by Eve Langlais
It wasn’t any big deal; Celeste had always been a good athlete and was a standout in basketball. With confidence she hopped to the next stone. Athletic ability and moxie meant nothing in the face of a wet, slick rock, though. As soon as her foot hit the rock it began to slide. She flailed her arms, trying to steady herself, but it was to no avail. Her ass immediately felt cold as it landed in the stream, water splashing up and landing on her upper body too. Luckily she’d just landed on her rear and hadn’t fallen back into the water–her shoes were wet too but the snow boots seemed to do their job and protected her.
“That’s just great!’ she screamed, splashing her hands in the water. Immediately her hands shot up to cover her mouth. She was alone in the forest at night, looking for a mysterious man. It wasn’t exactly the safest environment to be raising her voice in.
Celeste forgot about her wet ass and the water at her feet as she jumped and began to run through the stream, finally coming out onto dry land, but she didn’t stop. She kept running, pushing tree branches to the side and hoping that any leering predators would think twice about trying to catch her. She didn’t stop her nighttime run until she found herself face to face with the hill.
It sloped up at a steep angle, rising out of the forest like an ominous sentry keeping watch. She could probably see for miles at the top and she wasn’t going to waste any time getting up there. It reminded Celeste of basketball training camp as she took the hill with all the determination she had. It was a steep run, one that left her quads burning and her lungs screaming for air, but in a few short moments she had conquered the beast and was standing at the top.
The top of the hill was a beautiful clearing with three trees in the middle providing an interesting canopy to protect anyone who wanted to lie down and take a rest. The grass was low in spots, like animals had been grazing. Maybe her elk had been here; maybe he had eaten his last meal here.
Celeste did a full 360, taking in the beauty of a place she had always known, but never truly looked at. When her turn ended she was facing her house. It, and the other houses, were a jarring departure from the endless forest and open plains she had looked at in the other directions–a silent reminder that man would always be there with nature, never truly leaving her alone.
Just as she was about to turn and explore the trees, a rustling sound drew Celeste’s attention. She turned to the trees, looking for the source of the sound. She wasn’t alone either; nature had found its way to her hill. A large elk, with the biggest antlers Celeste had ever laid eyes on, walked out from behind the cluster of trees, regarding her with ease. She’d been around other deer before and they had been skittish and scared of humans, but this one calmly stared at her before moving forward. As he lowered his head she saw that the tip of one of his antlers was shattered, ruining the perfect symmetry of his magnificent rack.
“Hello,” she said, standing up straight and putting on her bravest face. “I’m Celeste. Do you remember me?”
The elk stopped and snorted. It was obvious that the majestic beast understood her words.
“You might not remember me, but we met a long time ago, when we were just kids. You were an elk then, but you turned into a little boy and gave me a kiss. Do you remember that?”
The elk huffed and stamped its hoof in protest. Celeste froze, the words sticking in her throat. Was the elk unhappy with her questions or was he nervous? Was he a real elk that was about to charge? Even though the tip of one antler was broken, he still had plenty more points to attack her with.
The elk did an about–face and began to head for the edge of the hill, leaving her alone. Celeste’s heart dropped out of her chest before landing in her stomach. This couldn’t be how it ended. He was always there and now he was leaving.
“No, wait,” she said, reaching out. “Please don’t leave me.”
The elk continued to walk way.
“Please,” she said, not shouting anymore. She could feel the tears starting to well up again. “Don’t leave. You’re all I have. I’m all alone.”
The elk stopped and turned its large head back to her, its big sad eyes considering her words. In a moment that Celeste would never forget the elk turned and began to change. Its massive frame began to compact and twist as she heard the telltale sign of bones breaking and tendons snapping. The antlers cracked and fell as a man rose up from the spot the elk used to occupy.
To say he was breathtaking would do him a disservice. The man who stood before her was beautiful. He didn’t have the soft facial features most men today did; he was cut from a different cloth. His jaw was hard and angular. His eyes were like two brown orbs and they were so big. They were partially obscured by the shaggy black hair that gave him a primal, animalistic feel. He was as tall as the male basketball players at her school, but he wasn’t skinny and lanky like they were. Every part of his body was filled out with perfectly rounded, chiseled muscles.
As she tried to catch her breath from taking in all of him, he moved forward. His speed was inhuman and in three quick steps his long gait had brought him to stand in front of her. Celeste yelped as she realized her nose was mere inches from his chest.
“You… ” she started to say.
He didn’t allow her to finish the sentence. Instead, his hands shot up, grabbing her roughly by the sides of the face. He stared deep into her jade eyes, the hint of a smile appearing on his face. Just as she felt at ease his face lunged forward, his lips finding hers with ease. Deftly he moved them over hers, gently tasting her.
Celeste started to pull back, but then shot her own hands up, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him down towards her. She returned his passionate kiss with the same desire he delivered. For several moments the problems of the world melted away as two long–lost lovers rekindled something that had started fifteen years ago. There was magic in this man’s lips and it had lit Celeste’s world up.
Chapter Seven
Bray knew what he was doing was wrong; it went against everything he and Dallas had talked about earlier in the day. He had promised nothing would happen, but when he saw her up close for the first time in fifteen years he couldn’t help himself. Just the sight of her from a distance had excited and thrilled him in ways he hadn’t thought possible.
As he shifted and looked at her he felt his cock stir as blood rushed to it. She was beautiful, absolutely radiant. She had curves that he didn’t remember from the last time he saw her, but each one was in just the right spot. Her legs were long and thick, instantly making him yearn to rub every part of his body up and down them. Her breasts were large and plump, calling for him to bury his face in them. Her jade eyes were absolutely bewitching; there was magic in them. She had the same jet–black hair he did, hers reaching halfway down her back.
As she began to speak, the conversation he’d had with Dallas flew through his mind and alarm bells went off, warning him not to touch her and to walk away. His entire life had been predicated on spending all year preparing for the rut and then spreading his genetic material throughout rutting season. As he stared into the jade orbs he saw not only the most beautiful woman in the world, but also a window to his own soul–a window that revealed a decidedly empty room. Something had been missing in his life, but he was one hundred percent sure he had just found it.
“You…” she began to say.
No words, just actions. That was the only thing that Bray could think of. Before another word could exit her impossibly perfect lips he wanted his own pressed against them. With quickness that startled her he grabbed her face and pressed their lips together. Immediately his body responded, letting him know he had done the right thing. His cock was growing with the excitement of the moment and for the first time since that fateful day fifteen years ago he felt butterflies in his stomach.
At first she seemed surprised and apprehensive, pulling away from him, but as he continued to apply pressure she responded in kind, grabbing his face forcefully and returning the kiss. As she accepted him he felt
empowered. He could smell the arousal on her and he responded by placing the head of his stiff rod against her thigh. Immediately one of her hands dropped from his face and gripped his manhood, squeezing it gently before working up and down the length.
Her hands were small and soft, perfectly fitting around the girth of his member. Her hand continued to stroke it, making his legs weak and shaky. His resolve was completely gone now. He had to have her.
Bray peeled her large coat off, letting it fall to the ground behind her. Then he pulled her dress up over her head, easily shedding it to the side and revealing all of her luscious curves. She fell backwards onto her coat, spreading her legs and looking up at him with lust in her eyes. Bray slid each of her boots off carefully, revealing the most beautiful feet he’d ever seen. As he pulled each boot off he dipped his lips to her toes, sucking on each one and running his tongue down the length of her foot. She threw her head back and moaned softly as her hands moved behind her to unhook her bra.
It slowly slid down the front of her to free each large breast. Bray had never seen breasts like the two perfectly round ones in front of him. He put her foot down, his hand moving forward to pinch one of the hard buds of her nipples. She moaned again as he pinched it between his thumb and forefinger. Finally his fingers opened to encircle the entire mound, squeezing it lightly in his hand.
In response to his gentle caress she reached down to the waistband of her leggings, beginning to slide them down her backside. Bray responded by dropping the breast and moving his hands down to join her in pulling her leggings off. In one quick motion she had joined him in being completely naked.
He leaned forward, teasing her wet opening with the engorged head of his cock. She moaned her approval as he began to paint the swollen nub of her clit with it, feeling the thrill radiate down his cock and into his thighs.
She was ready for him and he was ready for her. He fisted his manhood and moved it down to her opening, preparing to sheath it inside of her. Just as he was about to plunge himself in she looked up at him, sudden distress in her eyes.
“Wait,” she whispered. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Bray,” he whispered back.
“I’m Celeste.”
Bray didn’t respond to that, just smiled and looked lovingly on the woman who had haunted his life for as long as he could remember. Dallas and the herd be damned; this was what he had always wanted as long as he had been alive. The emptiness of mating during rutting season was all gone; the loneliness of spending the majority of his time in bachelor groups trying to survive was floating away. It was just his love and him, from now on.
Bray took in a sharp breath as he buried himself to the hilt inside of her. She arched her back and cried out, but did not pull away. He took this as an invitation to continue, feeling her walls clamping down on his swollen cock, nearly forcing him to explode inside of her right at that moment.
He ignored his own desire and began to focus on the beauty who lay beneath him. His hips thrust back and forth, slowly at first, but gently picking up steam. She lay underneath him panting and moaning as his cock pistoned back and forth into her. One of her beautiful legs began to come up and he quickly slid it onto his shoulder, pinning it down.
“Ohhhh,” she responded as he did so, her facial expression changing to one of pained pleasure. He put the other leg on his shoulder, pinning her down and splaying her legs out. With her legs on his shoulders he brought himself up onto his toes, using the leverage advantage to really begin pounding into her.
Celeste moaned loudly and clawed at his back, taking all of him in. He could hear their skin slapping together, feel the powerful rush of an orgasm coursing through his body. She began to tense up and scream into the night air as Bray felt the same. With a loud growl he exploded inside of her, releasing every last drop he had into his love.
It had happened so quickly; now they were both heaving and shuddering, trying to gather themselves as they fought the aftershocks of the earth–moving orgasm that had gripped them both.
Finally Bray rolled off of her, collapsing on the ground next to her. He took a few deep breaths. then glanced back at his love, realizing she was completely naked in the cold night air. His instinct for protection took over and he wrapped her in the parka she had brought, rolling her over against his body so she could leach off the heat he always radiated.
“You’re warm,” she said, laying her head on his chest.
“I always run hot,” he said. “It’s a shifter trait.”
She didn’t look up; she just continued to lie there with her face buried in his chest. “So I didn’t dream it. You are an elk.”
“I am,” he said.
“Is it some kind of magical curse?” she asked.
“Magical curse?”
“You know, like the prince turned into a frog?”
“No,” he said, laughing at the absurdity of her observation. “I’m a shifter. I guess in human terms you could call me a were–elk.”
“Like a werewolf?” He could feel her muscles tense.
“Yes, like a werewolf, only I turn into an elk.”
“So werewolves are real?” He could tell the thought frightened her. From the little he had seen of human culture, he knew werewolves were portrayed as mindless killing machines that humans should fear, nothing like the real shifters.
“They are,” he said, trying to sound soothing. “But they’re just like me. They’re just trying to take care of their packs and live life, nothing to fear.”
“Do you have a pack?”
“I have a herd, since it’s rutting season.”
“You mean mating season?”
“Yes. Otherwise I just live alone with my brother.”
“So that…” she said, sitting up and looking distressed. “Was because it’s mating season?”
“No!” he said, sitting up. “Not at all. That was because I couldn’t bear to not touch you anymore. All these years watching you, thinking of you. I couldn’t wait for you anymore. I had to have you.”
“So, what now?” she asked. “Are you going to go back to your herd and have a bunch of sex?”
“It’s in our nature to spread our genetic seed during mating season,” he said, realizing his candid answers were probably not winning him any points right now. “But I don’t like living my life like that.”
“How many children do you have?” she asked warily.
“Probably around a dozen or so. I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I don’t see them. It’s our nature to mate and then move on. The cow raises the calf.”
“I think I made a huge mistake,” she said, fumbling for her clothes. “I’m not a cow and I’m not interested in a deadbeat father.”
“You misunderstand,” Bray said, trying to calm her. “I don’t want to be like that anymore. I don’t want to follow nature anymore. All I want to do is be with you. You’re my destiny, Celeste. You have always been there for me.”
She dropped her clothes and immediately brought a hand up to her face to cover the tears that were starting to stream. “I came looking for you because I need you too. I’m alone and you’ve always been there. But this is just too much for me right now. You’re not human; you’re completely different from anything I’m used to. I think I made a mistake.”
“Celeste, please,” he said, but she was too busy pulling her clothes on with astonishing quickness. He’d never seen a human move so fast, but an embarrassed female apparently possessed superhuman powers.
“I’m sorry, Bray,” she said. “I have to go home. I have a lot of thinking to do.”
“What did I do?” he asked, confused by her reaction.
“Nothing,” she said, standing up and looking down at him. “You were perfect, but you’re not what I need right now. I have a life back there and yours is too different. I can’t force you to be something you’re not, Bray. I just can’t. Goodbye.”
“Celeste, wait!�
�� he yelled, but she was gone, running down the side of the hill to escape him. He could have easily shifted and chased her down, forced her to stop and talk to him. He could have also just as easily captured her and forced her to go away with him. None of those seemed like the right thing to do, though. Instead, he just let her go. Bray choked back his own tears as he watched the only thing that had ever felt right in his life vanish from it.
Chapter Eight
Celeste spent the next month trying to piece her life back together. She consciously avoided looking at the forest or the hill. The first night she did so she saw Bray’s shadow, in elk form, staring back at her from the peak. She couldn’t bear to look at him or think of him anymore.
What had possessed her to enter the forest and find him? Why had she not protested as they kissed and made love? No, they hadn’t made love; it was just sex. She was human and he was some sort of half–man half–elk amalgamation. He was something out of a horror movie, not a love story. How could they ever have a life together?
Her mother had left them when Celeste was very young, left her father alone to fend for himself. Bray did the same thing every single year. He never met his own children; he just spread his seed and moved on. She understood it was just nature, but there was a human component to him too. How could he do that? He wasn’t completely an animal. She couldn’t reconcile it and she couldn’t be involved with it.
The month of November flew by. She had several discussions with Coach Abbott and repeatedly he told her that he thought this was the best thing for her. Finally, after she told him for the tenth time that she was coming back to join his staff, he told her that there wouldn’t be a coaching position available to her beyond the GA level.
Michigan State had just fired its entire coaching staff, and he had a chance to bring their top assistant onto his staff. It was purely a basketball decision, one designed to make the team better, but that didn’t lift the hurt she felt from it.