by Lee Savino
“Do not tempt me, Hazel. I will use all my power to make you admit you are mine.”
Knut
Late in the day, I washed my face in the stream. My head still throbbed with the pressure of resisting the Alpha’s call. I was running out of time.
All afternoon Hazel had been quiet. I hadn’t meant to scare her, but my control was so thin. It was all I could do not to pounce, drive her to the ground, and bury myself deep inside her. I’d fuck her hard and long, until she forgot everything but the feeling that we were one.
She deserved a stronger mate. I was stronger than most living things on earth, but I was not strong enough to let her go.
I dashed my reflection, marring the image before I headed back to the hut.
The storm had died away but the day was still cold, an unseasonal chill for the middle of summer. The smell of smoke on the wind made me uneasy. The Grey Men would not be able to cross the river, but the Corpse King might have other weapons.
Soon we’d have to return to the safety of the mountain. It was reckless to stay away from the pack, and dangerous. The pack bonds helped control the beast. But I could not face my warrior brothers until I’d fully claimed my mate.
I’d always been respected in the pack, strong enough to stand alone when others succumbed to the Berserker rage. Berserkers like Leif and Brokk formed brother bonds between them, to aid each other’s control. They’d share everything, even a mate.
I had never bonded with another warrior. I had no need of help--and I was glad of it, for I would not tolerate another man touching Hazel. But a lone wolf is a dead wolf. Too long alone, and the beast would claim my mind forever. Keeping away from the pack, resisting the Alpha’s call, I risked both Hazel’s life, and mine.
I had to find a way to woo this woman. I had to convince her she was mine, before it was too late.
I strode back to the hut. The girl was in the root cellar, choosing what vegetables to eat.
“Hazel,” I bellowed. “Come inside.”
She trotted over, potatoes gathered in her arms. My heart and cock leaped as they had the moment I first saw her. She looked at home here, hair in a thick braid, smooth, tan skin speaking of many hours working under the sun.
Arousal blazed in her scent as she grew closer to me. Her heartbeat thumped as loudly as mine.
She responded to me so well. Which made holding onto my control pure torture.
Her cheeks were bright red as she stopped on the doorstep.
“I am leaving to hunt,” I told her. “You will stay in the house.”
She nodded, unwilling to cross me after our last battle. I’d won her compliance with a kiss, but I’d not won the war.
I moved out of the way so she could enter the hut. She kept her eyes down until I caught her chin and forced it up.
“If there is danger, I will return quickly. You will heed my commands.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
I ducked close to fill my lungs with her delicious scent. My cock fought to get out of my breeches and I let out a growl. Go inside. I sent the thought into her mind, testing the new bond between us. She must have heard it because she scuttled into the hut and slammed the door.
I waited a moment, fighting the beast. It would be so easy to tear the door off its pegs and ravage her.
My hand slammed the side of the hut, making it shudder. The beast within me prowled, scenting my weakness. How many hours, how many days before it broke free?
Forcing myself away, I stripped and Changed into the wolf. I’d hunt until dark and return with a brace of prey. Nothing said ‘I will be a good mate’ like a gift of dead rabbits.
Life was simpler as a wolf.
A few hours later, pleased with the results of my hunt, I followed a pleasant scent home. The woman must have put some herbs on the fire, for the smoke smelled sweet.
I took the time to wash in the stream and prepare the game I’d caught. The hunt had been long and successful. For now, the beast was quiet.
A large summer moon lit my path as I came through the garden to the hut. I stopped to add a few sprigs of a herb that would go well with the rabbits. The Change from wolf to man left me with another large, white pelt slung about my shoulders. Another gift for Hazel. The wolf liked her waking surrounded by its scent.
She met me at the door, cheeks flushed, almost glowing in the moonlight. I would’ve dropped to my knees and worshiped her as a goddess, if I hadn’t been holding the rabbits.
“Knut,” she gasped. Under the floral smoke, fear tinged her scent.
My instincts hummed to life. “What’s wrong? Where is the danger?”
“No danger,” she shook her head, but she was trembling. I went to gather her in my arms, chastise her for not keeping warm, and she jerked back. “Don’t touch me.”
“What is this? Are you all right?”
“It’s nothing. Just my…sickness. It comes and goes with the moon,” she clasped her hands in front of her, gave me pleading look. “You have to take me back to the abbey.”
Hazel
Frowning, Knut pushed me inside. He set what he was carrying on the table—a gruesome bundle of headless game.
When he faced me again, I noted that he was between me and the door. It did not matter; I could not fight him or escape, but I had to make him see.
The fever had started as soon as the moon rose. It came over me every full moon, but something—maybe the time spent in the warrior’s embrace—brought it on early.
Knut loomed over me. “Tell me about this sickness.”
“It is a curse, much like yours. It comes over us...a few of my abbey sisters and I.” I wrung my hands. Just the sight of him made my mouth water, my sex dampen, my insides tighten with longing.
“How long does it last?”
“A few days. When I was at the abbey, the friar would lock up the women who went into heat. I would fall asleep hearing them moan and shriek like a demon possessed them.”
“Did he lock you up?”
I shook my head. “I hid it from him. But it’s worse tonight, so much worse. I ache. I almost…touched between my legs.”
He paused. “You wanted to touch yourself?”
“Yes.”
“But did not?” His voice was deeper, thicker.
I shook my head.
“Why not?”
“What?”
“Why did you not touch yourself?”
“Because it is wicked,” I whispered. “It is the curse of the moon. I must not give in. You must help me.” Every second that ticked by brought me closer to losing control, breaking down and wanting to rut against him like a dog in heat. Shame burned my cheeks. “Please help me.”
“I will help you.”
“You will take me back?”
Bright yellow light flared in his eyes. “No, Hazel. I will never let you go.”
“Then what—”
He laid a finger over my lips. “Hush. I am your mate, and will give you what you need. You will trust me.”
“I do not want to lose control.”
“Then give yourself to me. I will keep you from harm.”
I clutched at his forearms. “You must bind me. I will moan and beg, but you must not let me go. Please.”
“All right,” he said, his voice gruff.
He tied me to a sturdy chair using strips of soft leather he’d found.
“A rope will hold better,” I told him.
“Nay, little one. I will not allow anything to chafe your soft skin.” His touched brushed fire through me.
Almost in the throes of the sickness, I did not argue.
I relaxed only when I was fully bound. He’d set me close to the fire, in a stream of shining moonlight.
“You are very beautiful,” he told me. His fingers brushed my lips, and I sighed, almost crying with relief. He could touch me and I could respond without fear of disgracing myself.
“Thank you.”
He gave me an odd look
and busied himself spitting and roasting the game. When it was done, he came with a bowl of meat and a knife. “You will eat,” he ordered, slicing off bits to place into my mouth.
As he leaned over me, goosebumps rose on my naked flesh.
“Cold, little one?”
“No.” Under the thin shift, my chest was flushed. Sweat trickled between my breasts. “It’s nothing.” I forced a smile.
Knut didn’t look happy, but he kept to his task of feeding me.
I licked my lips, tasting the grease. He held another piece to my mouth and my tongue flicked out to taste it, and him.
Glancing at the moon, I flexed my legs in the bonds, but they held.
He rose to get more meat, the bulge in his pants at eye level. An aching wave of longing washed through me, pressure rising in my lower belly. My head fell back as I strained my hips upward.
Knut turned at my moan.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s coming,” I panted. “I don’t…” I tossed my head back and forth.
“Hazel, tell me…what’s going on?”
“So hot,” I gasped. “Too hot.”
“One moment,” he grunted, and undid the bonds at my wrists.
“No—stop—”
With quick fingers, he lifted the gown over my head, whipping it off. Cool air washed over me. But now I was naked and half free.
“What are you doing?” I cried out even as my body leapt to life.
“I am going to help you.” He knelt before me. “You will sate your lust with me. Submit to me, Hazel. I will break your heat and you will never suffer again.” He put his hand on my thigh and it burned.
“No,” I said. “I do not want this. I am not ready. Knut, please.”
“You escaped the abbey, and those who kept you captive. Why do you not allow yourself to be free?”
I hung my head. “I…can’t.”
He moved away, and I began to struggle again. “Knut, don’t leave me like this. You have to bind me, you have to help me—”
“Shh, shh little one. I am here. I will tie you again.”
I sobbed in relief when my hands were secure.
“Hazel, do you trust me?” The big warrior had a bucket of water and a small pelt in his hand.
“What are you going to do?”
“Shhh. I will make you feel better.” He dipped the fur in water and wrung it out before press its silky coolness against my hot skin.
“Better?”
“Yes,” I sighed. He washed my body this way and I submitted to his touch. “It feels so good.”
“More food?”
I nodded, but this time when his fingers touched my lips, I sucked them inside, laving frantically until he pulled them away, groaning.
“None of that teasing, Hazel.”
“Or what?” I purred.
“Or I will untie you and blister your bottom before putting you on your knees to serve my cock.”
I gasped. My hips started rocking.
“Knut, please.”
With a curse, he crouched in front of me. “What is it, little one? Tell me what you need.”
My nipples crinkled as he passed his gaze over them.
“My breasts. They ache.”
“Beg, Hazel. Beg me for what you want.”
“Touch them, please.” My mind was gone, all thought pushed out by the arousal pounding in my brain. “Please,” I strained towards him. “I will die if you do not touch me.”
“All right, all right, hush.” His rough hands cupped my flesh and I sighed into his touch.
“Thank you. I need more. I need—”
He was already kneading them, brushing his thumb against my nipple in a way that sent pleasure shooting straight to my sex. I begged in wordless moans as he pinched my nipples, first lightly, then applying more and more pressure.
“Does that hurt?” He watched my face closely.
Arousal followed the sting, washing any pain away. “No. More.”
He did as I asked, but I felt nothing but the overwhelming waves of desire, lapping against my sex.
Knut bent over me, frowning in concentration. His lips were so close to my skin…
My body arched up towards his, pushing until the bonds constricted my flesh.
“Calm yourself.” He massaged me, pressing me back down.
My breath came in shallow pants. “I…can’t…” Liquid dripped from me. Pooling on the chair, wetting my bottom and thighs. “I am so lost.” Tears pricked my eyes. “Knut, I do not know why I am like this. I have tried to resist. I have prayed and prayed--”
“Shhhh,” he soothed and bent his head, taking my nipple between his teeth.
“Oh,” I cried out, hips dancing, jerking in invitation. “Oh, yes.”
“You like that?” he gave me a little grin and the moonlight shone off his sharp front teeth. Without waiting for answer, he bowed his head and licked at my breast.
“Ahh,” I let out a half moan, half sigh. Tears leaked from my eyes.
The giant warrior stayed kneeling before me, blond head bent to give me pleasure. His mouth worked its way down my bare body. Slowly, so slowly he tongued the crease between my legs and mound, lapping up my honey.
I held my breath, willing him to go closer, to touch the place I needed him most.
When he laid his mouth on my sex, the heat of his mouth matching mine, pleasure flooded through me. His tongue delved deep and I sobbed in happiness, rocking as much as I could in my bonds.
When he raised his head, still wet from my mound, I shuddered. My scent mingled with his, potent and right. We belonged together, our bodies entwined as closely as our flesh would allow. I wanted him on me, inside me. I wanted to be filled with his essence. I wanted him.
“Take me,” I begged. “Knut, I am ready. I want to be yours.” I want to be one.
His fingers skated over the tops of my thighs and I knew he’d heard my mental message. “Are you a virgin, little one?”
“Yes.”
“You are ready for all of me?”
Freeing my hand, he pressed it to the front of his pants. I traced the thick bar of his cock, marveling at the size. “Yes.”
Gently he pulled my hand away.
“I will pleasure you, but will not take you. You will learn my body, learn my voice. Lean into me like the flower turns to the sun. Then, and only then, will I mark you and make you mine.”
I sobbed. “Please.”
He entered me with rough fingers. My cunny clamped down on the digits, my inner muscles fluttering, working, desperate. Sweat poured down my body.
A low keening filled the air—cries of wanting torn from the deepest part of me.
Knut added lips and tongue to his fingers and I was undone. I screamed and fluid gushed over his hand. My climax claimed me over and over, as I writhed in my bonds.
He untied me and rubbed the red crisscrosses on my skin, before holding my exhausted body close.
Knut, I reached for him in my mind, a delicate joining, intimate, gentle.
I’m here. He clasped me tighter.
“You’re all right, lass. You’re with me.”
“I can hear you,” I gasped.
I know. “‘Tis the bond.”
I raised my head and touched his lips in wonder.
“This is the beginning,” he said. “We are bound now by more than flesh and blood. You will not leave me.”
Knut
“I’d like to wash,” Hazel told me. She didn’t deny my words but kept her face averted from mine.
“What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said and rose and went to the bucket. “I need to fetch water.”
I met her at the door and blocked her way. “I’ll get it.”
“There’s no need,” she said stiffly. “I can do it.”
“Are you angry with me little one?”
“No.” She glared at the ground.
I’d give my life for this woman. I’d slay all her enemies. I wishe
d they were here, now, so I could slay them, instead of wondering what else to say. “Something is wrong. You are crying.”
“I’m not.” She dashed at her eyes.
I growled. “I will spank you until you tell me.”
She threw the bucket on the ground, narrowly missing my foot. Her temper only made me harder and I bit back a grin. My little rabbit was a fighter.
“I am ashamed,” she said and wiped all my humor away.
“Why?”
“I am cursed.”
“Hazel, it is no curse.” I caught her hand before she could turn from me. “It is your gift.”
“What?”
Her pained look wrung my heart. “Oh, little love, they lied to you. They told you lies to control your lust, to keep your true power in. But now you can let it out, you are safe with me.”
“How am I safe? I will want things….” The tears pouring down her cheeks made me ready to hurt someone. “Things I should not want. I do not know how to keep them back. I am like a demon, a possessed woman.”
“’Tis only your mating heat.”
“It is lust. It is wrong.”
“No, it is natural,” Pulling her close, I cupped her sex. “Feel this. Feel how we are together.” Automatically, she pressed against me, her hips working against my hand until the damp between her legs soaked my skin.
“No.” she wrenched herself away. “I thought the fever was past, but it is not. You should tie me up again—”
“Why?” I gritted my teeth against my own arousal. “You are already bound. Your chains are in your mind.”
“I’m getting water,” she said. Grabbing the bucket and darting around me before I could stop her.
Shaking my head, I followed.
Her shift-clad form in the moonlight stirred my blood. By the time we reached the river, my cock was so hard I thought it might burst from my clothes. With great satisfaction, I shucked off my breeches.
“Give me that,” I strode to her and snatched up the bucket. She turned, hissing, her mouth dropping open when she saw I was naked.
I went to the river and waded right in. The cold made me yelp like a pup, but did nothing to ease my ardor. Cursing, I submerged myself and came up with a shout.
