Nothing helps.
My paws shake with every step as I keep walking, and I know no matter how much I fight it, I won’t be able to hold back much longer.
She’s close. Too close. And I’m barely holding on.
And then I see her.
A human female rises from near the water, bathed in the early morning sun. The sight of her stops me dead in my tracks. My breath freezes in my throat. The world around me fades into nothing. She’s not just beautiful, she’s ethereal, like something the goddesses crafted in secret, hidden from the world until this moment. Her long, dark hair falls down her back, the silky strands reaching her waist.
She’s... perfect. So small, yet there’s a quiet strength about her, something that radiates from her very soul. I’ve never seen a human before, and I never expected anything like this. Not the way she makes my body roar with need, nor this burning hunger.My muscles tense, every part of me on edge. My claws dig into the tree beside me.
She lifts her face, slowly rising to her covered feet. Those are shoes. She looks around, and I take in her whole form. Small face. My paw could cover her whole head, front to back. Her eyes are swollen—why? What happened?
She moves back a step, and her clothing sways with the motion. Truly, there is no fur anywhere on her except for her dark brown hair and... eyebrows? Patches of hair above her eyes. We have them too. I don’t know why that part surprised me, but Elder Aïna wasn’t joking. Humans are so different.
My little mate looks around,she’s wary. She moves slowly, trying not to make a noise. Smart female.
I grab my cock. It’s leaking, and I hiss as I squeeze it. If I just take a few steps, she will see her mate. She will see my cock.
But she is so tiny... Goddesses, how can I claim this small female?
It’s a fight to keep my body from lunging forward. My knees tremble from the effort. The tree groans under the pressure of my grip as I try to calm my need. I clench my jaw, but the sound of wood cracking fills the air before the tree crashes to the ground. Shit.
The little female takes a few more steps back.
With a shuddering breath, I try to calm myself, but I only inhale even more of her delicious scent. Wrong move.
I can’t scare her, but I’m so close.
She takes something out of her pocket. A weapon.
Right.
She doesn’t know me. She probably doesn’t even know what I am. I grit my teeth.
She’s human, so delicate, and I’m... I’m a beast compared to her. I have to approach her, but goddesses, I can’t. Not like this.Not when every part of me is screaming to claim her, to take her. My cock is hard as stone and dripping on the ground.
“Shit,” she whispers. Oh, that sweet voice.
We both saidshit.
Slowly, I take a step forward, trying to keep my movements controlled, though every hair and every fiber begs to pounce. She moves her head to look to the side, exposing a new angle to me, and I nearly groan aloud from the pleasure of it.
I can’t lose myself. Not now. I can hear her soft breathing, the way she exhales, how fast her heart beats. She points the weapon in my direction.
Please, little human. Don’t run.
Because if you run, I’ll chase.
7
A KNEEL, A GROWL, AND A CHOICE
“Some would call them monsters, but those who’ve truly looked a vólkin in the eyes know, there is no creature more bound to protect what he calls his.”
—Eyleen Ársa
Noël
