Saturday July 30, 8pm

(Damian’s POV)

I knew I had messed up when he linked with me and commanded me to stop. Come to think of it, he has perfected the stealth link. Neither Lucas nor I can tell that he’s linked with us until he actually speaks. How anyone can control their own mind that well is a crazy concept to me but I guess I’m still learning. 

Sitting in my room all day after challenging my father has been boring but otherwise not that bothersome. I know that I was supposed to be thinking about what I did wrong but I still don’t see where I was the issue. They chose their path when they failed to protect their alpha. Who engages in a coup anymore, anyway? 

I growl under my breath as I turn down the hall towards my dad’s office. I’ve come to know this path well as I found myself caught up in getting spanked far more often than my mother agreed with. Somehow she managed to protect Lucas from my father’s wrath but that thought only serves to fuel me more. How did I become the sacrificial lamb? 

The closer I get to his door the angrier I get as I remember all the times I got spanked and didn’t deserve it. At least three of the times I felt the sting of his belt on my bare backside was because I got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I tried to protect the one being bullied just to be told he already knew what happened; that lying made things worse for me. 

I feel the same about this one. I protected the border. That’s my job while I’m on summer break from school. I rap hotly on his closed door and wait silently for him to open it. He opens it agonizingly slow as I just want to get this over with. 

“Come in.” He states sternly. “Shoes off at the door.” 

He doesn’t even look. 

“My shoes are in my room where I’ve stayed all day.” 

I remark hotly. My respect for him has dwindled to nearly nothing but he leaves it unaddressed. I look around the room to see that his desk is already cleared off and Patrick is the one in my father’s seat. I turn quickly to see my dad beside me, for a moment I study him closely. Every time I’ve ever been in here he delivered my punishment. I’ve never had another person in the room while I’ve been spanked. 

“It took me a great deal of time to decide your punishment, Damian.” 

His voice is slightly softer than when he opened the door. 

“It was your behavior and contempt for the pack that has begged us to help them that has landed you in this situation.” 

He pauses as he pulls out a chair and gestures for me to sit. Normally, he’s all business with me. Never has he taken the time to explain like this. I’ve heard from other teens how their punishment with him has differed but I never anticipated that he would actually take this time with me. 

I’m the alpha’s son. I’m supposed to know, to understand without his explanation what I’ve done to deserve the belt. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. It’s as if he doesn’t want to follow through with it. If only I could be so lucky. 

“The council defines battery as any act between two or more individuals that results in injury to one or more parties. You know me not just as your father but the alpha of the pack as a whole. With that being said, you know that I’m strict and unforgiving. An alpha can’t control a pack the size of ours without being those two things. 

The injuries that you caused Beta Declan were extensive. They were bad enough that had he ran from you and returned to Blue Ridge, he would have died from his injuries. While I had intended to keep the damage you caused to my reputation under wraps, the anger I felt from you during the meeting changed my mind. Unfortunately, it didn’t change yours to be exposed like that. 

The only thing that kept me from reporting the other attacks to the council was the fact that they retreated before you could cause grave harm. Declan wasn’t that lucky. You fractured three of his ribs and bruised two others on his left side. One of those broken ribs resulted in a collapsed lung. He also had numerous bite marks that had to be flushed out with antibiotics before being stitched closed. We had to hospitalize him at Crimson General for three days before we could keep him in the medical wing for ten to allow everything to heal enough that we could remove the stitches. I walked him back to his territory just two days ago. As I requested he has used the burner phone to text me every evening since he left.” 

He sighs hard. 

“Any time a pack has to treat a non-member for injuries it has to be reported to the council. I went through several extensive phone conferences with the council on this issue. It was difficult for me to hear the punishment they initially wanted you to receive. While Declan was in the hospital I spoke to him several times and he didn’t want you punished at all. 

Once he was in the wing I was able to bring him to my office to participate in the conferences. He insisted to the council that you were doing your job. That in the good old days of his pack he had many overzealous new shifts overreacting to an intruder and that reeducation was the way to go over physical punishment. The council strongly disagreed. Declan and I managed to talk two of them down to what I told you this morning; eight hits bare with the last nine being clothed.” 

“What did they originally want?” I ask nervously. 

“They wanted to punish you as an adult. If an adult wolf had engaged in this kind of unnecessary violence they would be taken to council headquarters where they would stay under armed guard for a week of solitary confinement. The only time you would see someone would be when they delivered your meals. On the fourth day there you would be taken to a room where your arms would be chained above your head. They would pull your clothes from your waist down to the floor and they would deliver your age to your backside with a belt. There is no forgiveness. If they do it you receive what you’re sentenced to then you are returned to your cell for another three days before your alpha is allowed to come get you. 

One of the benefits of having a tribunal is you only have to convince two of them to reconsider. It took over a week but that’s not going to happen to you.”