29 Punishment
Sera
“Looks like someone’s gotten comfortable with their princess,” a voice cut through my sleep.
I opened my eyes. My lids felt heavy, my vision blurry and thick. A woman was standing by the foot of the bed. She was tall, her skin marked by the kind of scars that only come from years of fighting. I blinked, my sight clearing until I recognized her. She was the one I’d seen talking to Fenris when I first arrived.
Before I could even process a stranger standing in my bedroom, Mina launched herself off the edge of the bed. She flew into the woman’s arms like a child. The stranger caught her easily, as if Mina weighed nothing. Mina’s legs wrapped around the woman’s waist and her arms locked around her neck.
The woman laughed, a deep, raspy sound. She rubbed Mina’s hair roughly. “I haven’t been gone that long, kid.”
Mina pulled back, her face flushed. “You shouldn’t say that. You’re always going away lately. Always leaving.” She hugged her again, burying her face in the woman’s shoulder. “I missed you.”
The woman laughed again and patted Mina’s back. “Get off me, you’re getting damp.” Mina slid down reluctantly.
The woman turned her attention to me. She tilted her head, her eyes moving over me as if she were examining livestock at a market. Then she gave a small, sharp smile. “I hope you’re finding our pack comfortable, Princess.”
I didn’t know how to answer that. In two days, I’d nearly drowned, been publicly humiliated, got into a fistfight, and made a mortal enemy of a council chief’s daughter. Comfortable was the last word I’d use. I just shrugged.
The woman laughed. “The chaos is already waiting for you. Kael is outside. He’s waiting to see the Southern princess who broke his daughter’s nose.”
My stomach dropped.
The woman groaned, shaking her head. “Two days in and you already punched a chief’s daughter. What else did I miss?”
“A lot,” Mina said quickly.
I gave Mina a warning look. She swallowed and looked at the floor.
“Get cleaned up,” the woman said, her tone shifting to business. “Fenris has called for you.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
She smiled. “My name is Yvara. I’m the Alpha’s second. And I’m very curious to see how this goes.” 1
She left before I could ask anything else. Mina helped me dress in something simple and practical. Mina was visibly nervous. Her hands shook as she fastened my tunic, and she kept glancing at the door like she expected a mob to burst through.
“How bad is this going to be?” I asked.
Mina didn’t answer immediately. She smoothed the fabric over my shoulders. “Kael is one of the most powerful chiefs on the council. Old family. Old money. He’s been pushing for more influence for years. Taya is his only daughter.”
“What does he want?”
“I don’t know. But it won’t be small.”
The walk to the council chamber felt like a march to my own execution. My heart was pounding against my ribs, a frantic rhythm that made me feel dizzy.
The chamber was a massive stone room with a long table at the center. Men were already seated-older, hard-faced warriors
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who watched me enter like wolves watching a stray sheep. Yvara was there, leaning against the far wall with her arms crossed, watching everything. 1
Fenris sat at the head of the table. His face was a blank wall of stone.
Standing in the center of the room was Kael. He was tall, his hair a shock of grey, with eyes as cold as a mountain winter. Taya stood right behind him. Her nose was heavily bandaged, which was absolute bullshit given that wolves were supposed to have accelerated healing. She glared at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.
The room went silent when I stepped inside. Kael turned to look at me, his expression controlled, but his voice was like a whetted blade. “So. This is the Southern princess who attacked my daughter.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Fenris spoke first. “We are here to discuss the facts of what happened. Not to make accusations, Kael.”
“The accusation is a fact,” Kael snapped. “My daughter was assaulted. There are witnesses. The princess didn’t deny throwing
the first punch.”
“Is this how Southern royalty behaves?” another chief spoke up, his voice a low growl. “Coming into our pack and attacking our
women?”
“Perhaps she thinks her title protects her from consequences,” another added.
My jaw tightened. I wanted to scream. Mina’s hand brushed my arm-a silent warning to wait.
“I’m not here for an apology,” Kael said, looking directly at Fenris. “Apologies don’t heal broken bones. I want justice. I want the princess punished according to Ironmaw law.”
“What punishment do you have in mind?” Fenris asked.
It was crazy Fenris was even asking that.
Kael gave a cold, thin smile. “Traditionally, an unprovoked assault on a chief’s family is answered with blood. But I’m willing to be reasonable. I’ll accept a public flogging. Twenty lashes. Administered in front of the pack.”
My blood went cold.
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