Chapter 33

RILEY.

I smelt her the moment she entered the basement. Lately, I’ve been able to scent her even from a
distance, and now, despite the smell of antiseptic all around us, her scent was the most evident one
that I could identify clearly.

And I didn’t know how I should feel that she would see this part of me.

I have nothing to hide. I’m an Alpha. I functioned as one. I might have my own faults and weaknesses,
but I never condoned beating and assaulting my pack’s females. And regardless of who committed the
crime, the punishment remained the same,

Manuel was one of our warriors. A trusted one. For some unknown reason, he consumed too much
alcohol last night and went into a rage. And the victim was his mate. She was found unconscious this
morning by Manuel’s sister, and words spread out immediately.

My Gamma found Manuel in the basement of their house, repentant for what he had done to his mate.
But it wasn’t enough. He needed to learn his lesson not to touch her or any other female in this manner
again.

And this was something my mate needed to understand.

There were still many things I didn’t know about Nadia, but I was sure she had a soft heart and I
needed t o toughen her up, but not to the extent of losing her humanity, as I did for a period of time.

I coiled my fingers on the rod that holds the single tail whip. Its end was dipped in a small amount of
silver, just enough to burn the skin on the first whip.I was getting ready to strike the first lash, but I
couldn’t ignore her anymore. I wanted to see her, to understand the emotions she was sharing with me.



My head tilted in her direction, and our eyes met.

Her face was showing no emotions at all, but her eyes were telling me a lot of things – but it all boiled
down to one thing: she didn’t like what she was seeing. She hated this part of me.

I dropped my gaze down and took in a deep breath, moving into position as my men turned Manuel’s
body around. I tried to block off the sound of a wailing female, pained by her mate’s punishment.

‘Leave.’ I sent Nadia a mindlink, my eyes still locked on the grounds.

‘No, I want to see you.’ Her voice was cold.

“There will be blood. And you might not be able to take that.’

‘I can.”

“You might not like this part of me.’

I want to stay

“You can’t stop what I am about to do. I won’t let you. You have to trust me.’

She didn’t answer, and I took it that she didn’t want to discuss it anymore.I opened another mindlink,
this time to Manuel,

‘Block off your emotions. Own up to the pain and don’t let your female feel it.’

‘Yes, Alpha.’

‘No matter what happens, don’t turn around. I want the lashes on your back, not anywhere else.’



‘Yes, Alpha.I hoped he would keep his word. A blow to his head or chest would be fatal, and it was not
part of my plan. I needed him alive to learn his lesson, not dead.My hand tightened its hold on the whip
as I raised my head high, my eyes focused on the back of the warrior I was about to punish.

‘Riley…’ Nadia’s voice came soft, and I knew she was holding herself so it wouldn’t break.

‘Don’t punish the female. I don’t think I can take it.’

I shut off my mindlink as my hand raised and the whip flung into the air, hitting Manuel’s back in a
second. I heard the tearing of his skin, but he didn’t utter a single curse or scream at the impact.

Instead, it was his female who fell to her knees and begged me to stop.

The smell of blood was swirling in the air.

I let go of the single tail whip in my hand and reached for the clean whip from my Beta. This one would
not tear his skin, but it would still give him a big blow.

| avoided looking at my female, but I could see through my side peripherals how her body stiffened and
how she was holding her hands in coiled fists.I took a deep breath before the whip swung in my hand
and landed on Manuel’s back. And then another and another one. And another.

Five. That was enough.

I dropped the whip in my hand as Manuel’s body slumped to the ground. My gaze darted to his female
and she cowered under her sister’s arm, her lips quivering as tears were pouring from her eyes.

Fear. Did she ever think I would whip her?

I moved forward and the female inched away, her back hitting the wall behind her, but I ignored her and
went to crouch in front of Manuel.



“Look at me. If you think I enjoyed whipping you, I didn’t. But I was disappointed in you. You made my
heart ache because I had too much faith in you. Do not touch your female in this manner, ever again.
The next time you do that, I will give you the twenty lashes you were asking for. And I will make sure
you will never see your female again.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond before I got up on my feet and gave an order to my men to take Manuel
to the infirmary and make sure he would be checked, to make sure his wounds were not infected. And
to let it heal naturally,

The silver was not enough to cause extreme damage, but it was enough for him to feel the burn. I was
hoping he would learn his lesson.

He was also back on probation as a warrior, but he would still be attending training, but his
responsibilities would be reduced for a month.

If he were able to get back on his feet after a month, I would allow him back into the troop. But I’d keep
an eye on him and make sure he never raised his hand to his female again,

I stopped in front of my mate. Her face was pale as she stared into my eyes, but before I could guide
her to leave, she turned around and ran out of the cell towards the nearby toilet.I rushed after her,
making Jenny stop in her tracks as she was about to go after her as well.I saw Nadia vomiting on the
large sink, but it seemed like almost nothing was coming out except her own saliva. She probably
hadn’t eaten anything, but her stomach couldn’t handle the sight of skin tearing and the blood oozing
out of it.I reached out and rubbed her back, grabbing a clean towel from the closet, and cleaning the
outside of her mouth.

She took the towel from my hand and cleaned her face before throwing it in the hamper by the sink.She
stood straight in front of me. She was just staring as if she wanted to say something, but there was just
silence.



“Talk to me.” My voice almost broke.

“You scared me.”

I let out a deep breath before my hand cupped her face.

“You have to understand, Nadia, that some females would do nothing to stop their mates from beating
them. They’re just accepting it, and I don’t want that.”

She took a deep breath. Her eyes were fixed on mine, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Manuel is a good warrior. I would like to believe he is a good man. But he has his own demon, and he
needs to fight that, otherwise, he would lose her.” I was explaining Manuel to her, but it felt like I was
talking about myself.

It was only a matter of time before my own demon would come out and make himself known to Nadia.
And I feared that day..

She nodded her head. Her hand clasped mine over her cheek as she closed her eyes.

“Tell me, did you not inflict harm to the female because of me?”

“I had no plan to hurt her. I would never do that. “

I let go of her face and grabbed another towel, wiping away the sweat and the drops of blood that were
splattered on my torso.

“If Manuel allowed me to hurt his female, I would have given him the whole ten lashes.”

She smiled, and my heart calmed down. She took the towel from my hand and started wiping off my
sweat and the remainder of the blood.



“I’m glad you told me that. For a moment, I thought I was looking at a monster ready to beat up a
female just to prove his point.”

“Nadia, I have my own demons too. One day, when I tell you about it, I hope you won’t run away and
leave.Her eyes squinted before she smiled at me. She threw the towel in the hamper and coiled an arm
around my neck while her free hand was wiping something on my cheek.

“I should be scared, but I’m not. I can’t wait to meet your demons, Riley. Maybe it will end up liking me
too, and we can turn him around to be an angel…” She said playfully, but it warmed my heart that she
was willing to open her mind for me,

“I think he likes you already,”

“I know. I’m not that hard to like.” She giggled as she leaned her cheek into my naked torso.

“I agree with that. But first, let’s get you something to eat. I’m sure your stomach will start making
sounds soon.”

“No. I don’t think so. After what I witnessed, I don’t think I would be able to eat.”

“Okay, then we can just go back..”

“Wait, Riley.” She cut me off and placed a palm in my heart and tilted her head to look at me.

“I want to have a word with Manuel’s female, if that’s okay with you? I just want to make sure she’s
okay. And I want to see her bruises too.”

“Of course. I’m guessing she went with Manuel to the infirmary. I would want to come with you, but I
don’t think she would want to see me. Take Jenny, perhaps?”



“I’ll take, Jenny then.” She got up on her toes and pecked my lips before walking out of the toilet, ready
to find Jenny.

“Nadia…” I called after her.

She turned her head back, her brow hiking up, waiting for me to say something.

“Thank you, for not judging me today.”

She smiled warmly before she turned her whole body to face me, slowly walked back, and stopped in
front of me. Her small hands cupped my cheeks, pulling them lower so they wouldn’t be too high for her
a s she stared into my eyes.

“I’m your mate, Riley. I would always hear you out first before laying out my judgment. You and me,
against everyone else. We’re a team, remember that.”

Yes, she was right. My eyes watered at the sincerity of her words. It made me want to tell her about
Andrea, but up until now, I still couldn’t find the courage to do it.

“Yes, you and me, against everyone else.” I smiled and kissed her lips softly before letting her go.

She leaned closer and kissed my naked chest before turning around and walking away. My eyes
followed her, taking in the way her hips swayed seductively as she walked and how she brightened up
the dark alley with her presence alone. My Nadia. I hoped the Goddess would let me keep her.


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