Taking His Mate Read online

  Table of Contents

  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

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Additional Books in the Wayward Mates Series

  More Stormy Night Books by Delta James

  Delta James Links

  Taking His Mate

  By

  Delta James

  Copyright © 2018 by Stormy Night Publications and Delta James

  Copyright © 2018 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

  Taking His Mate

  Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

  Images by The Killion Group and Dreamstime/Ruckzack

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.

  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.

  Chapter One

  The Coast of Wales, 1170

  Rhiryd and his older brother Madoc had made their plans to set sail away from their home. The plan was to take one hundred of their kind—wolf/human shifters—with them. Their mother had been a shifter and the acknowledged mistress of King Owen Gwynedd. She had borne the king two strong and healthy sons. Owen had openly acknowledged that they were not human, that he was their sire and had legitimized them. He had used his relationship with their mother to bring his kingdom together so that human and shifter lived side by side in harmony. As long as Owen ruled, the peace between the two held.

  But now, King Owen was dead. His sons by his wives were none too pleased about the prospect of fighting with his two favored shifter sons. They were stronger and better fighters. They were also concerned that the prejudice against their kind might well be visited upon them. The brothers had recognized that the death of their father had caused a serious and violent rift in the once close family. At stake for the legitimate sons was the throne itself.

  Rhiryd’s original plan had been to sail with the woman to whom he was betrothed, Cristen, at his side. She was willful and headstrong and had not wanted to leave her home. She had begged her father to negate the betrothal when it became apparent that Rhiryd would not be persuaded to stay. Cristen’s father had always indulged his only daughter and after numerous tantrums on her part had informed Rhiryd that unless he was prepared to stay in Wales that the betrothal would be vacated and he would lose Cristen.

  The two brothers sat drinking in the cabin on the ship that Rhiryd would captain. They were set to depart with the morning tide.

  “I had expected you to be more distressed at the thought of leaving Cristen behind. Has one amongst our own kind finally caught your eye?” asked Madoc.

  “Nay, brother. I am not upset as I will not be leaving Cristen.”

  “So, you’re going to stay?” Madoc found it hard to believe what he was hearing.

  Rhiryd grinned. “I didn’t say that. Cristen is spoiled and overly indulged by her father. She has been pledged to me since we were children. I will not give her up.”

  “But her father has decreed that unless you are willing to stay he will dissolve the betrothal.”

  “I care not what her father says. I have always known I would not have an easy time teaching my bride that I am not her father and will not be subject to her tantrums and whims. I plan to go fetch my reluctant mate after her father’s household has all gone to bed. Their family priest has agreed to marry us—only because I told him I would take her with or without their church’s blessing.” Rhiryd’s eyes glistened with amusement at the memory of the priest’s face when he had calmly informed him of his choice.

  He continued, “Once we are wed, I will bring Cristen here to my cabin. I’ll have my Cristen wedded and bedded before we set sail. And by the time her father rises and realizes his household is short one daughter, we will be well away with naught he can do about it.”

  Madoc laughed and clapped his younger brother on the shoulder. “I should have known you had a plan, Rhiryd. You always have a plan. Will you not mark her and make her one with us?”

  “Not until we reach our destination. I fear the change would be too hard on her at sea. That doesn’t mean, however, that I will not introduce my Cristen to the delights of the marriage bed and in particular to our form of mating.”

  He felt his cock begin to swell at the thought of Cristen’s passionate nature and the pleasures they would share.

  * * *

  Later that evening, after a peaceful silence had overtaken her father’s household, Cristen paced her room. Why couldn’t Rhiryd just have done what she wanted? Why did he have to want to leave Wales and follow his older brother across the great sea to who knows where? She shook out her red, wavy hair that had been unbound for the night. She told herself she was better off without him. He could be difficult and had warned her that she would learn to mind him or find herself put over his hard thighs with her bottom bared for spankings when she disobeyed him.

  Sometimes he seemed to forget that not only was he not a legitimate son of the king, but he wasn’t entirely human. Some said that their kind was part demon. Cristen didn’t fear the demon in Rhiryd. His kisses and caresses made her feel things the nuns and her tutors told her she shouldn’t feel. She didn’t care if ladies were not supposed to enjoy the physical side of their marriage. Rhiryd had taken the time to slowly introduce her to the pleasure that could be had from his fondling and had promised even greater delights once they were wed.

  Cristen’s nurse had often accused her of being wanton as she had come to enjoy Rhiryd’s kisses and strong hands on her body. On more than one occasion she had fussed at both of them when Rhiryd would pull Cristen onto his lap and kiss her until she was breathless. Cristen didn’t even want to consider what her nurse would say had she known all the places those strong hands had roamed. Thinking of the tingly feeling his caresses had caused in her most feminine place made Cristen blush even though she was alone.

  Cristen was startled and then overjoyed when she heard movement from the window wall and turned to find Rhiryd had climbed up the wall of her father’s home to enter her bedchamber. She flew into his arms and eagerly welcomed his kiss. Long ago he had abandoned the t
entative kisses her friends described. Instead Rhiryd kissed her in such a way that her whole body came alive at his touch. His tongue plundered her mouth and encouraged hers to do the same.

  “You came back. I knew you wouldn’t leave me. Have you told your brother you are staying? My father?”

  “Neither, my love. I am not staying. I’ve come to ask you to reconsider. Do you really wish me to sail away and spend your life apart from me? Were you not being truthful when you said you loved me and pledged your life to mine?”

  “Of course I was. I have been distraught at the thought of never seeing you again. But if you’re not staying, I don’t understand why you’re here. Do you wish to torture me?”

  “Nay, my love. I’ve come to save you from your own foolishness. That is what a man does for his mate when she is being willful and stubborn.”

  Cristen tried to pull away from him, but found those strong hands and even stronger arms held her fast.

  “What do you mean?”

  Rhiryd kissed her gently. “I will give you a choice. You can choose to honor your pledge to me and follow your heart. Choose to be a good girl and submit to my will and trust that I will do what is best for us. You can choose to obey. We will leave your father’s home, go to the rectory where the priest is waiting to marry us and then on to the ship where we will sail with the morning tide.”

  “I am not leaving Wales!” she said as she stomped her foot for emphasis. “What is my other choice? I choose it.”

  Rhiryd shook his head. “I don’t think you will when you hear it.”

  “I am sure I will. I will not leave my home.”

  “You were always going to leave your home and be with me. That my home is no longer in Wales means neither is yours. Your choice my love is not whether we sail as man and wife on the morning tide, but whether I bed you after I have had to give you the spanking you deserve for being such a naughty girl these past few weeks.”

  “You wouldn’t!” Cristen was outraged. No one had ever raised a hand to her, must less struck her. Surely Rhiryd would never do such a thing.

  He chuckled. “I will and probably fairly often at first. You, my love, are disobedient in the extreme and do not follow orders worth a damn. Your tantrum throwing, while charming and fun to watch, will not produce the same result with me that it did with your father. You will learn from tonight moving forward that my word is law and that you will obey me or face the consequences. Those consequences will most often include a spanking on your bare bottom before I mount you and plow your sweet cunny from behind to reinforce the lesson that it is I who am dominant.”

  Cristen was literally dumbstruck by his outrageous words.

  “Still wish to continue to defy me?” he said as he bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Believe me when I tell you, I am fine with either and leave it up to you.”

  “You bastard.”

  Again, Rhiryd chuckled. “That is well established and a matter of law. Now will you have your first taste of the carnal pleasures that await your first night naked in our marriage bed with or without a sore, red bottom?”

  Cristen caught him by surprise by balling her fist, punching him in the nose, and darting for the door of her bedchamber. The floor felt cold under her bare feet, but there was no time to find shoes or even slippers. Cristen ran toward the door. Surely, she could make it. It wasn’t that far. All she need do is open the door and call for help.

  Unfortunately for Cristen, Rhiryd’s reflexes were battle-honed. He grinned before going after her. He caught her before she had even made it halfway across the room. His plan would be complicated if she was actually able to call for help.

  Rhiryd had anticipated that she would not choose to go willingly so had brought several soft pieces of cloth with him. The first he used to gag her so that the only sounds she could make were muffled and would not alert anyone in the house. The other he used to bind her hands behind her back.

  Once she was bound and gagged, Rhiryd leaned down and hoisted her over his shoulder before unbarring the door and quietly striding out of her father’s house with his bride-to-be in tow. He moved quietly around the front of the house to the side where he had left two horses. He would have to lead one now as Cristen would be riding in front of him. Lifting her onto his great black stallion, he turned toward the rectory and galloped off into the night.

  Halfway between Cristen’s father’s home and the rectory, Rhiryd reined in his horse, left the road, and stopped by a large tree that had been felled earlier in the day. He helped Cristen down from his saddle and removed the gag. She took a deep breath prepared to scream, but was cut off when Rhiryd once again kissed her passionately, holding her close and fondling her backside with one large hand while the other held her in place. He continued to press his advantage until her body responded to his and she began returning his kiss with equal ardor.

  Tearing his mouth away from hers, he said, “I would prefer not to have you bound and gagged at our wedding. I will give you a second chance to make a better choice. Will you agree to behave yourself like a lady and marry me as you promised or do you continue to show your willful streak and get spanked until you convince me you will behave in front of the priest?”

  “I am not going to marry you and leave my home.”

  “Your home is with me,” said Rhiryd in a firm tone. “I am not your father, Cristen. I will not put up with your disobedience. Will you submit and be a good girl? Or is the first time I have my hands on your beautiful bare bottom going to be to spank you until you acknowledge who is master in our marriage?”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” she cried.

  Rhiryd laughed. “Oh, my beloved, there is little I wouldn’t dare to make you my bride. I have long known I would need to teach you to obey me. I had just hoped it wouldn’t be before I was able to introduce you to the more pleasurable aspects of being mine.”

  “I hate you. I don’t know why I ever thought you were good enough to marry me,” she said spitefully.

  Rhiryd gave a resigned sigh and sat down on the log, drawing his naughty bride-to-be across his leg. He held her in place with one hand, trapped her legs between his own, and began to lift the hem of her night dress.

  Cristen gasped as the cool night air reached her bare skin.

  “You cannot do this to me,” she cried.

  Rhiryd rested his hand on her now naked backside. “Truly your bottom is even more lovely than I had imagined. Are you sure you will not yield?”

  “Never!”

  Rhiryd chuckled. “I fear, my sweet, that never is not the way to respond to me to avoid a spanking.”

  Before she could make another retort, Rhiryd’s hand made a resounding impact with her exposed derriere. Cristen screeched. Rhiryd knew that the sound was more in outrage than in pain, but also knew that would change within short order.

  He paddled her bottom steadily. At first Cristen ranted and raved at the indignity of having her bottom bared and spanked. But soon embarrassment gave way to a stinging sensation across her whole hind end, which in turn gave way to pain as Rhiryd continued to spank her.

  “Rhiryd, stop, you’re hurting me. I thought you loved me.”

  “I do, my sweet, thus the reason I am beginning to teach you the consequences of misbehaving. Are you ready to be my sweet mate and say your vows like a good girl in front of the priest?”

  “I’m not a child, Rhiryd. You cannot make me do this.”

  He chuckled but stopped spanking her long enough to run his hand between her legs. She had so hoped he would never know that along with the pain that had radiated from her punished backside, that tingly feeling that always accompanied his kisses and fondling had begun in earnest. In her most private moments, Cristen had reached between her legs and found that rubbing that area increased the sensations and made her feel like there was more to be discovered. When she had asked Rhiryd, he had assured her all would be revealed when they were married.

  Rhiryd made a noise that was half laugh an
d half seductive growl. Cristen felt the sound go through her and shuddered, not from pain but from something far more primitive.

  “Nay, love, not a child. But a young woman on the verge of discovering with her husband all she can be. Do you like it when I stroke you this way?” he said, rubbing her engorged clit and feeling as well as scenting her arousal.

  “No. You mustn’t touch me that way.”

  He removed his hand from between her legs and delivered five more sharp slaps to her now painful bottom.

  “You will not lie to me, Cristen. When I ask you a question especially about what brings you pleasure you will tell me the truth. Would you prefer that I go back to touching you in your secret place or continue your spanking?”

  He gave her time to consider her options. He had no desire to break her spirit, but especially now she would need to obey him in all things and not hide from the truth of her own nature. He longed for the day they could both shift into wolf form and run through the open fields or along the coastline of the land across the sea.

  He sighed resignedly. “Very well, sweetheart, t’would seem you are even more stubborn than I thought.”

  “No, Rhiryd. Please stop.”

  “Pain or pleasure, Cristen. ‘Tis that simple.”

  “Rhiryd, please let me up. I’ll behave and do as you tell me, but I cannot take any more spanking and what I feel when you stroke me between my legs frightens me.”

  Guardedly, he allowed her up but pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I should never frighten you, my love. Those things you feel when my hands bring you pleasure should be enjoyed. In time, you will learn not only to respond fully to me, but will seek to pleasure me as well. Human males seek to control women by denying them the pleasure their bodies were made for. Those like me want only for their women to be at their best and to enjoy life to the fullest, including the pleasure to be found with their mate.”