Chapter 12

'She conquered her
demons and wore
her scars like an angel'

The two wolves walk out, completely ignoring me again. I turn my back, ready to escape from this awkward position and find out what the guys were going on about.

I have to know.

A voice stops me and I gulp when I realise who it was and what they were saying.

"You can come in now Mate." Crap!

I feel my cheeks flame up and I grip the side of my shirt, preparing myself to look neutral. I walk in and avoid his eyes. He'll be able to read me the second I look up and I know it.

"Sorry, I came to..well...talk to you about something. Yup, talk. And then I realised that someone else was here."

"Look at me when you talk."

I roll my eyes and look up, finding anything but him. That's a very interesting black wall behind him. I just love the boring tone an-

"Look at me."

Damn! He wasn't supposed to notice! I lock my brown eyes with his green and sigh, the warmth feeling of the mate bond taking over.

Exactly why I didn't want to look.

"Why were you listening to my conversation? You are not Luna yet, you don't have the right. You could be punished, 25 whips of the silver whip for overhearing the Alpha's conversation."

Then I realise. He's not nice. Why am I feeling all warm off a mate who won't even accept the fact that I exist?

I stiffen, knowing exactly what I'm going to say. If he wants to go 'play the game that way' then go ahead. We'll see what happens.

"Don't specialise me. Go for it. Punish me. Punish me."

He raises his eyebrow and I see his eyes crinkle slightly, glazed. He's talking to his wolf.

"No. You are still my mate."

I don't deserve special treatment. I clench my jaw and rub my hand on my cheek.

"Yes. I'm a rogue. I could leak this information to any of your enemies. Do it. While you're at it, call your pack to see. Because I'm just a rogue. I remember seeing rogues being punished in front of me when I was in this pack, I should get the same treatment."

I run out of the room and sprint downstairs.

Everyone stops whatever they're doing and stare at me, confused. "Everyone! I committed a crime! I over heard the Alpha's conversation!"

I hear gasps from left right and centre. What a dramatic pack. Huh, fits with their Alpha.

"Punish her!"

"Get the whip out!"

"She's just a rogue, do it!"

I smell my mate and turn, staring at him. "It seems like the people know what they want. Do it. Show me where your loyalties lie, your pack or your mate. Show me."

I know I've annoyed him. A lot. His face is turning red and he overall looks stressed. But he's pushed me to this point. I'm only doing it because of him. I blame him.

The best thing is, he can feel everything that happens to me. He knows how it feels.

Just like when he went to the other girls when I wasn't there to provide him with what he needed. I'm not forgetting that pain easily.

"Go get the whip."

Here we go.

Everyone is in a circle around me and I can feel the wind against my face. I can smell the faint smell of the river I love and I can smell the excitement of all of the wolves around me.

Sadistic. That's what these wolves are.

And through all of these wolves, I can smell the fear. The fear off my friends. I look at them and I see Isla crying. I bet her pack wasn't as sad as this one.

I see Jax comforting her, trying to calm her down. But he's not helping. Not at all.

I feel the silver hand cuffs dig into my wrist and the mud pull with my shoes.

"Quinn Avery, rogue, has committed the crime of over hearing the pack's plans etcetera.
She has been punished with the silver whip. 25 rounds of the whips."

I hear everyone cheer, like a distant memory. I focus on the stoic build of my mate and I look up at his face, emotionless.

This pack is known to be one of the most ruthless packs for a reason, they punish for every single thing.

I remember my parents. How they were punished for speaking with an enemies pack. I remember everything.

They force me onto my knees, telling me to lean on a chair.

I do and I feel them pull my shirt up enough to have a good place to whip. Some people gasp at my other marks and others whisper with glee.

Rhea takes in a sharp intake of oxygen when the whip swings, hitting me harsh on the back.

I grit my teeth, forcing myself to swallow the scream urging to come out.

And I think of other things. Of the branches snapping under my paws. Of the wind against my fur. Of the water washing away all of my worries.

Everything feels distant, like a dream. The feeling of the silver against my skin is somewhat relieving.

I don't stop the tear that slips down my red cheeks but I stop the rest. Why should I show myself to be so weak?

I'm a rogue. And I'm strong.

The feeling of the ointment on my back is cold and refreshing.

"Ow!" I wince when the wind picks up and makes the ointment sting on my back.

Lea's face screws up. "Sorry." I nod, not letting another wince or scream slip out.

"I can't believe you did that! Why? You're just hurting yourself Q!"

Isla winces every time Lea applies the ointment and stays silent, distant. Rhea makes a load of hand movements as she dreams at me. Lea just looks focuses, determined to not make this hurt.

"Guys, it needed to happen. I needed to see who Silas loves more: me or his pack. No he's chosen. I'm always going to be second. It's okay."

Lea pins my top up and I relax into Isla's lap as she massages my head and plays with my hair.

"But isn't the pack number 1 for every Alpha?"

"Not every Alpha. I've been every where and a lot of Alphas value their mates a lot. I don't have high expectations Rhea, but I always want my mate to value me as a person."

She sighs, defeated. "Okay, okay. But if you're going take me and Danny with you. I don't wanna stay in this pack anymore. I've had enough."

"Woah woah woah! Where will I go then?"

I roll my eyes at Lea's dramatic sentence. She's literally friends with everyone in this pack.

Isla steals the words right out of my mouth. "You are literally friends with everyone in this pack."

"But you guys are my best friends! Take me with! In your suitcase!"

Rhea smacks her on her head, disappointed. "We're not taking a suitcase, doofus."

"But what about me?" Isla's quiet voice is so quiet, that I nearly didn't hear it over my own breathing.

"My mate is here and I love him, but I love you guys too!" Her voice rises as she gets more confused and angrier.

"It's okay, we won't leave you! And anyway, even if we did, you're so nice! People will want to be friends with you. You have a mate that loves you and will probably have a family sooner rather than later."

She runs her hand through her own hair before placing back in mine. "I know but this wouldn't have happened without you!"

I lean forward, careful not to hurt my injured back.

"Can you guys find me another room in the pack house? I'm not going back to his room."

Lea grins. "I know just the one."

Over 600 reads! Seriously guys, I'm gonna keep reminding you that you are the best! We are nearly to 1K! Already! It's only been about 1 week and a half since I properly published this book!

Only you guys got me this far! Okay, some questions:

Where do you think Lea is going to put good old Q?

Do you think Quinn made the right decision by getting whipped?

Now what do you think about Silas?

Who's your favourite person out of them all in RFHA?

Who's your favourite person in general?

What's the best book you've ever read on Wattpad? URGH there's so many for me! I know I couldn't chose just one.

^.^