Rejected by Four Mates: Awakening of the Silver Wolf

Chapter 67: Chapter 68: I wanted to destroy everything

"I won’t accept this punishment," I said, forcing the words past the fear that clawed violently at my chest like a living thing.

"I did nothing wrong."

My voice rang out across the open field, stronger than I felt, echoing into the tense silence. But the field itself didn’t react. It didn’t care. The silence that followed only confirmed they had all expected this from me.

Of course Nyx Vaeloria would resist. Of course she would fight back until her last breath. A typical Nyx would never simply lower her head, accept her fate quietly, and submit without clawing and screaming against the injustice.

Two Sentinels stepped forward before I could utter another word. Their cold, armored hands clamped around my arms with brutal, unyielding force, fingers digging into my flesh like iron vices. They handled me as though they expected me to bolt at any second, or worse, turn violent and attack.

I struggled anyway, pure instinct taking over. "Let go of me!" I snapped, twisting and pulling against their grip with everything I had left. It was useless. Their hold didn’t loosen even a fraction. Their strength was overwhelming, inhuman.

Around us, more Purgers began flooding back into the field after breakfast, drawn like moths to the growing commotion. Within minutes, the entire training ground swelled with bodies. Purgers whispering in clusters. Sentinels standing like silent statues. Arbiters watching with cold detachment. Everyone was here.

Everyone except my teammates.

And somehow, that absence hurt more than the bruises already blooming around my throat. If they had been here... maybe things would have been different. Maybe Theo would have shouted something reckless and defiant. Maybe Lyra would have cried out in protest. Maybe Elion would have tried to talk them down with his silver tongue. Maybe Kaden and Thorne...

My thoughts shattered as Mr. Kaelen’s heavy voice cut through the air. "Prepare the punishment."

The words landed like a death sentence.

Several Sentinels moved with horrifying efficiency, as though they had performed this ritual countless times before. A large, ancient punishment table was dragged toward the center of the field, dark, weathered wood stained from years of use, fitted with heavy iron restraints that glinted menacingly under the morning light.

My stomach twisted violently. *No. No, no, no....*

The two Sentinels gripping my arms began dragging me forward. I fought harder, heels digging into the dirt, body thrashing. "I said I didn’t do anything wrong!" I shouted, panic bleeding openly into my voice now. "You can’t just punish me because of a lie! This is wrong!"

No one answered. Not one person. My words might as well have been wind. The verdict had been decided long before I was brought here, and nothing I said could change it.

They forced me down onto the punishment table roughly. Pain shot through my ribs and stomach as my body slammed against the hard, unforgiving wood. Then came the restraints. One Sentinel seized my left arm, another my right, yanking them into position. My legs were forced apart and pinned down as well, ankles locked firmly in place. Cold iron clicked shut around my wrists and ankles with final, merciless snaps.

There was no escape. Absolutely none.

My breathing turned fast and shallow, bordering on hyperventilation. Panic crawled through me like poison, cold and suffocating. "I did nothing wrong," I repeated, louder this time, desperate and breaking. "I don’t deserve this!"

Something was shoved brutally between my teeth, a thick gag that silenced me instantly. My eyes widened in shock and humiliation. The entire field blurred as rage and helplessness collided violently inside me.

Then the first strike came.

CRACK.

Agony exploded through my entire body with such savage intensity that I genuinely thought my soul had been ripped from my flesh for a heartbeat. My eyes flew open wide, every muscle seizing. The pain wasn’t sharp or clean.... it was heavy, deep, crushing. Like molten fire and splintered bone tearing through muscle and skin all at once.

A strangled, muffled scream tore from my throat behind the gag as my body jerked violently against the unyielding restraints.

Oh Goddess...

The second strike landed immediately after, perfectly synchronized with the first.

CRACK.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. It felt viciously personal, as though the Sentinels wielding the rods hated me specifically and wanted me utterly broken. The thick, flat-edged weapons slammed down again and again without mercy, each impact sending fresh waves of white-hot torment radiating through my back, thighs, and shoulders.

My entire body burned. Every nerve screamed in protest. Tears flooded my vision instantly, spilling down my cheeks. At some point my thoughts fractured into messy, broken fragments between each devastating blow.

What if these are the same Sentinels from last night?

What if they know I saw them?

What if I’m actually going to die here...

Another strike. My body convulsed. The crowd had become nothing but distant noise, blurred faces, murmurs, shuffling feet, all swallowed by the roaring pain consuming me.

Then, suddenly...

Chaos erupted at the edge of the field.

"What are you doing to her?!"

Thorne’s voice. Raw. Furious.

My blurry vision snapped toward him. I could barely lift my head, but I saw him forcing his way through the crowd, fury radiating off him in terrifying, palpable waves. For the first time since I had known him, he looked truly angry. Not cold. Not detached. Angry.

My eyes burned with fresh tears.

But before he could reach me, Ysara lifted a hand with calm indifference. A pulse of powerful magic exploded through the air. Thorne froze mid-stride, body locked completely in place by invisible chains. His jaw clenched violently as he fought against the spell, muscles straining, but he couldn’t move an inch. He could only stand there helplessly, forced to watch.

The punishment continued.

Again.

Again.

Again.

I lost count entirely. Maybe because the pain became too overwhelming for my mind to process. Or maybe because my body had begun shutting down to survive. Everything hurt. Even drawing breath felt like swallowing shards of glass. After a while the strikes stopped feeling sharp. Not because the agony lessened, but because I had grown too exhausted to react. I just felt... unbearably tired. Like I could sleep for a hundred years if only the pain would let me slip away.

Finally...

"It is done."

The words barely registered through the haze.

The restraints released with metallic clicks. Without ceremony or care, my broken body was dumped unceremoniously onto the cold ground beneath the table like discarded trash.

Fresh pain exploded through me on impact. I could barely move. Barely breathe. My limbs felt distant and numb while fire still raged beneath my torn skin.

Elegant footsteps approached slowly. Unhurried. I already knew who it was before I saw her.

Irene.

She crouched gracefully beside me, holding a glass of clear water. The sight alone nearly shattered what remained of my pride. My throat felt shredded and raw. My lips were cracked and burning. For one humiliating second, I didn’t even care that it came from her. I just wanted water.

I reached out weakly.

Irene tilted the glass with deliberate casualness.

The water poured slowly, mercilessly, directly onto the dirt right in front of my face. Every drop disappeared into the dry earth.

A soft, sweet smile curved her lips. "Sorry," she whispered. "That was a mistake."

Then she stood and walked away without another glance.

My fingers curled weakly into the dirt, nails digging into soil mixed with my own blood. Something inside me cracked. Not loudly. Not suddenly. But quietly and angerously.

"Everyone disperse," Ysara commanded coldly. "No one is to approach her."

The crowd slowly began to break apart. Students whispered as they left... some uncomfortable, some entertained, some purposely avoiding my eyes. But none came closer. Not one.

Thorne remained frozen where Ysara had trapped him, dark eyes locked on me with helpless, burning fury.

And suddenly, everything came rushing back at once.

Every humiliation. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Every abandonment.

Every time life had chewed me up and expected me to smile through the blood.

Why has life always been this cruel to me?

Why am I always the easiest person to destroy?

Why did I ever come to Altheris?

Why do Irene and Ashriel think they can rewrite my story with their lies?

My breathing grew uneven again. But this time it wasn’t from pain.

Something else was rising inside me now.

Something hot.

Violent.

Ancient.

The anger spreading through my veins no longer felt normal. It was becoming too much. Too large. Too alive than I was ever alive.

My mother’s voice echoed faintly in my mind: *Never allow your anger to control you, Nyx.* freewebnσvel.cѳm

But this time... I couldn’t listen.

Because something inside me had finally reached its breaking point.

I could feel it clawing violently beneath my skin, trying to tear its way free. The air around me shifted unnaturally.

Because at that moment, lying broken and bleeding on the cold academy ground, every inch of me burning with agony and humiliation...

I wanted to destroy everything.