30

JASLYNN

The moment we stepped outside, the cool evening breeze tickled my cheeks, and I tucked my hands into the pocket of my sweatshirt to try to keep warm.

Reece glanced at me and shook her head amusedly, "I'm glad werewolves don't get cold easily."

"Must be nice," I muttered as I followed her down the porch steps. She smirked at my sour tone and pointed in the direction we were walking, "I'm going to introduce you to Beta Conrad first. He's at the training grounds working with the pack warriors."

I nodded and studied all the busy wolves bustling around to get whatever chores they had done before sunset, "So the pack name, Venom Prowlers, how did it come about?" I asked curiously.

Reece sighed, "Has Alrik told you about his brother?"

"He said he had an older brother, but he didn't go into detail."

"Well, it's not a big secret. Everyone knows what happened, unfortunately," Reece said quietly, pursing her lips, "Alrik's older brother is named Aleksei. He is the Alpha to the Silver-Claw Shadows in Russia."

"Such welcoming names," I mumbled sarcastically, causing her to snort, "The Kuznetsov brothers would never admit it, but they do think the same way when it comes to certain concepts like a pack name. They believe the name is important for the pack's image, which is true. No one would take us seriously if we were called the Moonshine Pack or something equally dainty."

"Touché."

"Aleksei's pack was the original pack before the split, meaning it was the one Alrik's father had led. Alrik was supposed to be his Beta, but he had very strong opinions about the way Aleksei should control his pack. Aleksei disagreed, and they had a huge argument that ultimately led to the split of the pack. Aleksei took half of the pack back to Russia, leaving Alrik with the other half to lead here in any way he liked."

"It was that bad of an argument, huh?"

"It was awful. They are both extremely strong Alpha males, and when they are provoked, they tend to get explosive. Before the fight, the tension between the brothers had been building for weeks, and when everything came out, no one could break it up, not even their parents. It was absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking because before Aleksei took the position of Alpha, they were like this," she said, crossing her fingers to show how close the two brothers were.

"I'm assuming they don't talk to each other anymore," I sighed, feeling my heart drop a little even though I never got to see the brothers together.

"It's been decades, and everyone has given up on trying to reunite them," she shook her head sadly, "The funny thing is they still care about each other even if they would hate to admit it. I call Aleksei at least once a month, and he likes to ask me how Alrik is doing, and Alrik will do the same when he finds out I talked to Aleksei."

"So would you say it's their egos that get in the way of their relationship?"

"In a way. I would say the brothers definitely miss the relationship they had, but their ideals are too different for them to get along. One of them would have to give it up before they can ever mend their bond."

Under her breath, Reece muttered, "And I hope it will be Alrik."

As much as I wanted to question her about it, the topic of the brothers was clearly a heavy issue for her so I decided to switch gears to lighten the mood, "So Alrik came up with the pack name?"

"He did, but we go by the Venom Pack to keep it short. The full name is a mouthful. But look! There's Beta Conrad," she pointed to a large, muscular man who was jogging toward us.

"Conrad," Reece smiled mischievously, "Meet Alpha Alrik's bitch. Sorry, I mean mate."

"Not you too," I groaned as the Beta and Commander duo laughed aloud.

Beta Conrad shook my hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Luna Jaslynn. The Minister and I had quite a laugh when we he told me of how you and Alpha Alrik met. I hope he's treating you better than he treats the rest of us."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "How does he treat you?"

Reece cleared her throat, "She hasn't been yet, Conrad," she said, giving him a pointed look

His lips parted in understanding, and he shook his head, "Pardon me, I didn't mean to be so outspoken. How about I walk you to the third sector?"

"Would you do that?" Reece asked, "I need to run to the hospital for a moment, but I'll meet you two there."

"It'll be my pleasure. Take your time," Beta Conrad nodded, placing a hand on my back to turn me in the right direction. Reece thanked him and ran in the opposite direction, while Beta Conrad started walking me back the way we came and explaining how the pack warriors' training worked.

"They train every day for about four to six hours depending on the techniques they are practicing. Every warrior specializes in a certain war form, like fighting with swords or battling with spears. So when it comes time to fight another pack or species, they are ready to combat any sort of attack."

"It's incredible," I said, watching a group of warriors fight with spiked maces. They were all professionals at what they did, and I could hear the pride in Beta Conrad's voice.

As we came to the end of the training field, I turned to Beta Conrad and cocked my head in curiosity, "Your accent. Tu parles français?"

He grinned, "Oui, Mademoiselle Jaslynn. Je viens du Sénégal."

"I thought your accent sounded familiar. Did you grow up there?"

"I did. I moved here after I found my mate and after the pack split. Alpha Alrik chose me to be his Beta when he saw my skills as a warrior and communicator."

I nodded, "And what does your mate do?"

"She is a part-time nurse at the hospital," he smiled, his eyes glazing over fondly at the thought of his mate, "And when she isn't working there, she is a full-time mother to our two pups."

Before I could ask him about his pups, he stopped in his tracks, "We are getting closer to the third sector. Luna, I want to warn you that the sights you see are not for the faintest of heart."

My heart skipped a beat, and a deep frown formed on my face, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," he started walking again, slower than before.

We hadn't passed Alrik's house, and I realized that there was a split in the road that I hadn't paid attention to before, one road that led to Alrik's house, and the other which Beta Conrad was directing us toward.

As we continued on the path, the number of buildings began to dwindle, and I could make out large wooden poles standing tall above the roofs of the remaining structures. The closer we got, the sound of painful groans became louder, and a lump formed in my throat as realization slowly dawned on me.

This was the punishing grounds.

And the first thing my eyes were drawn to were the large wooden poles.

Wolves were collared with silver chains and attached to the poles, their fur matted with dried blood from whatever punishment they had faced first. They stared at us weakly, some even teary-eyed from the pain of the silver that drained into their bloodstream and fried their nerves.

My eyes widened as they landed on the wood structures next to the poles. There were wolves placed in pillories, their hands and head stuck in holes of the wooden structure. Their skin was pale as if they had lost a lot of blood or hadn't had much to eat, and their lips cracked as if they were dehydrated.

When we got closer, the stench of vomit and blood became prominent, and I gripped Beta Conrad's arm as I stared at the helpless, desperate faces of the punished wolves, "Beta Conrad, wh–what is happening?"

He clenched my hand in his, "We haven't seen everything, Luna. Turn around."

I spun around, my eyes welling with tears as they traced the large metal structure that almost resembled a swing. But instead of swings hanging from the pole, it was wolves chained with their arms up and their feet barely touching the ground. I could see the pain on their faces as their arm muscles ached from being held in that position for so long.

"This is actually the mildest punishment one could receive," Beta Conrad said quietly, watching me with sorrowful eyes.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my tears at bay as I turned to the last station.

It was a whipping post.

A young adult wolf was being whipped hard by a pack warrior, and his loud groans were filling the air as drops of his crimson blood stained the concrete below him.

My vision went blurry, and I clasped a hand over my mouth to stop the bile rising in my throat. A hand grabbed my shoulder gently, and my head snapped to face Reece, who was staring at me grimly,

"You wonder why Aleksei left? This was why. Welcome to the Venom Pack, Jaslynn."