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Chapter Two

Fawn

Fifteen years later…

Ifirst courted Wolf’s wrath for mischief when I was a little girl, and not long after we moved to the Blackrock pack. He found me eating a stash of moonberries. I was sick, and he carried me home by the scruff of my shirt in wolf form, where my mother scolded me and didn’t let me play outside for a week.

His real name is Jude, but to me, he is always simply Wolf,mywolf, the Blackrock Pack enforcer.

Today, he is at his sternest as he paces back and forth, filling the confines of my cottage in the woods. He is in half-shift, or werebeast form as I call it, and presents a captivating, if fearsome, figure. This form stands on two legs, and his big, bushy tail stands tall and proud. His giant, beastly fists clench and relax as he berates me, telling me in his stern voice how foolish I have been.

Blue, my faithful hound, watches from the fireside, whining as though in pain.

“You have been reckless, Fawn. Left your cottage safe within the bounds of the pack lands and traveled all the way to the castle ruin where you know bandits have been spotted. Why would you take such a risk?” he demands, his voice deep and growly around his beastly jaws.

“It is pretty there, and the daffodils always bloom first. I wanted some for my kitchen table to brighten up my home.”

I snap my mouth shut when Wolf fixes me with a glare.

I have known Wolf all my life, well, since I was five and we moved here, which is virtually all my life, and I can read his beastly expressions as easily as his human ones. He is furious, but it comes from a place of caring—he has always cared. Wolf is like a solid rock in the churning sea of life. He is also big, protective, and a little scary when vexed. I do not like to court Wolf’s wrath, yet I can admit it also excites me to taunt the beast.

He continues to lecture me in his stern, protective voice as he paces. I get a little starry-eyed as I watch all that resplendent male power moving back and forth before me, his big body covered in a beautiful tawny coat.

My Wolf.I have loved him for as long as I can remember.

“…and you will be going straight over my lap for a spanking, young lady.”

Wait! What? I have missed a large chunk of the conversation mooning over him. My tummy gets all fluttery thinking about him putting me over his lap. I have thought often of how it might feel to have Wolf’s hands upon me, touching the secret place between my thighs, the one that tingles so good when I pet myself there in the deep of the night, imagining Wolf leaning over me in my nest, telling me I am good.

“…you have been a very bad girl, Fawn.”

I swallow. My thighs squeeze together, seeking to ease the building ache.

He stops abruptly. His nostrils flare, and his eyes narrow on my movement, reminding me he is a shifter with an impressive sense of smell.

I don’t breathe as he stares at my secret place hidden behind my pants.

Does he know I’m aroused? Can he guess all the naughty thoughts swirling through my mind?

His eyes lift and pin me where I stand. “Have you listened to a word I just said?”

“Yes, Wolf,” I say.

“Do not lie to me, Fawn,” he growls. “Only bad little girls lie.”

Oops.My heart races. I wonder if he will punish me for being bad. I really like it when he tells me I’m a good girl, but today, I unexpectedly get a little tingly because he has told me I am bad.

“Sorry, Wolf.” I squirm under his censorious glare, cheeks hot, confused about this development. I want to be good for him, but I’m also thinking about my dream where his strong body pressed me into my bed, holding me still, whispering that I’d been naughty and he would need to punish me.

Only I don’t think it was the spanking kind of punishment the dream version of Wolf had in mind.

Wolf growls.

My hound, Blue, pins his tail beneath his legs and slinks under the table. I think about joining him there because Wolf sounds very angry.

“What are you thinking about, lass? I swear I’m talking to myself half the fucking time.”

Oh, dear. Was Wolf talking again?