When I came back to, I was still kneeling on the cave floor. Two strong arms wrapped around me, and my cheek rested on soft fabric, a heart beating underneath it. I straightened up, feeling for the folds of my bodice to close them. The wolf put a wooden cup in my hand, full of fresh water.
“Thank you, my lord,” I muttered after gulping it up.
“You need to lay down,” he whispered with an unexpected gentleness. “Because you still smell of silver.”
He help me up to my feet and to the pallet by the fire.
“Let’s see what other surprises your sister kept in store,” he said, guiding me to lie down. “Stay still.”
He made me stretch my legs, removed my boots and covered my feet with the blanket, as to keep me warm. I held my breath when he leaned forward over me. He slowly sniffed my face and my neck, then his breath felt like a warm gust on my skin, from shoulder to shoulder.
I shivered when he moved my hands away, letting the bodice open again. I w
My heart skipped a beat when I opened my eyes and found the blindfold gone. I instinctively covered them, exploring the smells around me. No traces of the wolf.“My lord?” I tried.No answer. So I finally dared to risk a glance around. I was all alone in the cave.I found Lily’s dress by the firewood. I had no other clothes left, so I wore it again. A chill ran down my spine as I tied the bodice ribbons.I didn’t want to waste another day sitting and pondering. I had only a little water left in the buckets, so I decided to venture out of the cave.It opened to the east, to a narrow ledge on a thirty-feet-tall cliff. I stepped out to see the woods, but I didn’t recognize the place. I was halfway down a steep rocky slope, and it looked like I was further south than I’d ever been before, where the hills rose to become the high mountains that enclosed the southern end of the Dale. That was forbidden land for humans. From where I stood, the woods hid whatever laid beyond.I followed the led
I looked around, suddenly nervous. Where the hell had I left the blindfold?The wolf came into the cave while I checked the shelf in a hurry. I spun around in such a rush that I felt a little dizzy. The wolf was a couple of steps away from the fire, smelling the air. I kneeled down, my head low.“My lord,” I murmured.I heard him come closer and his cold nose touched my temple. I looked up, meeting his bright golden eyes for a moment. Then he looked at the fire. I watched him, curious, as he went to sniff the vegetables on the wooden plate and in the cooking pot. He looked back at me and nodded. Then he sniffed the pine needles under the bed sheet, jumped on the pallet and laid down on the bearskin.I understood he would wait while I had dinner. I’d never chopped vegetables so fast before. Lucky me, the stew was soon cooked. The wolf had closed his eyes, resting his head on his crossed hind legs, his ears up, following my every move. I ate as much as I co
He washed me like caressing me, and it felt as magical as upsetting. When he was done, his bare hands replaced the cloth, running up my torso to cover my breasts. First his nose, then his lips, glided around my navel before moving up as well. I felt his gasp as his thumbs pressed my breasts, moving in circles.I let out a muffled moan as my nipples hardened. My skin beneath his thumbs felt like burning, making my heart beat faster and triggering like a gust of sparks down toward my groin. Air felt thin, my breasts pushed against his hands out of their own will. My head fell back and his lips landed on my neck. The wet trace of his tongue made me let out a muffled moan.He lifted me in his arms like I was a wisp of grass, to lay me down gently on the bearskin. His hands covered my breasts again, moving as to shape my flesh, his thumbs resuming those circles on my nipples that made me see fleeting stars behind my closed eyelids under the blindfold.I couldn’t help
I woke up alone, lying on the bed sheet covering the pine needles, tucked in with the blanket and the bearskin. By my head, I found the black ribbon he’d used to blindfold me, neatly folded.I got up, starving, but I had nothing solid ready for breakfast. I would have to go by with tea until I cooked something.Despite my absolute lack of experience, I wasn’t as dumb as to not understand what had transpired the night before. All my disbelief and all my questions were not enough to deny it. I had no idea what it meant, if it actually meant anything more than what it’d been: an instinctive impulse taking the wolf over for a moment.The dresses the princess had brought were too beautiful to ruin them doing chores, so I wore the hunter attire. I spent the morning gathering firewood, and found a blueberry bush in the snow, loaded with berries. My stomach grunted at the sight, so I sat down to eat right there. Later on I found two more bushes, and gathered a whole pot
I muffled moans and cries against the pallet while he touched me and kissed me from my shoulders down to my waist, over and over. Then his hands covered my buttocks and his nose ran between them. My back arched till it felt about to break, my hips lifting from the pallet, my thighs trying to make room for him.He pressed his face against my body with a hoarse growl and his hands squeezed my buttocks while his tongue ran along my groin. I let out a long moan, not even noticing I was pushing against his mouth to feel it on my skin.All of a sudden, he pulled away to lie on top of me. I felt his arousal between my legs, brushing my inner thighs like the night before. My groin was on fire, throbbing, but his weight pinned me down. His hands sneaked beneath me to grab my breasts as his warm breath fell on the back of my neck. His smell tore down any trace of self-control I might have left.Stunned by desire, I wriggled underneath him. His hard length slid between my
I wasn’t used at all to feeling so calm and protected. We lingered like that for a long while, quiet and still. I closed my eyes behind the blindfold. His breathing was so slow and deep, he seemed to have fallen asleep, and I was tempted to catch a shuteye too. All of a sudden he shivered, sat up and kissed my forehead.“A storm is coming,” he muttered. “I’ll close up the access for you. Gather as much firewood and water as you can.”“Yes, my lord.”He helped me to my feet and headed to the end of the cave.“May I get dressed, my lord?”“Of course.”His replied came at a regular volume. A deep, very manly voice, so warm it made me breathe deep.“What is it?” he asked, moving closer.I shrugged and his finger appeared out of nowhere to lift my chin.“Child?”“Your— Your voice, my lord,” I mumbled.“What about it?” He was whispering again. “Do you recognize it?”I shook my head.“Are you sure?”
Just like the night before, I wore the purple dress, tied the black ribbon around my wrist and sat down on the pallet by the fire, my eyes caught by the flames, lost in gloomy thoughts.The storm blew stronger outside, like a raging blizzard.I had no way to know for how long I sat there after the night closed. A crackling branch startled me, and I realized I’d been dozing out. I added more firewood, wrapped myself in the cloak and opened the bearskin hanging only enough to sneak out. Snow fell so thick, not even my demon eyes, like he’d called them, could see the end of the rocky ledge.I stood there, my back turned to the wind, looking south, until the cold made my cheeks hurt and my feet go numb. Then I hurried back inside, careful to leave the hanging corner loose for him, even though now I was convinced he wasn’t coming. Such a blizzard was dangerous even for a wolf. And I wasn’t worth the trouble.I sat back down on the pallet, stubborn as a mule, a
I grabbed his wrist, frowning. Still stunned by pleasure, I refused to miss the chance of tasting him again. I wanted to. I needed to. And I was in no mental state to realize I was disobeying one of the lords of the Dale.He allowed me to loosen his grip, breathing in as I licked his fingers clean. My head was spinning, my body relaxed. When I finally let him go, he took me in his arms to hold me tight.“How are you feeling?” he asked, worried.I nodded with a little smile. I was losing track of my surroundings. Dizzy, stunned, yet light and satisfied.“Please, let me know if—”I didn’t hear what he said next. My eyelids were down behind the blindfold, and I curled up against him, floating in a cloud of bliss I never wanted to come down from.I woke up with my face against his shoulder, my arm across his back. The wolf was sleeping on his belly, his face turned to the end of the cave. I let go of him, embarrassed, and I felt him roll over to
We sat down with them and Tilda told them I’d been helping her the day before.“If you can tell the herbs apart, I have several bags to sort out,” said Marla, the chief healer, from the head of the table.It was then that three human women walked in with big trays. The wolves kept silent while the humans moved around the table, serving breakfast. However, the way they traded looks reminded me of what Brenan had told me, and I figured they were talking with their minds.Marla thanked the human with a nod. They took a quick bow and left without a word. The moment they walked out, the wolves turned to me again.After they made me tell my encounter with the lion to the last detail, Tilda commented what she’d found out talking with me the day before, about the different uses I knew for herbs. That kept me as the focus of their attention, because all of them wanted to ask me what us human used this herb or that oil for.“A h
Tilda came back at sunrise, and she didn’t look happy to find me awake, my whole face swollen after crying so much.“Please, help me get up,” I begged.The healer hesitated, still observing me from under a mild frown. But she eventually let out an exasperated sigh and helped me sit up.“Let me take a look at your arm,” she said. “Don’t try to move your hand.”She removed the bandages and sticks, and I saw for the first time the three long parallel gashes. They’d been tightly sewn, and my whole arm looked bruised and swollen. I knew I was lucky they hadn’t just cut the whole arm off, because that was what Teah would’ve done without hesitation.Tilda held my elbow and my wrist, noticing the grimace I hurried to hide.“Does it hurt so much?” she asked, making me bend my elbow to rest my hand on my lap.I shook my head, clenching my teeth.“I need y
BOOK 2 - SPRING.Maybe it was a dream. I was sitting on something that jumped and shook, causing me an excruciating pain in my wounded arm. I couldn’t move it away from my side, like it was tightly tied to my chest. Something firm and warm held me up. The wind was cold in my face. I tried to open my eyes and all I saw was dark.The next thing I remember is the warmth of the sun on my skin. The air smelled of a puzzling mix of herbs and oils that threw me off.I opened my eyes to a large room with a square open hearth in the middle of it. I saw bundles of herbs hanging from the ceiling beams, shelves full of jars, flasks and books, and a big sturdy table. It was like Teah’s place, only clean and neat.I was lying on a real bed for the first time in my life, and sunlight came in through a window almost above my head.My wounded arm was stretched by my side, splinted with long sticks from my shoulder to my wr
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad the winter turned out to be so short. Snow retreated to the north by the end of February, and by the first week of March, the whole forest looked like we were already in spring.The wolf’s arm was healing fine, and ever since that last skirmish, he would spend three or four days straight with me, without going back to the castle. However, even if his wound kept him away from the fight, one morning, a raven brought a message from the princess.“Castle. Urgent.”So he was forced to leave, promising to come back as soon as possible.I missed him badly when he wasn’t around, but his absence would allow me to take care of those little chores left unattended when he was with me.The day was warm enough for me to put out the fire, giving me a chance for a deep cleaning of the whole cave, including the ashes in the fire pit. I washed our clothes, made a brand new pallet, brought the bl
Feeling his arousal grow in my mouth was like a promise about the pleasure he would soon offer me. I’d laid the bearskin on the ground to kneel on it, leaning forward over the wolf, sitting naked on the pallet, his back against the wall.His hand ran down my back and slid between my buttocks, his fingers covered in oil. They caressed my butthole in slow circles, wetting my flesh before moving on to brush my womb.I muffled a moan against his length when his oiled finger slid inside my body, his thumb massaging my butt again. I enjoyed every prick he triggered while I licked his growing arousal, captive of my hand and my lips.His hand between my legs mirrored those of my mouth, driving me crazy. Soon we were both just as tense and out of breath, and his panting growls fed my need as I pushed him past his last limit, his hand making me feel what my mouth made him feel.He shivered with a shaky growl and his exquisite flavor caressed my tongue. He let
“Let’s cook, my lord. It’ll take us a while, and I don’t want you to faint out of hunger.”“We have a problem. If I stay barefoot, I’ll catch a cold. And trust me, you don’t want to look after a wolf with a cold.”“There’s fleece boots for you in the second trunk. Bring them and I’ll help you wear them.”He took me by the hand up to the table and went on alone.“Second trunk, second trunk,” he muttered. “Guess you mean this one?”“The one smelling of fabric, not food.”“Oh, right, makes sense. And what do you want from the one that does smell like food.”“Whatever you want to throw into the pot, my lord.”“Could there be a bear in there?”“I don’t think so,” I chuckled.“Maybe when they wake up, in a couple of weeks,” he said, and he sou
I dropped the shovel and jumped to the snow down there, clumsily getting to my feet. I stumbled toward the trees. The wolf stopped when he saw me, keeping one of his front legs up and panting. I hurried to him, tears overflowing my eyes.“My lord!” I cried.He rested his head on my forehead, panting.“Come, come! You need to rest!”I followed him to the boulder. When he was forced to use his injured leg to climb to the ledge, his muffled groan broke my heart.Brenan was already up and waiting for us in the cave.The wolf limped up to the pallet, where he dropped himself on the bearskin with a shaky sigh. Brenan handed me a clean cloth and a bowl with warm water. I grabbed both things and turned to the wolf, oblivious to anything else. He closed his eyes, panting softly.“I’ll send you a raven,” said Brenan behind me, wrapping himself in his cloak. “So you can let us know if you need anyt
February brought more snow, and two more skirmishes in the prairie. Brenan came back to keep me company on those nights of quiet anguish.Both times, he arrived with his brothers, carrying more supplies in trunks that replaced those they’d brought before.“Soon we’ll run out of space for all the things you have here,” he teased when we were left alone for the third time. He studied me and frowned. “Love suits you, Joy. You don’t look like a frightened rabbit anymore. Soon you’ll be a beautiful woman.”I blushed up to my ears, making him laugh.I was alarmed when the wolf didn’t come back the next day. Brenan was doing his best to distract me when a raven appeared to perch on the ledge, right outside the entrance to the cave. Brenan reached out and the raven jumped to his wrist.“Scratch. Tomorrow,” the raven cawed, in a perfect mimic of the princess’ voice.“Thank
I complained when he left my body. But it was only for a moment, for him to kneel between my legs. His finger sank into my womb again, just as his tongue licked the folds of my skin. I let out a cry, wriggling and gasping, feeling the pleasure was so much, my breast was about to burst. I melted against his lips, struggling to just keep breathing.Then he made me roll over and lie on my belly, and his face stuck to my buttocks. I moaned and wriggled again, stunned by what he made me feel. His tongue ran between my buttocks, licking my tight flesh down to my womb.My back felt like about to break as I tried to push against his face.He grabbed one of my buttocks to kept them apart and kept licking and kissing my groin. And at the same time, his finger slid into my womb again.The friction made me cry out loud, as he moved it in and out faster. It was a hot throbbing that seemed to steal my breath away. I could only pay attention to it, oblivious to anything