Page 34 of Wolf Tamer

I’mhisto punish.

A very public punishment indeed.

He draws us both to a halt in front of the stone hearth and gives me a light shake. There, with too many sets of eager eyes turned in my direction, he takes hold of my shirt with his free hand and tears it off in a single movement.

Oh,crap!

My breath quickens. He hadn’t said anything about me needing to be naked for this!

Horrified, I slap my hands over my bare chest. I know wolves don’t care as much for nudity as humans or other supernaturals do but shit, I wasn’t expecting this.

As much as I want to, I can’t demand him to stop. I can’t fight back. I’m stuck.

Once he’s sure he has the attention of his people, Reid takes hold of the pants I donned and yanks them hard enough to tear the fabric into two pieces.

“This,” he begins, shooting a pointed look around at his people. “This is our sacrifice. The witch. This is the sacrifice who has gotten away from us using trickery and guile. And I’ve brought her back. I’m sure you’re all familiar with her face.”

He takes me by the chin to force my attention to his people. His forefinger and thumb dig into my skin, but I’m still wincing from the slight sting on the back of my legs where the fabric burned me.Asshole. I know this is going to hurt, but I also haven’t started the spell yet so he has to be fucking careful before the actual show begins.

Well, I guess he doesn’thaveto be, but I’d sure appreciate it.

Especially after I’d had his dick in my mouth. It’s common courtesy at this point, isn’t it?

Releasing me with a quick exhale, Reid stalks around me in a slow circle, his nostrils flaring and his hackles raised. When I look at him now, I see less of a man and more of an animal. The animal who claimed me as his property despite his willingness to work with me to discover the mole in his people. He found the mole. Now he has to deal with me.

He has to do this.

But even that truth isn’t helping me feel any better.

His wolf is close to the surface, and I know that should I focus on any face in the crowd, I will see the exact same thing—an animal. The natural born enemy of witches like me, and despite my best efforts, a sliver of fear worms its way into my heart.

This might not be as easy as I first thought.

“I’ve found her,” Reid continues darkly. “And I’ve brought her back to us. Now she needs to be shown that in the Redcliff Pack, my word is the law.Iam the law.”

A low murmur of agreement rises up from his people, and Bullet looks positively starving. He meets my eyes, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. The movement is so eerily similar to the vision from my imagination that I gulp.

And then he has the gall to wink at me.

I stand up a little straighter to spite him, lifting a single eyebrow as if to say I assessed him, too, and I see nothing but a pile of shit. Even naked, I’m determined not to let him get the best of me.

“This witch has to pay for what she’s done to us, what she sought to deprive from us. The magic that is our right and our due, according to the agreement we made with the Buson Coven.” Reid stops, raking his eyes over me. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

I’m honestly surprised that none of them have noticed my clenched fist. I’ve got the lavender and salt hidden there, the smallest pinch. I shouldn’t need more. If this works… it will be a much-needed validation that I’m not completely useless.

That my invisibility might only work part of the time, and not always when I need it, but I’m still a witch. I’ve got more magic than I thought.

Mae is wrong.

Bullet is wrong.

And Reid…

I spare a glance at him and hardly recognize him through the lascivious look on his face. This isn’t the man with the unexpected sweetness that surprises me. This is a beast who—

Shivering, I stop moving altogether.

This is a horrible mirage. One eerily similar to what I’ve always heard about his father.

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