Page 49 of The Forbidden Alpha

Jaxon looked at his sobbing wife still at my feet, then his son, and finally at me. He bowed his head, his shoulders sagging.

“We accept,” Jaxon whispered. “The debt is recognized. After tonight, he will no longer be of my line.”

“The Table accepts the residing Alpha’s mercy,” Hannes’ voice echoed.

Ethan’s gaze cut to where the Enforcers had cuffed Gabe. “The witness Gabriel Moon of Half Moon withheld knowledge of ongoing crimes against my mate. Ten lashes, administered before the heir’s punishment is carried out. He has acknowledged his debt. It will be paid in full. Punishment will be administered in the arena behind the Great Hall,” Ethan said.

“The trials are adjourned,” Alpha Hannes croaked.

The scraping of chairs filled the hall as the Alphas rose in their grim procession, their mates following behind as they filed out toward the arena.

Ethan stood and turned to me. He ignored Emilia at my feet as he offered me his hand.

I took it as the Enforcers stepped forward, and the room began to clear. Enforcers handcuffed Gabe. I moved toward him, but his blue eyes cut to me with a warning as they began to haul him toward the arena doors.

I bit my lip, tasting the metallic twang of blood.

Could I really sit here while my best friend was taken away?

They led him through the doors, and I forced myself to stay seated. Jaxon rushed to his mate and picked her up, her shoulders hunching as she leaned into him. Her sobs turning into a low keen. Jaxon looked at Ethan, then at me, and he bowed—a real, deep bow that held for a long, quiet second.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely audible. “For what was done to you.”

I nodded. I didn’t have forgiveness for him yet. Ethan led me away, and they headed for the doors. The air grew heavier as we stepped out.

The courtyard was a hollow stone square, the air already thick with the scent of anticipation as heat burrowed down on us all. Gabe was on his knees. Enforcers stood like statues along the perimeter, silent witnesses to the King’s justice.

Ethan released me and walked toward the closest thing I’d had to family. Gabe bowed his head so low his dirty blond hair fell over his eyes as Ethan stopped before him.

The Mad King towered over Gabe, his shadow swallowing him whole. Enforcers stepped forward and Gabe lifted his arms as they pulled the shirt from his body. Odis appeared by Ethan’s side, holding a heavy, multi-tailed whip made of dark leather, tipped with iron shards that caught under the dying sunlight. My stomach churned at the sight of what would be used.

Ethan took the handle, his muscles tensing, thick and corded. My mate looked like an executioner, and I wasn’t sure if I could watch.

“Had you stayed by my mate, she wouldn’t have been hurt. If you’d taken care of her and reported the injustice she went through, the rot would have never taken hold,” Ethan growled. “But I don’t live in ‘what ifs’—I live in the present. Ten lashes for your silence.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. I didn’t speak. I didn’t stop it. Across from me, Olivia looked on, her face a mask of restrained agony. Gabe’s shoulders relaxed, as if the impending lash was a relief compared to the guilt he’d been carrying.

Ethan stepped back, and the air in the courtyard went thin. The muscles pulled his shirt taut as he pivoted. This was the brute strength that had leveled kingdoms—raw, unbridled, and fueled by a protective rage that made my skin hum.

The first lash cracked like a bone breaking.

A silent cry fell from my lips as my best friend hunched forward, but Ethan didn’t hold back. Each strike was delivered with soul-crushing force. Ethan was a god of violence as he used Gabe as a living example: those who didn’t directly hurt me would still pay.

I leaned forward, my fist hitting my chest as Gabe cried out under the weight of another lash. His back arched, the iron shards catching the dying light—now tinted a deep, wet red as they tore through his skin. He clawed at the stone floor, his body shuddering, and for a heartbeat, I wanted to scream for it to stop. But I didn’t. This was the price of our world.

I hit my chest as each one landed. The lashes didn’t slow. When Gabe slumped onto his face, I swayed on my feet. Enforcers ran forward and pulled him up. They held him so Ethan could continue. One after the other until my head was swimming.

When the tenth lash landed, Ethan stopped.

He wasn’t winded, but the heat radiated off him, a shimmer in the dry air that made him look twice his actual size. He handed the bloody leather back to Odis and turned. The intensity of his stare found me with a promise that made my stomach flip. It was done and Gabe had made things right.

Ethan walked back toward me, his heavy boots moving across the stone with finality. When he reached me, he didn’t apologize for the blood or the brutality. He stepped into my space, the scent of salt, iron, and Alpha invaded my senses. He took my jaw in a hand that was still vibrating from adrenaline, his thumb brushing my lip, leaving the faint, metallic scent blood and leather behind.

“One more and this will be over,” Ethan rasped. His voice was low, a bloodthirsty hunger for his real target.

Need and hate swirled within me. “I need a minute,” I whispered. The open arena shrank, the sky too low. I needed to breathe air that didn’t taste like Gabe’s blood or Ethan’s rage.