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The Beast Within

By: Lone-Wolf



Laura Morris is an attractive 29-year-old professional woman who has only recently rediscovered her independence after ending her nine-year marriage to Richard. Richard was everything she could have ever hoped for. He was Strong, Thoughtful, Caring, and oh so sexy in the marital bed. That was until the drinking started two years ago. Two years of sheer hell followed for Laura. The drunken rows, the violence and the illness that would always follow, had all become just too much to tolerate and Laura divorced Richard just eight weeks before the accident.

That fateful night in question Richard had been drinking most of the day. By 7.30 in the evening he had become the Monster that Laura had seen all too often. They had arranged to meet up that evening, just for a chat and perhaps to reminisce on better times. When Laura spoke to Richard at 7.30 on his mobile it was obvious he was in no fit state to meet with anyone and she called off their meeting.

At one minute to eight a huge bang followed by an even louder explosion was heard just outside Laura's house. Rushing to the window she saw Richards car wrapped around the railings at the end of the garden. Laura’s heart died that day along with Richard. He had clearly died a horrific death. On impact he was burnt to a cinder. Laura recalled the very last words she had yelled through the phone earlier that evening, to the man she once loved so very much, and those words were to come back and haunt her many times over. Laura had screamed at him to "Go To Hell".

Now six months later Laura was starting to live her own life again. She had been out for a pleasant evening with two girlfriends from work. They had laughed and flirted and Laura felt good as she laid in bed drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Suddenly she awoke with a start. The illuminated clock told her it was 2:30am. The room was icy cold. As Laura strained her eyes to see in the dark she had an overpowering feeling that she was not alone. 

Then in the corner of the room, something was moved. Laura’s feelings turned to sheer terror. The hairs on her neck became erect, her spine became taught as she tried to reach for the light, but she could not move a muscle. Gripped in fear she just looked to the corner. A shape emerged before her, dark, shadowlike, grotesque. It moved closer to the bed, its penetrating eyes staring down at her. Deep set, bloodshot and filled with rage. Even in the horror of the moment Laura knew she had seen those eyes before. The eyes that hurt her so, that came before the punch, which inevitably would follow from Richard.

Suddenly Laura felt herself pinned down to the bed. Invisible hands ripped the duvet, her only comfort and protection, from her. Then her nightgown silky red, a present from better days, started sliding up her legs. Up higher still, over Laura’s smooth tanned thighs folding back over her face. Stealing her breath away as it wrapped around Laura’s mouth. She screamed out as loud as she could but little more than a muffled cry escaped her lips. The creature was disfigured, hairy, huddling over her; it's eyes raping her. 

Though obscured by the nightgown Laura stared up at the Demon before her, transfixed by this creature from Hell. Then without warning she felt its touch on her thighs, opening her up, invading her. Something Hard, Pulsating, covered in bristly hair, penetrated her, time and time again. Each thrust taking her breath away. Laura became lost in oblivion only willing it to end. Time itself seemed to stop. Its eyes were mocking her with each lunge. 

Though Laura closed her eyes tightly the tears ran freely down her face staining the pillow beside her. Her pillow was so soft, inviting, homely, everything that this Demon was not. But as the minutes seemed like hours, Laura found her senses on full alert. Tingling sensations were shooting up and down her spine. Oh God No this could not be. This thing was making her Orgasm. The very thought repulsed her when her every sinew tightened and gripped her in the throws of what seemed a never-ending orgasmic pleasure.

Suddenly a Roar echoed around the room from the invading being.

Then nothing, it had gone. Soaked in sweat, filled with total exhaustion Laura collapsed into a deep sleep, only awaking at lunchtime later that day. She rubbed her eyes and looked searchingly from wall to wall. She was alone, confused. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her husband. What had happened the night before? Laura had never before experienced a nightmare and was sure that is what it must have been. 

Looking down the bed, the duvet kicked off, or so she told herself, the sheets were stained and still wet. Too many questions, Laura ripped off all the bedding and headed for the shower. She trembled as she lathered the soap, trying to think straight. 

Why had she felt so good last night? Why was Richard so strong in her mind again? The words, "Go To Hell," reverberated in her head. Images of demonic creatures plagued her mind. It was all too much for her just now. She didn't need any of this at this time and would go see her friend Gemma the psychic, as she was known, just as soon as she had downed some sweet black coffee.

Much as Laura would have liked this to be the end of this story it is not to be and we will return to the Laura Morris House as things develop.

May Your Gods be with You Dear Reader

Arctic-Wolf

Many thanks to Angel Love for the editing of this story.

The Beast Within



It was a beautiful spring day and I had decided that it would be a great day to go to my favorite spot and read. I grabbed a basket filling it with a few pieces of cheese, meat, and strawberries. I grabbed the current fantasy novel I was reading and a soft blanket and headed down the dirt path that led to my quiet sanctuary. It was a good hour walk from the cottage I lived in, but I enjoyed the exercise and the outdoors. 

As I walked along the familiar trail, I took in all the new life on the trees and bushes as this time of year always brought on. The fragrance of the newly budding flowers filled the air around me and I took in a deep breath enjoying the smell of new life. The birds around me sang their beautiful melodies and I couldn't help but smile at the beauty surrounding me. 

As I rounded the bend I saw that the pond water glistening in the sun and was hopeful that the water would have warmed up a bit. I laid the blanket on the grass covered ground and sat both the basket and my book down on it. I slipped off my sandals and slowly dropped down onto my knees and then proceeded to lie on my stomach, my elbows on the blanket supporting me. My short sun dress ended up resting just under the curve of my round ass cheeks. 

I opened my book and began to read. The book was so engrossing that hours went by and I was surprised when I saw that dusk was approaching. 

"Oh my," I said out loud when I realized I hadn't even taken my swim in the pond. I quickly slipped my dress over my body, leaving me only in my silk lilac and lace panties. I tossed the dress onto the blanket and quickly ran towards the water, the breeze hardening my nipples as it brushed across them. I never in the past year of coming here had ever seen another soul, so lately I had been going in topless. The water was still fairly chilly as spring had just arrived, but it still was refreshing nonetheless. I loved the way the water caressed my breasts as if being touched by a lover as I swam. 

I headed for the edge of the pond as the sky grew darker. As I emerged the cool air hit the water covering my body and created goose bumps along my skin, causing me to shiver. 

Out in the grassy plains not very far away you were grazing in the fresh grass when you caught a scent of a female. Being the last surviving Minotaur you hadn't bred to one of your own kind in years, ever since your pack was slaughtered by humans. It had been months since you had come across a lone female cow and released your seed. The need to mate was consuming your every thought as well as your hatred for the human race, despite the very fact you are part human. You avoided humans at all costs even though you would have loved to exterminate them. 

You followed the scent quietly, unsure of what you smelled, only sure that it was female as it was causing your manhood to swell. Finally your eyes spotted me walking out of the water. Your eyes focused on my firm round breasts, and my long legs which fueled your need. Your brain told you that I was human and to go back to your underground cave but the animal in you took over and all you could think about was fucking. You let out a snort and began to move more quickly now determined to catch me.

I was bending over to grab my dress when I heard the pounding noise behind me. I turned and saw you running very quickly towards me, "What the hell!" I screamed as I forgot about all my belongings and began to run away from you. I didn't look back, but I could hear you getting closer, I was no match for your speed and within minutes I felt your hands grab me and lift me up off of the ground. A loud scream escaped my lips as you pulled me against your chest and begin running the way we came. I kicked my feet back, my heels coming in contact with your hard muscular thighs and pain shot up my legs from the impact. I began to scream louder thrashing around when I felt your hand go around my throat applying pressure until the world around me began to fade and I slipped into unconsciousness. 

My eyes fluttered open slowly and I found myself in a dimly lit room, my arms stretched up above me, "Help!" I screamed, "Somebody please help me." 

I struggled against the shackles to no avail. I looked down noticing that my panties had been removed at some point. I glanced around the room trying to find some clue as to where I was but everything was foreign to me. I heard you come into the room and gasped at the sight of you. You stood at least 7 feet tall and had the face of a bull but a torso similar to a man, a very huge man. I saw the defined muscles of your chest, arms and legs very much a man but at least twice the size. My gaze shifted to your manhood and I whispered, "Oh fuck," as I saw its enormous size. I looked back to your face looking for a hint of compassion in your eyes and I saw none. 

"Let me go!" I screamed at you, struggling more against the restraints. You walked closer to me and I saw your cock lengthening. 

"Stay away from me!" I cried out figuring out what your intentions were. You remained silent, your evil eyes intensely boring into mine. I began to cry, "Please don't do this." 

If you understand, you don't let on. Your big hands grabbed both of my thighs lifting them up so I was dangling by the chains in the ceiling. You spread them open as you positioned my legs on each of your shoulders. You let out a snort and I felt your hot breath against my pussy. I began to struggle and your hands gripped my ass pulling my pussy to your mouth. 

Your huge strong tongue licked my outer lips, "NO!" I screamed, just as your tongue slipped inside my opening. Your tongue caressed my inner walls filling them like a man's penis would. I cried out in discomfort as your teeth grazed my clit. Your fingers dug into my ass as you rocked me back and forth on your tongue. My body began to respond against my wishes as I felt my pussy juices begin to flow. I glanced down and was ashamed that my nipples are hard as well. I saw your eyes peering into mine as your tongue relentlessly fucked me. I began to moan as your tongue pushed me closer to the edge. I swear I felt you smile against my skin enjoying my responsiveness. My body took over and I began to grind my hips against your mouth, unable to stop myself.

I heard you let out a groan as I began to moan from the pleasure of your tongue, "Oh God," I cried as your mouth sucked on my clit drawing it out. Your mouth and tongue licked, sucked and fucked my pussy harder than any man had before. My body began to tremble as my orgasm consumed me, and I let out a scream as I shattered into a million pieces, my body going limp in your hands.

I felt you remove your mouth from my pussy and I looked at you with hooded eyes as you lifted me from your shoulders and lowered me so that your huge cock was against my opening. My eyes flew opened as I looked down and saw your enormous erection that I was sure would split me in two, "NOOOO!" I screamed as you grabbed my ass impaling me on your cock. The pain was so intense, your cock stretching my pussy wider than humanly possible; my screams faded as I passed out.

I slowly awakened and felt that the pain has subsided. I looked down assuming you had pulled your cock out, but was shocked to see it buried inside of me. I watched as you slowly began to slide it out of me some, and then pushed back in. The pain had been replaced with an intense pleasure and I moaned, "Oh god."

You placed your left hand on my side your big fingers squeezing my breast, as your right hand gripped my hip. You began to thrust in and out faster, my pussy becoming so wet. I became lost in the pleasure, spreading my legs wider, "Oh yes, that feels so good," I purred. 

Your cock slammed in and out of me, hitting my g spot over and over again. The sounds of your grunts and my moans filled the room as well as the slapping of your body against mine. I screamed, "God, I am going to cum," as you fucked me even harder. My body began to quiver as the first wave hit and I let out a load moan. You continued to drive into me until I felt you thrust in deep letting out a roar, spilling your hot cum into my pussy. 

You slid your cock out, your juices running out of my pussy and down the crack of my ass. Gently you lowered my legs to the ground and stood in front of me. I looked up at you, my body weak from the pounding I had just received. Your hand grabbed the back of my head, rubbing your dripping wet cock against my lips. My tongue darted out licking the juices off of your thick head. Your cock was to large to wrap my lips around, so I slowly licked around the head, teasing it with my tongue. I licked up and down the shaft, cleaning all the juices from you. 

You unlocked the shackles that held my wrists, and they fell limp to the ground. Bending over, you scooped me up effortlessly into your arms and walked into the other room, laying me on a soft mound of hay. Gently your hand caressed my face. I looked up at you surprised at the softness of your touch. 

The look in your eyes had changed, as if the human side of you had returned. "Sleep now my love," you whispered, leaving me alone in the room. 

Surprisingly, your words were a comfort to me and I let sleep consume me, not worrying about what tomorrow would bring.



The Beast Within



Waking up with my arm around you, my hand still cupping your breast as we both passed out after the marathon of passion we shared just a few short hours ago. Although I still remember the love I have for you this is not love that is motivating me now...The beast has awoken in me this time.

Although I'm not conscience of the time I know it's early as the musty smell of sex and fresh sweat still permeates the air around us. As I half kiss half bite the back of your neck I taste salty dried sweat and a hint of your sweet natural perfume. My lips have been here before but not with the hunger that possesses me at this moment. It's all my conscience mind can do to keep from devouring you as the beast continues it's bite down your neck and across your shoulder.

I've not noticed the change in your breathing as you awake. I'm too involved keeping the beast in check. You sense something different, a shift from my normal gentle teasing and passionate self. This new aggressiveness excites you but you are unaware of the danger if I lose control of the animal inside.

The beast has no empathy, no care for pleasing others, only an insatiable hunger for flesh. It is a part of my past self the last part that I deemed unworthy to show to the world but as of yet been unable to conquer and destroy. 

It's bite has progressed down your side, around your hip and as it finds your cleft it forces me to throw your leg over my shoulder exposing you to him. "Him?" "No it!" I mustn't think of it as being man that would only give it more power over me than he already has...Too late. I struggle to put these thoughts from my mind the only thing I should concentrate on is preventing him from hurting you in anyway.

Now that I have given him masculinity a strange feeling of jealousy overtakes me as if I'm watching another man devour you from anus to clitoris sucking in your juices, seeing you trusting your hips into him in ecstasy. I am overpowered by this feeling of jealousy when you put your hands on the back of his neck and pull him into you and moan. I grab your wrists and force your hands to the bed as I can no longer bare the thought of you enjoying this monster, this evil beast who I have given life.

As my concentration has been distracted I've lost more of my control over him and it happens... A bite that I was unable to lesson pinches you. You body and voice wince in pain and it is returned with an evil laugh. A bit of fear creeps into your mind as you begin to finally realize the laugh was not my voice.

Still holding your wrists he arises pulling your arms up next your head he enters you forcefully and deeply and begins to grind and thrust with the same vigor and hunger that had come from his mouth.

I have lost all control the only thing left keeping him from hurting you further is the shared knowledge that I would end myself before I ever let him go too far and hurt anyone....again.

He moves your wrists behind your head and grabs your hair pulling it down to raise your chin exposing your neck for him to continue to bite as his thrusts become more rapid and more forceful until you both climax.

As we lay there panting and covered in sweat he retreats into the deep recesses of my mind and leaves me with the memories of those he has hurt in the past coupled with the feelings of shame and guilt that I brought this demon into your life.

Quietly I carefully pull myself off of you and move to sit at the far side of the bed. With my head in my hands I sob as once again I was too weak to hold the beast at bay. I hear you say my name but I am unable to respond. I feel your loving touch on my back and the guilt overtakes me and without a word I stand and walk into the other room unable to face you until I gather my composure and prepare to say the words the beast has always forced me to say when I have loved..............

Goodbye My Love.



The Beast Within



I have used 'Chimp' and 'Monkey' indiscriminately here. I know they are different species, but then the 'animal' I am talking about here is neither one and has elements of both.

*****

John loved my hair, and had always encouraged me to wear it long, hanging down to well below my bum. He had told me so on our first date, five years ago. Whenever we cuddled or made love he would stroke it. 

Mind you, he had a bit of a fetish about hair, or fur. Much of his flat (well, our flat now) was furnished with as much fur as he could get his hands on. The sofa was covered in a soft furry fabric. Each room had at least one picture showing a furry animal. Facing the bed was a picture of a hairy chimpanzee, which was made so that there was real fur on the parts of the chimpanzee which were covered in fur. If he didn't know I was watching, he often stroked it before we made love. I shrugged it off as a mild and quirky fetish.

A couple of months before this story starts I had lost my job, and in spite of a lot of letter writing, and form-filling I had not managed to get another. I was losing hope, and was well aware that it was not easy for John to be the sole breadwinner. The company John worked for produced pharmaceutical products, mainly for the cosmetics market. He earned enough to support the two of us, but the bank account was usually empty at the end of the month.

John came home one day and found me in tears, upset because I had been turned down for yet another job. It is a good job he had a way to cheer me up. As we lay on the bed after a long and satisfying sex session he, as usual, stroked my hair. While I was a 'lady of leisure' he had persuaded me to stop shaving - all over. My legs and arms were now covered in a fine fuzz, and my under-arm hair was quite long. John turned me so that I was lying over his lap, and gently stroked the underarm hair, alternating with that around my mound, which I had never been keen on shaving, in spite of the current fashion. It is a good job I'm not ticklish, and his hands were gentle. I soon felt him pushing very gently into my pussy. As his fingers moved faster, finding my clit, I soon came again.

As I recovered, John still stroked me.

'How would you like to have even more hair?' he asked, his voice gentle and seductive.

'I can't. Everything I can grow has grown - what more can I do?' 

'The science division of our company has been looking into curing baldness. So far they have only been partially successful, but the latest technique they are testing is showing promise. It uses an electrical pulse to insert a drug below the skin. Before trying it on someone's head, where it cannot be hidden, we want to test it where it can be hidden in case of problems. Would you help us to test it? We need to see how long the effects can last, and whether they are permanent. So far results have been good, with no side effects'

I stood up, not sure whether to be angry or amused.

'You want to give me a hairy back?'

'Why not? Your mane would hide it anyway, and testers are paid quite handsomely. 'It would give you an income without needing to work, and you get paid even if the procedure fails.' He leered at me 'and you know I would love you even more with a hairy back.' 

John did not push me into doing it, but over the next few days he made sure that he stroked me whenever possible, more so than usual. It became a habit for me to go to sleep with my head resting on his chest while he stroked it, gently caressing all my 'hairy' bits while nibbling gently at my neck. John was a very persuasive character. I had often seen him persuade people like builders doing work for us to do a little more, for very little extra money - if they couldn't resist his charm, what hope did I have?

I continued to ponder what he had asked me to do, and at last, tentatively, agreed to chat to the scientist who was looking for volunteers, while promising nothing to John.

Professor Burt was a lovely man, he explained that the process could be a bit painful, but he would give a local anaesthetic before he started, so I should feel very little. He showed me, on a plastic model, what they intended to do - it would be a thin strip of hair from just below my neckline to the centre of my back, where it would be hardly noticeable. He told me all about possible risks, and promised that they would be able to remove it if I hated it. The pay for being a tester was very temping but my natural caution prevailed, and I took away the literature he gave me, so that I could think it over when I had a few hours without John clouding my judgement by walking around stroking things.

I spent the next week thinking over the implications. John was patient with me, knowing well that fast decision making is not a talent of mine. He knew, however, that once my mind was made up there would be little chance of swaying me, so he did his best to persuade me to do what he obviously wanted. I think that man has some form of natural Viagra. He rarely has trouble performing, and over that fortnight we spent a lot of time in bed. I usually went to sleep fully satiated and feeling hands stroking my hair, or my back as I lay next to John.

When John was at work I could think about without pressure. At last I reached the conclusion that I had to make a decision one way or the other, and set myself a time limit. It was ten o'clock on a Friday morning when I sat at the computer, and I decided that I was going to let John know what I had decided in 24 hours time. I set out the pros and cons. The objections were obvious - walking around with hair on my back would be decidedly weird and although Professor Burt had assured me the risk was small, there was a possibility of side effects. On the other side I was absolutely sure that John would love it, and I had to admit that I was not adverse to the thought either. Although it may not be normal, I liked the soft fuzz that had grown on my arms, legs and under my arms. It felt sort of 'back to nature' and having my hair stroked could rouse me even before I came under John's influence.

That night I laid down my cards with John, asking him to leave me alone overnight when we went to bed and promised him a decision in the morning. I could feel his tension all evening. He kept putting his hands in his pockets, and I knew him well enough to understand that what he really wanted to do was stroke my hair, but he respected my wishes, and left me alone.

While he slept I kept thinking about it. When I realised that I had pulled my hair to the front and was gently stroking it I smiled, and in that moment decided.

At ten John sat opposite me, fidgety in his anxiety.

'You're on!' I told him.

He got up and kissed me, at first gently then with more urgency. I didn't object, and pushed away my doubts as he fondled my hair. Later he held me as I came, and said:

'Are you sure?'

I laughed and punched his shoulder.

'What do you think all that thinking was about? Get onto Professor Burt first thing on Monday and make that appointment before I change my mind.'

He laughed too, knowing that was unlikely now.

***********

When we arrived at his laboratory, Professor Burt again pointed out the risks. I got a little impatient, feeling that ground had all been covered, but he pointed out that he was legally obliged to inform me of all that before I signed anything.

He took us into another room, which had a table as seen in many doctor's surgeries, and handed me a surgical gown.

'Go and put that on, so that we can discuss the area you want me to work on, and I can discuss the details while John is here.'

I did so, hearing the pair of them talking while I was in the dressing room. When I came out he had me lie, face down on the table, and drew the back of the robe apart, so that they could see my whole back. He took a felt tip and ran it around an area on my back roughly corresponding to that we had talked about in our previous meeting.

'That is the area we are proposing to test on your partner' he told John. 'Large enough to be sure to catch any side effects, yet small enough to be easily covered by normal clothing. .

John stroked his chin for a minute, pondering. 'Would it be a better test if the area were larger?'

'Yes it would, but we don't want to cause our testers any embarrassment.'

'Would you pay more if you covered a larger area?'

'Yes, we would, but I would not want anyone to feel that they should do this if they are unhappy about it. If Toni feels any doubts, I don't want you trying to persuade her just because of the money'

John took the pen, and gently pushed my hair out of the way, stroking it sensuously. I felt him draw a line across my shoulders, to each side of my back, then down. I wondered where he was going with this (while bearing in mind that the decision was mine, not his). He went down to the tops of my legs, and drew across my legs just below my butt crease, then made a point over my pussy, being careful to stroke my pussy hairs as he did so, exciting me, and making my judgement definitely off-centre. I realised what he wanted, my whole back like a chimp's and as he stroked me I suddenly realised that it need not be a bad thing. Not only that, but I wanted it too!

Professor Burt said that the area John had covered would definitely be better for the testing, but it would be more difficult for me to hide. He told John that he wanted to talk it over with me alone, so that no pressure was put on me. John asked to talk to me first. The professor was a little reluctant, obviously concerned that John would put undue influence of me, but when I assured him that I would not let that happen, he agreed.

As soon as the professor left, John stroked my under-arm hair. 

'Imagine this all down your body, how sexy it would look, and feel. I may never want to stop having sex with you'

'But I would have to cover up every time I went out I said, doubtfully.'

'You haven't been out for three weeks now, do you really need to? You could shop on-line, and get it delivered - no problems.'

I shuddered with desire as he put his hands on my pussy - not into it, just stroking the longish hairs around it. I writhed under the touch, feeling myself becoming damp between the legs. Damn him, I needed to make my own decision. I waved him away and sat up, making my mind ignore my body and work on the problem. He left me, knowing well enough that I needed time to think.

I tried to imagine myself with a back thickly covered with hair, and actually liked the thought. Then I thought about what John would do to me if I had it done. I had already decided to go ahead with the smaller area, so how much different would this be? I imagined John's hands exploring my hairy back and smiled, sure about what I wanted done.

I expected Professor Burt to try to dissuade me, but when I told him my decision he accepted it, and smiling he revised the paperwork on his computer and printed off a document showing the new area. I hesitated only slightly before signing it.

When we arrived home we were both so turned on by the thought of what was going to be done to me that we spent all night making love, and John, shattered, took the day off. That didn't help because he spent most of it making love to me, all the while stroking both my hair and my bare back, as if in anticipation.

It was much, much later that I found out that John had been working hard all week to persuade Professor Burt (who was, let us not forget, a work colleague of his) to allow him to expand the area. When I found out it was too late to do anything about it, and knowing John's persuasive ability I could not blame the professor. He also had his position at the firm to think about - the larger area he had to test, the more chance of good results.

*************

We agreed on Friday for the treatment.

John came with me, ostensibly to hold my hand, but more, as he told me privately, to make sure that the professor did exactly the area John had specified. As the work was done, I could feel gentle prods on my back, but because of the anaesthetic nothing else. John told me later that before each prod the professor had dipped a long spike into a small pot of gel, and then dug it into my back and pressing a button.

At last I could get up and leave, armed with a pack of pain-killers for when the anaesthetic wore off and a piece of paper with a list of weekly appointments, so that the professor could check for side effects.

John was a little disappointed that the hair didn't appear immediately, but we had been warned that it would be at least two weeks before I had the hairy back he wanted!

A month later my back and the tops of my legs were covered in short, curly, and rather coarse hairs. My hair is dark, and now you could no longer see the skin on my back at all. The sex was tremendous. John loved to pull his hands through the hair, combing it out as we made love. He was even more keen than before to take me from behind, which is a position I love, and as I now realise makes me feel more animal. He would take me gently, leaning into my hairy back while stroking my pussy lips, and the hair down there. While the extra money was a bonus, I was aware that the real reason I had done it was to please my partner. Whatever the Woman's Liberation people may say, some of us are just slaves to our hormones!

We carried on like this for several months, the sex we shared never lost that extra 'zing' caused by the hair. When we made love face to face I came to notice gradually that John was pulling the long hair from my head to the front, so he could stroke it while he stroked my breasts. I am not sure if he was even conscious of doing it, but I found it exciting, and never failed to reach a climax. One night John stroked my breast and hair together, and I climaxed really hard, twice, just from the pleasure of his hands. As I fell asleep a thought struck me, and I decided to bring it up with the professor next day, at the appointment we had scheduled.

I could not hide my nervousness from the professor, and at first he assumed that there was a problem with the hair. I bit my lip, unsure whether to ask him or not, then he was behind me, feeling the hairs and stroking them - not deliberately sensuous, just checking their growth.

'Well, everything seems to be in order. Any problems?' he asked.

'No everything is fine, I feel really good with the hair ...but'

'Second thoughts?'

'No the opposite.' I stuttered a little then decided I had nothing to lose by asking 'would it be possible to cover my front as well?'

He gave me a long suspicious look. 'Is John pressurising you into this? I am aware of this hair fetish he has. I don't want you to be forced into something you don't want.'

'No, he hasn't said anything at all; I haven't told him that I am thinking about it. It's possible then?'

'Oh yes, no problem at all. The procedure would be exactly the same. It would be much more difficult to hide though.'

I gave him my brightest smile. 'That is my problem not yours. When could you do it?'

He turned to his computer and punched a few buttons before looking at the screen.

'I have free time in two weeks, if we can find a date which suits us all.'

He gave me a few dates, one of which was John's birthday. That decided me - I was going to have it done, as a treat for him. Professor Burt gave me all the cautions he could, and I signed up for another course of treatment.

A week before John's birthday I told him that I had arranged a treat for him, and persuaded him to take the day off work, without telling him what the treat was. The look of confusion on his face when I gave the taxi driver the address of John's workplace was priceless! I led him to the laboratory, and the professor and I told him what we planned to do. John was over the moon. He hugged me so hard he nearly broke my ribs, and I think if Professor Burt hadn't been there he would have fucked me in the office. I could feel his hard-on against my stomach as he pushed on my backside, bringing us together.

The procedure took longer than last time, and was slightly more painful as my breasts were jabbed with the probe. Luckily they are not too big. John held my hand, watching gleefully as the professor worked to my plan, and covered the whole of my front, to just below my neckline, and covered the tops of my legs down to mid-thigh. 

Over the next couple of weeks I watched as my body disappeared under the coarse hair. When my back had been done, I hadn't seen what was happening, now every time I went into the bathroom I could see a little less of me, a little more of the animal in the bathroom mirror. I sometimes amused myself by crouching slightly, like a chimp and making chimp noises while watching myself in the mirror, but I kept this a secret from John, not knowing where it would lead. 

John still preferred to take me from behind, and gradually became rougher as he found I enjoyed that more. For some reason, which I did not understand, having the animal hair made me feel more animal inside. He squeezed my nipples hard, and had taken to pulling the hair around them, which stimulated me into thrusting hard back on him. I was becoming more confident in letting my animal side loose, and at last I took my antics out of the bathroom, and came up to him one evening in the living room naked apart from fur and walking with my shoulders bent. When he looked up at me, there was a hungry look on his face, and he quickly shed his trousers. He grabbed me roughly from behind, and as he pulled hard I made chimp noises at him. This time things were different. I thought he had been rough before, but now he was more animal than ever. He pushed me onto the floor so hard that he bruised my knees, and thrust into me, quickly spilling into me. I felt that my plan had failed as he walked off, leaving me unfulfilled. When he came back though, he carried me to bed and took me much more slowly, less roughly than he had for a long time, kissing my mouth, my breasts and then my pussy before he entered me gently.

The next day he apologised, telling me that the pose I had assumed had turned him on so much that he couldn't help himself. It had made him feel like an animal, and when I had made chimp noises he lost it completely, seeing me only as a way to feed his need, not as another human being. He paid to have a romantic meal delivered at home, and I felt somewhat conflicted. It was nice that he apologised, but the way he had treated me had been close to an assault. Somewhere, deep inside, where the 'independent woman' in me could pretend it didn't exist, was a glee that I had brought him to that point, and aware that the 'chimp' act had been a deliberate act on my part, so I was partly to blame.

A couple of weeks later he took the lead:

'Be a chimp for me tonight'

It was more of an order than a question, and I went back to the bedroom stooped, letting my hands hang nearly to the floor. He touched my back and I crouched down, opening myself to him. When I gave a monkey scream he drove into me, holding my neck as I struggled to stay in place for him, then he thrust me onto the floor. He was rough, as he had been before, but this time I was ready for it, knowing that I had invited it, and stayed kneeling as he walked away after he had shot his sperm into me. I heard him get onto the bed and lie there for a minute or two, recovering, before he stroked my back, combing through the rough hair and forcing me to move back and forth on my knees, trying to find a release. He turned me onto my back, and licked at my pussy. I was so close when he drew back that I whimpered. John took one of my hands and pulled it towards my pussy.

'Come for me' he ordered.

I was too close to argue, and rubbed my clit vigorously as he knelt near my feet, watching every move I made.




The Beast Within



‘… in the mists of the throne stood four beasts and a lamb.’

Revelation



A full moon hung overhead in the midnight sky. A light fog lingered waiting the dawning of a new day, as a scream went unanswered.

A woman lay on the ground backing away from a dark figure that was crouched on all fours. Tears streamed down her terrified face staining the collar of her shirt. Her eyes were wide with fear as the dark figure slowly approached her.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing; the figure opened its mouth revealing its many teeth. The beast lunged forward pinning her to the ground with a gigantic clawed hand. Her scream echoed again as its large teeth bit deep into her leg ripping meat from the bone.

It howled in response, bloody saliva dripping on to her bleeding leg. A claw tore open her leg as it began the tedious job of skinning her. Its other claw found her throat and her last scream died quickly in a gurgling hush. 

The beast was careful as it pulled the skin and muscle from her bones. It was like a surgeon, cutting and stripping the meat from her corpse, until only two piles remained of the woman, one of meat and the other of bones. 

With the job done, it took the tibia in its hand, careful not to fracture it and spill its contents, and broke just the tip off of one end. It held its prize high over its head and let out a guttural howl and slowly lowered the broken end to its open mouth. Its tongue licked the marrow from the bone much like a dog might with a bone. Crunching the bone little by little until there was nothing left of the bone and only then did it take up another bone. In similar ritualistic fashion it devoured every bone that lay in the pile until there was none left. 

With its hunger satisfied for the moment it left, leaving the pile of meat and dried blood for the flies.

ÑÑÑ

Aaron slept while morning came, shining brightly in from the window into his bedroom. He tossed and turned; his bed soaked with sweat and piss. His head thrashed from side to side and he awoke with a scream. 

Opening his eyes and peering around the room, he realized that everything was the same as it had always been. He looked into the mirror above his dresser and saw his terrified reflection looking back at him. The nightmares have gotten worse, he thought to himself, and he didn’t know why.

It had been months since he left the hospital and hadn’t the doctors told him to expect disturbing dreams? He looked down at his sheets seeing again the blood that plagued his dreams and not knowing where it came from. 

He blinked and the blood was gone, replaced by urine and sweat. They had also told him to expect that as well, having a catheter up your piss hole for so long took its toll on your bladder control.

He had been in a bad car accident and died, so they told him, but they were able to bring him back. Aaron was clinically dead for only a minute or two, but that was long enough to give him these terrible dreams that literally scared the piss out of him. 

On many occasions he tried to remember the dreams, but they were as elusive as his memories of the accident. The only image that he could recall was lying in a pool of his own blood. Every morning when he awoke with a scream, this is what he saw.

After throwing the soaked sheets into the corner with the pile of dirty clothes he went right for the shower. Today would be the first day back at work since the accident even though Bill, his boss, told him to take more time off. But Aaron had told him that he needed to get back into a rhythm, besides he hoped the distraction would stop the dreams. 

Water began to fall from the shower, he always started the morning with a hot shower and today was no different. Steam clouded the small mirror over the sink were Aaron watched his reflection fade away. His mind was cloudy as the mirror was and he was prone to memory lapses now. Just small gaps now only a minute or two, but he was afraid that they would get bigger as time wore on and how would that look to Bill if it occurred on company time?

When the mirror was translucent Aaron wiped his hand across it revealing his green eyes. “Everything is going to be fine,” he told himself not believing the words even as he spoke them. He watched his reflection fade out quickly, vanishing again in the steam. 

Aaron Jacob lived in the city of promise, New York City, and was a nobody in a city of nobodies. His fifteen minutes of fame had been only a side note on the local news broadcasts. 

He was a writer working as an editor for The New England Publishing House. He hated reading through books written by others, but this was the only job that he could land after college. He slaved over the literary works of others because he hadn’t made it big as a writer himself yet. 

He had a few books to his name, but nothing that was going to get him a book deal. Not even his own publishing house would print one of his books and that made his work even more undesirable. 

It was funny to him now; the job that he hated was his only salvation to the torment of his current situation. The sun reflected off the glass buildings as he emerged from his building into a sea of rushing people. Walking anywhere in New York was bad enough, Aaron couldn’t imagine what it would be like to drive in this crazed city. 

Aaron pressed his way toward the subway station, calculating the time it would take him to get to his destination and, like so many others on the street, he added a sense of urgency to his step.

ÑÑÑ

Even in the bright morning Jennifer could not believe that her cries for help went unanswered. She could see the street from where she lay. She could see the crowds of people rushing past the alley from where she and her attacker were.

She was laid out on the ground, her hands pinned and legs open. Her golden hair was matted with garbage and her torn blouse was stained with dirt and oil. 

Her cries were rewarded with a painful hand across the cheek from the man that lay on her. Jennifer turned away from her attacker, who stank of liquor and onions, the smell almost choking her.

The blouse she wore hung from her sides exposing her quivering breast that he fondled with his free hand. His eyes devoured her, looking from her breasts to the skirt that she wore. His tongue hung out the corner of his mouth as he spoke to her.

“Silence, shhh, be over quick-like.” His hand snaking down her shaking body to her legs, “Be nice for ol’Charlie. Might ev’n like it. Hmmm?” Charlie’s hand moved up her legs and he smiled as he felt she wore no panties. “See, ya’ like. Yessss.”

She closed her eyes tightly as she felt him invade her. Tears creeping out of the corners of eyes streamed down her face. With one last attempt she cried out for help.

The man’s hand flew again, striking her with such force that she lost consciousness. Free from struggle, Charlie quickly unbuttoned his trousers and didn’t hear the footfall from behind him.

Before he knew what was happening he was thrown up against the wall of the building. The man looked up to see man, no not a man but a thing standing before him. 

Charlie watched the thing changing; its once human face bubbling like the bones of its skull shifted and restructured itself. The hair on its face, arms, and hands grew at an unnatural rate. The tips of its fingers split as the bones of its hands grew into sharp points.

This was the beast within. The beast that is within us all; the one that is uncontrollable, the one that hungers for passion, the one that is dead in most people because we live in a civilized uneventful world. 

The beast walked towards the man on the ground. It’s claws raked across the Charlie’s horrified face much like his hand did as his hit Jennifer. But this was more damaging than his strike were. Charlie’s face came off as if it were a child’s Halloween mask. His sightless eyes dangled from their sockets and deep gorges crossed his now featureless face. The beast was satisfied.

Jennifer woke with a fright, but couldn’t remember what she was afraid of. To her astonishment her face was bruised and her clothes were in rags. She had blacked out again and this time something bad had happened. She lay in bed for more than hour before she gave up on remembering why she had awakened in this state.

She knew before she felt the soreness of her groin that she had been raped. It was only confirmed when she began bleeding in the shower and was thankful for once that she didn’t remember the experience, but that wasn’t what puzzled her though.

All the other times that she had lost time the time that she had lost was only a few minutes, but this time it must have been hours. She found the keys to her apartment on the table by the door, a place that she didn’t normally put them, and her driver’s license was laying beside the keys.

Also as she was dressing she noticed a red formless mark on her chest in between her breasts. She didn’t think that the mark was a bruise because it caused her no noticeable pain. 

As the day went on her memories, those that she had, of the time loss and her violation simply left her mind. She called her boyfriend, Tim, and confirmed that they had a date tonight. They did and she informed him that she would meet him at the club at eight o’clock.

She had fallen asleep sometime during the day and woke in darkness. There were no lights on in the apartment and the sun had already set. It was seven thirty and she knew she was going to be late. She felt dirty and quickly rinsed off in the shower before she got dressed.

She rolled up stockings up her muscular legs feeling a yearning that she couldn’t place. She hooked on the garters to the tops of her stockings and felt down her legs wishing Tim was here to satisfy her, but they had the rest of the evening.

She put on a black blouse that was thin enough that her black lace bra could be seen through it and slid on a tight short skirt. Her golden hair was in curls with the appearance that it was wet and her eyes were dark. 

She stepped in the night out from her apartment and got the feeling that every man in sight had stopped to watch her walk to the awaiting cabbie. To her amusement the cab driver glanced in the mirror several times and even tried to strike up a conversation, but her thoughts were on Tim and the things that she would do to him. A smile crossed her face at the thought and the cabbie must have thought it was for him because he continued talking.

The door window was cracked enough to let in the night air. A strange scent caught her attention and she gaze went to the passing buildings. Not knowing why her eyes met those of a man leaning against one of those buildings and to her astonishment he smiled.

His brown eyes were barely visible in the street lamps, but she thought that she saw recognition in those eyes. Then he raised a hand in a salute and she turned away quickly staring straight ahead. 

Alien feelings washed through her, but not one of them was fear. To the contrary, if she was aroused before, now she lusting and she didn’t know why. Was it the way that he looked at her that made her feel this way? True having other men looking at her, lusting after her had always turned her on, but this was different. She had an impulse to tell the driver to stop the car, but then remembered Tim was waiting and put the thought out of her mind.

As she tried to recall the strangers face in her mind’s eye the car came to a halt. She looked up wondering why the driver had stopped, but was met with the blinking neon sign of the club. How long had she been lost in her thoughts, she wondered.

ÑÑÑ

Jonathon just knew that he was going to be in trouble. He had lost track of time while he was at the arcade and before he knew it night had fallen. His curfew was six o’clock and it was now a quarter till seven. Sweat streamed down his face as his bicycle rounded the corner and headed into the park.

The shortcut would shave a few minutes off the time it would take him to get home and any time he could save would be beneficial. His legs were tired from pedaling but they would have to continue if he was to make it home.

He passed by tall trees that obscured the moonlight covering the park in a dark blanket. There were street lamps scattered throughout the park, but those followed the many sidewalks that meandered through the park. The bike trails didn’t have such lights and he would have to go from memory.

Something rustled in a bush as he passed. Probably a cat or a dog, he told himself. He ventured a glance back and didn’t see anything in the darkness, no dog, no cat, nothing. 

The darkness reached out and slammed into the side of his bike as he passed another large bush. The bush was alive, he thought.

He tumbled from his bike and saw what ever had hit him had missed. His eyes were on his bicycle, or what used to be a bicycle. The metal frame was twisted in parts and broken at others. His gaze fixed on the large figure behind the mangled bike and he froze.

The bush was not a bush at all. What he had thought to be leaves was thick black hair. Two yellowish eyes peered at him from the depths of its blackness and knife-like teeth could be seen from its long snout. The thing smiled from pointed ear to pointed ear.

The beast pounced before the boy could cry out and ended his young life before it had a chance to begin.

ÑÑÑ

Eli Thompson never much cared for the club scene and now he remembered why. The music inside The Eden Club was loud, too loud to even hear yourself think. He wondered why people came to places like this to congregate with friends because the music drowns out all attempts to speak. Then again, by the looks at the writhing bodies on the dance floor, people didn’t do much talking in places like this.

Women wore next to nothing and were grinding the closest person to them. It seemed not to matter whether it was male or female; they straddled the leg of a stranger and slid up and down his or her leg to the beat of the music.

He found a seat at the edge of the dance floor and watched the action that most places charged for. The waitress shot him a smile as she brought him his drink, making sure that she bent over him giving him a clear view of her cleavage. She ran a finger across his shoulder and then disappeared into a crowd of people.

It had taken him an hour to get into the club and now he was wondering why he had gone through the trouble. The people on the dance floor seemed to part and there she was.

Her golden hair matted with sweat, her blouse open revealing the lace bra the barely covered her bouncing breasts, and skirt riding up her lovely legs. She was grinding her ass into the crotch of a man behind her as a woman was rubbing up and down her front. The two women came close to kissing on several occasions and he could see the man behind her sliding his hand up her leg stopping just before it slipped under her skirt.

Eli was instantly turned on and had to adjust himself as he watched. Her beauty mesmerized him, just as he had been when she drove by in the cab. He had seen her by chance and he knew that she had seen him. 

What was it about her that intrigued him? He didn’t even know how he knew she would be here, but experience had taught him that things happen in life that no one would ever understand and this was one such instance. 

The man she was with stepped off the dance floor leaving the women to themselves. They seemed not to notice his absence. Their hands teased and touched each other. One kissed the palm of the other taking a finger into her mouth and sucking lightly on it. Then pulling the other closer trailing her tongue down the others arm and then to her mouth. They kissed. 

Their movements slowed with the kiss and became more sensual. They looked into one another’s eyes their mouths open and smiling. Their legs were rubbing together and their hands moved around their bodies so slowly that it seemed mystical.

Eli wanted to look into those eyes again. If just by sheer will alone or just by chance, he didn’t know, she glanced over her shoulder. Their gazes locked and she smiled at him. She beckoned him with a finger and before he realized it he was on the dance floor.

Jennifer pressed herself against his back while the other woman, Kathy, was rubbing his chest. Eli didn’t know what was happening and didn’t care at the moment. Oblivious to the fact that Tim might return any moment and surely a confrontation would be the result.

Kathy had his shirt unbuttoned and was running her fingers through the fine hair of his chest as Jennifer’s hard nipples circled his back. He felt a hand stroke his hard groin and didn’t know whom it was. 

His hands cupped an ass cheek of each woman pulling them closer to him. He was so excited that he thought he may shoot his load right there on the dance floor.

As if she was reading his mind, Kathy led them both by the hand out of the club. They drove to her nearby apartment Jennifer playing with Kathy as she drove.

Before the door was closed Jennifer was on Eli. She pushed him against the wall, her mouth finding his nipple and her hands at his waist. He looked down to find Kathy rubbing Jennifer’s breasts from behind. 

His pants hit the floor then in a moment so did his boxers. Jennifer’s hands stroked him as Kathy knelt behind her rubbing her silky legs. Kathy’s hands pushed the hem of Jennifer’s skirt up to her hips and her tongue licked up the back of her leg.

Eli pushed the edge of her bra down freeing her breasts. His fingers rolled her hard nipples between them and massaged them gently. They kissed; tongues touching and circling. Jennifer moaned and spread her legs as Eli felt Kathy’s hair between them.

A second hand cupped his balls as Jennifer moaned loudly. A wet tongue ran up the length of his member and then lips engulfed him. He watched Jennifer slide down to Kathy’s chest, her shirt open exposing her red brazier. 

Jennifer cupped her breasts and licked down her cleavage as she pulled down on end. Her mouth closed over a nipple and her hand disappeared beneath Kathy’s skirt. 

The night wore on as they pleasured each other. In one night of passion they found each other. Eli and Jennifer didn’t know why but they felt like they belonged together. He didn’t ask her about the man that he had seen her with and she didn’t offer any information.

ÑÑÑ

“Come and see,” the snaked into Aaron’s mind as he slept. Like a plague it devoured every other thought that ran through his dreaming mind. Until a lone figure stood in his mind’s eye and beckoned him.

“Come. And see,” the figure spoke as the surroundings slowly came into view. He stood on a grassy hill encompassed by trees and bushes. There was a cement walkway that led down the hill into a small valley. The trees were thick here and there was a three other figures waiting there. 

He knew they waited for him and yet he could not move. His gaze remained fixed on the figure that appeared to be robed. A hood was drawn over his head and the only skin that was exposed was that of his hand. It was bone white and even as he watched the hand seemed to change into a claw.

“The years of the apocalypse have come to its end. You have great work to do. Come and see.” Then in a blink of an eye the figure vanished into a wisp of smoke that rose high in the sky. 

Aaron lifted his head from the pillow and knew that he had to see. An ache in his chest pained him some, but nothing would keep him from his great work. 

He threw on what clothes he found and left his apartment. He found himself running through empty streets and wondered if he was still dreaming. The streets were never empty, not in this city, and yet it didn’t trouble him. 

He entered the park in a sprint, heading for the hill where the figure had stood. He didn’t know what he had expected to find, but there was no sign of the figure. 




The Beast Within



Now he slowed to a walk, afraid of what he would find over the hill. The pain in his chest increased with each step that he took. As he reached the top of the hill he saw it.

The place where the three people stood was in view and it was not empty. A single man stood in the valley among the trees as if a phantom memory of his dream. But the man was real not a dream. He paced back and forth twice then stopped and turned. His gaze was on Aaron and he knew this was the moment.

Aaron walked slowly down the embankment into the thicket of trees where the man waited. The pain spread to his arms and legs, but he knew there was no stopping now.

“Greetings, I am Steven and that is all you need know of me.” The man was slender and well dressed but his voice seemed familiar. Was this the voice that he had heard?

No it was not, but he had heard the man’s voice before. Like an echo from the past, Aaron’s memories returned. In a wave images of his nightmares and dreams flooded his head with such force he clutched his head.

A beast with the heart of a man and the essence of a god flashed in his head. Winged figures seemingly made of marble did battle on a field of bodies. Among these winged warriors Aaron stood stained in blood. 

Also on the battlefield stood Steven, blood running from his open mouth. His teeth were as long as daggers and his eyes glowed yellow as the sun. 

They faced each other down on the battlefield and as they charged each other the winged angels began to weep. They turned their backs on the beasts and began to wail. 

“What is this?” Aaron screamed. “What are these images?” He fell to his knees in pain. His forehead hitting the ground in front of him, “Stop! No!” 

A bright light that flooded around him momentarily blinded him. His thrashing ceased and he looked around. The park had disappeared and the battlefield had taken its place. 

Human bodies coated the ground and the stench turned his stomach. A war was raging between the humans and the angels. Both man and angel fell beneath the battling armies. 

A roar echoed over the battling men and they all stopped to see what came. A single man was crouched on all fours his face twisted in a grimace. It was Steven, his eyes glowing yellow and his bones shifting beneath the skin. His body mass doubled as Aaron watched and fine black hair grew over the entire length of his body. 

He shed his human guise revealing a great beast of a lion with black fur and rust colored mane. His roar rumbled the earth as a long forked tongue snaked out licking the bodies at his feet. 

Half the humans tried to run while the other half courageously attacked the beast. The lion stood three times taller than a man and its claws twice as big a man’s head. It killed half a dozen men with each swipe of its claws and bit men in two with its bite. 

Anger rose in Aaron as he watched the slaughter and he felt himself changing. The beast raged within him wanting out. He closed his eyes feeling the beast touching his every pore. 

When he opened his eyes he was back in the park and Steven stood before him.

“Now you know. Don’t you?” Steven smiled and twisted grin, “And now you know what I am.”

Aaron felt the hair on his arms growing and felt his body changing. “Murderer,” his voice barely a whisper.

“Yes, and we have some unfinished business.” Steven replied.

ÑÑÑ

Eli heard the voice whispering in his head. He watched the robed figure cross the street and head into the park.

“Come and see. Your destiny awaits.”

Eli followed, a pain in his chest pulsed with each step he took. Something covered his arms and to his astonishment his skin was bubbling. The skin of his arms split and feathers pushed through the gaping holes. 

He fell to the ground his bones aching and his skin burning. He knew in an instant what he was and, after shedding his skin he leapt into the air. Like the phoenix he raised out of the ashes of his former self and flew deep into the park.

A roar shook the very air as the phoenix swooped down into the small valley. A giant bear and lion were locked in battle; tearing at each other with their claws and teeth.

The bear stood on its hind legs slapping the lion across the face gouging out an eye. It came down on top of the lion’s head, its teeth sinking deep into the lion’s neck.

With a quick swipe the bear felt a pain in its gut and felt its entrails spilling onto the ground. The bear stumbled back as the lion’s claws struck it repeatedly. 

Then came a scream from above. As the bear toppled backwards it watched a winged bird drop into the lion. The phoenix’s claws digging into the lion’s back before it could react. It lifted the lion high up in the air, its great wings struggling to climb higher and higher. Then dropping the lion from several stories up.

The bones shattered as the lion slammed into the ground. The beast was motionless as the phoenix swooped back down landing beside it. The phoenix clawed the lion’s side and the lion remained motionless.

As the phoenix turned the lion lunged raking its great claws down the phoenix’s back splitting it open. It kicked at the lion involuntary then fell on to its side.

The bear melted away leaving Aaron clutching at his gut. He watched the lion form melt away and the phoenix soon followed. The men were gasping for breath and writhed in pools of blood. 

“Come and see,” came the voice from the darkness of the trees. “Witness another failure.”

A giant wolf stepped from the darkness of the trees. It walked with its head hung low throwing a snarl at the men as it passed them. The wolf stopped and let out a howl. The skin of the wolf’s back split like a cocoon and a blood soaked head emerged from it. 

It was a woman; her long hair clung to her back as she raised her torso from the wolf, her blood covered body, breasts, arms and legs glistened in the moonlight.

“Jennifer?” Eli gasped.

The woman spoke in an inhuman voice, “I am the lamb. I am the beast.” 

“What? How?” Eli asked.

“There are two side to everything Eli. Like a coin has both heads and tails. Heaven and hell. Good and evil.”

Steven shook his head, “But this is the end.”

“No,” she said simply. “The apocalypse began centuries ago. The will not come, not this time. We were not supposed to battle each other, but the world. We where sent to destroy the world and we had failed. Again.”

She raised her arms and an emblem flared, burning a hole in her chest. The emblem was that of the lamb and the beast. A glowing wolf leaped from her body into the sky.

Emblems flared on the chests of the three men and, like the lamb before them, they leapt up into the sky. Their images and souls leaped to heaven and hell. Their spirits rose higher and higher until they passed from one plane of existence to another. They crossed all existence until they came to strange place. 

The clouds were mirrors as was the ground and the sky. They entered a castle make of mirrors and floated down the hallways.

In the throne room was four beasts, kneeling to their masters. The walls were mirrors that reflected not their physical reflection, but their spiritual reflection. 

Upon the throne sat the Lord in heaven and the Emperor of darkness. Like two sides of a coin they were one. In the mirror Lucifer sat in the throne, representing every thing that was cruel and unjust. 

Lucifer looked at his own reflection in the mirror and watched God welcome the spirits. God smiled and looked into the mirror and saw Lucifer sneer at the beasts that were before him.

It was forever changing; an angel looking into the mirror would see his dark self. The mirror showed the other side of the coin to what ever gazed into it. 

“Your pitiful humans have failed again milord,” Lucifer spoke to the mirror.

“Yes, I know milord, but they will learn. With each life they live they learn just a little more.” He smiled at the spirits. “It is time for you to try again.”

Laughter rang in the great throne room as the four spirits descended to earth once again.



The Beast Within



This story continues to fill in the time between Ch. 15 and 16 of the story "Laresa's World", found in the Chain Stories section here at Literotica. You would be best served to read Ch. 15 of Laresa's world ( also known as "Deified") as well as my story "Of the People" which immediately precedes this story chronologically. While this story can stand alone, you will acquire a deeper understanding of some characters mentioned by reading what has come before.

Actually, you would be best served to read the entire chain, and Danielle's "Miranda and the Prince" as well. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Laresa's world is a parallel world, so the people in this tale are not meant to represent any actual tribe – or even true-to-form history. While the world is much the same as our own, there are subtle differences.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

The boy cried.

Great Bear did not fault the child for his tears. It would be many years still before the boy would learn to stand proud, enduring such pain with a stoic expression of bravery. Now, his tears were the natural expression of a boy with a broken leg. 

Calling up the power of the tribal magic, and giving the boy a drink of potion already prepared, Bear waited for the child to calm. When the magic and the pain killing draught took hold, Bear nodded to the boy's father. Fox held his son down, preparing for what was to come.

Bear set the leg with a practiced motion, causing the child to scream out in pain. The flash of agony caused the boy to lose consciousness, which allowed Bear to check and wrap the leg without interference.

Once the wrapping was complete, Bear once again called upon the tribal magic, and his own personal magic, to further dull the pain, and hasten the boy's healing. Bear knew the child would be up once again within days.

"He will require rest, and should not walk for a time. He is young, and strong; he will heal quickly. Return him to me if the pain becomes great," Bear informed the child's father.

Fox nodded in approval, lifting his slowly rousing son from the ground carefully. "Thank you, Dark Beast."

Bear nodded in acknowledgement of the gratitude, not wincing from the title Dark Beast as he had in times past. Though the new name was one of respect and awe, it reminded Bear of his curse. The years had dulled his aversion to the name, however, and now Bear was just as comfortable with his new name as the one of his birth. Having seen thirty winters now since the revelation of his curse, time had brought much wisdom to the Shaman of the tribe. His curse served the people, and the will of the Great Spirit. In light of that, his desires were insignificant.

Seeing all calm in the village, and seeing from the position of the sun that his meditation time drew near, Bear stepped into his teepee to remove his ceremonial garb. Stripping down to only a simple loincloth, the Shaman of the tribe vanished, replaced once again by the man.

Though nearing his fiftieth year, Great Bear was still fit – his frame packed with lean muscle. Were it not for the wisdom in his eyes, and his iron gray, shoulder-length hair, one could easily mistake him for a man of thirty. His family was blessed with longevity and strength, and the man known as Dark Beast was no exception.

The interior of the teepee showed no signs of female habitation, strange for a handsome and respected man in the tribe. Many women still sought to find their way into his heart – young and old alike – but Bear politely brushed the advances aside. Despite the loneliness that gripped him as he lay in his furs at night, he would not expose another to his curse. He chose to let that burden fall to another of his family.

Stepping outside once more, Bear took a deep breath and stretched, preparing for his run. Long ago, the Great Spirit had revealed the place of meditation to him, and the run to reach it was one of Bear's few joys in life.

So Great Bear ran – his strides long and steady. The village shrank rapidly behind him as his powerful legs ate up the distance, easily leaping creeks with banks nearly as wide as he was tall. The path was well known to him, and his body undertook the motion of running without conscious direction. This allowed Bear simply to enjoy the feeling of the wind in his face, and the last rays of the setting sun warming his back.

The steep hill proved to be no more of an obstacle than the tall grasses and creeks between it and the village. Soon, Bear stood at the top, gazing at the setting sun. Just before it slipped beneath the horizon, he retrieved a hide-wrapped bundle from within a hollow of a nearby tree. After tucking the bundle in his loincloth, Bear gathered up wood for a small fire, adding some to the store within the hollow tree as well. The dry wood within would be a boon when next he came to meditate after a rainstorm, when the fuel lying beneath the trees would be too wet to burn.

Removing the fire-starting tools and tinder from the hide bundle, Bear soon had a small fire burning, to which he added ceremonial herbs. Shedding his loincloth, revealing his generous manhood, Bear sat, inhaling deep the scent of the burning herbs, slipping into a meditative state.

How long he sat, lost in commune with nature and the Great Spirit, he did not know. The vision which had come to him was the most vivid he had ever experienced. He knew the place shown to him in the vision, but the nature of the vision was puzzling – a buck with a shiny glint flickering at the tip of the creature's tallest tine. One thing was certain, Bear knew he had to visit this place, the vision nearly screamed that to him.

Girding his loins once more, Bear doused his fire and replaced the hide bundle to its protected niche. Returning to the village at a slower pace, he determined that he would leave at first light. He knew that sleep would be difficult to find this night, as the vision brought with it a sense of urgency and wonder that Bear could not shake.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

The next afternoon Bear strode into the small wood, coming to stand next to the spring-fed pool at its center. This was the location revealed to him in his vision, which had filled his dreams and awakened him before the dawn with an anxious need to leave immediately.

Now standing next to the pool in the peaceful twilight created by the thick canopy above, Bear felt the sense of urgency ebb within him. His brow furrowing, he looked about, seeking the buck from his vision, or any sign of deer in the area. Not a single hoof print revealed itself to his keen eyes.

Bear cast aside the feelings of frustration welling up within him, trusting in the vision given to him, but this proved more difficult as time passed and still no reason for his visit here appeared. Shifting his medicine bag, inspiration struck. Bear opened the bag, thinking that meditation might perhaps reveal his need to be here. Perhaps the deer was but a sign not yet understood, and communing with the Spirit would reveal its meaning.

With the speed of a lifetime's practice, Bear cleared a spot near the pool, and gathered wood for a fire. Shortly thereafter, he fed the ceremonial herbs into the fire, shed his clothing, and sat cross-legged in meditation.

As always, Bear was unsure how long his senses were turned inward, but the sound of a snort pulled him back from the world of visions. Opening his eyes, Bear saw the deer from his vision. It was a magnificent buck, and the eighteen points of its antlers seemed to reach for the sky. The creature showed no concern about Bear, the fire, or anything else around it. Bear's eyes widened when he saw a reflection of light winking from the tip of the tallest tine on the deer's left antler. As he looked, a ray of sunlight filtering through the blowing leaves above illuminated the deer brighter, further enhancing the bright spot that drew Bear's eyes.

Somehow sensing the action was appropriate, Bear stood. Part of him expected the deer to bolt instantly, the other part of him knew the animal was here for a reason, and would not leave before revealing that purpose. The buck appeared to be studying him, and so he put his hands out to his side, palms facing toward the deer.

With another snort that carried a nearly human tone of satisfaction, the buck stepped forward toward Bear. A few steps later, man and beast were an arm's length apart, looking deep into each other's eyes. Bear could see intelligence far beyond that of a mere animal within the deer's eyes, and knew that it truly had been sent by the Spirit to guide him in some way.

At last, the buck blinked, and took a single step backward. It bobbed its head once, giving Bear the impression of a respectful nod from a human. The creature then lowered its head, and Bear saw the source of the flickering reflections for the first time, a band of gold with an amber stone.

The stories of his youth – the tales of his family – all returned with perfect clarity to Bear in that moment. Can it be? Reaching up slowly, Bear touched the ring. When the buck made no move to flinch away, Bear closed his fingers over the ring and tugged slightly; the ring slid into his palm.

The deer raised its head, looking into Bear's eyes, before bobbing its antlers one last time and bounding off into the forest. Bear looked down at his closed hand, and then slowly opened it to examine the ring. It was exactly as his family legend described it.

"Laresa."

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Within her ring, Laresa felt the presence of a human nearby at last. After the difficult emotional parting with Nathifa, Laresa had been content to rest in reverie without a Master, but now she hungered to see the outside world again – for good or ill. Despite the difficulty in dealing with the steadily increasing – and hard to push aside – dark feelings concerning her slavery as a Djinn, Laresa was a social creature by nature, and she could not help but hope to soon meet a new Master.

Her ring was in contact with human skin, that much she knew, but it was not yet on the person's finger. Sighing, she relaxed back into her cushions, hoping that whoever possessed her home would discover her soon.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

The story had been passed down from his great-grandparents, told only to those of his blood, and never to any other. The silver-haired Djinn, Laresa, had brought his great-grandmother amongst the people, and played a part in bringing them the prosperity the tribe now enjoyed. Bear's great-grandmother, Firetop Bird, had freed her friend from service, wishing the Djinn away to find a new Master, in hopes that Laresa would find the way to attain her own freedom.

The ring in his hand now could be no other. The tales told to him as a youth by his father described it so perfectly that he had been able to picture it in his mind, exactly as he saw it now.

Bear contemplated why the ring would return now to the tribe – to him – and why the Great Spirit had directed him to come here and acquire it. There could be only one answer, but that answer brought only more questions. Obviously, he was to be the genie's new Master – but to what ends?

Again remembering the story, Bear slipped the ring onto his finger. His eyes fell upon the bracelet around his wrist, passed down through the family from Firetop Bird. Bear's mind reeled as he considered the fact that the ultimate mother of his special family had once been enslaved within the ornament. Firetop bird had been a Djinn as well, named Nathifa, but found freedom in part through Laresa's actions.

Though he had little reason to doubt the tales, especially considering the magic the bracelet possessed and his curse, Bear knew there was but one way to confirm the story. "Laresa," he said, and felt the ring warm as soon as the word passed his lips. Now that it was on his finger, the ring, and the genie within, responded to his call.

Misty vapors intertwined with the smoke from his fire, swirling together and congealing into the form of Laresa. Bear's eyes widened, as even the vivid tales told to him could not do her justice. His heart raced, and he fought against the flow of blood rushing into his manhood, only now realizing that he still stood nude from his meditation.

Laresa was surprised to see a man much akin to the very people amongst whom she had last walked the world outside her ring. Though his hair was gray, his body was that of a much younger man, sun-browned and well-muscled. She had a good view, because he stood nude before her, cloaked only in the faint wisps of smoke from a small fire. "Greetings, Master. I am Laresa, how may I serve you?"

"You have truly returned to us, Moon in her Hair," Bear responded to her greeting.

Now it was Laresa's turn to be surprised. Shaken out of her fascination with the attractive man's generous endowment by the sound of her tribal name, she asked, "How do you know that name?"

"It has been passed down to all those of my blood, from when you last walked with the people. I am Great Bear, called Dark Beast, shaman of my people, and of the blood of Firetop Bird," Bear replied.

Laresa could not speak, and could barely think. Never before had she come into the possession of a Master so closely related to a previous owner, let alone in an unbroken chain. Before her stood a descendant of her friend Nathifa, whom she had only left not so long ago.

Seeing Laresa's confusion and unrest, Bear took the opportunity to gird his loins once more while the genie was distracted by her thoughts. The barely hidden curves of the woman's body were quickly overwhelming any attempt to control his manhood's reaction to them. The vest she wore exposed large expanses of her firm breasts, and the strange, thin, billowing pants she wore did little more than hide her most private treasure behind pleats of thicker material.

It took no imagination to know from whence the genie's tribal name had come. The white-blonde tresses cascading down to the Djinn's shoulders truly looked as though they were moonbeams filtering through the night sky. She was truly beautiful, so different from the women of the tribe, and Bear realized he was once again staring at her. Beneath his loincloth, he was fully erect, and so shifted to cause the garment to hang away from him, making the outline less obvious. "The Great Spirit sent a vision unto me, and so I have come."

"I don't understand," Laresa muttered quietly.

"Nor do I. In time, the Great Spirit will reveal all things." Part of the story told to him by his father popped in his head, and Bear smiled as he finished dressing. "I grant you the freedom to choose your own path, as my great-grandmother did before me."

The power of Bear granting her free will washed over Laresa, burning away her confusion in an instant. She shivered and said, "Thank you." Remembering his introduction, she asked, "Should I call you Great Bear, or Dark Beast?"

Bear frowned slightly, "Both are true, though I prefer the name of my birth, Great Bear."

"Then that is what I will call you. Thank you for granting me free will, Bear; few have done so in my centuries of servitude." Looking Bear over, Laresa realized she could see hints of Nathifa in the man's features now, as well as those of Hawk, the Brave to whom her friend had joined her life. "What are we to do now?"

"I do not know," Bear replied. "My grandfather, Eagle Soaring, is still among us. Long has he desired to know the one who delivered him into this world from his mother's womb. In his last days, it would be a great gift to fulfill that wish for him."

Laresa could still see the baby's tiny face in her mind's eye as though it were only yesterday she beheld it. Laresa found it difficult to imagine him as a grandfather, despite her having traveled back and forth through time regularly, and having watched Masters grow old while they possessed her. "We shall grant him that wish, then. I think it would be best if the rest of the village, other than your family, was unaware of my presence, if you do not disapprove?"

"Your thoughts and desires are your own, Moonhair. Perhaps this is wise," Bear agreed. "Come, we shall return to my people."

Reaching out with her senses, Laresa easily found the village, "I can take us there within a heartbeat, if you would like."

Eager to see his grandfather's reaction to Laresa, Bear nodded his approval. A moment later, they stood just beyond sight of the village. Turning to the genie, Bear saw Laresa gazing in wonder at trees she recognized, though they were far larger than when last she had beheld them.

"I have seen places changed by centuries, traveling through time, but to see this place again, after having just left it, is wondrous," Laresa mused. "So little has changed, and yet the changes are so profound. Nathifa and I sat under that tree our first day amongst your people."

"Would that I had known Firetop Bird. I was too young to remember her when she went to join the Great Spirit."

Laresa's eyes were misty when she turned back to Bear. The shaman could see pain and joy in those entrancing violet orbs, reflections of the bittersweet memories the genie held of this place. Smiling, she said, "Let us go grant your grandfather's wish."

Bear found it disconcerting to have the people respectfully greeting him, while taking no notice of the beautiful genie at his side, who was invisible to their eyes. He moved quickly toward his grandfather's teepee, seeing his father, the Chieftain of the tribe, exiting as they approached.

"His time to join the Great Spirit draws near," Bison Heart said with sadness in his voice as they approached. "Those of our blood come to see him on his way."

Bear turned when his father did, and saw that the members of his extended family were approaching. Sadness quickly spread through the village, as the people knew such a procession could mean only one thing.

"Come, he asks for you, Great Bear," the Chieftain said to his son.

Surprised by this revelation, Bear asked, "For me?"

Nodding, Bison opened the flap of the teepee, bidding his son to enter. Bear ducked inside, hearing the footsteps of his family approaching even as he did so. Moving to kneel at his grandfather's side, Bear took the old man's hand. "I have come, Eagle Soaring."

The rest of the family filed inside, filling the teepee and spilling out into the area beyond the flap outside. The aged former chieftain turned slowly toward his grandson, and smiled. "I am close to the Spirit, as my time draws near, and secrets are known to me. You have undertaken a vision quest, Dark Beast."

Glancing at Laresa, Bear smiled, and then turned back to his grandfather. "Yes, and I return bearing the fulfillment of that quest. Always have you spoken of your mother's dearest friend, who delivered you into the light of this world. The Great Spirit has led me to give you a gift, Grandfather."

A ripple of surprise passed through the teepee when Laresa turned visible at Bear's side. Kneeling down, she covered Eagle and Bear's clasped hands with her own. Whispers of amazement buzzed behind them as Laresa said, "I see your mother, and your father in you. So too do I see the babe I beheld on the day you were born."

The old chieftain's words were weak and breathless, "You are as beautiful as mother and father said, and more. They missed you greatly but held hope you would find peace. Always have I wished to behold you, to know you. Now as the Great Spirit comes for me, my life is truly fulfilled."

A single tear rolled down Laresa's cheek, "You need not go so soon, my power can restore you."

Shaking his head slowly, Eagle said, "No, the Great Spirit calls. My time is done, and I am content." Turning to Bear, he said, "Your quest is not ended, Dark Beast, your feet are but now on the path. Walk with you on this path..." A tremor passed through Eagle Soaring's body, and at first Bear believed his grandfather would be unable to continue. The old man's eyes filled with determination, however, and he spoke once more, "Walk with you on this path, must Moon in her Hair. In each other shall you find answers, though you shall know pain. Trials are before you. I have faith in you – blood of my blood."




The Beast Within



With that, Eagle's eyes closed, and his breathing slowed. Bear, his father, and two other men carried Eagle outside, so that he might pass from the world beneath the sky. Eagle soaring opened his eyes, and from above, all heard the cry of his namesake. Looking up, they saw an eagle circling above them, as though awaiting the spirit of the man named for it. A few short breaths later, Eagle Soaring passed from the world, the faint edges of a smile on his face.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

The mourning of the family – and indeed the entire village – was profound. Tassels and ornaments were cut from clothing, and the men blackened their faces. Wails of grief resounded well into the night. A place was chosen atop a hill near where Great Bear meditated for Eagle Soaring's burial the next morning. Through Laresa's power, he was lifted high into the boughs of the largest tree, there to rest until nature reclaimed him. Once again, an eagle soared overhead as the family bid farewell to the wise old chieftain.

Laresa was treated as a member of the family, and for a time she was able to forget her slavery as a Djinn. While the people buried Nathifa's son, she was simply another grieving woman. Upon returning to the village, the family returned to their teepees and their chores. A beautiful young woman stopped Bear as he neared his own teepee.

"Eagle Soaring will be missed, Great Bear." The woman reached out and touched Bear's hand, "I grieve with you."

Bear nodded, "My thanks unto you, Sweet Water. He dwells with the Spirit now."

Laresa could see longing in the woman's eyes, and she could feel torment in her Master's soul as Bear passed Sweet Water, entering his teepee and pulling the flap closed once Laresa was inside. Laresa debated silently whether she should ask the question in her mind, but decided it wasn't her place at the moment. Bear knew her only from the stories passed down through his family thus far, and so she felt she shouldn't be prying into why Bear denied his feelings for the young woman.

"I can prepare you something to eat, if you would like," Laresa suggested, "You could tell me about your family, and about life in the village now, if you don't mind talking. I can hide your voice as I do my own, so that none will think odd of you speaking to yourself."

"Thank you, Moonhair. Speaking of my blood and my people would honor my grandfather. Perhaps it might lighten the burden on my spirit, as well," Bear responded, sitting down on the floor of the teepee.

Laresa manifested a plate with a steaming hunk of venison, and a generous cake of cornbread. Bear examined the cornbread curiously, and then took a nibble. His eyes widened in delighted surprise, and then he started telling his tale in-between bites.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Some hours later, Bear completed his tale. Laresa asked, "So, Nathifa's bracelet still holds its magic, enough even to transform your uncle as it did Sees with a Hawks Eye?"

Bear's eyes darkened, "That curse now resides in my family's blood, not within the bracelet."

"Curse? But, that magic has protected your village all these years, and allowed your people to prosper. Surely it is a blessing, and not a curse," Laresa said cautiously, seeing and feeling the pain in her Master's bearing.

Bear's eyes were distant as he responded. "For the village, it is a blessing. For me, it is a curse, as it was to my uncle before me. Even as he withdrew into himself, so must I. I will not burden a child with my blood, nor will I bring danger to a woman with my hands."

Laresa nodded, not knowing how to respond to that. A call from outside brought Bear back to reality, and he stood to open the tent flap.

"The sickness grows again," said a worried woman outside the tent.

"I will come," Bear told her and turned to retrieve his medicine bag when she hurried back to her own teepee. He sighed as he picked up the doeskin satchel.

Laresa asked, "What is wrong?"

"Running Wolf's sickness cannot be healed with my magic. I have tried, but always the sickness returns."

Laresa stood and said, "I will come. Perhaps my power can help him, if you wish me to?"

Bear nodded his head in thanks. "Running Wolf is the last of his blood, and the sickness takes him without a son. Many shaman and chieftains have come from his blood, and it would be good that it continues."

Laresa smiled somewhat mischievously, "I can perhaps help there too."

Bear chuckled at that, his mood lightening. He stepped out of the teepee, and Laresa followed, still invisible to all save Bear and his family. When they reached Wolf's teepee, his wife stepped out of the tent to let the shaman work his magic.

Laresa swelled with pity when she saw the man. It was easy to see he had once been a strong Brave, but now had wasted away to nearly nothing. She stepped ahead of Bear, opening a channel to her power without a word. Reaching into Wolf, she found the source of the wasting sickness, and through her power eliminated it.

Wolf's eyes opened in surprise, his mind clearing and some small part of his strength returning. Bear assisted the man to rise, and Wolf said, "Dark Beast – I feel my strength return."

He will recover quickly. I will use my magic to ensure it. He will soon regain his full strength with good food and exercise, Laresa mentally informed Bear.

Hearing her husband's voice, Wolf's wife stepped into the tent, calling his name. Wolf opened his arms and she immediately fell into them, weeping with joy.

An amused smile decorating her face, Laresa added, Considering what I feel from them, I have little doubt his bloodline will extend shortly as well.

"Thank you, Dark Beast," Wolf's wife turned to say, tears running down her cheeks.

"Praise to the Great Spirit for this blessing, and thank you as well, Dark Beast," Wolf agreed.

"Praise to the Great Spirit," Bear said with a nod, "I will leave you to each other."

Laresa and Bear stepped out of the teepee, and Bear thought to Laresa, If I remember the stories well, you can see my thoughts.

Yes, Bear, I understand you.

Thank you for your magic. Running Wolf was as a brother to me before the sickness felled him.

Laresa smiled and laid her hand on his arm, I enjoy helping others, and giving them pleasure. It is one of the joys I can take from my servitude.

When Bear heard the word pleasure from Laresa's thoughts, coupled with her soft hand on his arm, he felt a stirring in his loins. He quickly stifled the thought, knowing that the genie would likely be able to sense the emotion if he let it grow too strong.

He was too late, however, as Laresa had already caught the hint of desire from her Master. Memories of him nude when she had first appeared from the ring returned to Laresa, and her own arousal sprang to roaring life within her. It had been a very long time since she last lay with a man whom she found attractive, and who she wanted to touch her. Here was a man who desired no children, the main reason she had avoided the Braves when she had last lived in this village. She felt it unfair to steal the affections of the men from the women of the tribe, when she could offer the Braves no children to continue their lines.

Laresa's storm-tossed emotions related to her slavery as a Djinn evaporated before the flame of pent up desire inside her. She could give him a gift as well. He feared to get close to anyone because of his curse, but he could not possibly hurt Laresa in any way. Not that she believed the magic would ever harm anyone who did not intend him or the tribe harm. He believed it, and that was all that truly mattered.

It would mean waiting for the right moment, however. If she simply pressed herself on him, he would withdraw, leaving them both wanting. Following Bear back to his teepee, she knew there would be a time and place.

She hoped it would be soon, as her sex tingled and her stiff nipples throbbed in turn with her fast beating heart.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Laresa concentrated on locating and transporting various implements of the shaman's trade to replenish Bear's stores. While he enjoyed the treks to locate the various herbs, talismans, and other paraphernalia, he felt guilty about leaving the tribe without his magic while he was absent. When he lamented a missing herb, Laresa's suggestion that she might acquire the things he needed proved a welcome one to him.

Bear sat meticulously crafting an amulet from a smooth river stone, looking up every so often to rest his eyes and hands as Laresa put each new object she teleported to the teepee in its proper place. The sounds of a loud argument broke the tranquility of the village, and Bear immediately stood, recognizing one of the voices as that of his father.

He stepped through the flap, and found his father standing defiantly before a Brave Laresa didn't recognize. By his dress and regalia, Laresa assumed he was of a different tribe. The conversation quickly confirmed it as they approached.

"You starve us with your magic," the man accused.

Shaking his head, the Chieftain disagreed, "We take no more from the land than we ever have. It was not we who broke the peace. Your father may return to us at any time, and share in the bounty of the joined tribes."

Puffing out his chest and squaring his shoulders, the stranger spit out, "We will not cower like the rabbit before your laws."

Bison Heart maintained his passive expression, but Laresa could feel the disappointment and sadness flowing from him when he said, "The laws bring our bounty, and were made by all. Your grandfather smoked the pipe with me when the law was made."

"There was no choice. This will come to war," The Brave responded, his voice dropping into a low, ominous tone as he said the last.

Reaching them now, Great Bear said, "Does your father send you, Storm Cloud, or do you speak with his voice without his knowledge?"

"My words are not for you," Storm Cloud said without even looking at Bear. "We will not starve. There will be war," he then said, still staring intently at the Chieftain.

"We seek it not, but we will paint our faces if war seeks us, and the Great Spirit will bless us." Bison's words were even and measured, but his sadness deepened to Laresa's senses.

"Once we ran together, Storm Cloud. We were as brothers," Bear said laying a hand on the Brave's shoulder.

Jerking away from Bear, Storm growled, "No more." He turned and walked away, but suddenly darted off to the side, grabbing a girl by the arm. As he pulled her away from the village, drawing a bone knife and keeping the frightened girl between him and the people, he shouted, "You will return what you have stolen from us!"

Laresa began to gather her power, but Bear stepped forward first. The transformation was so swift that Laresa didn't even see it happen. One moment, the Shaman was taking long strides toward the retreating Storm Cloud. The next, a roaring black grizzly charged the stunned Brave.

Distracted and frightened by Bear's transformation into both his namesakes – the Great Bear, and the Dark Beast – he was unprepared when the girl bit down on his arm and spun away. In the moment he turned to try to grab her again, the grizzly was upon him.

A single swipe of the transformed Bear's paw sent Storm Cloud hurtling to the ground, and rolling across the grass. Before the agile brave could gain his feet or bring his weapon in line, Bear was once more upon him, rearing up and roaring. Yellow teeth and claws bristled through night-black fur, and there was death in his eyes.

Storm Cloud's knife fell from his nerveless, trembling hand. Knowing of the transformation Bear underwent was one thing, seeing it was quite another. His belly fluxed, and he nearly soiled himself as certain death loomed over him, in the form of a man he once called brother.

The grizzly growled, shaking its enormous head, and then its paws lowered. In the blink of an eye, the bear blurred once more into the weary looking form of Great Bear. His voice husky, full of pain and anger, Bear said, "Go. Come amongst us no more. You shame the people with such acts."

Scrambling back across the ground away from Bear, Storm Cloud found his feet and ran, as fast as his legs would carry him. Bear hung his head, and then fell to his knees. Laresa approached, but the little girl was the quicker to reach him, being closer.

"Thank you, Dark Beast," she said in reverent tones.

Bear turned to her and took her hand, "You were brave. Your mother and father will be proud, little sister."

Bowing her head, the little girl hurried into the arms of her weeping mother. Laresa saw that Bison Heart was encouraging the people to return to their teepees, knowing how the transformation affected his son, though it had happened only twice before.

Laresa laid a hand on the shaman's shoulder, thinking to him, Bear, are you hurt? Can I help?

The curse is mine to bear, he thought back to her, and then rose to his feet. Laresa followed him back to his teepee sensing little more than a dark void in her troubled Master's mind.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

As nightfall neared, Bear at last rose from where he had sat down immediately upon secluding himself from the village. "I go to my meditation with the Great Spirit."

Laresa asked, "Do you wish me to remain here?"

He nearly said no, but something inside him disagreed quite strongly. Although he did not acknowledge it, he felt calm in her presence. Even the emotional devastation of his transformation stung with less pain this time. "You may come, if you wish."

"Then I will. Perhaps I might find some answers of my own with you. I have found them before upon that hill."

Bear nodded, and then said, "Come, the time approaches."

As Bear trotted off, steadily increasing his speed, Laresa could feel the darker emotions within him evaporating. Increasing her pace to match his long strides, she found his exhilaration contagious. Her silvery hair whipping in the breeze, she ran beside him, bringing her power to bear for a moment to restrain her bouncing breasts. That irritant eliminated, she fell into the building joy of the run.

Reaching the top of the hill, Laresa let the peaceful nature of the place seep into her. Bear turned to the sunset, as he always did, and Laresa sat down in the grass nearby to join him. Reaching out with her power, she summoned up the calming pendant given to her by the Incan priestess. The divine magic of the item quickly did its work, further relaxing the Djinn. No words passed between them as the sun sank slowly toward the horizon, painting the sky in lustrous shades of red and orange.

Bear gathered up what he needed for his meditation fire, and soon had it burning. He pulled off his leather vest and slipped out of his moccasins, but paused in the process of reaching for his loincloth. It was only then that he remembered he was not alone atop the hill.

Laresa could sense his discomfort, and said, "I have seen you so before, Bear. If this is part of your meditation ritual, you shouldn't change things because I am here."

Bear hesitated for a moment more, but then nodded and tugged at his loincloth again. Laresa averted her eyes, which required a great deal of effort, watching the final sliver of the sun vanish in the distance. A few moments later, she could smell the herbs burning in Bear's fire, and could feel him slipping into a meditative state. Clearing her mind, letting the scent of the herbs and the earth permeate her, Laresa too let the world otherwise fade into the background.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Laresa started out of her trance, stunned that she had slipped so fully into the meditative state, and shaken by what she had seen.

Bear's voice arose from behind her, asking, "You had a vision?"

Laresa folded her arms in front of her, staring at the stars and trembling slightly. She could manage only to nod her head in the affirmative.

"Do you wish to speak of it?"

Laresa's first instinct was that talking about her vision was the last thing she wanted to do. After considering it, however, she changed her mind. In a soft voice, she related what had come to her in the vision, "I saw a beast arise within me. It gnawed at me, and held me tight in its grip. Its aspect changed constantly, becoming previous Masters, and others. I saw Nathifa, and your grandfather as a babe. I saw a cruel Master named Aaron, and a couple who loved me as a friend. I was afraid to fight the beast, and it fed upon my fear. No matter how often I wrenched free from it, it always pulled me back with terrible claws. In the end, it became my ring. That is when I awakened."

Bear asked, "Do you understand the meaning of this vision?"

Shaking her head, Laresa glanced down at the pendant hanging between her breasts, irritated that its magic didn't appear to be having any effect upon her now. The fear and desperation from her vision lingered within her, holding her in a grip as tight as the beast it had revealed to her.

Bear stood and walked over to the Djinn, laying a hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "Some visions are not meant to be understood in the moment of their giving. They prepare the way for understanding when the time is right." He stood in silence for a few moments, softly squeezing Laresa's shoulder in a comforting manner. "My vision was of you. I saw you calming the dark beast I become when I change, taming it with your touch."

Laresa turned, looking up into his eyes. As their eyes connected, something more passed between them. Laresa's unease vanished as if it had never been, and desire flared to brilliant life within Bear. As his feelings washed over her, they kindled need within Laresa as well. A twitch of his cock in her peripheral vision, so close to her face as she sat at his feet, built Laresa's passions even higher.

A brisk wind swept over them, whipping both white-gold and dark gray hair with its strength. Shortly thereafter, the rain followed as they stared in silence into each other's eyes. Only a few drops fell at first, but the strength of the storm grew by the moment. In the distance, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, drawing closer with each resounding boom of nature's power.

"Perhaps the beast within you does not need taming, but understanding," Laresa said, spinning around completely to face him and stroking his muscled legs. "You call it a curse, and yet it saved a girl this day. When confronted with slaying a helpless man, you controlled the beast, sending Storm Cloud away instead. The beast serves the people, but it serves you as well. You are within it, even as it is within you. If it would not harm one who meant you harm, why would it harm one you love?"

"I doubt still," Bear responded, his voice thick with restrained passion.

With a thought, Laresa caused her clothing to vanish, baring her body to Bear as his was to her. Rivulets of water cascaded down their bodies, illuminated by the flashes of the approaching lightning. 

"You seclude yourself from the people, and your desires, because you fear the beast's power may bring them harm. The beast could not harm me, Bear, were it to be released, which I do not believe will happen." Laresa's hands moved upward, her thumbs sliding along the inside of his thighs, and her breasts lifting as she raised her arms. Bear's manhood began a steady rise, impossible for him to resist in light of her soft touch.

"Give me your passion," Laresa gasped out, the statement punctuated by a clap of thunder, which shook their bodies with its power.

Leaning forward, Laresa lapped his nearly erect organ from root to tip, drawing a gasp from Bear that was carried away by the wind almost as quickly as the sound passed his lips. As she looked up into his eyes, swirling her tongue over the purple helmet of his manhood, he laid his hand on her rain-soaked hair, pulling her toward him on pure instinct.




The Beast Within



Laresa parted her lips, taking him in her mouth with skill that only a Djinn with centuries of experience could possibly possess. In one smooth motion, she engulfed his entire length, the tip slipping into her throat and her lips pressing into the iron-gray curls at the root. Her throat, lips, and tongue all caressed his organ, the sounds of his groans lost in the howl of the wind and the booming of thunder.

Laresa's saturated tresses whipped against Bear's legs as her head bobbed over his cock, one of her hands curling around him to grasp his slick buttock, while she rested his heavy balls in her other hand and caressed them. Despite the whirling of the wind, the scent of Laresa's arousal tickled both their noses, mingling with the smells of wet earth and ozone.

A burst of flavor brought a fresh rush of saliva to Laresa's mouth, as a drop of pre-cum seeped from him. She moaned around him, savoring the flavor while continuing to suck him with quick strokes. 

Bear's hands reached under her arms, pulling her upward, and off his throbbing cock. He popped free of her mouth as she rose from her knees, and she immediately pressed her lips against his in a hungry kiss, as soon as she could reach him. Their arms wrapping around each other, their slick flesh met, and they released their pent up desire into ardent kisses.

Bear grasped her buttocks in one powerful hand, placing his other hand on her back just below the shoulders. Dropping to his knees, he pulled her with him to the whipping, dripping grass below. He lowered her to the ground, supporting her easily in his arms. As soon as her back touched the earth, Laresa parted her legs wide, the hunger in her expression illuminated by bright flashes of lightning.

The feeling of Bear's cock sliding into her hot, wet embrace was beyond compare. Both had been denied this pleasure for far too long, and the groans that escaped them as he settled into her depths overcame even the cacophony of the storm's raging.

Laresa's breasts bounced from the power of his thrusts, and only his tight grip on her parted thighs prevented her from sliding away from him across the slippery grass. Popping her eyes open to watch him penetrating her wet heat, Laresa was almost surprised not to see the pounding rain hissing into steam against her burning flesh.

Laresa's pleasure mounted quickly beneath his powerful assault, even as the storm continued to batter them with its full strength. The hot pressure behind Laresa's mound reached a painful intensity, growing larger and larger, filling her body with heat that seared her. A blinking strobe from the overhead lightning illuminated Bear's face for a moment when Laresa's eyes were open, and she knew that he too was near the point of no return.

Bear's cock slammed into her a final time, the sounds of his release lost in the noise of the storm. The bubble within Laresa burst at the first hot spurt of his semen into her depths, the power of her orgasm causing her back to arch until only her bottom and the top of her head supported her. Laresa pinched her nipples tight as Bear continued to pulse, filling her abundant pools of cream.

As they reached their peaks, so to did the storm. Nature unleashed its full fury around them, illuminating their trembling bodies in an endless series of strobes from the flickering electric bolts. The thunder rattled them with its power, and the rain was so heavy that it obscured the climaxing couple from each other despite the bright flashes of light. A tree a short distance away exploded as one of the storm's fiery forks of power reached down for it from the heavens.

The intensity of their orgasms sapped the strength from both Bear and Laresa. They collapsed to the earth, spent beyond the ability to move – still joined by the bridge of his throbbing organ buried in her tightly clenched depths. The lightning slowed, and the rain slacked off, allowing them to hear each other panting and gasping for breath, if only barely despite their faces being mere inches apart.

The storm moved on, leaving in its wake an exhausted couple, who only rose from their place in the grass with great effort. Even then, it was a while before Laresa could summon up the strength to transport them back to Bear's teepee.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Laresa blinked her violet eyes, feeling quite strange to be awakening outside her ring. Upon learning that she did not truly sleep while in the outside world, Bear had wished that she be able to do so if she desired. Waking up lying next to Bear, with her head cradled in his arm, was quite a pleasant new experience for the Djinn.

Slipping from the furs, so as not to awaken him, she found that not everything was perfect with this new arrangement. She stretched for a few moments, attempting to work out the kinks in her muscles, only to cheat and use her magic when the exercise didn't help fast enough.

Feeling better, Laresa decided that a special treat was in order, after the previous night's lovemaking amidst the storm. Calling forth her power, she manifested a plate of sizzling bacon, eggs, and well-buttered toast. As an afterthought, she created a cup of coffee as well.

The smell soon roused Bear, who opened his eyes and sniffed deeply of the intoxicating aroma. Sitting up, he said, "Good morning, what is this?"

"Something special I've discovered in my travels through time. Try it," Laresa said, handing Bear the cup of coffee.

Bear's eyes opened wide with the first sip of the beverage. "What is this potion?"

"It is called coffee. It is common enough in many places, especially in the future. It will help wake you up too. Do you like it?"

Bear sighed and took another long drink, "Very much." Nodding toward the steaming plate, he said, "If this is as good, you will spoil me, Moonhair. I will soon be as big as the bear for which I am named."

Smiling at him, Laresa responded, "I think I would like spoiling you, although I prefer you fit and handsome." Just enough suggestion crept into her voice to tell Bear exactly what she was thinking of when she said it.

Taking a bite of the bacon, obviously savoring the taste from his expression, Bear said, "Do you regret our joining?"

Laresa shook her head. "Not at all. I find it difficult in recent days to forget that one day you will pass on, or I will pass to another Master, but I am content."

"Perhaps this is your beast – the one from your vision," Bear suggested, taking another sip of his coffee.

The vision returned to Laresa now with perfect clarity. Bear was correct; the beast was her dissatisfaction with slavery to the ring. She assumed that the strong emotions the vision had roused within her had prevented her from seeing what seemed so simple now. It was her heart that all the people she had encountered over the centuries clawed at, whether they had meant to or not. Every attachment she formed would one day end, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

"I believe you are right," Laresa agreed. "The vision told me nothing of how to face this beast, however."

"Some visions reveal truths, others bring wisdom. Perhaps another vision will grant you the wisdom to confront your beast, or you will discover it through knowing the truth of it," Bear suggested.

Laresa smiled and said, "And what of your beast? Have I tamed it?"

"Perhaps I better understand it," Bear replied with a somewhat sheepish smile. "I would be pleased to have your touch continue to soothe the beast within me."

Moving close to him, Laresa said, "And I would be pleased to do so."

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Knowing now that he was still in control when he transformed into the great black grizzly, and that his passions would not trigger the transformation, Bear ended his seclusion to some extent. He went among the people more often, interacting on a purely social level in a manner not seen since his first transformation. Much of his time was still spent in his teepee and by himself in the wilderness, however.

Or so the people of the village thought.

In truth, he and Laresa became as husband and wife. Laresa found that by sleeping outside her ring, her strength remained for longer periods of time. Often, it would be weeks before she needed to seek the refuge of her ring to recharge her powers. Laresa could sense that Bear's family, the only people who knew of her, did not entirely approve of the arrangement, but this was tempered by their joy at return of Bear's once jovial nature.

Bear asked no more of her than Laresa was willing and able to offer. He desired no children, still having no desire to sire one that might eventually carry his burden as protector of the tribe. He gave her free will, allowing her to make her own choices, where the ties that bound her to the ring would allow. Having Bear at her side allowed Laresa truly to appreciate the simple and joyful life she had attempted to have with Nathifa. He satisfied her needs, and she took great pleasure in satisfying his.

Each evening, she shared in his meditation atop the hill, although no more visions came to her as they had the first time. When Bear returned to the waking world, they would make love as they had that first night in the storm, in the grass beneath the stars. Laresa was truly content, as she had not been for a very long time.

The seasons turned, and Laresa once again used her magic to increase the bounty of the confederated tribes. Storm Cloud's father came to Bison Heart shortly before winter, sealing again the covenant between his tribe and the confederation. Whether he did so in acknowledgement of Bison Heart's honest desire to help, or necessity because of a lean year for his people was questionable. Regardless, the joined tribes regained the strength lost with the rebellious tribe's earlier departure.

Laresa still struggled with her beast, knowing that Bear would one day pass from the world, while she would continue on. Before, with Clint, James, and other Masters, such thoughts had never entered her head. She couldn't even truly pinpoint when the change had occurred. Laresa looked upon it as an irritating flaw, while Bear contended it was growth of her spirit. Those words always brought with them a feeling of conviction, as though it were not merely his opinion, but an undeniable truth. He sounded so sure that Laresa actually had to fight the urge to search his mind for the source of that steadfast belief.

Sitting across from Bear before his fire, on patches of earth cleared of snow and warmed by her power, Laresa waited for the shaman to return to the waking world from his meditation. She smiled, her bare nipples stiffening, as she saw Bear's breathing increase in pace, a signal she knew meant he would soon slip out of his trance. Wetness gathered within her as the other signs of his awakening slowly manifested.

Bears eyes opened, and his brow furrowed. "Someone comes."

A mischievous grin spread across her face as Laresa said, "Two someones will. Whoever is going to intrude won't know we are here." She summoned up her magic, hiding them from the eyes and ears of any who might come near.

The scream of a bird of prey overhead caused Bear and Laresa to look up. An eagle circled overhead, steadily descending toward them. As they followed the spirals of the majestic bird, a coyote approaching through the snow also met their eyes.

Laresa stood, immediately seeing that the coyote's paw prints appeared only a few feet beyond where it was now, with only pristine snow beyond. "This is something unnatural."

Bear stood as well, knowing Laresa was correct, as such was the nature of the vision that had come to him in his meditation. The coyote paused, looking upward at the descending eagle. The canine waited as the eagle flared its wings, buffeting the air as it came to rest upon the ground nearby. Once the eagle's talons sank into the snow, both animals blurred and became men.

"Grandfather," Bear muttered.

Laresa's eyes narrowed when she recognized the other brave with Nathifa's son. "We meet again."

The man who had been a coyote nodded his head in acknowledgement, but it was Eagle Soaring who spoke. "Painful truths I must bring to you, Dark Beast – Moonhair."

"We await your wisdom, Eagle Soaring," Bear said reverently.

Laresa said nothing, instead staring hard at the other man. She had a distinct feeling of being manipulated, and she did not like it.

"Calm, Moon in her Hair, the truths we must give unto you will bring great pain, but are necessary for you both to fulfill your destiny," Eagle said to Laresa.

Seeing Eagle's eyes misty with tears, Laresa's anger cooled somewhat. At least Nathifa's son appeared to like this no more than she did. Speaking to the other man, she said, "Who are you to know our destiny, and how are we to know that you do not attempt to make it for us?"

Eagle started to speak, but the other brave lay a hand on his shoulder and took a step forward. "Force you to accept the truth, I cannot. Show you the truth, I can. Your must choose your path, for good or ill. I believe your wisdom, and compassion, will set your feet on the right path."

"Dark Beast, it is of our blood that our people shall survive great troubles in times to come. The fruit of your loins, and of those who come after, will one day preserve the ways of our people, when strangers come to cast us out of this land," Eagle Soaring said to his grandson.

Turning to Laresa, he said, "Moon in her Hair – friend of my mother – truths have been revealed to you as well, in your vision. In time, they shall lead to wisdom, and wisdom will lead you to your destiny."

The transformed coyote spoke next, "You must choose in wisdom. See what the future may hold."

Both Laresa and Bear saw the visions then. They saw themselves, hand in hand, and beyond them, a terrible scene of devastation. White men with guns ravaged the plains, the mountains, and all the sacred places, driving the people out, grinding them into the dust. The people retreated, forced into parcels of land where they scraped out a meager existence. Then the dress, the language, and all the ways of the people faded, until nothing remained. Those few who survived assimilated within the white man's world, their proud history utterly forgotten.

Then the image of Bear faded away, and the vision of Laresa screamed. White-hot chains wrapped around her body, all coming from her ring. They held her tight, with no hope of slipping free, and both watchers could see an eternity of pain and slavery spreading out before the Djinn.

The vision dissolved, to be replaced by another. In this vision, Bear and Laresa released each other's hands, with tears in their eyes. Beyond, the white men came again, but this time some of the people clung to the old ways, preserving their heritage. Leading them was a man in who Bear and Laresa could see the blood of Nathifa, of Hawk, of Eagle Soaring, and of Bear. Others took up his cause, and the ways of the people were not lost. Though their old life was gone, they held on to their traditions, and their proud history, preserving it for generations to come.

Bear faded, as before, but the chains that bound Laresa cooled, the metal links weakening. The image then vanished, replaced by reality once more.

Laresa's eyes flashed with anger as she stared hard at the two men before her. "I have been to the future, and I know what will be. I cannot change the future; it is one of the rules that bind me. If I try, I am forced back into my ring and across the face of space and time."

Coyote endured her gaze without flinching. "The future is fluid, Moonhair. Your power cannot change it, but free will can."

"Lies," Laresa spat out, and then turned to Bear, "The second vision has already come to pass, Bear. I have seen it. The people are cast down, but the old ways are remembered. Even far in the future, they remember their proud heritage, and pass it down to those young ones who feel the spirit of the people within them. Your family does not approve of us, and that obviously extends to those who have passed from this world."

"Would that your destiny lay with Bear," Eagle countered. "Through you, my grandson has regained himself. With great joy have I watched you share your lives. With great sadness I tell you that it must pass."

"Bear, this cannot be." Laresa's eyes misted over. She could feel the conflicting emotions flowing from Bear, and her voice broke slightly as she said, "Tell me you do not believe this." Despite her strong words, they rang hollow in her heart. Deep inside, somehow, she knew the vision was true.

"Never have I known a vision to be untrue. Nor have I known a falsehood to pass Eagle Soaring's lips, Moonhair," Bear replied, his voice tightly controlled.

"Bear, don't say that. I am happy with you. The future can't be changed. We can't change it. All we have is now."

"You know what you must do," Eagle said sadly.

Bear took Laresa's hand. "I cannot endure knowing that I will bring you pain."

"You bring me only happiness," Laresa argued.

"You bring me great joy, Moonhair, but my time is but a ripple in the pond of your life. What once I have gone to join the Great Spirit? Even should these visions prove false, what then, when I must leave you?"

"I don't care." Sobs shook the silvery-haired Djinn as she felt Bear summoning up his resolve. "Please..."

"Never will I forget you, Moonhair." Bear took a deep breath.

Knowing what was to come, Laresa sobbed, "No!"

Bear said softly, "I wish for you to go seek your destiny."

The moment the words passed his lips, Laresa knew them for what they were – a lie. Bear wanted nothing more than to spend his life with her, but he believed the vision and could not endure leading her into eternal slavery and pain. Still sobbing, Laresa dissolved into a misty vapor, returning to her ring. At the same moment, the ring vanished once more into the fabric of time.

Bear fell to his knees, crying out in anguish until his voice grew hoarse.

"This had to come to pass, Bear. You will preserve the ways of the people, and have set Moonhair on the path that can free her," Coyote said.

"I do not thank you for this vision," Bear growled.

Coyote responded, "Nor will Moonhair thank you for sending her away. This too shall lead to the growth of your spirits, however. In time shall you both know that this parting was necessary."

Eagle's voice was thick with emotion when he spoke. "We go now. Though the future remains unclear, within that future shall you meet again with Moonhair."

Closing his eyes tight, Bear refused to acknowledge the words. His soul screamed in pain.

Men blurred once more into beasts, and a coyote loped away, even as an eagle soared into the heavens.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Six years later...

With a final push and scream, Sweet Water delivered the babe into the pale light of the moon and stars above. "It is a girl," said the woman acting as midwife, wrapping the child in a blanket.

Looking upon the babe, and the smiling woman to whom the midwife handed the infant, the years replayed in Bear's mind. Upon returning to the village, Bear had once more retreated within himself. When Sweet Water fell ill, he treated her as he did the others in the village, with a clinical detachment, seeking only to make them whole.

Sweet Water's illness had proven virulent, forcing Bear to remain with her for days on a near constant basis. With stubborn determination, he battled the fever that ravaged her with all the skill and magic at his disposal. After more than a week, her fever broke, allowing Bear to nurse her back to health.

Having a new appreciation for life after her brush with death, Sweet Water poured out her heart to Bear as she recovered. In an attempt to rebuff her attempts to open his heart to her, he had told her of Laresa, hiding nothing of his feelings for the Djinn.




The Beast Within



Sweet Water was undeterred. She accepted that Laresa would always occupy the shaman's heart, and she was content to share that space with the genie whom she had never met. Bear resisted, but Sweet Water would not be cast aside without a battle. She found the breach in his defenses, the need for companionship Laresa had awakened within him. It took a full turning of the seasons, but Sweet Water at last awakened him to the joy of life once more.

Their son had been born a year earlier, and now he had a daughter as well. Bear knelt next to Sweet Water, looking closer at the tiny child in her arms. Moonlight reflected off his daughter's slick, full head of hair, reminding Bear for a moment of the silvery flashes from Laresa's tresses. The babe cooed – the sounds very close to the tune of an ancient song of the tribe. Tears in his eyes, and a wide smile on his face, bear said softly, "Moonsong."

"It is a beautiful name. Moonsong she shall be," Sweet Water agreed.

Bear looked up to the stars, wondering where Laresa might be now, and whether his decision had been the correct one.

Sweet Water stroked his arm and said, "I pray for her happiness, Great Bear. You must trust in the Great Spirit. Never before have our people been led astray in his guidance."

"You know my thoughts as though they were your own," Bear said, turning back to her. "It is my place to guide the tribe in the Spirit, yet you guide me."

"As it should be. I believe Moonhair would feel so as well, would it have been possible for her to have remained at your side," Sweet Water responded with a weary grin. "The night grows chill."

Picking his wife and child up in his still powerful arms, he carried them back into the teepee.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Within her ring, Laresa awakened. Anger and misery both clawed at her, the dream of Bear and Sweet Water ripping into her heart. To think that he might forget her so quickly, moving on with his life to another – after all they had shared – pained her greatly. Tears rolled down Laresa's face, even as her teeth clenched tight against a growl.

Then the end of the dream returned to her.

The look upon Bear's face as he gazed at the stars was one Laresa knew well. Sweet Water's words and Bear's response confirmed for Laresa that his contemplative, longing gaze was related to her.

Though the lie that separated them pained her, the thought that perhaps he loved her still tempered the emotion. Perhaps this is more than a dream, she thought, It seemed so real, as though I stood beside them.

Sighing, Laresa wished them well, if indeed the dream were a vision of reality. What was done was done, and nothing could change that now. She could not claim to love Bear if she wished him loneliness, simply because she felt pain herself.

Hugging one of her cushions, Laresa settled in and drifted back off into the long sleep between Masters.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Coyote opened his eyes.

"Thank you," Nathifa said gratefully.

"Through her have the people prospered, and through her sacrifice shall the ways of the people be preserved. More peace than I can give her does she deserve," Coyote responded.

Nathifa sighed, "I think she'll come to understand in time. Will she find her freedom, as did I?"

"That remains unclear, but she walks the path," Coyote replied. "With each new pain, and with each new joy, she grows in wisdom and power. It that may she survive the trials that await her – to seize the moment when it comes. She is strong, and I believe she shall be free."

"I pray it so. Be strong, Laresa. Be free, my dear friend."

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Caught your breath yet, D? If so, then I failed in my mission *laugh*

Thanks to Roust for his assistance and editing, as always. Credit goes to Red for creating such a wonderful character to write, and it's a pleasure to be able to borrow our beautiful Djinn for these tales. Severusmax's mention of Dark Beast in his chapter sparked this story almost instantly in my head, and I knew I had to tell this tale once I closed out my Ch. 15 with "Of the People".

One more tale left to tell, to relate Laresa's adventures between Ch. 15 and 16 of the chain. The next one is going to be a dark chapter in Laresa's history...



The Beast Within



I'd like to acknowledge MissZ for editing this story. If you find the story lacking it certainly wasn't her fault as I didn't take all her advice.

As with all authors, if this story touches you positively or negatively I want to hear from you.

*

They converse on an over-stuffed brown, leather sofa. Andy is introspective and suspicious of beautiful women. Marcia patiently waits for him, encouraging him to believe with warmth and wit. Afraid she will carelessly tear the soft underbelly of his self-image, he resists, but there is no denying his aching desire to fall under her spell. I know what will follow; I can see it all.

Marcia sits with one leg folded under, facing him with elbow propped on the back of the couch. Andy stiffly looks straight ahead speaking in monotone abundantly aware of her scrutiny. She unconsciously casts her spell - smiles, interested questions, warm eye contact. Slowly she coaxes the best from him. He soon speaks animatedly, gesticulating, smiling, and laughing with her. He believes and well he should, he's in supremely gentle hands. I see the look in his eye, that combination of disbelief, gratitude, and deep warmth. Perhaps love. Love for her. Love for my wife Marcia.

I am feeling detached - like looking at the scene from great distance through high magnification. I easily discern all details, yet I don't feel present.

Watching Marcia charm Andy reminds me of the first time Marcia met my family, nervous and introspective until she stepped over the threshold of my parent's front door. The current took her. I worried she might drown in the raucous free-for-all, which is a family gathering at my parents house. 

She is an only child while I have five brothers and sisters with liberal parents. Others had come to these gatherings and most never returned. Not Marcia. She stood toe-to-toe, yelling furious indignation at my hulking weight-lifter brother. She tearily hugged my sister in commiseration as the topics ranged from how a woman uses a public toilet without sitting on it, to how the military is deployed to make profit for multinational corporations.

I watched in amazement. How seamlessly she became part of the family. We drove home that evening and she was absolutely alight, buzzing with grinning excitement. That night I decided I would do whatever it took to make her my wife.

Returning from reverie I notice Marcia and Andy chatting like old friends. She gazes at me questioning non-verbally, 'Are you okay?' 

I am feeling weird, and I'm sure it is reflected in my face. The sensation of being outside my body is intense. I can feel myself stand, but I don't really think about it. Andy speaks but the sound is distorted, like it's echoing down a long hall. I hold her gaze, her expressive deep brown eyes are wide, she knows something's amiss. She stands to meet me; I knew she would. I am intensely focused on her, the muted colors of her summer dress, her pumps lying on the floor beside the couch, her slender tanned arms. The noise Andy was making ceases; I sense his eyes on me.

I kiss her warmly, deeply. I am always amazed at how easily I can lose myself in her. I press against her soft lips, my tongue probing, luxuriating in the warm wet smoothness of her mouth. I close my eyes and we are one, I can't tell where I end and she begins. I luxuriate in the sensation.

I sense mounting tension in her back; her kiss becomes perfunctory. We don't kiss passionately in front of others. But she doesn't know about the beast within. She doesn't know he knows her intimately. She doesn't know he aches for her attention, and screams for release. She doesn't know he is part of me, or maybe, I'm part of him. 

The beast grabs the firm lobes of her shapely ass with my hungry hands. She tries to back away. Ah, I feel her thick muscles bunching in my hands. I pull her tightly to me, possessively, mine. MINE. I hear someone growling deeply; I think it might be me.  

"Mose, quit it " she snaps angrily smoothing her dress. I reach for the front of her summer dress and tear it open in a shower of delicate white buttons. They plunk on the carpet in otherwise shocked silence. Marcia stares open mouthed and reeling. She abruptly closes her mouth and turns to flee. 

I seize a fist full of her shining hair. She becomes docile, like a kitten grabbed by the scruff of the neck, thoughts of flight abandoned. Her surrender ignites such powerful emotions that my face tingles with heat. It makes me dizzy. To his glee, the beast knew. The beast knew she would surrender. 

She holds the ripped dress over her chest. 

"Hands at your sides," I say in a voice that's definitely mine, but not one I use with Marcia. Never with Marcia. She searches my eyes for understanding; she trusts me. This trust has been gained through years of loving her. She lowers her arms. She is now at the beast's mercy.

I yank her dress down and let it fall, crumpling at her feet. The beast leers at her without shame, or remorse and assesses his prize. He notes the silky brown hair cupping her pretty face. Her eyes fearful of something she's desperate to hide, but she can't hide from the beast. Lower. Oh those soft sensuous lips. Lower. Small heaving breasts with dime sized nipples hinted at through her sheer cream bra. Lower. The muscles of her core vaguely outlined around her sexy navel and exciting flare of hips. 

I reach for the plastic clasp between her breasts. She looks deep into my eyes, "Mose." She says quietly, her voice thick with suppressed emotion. Not a question, Not an accusation, not outrage, just my name. Well no, not my name. Nobody else calls me Mose, it's really her name for me. Those other things people call me, Jack and Mr. Seabolt are tags to distinguish me from the masses, Mose is who I am. She's warning me. It's a one-way leap off this precipice.

I remember the first time I truly felt like a man, and not coincidentally, it was also the first time I met Marcia. We were on a caving trip, with a large group, hiking to the cave entrance when something rustled the rhododendrons along the path, it sounded large and heading straight for us. I instinctively stepped forward angling my walking stick defensively. Marcia stepped close to my shoulder and grabbed my upper arm from behind. A quail streaked out from under the brush and marched up and down with its wing out. Apparently, we had gotten too close to the nest and she was trying to lead us away by feigning a broken wing. 

In those few moments of uncertainty, Marcia stepped away from Dean, her date, and stood by me. She took my arm. She put her confidence, her trust, her faith in me. I swear to you now, if instead of a mother quail, a band of Hun warriors came out of the brush, I would have bellowed a war-cry to make the earth shake and charged those sons-of-bitches. I was dry tinder that burst into combat rage because Marcia silently chose me as her champion. She MADE ME her champion, and with all that I am, I would BE her champion. 

Snap, her bra droops, hanging off her shoulders. No, there is no turning back I slide the bra off her shoulders and it drops to the floor. 

"Kneel."

After a few rapid beats of her heart, she tears her eyes away and kneels at my feet. I feel the burning ache of desire accompanied by hot blood surging into my genitals. I push her face into the growing bulge in my pants.

"Blow."

She opens her mouth wide and bathes my crotch in her warm moist breath. She looks up at me.

"Go on," I encourage. She nibbles and licks, while my erection uncomfortably inches down my pant leg. Her teeth feel dangerous but luscious through the denim. Her eyes are closed in concentration and her ministrations have made a deeper blue spot on my jeans. I take a condom from my pocket and tear the plastic sheath. I unroll it a short way onto index and middle finger. 

I touch her head, startling her.

"Open your mouth." 

She shakes her head no.

"Open your mouth," I say menacingly. Hurt and confused, her brows crease but she obeys. I slide the condom into her mouth. She watches me intently with eyes glassy with emotion. Normally this would cause me great distress, but the beast speaks to a deeper part of Marcia. 

"Now hold it just like that."

I turn my attention to Andy sitting wide-eyed on the couch. Even his ears are beet red.

"Ah, I have to go," he stands painfully, his erection evident. 

"Stay," I say reasonably. I notice Marcia cover her breasts and I can almost feel the waves of panic rolling off her.

"Really, I have to go." Anger creeps into his voice. Lust pulls him yet he feels toyed with.

"Marcia, crawl to Andy." She blushes furiously and I imagine her heart pounding mightily in her chest. She doesn't move. She waits till I turn my attention back to her, so I can see the torment I am causing her. I keep my face and voice cold.

"Crawl," I say pointing.

She turns to face him on her knees, head down, arms wrapped tightly around her chest. I imagine she is screwing up her courage. She takes a deep shuddering breath and unfolds her arms exposing her chest to him. I can't see her face but I know she peeks to see Andy's reaction. She leans forward and crawls to him while Andy stares saucer eyed. She sits on her feet in front of him.

He gapes open mouthed. It seems he'll either bolt or vomit. He swallows, "I don't think of her that way."

"Is that hard-on for me?"

"NO! I mean, she's your wife."

"Yes, she's my wife.... Take off your pants and underwear."

"Jack?" He looks at me like I told him the laws of physics have been suspended indefinitely.

"Andy, look at her." She looks up, face blushed with the condom in her mouth and he freezes for just a moment, then he tears at his belt. 

His shoes, socks and pants lay in a pile. He thrusts his tented boxer shorts down and his penis springs out nearly slapping Marcia's face. She stares at his member inches from her face. Her expression is not one of disgust.

"Marcia, put the condom on his cock using only your mouth."

She breathes heavily through her nose as she places trembling hands on his thighs. Slowly her lips approach his throbbing veined shaft. She gingerly takes his purple head in her delicate mouth. She slowly unrolls the condom onto his penis with lips, teeth and tongue punctuated by shallow bobs of her head. Andy stands like tensed steel without breathing. 

The scene horrifies... and ignites trembling arousal in me. My wonderful wife with another man's penis in her mouth. I am depraved. But the beast exults. He knows she obeys from devotion and something else. He is coaxing something deeper and bestial from Marcia's loving breast.

She leans back and exposes his condom-covered cock. She sits on her feet gazing at the floor. 

"Stand and come here." 

She faces me but will not look in my eyes. 

"Did you enjoy having Andy's cock in your mouth?"

In distress she shakes her head no, but I know better. Her nipples are hard and her heat scents the air. I yank her panties down to her ankles and bend her over the arm of the sofa. Her labia amidst dark brown curls are glistening, dark and swollen. I spread her lips with my thumbs while she intakes breath sharply and holds it.

She is ready. I drop my pants, and plunge deeply into her exquisite slippery heat. This is a mistake. I shudder as my hips want to pump of their own accord. I am balanced on the cusp of ejaculation. I have to concentrate. Oh, how I want to pound straight to her hot core. Taking the lead, she tightens on me and rocks her hips.

"NO!" I bellow and smack her hard on the flank. She jumps and for a moment I think I am past the point of no return. I hug her hips close to insure no movement. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. I pull out slowly, panting. My achingly hard penis glistens with her arousal.

Grabbing her by the hair, I move to the front of the couch and slide my penis under her nose making her upper lip slick.

"What's this on my cock, you slut." She shakes her head, no. I brush the head of my cock onto her lips. 

"Taste it." She takes my head into her mouth as she glances sidelong at me causing the beast to growl. There is something recklessly wild in her gaze.

"Get on the carpet, you're gonna get it like a bitch in heat." She scrambles to the floor jerkily, like a spring wound too tight.

"Head on the ground, ass in the air, so your dripping fuck-hole can be used." She takes position and I stand with her head between my feet, she grasps my legs. I admire the magnificent curves of her hips and buttocks.

"Andy, kneel behind her." He looks down at Marcia and sinks to his knees reverently.

"Kiss her Andy." He slowly pecks her cheek and sits up. His hands slowly glide over her ass. He starts tentatively, but quickly his mouth and hands wander opening, kissing, licking "Mmmmm" he hums his delight. Her fingers dig deeply into my calves. I know she's suppressing and the more she does the more powerful the orgasm. She surreptitiously spreads wider. A deep longing moan escapes from her center. I know it's near.

"Andy?" His head comes up from behind her, his face slick with her joy.

"Fuck her like a cheap whore."

"Ohhhhhh," she quietly announces her need. She arches, her ass shamelessly high in the air. She's done pretending; she wants cock. He stares at her sex with lust crazed eyes as he positions himself. He tries to enter slowly, thoughtfully, but she rocks back on his hard shaft, impaling herself to the hilt. They both gasp. He grasps her hips and starts to pump. She moans and I can feel her warm breath on my foot. 

"Fuck me Andy." She says barely audibly. "Ahh, ahh. Fuck me Andy." She says louder while he pistons into her.

"FUCK ME HARDER!" she yells, and Andy takes her request to heart, thrusting for all he's worth.

Her tongue laps my bare foot. 

"You want more." Its a statement.

"Yesss," She groans. She raises her head from the floor and her warm wet mouth engulfs my raging hard-on. I'm already about to burst. The sounds of her slurping messily on my dick mix with the wet thumping of Andy's furious pounding. Her brows furrow as she starts to pant. Her attention turns inward with her approaching climax. Her mouth goes slack. Andy's fingers are white tipped and digging into her flesh. His pumping slows, becoming deep and purposeful. He gasps 'Ahh', in time with the slap of their flesh. 

Marcia moans in haunting aching ecstasy, this sound moves me like no other and fills me to overflowing. I burst into her open mouth and on her face beautifully etched in fierce concentration of an impossible joy. 

Aftermath

Oddly isolated in the aftermath of climax, our breathing slows and the fog of lust lifting to reveal dawning farsighted clarity. The locomotive of this sexual train, the beast, cannot be found. We are stalled. It appears I must face the consequences without him. 

I stand naked with my penis swiftly shrinking. Andy and Marcia sit on their heels in stunned silence. My semen clings to Marcia's silky hair. Andy wears a condom full of cum he ejaculated while inside my wife. This is all wrong.

Marcia looks frightfully alone. What is she thinking? The thought makes my chest ache. I kneel in front of her and grasp her in a bear hug. She folds her arms on her chest like she's protecting herself from me. From me. I try to kiss her, to reassure her, but she turns away. Shocked, I tell Andy to cleanup in the guest bathroom and Marcia in our bathroom. They silently leave, happy to have something to do. I remain kneeling head down. I absently watch a milky drop of semen seep from my flaccid penis and fall to the carpet. 

I put on my pants thinking about damage control, particularly Andy. But when Andy comes out he can't look me in the eye. As I walk him to the door, I tell him not to tell anybody what happened tonight. He nods his head without making any sound. 

"Andy, you can't tell anyone what happened here tonight, you know who will be hurt the most don't you?" He finally looks me in the eye and angrily says, "You should have thought about that before you did it."

"It was my mistake, but Marcia will pay more dearly than I. She will wonder who knows about our activity, she'll wonder which old biddy is talking behind her back. Anything she does in this town will be a burden, she'll have to screw up her courage to do anything. Don't do that to her."

Outraged Andy replies, "I'd never hurt Marcia!"

"I didn't think you would, purposely, but inadvertently you might let it slip."

Andy interrupts, "I won't let it slip."

"I just want to make clear what's at stake. Swear you won't tell anyone."

"Yeah, yeah, I swear Jack, but that doesn't change anything. I told you I won't and I won't."

"I believe you Andy. I'll see you at work."

Andy takes a few steps down the sidewalk to the driveway and turns to me saying, "I told you I had to go..."

"Yeah Andy, it's all my fault."

"I mean if I had a wife like Marcia, I'd never..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I shut the door on that minor problem and face the much more daunting task.

I stand outside our bedroom door while fear creeps into my chest making it hard to breathe. The coward in me speaks up and tells me to turn the tables. To tell her I can't believe she'd let another man fuck her. She was tested and she failed. Make her carry the burden.

I stuff that coward bastard back in his box. If she can't forgive me for what happened tonight, she is going to know how I love her and that I, I destroyed the best thing in my life. At this my trepidation dissipates while calm cool courage floods into me. I open the door and step through. The sight makes me falter. She hunches on the bed in a white terry cloth bathrobe, her hair wet from showering. She is in deep thought. She looks frail and beaten. 

I sit beside her on the bed. I ache to comfort her, but feel that would be wrong -- the air needs to be cleared first.

"Mose, I don't want to talk about it now."

" I need to say something to you. I didn't plan this..."

"I know Mose."

"I should have spoken to you before..."

"Yes, you should've."

"There is part of me, I call it the beast. Anyway, he rose up tonight and he wanted to..." I search for the right word when she replies.

"He wanted to humiliate me."

"Well, yes."

"You're okay with that?" she faces me, scrutinizing.

"I know I should have spoken to you before, but he came out and all seemed to go his way."

"You're okay with him, you, humiliating me?"

"He's part of me Marcia."

"There's a part of you that hates me?"

"No, Marcia, not at all. He loves you. He loves you savagely." She stares at me trying to comprehend.

"But he wants to hurt and humiliate me."

"I don't really understand it all. He exults when you give yourself completely."

"So you got your friend to fuck me?"

"Yes. No, not really. The beast wanted you to fuck another man because he asked you to and..."

"So now I'm his whore?"

"Yes, you were his whore tonight." She shakes her head while trying to get her mind around the concept.

"Do you expect me to do that again?"

"I believe you will." She looks away speechless.

"Why don't you tell me why you wanted him so bad?" I ask the back of her head.

"It wasn't him in particular, he made me ready. I would have..." she makes a gesture.

"I can count the number of times you were that excited on one hand."

"No," she says without conviction.

"Yes, you couldn't wait to be thoroughly used."

"It wasn't Andy, it was the idea."

"Did you want to be the beast's whore?"

"No, I didn't want to be your whore... it did excite me though. There's a difference!' She turns to me her face red with anger.

"Maybe I didn't want to show you that part of me. Maybe I didn't want to know about that part of me. Maybe I didn't want to share that intimate secret with a third party. Did you think of that before you let the beast loose? Did you ask me what I wanted? You went charging ahead without regard to what it would do to our lives - both of us. All three of us. It can't be taken back."




The Beast Within



I look away as my anger flares dangerously, but I don't speak. I know I will only lash out because she is absolutely right. The more true her argument the more it enrages. I can't deny I've been foolish. Foolish to risk so much. I wait impatiently for my anger to dissipate while she reads my face. 

"Marcia, I am sorry it came up this way. I was wrong, but it was going to surface. You need to know I feel closer to you now than this morning and..."

Facing her, I sport a devilish grin, "The beast in me, finds the whore in you, terribly fascinating."

"Oh stop thinking with your dick, you pervert," she grins slightly.

"I'm the pervert? 'fuck me...Andy? Fuck me harder?'" I smile wide.

"Oh God," she groans covering her face. 

"You're gonna have to get better shtick if you're serious about your kink, I mean, you're embarrassing." Her mouth drops open.

"You..." she smacks my arm. 

"Asshole." I push her down on the bed and leap on top. Her warmth underneath comforts me. I can feel the beasts return; he prowls the periphery. I bend to kiss her when I notice a recklessly wild look in her eye. Is she poking the beast? Does she want the beast? I kiss her deeply and I realize the depth of Marcia's perception. A day ago the beast would not have been so bold. We opened Pandora's box; there is no closing it. A thought comforts me though. The gods in their wisdom included one good thing with all the horrors in the box. They threw in hope. Love like hope is our saving grace and Marcia and I have tons of that. 



The Beast Within



A hidden appendage to my loins, it lies reposed, hanging limply against my thigh; dormant and flaccid, innocuous and benign, it poses no threat, offers no succour and satisfies no desire.

 A beast, a sleeping beast, hidden beneath Calvin Kleins or Homs or Diesels or other underwear but, just as a dog sleeps with one eye open, The Beast is alert and ever watchful, and is easily stirred by circumstance and events; real, perceived, imagined or encouraged by deed or word; spoken or written. 

Stretching lazily in response to thought, or scent, or sight or sound, The Beast awakens to touch or dream, or song or verse and, as in morning slumbers, for no apparent reason. 

When fully awake, it is a sentinel standing rigidly to attention; bold and proud and full of majestic splendour. Increasing several fold in length and girth, The Beast becomes a powerful piston of pleasure, a lascivious ligature of lust and love. 

 A much worshipped idol of myth and legend, a demigod of extinct primitive civilisations, the Beast is an ancient symbol of fertility, strength and vigour. A giver of life, a bringer of joy, a source of pride or an object of derision, it can be an evil predator, a doer of wrong, or an instrument of joy and loving union. A creature of moods, The Beast can be warm, tender and loving or it can be spiteful, rough and brutal, feeding its primeval hunger without care or compassion. 

  Secret object of teenage wonder, of private experiment and adolescent discovery, The Beast is the doyen of delectable desire for wives and lovers or anonymous one night acquaintances. 

Once awakened, it is wild, unpredictable and difficult to control. It is demanding, it is hungry, it is a lion rampant, a colossus standing proud, straight backed, and ready to dispense genes, implant seed or share interminable pleasure and eternal love. 

 The Beast has willing helpers, a supporting cast that play crucial roles in The Beast's performance, and soft lips form long, lingering kisses that encourage it to swell and increase in firmness. Tactile fingers, the Beast by proxy, touch and caress, push and probe, and imitate the impending actions of their master. Damp wispy hair and smooth wet flesh, sticky moisture and musky smells combine to arouse the Beast further, causing it to swell and secrete in anticipation of salacious pleasure. 

 Fingers having performed their task, they relinquish the baton, and the tongue continues the relay of rapture; licking and sucking, tasting and touching, inflaming soft, delicate flesh, or stimulating erogenous protuberances, it moistens the approach and prepares the way for the Grand Entrance of the Emperor, His Majesty, The Beast.  

  Like a prize-fighter entering the ring, a gladiator the arena, or an actor receiving an accolade, the Beast pauses, worshipped, adored and revered, it is about to achieve its goal. Probing exquisite dampness, tentatively touching sensitive tissue, The Beast teases, torments, and restrains from performing its carnal duty. Withholding, The Beast savours the moment and, anticipating impending sensations, gains strength until, incapable of further resistance, it is drawn into a soft, moist, sheath of sublime sensation. 

 Immersed in damp desire, caressed by folds of sensitive flesh, The Beast descends slowly, exploring new or familiar surroundings. The Beast is on a quest, in search of the holy grail, the illusive Grafenberg or simply striving to achieve a climax of mutual pleasure of sweet sensation and extreme emotion. Content, calm and at peace, safe in the moist sanctuary of a woman's love, The Beast performs its corporeal task without concern or consternation. 

 Pushing gently with steadily increasing rhythm, the Beast, encouraged by sighs and moans, deep breaths and finger nails, quickens its pace, adopting a sense of urgency until, on the brink of ejaculation, it calms itself and varies the rhythm, slowing, pacing, heart racing. Gyrating, probing, muscles flexing. Twitching, pulsing, exciting, arousing, the Beast is now the servant obeying Her commands and strives to give his lover pleasure. 

    The Beast, a maestro of motion, continues to perform a steady rhythm which changes in tempo from slow and easy adagio to andante, from andante to allegretto, from allegretto to allegro and finally, a frantic cacophonous crescendo as huge Atlantic rollers break, Heavenly Angels Hallelujah sing, and volcanoes like the mighty Mauna Loa erupt... and The Beast, at last, ejaculates.      

 Responding to the Beast, breath is held, fingernails rake, muscles contract and flesh, gripping tightly, restricts further movement, holding The Beast inert until the ecstatic moment passes, spasms and quivers abate, and it is allowed to continue, slowly, slowly, enjoying a variety of emotions. Ecstasy and tranquillity, the heat of passion and the height of pleasure but, above all, the unique bonding of love between two persons. 

Aphrodite and Adonis, Orpheus and Eurydice, Venus and Mars and You, and Me.



The Beast Within Returns



This story is a follow on from The Beast Within and to fully appreciate it I would first ask you return to my original tale of Erotic Horror.

Over the weeks that followed that fateful night when Laura Morris was tormented by terrifying visions in her room, Laura and Geena the psychic, as she was often called, became close friends. In Laura’s mind this so called psychic woman had always been a bit strange, not one you would choose to go for lunch with. But all that had changed now, and Geena had become a great support for Laura in her troubled times. They talked for hours on end, putting the world to rights, ending all wars and giving lesbian and gay couples the right to get married. Geena was openly bisexual, but that was never any kind of a problem for Laura. So when they had spent a few hours at a work colleague’s leaving party one Saturday night, sharing a taxi back to Laura’s for a sleep over was no big deal.

The two-seater sofa in Laura’s living room was hardly big enough to sleep on and the two friends agreed that sharing the double bed for the one night would be fine. They both retired to the bedroom shortly after 1am feeling pretty weary after a long day, and a tough week at work. Laying side by side the two girls made jokes about what people would say if only they could see them now.

As Laura closed her eyes and said goodnight to her friend she felt safe and loved. It was the first time anyone had even sat on her bed since the accident, let alone laid beside her in it. It felt strangely comforting, so when Geena rested her fingers on Laura’s arm and gently kissed her on the cheek it was little wonder a warm shimmer ran through her entire body. Not wanting to break the moment Laura kept her eyes tightly closed, yet at the same she let her arm fall out towards her comforting friend. Geena took hold of Laura’s hand and gently kissed her fingers. Moving slowly up her arm, her lips warm, moist, arousing against Laura’s skin, another tingling sensation ran down Laura’s spine. 

There had been many lonely nights since Richard moved on, but never, for one moment had Laura imagined she would find arousal like this. With another woman! But, Oh God it felt so good, so right. As Geena kissed across Laura’s neck, her fingers slid over her smooth breasts. Teasing her nipples with such intimate affection, Laura gave in to her long lost animal instincts and turned to kiss her tormentor. Skin to skin they kissed one another. With parted lips, their tongues dove inside, exploring each other’s mouths. Laura eased her legs slightly apart as she felt Geena’s fingers walking down her thighs, searching out her most intimate of places. Warm and moist, swollen to the touch, Geena’s fingers entered Laura with such ease, sliding deep into her sex. Laura welcomed this new invasion. God she wanted this so badly now, more and more with every second that passed.

Suddenly the low light in the corner exploded. The girls jolted in shock. The room temperature seemed to be changing, becoming icy cold. There was a strange scraping sound, somewhere below the window. Laura’s eyes changed from that beautiful pure blue, to eyes filled with fear. As the two of them held one another Geena was suddenly wrenched from Laura, as if by invisible hands, flying across the room with such force she hit the far wall with a dull thud. Now struck dumb with terror, Laura could see a dark shape forming at the end of her bed. Oh God No. Please not again. Please God no. An overwhelming smell of burnt flesh filled Laura’s nostrils. The creature sent from the pits of hell crouched before her. Its face part human, part ape, part demon stared down at Laura. Frozen in fear Laura struggled to catch her breath. 

Geena struggled to her feet still stunned from hitting the wall. Blood trickled from a cut on her forehead. Throwing herself onto the bed between Laura and the Demon she screamed at it, "What do you want with her? Leave her alone."

Immediately Geena seemed to levitate. Hovering just above the bed she began rotating slowly at first then faster and faster, helplessly faced with the power of the evil within the room. Then she stopped spinning and just held as if trapped in a block of ice, looking down on her friend’s terrified face. Suddenly the beast positioned itself behind Geena and began forcing its revolting hair covered phallus between her legs. Geena’s tear filled eyes now wept openly, dripping a concoction of both blood and salt water down onto Laura’s face. Then Geena’s face began to contort wildly, changing her appearance dramatically, followed by a deep groaning sound which changed into slurred words. 

The voice was trembling and croaking , as if filled with agony. "HELP MEEEE!!! LAURA HELP MEEEEEE!!!" 

Suddenly Geena’s voice returned as quick as it left her. "Laura it's him, It's Richard. He needs you to forgive him for what he has become." "He needs you to forgive him Laura. He is in Hell Laura. You must tell him you love him. He is so filled with rage, Oh god tell him Laura, tell him now and set him free from the hell where you sent him when you cursed him so that night!"

Geena’s head dropped. The Beast was penetrating her still and sucking away her very life force. Gathering every sinew of energy Laura lifted her head off the bed and faced the Demon before her. She peered deep into its eyes. Those eyes almost familiar, yet still mixed with those of a creature that has no place on this earth. 

Pursing her lips she spoke the words she found so very hard, "Richard I forgive you. I always loved you."

Tears poured down her face. "And in my heart I still do love you!"

Those very words were like a key, closing a door to the underworld. Geena’s tensed body dropped to the bed besides Laura. A sweet scent of violets filled the room. The shadow retracted away from the bed to the corner. Then it was gone. it was all over. The two friends just laid there hugging one another. Not a word crossed their lips. At last Richard was free from the Hell that Laura had sent him to on the night of his accident.

If there is a moral to this story it must be this. Try not to judge or condemn others so quickly, as we can all fall by the wayside at some point in our lives. And if we will only let it Love has the power to overcome any Evil that we may face along that way.

Geena and Laura now live together as a couple. One day when the closed minds of those that make the laws in our lands are opened, they hope to get married. This tale now ends. Take from it what you will and always remember there may be places out there much worse than the earth that we all share.

Yours Arctic-Wolf

Many thanks to Angel Love for help in editing this story.