Page 104 of The Pack

Embarrassed, I shifted my legs, the slickness causing them to easily slide against each other. My cheeks flamed hotter as I watched him step to the side and pick up a long thin branch. My anxious nerves spiraled tighter as I watched him use his blade to trim the branch free of knots and twigs until it was smooth.

I gulped as he turned the branch over in his hand, examining it. It was long and straight, and about as thick around as one of his fingers.

The sight of it made me nervous.

“You’ve earned yourself a switching, little mate,” he murmured, and I stiffened, my eyes widening as he rounded the tree I was tied to and stopped, behind me now. I looked over my shoulder, unable to tear my eyes away as he swished the branch through the air.

The harsh swishing sound was startling enough to make me yelp. He did it once more and I tried not to jump this time, biting back another cry.

“You don’t have to do this,” I tried one last time, but even I knew it was futile when he pressed the branch to the middle of my bare ass cheeks, taking aim before he swung it backwards and I held my breath, tensing.

All I heard was the terribleswishbefore it connected with my naked backside.

A line of sheer fire exploded across my bare butt and a strangled cry of surprise escaped my lips before I could stop it.

“Aiiyyy!” I screeched.

My whole world spun, the pain radiating through me and making my legs shake. I gasped, feeling the welt rising on my skin, burning hotter as it sank into my awareness. My back arched and I rose up on my tiptoes, trying to take the harsh bite of the switch and survive it.

Anotherswish.Another strike.

The second strike seemed even worse, burning into my bare flesh and I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep quiet.

The thin tree branch bit into my bottom several more times before I couldn’t hold back anymore, and another keening cry escaped me. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palmsas the stinging heat radiated across my backside. My breaths came in short, uneven bursts, and I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.

“This bare beautiful ass is so pretty when it’s welted from my switch,” Tobias purred.

The words sent a fresh wave of heat through me—not just the shame of being bare and vulnerable in front of them, but something deeper, more primal.

Anotherswish. Another crack of the switch.

“Ah!” I gasped, my body jerking forward, the ropes binding my wrists above my head straining against my movements.

“You scared us,” Tobias said, his tone firmer now. “We could have lost you.”

My breath hitched, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. “I didn’t mean to?—”

“But you did,” he interrupted, his dark gaze narrowing. “You left. Alone. Intothis.” He gestured vaguely toward the surrounding nuclear zone. “You didn’t just risk yourself, Zara. You riskedus.”

The switch came down again, its sting biting deep into my already welted skin.

“Tobias,” I gasped, my voice trembling. “Please…”

All I could hear was the terrible whistle of the switch slicing through the air before it connected with my bare skin once again. The thin, flexible branch bit into my backside, the stinging heat exploding across my flesh. Each time the switch struck my bare flesh, I felt like I’d been branded, the pain radiating through me like a line of blazing hot fire.

Tobias didn’t slow, his strikes relentless.

I whimpered, tears welling in my eyes. I clenched my jaw, trying to keep quiet, trying to hold the tears back.

Swish. Crack.

Swish. Crack.

Over and over.

My skin burned, the myriad welts rising on my skin. I clenched my fists, the ropes burning my skin, but soon enough, I couldn’t stop my body from shaking and my tears from streaming down my cheeks.

Soon enough, I was sobbing, the switch was still falling, my thighs were soaking wet with my arousal, and I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

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