"to heal you have to get to the root of the wound and kiss it all the way up" (Rupi Kaur)

DARREN'S POV

"Maybe I need to be punished."

I was so surprised by Kyle's request that for a moment, I thought I had heard it wrong. One look at Nate's face told me I did in fact hear him correctly, for the other man looked as taken aback as I felt. The silence stretched between us, and I knew I had to break it, before Kyle  started panicking and got cold feet.

But what should I do? It wasn't that I did not want to grant his request. In fact, giving him his first punishment would represent a huge step in our relationship, and I was incredibly proud of my mate for having the courage to ask for it. It would also be the opportunity to show him that being a Sub was not a bad thing, and that he could trust his instincts around us - that he could trust us. Of course, trust did not come in one day, and it was understable that Kyle was a defiant werewolf, after all he had endured. Still, if everything went well, it should bring us closer together.

Yes, but what if things didn't go well? I never punished Nate, not as a Dominant wolf would punish a Sub anyway. The reason was that I knew Nate was not into it. I was aware of what being a Dom mated with a Sub implied, theoretically speaking, but I lacked practical experience. What if I scared Kyle away? What if he was not ready for it? What if he felt even worst after his punishment? He had been hurt in the past, partly because of us, and he was still hurting. I wanted nothing more than cuddle him for hours and chase his pain away, not aggravate it.

"That's absolutely fine, sweetheart. We told you, you should feel free to ask us anything" Nate eventually whispered.

I turned my head to look at Nate, who gave me a pointed look in return. I did not need to use our mental link to understand what that expression meant.

Get your shit together, Dar.

I cleared my throat, making Kyle's eyes, which had been glued to the ground since his unexpected and bold request, go up to my face. There was a slight hint of red on his cheeks, and he was frowning, obviously worried that we were judging him in a bad way for what he had indirectly admitted.

Now it's your time to have faith in yourself, Darren, I told myself. To have faith in the three of you. You can do it. Together. As long as you tell each other what is on your mind and communicate your limits and desires.

I calmly sat on a large rock, feeling Kyle's eyes still fixed on me. He was analyzing my every move, trying to assess my reactions and it broke my heart to see him so insecure. This certainly wasn't the Kyle the other pack members knew.

Suddenly, I knew how I should behave. I just had to follow my instincts as an Alpha and as the Dominant mate of a Submissive werewolf. At the moment, Kyle needed to feel grounded and protected. He needed to release control to someone who cared for him.

It hadn't been the result of any strategy, what had happened earlier. I had laid on Kyle in my wolf form without thinking, with the sore intent of calming my distressed mate, and it had worked even better than I had expected. Blanketing him was definitely something I was going to do again in the future.

"Come closer, Kyle" I ordered, in a quiet but firm voice.

He hesitated, but only for a fraction of second, before taking timid steps forward until he was staying in front of me, close enough that we could touch.

I didn't touch him, though. Not yet. I didn't want to startle him, so I had to keep it slow.

Nate moved a bit closer as well, standing right behind me, but he was keeping silent, observing the scene without taking part in it. Another day I would ask him to join, but I had a feeling that for now, it would overwhelming for Kyle to deal with both of us at the same time. He was also more used to obey my orders than Nate's, although in a very different context. 

"Do you think you would be comfortable kneeling in front of me?" I asked him, and smiled a bit when he widened his eyes. 

"I - I don't know. I can try" he mumbled while slowly lowering himself on the ground. 

I waited patiently as he fidgeted a bit, obviously not sure about how he should sit or if it was even a good idea to do as I said. After a few minutes, when I was starting to wonder if I should  ask him to do something else instead, he eventually settled more comfortably.

"Very good, pup" I murmured appreciatively, and a brief spark appeared in his eyes. 

He likes it when I call him 'pup'. Noted.

"Now, tell us, pup." I continued. "How do you want to be punished? Do you have any ideas?"

He shook his head in negation, but I was pretty sure it was a lie. There had been an unmistakable glimpse of excitement in his eyes when I had first mentionned the punishment, and for a moment, he had looked lost in his thoughts. I was not going to push him, though. Plus, although punishments could bring sexual pleasure, lust was not what I would go for tonight. It could come later. For now, I wanted Kyle to have a flavour of how things could go between us, and to experiment what he liked and disliked. I wanted him to feel safe enough with us to set his own boundaries.

"Let's see... We can suggest punishments, and you can tell us if you would be up to try it or not. What do you think?"

"Okay" he agreed, his eyes going between Nate and I, but mostly resting on me, as I was the one in charge for now. He looked beautiful like this, looking strong but adopting a submissive posture, his eyes meeting mine in a both defiant and hopeful way.

"You're very handsome" Nate whispered in awe, stating what I had been thinking. Kyle just scoffed and shook his head, but that kind of reaction was to be expected. I hoped that a time would come when he would learn to accept compliments - not just from us, but from anyone. 

"Your wolf form is beautiful, too. " I added. "A gorgeous white wolf".

I extended my arms, reaching for his face and cupping his cheeks in my hands. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, as if in transe. I had sat down on purpose, not wanting him to feel like I was towering him when he was on his knees. 

"So, how should you be punished for attacking me and running away from us? Maybe by remaining for some time in the same position?" 

He said nothing but looked so disappointed by the suggestion that I had to fight my urge to laugh. Obviously, this naughty pup had something else in mind. Something very specific.

"Restrictive punishments?" Nate intervened, but we all quickly agreed that it wasn't the best idea. What could we confiscate from Kyle, when he was the least materialistic person I knew? 

"Physical punishments?" I went on, and this time Kyle's eyes lit up with sudden interest. 

There we go.

"I am not going to really hurt you, though" I warned him, and he nodded in approval. "We don't have any material here, so I guess there's no choice but to keep it very simple. You sure you don't have any ideas?"

He hesitated but shook his head again, looking at me with some sort of desperation, as if he was hoping I could read his mind. I heard Nate laugh quietly behind me. Kyle's behaviour was both cute and endearing, and I could feel my worries gradually easing up as my normal confidence came back to me. 

"Alright, what about a good old spankin'?"

This time, he nodded so vigorously that I almost feared he would hurt his neck. 

"Words, pup" I said sternly, and he looked at me incredulously, before giving in when he realised I was being serious when I said I wanted a verbal answer. 

"I - why not" he replied, trying and failing to appear nonchalent, but I was not going to tease him any further. It was already a lot for him.

"Alright. Kyle, I am now going to talk to you in a bit more authoritative way, as an Alpha and as a Dominant werewolf. However, if at any moment you want to slow down, or stop, you have to tell me. I will never ever get you mad at you for asking me to interrupt a punishment. Do you understand?"

"I do understand, si- Darren."

What had he almost called me? Sir? I swallowed hard, feeling my pants becoming a bit tighter. Later, I told myself. Later, you will ask him to call you 'sir', or 'master', whatever he feels more comfortable with, but for now, him calling you by your name in a respectuous manner will do.

"Excellent, pup. Then, the last thing we need is a safeword. What do you want your safeword to be?"

"Why not the colours system?" Kyle immediately replied. "Green, everything's good. Yellow, slow down. Red, let's stop, I don't feel comfortable anymore."

There was no denying that my mate was full of surprises. Where on Earth had he learned about the colours system? Did he ask someone in the pack (which was unlikely), or had he done his own researches on the topic? Whatever it was, it was very promising to see him so invested and curious about what Dom/Sub relationships could entail. It gave me hope that he would come to accept his subgender much quicker than we could have hoped. 

"Sounds good to me." I replied with a smile. "What do you think, Nate?"

"Same. The simpler, the better I think."

I nodded in agreement, before turning back to Kyle and focusing all my attention on him. He looked more relaxed, now, but I knew that my next words would make him fluster again.

"Alright. Kyle. Can you tell me why you are going to be spanked in a few minutes?"

As expected, he flushed and averted his eyes but this time I was not going to let him off the hook so easily. I gently took his chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing him to look at me.

"When I ask you something, I expect a straight answer, pup."

"I - you are going to sp- punish me for running away, pretending to be someone else and attacking you". he muttered, obviously too shy to say the word "spanking" out loud, which again, I found very cute.

"Well done" I praised him, making him beam. "Now, in your own time, I want you to get up and lay down on my lap."

We waited in silence, trying to not look at Kyle too intensely, so that he would not feel pressured. I could tell Nate was hardly breathing at that point, and I was finding it hard to keep my calm composture. What would Kyle decide to do? I knew I told him to take his time, but he was taking a long time. Was he really okay with a spanking? What if he was forcing himself? Maybe we could save it for another time.

Suddenly, his eyes met mine and I gave him an encouraging smile, and was blessed with a shy but warm smile from him. He got up gracefully, took a deep breath and carefully drapped himself over my lap.

Goddess, did he look arousing, with his broad shoulders, his long legs and plump bottom. I was really lucky not to have only one, but two sweet, caring, clever and breathtaking mates. 

"Are you sure you are okay doing this, Kyle?" I asked him again, just to be sure. 

He nodded and I gave him a light, symbolic slap on the thigh. He immediately picked up on that, and hastily replied "Yes. I am okay with this. I really am."

"I am going to give you a bare-handed spanking, so I will now remove your trousers and underwear. Still okay?"

"Okay." he agreed again, a bit breathlessly. 

I smiled and lost no time doing what I said I would, pulling his undergarments down so that his firm, peachy ass was exposed to us. I carefully rubbed it a bit, marvelling at the softness of his skin, and I could feel him flinch slightly in my lap in response. 

"Alright, pup. Here we go. I am going to spank you twenty times, and I want you to count aloud, okay? Each time you make a mistake, or try to cheat, you will receive five more spanks."

He let out a small, tiny moan and despite my virtuous ambitions, I could feel the atmosphere of the small cavern becoming ten times hotter.

A/N: I promise you'll get all the 'juicy' details in the next chapter! I apologize, but this chapter was getting too long and after writing more than half of it, I realized I wanted this punishment scene to be from Kyle's POV. So, it will take place in the next chapter, and you'll get Kylie's feelings and thoughts on it.

Also, sorry I didn't have time yet to reply to your comments on the previous chapter! I am travelling back to Italy tomorrow, and I wanted to update before leaving, but I am running out of time and still have so many things to do today. I'll probably reply to you in the transportation! Anyway, as usual, many thanks for being here, and see you in next chapter <3