Page 19 of Hayes

She stared at him, wide-eyed, stunned.

He gave her a light squeeze. “Because the truth is they like having their bottoms spanked.”

The sucking stopped again. Her mouth fell open. She didn’t think she was breathing.

Daddy chuckled. “You’ll understand soon, Little one. I promise.” He jiggled the bottle again. “Drink. You need to rest. Your cheeks are pink from fever. Soon nothing is going to make any sense to you.”

She found the will to swallow, letting her eyes close. He’d given her way too much to think about. Her brain was overloaded. So was her bladder. She really needed to pee.

As soon as the bottle was empty, he removed it, but moments later another nipple was in her mouth.

She whimpered, not wanting to drink more.

“It’s just a pacifier, Little one. It will help you self-soothe. Try it.”

Rylee resumed sucking, shocked to find he was right. It felt good in her mouth. So had the bottle. He was right about a lot of things. Could he possibly be right about her enjoying a spanking, too? That seemed ludicrous.

Daddy set his palm on her stomach and pressed against her bladder. “You have to pee, Rylee. I don’t want to risk taking you to the potty right now. Don’t fight Daddy on this.”

She squirmed in his embrace, but he was persistent, and she knew he was right about this issue, too, darn it. She didn’t havethe strength to sit on the toilet right now. If he took her to the bathroom, he would have to hold her over the potty himself. That seemed more mortifying than wetting a diaper.

Giving up the fight, she relaxed her bladder and peed herself. It should have been humiliating, and on some level it was, but Daddy was so pleased with her, showering her with kisses and praise, that it was difficult to bother caring about her embarrassment. If he wanted her to use a diaper, why should she care?

Chapter Nine

Six hours later…

“I’ve got you, Little one. Don’t panic. I know you’re confused. It’s the fever. You’re almost ready to shift. I promise it won’t ever be like this again. Only the first time.”

Hayes was holding his Little girl in his arms. He couldn’t stand to put her down, but he also knew he was only making her hotter. She was burning up.

Her transition probably wasn’t any longer than average, but she’d spent the first several hours fairly lucid and then sped through the last hour, her fever rapidly rising.

Until the end, she’d been mostly accommodating and non-combative. He couldn’t blame her for the tears and arguing about damn near everything for the last thirty minutes. He would never hold her responsible for her fevered confusion or even mention it again. She probably wouldn’t remember.

She’d endured countless bottles and diapers because she’d burned through them all so fast. She’d been very accepting of the numerous times he’d taken her temperature, too.

What Hayes knew for certain was that his girl had a very sweet disposition. She was deeply submissive and would probably be well-behaved most of the time.

He couldn’t begin to imagine what her odd ability to smell things in the distance meant or how it would affect her place among the Alpha Protectors, but he was grateful her power seemed rather innocuous. So far.

She squirmed in his arms. “I need to get down, Daddy,” she whined.

She was currently naked, wrapped in a towel. He’d been wiping her down with a cool washcloth, trying to ease the burning fever. If she wanted down, she was probably ready to shift.

“Okay, Little one.” He lowered her to the kitchen floor, removing the towel. Keeping his hands on her so she wouldn’t fall, he squatted down to meet her gaze. “You’re ready, Rylee. You’ve got this. Easy peasy. You’re going to take a step back, close your eyes, and imagine your wolf coming to the surface. Let her out, okay?”

She nodded and shoved against him. She knew better than he did that the time was now.

He hated releasing her, gritting his teeth in the hope she didn’t trip over her feet in her delirious state. Luckily she seemed balanced as she took several steps back, braced herself, and closed her eyes.

He watched with pride as she inhaled deeply and let the shimmer of her shift take over. A few seconds later, she stood before him on all fours, her glorious wolf a dark blond that matched her hair. Her eyes were the same piercing blue. It was normal for a wolf’s hair and eyes to match their human side, but she still took his breath away.

Hayes smiled at his beautiful mate. “You did it,” he praised.

She looked around the room and then down at herself before taking a tentative step forward with one paw and then another. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was grinning.

She was certainly pleased with herself, judging by the way she started prancing around the kitchen. She even tipped her head back and howled, shocking herself.