by Delta James
The women in the Zodiac cheered as the sailboat crashed into the cabin cruiser and those aboard the latter were forced to jump overboard and begin swimming toward one of the sand bars. The Zodiac sped away from them, avoiding the other cabin cruiser that had gone to the men in the water’s rescue.
Skylar took over control of the Zodiac. She picked up speed and moved closer to shore to hug the coastline. The speedboat started to close on the Zodiac. Realizing they were being pursued, Skylar pressed her engines to get as much out of the boat as she could and tried to stay in water that she hoped was too shallow for him to follow. What she couldn’t know was that the speedboat had been modified for smuggling and needed very little water in which to maneuver.
* * *
Dylan readied his men to clear the side and hit the ground running if he had to run the Zodiac and its crew aground.
Dylan smiled and hailed the women on the PA system. “Enough, Skylar. You can’t get away. I’ve got more power and speed than you. Heave to and let’s conclude this peacefully.”
Oliver chuckled as he saw the collective response of the women was a one-fingered salute.
Dylan tried again. “Naughty. Naughty. That’s a very disrespectful way to respond to a courteous request. Let’s try again. Heave to or we’ll run you aground. I’ve got men trained to engage the enemy with me and you won’t get far. Any woman who has to be chased down will get her bottom spanked hard enough that she’ll need to stand for the ride back to Calon Gwyllt. But heave to and we’ll forget this bit of nonsense ever happened.”
Dylan glanced at Oliver who nodded in agreement. Although he would have preferred to start their pairing in a more positive manner, he knew that these women were going to need to be taken in hand from the beginning. Their freedom had given them great strength but also a willful nature that would need to be dominated until they surrendered and settled into being mated.
Oliver watched as the redheaded Skylar handed the rudder over to one of her pack, stood, turned and fired a flare gun at the pursuing speedboat. Dylan only barely managed to steer them out of the way.
Oliver saw the set of Dylan’s mouth. The usually unflappable man was angry. He got on the PA saying, “You, Skylar, will answer to me for that bit of temper. When I get my hands on you, little girl, I’ll teach you to fire a weapon at me.”
Dylan cut the PA system and gunned the engines again. This time he headed right for them. He was going to force them to go aground so his men could take them into custody. He turned to Oliver and the rest of the men, saying, “When you hit the ground, go after them.”
* * *
“Shit,” Skylar said as she recognized his intent. The speedboat was also now close enough for her to see it had been modified for shallower water. “This is it. I’m going onto the beach at full speed. Leave your things, shift, and run for your lives. I’ll try to hold them back if I can.”
Roz glanced back at the speedboat as the space between the two boats became less and less. “We won’t leave you, Sky.”
“You have to. Don’t you see? If even one of us gets away, she can live her life for the rest of us. Promise me. All of you.” They nodded as Skylar gunned the engines once again and headed straight for the beach.
* * *
The Zodiac hit the beach at full speed, creating a furrow of one hundred yards before its engine gave out. The women jumped out, shifted into their wolf forms, and ran scattering along the beach. The speedboat came in right behind them but stopped just short of running aground.
Oliver and Dylan’s men hit the beach, shifting as they did so to run down the escaping women. Each man had been given a specific target. Oliver watched as Roz shifted smoothly into her wolf self—silver with blackened tips running throughout her coat. Oliver smiled; she was as beautiful in one form as she was in the other.
He shifted as he launched himself from the boat and hit the water in full wolf form. Like Roz, his base coat was a striking silver with blackened tips and heavy black-tipped patches spread throughout. The tip of his tail was a glistening silver. He could see Roz running at top speed and took up the pursuit.
Chapter Nine
Roz ran for her life… literally… or at least the life she had carved out for herself. The last thought she had before she shifted was how dare that pack of men demand that they submit themselves to being dominated and mated against their wishes. They had done nothing to hurt anyone but live their own lives. She meant to see that Skylar’s sacrifice was not in vain. She would live her life for both of them. And if the opportunity ever came that she could free Skylar, she would do so.
As Roz shifted, her thoughts became more simplified and focused. Part of the freedom of being in wolf form was that the mind was cleared of extraneous thoughts and concentrated on basic survival skills. All she thought of now was escape.
She ran hard and fast. She thought she could hear someone or something pursuing her. She crested one of the dunes and glanced behind her. He was coming. Similarly colored to her but bigger and more powerful. There was something about him that was compelling. She accelerated away from him. She felt she was making good time as the tail end of an alpha wave hit her from behind. It caused her to stumble, but she recovered quickly.
Her heart beat in her chest; her lungs burned as she ran. Another alpha wave caught her and knocked her to the ground. Before she could recover, the large wolf who had been pursuing her was on her. She tried to scramble away but he knocked her over again, this time with a body blow and not the alpha wave.
She whirled around and bared her teeth. Her hackles were up and she growled a final warning. If she couldn’t outrun him, she intended to fight. She would fight and die if need be to be free. He answered her growl with one of his own, but his growl was far less aggressive. Roz attacked. The larger wolf moved so that her attack was thwarted. She snapped her jaws together trying for his jugular. He had been too quick and all she got was air.
Oliver realized Roz was fully prepared to kill him. He growled and pounced on her, knocking the wind out of her as she hit the ground hard. He quickly moved over her and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Any doubt he’d had about Roz not being his mate was cast aside. She was his and she would surrender to him.
He felt the knot form that was common to all canines when they were ready to mate. In wolf shifters, while all males formed a knot in wolf form, only alphas had the ability to knot and tie their mates in human form.
He shook her gently at first and then with more vigor when she refused to yield or to shift. Roz growled and tried to get back to her feet. Oliver shook her harder and growled in her ear. He let her regain her feet but pressed her into the ground. He stood over her with her scruff in his jaws. The urge to mate with her was strong. Most female wolf shifters would submit to being mated in wolf form and many enjoyed it as it was the only way they could experience the intimacy of being knotted and tied by their mate. He growled and shook her again.
Oliver shook his head in an attempt to reassert his humanity. He knew no one would say a word if he claimed her here on the ground, either in wolf or human form. Chasing down a female, especially one who was your fated mate, produced a powerful sense of arousal and need to dominate. He knew he could lead her back to the boat already claimed as his mate. The wolf in him wanted nothing more than to mount her and thrust into her repeatedly. The man wanted her to surrender to him. He shook her again and growled.
Roz refused to yield. Oliver shifted back to human form, keeping her pinned with his body and holding her neck in one of his powerful hands. With the other hand, he swatted her flank. “Stop it, Roz. I have you; you can’t get away.”
The fact that he knew her name permeated through her. She could feel herself drawn to do as he wanted. She fought to be free. Liza had told her that from the beginning she had struggled to resist Bash when he asserted his dominance. Roz tried to loosen Oliver’s hold and turned to try to bite him. He swatted her again. “Enough. You either shift and yield or so hel
p me, I’ll shift back and claim you right here and now.”
She tried once more to roll and get him off. She failed. Reluctantly she shifted back to human form. Surprisingly, her captor nuzzled her neck. “That’s better,” he said with relief. He moved most of his weight off of her body. She whipped over onto her back and brought her foot up into his body in a vicious kick. She was gratified to see him knocked backward and onto his ass.
Before she could make the most of her momentary freedom, he had her again. Pressing her into the ground, he landed several hard blows to her bare bottom. Roz was shocked at the heat and then pain that spread across her buttocks. She felt each swat individually, but they quickly had a cumulative effect where the sum was greater than the separate strikes. “I said enough. You are mine, mate. I’d prefer not to claim you in wolf form or here on the beach, but if that’s what you want, you just keep fighting.”
Realizing she was out-matched, Roz tried to reach back to rub her backside. Not only did it hurt, but it felt like it was on fire. He swatted her hands away. “No. You don’t get to rub your bottom when I’ve spanked you. If you get any relief, it will be my hands that give it to you. Will you submit?”
“Never. I will never submit to you or whatever bastard they try to pair me with.”
“That bastard will be me. I’ve already spoken with Dylan. Do you know who I am?”
He allowed her to roll over on her back. She watched him run his gaze over her body. It was as palpable as if it had been his hands. He smiled slowly as her watched her nipples become erect.
Roz had realized that as her human thought patterns and feelings had kicked in, it wasn’t fear at the forefront of those thoughts. It was arousal. Her captor was very good-looking. Strong and well-muscled. He had dark hair and dark eyes. Those eyes now held sympathy, humor, and lust. She had no doubt that if she tried to get away from again, he would make good on his threat to claim her, either in wolf or human form.
“Other than some guy who gets his jollies from forcing a woman into a pairing not of her choosing, I wouldn’t have a clue.”
As he had looked her over, she did the same to him. She had heard the stories about alpha males and the knot that would form on their cocks especially in the presence of their mates. She was quite certain that the thing would never fit. Roz knew that their omega, Lacey, had been subjected to being knotted repeatedly and it had caused her great pain and injury. One of the other women at Bae Diogel, Darby, had also been mated and knotted and had nothing good to say about the experience.
He leaned down and kissed her gently. “I’m Oliver Halsey, your mate and alpha.”
She looked up at him, “Oliver? Alpha of the Hamptons?”
He nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. Your sister’s alpha. You’ve led me on a long and merry chase.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“I’ve been trying to bring you home for quite some time. Had you still been with us when I got back from Europe after you’d been turned, you never would have left. Bash has felt bad about letting you leave. Of course, had I told him I wanted you there when I returned, this all could have been avoided.”
“Liza never said anything.”
“Liza never knew. I would never put one of my pack in the position of having to choose between her mate and pack and her naughty big sister.”
“I don’t want to be with you or with anyone. I like being on my own.”
“No, you don’t. You drifted until you found your way to Bae Diogel. You’ve been there ever since. True lone wolves aren’t suited by nature to be betas. By all accounts you are an excellent beta. But it’s time for you to come home. Our pack can’t wait to have you back. Greg is with me, by the way.”
“Why?”
“You are my mate. I’ve known since I first saw your picture. Had business in Europe not kept me longer than I had anticipated, I would have claimed you back then.” He stood, holding out his hand to help her up. When she didn’t immediately take his hand, he said, “I meant what I said; try to bolt again and I will claim you here and now.”
“No,” she whispered. Roz had never been with a male wolf. All of her sexual experiences were with humans. She was aroused by his presence but Oliver’s cock and the knot that had formed was intimidating.
“Come, Rozalyn, we need to get back to the others.”
“Don’t call me that. I hate it.”
“You are my Rozalyn. Now give me your hand. Dylan said he’d have clothes laid out for everyone. We can get dressed and head back to the boat.”
“I’m not going with you.”
“Rozalyn, you will either take my hand and get up, or I will pick you up, walk over to that log, and finish spanking you before we get dressed and go back to the boat.” He held his hand out to her and beckoned her to take it with his fingers.
She took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. He pulled her into his arms, running his hands down her back and cupping her bottom. He nuzzled her and kissed her mouth. The kiss was filled with restrained passion. “Come. I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”
They walked back toward the boat, stopping long enough to put on the clothes that had been laid out for them. She noticed that while shoes had been provided for Oliver, there were none for her.
* * *
As they joined the others, Roz could see Skylar had the man she had identified as Dylan Grainger at knifepoint. Skylar called to her, “How many, Roz?”
“All of us, Sky. They have us all,” Roz answered. She wanted to rush forward and defend her alpha, but Oliver’s iron grip on her arm prevented her.
Roz watched as Skylar made a deal with Dylan to surrender herself in exchange for the rest of the women from Bae Diogel being spared the spanking he had promised if they didn’t heave to when he’d demanded it.
Skylar took the knife and threw it, landing it precisely between Dylan’s spread feet. Dylan directed the rest of the men to help the women onto the boat. Roz struggled with Oliver.
“Enough, Roz.”
“I won’t let him beat her. If he needs to punish someone, he can punish me.”
“No man save me will ever put his hands on you again,” growled Oliver. “She is his mate and he will deal with her as he sees fit. The best way to show your respect for Skylar is to honor the deal she made for all of you.”
Dylan was insisting that Skylar come to him. “You come here to me and take my hand or your second there will get spanked as well.”
“You promised…” said Skylar.
“I promised if you submitted; so far all you’ve done is thrown a knife at me.”
“She should have put it in your heart,” called Roz.
Dylan laughed. “Careful, Oliver. I think your beta has some alpha tendencies you may want to get a handle on from the get-go.”
“That’s all right, Dylan. I’ve been waiting for a spirited mate. And given the waves she’s giving off, I’ve found her.”
Oliver forced her onto the boat. The men tried to make the women as comfortable as possible, wrapping warm blankets around them. The women were silent as they heard their alpha being punished by the man who had engineered their downfall. Skylar never screamed or called out. All the women could hear was the sharp staccato of Dylan’s hand rhythmically spanking their alpha. Many of the other women began to silently cry. Roz bit her lip to keep from doing so and growled at Oliver when he tried to comfort her.
“Careful, Roz, Dylan may have made a deal with Skylar to spare your backside for the trip home, but you growl at me again and I’ll ensure your ladies hear your bottom getting the same treatment.”
“I hate you.”
“You don’t know me well enough to hate me. You are my fated mate. I’ve known from the beginning. I daresay part of your unwillingness to stay when you were turned was some part of you knew I would be coming for you.”
“Do you really believe that load of crap or are you just saying it to justify your actions?”
&nbs
p; Oliver chuckled. He would have laughed out loud at his mate but knew it would have further distressed not only her but the women she had called pack. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I really believe what I’m saying. The worst part, I think, for you, is that you know it’s true.”
Roz whipped her head around. “It’s not. I am not your mate. I am not anyone’s mate nor is anyone mine.”
“Even if you won’t be honest with me, be honest with yourself. And there will come a time, my Rozalyn, that you will admit as much to me.”
“Don’t hold your breath. I got away from your Hamptons compound once, I’ll do it again.”
Oliver shook his head. “The last time, no one was trying to prevent it. That will not be the case in the future until you have admitted that we are fated mates and given up this silly notion of being parted from me.”
Finally, Dylan’s spanking of Skylar had stopped and he brought her on board. When she tried to join the other women, Dylan prevented it and brought her to stand with him at the helm.
Oliver tried to engage Roz in a conversation about her sister. Roz was focused on watching Dylan and Skylar. Finally, Oliver leaned down and kissed the top of her head again. “She’ll be fine. They’ll get things settled between them and she’ll be happier than when she was running Bae Diogel.”
“You don’t know anything about Bae Diogel. And I thought you bastards thought spanking a woman was the way to settle things.”
“No, that’s the way to correct or punish misbehavior and encourage obedience. Most men find that the best way to settle things with one’s mate is to spend time between her legs seeing just how much pleasure he can bring her. Alphas are also able to form a knot and use it to tie their mate to them in an intimate embrace.”