Alreck reached over and spanked her hard on the ass, quick and fast. She howled at the pain.
"I'm taking a whip to you if the alpha lets you live, Rachel. And I'm counting. Every time you disobey, evade a question, or behave badly, that’s another lash.”
The female, frightened and angry already, looked like she was ready to sink into the floor. Her face morphed, eyes glossing and movements full of trepidation. She changed so rapidly Darre wondered about her sanity.
"Are you really Corre's daughter?" he asked her.
"Yes."
"And did he send the omega breeder here?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To punish and humiliate her father for stealing the scribe house from us,” she spat. “And to destroy you. She was supposed to destroy you."
"And who was Tenbel to you?"
"My half-brother."
"And who was Louis to you?"
"My mate. My alpha. You killed him. Everything went wrong. My father was wrong to bring you the breeder. He underestimated what a breeder could do to a beast like you. But my father thought it was the only thing that would destroy you. Either you'd become a mindless beast, or the king would finally come after you for breaking the breeder law.
“How could you choose him?" She tried to twist her head to look at Naya. "Don't you know what a monster he is? Are you blind? Are you sick?"
Alreck intervened again, lips tight as he spanked her in a flurry of brutal swats. Darre watched him put his back into it, happy that she would not be sitting down for a while.
Twitching and trying to escape, all it took was Alreck's steady hand to bring her to heel.
"What did I say, woman?" Alreck hissed.
"You have no right! No right!"
"I claim that right!" Alreck growled.
Darre stepped close, his feet near her face when he bent down to ask her, "And why this elaborate plan of black robes?"
"To take you down. Mac would take over. He and Louis would tame the betas, weaken the stronger alphas, reform Sector 2, and get all the credits and the glory.
“Louis would become First Alpha. After the humiliation of Naya’s kidnapping, my father would take over as first scribe. He'd help establish the first scribe house here, maybe become Administration.”
"Fuckin' law slugs and their scheming."
"Father said she was a quiet, fearful thing. Said you'd break her. Said she'd see you and never recover. How could he know she would ruin everything? It's her fault my mate is gone!"
"It's your mate's fault. He was a fool. And he wasn't a bond-mate, just a contract husband. You'll get over it, because you're getting another one of those." He sent Alreck a meaningful look. "Get her to yield, or she'll go to the Hole. I won't risk my bond for a treacherous beta slut."
Nixon, who'd been quiet during the interview, now spoke up. "I have some leather restraints that will fit her. They’re wide, so they won't cut into her skin. And you might want to borrow my wooden cross and spanking bench, padded for her pregnancy. It’s good for more than just spanking."
Darre eyed Naya. She'd need her own punishment for breaking rule three later. "No. I want the bench. Has it got a leather cover? I don't want something that smells like your dick, weapons master."
"Then you better have your own made," Nixon said with a toothy grin.
Chapter Twenty
Darre
