The pack clinic was quiet, the air thick with the sharp, sterile scent of antiseptic and the low hum of medical monitors. Alana lay on the crisp white sheets of a hospital bed, her frame looking unusually small in a thin hospital gown.
Dr. Quincy stood at her bedside, scribbling notations onto a digital tablet. Beside him, Nurse Becky moved with silent efficiency, cleaning the jagged wounds on Alana's arms and torso. Because Alana's wolf was pouring every ounce of energy into her shattered skeletal structure, her skin was not knitting back together on its own. Becky had to manually stitch the wounds closed to aid the natural healing process. The nurse remained quiet, though her eyes betrayed a flickering curiosity as to how the Beta female had ended up so broken.
"The damage is extensive, Alana," Dr. Quincy said, his voice professional but grave. "Multiple fractured ribs. Several bones in your throat are fractured, and two are completely snapped. There is a significant tear in your esophagus."
He looked up from his tablet, meeting her eyes with a warning. "You cannot shift. Not for at least two weeks. Your bones are too fragile to survive the pressure of a transformation. If you attempt to shift into your wolf form before you are healed, the internal damage will be fatal."
Alana couldn't speak; her throat was a cage of agony. I understand, she projected into Quincy's mind, her mental voice tight with frustration.
The door pushed open, and Boris stepped inside. He stood silently by the door, his face like granite as he listened to the end of the doctor's explanation.
Boris? Alana reached out to him telepathically the moment she saw him. Boris, please. Speak to me.
Boris didn't respond. He didn't even look at her at first.
Boris, answer me! Alana's mental voice rose, bordering on frantic. I am fearful. Trinity... she isn't right. If she becomes a complete wolf after what she did to me today... Boris, she isn't safe!
Dr. Quincy finished his notes and gave Boris a deep, respectful bow. "She is stable, Beta, but she requires absolute rest." Becky finished her last stitch, wiped her hands, and followed the doctor, pausing to give Boris her own respectful bow before the two left the room.
The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken words. Boris dragged a plastic chair across the floor, the screech of its legs against the linoleum echoing like a scream. He sat directly in front of Alana, looking at her with eyes that were tired and cold. He didn't use the link. He spoke aloud.
"I have shielded you for long enough," Boris said, his voice low and raspy. "I've tried so hard to make you understand, to pull you back from the edge."
I get it, Alana interrupted, her voice ringing in his head. I went too far. I was desperate. It's just that I wanted—
"Once you have healed," Boris said, cutting her off, "you will be brought to the punishment grounds. You will receive twenty lashes with silver."
Alana's eyes widened in total disbelief. What? Twenty? For me? I am the Beta female, Boris! That is unheard of. It is too extreme!
"It is justice," Boris countered.
This isn't fair! she screamed into his mind. You have to speak to the Alpha for me. He will listen to you!
Boris gritted his teeth, his jaw ticking with irritation. "This isn't Alpha Adrian's punishment for you, Alana. It's mine. I am the one in charge of dealing out the sentences. And I am not finished."
He leaned forward, his shadow falling over her. "You will be imprisoned for the next year. That will be your punishment."
He wanted to go easy on her—part of him still ached for the woman he had mated—but he knew that leniency had brought them to this disaster. If she didn't learn that her actions had consequences, she would only do worse next time. He refused to lose his daughter just to keep his mate. Trinity deserved justice, along with the rest of the defectives.
It was one mistake! Alana pleaded through the link.
Boris reached out, taking her hand in his. The mate bond flared to life at the contact, a warm, pulsing comfort that tried to bridge the gap between them. He gripped her hand tighter, as if pleading with her to understand.
"You risked the pack's safety. You lied to Warrior Wesley about my orders. You tortured a pack member and nearly killed a pup. It is enough to have you banished, Alana."
In his head, he could hear her cries—a chaotic storm of "it's not fair" and "I was doing what was right."
"I wish you had thought about Trinity and me before you acted so recklessly," Boris said, his voice cracking slightly. "You forced Trinity's incomplete change. You made her watch me be punished. I have my own list of things I never imagined my mate would do to our child."
Alana's face contorted. She ripped her hand away from his, tears spilling over her cheeks. Her body screamed in agony as she fought the instinctive urge to shout at him, her throat clicking with the effort.
"I remember what you said to me earlier," Boris said, standing up. He looked down at the woman who refused to meet his eyes. "About Trinity. But the truth is, we are not safe from you. It doesn't matter that you're my mate. It doesn't matter that you are Trinity's mother. None of it protects us because you never stop."
He ran his fingers through his brown hair, unable to imagine how his life had become so chaotic. "Rest," he said, the word final. "Focus on healing for now."
He didn't wait for a mental response. He turned and walked out, his steps echoing down the hallway until they faded into nothing.
Alana lay perfectly still, replaying every moment. In her mind, she had acted only to make Trinity whole and to fix their family. She couldn't see specifically where it had gone wrong. She had done her best. She had to have.
Because the alternative was unthinkable.
That was an incredibly powerful ending to the chapter. The parallel of Boris throwing Alana's own words back at her really highlights how far they've fallen.
Author note:
Do you think Alana's punishment is too much?