by Delta James
Claimed and Mastered
By
Delta James
Copyright © 2019 by Stormy Night Publications and Delta James
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.
www.StormyNightPublications.com
James, Delta
Claimed and Mastered
Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson
Images by iStock/Kiuikson and Dreamstime/Daniel Rowland
This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Additional Books in the Wayward Mates Series
More Stormy Night Books by Delta James
Delta James Links
Prologue
It is said that shifters—those who shift between human and animal form—existed long before non-shifters. When the world was a far more dangerous place, the ability to shift from one form to another as needed was natural selection at its finest. It allowed those who could do so to thrive in environments in which a human would have trouble surviving. The shifter’s enhanced genetic immunity, rapid healing ability, and long life added to their leap to the top of the evolutionary ladder.
Now with the decline in female born-shifters, some desperate packs have taken to raiding weaker packs for their women as well as abducting human women and turning them without their consent. The Ruling Councils, having chosen to play ostrich, refuse to even recognize there is a problem. A small group of concerned packs in Europe, the UK, and America have banded together to identify the extent of the problem and eradicate it.
Chapter One
Declan Collins lay on his belly in the hot sand. The camouflage bandana he’d wrapped around his head captured some, but not all, of the sweat from the unrelenting sun in the Middle East. Declan was an Army Ranger, specifically a sniper. His current assignment was to terminate the life of one of the leaders of the opposition’s guerilla forces. Given his close proximity to the target and the fact that it was full daylight ensured it would be an easy kill... if there was such a thing. No kill was ever easy. Each and every one cost the man taking it a little bit of his soul.
The compound seemed to be housing more than just the men of the guerilla unit. It appeared that several, including the leader, had their entire families with them. That didn’t make sense. For one thing most often these compounds were strictly off limits to women and children. For another, it seemed that only a few of the men had their families in residence. The hair on Declan’s neck began to stand up. Something was very off about this whole thing.
Declan didn’t question whether or not the target needed to die. There was substantial evidence that he was directly responsible for the loss of many American lives. Taking him out would weaken this particular guerilla unit and ensure greater safety for the men with whom he served.
Many snipers had a spotter—someone who kept watch over the sniper’s safety so he could focus on the target and could also observe things outside of the immediate vicinity of the target. Declan preferred to work alone.
Listening to his honed instincts that said something was very wrong, Declan rolled up onto his knees, careful to stay as hidden behind the sparse vegetation as he could. His chosen sniper’s nest was at the top of a sandy dune. The horse he’d ridden out was on the other side of the dune from the compound.
Many of his compatriots teased Declan about his choice of a horse over a motor-powered vehicle. He liked to point out that horses didn’t easily run out of fuel or get their motors clogged by the abundance of sand.
Declan scanned the entire compound. He gave it a quick once-over but the group of men gathered together out of the sight of the main force caught his attention. The group’s second-in-command was at the center. As he watched, the man seemed to be issuing orders. Not all that uncommon, but the pulling of ceremonial swords and daggers was cause for alarm. It would appear that there was a coup about to take place. Declan wouldn’t need to kill the leader of the guerilla force; his own men were about to do it. Had it just been the man himself, Declan would have called it a day. The problem was the man’s family was at the compound. Declan was pretty sure the planned coup included the extermination of their leader’s family.
Declan could live with taking the life of an enemy combatant, but not his wife and children.
Declan ran down the dune and swung up onto his horse. He took off at a gallop, skirting the edges of the dune to get to the backside of the compound where the women and children were. Unless someone had moved it, there was a large transport truck back there. Hopefully it was operable and he would be able to get all of the intended victims’ families to safety.
Finding a safe place behind a set of mostly destroyed buildings, Declan scanned the compound. He knew that protocol was not to intervene. And if he was planning to deviate from the original assignment he needed to call in. Not wanting to disobey a direct order, Declan placed his communication device on the ground and got his horse to step on it, smashing it into bits. Declan removed the horse’s saddle and bridle, burying it in the sand and shooed the horse away. Theoretically the horse should head back for their base. But if not, at least he wouldn’t be hindered by Army gear.
Declan used his scope to take another look at the compound. Most of the men were still situated toward the front. Keeping low and using as much natural cover as he could, Declan ran toward the back of the compound. Thankfully there was only one guard that Declan was able to neutralize. He checked the truck. He was in luck. Its gas tank was full, which indicated that it was operable. If it wasn’t, the gas would have been drained from the tank.
A commotion and men screaming could now be heard from the front of the compound. The women were not fools and he could see the alarm on their faces. He approached them, gesturing to the truck.
“Do any of you speak English?” he said in his broken Arabic.
“A little,” came the soft reply of a young woman who couldn’t be more than twenty.
“Do you understand what’s happening?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Tell them all there’s a truck out back. I think I can get us away from here and to safety.”
“But you are an American.”
“Yes, ma’am. But I won’t stand by and watch innocents murdered. Come on, we have to go.”
The young woman spoke far too rapidly for Declan to understand what she was saying, but apparently she made a good case for trusting him as the women gathered the children and ran to the relative safety of the truck.
Once everyone was in the truck, Declan secured the back and jumped into the driver’s seat. The sounds from the coup were
still concentrated toward the front of the building. He jumped into the cab of the truck, revved the motor, and peeled out of the compound. He heard several shots fired but none came close.
Declan headed back to the base. He smiled when he thought of informing his commanding officer of the change in plans. He knew the colonel would officially dress him down for his actions. After that, he’d buy Declan a drink. The colonel was a good man and would understand that the target had been killed, but that Declan’s actions had saved a good number of innocents’ lives. Not a bad day’s work at all.
Declan drove as fast as the truck would allow. As night began to fall, he rolled into the entrance to the base camp. He was waved in and headed to the medic’s tent. Once there, he helped the women and children out of the truck and introduced them to the native speaking staff that assisted the Army medical team. As he was about to leave, the young woman who had interpreted for him caught his arm.
“Thank you. We live because of you.”
Declan put his hand over hers. “You’re more than welcome. I hope all of you will be all right.”
She nodded. “We will have that chance, because you risked yourself for us. We will never forget.”
Declan smiled and turned toward the colonel’s tent. It was time to pay the piper, but Declan was certain that whatever it cost him, it was worth it.
Chapter Two
Ava Rhys stood facing the corner of her room at Calon Onest located on the western coast of Wales. Ava had been born here and lived her whole life as a member of the pack. She couldn’t help but wonder, how had things gone so wrong?
Calon Onest had been the home of one of the oldest and largest wolf shifter packs in the United Kingdom. The pack had been under the rule of the Owen family for many generations. Its alpha now was Ioan Smith-Davies, who was the fated mate of Bethan Owen.
Bethan’s older brother had been Micah Owen—alpha before Ioan. Micah had been murdered by a group of shifter hunters. His death had been avenged by his mate, Skylar, who had left her home in Wales to found an all-female pack in the United States. That pack had been disbanded by the Ruling Council and Skylar was now happily mated to a powerful alpha on the East Coast of America.
Bethan’s younger brother was the dashing Griffin, who had been a Special Forces operative. It should, in Ava’s opinion, be Griffin who ruled at Calon Onest... with Ava at his side. Ava had always wanted to be the mistress of her pack. She saw Griffin as a means to an end. If she was his mate and he took his rightful place as alpha, then she could achieve her goal. It didn’t hurt that Griffin was sexy and sensual, powerful yet gentle. Ava was fairly certain that she would be able to use her sexual prowess to control him.
There had been numerous times she had offered herself to Griffin. He had steadfastly refused her offers, but had made it seem like he thought she was either too young or that he was not at a point in his life to find a mate and settle down.
Ava hadn’t been the only she-wolf in the pack who wanted Griffin for her own. But as one of the few female alpha wolves she had easily dissuaded others to relinquish any claim they thought they might have. Several times, her efforts had caused her to run afoul of Colum, the pack’s beta and chief disciplinarian for the unmated females in the pack. Ava was convinced that if she could persuade Griffin to become her mate and take over leadership of the pack, she could make Colum pay for all the spankings he’d given her over the years. At the very least she would see that he was no longer beta. At best, she’d have him banished from Calon Onest.
The last time Griffin had been home, Ava had managed to put the first step of her master plan into effect... they’d had sex. Griffin was drunk and had just returned from a Special Ops mission that had left him reeling. Although Ava would later tell others she had only wanted to offer him solace, she had in fact taken advantage of his weakened emotional state to try to manipulate the situation to her advantage. If he wasn’t interested in having her when he was sober and happy, she’d take him drunk and in need of a release.
Ava had cornered Griffin and enticed him with her body and her uninhibited sexuality to give in to his baser needs. They had enjoyed a good sexual romp. Granted it was in wolf form, but he had knotted her. She had reveled in his dominance and the way he had mounted and possessed her so completely.
She thought at last the dashing younger brother to the slain Micah Owen had recognized her as his equal and his mate. Ava was certain he would claim her and then claim his rightful place as alpha to the Calon Onest pack with her by his side. But it hadn’t happened that way. Instead Griffin had seemed ashamed and had apologized to her for what had happened. She had tried to convince him that he had done nothing wrong, but he had been unrelenting and had informed Ioan of what had happened. Had it not been for Ioan’s mate intervening, Griffin would have been banished from the pack.
The pack had been informed a few days ago that Griffin was coming home. Ava couldn’t help but feel excited. She just knew he was coming back to claim her.
She waited until he had gone up to the room that his insipid sister, Bethan, kept for him in the main keep. Disobeying strict orders from both Colum and Ioan, Ava let herself into his room and arranged herself artfully on his bed in what she thought was a provocative but not slutty pose.
Ava moistened her lips when the shower shut off. Her pupils dilated, her nipples hardened, and her pussy began to get wet when the door to the bath opened and Griffin stepped out in his jeans not quite buttoned all the way to the top and his sweater in his hands. Ava felt as though all her plans were finally coming to fruition.
That’s when everything went horribly wrong.
“Welcome home, Griff,” she said as seductively as she could.
“Ava, stop. I don’t have time for this. Be a good girl, leave my room, and don’t come back.”
“Didn’t you miss me, Griffin?” she purred at him as she rose and gracefully crossed to him.
He stood stock still. “Not at all. We aren’t going to do this, Ava. Not ever.”
“We did it once before,” she said, still clinging to the memory of that night, a night she had relived in her dreams repeatedly.
“Yes, because you caught me on a night I was drunk and stupidly gave in to my baser desires. Something for which I am deeply regretful and have apologized to you.”
“But you wanted me. You knotted me...” she said, not liking the note of desperation in her voice.
“As a wolf. Even as drunk and desperate as I was to fuck, I realized that being with you was a bad idea. Now stop this or I’ll have to speak to Ioan.”
She wound her arms around his neck and rubbed her body along his. “I need you, Griffin.”
“What you need, Ava, is a series of long, hard spankings on your bare bottom and to be mated to a wolf who can keep you in line and well laid. I said enough,” he said, disentangling himself from her.
Before she could speak again, Colum knocked and came into the room. Taking Ava by her upper arm, he shook his head before saying, “Ioan is waiting for you, Griff. Sorry about Ava. She was told to leave you alone.”
He turned his attention to Ava. “And you, little wolf, need to go to your room and stand in the corner until I come in to deal with you.”
Ava was a born female shifter, which was becoming increasingly rare in their society. Ava squashed the urge to draw upon her most alpha tendencies and tell Colum to fuck off and that she would do no such thing. She would not allow him to treat her as a child. But the problem with challenging Colum’s authority was that it would only antagonize him and make her punishment more severe.
Instead she stomped her foot and said, “I won’t.”
“You will,” Colum said. “And if you don’t obey me right this second, I’ll be taking my strap to your bare arse. Go. Now.”
And so she stood in her room, facing the corner and debating whether to defy Colum and thereby Ioan’s dominion over her, or to try to plead for leniency. Unfortunately, she had firsthand knowledge of how painfu
l a welting on her bare bottom from Colum’s strap could be.
“Well, I see you at least had the good sense to obey me when I found you in Griffin’s room,” said Colum as he entered her room. His voice sounded tired, but resigned.
The door closed behind him and the floorboards creaked as he crossed to her bed, sitting down on the edge. He took a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly.
“Let’s get this over with. Come here to me, Ava.”
She turned around and glared at Colum. The rational part of her wanted to try and explain and to see if she could avoid being spanked again. But the proud, defiant alpha she-wolf that always lay in wait behind the meek façade reared its head and whispered in her ear, “Not this time.”
“I don’t think so,” she said in a haughty tone. “I’m not sure why I honored your request to stand in the corner, but I have no intention of allowing you to spank me.”
Colum surprised her by chuckling. “There’s no allowing, little wolf. You were told in no uncertain terms that you were not to accost or bother Griffin in any way, shape, or form. And yet, there you were half naked, exposing yourself to him in an effort to... what?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, old man. You know nothing about what goes on between two alpha wolves. We mated the last time he was home. He knotted me,” Ava raged.
“He was drunk and horny,” replied Colum angrily. “And you were willing and available.” Colum shook his head and took another deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I know he regrets it deeply.”
“He doesn’t,” Ava insisted, stomping her foot again. “If you hadn’t interrupted us, he would have taken me again.”
Colum shook his head sadly and softened his tone. “No, little wolf, he wouldn’t have. I don’t mean to hurt you, but he took you as a wolf... not as a man. You were a way to ease his blood lust when he’d had too much to drink.”
“No,” she wailed softly, half afraid it was true.