Chapter 4

 

 

We sleep until midday, both exhausted from the hunt and our subsequent lovemaking. For as feral as the whole affair was, lovemaking feels like the best way to describe it. It was primal, raw, and both of us showed our complete devotion to the other, even if the power dynamics were skewed.

 

I’m currently leaned up against a tree, with Rel curled up on my lap. I run hand through her hair, absently stroking and scratching around her ears. Now that things have calmed down, I find it both confusing and slightly worrying that her gift affected her to this degree. It makes me wonder how much my own gift affects me.

 

Still, it is very endearing to watch her tail wag in her sleep. Is she happy with the changes I wonder? Would the changes let her be anything other than happy with her new self? What changes have I experienced?

 

I’ve become more competitive, that is for certain, and it reached a crescendo during this hunt. I’ve become more anti-social, at least in the sense that I don’t like being around large groups or people. Maybe I was like that before, but I can’t remember. My gift manifested when I was a pre-teen, and I began training around the same time. 

 

How much of who I am is the gift, and how much is the fact that I was trained to be a soldier? Does it even matter anymore? I can’t go back, if there is even a back to return to.

 

Which naturally begs the questions: Is Cammi naturally a predatory manipulator, or is this the influence of her gift? With but a few words, she twisted my mind and had me fawning over her. The only reason I am free now is because my own gift will not suffer me to be prey. No, it’s because I will not suffer myself to be prey.

The gift grants power, but it only intensified by acting in ways that rewarded and encouraged it. I was a bit antisocial during training, but I tried to ignore it. I liked the forest and the hunts, but I always returned to the barracks and deferred to the whims of society around me. It was only when I set out on my own that I really came into my gift.

 

That was when I really came into myself.

 

Yes, my gift is that of the hunter. But I am the one who wants to be the best hunter. I am the one who relentlessly pursued my prey for a week straight, drawing it out specifically to fight her at the apex of her power. I was the one who chose to bond with Rel, rather than kill her. Did my gift encourage it?

Perhapes, but I always had the choice. I’d rather think that my gift has facilitated my desires, rather than affecting them. That feels right, and that is how I shall approach the topic. I could think myself in circles with the whole ‘but maybe the gift just wants me to think that’, except at that point it simply doesn’t matter. I am who I desire to be, and the gift just makes that possible.

 

So it stands to reason that Cammi desired me. More specifically, she desired that I desire her. That I become consumed with devotion to her, in some form or another. Maybe it’s unfair to attribute these motivations to her, but I felt that voice in my mind. I felt my thoughts twisted around in circles. I felt the truth of myself being twisted against my will. I will not suffer to be her thrall.

 

At this point I have two choices. Well, three, in actuality. First, I can return to the human realms and tell them what I know. This option does not appeal to me, as the schemers who rule those bickering countries will try to twist me to their will. I don’t have the patience for politics, even if for the time being they are united by war with the demon realm.

 

My second choice is to remain in the demon realm, wandering and hunting with Rel to our satisfaction. This doesn’t sound bad. It lets me be free for the first time in my life, and I can explore this new bond between Rel and I to our mutual satisfaction. 

 

My third choice is to go back to Cammi and confront her. If her power works the way I suspect, it wouldn’t surprise me to find her with an army of devoted thralls at her beck and call. What her state and motivation is could vary to a truly ludicrous degree, which adds an additional element of danger to this option.

 

Obviously, I’m going to hunt down Cammi and extract my answers. I need to know who she is, what she wants, and how aware she is of what she did to me. Is she a victim of her own gift, or is she as much of a manipulator as I want to paint her as? The only way for me to find out is to march towards the border fortress, and confront her myself.

 

There is obviously the risk of falling prey to her silver tongue, but it’s one that I have to take. If anything, the thought of fighting her powers with my own will sends a thrill of excitement through my body. I am the greatest hunter, and I can only prove this by facing stronger and stronger opponents until none remain to challenge me. At the moment, Cammi is the strongest and most threatening person I know.

And I intend to win my confrontation with her.

 

Rel stirs beneath me, her wide yellow eyes meet mine as she twists her head upwards. With a slow and lazy blink, she shifts her body to more comfortably look up. Doing so exposes her stomach, and on instinct I move my hand to rub it. Her eyes hood slightly as she gives a pleased moan, stretching her body out and arching into my touch.

 

I let my eyes rove across her form, taking in her body in its entirety. Things that I saw from a distance of felt in the dark of moonlight stand out more clearly in the day. She is very hairy for instance. The hair across her entire body is somewhere between white and blonde, which contrasts heavily to the dark fur she sports in her beast form. I would put her within human levels of hairy while in this form, but easily the upper ends of it. Even the hair across her chest and stomach is longer and thicker than what I usually find on women.

 

Her nails on both feet and hands are also sharper and longer than expected. They don’t appear cracked or chipped, so either they grow quickly, or are highly resilient. I suspect a combination of the two. I’ve mentioned her fangs before, but they are longer than I would expect from a normal human. Her canines are long and sharp, and every other tooth in her mouth has a point, a stark contrast to a typical human’s flat teeth.

 

“Did you sleep well, Rel?” I ask, once her stretching is completed.

 

“Mmh, it was nice.” She mumbles, a bit hesitant in her word usage. Yet another reminder that she likely hasn’t spoken in a long time. If anything, I’m lucky that we both speak Tralion. The odds aren’t exactly low that this was the case, but it’s still nice that they fell in our favor.

 

“I had a lovely sleep as well. Have your injuries healed, or do you need more time?” I let my hands shift to the points where my blades sank into her skin last night, which elects a soft whimper from her throat.

 

“Good enough to hunt, but still hurts.” She says, not shifting away even through the pain.

 

“We’ll spend another day recovering then. I need a bit more time to recover my own energy. After all, we are going on another hunt soon.” I say, causing her ears to perk up.

 

“A hunt? With a worthy quarry?” She rolls up onto her knees, gazing excitedly at me as her tail wags back and forth behind her.

 

“I certainly hope so. One of my old companions has a gift that twisted my mind, and I want revenge against her. I have broken the shackles, but I still want to hunt her. She is somewhere in the demon realm, and I suspect that she might have some thralls she will use to fight us.” I outline the basics, and Rel nods with comprehension and anticipation.

 

“You are a great hunter, together she will fall before us.” Rel says, giving a grin that would likely be terrifying for prey, but to me it only sends shivers of excitement through my body.

 

“Alone we are powerful, but together there are none that could stop us.” I say, pulling her in close and planting a kiss on her lips. She returns the kiss with enthusiastic need, pressing her body against mine.

 

“Hunter…” She murmurs into my mouth. Ah that’s right, I never gave her my name, did I?

 

“My name is Anna, by the by. You may use this name for me at your pleasure.” I pull back slightly as I address her, and feel a measure of happiness when her eyes light up at my name.

 

“Anna. Such a good name.” Rel says, before leaning in to kiss me again. Any thoughts of starting the hunt today are banished as she continues to kiss and touch me, and before long I lose myself to the beat of our love…

 

[Rel]

 

Her name is Anna. The name sends a thrill through me, and I feel the need to speak it.

 

“Anna. Such a good name.” I taste the words on my tongue, and again feel that they came out correctly. Speaking is hard, but I will make the best effort for my new mate. I lean in to kiss her again, enjoying the way her throat moans softly into my mouth.

 

I never expected to find a mate out here, especially not a human mate. None of the humans from my old village were willing to mate with me. At least, none of the ones I pursued. The males were eager, but I do not like them. They were weak, but still thought they had the right to dominate me. Even before my true self was revealed I found that upsetting.

 

But Anna is different. She is powerful, and beautiful, and she has shown a willingness to care for me as much as I’m expected to care for her. My hands roam down her slim frame, feeling the tightly coiled muscles that make up every inch of her body. I let myself linger on her abs for a bit longer than the other parts, as they make me feel warm and excited.

 

One of her hands shifts down and gropes my butt, which sends a shiver of arousal through my body. So firm and powerful, yet withholding enough of her power that I am not hurt. Not yet anyway, I’m sure that once we get going she will hurt me again. I do like it when she hurts me in passion, and I do my best to return the favor.

 

Sex should be as much a contest of strength as it is a sharing of passion. I’m glad that she understands me on that level, as otherwise I would be dead at her feet rather than her mate. I’m not completely sure when our hunt turned into foreplay, but at some point it became sex.

 

I move away from her mouth, kissing my way down her tanned copper skin, paying extra attention to her breasts on the way down. She is not as hairy as I am, but there is still a respectable layer of fuzz across her arms, legs, and most importantly, her pussy. Once I’m no longer distracted by her abs, I make my way to that most important of places, burying my nose in her bush as my tongue laps at her vulva.

 

Both her hands grip my head, fingers digging into my hair as she gasps and moans with pleasure. My tongue explores every inch of her caverns, reveling in the taste as I search for her pleasure spots. I find some, and begin to make the rounds of her favorite places. My hands grip her waist, and I can feel my claws digging into her skin as she begins grinding against my face, her movements matching mine as best she can.

 

With a shudder and a cry, her back arches against the tree as she reaches climax. I slow my tongue, although I continue to lap up her delicious juices. I continue even once she’s gone slack, panting with the exertion of pleasure, her fingers absently moving through my hair.

 

Gently but firmly, she pulls me onto her lap, spreading my legs out on either side of her. I move my lips to meet hers on instinct, and happily share the flavor of her juices as we kiss. Her deft fingers find my fuzzy twat, and I let out a moan as her fingers enter my already slick hole.

 

“Someone is excited.” Anna grins, adding a second finger with ease.

 

I grind against her hand, moaning and whining as the heat within me builds higher and higher. Having her inside me is such a wonderful feeling, and I want more of it. More of her.

 

“Lets try something new” She says, withdrawing her fingers and flipping me around onto all fours in front of her. My rear is completely exposed to her, and I can feel my dripping hole gaping at the loss of her hand. I can hear her shifting to a kneeling position behind me, and with a gasp of pleasure I feel her fingers return.

 

She is gentle at first, but that changes quickly. I’m losing myself to the way she moves her fingers, curling and scissoring them to stimulate me in ways I never considered before. I end up face first on the forest floor, leaning backwards into her touch the best I can. One of her hands begins running through my tail, which adds another level of stimulation. I’ve never considered my tail as something to use in sex, but this changes that.

 

“Please… more… mate, please.” I moan, half my words incoherent whines and yelps of pleasure.

 

“Ask, and you shall receive” Anna says, adding a third finger to her movements. This is enough to send me completely over the edge. Her fingers are strong and deft, her movements practiced and perfect. The image of those fingers wrapped around a bowstring flashes through my mind, and knowing that her strength in hunting has led to her prowise in mating only heightened my pleasure.

 

I let out a howl of pleasure, my body spasming and shaking as I squirt my pleasure all over both of us. I collapse completely, looking over my shoulder to see her licking my juice off her hand, eyes hungry and satisfied all at once.

 

I roll over, crawling towards her and pushing my tongue into her mouth with eager restlessness. She returns the kiss readily, and I can feel our heat intensifying. My mate is insatiable, and I would have it no other way. 

*****

We end up taking two more days to recover. Two days of mating, interrupted only to hunt for food. Anna showed me how to create a fire, and we cooked some of the meat together. It’s been so long since I had cooked meat, and I’d forgotten how good it was. I’d forgotten to make fires of my own years ago, which is yet another thing I can be grateful to Anna for. I still enjoy the meat raw, don’t get me wrong, but having it cooked adds so much more flavor to it.

Now though, it is time for us to hunt. Anna leads us towards the southern end of the forest, towards the demon lands. She’s been telling me about our quarry, and what to expect. Mind control and a potential army. Normally I’d be worried about fighting something I can’t sink my claws into, but Anna makes me feel strong in ways that I’ve never felt before. My mind feels more… Me.

 

It’s hard to explain, but when I was alone I felt like I lost myself. I stopped being human, and let the beast take over. I wasn’t unhappy, and I think I could have lived like that forever. But I was also alone. I spent my time listless and asleep. I had little to challenge and entertain. I had little to engage and enrich. Now, I have a mate. My perspective on life is shifting, and the world is opening up. 

 

I have a new lust for life and experience that I hadn’t even noticed I was missing. It’s… terrifying. But I’m not alone anymore. I don’t have to hunt alone.

 

“Hey Rel, wanna race to the edge of the forest?” Anna turns and gives me a grin.

 

Yes, I want to run, I want to race, and I want to win. I let out a growl, feeling the fur thickening across my body. Her eyes get a competitive gleam to them, and we dash through the forest.

 

I feel alive, and nothing can take this away from me.