Emery and Owen Ch. 02

Hi! Some extra stuff was added in the first chapter. Right around the **** marks.

Enjoy! Feedback is welcome!

Ch. 2

Emery's mind seemed to have stopped working. She didn't' register what the man, Owen was telling her before closing the door of the guestroom, leaving her standing in the middle of it. She was numb. Somehow the betrayal of her parents had made her forget the reason why she was being sold in the first place. Hybrid. It had been pushed to the back of her mind by the pain of suddenly losing a family that she thought loved her. But the mention of 'heat' pulled it right back. She knew what it meant, her father had dreamed of being a horse breeder, but never had the funds to do it. Even so, he loved to talk about it during evening dinners, how he would do it and ensure himself the best breeds of horses. The term 'oestrus' was often used, or an easier term 'heat'. As a child Emery had quickly figured out that both words meant the same thing, as he used both words to describe the moment of fertility in mares.

A sob escaped her lips. She was never going to get her monthly bleeding. Emery had long thought she was a late bloomer. But after so many years of it not starting, and at the age she was, considered herself infertile. She had let go of the dream of becoming a mother. But now, in this moment, the thought that she wasn't infertile didn't cross her mind. No. the absence of her monthly bleeding confirmed what her parents were whispering about, combined with Owens earlier words. Suddenly it seemed understandable why her parents would sell her like cattle. She wasn't human. Her whole life was a lie. Everything she knew and believed ripped from her in just under a weeks' time.

Emery let out a cry filled with sorrow. She was alone in this world, forsaken and no one to turn to for help. She let herself sag to the floor and let all the cropped up emotions overtake her. She wailed and sobbed, she didn't stop or budge when she heard the door open and arms hug her to a warm chest. She sucked in the comfort, the warmth and the rumble in the mans chest. She didn't push him away as he rubbed her back and arms, rocking her softly like a babe. Emery cried herself to sleep, feeling safe for the first time since she left her parents behind.

Emery woke up on the bed in the guestroom, tucked into blankets and animal furs. Sitting up slowly she looked around the small room. Her head throbbed with pain and pressure, her sight blurry. Emery did not like being sick. Her body felt heavy and robbed of all its strength. She had to squint her eyes to spot the tray sitting on the table next to a small window. Wrapping the linen blanket around her she got out of bed on wobbly legs to inspect what the tray held. Bread slices with dried meat, three hardboiled eggs and a mug of water and the herbs the man, Owen, tried to give her yesterday. She looked at the tray numbly, last evenings events coming back to her. Emery took the herbs and the mug of water, taking the medicine with no fear and slowly ate the food given to her. With every bite she became more determined to forge her own life. First she needed to gain back her strength and health.

After eating the food Emery had settled back under the furs, falling into a deep sleep until the evening. Feeling much better she made her way down stairs, a linen blanket wrapped around her. Her vision still blurry made the way down a painful one for her toes, and had barley avoided a fall down the stairs by a misstep. But she admired what she could see of the interior of the cottage. The flooring and staircase was made of wood, warm to the sole of her feet.

The walls where made of stone, wood worked into it. But she loved the sitting the room the most, with an open wall towards the kitchen. The fire in the hearth casted a warm orange glow over the two big cushioned chairs standing near and the animal skin laying neatly on the ground in front of it. Plants and art frames were absent from the room but Emery did not seem bothered by it. The space was filled with the smell of stew, giving enough of a 'home' feeling and her stomach growled at the idea of a warm meal.

'Emery, you are up! how are you faring? Food will be ready in a few minutes.' She wasn't prepared for the voice coming from the kitchen and jumped sideways away from the source. As she looked, the man, Owen, was peeking his head from behind the wall towards her, with a soft smile. 'you can Sit down next to the Doctor, Everard. He can examine you and ask some question while you wait.' Emery looked from one giant men to another. She had never felt big as a person, her brother and father weren't of small stature and had all been a head taller than her. But neither had she felt small until this moment. The eating table looked like it would only be able to seat the two men looking at her. 'Are lycans and werewolf all...this big?' The question was out before she could rethink. Her cheeks heated at the bewildered look the men gave each other, before both having a good laugh. Emery wished to be swallowed whole by a big hole in the ground. With the little dignity she had left Emery shuffled herself towards the table. She contemplated on sitting across from the doctor or next to him. He made the decision for her as he patted the seat next to him on the bench.

'generally, lycans and werewolves are one of the bigger races walking on this earth. But compared to humans we are indeed very big.' She wringed her fingers in the blanket around her, "But I'm not human" is what Emery wished to retort back to the Doctor. But she held back. He had giving her an answer to her question. 'What is a hybrid?' Emery had a good idea of what it was, but she wanted confirmation. She wanted something in her life to be real. A truth. 'An offspring born from a coupling between a lycan or werewolf and someone of a different race...' The doctor took her wrist as he explained, placing two fingers with slight pressure and then seemed very concentrated. Owen took over the rest of the explanation like it was practiced beforehand. ' It doesn't matter much if the different race is human or vampire. If it isn't of 'pure' birth it is a hybrid.' Emery noticed he put negative stress on the word pure. The doctor had now moved to poking and turning her face for a throughout inspection.

'Still feverish. Are you taking the medicine?' Emery nodded. 'I took some earlier today. It was foul tasting.' The Doctor was rummaging through his bag and procured a glass vial, handing it to her. 'Medicine exists to heal, its taste is only secondary. Here.' he offered her the mug of water he received from Owen at the right time. Emery took it without complaining and was rewarded with a steaming bowl of stew and bread slices. She dug in. Almost groaning at the joy of eating her first hot meal in days.

The men let her be while she ate giving her sideway glances throughout. When finished Emery rubbed her belly and leaned back, the doctor arms kept her from toppling over. She mumbled a shy thank you and straightened herself. 'no problem. How do your eyes feel Emery, any discomfort?' she shook her head. 'No, but my eyes have been awfully blurry today.' The doctor nodded, his eye wrinkled in thought as he looked at hers. 'This is your first time experiencing this?' this time she gave a nod of confirmation. 'Then there is the possibility that this might just be related to her heat and will pass in time. We will have to see. I will come check up in a weeks' time. For now be cautions of the slightly lost sight and be careful moving around, and Emery, take your medicine, foul tasting or not. Call on me when any changes occur.' With a slight bow of the head the doctor left into the night leaving her alone with Owen. 'Thank you for the meal, it was lovely.' She felt herself smile for a first time in days. 'you are welcome. Go take a rest, the herbs will start working in a little bit.' Emery did. In the guestroom she left the window open on a small gap for a soft breeze before snuggling in the furs on bed. It did not take long for sleep the overtake her.

The sound of chirping of the birds coming through the open window awoke her the next day. Still drowsy she stayed in bed, letting her body wake up. Her thoughts wandered to her parents and what they were doing now. Did her siblings know that she ran away, that she will never be coming back? Or did they already knew of the plan to sell her? Her heart squeezed at the thoughts of her lost family. But she was determined to make something of her life, and one day create her own family. With that she stood up, and walked to the far corner of the room to the retrieved horse satchels. If Emery remembered correctly, she had packed one more travel dress. She also got out the last chunk of her soap bar and a linen cloth with her.

Emery walked ten minutes upstream the river before she found a perfect bathing spot. Owen was nowhere in the house to ask for direction. The water was frigid, but not unbearable, she scrubbed until her skin was pink. Washing away her past, her old self and uncovering the new one. She had a plan, if the pack allowed its females to work and earn coin she wouldn't have to leave far, and be able to settle in this community. If that wasn't this case, she would travel further until she found a place that allowed it. Emery did not want to be depended on someone else anymore. She had no comb to untangle the knots in her hair with, so she made do with her fingers and braided her hair in one big braid.

On her walk back she didn't have any luck on finding out how she could earn coin. What skills did she have that people might have an use for? In thought, arriving back at the cottage she started to clean the house from top to bottom. Beat every dust particle out of every pillow, animal skin and blankets, scrubbed the floors and dusted the walls. When early evening arrived she had figured out what she would do to earn coin, a loaf of bread cooling on the windowsill and a meat pie ready to be stuffed and baked in the stone oven.

'it smells good in here.' Emery had a fright, she hadn't heard Owen approach. She tried to get her bearing back before she turned towards Owen. When she did Emery was confused by his sudden guffaw of mirth. She wasn't trying to be funny in any way. Emery had felt good all day, the fever symptoms very low and bearable. 'You are a bit of a clumsy person no? You have dough and flower all over you.' He rubbed his thumb on her cheeks and Emery heated in single moment. She had never received that sort of close attention from males in her life. Not this familiar. There was always a courting process before a man was even allowed in a two steps distance from the intended person. She unconsciously took a step back, away from him.

'I'm sorry, I try to work clean, but when I concentrated...' she lowered her head away from his intense gave not being able to finish what she intended to say. Not accustomed to it. 'That is okay. I like it. What are you making? Meat pie?' Emery could not understand what there was to 'like' about a person that was a messy worker. Her mother always complained when she would come home covered in whatever work she was doing. But she wasn't going to argue with the man about his preferences regarding it. 'Yes sir, I hope you like meat pie...' Emery gasped at a realisation. She had used the man's kitchen and food without his consent. 'I'm sorry about using your kitchen without permission...' she stammered 'I was just cleaning and from on moment came another...' she had also cleaned the house with not much thought about the possibility that it might offend the person living here. Emery was mortified. She should have asked before jumping to action in someone else's home.

'Emery...Emery! Look at me. Nothing of what you did offended me. I look forward to your Meat pie.' He squeezed her shoulder, and did not let his gaze wander from hers, as if he wanted to make sure he got his point across. 'I will go chop some more wood and go freshen up for the meat pie.' Emery didn't know how to react, so she didn't in fear of saying something wrong. She cleaned the kitchen and herself as the meat pie was baking. With still plenty of time over she seated herself at the table and listed all the things she could do to earn coins in her head that . Her skills of making salted meats and cheese she was sure she could put to use in one of the communal halls, or someone else who made those things. Emery was also proud of her scented soaps and oil she could make. She tried listing what tools and material she would need to start. Sadly she had no idea about the amount of coins she would need to purchase everything. Her meagre ten coins would surely not be enough.

Emery was taking out the meat pie when Owen returned, dressed in new linen trousers and shirt. 'This smells truly heavenly Emery!' He took place at the table and watched her plating the food. An action that unnerved Emery. But she managed without spilling to much of the pie next to its intended plate. Owen did not heed her warning of the pie still being hot, and dug in immediately. A warm feeling of satisfaction glowed in the core of her body as she saw him eat the food she made with lots of groans, even taking seconds and thirds until the pie was gone. At the end Emery could not hide her proud smile. Her first accomplishment in her new life. As Owen was gobbling down his last piece she had found the courage to asked her dreaded question that could make or break her plans. She didn't wish to go out and travel the unknow again.

'D-does this pack allow females to earn coin?' Emery was wringing the linen cloth with her fingers, tied over her to avoid direct dirt on her dress. Emery did not look up from her lap, afraid to see his reaction. 'You wish to stay here? So long you register at one of the pack house of the clan, to show that you are part the community, you are allowed to earn coin in whatever legal service you wish to offer. What do you wish to do?' Emery did not expect the honest intrigue Owen showed her. The simple support she felt by just his words almost brought her to tears, but she held them in, the excitement to tell about her plans bigger. And she did, in as much detail as she could, sometimes stopping to comprehend the level of interest Owen was showing her. The obvious proudness in his eyes as he gazed at her.

They had moved to the sitting room, enjoying the heat of the hearth, while Owen gave her some tips and people she needed to go see to realise her plans. She thanked him profusely over and over. When everything was said from both side, conversation went silent and Emery felt tiredness overcome her, her head hurt from all the squinting she had to do because of her still hazy vision. 'Tomorrow I will bring you to the communal hall of my pack and help you register. Introduce you to the person who will guide and help you settle in.' Emery felt like Owens words were a knife plunged in her heart. Again here also, she was being thrown out.

As if he sensed her pain he knelt before her, stroking her knee with his left thumb and wiping away a stray tear from her cheek. She hadn't realised she was crying. 'I want to make you sure you understand this Emery. So look at me.' She did and a shiver went down her spine at the smouldering look he gave her. 'Me sending you away, does not mean I am abandoning you. You will see me plenty. You are not unworthy to me. But with your heat, I can not have you stay here longer.' Emery could only utter weak why. 'because you currently smell like my favourite dish that I wish to devour. And although acting upon sexual desires in the lycan or werewolf community is a normal thing, you are new to this Emery, and I want you to understand them first before I act upon them. But the longer you stay the harder it becomes to hold the urges, my base instincts to mate you.'

Emery's cheeks stood aflame, and Owen intense gaze on her did not help. He was still stroking her cheeks, but the strokes had become different, something Emery could not explain, but his touch reached al the way to her belly. The hand on her knee had risen to her thigh and was now softly squeezing, slowly. She saw his eyes flick to her lips, time stopped for just a moment, as if a mutual understanding was made. Owen leaned forward and pressed his lips on hers. He didn't linger long. He stood and left. Leaving Emery to wonder how he made her body feel. She hadn't disliked the kiss. Her lips still tingled from his touch.

***

Owen reached the forest line and leaned against a tree. Eyes closed, he savoured the last lingering fragments of scent from Emery as he palmed his hardness. Images of her played behind his closed lids. Her brown eyes, dark with lust, looking up at him as she was down on her knees in front of him. Her mouth wide open, waiting for his manhood to fill her moist hot mouth. The brown lucks swaying against her back side. Her lips stretched around the grid of his shaft. The soft gag sounds she would make as he reach the back of her throat. Submissive yet assertive in her actions. Submissive to his commands, yet assertive in the pleasure she gives him. Tension increased in his groin, his fist stroking faster. Her body would beg, but her eyes would command. The soft curves of her body tempting and seducing him in a frenzy of arousal. He wanted to posses her. Devour her. Make her his. Make her only experience the pleasure he could give her. He wanted to hear her moan out his name. See her come undone on his fingers over and over. Plunge his shaft in her hot sex until she begged for his seed that he would plant deeply into her womb until he was sure she carried his pups. Owen tensed, he shouted his release into the night, letting his seed spray on the ground.