Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever-Chapter 105 - I need a part of your body

The two men exchanged a long, stunned look, their expressions filled with confusion and disbelief as they tried to process what was happening in front of them, because the idea that a fellow Alpha would push things this far over a single she-wolf, especially one that most of the packs openly despised, felt almost impossible for them to accept.

"Voren, you are not seriously kicking us out of the circle, are you?" Riven asked as the realization slowly sank in and his heart began pounding heavily inside his chest, because Voren was the chairman of the council and someone in that position usually cared more about maintaining a respectable image than satisfying people who never knew when to stop being children.

Voren looked at him with cold indifference before answering in a calm voice that somehow made the threat behind his words even more unsettling.

"That isn’t even an option anymore because you are already out, but there are two ways this situation can end tonight. The first option is that both of you step down as Alphas of your packs, and after that you will each give up a part of your body."

The night grew eerily quiet as those words settled in the air, and although the darkness of the late hour hid the color draining from their faces, the tension around them made it painfully obvious that the shock had hit them hard.

"What?" Riven finally shouted, his voice filled with anger and disbelief as he struggled against the ropes holding him in place. "That’s complete bullshit, Voren," he said, only for his protest to be cut off when Voren’s fist slammed into his face again with brutal force.

"You forgot about your language," Voren replied coldly, his voice carrying a warning that made it clear he had no patience left.

Riven’s eyes filled with tears as pain shot through his jaw and cheek, the impact leaving his head spinning while he fought to remain conscious.

"You can’t seriously expect us to step down because of that bi..." he began before stopping himself abruptly, clearly remembering the last blow that had come from speaking too freely. "I mean, Seraphine."

Voren pressed his lips together tightly as if weighing the situation for a moment before speaking again.

"Actually, I do not have authority over your packs anyway, so that option is no longer on the table," he said with a quiet, thoughtful tone that made the two Alphas uneasy. "Instead, the two of you will whip each other until one of you dies."

Gray’s entire body started trembling at those words, the fear he tried to hide becoming impossible to control.

"Voren, have you completely lost your mind?" he demanded, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him.

Voren smiled slowly, but the expression never reached his eyes, which remained cold and hard.

"You wanted Seraphine dead tonight, and she would have died if help had not reached her in time, yet you expect to walk away from this as if nothing happened," he said calmly while watching them both. "Attempted murder is still murder."

Riven’s shoulders sagged slightly as he realized that arguing further would only bring more pain.

"Fine," he said after a long moment, his voice heavy with frustration and exhaustion. "We can whip each other if that is what you want, but can you remove the part about someone dying?"

Voren pressed his lips together again as another idea crossed his mind, and a slow nod followed a moment later.

"Sure," he replied in a casual tone. "However, only after the whipping will I give you the final option."

The two Alphas understood immediately that they were trapped, and although neither of them liked the situation, they both realized that refusal would only make things worse.

"Fine," they agreed reluctantly.

Gray, however, already had a plan forming in his mind, because he believed that the moment Voren untied them both he and Riven could simply refuse to go through with it and force their way out of the situation.

Unfortunately for him, Voren clearly anticipated that kind of move.

Instead of releasing both of them, Voren walked over and untied only Riven.

"You first," Voren said as he tossed the whip toward him. "Take it and give him twenty lashes."

Voren could have easily increased the number, but since the last option he had in mind required them both to remain alive and capable of standing, he kept the punishment at twenty.

Riven picked up the whip slowly, his hands trembling as the weight of the weapon settled into his grip.

"What happens if I refuse?" he asked quietly.

Voren’s eyes darkened in a way that made the night feel colder.

"I could kill you and bury you right here where you stand, and nobody would ever find out," he said calmly before glancing toward Gray. "And the same goes for him."

Riven swallowed hard as he looked at Gray, understanding that there was no escape from what was about to happen.

Without another word, he raised the whip and brought it down across Gray’s back.

The sharp crack echoed through the quiet night.

He repeated the motion again and again, striking twenty times while refusing to meet Gray’s eyes.

Each lash tore through Gray’s skin, and although the pain forced groans from his throat, his pride refused to allow him to cry out.

By the time Riven finished, he was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as sweat dripped down his face.

Voren stepped forward, took the whip from his hand, and tied him back to the tree before walking over to release Gray.

Gray’s fingers closed tightly around the whip the moment it was placed in his hand.

Deep inside his mind, anger burned fiercely as one thought repeated itself over and over again.

One day, when he saw Seraphine again, he would make sure she died for real.

His body already felt like it was on fire from the broken bottles earlier and the lashes he had just endured, so his first few attempts with the whip came out weak and unsteady.

Voren watched for a moment before stepping forward with a cold expression.

"If you cannot do it properly, I can always let him add his lashes to yours," Voren said calmly.

The threat worked immediately.

Gray forced every ounce of strength left in his battered body into his arm as he swung the whip again and again.

Riven endured the punishment without crying out, but the redness of his eyes and the blood covering his back made it painfully clear how brutal the pain truly was.

When the twentieth lash finally landed, silence returned to the clearing.

"Good," Voren said at last as he looked at the two battered Alphas.

"For you to leave here tonight, I need a part of your body."

Both men froze instantly when they heard those words.