A/N: I was a bit nervous when posting this chapter because I know how you guys are gonna feel :( ... *sniff sniff*

Chapter 11

~Carson’s POV~

That was it, the trial was done, the verdict had been announced and the punishment would be meted out. I looked around the room at the mess I’d made of it; broken glass, books and vases strewn about.

Furniture over-turned, picture frames shattered, paintings smashed. I never been so angry before, not when my father mocked me and abused me, not when I’d gotten into fights at school because some asshole had chosen to step to me and certainly not when I’d been cheated out of my coming-of-age hunt.

Never had I felt this intense urge to just rip something or someone apart and if I could get my hand over Jessop’s pale scrawny neck I’d squeeze until I couldn’t feel a thing. This was his fault, he’d riled up the pack, he’d made them angry enough to call for Laken’s punishment.

Laken

My mate…

My lover…

My love…

He would be punished for his ‘crimes’ in less than half an hour and I’d be the one to hand it out.

I was pissed that he’d disobeyed me after I hand practically begged him not to, I was pissed because Jessop had thought to use him to get to me, I was pissed that the pack was bloodthirsty enough to call for this kind of discipline on a child, but most of all I was angry at myself for not trying hard enough to prevent this outcome.

Maybe if I’d stressed the importance of him not going into the forest more, maybe if I had forgone that damn meeting I’d had and stayed with him yesterday then he wouldn’t be in this position. Maybe… but maybes wouldn’t get us anywhere. Maybe’s couldn’t change the past.

“Damnit!” I slammed my fist into the wall for the third time since I’d left the trial, it left another crack to match the one from earlier. Feeling weighted down by the strain of what I was to do today I rested my head on the wall’s cracked surface and allowed my mind to drift back to last night, to the look on his face when the pack members called for his punishment, he’d looked so stricken, so lost, so terrified and I hadn’t been able to comfort him.

I was dragged from my thoughts when I felt the tears spill, cascading down my cheeks. I touched my face, shocked at the clear liquid on my finger tips. I never cried. Never, but at the moment I felt as if I could just curl up in a ball and let out a good long howl, just find some way to empty my soul of all the pain I was feeling inside.

I hadn’t seen him since the trial a few hours ago, where, after receiving no reason from him as to why he had gone into the forest, the votes had been cast and he was sentenced to ‘string 2’ found in the pack code laws. The laws stated that upon first offence of a crime committed by a minor, said offender was subject to the ‘string 2’ violation penalty.

It included harsh punishments for putting one’s pack in danger without just cause and severe penalties for disobeying an Alpha’s rule. After much debate and negotiation on my part, the council had agreed to reduce the punishment. That was all I could do for him.

I’d lain awake all night trying to find a way out of this, I could order that he not be put on trial, we could leave the pack, I could step down as Alpha, I could kill Jessop. So many things had gone through my mind but all had been quashed.

If I left the pack Jessop would take control and no Alpha in his right mind would leave his pack in the hands of a monster. Killing Jessop would be heartless since technically he had down nothing wrong. If I pulled Laken off trial the pack would question it and I would be undermined. There was just nothing I could do. It was the first time I’d ever felt so utterly hopeless.

A knock sounded on the door then Thomas’s voice sounded on the other side. “Carson, ten minutes till the meeting.” he said then he was gone.

Meeting…what a pretty way of describing it. I turned around and slowly walked over to the mirror, looking at my reflection. I was trying to school my features so no one would pick up on the emotions just below the surface. I watched as a lone tear leaked from the corner of me eye and I snared, disgusted at myself.

“An Alpha never shows weakness.” I said to myself. He was making me weak, making me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling, thinking things I shouldn’t be thinking. He had me putting up with his constant disobedience and he had my mind drifting off during vital pack meetings, when I should be focused.

A pack could not function with an Alpha who was only half there. If an alpha was not fully committed to his pack then he had might as well step down. Laken had disobeyed me and no matter how innocent it might have seemed to him at the time, he had put the pack in danger.

If it had been any other member, I would not hesitate to act and despite the fact that Laken was my mate, the pack deserved an unbiased leader. A fair leader. It hurt me to the core just thinking about what was to come, but it had to be done.

I lifted my head and wiped the tears from my eyes. As I looked into my eyes in the mirror, anger bubbled up once more and with a growl I smashed my fist into the glass. It shattered around me, but I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be able to look at my face in the mirror again after today.

…………….

~Laken’s POV~

I was relieved of my shirt and held by two guards, each on either side of me holding my arms. I stood with my back to the crowd, my head down, waiting for it. I had been sentenced earlier to 10 lashes, five for disrespecting the Alpha and five for putting the pack in danger.

They were to use a hard rubber whip which was designed to tear the flesh. It was said that each scar was to remind the wrongdoer for the rest of his life that he had once let down his pack, that he had once committed the ultimate crime against his family. The wrongdoer was to wear his scars with shame for the rest of his life.

The thought both scared and saddened me but thanks to Carson, 10 whips was all I’d be getting, the original punishment had been much worse, whips and other things I didn’t want to imagine. I couldn’t see the faces in the crowd but I imagined many people were quite pleased with the outcome, they had been a part of the voting process after all. I was glad my parents had been ordered to stay away; I didn’t want them to see me like this.

I tensed when I heard the crowd grow silent, which meant it was time. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. A piece of cloth was shoved into my mouth and I bit down.

I had already forgiven Carson before I even felt the first strike against the naked flesh of my back. I bit down on the cloth, tears springing to my eyes at the feel of the whip against my flesh. It hurt more than I had ever dreamed it would and I couldn’t help the loud whimper that escaped me.

I forgave him even as I felt the warm liquid streaming down my back from the gash there and I forgave him when I felt the second strike and the third. My knees threatened to buckle and my mind grew hazy, the pain was more than I could bear and I felt myself go limp in the guards’ arms.

The only thought that kept me conscious was Carson, I didn’t care that he was doing this to me, it wasn’t his fault it was mine. He had tried to shield me from this and I loved him for it, I tried to remember all the good times we had together as a way to block out the pain, I tried to picture his smile, his touch, his kiss but even that couldn’t block out the pain, when I felt the whip strike my heated and bloody flesh I screamed out in pain, then sank into welcome unconsciousness.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE GONNA FEEL BAD..I ACTUALLY DIDN'T ENJOY WRITING THIS CHAPTER AT ALL BUT I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS SO IT HAD TO BE DONE.... KINDA NERVOUS TO READ YOUR COMMENTS LOL BUT LIKE I SAID...A PERSON HAS TO STUMBLE AROUND IN THE DARK FOR A WHILE BEFORE HE CAN LEARN TO APPRECIATE THE LIGHT...LAKEN'S STRONG STOP WORRYING SO MUCH GUYS...ANYWAY LEMME KNOW WHAT YALL THINK..THIS CHAP IS JUST TOO SAD TO PUT SHOUT OUTS UNDER LOL..SO .....ENJOY?

Oh and I have a TwiTTER now!!! so follow me @ TwinZ_Double

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited