The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 17

"You still haven't noticed, have you?"

Tani'm's face scrunched up as she studied Karen and thought back upon their conversation, nothing standing out as she considered each part of their exchange.

"Listen to your words, 'he seems just as consumed as the two of you.'"

Karen was just about to spell it out for Tani'm, when the young druid realized what everything Karen had been asking was leading towards.

"But I can feel him inside of me, a... I don't know, it's hard to describe. A warmth that wants to love and adore me."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, Karen's bright smile expressing pride as Tani'm continued trying to piece things together. The older woman brought her hand to her own chest, closed her eyes and sighed as she seemed to savor something that Tani'm could not see. It was puzzling to the young druid, who felt for the briefest of moments that something profound was being denied to her. But, as she felt that fluttering warmth within herself, she knew what had captivated Karen so intensely, and realized just how differently they viewed their newly shared existence.

"So, am I bonded to him, or not?"

The uncertainty in her question was rich and deep.

"That's what we find so confusing. Andrew's hope is that you have what none of us were given; a choice.

"Our best guess is that you can either accept the bond, or reject it. Though I admit, I take comfort in the fact that it still rests within you. That gives me hope that your delightful light will join us, and brighten our days to come. Please don't dismiss this out of fear, that would be a terrible loss for us all."

Tani'm had always considered Karen and Sara as two victims, trapped in the madness of a powerful and lustful boy, but after hearing the woman's heartfelt plea, she finally understood that when Karen said 'us', she was referring to her entire family, and not just Sara and herself. Andrew was bound up in the same magic that held them all together, and for the first time, Tani'm understood that he was as much its victim, as its cause.

She found herself sitting at the edge of that same enticing trap, forced to decide whether she wanted to climb into the net and be captured within its webbing, or flee for a life she already knew. She was about to ask a question, when Karen continued.

"We talked about what we would have done with this decision, and the differences it could have made, and... the idea of not being together is... well... it's just too difficult to even consider." Karen's eyes were growing wet with emotion as she forced herself to continue. "We were all broken in different ways, and the bond has helped each of us find those things we were missing.

"I wish I could tell you what you wanted to hear; that your life would remain unchanged, but I can't. You will miss us when we're not around and think of us often as you go through your day, but you will continue to love those things that give your life meaning, and maintain a strong sense of self. If anything, ever since bonding with Andrew, I've found more joy and purpose in my life than ever before.

"But... I know none of these pretty words will assuage your fears, or quiet your troubled heart. The joys of my life could be the terror of another's, and while I believe you would savor your place in our family, I can tell that you're set on taking the tortured journey through this decision."

Karen's description was enticing, and Tani'm knew that there was truth in every word the woman said. Her sentiments reminded the druid of Andrew, who had worked hard to be understanding of her feelings, and had always given her space to make up her mind. She thought of those few moments when she had lashed out at Andrew, and how he had just smiled and taken her abuse, accepting that he could not change how she saw him, and recognizing the fears that he brought up within her.

If anything, he had given her far more leeway than she deserved.

As those thoughts swam within her mind, she noticed a honey-sweet scent that seemed to swirl around her, promising a thousand pleasures that clouded her thoughts. Looking up, she could see that Karen was once again studying her chest, the older woman's eyes finding their way between the rock-hard nipples that poked out from her a-cup mounds.

There was a time when Tani'm would have been offended by the overt ogling, and would have thrown Karen out of her house amidst a tirade of screams and threats, but instead her nipples seemed to tense and tingle at the attention, moisture beading within her panties as her own desires bubbled and stirred. Karen bit her lower lip and gave a breathy exhale, Tani'm's excitement seeming to affect the woman and amplify her needs.

Tani'm licked her lips as her eyes studied Karen's body, the older woman's breasts rising and falling as she took deep and throaty breaths, her large nipples straining against her blouse with the strength of her desire. Karen's dark-blue jeans clung to her body like a second pair of skin, the denim accentuating her curves in all the right ways. Tani'm's eyes moved along the woman's wide, child bearing hips, her attention being drawn to Karen's groin as the temptress shifted from foot to foot, the older woman rubbing her thighs together in an obvious attempt to satiate her desires.

Musk scented honey permeated the air, becoming almost overpowering in its intensity as Tani'm studied Karen's pubic mound, the hidden temple that would unlock a world of pleasure.

Tani'm's eyes became heavy as she drank in that seductive smell, the weight of her passion pressing in upon her with such force that she was beginning to feel light headed. Karen took a testing step forward, her tongue visible at the edge of her smiling mouth as it travelled across her lips in a slow and studied way. Karen was as swept up in the lust-filled moment as Tani'm was, but seemed more properly equipped to handle its intensity as her gaze scanned Tani'm's body, seeming to strip away her clothing and leaving her bare before the older woman.

"You look so adorably tempting," Karen whispered, the back of her hand sliding along Tani'm's jawline as she spoke. The small woman closed her eyes and struggled not to collapse into that tempting contact.

A sigh of carnal anticipation escaped their lips as Karen's body pressed up against Tani'm's, the older woman's breasts feeling wonderful as her nipples dragged along Tani'm's soft yet muscular body. Tani'm's beasts may not have been large, but they packed a mighty punch, and as Karen brought their nipples together, pleasure danced out across every nerve of their bodies, both woman gasping and moaning at the sensation.

Karen's arms wrapped around her friend, enveloping the small woman in her honey-rich scent. That small prod caused Tani'm to grip Karen's hips, before leaning up and planting her lips on the beautiful woman's long, slender neck. Karen's skin tasted salty and sweet, making Tani'm's mouth tingle as pleasure began to build on her thin, moist lips, before traveling down her throat as she swallowed.

The small woman moaned as she leaned into her friend, Karen supporting her weight as all the pent up anxiety and anticipation of the last couple of days crested within her. Just the taste of Karen's skin was enough to almost make her cum, her pussy tensing and coating her panties in her thick fluids. She had spent what seemed hours masturbating the night the wolf had invaded her home, exhausting her body in an attempt to get close to the sexual satisfaction she felt every time she ate Andrew's seductive seed, and with all that effort she never got close. Yet there, that night in Karen's arms, she felt like that forbidden fruit was at her fingertips, ready to be taken from the vine and eaten.

All she had to do was lean up and kiss Karen, take that buxom beauties tongue into her mouth and allow the magical woman's saliva to carry her to Valhalla, but a part of her knew she would be lost if she did. Any illusion of choice she had been given would be taken away, cast in shadow by the alluring temptation of that families sexual ardor. They would love her, and she them, but would she have truly chosen them? Or, would she have just fallen into the pit of their depravity?

As she leaned there, shivering and aching with profound desire, Tani'm realized that she was an addict, and their sexual gifts were her drug.

She liked Karen very much, recognizing that there was true friendship mixed in with the profound lust that clouded their relationship. Tani'm could even see how Sara might one day become a valued friend to her, but Andrew remained — as always — a reminder of the captivity she would be embracing. He was kind and loyal, that much she knew, and despite her initial impression of him, she had grown to recognize how talented he was, but she was uncertain if he was the type of man that deserved the devotion that the bond would require of her.

Karen ran her hands along Tani'm's back, returning the small woman's playful kiss with a gentle squeeze and throaty sigh, heat radiating out from her crotch as she shifted against her building desire. Again, Tani'm was brought closer to release, her womanhood aching as the muscles within throbbed, squeezing an imaginary cock in anticipation of a tremendous and much needed climax.

Tani'm pushed her friend away, Karen's eyes filled with lust that pleaded for the smaller woman to return to her embrace.

"I can't do this..." Tani'm whimpered, her voice quivering with doubt and desire. "You..." she tried to begin again, but lost focus and leaned forward, nibbling her lower lip as she again glanced at the arousal evidenced by Karen's firm and proud nipples. "You gotta' go," she concluded, her voice dripping with denial of the words that slipped from her tongue.

It was clear to all who heard, that Tani'm craved for Karen to stay, her body lusting after the beautiful woman and all the gifts of carnal delights that she could bestow, but more than that desire, there stood Tani'm's yearning for freedom. Her heart swelled with her decision, nipples throbbing and genitals burning around the edges of the choice she was making.

"Please, Karen, stop tormenting me and-" Tani'm's body quivered with regret as Karen's arm slipped from behind her. "Just give me space to figure this out."

Whatever yearning pulled at Tani'm's heart, seemed far more intense and almost debilitating within Karen, who nodded through her lust-drunk haze, mouth moving yet making no sound as she tried to see through the fog of her own desires.

With one last lick of her full and pouty lips, Karen smiled and winked, flicking a stray strand of long curly brown hair back behind her ear.

"Of course, my lovely," she began, her voice dripping with sex. "When you're ready."

With that, Karen turned and walked out, her fingers dancing over the screen of her phone as she sped from the small building. The brevity of her statement spoke to Tani'm of the torrent of lust that haunted the older woman, because deep down, as she heard the car pull back and skid to halt, before pulling forward and vanishing off her property, Tani'm knew that the same needs were building up within her, and unlike Karen, she didn't have Andrew to take away her pain.

***** These Quiet Moments *****

Andrew stood in dumbfounded shock as he watched Tani'm sprint off into the distance, vanishing into the forest while he yelled out for her to come back. They had found her a few moments before, wonder still clinging to him for how the forest had saved her life — visions of roots twisting and binding themselves to her torn open shoulder lingering in his thoughts, teasing him of possibilities never before dreamt.

He had expected her to be excited by the news that the wolf had been defeated, but had never been given the chance to tell her. Instead, they were taken aback by Tani'm's unexpected reaction. One moment she was smiling up at him, rising to her feet as he helped her off the ground, and the next he watched as terror washed over her face. He didn't understand the fears that filled her heart, and as the distance between them grew, his one desire for her was to allow Karen to heal her wounds. He screamed out after her, but his pleas seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as the small but powerful woman made her frantic retreat.

"Should I go after her?" Sara asked.

"No, we need to take care of things here," Andrew reasoned. "She'll find us, when she's ready."

Andrew had intended the statement to sound reassuring and confident, but the faulter in his tone made his uncertainty clear.

With heavy hearts, they looked towards each other, and it took a few moments for Andrew and Sara to shake their confusion at what Tani'm had just done, while Thunderfoot chortling and whimpering as he watched his friend flee. Their walk back to the blast site was slow, giving them plenty of time to distract themselves with conversation about what had happened that night. After all was said and done, Andrew and Sara agreed that they needed to gather as much evidence from that gruesome scene as they could.

The next couple of hours passed in a blur;

Sara took Thunderfoot to the S.U.V., while Andrew gathered anything that seemed out of place, or that he thought could lead a clever detective back to them. There were fragments of his clothes from the scarecrow that had been at the center of the explosion, and while most pieces were too small to to be useful, there were a few shredded scraps of cloth that by some miracle managed to contain pieces of the "Bit Brigade" logo; a band that would easily lead people back to Andrew, since he had never seen anyone in town wearing their shirts before.

His parents' M16 had been almost destroyed, the wolf having bit into the weapon and thrown it into a tree. Signs of its ordeal were evident on almost every inch of the rifle, and as Andrew studied it, he knew it would never fire again. The Monolith reported the weapons damage in gruesome detail, bends in the steel and cracks in its body rendered within a holographic display in his mind.

Sara returned much sooner than Andrew expected, her hand freshly regrown by Karen. They hugged and shared in Sara's relief, Andrew being pulled against her and sighing. They remained like that for awhile, the tenderness of the moment lost as Andrew released a loud yelp of surprise. Sara kept him from pulling away, laughing as he squirmed while she used her new hand to squeeze his ass.

Once Andrew wiggled from her grip, she stated with a merry chuckle, "Hey, just gotta make sure it still works."

Andrew shook his head and leaned forward, arms at the ready to fend off her next amorous attack. When no assault came, he pecked her on the lips, and then jumped back with a broad grin, both of them laughing.

"You're too awesome," Andrew stated, before turning towards the forest and continuing to whittle away at the mountain of tasks that stood before him.

With Sara at his side, they were able to remove the last signs of their presence, gathering and ferrying everything they could find to the S.U.V.. Out of everything they scavenged, Andrew was most captivated by wolf's hind leg, which was massive and heavy, dense cords of solid muscle reminding him of the power the creature had possessed.

It had been bloody work, Sara darting off into the forest and returning with more severed limbs as the night dragged on. The only thing she had not found was Thunderfoot's hind leg, and after explaining to Andrew the events that had seen its removal, she speculated that the wolf had likely eaten it. That made sense to Andrew, who had already began to feel exhaustion weighing on him by that point, so together they took the last load back to their car.

The drive home was somber. Andrew's gaze periodically finding its way to the back cargo area, where the massive wolf leg, a large rabbit front arm, a human bicep and two human hands rested. Blood seeped out of the limbs, and filled the cab with the faint scent of death, ensuring that none of them would soon forget that drive. Karen, out of all of them, seemed the least fazed by what they saw, and while Sara idled herself by petting and caressing Andrew from the back seat, Andrew couldn't stop stealing glances of Karen. Something about her demeanor seemed off, too cavelear for the heartfelt woman he had come to know.

Every time he had considered asking her about her mood, he stopped, sensing a deep pain that was walled off and simmering within the beautiful woman. It was not until they were nearing their house that he figured out why she had been so stoic, and decided to push aside his own nature, knowing that any knowledge he could gain from asking her about her feelings would not be worth the price — her past was once again haunting her, and Andrew knew she was fighting against those terrible memories.

As soon as they arrived, Karen and Sara took Thunderfoot to The Glade, pausing only to plead with Andrew to join them, promises of pleasure and satisfaction guaranteed by their supple and aroused bodies. They kissed and hugged, grinding against Andrew as if to give voice to their passions, their soft and delicate flesh enticing him with every delight he could ever want, and despite their efforts he remained steadfast. It had been the most difficult thing he had ever done, resisting those women whom he craved more than he ever thought possible, and yet somehow he managed, knowing that they needed to distance themselves from the events of that evening.

A profound and unfamiliar pain build up quickly within his gut, his balls not taking kindly to the opportunity they had missed, and making Andrew suffer as a result. But the distraction didn't last, and almost twenty minutes later he had stored the wolf's leg and rabbit arm in his refrigerator, plastic garbage bags keeping them contained until he could figure out whether they would be helpful or not.

Everything else had been placed into a fifty-gallon steel-drum resting at the side of the house, a left over from the previous owners. Andrew was grateful his parents had chosen to keep the rusty container, despite his many attempts to persuade them otherwise, because he now recognized how valuable it was when you needed it.

Andrew once again stood before the open back of the SUV, head shaking from side to side as he took in the scene before him. The rear compartment was coated with blood, splashes and splotches of thick red ichor soaking into the soft fabric, and congealing against the hard plastic trim. He was frozen with uncertainty, trying to decide how he could possibly clean it all up, when a wellspring of lust and desire opened up within him. A gushing river of sexual energy filled his mind, Sara and Karen overwhelming him with their playful and erotic games, and while he managed to hold out for fifteen seconds, the temptation proved far too great.

For once he understood how intense it was to be outside of The Glade while others within their family indulged in the carnal delights brought out by the places magical nature. The time dilation turning what would have been an enjoyable and sensual caress of love and affection into a hammering force of insurmountable desire. A large patch of sticky fluid saturated the crotch of his pants, as his control over his desires evaporated beneath the force of their amorous activities. All thoughts of the S.U.V. were cast aside, his legs carrying him unbidden towards The Glade.

Andrew was not surprised by what he saw when he arrived.

Karen was laying on her back, her arms squeezing her massive breasts together in a glorious tableau, as she reached down between her wide-open legs, pulling Sara's face into her wet and fragrant rose patch.

He had entered from above them, the top of Karen's head whipping from side to side and sending her thick curly brown hair in every direction. Her nipples were highlighted by the angle, thick half-inch nubs of joy aching for attention. Sara was almost hidden from sight, the top of her forehead peeking out from around Karen's grasping hands, and the rounds of her supple ass shimmying from side to side as she buried her face into her lover's treasure box.