Jala and the Beast

"Rurik!" she cried, as his claws pierced Jala's sides and back as her eyes rolled back in pleasure. She had always known it would be good to be with Rurik, but had never known how it would feel to be taken, to be ravished. All of her life she had been strong, a planner, in control, and now everything was different. Her life was as a delicate butterfly in Rurik's claws, and she knew it. Should he desire it, Jala would be shredded. His claws dug deep then, and she came again, feeling herself grip tighter at the huge cock invading her so completely. She moaned, then, not the first time, but this was different. It was animalistic. Demanding. It was the moan of a mate who needed more, not less.

Rurik reacted by releasing Jala, letting her fall to the wet earth. It was raining now, in torrents. She grunted as she landed on her back, the air driven from her lungs. She looked up and saw his massive cock was wet with a mix of her own fluids and his precum. Rurik gave her no time to recover, kneeling and rolling her over onto her front, before lifting her up again. He, too was lost to desire and he thrust her, none too gently, against a nearby tree. Jala held on for dear life.

Of all the sensations that Jala would remember, the one that was most surprising to her perfect it was. Again and again his cock forced her open, spreading her wide, filling her beyond capacity. She had her fingers, of course, but this was so different. This body-shaking, impossible and painful congress felt just right, like she was made to receive it. She came again, feeling the intense heat radiating from him, hearing him grunt and huff as her pussy gripped him. She had lost track of how many that she had experienced, of how much time had passed.

"Gods, Rurik," she whispered, her voice small against the sound of their bodies and his harsh breathing. "I love you. I love you. This is for you." She wanted him to know, she willed him to understand. Jala was certain that she would die, and if she did, she wanted him to know that she went willingly, gladly even.

To Jala's shock, Rurik seemed to understand her. Her words excited him. She moaned and cried out as he, impossibly, sped up and grew more violent. Her arms failed her and she slumped forward. Instead of falling, she found herself supported, lifted. Again, Rurik had one hand around her waist and the other splayed under her chest. This time, however, Jala was lost to pleasure and fatigue, her head lolled and she felt as a rag doll in a child's hand.

"JALA," his impossibly deep voice roared, one word, but with love and need, and sorrow. As Jala came back to herself, she felt him swell and cried out in response, cumming again immediately. She could feel his seed flowing out of her, down the inside of her thighs, dripping off her dangling feet. Finally, satisfied that she had accomplished her goal, Jala passed out.

* * *

Jala thought that she might be dead, at first, before she started to hurt. Then she knew that she was still alive. She ached all over, and in places she felt the sharper, if less severe, pain of cuts and scrapes. She kept her eyes shut. She could die later, after she slept. To her surprise she felt herself rising, gently, surrounded by soft warmth. She nuzzled into the warmth and felt fur brushing up against her face, tickling her eyelids. He was so gentle. But of course he was. He was her Rurik, and always would be. She remembered nothing after that.

* * *

Jala woke to the sound of movement, and the scent of Rurik surrounded her. She smiled and nuzzled into it. It was warm and furry, but not him, but his blanket. He had wrapped her in it to recuperate.Her eyes fluttered open. Sun filtered through some trees, and a fire gently crackled, something good was cooking. Bacon? She could smell it. And bent over the fire, tending to it, was...

"Rurik," she said, softly. He stood and spun, pausing only a moment before bounding over to her in two strides. Then he was over her, gently caressing her hair.

"I thought you were going to die. I thought I'd killed you."

"There are worse ways to die," Jala said, smiling.

"That isn't funny."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Rurik's face was clouded with frustration. He had changed, Jala thought, for the better. He had matured, his body filled out, grown even taller. He wore simple animal skins, stitched together somewhat crudely. His muscles were evident in his forearms, perhaps too much. Jala wondered if he had been eating enough. He had a full beard, but somehow, even in the wilderness, he had kept it neat, if not particularly even. His eyes were still so full of kindness, almost sadness. She had fallen in love with them. Rurik furrowed his brow at her silence and adoring stare.

"What you did was...it was," Rurik said, unable to form the words.

"It was what needed to be done, Rurik," Jala answered, softly, placing her hand on the side of his face. He took it in his own, and kissed her palm, gently, as if he were afraid that he would break her.

"I...I never wanted to hurt you," he said quietly. "I've...I've loved you since I understood what the word meant. Maybe before."

Jala's eyes grew wet and Rurik's face filled with more concern.

"You must know that I love you the same way, Rurik," Jala said. "I could not allow you to be taken by the beast. Not when I knew who you really were. And I...I could never let you die. If that were your fate, then I would rather die first."

"Don't say that!"

Jala sat up then, too quickly, and winced, but she was heedless of the pain.

"Don't tell me what to say! I can't change how I feel and I won't change what I say to make you comfortable. You would have done the same for me, if our positions were reversed!"

Rurik and Jala's faces were inches apart and Jala was breathing hard. Couldn't he see that she had saved him? Couldn't he just...and then he leaned in and kissed her.

It was gentle and kind. Later, Jala might like a bit of rough play, but for now, it was so good. So perfect. She did not fight it as Rurik's kiss gently pressed her back to a supine position, and to her surprise her hands began to explore his chest and wrap around his back, pulling her toward him, on top of her. How was she aroused now, even in pain? It didn't matter. She needed him again, and she knew, somehow, that he needed her. He needed to show her that he could be more than a monster, that he could be tender and loving. That all sounded very appealing to her at the moment.

"Are you sure?" Rurik asked, softly.

"Yes. I need you, Rurik," Jala replied. "I need all of you. The beast and the man."

Rurik smiled and kissed her again. Jala fumbled at his trousers in her eagerness, and he chuckled at her eagerness. Rurik stood, removing his shirt first, and then his pants. Jala herself was still nude, under the warm fur blanket. Jala drank Rurik in with her eyes, as if for the first time. In a way, it was.

Rurik was muscular, hands rough (as she remembered), but he lacked the slight layer of fat that he normally kept. He was gratifyingly hairy, and, to Jala's relief, his erection appeared much more manageable. She could not help but notice the scars that he had, however. She was concerned and wanted to ask about them, because he was not a warrior, but a craftsman. But then she felt him removing the blanket, and at once she felt a virgin again. She blushed, but resisted the urge to cover herself.

Jala wouldn't allow herself to be ashamed of her body. She would not pretend to be a noblewoman with soft skin, and good manners, but then again, she knew that such a woman could not have satisfied Rurik. She watched him take in her lithe form, her small breasts, slim hips. He knelt over her and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling out some pine needles that remained from the previous night's activities.

Jala saw her own desire reflected in Rurik's eyes, and for the first time, she felt truly beautiful. She reached out and pulled him down into a kiss, feeling his rough beard scraping against her as he moved to her neck, kissing and nipping her. Jala gasped at how it made her feel.

Where the prior night had been violent passion, the morning was tenderness on both of their parts. It was an exploration for both of them. Jala felt the need to touch every part of Rurik, to absorb his scent, to feel his body pressing on hers as closely as possible. When he entered her he groaned her name, and then they moved as one. Jala rolled her hips and met her lover's thrusts, and her aches disappeared as she did. When she came, it was like a series of simple waves that took her, and she rode them.

Jala sighed as Rurik finished inside her, arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, holding him in place, but he did not. Slowly, almost mournfully, he pulled out of Jala. She rolled over on his chest, and for a time, they stayed like that, and everything was right.

* * *

After rising, dressing, and eating, the two were ready to leave together. It was decided that they would see the druid on the way down. They were making final preparations when Jala suddenly remembered the original reason for her trip.

"Do you want to get married?" Jala said, almost offhandedly. She looked at Rurik. He paused, blinked, and for a moment she was worried.

"Yes," he said, simply. They smiled at each other and then returned to their packing. To others it would have seemed strange, but to them it was just a formality. They had mated the prior night, after all.

"We can have the druid do it," Jala noted. Rurik grunted agreement.

Jala watched Rurik drinking from his water skin and added: "It would be good to be married before we have children."

Rurik sputtered and Jala laughed as she tied up her pack.

"You want children?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Of course I do." Jala found herself strangely anxious now that the conversation was ongoing. "D-don't you?" She thought it silly. She had become a Briar-Knight, and fulfilled the rite of the wolf-priestesses! How difficult could raising children be?

"Yes, but..."

"But what?"

"What if they turn out like...like me?"

"Then they'll be strong and good."

"You know what I mean. What if they are Beastkin as well?"

Jala turned to face her mate, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips, before stepping back and smiling up at him. She took his much-larger hand in both of her own.

"Then we'll need to be sure to train more wolf-priestesses, won't we? Your father kept the scrolls. He showed me."

"I have no doubt that you could learn to be one and to teach others. But what of the world? It would not treat such children kindly," Rurik said. Clearly, this was something that he had already considered. Jala was not surprised. He did not think quickly, but he did think deeply.

"Have faith in me, if not in the world," Jala said. "If we are together, then we can face any challenge."

Rurik did not speak, but his smile told Jala everything that she needed to know. She took his hand, and they set out, together.