5 comments/ 35036 views/ 17 favorites Fiery Moon By: MrPezman The moon waned overheard, another full moon gone. Cerek stared up at the sky, registering that with the shrinking moon marked that he was late, dreadfully late in getting home to his love, Clara. Or at least he thought she was his love at first, but the more time he had spent with her in the past, the more she proved indifferent to his feelings. The later he became, the more he began to wonder what it was besides her beauty that drew him to her. He could honestly think of no reason for his wanting her for himself. When he had told her that he would be going hunting, she had just shrugged her shoulders and responded, "And?" He began a small fire and skinning one of the smaller animals that he had killed, a hare. As the skinned hare roasted on a spit, the slightly gamy aroma drifted to his nose, making his mouth water. Suddenly, the hairs on his arms began bristling. He could feel someone hidden in the forest, watching him. He stood up, plucking his bow from where he had placed it next to him, and, nocking an arrow, looked around. "Whoever is out there, come out where I can see you!" he called out, doing his best to sound as commanding as possible. Nothing moved, but he could still feel eyes upon him. "I will loose my arrow if you don't show yourself!" He pulled the arrow back upon the cord, and waited. Nothing answered, but then in thin rays of the moonlight, he glimpsed something fur-covered and close to the ground. 'Wolf,' Cerek thought and aimed at it. When he loosed the arrow, it flew, and something yelped, hit. He nocked another arrow and rushed over to where the first arrow had flown. When he saw what he had struck, his eyes widened and he dropped the bow and knelt down. "Oh no," he sighed miserably, and cradled a young woman's head in his arms. She had been pierced in the shoulder, and was shivering. Cerek looked down, and saw that she was stark naked. Her skin was dirt, streaked with mud and leaves, and blood from her wounded shoulder. When he looked upon her face, for a second, he saw yellow eyes. He blinked, and when he looked again, her eyes were normal. She looked up at him, still shivering, and then fainted. He carried her over to the fire and set her down carefully. He removed his cloak and covered her with it. The arrow that had struck her was still lodged in her shoulder. He gave it a quick yank, and in her unconscious state she still screamed in pain, but at least the arrow was freed. He used some of his remaining water to clean her wound, and tore a bit of his clothing to cover the hole, wrapping the strip around it. He also cleaned a myriad of other scrapes, cuts, and what looked like the mark of a blade across her side. She had been in quite an ordeal before encountering him, likely fleeing from somewhere else. The rabbit was a bit more cooked than he would've liked, but it was meat, and he was hungry. He saved almost half of it for the young woman whom he had hurt. She gradually opened her eyes when her nose picked up the smell of roasted meat. She pulled the cloak around her and sat up, wincing at the pain in her shoulder. She saw the meat on a stone, cooling, sniffed, her nostrils flaring, and then started forward. Then she saw Cerek and froze. "Please," Cerek motioned to the rabbit meat, "It is yours." She rushed forward on her knees, grabbed the meat, and then retreated back a few paces. She watched Cerek as she tore hungrily into the meat, good manners being the furthest thing from her mind. In a manner of a few minutes, only the barest of gristle remained on the small bones, and buried them in a small hole. Still hugging the cloak around her thin frame, she belched resoundingly, to Cerek's amusement. "Where have you come from?" Cerek asked, not really expecting an answer. She looked at him warily as if gauging his intentions, and minutes passed before she whispered, "Villagers chased me into the woods. They tried to..." She hoped that Cerek would understand what she was saying without having to say it, and he nodded. In most villages he'd passed through, lawlessness was the key to survival, and such as she would not fare well in one. She appeared to be in her early adulthood, twenty or so, and in the fire, her hair was a glowing red, untouched by shears, and windblown. Her skin was pale, but her eyes were bright green. She continued once Cerek had nodded, her voice tremulous and slightly high-pitched, "I had no clothes, so I hid under the leaves as they passed by. Once they were gone, I ran as hard as I could. I saw your fire, and smelled the meat, but I couldn't come too close because I thought you might be one of them." "Oh. I have some extra clothes. They might be a little large for you, but they'll help keep you warm." He handed her a bundle of clothes from his bag, and, giving him the cloak, she began to dress. He had to notice, being a man and all, her small, high breasts, and the patch of wild fire that led down between her legs. Despite being small of build, she was otherwise in good health. She winced as she covered herself in his tunic, and then sat down next to the fire. "I was going to try and make my way home, but it's already so late," Cerek explained to the girl who seemed to be all but lost in his extra clothes, "You can come with me if you wish, or I can take you home first." Her head hung, and tears glistened in her eyes, faintly caught by the moon's glow. "I have no home," she sighed miserably, "It was burned down during the war." "Have you no family?" "All slaughtered. My mother, brothers and sisters are all dead." Cerek shuddered, "You were not there, I hope." Her lower lip quivered, "I hid in a crawl-space, but...yes, I could see through a small hole. When they had...done what they'd come to do, they stole everything of value and set everything else on fire." She began shivering uncontrollably, so Cerek inched closer and closer until she was only half a foot away. In her horrible memories, she sensed him approaching, and her eyes grew wide in fear. "Please," she pleaded, "I can't..." Cerek saw her fear and tried to allay her fears, "I do not wish to do what the villagers did. I only seek to comfort." So, her eyes still suspicious, she allowed her to be drawn into his arms, grudgingly admitting in her mind that she began to feel safe, as his arms were gentle. For the first time in weeks, her tears fell. She sobbed in his arms, and he smoothed her wild, red hair. For almost ten minutes she cried, and he did his best to comfort her as he said he would. When her tears finally stopped, she drew herself away with difficulty, as she was truly warm for the first time in years. She looked up at him, wondering, "Why are you nothing like those villagers? I do not understand. You don't seek to do what they wanted to." "There are far better ways to live than as they do." "I do not know your name. Mine is Cerek." She looked down at the fire for a second, and then answered, "Sarina." Cerek's heart was pounding, however, filled with the indescribable affection that he felt for her, all having come out of nowhere. He could not claim having ever felt the same way for Clara. He cleared his throat, "We should rest. I can better bandage your shoulder when we reach my town. And, from there, if you wish, we can part ways." She didn't answer, and she curled up next to the fire. He moved away from her to give her some space, and bedded down as well. His words flowed through her mind again and again. She had sensed a longing in his voice as he had spoke of parting ways. At least she had thought so. She had nowhere to go, no place to live, and she wasn't sure that she could live in the woods by herself. But then, what if she agreed to stay with him, and one night he found out her secret. He would shun her, maybe even try to end her life. It had almost happened before. After all, the actual reason that the villagers had chased her was not to rape her, as she had led him to believe. Their lust had only been for blood. On this thought, she drifted into an uneasy sleep. Who was this odd creature sleeping only feet away, and why should he have such a quick affection for her? He could not really tell if her feelings were the same, or if she might even just vanish into the forest, never to be seen again. As he was drifting off to slumber, a thought suddenly occurred to him. 'Her eyes had changed from yellow to green. That was not a hallucination.' His sleep was a bit better than Sarina's. When the birds began calling in the forest, and the sky brightened, he drifted from sleep gradually, and noticed a warmth against his chest. Rather than wonder what it was, he let himself enjoy it, perhaps thinking that he was in his own home again, drafty as it was. Then he remembered that his home was still at least another day's walk away. His eyes opened a little, and he saw red. Locks of it growing from his chest, but then the hair moved, and he now saw that it belonged to Sarina, the girl from last night. Rather than sleeping where she'd been last night, she was pressed up against him, perhaps drawing warmth from him, as he had with her. Either feeling his heartbeat speeding up, or just sensing it, she stirred as well, and found herself looking up at a man with gentle gray eyes the color of storm clouds. As she realized that she had drawn up in his arms to sleep, her face grew almost as red as her hair. "I'm um..." she started to say, but how, really, could she explain him waking up with her in his arms. She drew away slowly, embarrassed, yet reluctant, since she'd never felt such warmth and safety before. He silently wished for...what, this girl that he barely knew, that he had wounded with an arrow, whose eyes had changed from yellow to green? He had to get a hold on his emotions. He stretched, almost afraid to look in her eyes, and scratched his head. "I'll get some food ready," he murmured and collected sticks and leaves for a fire. "You're cooking more meat than you had intended," she whispered, almost too quiet for him to hear. "Well, I hadn't expected company, but I appreciate your presence enough so that a bit less meat when I get back is just fine for me." She nodded, "You can build the fire, but I will hunt some food for us." Slightly amused, he wondered how she was to accomplish this feat when she had no weapon, no belongings at all, but she seemed quietly confident that she would do as she said, so he agreed, "Okay. The fire will be ready when you get back." She saw the look on his face, and resented it a little, but rather than argue with her, he had let her go. Odd one, this man was. She rushed off into the forest, mentally marking trees near this man's camp. He watched her run off, and he had to admire how fleet of foot she was. She had barely made a sound as she vanished, aside from the crinkling of leaves underfoot. He stacked the sticks and leaves, and started a small fire that quickly grew the way he had wanted, and he sat down next to it, breathing plumes of mist that curled from his lips. He wondered how long it would take for her to catch something, or if she would even catch it. She shed the clothes he had given her, made her quick changes, and caught the trembling boar as it urinated itself in fear. She had to hold her hunger at bay, lest she consume the entire boar whole. She forced herself back, putting the clothes back on, and cleaning the blood from her face with a handful of leaves, she dragged the dead boar back to the camp, where she could smell the fire. His eyes almost dropped from his head in wonder as this frail girl dragged the dead boar with no difficulty, still warm, in fact. He wanted to ask how she had done this, but couldn't utter the necessary words. She saw his bafflement and smiled proudly, "I lived in the woods after my home burned down, and met a man who taught me to hunt. I was a good pupil." Cerek laughed, "I'd say so! I guess I should start preparing it." He cleaned the boar carcass, setting the bristly fur to the side for future use, and saw the ragged marks in its throat. If he didn't know better, he would say its throat had been ripped out by teeth. He chopped a few hunks of meat from it and set another spit to roast over the fire. The fragrance that arose from the cooking boar was more mouthwatering than the hare last night. They ate their fill, Sarina eating this morning with a little more restraint, savoring the strings of meat with great enjoyment. Cerek covered the rest of the boar up. If she decided that she would go her own way, he would package the rest of it up for her. His mood grew melancholy as he imagined her walking away from him, never to be seen again. And he was confused by this mood, for she was still an enigma to him. When they had finished eating, he uncovered the other kills he had made before encountering Sarina, and, at her insistence, they both dragged the kills. "I should pull my own weight," she frowned at his reluctance. "You already have with your own kill earlier." "I wouldn't want you to be too weary to fight for me lest we come across the villagers ahead." He considered this, and found it to be true, so he split his workload as evenly as he thought she could handle. Then he put the fire out, packed his bag, and led her deeper into the forest, managing to find a deer path. They trekked for a few miles, and she admirably kept up, and her complaints were minimal. Her hair flowed in the breeze as she determinedly heaved her share of the kills along. "Whoa there, hunter!" Sarina halted, recognizing the voice. Cerek stopped as well, and turned to the voice. A grizzled man of about forty years, followed by various individuals, none gentleman by any standards. "What is it, stranger?" Cerek replied amiably, but in his mind, he had located the bow and his arrows already. "We're after a large red wolf, hunter," the grizzled man growled, "It killed four of our goats yesterday. Have you seen it?" Cerek shook his head, "I've seen no wolves around this area in the past week." "Aye, so I believe you, since you seem like an honest man." The grizzled man looked from him to the red-haired girl at his side, "And who would this be?" Cerek shrugged, and lied, "This is a friend. Her family is gone, so she came with me to hunt." Well, it wasn't quite a lie. The man looked with heavy scrutiny at the girl, who defiantly stood there, although, on the inside, she shivered continuously. "Just so you know," the man lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I'll trade you some silver for an hour with the lass, hunter." Just managing to keep his head, Cerek shook his head, "I made a vow to keep this girl safe, as I knew her father." The grizzled man laughed, and the men behind him laughed along. "You do realize that between me and the men behind me, we could have her as long as we desired for no silver." Cerek did not wince, "Perhaps, but not before about five of you lie with your entrails hanging out. And I would make sure you went down first. Besides, don't you men have a wolf to hunt?" The man bristled at Cerek's response, but then nodded, impressed, "Aye, I would say that we do. Good day to you, hunter, and you as well, lass. Pray we do not meet again when there are no other pressing matters." With this last exchange, the grizzled man and his cohorts disappeared past them into the forest. When Cerek let out a breath he had no idea he'd been holding, he turned to find Sarina as white as snow with dread, shivering noticeably. "That would be the villagers," Cerek said quietly, not as a question, but a statement. "That was them." "They claim to be hunting a wolf." "With red fur..." Cerek nodded, seeing her meaning. "Will you be okay?" She nodded, her eyes down, "You would have been torn apart by them." "They don't expect any real fight from such as me." "But you defended me. Nobody has ever done that for me." Cerek shrugged his shoulders, "Then it was long overdue." He began walking again, and she followed. There had been something in her eyes as she had admitted these truths, something that might have been feelings, perhaps feelings that mirrored his own. As they walked, Cerek continued to puzzle over what he had thought, or hoped, he'd seen. Sarina kept a watch behind them to ensure that the villagers would not be sneaking up on them. By the time that the sun grew heavy and orange in the evening, they had reached the town that Cerek called home. Town folk eyed Sarina, curious, as they had never seen her before. Cerek nodded as they passed, and finally came upon a small butcher's shop. They had the meat cut and wrapped, and Cerek paid the butcher, chatting with him about rumors around town. "Oh, you haven't heard?" the butcher laughed, "There's talk of a blood-thirsty wolf running loose out there. Why, you're lucky to have made it back alive, so you are!" "A wolf, huh?" Cerek grinned, "There were some villagers hunting one in the forest. If I was lucky, it was that I didn't have to fight the black-hearted bastards." The butcher roared, "That they are!" After some parting words of wisdom from the butcher, Cerek and Sarina carried the packages of meat to a house. Cerek opened the door for her, and led her to a small room in the back where he would salt the meat and store it. She looked around, noticing the furnishings, and asked, "This is your home?" Cerek nodded, setting his bag aside. "It is very nice." Cerek turned to her, "And now, I need to know if there is somewhere I can take you, or if you would like to stay here." She had been trying to decide this already, still unsure if this man would have defended her in the forest if he had known her secret. What if her staying brought him nothing but misfortune? But, honestly, in the woods with those villagers was far worse for her survival. She looked down shyly at the floor, "I would like to stay, please, for a while, at least." Nodding, he smiled, "You are welcome to stay as long as you please. I will prepare you a room upstairs." She watched, astonished, as Cerek disappeared upstairs. Without any hesitation, he had opened his home to her, a stranger! She waited only a few minutes, and then he returned, beckoning, "Follow me, and I will show you your room." It was not a small room, she noticed, her eyes wide. This room was much larger than hers had been when she was little. The bed was huge, with thick blankets. There was a small fireplace in the corner. "This is much too kind," she blurted, "How can you be so kind to a stranger, one you met in the forest, no doubt?" Cerek considered her question for a moment. He replied, "With a life that has been as difficult as yours has been, I would think you deserve some kindness." "This is most kind. But I have nothing to give you in return, except for my thanks." Cerek smiled, "Then your thanks will be enough for me." Then, to his surprise, she rushed forward and planted a kiss on his lips. When she pulled away, she had apparently been as surprised as him. "I am sorry, this was uncalled for," she mumbled, her face reddened by her actions. However, Cerek assured her, "Now, Sarina, there is no need for apologies." She saw that he appeared pleased for such a kiss. During the day, Cerek regaled her with stories of the town, and of his life here. It seemed such a nice life, and it had produced a man worth a hundred of those villagers and more. And all it had taken to meet him had been an arrow in the shoulder. When she raised her hand to move her hair from her face, she winced, remembering the wound it had left. He noticed her wince of pain, and remembered as well. He went to a closet and brought out some strips of linen, and a bottle of brandy. Fiery Moon Ch. 02 As Cerek looked upon Sarina's sleeping body, and the bandage over the wound from the arrow that he had hit her with when he had come across her while hunting in the forest, he marveled at his fortune. When he had left to hunt, he had done so with many weights on his heart, most of which had been placed there by Clara, the woman he had sought after for years. Of course, he had not seen how cruel and heartless she was until he had begun to win her. All that had fallen away with his return from the forest with this strange and beautiful creature that slept next to him. He had thought that after such unequalled lovemaking that he would be exhausted and eager to slumber, but even after Sarina had drifted off, he could no more close his eyes than cease breathing. At some point, he did drift to sleep, and morning came seemingly within the next breath. He felt Sarina stir, and opened one eye just a little to watch her stretch sinuously, yawning. She sat there for more than a minute, marveling herself, that she could be here with this man and not fleeing for her life from barbaric, twisted villagers. Granted, her shoulder was still sore from the arrow, but she easily forgave him this. After all, she had planned on dashing at him, knocking him down, and stealing his meal as it cooked over his campfire. She turned to gaze upon Cerek's...not quite sleeping form. He was peeking at her with one eye. "I know you're watching me," she smiled. Cerek opened his eyes and grinned, "Yes, I am." She slid her feet off the edge of the bed and stood up. She tried to work her wounded shoulder and found it stiff. She winced as a dull pain resulted, and dropped her arm to her side. "Do you think you'll ever forgive me for wounding you?" "I don't know...maybe if you feed me." Cerek pulled his robe from the floor next to the bed, and started to wrap it around her, but she stopped him. "I don't mind being unclothed right now." "Maybe not, but if you don't we'll never make it downstairs for food." Sarina pouted and relented, letting him robe her. He quickly dressed and followed her downstairs, where he found her standing very still, staring at something that was blocked by the corner. He reached her and saw why she was not moving. "Well, now, what is this?" Clara sat in one of the chairs near the kitchen, her arms folded, her eyes twin flames of blue, except it was a coldness that radiated from them presently. Cerek slowed when he heard her voice, but did not stop. "Who let you in, Clara?" "Is that any way to treat the woman whose heart you've been questing for so long?" Cerek grit his teeth, "That quest ended fruitlessly with the way you've treated me. You can find your own way out, I assume?" Clara stood, but made no move to leave yet, "Now, Cerek, has this little trollop taken my place in your heart, and so quickly? You've only been gone four days." Cerek turned to where Sarina still stood, right past the bottom step, "Sarina, please," and motioned for her to come over to him. She did, but her eyes never left Clara's icy-flamed eyes. Cerek put his arm around her, "If you would, go into the kitchen and decide what you would like to eat this morn, and I'll deal with this." Sarina did as he asked, taking one last mistrustful glance back at Clara as she disappeared into the kitchen. Cerek turned back to Clara and took a breath to calm himself. "Sarina has been far better to me and for me in two days than you have since I first laid eyes on you, and I regret that I wasted so much of my youth panting after you." Clara's eyes narrowed, "Oh, is that so? You're fortunate that I ever paid attention to you at all. You're nothing but a great dumb oaf, and that's all you will ever be! I could have my pick of the lot of men anywhere I go. What made you think I'd stoop down and pick you?" "You say this, and yet you are still here after I told you to leave. I'll just wager that you loathe being replaced, being put in your place. If you can have your pick of the lot, then go have it someplace else. You're not welcome here." Clara sputtered and fumed, but was at a loss for effective words, "Oh...You SWINE!!! You filthy, unkempt SWINE!" On this, she whirled and left, leaving the door open in her wake. Cerek, feeling much better, closed the door behind her and joined Sarina in the kitchen. She leaned against the wall, looking at nothing in particular, a look of worry in her green eyes. "I am sorry to have caused this." Cerek blinked, and then shook his head, "You haven't caused this. Clara had that coming for a very long time." "If you had never seen me, would you still be with her?" "I was never 'with her,' Sarina. Looking back on it, I wonder what it is that I ever saw in her. I think she enjoys being the center of attention and having clusters of young men lusting after her. I think that I should count my blessings for finding you." Sarina left the wall and looked up at Cerek, a look of sheer vulnerability in her eyes, "Are you one day going to feel the same about me?" Cerek looked back down at her solemnly, "Never...You are a better woman than she could ever hope to be, far better." Sarina came into his arms, and he felt her shivering. He hugged her tightly, and she buried her face in his shirt. When she finally looked up at him again, he smiled. "Now, what would you like to eat this morn?" He cooked, and they ate, sitting close together, both relishing the closeness. She talked about her life before the fire that had claimed her family, and of her encounter with an old man in the forest. "Only it wasn't a man I met. It was a wolf, and it greeted me by attacking me. It bit me hand as I tried to defend myself, and I thought I was already dead. But it stopped after biting me, which was odd. When the wolf began changing before my eyes, I was so frightened that I fainted dead away. I awoke feeling cold, and very ill. I found myself in a small cave near a stream, and an old man, the same one that the wolf had become, sitting near the entrance, building a fire. I wanted to move, to escape, but even moving was difficult. Each movement was like fire under my skin, deep down to my bones. Yet, I was deathly cold. The man finished building the fire, walked over to me, and sat down next to me. He began explaining why I had not been ripped limb from limb, saying that I reminded him of a daughter he had lost a long time ago. He also said that since I had been bitten by him, I would soon become what he was, and that the next few days would be excruciating for me as I became changed. He was right about the next few days. I felt as though I was being burnt alive. I spent much of that time asleep, since I could not bear the pain while awake. "When I woke up on the fourth day, I still hurt, but it was nowhere near the pain I'd felt the previous day. I crawled to the mouth of the cave and found a cooked fish on a stone. I ate all of it as if I'd never eaten before. The old man came back later that day, surprised that I was still alive. He said he'd tried it twice before, but the victims had expired, unable to survive the sickness. I became angry, yelling and screaming at him, demanding to know why he had done this to me, why I had to endure such torture, why he had condemned me to die so. I began to notice changes, like fur growing on my arms, claws growing from my fingers, and my bones popping. It hurt almost as much as the sickness, and I screamed until I howled. He just sat by and watched me change, until I sat there, staring in wonder at paws where my hands and arms had been. When I tried to stand up, I couldn't. I got my paws under me, but when I tried again, I fell over, very weak from the change. I must have fainted again, because when I woke again, I had become a girl once more." Cerek listened raptly to Sarina as she explained her struggle to control her changes, and her gradual success, about learning to hunt with the old man, whose name she found out to be Brundel. "He taught me how to track animals, to change to wolf and back within minutes, and to fear man, which I had already had more than a few lessons in before I came across him." Cerek asked, "What became of Brundel?" Sarina sighed sadly, "We were hunting a few goats in a small village, hoping for easy kills, and then the villagers caught us. Brundel snarled at me to run, and then charged them, leaping right at them. Unfortunately, he leapt right onto a raised sword. I ran as fast and as long as I could, and then I smelled food...your food. I had hoped to just run in and steal the hare, but I guess you caught me by surprise." Cerek smiled slightly, "So, you can change at will, then? What happened during the night, after...we made love? You said you couldn't control it..." A little embarrassed, and pleased at his choice of words, she winced, "Sometimes, when I get angry, or scared...or as when we...made love, the change starts to come on its own. It gets hard to control then. When I am a wolf, I am not always in control of myself. So it is important that you be careful when I change. I don't want to hurt you, and if I bite you, you might...you just can't let me bite you." Cerek nodded, knowing what she meant, wondering if it wouldn't be so bad to be able to change from man to wolf. He would share a connection with another that went far beyond just man and woman. "What if...I...if you bit me...because I wanted you to?" Sarina gasped, "Please, never ask me to do such a thing! You can't let me bite you; I don't think I could take it if you didn't live through the sickness. I have only known you for a short while, and my feelings for you go so deep that I think I would just...die...if you died because of me." Cerek held her hands in his, "I wish I could explain to you how much you mean to me." The way his eyes held hers aroused him greatly. He suddenly lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs and to his room. She yelped in surprise as he had scooped her up so easily. Once he placed her on the bed, he removed the robe from her, and she pulled him down onto her. He kissed her with great passion, his hands roaming her body, his lips on hers, their tongues rolling over each other. Then he leaned back, hurriedly undressing. She sat up and helped, and when he was disrobed, she took his fully engorged member in her hands, and then quickly into her mouth. Her tongue seemed to take on a life of their own, and her lips could feel his rapidly pulsing blood through his skin. Applying what she had learned the night before, she worked him deep in her mouth, sucking and slurping, bringing groans and gasps from him. He plunged his hands into her silky red hair, and she worked at him with increased fervor. He suddenly pulled back and fell back onto the bed, pulling her along. He swung her around, and soon had her atop him, her legs on either side of his head, with her sex only inches from his face. He wasted no time with teasing, going straight to it, and she cried out with the sudden pleasure of his tongue and mouth. She thrust his member back in her mouth eagerly, and they rocked against each other, each one working feverishly to bring the other to climax. Somehow despite her ministrations, he held out until he could feel her tighten on him, crying out around his manhood, and her juices flowed freely as she spasmed, bucking against his mouth. As she was mid-climax, she clamped her lips down and sucked hard, sending him over the edge. He emptied his seed deep into her mouth, gasping desperately while still managing to lap at her swollen clitoris, and she gulped the cream down as she rode the pounding waves of her own climax. As they gradually came to a stop, he could feel her wetness dripping from her, and as she looked down, she saw the juices dripping off his chin and onto his chest. She finally let go of him and rolled onto her side, still gasping a little. He saw the ripples of fur erupt on her arm. She struggled with her concentration, and managed to hold the change back. When she felt she had control again, she moved back up until she was face to face with Cerek. She kissed him lightly, shivering as his hand cupped her pert, slightly small breast. "I think you enjoy watching me try to stop the change, don't you?" "It is nice to have such an effect on you." She slapped his chest lightly, and kissed him. They kissed for a short time, and then Cerek found himself ready again. He rolled on top, still kissing her, and eased himself inside her, her previous climax having lubricated her enough that he slid right in, all the way in. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she whimpered as he began pushing a bit harder than before, She rocked with him, her legs tightening around him with each stroke, and the rocking brought him deeper inside her. Her whimpers soon turned to cries of pleasure as their rhythm increased in speed and urgency, and then she climaxed again, not as much as before, as he slowed a little when he felt her tighten, and then quickened when she relaxed a little, again and again, and the smaller climaxes built up each time until she could barely breathe. When she thought she would collapse from such immense pleasure, she felt him thrust one more time, and hold it there, allowing her to find her breath. He could feel her body shivering, the spasms just under her skin as once again she began to change. He looked into her eyes, which changed from that bright green to yellow. He held her against him, stroked his hands through her hair, and held himself within her. She struggled with her change, barely holding it back, taking deep breaths, willing herself furiously to hold the change at bay until she could regain control. Finally, she regained that precarious control, and her body relaxed. Unable to help himself, he pulled her up, positioned her on her hands and knees, and despite her protests of her precarious control, thrust inside her, his hands on her hips. In spite of herself, she immediately pushed back onto him with each plunge, and was quickly on her way to another amazing orgasm, almost screaming in the moment, and he finally brought himself to his second climax, spilling inside her as she flooded his manhood yet again, and then the change was upon her, the popping audible to him. He stayed there, deep inside her until she grew so tight around him that he was forced out. He fell backward as Sarina whirled around on him, fully in wolf form now, growling, her sharp teeth bared. Strangely, other than the initial cry of surprise, he made no attempt to flee or defend himself. Whether because she had some control, or because he didn't move, her growl tapered off, and her teeth disappeared. She sniffed, smelling his sweat, his seed dripping from her, her juices all over him. As she had the night before, she began to lick him clean. This time, he tentatively reached a hand out and touched her head, feeling the thick fur between her ears. He felt more than heard her growl deep in her throat, but began stroking her head, and she calmed, her long tongue lapping at his skin, and it was almost a surprise to him that his softened member began hardening again. As the wolf continued to clean him, she took notice of the erection, and she paid more attention to it, sniffing at it, and then lapping directly on it, causing it to jump, and the breath to catch in Cerek's throat. He wished he could change form and continue to make love to this wonderful creature as he'd made love to her in her human form. Sarina licked more and more on him, and he pet the wolf gently. Perhaps this was wrong, enjoying it so much, but somewhere within this wolf was the woman he had only minutes ago made love to. Finally, he could stand it no longer. "Please, Sarina," he stuck his arm out in front of her snout. The wolf lifted her head and regarded him quizzically for a second before whimpering. "Just do it. I need you to bite. It's what I want you to do." With a shaky degree of control that Sarina appeared to have in her wolf form, her mouth opened and he put his forearm between the sharp teeth. He could feel the points on his skin, her hot breath on his arm. "Do it, please. Don't worry about hurting me." After a few more seconds of hesitation, he felt her teeth press down, and winced when the canines broke through his skin. Quickly, she let go, and whimpered again as she saw the rivulets of blood ooze from his punctured skin. She nuzzled the bite, and licked the blood from the wounds. 'This is it,' Cerek thought with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, 'I will become.' Sarina suddenly leapt from the bed, and started to change back. As she stood upright in her human form, a cry flew from her lips. "No! What have I done?" She saw the punctures on his forearms and burst into tears. "Oh no, please say I didn't!" Cerek stood up and held her. She pounded on his chest, horrified, knowing that he had asked her to do this, and that she had complied. "It's what I want," Cerek reassured her, "I'll survive this, and we'll be even closer than we are now." She cried, "I barely survived it! Brundel said the men he bit looked to be healthy, smelled healthy! They died! If you die, then I don't want to live. I'll just curl up next to you and wait to die, too." "I will not die. You'll be my reason to survive, if for nothing else." Fiery Moon "Please, Sarina, I should take care of that wound before it gets any worse. I will need you to disrobe, though." She nodded, blushing, and removed the tunic, and his eyes lingered on her small, slightly upturned breasts for a second, his breath catching in his throat. Then, he soaked a bit of brandy into one of the linen strips, and pressed it against the wound. She hissed with the stinging, and he looked at her apologetically, "It will help." She made no move to stop him, so he continued to clean the wound, wiping the dried blood away from the puncture. After it had been cleaned, he folded the second into a square, placed it over the wound, and then used the third to hold the second in place. He wrapped it around quickly and efficiently until he was done. "There, now take it easy with that shoulder until it heals." She sat there, watching his face as he had dressed her injury, her chest bared to him. She had seen his initial reaction, had heard his breath catch. She knew from his reactions that he had feelings for her, but her secret would douse any fiery passion that he could have for her. She put the tunic back on, and Cerek seemed to come to his senses. He cleared his throat and gathered the bottle of brandy and the bloodstained linen. Sarina's mind raced as her heart protested her mind's decision. She wanted to reveal her own feelings, but she also didn't want to have them betrayed once he knew her secret. It was a risk she could not take. Cerek put the bottle and linen aside to be put away later. "You must be tired," Cerek said, resigned, "I'll wake you after supper is ready." Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared into the kitchen. Sarina sat there a minute, dumbfounded at his apparent excuse to retreat. He seemed hurt that his feelings were not reciprocated, and she felt low. But she had to protect herself. If he knew... Cerek stood in the kitchen alone, feeling hurt by the fact that he was plunged yet into another situation with one-sided feelings, almost like the last time with Clara, but this one felt deeper than his silly infatuation with her. He more than just wanted to be with Sarina, he wanted her to want to be with him, to love him. She was keeping something from him, something that she regarded as more important than Cerek's feelings. Was she meant for another? Was that it? She went upstairs to the room that he had prepared for her, and sat on the small bench in front of the massive bed. She saw a painting on the wall, of a woman who, as far as she could tell, Cerek bore a strong resemblance to. 'Maybe she was his mother,' she thought, and then she realized why this room was so large; it had belonged to his mother! His feelings for her were strong enough that he had put her in his own late mother's room, as it revealed that he held Sarina in high regard. Tears stood in her eyes, and she had to blink them away unshed. She had not expected to be the object of his kindness, let alone his heart. She decided right there to reveal her secret before things got any worse. Cerek was still leaning against the counter, brooding about his situation. Was he just too nice? It seemed like others who were much crueler and harsher got what they needed. He felt the hairs on his arms bristling suddenly, and he turned around to see Sarina standing in the doorway. She looked worried, nervous about something. "I haven't started cooking yet," Cerek sighed, but she shook her head. "The room you put me in belonged to your mother." Cerek nodded, "Yes, it was my mother's room. I wanted you to feel welcome. Listen, if your love belongs to somebody else, please just tell me before I make a complete fool of myself." Sarina laughed, surprised, "No, I am not pledged to another. This is much worse. If I tell you, you will think me unsound, and if I show you, I am surely dead." "Dead...what are you saying?" She stopped him, "Please, just promise me three minutes to run before you come after me to kill me. At least, promise me this." She walked to him, threw her arms around him, and kissed him fully on the lips, expecting that it would be her last with him. Then she stood away about four feet, and disrobed completely. He could only stand there, all words stuck in his throat as she stood as nude as she had been when he'd first found her. "Three minutes," she reminded him. Then something happened. She began changing, bones snapping and reforming, red fur sprouting all over her body, her face elongating, her teeth becoming sharper, and within just over a minute, a full-grown red wolf stood in his kitchen where Sarina had been. She waited for a moment, studying his response, tense, and then began to turn to escape. "No, don't," Cerek protested, and the wolf stopped, turning her head to look at Cerek. "What you can become does not bother me. It's that you want to leave. Please, don't leave." She whimpered, lowering her head. "I would still like for you to stay. If only for a few nights, just stay." She regarded him with her head cocked, her shiny yellow eyes on his. More bone snapping, fur disappearing into her skin, and in almost two minutes, she stood erect again, a human once more. Still she regarded him quizzically. "Most people would run away or hunt me," she whispered. "Most people are idiots." "So, I give you my secret, and you still wish for me to stay?" Cerek nodded, "You secret is safe with me. I would like for you to stay." She stepped forward until she was only inches from him, and looked up at him, her heart pounding through her ribcage. "I am an abomination, a cursed creature." "You are a wonder of nature, and a beauty to behold." Her eyes filled with tears, and unable to blink them back, they coursed down her cheeks. "I have never heard anyone say this before to me, not after knowing my secret." "I mean every word, Sarina." Cerek's hands gripped her shoulders gently, making sure that her eyes were on his, "A beauty is what you are, not an abomination." She let herself be drawn into his arms, and a greater warmth and sense of safety enveloped her with his arms. Her own arms found their way around Cerek's broad frame, and her head rested on his chest. Cerek lifted her into his arms, and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. When he set her down, he forced himself to ask, "I can wait, if you would like. If you need time to think, I'll wait." She sat on the bed and merely gazed at him. He looked down at her, wanting her badly, but not wanting to rush her into something she was not ready. "Don't make me beg," she smiled softly at him. He disrobed quickly, and then stood before her, letting her eyes rove over his body, his muscular chest, his solid arms and abdominal muscles, and then to the muscle that stood proudly from him. She got up and went to the edge of the bed. Her hands trailed up to his chest, and then down his sides, to his hips. She grabbed his hips and pulled him forward onto the bed. He touched her softly with his fingers, her shoulders, her arms, then to her small breasts. He encircled each breast with a hand, traced inward with his fingers, touching her nipple, drawing a sigh from her. She shivered as his hands touched her, and then his lips, up on her neck, and she turned her head to bare her throat as he planted kisses along it, to her breasts where he flicked his tongue across her nipples. He worked his way down her stomach, stopping to kiss her navel, and around it before moving down to where her patch of wild-red hair grew. He kissed the patch, already smelling her sex from between her closed thighs. "I haven't... done that yet," she whispered, barely audible in her nervousness. He looked up at her eyes, seeing the fear and anxiety written on them. "We don't have to change that," he saw her shake her head. "No, if you could see my secret and still have feelings for me, then I can give myself to you." "Do you have feelings for me?" Cerek waited. "Deeper than I've ever felt. You're so wonderful." Cerek kissed her pubic thatch again, a bit lower, and Sarina parted her thighs. The smell of her sex was stronger, but her nervousness was just as strong. He kissed her thighs, feeling their smoothness, and the tense muscles underneath. He made his way inward until he reached the center where her thighs met, and she was exposed to him. He kissed her there, and she whimpered slightly, her nervousness fading. He found her scent and feel intoxicating, and he kissed again, and then poked his tongue out to taste. She shivered as his tongue found her, again and again, massaging her inner lips, from the bottom and up to the top, where her inner lips met to protect the nub that gave her even more pleasure. He moved his tongue around the nub, and she whimpered louder, thrusting her hips forward to meet his warm tongue. His finger rubbed her inner lips, up and down, up and down, as his tongue played across her clitoris, and her hips thrust more urgently at him. "Please, oh! I feel so tingly, it's so good!" Cerek licked her a bit more forcefully, and her cries of pleasure reached a crescendo. Then her body locked up as spasms shook her. She thrust her pelvis up and arched her back, in the throes of her climax, shuddering and spasming. Gradually the sensations eased off, and she was able to relax, panting for breath. When she caught it, she could only beg, "Please, do it again!" Cerek obliged, and within a few more minutes, had her to the point where she was shaking uncontrollably as wave after wave of pleasure swept through her. She could feel ripples of the change coursing through her, and her eyes went yellow for a second before she settled back down. She pushed the change back, and sat up as Cerek leaned back on his legs. "How did you learn to do that?" she breathed heavily. "You taught me," Cerek smiled. "Can I do that to you?" "Of course." She reached out to the erect member jutting largely from him, touched it, feeling the velvety flesh of its head. Moving past it, to the vein-covered skin on the shaft, the pulsing heat of his engorged manhood underneath, the hair-covered sack at the base. Her fingers encircled the shaft and stroked slowly down to the base, and then back up to the head, gauging her actions by his responses. "That's wonderful," he whispered huskily as her strokes became firmer, and her face dipped to it, her long, pink tongue emerging to taste the head, and the drop of precum that had appeared. Her tongue licked its way down the shaft, swirling, to the base, and then back up. Her mouth pulled his member in, sucking a few inches as a time, until the tip hit the back of her throat. Then, she moved back and forth, her tongue still swirling and lapping. Cerek groaned, his hands digging into the sheets of the bed as she administered such pleasure. He could not control himself much longer as it was, but then she pushed the tip into her throat, and further, relaxing her throat, more, until her lips pushed against the base of him, and he pushed his hips forward, her lips and tongue sliding back and forth, and she held still to let him do the work. He caressed her wild red hair, twirling it in his fingers, but then he was too close to back off, so he tried to pull away, "I have to release now, I can't hold it back!" When he pulled back, she shook her head, and her eyes turned yellow in a flicker before returning to their green hue. She grabbed his hips and pulled viciously, planting him inside her throat as he tightened. She could feel it throbbing, and then a wet splash in her throat as he climaxed. She continued to suck as his hips spasmed and his seed spurted down her throat. When he finally sagged down, she pulled him from her mouth, milking the last drops from him on the way out. He collapsed back onto the bed, drained, and she watched as his member softened, growing smaller. "Will it get big again, soon?" "In a few minutes." She reached down and massaged it for a minute, and then cupped the sack underneath, scraping it lightly with her fingertips. She kissed above it, just under his navel, worked upward until his throat was against her lips. He shivered against her lips, and pulled her against him. She could feel his manhood begin to harden again under her. He grasped her buttocks in his hands and pulled her up on top of him. His hardness was pressed against her thigh now. "I thought you said a few minutes." "More or less," Cerek smiled, "Are you ready, or should we wait?" Without a word, she grabbed his member and pushed it at her entrance. Easing her way down, the head of it pressed insistently. She had trouble getting it in until the head abruptly sank in, and she gasped. "So big, I don't think it'll fit!" She waited until the vaginal walls had relaxed before pushing further. It became painful as something inside tore, causing her to cry out. Cerek winced, as she had constricted tightly around him. Rather than wait any longer, she pushed down, and was soon filled with him. She moved slowly, just an inch, and the pain abated. Cerek could feel something wet on him, and prayed that it wasn't a lot of blood. Sarina began working it around inside her, in and out, around and around as she stretched to fit him. Cerek moaned, feeling himself deep in her as she sat up straight, her face toward the ceiling, her eyes closed, mewling as the pain became pleasure, and they moved together. The tempo increased gradually, easing becoming riding. Riding became pumping, and then thrusting, until her bottom slapped his thighs and her small breasts bounced. Her noises increased with the strokes, until she was crying out with each downward thrust, moaning, whipping her head from side to side, and Cerek watched in wonder as ripples of fur appeared and then vanished, as if her change was threatening to take place. Then she nearly screamed as her climax struck, the scream perilously close to a howl. She bounced, her thighs tight against Cerek's hips, her hands on his stomach, but claws were beginning to form. He picked up her hands and held them in his as she bucked on him, and her climax brought his. A seemingly endless ribbon of his seed spilled into her. She quit moving, shivering, fighting the change, still straddling him, her thighs still spasming, her hands-claws in his. When she had settled, she sagged against him, and he could feel her claws still. "It's happening," she warned, "I can't control it." She moved off of him, bones again cracking and reforming, and soon she was the wolf, shivering as she stood on the bed. She looked down at his groin, which was covered with a mix of their secretions and her virginal blood. Cerek almost cried out in horror as she began lapping up the mixture, almost pushed her away. But he restrained himself, his fingers dug into the sheets as her now extra long, wide tongue cleaned him off, taking care not to nip with her long teeth. When he was clean, she curled up next to him and promptly fell asleep. As her flanks rose and fell with her breathing, Cerek puzzled over their love. He had meant what he had said earlier, and would not betray his feelings for her. Maybe if she bit him, he could become as well, and things would be more natural either way...Maybe.