Mira's POV
Several gasps resonate around the hall. I ignore all of them and keep standing straight despite the pang of pain in my heart.
"You can proceed." He says all of this with a straight face and walks back.
"Guards!" The man that welcomed us from earlier calls on them.
They come out with a rope that has three tiny silver pieces. The other ones drag her and they tie her to a stand.
Just as I was told, she keeps a straight face as royalty would.
"Wim!" The rope lands her on her back successfully ripping a part of her dress.
My heart drops to my stomach. I cannot imagine being in her shoes, I would be screaming for my life rather maintaining silence.
She closes her eyes for a brief second and opens them again. Calmness back in her gaze.
"Wim." The second lash on her back. It splits her dress wider. Her pale milk skin is available for all of the members of the clan present here to see.
Her eyes sparkle. I swallow hard still trying to keep a neutral face and act unbothered.
The guy raises his hand and brings the top down again.
I close my eyes as the rope lands on her back again. My heart beats faster, I take slow breaths as I notice my breathing become erratic.
"Alpha Rowan?" The guard wiping turns to stare at them.
"Did I, the Luna or anyone of my brothers ask you to stop?!" There is a scowl on his face. I stare at him I'm surprised. I'm amazed he is still bothered by her tears.
Does this mean he has some kind of feeling towards her? I turn my face away from him to distract myself.
"No Alpha." His face goes red.
"Will you like to stand in her place then? So the punishment can be effected?" Rowan asks another question. I have known the brothers for a while but I am still surprised with their actions.
They are a different people altogether when it comes down to handling their pack. They may be cruel, rude and sometimes kind, but they had the interest of their clan at heart.
"Then proceed and no more breaks till this is over."
"I hope I have made myself clear?"
"Yes, Alpha Rowan."
"Good."
"Continue."
The whip lands on her back the fourth, the fifth and the sixth time. I play with the ruffles of my dress to distract myself from the incident.
"Look up at her punishment else you will be deciphered by the rest of the members of the clan to be a weak Luna and they would consider you undeserving of being our Luna.
I calm my racing heart and I stare at her. Tears are now running down her face. Her dress is completely torn. There are little injuries on her back. Imjuries that will definitely expand to big wounds if they keep wiping her like that.
"I'm going to throw up." I say it to no one in particular but I know they all heard me.
"Hold it. Endure it. Ignore it. You can mess yourself up to the brim once we're inside but now, you are a different person." Rowan, Damien and Lucian all take turns speaking to me respectively
"Or you can as well choose to end it." Kai says, a slight smirk on his face.
"What exactly are you up to?" No matter how hard I try, I just cannot get rid of the fact that Damien and Kai do not have me in heart. I can't shake off the suspicion I have from the two of them. Like they brought me here for some other reason other than to be a breeder.
And I do not think they will particularly agree to mate with me.
"Lower your guard down little pup. I am only just letting you know the rules of the clan. You are now the Luna. You have the same authority as us."
"In the eyes of the clan members that is." Lucian says from the back. I can tell he is not particularly excited with the new information Kai just passed to me.
"The point is if she can't stop it and feels like she can't take it anymore. She. Can. Stop. It." He raises his neck up a little more.
"Can I really stop it?" I ask Lucian and Rowan, the two people I can actually trust.
"Yes. You can. We'd prefer if you still yourself, watch this and brace yourself for what's to come as the Luna of the pack. Some punishments would be more gruesome than this. And you have to be there." Lucian is giving Kai a look that could kill.
"We are all sick to the stomach. If the members of the clan cannot see it, we can. And I'm sure she sees it too. Now that Rowan has already succeeded in making the guards continue, she is the only person with the power to stop this and just incase you aren't keeping tabs on Serene."
"She is now struggling to breathe. You are all aware that we cannot face another clan now. Not at this point in time, we've had too many conflicts in this space to bring them all together to fight. She actually has to end this."
"I just wasn't willing to say all of this in the beginning." He turns to stare back at me.
"You have our support."
I square my shoulders and prepare to stop this.
"Stop." It comes out as a bare whisper, one that almost has the four of the brothers gaggling.
"You're not taking to the voices in your head, Mira. Speak calmly with authority. Relax."
I chew my gum on the inside and I prepare to go again.
"Stop." I say it calmly. But it has everyone on pause.
"Stop the whipping. As the Luna, I command that this be stopped without further ado. I cannot watch the woman that has led the clan before my coming to give up her life here. Let her go."