Last of the Unicorns

Gavin's knees slowly buckled and they slid to the floor, he lay back on the carpet and she covered him like a blanket their bodies still joined at the hip. God he was the worst kind of hypocrite, to bark like an angry dog every time one of his men got near her and now to have taken her virginity against a brick wall in his library. He stroked her soft hair as he felt his heart begin to slow back down and his breathing return to normal. She was sprawled atop him in a picture of pure feminine satisfaction and fulfillment. Her beautiful brown eyes were half closed in a sleepy sexy way that made her even more beguiling and intriguing.

Gavin slowly shifted her and stood, lifting her in his arms and carrying her into his chamber. He laid her down and crawled in with her pulling the coverlet up around them. She yawned and rested her head on his chest, sliding her body up against his with her leg draped over his as she curled up to sleep. He looked down at her, her eyes closed and her breathing slowing as she slipped into sleep. What the hell had he done.

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Gavin awoke to the sound of feminine giggling. He silted his eyes open just enough to see from under his lashes and groaned inwardly. Two chambermaids stoked a fire in the hearth between fits of giggling and whispering. Gavin closed his eyes again and cursed himself mentally, before breakfast every servant in the castle would know Lady Alorna was sharing his bed. He heard the maids depart and opened his eyes to look down at the woman sleeping next to him. She was still tucked against his side with her cheek on his chest and her hair fanned out over her back. He sighed and closed his eyes to sleep awhile longer.

Alorna heard Gavin's sigh just as she had heard the maids giggling and whispering as they set a fire in the hearth. She remained still feigning sleep as Gavin drifted back to sleep next to her. She stretched very slowly and slipped out of his arms once he had returned to sleep. Alorna looked at him sleeping in his bed before she opened the door to the library and stepped inside. She walked over to the desk and ran her fingers over the long amber stone her horn was sealed within. Her fingers touched the amber gem imbedded in her forehead and she sighed wondering what next. She was unsure if human bodies were similar to those of unicorns and didn't know if she would have caught last night or if it took several breedings to insure pregnancy.

She stooped over and gathered her discarded clothing, slipping the dress back onto her body as she thought about her options. If she went back now she would only have to return if she had not caught and that was not something she wanted. In all honesty she had not intended to breed with Gavin though she wasn't sure why exactly she had dismissed him as a possibility. She wondered if it was possible to still pick another of the men at the castle or in the village assuming she hadn't already caught. Of course since she didn't know how to tell if she had caught or not that left her in the odd position of not knowing the father of the foal should she seek another male. Alorna grumbled and rubbed her eyes, for now she would wait and see if she could tell anything before deciding where to go from here. Perhaps she could ask May how a human female knew if she was pregnant or not.

Alorna walked back to her chamber and found it empty. She wondered when May had left the room but decided it didn't really matter right now. She stripped off the gown and slipped into her cold bed. Pulling up the coverlet she stared up at the ceiling until she fell back into sleep.

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Breakfast was an interesting affair for Gavin. His men at arms had been with him for years and they all knew that he rarely took women to his bed in his time in the service of the king and had not done so until now since leaving the king's castle. There were many a speculative look thrown his way as they tried to feel out the situation and determine his mood that morning. Gavin avoided most of their gazes and brooded quietly over his breakfast noting that Alorna was absent from the table this morning just as she had been absent from his bed when he had awoken.

"Sleep well?" Marcus smiled coyly at Gavin.

"Don't start." Gavin rolled his eyes and picked up an apple.

"Not starting anything Gavin, just curious. It's not really like you to do rash things." Marcus looked at his friend speculatively.

"I was rather drunk truth be told." Gavin muttered to the table and rubbed his temple where a savage headache still pounded.

Marcus truly looked shocked at that comment. "Well I certainly hope you had your wits about you enough to not do anything the Lady didn't approve of."

"I have never been that drunk, Marcus." Gavin scowled darkly.

Gavin had had enough; he stood and left the hall. He sought out the stables and had his favorite stallion saddled for a long ride. He only looked up at the castle once but didn't see anyone in the windows of the east wing. Gavin swung up into the saddle and spurred his horse into a gallop out of the castle gate. The horse was energetic and feisty, the perfect challenge for Gavin's mood.

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Alorna sat in the garden letting the sun warm her body. She watched a butterfly moving from flower to flower feeding on their sweet nectar as it moved along. The pale pink gown she wore blended in with the dainty wild roses that came in a variety of pink shades and grew in wild abandon throughout the garden. She turned and shaded her eyes when the shadow fell along the ground next to her.

"Such a pretty girl." Guinevere de Moncrief smiled at Alorna. "Are you one of the maid's daughters?"

"No, I'm just visiting the castle Lady..." Alorna trailed off as she had never been introduced to this woman.

"My name is Guinevere, I'm Gavin's mother." She smiled brightly and sat down next to Alorna. "My husband is away at court and I haven't had any visitors in awhile. Gavin's tutor tells me he is doing well in his studies but I rarely get to see him during the day."

Alorna looked at the beautiful woman sitting in the sun with the expression of a child, a deeply scarred woman who hovered on the brink of madness and had suffered much in her life. Alorna felt deeply sorry for Guinevere, realizing that the woman's mind had been broken somewhere in life.

"That must be difficult for you milady." Alorna watched the butterfly leave the garden. "Perhaps your son's tutor will allow him to spend a bit of time each day with you."

"Oh his father wouldn't approve of that, might make the boy weak." Guinevere nodded as though she believed her statement.

Alorna smiled and sat with the Lady Guinevere for most of the afternoon.

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Alorna waited until the castle fell silent, giving everyone time to fall asleep while she paced her room to stay awake. She'd chatted animatedly during dinner with Marcus and Nathaniel as well as several other members of Gavin's men at arms. Gavin was quiet and withdrawn and had barely looked at her all evening. Alorna shrugged it off and had continued her evaluation of the men of the castle. As she stood with her cheek against the wood of the door she realized that the best candidate for breeding was the one she had already slept with once.

She tugged open her door slowly and looked up and down the hall making sure there was no one still in the corridor. Closing the door behind her she walked down the hall and let herself into Gavin's library. The room was dark and cold but the door that connected the library to his bedroom was open letting the faint light of the dying fire spill through the entryway. Alorna tip toed to the doorway and peered into the darkened room.

Gavin was sprawled on his back atop the bed fully naked and deep in sleep. One arm was flung over his eyes and the other was stretched under the pillow beneath his head. His clothing lay in a heap on the floor and a now empty bottle of whiskey sat on the table next to the bed. Alorna walked slowly into the room and stood over the bed to gaze over every inch of his skin in the fading firelight. His body was covered in a warrior's scars, marked by the battles he had fought and trained to the lean graceful perfection of a predator by the years of strife. She smiled as she admitted he was as fine as any stallion she had ever lusted over in her youth.

Alorna lifted her dress over her head and dropped it on the floor next to Gavin's clothes then crawled slowly onto the bed. She knelt next to his body looking over him slowly, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath. Alorna trailed the tips of her fingers down his chest and through the hair that curled around the root of his thick shaft, she watched as his cock stirred even as he slept. She stroked the soft skin of his cock and wrapped her hand around it, feeling it starting to harden in her hand. Alorna stroked him slowly, watching as he grew in size and hardened with each stoke of her hand.

She smiled taking away her hand to watch his cock twitch as it pointed upward hard and ready to be used. She looked up at Gavin and found him still deep in sleep, his face in relaxed repose even as his cock stood at attention. Alorna looked down at his cock and wondered what his skin tasted like there, it felt like perfect hard and silky smooth at the same time and she found herself wondering if he tasted as appealing. She grinned as she decided there was no better time to discover the answer to that question.

Alorna held him in her hand and carefully kissed the end of his cock. She paused and then lightly licked the head of him. Gavin moaned in his sleep and his cock jerked against her tongue. She smiled and ran her tongue slowly down the underside of his cock and over the tops of his balls, watching him swell and grow. The salty taste of his skin was intriguingly pleasant and she watched him respond even while sleeping to her tongue and lips. Alorna placed her lips over the top of his cock and slid her mouth down his shaft, sliding him back into her mouth until she could feel him press against the back of her throat. She closed her eyes and sucked on him gently and began to move up and down his length as he had moved when inside her body.

Gavin came awake suddenly and in some of the most intense pleasure he had ever felt in his life, his eyes snapped open and spotted Alorna with his cock in her mouth. "Holy God in Heaven." Gavin cursed even as his hips jerked to pump his shaft back into the suction of her mouth. Her tongue twisted around him inside her mouth and squeezed him as she moved up and down on his length; he felt her roll that thick muscle around him as she sucked and feared that every conscious thought he'd ever had had fled his brain for good. Gavin fisted a hand in her hair as he moaned in ecstasy. Alorna could only squeak when Gavin grabbed her by the arms and tossed her under his body, pushing her into the bed as he moved between her thighs.

"You are going to be the death of me woman." Gavin muttered through clenched teeth and drove himself into her body hard and fast.

Alorna arched under him, letting his slicked shaft in to the hilt. He kissed her hard with a savage desire that took her breath from her lungs as she clung to him. His back curved as he started to move in and out of her body, pushing her back into the bed with each strong thrust and muffling her moans and gasps in his hungry kisses. Alorna was knocked off center when Gavin rolled them over and placed her on top of him. She looked down at him from where she was straddled across his hips, her body impaled on his cock to a new level of fullness.

Gavin grinned and bucked under her, listening to her cry of surprise and passion as the new position brought a new delicious friction to their mated bodies. Alorna rocked her hips and was instantly rewarded with a blissful feeling of tight fullness as his shaft slid in and out of her. She was in complete control from this vantage and the heady sense of power that came with that knowledge was nearly as delightful as the feeling of him inside her body. Gavin covered her breasts with his hands and stroked her hardened nipples causing her muscles to tighten with pleasure.

Alorna moaned and thrust down against him using her weight to push him down into the bed and take ever last inch of him inside her. His fingers plucked her nipples and she jerked and bucked reflexively at the spikes of pleasure they caused. His hands traveled down her sleek body and cupped her ass as he encouraged her to ride him with the wild abandon she longed for. Alorna ceded her control on her impulses and bucked and writhed on top of him as though possessed. She screamed when Gavin slid a finger between her folds and rubbed her clit as she moved atop him, feeling her body building to a new level of unbearable tension.

Gavin used his hand to force her to rock faster back and forth on his cock while he flicked his finger over her clit in the same erotic rhythm. He could feel her muscles tightening to an unbearable level and could feel the hot wetness of her aroused body sliding along his shaft. When she came apart on top of him it felt like time might stop for good, her convulsions were so strong Gavin couldn't hold himself back from his own orgasm. He held her hips as he felt himself unload inside her body even as she came apart in his grasp, her body jerking with the waves of pleasure her climax was releasing. The hot wash of her release coated him as he filled her with his seed.

Alorna collapsed on his chest panting heavily with her body still quivering from the inside out. She could hardly think let alone form a conscious word or sentence at the moment, her body felt like lead and she was limp and unable to move. Gavin ran his fingers through her hair as he began to slow his own breathing and come back down to earth as well. The woman was pure madness and he was totally fine with going there. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her middle holding her atop him.

"Am I to take it that I can expect you to sneak into my bedroom on a regular basis Lady Alorna?" Gavin smiled down at her upturned face.

"I think that would be safe to assume, Lord Gavin." Alorna licked her lips.

"Gavin," He looked at her. "Just Gavin, I think we're beyond formalities."

"I believe so Gavin." She laid her cheek against his chest.

Gavin slid Alorna off of his body and under the coverlet where he joined her to sleep. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him, falling asleep spooned with her lush curves. To hell with the gossip.

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Alorna knelt beside the weeping willow tree on the edge of the riverbank and looked at the gaping wound in the side of the tree that would never heal. The bark was blackened and torn raw from the trunk of the tree and the ground at the base of the trunk was barren and fetid smelling. Such was the price paid for the death of a unicorn. Alorna touched the tree where her sister's body had been impaled and looked at the barren earth where the unicorn's blood had pooled. Her sister's death had left its curse on this land.

The proof of the unicorn Aurora's curse was all around in this land. The fields of the castle farms yielded steadily less food for its inhabitants as the nutrients left the soil, the people of the land themselves had fewer children who survived, the castle fell into disrepair easily aging faster than it should, and then there was Gavin de Moncrief's family itself.

Gavin's great grandfather who had slain Aurora of Autumn Sun had never recovered from the unicorn hunt. Like this tree, the earth beneath it, and the dogs who were used in the hunt; the unicorn's blood had poisoned them all. Aurora's vengeance was swift, killing the tree's bark and the vegetation beneath it instantly as well as killing off the entire pack of hunting dogs within a fortnight. But her vengeance on the de Moncrief family was slower. Gavin's great grandfather had fallen ill less than a month after the hunt and had slowly wasted away until his death a year later. Before dying he sired one son, Gavin's grandfather. Gavin's great grandmother fell ill and died not long after her only child was born. Gavin's grandfather had been thrown from his horse and broken his neck while his wife was only two months pregnant. Gavin's grandmother died in childbirth. Russell de Moncrief, Gavin's illustrious father, had been sickly as a child but was a fine young man; he had gone into service with the king and had an arranged marriage with Gavin's mother. Russell had gone to war many times and had the kings' favor until he was badly wounded and forced to return to Castle Ravens' Keep.

Russell de Moncrief had slipped steadily into madness through those years. He had grown bitter and abusive and nearly killed his wife while she was five months pregnant. After Gavin's birth, Russell had taken no interest in the boy or his wife. He was cruel and vindictive, lashing out at his son and wife and inflicting pain whenever possible. Shortly after Gavin's sixteenth birthday Russell de Moncrief jumped from the tower window ending his bitter life. Guinevere sank into madness and was hardly even aware of life anymore. All of this was caused by Aurora's blood curse inflicted on Gavin's great grandfather and passed on through the bloodline.

Alorna sighed and thought of her beautiful sister and how sweet she had been. Aurora's death had been difficult but the vengeance she wreaked on the inhabitants of the castle was equally difficult. Alorna wondered how long Gavin would avoid a fateful end to his life. She stared out across the river to her own forest and wondered if she would ever be so vindictive as to curse the land with her death. Many hunted unicorns had done just that and plunged entire estates into ruin.

Alorna was walking back to the castle when the blacksmith's son Nicholas came into view. She smiled warmly at the youth who was showing ever sign of becoming a large powerful man like his father and equally skilled in his craft.

"Good day Lady Alorna." Nicholas smiled.

"Good day Nicholas, taking a break from the smithy?" Alorna inquired politely.

"For a bit at least, I needed to stretch my legs, would you care to walk with me a bit?"

"I'd be delighted." Alorna fell into step with Nicholas.

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Gavin groaned as he began sorting through another ledger trying to make sense of the decline over the years of the crops and income of his home. He understood that all the latest farming advances had been made and yet still the land yielded less and less each year. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and walked to the window to throw it open and let some air into the stuffy study. Gavin's mood became instantly black and murderous when he saw Alorna walking below with Nicholas. Gavin turned and stormed from his study.

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Alorna could tell from the moment she saw Gavin exiting the castle that he was in a very bad mood. She puzzled over it as she discussed horses with Nicholas. Gavin was walking straight toward her and he didn't appear to be getting in any better of a mood.

"Lady Alorna, Nicholas." Gavin bit off their names in short near barks as he reached them. "I trust you are both enjoying yourselves?"

"Quite Milord." Alorna smiled. "We were discussing the breeding of the horses here at the castle."

"Endlessly thought provoking I'm sure." Gavin grasped Alorna's elbow. "Excuse us Nicholas, I need to speak with Lady Alorna for a moment."

Alorna looked helplessly over her shoulder at a startled and frightened looking Nicholas as Gavin hauled her along by her arm. When he finally released her inside the great hall, Alorna rounded on him angrily.