1. Eighteen Punishments To Serve

~Lucienne~

"You should have died with them!" The loudest voice of the angry mob surrounding me, who was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily and crying filled my ears.

"Get rid of this wretched girl! We don't want such bad luck in our pack! Kill her!" The frenzied crowd unleashed their fury upon me, attacking me with words, rotten fruits, dirty slippers, and everything they could lay their hands on.

Due to the impact of everything on my already tired body, my eyes were shut throughout this ordeal as I remembered how I begged the boss not to let me do this, not to let me be involved in this, but she forced me to, and look at where I am now, getting beaten and being punished for something I didn't know anything about. I even tried to open my mouth to say something- a plea for understanding, but a bitter juice from something stale that they stuffed into my mouth, landed on my tongue causing me to blink multiply as I twitched my face in disgust.

The second my brain registered it, I immediately spat it out, trying to cleanse my palette of the bitter taste. 

"Stop!" A familiar authority-filled male voice filled the clearing and they stopped, and I could feel a bit of light on my skin, all because the pack members parted ways for him to pass through.

"What's going on here?" 

"Crown Prince," they all greeted with a bow before someone spoke up. 

"This wretched girl spoiled the preparations for the yearly event tomorrow. Everything is in ruins! The food, the furniture, the packages, everything!" 

"I didn't do it," I immediately coughed out despite my tears and burning tongue, each word coming out after a labored and painful breath.

A painful hit landed on my cheek, sending me side-first to the ground, my cheeks brushing the uneven soil.

"You dare lie?! We have proof, your highness! Someone saw her do it."

"Really?" I heard Daniel, the crown Prince and soon-to-be Alpha question, clearly intrigued and they brought out the so-called witness.

"Crown Prince Daniel. I was cleaning the area and wanted some water to clench my thirst when I saw her speaking to herself like a mad woman so I decided to see what she was up to. She was complaining about how badly the whole pack treated her because of what happened back then. She then decided to get her revenge on us by ruining the annual event. I tried to stop her but she was just too powerful for a lower class omega like me and ended up doing… doing this," she finally ended and I forced myself to look up to see her stretch her hands out to Daniel, her hand bandaged like she was attacked by a rogue wolf.

With the last bit of strength in me, I carried myself to a kneeling position. "I swear on my life. I didn't do it."

"Oh Lucienne, it's your word, against the pack’s. And if you claimed not to do it, who did? Me? My parents? The guards? Or the ones who suffered for months to plan the event?" Daniel questioned, and the pack members around just hissed, throwing more infuriating words to fuel his anger.

"Believe me, please," I begged.

"After what you did to your former pack? Impossible!" He scoffed and crouched to my level, his eyes which were supposed to hold love and care for me as his mate, now holding so much hatred and contempt. "How many punishments do you have pending, Lucienne?”

Immediately the word punishment left his ears, I turned hot, my tongue went numb, my throat became dry, my hands trembled and very became sweaty. 

"Answer me!" He demanded and I flinched, my gaze now directed to the ground.

"S-seventeen," I stammered, my tears and liquid from the different things hurdled at me mixing and landing on the soil.

"So this makes it eighteen?” he asked and I forced myself to nod.

"You all can leave. I'll send some men to join you in fixing the arena. I'll deal with this." He said through clenched teeth and the whole crowd dispersed then he turned to me before giving his first order.

"Lucienne, your kneels must not leave the ground till we get to our destination." 

With a painful sigh, I knew my punishment had begun so I wiped my tears and began to move, the skin on my knees, grazing against the rough ground as I followed Daniel. The air was heavy with tension, and my heart raced with fear and uncertainty as I wondered how these eighteen punishments would be carried out because this crawling was definitely not part of them. As Daniel would call it, it was just a teaser.

I could feel stones scratching my skin, broken glass on the road piercing my legs but I didn't dare make a sound or defy his orders.

As we walked through the rough pack land, I looked ahead, hoping to see somewhere so I could figure out where he was taking me and how long I had to bear this torture, but no, we were heading to a part of the pack I wasn't familiar with. But one thing was certain, lights and music were playing in the distance and where there was music, there were men, and where there were men, there were drinks and where there were drinks, there were bottles which meant more glass shards to crawl on.

Finally, we arrived at a car park, and I sighed in relief thinking this would end already but just as I was about to stand, he turned to me with that same cold expression.

"Don't you dare!” He snapped and I fell to the ground immediately.

“Do you want me to triple the punishment, mate?” He asked as he entered the car and I merely shook my head. “Better. Now, follow me and by the time I get there, I must not wait for you! You have five minutes. Remember, your knees mustn't leave the ground" He ordered, then slammed the door in my face, before starting the engine and zooming off.

I already had my punishment doubled one time, so never again. With clenched teeth, I pushed my tears to the back, forcing myself to continue moving fast too. Bleeding my legs out was much better than tripling my punishment 

My legs became sore from this punishment even though it was not actually considered a punishment in Daniel's eyes. I eventually came to a stop outside a neon-lit club, pulsating with music and laughter.

"Four minutes, fifty-eight seconds. Good job, Lucienne. I thought I would have to send some men to bundle you here and then hit you before we start your punishment," he chuckled darkly before ordering me to stand but my wobbly legs made it almost impossible to.

The atmosphere was suffocating as Daniel led me through the crowd. He seemed to know his way around, navigating effortlessly toward a VIP section. As we approached, I noticed two figures waiting there, two sheep turned into wolves because of what happened back then. Ezekiel and Steven, my elder brothers.

Once again eyes always filled with love and admiration now bore into mine, filled with disdain and anger. Ezekiel, the older of the two, spoke first. "Oh sister, what on earth have you done now?" 

"Once you know, you'd want to break her bones," Daniel chuckled then ordered some drinks before sitting and I followed him like a dog on a leash. The bartender brought the drinks and Daniel narrated what he witnessed earlier from beginning to the end causing Ezekiel and Steven to exchange glances, with their expressions hardening.

"So, what do you propose, Daniel?" Ezekiel asked, his tone dripping with malice.

Daniel's lips curled into a sinister smile. "I don't know yet. Was hoping you guys would have ideas on what punishment to give today," Daniel calmly said and they began to brainstorm ideas. Public beating was out of it because I had gone through that before, the same goes for eating a big bucket of raw peppers, cleaning the filthiest places your mind could think of, and even more.

I stood at the sidelines, praying whatever they picked would be at least something I could handle because, at that point, all those kneeling, crawling, beating, and bleeding made me very sore. To stand was even torture at this point.

"I think I have a plan to ensure Lucienne pays for her actions and learns her lesson." Daniel immediately announced and my brothers leaned closer.

They both listened intently as he outlined a plan that I couldn't hear, causing me to immediately have goosebumps as I saw their lips curl into very wicked smiles.

Ezekiel and Steven, fueled by their resentment towards me, agreed eagerly.

Before I could try to imagine whatever it was they just agreed on, Daniel spoke directly to me, his voice cold and calculating. "Lucienne, you brought this upon yourself." He sang then Steven left, before returning with a nylon bag in his hands.

Daniel ordered him to open it up and he did, revealing the tiniest, most see-through, ripped gown I had ever seen in all my years of existence.

"You'll wear this," Daniel sneered, holding up the outfit that made my stomach churn. "As for your first punishment, you, my dear mate would strip."