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  In silence, Ulfvaldr and a few men led my horse to the house. The rest of us moved into cover behind an overgrowth of berry bushes. The few berries that clung there were withered. My mouth watered nonetheless.

  The men returned some time later, my horse was laden with baskets of bread and beer.

  “What-” my voice came out a croak.

  “We have a long way to travel, and killing you with thirst won’t get us there any faster.”

  Ulfvaldr put his hand on the ropes on my back.

  “Oh, let me walk.”

  “We are going to run, cub. Come.”

  He grabbed me up and tugged me atop my horse. This time, He had me sitting up and straddling it. My hands grasped for the reins.

  “Tut, tut, cub,” Ulfvaldr climbed into the saddle behind me, “I will be steering this horse,” he chided before leaning forward and in a husky whisper in the Setnar’s ear.

  “Run.”

  The horse set off at a gallop, which Ulfvaldr had to pull back to a steady trot. His men ran alongside us. I tried to ignore the way Ulfvaldr’s chest and thighs and hips pressed against me. I watched the men. They ran with easy, steady breathing. They did not seem to tire of their run, but kept a steady pace.

  This continued for hours. The horse was panting when we cleared the edge of the forest. I worried for Setnar’s health. I looked out over a sight that stole the wind from my lungs.

  The forest had not truly ended. Sweeping out from below us was an immense cliff. Mountains began not far after that. They must be the range that swept west and south to Orrholm. The land swung to dizzying depths where the trees became nothing more than blades of grass. The ground here was rocky. Not good for planting. I looked out. A large swath of the trees were dead, blighted. Dark mountains, their peaks covered in snow, shadowed the land, and indeed, within the shadow, there were swaths of frost.

  “We have a long way to go down, but then we will be at Wolfholm.”

  I said nothing. I watched men disappear down over the cliff. Ulfvaldr led the horse over and I wondered if he knew that horses could not scale cliffs as men could. But there was a path there. It was steep and narrow and rocky. He took the horse down it, slow, and careful, guiding the horse’s hooves. His body moved against mine, one long unending line of muscle, leather, and fur. My muscles strained with the sustained effort of staying upright in the saddle without the use of my arms. I sagged and sank, increment by increment, back onto the man behind me.

  Ulfvaldr grunted. I ignored it. I couldn’t sit up any longer. The long night, the ride were dragging me down. I slumped my shoulders and closed my eyes. Our dizzying descent disappeared for a moment. Just for a moment.

  “Aah!”

  Was that me? Had I shouted?

  “Careful, now,” Ulfvaldr’s arm was around my shoulders.

  He pulled me upright.

  “Dozing, eh?”

  “Hrm,” I gave in response.

  “Why not rest? I’ll hold you here.”

  I didn’t say anything, but sank back against his chest. My lids lowered.

  ~

  I awoke to something hard against my back and an arm wrapped around my chest. Shade cooled my face. We were among the trees now. The hardness against my back, I realized quickly, was Ulfvaldr. I stiffened.

  “You’re awake. Good. You can see it up there,” Ulfvaldr leaned into my neck. I felt him inhale, like he was scenting me, “Wolfholm.”

  The trees gave way to the base of a mountain. In the rock were carved a series of caves. They had either been hollowed out by men, or hewn by nature long ago. The entrances to the caves were carved roughly with images of wolves and bears, eagles and trees. They reminded me of Ulfvaldr’s tattoos. The entrances to the mountain were covered in heavy wooden doors. These were carved with frightening visages of creatures halfway between men and wolves.

  We rode closer. The hardness against my back did not subside. Heat radiated out from where Ulfvaldr’s hands were on me. The doors to the center cave opened. We rode straight in on the horse. I looked up. The cave extended upwards to darkness. A bat flew overhead, the flapping of its wings echoing. The cave was narrow and branched off into other halls. Torches burned in sconces along the walls and on the rough stone columns.

  There was a series of doors around the room. Ulfvaldr dismounted. He pulled me down with him.

  “Oof,” I grunted as my feet hit the ground. I could no longer feel my arms. I twisted them, trying to get some feeling back.

  Ulfvaldr gripped my shoulder.

  “Take care of the horse,” he called, and then he leaned into my ear, “Come.”

  He led me back toward a door. It was set roughly into hewed stone. Further in the cave, the smell became damp. He jerked his head. The men wandered off into the cave, slipping behind doors and heading down tunnels. Would they finally sleep after that journey? At less than a night and day’s ride, lay this settlement, and we never knew of it. Did we?

  “This way,” he led me forward and pulled open the door.

  It was completely dark inside. He put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me inside, shutting the door behind.

  There was the sound of steel striking stone, then a light. I craned my neck to see flames licking away at a torch. It illuminated near half the room. Ulfvaldr took the other torch, and set it to the lit one. His eyes flashed their haunting gold in the fire. I stood, uncomfortable still, in my bonds and watched him. He slipped a bar into the slots at either end of the door.

  “Now, I’ll untie you, but you’ll need to be still.”

  “Umph,” I grunted when he took the back of the ropes.

  In a few swift movements, he untied them. My arms released. My shoulders popped.

  “Ssss,” I drew in a hiss.

  The blood began to move. I flexed my fingers and looked at the room. It must have been his chambers. My eyes caught on a rough bed. It was no more than a thick pile of furs. There were several wooden chests, but no more. The place was plain.

  As quick as I could, I reached for the knife in my boot and swung at Ulfvaldr. I did not know why. He seized my wrist and bent it back.

  “Cub, you should not have tried that,” he growled.

  Ulfvaldr took the knife by the blade and tore it from my grip. If it cut his skin, I could not tell. He tossed it into a corner and took my other wrist. With the force of three men he pushed me backward.

  “You may want to cut my throat, but methinks there are other things you want as well.”

  He was close to me. I looked at his markings, his eyes, his lips. He breathed in, again, as though smelling me. Ulfvaldr pulled me in, then, and I knew what was going to happen. I couldn’t look. I closed my eyes.

  His lips met mine in a bruising kiss. My eyes fluttered open. I unclenched my fists and balled them up again in his clothing. He pressed his chest into mine. Ulfvaldr’s heartbeat pounded beneath his flesh. His hips met mine. I returned his kiss. I knew I was doomed.

  I ground into him and groaned. I was too far gone. He rubbed his hardness against mine. He thrust against me, rocking his hips and moving in a way, which if his hands on my wrists weren’t a sign before, signaled that he was in control.

  He bit my neck. A small cry escaped my lips. My arms went limp. He pulled me down onto the pile of furs and climbed on top of me. With one arm, he pinned my wrists above my head and ground his hips into me. Something like a growl escaped from his throat. He ripped my shirt open, tearing the laces. Then, it was over my head. He removed his cape and put his hand to my hips. The other secured its grip on my wrists. Ulfvaldr moved his free hand over the front laces of my pants.

  “Why?”

  “Why what, little cub?” His voice was thick with lust as he undid my laces.

  Ulfvaldr’s fingers brushed over the fabric above my hardened cock. I groaned and pushed up into his hand.

  “Why me?”

  “Because there is nothing sweeter than the meat that no one has tasted, and as the rightful king o
f my people, I have every right to the choicest bits, and that includes you, my prince.”

  The explanation meant nothing. It said everything. He was some king, and I was his to be conquered. It was just as well. He pulled the rest of my clothes away, and then released my wrists. I opened my eyes, startled. I followed his body. More than his arms were covered in tattoos. They ran down his torso, down his abdomen, and his hips. Slung between his hips, erect and pulsing with blood, was the largest endowment I’d ever seen. I swallowed. The sight of it made my own twitch.

  “And because you’ve wanted me since you first laid eyes on me, and an offer like that is too difficult to resist,” he grinned, his fang-like teeth glinting in the torchlight.

  I knelt forward and placed a hand on his chest. I was surprised to see it tremble. Slowly, I let myself drift toward his face. His eyelids fluttered shut as I kissed his throat, under his chin. I ran my lips over his windpipe, gentle and submissive.

  “I wanted you before that,” I said.

  “Ha!”

  He shoved me onto my back and climbed on top of me. His mouth traveled down my body, stopping at my nipple to grab it in his mouth, bruising the flesh.

  “Ssshh!” I hissed at the feeling.

  Everything was so much more real than when I felt it in a dream, than when I did it to myself. I took hold of his neck and carded my fingers through his hair. It was flaxen, soft on my fingers. His hand, large and rough, wrapped around our cocks. Slowly, he began to thrust, moving them together.

  “Aaah!” I pulled at his hair.

  My cock burned where it touched his. Every movement was fire. He moved his mouth over my body, sucking and biting. Every bit of flesh he touched prickled beneath his fingers.

  “You say you’ve wanted this for some time,” he whispered into my neck.

  I moaned and leaned into the heat of his mouth, “You. I’ve wanted you.”

  “Then you want me to take you.”

  It was not a question. He rolled his hips into mine, grinding our erections together. I groaned. He put his fingers to my lips and plied them open. I took them in and sucked.

  “Wetter,” he commanded.

  I obeyed, slathering them in my spittle. The fingers left my mouth, and then he was spreading my legs with his thighs. He let go of me, and I let out a soft cry of longing. The cold wetness touched the opening between my legs. Slowly, Ulfvaldr pushed a single finger inside of me. He bent down to graze my nipple with his lips. He stroked me, stretching and working the opening. He pushed his second wet finger into me and pulled them open.

  “Aaah!” I cried at the stretch.

  He smiled and kissed his way across my chest to the other nipple.

  “You’re tight,” he growled and thrust his fingers deeper, pushing them up into me.

  They hit a spot inside of me that blinded me with pleasure.

  “Ulfvaldr!” I cried and grasped at his head.

  He thrust his fingers into me again. I arched into the feeling. What stretching there was did not matter with the heat flowing through my body.

  He withdrew his fingers, leaving me feeling cold and empty. His gold eyes flickered in the torchlight. He spit in his hand and reached down to his thick, hard length. He stroked himself and looked me in the eye, asking. I moaned at the sight and spread my legs. Yes, I wanted him.

  He dove down onto me. The heat of his tip pressed against my stretched entrance. The spittle let it slip in. There was some resistance. I grimaced and suppressed a hiss at the shooting pains. He pushed in further, up until his hips were flush with mine. Feeling his whole cock inside of me, the whole of his manhood, made me swell with desire.

  He began to move inside me. I clenched my fists into the furs and gritted my teeth at the pain. Ulfvaldr gripped my cock, and with a stroke, sent me into a sea of sighs and moans. He angled upward and moved in again, hitting the bundle of nerves inside.

  “Aaah!” The pain faded and I melted in his embrace.

  I wrapped my legs around his hips and moved with his thrusts. Ulfvaldr stared down at me, his eyes hunger incarnate. I rolled my head back.

  His shadow moved along the wall in time with his thrusts. Was I mad? It looked not human, but like that of a beast. I could see the fur along his back, the hackles at his shoulders. Then, I saw the tail, long and bushy and like a wolf’s. There was no mistaking that it was there.

  “Uuaaugh,” the sound escaped me against my will.

  He plunged into me, filling me with his girth. I wound my hands deeper into his hair. At once it was long and human, but if I let my concentration waver, as it did with every deep thrust, it felt like fur.

  He growled and pulled my rear higher.

  Ulfvaldr rammed into me. Lighting shot through my body. I twisted on him, impaled and brimming with desire. He reached behind me. I heard tearing. The furs flew into the air, torn apart. I shook with pleasure and fear. He grabbed my hips, his fingers bruising my skin. Ulfvaldr pulled me into him as he rammed his cock into my insides. He huffed and angled me, and slid in up to the hilt.

  “Ulfvaldr!” I cried.

  His cock hit the bundle of nerves inside me. My cock pulsed with need. I could feel every inch of him, every twitch, every vein. I panted. My eyes rolled back in my head. His shadow seemed to grow. His eyes glinted gold. His teeth gleamed in the torchlight. They were sharp, so sharp.

  His mouth engulfed mine. His tongue and teeth drew blood from my lower lip and lapped it up. I moaned and the noise was lost in his growls and the sound of flesh on flesh as took me as his own. Ulfvaldr wrapped a large hand around my length, strong and rough, and yanked.

  My vision went white. I saw the wolf. It was silver-white. My body convulsed around his cock, was just the sheath for his cock, was the serpent tied round the world of his cock, with nothing more to be than to be wrapped upon it.

  He slammed into me. I tore at the furs and clawed at his back as he poured his seed into me. It filled my insides with blinding hot light. I gasped. He bent down to take me lips in his, a smile upon them. I let him kiss me, and he slowly withdrew, leaving a trail of steaming seed upon the stone floor of the cave.

  “Stay here, cub. I will return later.”

  He threw a cloak around himself and slipped out the door. As soon as he was gone, I crawled to the wood and pushed. It was sealed from the other side. I sat back on the furs, and felt my body, taking inventory. I retrieved what was left of my clothes. As I moved and felt my soreness, a shudder of longing ran through my stomach. I needed to return to my kingdom, but there were other needs, animal, unsound needs that threatened to ensnare me, if they hadn’t already.

  Chapter 6

  Fundinn

  “Let him in,” I ordered Argos, a warrior of substantial girth, and one of my most loyal.

  The door to the throne room opened and a man, swathed in furs, his arms tattooed and his eyes green, entered. Three men like him stood behind, also wearing entire costumes of furs, their beards long and braided, and their arms tattooed in blue and green ink. I tightened my fist on the pommel of my sword. Wolf Tribe.

  “Why do you trespass?”

  “It cannot be trespassing if this land is ours. Your people took the best. We did not tell you to slaughter our children and chase us from our hunting grounds.”

  “You lost a battle, and the gods must not be on your side.”

  “Our gods are always on our side.”

  He stepped forward.

  “That’s enough,” barked Argos.

  “I am Deswarvn, son of Tyrson, who your people killed, and we will be heard. Until you will treat with us, we hold your son, Prince Varghoss.”

  “So that’s where the little girl got off to,” I laughed.

  The wolf tribesman seemed taken aback.

  “I don’t much care for him. I fear the day he is made king. His weakness will infect the land.”

  The wolf man’s mouth twisted.

  “You have no right to rule without him. You are his regent.”

>   “I am not a damned regent,” my sight went red, “I am king! You are not leaving this castle alive.”

  Argos advanced. There was a flurry of motion and his sword went clattering to the ground. Argos held his hand to his chest. Red dripped from it onto the stone.

  “I’m warning you-”

  “I warn you,” the wolf man stepped up to the bottom of the throne.

  Up close, I remembered the war like it was yesterday, their savagery, their inhuman eyes.

  “We will resolve this, one way or another. Give us back our hunting grounds. Let us live among you.”

  “Not with your perversions. Never.”

  “The old king-”

  “Shut your damn wolf mouth!”

  My body shook. I drew my sword out an inch and stared into the animal’s eyes.

  “Very well. Perhaps it is time to see how much loyalty your prince commands.”

  The wolf turned on his heel and left the room.

  “Guards!” I shouted, but it was too late, the wolves were running, swift as the wind.

  I went to the window and gripped the sill. I felt like I might fall to the ground, faint like a woman. Down below, the wolf tribesmen dove through the great wooden gates. They slammed shut behind them.

  They were fast, but not many. Those abominations would not live long if they challenged me.

  Chapter 7

  Varghoss

  Something told me it was night. The stone cooled. The air that crept beneath the door carried with it the scent of dew settling on leaves. I drew close to the door and pressed my ear to the wood.

  There was a great commotion. The sounds of shuffling and scratching, like claws on stone, crept through the woodwork. How long will he leave me here?

  I looked around the room. There was not much in it. His few possessions that were not his bed or furs, Ulfvaldr kept on his person. My knife had gone with him. I buckled my sheath to my hip and put my hand on its empty lip. The comfort of the hilt was no longer there. I listened and willed for something, anything to happen. Would I wound, would I kill one of these men, or Ulfvaldr, to escape?