Chapter Ten: There You Are.

Avery's POV

I barely had time to protest before rough hands seized my arms and dragged me from the kitchen. My heels scraped against the stone floor as the guards hauled me forward, like a criminal going to receive a death sentence.

“Where are you taking me!” I snapped, struggling against them, but it only tightened their hold.

The heavy doors leading to the courtyard were shoved open. Cool air rushed in as they dragged me outside, shoving me roughly to the ground. My knees hit the stone with a jarring thud.

A firm hand pressed my shoulders down, forcing my back straight, commanding me into submission.

The commotion had already begun to draw attention. Servants paused in their work. A stable hand leaned over the railing. Two guards near the gate straightened as they watched me being forced across the courtyard.

Whispers began to ripple through the gathering crowd.

“That's the new girl…”

“The one who refused the Alpha…”

“She refused to cook.”

The murmurs grew louder as more people drifted closer, curiosity pulling them from every corner of the compound. I lifted my chin despite the grip on my arms, my eyes sweeping over the faces gathering around me.

They were watching. All of them.

Waiting to see what would happen next. Whenever the Alpha summoned someone publicly… it was never for anything good.

The whispers continued to spread through the courtyard. I could feel their eyes on me—curious, some even pitying.

Then a sharp sound cut through the murmuring.

Tap.

The courtyard went quieter.

Tap… tap.

The steady rhythm of a cane striking stone echoed from the corridor leading outside.

Several heads turned immediately. The guards holding me stiffened.

Raith stepped back slightly, his posture straightening.

Tap… tap… tap.

By the time Lucian stepped into the open air, the whispers had died completely.

Silence settled over the crowd.

He moved slowly but with absolute certainty, the dark cane guiding his steps across the stone. His expression was calm, almost bored, as though the gathering meant nothing to him.

No one spoke. No one moved.

Even the servants who had been whispering moments ago lowered their eyes.

The Alpha had arrived.

Lucian stopped a few feet from me. The cane struck the ground one final time.

Tap.

His head tilted slightly, listening.

“I trust that everyone understands why we are gathered here.”

No one answered. No one dared to.

“Good. Because it would be unfortunate if the lesson had to be repeated.”

A small shuffle sounded somewhere to my left.

“Bring it.”

I turned my head just in time to see a servant stepping forward, carrying a heavy bucket. The bucket wavered in her hands, and Lucian’s voice cut through the courtyard.

“Pour it.”

Cold water crashed over my head, icy and shocking. I gasped, cold biting into my nerves. Goosebumps prickled across my arms and legs. My soaked hair fell across my face, clinging to my skin.

The thin fabric of my clothes was drenched instantly, exposing me in a way I couldn’t hide. I felt the dampness pressing over my chest… my nipples hard against the wet cloth.

I blinked water from my eyes, trying to shake the strands from my face, but more kept sticking, weighing down my hair. The murmurs of the gathered crowd buzzed in my ears. I felt completely exposed.

His cane tapped once against the stone. “I do not raise my hand to a woman.” My ears perked up. I didn’t want him to touch me.

“But disrespect is still corrected.”

He inclined his head slightly, as if he could see every reaction without looking. “You.”

I followed his motion with my eyes, a woman from the crowd stepped forward, her face pale but obedient. My heart thudded violently.

“Slap her.”

I froze, realizing exactly what was coming. The impact of a hand against wet skin would be worse. I drew my arms in slightly, curling them toward my chest, a futile attempt to shield myself.

The slap landed across my cheek, my head jerking to the side.

Lucian’s cane tapped again. “Again.”

The second slap landed, just as sharp. My wet skin burned where her hand had struck me. I wanted to scream, to beg, to vanish, but I couldn’t. Every eye was on me, and Lucian’s calm presence made me feel small, helpless, and utterly exposed.

Lucian didn’t flinch. Just stood still, listening to the reactions around him. I realized then, this wasn’t about his anger.

It was about control, about showing me my place, and making me feel every bit of humiliation in front of everyone.

Lucian’s cane tapped once against the stone, the courtyard fell into a heavier silence. “You now understand your place, I trust?”

I swallowed hard, shivering, and lowered my gaze instinctively, my voice barely a whisper. “Y-Yes… Alpha.”

He continued. “Defiance is not tolerated. Disobedience is a threat to this pack. Every member’s duty is tied to the well-being of all. If one refuses…”

His pause made every heart in the courtyard pound. “…then everyone suffers.”

“You will perform your duty, or everyone goes hungry.”

The crowd shifted uneasily, some looking down at the ground, others staring at me.

My throat went dry.

“Yes… Alpha,” I whispered again, louder this time, my voice trembling but obedient.

He turned slightly, listening to the whispers and the subtle shifting of the crowd. “Let this serve as a lesson to all who would defy me.”

But as his words settled, a strange heat surged through me. I felt my wolf stirring. My instincts screamed, demanded to lash, to show strength, to strike back. My teeth clenched against the urge.

The woman who had slapped me earlier looked at me nervously, stepping back a little. Even the guards sensed something was off.

My wolf wanted to protect… to punish… to tear apart the humiliation I’d been forced to endure.

Lucian's cane stopped. Mid-tap. Completely still.

Raith's eyes snapped to me, then immediately to Lucian. Lucian said nothing for a long moment, then his head turned directly toward me.

Then, very quietly, so low that only I could hear it: "There you are."

A shiver shot down my spine.

He had been waiting for that. His cane struck the stone once. Final.

"Take her to the kitchen.”