The Hunt Ch. 01

Okay I apologize for the confusion but for whatever reason or happenstance,I submitted this first and then later the same day submitted ch 2. While chapter two went through fine, chapter one just up and disappeared. *wondering if there are goblins in computer* Anyway - here is the revised version of one - which will hopefully clear up the questions raised by the second chapter.

Shifting, I burst free of my manly trappings amongst the tall trees. The wind ruffled my fur in a welcoming caress. A low growl of pleasure built in my throat. It felt so wonderful I wasn't sure how I'd survived so long without it. The six months I'd worked in the human world had left little chance of shifting. In fact, desperation had driven me to this Nature Center in the dead of the night. It'd been too long since I'd let the beast roam free and he was close to going feral. My hectic life in the city, making a living to provide for my small pack kept my wolf as firmly chained in the wrappings of human necessity but no longer.

Bounding over a fallen log, I hit my full stride quickly. Using my nose and every other sense God had given me to navigate over the darken landscape, I ran for what seemed like hours but knew had only been minutes. I crossed a stream when it hit. The most tantalizing scent I'd ever smelt hit me. Nirvana -- the smell of a female in heat. Bursting out of the water, I followed my nose, until I found her. Fur gleaming in the moonlight, she was regal from the tip of her shiny nose to the tip of her bushy tail. Her head came up as she scented me. Her low howl sent shivers down my spine. This was a true alpha bitch in her prime. Her magnetic draw pulled my wolf closer. Then she shifted. Her long blonde hair spilled over her rounded shoulders. Her breasts, tipped with pale rose nipples swayed as she held her hand out to me.

I couldn't resist her offer. I shed my wolf as easily as a duck sheds water. As the familiar burn of the change faded, I stood in front of her more aroused than I could ever remember.

"Come." She drew me closer, pressing her hands against my chest. Her nails scraped across my nipples before trailing down my stomach. I inhaled sharply as my cock rose like an obedient pup. I let her guide me down into a sitting position on the lush grass next to the stream. A low groan filled my chest as she settled over me, rubbing her wetness against my cock. Her nose brushed over the hollow of my throat when she pressed her breasts against my chest. Lifting my hands, I cupped the sides of them, using my hold to guide her body in a rocking motion.

Satisfaction at her cry of pleasure as my chest hair teased her sensitive nipples sent me soaring. The wiggle and flex of her hips as her desire grew sent my own higher. I wanted inside of her -- inside my mate, my beautiful Onawa.

"Please." My voice sounded hoarse to my own ears as I lifted my hips in entreaty.

The nip of her teeth against my collar bone was her warning. Her message was clear. She'd take me at her pace or not at all. I wanted to snap with frustration when she rose to her knees, removing her heat from my lap. The urge died when she pressed my face between her breasts, before feeding me her nipple. "Suck!"

I obeyed without thought, moving back and forth between each nipple until she was writhing against my cock. Canting my hips I hoped that the rub of my shaft against her mound would coax her into completing our union. A sharp cry filled the clearing as she joined our bodies with a smooth thrust. My balls tightened as hot wet heat surrounded me.

"Not yet!" She hissed raking her nails over my shoulders. "You will wait for me. For your mate!"

"Yes -- please." I no longer sounded like the alpha wolf that I was -- instead I was a male at the mercy of the woman I'd claimed nearly a year ago "Ride me, love." I tweaked her nipple with one hand while the other slipped between us to rub her nubbin. Her head tipped back as she snapped. Riding me hard and fast, all I could do is hang on as I crept closer to the edge. It'd been too long since we'd done this -- frolicked in the woods.

"Now. Give me your seed, Mahkah." Her lips fastened over mine, swallowing my cry of ecstasy as I gave her what she wanted -- a child conceived in wild outdoors as I'd promised.

* * * *

I hadn't always been this way, I thought as I pulled my scattered clothing on, a wolf in the city, who longed for the wide open spaces, but had more responsibility than I'd asked for. As child all I had ever wanted was a slice of my mother's homemade pumpkin pie and time to play outdoors. Nothing more, nothing less. Then had come the revealing -- a ceremony which all young men went through after their first vision quest when they reached puberty. I was expected to travel several hundred miles in my animal form, a wolf in my case, to stand in front of our council and be recognized. Even to this day, I can remember as I'd knelt in front of them, naked as the day I was born, my body exhausted by my long trip...

"...rise, Mahkah." The tall imposing shaman of the council, Ohanzee brushed his hand over my shoulder. Standing on legs which that trembled was easier than I thought it would be, considering I'd just completed my first vision quest. I was nervous but the soothing voice of the shaman relaxed me as I took in my surrounds. The lush meadow was a perfect spot for the acknowledgement ceremony. "I recognize and accept Mahkah's vision to lead -- he shall be the next Alpha male gifted to the Sapá family." Ohanzee lowered his voice until only I could hear. "Your family is very lucky, indeed young Mahkah. To have not only a shaman in Chaska but also a dominant alpha with you proves how gracious the Wakan Tanka is." I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I was only fifteen and was unprepared for the mantle Ohanzee had just place upon my narrow shoulders. I wanted to run from the room but didn't. I wouldn't dishonor my family in such a way.

"Thank you, Shaman Ohanzee." The booming voice of another member of the council sent apprehension down my spine. It was Kangi Witikó, the Alpha of a neighboring family. I'd heard he'd been pressing for some archaic sacrifice, but like most teenagers, I hadn't paid much attention to the on-goings of adults -- excluding my own family. I wasn't sure if he'd gotten the council's approval or not, but now with my new responsibilities I needed to know. "And now that we've heard the last Vision Quest recipient -- we need to move onto the next item on the agenda. The sacrifice our Shaman foresaw on his last quest. I have decided upon who it shall be..."

My heart thundered in my chest, even as my conscious protested such a thing. We lived in the twenty-first century. Human sacrifices were wrong. I didn't care what the teachings said.

"It shall be Weeko Sapá."

Shock rolled through me as my beast growled. In the background I could hear my Aunt Maka crying. There was no way I could let my own cousin be killed -- not only was she a shifter but a female one at that. Our numbers were too small to even sacrifice one.

"No."

"What do you mean no? You dare challenge me." Kangi stiffened, his fists clenching.

"As my right as the Alpha of the Sapá family I refuse." I couldn't believe how strong my voice sounded. "I will not give her to you." I stood on trembling legs as utter chaos erupted around us...