She became aware of a presence running along beside them. Looking off to the right, she saw flashes of something light moving between the trees, keeping pace. They went over a rise, and the creature broke from the brush for a moment. Another wolf, silvery-grey, almost as large as Lucas.
Adrianna gasped, and held onto him more tightly, hugging his neck. "Lucas!" She raised her voice to be heard. But he only kept running.
So did the wolf beside them, following along, weaving in and out of the trees and bushes. And she wasn't afraid because she knew that it was no threat. For a few minutes she saw flashes of its fur as it ran. Then, it broke off and disappeared into the woods.
It might have been an hour later, when Lucas suddenly swerved, changing direction. He slowed, and they came on a clearing and a large pond, almost a lake. He stopped, panting and pawing at the ground.
Adrianna got down. Her legs felt stiff and shaky when she took a few tentative steps. As Lucas drank from the water, she stretched and rubbed feeling back into her thighs. She was out of breath, and her heart still pounded with excitement and the same exuberance she had experienced during the ride.
Lucas was leg-deep in the water. He changed to his human form, and waded quickly in, naked. Adrianna couldn't stop herself from staring at the way the muscles of his back moved, and the way his body glistened when he ducked under the water and rose up wet. He turned, looked at her and laughed.
She grinned, and acting on a sudden impulse, untied her cloak and let it fall to the ground. She quickly pulled her chemise over her head and shed that too. She stepped out of her skirts as she waded into the water.
It was cold and exhilarating. Addy gasped, her skin immediately breaking out in goose-bumps. She laughed as she took huge steps, her feet sinking into the soft sand on the bottom, and finally fell over with a splash. She laughed again as she came up, teeth chattering.
Lucas took her in his arms. His hair dripped and rivulets of water ran down his face. He felt warm to the touch, even in the chill water.
When he touched her, that strange feeling came back. His emotions, his thoughts were radiating from his body and pulsing in his blood. She felt what he felt.
It was like being intoxicated but without the dulling of the senses and wits. Energy thrummed in them both. She was hungry and restless. She could have ran all night. Ran, and hunted.
"You feel it now." he said, a statement not a question.
Her eyes snapped to his. She felt his desire, his need. And something more, which felt like genuine love - despite the fact that he barely knew her at all. She was speechless. Was this what he meant when he talked about being fated? Was this the way he saw her?
Caught up in the moment, she kissed him. At first he seemed surprised, but he quickly responded, fiercely seeking her tongue with his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her up to his height and crushed her close, her feet coming up off the lake bottom.
She felt his arousal, his heart beating fast and his manhood hard against her hip. She wrapped her legs around him, giving in to her desire.
He shifted her, and entered her, and took her with ferocity. Their senses entwined, it was more intense than the first time. Lucas sucked hard on her breasts, grazing her nipples with his teeth. He bit her neck, and made little claw marks on her hips.
Once, twice, then three times she shuddered in pleasure. She sensed the way he was restraining himself, making a conscious effort to keep his human form. When finally he came, releasing his seed inside her, he howled.
.
He took her several more times in the night, driven by the instincts heightened by the full moon. In between frantic matings, they slept an exhausted sleep.
Adrianna woke and sat up, the cloak falling from her naked body. She raised her arms in a stretch, and realized how stiff and sore she was. She grunted, and looked down, realizing she was covered in small bruises and scratches. It felt like she was waking up with a hangover. Memory of the night was hazy.
Lucas slept beside her, curled on his side. Adrianna smiled as she looked at him. The bond she had felt was weaker now, but there was a lingering affection. Was it real or some enchantment?
She reached down and brushed a strand of his hair away from his face. He woke up at her touch, instantly alert. When he saw her he smiled lazily, and rolled on his back and stretched, naked without self-consciousness.
They foraged for edible fruit. "We are almost home." He told her.
"What is your home like?"
He shrugged and smiled. "We are nomadic, more or less, moving around within our territory. Though some of the pack prefer to live off by themselves, in caves, and only join the others for big hunts and pack gatherings."
"Are there... other humans there?" Adrianna asked hesitantly.
"There are two women in our pack who were human-born. One is blooded now."
Something suddenly occurred to her. In panic, she clutched his elbow, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to look at her, concerned.
"Am I going to change?" She asked, the fear making her voice break. "After what we've done... and you scratched me – " She pulled her clothes aside and showed him some of the marks.
His gaze softened. He came close and took her hands in his own, holding them tightly. "No. It takes more than a tiny scratch to make the change."
She let out the breath she'd been holding. "Alright. But..." She bit her lip, looking into his yellow eyes.
"What is it?"
"What happens now? Am I to live with you?"
The shadow of a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Of course you'll live with me. We are bonded now. I will keep you safe. You'll be happy, I promise." She could see he was sincere. She could almost believe him. But worry still tugged at her.
"And will you... turn me?"
Lucas let out a short laugh. He pulled her near and embraced her, and she willingly rested her head against his chest, taking comfort in his closeness. "Only if you want me to." He said. "We consider it a gift, you know."
They walked on, and she was silent for a long while, pondering. When he had first captured her, she had thought of nothing but escape and getting safely home.
But what did she really have to return to? A violent, possessive brother and being forced into marrying someone she despised. A lifetime of fear and near-servitude, and never being allowed to leave the village of her birth.
She had been brought up to believe being turned by a werewolf was the absolute worst thing that could happen to anyone. People were taught it was best to kill themselves if bitten by a wolf, before the change took them. As far as she knew, most did. And the werewolves called it a gift.
Would she ever see her people again?
Forgetting about her old life was one thing, but she couldn't help but think of the innocent people who lived on the edges of the wild places. Her village, and others, warring with the beasts and creatures of the forest.
It had always been "us and them". She thought of Esther, and her children, who would probably grow up to be hunters, and would probably die before they had a chance to grow old. What kind of future did any of them have?
How much of the killing was really due to the werewolves preying on humans – and how much was the humans pushing back – invading the wolves' territories, seeking vengeance? Were both sides caught in a never-ending cycle of retribution?
How much of what she had been taught was really true?
A heavy misery descended on her as they moved through the forest. Adrianna felt utterly alone. The truth was, she had no one. Not since her parents had died, along with any tiny measure of real love in their family.
Eli went through the motions along with the rest of her town, but really he was dead inside. They all were. They just waited for monsters, famine, or sickness to finally finish them off.
Such dark thoughts were not like her, and she didn't know how to shake them.
They passed a Drowner's pool, and a living tree. The tree's roots shifted under the dirt as it tried to trip her, the branches bent and creaked as they strained to grab hold of Addy. Both eldritch creatures ignored the werewolf completely and he was able to steer her away from the hazards.
Most creatures he could smell from far away, making them easy to avoid. Adrianna wondered what it would be like to be like Lucas, able to go anywhere you wanted in relative safety. Monsters didn't seem to consider him a target. That's probably because he's one of them, she reminded herself.
She watched the werewolf as he walked ahead of her, moving branches aside so she could pass, pausing to raise his chin and sniff the air. He didn't look act a monster, or look like one really. Increasingly, when she looked at him she felt... warm. A sense of safety and belonging.
Then there was the way he made her feel when he touched her. Addy's face heated at the mere thought of the night they had just spent together.
What would her life be like if she stayed with him? Did she really have a choice? Had she been dragged from one trapped life into another?