The Making of a Dark Gamma - Book 1

“Delta Cole, take the Trainee Gamma to her assigned room and let her prepare for her punishment, bring her back to the town square no later than one hour.”

“Yes Alpha”

Delta Cole is six feet one inch (185 cm) with sandy brown hair and full of muscle, he has a narrow nose, which gives his face a hard edge and his brown eyes are openly leering at her and it makes her feel sick, wondering if this was who the Alpha had chosen as her mate, just because she was a ward, won’t stop the Alpha planning for the future.

As she walks away, she blocks the thoughts from her head and picks up her belongings, she can see the looks on the Royal Beta’s and Delta’s faces, there’s an internal conversation in progress; whipping isn’t something that most packs allow for a minor and never for a minor in the Royal Pack, regardless of the crime.

Something they are probably debating between them, but their being here means it probably saved her from the silver-tipped whip, at least for now, clearly, none of the Royal pack stepped in to stop the punishment, so they don’t care all that much.

Turning she follows Delta Cole, she remembers him from before, albeit he was sixteen and not a Delta when she left, he must have been strong to prove himself so early, but he had a cruel streak, regularly injuring people he had trained with as a ‘lesson’ but he was never pulled up for it, the Alpha approving of his ruthlessness.

Her new room is on the junior leadership floor, so that’s a clear message that they were never going to banish her immediately, but clearly, also not trusting her relations to keep her in the pack it seems, making her wonder what punishment they received when she ran, something she hadn’t considered before, there is no way they were let off without some form of retribution, mistakes are never acceptable in this pack.

Slicking back her hair into a small, but tight ponytail, she pins the tail flat to her head, giving her a severe look, pulling out a black halter necked open backed top, she’d been given at the Deadfalls pack, she knew it wouldn’t be suitable for her to wear here.

For now, though, it ties low around the waist and therefore provides modesty without having to remove her shirt to take her punishment.

Inside the wardrobe, her uniform has been allocated already, and a few sizes to choose from, clearly not knowing how much she may have grown.

Plus as she looks around the room she has a few of the personal items that had been at her second cousin's house, now already in the room, which leads her to wonder just when they had been told of her return.

She surveys the room around her, she guesses there was time if they were told early today to set it up, but it feels like it’s been ready longer, there’s a thin layer of dust in places.

Shaking her head she pushes those thoughts away, she needs to concentrate on taking the punishment, the rest she can worry about later.

Adding dark combat trousers and boots, a dark combat jacket over the halter neck and leather wrist guards, she stares at the reflection of how the Gamma is supposed to look, emotionless and cold, with no hint of emotion.

Inside her mouth, she has leather bite straps on her back teeth, used when training in hand to hand, she has some on both the top and bottom teeth, enabling her to bite down on them to help with pain management.

In under thirty minutes, she’s ready and heading back, the Delta escorting her to the town square, people are already filling up the area and she stands quietly by the central post, at attention, getting herself into the calm state her father had instilled in her for her branding and fights.

With ten minutes to go, all the pack are in the square, it’s a requirement for all adults to attend, pups under eight are allowed to be excused if they aren’t from a ranked family, but under ten can be excused with a good reason.

But she gets the feeling there is more to this, the Gamma rank isn’t well-liked, hell positively reviled in this pack, it’s there to be feared so a chance to see her in pain, is probably one they don’t want to miss.

Beta Dan walks over sending Delta Cole away

“You knew this would be your punishment didn’t you”

His words were so quietly uttered, that only she could hear them.

“Yes, Beta.”

Her answer is short but she glances over at him and sees some concern on his face

“But with all due respect Beta, the real question is, how did you not know?

And if you did, why would you send me back here, is the Royal pack not the protector pack it’s known for?”

There’s an accusing quality to the way her words are spoken.

His face recoils a little as if it’s been slapped by her words, her eyes watch the way his face expresses his emotions, watching as her words cut through into the reality of the situation, there’s a brief flicker of guilt, she understands the reaction, they knew and still sent her back.

As the realisation hits Toni, the sense of betrayal she had felt hardens into an ice block in her heart, this was a planned and deliberate move on their part.

Before she can say anything else the Alpha’s voice calls everyone to silence and the Beta walks slowly away.

“Antonia Emma Woodfield, you have been sentenced to receive eight lashes, do you wish to be tied or untied?”

She licks her dry lips, taking a deep breath before answering.

“Untied Alpha”

Her response is loud and clear to the pack and leadership as if she’d been asked what day it was, with not a hint of concern in her voice at all, all the while her stomach is in turmoil, yet outwardly she looks calm.

He’s asking as if she has a choice, but she knows that if she had chosen tied, he’d punish her again after the Royal party has left, he still might, he’s a sadistic bastard and worse, she now knows the Royal pack know that, any hope she held in her heart was extinguished once she’d understood that.

A loud buzz emanates from the pack at her decision, only quietened by the Alpha’s angry stares, and the Beta calling for quiet, it doesn’t stop it entirely but is at least a subdued murmur.

They know if she falls, stumbles to her knees or moves before the whip strikes or the punishment is completed, then the punishment stops, she is then tied to the post and it starts over, from the top.

If she makes it through untied, her standing with the leadership will be partially restored and her hard-ass reputation in the pack will be cemented, she just has to hope she can make it through, it’s not her first corporal punishment, but it’s her first public one and first with a whip.

“Prepare yourself” is his cold reply

Taking off her jacket she lays it neatly to one side.

Placing her hands through the metal rings above her, grabbing the top of each loop where it joins the post, she twists her hands towards the post letting her wrist guards press against the heavy wood.

Feeling the solid strength of the wooden post, she rests her forehead against it, as if trying to draw its strength into her to stand firm, as it has done for years, in the face of what’s to come.

Refusing the leather belt to bite on, she knows will be seen as a brave move and in this pack, reputation is everything, they don’t need to know she has her own mouthguards already

Her back is to the Alpha, but she can hear the Alpha picking up a few whips, cracking each one, to find the one that feels right to him.

But the reality is far simpler, it’s to increase her trepidation about what’s to come, mental anguish is a required part of punishments in this pack.

Finally, he stops, his footsteps, loud and slow, are getting closer before he stops in front of the pack, level with her.

“As you all know, we try and avoid this kind of punishment, but a higher standard is expected from the families of ranked wolves.

Antonia, do you believe this is a fair punishment?”

She knows he’s asking as guests are here if she agrees, it will be harder for them to lodge an issue on his pack management.

“I do Alpha”

She throws as much sincerity into her voice as she can; but in reality, what would he do if she said no, apart from punishing her in private, she’s savvy enough to not make her situation worse.

“Very well”

From the corner of her eye, she watches the Alpha, he flicks the whip away from him as his body turns towards the pack, arm outstretched, he uses his arm to rotate the whip around his head picking up speed, his arm falling level with his body he uses the spin to let it fly with more force towards her.

Hearing the rush of wind as the whip speeds its way through the air, she braces herself clenching her jaw, biting the leather straps over her teeth, moments later the whip eats into her back, her body flinches as the lash hits burying itself into her skin, wrapping around her small body like a cruel embrace, the burning pain hitting moments later, sending fire across her back, the pain spiking, feeling like it’s tearing into her head, trying to stop her mind from shutting down.

As he pulls the whip away for his second strike, she feels her skin tearing as the lash is dragged away.

No sooner than it’s gone, she hears the air whistling again as the whip comes down a second time, Tyra braces to share her pain, feeling like it hit in the same place, sending burning pain pouring into her back.

There’s a lull, as the Beta decides on the whip of his choice, the split punishment worsening the pain, eight quick lashes would have been over before the skin had a chance to become too tender, delaying it sends the blood there to start the repair, back swelling, making each wound larger, far more tender and increasing the pain as subsequent strikes hit her already swollen back.

That’s what the Alpha wanted, he’s well aware of the mechanics, after all, he’s the one that taught it to her, not long before she ran.

The Beta walks forward and her punishment continues, as his second lash hits, Toni almost loses her grip on one of the rings, she can see the smirk on the Alpha’s face, he gets a kick from knowing just how much pain has been inflicted to others and Toni will not give him the satisfaction of crying out, muffled grunts as each lash hits is the most he’s getting from her.

The Alpha’s son steps up, Robert, he has never been tough enough for his dad’s liking, he walks up to her and flicks the whip away so he can judge the distance, but his movements scream that he doesn’t want to do this.

“It’s OK.

Just make it count”

Toni grits out quietly between clenched jaws

“and make it hard or you will have to do it again”

His haunted eyes catch hers briefly, he doesn’t believe this is an appropriate punishment, she knows that, but they both know the Alpha won’t hesitate to make him do it again if he doesn’t think it’s hard enough.

Robert thinks her words through, giving the slightest nod in acknowledgement, before doing a practice hit on a nearby post, he gets the nod of approval from his father.

The delay is setting her wolf on edge and she needs her to concentrate, bracing her body for the next hit.

Robert takes a similar stance to his dad, the whip singing with power as it whistles through the air and cracks across her back, crossing over the marks already made, she lets out an involuntary grunt, he swings again just as hard and while the pain explodes across her back, she thanks the Goddess they were two good, quick hits.

Handing his whip to Michael, Robert walks away stony-faced, Toni is down to the last two strikes, taking hold firmly of the metal rings, she places her forehead back against the whipping post, feeling the cold sweat on her face, she prays to the Moon Goddess for the strength to get through this ordeal.

The first one hits burning into her already tender back, but it’s been the weakest of all the strikes so far, and he stops at the sound of the Alpha’s voice, just before the second is applied.

“Michael”

The displeasure in the Alpha’s tone is clear.

“We don’t hold back in punishments, longer term it is detrimental to the one being punished.

Punishments are there to rectify unwanted behaviours.

Failure to punish correctly leaves the person unsure and therefore more likely to transgress again, real pain is the only good reminder.

If your next strike is as weak, you will repeat them both.”

“Yes Alpha”

He answers automatically, but the hesitation in his voice is clear, like Robert, he’s a gentler person, probably hating his actions.

She hears him moving, changing his stance, using the same process as Robert and the Alpha to get the speed of the whip up.

He slips slightly as his second strike is in motion, instead of wrapping the whip across her back, he’s pitched forward, arm raising to get his balance, the whip comes down with lots of power, just no control.

Her wolf howls loudly in her mind as it lands, the air in her lungs explodes in a loud uncontrollable grunt, stealing her ability to scream.

The initial hit slices into her left shoulder, but travelling upwards, the momentum of the lash curling up and going around Toni’s neck with force.

Time stops

White-hot pain sears through her body, increasing exponentially.

She is stuck in this frozen hell, fighting to stay on her feet and conscious, she shuts the world out, focusing only on holding onto the rings and keeping her feet, flat against the earth.

Aware of just one thought, her punishment is not over until the Alpha says so.