They had mated again in the morning.

No sound passed between them, he wasn’t even sure when they’d woken up. One moment he passed from pleasant warm dreams to an equally warm pleasant reality of laying naked on his bedroll, entangled completely with a heavy warm body, soft fur brushing his bare skin. He stroked a hand along her flank and belly. She’d woken at some point, curling back in around him to nuzzle his side as he had rubbed his face against her fur. He took his time now, sure of himself, the doubts of last night banished as he learned the shape and curves of her body with curious hands, feeling along her flanks, her legs, her sleek belly, memorizing every curve and dip of her form. She returned the attention, looking him over, smelling and licking.

Looking back he couldn’t quite remember when they’d begun, but the transition from intimate exploration to gentle mating had been utterly seamless, as though slipping within her folds to explore her warm depths was just the logical extension of exploring her outside with his hands. It wasn’t like last night at all, when they had both been driven by the bestial need to mate, minds so thick with musk they couldn’t see straight. Now they were fully aware in the light of day, and they could take the full measure of the other. It was long and deliciously slow, and eventually their climaxes left them like a gentle sigh of contentment. He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek. “Good morning.” He said softly.

Sigurd rose after that and stretched with a yawn, the she-wolf rising as well and arching her back before shaking her whole body off as if trying to dry herself off. The young Astartes smiled, looking back to his little camp. He supposed he should start heading back before long, he’d been gone the better part of a week. He’d been gone longer but the last thing he wanted was for someone back at the Aett to get upset and order him to stay put. With a deep twinge of sadness he wasn’t familiar with he began to pack up his camp.

He bathed first in the river, not wanting to risk another marine smelling her scent on him, that could lead to some very unpleasant questions indeed. That done he dressed and shouldered his pack, looking sadly to his companion who walked over to him, looking up with curious eyes. “I have to leave.” He said, reaching down to pet her head. “I’m sorry. It was wonderful. I hope I was everything you were looking for.” He knew she couldn’t understand him, but it seemed wrong to leave after such an amazing night without saying something.

She tilted her head as she listened, picking up on his emotions through voice tone and scent, seeming to understand that he wasn’t the same happy male she’d known last night and this morning. He patted her again and turned to walk away. His face broke into a grin as she trotted up beside him, walking right at his side. “Well, I suppose you can travel with me a ways.” He said, resting his hand on her head.

The trip back was quicker, he moved with urgency rather than simply meandering along without purpose. She kept pace easily with him. But he could sense as time went on that she was beginning to lose her eagerness. He understood, she was further from her hunting ground, moving towards a place that held predators far more dangerous than her. She would turn back soon, he felt. They spent another night curled together, no mating, just taking comfort in each other’s presence and warmth.

Finally around midmorning the next day, they were almost there, only a few hours to go, when his companion slowed and finally stopped. He turned, understanding from her stance and scent. “You want to go home, I understand, go on.” She didn’t move. “Thank you for traveling with me.” He said, walking closer. “I… I’ll try to find you again if I can, you should go home.” He said, pointing back the way they came. She looked over her shoulder, then back to him. “What are you… oh.” He said, catching her scent as the wind changed.

Their last mating had been quick, he’d ushered her over to a little grove of trees and mounted quickly, not even taking his shirt off this time, simply letting his breeches drop to his ankles and getting on with it. It had been pleasurable enough and she’d seemed to enjoy it from the sounds she’d made and how she squeezed him, but it was over all too fast. With a last lick and embrace she was rushing back off over the snow, far faster than he could run. He watched her go, fading into the snow before vanishing entirely before he looked down at his softening shaft, still wet after their act. He grimaced as he cleaned himself off with a cloth and some snow, feeling sorry for what he’d done, as if their quick meaningless rut had somehow tarnished the memory of the day of tender courtship and their night of wild passion.

He’d made good time after that, the great spire of the Aett looming over him, the familiar smells of machinery and the unique scent of thousands of years of his kin calling this place home. The great gates opened before him and he walked inside, the huge portal grinding shut behind him.

“Ah, the lone wolf graces these halls again!” A voice called, and he looked up, grinning.

“I asked you never to call me that Ulric.” He said with a chuckle.

His fellow blood claw chuckled. “You have asked me many things, one thinks you would stop asking.” He said, hopping down a flight of stairs to knuckle him in the shoulder. “So, find what you were looking for out there?” He asked, as he did every time he returned.

“Maybe. I found… something.” He said, not wanting to get bogged down with thinking about it.

“Oh? You’ve never said that before. What did you run into in the great frozen nothing that is our fair home?”

He shook his head, allowing a wry grin. “A little peace and quiet.” He said, cuffing the other marine on the shoulder before they shared a laugh. “Now let’s go to the hall, I need some mead.”

A few minutes later they were sharing a fine lunch and the mead was flowing. “So, have we been assigned, or are we to still linger on in this purgatory?” Sigurd asked between bites of drumstick.

“Alas.” Ulric said, voice somewhat muffled for the cheese he was eating. “We have not, our time in limbo continues. No great company has taken the casualties needed to justify a return home to pick up new blood, so our time here amongst our venerated elders continues.” He said, smirking in the direction of one of the training sergeants at the other end of the great hall.

“Too bad, I’m itching to see the galaxy.” He said, thinking back to long nights sat out in utter darkness, looking up at the great majesty of the heavens stretching out before him. “There’s so much out there, I can’t even imagine.”

Ulric grunted. “We’ll see plenty in time, drink up while you can, I’m sure our stay here will end soon enough.”

Ulric, as he was about a great many things in Sigurd’s opinion, was wrong. Astropathic reports indicated that the fleets of the great companies were pushing further out rather than returning. A week passed, then two, then three, the training continued, the meditation and study and combat practice. It was only in the privacy of his personal cell that he let himself dwell on what he’d done out in the mountains, taking out his bedroll and putting it on the bed. He didn’t need it really, his bed already had its blankets, but it smelled of her, so each night he went to sleep with her scent on his breath, sometimes he’d wake expecting to find her there only to be disappointed. He considered just putting it away, it only made him ache, but he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.

 New faces arrived at the Aett as the training camps brought in new blood to face the challenges of becoming Astartes. Life continued as it always did for Sigurd and his friends, the joking, the pranks, the drinking and the fighting. Just like normal, like nothing had changed. And as it always did, the itch began to grow in him again as time passed, each day a little stronger, a little harder to ignore. The comforting walls of the Aett began to feel confining and close, the jokes and laughter of his companions grating on him more and more.

He knew he had a reputation, the lone wolf they kept calling him despite the bad omens that name carried for their kind. Standoffish, a loner, outcast by choice. Mostly it was in jest but still it stung a little, he just needed his space, he wasn’t up for this kind of close communal living for long, it wasn’t his way. Ulric saw it coming so he wasn’t surprised when he saw Sigurd dressed and ready to go.

“Heading out again?” He asked, as he usually did now, it was almost a ritual with them.

“Yeah, I should be back in a week. Cleared it with the elders, there’s nothing going on in the whole sector, so I hear.” He looked out the yawning gate.

“You looking for anything in particular?”

“Just looking.” He said, finishing their usual exchange before he set out, stiff grass crunching underfoot.

He walked at his usual pace at first, as if he was fooling himself into thinking this was just another jaunt out into the wilds to clear his head. He forced himself to keep a calm measured walk until he left the Aett behind and was lost in the twisting valleys and crags of mountains. Then, without even pausing to think, he broke into a jog, letting his feet guide him to exactly where he knew he was going. He stopped to rest for the night beneath a pine tree, dreams of dancing wolves filling his mind before he woke at dawns first light, packing up and rushing off again in the long loping jog that his enhanced body could keep up for hours without strain, carrying himself back to the valley where he’d first met her.

She wasn’t there.

He chided himself for a fool, to think that she would be right here in the first place he looked. He searched about, sniffing, finding lingering traces of her scent around, it was her hunting ground after all. He howled in frustration after another hour of fruitless searching, the sound bouncing off the rock walls and echoing down the valleys. A few moments later, he heard an answering call. Of course, why hadn’t that occurred to him before?

He threw back his head and howled, and was shocked at the sound that came from his lips. He’d howled many times before, but that had always been an eager sound, before some challenge in training or a practice bout, or some feast hall boast. This was a very different thing, full of such longing and loneliness he hadn’t realized he’d been capable of feeling, hadn’t thought he ever felt within him until he put voice to the feelings. A quick, short howl answered him, he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, was it even her calling out to him? He couldn’t tell.

He waited there as the few minutes shifted into half an hour, idly kicking some stones with his boot and gnawing on jerky. Then he saw a flash of motion from up the valley, and turned his keen eyes towards it. A moment later he saw a large white-grey shape dart out from a clump of trees, barreling towards him over the open ground. His combat instincts kicked in on reflex, but the coming wolf was upwind, he could smell the charging beast. He could smell her. He smiled, then grew nervous when she didn’t slow down. She leaped up, forelegs going past his shoulders and crashing into him, sending him slamming to the ground in a clattering heap. He barely had a chance to breathe before her broad wet tongue was lapping all over his face, only letting him see in fragmented shots of a huge ball of fur and the occasional amber eye.

“Okay, okay! I missed you too!” He spluttered as she licked all over his face, half jumping on his chest and seemingly unaware of how much she weighed. Finally he brought up his hands to shield his face. “Come on, get off, I need to breathe!” He said, patting her head and trying to calm her a bit. Finally, reluctantly she got off his chest to stand beside him, tail wagging furiously and shifting on her paws as if she might break and run at any moment for trying to contain too much energy. “I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me.” He said, getting up on one knee to be eye level with her. “Guess I shouldn’t have worried.” She gave him a look that made it clear he was worrying about nothing and leaned in. He matched her movement and rubbed his face along her snout, cheek to cheek as he put his arms around her head and neck.

They pressed their foreheads together and looked deep into each other’s eyes, like recognizing like in that shared gaze. Eventually they broke apart and she sat down across from him. “So, I suppose we should do something, now that we’re back together.” He said, standing up, her hopping to her feet in a stance that clearly showed her eagerness to do just about anything right now. He chuckled and started jogging back down along the river, her chasing and running circles around him, rushing ahead and then charging back to jump about near him. He laughed to see her excitement, wondering if she’d been waiting for him to return, or if she’d given up and suddenly there he was again, she seemed every bit as happy to see him as he was to see her.

Soon they came upon a small lake he’d passed earlier and he went up to the shore, dropping his pack and looking to her. “Swim?” He asked, pointing to the water. She followed his gaze and looked to the lake, it was a pretty peaceful, still lake and for two hardy creatures like them the cold wasn’t a concern, it was unseasonably warm in any case. She padded over to the shore and walked along it, waiting as he removed his clothes. He looked over his shoulder, seeing her watching him with a more constant gaze as he stripped. He chuckled before he walked over and waded in, the cool water feeling refreshing to him when a mortal would be shaking with cold.

She splashed in after him, wading through the shallows and then paddling through the cool water, chin up as she pushed through the water. He dived, swimming deep to the bottom before surfacing again, enhanced body able to stay down for much longer than a mortal would before he needed to come up for air. She seemed to tire of it before him though so simply lay down on the shore watching him dive and twist in the water. Finally he got out, shaking his hair out and grinning as he walked over to lay beside her.

“They don’t have any good places to swim at the Aett.” He explained, knowing she couldn’t understand him but she seemed to listen to the sound of his voice, and it felt strange to just sit in silence with her. Sigurd scooted over to lay beside her and she turned towards him, laying on her side and wagging her tail slowly, her smell communicating her contentment and general happiness over the scent of wet fur. He let his eyes drift over her body, wet matted fur clinging close to her form and had to admit the effect was striking, feeling the hints of arousal twitching to life. He had gotten aroused before thinking about her and their time together, and now they were together again, it couldn’t hurt could it? Last time she had initiated almost everything but he thought there couldn’t be any harm in taking a little initiative on his own.

He reached out and started to stroke her side, hand drifting lower over her taut belly as they lay there by the lake. He felt her muscles flex as she breathed and looked up to her eyes, using his other hand to rub her cheek and neck. His shaft pulsed into hardness as his hand drifted lower still, stroking down between her legs which parted without complaint before his hand. She sniffed the air and looked down to see his erection, and he grinned as he smelled her arousal growing in response to his. “Been a long time for you too, hasn’t it? Let’s fix that.” He said in a low intimate growl of a voice, her growling back with the same tone.

He scooted forwards between her legs, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and using the other to search for her opening, slipping a finger into it when he found it, thrusting in and out. He sighed as he felt her warmth wrap around the probing digit and added another, stroking up and down the length of the slit and slipping them in deeper as he heard her panting softly. He continued to finger her until he felt her become good and wet around his hand, like she had been their first night and withdrew his hand, rolling her onto her back. She flailed a bit, unused to the position, but he held her steady and she put her legs on his shoulders, interlocking her paws behind his head. He shifted his weight down, rocking his hips and using a hand to guide his shaft to her entrance, slipping his tip into her and rocking it in until he got a good angle to thrust.

His hands gripping her sides as he began to thrust, he looked down at his mate, long locks of wet hair hanging down past his face as he hilted himself within her wet body. “That good?” He asked in that low growl and by way of answer she leaned up slightly and licked his cheek, then his neck repeatedly. “ I’ll take that as a yes.” He growled, rubbing her neck and shoulder as she continued to lick him and increased his pace. The ‘slick-smack’ sound of their mating filling his ears as she clenched around him in time with his deeper thrusts, pushing with his leg muscles to bury himself within her moist snatch before pulling out to the tip and going in again. It was every bit as good as he’d remembered and being able to look down into her amber eyes as they mated was a gift in and of itself, their gaze holding locked together as he thrust and groped and they panted together. His pace grew as they began to grind their whole bodies together, his feet scrabbling on the pebbles of the shore to find purchase as he thrust into her. She licked across his mouth and he opened to lick back, tongues meeting in the air. She seemed surprised at that but repeated the act after a moment and soon their tongues were as entwined as the rest of their bodies. It couldn’t last forever though, he heard her panting becoming heavier, more labored and his pleasure was building until it became overwhelming. He bit his lower lip, trying to hold out until she got her pleasure, and thankfully soon she found it as her snatch gripped and convulsed on his shaft. He needed no further encouragement and slammed forward, burying himself inside of her and letting out a groan that turned into a half-howl as his seed erupted within her.

Spent and satisfied, he lay down on her chest, face half buried in damp fur as his mate leaned down to lick at his face and hair. They lay together like that for a while longer before he rose and got his things, his mate following alongside in a satisfied slinking walk.

He built a fire that night, it wasn’t really needed with how warm it was but it felt good and he enjoyed the smell of the smoke. She seemed wary at first but his scent exuded relaxed confidence so she seemed to trust him and curled up in a half moon, letting him lay his back across her belly by the fire.

“I have been thinking.” He said after a bit, once the stars were out. She perked up, raising her head from her paws to look at him. “About you, I mean about what to call you. It doesn’t feel right to just call you ‘wolf’ or ‘mate’ or something.” She cocked her head as he rambled on, curious. “I was thinking about a few names and I thought I’d try some out.” He said with a foolish feeling grin. After that he spoke out some names he thought was appropriate but she didn’t have any reaction to them. He tried Embla and Freja, Gull and Eira, and many others but she had no reaction to any of them. Feeling a fool for expecting her to respond somehow, he finally said “Asta.” And she quirked her ears.

“Asta?” He asked again, looking to her. “It means ‘divine beauty’ in the old tongue. Can I call you that? I thought it appropriate.” He said, patting her flank. She seemed satisfied and he resolved to teach her the name, it seemed so much more personal to have something to call her, it made her more real somehow in his mind. “Asta” He repeated, leaning over to kiss her cheek. She licked him in return and soon they had curled up to sleep be the embers of the fire.

The next few days passed in a very pleasant blur for him. They hunted elk and ran along the riverbank, they chased each other across open fields and spent long lovely nights curled by the fire. And they mated, once, twice, three times a day. Eventually though it had to end, but he had one last thing planned before they said goodbye. Again she walked with him as he made his way back towards the Aett, but this time he took a detour down into another valley. This place was much closer to his home, tucked away between two craggy slopes, there was a small river feeding a pond, some trees and a cave he had scouted out on one of his previous explorations. “I found this place, I think it would be a pretty good place for you Asta, and it’s only a few hour’s walk from my home so I could come visit you more often.” He said, patting the stone walls of the cave, deep enough to provide good shelter from any elements. “And I brought this.” He said, opening his pack and pulling out blankets and padding. He had used these back at the Aett and they smelled of him, he hoped it would comfort her as much as it did him.
 
Once he’d made her bed she had come over and laid down on it, smelling his scent on the thick blankets and wagging her tail. “Thank you Asta, I’ll come visit as often as I can, but I have to go home now.” With a final petting to her head he rose and turned from her, waving goodbye as he walked from the cave. He almost made it too, before she grabbed the back of his belt with her jaws and pulled him back into the cave. “Asta, Asta! I really have to be going!” He protested, but it was no use and soon pleasured groans and satisfied growls were echoing softly from the cave mouth.

“You look unusually chipper.” Ulric said the next day as they ate breakfast. “Where’s the brooding, gloomy sod I know and love?” He asked, making a few others chuckle.

Sigurd grinned. “Just reflecting on some good memories.” He said.

“Good memories!” Ulric said with mock shock. “You? But you’re such a grim lonely person who stalks out into the woods so you can sit down and brood in peace for days on end what in the world do you have to be happy about? I mean if you had charm and good looks like me I’d understand…”

Sigurd laughed as his friend went on and on, each boast becoming more absurd than the last. He let his friend have his fun, turning to glance out a tall window to see the nearby mountain foothills, knowing that Asta was there right now. He would visit her as often as he could without arousing suspicion, but the trips were always worth it for reasons beyond simple physical gratification. Though time and distance kept them apart, he was content that each night they went to sleep surrounded by each other’s scent, drawing them down into the same pleasant dreams.