Scarlett's POV
My heart pounded wildly as the guards dragged me toward the kitchen.
All the female servants were already gathered there, their eyes burning with familiar hatred. To them, I wasn't a girl. I was the daughter of traitors. A stain on the pack. A weed that should have been ripped out long ago.
"Scarlett, come forward," the Head Maiden, Angela, barked.
I stepped toward her, my head bowed low. Unexpectedly, a loud slap landed across my cheek. The force sent me stumbling to the side, my vision blurring. I gasped as a sharp sting radiated through my face, and the awful taste of blood filled my mouth.
"You've been stealing from the kitchen purse!" she screamed.
"Stealing? I'm not a thief," I whispered, a single tear tracking through the soot on my skin.
"Don't lie to me!" she snapped. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch, the one the staff used for market runs. "The guards searched the servant quarters after the cook noticed the week's grocery cash was missing. Guess where they found it? Hidden inside your pillowcase, Scarlett."
Another slap landed, harder than the first. I shook my head in disbelief. I hadn't touched that purse. I didn't even know where it was kept. Someone had planted it to frame me.
"I didn't do it!" I cried out, but Angela's expression remained frozen in hate.
"You're a traitor's daughter, and now you're a common thief," she sneered. "You think you can steal from the very pack that feeds you? Guards! Tie her to the pillar. One hundred strokes."
The guards grabbed my arms, their grips bruising. My heart pounded against my ribs as they dragged me out into the harsh sunlight of the courtyard. They shoved me against the wooden post and bound my wrists tight with rough hemp rope. I closed my eyes, bracing myself. I had been whipped before, but the weight of this false accusation was painful.
WHIP!
The first strike tore through the back of my thin uniform. I gasped, my skin erupting in a line of fire.
WHIP! WHIP!
I muffled my screams, biting my lip until it bled. Mansion workers and warriors gathered to watch. Some were entertained; others whispered, and a few stared at me with sympathy.
I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for my twentieth birthday to come faster. When my wolf awakened, I would heal quickly. I would not be this helpless.
Suddenly, a cold, familiar voice echoed through the yard.
"Enough!"
The whipping stopped instantly. I opened my eyes, blinking away the sweat and stinging tears. Standing at the edge of the yard, looking like a god of anger, was Liam.
His presence silenced everyone. He looked at my shredded uniform, the blood soaking the fabric, and then turned his piercing green eyes to Angela.
"What is the charge?" he asked, his voice low but authoritative.
"She stole the kitchen cash, Alpha," Angela bowed. "The pouch was hidden in her bed."
Silence hung in the air as everyone waited for what he would say.
Liam walked toward me. For a split second, I saw his gaze flicker to my bleeding back, and for a foolish second, I hoped to see the boy who once protected me. But his eyes quickly turned back to ice.
"Untie her," he commanded.
The guards quickly sliced the ropes. I collapsed to the gravel, my breath coming in ragged sobs. My arms dropped weakly to my sides, my skin burning. I looked up at him, a tiny spark of hope in my heart. Was he saving me from the pain?
Liam's gaze remained cold. He didn't offer a hand.
"Kneel," he ordered.
My breath hitched. "Liam… please…"
"It's Alpha Liam," he snarled, the power of his command forcing my head down. He looked at the guards, then back at the crowd. "The whip is too merciful for a thief who steals. If she likes the kitchen's money so much, she can spend the day thinking about it here."
He pointed to the center of the yard, where the sun was at its most brutal. "Make her kneel on the stones until the sun goes down."
A lump formed in my throat. He wasn't setting me free. He was simply choosing a different punishment.
The guards grabbed my arms again, forcing me to the ground. The scorching sun burned against my skin, and the rough gravel dug into my knees. I clenched my jaw, holding back another sob as Liam turned and walked away, leaving me under the merciless sun.