“A silver whip. Ninety-nine lashes. Alpha Thornhill… choose again. Who takes it this time?”
Drake didn’t answer right away. His breathing was rough, uneven.
My lungs burned. I coughed, choking on blood, my whole body shaking. I couldn’t even lift my head anymore.
So this is it…? Is this how I end
The next second, his answer came.
“Chiara.”
Chiara broke into tears, clutching her chest and looking at me like she’d been saved from death itself. “Chloe already suffered so much. I… I don’t know what to say! I didn’t mean for things to turn out like this.”
I didn’t look at her. I looked at him. Drake. “Why…?” My voice barely came out. “Why is it always her? Tell me, Drake, just once, tell me why.”
He didn’t answer.
The whip came down before I could hear anything else. A sharp crack split the air and pain exploded across my back. I gasped, my body jerking forward, my fingers digging into the rough ground.
Stones cut into my skin and blood smeared under my nails. “One.” Another strike. “Two.” I bit my lip, but the sound still slipped out. “Three…” The pain kept building, tearing me apart piece by piece.