Clara's Offering Ch. 02

Thank you so much for the lovely reaction to the first part of this story! I hope you enjoy the second instalment as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to hear your thoughts.

--

The wood cabin stood alone in a clearing, hugging the base of a sheer mountain ascent. Grey smoke curled out of the chimney, drawing a lazy line against the blue sky. The sound of running water met Clara's ears as she reached the edge of the clearing. She stepped on the worn path to the cabin, the soil soft beneath her bare feet, and Torbin behind her.

She had once dreamt of running through these very forests, fleeing for her freedom from her aunt, from Darian Lucasson, and from the Brethren. Now, she walked through them, the warm light filtering through the leaves to paint gold patterns on her skin, a man at her side with a beast brimming beneath the surface.

A flutter of nerves came to life in the pit of Clara's stomach. Would this be her new prison?

The thought of escape crossed her mind, but was quickly stamped out by the fire that this new experience had lit in her. Curiosity drove her forward.

As Clara reached the worn wooden steps up to the door, she felt Torbin's large hand grasp her wrist.

"Wait."

Clara looked back at him, taking in his soft grey eyes. They dipped slightly at the edges, rendering his expression indecipherable. So different to the dominating creature that had taken her the night before.

Torbin stepped past Clara, knocking twice at the door.

Knocking? Isn't this his home?

Clara heard eager footsteps from inside the cabin. She blinked in surprise as the door swung open, revealing a woman with straight, dark hair that only just reached her shoulders.

"Torbin!" the woman cried out, stepping forward to wrap her arms around his neck and plant a kiss on his cheek.

Clara balked. We're... not alone?

The thought that she might only be one of many women crossed her mind for the first time. She felt a strange twang of jealousy in her chest that made her hang back, the thought of escape again rearing its head.

The woman released Torbin from her hug and turned to Clara. A warm, knowing smile spread across her face as she stepped toward Clara and reached for her hand. Not sure what else to do, Clara let her take it, feeling the soft, gentle warmth of her fingers closing around her own.

The woman led her into the cabin, Clara numbly following, and Torbin closed the door behind them.

Inside the cabin was dim, light flickering from the fire crackling warmly in the hearth.

"I'm Sarina," the woman spoke, leading Clara to a wooden chair draped in the skin of a deer.

Recognition pinged in Clara's mind, and she felt her mouth fall open of its own accord.

"Sarina Hallewell," Clara stated, tugging at the oversized shirt of Torbin's that she wore to cover her thighs. When she sat it rode up, threatening to expose her pink pussy.

Sarina turned to Clara in surprise, her hair fanning for a moment through the air.

"Yes," Sarina said cautiously, "and how do you know that?"

"I remember - I... Someone in the market told me about you. Yesterday, before I..." Clara trailed off, not sure how to put what she had experienced into words. She glanced at Torbin, but he had disappeared into the other room without a word.

Sarina smiled for a moment, then laughed.

"When Torbin told me he was interested in someone from my hometown, I didn't expect that I would hear that I'm a subject of market gossip!" She spoke, moving to a chest next to the hearth and rummaging through the clothing within.

"I imagine you'll want something a bit better to wear than his shirt..."

"Well, I was wondering," Clara spoke up, one hand still holding the edge of the shirt to her thighs, "it would be nice to wear my own dress, could I not go back to my aunt and uncle's to get it? And a few of my things?"

"Absolutely not," came Torbin's voice gruffly. He had emerged from the other room fully dressed in traveling clothes, and Clara balked.

"I need to leave," he said, addressing Sarina. "You know where I'll be."

He turned for a moment to Clara, but his expression was still unreadable. A moment later, he was out the door and gone, and Clara found herself alone with Sarina, who simply smiled at her and held out a plain linen dress from the chest.

Before Clara could take it from her, Sarina snatched it back, a gleam in her eye.

"No, I remember what it was like," she said, grinning, "the thing you most want right now is a bath!"

Clara couldn't deny that. Once again, she found herself being led by the hand by Sarina.

This time, they went back outside into the hot afternoon sun. Clara bit her lip as she realised that Torbin was nowhere to be seen. Wherever he had had to go, he wasn't wasting any time.

Sarina led Clara around the back of the cabin, where the sound of running water that Clara had heard earlier grew louder.

A stream of water was gushing from a crack in the rock face, filling a deep natural pool at the base of the sharp mountain cliff that rose before them. The pool was edged by a grassy lip; pure, glacial melt that ran down in the summer in a crystalline flow. At one edge the pool spilled over, forming a trickling stream that curved away into the forest.

"Now this is something to write home about," Sarina said, gesturing to the pool. "Not actually, of course," she added, "you definitely shouldn't do that."

Clara tried to resist as the edge of her lip curled up into a smile.

"Don't worry," Clara replied, "that's the last thing I want to do..."

Clara lost her breath as the last word left her mouth. In front of her, Sarina was enthusiastically untying her cream bodice and tossing it on the grass beside her. Her dress followed swiftly after that.

She was more petite than Clara, her skin a luscious olive colour that became a dark pink on the puffy peaks of her nipples. But it wasn't just the surprise at Sarina's sudden disrobing, nor the beautiful sight that shocked Clara.

Sarina was pregnant.

The swell of her belly was subtle, but clear. Clara felt a pang of anxiety in her own belly as she thought of the reams of seed that Torbin had planted inside her. Is this what she would become? A sister-wife in the woods being bred and abandoned?

Sarina looked back at her, one hand instinctually cradling her petite belly.

"You really don't need to be modest. We aren't like that," she said, lowering herself to the edge of the pool and sliding her feet in. "It's not cold, I promise!"

'We'?

Whatever her future might hold, and however strong the urge to escape was growing in her brain, Clara really needed a bath. Exhaling briskly, she made her choice. She pulled Torbin's shirt off over her head, feeling Sarina's eyes on her body before she had even fully undressed.

The shirt joined Sarina's dress on the grass, and Clara stepped forward boldly.

The water was cool, but not cold, and it was a welcome contrast to the hot afternoon sun that had already brought beads of sweat to Clara's back. Pulling her red ribbon free of her dark brown waves, Clara bundled her hair up in a knot atop her head, tying it in place.

Sarina nodded approvingly before pushing off the edge of the pool, fully submerging herself in the water. She emerged a moment later with a breath of satisfaction so genuine that Clara followed suit, pushing off the grass and plunging into the water up to her chin.

The contrast in temperature gripped her, but she noted with wry relief that the cool water felt like a soothing balm against the raw lips of her pussy. She moved a hand to herself automatically, before snatching it back, realising that Sarina was again watching her.

"I remember what it was like," Sarina said wistfully, moving closer to Clara, "right after being Offered. The confusion, the... Well, let me try to make things easier for you."

She reached behind Clara, her warmth brushing against her, and returned with a woven cloth in hand.

"I wove this myself," Sarina said, dunking it in the water, "and made sure to bring it with me yesterday once I knew I'd be staying here with you for a few days."

Clara frowned and stopped herself from shying away from Sarina, who had again moved towards her, cloth in hand.

"You don't live here...?" Clara said, looking over her shoulder as Sarina circled behind her.

Clara flinched at the first touch of the cloth against her back. She had been expecting it, but the intimacy was foreign to her. She had been a child the last time she had bathed with someone, and her aunt and uncle had certainly never been close to her like this.

"Not at all," Sarina replied, gently beginning to move the cloth across Clara's pale skin. "This is Torbin's home, and now your home. I live not far, with my wolf, Theon."

Clara felt the twist of jealousy that had lodged itself in her heart unravel. She stayed silent, waiting for Sarina to continue and beginning to relax under the soft touches of her hand.

"I suppose you know it already, but Theon chose and claimed me about ten years ago. Torbin is his 'little' brother," Sarina chuckled. As she spoke she placed her other hand on Clara's shoulder and moved the cloth to Clara's waist, bathing her thoroughly.

Clara's head spun with a relief that surprised her, the feeling amplified by the shivers that Sarina's warm touch was eliciting from her under the cool water.

"They're very proper, those two," Sarina continued, her free hand dipping under the water to sit on Clara's waist. "For their people, the age of claiming a mate is twenty-five, and looks like they both picked girls of the marrying age among humans - you do look like you're about twenty-one, am I right?"

Clara nodded, wrapping her arms around herself to cover her breasts as they floated in the water, suddenly aware of how low Sarina was venturing with the cloth.

"Mhm, I was the same. I lived with my grandmother, but she died on my nineteenth birthday. I was barely keeping myself alive when I was taken by Theon."

Clara's heart pounded in her ears as Sarina's arms wrapped around her front, the cloth drawing a slow line up her stomach.

"Here," Sarina spoke, her mouth close to Clara's ear. For a moment Clara stood stock-still in the water. Then, with a flush of embarrassment, she realised that Sarina was holding the cloth up for her to take. She reluctantly pulled one hand away from her breasts and took the cloth from Sarina, who moved in front of Clara and used both hands to lift her dark hair from her shoulders.

Taking the cue, Clara moved forward and cautiously began to sponge Sarina's shoulders. She marvelled at the smooth, olive skin before her. The urge to feel it overwhelmed her, and without hesitating she lightly ran her free hand over Sarina's exposed shoulder.

Realising what she had done, Clara snatched her hand back. Heat rushed to her face.

I barely know this woman, what am I doing? Clara thought, focusing her attention on dutifully sponging off Sarina's shoulders and back.

When Sarina laughed, Clara felt it reverberate through her back.

"I told you," Sarina said, "we aren't modest here. You'll start to feel at home here very soon, I should think. I remember how it was for me, I..." Sarina stopped herself as she giggled.

Sarina moved away from Clara's efforts at reciprocating the bath, turning to face her.

When they locked eyes, Clara noticed with a start that Sarina's green eyes were deeper, more iridescent than any she had seen before.

"But, you're human like me, aren't you..?" Clara asked.

"Of course," Sarina answered, "but I have changed. You'll change, too, Clara. Once you accept the Offering for the first time, and take their seed, your body starts to... Adjust."

Clara thought back to the effect that even just the taste of Torbin's cum had had on her body. A warm flush of desire pronounced itself between her legs at the thought.

Sarina began to run cloth over her own body, each breast bouncing lightly under her strokes.

"Traditionally, they take a mate to reproduce. But humans can't exactly reproduce with werewolves. We need some time. The more we are around them, the more of them that we take into our bodies, the more we change."

Clocking Clara's knitted brow, Sarina reached forward and softly gripped Clara's shoulders.

"Don't worry, we don't become like them. We stay human. We just become... Something a bit wilder."

Clara found herself unable to tear her gaze away from Sarina's, and felt a shiver run through her body as Sarina released her arms to resume bathing. The warmth of her touch had felt addictively good; she was sure Sarina had squeezed her shoulders just a little too hard. Lingered a little too long.

Clara wrote it off, attributing it to the nerves that were running through her. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind of new sensations, and she felt herself struggling to process the change. Something that resembled freedom was ahead of her, now, but she wasn't sure what that freedom truly entailed.

Once Sarina was satisfied with Clara's cleanliness, she led her from the natural pool and back to the cabin, where they dried off and Clara pulled on the linen dress Sarina had offered her earlier.

At Sarina's insistence, Clara settled herself once more into the wooden chair draped in furs, feeling herself sink into their warmth with a tired sigh. As evening fell the air had grown cool, so she welcomed the heat that spread from the fire as Sarina stoked it into life and prepared a simple stew for their dinner.

Exhausted from the day's travels, Clara felt herself slipping into a light sleep. A touch on her arm jolted her back to consciousness. Sarina's face was close to hers, her expression gentle.

"The change can be exhausting. Let's get you to bed."

The bed was little more than the straw mattress she had slept on in her aunt's loft, with a second mattress to the side. Clara climbed into one, Sarina's 'good night' barely reaching her before she fell into a deep sleep.

--

Clara woke at some point in the night, a chorus of crickets and frogs surrounding the cabin. She moved to sit up, but realised she was being held; Sarina was not lying in the other mattress, but had slipped in beside Clara.

Though Sarina was asleep, the intimacy made Clara shrink back. She had been alone for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to be close to someone like this.

As she lay in the dark, hearing Sarina's steady breathing close to her neck, Clara felt herself relax. Sarina's touch was reassuring, but not only that; sweet sensation of pleasure curled inside Clara's chest, and she realised it might be happiness.

--

Clara opened her eyes and found herself alone in her bed. The sun was well in the sky. She had missed the usual dawn chorus that woke her.

She jerked upright in the bed, panic shooting through her, before realising that she was, in fact, not in her bed. She was not in her aunt's loft.

The door ahead of her was open, but through it Clara could not see Sarina in the other room of the cabin.

Exhaling slowly, she let herself fall back onto the mattress, astounded at the pleasure of lingering in bed. The absence of her aunt's sharp voice in the morning, ordering her up and to work, was a sweet silence.

'I hope you work those fingers to the bone,' she thought, spitting one last pulse of hatred at the image of her aunt's dark eyes and furrowed brow before pushing it from her mind.

Clara stretched, feeling an ache in her muscles. Rubbing her wrists, she realised they were still tender from the restraints that had held her to the altar. A mixture of both fear and excited washed over her as she let herself revisit the night of her Offering in her mind's eye.

It had unlocked a part of her that she had held close to her heart her whole life. A part of her that she had knew was simmering within, but that she had doubted could ever be free.

'But now it is,' Clara thought to herself with a thrill, her hand absentmindedly straying to her thighs.

She was still tender from the way that Torbin had taken her. She had never been with a man before, and was still shocked at the way that she had been overtaken with so much pleasure - so much need.

Her gentle touches to her thighs stoked a hint of pleasure between her legs. Pausing for a moment to listen and ensure she was alone, Clara reached under the blanket and pulled her linen nightgown up to her hips to allow her hands access to what lay beneath.

Clara's heart began to pound in her ears and she bit back a laugh. She silently chastised herself for continuing her morning ritual of masturbation even here, in someone else's bed.

'Isn't it your bed, now?' A small voice of confidence piped up in her mind. With a smile she slowly slipped a finger inside her warm core, feeling the wetness coat her.

Clara bit her lip at the slight sting, but pleasure quickly overtook the tenderness of her used pussy. In her mind she replayed her Offering, imagining herself once again splayed and presented, Torbin's bulk behind her as he prepared to push his cock deep into her.

But in her mind's eye the form on the alter was no longer her.

She realised it was a more petite figure, with shorter black hair. Clara closed her eyes as the image of Sarina on the Offering altar brought a pulse of heat to her clit. She added another finger to herself, gently stroking the velvet walls of her pussy faster.

Clara let a moan escape her lips as she spread her legs under the blanket to let her other hand reach down too, finding her clit. She imagined Sarina, not yet with child, bent over and panting as the hulking figure of Theon took her from behind, his mind set on filling her with his seed.

Clara's breath became ragged as she increased the speed at which she fucked herself with her fingers and drew circles across her clit, the pleasure in between her legs building quickly.

A feminine giggle at the door broke through Clara's concentration, and she pulled her hands away from herself in shock, bolting upright.

Sarina stood at the door to the bedroom, a basket resting against her hip. That radiant smile was back on her face, though her eyes were narrowed in a way that made Clara's heart flutter nervously in her chest. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find a way to explain herself out of this very, very vulnerable position.

"Don't get up," Sarina said softly. She placed the full basket down carelessly, an apricot tumbling out of it, and knelt down on the end of the mattress.

"I was just-" Clara started, but stopped with a hitched breath as Sarina crawled up the bed, over the top of Clara's body. With one hand Sarina pushed Clara back down onto the pillow.

"One thing you will learn, lovely Clara," Sarina spoke huskily, her face above Clara's, "is that when you change, your instincts start to take over. Do you know what my instincts are telling me to do to you right now?"

Clara felt the hot desire in her pussy flare back to life at Sarina's words. She shook her head, swallowing hard and wishing Sarina would keep talking with that voice.

Sarina lowered her head, passing Clara's face and pausing above her jugular. Clara shuddered at the sensation of Sarina's breath on the sensitive skin of her throat.

Sarina laughed again, but it was different from the feminine giggle she had let out when she caught Clara. It was deeper, more breathy, and made Clara's body pulse with need.

She shuddered again as Sarina opened her mouth and licked her throat, her hot tongue running the length of Clara's neck, up to her chin.

"Torbin and Theon, won't they be back soon? C-can we do this?" Clara stuttered.