E-Written: Red and the Wolfe

"Lewis said something like that. He thought me and you..."

"Everyone thought me and you, Red. Everyone but you. I took the hint and didn't mess things up and you were so happy when I asked after Melany that I knew I had made the right decision."

"I didn't know."

"Does it matter? Change anything?"

"No."

"So. Jeremiah Wolfe. Was NOT expecting that. I mean, I guess if any guy would be your type, it would be the one guy that could outrun you in the races and a man who was actually almost wild. Still considered a heathen by most standards. Your mom will love that."

"She would actually. You are thinking of it all wrong. If he and I get together, I will leave, go into the woods with him and his clan. He won't be in the village with me."

"Oh... you're right, she would love that. I would kind of hate that, though. Come on, it's really late, we should go back to the village."

"I want to stay a little longer, you go ahead. Melany is really hoping you ask her soon by the way. She is trying to flirt and give signals, but blind bat you are, you are just confused."

"Can you blame me? I was used to you always telling me how things were. Nothing confusing about you. Should I? Ask her?"

"She adores you. Don't you love her?"

"I care about her a lot and she is beautiful."

"But?"

"But she isn't my first choice, Red."

"Malcolm! Don't. Don't do this? Please?"

He was quiet for a moment, then he moved, crawling out. "I will ask her tomorrow," he said softly as he left.

I laid back down on my arm, curling up and trying to clear all of the confusion away.

"You should not be out here alone tonight," Jeremiah called from the opening of the little space.

"How did you find me?"

"Tracked you, then watched the trickster come in."

"Were you listening?"

"You would come out to the woods and live with me? Leave your comfortable village life? My uncle says you would not. I think he is wrong."

"If I decided I wanted to," I said softly.

"You should not be here alone, Kinley," he repeated.

"I'm not alone?"

"This night carries... wrongness. The witch saw it."

"If you need to go back, you can. Nothing will bother me here."

"It is not warded? If I can find you, so can they."

"They?"

"The Shadow clan. Those who hunt humans."

"What?"

"The witch has seen them coming, they are trying to take her out of power. They already took the other. The apprentice witch."

"Anette?"

"That was her name, yes."

"Was?!?" I cried, alarmed. "What happened? She is my sister!"

"No longer. She is Shadow Clan now."

"What does that mean? Is she dead?"

"And not."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you need to get into your home, in the village where the Shadow Clan fears being discovered."

I shook my head, trying to understand what was happening. "That doesn't..."

"Shh!" he hissed.

Suddenly he was next to me, a finger pressing against my lips. He moved silently, then pressed something to my lips. A small vial that smelled awful. He tilted it up and spilled it between my lips, into my mouth and I trusted him enough to swallow it down. He wouldn't hurt me and he didn't want to see me hurt. I didn't know about the arcana, but he did and I was going to put myself in his hands for this.

Whatever this was.

My head fogged, and spun and hands caught me and eased my fall to the ground.

I woke alone, sunlight trickling into the little limb cave and I sat up. I started to crawl out and saw symbols drawn across the entrance. Sigils. I cleared the cave and stood, looking around. Something felt... off.

I ran home, but was stopped less than halfway by Lewis and his father. The second they saw me, they started yelling . "We found her!" as Lewis yanked me close in a hug. He had been crying!

"What's wrong?" I asked fearfully.

"We need to get you back." Lewis said, pulling me towards the village. His father kept yelling as he followed behind us.

Soon, more people joined us, coming out of the woods. Papa yanked me into his arms as he ran up to us before we reached the village.

"Red! Oh, Kinley, we were so afraid! When they found Malcolm, we thought something had happened to you too!"

"Mal? What happened to Mal?" I cried in terror.

"Sweetheart, I am sorry. He was found early this morning in the woods. Gertrude said he died sometime last night, not long after he left the feast. He was just outside the village. Something... something stabbed him in the neck and hung him up, drained him dry. Wolfe clan and the other hunters say it is a bunch of creatures they call shadow clan, but that is just heathen nonsense. Someone did this to him."

He was pulling her towards their home through the village as he talked, but they were intercepted.

Ancel Alcott and the group with them cut them off and stopped them, Ancel looking down at me in worry. "Where were you?" he asked, sounding choked and fearful. "I looked and looked and couldn't find you anywhere!"

"I... fell asleep out in the woods. I... It's none of your business!" I cried angrily, my heart broken. I should have made Malcolm stay with me!

My father caught me as I started to collapse and Ancel was there quickly, trying to pick me up. I looked up at him and I hated him and his beautiful face. His white blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes with his pale white skin. His beauty made me furious and I reached up and raked my fingernails down his cheek.

He jerked back as I drew blood, crying out in shock as he looked at me, then the blood on his hand. He had three angry furrows of blood down his face. He looked back at me, pressing his lips together in a thin line.

"Get her home," he said to Papa. "Keep her safe. We are making a militia to keep guard around the village if you want to volunteer."

"You?" I asked in disgust. "What will you do? Papa, where is Jeremiah?"

"Him and his clan are all being held in the hall," Ancel said with a look of disgust.

"Papa, we need to go out and get grandmother, bring her into the village."

"She can't come here, sweetheart, you know that. She has no power here, we have to go to her."

"I don't care about her power! She needs to be kept safe!"

"I will send some people," Ancel said to me, putting his hand over mine. I jerked my hand away in revulsion.

Papa helped me stand and led me to the house, waving off the other men to go join the militia. He took me in and I immediately rushed to Melany as she barreled into me and we cried in each other's arms.

It was a long morning and just after noon, Papa answered the door and let Ancel in, along with his younger brother. I wanted to smash a vase in Malachai's smug face. Ansel looked upset. "I'm sorry, Red, the men I sent to your grandmothers... they said she was gone. Looked like in her sleep, overnight."

My mother threw her hands over her mouth and my sisters and I went to her.

"Anette will come now," Melany said gently, hugging our mother.

I swallowed hard. I needed to get out and go to the hall. There was no way Papa would let me go alone... but...

"Ancel," I asked softly, turning to him and looking up at him just slightly. "Can you take me to check on Uncle Rolf and Aunt Ginger? They've a new baby and I am worried."

"Of course!" he said, confused, but excited.

"Papa, he will bring me right back!" I called, not giving him time to answer.

I led the way to my uncle's house, letting Ancel put a hand on my shoulder proprietarily as we walked. Once we were close, and near the edge of the village, I cut away hard and took off at a sprint to the gates that were wide open.

Ancel and the men with him were too slow as I sped through the gates and then curved around after dodging into the woods. I made my way back to the village, curving all the way around to the hall, then slipped in the back door.

Jeremiah jumped to his feet and hurried to me. "You should not be out! You should still be asleep! For days at least! You... You are a Null, aren't you? Immune to magic? Arcana?"

"Yes?"

He growled through gritted teeth. "That is how they got to her! You made a hole in all of her protections when you went in!"

"This is all my fault?"

"No. No, it is them. You should not be here, they are hunting you."

"Why me?"

"Because of what you are," an older man said, moving closer. "You are like a key. A key that lets them go where they please."

"Uncle, we need to take her out of this village!" Jeremiah said, putting a hand on my arm and pulling me close to him.

The door slammed open and several men looked in, then one called outside. "She's in here!"

I sighed. "I will be back!" I whispered, hurrying to the door. I met Ancel there and let him take hold of my arm. "I want to go back home now," I said softly, as if I had not just run from him.

He snorted and started pulling me away from the hall and my home. When I tried to pull away from him, he looked back at one of the men and he stopped up to take my other arm. I struggled and they physically dragged me several feet before I began kicking and screaming.

Something solid hit the back of my head and I blacked out.

I woke whimpering in pain as hands felt around the back of my head.

"You hit her too hard," Ancel accused someone.

"Why are you complaining, look what she did to your face!" Malachai responded.

"I don't care, you didn't have to hurt her so badly."

"Quit complaining, I got her here, didn't I? Her eyes are open."

"Red?" Ansel asked, moving around in front of me so I could see him. "Are you ok?"

"No," I whispered, trying to reach up to my head. My arms were stuck. "I... I can't move! My arms are tied? Why are my arms tied?" I cried out, starting to panic. "Untie me!" I kicked, and my legs were tied to. I was on a bed, tied across it, a limb on each post. "Pleeeease! Untie me!" I wailed, thrashing as much as I could.

"Easy, calm down," Ancel said gently, stroking my face.

Malachai laughed and watched me struggle. "She does have nicer tits than her sisters, but I don't get what you see in her," he said, leaning close and wrapping his long fingers around my breast. My bare breast.

I screamed again, going wild, trying to get away.

"Get out," Ancel grated, shoving his brother's hand off of me. "Go get Dad now that she is awake so we can do the ritual."

Malachai chuckled as he left the room.

Ancel turned and looked down at me, leaning closer. "He wasn't supposed to hurt you," he said softly, stroking my hair back.

"Please let me go! Please! I don't like not being able to move!"

"It won't be much longer," he said, leaning down and pressing his lips to my head. "I will let you up the second you are bound to me. Ok? I won't make you stay tied."

"Bound? Ancel, I will NOT marry you! You can't do this!"

"I can," he said with a gallic shrug.

I deflated, feeling lost, but the panic of being tied down yanked me back into a struggle. I heard voices and people coming down the hall and I cried out in horrified anguish. "Please! At least cover me!"

He blinked, looking down over my body. "I can do that," he said softly, moving and pulling a sheet up the bed to cover my exposed flesh. "Every inch of you is beautiful, Red," he said once he had covered me and sat back down next to my head.

The door opened and his entire family filed in, circling around the bed and I was in a real panic. None of them cared that I was tied down. His mother had her lips pursed, but that was the only sign of discomfort among any of them.

When Elder Hathaway came in, he smiled at everyone, even me. "Blessed Yule," he said, as if I wasn't tied to a bed.

"Blessed Yule," they all returned.

"Help me!" I screamed. "Get me out of here! This is against my will!"

He looked at me while I was speaking, but as soon as I was done, he looked at Ancel. "Are you ready to take a wife today, Ancel Alcott?"

"I am, Elder Hathaway," he said quickly, stroking my hair gently.

"Then let's begin," he said nodding and pulling out his little book of rites.

I screamed and thrashed and Ancel threw himself on me, pinning me down and putting a hand over my mouth. "Easy, love," he whispered. "It won't take a minute, then we can be alone. Keep going!" he called over his shoulder.

I tried to struggle, but I had nothing left in me as I lay sobbing under him.

Suddenly everyone was leaving and Ancel was smiling down at me, his eyes bright. I shook my head and he moved his hand as he leaned in to kiss me. I turned away and he grabbed my face hard and pressed his lips to mine.

"Mmm. There now wife. Do you know how long I have wanted to say that? I cannot imagine a better Yule gift than having you for my wife, finally."

"You said you would untie me!"

"Once we are bound, my love," he said gently, getting up and starting to pull his clothes off. I watched in horror as realization hit me. The way I had been tied to the bed, for him to use.

I was still in disbelief, shaking my head when I saw it. The dark, black ink covering his left breast, over his heart. A black, snarling wolf, it's eyes a bright blue like Ancel's. The wolf had a shadow, all in a light gray and the wolf in the shadow was distorted and wicked looking.

The tattoo terrified me and my grandmother's words rang in my head. Ancel was the black wolf she had warned me about!

I was yanked back to the present when Ancel pulled the sheet back, looking over me again as he did. His smile was beautiful, even with the three pink scratches on his face. I blinked, frowning. Those should have been red and raw and bloody... not almost healed?

He moved down to the end of the bed, looking down at me as he slid his underclothes off. His long, hard, pale cock sprang free, bouncing as he stood up and looked me over. His eyes rose up to mine and he gave me a predatory smile. I shook my head again, but terror had hold of my tongue.

He bit his lower lip and gave me a seductive smirk as he climbed onto the bed between my legs, lowering himself as he did and kissing my knee. I jerked away and tried to knee his mouth, but he caught me and held me down as he left a trail of kisses up my thigh and in.

He paused when he got close to my sex, lifting his eyes to look up at me, his lips parted against my inner thigh, the hair between my legs touching his cheek. He smiled as he raked his teeth over my skin, then kissed the spot.

"Mmmm, my love, I have been waiting so long for this," he whispered, then turned slightly and kissed me between the legs.

I whimpered and tensed, but he lifted his face immediately, looking at me as he made himself comfortable. He took hold of my thighs in his hands, pulling all of the slack out of the rope to tilt my sex up to his face.

"I knew when we were younger... I wanted it to be you, but you wouldn't look twice at me. I was too old, I thought. I convinced Malachai to get you to come to the dance, just to see if it was because of our mothers fighting. He was supposed to bring you and make an excuse, leave you in my care, but he decided to have his fun with you instead."

He leaned down and kissed my mound again, then licked, a long, slow lick from as far down as he could reach, all the way along my slit up to my nub, lingering there and making me shiver involuntarily.

He grinned as he looked back up at me. "When Melany started making eyes at me, I used her. I admit that and I shouldn't have. I wanted to get closer to you, but you and her weren't close. I let her think my parents said no so she could move on. I tried more than once to get you to talk to me, to notice me, but you are such a free spirit. I thought if I could just get you alone and talk to you, show you I wasn't a bad guy... but you refused to give me any sort of chance, didn't you? I thought if I got your cake and you had to just sit with me for a short time... but no. That... that was the most 'you' thing I could imagine by the way. I couldn't believe it when I heard you baked for the auction... but you fixed it, didn't you? I was still pissed at the filthy hunter for trying to take what wasn't his to take, but I was so amused with you. And I even tried it. It wasn't awful at all, which also surprised me. Tell me though, Why the wolf? How did you know?"

"It wasn't for you!" I answered angrily, finally finding my voice.

He chuckled and kissed my thigh again. "I thought it might be for the hunter. He has no idea though, does he? It doesn't matter. You are mine now, my wife. And I will have you."

He leaned down and licked me again as I opened my mouth to speak, but words were chased away as I shivered again. "Stop!" I cried instead.

He licked again, then again, slow and lingering, moaning vulgarly.

I whimpered as I trembled, shocked and afraid over how good it felt. "Please stop?"

Instead he moved in closer and wrapped his lips around my sex, pulling and sucking as he licked back and forth with his tongue. My head dropped back as my eyes fluttered shut, my breathing becoming ragged.

The door opened and his older brother came in, followed by Malachai. He was holding a cup and a funnel with a long tube. Ancel raised his head, sucking hard and pulling my nub as he did, until it released and I twitched. "About time. She may not need it though," he said with a lopsided smirk at me. "Look at how excited she is already." He moved so they could both see between my legs and Malachai reached in, running a finger through my slit as I whimpered helplessly.

"I wonder if her sisters are like this?" Malachai asked, rubbing his wet fingers together.

His older brother moved down and touched me as well, then pressed his thumb against my nub and rolled it gently. I gasped, my body jerking and my tense body went languid as I felt a need rise up in me. "No, you won't need the tea at all... but imagine what it will do to her? You could probably untie her and she will be going at you. She might go after all of us, beg us all to fuck her."

"Leave it for now," Ancel said, pushing his brother's hand away jealously.

I let out a sigh of disappointment, but was able to get my faculties back fairly quickly.

"No, let's do this," his older brother said, taking the funnel and forcing it into my mouth as I tried to protest. The tube went into the back of my throat as I tried to turn away and scream. Malachai held my head still as his brother picked up the cup and poured it into my throat. Ancel did nothing, he only watched as his brothers forced the tea down me.

Malachai held my nose as his brother pulled the funnel out and I was forced to swallow or choke. When he let go, I coughed and sobbed. They both stepped back and watched me, as if waiting for something.

"Get out now, both of you," Ancel demanded.

"I want to watch," Malachai said, his hand going to my breast again.

"No! Get out, this is my wife, not just some trull!"

His oldest brother laughed as he left, but Malachai scowled and gave me a promising look as he left. I shuddered and looked at Ancel. "Please? Ancel? I will be a wife to you, be good to you? Please let me up and please... never leave me alone with Malachai?"

Ancel gave me a smile and there was real love in his eyes when he looked at me and moved closer to me. He kissed me and I forced myself to stillness, not biting him like I wanted to.

"I will never leave you alone with him, I know there is no love lost there. Look at me Red. I know you too well. Just like your game earlier, running off after saying you wanted to check on your uncle. The only reason I went along with that was because I wanted a reason to get you away from your family anyway. I will untie you, but not until the binding is complete and the second binding is completed as well," he said with a sad smile. "Don't worry. I will treat you like a queen. Always." He kissed me again and I turned away, tears welling up again. "It's ok," he whispered, then reached down and took hold of his cock as he moved his hips to line up with mine