Seraphina Valois POV
Pain seared across my back, each movement sending fresh waves of agony through my body. I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out as I dabbed a cold cloth against the welts. Ten lashes. Ten humiliating, excruciating lashes before the entire pack.
"That bitch," I hissed, thinking of Aurelia. "This is all her fault."
How dare she manipulate Julian into turning against his own family? For five years, the orphan healer had known her place. Now suddenly she had my cousin wrapped around her finger?
A sharp knock at my door interrupted my seething thoughts.
"What?" I snapped.
The door opened, revealing two stone-faced beta guards in full uniform.
"Miss Valois," the taller one said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Alpha King Julian has summoned you to the ancestral hall immediately."
Fear sliced through me. "I've already received my punishment."
"Those are the Alpha's orders," the second guard replied.
