Culprit

Blaire's Pov

My heart twisted in my gut as I followed the guards who led Indrik out to the centre of the palace grounds. It took all my willpower to stop myself from running toward them and snatching Indrik away from them when they shoved him too hard. I exhaled slowly to prevent making things worse for him.

The palace was a dazzling white which was made even more impressive by the way it caught the glow of the early morning sun and lit up under it. The main building and by that, I meant the one storey imposing building that housed all the major rooms (by which I mean the throne room, the meeting chambers, the Alpha's room and, I'm sure you get the gist) of the pack was set in the center of the half moon formation with two relatively smaller yet no less impressive buildings on the sides. I normally would take a moment to admire the beauty of this place like I always did but I couldn't because right in the center of this formation, under the eyes of everyone who cared to watch, my friend was being stripped of his upper robes before being forced to his knees as two men cracked their whips.

The first blow sent him sprawling and it took both of my friends holding me down to prevent me from breaking out of the small crowd to help him. Tears poured out of my eyes as I watched them pull him up and continue to flog him like he was some criminal. At a point, I dropped to my knees, bowing my head to the ground, unable to watch it anymore. He was not crying out which I knew must be a huge effort for him but he couldn't help grunting with every stroke of the whip. I placed my hands on my ears to prevent myself from hearing anymore of the sickening sound that filled the air with every stroke of the whip that landed on his flesh. At a point, I raised my eyes to take another look but the sight that met my eyes was so heartbreaking, I had to peel off my eyes immediately, my heart feeling like it would shatter into a million pieces within my chest. His back had been broken in several places by the whips and with the blood running over his back, he was indeed a sorry sight to look at. I wondered how he managed to bear it. I raised my head to scan the crowd and there, standing just beside us were the council members. I desperately tried to meet Beta Green's eyes but it was my mother's eyes that peered into mine instead. I didn't speak but she seemed to get my question perfectly. She shook her head as she looked away. If I didn't know any better, I would have said she looked like she would cry.

After what seemed like an eternity of torture, the sound of whip meeting skin finally stopped and I slowly raised my head. I watched as Indrik was helped to his feet. I ran up to him and placed my arms on his shoulders. I almost recoiled from the wetness that I felt under my arms. The blood was very quickly seeping into his clothes. I opened my mouth to speak but the words choked in my throat. I watched as he slowly raised his head and smiled at me. One that did not reach his eyes.

"I am okay." He whispered hoarsely. "You don't need to worry about me."

He could have fooled me with his originally dull hazel eyes that seemed to have grown even more dull. "Don't do this, please." I whispered, allowing my hands slid from his shoulders and down to his hands. "Don't go to the dungeon." I pleaded desperately even though I knew there was no escaping that now.

"You don't have to worry about me, Blaire." I could see that he was trying his best to sound cheerful and upbeat but he could do little to keep the pain out of his voice. "I am doing better than I have been in ages. I will be back in no time, you will see. Just take care of Luna, will you?"

The mention of that girl sent the blood roaring in my ears. How could he still mention that girl when she is the reason he is in this predicament? Here he was being led to one of the most dangerous places in the kingdom after having being whipped a hundred times yet the only thing he could think of was that bitch. My hands fell away from him as I clenched them at my sides. I had so many things I still wanted to say to him but the guards had led him away before I had the chance. My body suddenly seemed to have grown too heavy for my legs as my eyes spun and I fell back. I was certain of a hard and painful collision with the ground as I was incapable of stopping myself. Maybe I didn't want to. I heard a dull thump as my upper body hit something that wasn't as hard or as painful as the ground should be.

"Uh, are you okay?" I heard a quiet voice ask me but I was too tired to register it, much less reply to the question. "Blaire?" His voice was louder and a little closer to my ears this time, startling me into consciousness as I leapt out of his hands.

I looked around but Indrik was long gone and so were most of the crowd. I guessed that they wanted to make sure he really reached the dungeon. I met Ulo's dull black eyes who kept them for a moment before his eyes found something else to focus on.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, looking everywhere but in my eyes.

"I'm fine!" My voice came out in a harsh whisper as my eyes fell on the patches of blood that stood out on the ground. I clenched my jaws as I scanned for the person who had brought this upon my friend.