NOVPUB
Chapter 205: Punishment From The Beta
"Enough of this madness!"
Kylo turned his head to the source of the voice, his eyes flashing with several complicated emotions when he saw who it was. His dad.
As if his voice held some hidden power, Drach hesitantly dropped the hand he’d held up in an attempt to punch the elf. As for the elf, he remained unfazed as he glanced at Gamma Rhett, a sign of his complete lack of fault in the conflict.
Gamma Rhett walked silently toward the crowd of people, his gaze brimming with a suffocating pressure. Everything from his movement to the tone of his voice to the way he talked, had an air of confidence that was hard to ignore. As he walked toward the people, his eyes briefly met Kylo’s, and he could’ve sworn he saw a brief flash of vulnerability within them. But it disappeared as quickly as it had come, as he turned his gaze back to the crowd to address Drach and the elf.
"I will ignore the two of you because this is the first day and you’re probably not familiar with our rules here. One of the very first ones is that there shall be no fighting among our men. You’ll learn about the other rules as the orientation day progresses." Gamma Rhett said calmly, though his voice held a threat that was hard to ignore.
His eyes were on Drach but never on the elf the whole time that he spoke. It was clear that he also knew who the Beta’s nephew was.
"Your father sure knows how to make an entrance." Cullen suddenly muttered, his gaze fixed on Kylo’s dad the whole time.
He noticed the way he looked at him with curiosity and raised an eyebrow.
"Dude, don’t tell me you’re checking out my dad?" Kylo asked, his voice laced with disgust at the words. Cullen couldn’t stoop that low, right? n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Luckily, the latter spoke up with a sarcastic tone. "As handsome as your father is, he ain’t all that to me. I was scrutinizing something else."
His brows creased into a frown when he heard that, but he eventually chose to ignore it. Anyone who took Cullen’s words seriously risked giving themselves a headache.
He suddenly felt like he needed a drink. But he resisted the urge as he turned his gaze back to his father.
"You’re all gathered here today because you’ve been picked by the Beta and me from among the multitude of people who enlisted. We picked you because we noticed a spark, a zeal in you that no matter how little, would allow you to become a seasoned warrior when the time comes." His father began with a speech but then paused. After fleeting his eyes through every face present for the orientation, he continued. "You’ll all be given a month of training. During this, you’ll be given missions and tasks against the vampires out there. After your training, you should be well-versed in the arts of killing vampires after which you’ll be allowed to join the main army and take the fight to the vampires. We shall end this, once and for all."
The men all roared victoriously but were ultimately silenced by another voice.
"Very well said, Gamma Rhett. But you’ve managed to make them showcase their brashness out here, in public." Darius suddenly popped out, his words directed at the Gamma as he raised his arms listlessly.
The crowd began murmuring among themselves, but Darius wasn’t as lenient with them. "Keep up with the noise and you’ll all be forced to give me five hundred push-ups. Right here, and right now." His tone left no room for arguments, no room for rebuttals or questions.
Everyone went quiet instantly, not wanting to go through the punishment.
Kylo, meanwhile, scoffed to himself. So, the Beta could be so domineering after all? He’d begun to think that he was a complete wuss like his nephew who followed his words ever so obediently.
Seeing the silence from the people, Darius nodded satisfactorily, before giving Gamma Rhett a smug smirk. He whispered something inaudible to him, to which his father replied with a scowl.
"My word! Those two give bitter old married couple vibes," Cullen whispered to Kylo. His words forced the latter to stifle a laugh, as he glanced at him like he’d gone insane.
"Do you want to do five hundred push-ups on the first day? Cause I sure as hell don’t want to. So, be quiet before –" he tried his best to make sure his voice was low, but was that really any use when the Beta was obviously out to get him?
"Kylo DarkWater!" Darius called out with a booming voice, causing him to reluctantly turn his gaze to him. The Beta walked towards him and Cullen, a look that oozed mockery etched on his face. When he finally got to stand in front of him, he paused, eyeing him with disdain. "I honestly expected better from the son of our Gamma. You’re supposed to be a good example to everyone present, by following the orders of your superiors. I literally warned you all against noise-making, didn’t I?"
Kylo didn’t answer the rhetorical question, instead choosing to look at his shoes. The area was silent, with neither the enlisted civilians nor passersby making a sound.
Talk about hypocritical. Here was the Beta, talking about ’following the rules ’ when his nephew had literally started a fight a few minutes before he showed up. It was the convenience of the whole thing for him.
He could tell that his father and Darius had some sort of beef. Heck, anyone with eyes and ears would be able to tell. The tension between the two was almost palpable. And it seemed the Beta used that against him.
"Alright! We’ll all be heading to the camp now. We’ll get there by foot." Darius announced after what felt like an eternity of silence. But then he turned to Kylo and Cullen, a smirk creeping at the corner of his lips before he spoke. "You two will begin your first day at the camp by giving me five hundred pushups. So, keep that in mind before we get there."
He suddenly tapped both of them on the shoulders before walking away. His father and the Beta arranged the people in two lines... With one line following behind each of them.
He was able to catch the disappointed look in his father’s eyes when he glanced at him, and gritted his teeth. He’ll show them. He’ll show them that he wasn’t a joke.
