<3 - A Growing Threat>

	"Thora, you can't be serious!  This is suicide!"

	The ginger-haired woman let out a condescending laugh.  "You're a coward, Jexon.  If you think anything foul awaits us out here, you're delusional."

	Her male companion grimaced, but he did not let go of their hand as the two of them slowly walked up the tree-laden hill.  "I just want us to be careful, that's all."

	"Well, duh.  That's why we picked snog hill.  It's out in the open, and nobody can see us from town.  It's perfect."  Thora's expression softened as she offered him a much more tender smile.  Her hand squeezed his even tighter as she led them to the peak of the hill where a single, massive tree had been growing for centuries.  It was a common secret among the townsfolk that many of the youths in the village snuck away to the hill to get to know each other much more... intimately.

	Jexon slowly exhaled in an attempt to calm his nerves as he sized up the massive tree, then let his gaze drift out into the distance.  "I suppose it is," he admitted and smiled just a bit.  The expanse of countryside appeared to stretch out for miles beyond the hill, almost all of which was shrouded with darkness beyond the light of the nearly full moon.  Only a smattering of flickering torches betrayed their home town's location, which once more afflicted Jexon with a twinge of nervousness.  "If Uncle Greymane finds out, we'll both be exiled."

	Thora let out a soft sigh and squeezed his hand again.  "I promise I won't tell him if you won't, brother," she cooed softly.  The tall woman, just past her nineteenth birthday, leaned over to plant a loving kiss on her younger brother's hairless cheek.  Unlike most peasants of the town, these two teenagers sported much more ornate clothing.  A crimson sundress hung loosely from Thora's shoulders and stopped just halfway down her thighs, while its neckline dived almost all the way to her bellybutton.  Its design allowed Thora to playfully hook her thumb into the neckline, and with a subtle pull one of her soft pink nipples came into Jexon's eager view.  "Can't you take a little risk for your own sister?  Pretty please?"

	Jexon swallowed hard as his sister lured his gaze back to her, and with a casual shrug of his shoulders his black overcoat fell to the ground in a heap.  Thoughts of beastly attacks in the night seemed second to the treasure he so desperately desired before him, and with only a moment of hesitation he wrapped his sister in a tight embrace and kissed her as powerfully as he could muster.

	The ginger-haired woman moaned triumphantly into the kiss, returning it wholeheartedly and allowing her eager brother to urge her backwards step by step.  Within moments she was practically pinned against the trunk of the massive tree, kissing her own brother over and over again as she struggled to pull her dress straps off of her shoulders.  Amid their fevered kissing, the heap of crimson fabric joined the overcoat, and a naked Thora found her soft rump perched on a massive root at the tree's base.

	Her handsome brother finally broke their kiss and flashed her a sly grin, his next kiss landing upon her cheek, then her neck, and again and again in a raining trail further down her curvaceous body.  Thora had always been his idol, his mentor during their time growing up together.  She was everything he wasn't: confident, commanding, and willing to jump headlong into danger.  But when it came to love, Thora and Jexon only ever had eyes for each other, and only he could make her icy heart melt, especially as his lips suddenly kissed the tender, swollen lips between her thick thighs.

	Thora let out a shameless, lewd moan that echoed out along the countryside as she spread her legs as wide as she could for her brother.  One hand quickly shot downward to latch onto his head, grasping at a handful of his own red hair to push him harder against her aching quim.  The strokes of his tongue were heavenly to say the least, and each time his nose bumped her clit another shiver shot up her spine.  "Yes... lower, yes, there... there...!" she cried and moaned again, knowing well that nobody could hear them for half a mile or better.  They were safe to be together there, and that's all that mattered.

	[i]*snap*[/i]

	Jexon suddenly ceased his feasting and jerked his head every which way.  "Did you hear that?  What was- mmf!"  His head was suddenly shoved back into the tangle of red-orange curls that covered Thora's nethers, but with an insistent grunt he resisted her grip and drew back again.  "I'm serious!  I heard something!"

	Thora looked down at her worried brother and rolled her eyes again.  "Really?  [i]Now[/i] of all times?"

	"Well it's not like I planned it!" he insisted.  "I guess it could've just been a tree branch, but there's no wind tonight."

	"Fine," she relented and gently pushed her brother away, hopping off the trunk to gather her crimson dress.  "If you're so concerned, [i]you[/i] go investigate.  I'll be right here waiting until you get yourself together."

	Jexon winced, knowing he'd thoroughly pissed his sister off, but he couldn't get the nagging sensation out of his head that something wasn't right.  "Alright... I'll be back," he retorted and puffed out his chest in feigned confidence before heading around the tree toward its backside.  The massive trunk was easily bigger than most of the homes in their town, and he was out of Thora's line of sight before he'd even reached the opposite side.  His pace grew slower the further he walked, and the young man tried his best to keep to a crouch.  Perhaps some youthful peeping toms had followed them, or maybe it was just a critter of some sort who stepped on the wrong branch, he thought.

	His breathing shallowed as he tried to steel his nerves, and finally he reached the far side of the trunk to find... absolutely nothing in sight.

	Jexon sighed with relief and uprighted himself, brushing a few stray blades of grass from his white undershirt.  "I guess it was no-"

	A massive, clawed hand suddenly clapped over his mouth, and the snarling face of a blue-eyed, black-furred wolf face came into view... upside down.  Before Jexon could make a sound, the young man was yanked up into the thick branches of the tree and out of sight.

<Five Minutes Later>

	Thora huffed as she crossed her arms over her heavy, naked chest, determined not to redress herself before her brother returned.  The two of them only ever managed one night a month they could both sneak away for some fun, and she wasn't about to waste it if she could help it.  "Ugh, hurry up, Jex!" she called in frustration.  "We don't have much time already!  I can't guarantee that you'll get to get off if this takes too long!"

	No response.

	Another five minutes slowly ticked away, and off in the distance the ominous howl of a wolf echoed out from within the dark woods.  Thora dared not consider the possibility that her brother had been right, lest she allow fear to take hold of her fast-beating heart.  "Oh for the love of..." she muttered and began to stride off around the tree in the direction he'd gone.

	[i]*splat*[/i]  "Eugh!"  Thora recoiled as she felt something wet land on her naked shoulder.  The young woman hopped back a step or two and wiped away a thick drop of something sticky... and warm.  The moonlight revealed it to have the faintest milky white hue, and its strange, earthy smell sent another twinge of fear throughout her body.  Suddenly she couldn't stop herself from trembling as she dared to tip her head slowly upward....

	The branch just above her head creaked with the weight of the massive wolf man who stood atop it.  His canine face was curled into a snarl as he stared directly at Thora's naked body, while the bright red rocket between his thighs stood horizontally out from his body.  A second, drooling drop of precum strung itself downward like a spiderweb to splatter squarely on Thora's cheek, for the woman's wide-eyed gaze couldn't tear itself from the naked beast man.  The tattered remains of the snow white overshirt and ornate leggings gave him away almost immediately.

	It was Jexon.

	The moment Thora found her breath, she let out an ear-piercing scream and took off like a naked madwoman down the hill.  The wolf man did not hesitate to leap from his branch and bolt off after her on all fours, snarling and growling with every step.  The panicked Thora dared to look behind her only once to find the beast right on her heels, and with a desperate grunt she flung her dress squarely in his face without breaking her panicked run.

	Jexon reeled and snarled as he angrily clawed at the dress, halting his run to fumble with the tailored fabric.  Thread and stitch tore like butter beneath his razor sharp claws, and as the fabric was ripped from his gaze, Thora was through the smattering of trees at the base of the hill, nearly within shouting distance of the village.  The wolf man let out a vicious howl into the night, and from within the tree on the hill leapt a pair of black-furred worgen, a male and a female.  The pair caught up with Jexon quickly, and all three went barreling down the hill in pursuit of the naked woman.

	Thora's throat burned as she fought the urge to hyperventilate.  Her feet and legs were ready to buckle at a moment's notice, but she knew even a moment's pause would be her doom.  She could barely form a coherent thought as she finally broke the line of trees, leaving only an open field between her and the sleepy townsfolk.  "HELP!  HELP ME!  ATTACK!  WOLF MEN!  GET YOUR GUNS!  BARRICADE YOUR HOMES!" she screamed as loud as she could muster, all while flailing her arms amid her run.

	The faint screams just barely reached the closest house, and from within Thora watched an oil lamp suddenly illuminate one dark window.  The back door of the house opened, and from within a short man in a knee-length nightgown and pointed cap came hobbling out with a rifle in his hands.  "Whozzere?" he echoed sleepily, apparently unable to properly see Thora at her distance.

	A hundred yards yet separated Thora from the man.  "HELP!" she cried again and flailed her arms as wildly as she could... but her next step landed squarely upon a stray, jagged rock in the field.  Thora screamed as she tumbled to the dirt, and as if on cue the trio of beastly, wolf-like humanoids erupted from the line of trees.  All three of them were upon her before she could even get to her knees, two of them sinking their claws into her ankles as they began to drag her kicking and screaming back toward the trees.  "HEEEEEEEEELP!" she cried one final time into the night, but was quickly silenced by the third wolf woman's hand clapping down over her mouth.

	The sleepy man just barely made out the cry for help, but by the time his gaze had found where Thora should have been, the naked woman had disappeared back into the trees.

	A seventh howl soon joined the cacophony within the woods.