The Wolf's Demand: An Alpha Shifter Romance (Shifters' Call Book 1)

by Maggie Ryan

  Cassandra’s eyes lit up at the mention of the blade. “Oh, I am,” she said, her head nodding eagerly.

  I chuckled at her enthusiasm, causing her to blush.

  “I mean, Baal is a good teacher,” she said more humbly.

  “And, Cassandra,” Artem said, his tone somber.

  “Yes, sir?” she asked, looking to him nervously.

  “The next time you walk around this castle in the evening, best be sure there are slippers on your feet, young lady. We can’t have one of our best warriors catching pneumonia, now can we?”

  Cassandra’s wide green eyes shone with relief. “No… I mean, yes, sir. I’ll wear slippers.”

  I patted her hip. “Bedtime.”

  Cassandra stood, saying to Artem, “Good night.”

  I walked her to the door. She turned to bid me farewell, but I spoke first. “Stay put this time,” I said, sternly, giving her an admonishing look.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, flashing me a relieved smile. Stepping over the threshold in her bare feet, she hesitated a moment before adding, “Oh, and Aunt Margaret said she would do something to you if she was missing any of her cigars in the morning. I don’t know what she was threatening exactly because it was in Greek, but it sounded bad.”

  Chuckling, I said, “We’ve been fairly warned.” I gave Cassandra a kiss on the top of her head. She traipsed off to bed, a weight visibly removed from her shoulders. Silent as the shadow he stepped from, I watched as Draco followed.

  I closed the door, hearing the familiar click of the latch. An amused look played on Artem’s face as I passed by him, returning to my seat.

  “What’s so amusing?” I asked, retrieving my glass. Artem had refilled the tumblers in my brief absence.

  Artem smiled, silent for a moment before he spoke, “Charming, that one. I can see how she wrapped you around her adorable little finger.”

  Chuckling, I joked, “No longer, my friend. It is she who is under my thumb, now.”

  “Don’t forget the most important thing, son. While you must spank her… you must spoil her as well,” Artem said adamantly. “There is no other way with women like ours.”

  “A strong woman in the world, and an obedient mate in your arms,” I sighed, but couldn’t keep the smile from appearing.

  “Mmm,” Artem agreed with his own grin and a nod. His gaze was wistful as he stared into the fire.

  Leaning my head back in the warm chair, I enjoyed the scotch and the easy silence. My lap felt empty with Cassandra’s absence, but it was a rare opportunity to sit quietly with Artem. My thoughts settled, my mind calming. I spoke, breaking the tranquil silence. “She couldn’t have seen this coming. It’s my fault for dragging her into this. Had she married a normal…”

  Artem held up a hand to stop me. “There is no use speaking like that. It is what it is. Cassandra is proving to be strong. I might even go so far as to say she seems as at ease with the life as the others in our pack do.”

  “The princess of the pack,” I mused.

  “Yes, the princess of the pack.” He smiled. Lifting his glass to mine, he made a toast. “To the princess of the pack,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “May she fulfill her destiny under your strict, loving guidance.”

  “Hear, hear,” I said, lifting my glass to join his.

  Gazing casually at me, Artem said, “We have much to discuss. Should you see that your princess made it safely to bed, first?” he asked, a knowing look crossing his face.

  Envisioning Cassandra nestled amongst her feather pillows and layers of blankets made a yearning run through my core. Mine to spoil and spank. Placing my drink down on the tray and standing, I stretched. “Yes, I think I shall. Can I get you anything before I go?”

  Picking up a cigar and twirling it between his thumb and forefinger, he said, “I think I will sit quietly and enjoy this Vamma Del Sol.” He ran the cigar under his nose, taking in its earthy, sweet scent. “I am not sure how many more of these restful moments we have left,” he finished solemnly.

  Nodding, I made my way to the door. “I’ll be back within the hour,” I called over my shoulder.

  “Then I’ve not taught you as well as I should have,” Artem replied with a shake of his head and an amused smile. “A woman deserves a man who takes his time… in all ways.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Deo

  Still grinning over my uncle’s parting admonishment, I opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped into Cassandra’s bedroom. Moonlight shone through the windows, brightening the room. A smile spread across Cassandra’s face when she saw me. As I’d imagined, she was propped up in bed. Strands of copper, red, and gold cascaded over her shoulders, her white nightgown illuminated by the moonbeams.

  I crossed the room, sitting in what Cassandra had dubbed ‘my spanking chair’. Her eyes widened to see me there when her move to pull back the covers said she clearly had expected me to join her. Those emerald eyes went even wider as she watched me remove my cufflinks. Princess of the pack or not, my little one was about to learn a much-needed lesson in exactly who was alpha in this dynamic.

  “Wha-what are you doing?” she asked, her teeth pulling in her bottom lip to worry it with small nibbles.

  I didn’t answer with words. One sleeve at a time, I slowly rolled my shirtsleeves to my elbows while my bride quietly watched from the bed. Looking up and locking my eyes on her, I finally said, “Come here.” I raised my arms in preparation of embracing her.

  Only a brief moment of hesitancy occurred before she pushed back the duvet and descended from the bed to daintily make her way across the floor on tiptoe, climbing into my lap. I held her, stroking her hair, her head nestling under my chin.

  “Why are you in the span-spanking chair?” she asked in a breathless whisper.

  “Why do you think,” I asked.

  Cassandra’s slim shoulders gave a little shrug. “Dunno,” she answered.

  “Did I instruct you to stay tucked into bed, safely?”

  “I did.” She looked up at me in surprise. “I was right there,” she said, pointing over her shoulder at her bed, “when you came in, tonight.”

  “You were—the second time,” I corrected softly.

  “Oh,” she answered quietly.

  The first time I’d sent her to bed that evening, after slipping the nightgown over her head, I had tucked the covers up to her chin. Kissing her forehead before departing, I’d said, “Stay tucked safely in this bed, little one.” Cassandra had given me a satisfied smile, snuggling down deeper into her bed of feathers. Reminding her of her promise to obey caused her to shift on my lap, a sign I’d come to associate with her acknowledgment of guilt.

  “But, I had to,” she answered earnestly. Nervously, she twisted a lock of hair around her finger, awaiting my response.

  Raising my brow and giving her a stern look, I reprimanded, “You did not have to, my princess. You chose to disobey.”

  “I understand. But it went so well, there is no need to spank me. All’s well that ends well, right?” she said, flashing me one of her winning courtroom smiles.

  “I’m afraid not. What kind of caretaker would I be if I let my little girl go unpunished? Disobeying my commands, wandering around the dark castle, alone?”

  Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Alone? I am never alone. I couldn’t see Draco, but I could hear him breathing,” she said.

  Holding in a chuckle, I rebuked, “That’s naughty, rolling your eyes.”

  “I didn’t roll my eyes,” she protested.

  “And lying. Tsk, tsk.” I clucked my tongue. “I think someone is getting a little big for her britches.”

  Reading the expression on my face, Cassandra decided to try another tactic to get herself out of trouble. I found it a bit amusing that my lawyer wife had not yet accepted the fact that she was going over my knee, like it or not.

  Stretching, Cassandra gave a big yawn. “I’m so tired, Deo. I really think it’s time I went to bed. We have a big day tomorrow
.”

  I could no longer suppress my chuckle. “Is that so?”

  She nodded, a sigh escaping her pink lips.

  “Then we had best get started,” I said, quickly flipping her over my lap.

  “Ooomph!” she cried in surprise, her legs flailing as I positioned her perfectly over my knee. Trying to protect her bottom by reaching her hand behind her, she whispered harshly, “Please don’t, Deo, my friends will hear.”

  “I am sure they are sound asleep in their beds, as you should have been, my angel,” I said, pinning her hand on her lower back with one hand, and bringing her nightgown up, exposing her ass covered in a tiny pair of pink lace panties with the other. “No kicking, young lady, or I will take my belt to this fair behind.” Her legs instantly stilled.

  I brought my hand up, then down, slapping her as had been done by disciplinarians since the beginning of time. The swats were barely causing a sting in my hand, but they served their purpose as she began to yip and mewl. I scolded as I spanked.

  “Naughty princesses who don’t do as they’re told go over the king’s knee, don’t they, young lady?”

  “Yes,” Cassandra moaned.

  The little slaps landed on her ass in succession, keeping a steady rhythm as I chided. “And what do I do when my girl goes over my lap?”

  “You spank me.”

  “Where?”

  “On the bottom.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “On… on my bare bottom, sir,” she whispered.

  “Correct,” I said, taking the delicate French lace between my fingers, pulling it down slowly to expose her plump cheeks. Dropping her panties to the floor, I slid my hand slowly up her thigh, her legs parting, her breath quickening the closer I came to the glistening pouch of her sex. I didn’t have to say a single word, her soft moan and her flushed face attesting to her mortification at being discovered to be soaking wet. Lightly swirling my fingertip around the sweet little bud of her clitoris, I watched her press her hips up, trying to increase the pressure. But it was not yet time for pleasure. Pulling my hand free, I gave her another slap, this time on a properly bared buttock.

  “You know better than to wander around the castle, and in bare feet, no less. I should take you down to the library and let Artem turn you over his knee for a good, sound spanking, as well,” I had no doubt in the beginning of the trouble Cassandra had caused, it had crossed Artem’s mind many times. “Though he might spank your bottom a little harder than I am now,” I said, keeping up the little slaps on her pinkening skin.

  “Oh, no, Deo, please, not that!” Cassandra cried, peering over her shoulder to gauge my authenticity.

  It would not hurt her to learn that I might not be the only one of her new pack to take her in hand when necessary. A little fear, a little trepidation of what might happen could go a long way to keep my girl on the right track. I smacked her ass a bit harder, watching her hips begin to twist and buck as the fire grew.

  “Ow! Please!” she squealed, her head arching back.

  “Quiet, princess, your friends will hear you. I don’t want Andrew”—she gave a little cry when I placed a hard slap on the center of her bottom as I said his name—“to try and come rescue you,” I said.

  Groaning with pure embarrassment, Cassandra hung her head down in shame.

  I continued peppering every inch of her ass until, looking over my work, I admired the rosy glow that covered her usually creamy skin. Finished spanking her pert little butt, I said, “Up you go, baby,” helping her to stand. She tried sitting in my lap, her flushed face lighting up with a smile when I steered her to the bed, instead.

  Picking her up, I sat her on the bed, ignoring her soft groan, pulling her gown over her head to toss it to the floor. “Lie back,” I instructed, biting back a grin when she instantly obeyed. I knew her obedience most likely came from a combination of wishing to please me, wanting me to sink into her, and at least a smidgen of desire to remove her body weight from her spanked ass. Grabbing hold of her ankles, I pulled her toward me until her ass was on the very edge of the mattress. Moving her legs, I positioned her with her knees bent and feet planted close to her ass. I used the palms of my hands to push her thighs down until she was splayed open, the glistening of her cunt and the scent of her arousal filling my senses.

  “What happens now?” Though my very move to unzip my pants gave the answer, I wished to hear her acknowledge what was required.

  “I make my penance, sir.”

  “And what penance is that?” I asked, removing my clothing and stroking my hand up and down the length of my shaft.

  “Whatever you decide.”

  “And why is that?”

  Her beautiful eyes lifted from my erection to meet my gaze. My cock jerked with the look of submission she gave me as she answered, “Because you are my husband, my master, my lover and… the leader of my pack.”

  I could find no fault with her answer, and accepted each role as I moved between her legs. I pressed the tip of my cock into the opening of her sheath. Hooking her legs over my shoulders, lifting her ass off the bed, I thrust into her, filling her with one stroke. Her cry and her hands clutching the duvet told of her discomfort at being impaled so quickly, so roughly, yet she didn’t protest. This was penance, yet I wasn’t a fool. My wife’s body betrayed her with her nipples hard as little bullets, her body quivering, and her fingers clenching and unclenching the rich burgundy bedcover. Combined with her soft mewls and gasps, I knew she was getting closer and closer to her pinnacle. Our bodies slapped together, her cries growing louder until she was begging to come.

  “Please… please, sir… I need to come.”

  “Didn’t you just inform me that you needed to sleep?”

  Her moan was loud as her head shook from side to side. “No… no, I-I mean, yes, but… but I-I need you, Deo.”

  How could I deny the woman who had come so far in so short a time? A woman whose very life had changed so dramatically and yet, even now, after I’d reddened her ass—or could it be because I had done so—she wanted… needed me? Sinking balls deep, I bent over her, pressing my lips to hers, nipping her bottom one. It took all I had, but I stilled inside the perfection of her embrace, my lips moving to the hollow of her throat, the tip of my tongue dancing along her skin, licking, tasting, sucking as she moaned and threw her head back, offering even more to me.

  My fingers moved to trail across goose-pebbled flesh, my eyes riveted to nipples the color of raspberries, watching as they drew ever tighter with my touch. Her hips lifted, attempting to grind against me, to have me move within her again. But first… first, I wanted her to scream my name, to hear her cry as she released. Lowering my head, I kissed each breast, my tongue laving the soft hillocks, circling slowly to those turgid peaks that were oh so very ripe. The moment I drew a nipple between my lips, her hands grasped my head, holding me in place as her entire body arched.

  “Yes. Oh, God, yes,” she gasped, her sheath contracting, hugging my cock that remained buried deep inside her. If I remained a moment longer, I’d erupt and that was not my plan. Easing from her, I slid my hands beneath her, lifting her, turning her as I climbed onto the bed to join her. Laying her down, her hair fanning across her pillow, I kissed her softly then continued my path down her body, taking kisses and little nips of her flesh along the way. Finally, I took her legs, pressing them open once more. Looking up at her soft mewl, I smiled.

  “You are so beautiful,” I said. “So soft, so precious, and so incredibly sweet.” Broadening my tongue, I kept my eyes on hers as I drew it up between the pink lips of her sex, gathering the dew she’d been providing from the moment she had come to me for her spanking. Her fingers clutched my shoulders, her head tossing side to side on her pillow, bow-shaped lips pursed as she mewled with every stroke of my tongue. God, was there anything more beautiful in the world than a woman preparing to explode in your arms? Knowing that you had brought her to this point, the pinnacle where all worries, all darkness disappeared in
an explosion of nothing but bliss and starbursts?

  I could feel her tensing, felt her legs quivering beneath my fingers, see her swollen clit pulsing. With a smile, I gave her one word, “Come,” before opening my lips and drawing the engorged bud inside. One deep suckle was all it took to send her over the edge. She screamed my name, her body arching, her fingernails digging into my flesh as she obeyed. I kept her clit in my mouth, teasing, raking it softly with my teeth, wanting to draw out every drop of her pleasure. With a final deep suckle, I dragged my tongue through her wetness, thrusting my tongue into her pussy, lapping at her nectar.

  “Oh, God, yes,” she moaned.

  I smiled against her flesh, knowing that her tune was most likely about to change. Drawing my tongue from her wet heat, I continued my feast, licking across her perineum as I began to pull her warm little buttocks apart to reveal my target. The moment the tip of my tongue touched inside the cleft of her ass, she stiffened.

  “No!”

  “Yes,” I said, running my tongue up the divide to circle around the wrinkled rim of her tight pucker.

  “It’s… it’s wrong,” she tried yet again, her body attempting to shift away, a simple press of my hand easily keeping her in place.

  Replacing my tongue with a fingertip I’d moistened in her pussy, I looked up from between her legs to find her staring down at me. Huge green eyes looked both panicked and embarrassed and yet, I could discern a bit of curiosity thrown in for good measure. This might not be what she had expected for penance, and though I wasn’t truly punishing her, this was the perfect moment to move her further down the new path we were taking. A bit of pressure and her eyes widened as my finger began to slide inside her ass.

  “I’ve told you before, nothing is wrong between us.” Another inch was conquered as I continued to prepare her emotionally as well as physically for what was going to happen. “Every part of you belongs to me, Cassandra. There is not a single inch of you that I won’t kiss, lick, taste, touch, and”—my finger pushed forward until it could go no further as I let her know that we were not near done—“fuck.”