Chapter 92: Remarkable...
Rhydian;
As I get closer to the boy, relief washes over me when I see that the boy doesn’t have Elian’s brown hair.
My relief is, however, short-lived when I realise who it is.
Bram!
What the hell happened to him??
I rush over to him and as I kneel beside him, my stomach twists in unbelievable dread.
There are fresh bruises all over his body. And his bottom... is completely red. So red it looks like it’ll hurt to just touch.
There are whip lines all over his skin and handprints on his bottom.
Igma stands on the other side of him, staring at us with worry on her face.
I gently turn him, and he groans as I hold him.
Igma gasps as soon as his face comes into view, and my eyes widen.
His cheek is swollen, his lip bursted, and one of his eyes is purple and swollen shut. His nose even looks broken.
"What... what happened to you?!" I demand, and he slowly blinks at me through his bloody, but still opened eye.
He manages to force a smile, and my heart drops.
"Nothing... I... I lost my way. I’m feeling sleepy. I just... needed help to get back... to my room." He replies as if life is leaving him, and I stare at him in worry.
Just two days ago, I saved him from those Betas, and now??
"That’s a correction stamp!" Igma suddenly gasp, whilst pointing at something, and when I follow her gaze, my eyes land on a small, bleeding burn scar above his right shoulder. He was branded.
’Corrected’, The word reads, and my throat goes dry.
He... He was sent to sexual correction!?
He was molested!?
"Bram! Bram, who did this to you!? Why!? What happened?!?" I question in growing infuriation at whoever dared to hurt him.
I promised to protect him and...
"It’s nothing serious, Alpha Rhydian. It was only four men..." He replies, and my heart drops into my stomach.
I look up at Igma in shock, and she looks away, unable to bear the sight. Being the daughter of an Omega, she relates to the pins they go through on a deeper level.
Her Father also suffered several ’corrections’ and we both know the damage they do to the mind...
"I’m cold..." Bram suddenly whispers as he shivers lightly in my arms, and I pick him up.
"Igma..." I call as I get up, but she’s a step ahead.
"I’ll fetch the physician," she replies, and I nod.
"It’s okay, Bram. It’s okay... I’ll punish whoever did this to you." I whisper with anger screaming inside my head as we move, but he weakly shakes his head in negation.
"Please... No... If you piss her off again... She’ll punish me with... Another correction." He replies, and I pause midstep.
Mother!?
Is he taking about my mother?
She did this!??
How dare she!?
Why!?
What wrong did he do!??
*******
Alpha Liandria;
"Move those hips!" I growl as the whip crackles across the room and hits the scrawny, nude boy in front of me.
He yells. Clearly in pain, but he doesn’t stop moving. He doesn’t dare to.
The musicians don’t stop either. I listen to the gentle music as the boy in front of me tries and fails woefully to keep me entertained.
With tears in his wimpy eyes, he holds back sobs and whimpers as he glides his arms and feet in a failed attempt at elegance.
He tries to wipe the tears escaping his eyes, and in turn misses a step.
He freezes and looks up at me, but I don’t react. Not yet.
I pick up my goblet and take a sip of its wine as the boy, tremblingly, tries to start dancing again, but the sight is an eyesore.
"You omegas can’t do anything right, can you?!" I scream as I throw my half-full cup at him, and surely I don’t miss.
His scream fills the room as the cup rams into his eye, and he crumbles to the ground.
"Get back on your feet!" I scream as I send the whip at him again. He falls completely to the ground as the whip strikes across his neck, leaving behind a furiously red trail. A marker of his worthlessness, and the sight makes me smile.
The first glimpse of satisfaction I’ve had today.
He groans as he gets up, and just as he’s about to keep dancing, the door to the hall bursts open.
I look up, and sure enough, the only one impudent enough to do that is my son.
Rhydian.
He has smudges of blood on his skin, and his usually grey eyes have turned gold.
He’s angry. Interesting...
"Privacy!" He barks, and I scoff.
"Keep playing." I counter, and Rhydian glares at me as the musicians and Omega dancer boy look between him and me.
"Move!" I growl as I whip the boy again, and Rhydian’s eyes widen. The musicians start playing, and I can see the disbelief on his face.
"What is wrong with you!?" He screams at me, and I raise a brow as I look up at him.
"Rhydian, it’s so very early in the morning. Screaming like this is quite barbaric. I taught you better than this." I reply in ankiyabce and he scoffs.
"Barbaric!? No, what is barbaric is setting four Betas against an innocent omega. What did he do!?" He screams again, and I scoff in amusement.
"Omega!? Boy, have you forgotten that Bram is an Alpha? He can handle it." I reply, and his face goes red.
"He would still be an Alpha if you didn’t mess with him! His pheromones are all fucked up! He’s more of an Omega than an Alpha!" He rages, and I roll my eyes.
"So, what then!? Omegas go through corrections all the time. Why are you making my eardrums bleed over this one!? You have your omega! What I do with Bram is none of your business!" I rage, but he snaps back.
"It is my business! I’m done watching you make innocent people suffer! What did he do!?" He screams, and I shut my eyes in annoyance as I massage my temples.
"He escaped death! That’s what he did! I ordered the Betas to kill him, and you freed him. Every time I stare at him, I am reminded of my failed investments. If you won’t use him, stop meddling in his affairs! I will soothe my anger with him, however I damn please!" I scream at him in irritation, and he blinks at me.
I stand up and walk over to him.
"Every omega in the pack belongs to me," I speak calmly in his face before whipping the dancing boy one more time, and Rhydian blinks at me.
"I’ve heard you. I have... respected your wishes. I won’t touch your Omega because he is Ashfang’s property, and you’ve claimed him. I don’t want to anger your Father. But you have no claim to Bram. He is my subject. In my kingdom. Bought with my money. He spent months eating my food. He belongs to me. I can do whatever I want with him, so I’ll warn you now, son... Don’t test my limits." I speak, and that oh so familiar anger clouds his eyes.
"Then I’ll change that." He replies, and I raise a brow.
"I’m taking Bram as my second Omega. He belongs to me now, and you can not and will not hurt him again." He says, and I blink at him in surprise.
He suddenly steps closer to me, but I don’t budge.
"And let me warn you, I do not play about things that are mine. If you dare to hurt even a hair on his head... I’ll show you the dangers of messing with an Alpha’s omega. You’ve never had one before, so you won’t understand. Don’t make me teach you in horrible ways." He growls, and I just blink back at him.
He turns around on his heels and pauses. He walks over to the naked dancing boy, grabs him by the arm, and pulls him out of the hall with him.
I stand in silence as I stare at the shut door, and the musicians stop playing.
"Get out," I order, and faster than I can blink, they’re all out.
Left alone in the soothing silence of the hall, I can not help the smirk that crawls onto my face.
"Well, that was easier than expected."
A chuckle I cannot fight escapes me, and I turn around on my heels as happiness blooms inside of me.
My plan was a success. Like all the others usually are.
I hum gently as I sway in the empty hall. Humming the tune the musicians were just playing, as I lift my skirt and dance like a leaf in the wind.
Rhydian thinks he’s all grown up... that he’s so smart now and is rebelling against me.
But my little boy has never learned that he only plays the roles I pick for him. He only threads the paths I clear for him.
He always falls into the traps I set for him.
Phase one was a success. Now to the next...
"Hahaha..." My laughter rings through the hall as I sit back down in my throne.
"Ah... you are remarkable, Liandria." I giggle before picking up a grape and putting it in my mouth.
"Truly remarkable..."