#Chapter 23: Twenty lashes and one kiss

Alexander had been right. Having to watch this was punishment enough for me. Especially knowing that he was taking extra punishment to spare me for my own imagined crime. I watched in silence, not letting my face or behavior reveal how shocked I was, as the King used every ounce of wild strength that he had to lash Alexander’s back into a meaty mess of blood and tattered bits of fabric. I straightened my spine and did not avert my eyes, though my heart was pounding out of my chest, and my wolf wanted to make me shift and attack. With every snap of the whip, the King tore into Alexander’s broad shoulders and muscular back, sending spatters of blood all over the room. Alexander’s long, golden hair was wet at the roots with sweat and at the tips with blood that started out bright red and darkened to black as it soaked in more and more liquid with each passing minute. I lost count, but I suppose the King reached his magic number of twenty lashes and was satisfied, because he fi