Page 25 of The Demon's Pet

I would be totally helpless. I guessed Sam wouldn’t need to be back to finish the job.

The shackles dug painfully into my splinter-cut wrists, but I still jerked back against them as hard as I could, struggling to get free.

I’d been a dog on a leash all my life, but only now had I fully been reduced to one.

A rock hit my back, and I whirled around to see a small child, smiling at me then up at his parent as if he’d done something awesome.

I sent him a glare.

The priest stepped in front of me to address everyone while our alpha watched from nearby.

“Today, we bless this omega and remove her sins through this just punishment. May her spirit be revived without the flaws she was born with. May the gods receive this omega’s spirit… or send her to hell where she belongs. We, the pack most blessed by the celestials, will carry out their holy will in order to sustain the blessings from the gods and repel all demons.”

While he spoke, I looked around at the people, some of whom I’d known from birth, solemnly holding stones. Some had eyes that gleamed with mirth. Some looked like they couldn’t wait to get vindication.

And some, to their credit, looked horrified and reluctant.

But they were holding rocks nonetheless.

I met the eyes of my first-grade teacher, a sad omega with a wary blue eyes. She tossed her rock up a few inches into the air and caught it again, her stare locked on mine.

I looked away, unable to bear it. I’d really liked her, and I couldn’t picture her being a part of this.

But she would be, and so would most everyone else, based on the look in their eyes. It was a creepy expression, almost robotic. But they would do this. Because they thought it was saving their pack and honoring the gods.

“I’m not finished,” the priest said, looking sternly at the child who’d thrown the rock.

“Though each of you may find this unpleasant, know that it is what this blessed omega has chosen, and it is our duty to carry out the consequences of her choice. To do otherwise is to anger the gods, to invite demons over our borders, and to eventually be destroyed.”

Loud boos and jeers rang out at that statement.

I could hear thuds from people who were holding and throwing their rocks up and down in their hands.

“I will step out of the stoning circle, and then the stoning will commence. May this restore your honor in the afterlife, I pray sacredly to our gods. Amen.”

He stepped over to the crowd, reached down, and picked up a stone from the pile of them, and his dark eyes gleamed with malice as he drew back his arm.

I thought he’d be the first to throw, but several rocks came at me at once, too fast for me to dodge them all.

I jerked to the side to escape one thrown at my face and felt another one hit my ribs, glancing off my breast with stinging pain. I turned to glare at the person who’d thrown it, and another rock hit me in the back as a large one made contact with my leg. It became sort of a game, trying to dodge the right rocks and use my more durable body parts to shield my less durable body parts.

The pain wasn’t too unbearable yet. People were still testing their throws, and some rocks weren’t even hitting me.

This stoning was halfhearted at best.

But it still stung, looking into their faces and seeing shame, even as they picked up another rock.

My teachers, my neighbors, the kids who had been my friends, all picked up rocks and began throwing them, more earnestly this time.

Was this really going to continue until I was dead? If so, what was the point of just taking this?

I reached for one of the rocks that had hit me, drew my arm back, and threw it right at the pack alpha who was standing near the church stairs.

He stepped to the side, and it missed him, but my act incited more violence from the entire pack. How dare I strike out at him?

But as he stared me down and I met his eyes with rage, I let out a snarl.

“Do you feel like an alpha right now? Do you feel like a big, tough man?”

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