I willed every muscle in my body to budge, to run away because this sight was too much to bear.

But I couldn't. And neither could anyone else.

We all watched in silence as our Luna finished taking the blows against her back without even an ounce of emotion on her face. When the pack warrior put the whip down, he bowed his head as she stood up and took the towel from his hands to clear the excess blood.

I stepped forward to wipe them down for her, but Beta Conrad's mate was closer, and she took the towel and started dabbing at the lash wounds with tears rapidly streaming down her face.

My lips curled into my mouth as the broken skin on her back was revealed and swiveled around to face the pack members standing behind me.

In the time that Jaslynn was being whipped, the crowd had grown larger. News had traveled that their long-awaited Luna was being punished before they were even introduced to her.

But they all knew the rule: once you were on pack land, you were under pack law.

Despite the horrifying ordeal they had just witnessed, I saw hope growing on several faces. The hope that the torment their Luna went through would be enough to convince their Alpha that it was time to advance from these 19th-century forms of punishments.

There was some brief shuffling as the pack warriors began moving Jaslynn to the chain swings. I turned my head slightly to observe Alrik, but he didn't lift his head from the whipping post even though Jaslynn had already been shifted.

I knew his eyes were trained on the vermillion blood pools that had filled the cracks in the concrete.

The blood his mate had shed in an attempt to pull his head out of his ass.

I shook my head in disappointment and traveled around the group to the swings where Jaslynn was being shackled, her arms in the air and her toes barely touching the platform. She didn't even look bothered by the cuffs around her wrists as her eyes raised and studied the dark faces surrounding her.

Her gaze landed on me, and she gave me a small, comforting smile as if to tell me everything was okay. It was funny how she was trying to make me feel better when she was the one with the bleeding back.

As the pack warriors fell back and flanked her sides, Alrik finally made his move and walked over to her, striding onto the platform so he could speak to her without anyone eavesdropping on their conversation.

I darted forward in time to hear him say, "–did you do this?"

Jaslynn tilted her head as she studied his face, "I can't spell it out for you every time, Alrik. I need you to figure this out. Until you do, I'm staying here."

"You're being absurd," he whispered harshly, furrowing his eyebrows at her, "I'm not going to stand here and deal with your drama. Come find me when you're ready to apologize for your foolishness."

I rolled my eyes at his ignorance while Jaslynn just chuckled humorlessly, "You just don't get it yet, Alrik. You just don't."

He growled under his breath, and everyone stared at him worriedly as he stepped off the platform and stormed away, his hands clenched in tight fists.

Once he was out of sight, there was a brief period of silence as no one knew what to do. I cleared my throat, ready to dismiss them when the large group started to disperse without any warning.

To my surprise, they started to create a jumbled line in front of their Luna, and Jaslynn's eyes widened in shock at the sight as the bustling came to a stop.

An elderly couple stepped forward and bowed their heads, their hands clasped in reverence.

The warm smile that formed on Jaslynn's face conveyed a thousand and one words– each one dedicated to reassuring them that all the pieces to their broken hearts would fall in place and that she had no regrets for what she did.

The couple murmured their gratitude and well-wishes, and she bobbed her head at them as they moved aside for the next wolf.

One by one, they all bowed their heads and thanked her– some in tears, some with joy. She returned each one with a small dip of her head, her eyes glistening as she was moved by their gestures.

Meanwhile, I was in awe of the whole motion as well. It wasn't everyday a group of at least one hundred proud wolves bent their heads in respect to a woman they had just met.

When the final wolf walked away, I climbed the platform as she laughed, sniffling and shaking her hair back, "I was not expecting that."

"You are one crazy bitch," I mumbled loud enough for her to hear, "But I know the pack is grateful for your craziness. That was the first time I've seen them pay their respects like that to a living being. I just wish that all of this will not be in vain."

"It won't be," she stated confidently, "Alrik is stubborn, but he doesn't know that I can beat him at his own game. My punishment might be for two weeks, but I'll sit out here in a peaceful protest until he comes and breaks these chains himself. And I know that will happen, it will just take some time."

"I believe you," I nodded slowly, "I'm actually gonna go check on him now to see how he feels, but I'll be back. Hang tight."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm hanging with everything I've got here."

"Good, keep it that way," I said, jumping off the wooden stage, "See you later, Luna."

My arms were starting to get sore in these shackles, the cuffs were digging into my hands, and my feet were definitely asleep.

But it was all worth it.

To see the glimmer of hope light up in his pack members gave me the strength to hang here for as long as I needed to, and not one part of me regretted what I had done.

The adrenaline that was pumping through my body made the whippings seem like little slaps on the wrist. The stinging and burning didn't chime in until after everyone had left me to return to their regular business.

The lashes would probably leave scars, but I had told the pack warrior to not hold back, to give me the thrashing he would give anyone else.

At the end of the day, the scars would be a symbol of my strength and determination, and I would proudly wear them when Alrik came to his senses, whenever that was.

I couldn't forget the haunted expression on his face when he saw me in the swing. The Alrik I had gotten to know would have ripped them off of me instantly, but the Alrik that had stood before me had been Alpha Alrik, and he would never go against pack law.

'No one was above pack law.'

He had said those words numerous times until it was drilled into my head, and now those very words were coming back to haunt him.

The irony.

The sun had gone down, and the only light around me were the dim street lamps that did nothing than highlight the shadows of the pack warriors surrounding the perimeter.

For one prisoner, they had extremely tight security, although a part of me believed the reason for their presence was Alrik's doing.

I sighed and rotated my stiff neck as my eyes sought out the pack warrior that had whipped me. He was standing not too far away with his eyes trained on me and his arms crossed as if he was expecting someone to attack at any moment.

"Excuse me," I called, capturing his attention in an instant. He dipped his head in response, "Luna."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Jefferson."

"Jefferson," I repeated, "Do you know what I'm supposed to do if I need to use the restroom?"

He glanced at his watch, "In another hour, you'll get a bathroom break and we'll take you to the bunkers for exactly five minutes before you have to be chained again."

"Oh good, so I don't need to pee my pants. That would have been uncomfortable."

"Yes," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "Alpha Alrik figured it wasn't sanitary to force the punished wolves to urinate in their places."

I blinked and stared at patches of dried vomit and blood near the other stations, "But that is?"

"Wolves aren't really bothered by it. In fact, it's normal for us."

I crinkled my nose, realizing how I had gotten used to the smell, "I'm not used to the sight, but at least the smell doesn't make me want to throw up anymore."

He nodded, "Is that all, Luna?"

Before I could respond, a dark hooded figure came running into the punishing grounds. Jefferson straightened and frowned at the wolf, "Who's there?"

"It's only me, Jeff."

Reece pulled her hood off and smiled at him, "I thought I would relieve you of your duties so you could get dinner. I'll watch over Luna Jaslynn in the meanwhile."

Jefferson looked reluctant but as Reece raised her eyebrows at him, he conceded, "Of course, Commander Reece. We'll take our dinner break."

He gestured to the other wolves surrounding the grounds, and their shadows trailed off between the buildings as they left, leaving Reece and me in the dim yellow light.

"I get the feeling you didn't just want them to have their dinner break," I said, giving her a pointed look as she smiled sheepishly and shrugged, "I may have had an ulterior motive."

"And what would that be?"

She waved to someone behind her, and another hooded figure appeared under the light.

"Jaslynn," Reece said excitedly as the figure began to pull their hood off,

"I want you to meet Alma Kuznetsov, your future mother-in-law."