Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 40

Ever gave a hard nod to Alpha Cyril and stepped back. My father’s deep baritone voice was easily heard as he spoke to Sydney, “Your sentence is fifteen. Count each one out loud. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” she whimpered.

Fifteen wasn’t bad. It shouldn’t take too long. I was more than ready to move along to the next step.

My father didn’t waste any time. His hand came up, and the paddle came down, the slap against her bare skin resounding loudly in the air. Sydney flinched hard but made no sound other than to gasp, “One!”

As the punishment continued, and swat after swat rained down, Sydney was no longer able to contain her cries of pain. Her chest heaved as she panted hard. The wolves all watched on eagerly, twittering among themselves, pleased with the spectacle. I was a little surprised at their vocalness. They were usually reserved during public punishment, and I wondered what their conversation amongst themselves consisted of. It was hard to hear over the constant slapping of the paddle against Sydney’s a*s.

Spank!

“Thirteen!” Sydney sobbed, her butt cheeks jiggling from the impact. Hycinth held her head erect and watched in perfect silence, her hard gaze never leaving Sydney. Just as she handled my punishment of Dagger, Hycinth stood perfectly poised during Sydney’s sentence. I wished I could ask her what she was thinking.

Spank!

“Fourteen!” Sydney cried. out again, entire body shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Just one more.

Spank!

“Fifteen!” the word was wailed from Sydney’s throat as she gasped for air, unable to catch her breath. Her butt cheeks were bruised and flaming red. Nope, my father hadn’t held back. She wouldn’t be sitting down for several days even with her advanced healing.

When he finished, Cryil placed her on her feet, facing the crowd. Sydney stood unsteadily, like a newborn foal, her legs trembling beneath her. Ever stepped forward and looked out over the crowd. It seemed he knew what their conversation consisted of because he hesitated and then asked in a loud voice, “I promised satisfaction-have I given it?”

There was more twittering in the crowd, various hissed conversations and then a loud, “No!” came from a male.

Abruptly, Asher stepped out of the crowd and walked forward. With no further conversation, my father handed him the paddle and Asher planted himself on the bench, growling for Sydney to submit to him.

“Oh shit,” Hycinth muttered under her breath, unable to suppress her surprise.

Sydney’s eyes were wide as she pleaded in a whisper, “Please…no.”

Asher’s expression didn’t change, other than to glare angrily at Sydney’s delay.

Sydney must have understood it would be worse for her without absolute obedience, so she quickly placed herself on his lap, wincing as she lay down.

I guess he must’ve gotten over his aversion to touching her. And if Willow’s fierce expression was any indication, Asher had her full support.

“Start counting at sixteen,”

Asher ordered harshly. And then it began again.

I just shook my head. It was crystal clear Sydney hadn’t quite thought out the repercussions of her actions toward Hycinth. To an extent, I wasn’t surprised the mated pairs had reacted with this severity, and I wouldn’t stop them for as long as they wanted to keep going. I had agreed to let them decide, and I wasn’t going back on my word.

Hycinth hung in there, never turning away, her head positioned as a Luna’s should be alert and watchful, not missing a thing. But I felt her stress the longer Sydney’s punishment continued. Her posture became stiffer, heartbeat elevating. I was reasonably sure she would have been satisfied at ten. I squeezed her a little tighter. For just a second, lake blue orbs flickered up to mine, wordlessly communicating what I already knew her anxiety. I did my best to offer her reassurance through my own eyes. She relaxed a little.

Asher stood up after five, only to be replaced by two more wolves, who administered five more each, for a total of thirty altogether between all four wolves that had decided to participate. No, it hadn’t been an easy punishment by any means. When it was over, two of Sydney’s elite shewolves assisted her. One wrapped a robe around her, and they both helped her hobble back to her room in the pack house.

Hycinth and I waited, still in position, while the wolves took a few minutes to transition into the Announcement Ceremony, changing places and readjusting the seating. I looked down at Hycinth to replace her deep in thought. “Are you okay?”

She glanced up and whispered, “Do you have another jar of that crème?”

I stared down at her in surprise and then nodded. “I can get one, yes.”

“Good,” she mumbled, looking away, her gaze unfocused, concentrating on whatever plan was rolling around in her mind. I was intensely curious but suspected I could pretty much guess. Even though Sydney purposely tried to harm her, my little mouse planned on ensuring the shewolf got back on the right track, starting with her severely spanked backside. Once again, it was quintessential Luna behavior- to bring the she-wolves back into accord. Hycinth understood punishment had been necessary, but she also hadn’t written off Sydney’s future value to the Pack.

When everyone settled, all eyes turned on us. Hycinth stiffened once again in my arms, but I wasn’t about to let her go. I took a moment to look at all of the familiar faces in front of me. These wolves were my family. I would fight for and avenge and die for anyone of them.

My attention turned to the stunning shewolf standing by my side. I swallowed down the sudden rock in my throat. I wanted so desperately for all of this to be real. I didn’t want an end date. But I pushed those painful thoughts away. I had four more weeks to convince her to stay. I couldn’t control the future, but I could control this moment in time…and I would give her an Announcement Ceremony that meant something to me…even if it meant nothing to her.

I smoothed one of the bright red strands of her hair behind her ear and held her gaze as I began, “I am a lucky Wolf…that a female so vibrant and bright and smart…a*s,” I couldn’t help adding the last word. There were snickers from the crowd.

Hycinth rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. She knew I spoke the truth. She had quite a mouth on her, which I loved. I continued, “as you, has agreed to not only let me Mark you…but also to Claim you.”

Hycinth’s heart raced in her chest. Her eyes were wide and bright, swirling with nervousness. My hand rested on her shoulder, gently stroking her neck with my fingers.

“Tonight represents a new beginning a new future, full of hope and life for the Pack.” Even as I said the words, my heart ached because I knew it wasn’t a new beginning for me it was the start of the end, a countdown to when she would leave me.

My Wolf howled his pain inside my head, and for a moment, I couldn’t speak. Hycinth’s expression changed as she held my piercing gaze, and I wondered what my eyes had revealed. I wondered how much she saw of the real me, and not just the man of her nightmares.

I inhaled deeply, and once again, I shoved those thoughts out of my head. I would never get through this if I didn’t stop thinking in that vein. Instead, I focused on the one thing that mattered most. I cupped Hycinth’s face with my hands, feeling the electricity in the tingles of the bond flowing through both of us. She felt it too. Trembling.

The world around us disappeared. At that moment, it was only her and I. My voice lowered an octave, “I promise to always be there for you…to always cherish you…with everything I have.”

Hycinth’s expression turned stricken, not expecting my words of adoration. Tears clouded her eyes.

But I spoke the truth-I meant every damn syllable. Regardless of whether or not she walked away from me in the end, those words would never change. I whispered gruffly, “Will you let me Mark you…and in four weeks, will you let me Claim you?”

A single tear slipped past the border defenses of her eyelashes. I gently wiped it away with the pad of my thumb. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She swallowed thickly, and then nodded, rasping, “Yes.”

Instantly, every cell in my body heightened on high alert, twitching, kinetic energy bouncing through my bloodstream. My Wolf had been waiting in my eyes. He was ready. He had been ready. My canines descended, they ached and throbbed, unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

I stared transfixed, gently caressing the vein in her neck, letting my fingers trail down her silky smooth skin to the spot right where her necked ended, and her shoulder began. She inhaled sharply, her chest heaving. Lake blue darkened into swirling lapis with bright reflections of the Moon-both she and her Wolf staring back at us.

I brought my head down slowly until my lips hovered right over to where I would place my Mark. I kissed her softly, just a whisper, and let my tongue come out to taste her delectable flesh. She shuddered, and the f*****g addictive scent of her arousal filled the air around us, further intoxicating my senses. Her trembling increased. As I hesitated, she whimpered, “Leander…please.”

I could wait no longer and sunk my teeth deep into her neck.

F**k, it was like my own personal heaven.

Hycinth cried out and pressed her body close to me, clutching my back and shoulders with her claws.

I felt a door open between us. No longer were we separated-now I could feel her, a flurry of emotions and thoughts. I savored the connection of her, leaving my canines embedded deep, sipping on the very essence of who she was. She was also in no hurry to pull away. Instead, I found she was rubbing herself against me, her hardened nipples braising against my chest.

And I was rock hard. Outrageously f*****g hard. Like I might burst into my pants at any moment…no more control than a pubescent juvenile Wolf. Shit! Thankfully I was wearing jeans. There was not as much give in the fabric, which meant my e******n was still obvious, but not a complete tent in my pants. Still, it was damn near uncomfortable.

My hands found their way down to her a*s, and I rocked my h**s into her. She gasped. After a long moment of savoring everything she had to give, I gently eased my teeth from her throat and licked the wound as it closed.

When I pulled back, Hycinth was staring at my lips with unabashed longing in her eyes. For the moment, she wasn’t fighting it. She wasn’t fighting me. She was just as lost in the bond as I was. But I held back. Our first k**s would not be in front of the entire Pack. Because I was quite certain, I wasn’t going to be able to stop at just a k**s. And while I didn’t mind the thought of lifting her onto my c**k right that moment and f*****g her silly in front of everyone, I highly doubted my little mouse would be equally keen on the idea.

“Not yet, little mouse,” I whispered my words from earlier.

Before she could respond, the Wolves erupted around us- a blissful harmony of howls of joy and anticipation and hope.