Catherine knew that Marco was annoyed with her behavior and contemplated how best she might avoid a spanking. The more she thought about her sister being bred by a group of men repeatedly, the more angry she became. When she saw Tony and Marco headed out for the helipad, she made her decision.

She closed and locked the bathroom door and then ran down the stairs. As she had hoped, she found the information Tony had brought to them in Marco’s office. She thought about copying it down and leaving the original, but decided it was better if Marco had no idea where she was headed. She grabbed the piece of paper and quietly slipped from the house and headed to the garage.

She thought about taking one of the sports cars for their speed, but decided that one of the Range Rovers was probably a better choice and harder to track. She chose one without the DeMedici logo emblazoned across the doors, got in, and took the back drive to leave the property. She knew she wouldn’t have a lot of time and needed to make the most of the head start she’d given herself.

She made it off the property, turned off her phone removing the battery, and turned on the Range Rover’s navigation system. She checked the storage compartment between the seats. The small handgun was still there, was loaded, and there was extra ammunition. She plotted the address for the location for the pack that was said to be holding her sister.

Marco and Tony were wrong. She had no intention of calling this so-called alpha and asking to speak with her sister. She planned to confront this mangy pack of hyenas, firearm in hand and get her little sister. She was certain that Marco would be furious but that he would keep them safe once they had returned to their vineyard. After all, the damn thing was a fortress.

The nav system indicated she had an eight- to nine-hour drive if she averaged sixty miles per hour. Catherine intended to do better than that. She meant to keep to the main highways as much as she could. Catherine drove through the night and tried not to think about how angry Marco was going to be when they were finally alone in their bedroom. She had no doubt that she would need an extra cushion to sit comfortably for days after her return.

She figured by now Marco had been able to speak with Tony and would have a good idea where she was going. Depending on what kind of transportation he was able to put together he might be able to arrive around the same time she did. Private flights were heavily restricted so she hoped he’d be limited by how much time he could fly and how much he would have to drive.

Catherine’s plan was not to go in through the front door. She meant to slip in from behind, find her sister, and get out. If she had to confront the alpha and his pack, so be it. She had already determined that she was willing to harm and even kill anyone from this foreign pack who tried to stop her or to harm her sister.

Catherine hoped that as her sister had been turned she would have been able to learn to shift. She smiled, remembering Marco teaching her to shift and the amazing sense of freedom and power she felt when in her wolf form. She and Marco would often run through the vineyard on a full moon before going back to their room to make love for the rest of the night. They had become famous amongst their pack for not being seen before ten on a morning following a full moon.

Thinking of Marco always caused her nipples to harden and her pussy to begin to ache for his presence. She smiled and shook her head. The power he had over her never ceased to surprise her. She’d always enjoyed sex and had always achieved orgasm easily. But never had she come just from being penetrated. She laughed; no, that wasn’t what Marco did. He didn’t use his cock to penetrate her pussy. He mounted and then possessed her. He demanded her surrender and she gave it—mostly willingly but when needed, he would force it from her.

She’d made good time. The sun had yet to creep over the eastern horizon when she arrived at the estate’s border. She took out the aerial maps and studied the best direction from which to approach. Catherine found a cluster of trees and overgrown bushes. It appeared to back up to the estate’s boundary. She backed the Range Rover in. She planned to pull some of the overhanging branches down in front of the vehicle to help hide it from any passing, casual observer. She backed in so that if they were being pursued when they got back to the vehicle, she could slam it into drive and they could make a clean getaway.

Catherine took the handgun, checked that the safety was on, and tucked it into the back of her jeans and pulled her sweater down over her waist. Catherine headed toward the house at a good pace. She wanted to at least be inside before the sun started casting light all over the property.

She stood next to the house and listened intently. It didn’t appear that the house was awake or even beginning to stir. Catherine used a pocket knife she had to jimmy the lock on the door and let herself in. She closed the door so it wouldn’t be noticed and then made her way to the stairs and climbed up them quietly.

Looking around, Catherine could see that the furniture was covered with protective drop cloths. She listened again and could hear no signs of life whatsoever—no sounds even from an HVAC system. Quietly she moved throughout the house. She tried the light in the small powder room. Nothing. As she made her way through each room in the downstairs she became convinced the house was abandoned.

She walked through the rest of the house with her gun drawn, but found no signs of life. She checked out several of the fireplace mantels and found thick dust. She was quite certain no one had been here for months.

She was headed out of one of the upper back bedrooms when she could feel his presence. Marco was here. And more than that, Marco was pissed.

“Catherine,” he bellowed as he climbed the stairs.

“Up here, sweetheart,” she called as she headed toward him. “I don’t think anyone has been here for months.”

“Catherine DeMedici.” He pulled her into his arms, his mouth descending on hers in a fiery kiss as his hand connected smartly with her backside.

“Ouch,” she said as his tongue invaded her mouth.

When he’d finished kissing her, he set her back on her feet away from him. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?”

Catherine decided the best defense was a good offense. “I thought my sister was being held here.”

“And you were going to what... talk them out of her?”

“I’m not stupid, Marco. I brought a gun.” She showed it to him.

He laughed as he took it from her. “You meant to confront an entire pack of wolves with one little handgun?”

“Well, uhm, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use it at all.”

“Valentina told me she explained to you what a feral pack means... you thought they’d just give up a breeder?” Marco turned from her as Giovanni approached.

“Nothing, Alpha. No one’s been here for months.” He looked at Catherine. “Did Valentina know what you planned?”

She shook her head. “No, I pulled her into our room and asked her what a feral pack was. That’s all, Gio. She knew nothing else. Please don’t be angry with her.”

“I will take your word for it.” He turned back to Marco. “Shall I take the men home and leave you to deal with your very naughty mate?”

“Thank you, Gio.”

“I think we should all go home together,” said Catherine, only half teasing.

Marco scowled. “Would you like them to all witness your punishment? At least the spanking portion?”

“No...” she cried.

“Then they will go home, leaving their precious Madonna in my care for her correction.”

Giovanni smiled. “You should probably wait until we are well away from the house if you do not want us to overhear the wailing of your mate.”

“If I wait that long, she may have forgotten why she is being spanked.”

“You can remind her as you’re administering it. I find that to be useful with Valentina.”

“My Catherine will not have any doubt in her mind when I am through with her exactly why she was punished and why she will not want to ever do it again.”

“I will leave the Madonna in your capable hands.”

Catherine watched with some dismay as Giovanni and the rest of their men took their leave. It suddenly occurred to her that these men had come prepared to fight to keep her and her sister safe and to rescue them if needed. They had been prepared to bleed and die for her.

“Oh, God, Marco, those men, you, Giovanni—all of you could have been hurt or killed.”

“Yes,” he said evenly, “which is why I intend to ensure I do not see this behavior again.”

“But you’re going to wait until we get home.”

“No, my Catherine. As I didn’t wait on the train, I will not wait here. I am going to take you downstairs into what looks like the old library. There was a chesterfield couch, which should work nicely. I’m going to strip you naked, put you over my knee, and turn your bottom bright red so that we will need to steal a pillow from this house for you to use on the ride home. I will also be wrapping one of these furniture coverings around you and taking your clothes. After you have made me believe you are truly sorry for your behavior, I’ll put you over the back of the sofa to mount and fuck you until you are reminded who is alpha and who is not. Once we are home, I will take you to our room and strip you of the furniture covering and you will stand in the corner. I will attend to any business that had to be neglected due to your foolhardiness. When I have finished that, I will come to you, lay you across the edge of our bed and you, my Catherine, will get the first taste of leather from me.”

“Marco, no. I know I shouldn’t have done this. And I realize now that because I didn’t stop to think through all the ramifications, especially as it pertained to our pack, I put other lives in danger. I want you to know that was never my intent.”

“I do believe you. You have gone way too far and your realization is a little too late. Come, Catherine, it is time you paid a penance for your disobedience.”

“Please?” She didn’t want to beg, but she knew he had every intention of punishing her in precisely the manner he had laid out.

Marco said nothing but took her by the hand and led her down the stairs to the abandoned library. They entered the room and Marco swept the furniture cover off the beautiful oxblood-colored sofa. He sat down without turning her hand loose and said simply, “Strip.”

“Marco...”

“Catherine, either you accept my authority and your punishment with the grace I expect of you, or after I have finished fucking you here, I will use my belt to leave several welts across your bottom to ride home on.”

He tugged her gently, but she knew there was no escaping Marco’s wrath. And if she were to be honest with herself, she knew he was right and that this punishment was well deserved. She stopped but before he could even emit a warning growl, she began to undress, folding her clothes neatly and placing them on the other end of the couch.

“I know I was wrong and I do accept your authority and my punishment,” she said as she draped herself across his lap.

Marco ran his hands over her bottom. “My beautiful mate,” he said before raising his hand and bringing it back down in the first of what she knew would be many hard swats. “I intend to ensure you never put yourself in this kind of danger again. Protecting our pack does not fall in your scope of responsibilities, but you do not endanger them recklessly either,” he said as he spanked her harshly.

His hand rose and descended over and over, spreading heat and pain as it landed. He overlapped the blows so that she was quickly squirming, moaning, and trying to keep from crying. Even though she knew the spanking was well deserved, that knowledge did not lessen its intensity.

It wasn’t long before she could no longer refrain from kicking her legs and crying out. Neither seemed to deter Marco’s determination to make this spanking more painful than any he had delivered before.

He took time and care to thoroughly cover her entire bottom as well as her sit spots and the upper portion of her thighs. Catherine struggled to loosen his grip or lessen the pain. She accomplished nothing. She finally began to beg and plead with him. He said nothing but continued to paddle her already well-colored backside. Finally she capitulated to him. She went limp over his lap and began to cry in huge racking sobs.

Marco finally ceased his onslaught. “I think, my Catherine, that you begin to see the error of your ways.”

“Yes,” she cried.

“Up you get. I want you to lean over the back of the sofa with your legs spread.”

Catherine let him help her up and she moved into position. This she thought was worse than having to stand in the corner. It was more overtly sexual and there was really no place at all to hide or to focus and not feel the full weight of her punishment.

She was finally able to choke back her sobs to just muffled cries.

Marco stepped behind her and she could hear him unzip his fly, feel his cock spring free and begin to probe between her legs for her sheath that was ready to receive him. She felt his cock stop with the crest of the head just inside her labia.

“Marco?” she said, pleading.

“Are you ready to be forgiven, my Catherine?”

“Yes, please. I’m sorry.”

“Very well,” he said, his tone beginning to soften, some of the anger being replaced by his growing lust.

She felt him grasp her hips firmly and press her down and into the back of the sofa as he thrust to his hilt, his pelvis impacting her very red and very painful bottom. Catherine braced her hands on the seat of the couch in front of her and began to be overcome with desire for the man who had punished her and now was going to take her to the heights of pleasure as he forgave the behavior that could have caused so much pain and destruction.

Marco plunged in and out of her, pummeling her pussy with his cock, his powerful thrusts driving home the lesson he had first imparted to her backside with the spanking. Catherine felt her pussy begin to contract as she tumbled over the abyss into a powerful orgasm that shook her to her core.

Catherine was glad she had the couch holding her up. She knew if she hadn’t, Marco would have to be holding her. Her knees had buckled and she had no strength left with which to stand. In the same way she had yielded to his authority as he spanked her, she now surrendered to his dominance as he fucked her.

Twice more he brought her to climax as she called his name and begged him to forgive her and to take his own release spilling himself deep inside her pussy. At last she felt his thrusts coming faster and harder. Finally, as he gave a mighty groan, Catherine could feel his cum gushing inside of her.

Catherine reached one of her hands back to him. He grasped her hand and then took it and leaned forward, resting on her back.

“Is my beautiful mate ready to go home?”

“Is there any chance she can have her clothes back?” she asked hopefully.

“No. Would she like to argue with me and earn a set of welts before we go home?”

“Thank you, I’ll pass. Any chance I can avoid them when we get home?”

“No. What you did was dangerous to you, to those who came with me to rescue you, and to our pack in general. You could have ignited a war among the various wolf packs.”

“I really am sorry. I didn’t think, and I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, but can you at least believe me that I wouldn’t knowingly endanger our pack?”

Marco stood up and drew her up off of the couch. Folding her into his embrace, he whispered, “I believe you, but that will not keep me from welting you when we get home.”

She nuzzled his neck, grateful that she could no longer feel anger rolling off of him in waves. “Yes, Marco.”

He gave her the drop cloth he had removed from the couch and picked up her clothes. Catherine wrapped it around her as best she could, said nothing, and took his outstretched hand as they walked to the front of the house. Marco had asked one of their men to go get the Range Rover from its hiding place. He helped Catherine into it and then after walking to the driver’s side, slid into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

As he did so, he reached across and took her hand, bringing it to his lips.

“Do not fret, my Catherine. We will find her, we will bring her home, and those who did this will be made to pay.”