by Maggie Ryan
Tears were sliding down her cheeks. My heartstrings tugged for her shame, but there was no other way. I would not sacrifice Cassandra’s life for the mere fact that the discipline made her uncomfortable.
I loved my wife. I cherished my little girl. But when she put herself in danger, it was easy for me to harden my heart and carry out the punishment. I loved her too much to allow her to risk her life without there being harsh consequences.
“You will be punished thoroughly. Then I will bring you to your room. Aunt Margaret shall bring you dinner, and you will eat alone. You will be put to bed, to sleep on your tummy, your punishment plug deep in your ass. If you wake with even the slightest tone of defiance, the entire process will be repeated. Am I making myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Grabbing Cassandra’s hand, I tugged her into the castle. I led her down the back steps, the same ones she had snuck down barefooted, in her nightgown, the night she’d spoken with Artem.
Reaching the library, I opened the door. Draco stood before the fire, his gaze dark, his hands locked behind his back. The olive shirt and trousers he wore gave him an air of military authority.
Guiding a reluctant and silent Cassandra into the room, I closed the door, the click of the latch loud in the silence. Releasing my wife’s hand, I moved to one side to stand with my feet apart.
Draco’s eyes met mine above Cassandra’s dark head and with a nod, I let him know that, in this moment, he was to take the lead. She’d defied her guardian and would first make her atonement to him.
“Come here, little one,” Draco said.
With a quick glance at me and discovering no quarter would be given, Cassandra reluctantly joined Draco by the fire.
Draco’s gaze remained locked on Cassandra, his eyes burning into hers. She looked to the floor, her toes turning inward.
“I rarely lose my patience, Cassandra,” Draco began, his voice so low it sounded dangerous, even to me. “You were told, ‘stay put.’” Growing agitated, Draco began to pace, running his hands through his hair, standing it on end. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?”
“I just wanted to see,” Cassandra whispered.
Draco’s face snapped up, glaring at her. “See what?”
“You and Deo shift into wolves,” she said, peering up at him.
Visibly calmed by her tiny confession, Draco softened his stance. When he spoke again, his tone was more lenient. “That is a reasonable request, no doubt, but could you not have come to us directly and asked? Why leave the castle walls? When we specifically demanded that you not?”
Cassandra shrugged as if something as simple as asking had never occurred to her. Draco shook his head.
“I cannot allow you to put yourself in harm’s way. You need to be taken in hand if you really believe you are free to do as you please. To treat your personal safety with no regard as you did. It is not—”
“But nothing happened,” Cassandra interrupted, tossing her hands up in the air. “Geeze, I really don’t see why you and Deo are so upset—”
I almost chuckled at the look that crossed Draco’s face. It was one of incredulity that in an instant was replaced by determination. I almost wished for a glass of my scotch to enjoy with the show.
“You don’t see? Well, let me assure you that by the time you leave this room, you will most certainly see the error of your ways. Turn around—”
“Wait!” Cassandra shouted, her hands reaching back to cross over her ass. I knew her mind might not believe she was going to get spanked, but her body obviously had no doubt.
“No, I will not wait. You did not wait when instructed to stay put even after agreeing to do so. You did not wait to simply ask if perhaps you could be allowed to watch the transformation. You did not even wait and tell anyone where you were going. You just decided to throw my concerns aside… ignore Deo’s rules as well. So, no, Cassie, I will not wait. Now, drop your hands off your ass, pull your pants down to your knees, turn around and bend over the arm of the chair. Do it now or I shall need to add extra strokes even before Deo punishes you.”
I waited, ready to step in if this proved too much for my wife despite my belief that this was exactly what was required. Yes, she’d disobeyed Draco, and, yes, I’d been the one to discuss his taking a part in her discipline, but this was a new line being crossed. One she hadn’t expected, hadn’t agreed to step over. I was the alpha of our pack, but I would not push her so far as to break the spirit that burned within her—the very flame that made her the incredible woman she was—the woman I loved… who Draco loved as well. If she couldn’t do this, if she didn’t accept the choice I’d made, then I’d find another way. Time seemed suspended as I waited, but when I saw her turn to look at me for a moment, then turn back to Draco, her hands sliding off her bottom, I knew she’d taken that step.
Chapter Fifteen
Cassandra
I felt like I was moving in slow motion, existing in another dimension. I’d learned of the existence of magical daggers and crystals. I had been living in a castle I’d not known existed, had met relatives of my husband’s that I already considered my family as well. Hell, I’d discovered that my husband had the ability to transform into a wolf—had seen it with my own eyes, but not a single one of those things had shocked me as this was doing. And yet, I didn’t know why it was so surprising.
The moment I’d met Deo, I’d known he was the man for me, the one I wished to spend the rest of my life with. Yet, the moment I’d met Draco, I’d felt something akin to that same emotion. There had been a spark, buried, but nevertheless, felt by me. Looking up and seeing the determination on his face told me he was serious, but it was the look in his eyes that had my hands sliding off my ass. No, I’d never imagined this scenario, but now, facing this very moment, something inside my very soul told me it was the only decision to make. With my hands at my sides, I nodded.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“I’m very glad to hear that,” Draco said, his tone a bit softer than before but the steel was still there. “Now, lower your pants, turn around, and bend over the chair.”
I might have accepted the inevitable, but that didn’t keep my hands from trembling as I hooked my fingers into the waistband of my pants. It didn’t stop the shuddering breath I took as I lowered my clothing in front of another man. Once they were at my knees, I twirled toward the chair and threw myself over the padded arm, laying my cheek down on the cushion. From this embarrassing position, I could see my husband watching me. There was no jealousy, no rancor, no judgment. With his eyes locked on mine, I could read the look in their depths. I saw approval—pride that I’d obeyed my guardian. The look allowed me to take a deep breath, to unclench my fists, calm my trembling. Until, that was, I felt a presence behind me. And when fingers hooked my panties, dragging them down and over the hillocks of my ass to join my pants at my knees, well… I knew that neither man could fault me when I held my breath, clenched my fingers, and began to tremble anew.
“I’m going to warm you up with my hand, Cassie, and then I’m going to give you twenty with the paddle. Place your hands around the cushion and keep your feet down. I truly do not wish to add to your strokes.”
I nodded, slipping my arms under the cushion and planting my feet firmly. I felt my top being pushed up further, held in place when Draco pressed his palm into the small of my back.
“Tell me why I’m going to spank you, Cassie.”
I had grown accustomed to hearing the request from Deo, but this was a different man, and he used a different name. I almost smiled. I was Cassandra to my more formal husband, and Cassie, to a man he considered closer than a brother. Somehow it made it easier for me.
“I disobeyed you, sir.”
“You also broke a promise to me, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, I promised to stay at the table and I didn’t. I-I didn’t even stay in the castle,” I confessed.
“No, you didn’t, but that is for D
eo to address. For now, let this spanking teach you that when I give you an order, I expect you to obey it without argument.” I felt his free hand settle over my bottom, his fingers splaying to almost completely cover both my cheeks. “Notice I did not say without question, Cassie. I know you are curious. I understand you will have questions. I, along with everyone here will be glad to answer those questions if we can and at the appropriate time. But first, you must learn that your obedience is never to be questioned. You will obey or you will pay a price each and every time, understand?”
“Y-yes, sir.” I was finding it a bit hard to breathe; Draco’s voice so stern, so unyielding, so… dominant.
His hand lifted and then came down with a crack that startled me as it sounded like a gunshot. Before I could even gasp, the second stroke came. His hand was huge and hard. Where Deo generally paused between each stroke, Draco’s hand moved to rapidly cover every inch of my flesh. But despite the difference in application, the result was the same. My ass began to heat, the fire burning hotter with every stroke.
“Please!” I shouted, arching my head back. “It hurts!”
“Spankings hurt,” Draco said, not even pausing, his palm cracking down yet again. “Disobedience is a choice, and the wrong choice earns you a hot ass.”
I wailed when his hand changed direction, striking upward right beneath my right cheek, lifting the flesh of my buttock to smack against the sensitive area where my bottom became thigh. My foot kicked up, but when he barked, “Feet down!” I instantly lowered it to the floor. I clutched the cushion like a drowning victim would a life ring, praying that salvation would soon be forthcoming. When the spanking ended, I was blinking back tears, determined to accept my discipline with dignity. That was until I saw Deo move to open a drawer in the desk by the window… or to be clear, to see what was in his hand when he pulled it free. I’d totally forgotten my guardian had said his hand would just be used to ‘warm me up’. I’d forgotten about the paddling I still had coming. But it was clear that neither man had.
“Thank you,” Draco said, accepting the implement.
“You’re welcome,” my husband said, moving again but not back to where he’d been standing. No, he moved to squat on the other side of the chair in which I was so embarrassingly upturned.
“Give me your hands, Cassandra.”
Looking up, blinking to clear the sheen of tears from my eyes, I saw his hands on the arm of the chair, his fingers open, palms waiting. I slid my arms from beneath the cushion and placed my hands in his. As his fingers closed around mine, giving them a gentle squeeze, I felt a connection that didn’t just embrace him and me—it included the man still behind me, and it just felt right.
“I-I’m ready, sirs,” I said softly, addressing them both.
“Good girl,” Deo said, bending to press a kiss to my fingers of each hand before lifting his head and giving a nod.
“Twenty, Cassie,” Draco reminded. “Count each one and let them teach you that you are so very important to me. That I would rather die than to see you hurt, but I will never hesitate to set your ass on fire if that is what it takes to keep you safe.” He paused and I felt his fingers lift a strand of my hair to tuck it behind my ear. Turning my head toward him, I saw a look in his eyes that had my heart skipping a beat, memories of the first time our eyes met running through me. He smiled, gently running his fingertip down my face. “It is my duty to discipline you, but it is my greatest honor to love you, Cassie.”
I heard every word and knew without a doubt that each one was spoken truthfully. And while I had known there was something between us, I hadn’t truly expected it to be love… but it was. I’d never truly considered how a person could love more than one other to this depth, but I didn’t have to understand it to know it was exactly what I felt. “I love you too,” I said, laying my cheek down on the cushion, submitting to not only his discipline, but a shift in our very lives.
It was awful. Each time the paddle landed, I couldn’t help but cry out, squeezing Deo’s fingers with all my might, my count of each one coming more slowly, the numbers recited in an ever intensifying shaky voice, but I did accept each stroke, never missing a count. When I finally cried out, “Twenty!” I heard the paddle hit the floor and felt my hands being given a final squeeze.
Tears weren’t the only thing flowing down my face. My nose was runny, and I was sure I looked horrible. Yet, when Deo stood, bent forward to kiss my forehead and then stepped away, it wasn’t he who lifted me off the arm of the chair. It was Draco who helped me stand, but only long enough to turn me, to lift me up, and to settle me on his lap as he took a seat in the chair. I leaned against his chest, his arms tight around me as he allowed me to calm from the punishment.
“Shh, you’re fine,” he assured me softly, his lips pressing into my hair. “You took your paddling very well, Cassie.” After several minutes in which I ceased crying, my tears becoming sniffles instead, he set me up on his lap and pressed a handkerchief to my cheeks, wiping my tears away.
“Promise me you will not go outside of these walls again without Deo or me.”
“Okay,” I whispered softly.
Draco shook his head. “I cannot hear you. Speak clearly.”
“I promise, Draco,” I said louder.
His face relaxed. “Do not let this be a promise that you break.” Leaning in, Draco placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, hugging me close for a long moment. Sitting me up again, he smiled, and I returned it without hesitation.
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Be as good for Deo as you were for me and then your slate shall be clean.”
Oh, God! The fact that I still had to face my husband’s discipline had totally slipped my mind. All I could do was whimper, which earned me a soft smile.
“I promise, you will not only survive, but you will feel better,” Draco said.
“Easy for you to say,” I murmured, but knew he was right this time just as he had been that night when he’d first said those words. After another quick kiss to the top of my head, Draco stood and set me on my feet and when he released me, it wasn’t even a second before Deo’s arms were around me instead. Giving us both a nod, Draco left the room, the latch clicking behind him.
Chapter Sixteen
Cassandra
Deo released me, moving to take a seat in the chair. It wasn’t until he began to sit that I realized without my even being aware of it, Draco had pulled my panties and pants back into place. Deo settled onto the cushion, looked at me, and asked, “How shall I punish you?”
This wasn’t what I’d expected to hear. With his question, I understood that the addition of Draco in our lives didn’t need to be discussed. It just was part of the life we shared. I felt my face heat, not from shame, but from excitement. “Oh, Deo, not yet. Can we talk about what I saw, first?” I asked.
“Tell me, did you enjoy it?” Deo asked, attempting to hide a smile and yet failing.
Sinking to the floor at his feet, I answered breathlessly, “Oh, yes, it was magnificent. When I peeked beyond the wall, I almost fainted from shock. Your bodies had risen above the ground, but I could barely see you with the brightly colored fog that surrounded you both. I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. And then, how you spun around one another, faster and faster, the… clouds? Fog? It was growing.” I spoke barely pausing for breath. “And the iridescent colors—they were gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it… What were those colors? That fog?”
Smiling down at me, he answered, “Our auras. They surround us, lifting us, swirling us, transforming us.”
“Auras.” The word was unfamiliar on my tongue, strangely beautiful. I thought back, trying to find the words to describe the hues I had witnessed. “Draco’s was orange, but not bright like the fruit, more like the sunset.” I couldn’t help but wave my hands as I spoke. “And yours, Deo, it was the most beautiful color I have ever seen. A red but not as I’ve seen it before. God, it was so fiery, so—p
owerful.”
“Yes, it’s energy, strength, passion, anger, sexuality, ego. Draco’s, as you can probably guess, is self-control, ambition, courage.”
“I wonder what mine is,” I whispered to myself.
“Violet.”
“How do you know?” I asked curiously.
“Draco, Baal, and I saw it.”
I stared at him in awe. “When?”
“During knife play. When you threw the blade.”
“Why then? And why yours when you… changed?” I asked, then shook my head. “No, that’s not right.”
“Transformed? Shifted?” he offered with a smile. “Either is fine.”
“Shifted. Why did the aura come when you and Draco shifted, and when I was throwing the blade?”
“An aura shows itself when your physical body and your mind become one. Very close to what athletes call ‘being in the zone’, only more intense. Most of us spend our time with our mind and body separated by lifestyle, thought, our daily lives. Tell me, when you threw the blade, what were your thoughts?”
I didn’t immediately answer, giving his question serious consideration. A moment later, still perplexed, I said, “I didn’t seem to have any.”
“Which is quite unusual for you, no?” he asked with a chuckle. When I scowled at him, he shook his head. “You have to admit, your brain runs at full speed. From the habit you have of murmuring through the night, I doubt it even slows down when you are asleep.”
I rolled my eyes and then smiled. “I can’t help it… but, well, it does slow down when we are… together.”
Deo reached out, running his fingertips over my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “As it does for me, sweetheart. Recently more than ever.”
“What does my aura mean?” I asked shyly, a bit apprehensive to hear the answer.
“Spirit, wisdom, intuition. Just some of your strengths that caused me to fall so hard in love with you. Those traits have served you well in this life. You have taken it all in stride.”
