by Amber Burns
Before Cerridwyn could answer, the attention of the three women was drawn over to a laughing Wilem who was engaged in play with four younger children who squealed and cackled in delight as the older boy chased them while playfully growling. “Not as much as Wilem,” Cerridwyn answered with a chuckle. “But I’m not unhappy,” she assured with a small smile.
Meera smiled and laughed. “Wilem always enjoys himself at these gatherings. Until my little one is born, Wilem and Cerridwyn are the only children in our pack. The gatherings give the poor lad a chance to be with more people his age.” She sighed. “It truly is such a pity what happened to his mother. She was pregnant when she was killed, you know.”
“Killed?” Klaryssa asked.
Meera nodded sadly. “She had gone out of the Keep for a leisurely horse ride, and she was attacked by gnolls. She tried to make it back to the safety of the Keep, but she was overrun.” She hung her head. “By the time Wilem’s father found her…” Meera protectively put her hands upon her belly. “I can’t, it’s simply too terrible,” she whispered.
“Then don’t talk about it anymore,” Klaryssa soothed while gently placing a hand upon Meera’s shoulder. She offered the woman a smile. “Nothing bad will happen to your baby,” she assured.
Meera slowly exhaled. “Blaiddwych willing,” she murmured with a hopeful smile. “Wilem has come a long way since then.”
“The resemblance between him and his uncle in uncanny,” Cerridwyn said. “I honestly thought they were father and son at first.”
“His father and uncle shared a very strong resemblance,” Meera replied. “Only difference was the eyes. Wilem has his father’s eyes.” She sighed softly. “I often wonder if my little one will have Kelder’s eyes or mine,” she mused.
“May I?” Klaryssa asked while motioning towards Meera’s belly.
“Of course, M’Lady,” Meera said with a smile. “The little pup is sharing in the excitement of the night,” she said with a soft laugh as Klaryssa pressed a gentle hand to her belly.
“Oh, I felt it move!” Klaryssa squealed excitedly with a smile that quickly fell when she heard a series of screams behind her. Turning, she saw the children run and hide behind the skirts of their mothers, and she saw the reason why a few moments later when Wilem burst through the crowd with eyes glowing the same amber as his uncle’s, and fully-elongated fangs where his normal canines should have been.
17
“Wilem,” Klaryssa whispered in disbelief with wide eyes before coming to her senses. “OLAF! DRESDYN!” she screamed while instinctively positioning herself in front of Cerridwyn and Meera.
Olaf arrived first. Klaryssa recognized his tawny fur as he barreled into Wilem and tackled him to the ground just as the boy shifted into a smaller and leaner version of his uncle’s lupine form. However, as fast as Olaf was, Wilem was faster and much wirier. Biting and clawing all the while, Wilem managed to work himself free of Olaf’s grip before finally kicking the older shifter off and then jumping to his own feet.
Dresdyn appeared then.
Leaping over the crowd with a snarl, his amber gaze was fixed upon Wilem who dove out of the way just as Olaf had jumped back up to his feet and moved to subdue Wilem. Dresdyn crashed unceremoniously into the tawny wolf, and they both fell to the ground even in the midst of trying to untangle themselves from the other. Wilem darted away from the pair in a mad escape as other men began shifting to help in the corralling of the unstable youth, and Klaryssa was suddenly terrified that Wilem would be hurt more than necessary. All she could think of was the frightened lad getting accidentally squashed and pulverized by the much larger and stronger shifters, and she knew she could not simply stand idly by.
Ignoring the terrified cries of Cerridwyn and Meera, Klaryssa darted over to Wilem and held a hand out to him once she had drawn near enough. “Wilem,” she said gently while ignoring the roar from Dresdyn as he kicked Olaf off him now in a desperate attempt to get to her. “Wilem, it’s alright. Please calm down.”
Wilem bore his teeth and snarled as he heard and smelled other shifters approaching. His gaze never once wavered from Klaryssa’s, and even though he was much smaller than Dresdyn and the others, he still loomed over the petite woman and allowed her quite the frightening view of his deadly teeth.
A lesser woman would have fainted.
But, not Klaryssa.
“All of you, stay back,” Klaryssa said to the other shifters in a calm but firm voice before returning to a gentler tone. “Wilem, I know you’re frightened. I know that you had no control over what just happened to you, but you have no reason to be afraid.” She reached her hand closer to Wilem. “You’re not alone. No one here is going to hurt you,” she soothed. “We want to help you. Especially me. Won’t you please let me help you?”
For several moments, Wilem simply stared down at Klaryssa and continued snarling. Then...
Aunt...Aunt Klaryssa?
Klaryssa blinked in shock when she heard Wilem’s unmistakable voice in her mind, and she briefly glanced down at the cuff upon her wrist. She had not been able to hear Dresdyn’s voice when she had seen him in his wolf form for the first time. Was the cuff making it possible for her to hear Wilem? It truly was meant to act as a focus! “Yes, it’s me, Wilem,” Klaryssa affirmed with a nod. “I’m here with you.” She smiled when Wilem stopped snarling and then blinked his amber eyes moments before recognition flickered into them.
Aunt Klaryssa!
“It’s me,” Klaryssa said with a smile that only grew when Wilem nuzzled into her palm. “I’m right here with you.”
Aunt Klaryssa, I didn’t mean for this to happen! I...I tried to stop it, I really did, but I couldn’t! I had no control! No control at all!
The whine that followed broke Klaryssa’s heart. “I know,” she whispered while gently stroking Wilem’s muzzle. “We all know that, you sweet boy.”
Wilem turned his head, and his eyes widened when he saw the gashes and bites he had inflicted upon Olaf. Blaiddwych’s mercy...was that me? Are those because of me?! I didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean it!
As she saw tears well up in Wilem’s eyes before leaving wet tracks down the fur of his muzzle as he sank to the ground, Klaryssa pressed a hand to her heart as she knelt beside him. “Wilem, he knows that,” she murmured while gently stroking a hand down Wilem’s closest arm, only to blink in surprise when the traumatized lad suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and curled his body around her while resting his head on her lap. The sobbing Klaryssa heard in her mind prompted tears of her own, and she bowed her head over Wilem while stroking his fur.
Monster! I’m a monster!
“No,” Klaryssa admonished gently but firmly. “You are not a monster, Wilem. You are a sweet, sweet boy,” she murmured. Feeling movement, Klaryssa lifted her head to find that Dresdyn had returned to his human form and that he now knelt beside her in nothing but his tattered trousers. She leaned into him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and was truly grateful for his presence in that moment.
“Wilem, no one blames you,” Dresdyn uttered calmly while resting his free hand upon the back of his nephew’s head. “Every man here has gone through this exact, same thing. It is a normal part of life, and you have no reason to feel ashamed.”
“Your uncle’s right, lad,” Olaf said once he had shifted back into his human form. He winced as he rose to his feet. “Not so much of a pup anymore, are you? You can pack a wallop,” he said with a grin before wincing again as his chuckle pulled against the claw marks across his stomach.
After a few moments, Wilem slowly shifted back into his human form, and he raised his tear-stained face from Klaryssa’s lap so he could turn his head towards Olaf. “I’m sorry,” he said as his voice cracked.
“Bah, don’t worry about it, lad,” Olaf said with a wave of his hand and a cheeky smile. “Ladies love scars. You’ll find that out for yourself once you’re a bit older and have gotten a few scars of your own,” he added with a wink.
“Not so fast,” Klaryssa protested. “Don’t make him grow up any faster than he already is.”
A chuckle went around among the men.
“Nothing can stop that now, M’Lady,” Olaf said with a sympathetic smile before motioning for Wilem to join him. “Come on, lad. Let’s go get ourselves cleaned up. No hard feelings, I promise.”
Wilem turned his head to look at Dresdyn. “Uncle?” he asked uncertainly.
“Go on,” Dresdyn said with a smile. “Don’t let what just happened destroy the rest of your evening, my boy. Go and enjoy yourself.”
Wilem nodded silently and managed a small smile before disentangling himself from Klaryssa. He sat back on his heels and gazed into her eyes. “Thank you,” he uttered softly before leaning in and kissing her cheek.”
Klaryssa smiled. “We’re family, Wilem, and family helps each other,” she murmured before cupping the boy’s cheek and kissing his forehead. “Now, go and enjoy yourself.”
Smiling, Wilem rose to his feet and departed into the crowd with Olaf who gave him a brotherly thump on the shoulder. Dresdyn, for his part, wrapped his arms around Klaryssa and held her tightly.
“What were you thinking?” Dresdyn whispered with residual panic. “What you did...it could have ended very badly.” His arms tightened around his beloved.
“But, it didn’t,” Klaryssa replied earnestly before kissing Dresdyn’s jaw. “I can’t explain it, Dresdyn, but I simply knew that I could do it...that I could reach him, and I did. Dresdyn, you told me that during their very first shift, boys lose all connection to their humanity until they change back, but I found Wilem’s humanity, Dresdyn. I touched it. I could hear Wilem, and I was able to reach him, and it’s all because of the cuff you gave me,” she said with a smile. “Thank you again for the wonderful gift.”
“You truly are incredible,” Dresdyn murmured while nuzzling into Klaryssa’s neck. “And you are all mine. Well...almost,” he added with a chuckle before nuzzling into his mate’s ear. “Why don’t we take care of that, hmm?”
“Yes, please,” Klaryssa whispered before allowing a softly chuckling Dresdyn to help her to her feet once he himself had stood.
“Shaman Ragnyr,” Dresdyn called out in a resonant voice while wrapping an arm around Klaryssa’s waist. “We are ready.”
“Then come up here with me, so the entire clan can see the two of you,” Ragnyr called in reply from his place on the large, wooden stage that was erected during the hunter’s moon gatherings solely for the purpose of mate presentation.
Klaryssa’s heart raced with excitement in her chest as Dresdyn led her closer to the stage through the crowd that parted before them. She could not help but smile back at the people who smiled at them as they walked past, and her hand moved to rest upon Dresdyn’s which rested possessively upon her hip. When she and Dresdyn made it up onto the stage, at last, Klaryssa expected his grip to loosen, but it remained ever firm, and it made her blood boil with want.
“Brethren,” Ragnyr began with a smile as he addressed the entire clan. “Welcome to all of you on this most special and wonderful of nights. After many years of existing in this world as a lone wolf among his own people, our mighty Thane has finally found his mate, and from what I can tell, she is quite the remarkable woman indeed. I do not think that our Thane could’ve found himself a better mate and keeper of his soul, than Klaryssa Derw, and I present her to you now.”
Dresdyn turned both Klaryssa and himself to face the clan, and he beamed with pride.
“My brethren,” Ragnyr continued. “I present to you now, our Thane and Lady Thane. May their lives be filled with joy, and may their children be plentiful and strong.”
A thunderous cheer rose up through the clan, and Klaryssa felt positively giddy. When Dresdyn turned her face so he could kiss her, she eagerly kissed him back and clung to him.
“What happens now?” Klaryssa asked in a whisper once their lips parted.
Dresdyn grinned wolfishly, and his eyes shifted to amber as his canines began to lengthen. “Now, you run, my little doe,” he growled with a playful snap of his jaws. “Run!”
It was with an excited squeak that Klaryssa bolted and ran down the wooden steps. Her heart danced a wild tattoo, and her smile spread from ear to ear as she ran off into the night to await being found.
18
Where, oh, where could my sweet, little doe be, I wonder?
Coyly biting her bottom lip, Klaryssa fought the urge to giggle as she pressed her back against one of the trees in the orchard. While purposefully not doing the best job of hiding, Klaryssa nevertheless could not deny the thrill of being hunted by her beloved mate when she knew what awaited her upon being caught.
I know you can hear me, Klaryssa...just as I can hear you. I can hear your breath quickening. I can hear your heart racing within that beautiful bosom of yours.
Klaryssa’s eyes fluttered closed, and her hands moved up of their own volition and cupped her breasts. Between the chill in the air and her own excitement, her nipples were already as hard as little rocks, and Klaryssa shivered as she brushed her thumbs over them through the fabric of her shift.
I can smell your arousal. It’s sweeter than any flower…
A small whimper of want escaped Klaryssa’s lips.
“And yours is the flower I desire to pluck and smell for the rest of my life,” Dresdyn’s voice whispered into Klaryssa’s ear.
Klaryssa gasped and shivered as her eyes fluttered open to find Dresdyn standing before her in his human form...very naked, and very aroused. “When did you get here?”
“Does it matter?” Dresdyn asked with a smile as he drank in the sight of Klaryssa in the light of the moon. She truly was the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld.
“No, it doesn’t,” Klaryssa whispered with a shake of her head. “All that matters is that you found me...both in the physical and symbolic sense.”
Dresdyn’s smile grew as he pressed his body against Klaryssa’s and held her captive against the tree. “True indeed,” he growled before he hungrily claimed his mate’s lips while tangling his hands into her hair. “You are mine, Klaryssa,” he husked against her lips. “Mine, for the rest of our lives. You belong to me.”
“And there is no one else to whom I’d rather belong,” Klaryssa whispered before kissing Dresdyn with an underlying desperation.
A growl of triumph rumbled deep in Dresdyn’s throat, and he moved one hand out from Klaryssa’s hair and slowly traced it down her neck and down her ample bosom before cupping one of her breasts through the thin fabric of her shift. Breaking the kiss, he nipped and nibbled a trail over the graceful line of Klaryssa’s jaw as the hand cupping her breast began working to undo the fastenings down the front of her gown.
“Rip it off,” Klaryssa whispered breathlessly. “Just rip it off!”
Dresdyn did not need to be told twice, and he effortlessly ripped the shift in twain before letting it fall carelessly to the ground. With his beloved now fully exposed to him, and her beautiful breasts freed from their cloth prison, Dresdyn stood back on his heel and slowly licked his lips while taking in the sight of the pert, pink nipples. The perfect pink nubs were simply begging for attention.
Dresdyn did not leave them wanting for long.
Leaning down, Dresdyn slowly circled Klaryssa’s left nipple with his tongue before suckling it into the heat of his mouth. The gasps and whimpers that escaped the young woman’s lips moments later were sweeter than any music. Dresdyn slipped one arm around Klaryssa and held her possessively while his free hand moved to her right breast to tease and pinch her neglected nipple. He growled once more when Klaryssa’s little hands tangled into his hair and cradled his head to her breast, and his arm tightened around her when her soft, feminine body arched into his. The aroused sounds of blissful submission escaping Klaryssa’s lips were maddening, and at length, Dresdyn left her breasts in order to all but rip the shift from the remainder of her body.
As he nipped an
d kissed along Klaryssa’s graceful collarbone, Dresdyn slipped a hand between her legs and began stroking her already wet folds with languid strokes. He smiled in approval as Klaryssa spread her legs and even wrapped one around his hips to grant him better access to her core. “Eager?” he teased huskily while slipping two fingers into her.
Klaryssa whimpered and nodded frantically.
Dresdyn grinned against Klaryssa’s neck and nibbled her frantically racing pulse. “Excellent,” he growled against her silken skin. His grin widened when he noticed Klaryssa’s shapely hips moving in time with his fingers as she dug her nails into his skin. Raising his head, he claimed Klaryssa’s lips once more and hungrily pillaged her mouth as his fingers ravaged her virginal sheathe and brought her to the edge of release. Every few moments, the lovely woman’s inner walls would tighten around his plundering fingers and grip them within their molten heat, and Dresdyn could only imagine how those tight, wet walls would feel wrapped around his straining length which throbbed painfully against Klaryssa’s inner thigh. Drawing his fingers out of her, Dresdyn licked them clean, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head with a deep groan rumbling in his chest.