Deep breaths.

Inhale.

Exhale.

There weren't words to describe how torn I was about what I was seeing. Why was this normal? How did these pack members sleep at night knowing that there are wolves just around the corner being punished for who knows what?

I slowly turned to face Reece, who looked as if she was used to this, "So this is why Aleksei left. Because he didn't approve of punishing people this way."

"Aleksei was more forgiving of the two," she nodded, "In Alrik's world, there are no second chances, which is how we got to this stage. If you commit an offense, you aren't let off with a warning. You're charged with some sort of punishment ranging from the chains to the pillories."

Her eyes filled with pain as she glanced at the pillory station, "The pillories are the worst. Ninety percent of the time, the offender is whipped several times before they are forced into that disgusting wooden contraption."

"Who decides the charges?"

"I do."

I spun around and stared at Beta Conrad in shock, "You do?"

He shook his head and looked at the ground, seemingly ashamed of himself, "I have no choice. It's one of my duties as Beta."

"It used to be my duty," Reece added, "But Alrik thought Conrad was better suited for the job because I was too emotional about it."

Beta Conrad sighed and shook his head, "I may not show it on the outside, but this does take a toll on me as well. I hardly sleep at night after I charge someone."

I swallowed hard and pointed to the young wolf who was still being whipped, "What is his offense?"

"He stole medicine from the pharmacy."

"Did he say why?"

"That was all the information I received. Someone found him stealing, and he was brought to me," Beta Conrad stated quietly, nodding at the pack warrior who had stopped whipping the boy and was walking away.

As soon as the warrior disappeared into one of the buildings, I approached the wolf and kneeled before him as he groaned in agony. His back was covered in blood, and his shirt was tattered beyond repair.

"What's your name?" I asked softly, trying not to startle him.

His eyes cracked open, revealing his hazel irises, and he blinked a few times as if he was trying to recognize me, "Nolan."

"Nolan, why did you steal from the pharmacy?"

He rubbed his face with his clean hand, "My sister went into heat, but her mate isn't here so I broke into the pharmacy when it was closed to get her the medicine that reduces the effects of her heat."

"Is she okay? Do you know what happened to her?" I asked worriedly.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I don't know. She was passed out when I left her so I can't mindlink her."

"I'll send my mate to check on her," Beta Conrad voiced from behind me.

Nolan gave him a painful, but grateful smile, "Thank you, sir."

I tugged my wand out of my hair and patted his shoulder gently, "Sit up, let me heal your back."

"No, no, no, you'll get in trouble," Nolan said, scooting away, "The pack warrior will be back any moment to collar me and chain me to the poles."

The frown on my face deepened, "How long are you collared for?"

"Two days," he grabbed a towel that was a few feet away and started wiping at the blood, "I hope it doesn't rain tonight. I'll probably catch a cold."

The thought that they were forced to sit through all sorts of weather made my stomach churn with anger.

There were good ways to discipline and bad ways to discipline– Alrik's ways were terrible. Even the smallest crimes were given extreme punishments on top of public humiliation. It was a miracle they didn't force the whole pack to watch as each wolve was punished.

"Allow me," I said quietly, taking the towel from his hand to wipe the parts he couldn't reach.

"Thank you," he grunted through the sting of the rough cloth as I wiped his wounds as softly as I could, "Who are you anyway?"

"Just a visitor," I muttered, "I was interested in seeing the pack."

I did not feel like announcing that I was Alrik's mate. Nolan would probably recoil in fear and refuse to talk to me anymore.

"A visitor, eh? Be careful then. Even visitors are punished if they break any pack laws."

Before I could ask him about pack law, the pack warrior reappeared with a collar in his hand and snapped at Nolan, "Stand up."

Nolan bit his lip and wobbled to his feet, wincing as he straightened his back, causing the whip wounds to open further. I watched the pack warrior almost drag him to the poles where he was forced to shift and then collared.

My eyes darted to the matted fur, and I looked away, unable to stomach the sight of his wolf being chained with a silver collar that was sure to maximize his torment.

"Jaslynn," Reece called from a few feet behind me, "I still have something else to show you."

I stood up and shook my head miserably, "I don't know how much more I can take. Please tell me what you're about to show me is better."

She swallowed hard and kicked the dirt, "I'm afraid not, but you need to see this."

***

The Moon Goddess closed her eyes and covered her face as she observed Jaslynn's reaction to the petrifying side of Alrik.

"Why do you look so upset? She's finding out, isn't she?" Her mate comforted her, running his hand through her hair as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yes, she did find out," she stared, glancing at the sphere where the Commander and Jaslynn were walking, "But that was not everything."

"What do you mean, love?"

"I am afraid that what Jaslynn will find next will cause her to leave Alrik. She already looks furious with what she has found."

"But let us not forget Jaslynn's personality," her mate pointed out, "If she sees people in need, she will do anything to help them."

"That's true," she sighed, "But at what cost? What will stop this abuse?"

Her mate kissed the top of her head, "We will have to wait and see. But trust Jaslynn, Cassandra. She has already changed Alrik a little, I am positive she can change the monstrous side of him as well."

"I know," The Moon Goddess muttered, "I know. But at the moment, I am more afraid about how she will react to what she will see next."

***

We had probably walked a mile or two away from the pack land before we came across a large concrete wall.

As we got closer and closer, I stared at the magnificent structure in awe and disbelief. It wasn't too tall, maybe six or seven feet at the most, but it was extremely wide. The top of the wall was lined with curly barbed wire that was clearly meant to prevent intruders from entering.

"Reece, why is there a wall?" I asked calmly, trying not to show my nervousness.

She nodded to a metal door that was heavily locked in the middle of the wall, "You'll see."

An unpleasant odor started to fill my nose with every step that I took toward the wall, but I couldn't place the smell. Reece pulled out a large ring of keys and started fiddling with the locks, and once they were all unlocked, she heaved the hefty door open with a grunt.

I walked through it wearily, and the disgusting odor became almost unbearable. I clapped the sleeve of my jacket over my nose and turned around, my eyes widening for the infinite time this evening.

Heads.

Hundreds of heads were hung on the wall, all lined up in neat rows with little plaques below each one with the names of who the head used to belong to.

I was gagging over was the rancid smell of still blood, rotting flesh, and the different gases that the body parts released as they decomposed. Some of the heads had rotted to the point that they were mere skulls, and the ones that were in the process of decaying were being eaten away at by insects.

A sudden bout of nausea washed over me, and I leaned over, gripping my knees as I tried to hold the bile in. Reece didn't even seem bothered by the smell as she traced the wall with her eyes, "This is the rogue wall."

"The– the what?" I panted.

"The rogue wall. Most of the rogue wolves that try to enter the territory come from this side so Alrik placed this wall here to warn them. All of these heads belong to rogues who breached our border on another side or have injured or killed a pack member."

I couldn't take it anymore.

Throughout my life, I had seen many different horrifying things, but this wall surpassed all of them. There was no sane explanation as to why someone would keep putrefied heads as a means to drive their enemies away.

"At least once every few months, I'll add more heads to this wall," Reece said in a low voice as if she didn't want to disturb the heads, "It has become normal for me."

I raised my head at her tone, and she turned to me with a sigh, "I've tried convincing Alrik for years to take this wall down, that it isn't necessary anymore because the rogues know better than to come to our land now. But he's insistent about this."

"That–that," I shook my head, "The rumors weren't as far off as I thought then."

"The rumors were started by people in the pack. They weren't wrong, perhaps embellished, but not completely wrong. The pack members live in fear that if they even step the wrong way, they will somehow make their way onto this wall as well."

I straightened and walked closer to the wall, clenching my sleeve tighter over my nose and mouth so I did not throw up. The first plaque I could read was beneath one of the skulls that had little pieces of black flesh still decomposing.

Peter Johnson: 1891

The next head belonged to a woman that must have been put on the wall recently because the flesh was barely rotted. The head was hanging by the blonde locks of hair.

Elizabeth Marquis: 2019

"She had tried to assault one of our border wolves," Reece explained, coming to stand beside me.

I continued reading down the wall, each name like a stab to my heart. Rogue wolves were known to be naturally aggressive and violent so it was not completely their fault. At the very least, the ones who had just breached the border should have been buried properly. They did not deserve to rest with their body parts scattered around.

"Are there any children on this wall?" I asked, my heart sinking even more at the thought.

"No, Alrik believes that rogue children can still integrate into the pack environment since they are quick learners. Once they are groomed for this lifestyle, they will be integrated into his army or given other duties."

"Army? You mean, they will become pack warriors?"

"They will be part of the section that helps Alrik overtake other packs, to be specific. It is still hard on them, but it's better than adding their heads to this wall."

I nodded slowly and directed my attention back to the plaques before Reece called my name once more, "We should head back. Alrik will wonder what is taking so long."

"Let's go. I've had enough for today," I mumbled, moving behind her towards the door.

While Reece worked on the locks again, I looked around and found that a ray of sunlight was reflecting off of one of the heads on the other side of the door. I frowned and proceeded to march toward it, wondering how anything was reflecting off of decaying flesh.

The head belonged to a woman with thinning white hair. The sun was reflecting off of a nose ring that was barely hanging on.

"That nose ring," I whispered, realizing that it looked awfully familiar. Where had I seen it?

My eyes darted down to the plaque, and my heart stopped in my chest at the shiny black letters that spelled out:

Madeline Beaumont: 2016