Cursed Blessing

His movement caught her attention and saw he had changed. He casually walked further into the forest his nose in the air searching. As she watched him, she felt something stir inside. Her skin began to itch, her muscles ached, bones cracked, even her teeth ached. At first it frightened her, but she couldn’t control it. She looked at her hands and watched them turn with large claws and grey fur. Smells and sounds assaulted her senses, she tipped back her head and howled, surprising herself.



Christian heard the howl and by instinct howled back. He sniffed the air; he could smell her close. She followed his scent and sound. She emerged not far from him; her ears perked forward and stared at him. He smelled the air again and narrowed his eyes at her. His tail was wagging back and forth and his ears perked at her, he was still a great deal bigger then she was, but her fur was a lot smother then his and it reflected the suns light perfectly. He started to move to the side as if he was making a big circle around her. She watched him, her ears laying back. Then they flicked forward hearing, something large move through the underbrush, her nose flared and she scented.



He too heard the sound, but this critter is what he was following from the beginning so he didn’t need to sniff the air. * I’ll race you * he looked at her, his eyes were filled with excitement of the hunt before them.



She bolted at a fast run, her laughter ringing in his head. Yeah she\'d cheated but he was more experienced at this then she, so take the advantage for as long as she could. He took on the chase of both her and the creature. She was fast and a lot more agile then he was, her smaller frame made her move through the forest like the wind, rounding trees with a lot sharper angle then he could ever do without using he tree itself to swing around it. But he was a lot more experienced and he could practically tell which way the critter was going to go before it went there. It was years and years of hunting that gave him a sixth sense.



Her blood sang through her veins, the excitement was unbelievable. She kept to the large deer desperate attempt to escape. The wolf instinct took over and she focused on the deer’s neck, just as she was going to grab it turned quickly and she missed. She gave a small yip in frustration.



He had been ready for this move and was now using a tree trunk as a trampoline and shot himself towards the deer, course direction was now impossible as he was flying thru the air, he missed the sweet spot by the neck or back, instead he swept its front legs off the ground just as it was about to use them, the critter hit the dirt head first but was up just as fast again and heading the other way. * I lead! * he exclaimed in excitement as he landed on all four on a tree, as it swayed back he used it to propel him at the critters direction to continue the chase.



*I am most had it too* She ran quickly after the deer again.



* I was closer * he answered as he came up right behind her, he pushed off the ground hard and made a summersault over her, he timed it so his head would be inches from hers as he fly over her. When he was close enough, he gave her a lick on the face and then landed hard and pushed off again to start using the trees to his advantage as before.



*Show off* she laughed. His lick sent a shiver down her spine.



* You kissed me, it’s only fair * he had set himself up to make the kill, only thing left was to change his direction with the next tree. As he landed on it, it bent like any other tree, but this one couldn’t take the strain and snapped as he pushed with his feet. Making him continue straight thru the tree as it broke in half. * Woops! * he exclaimed as he watched the critter run off from his trap.



She laughed again. *oh big hunter you are.* She was looking at him and ran straight into another tree. The tree cracked and groaned from the impact. *Ouch*



* Very stylish * he teased as he started to move after the critter again. He wasn’t paying much attention when the falling tree from his mistake struck him in the head, implanting him in the dirt a few inches. * OUCH! * he wimped.



She peeled herself from the tree and saw him. *Nature strikes back* She snorted a laugh almost forgetting about the deer. It crashed through more trees catching her attention and she took off running again.



He pushed the big tree off him and took off after the two prizes of his hunt again. He knew she was still new to the wolf form so running on all four was not a natural thing. But that was the fastest and most agile way to move, it wasn’t long until he caught up with her, he was faster right now but he was still not as agile as she was, even if she was running on two legs. * I’ll see you later * he pushed off with his arms to give him a boost past her.



She watched him pass her easily. *you are showing off again*



* What? I can’t have you wining in a hunt now can I? *



She snorted. *I still might win, especially if nature keeps helping me*



* Well, even nature is proving herself willing to play with us both * he started to jump from tree to tree again, this time he would be ready to jump if the tree gave way.



She watched him and was envious as to how easily he did it. But returned her focus to the prey. Dodging around trees and jumping over logs, even if she didn’t catch it she was enjoying herself;



He smiled internally, maybe he should throw her a bone this time. He was about to make the final kill again but made it look like he over shot the pray, the pray behaved just as he predicted, it stopped in its tracks and was about to turn around and run the other way.



She saw him miss and the animal stop. It turned towards her and she tackled it, her jaws wrapped around its neck, cutting off air to it and a crunch and snap of the bones. Warm blood filled her mouth and senses. Her body never felt so alive.



* Well done. You win this time * he picked himself up from the ground and hurried over to help kill the critter.



Her tail wagged at his praise, she sat back on her hunches and licked the blood from her mouth. Her tongue lolled while she panted from the exertion of the chase.

He changed himself back to his human form and picked up the critter with ease. “Feels good doesn’t it? ”



She nodded while watching him shift and pick up the animal. She glanced down and saw the creature’s blood and her stomached flipped on her. She\'d just killed another animal with her teeth. The wolf was extremely proud at what had happened. It had taken it down before the alpha could, but now it was his.



The wind blew gently and carried his scent to her, spice mixed with sweat and earth. Her eyes traveled him. She fought for a moment with the wolf trying to regain herself, but then realized if she changed she\'d be naked and her clothes were a good distance from there. So she stood and followed him back the way they had came.



“So how does it feel?” he asked again, not looking back at her.



She shifted, "I liked the rush. The chase was fun."



“Why don’t you change back?” he asked, he could hear when she changed and so far he had heard nothing.



She took a breath and sighed. Pushing the wolf down, her body slowly changed back into her human form. "Do you ever get used to that feeling? "



“What feeling? ” he turned around and looked her over, with a smile he turned back and started to walk again.



She blushed. "Your skin itching and well just how your body shifts and changes, It\'s a weird feeling."



“Oh, it stops bothering you after awhile. I don’t even notice it anymore” he grinned and stopped.



She trailed behind him off to a side so trees and brush would hide her a little. He had seen her before but it had been night, the sun was still up and it just plain made her feel better. "That\'s good to know. So where do we sail tomorrow? "



“We are not setting sail for a few weeks” he waited for her to walk past him, he wanted her to wiggle her rear so he could see it in it’s purest form. It actually made him howl from the site.



She walked ahead not really paying attention that he had stopped. "Weeks? So you think the child is here." She looked up, didn’t see him and stopped. She turned her head and saw him behind her with nothing between him or her. Her face flamed.



“Gimp indeed” he said before he started to talk again. They had a long trek ahead of them. “I donno, but I have heard rumors that magic users is plentiful here”

She started off again also, making their way back the way they had come. She hadn’t realized they had chased the poor animal so far. The sun was setting by the time they reached back to where it had started. She found her clothes where they had dropped and quickly got dressed.



“Are you embarrassed? ” he picked up the pile of clothing he had left earlier and started to walk towards the faint light from the camp fire.



"Yes, I am not used to men staring at my naked body. Especially that crew you have."



“But you are embarrassed when I look at you” they came out of the trees and he threw the carcass on the ground close to the fire. “Dinner is here” he said, everyone cheered at the thought of fresh meat. Two of them proceeded to prepare the meat. Christian was still naked when he took a seat on one of the logs that had been placed there to sit on.



She watched the men, pulling her clothes straight, fixing her hair. "I don’t mean too. I mean I\'ve seen you plenty of times but I’m just not used to it. I lived alone for a long time until I came looking for you, so I\'m just not comfortable with it yet. That\'s all."



“If you say so” he looked at the man who was leaning on the mead barrel. “Give me some of that” he demanded, it wasn’t long until he had a horn full of mead in his hand.



She sat down on the ground, tucking her feet beneath her, reaching into her bag at her waist she took out some mint and chewed on it to get rid of the metallic taste of blood still in her mouth.



“Hey guys!” he shouted out to get everyone’s attention. “The meat is on our friend here” he motioned with the horn towards her. All the men cheered in acceptance before they went back to what they were doing.



She smiled. The sky darkened as the sun set behind the sea. She watched the stars slowly appear. She tried not to look at him sitting there without a care of being undressed, but her eyes kept straying to him.



He noticed her look and handed her his mead. “Something on your mind? ”



She took the offered drink. "No, Not really." Taking a drink. "Thank you. It looks like the meat is done. Do you want me to get some for you? "



“Yes please” he smiled at her.



She got up, drew her knife she kept in her belt and cut off a large chunk of meat for him and herself. Going back to him, she had the urge to keep her head below his, but she fought it, handing him his portion, then sat close to him.



He saw her body movements. “Annoying isn’t it? ” he asked as he waited for her to take the first bite.



She looked up at him, a piece of meat in her mouth, she pulled it back out. "What is? "



“A whole new set of instincts, you are behaving a lot like a wild wolf” he took the piece of the meat into his mouth and tore a large chunk of it off.



She took a bite and thought about what he had said. She ate in silence. The wolf wanted to show submission to him because he was the alpha. She snorted. \'not going to happen\' she thought to herself. \'I\'ll fight it with all I have.\'



“Good luck was all he said” he could tell that she was fighting the urges, he did as well in the beginning. But he learned very early that it was like playing tug- a- war with a mountain.



She looked up at him. "Stay out of my head. What I think is none of your business." She stood grabbed her cloke, found a spot near the fire, wrapped herself up and laid down with her back to him and most of the men.



“What? I can’t read your mind, but you are doing exactly what I did in the beginning, but if you don’t want to know what I discovered. That is fine with me” he took another bite of the meat.



She looked over her shoulder at him. "What do you mean? You\'ve been the only one it’s not like there were others for you to feel that you need to show submission."



“No, but you are fighting an instinct and the strongest one you are fighting right now is just that one, show of submission”



"Well, It’s humiliating. Next thing you tell me is I will stick my tail in your face, hoping to get some alpha." She put a hand over her mouth. She really needed to watch what she said sometimes her tongue was going to get her into trouble. "Never mind."



“Only the Alpha female gets that” he said and smiled at her.



"Well good luck with that." She laid back down and finished her meal.



“Why is that?” he finished his own meat and walked over to get some more.



"Just saying that\'s all." she played with her hair rolling it around a finger.



“You are the only female here” he said, hoping that would help her control the instincts. If she didn’t realize that she was the Alpha female, she would still feel a little submissive.



She glanced at him "Well true." She smiled. She was an alpha female his other. She swallowed hard. Alpha’s mated. She blushed again.



“Problem solved” he started to eat the large piece of meat.