Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 184 Poor Ethan
**Soren’s POV**
Why the hell did I agree to do this? I had no idea how I’d gotten myself mixed up in a situation where my jack*ss brother was likely to get himself k*lled.
As I led Madalynn and Behar to a remote cave near their current position, I found it ironic that after all of these years of wanting to k*ll Ethan myself, I was finally leading two people who wanted him dead more than I ever had right to him-and yet, my job here was to make sure he stayed alive!
But I had agreed to this plan not because of Ethan, but because of Rosalie He swore it would help her, so that’s what I was doing….
As we approached the cave, Thomas stepped out.
And… behind him, sitting on the ground near the mouth of the cave, with his hands bound, was my older brother.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Madalynn, Behar, and the few guards they’d brought along. Behar of course wanted to make sure I didn’t try anything “funny.”
When Behar and Madalynn saw Ethan, they both started laughing. Behar’s laughter was a deep, rich rumble that vibrated the rocks above the cave and sent a few smaller ones down on Ethan’s head. Madalynn’s cackle reminded me of a witch. It sounded like she was about to drop Ethan into her cauldron and boil him alive.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Rogue King, all wrapped up with a nice little bow!” Madalynn and Behar stopped a few feet short of Ethan, their hands on their hips as they tried to determine what they were going to do to him first.
Ethan ignored them and screamed at me, “How can you do this, you pathetic *sshole!” The hate in his voice was evident “I know you despise me, but think of Rosalie! Think of your nephew.” My eyes widened.
Ha, I never knew my half-brother had the potential to be a good actor. I so wanted to yell back at him that he was the one who came up with this crazy idea. *sshole!
But I knew I needed to cooperate. Laughing, I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest. “You know I only do what’s in my own best interest, brother. The Winter Forest pack has nothing to offer me. That pack is doomed to failure, and it’s clear Rosalie is nothing but a tramp who will sleep with anyone just to give her power.”
Those words were hard to choke out, but I had to show Madalynn and Behar I was on their side. I continued, “If going back to King Kai will pay off for me, then why would I be anywhere else?” Ethan spit at me. “You f*uc*king b*stard!”
I let another menacing laugh slip from my lips. “Have at him, guys,” I told the other two. “Just try not to k*ll him, okay? He’s worth more alive than dead—for the moment.”
“I make no promises,- ” Behar said as he stepped forward.
Thomas and I exchanged a glance. We had to make sure that Ethan didn’t die- that crazy punk owed me big!! I wondered how Talon, Vicky, and Georgia dealt with him for so long?!
Behar pulled back his fist and swung it around, hitting Ethan so hard in the side of his head, my brother’s eye nearly popped out of its socket.
I stood back and watched them coldly. Behar may be strong, but he was nothing compared to Ethan. A few punches like this would not k*ll my brother, I knew that for sure.
Behar stepped back and laughed as Ethan looked like he might fall over from the very first blow, but he didn’t. Instead, he only said, “Easy to beat the sh*t out of someone who is tied up.”
That only made Behar angrier. He laid into Ethan then, pummeling him with his fists, hitting him again and again until Madalynn literally shoved him aside so she could get in her own blows.
“Have you ever thought about a day like this, you f*uc*king b-stard?” she screamed.
Not only did she punch Ethan several times, but she also kicked him and used her claw-like fingernails to scratch his skin.
As I stood by and watched my brother take the punishment he had asked for, I was a bit confused on how I felt about the situation. My jack*ss brother was being beaten up- something I wanted to do myself for years- I should be glad to see it. After all, he k*lled my father.
I guessed I felt some satisfaction like I got some revenge, especially since this was something Ethan brought upon himself. Yet, for some reason, I didn’t feel as happy as I thought I would.
I took a few long breaths and pressed down my displeasure towards Behar and Madalynn. They seemed to have forgotten my warning not to k*ll him.
When Ethan got to the point where he had lost consciousness, I couldn’t even recognize his face. It was so covered with blood and swollen.
I approached my cousin. “All right, that’s enough,” I said.
Behar and Madalynn ignored me and landed a few more punches.
“Seriously!” I inserted myself between them.” Listen, no one wants Ethan Gray dead more than I do, but he is worth more alive than dead.”
They didn’t seem to want to stop yet. I explained, “If you can put him on display before your attacking forces, it will fire up your soldiers and demoralize Winter Forest pack They will fold in front of you, like a stack of dominos falling over in a row!”
I did my best to sound convincing, but the stupid couple didn’t seem to have finished lashing out their resentment, so I added, “Do you guys really want to face the vengeance of the entire Drogomor pack?” That did it. Trying to reason with them would never work. Only threatening did.
They stopped their pummeling. I spent a moment glancing down at my brother’s bruised and battered body. I didn’t particularly feel bad for him as this was what he knew he was getting into.
“How will we put him on display?” Behar asked, shaking out his hand. Tiny cuts adorned his knuckles from all the punching.
“Well, I suppose you could use the same cage I used to wheel him over here,” I said with a shrug.
At my words, Thomas rushed off to get the cage that we’d procured before we started our plan. A cage I had the key to…
“Okay, that works,” Madalynn said with a nod. Behar gestured for his guards to step forward, and they grabbed hold of Ethan and hauled him up. He wasn’t capable of supporting himself at the moment, so they had to drag him. It was clear by their methods that they were happy to finally get a chance to get a few jabs in as they took him to the cage Thomas was standing next to.
The two burly men threw Ethan inside. He landed hard on the wooden floor of the cage, and he didn’t get up, even after they closed the barred door and Thomas locked the paddle lock, giving Madalynn a spare key.
She grinned and said, “I can’t wait to get him out later so we can play again!”
I stepped in once more. “Hey hey, it’s really late right now I don’t know what you have in mind, but I’d prefer a good night of sleep before the big show tomorrow.”
I emphasized the word tomorrow intentionally. As expected, that wasn’t something Behar wanted to hear.
“Soren,” Behar retorted immediately, “Don’t you tell me what to do! My troops listen to me, and I’m the one to decide when to attack Understand?” Good, the ideal timing would be three days later.
I shrugged, “How about the day after tomorrow?” I knew whatever I said, Behar wouldn’t do. “Our troops are probably tired from running so far. We could attack later. That will let us enjoy our new toy a bit longer.” Madalynn grinned at him wickedly
Behar grinned back, and then he gave the signal for Ethan to be rolled back to their camp. When they arrived, Madalynn shouted, “Honey, where is that barrel of salt we confiscated the other day?”
Salt?
My eyes narrowed as I realized what they had in mind. I looked at Ethan to see if he had heard, but he did not. He was still barely conscious. “Boil some water!” Madalynn shouted to someone else.
They ripped the cage open and hauled Ethan out, ripping his shirt off of him and tying him to a tree. Behar disappeared into a tent and came back with a long black whip with several leather straps at the end.
I didn’t know why he had that… but I knew what he was going to do with it.
Ethan was barely able to stand. He was leaning against the tree, supported by the ropes. At the first blow of the whip, however, Ethan jerked back to life. A sliver of scarlet appeared on his back where the skin was removed. “This’s for my father’s arm! You f*cking bastard!”
Behar wasn’t satisfied with just one blow, of course. No, he kept the whip flying, hitting Ethan again and again until my older brother’s back was a road map of red His skin hung in shreds, and the blood flowed all the way to the ground, coating his pants in dark liquid.
“Let me have a go!” Madalynn insisted. Her strikes were not quite as strong, but every time she hit him, Ethan’s muscles contracted, as they had when Behar had been the one whipping him.
“Wait a moment!” I wanted to punch that stupid Madalynn b*tch. “He’s going to bleed to death!”
“What? Are you worried about him?” Behar asked in the middle of a chuckle. Did we really have to go over this again? “I’m worried about my investment. Had I known how shortsighted you are, I would’ve gone to the king directly.”
Behar growled and grabbed the whip from Madalynn’s hands “All right That’s enough We can’t k*ll him.”
Madalynn’s eyebrows knit together. “But-“
“But we can still cause him pain. Where’s the salt?”
A roar went up from the group watching as Behar and Madalynn took both hands and reached into the barrel, pulling out hands full of salt and rubbing it into Ethan’s wounds.
For the first time, Ethan roared in pain. However, as soon as he was awake, he bit his lips and stopped making any more sounds.
I watched Ethan and didn’t know what to think I wanted to tell myself that jack*ss deserved this, because he willingly put himself in this position. He claimed it was for Rosalie, but knowing Rosalie, she would never ever want anyone to suffer for her. So, this whole plan was just Ethan’s self-fulfillment of his own heroism.
I told myself there was no need to feel bad for him. This was his own plan, however, I found myself wanting to step away from the scene. Only, I didn’t. Because I needed to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t die. This torture with the salt went on well past nightfall. Then came the water torture. First, it was the boiling water. When they threw it at him, the remaining skin on Ethan’s back blistered immediately as he screamed again. Then, they doused him with cold water.
Before he was untied from the tree, another round of steaming hot water was thrown at the front of him. Even the skin on his face blistered. After that, Madalynn and Behar began to kiss passionately, as if they had forgotten anyone was watching at all. I stood with my mouth open, unsure as to how anyone could be s*e*xually aroused by such inhumane treatment of another person.
I knew they would torture him, but I had no idea they would do all of this. As Behar began to grope his mate, I went over to Ethan and began to untie him. “What are you doing?” one of the brutes standing nearby asked.
“Putting him away,” I said, glaring at him. He didn’t bother to argue with me, probably remembering who I was by birth, even if my sentiments had recently changed.
However, before I put Ethan back in the cage, one of the b-stards slathered some more salt on his back. I cursed under my breaths, “F’cking morons!”
I thought about doing something to get it off before I put him inside, but I couldn’t without making them question my loyalty.
Behar and Madalynn finally went inside of their tent, and Thomas and I found a place to sleep for the night. In the back of my mind, I wondered what would happen to Ethan in the few days…
What if he didn’t make it through the torture? Then what would happen to his plan?
I gritted my teeth again before I forced myself to close my eyes.
That b*stard better not die!