Chapter 152: ❤️Hunted

Rosalyn Losenska

Her heart was pounding as she wandered through the moonlit woods. She knew this was all play, but there was enough reality and mystery in it that the concept was completely overwhelming. Rosalyn was dressed in her robes and little else, clutching her staff as she jumped at small noises. A twig snapped. Small claws scrabbled at a dead tree. The woods were alive, more alive than most thought in the dead of winter. There was also a predator out there, hunting her.

Snow crunched under her feet as she walked; the sound deafening in her own ears. She tried to stay silent, but she didn’t have Ann’s natural grace to guide her steps. Slowly, she scanned the treeline, watching shadows dance as a breeze shook the spindly fingers of dead branches. In her role, she was making for a protected clearing, blessed by a long dead saint with protection for lost travellers. She had to make it there before being caught by the beast.

There was no sign of the monster yet, and she breathed a sigh, trudging forward. Nothing was almost worse than something though, because it let her imagination run rampant. That shadow there could have been the wolf. That twig snapping could be its approach behind her. Rustling in the trees? Definitely the creature climbing after her. The further she walked, the worse it got.

Rosalyn had long lived with the timidity and natural skittishness of her Vulhardrin nature. She’d learned of ways to mask or at least mitigate them, if not just avoid them all together. That was the whole point of her prior life as a hermit. Couldn’t be freaked out by crowds and people if there weren’t any to be seen for miles. The skittishness was combatted by sheer experience. Fighting Warped and understanding what screamed in the night had allowed her to keep up with Kat, Ann, Bren, and Lucia. After a time, that had become a bit of an obsession, since if she understood all of it, she figured there’d be nothing to be scared of. Still, her brain was human, and it found things like the Chittering Crawlers absolutely terrifying despite having taken them completely apart multiple times.

Rosalyn shook her head, trying to banish the image of the eight-legged bone rats crawling down the trees in a dark tide from her mind.

That’s when she saw it. A small glowing orb to her right, pale yellow, low to the ground, partially obscured by a bush. It vanished immediately, but she’d seen it. The wolf was here. Her steps sped up, breaking into a fast walk, not trusting herself to run in the dim light.

The wolf was quiet, and even when she strained her ears, she couldn’t hear movement as it stalked her. Her mind raced, trying to rationalise everything as she went. No, that rustle of bushes was the wind. That low rumble was just a log or something further away.

She almost ran into a tree, and yelped, falling back onto her hands as she looked up. The dark bark was scarred with fresh white wounds. Five jagged lines, dug by claws, stood out brilliantly in the moonlight. A warning? Absolutely a warning. Maybe mixed with a promise. A promise of her pain and death. This thing wasn’t just hunting her, it was playing with her.

Rosalyn scrambled to her feet and started jogging. She didn’t dare break into a full run since she had more distance to cover, but she needed to move faster. Her heart raced as she tried to see any other signs of the predator. The movement and panic dulled her senses as she scurried toward what she thought was her destination. The moon still looked right, but she could be a bit off. Now wasn’t the time to be getting things like this wrong.

More scraping caught her ears, and a low growl echoed through the woods. It was close. Baleful yellow eyes darted between trees to her left. Rosalyn couldn’t help the terrified squeak coming from her lips as she stopped, legs trembling. She whirled, trying to catch her pursuer. Nothing. Then what she thought were branches over a tree trunk drug back, claws scraping bark. Going by instinct, Rosalyn unleashed a blast of wind in that direction, but didn’t hit anything.

“Hah, too slow,” a husky, seductive voice crooned. “Try harder, lambchop.”

Rosalyn ran, bolting away from the voice. She didn’t care if that was the wrong direction; she needed to get away. Away from the voice, from the hunter in the night. As she ran, she felt the thrill fill her chest. That feeling of fear and excitement mixing in that strange way she was still getting used to. Her heart was truly a strange thing.

Annita Kronforst

“I guess I should get ready,” Ann said, kicking snow off her paws. “Think that’s a good enough head start?”

“Maybe,” Kat shrugged. “Remember, she’s not as fast as we are.”

Ann shucked her shirt and started using Minor Cosmetic Mutation. First, she grew out the fur running down her back. Long enough that it looked like a dark furry drape over her when on all fours. Next, she grew out her hair, making it shaggier, more wild than it normally was. She left her legs and lower body mostly the same, but grew it out to be suitably fluffy. The one area she pulled back on was around her groin. For this play, she wanted her sex to stand out. This was foreplay, after all. The strangest foreplay she’d ever been a part of, but it was still pretty fun.

Finally, she got to the annoying parts. Her head exploded with pain as she changed eyes, moving to those of a true wolf, but with a golden glow to them. Once that was over, she dealt with the toothache of her entire set of teeth falling out and being replaced by a canine set. Panting, she straightened and checked herself out. “Look beastly enough?”

“Damn, ye sure do,” Kat whistled. “Have half a mind tae just take ye here.”

“Save that energy for later, knifears,” Ann giggled.

“Ye think ye’re gonna overload yer libido fer her? Seems like it might be a fun night fer it.”

“Still undecided, honestly,” Ann shrugged, growing out the claws on her hands. “A little concerned with losing control now that Waheela is talking. I had the whole feral instinct thing even before that.”

“I’ll keep ye in check,” Kat said, giving Ann a welcome hug. “Go wit’ it if ye feel it’s right. If the bitch decides tae do anythin’ I’ll restrain ye until the overload is done.”

“Sure you won’t be just riding me until I come to?”

“Nah, if it’s not ye in the driver’s seat, then that’s not what I’m after. Ye gonna run on all fours?”

Ann bent down, listening to her body as she tried to get into position, but it was just as awkward as when she had normal feet. “Nope. Probably need longer arms for that to be comfortable. Now that’s a freaky thought. Me going all werewolf.”

“That some kinda Warped ye read about?” Kat asked.

“Old myth from my time. People would get cursed or infected by a disease and turn either into full wolves or half wolf monsters on the full moon. It was agonising, and they couldn’t control it. Holy shit, though, did people want to fuck them.”

“I can see the appeal,” Kat said, taking another look at super furry Ann. “Alright, that’s enough chattin’. Go spook the hell outta our little sheep. I’ll stay far enough back it won’t get in the way.”

“Love you,” Ann said, giggling as she kissed Kat. “See you in a bit.”

“Remember your lines!” Kat yelled after her.

Ann felt great in the woods. That primal itch inside was always soothed by the presence of trees, the feeling of dirt and snow under her paws, and the smell of it all. Rosalyn’s tracks were not hard to pick up. She wasn’t really trying to hide, since that’d ruin the fun, but she’d done enough to at least make Ann double back now and then. Lucia wouldn’t have any of these problems, and if Ann was able to smell like a wolf, she doubted she would either. For now, she just had to rely on her eyes and ears, the latter of which were useless because her prey was long since gone from this area.

Ann went at a brisk trot, ducking branches and bushes that tried to snag at her fur and hair. Some still caught and broke off, but she figured that’d just add to her look. There was a quick talk with Kat about whether she should bring her faceplate to heighten the illusion of a wolf, but they’d ultimately decided that she had all the tools she needed to be terrifying.

As she loped along, Ann started playing with her claws. She’d always had them since she woke up, and had been idly using them for cutting or skewering things even outside of combat. They were normally fairly short, extending only a half inch past her fingertips and stopped. Testing a hunch, she tried to push them further. To her surprise, they actually pushed to a near full inch. That’s new, she thought.

You grow, pup, Waheela growled. Tools to take larger prey. Not useful tonight.

So, Ann thought, you going to cause problems tonight? I’d prefer to have Rosalyn to myself.

If you give me an opportunity, the demon wolf snarled. I am always hungry.

And horny, if some urges I’ve felt before were from you, Ann chuckled to herself.

My appetite bears no bounds, little one. Flesh, mating, power, I want to consume it all. I will have it all, including you.

Got it, so we get to see if I can keep the overload in check tonight, Ann thought. Kinda puts a damper on the fun part of losing control like that. Though I guess Orenous meant for that to be a consequence of not listening to my desires or something like that. Guess I can’t complain that I’ve had fun with it.

The old bitch puts chains on you as well, Waheela growled. Do not give her excuses she does not deserve.

Nah, Orenous is fine. Weird for sure, but overall well meaning.

I hate her.

Yeah, know that already. Alright, quiet now, gotta focus, Ann thought. She’d heard Rosalyn up ahead. Time to give my girlfriend a thrill.

Rosalyn

Rosalyn tripped and hit the snow hard. Her right knee hit a rock, and she groaned in pain, but scrambled upright and kept running. The monster was close, and closing in by the moment. To make matters worse, it was playing with her. Taunting laughs, glimpses of the beast through the trees, all of it was terrifying. Yet, she found it incredibly arousing.

Glowing eyes glistened behind curtains of hair as the creature stalked her. It was hunched, tall, and malformed for a human, with beast-like legs and long claws. Now and then she caught the silhouette of teeth, glistening and sharp, as it crossed a patch of moonlight. Death was its shadow, and blood was its hunger.

Still, Rosalyn did her best to run for the glade. She knew if she could make it, she would be safe, but with the creature so close?

“I’m coming for you,” the low, raspy voice called. “Such a delicious looking morsel.”

“Stay away! You monster!” Rosalyn cried as she ran.

“With a cute voice to match. I think I’ll take my time with you. Really savour this meal.”

“Not if I get to safety first!”

“You think you’re going to make it there?” the beast laughed cruelly. “You’ve been going the wrong way for that, morsel.”

“Show yourself so I can strike you down!” Rosalyn challenged, skidding to a stop. If she had been turned around, then there was no point in continuing to run. “I’d rather die fighting than be toyed with like this. Come on! I-I can fight you!”

“Cute,” the creature chuckled. Its form moved from behind a tree just at the edge of Rosalyn’s vision.

Whirling, she cast a Thorn directly under its paws, then angled a wind blade just above it. Instead of leaping, like she expected, the monster deftly sidestepped the Thorn, wind sailing harmlessly above it, and rushed her. Fur matted with sticks billowed as it ran, and Rosalyn laid down a patch of entangling roots in the thing’s path. It skidded to a stop just before the trap, claws digging into the ground, and carefully circled the area.

“Almost,” it growled.

“Almost nothing,” Rosalyn grunted, channeling lightning and firing it off at the creature. She held back, aiming to just miss Ann, but the play was still fun.

The creature tucked and rolled, coming up in a blur much faster than anything should be. Suddenly, Rosalyn was on her back, head hitting the dirt hard, and staring up at the beast. Hot breath blasted her face as the thing panted above her, claws digging grooves into the soil on either side of her head.

“Caught you, sheep,” the creature laughed. “Finally, I can taste my prize.” With a long, slow motion, it lolled out its tongue and licked up Rosalyn’s cheek. To her (mock) surprise, the tongue was human, not canine. Taking a closer look, she found that within the creature’s wild fur, tangled hair, and razor teeth, was a beautiful woman. A wild, hungry woman, for sure, but a woman all the same.

“What are you?” Rosalyn gasped, trying to push away a second lick.

“A creature. One who will claim you as mine. Oh, it has been long since I’ve had a mate. I think I will correct that before I devour you,” the woman laughed, her teeth brilliant even under the shade of her hair.

“What do you mean, mate?” Rosalyn quavered. She was a girl, and so was the thing. They couldn’t actually mate. Sure, they could fool around and have sex, but mating implied… Rosalyn sucked in a breath as she craned her head, looking down. A massive cock had sprouted from the woman’s groin and now lay heavily on her stomach. It was surprisingly human for one so bestial, save for the bulge at the base, which spoke of a knot. “No!” she whimpered.

“Yes,” the wolf growled. “I hunger for your body in every way, little sheep. Your skin tastes lovely, but what of your blood?”

Piercing pain ran through her shoulder as the thing’s teeth clamped down. Blood flowed as she felt the woman suck, lapping at the wound with her tongue. “Delicious,” it sighed. “Let’s get this unnecessary thing off you, girl. You people and your clothes. Bah.”

“No! Please!” Rosalyn pleaded as the woman began to pull up her robes. “I don’t want this!”

“Hm?” the wolf hummed, ignoring her attempts to keep the robes on. “Your sex says otherwise. Am I not an attractive partner?”

“Ye…” Rosalyn’s brain stuttered as much as her body did. “I… yes? I mean, you are attractive, but this is wrong! You’re a monster!”

“Monster this, creature that. Nature is what I am, and so are you,” the wolf snarled, finally ripping the robes free of Rosalyn’s arms. She had to adjust to help Ann with the motion, but it worked well enough. “And I see you, lamb, have a naughtier side.”

Rosalyn tried to cover her nakedness. She’d come out here to indulge in the glade, being naked under the stars. This wasn’t at all what she’d wanted tonight. Yet through all that, she was shaking with excitement. Her entire body hummed as the creature placed a sharp claw at her collarbone, dragging the point down between her breasts, over her navel, and stopping just above her sex. She shivered despite not being able to feel the cold and looked up into those glowing golden eyes. Hunger met her. A mix of primal hunger for her flesh and the hunger for a mate. Something inside her wanted that. Confused, and mixed up with that overwhelming fear, she felt her body respond. Her hands moved up to touch the woman.

The creature snarled and slapped aside the first questing hand, reaching out to caress the olive skin of the woman. Rosalyn didn’t relent and tried again. This time, she succeeded, and splayed her fingers out on the woman’s chest. She felt a heart beating with the fury of the hunt under her fingers and gasped. Her own heart quickened to match the furious rhythm, sending her body into an alertness she rarely achieved.

The wolf did not wait any longer. Clawed hands wrapped around her horns as her lips were crushed in a messy kiss. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was a clumsy attempt at intimacy. Rosalyn couldn’t help the giggle that boiled up within her.

“What?” the wolf snapped, pulling back. “Maybe I’ll just eat you now and be done with it.”

“No, no, it’s just. Here, let me show you,” Rosalyn said. Gently, she cupped the wolf’s cheeks and pulled her into a proper kiss.

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As we enter the holiday season, I want to spend a little time thanking everyone for reading, and I hope you're all enjoying the story. I've still got massive things planned for this and can't wait to share them with you all.