me?
My fingers trembled against my sides.
The reason the strokes had become weaker. less painful. wasn't luck.
It wasn't the guard getting tired.
It wasn't my anger numbing me.
It was Renzo.
Renzo, who wouldn't even look at me when I was dragged out.
Renzo, who always kept the coldest distance.
Renzo, who to hated everything I was.
Why.?
Why would he do that?
My chest tightened comfortably.
He hated me.
He always made that clear.
So why would he secretly protect me.?
