Chapter Two
When they arrived back at Calon Gwyllt, more men greeted them on the docks. Darby wasn’t sure what they had expected, but apparently it wasn’t angry and defiant women. When one of them tried to help her off the boat, Darby snatched her hand away from him and growled deep in her throat.
“That’s enough,” said the man on the dock. “I’m Nick. I am beta of Calon Gwyllt. You growl again and you won’t make it to your room before you get your bottom bared and get a taste of the discipline you need.”
Dylan spoke with the ranking members of his pack and had the women dispersed to various residences on the large estate. Darby was going to the same house as Anna. Anna flashed her a quick grin. Darby didn’t react. She didn’t know what Anna had up her sleeve, but then neither did the male wolves that surrounded them.
Both Anna and Darby were shown to a lovely set of rooms that were not adjacent to each other. Simon, the house leader tried to be cordial but Darby was terrified. She had learned in the past two years to take her fear and turn it to anger. That anger could fuel whatever she needed to get through a difficult situation. She had no doubt the Ruling Council would send her back to her abusive mate. She wouldn’t go. She would literally rather be dead.
As they were separated at the top of the stairs, Anna made the comment that it was too bad they didn’t have a sailboat. The male wolves looked at her with curiosity and Darby was led to her room wondering what the hell she’d meant by that.
One of the women of the house was prattling on about clothes and dinner and showing her that her room had its own en suite bath.
“Get out,” said Darby.
“I can stay if you like. We’re all so glad you’re here.”
“And I, for one, would rather be dead than to be here.”
“Oh, goodness. That’s not good. No one will hurt you here.”
“Really? Tell that to my alpha…”
“Someone hurt Dylan?” she asked, confused.
“That bastard is not my alpha. Skylar Owen of Bae Diogel is my alpha. Now get the hell out.”
The woman started for the door and then stopped and turned. “I really am sorry you’re so unhappy. If I can do anything, just ask Tim, he’s right outside your door.” She walked through it quickly. As the door closed behind her, Darby threw a vase filled with fresh flowers in her direction and watched it crash against the door.
Darby spent the next few hours checking the room to see if there was an obvious escape. There wasn’t. Every time someone came through the door, Darby found something else to throw in their direction. When they tried to bring her something to eat, she shoved the door closed, forcing the tray back into the bearer and spilling its contents all over his clothes.
“Sailboat?” she said quietly. “Why would Anna want a sailboat?” And then it hit her and she had to suppress the urge to laugh. Anna was making a reference to technology. Anna had been their hacker and resident technology geek. Earlier when they had been forced to flee their home, Anna had rigged the sailboat so that Skylar could use it as a weapon. The sailboat had been empty and was driven by remote control. Skylar had merely pressed a button to get it to head full speed into a cabin cruiser blocking their way and burst into flames, forcing the men aboard the cabin cruiser to abandon their vessel by jumping into the water. Darby realized Anna must have found a way to hide something on her person that she thought might be able to help them get away.
There was a knock at the door and a very angry Nick entered. “What part of that’s enough are you questioning?”
“The part where you have any authority to tell me that and expect me to comply.”
“As of this afternoon, you and yours became members of this pack. That makes you and your misbehavior my concern and responsibility.”
“What? Did the big bad boys of your pack tattle on me?”
“No, I met one of them coming downstairs with the food you managed to spill all over him. Everyone here is trying to make allowances for the loss we’re sure you and yours are feeling. But I will not allow you to continue to behave like this. No one here wants to see any of you hurt.”
“Did they not tell you that your fearless leader blackmailed my alpha into surrendering herself to his abuse?”
Nick laughed. “Is that the problem? Your former alpha disrespected and physically threatened the alpha of our pack. The fact that she is his mate does not make the offense any less. He provided the correction and discipline she needed and will get now that she’s with him. And if you’re not careful, you’re going to find yourself in the same position over my knee for the very same reason.”
Darby decided that fighting with Nick was not in her best interest and decided to try a different tactic. She began to cry softly. The tears weren’t real, but the emotion behind them was. “I’m sorry, Beta. It’s just been a very difficult day.”
“I’m sure it has been. But you have to admit your behavior since you arrived has been nothing short of nasty.”
“I think the tray of food was a bit over the top even for me,” she said, smiling shyly.
“Just a bit? If you think that’s just a bit over the top, I think you’re going to spend the majority of your time here standing in the corner.”
“Yes, Beta,” she said, adopting a more submissive pose. “Would you mind apologizing to him for me until I see him again?”
“I can do that. Do you think you can behave more appropriately from now on?”
“I can try.”
“I’m going to let you have this one pass. You will stay in your room and have supper up here. If your behavior improves, you can join the rest of the pack in the morning. But if I hear about one more tantrum, I will come back up here, bare that bottom, and give you a spanking you won’t forget any time soon. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Beta.”
“All right. Darby?”
“Yes, Beta?”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“Yes, Beta.”
The door closed and in a childish display of temper she stuck out her tongue. She figured if he could treat her like a child, she could display the behavior of one.
* * *
A few hours later, there was a knock on the door and a pretty blonde came through it bearing food and wine.
“I’m Bianca. You met my mate, Nick, earlier.”
Darby nodded.
“You’re lucky he was in a generous mood. Trust me when I tell you, that’s not a knee you want to get put across. And those hands that can bring me such extreme pleasure are nasty when being applied to your backside for punishment.”
“A lot of firsthand experience with that?” Darby asked, liking the blonde despite the circumstances of their meeting.
“Unfortunately, yes. Susannah thought she remembered your drink of choice was a good pinot noir. Mine too. This is one of my favorites. I also brought up something to eat. I understand that food brought to you earlier somehow got spilled.”
Darby grinned. “Yes. Somehow it just flew up and spilled all over the guy. Must be gremlins.”
Bianca laughed. “Yes, that must be it.”
Darby spent an enjoyable hour talking with Bianca and enjoying an excellent bottle of pinot. She tried to find out as much about the estate and where it was situated as she could without tipping her hand. She could tell that Bianca was trying to get her to relax and accept what had happened. For now, until Anna revealed her plan, she would play nice.
Darby sat watching out the window as most of the residents of the house headed downstairs for dinner… including the guard at her door. Once the dinner party seemed to be in full swing, there was a quiet knock on the door and Anna let herself in.
“Okay, let’s get some pillows put together so if they do a quick bed check, they’ll think we’re still here.”
“But how?”
Anna grinned. “I managed to conceal a smart phone among the things that got delivered after we got here. I tapped into their security feed and recorded more than an hour. I’ve been working on the video to manipulate the changing shadows and lighting so that we can interrupt their live feed and load it on a continuous loop. That should give us the time we need to get the hell out of here.”
“Do you think we can get to any of the others?”
“No, but once we’re free we can put together a plan to come back and get them. Agreed?”
“You know it.”
They waited until the guards passed under the window to Darby’s room. Anna tapped into the estate’s security system once again and downloaded the altered feed. Once they were sure it hadn’t been detected, they slipped off the balcony and made a run for it.
The run across the open lawn was terrifying and exhilarating. When they reached the relative security of the heavily wooded area, they were almost giddy. Their plan appeared to be working. They stayed hidden and watched. Once the party at the main house had come to an end and the residents of the houses seemed to be settling down, Anna and Darby planned to make their next move. They would have to cover open ground and they needed both darkness and no wandering guards in order to be successful. They were about to proceed when they heard a cry from the residence in which they’d been placed. Their escape had been discovered.
“Shit!” whispered Darby. “We’re going to need…” She stopped midsentence when they heard a young male wolf’s mournful howl. Darby wasn’t sure what it meant, until she saw Anna shudder. “Are you kidding me?”
“It’s not my fault, Darby. I’ve done my best to avoid him. It feels like somebody just grabbed my lungs and squeezed. I can barely breathe.”
“It’s all right, Anna.” The howl came on the wind and the effect it had on Anna was powerful. “He’s your mate and he’s calling for you. You need to decide if you want to stay or run. But, from the sound of it and the way your body is responding, he won’t stop until he’s found you.”
“I don’t know what I want. But you need to run and get away from me and from this place. I’ll shift and see if I can’t lead them away from you. Maybe with me as a distraction you can get to Roz or Skylar.”
“No, the alpha here will have already planned for that. I’ll try to get away, but let the others know I won’t be far. I’ll come back for you… all of you who want to go.”
Darby watched as Anna shifted into her wolf form. She had a rare true black coat, one that gave off an almost blue cast in the moonlight. The young male wolf called for her again. Anna shuddered in response but kept herself from returning the call. She looked over her shoulder at Darby, wagged her tail sadly, and sprinted away from her.
Deciding she could make better time as a wolf, Darby shifted as well. Her tawny brown coat with silver tips should let her be well hidden if she kept to the shadows of the trees. She moved through the woods quietly but as quickly as stealth would allow. She heard Anna’s mate call to her again.
Once shifted, all of one’s senses became more acute. Darby could see better in the dark, she could hear the group of shifted men approaching, and she could smell the ocean. As Anna had headed toward the ocean, Darby turned the other way. She hoped her friend could lead them away from her but knew that simply waiting was a fool’s game.
Darby stopped and stilled the sound of her own heartbeat. They hadn’t all gone after Anna, some of them had picked up her scent and were headed her way… fast. Stealth no longer served her needs. They would now be tracking her scent. Darby ran for where she thought the borders of Dylan’s estate and the highway beyond might lay. Her only hope was to get to the road and shift back to human form when she heard a vehicle approaching.
Those who pursued her no longer worried about stealth either. They were close enough now that they began to bay in anticipation of catching her. Darby tried to increase her speed. They were gaining on her. She could see the wall that bordered the estate. There was no exit or gate readily available. She ran in the direction that led away from the ocean. She hated to be on open ground but there was no help for that. Darby darted out of the woods and ran for her life.
Her heart and lungs were operating at maximum capacity. She could hear the wolves behind her and saw something heading out of the woods on an intercept course. She tried to run faster and was in sight of the large gate, which was closed and being guarded. Darby was trying to formulate her next move when she was broadsided by a big gray wolf. They tumbled over the grass together. Before she could regain her feet, he had her pinned. Once again, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and shaken. She collapsed in defeat and resumed her human form.
Her captor shifted as well but continued to pin her to the ground as the others joined him. She heard him say, “Dylan? We have her. We have Darby. She never made it off the estate.” He got off the phone and looked down at her. “Naughty wolf. I imagine Nick’s going to blister your butt when we get back to the house.”
One of the wolves that had pursued her was carrying clothes for her and tossed them to her. “You need to put those on. My mate suggested them, especially the pull-on pants. There’s little doubt you’re going to have your bottom bared in short order. If your behavior so far is any indication, that will happen to you frequently.”
Darby stood and pulled on the clothes. She thought about refusing but decided it was a foolish and empty gesture. She didn’t voluntarily go with them but offered little resistance when two wolves each took one of her arms and propelled her toward the house. Darby could see the rest of the women from Bae Diogel had been gathered together.
Anna was with one of the young wolves with whom they’d tangled this afternoon. He had his arm around her and seemed to be trying to comfort her. Darby was the last of the Bae Diogel pack to enter the house.
* * *
Dylan addressed the assembled pack. “As some or most of you know, two of the ladies formerly of the Bae Diogel pack made a bid for their freedom this evening. They failed. Neither of them ever made it off the estate. While I’m sympathetic to the feeling these ladies may have about how their pack was disbanded, I also have a responsibility to them to bring them back into the fold so to speak. Josh?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“I believe you have laid claim to your mate?”
“I have. I have claimed Anna as my mate and she has acknowledged my claim in front of witnesses.”
A loud round of applause and congratulations went up around the young couple. Some of the wolves from other packs weren’t too keen on the idea of the pretty dark-haired girl being paired off so quickly and to one of Dylan’s men.
“Then, Josh, as her mate I formally charge you to discipline your mate in such a way and to such a degree that the idea of misbehaving in this manner is something she will refrain from doing in the future.”
“No…” Anna cried. The women of Anna’s former pack protested and began to struggle anew. They were quickly subdued and quieted.
Darby watched as Nick crossed the room and took her from her two captors.
“You, little girl are about to receive your first taste of discipline as member of Calon Gwyllt. Let’s go.”
Nick turned to head back to the residence in which she’d been housed. Darby tried to fight him. She jerked back against his strong, restraining grip. She made a fist and tried to hit him with the hand not under his control. Nick’s strength was too much for her for her efforts to prove fruitful. He caught the blow she tried to deliver with his other hand.
Darby watched as Nick turned to her, eyes blazing. “Enough. You can either come with me quietly or I’ll give you a preliminary spanking right here in front of everyone, toss you over my shoulder, and carry you down to the other house. Once we get there, you’re going to strip, spend some time in the corner, and then I’m going to paddle your backside until you can’t sit down for a few days.”
“If you think you scare me, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve been beaten so many times, it no longer has any effect on me. You might be able to make my ass so sore it hurts to sit down, but you won’t break me and I will never accept that you and your kind have any kind of authority over me.”
Nick took a deep breath. “Whether you accept it or not, you are now a member of this pack and subject to Dylan’s authority as your alpha. I’m going to recommend we focus on correcting your behavior. We’ll leave it to your new mate to deal with your attitude.”
Darby felt herself be half dragged/half marched down to the secondary residence and up to her room. She noted that the guards patrolling the house had doubled and Tim had once again taken his position outside the door. They entered the room and Nick swatted her behind as he propelled her forward.
“Strip and go stand in the corner,” he growled.
“No.”
She could see that her blatant refusal had taken Nick a bit aback.
“The women of pack Calon Gwyllt knew if they’ve earned themselves a punishment spanking, it is best to become contrite and accept what is going to be given to them. It’s high time you and the rest of girls from Bae Diogel learned the same. No is not an acceptable answer. In fact, the only acceptable answer is ‘Yes, Beta’ or ‘Yes, Nick,’ then you do what you’re told. Now get yourself naked and go stand in that corner.”
Darby raised her chin in defiance. “And I said no. You want to beat me? Go ahead. But I’ll be damned if I’ll help you or be reduced to being punished like a child.”
“That’s your final word?”
“Yes.”
“Have it your way.” Nick crossed the room and headed toward the bed, catching her by the arm and dragging her over his knee as he stripped down her pants. He gave no further clue, said not another word, but began to spank her now bared bottom.
It had been more than two years since anyone had hit her. Darby had almost forgotten how much it hurt and how much she didn’t like it. She began to struggle to get away from him. The swats he was delivering to her backside were painful and humiliating at the same time. Darby tried to struggle to loosen his hold to no avail. All she managed to do was make Nick increase the speed and strength of his spanking.
“That behavior is only going to result in you getting a worse spanking. You let me know when you’re ready to get up, get undressed, and stand in the corner,” he said in a calm, even tone of voice.
“No,” said Darby, her voice fighting back tears. It was said Nick had a wickedly hard hand and more important knew how to apply it to its best use.
“Yes.” Nick said nothing more but continued to assault her backside with considerable skill and expertise.
Darby could feel every blow he landed. She knew that come morning her bottom would be red and swollen.
“From how quickly you bottom is deepening in color, it’s obvious that it’s been far too long since you’ve found yourself over a man’s knee receiving the discipline you so apparently needed. I realize now you played me this afternoon and those false tears were just a ruse to lull me into a sense of false security in order to avoid the spanking your earlier nonsense had earned you,” Nick said as he continued to land hard swat after hard swat across her ever increasingly sore backside.
Darby finally quit struggling and Nick backed off the intensity of the spanking.
“That’s better,” he said. “You need to learn that fighting me or your mate will only result in a harsher spanking. Submitting will usually lessen both the intensity and duration.”
Darby was having to bite her lip to keep from crying.
Sensing she might be ready to yield, Nick stopped spanking her and asked in a calm tone, “You want to rethink standing in the corner?”
“I hate you. I hate all of you.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear. But do you want to hate me face down over my knee getting your bottom spanked or would you prefer to do that naked and standing in the corner?”
“If I agree to go to the corner, will you agree not to spank me anymore?”
“No. Right now, you’re getting spanked for refusing to do as you were told. After you’ve had some time in the corner, I’ll put you back over my knee and you’ll get spanked for that little stunt you and Anna pulled this evening. That spanking, little girl, will most likely involve my belt unless I see a substantial change in your attitude. Now, do you want to go to the corner or should I continue with this portion of your punishment?”
“Fuck you!”
Nick resumed spanking her. “Not an acceptable answer and not something in which I have any interest where you’re concerned, but I rather suspect your mate will find having you across his knee highly arousing.”
Although he wasn’t in the least aroused by spanking Darby, Nick had to admit she had a lovely, round, firm backside. Some man was going to have a mate with a delightful bottom to spank as well as caress.
He continued in a conversational tone, “I’ve always found that little girls tend to learn their lessons more quickly and better if their spanking is followed by a good fucking from their mate.”
“Stop, please!” Darby could no longer hold back the tears. “Please, Beta, stop. I’ll go stand in the corner.”
Nick smiled but did not laugh. He stopped spanking her. “If I let you up, you’re going to remove the rest of your clothing and go stand in the corner, yes?”
“Yes, Beta.”
“And then when I’m ready to continue, you’re going to come to me and put yourself across my knee and submit to your spanking for your little run this evening, yes?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes, what?” he said, beginning to spank her again.
“Yes, Beta,” she cried.
“All right. You can get up. You strip right here in front of me.”
Darby pushed herself off his knee and stood before him. He pulled his handkerchief out of his back pocket and reached up to dry her tears. Darby was surprised at his tenderness.
“Take the rest of your clothes off and go stand in the corner like a good girl,” he said soothingly.
As much as she wanted to defy him, the set look on his face told her all that would result in was her being spanked further before being made to strip, stand in the corner, and wait for him to finish punishing her.
“If you do as you’re told, Darby, and submit to the rest of your punishment, I won’t use my belt. If you want to continue disobeying or throw a tantrum, you will have a nice set of welts across your bottom.” He reached up and stroked her hair. “Be a good girl, Darby, I’d rather not have to use my belt on you.”
She said nothing, but silently removed her clothes and went to stand in the corner. She stood there for several moments, very uncomfortable with the silence between them. “Nick, can I ask you something?”
“If you stay facing the corner and use a respectful tone, yes.”
“The wolf who claimed Anna, he’ll be kind to her, won’t he?”
“Josh is a good man. Yes, he’ll be kind to her. He’s going to have to discipline her tonight for this little stunt, but more than one good pairing has involved a good spanking along with being marked,” he said, smiling as he remembered his own claiming of Bianca.
“I won’t go back.”
“Back where?”
“To that bastard that marked me.”
“No, you won’t. Dylan is aware of the abuse you suffered. He has already begun the work to dissolve that union.”
“He won’t send me back?”
“No. There isn’t a one of us at Calon Gwyllt—male or female—who would see you returned to an abusive mate.”
“But won’t there be trouble?”
Nick laughed. “Oh, probably. But Dylan doesn’t concern himself overly much with such things. The protection of his pack is his chief concern. And you, little girl, are a member of that pack.”
Darby continued to stand in the corner with her backside ablaze from the spanking she’d already been given.
“Are you ready to submit to the rest of your punishment?”
Darby took a deep breath and tried to stem the flow of tears that were right behind her eyes. “Nick, please. I haven’t been spanked in more than two years. It hurts so badly, please?”
“No, little girl. You have this punishment coming. I let your nasty behavior slide earlier today and I suspect those were crocodile tears I saw at that time. But you are not going to pull a stunt like this again. If you do, regardless of whether you submit or not, I’ll take a belt to your backside and welt you good. Are you ready to submit to my authority and to your well-deserved spanking?”
“Yes, Beta,” she whispered.
“That’s a good girl. You can come out of the corner and put yourself over my knee.”
Darby crossed over to him and hesitated. “Please?” She hated that it felt like begging.
Nick shook his head. “No, put yourself over my knee, Darby and submit.”
She laid down over his knee. “That’s a good girl,” he said as he rubbed her already painful backside.
He placed his hand in the small of her back to steady her and once again began to rhythmically and steadily spank her bottom. She tried hard not to squirm or cry. She lost the battle to crying after about the fifth swat.
“That’s right, just let it out. I know it hurts. But you were a very naughty girl tonight, weren’t you?” he said gently.
“Yes.”
He swatted her harder as he made his voice more authoritative. “Yes, what?”
“Yes, Beta,” she wailed.
Nick backed off the intensity again. “In this pack, naughty girls get their bottoms spanked by either Dylan, myself, or their mate. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be forgiven. Are you sorry about the trouble you caused?”
“I’m not sorry I tried to run.”
Nick stopped for a moment and considered her answer. “I suppose that’s an honest answer and understandable in light of your circumstances. But do you understand that a repeat of this behavior will find you getting an even worse spanking?”
“Yes, Nick.”
“Your bottom on fire, little girl?”
“Yes, Nick. Please, no more.”
“All right, I think you may have learned your lesson. You can get up, but you go back and stand in the corner. And you don’t rub that sore backside until I tell you that you can.”
Darby went back and stood in the corner. Nick made her stand for about fifteen minutes and then turned back the bedcovers and told her to come get in bed. Darby did as he instructed and he tucked her in. No one had ever tucked her in before in her entire life. He gently kissed her forehead.
“Go to sleep, Darby, and behave yourself. I don’t want to have to repeat this lesson.”