Bad Puppy

My butt lands hard on the metal chair, with Haut's hand still warm on the back of my neck.

Haut had left Deputy Arden, the sneaky snake, to deal with Levi before marching me into the sheriff's office and straight into a familiar interrogation room. The last time I was here, I'd just arrived in town and been arrested for daring to visit my grandma's house, and this time feels no more justified.

I squirm on the cold seat and try to look up at Haut, only for his hold to tighten.

"If you think you're going to get better results here than you did before, you have another think coming," I tell the table.

"Thing," he corrects.

"What?" I attempt to bite his fingers and fail.

"You have another thing coming," he says.

"No, it's think. You have another think coming." I push my feet against the floor but can't budge an inch. "Your way makes no sense."

"You make no sense." He shakes me none too gently, his anger simmering in the air. "Hotwire Deputy Arden's SUV and leave town without a word? That was your grand plan?"

"Those with super hearing should really work on their eavesdropping issues." I reach back to smack at him. "What were you even doing there, stalker?"

"You were literally at the sheriff's office where I work." Slapping my pinching hand away, he leans down to growl, "Do you think Deputy Arden is so bad at his job that he wouldn't call me when he spotted my mate wandering into a secluded area with a stranger?"

"You are such a caveman!" I stab a finger toward his face, and he jerks backward. "We should talk about your boundary issues. Even mates need space."

"No, they don't, and I'm not letting you turn this around on me." He releases me and stomps to the door. "You're on timeout. Think about your actions while we wait for the others."

"Hey, you can't lock me in here!" I bolt out of my seat and race for the door.

It slams in my face just as I reach it.

My fist pounds against the hard surface. "You think you can threaten me? No more belly rubs for you! Ever!"

When no response comes, I kick the door with all my strength, then howl and hop on one foot as pain blazes up from my toes. "I'm going to turn you into a goose, Haut! The goosening will return, and then I'll pluck out all your tail feathers and use them to stuff my pillows! You will be so not-hot waddling around with your pink goose butt sticking out!"

Wait.I drop my foot back to the ground and pull the wand from its sheath on my forearm. Ah hah! No one can cage the Great and Powerful Rowe Branning Wendall Rothnoodle-Head!

With a grand flourish, I rap the lightning-glass tip against the locked door. "Abracadabra!"

Nothing happens, of course, because contrary to the big bad wolf huffing and puffing in the other room, this is not fairy tale magic.

"Okay, let's try that again." Taking off one shoe, I rub my wool sock up and down my legging as fast as I can until I feel the fine hairs on my head lift.

Eyes narrowing on the lock in the center of the knob, I send that buzzing feeling down my arm and through my wand.

Lightning leaps from the tip, and with a deafening bang, the door flies off its hinges, slamming into the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

Mouth dropping open, I stand frozen in complete shock.

Haut reappears in the doorway, looking from me to his broken interrogation room. "What the hell, Rowe?"

"I don't…" Shaking off my surprise, I brandish my wand at him. "Fear me!"

"I already fear you!" he roars, loud enough to make the room tremble. "You're a loose cannon with more power than you know what to do with! Which is exactly why you shouldn't be running out of town half-trained!"

I tuck my sock covered foot behind my calf. "It was only supposed to break the lock."

His gaze drops to my feet. "Where's your other shoe?"

"It was in the way of…" I mumble the rest.

"What was that?" Head turning to the side, he cups his hand around one ear. "I couldn't hear that."

"Yes you can, you annoying man!" I shake my fist at him, wand dancing in the air. "We are totally at a Monday right now."

"We're negative Mondays!" He stomps into the room and snatches the wand from my hand, then waves it under my nose. "We are in Mondays from last July!"

I jut out my chin. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

I don't know who moves first, but one second we're yelling in each other's faces, and the next second, I'm flat on my back on the interrogation table with Haut's mouth on mine and my legs around his muscular waist.

His hard length ruts against my center, sending heat spiraling through me. A rough hand tangles in my hair, tipping my head to the side to deepen the kiss, and a moan of desire escapes me.

This is so much better than the first time I was interrogated. Back then, we made it at least twenty minutes before we started tearing at each other's clothes.

"Please don't say you called us down here to watch you guys go at it. We get enough of that at the house," Tris drawls from the doorway.

I pull my stinging lips from Haut's kisses. "Shut up, we're fighting right now!"

"Is it about the door?" Footsteps come into the room, and Ambros peers over Haut's broad shoulder. "Because with a few new hinges and some liquid wood, I think we can fix that."

"No, it's because Haut imprisoned me in the interrogation room." My nails rake down his back. "And then he said he disliked me as much as July."

"You guys have such a weird rating system," Tris says. "What does that even mean?"

"That we're in the negatives on how we feel about each other." Haut lifts his head to glare down at me. "And I only locked you in here because you were attempting to sneak out of town with that outsider."

"His name is Levi, and I was only going to sneak off because—" Suddenly remembering what started all this, I smack Haut in the face. "How dare you plan to dump a baby-making spell on me at the last minute. Were you also planning to hunt me through the woods and breed me like a broodmare?"

"If I planned to hunt you, it would be because you're my sacred mate." Cheek turning red from my slap, he catches my wrists and pins them to the table. "And you're so easy to catch you wouldn't even make it off the porch."

My eyes narrow, and I rub my sock covered foot against his ass. "Oh, yeah?"

He leans down, his nose almost touching mine. "Yeah."

Wrestling my wrist free from his hold, I snatch my wand off the table where Haut dropped it and smack him on the head. "Bajinga!"

Lightning jumps, and he flies off me, only Ambros's fast reflexes saving Haut from hitting the wall.

Ambros sets him down, and Haut whips back toward me with a growl, but I can't take him seriously with his hair sticking up in every direction.

"Ha!" I wiggle my toes at him. "Fear the sock lightning!"

He smooths down his chestnut waves. "Is that a trick Aspen taught you?"

"No, that's something I taught her." Owen appears in the doorway next to Tris. "If you're done flirting, I'd like to know what's going on."

Ambros nods. "As would I."

I tuck my wand back into its sheath and pull my sleeve down to cover it. "Like I said, the whole secret plan to use Rowe to make magic babies has been revealed. Since I didn't agree to that, I will be skipping the orgy festival to help out the werewolves in Silver Hollow."

"You absolutely did not say that." Tris glances between Haut and Owen. "There was a pregnancy secret? And you didn't tell the rest of us?"

"Rowe's not even fertile right now." Ros's nostrils flare, and he reveals a hint of fang. "She's only just finished her period."

Blood rushes to my face. "Oh my god. No. We do not talk about this."

He rolls his beautiful blue-green eyes at me. "I keep your feminine hygiene products stocked in the bathroom because you never remember when you'll start, despite the app I downloaded on your phone."

"Stop!" I cover my ears. "Never say those words again!"

"What?" His brows arch. "Feminine hygiene? It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"All part of the cycle of life." Tris walks over and plucks the sock from my foot, leaving my toes cold. "Also, you can't get pregnant with your IUD."

I drop my hands back to my lap. "They're planning some kind of super, wolf-sperm thing."

"Even if they are, which I doubt, it won't work." He slips my sock over his hand and rubs it against my thigh. "That's not how wolf sperm works."

Eyes wide with trust, I stare up at my BFF. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He touches my nose, zapping me with a tiny lightning bolt and making me jump. "There's nothing super about what's in their balls. Dr. Shultz even confirmed it when I asked."

Still uncertain, I peer over his shoulder at Owen, who nods, but Haut stays suspiciously quiet.

"Nope." I make an X-mark over my nether regions with my arms. "Rowe is closed for business."

Haut snorts. "Like that will last."

"It will because I'm going to Silver Hollow." I take my sock back from Tris and put it on. "I'm serious about this."

"The hell you?—"

Owen's hand on Haut's arm stops him, and soft blue eyes meet mine. "Why do you want to go?"

"They need help with their barrier." My shoulders square. "It's failing like Hartford Cove's was. If it falls, all supernaturals will be at risk."

Haut scoffs. "Then let them find their own witch."

"Time is too limited for that. Levi came here as a last resort." I slide off the table and walk to him. "This is the right thing to do, and you know it. I'll be back by the end of the festival."

The muscle in his jaw clenches before he finally sighs. "Fine, but I'm going with you."

I shake my head. "With how many strangers there are in town?—"

"You're not leaving Hartford Cove again without me." A feral light enters his eyes, and his breaths quicken. "That is not negotiable."

Worried he'll slip too far into his wolf again, I press a hand over his racing heart. "It will be okay. I'm not running away this time."

"If you're going on this adventure, I'd be more comfortable if Haut was by your side," Owen adds. "I want to go myself, but my position as Alpha is already tenuous."

"All the more reason for Haut to stay to back you up!" I look to Tris. "Tell them."

He shakes his head. "Owen's a big bad Alpha, more than capable of handling himself."

"And I'll be here to watch his back." Ambros touches my hand. "I can't leave the vampires here without a leader. Not with so many new wolves around."

"Fine, Haut can come with me to Silver Hollow." We need his car anyway.

"And me." Tris slings an arm around my shoulders. "Where you go, I go."

"Well, duh." I lean into his side. "But will Dr. Shultz be okay if you're not here?"

Tris has been taking on more and more responsibilities at the vet/clinic, and with how packed the town is, that just means there's more potential for injuries.

"She has her husband for back up, and a few of the new wolves are trained in medicine." He squeezes me close. "They're thinking of staying, so this will be a good trial by fire for them."

"Great." I clap my hands to settle the matter. "Now, we just need to tell Levi. Where is he?"

"Cooling his heels in lockup." Haut glares at the floor beneath our feet. "Where he can stay until morning."

"What?" Aghast, I smack his arm. "You put him in jail?"

"He was planning to run away with my mate." His moss-green eyes meet mine. "It's the least I could have done to him."

My hands move to my hips. "Let him out this instant!"

"No." Delight fills his eyes at the refusal, making me want to slap the smug expression off his chiseled face.

"He ran here from Silver Hollow, right?" Owen waits for my nod. "The cell has a decent bed, and Deputy Arden will bring him food. It will save him some money tonight."

While I don't like it, it's not worth arguing.

"Now for your punishment." Haut bends and catches me by the thighs, tossing me over his shoulder. His hand lands with a crack on my ass, making me yelp. "Bad puppy."

Growling, I sink my teeth into his side, earning myself another spank.

"Oh, lemme in on this." Tris double slaps my ass, then jumps back with a laugh when I kick at him. "You're supposed to hold her legs down!"

I howl with laughter. "Stop! I'm sorry! I wasn't really going to leave without saying anything!"

Haut palms my stinging ass cheek. "You weren't going to steal Deputy Arden's SUV?"

"Well…" The sting of a slap comes again, and I yowl. "Just for revenge! Revenge!"

"Oh, no, Ros looks jealous." Tris paddles my butt. "You want in on this, too, don't you, Mr. Fangs?"

"I'm fine watching," he says, his voice rough. "That much blood near the surface of her skin is tempting, though."

"Okay, stop playing." Owen walks over to lift me down. "We have a lot to do if Rowe is leaving in the morning."

My brows pinch together. "We do?"

"We do." He kneels and holds out my abandoned shoe. "You have to pack and then speak to your magic teachers if you're going to be skipping class."

With a hand on his shoulder for balance, I slip my shoe back on. "Can't you just write me a letter of excuse?"

He tightens my laces. "Nope."

Haut gives me an evil smile. "After that, you need to tell Jesse that you won't be there to judge the pie eating contest."

"What? No!" I thrust out my wrists. "Lock me up, instead!"

Tris grips my shoulders. "If you're lucky, he'll only insist you taste test five more pies before we leave!"

My stomach gurgles in protest, and I try to crawl back up Haut's body. "I can't do it. Just spank me again instead."

If I eat any more pie, instead of throwing out lightning, I'll be throwing up apples and spice.