Chapter 3

At last, she stopped before a small hollow pressed into the rock, nearly hidden by a curtain of frozen vines. She pushed the vines aside and crawled in on hands and feet, her small breasts swaying beneath her, her hips rising with every motion, the blue plume of her tail wagging just faintly again as though she was trying to put herself back together. Skoll followed immediately, finding his place to lie down. Fenrir snorted and lowered himself, letting me slide off his back onto the snow. My feet hit the frozen ground, the cold biting instantly at my bare skin. I held the vines open for him, and he nodded before entering the den.

As I walked in, I noticed it wasn’t large, not compared to the Alpha’s cavern, but it was still big enough to accommodate the two Duskwraith wolves and herself. In the center was the remains of a fire, and the ground was covered with pelts, blankets, and pillows.

She crouched near the fire pit while I stood at the entrance. Then she turned her head up toward me, crimson eye staring at me. There was no mischief in her smile, no teasing wag of her tail. Just that single look, as if daring me to judge her.

“This is mine,” she said. “It’s not much. But it’s what my mother left me.”

The girl crouched in the shadows of her den, watching me. Her thighs parted naturally in her squat, the soft mound between her legs glistening faintly in the pale light. She didn’t try to hide it. She never had. Her world didn’t believe in modesty. But I could see it now, how her tail curled a little tighter, how her shoulders hunched, how her pride had been bruised by the Alpha’s words.

For the first time since I’d met her, she looked less like the wild, feral predator who’d saved me in the storm, and more like the lonely creature the Alpha had named her: a stray-born.

“May I sit with you? I asked.

Her single crimson eye blinked, and the tip of her tail gave a surprised wag. Her lips curled, the faintest hint of a smile returning.

“If you like, human,” she said.

I crossed the short distance and sat down beside her. She watched me, her gaze drifting down my chest, pausing at the hard length jutting from between my thighs, before returning to my face. Her cheeks flushed, her ears swiveling, the tip of her tail flicking.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice was soft, almost ashamed. “For what the Alpha said. I shouldn’t have brought you here, but...”

Her lips pressed tight. She didn’t finish. Instead, she looked away, her gaze on the fire pit, her shoulders hunching, her claws digging lightly at the fur bedding beneath her. Her ears lowered, her tail drooping low.

“You appear warm, but I will start a fire anyways.” She rose, turning away, her back arching as she crawled toward a stack of dry kindling near the den’s entrance.

“What’s your name?” I asked, watching the sway of her hips, the gentle wag of her tail.

“My name?” She glanced over her shoulder, a twinkle in her eye, the old grin returning. “You want to know my name, human? You wish to learn the name of the wolf who saved your life? Who brought you to her den and promised to keep you safe? Well...”

She trailed off. Her tail drooped lower, ears flattening against her head. Then she turned away, facing the entrance, and her shoulders shook once.

“I can’t tell you my true name ... and the Alpha has not given me a pack name yet, other than...” She paused, swallowing hard. “Stray-born.”

Her head lifted, her single red eye glinting in the shadow of the cave.

“My mother was the best bitch,” she said, her tone growing proud despite the shame that lingered. “Her blood was strong, her teeth sharp, her hips wide. The Alpha used her for years, kept her belly swollen with his seed, his cock buried in her whenever he wished. She was his favorite, the bitch he trusted to give him strong pups.”

Her claws scraped gently against the stone as she picked up more kindling, her voice steady but laced with heat.

“She grew tired of it, though. Tired of spreading her legs whenever he called. Tired of being nothing more than a pump and dump for his lust. She wanted more. She wanted a mate, her own choice. She found one too. A wolf with a gentle bite, a hunter, strong enough to stand beside her but not so cruel as the Alpha.”

Her tail lashed once, the plume of blue fur twitching with the memory.

“When the Alpha found out, he killed him. Tore him apart in front of her and fed his heart to the pack. He laughed while he did it. He said she was his bitch, his cunt, his breeding hole, and no one else’s.”

Her voice cracked, but she pressed on, her small breasts rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths.

“When she bore her last litter, it should have been her triumph, finally having pup’s with a man she truly loved. But only one pup came screaming into the world.” She looked up at me then, her crimson eye burning bright. “Me. I was the only one. My mother bled out, and the others never drew breath. The Alpha sneered when he saw. Said I wasn’t his. Said I was cursed. A mongrel. A stray-born. He let me live because of her, because she had served him so well with her body. But I was never claimed. Never named by him. Never his pup.”

She spat the words, fangs flashing, but her tail had curled low between her thighs.

“So now, I am nothing to him. Not pack. Not kin. Not a bitch worth breeding. Just the daughter of a breeding hole who died giving birth to me.”

Her eye narrowed, glinting with the mixture of fury and humiliation she’d been forced to carry.

“That is why he calls me stray-born. That is why I live here, outside the pack dens. Not because I am weak, but because my mother chose her heart over his cock. And for that, I will never be forgiven.”

The kindling in her arms crackled as she settled in front of the fire pit, her spine flexing with her movements, her hair tumbling down her back. She didn’t look at me as she set the sticks carefully, her movements slow, her hands trembling. I watched her, the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips, the delicate line of her bare slit peeking between her thighs.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “No one should have to go through that. Especially not because they want a real relationship, not just being used for sex.”

She glanced at me, her red eye gleaming, the firelight reflecting in the wetness gathering there.

“You say that like it matters,” she murmured, her voice rough, her fangs bared. “It doesn’t. That’s just the way it is here. The Alpha is the Alpha. The strongest. The most dominant. His cock is the one that matters. And all the bitches here live and die on his whims.”

She took a deep breath, her chest swelling, before looking away.

“He’s wrong about me,” she growled. “My mother was a proud wolf, and I will not be a stray forever. One day, I’ll make him see. One day, I’ll become a true Duskwood wolf.”

“Is that your goal? To become part of the Duskwood pack?” I asked.

She glanced at me again, her expression thoughtful, her ears tilting forward.

“My goal...”

She paused, her hand resting on a stick, her eyes fixed on the fire pit, her tail swaying slowly behind her.

“My goal?” She said the words again, as if they were new to her. “I want to be free. Free to choose who I mate, who I love. To be something other than a stray. To prove to the Alpha I don’t need his name or his seed to be a true wolf from Duskwood.”

There was power in her voice. Strength, and fire, and pride. She straightened, her claws digging lightly at the kindling, her small breasts rising, her back arched, and for a moment, I could see it, the wolf that lurked within her. She was not her mother’s daughter. She was a predator, a hunter, a beast worthy of respect.

“And what of you, human?” She cocked her head, her crimson eye fixing on mine. “What is your goal? What landed you naked and frozen in the middle of a blizzard?”

My mind went straight back to the girls I was ripped from. Their laughter, their smiles, their warm touch. My throat tightened, and the memory of the last kiss I’d shared with Kira flooded back. The way her lips felt on mine, the soft moan she made, the smell of her hair. It had all seemed so perfect.

“I made a deal with a fairy. She said there was a risk to her magic when I asked her to save me two female friends and that risk left me frozen and naked in the cold. You saved my life, and now, I need to finish the quest I started.”

“Fairy magic? Risk?” She blinked, her ears tilting forward, and a flicker of a smile returned to her lips. “I’m not familiar with such things. You have a very strange story, human. A deal with a fairy? Sounds dangerous.”

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “It was, but it was a risk I had to take. It was worth it, in the end.”

She grinned, her fangs gleaming, her tail swaying gently.

“Your females must be quite special,” she smiled, her crimson eye flashing, her claws scratching lightly at the kindling. “Worth taking the risk, even knowing it could leave you dead.”

“Yes, they are.”

She was silent for a long moment, her tail slowly curling around her thigh.

“Tell me, human,” she said at last, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Would you do it again, if given the chance?”

“Yes.”

“Why? How can you be so sure?”

“Because not only did I save them, I got to meet you.”

She blinked, her red eye widening, her jaw hanging open. Her cheeks darkened, and her tail swept wide, brushing her bare hips, the soft fur tickling her skin. The girl was completely without words. She stared at me, her lips parted, her ears flat against her skull, her claws scratching at a rock for sparks, a fire crackling to life beneath her hands.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that. To me. About me.”

Her voice was small, but it rang with a strange, powerful note, as though no one had ever been so kind, so truthful, to her. She ducked her head, her hair falling forward to hide her face, her ears pressed tight. Her tail curled tight around her thigh, and her claws flexed against the sticks. When she looked up again, her cheeks were flushed, her ears swiveling, the tips turning pink.

“I like you, human,” she whispered, her crimson eye bright, the tip of her tail wagging. “No one has ever said meeting me was a good thing.”

“It was.” I smiled, hoping she could hear how much I meant it. “You’re one of the most incredible girls I’ve ever met. You’re smart, and brave, and beautiful. You’re everything a person should be.”

“Beautiful,” she murmured, her single eye blinking, the faintest smile playing at her lips. “You think I’m beautiful?”

“Yes.”

She grinned, her tail wagging higher, her ears tilting forward, her small breasts rising and falling as her breath quickened.

“Beautiful,” she repeated, her tongue rolling around the word, savoring it, as if no one had ever called her such a thing before. Her crimson eye met mine, shining with an eager gleam, the firelight reflecting in the wetness gathering there.

“Say it again.”

“You’re beautiful,” I said sincerely. “One of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen.”

“Beautiful,” she repeated. She returned to her seat beside me, and a soft moan escaped her, her chest rising and falling, her small breasts quivering. “I’ve never felt this way. I’ve never been called such a thing. You’re not just saying this, are you, human? You really mean it?”

She moved before I could answer, sliding closer with a fluid little motion that made my breath hitch. One moment, she was kneeling by the kindling, the next she had straddled my hips, legs wrapping around my lower back like a soft, warm harness. Her thighs were small but strong, locking me in with gentle pressure.

Her weight was light, but intimate, the curve of her pelvis pressed against my stomach, her warm slit grazing the top of my shaft, the lips of her pussy spreading, dripping heat onto my cock. Her breasts, soft and round, pushed into my chest as she leaned forward, both hands wrapping around the back of my neck. Her blue hair fell across my cheek, and the stray strands tickled the corner of my mouth. For a ridiculously long second, all I could think was how absurdly vulnerable and exposed we both were. Me, naked and erect, and her, perched like some fierce, beautiful animal-queen who’d chosen to fold herself around me.

She shifted and her breath hummed against my ear, hot and steady.

“Listen,” she said softly, voice low enough that the wolves couldn’t hear. “There is a reason I can’t ... Won’t tell you my true name.”

“Why?” I asked, feeling her nipples harden against my chest.

Her crimson eye searched mine, the firelight flickering inside it like a living ember. Her thighs squeezed tighter around me, the tip of my cock dangerously close to slipping into her slit, making me throb beneath her. Still, her voice was steady, and her tone was careful.

“Because a true name isn’t just a word,” she whispered. “It’s the first breath a pup feels when she enters the world. Her mother leans close, whispers the sound into her ear, and from that moment, it lives in her bones. She never forgets it. Even if she’s beaten, even if she’s starved, even if she’s cast out, that name hums inside her like blood in her veins.”

Her claws skimmed the back of my neck, light as feathers. She leaned closer, her breasts flattening against me, her hot breath on my ear.

“If a male learns that name,” she continued, “and speaks it, truly speaks it, not in passing, not by accident, then it’s as if he has slipped a leash around her throat. She becomes his. Not for a night. Not until he grows bored. Forever. Her body, her heat, her loyalty ... everything bends toward the voice that calls her true name. She will crawl to him on her belly if he commands. She will spread her thighs for him, open her womb for him, and never seek another. Her soul itself will answer him, even if she hates him. Even if she swore she never would.”

Her tail flicked once behind her, the plume brushing my leg, betraying her own excitement. Her hips gave the smallest roll against me, dragging her slit across the tip of my shaft.

“That is why it is sacred. That is why we are supposed to guard it with our lives. A name is not a gift, human, it is the chain that binds us to a lover or a master.” She paused, biting her lip, her fangs glinting. “It is the purest bond. Stronger than blood. Stronger than a pact.”

I swallowed hard, my hands sliding instinctively to her waist, holding her light, trembling frame steady on top of me, keeping her from shifting her hips and pushing her tight little pussy down onto my throbbing cock.