Chapter 6: Punishment Under the Moonlight

The cold of the marble floor shot up from the soles of her feet to seize her heart. Merin was yanked to her knees in the middle of the room. The moonlight streaming through the large window bathed her body, casting a long shadow on the floor. It made the atmosphere in the room as terrifying as a scene from a horror movie.

Aries disappeared into the darkness of the room for a moment, before returning with a thin but sturdy-looking metal chain in one hand and a long, jet-black leather whip in the other. The tip of the whip was split into several small, gleaming tails that shimmered in the moonlight.

Merin’s heart pounded so hard it felt as if it would burst from her chest. This was the first time Aries was going to use an instrument on her. The fear that arose was more intense than anything she had ever felt before.

Click!

The ice-cold metal chain was fastened around one of her ankles, the other end locked to the leg of the heavy wooden bed. It didn’t bind her so tightly that she couldn’t move, but it limited her range, preventing her from fleeing far.

“I hate tears,” Aries said in a cold, emotionless voice as she stood looming over Merin. “They are a symbol of weakness… something I was taught to eliminate from a young age.”

Merin looked up at the female Alpha with trembling eyes. She didn't understand… she didn't understand any of it.

“And since you are still weak… it is my duty to eliminate it for you.”

Swish!

The sound of the whip cutting through the air was followed by a searing pain, as if she had been burned, shooting across her smooth, white back. She flinched violently, biting her lip hard to suppress a scream. Aries didn't strike with full force, but its weight was enough to leave a long, red welt on her skin and ignite a blaze of pain.

“Ugh!”

Swish! Swish!

The whip came down twice more in the same spot, striking the old wound. The layered pain intensified until she could barely stand it. Her body trembled all over. Tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes again, but she gritted her teeth and fought, refusing to let a cry escape… she would not show weakness to this woman again.

And that was what Aries wanted…

The sobs, held back until her body trembled… the ragged breaths… they were the sounds that stirred the raw instincts within the stoic Alpha. It was the one weakness she had never told anyone.

Aries stopped her actions. The fury in her eyes softened slightly. She tossed the whip in her hand onto the floor with a loud clang before silently sinking to her knees behind Merin.

The silence that replaced the violence confused Merin even more. She waited for the next wave of pain, but nothing came. There was only the warmth from the Alpha’s body behind her.

Aries’s rough hand slowly reached out to stroke the welts on her back, ever so lightly… a touch that completely contradicted her earlier actions. Her fingertips traced the swollen red marks slowly, as if examining her own handiwork.

“Does it hurt?” she whispered hoarsely beside Merin’s ear, her warm breath fanning the nape of her neck until goosebumps rose.

Merin could only nod faintly, tears in her eyes. She didn’t understand the Alpha before her at all. Cruel one moment, gentle the next… what did this woman want from her?

Then, the most unexpected thing happened… Aries lowered her face, inhaling Merin’s scent from her sweat-dampened back, before her hot, wet tongue touched the first red mark from the whip.

“Ah!”

Merin jolted as if electrocuted. The stinging pain was swiftly replaced by a shockingly thrilling sensation. Aries’s tongue lapped along the wound slowly and deliberately, as if erasing the mark she herself had made. It was both savage and gentle, a punishment laced with a strange consolation.

She licked every welt on Merin’s back tirelessly. The pain slowly faded, replaced by a tingling sensation that shot through every pore.

Aries’s free hand began to work. It moved to the front, wrapping around Merin’s waist, before slowly moving up to squeeze her full breasts under the thin nightgown, hard and possessively, while her lips continued to wreak havoc on her back. Her hardened shaft began to press against Merin’s buttocks through the thin fabric, its heat radiating until Merin could feel it.

“Turn around,” she commanded, her voice husky.

Dazed by the multitude of sensations, Merin turned to face her, tears streaming. The moonlight bathed Aries’s face, making her look like a goddess of destruction, beautiful and formidable at the same time.

She was forced onto her back on the frigid marble floor. Aries quickly stripped off her own clothes, revealing a large, intimidating shaft, fully erect. She didn’t hesitate, pressing Merin’s body against the cold floor, arranging her legs over her shoulders before thrusting into her love channel, which was still bruised, yet shamefully slick and twitching in anticipation.

This time was different… still violent and raw as ever, but every thrust was laced with a hunger that seemed to console. Aries didn’t close her eyes or look away. She stared deep into Merin’s eyes as if searching for something within them.

Merin’s tears still flowed, but now they were not just tears of pain. They were tears of confusion and surging emotions.

Aries leaned down to kiss away the tears at the corner of her eyes, ever so gently… the most tender touch Merin had ever received from her, before, a second later, her lips crushed down on Merin’s, fierce and demanding, devouring every moan and every teardrop.

That night ended with the panting breaths of two people under the streaming moonlight. Aries released every last drop inside Merin before collapsing beside her and pulling her limp body into a tight embrace.

Merin passed out in the arms of the Alpha who had just punished her so cruelly, yet left a touch that was both savage and gentle in her memory… creating a new wave of confusion in her nearly shattered heart, deeper than ever before.