Chapter 5: Punishment

''You fucking hit a vamp.'' I feel the blow immediately, and it fucking hurts. I fall to my knees, and my father grabs me by my collar. Blood falls to my shirt, and I know I am in bigger trouble than I thought. Who the fuck snitched on me? I know there were a couple of my brothers at that party, but I didn't think anyone would narc. ''He hit me first,'' I try to explain, but he is not having it. I feel another blow, and this time the force is so hard that I fly a couple of feet away from him. My back hits the wall, and my spine crackles in defeat. ''Dad,'' I raise my hands in surrender, but he is already coming at me. ''Don't you fucking say a word,'' he is shouting; his voice is rumbling through the trees and to the skies. He is pissed. I rest my hands on my knees, taking heavy breaths because I am tired and in pain. I can't win this fight; he is the alpha before my father, and he won't let me have it easy. I know I made a mistake; I know I shouldn't have been so angry. This is all on me, and I am going to get punished. ''Do you know what we had to go through during the contention; do you know how many lives we lost, and you fucking tempt a vamp to a fight?'' I let him rant because I deserve it. He grabs me again and I fall to my knees; not budging, he drags my body with all the strength in his, and I know where he is taking to. It's called the cave of wrath. The cave is for traitors. The longer you stay in the cave, the longer it eats you up. This is unbelievable. I am not a traitor. I made a mistake—he can't re thinking of punishing me this way. ''Dad,'' I try to hold his hand in an attempt to stop him from going in that direction. ''Please, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, I stopped before it got out of hand. I won't ever make such a mistake again'' I beg him desperately. I have never been in there, but I know someone who stayed in there for a week. The stories he told still give me chills. I don't want to experience that. ''You need this, you need to fucking grow up,'' he growls and drags me further into the woods. I hear the whispers before we even get there. They know I am fresh meat, and they are ready. My pleas increase with so much desperation, but I know I am not getting out of this. His mind is made up, I am sure Uncle Fallon talked him into this. This feels more like an ambush. Fuck. He stops in front of the cave and throws me so hard, so fast, that I hit a rock inside. I crawl on my knees as I try to escape, but the cave pulls me back in. I see the chains as they appear and tighten around my wrists and ankles. There is a bright light attached to what is going to keep me prisoner for as long as my father wants. I hear his footsteps, nd I hear them until he is back home. He left me here. The air is cold, and I can see my breath forming a misty cloud in front of me. I am never cold, no matter the weather, I am a fucking wolf, but right now I feel the shivers coming in. This is insane. I try to fold my arms to find a way to warm up, but it's of no use. The chains make sounds that terrify me. I don't know what is going to happen, and I don't know how long he intends to keep me here, but I know it won't be easy. Shivering, I lie down and close my eyes in hopes that my thoughts will make this process better. It feels like an eternity, but when I open my eyes, I am no longer in chains. I am no longer in the cave. I am in the woods. There is blood everywhere, and I am a little pup. I look around and I see it, I see all the bodies. They are everywhere. I walk around confused and unsure of what is happening. I see Rex as a pup, nd he is crying next to a body. He is gripping whoever it is very tightly. My heart clenches. I have never seen him cry this hard, and walking closer to him, I recognise his father immediately. Adeala is dead. I already knew this; he died years ago in the contention. Why am I seeing this? There is blood all over him; there is a slit in his throat. I have never seen anything this gruesome. ''Rex,'' I call my brother's name, but he doesn't look up. He can't hear me. What is happening? I am in my body as a kid. I wasn't even present during the contention. I was too young to participate. So why am I here? I hear footsteps that Rex doesn't. I see the figure before he gets to my Omega. ''Rex, get away from here,'' I shout, but I know it's of no use. He can't hear me; I am not here. The figure comes into view, nd I know immediately that it's a vamp. He is tall with the reddest eyes I have ever seen. There is an anger that I have never felt in them. He looks murderous, a nd the fact that Rex is just a kid somehow doesn't matter to him. He is out for blood, the blood of my brother. ''Get up, Rex, run away,'' I yell even louder, but to no avail. The vamp grabs Rex suddenly, a nd I watch, unable to do anything. My cries are loud bu,t no one can hear me ''Somebody help,'' I scream at the top of my lungs. This is not real; I know because Rex is alive, but I am scared to watch them hurt him. I am scared to see him in pain. I am too engrossed in the fact that I am about to watch a VampirehurtRexx that I don't notice it. I don't notice Baed as he runs and pushes the vamp off my omega. My heart breaks because I know Baed is dead. hHeHe gon, and now I know how he dies. The fangs in the vampire's mouth, and a smile forms on his face ''OH, hi, get to kill a ki, and you too,'' he tells him. Bead looks at Rex with a glare ''Run,'' he shouts, and my Omega obliges immediately. I watch him as he runs away and leaves Baed in his final moments. I watch them fight. I watch them till the Vamp has Baed's head in his grip and then out of his body. The snap gets to me over everything else. I just watched him die right in front o,f me, and this is the most gruesome thing I have ever seen. He died to protect Rex, no one ever tells you all these parts when they talk about the contention. This bloody war between two kinds that shouldn't have ever happened. For reasons that I still don't understand. All the blood; all the death. All the pis ain because of differences. I suddenly understand where Father is coming from; I shouldn't have started something with Alanis. It could become a bigger problem than it needs to be because I wanted an easy screw. The fact that I am supposed to be the alpha and I am still not mature enough to grasp to responsibility I will carry with that title. It haunts me. I open my eyes, and I am still in my nightmare. There are tears in my eyes. I feel them fall on the bare ground. The cave is getting colder. It feels like I have been in here for months. I fold my arms against my chest, shivering. I don't know when it happens, and I don't know why it is happening, but I suddenly feel my bones crackle. I know what is happening; I am shifting against my will. I don't have the energy to shift; I don't want to shift right now. My knees and elbows bend and break, and I scream out in pain as I watch myself turn into the animal that I am. ''Papa'' I shout out in excruciating pain as everything blacks out once again.