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A thin, biting line of fire licked across my skin, sharp and precise. I jolted, a startled gasp escaping me as the sting bloomed.

Fuck.

This was going to be far,farworse than I thought.

Silas purred, dragging the switch lightly over the welt he had just left behind. “That was one,” he murmured. “We have averylong way to go.”

I barely had time to process his words before the next strike landed.

And then another and another and another.

Each one perfectly placed, leaving hot, stinging stripes across my ass and the backs of my thighs. The pain was blazing hot, electric, building on itself until I was squirming, my hips shifting against the log, my body betraying me.

“Stay still,” Silas ordered, his free hand pressing against the small of my back, holding me down.

I tried. God, I tried, but every time the switch landed, my body jerked, a soft gasp slipping past my lips before I could stop it.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to make a sound, refusing to give him the satisfaction, trying to keep at least a shred of pride, but the longer this went on, the more sure I was that I wouldn’t be able to hold onto it for very long.

Crack.

The next stroke landed just below the others, right at the crease where my ass met my thighs, and I yelped, my back arching on instinct.

Silas chuckled. “There she is.”

I bit my lip, my skin burning, my breath ragged.

“You’re going to remember this,” he assured me, dragging the switch over my welted skin, his fingers following after it, soothing where he had just marked me. “Every step you take, every time you sit down, you’ll remember why you must never disobey me again.”

I shuddered, my body caught in that dangerous space between pain and hot arousal.

He felt it. I knew he did, because when he leaned down, his breath warm on my ear, his voice was softer, though no less commanding.

“Do you understand me, Wildcat?”

My stomach squirmed.

“Yes, Alpha,” I whispered, but my voice trembled, revealing just how anxious I was in that moment.

The switch whistled through the air before it landed again.

A loud crack echoed through the trees, followed immediately by a white-hot sting that licked across my already burning skin. My legs trembled from the effort to stay still and I started to sweat.

Another strike.

And another.

Each one was perfectly placed, layering fire on top of fire, the heat spreading, seeping into my skin, making every nerve scream.

I gritted my teeth, my breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps.

The switch wasn’t like his hand.

His palm had been heavy, solid, a force that left warmth and an ache that lingered deep in my muscles.

But the switch?

It bit into my skin, over and over again.