Lady Wensley's Lover

Katherine Wensley looked out upon her domain, and saw that it was good. The wide plaza which stretched out beneath Fort Shieldwall's slablike keep was a hive of sound and bustling activity. Children laughed and whooped as they darted between colourfully decorated merchant stalls, soldiers practiced their morning drills while labourers hauled heavy crates of food and raw materials freshly-arrived from the homelands into the fortress' yawning stores. Banners atop the crenelated outer walls rippled in the chill northern wind, proudly displaying the heraldry of those families who had come from the old kingdom to make the land of Fornhiem their own.

House Wensley's banner danced among them, its stark insignia of a black sword and golden crown standing out amidst the motley collection of shields and rampant beasts. Katherine smiled at the sight. Once, long ago it seemed, the idea of her family's crest flying above a foreign land would have brought her nothing but disgust. Her ancestors had done terrible things to the natives of the old kingdom; so terrible there were now none left bar the half-breed offspring of those her family and their allies had once taken as slaves. Even she herself was not, in truth, fully human; her bloodline had mixed long ago with the giants of legend, as if her ancestors had greedily sought to steal such strength for their own.

Had it not been for their errant daughter, the same fate might well have fallen upon Fornhiem's inhabitants as well. But the colonisation had gone smoothly; careful diplomacy with the native peoples and bold action against their shared enemies had won the expedition many friends. Katherine stared down into the courtyard, watching in satisfaction as a group of skinny, brightly patterned young lizard-men played with the pale-skinned children running riot. Miyur half-elves broke bread with towering Raudkhlo werewolves as other, even stranger races worked and played alongside the humans who had come to settle in their lands.

Katherine gave a small noise of satisfaction and pulled away from the window. She was an imposing woman; taller and broader across the shoulders than many men, she stood straight-backed and proud, a modest gown of deep purple velvet struggling to conceal the steely muscles she had forged over almost three decades of battle. Her face was tough and square-jawed, handsome rather than beautiful, her carefully braided blonde hair struggling to offset the roughness of her features. But the past few years had softened her, and her grey eyes shone with a warmth which helped put those called before her at ease.

Which, as the Fortress' appointed castellan, was a regular occurrence. Katherine looked over to her desk and the neatly stacked pile of wax-sealed parchments demanding her attention and grimaced. House Wensley might have escaped the darkness of its past, but not the paucity of its numbers or the ruinous depletion of its coffers. She had been putting the business of choosing a husband off for as long as possible, but both her advisors and potential suitors alike were becoming insistent. And they would be wanting an heir next...

She understood the necessity, of course, but it rankled her sense of independence all the same. Katherine glanced around her quarters, searching for something to distract her from the tiresome job of going through the latest pile of missives. The room was richly carpeted and furnished - too rich for an old soldier, she thought briefly, though her return to nobility had brought with it certain standards that had to be maintained. Weapons and trophies from her travels across Fornhiem lined the walls alongside woven tapestries and the vast, polished cabinet holding the enchanted, ebon-bladed greatsword Stríðbrotsjór.

A loud knock caught her attention, followed shortly by the door guard calling "visitor, my Lady!"

Katherine tried to stifle her groan. Another wealthy, thin-blooded parasite trying to butter her up in person, no doubt. "Of course. Did they give a name, Marchus?"

"It's Torja, ma'am."

"Oh, thank the Gods." Katherine's expression brightened. "Send him in, I could use some pleasant company."

The door swung open, allowing the stooped, muscular form of Torja Scarfang to enter. A runt by Raudkhlo standards, the wolfman still stood eye to eye with Katherine, his powerful body covered in a thick coat of grey fur and a few scraps of decorative armour. Braids had been worked into the long mane running down from his proud, wolfish head, threaded with colourful beads and pieces of bone taken from fallen foes. A rough kilt hung around his legs, but couldn't quite hide the excited wagging of his tail as he approached.

"Katherine!" He cried, opening his long arms wide. Katherine laughed and returned the gesture, slapping Torja on the back as they hugged in greeting. "Torja, my friend! It is good to see you again."

"And you, vinir. Too much time spent hiding away behind walls of stone, eh?" Torja punched her playfully in the shoulder as they pulled apart. "Carpets thicker than a pup's fur, fireplace always stoked, no need to hunt your own food? You'll go soft as a faun like this."

Katherine pulled a face. "I'm still strong enough to put you on your backside, sir, so don't get too mouthy." She sighed. "Bah, but you're right all the same. This is my place now, but I still miss the old soldiering days. I don't think I'll ever get used to sleeping on a bed with two layers of pillows. Or answering these bloody letters without swearing."

Torja laughed; a strange, chuffing sound in the back of his throat. "Raudkhlo are lucky. Leave leading for leaders, leave fighting for fighters. Easier for all."

"Oh, I wish things were that simple." Katherine ran a hand through her hair. "Sometimes I wish Payne had made me Captain of the Guard and left it at that. At least that way I'd have an excuse to get out into the field a bit more often. Half the time I have to make judgement calls on matters that I haven't seen first-hand." She frowned. "Letters and reports can only tell so much."

"Ah! Well. Sadly it seems Torja is here to add to your worries." The Raudkhlo opened one of the pouches slung around his hips and pulled out a ragged sheath of parchment. "Hunfar on the move again. Spotted them with my pack, thought to bring wisdom in person." He shook his head and twitched one of his ears. "Stubborn creatures. Not learned from their losses yet."

Katherine took the report. It was written in Fornheim's native tongue, but she had learned enough to deduce the prominent details. The Hunfar had been one of the major challenges facing the expedition in its earliest days. They were a fallen people who had long ago descended into barbarism, too powerful for Fornheim's scattered tribes to quash. But their failed attack on Fort Shieldwall had cost them dearly, and the survivors had retreated to their underground lairs to lick their wounds. Until now, it seemed.

"I don't think they've recovered enough to pose a serious threat, not to the larger settlements at least. We'll double the guards on our convoys and post extra troops to the outlying villages in case they get any ideas." Katherine folded Torja's missive neatly and added it to the stack on her desk. After a moment's thought, she opened one of the lower draws and produced a bottle of crimson liquid and two glasses. "Maybe send word to Lord Vindbraag as well. I'm sure his wildlings would love the excuse to go hunting."

"Hrn. Tricky one, Vindbraag. Unpredictable. As you well know," Torja added pointedly.

"Yes, which is why it's important to do as much as we can to keep him on our side. The Raudkhlo could easily keep the Hunfar in check, but if Vindbraag feels included he's less likely to take offense and start raiding us to make a point." The glasses clinked as Katherine dropped them on the desk and filled them. She slid one over to Torja, who took it with a grateful nod. "I knew a lot of arrogant young nobles like him when I was young. They have to be handled carefully, lest someone bruise their precious egos."

She grimaced and took a fortifying gulp of her drink. It was fine stuff, Katherine supposed, imported at great expense from the vast vinyards of the old kingdom. Torja swallowed his in one mouthful and pulled a face.

"Bah, grape juice too weak for Raudkhlo tastes. Mead is better."

Katherine snorted. "Believe me I'd rather have something stronger as well, but as my advisors continue to say, there's standards that have to be maintained. My esteemed guests get a bit sniffy if they're served anything too rough." She rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the desk, holding the glass under her nose and inhaling the delicate scent. "Probably going to have to marry one sooner or later as well. More's the bloody pity."

She kicked a chair towards Torja with the tip of her foot. It creaked under the wolfman's weight as he collapsed into it, twitching his ears in disapproval.

"This is a thing I have heard. Much speculation going around the castle. Katherine Wensley - great warrior, great leader, soon to be wed! But to who? Some puling whelp, unable to lift a sword in his own defense? Bah." He shook his head and growled.

"Tell me about it. Look at this one." Katherine snatched a letter from the top of the pile and pushed it towards her guest, who snatched it disdainfully. "Poetry! He wrote poetry! I'm not unappreciative of the effort, but really? What does he think I am, some blushing maiden looking to be serenaded? It isn't even good poetry!" She quaffed her drink and threw her arms up into the air. "Gods damn the necessity of political marriage. Sometimes I envy the Raudkhlo womenfolk, I really do. They don't need to worry about this nonsense."

Torja snorted and grinned, his fangs glinting in the light. "Many men for each woman, too. Why choose one, eh? Take all. Sometimes take all at once. Vinir Katherine should try it some time."

Katherine turned away and cleared her throat, feeling a touch of heat coming to her face. The Raudkhlo weren't unattractive, per say; they were a tall people, strong and lean beneath their thick fur, with bright, clever eyes. She knew that some of the female soldiers under her command enjoyed relations with them, and had, during her initial forays into Fornheim's wilderness, even considered it herself. Circumstances at the time, and a sense of propriety after her promotion had prevented it, and she had politely refrained from enquiring deeper.

"Actually, it's funny you mention that," she said, digging under the pile of letters for a moment. "Lina - you remember Lina, yes?"

"Little Miyur girl. Big mouth, light fingers." Torja nodded.

"She handles Fort Shieldwall's, ah, vice. Gambling, narcotics...pleasurable company. A little smuggling. Illegal, technically, but harmless enough so I turn a blind eye. She keeps more cut-throat organisations from getting a hold on these...industries, and occasionally passes me information of use. This landed on my desk a few weeks ago."

Katherine produced a small, cheaply-printed pamphlet and tossed it to Torja, who caught it easily. He peered at the smudged, crooked lettering and crude picture of an armoured woman opposite a rampant wolf stamped on the cover. "The...Lady-Castellan's Lover?" He frowned, wrinkling his nose as he slowly translated each word.

"Apparently, my lovelessness has not gone unnoticed," Katherine remarked airily, topping up her glass and waving it dismissively. "Which fuelled speculation, which in turn fueled these...well, these rather lurid little penny-books. Legal, technically, though I'm of a mind to have a few sharp words with the author if I ever get my hands on him."

Torja leafed through the book. He handled it with almost pantomime care, turning each page slowly and delicately, wary that his great strength and claws would tear it to shreds. His golden eyes narrowed to slits, then suddenly he burst into a great bark of laughter. "Vinir Katherine's subjects have great imaginations, it seems!" He grinned, stamping one of his feet in amusement. "And great taste, to suggest she would choose Raudkhlo lovers over her own people!"

Smirking, Katherine snatched the book back. "Yes, I thought you'd find that amusing. It's a shame their imaginations vastly overshadow their grasp of the written arts. Just listen to this!"

She cleared her throat and stepped back, holding the book out before her in one hand and pressing the other to her chest like a poet at a recital. "'Bye gosh, cried thy kastellan, have I never seen such a thing byfore! Larger bye half than any man of mortall ken, so turgid and red I cannot believe myne eyes! So stark and strynge against thy greysome fur, my loins do turn to heat and eagerness at sight alone!'"

Katherine shook her head in disbelief and dropped the offending pamphlet back onto her desk with a snort of disdain. "Gods, I've heard more stimulating limericks in a soldier's barracks. And they write me like some kind of milkmaid."

"Ah, but correct on one point!" Torja chuckled again, the sound low and rumbling in his chest. "Larger by half? Accurate for Raudkhlo men."

"Oh, please. I've yet to find a man - any man - " Katherine corrected herself, "who doesn't exaggerate these things. You're larger than a human, yes, but your womenfolk aren't. Unless they all walk around bandy-legged I can't imagine it's that much bigger."

Torja leaned forwards, a sudden gleam in his eye. "You suggest Torja lie?" He tutted and shook his head, his tail flicking playfully from side to side. "We vinir, Katherine, we friends. Only truth between vinir. Huntress blesses us with great bodies, great virility, gives our women strength to match. No shame there, no need to lie."

Katherine finished her second glass and raised her eyebrows, a crooked smile on her face. "We are vinir, Torja, which is why I say that when men talk about the portions handed down to them by the Gods, they always exaggerate how much meat and vegetables they were given." She topped off both glasses again. "Half of them probably even believe themselves, so it isn't really a lie. But it's never quite as...fulfilling as they claim."

"Then, Torja prove." The Raudkhlo leaned back in the chair and spread his muscular legs. "Torja show." He caught Kathrine's expression and grinned. "Raudkhlo not shamed of such things. Not prudish like humans. Or perhaps vinir Katherine admit her mistake?"

It took a moment for Katherine to reply; Torja's suggestion had caught her off-guard, leaving her scrabbling for an answer. She wasn't too proud to back down with a courteous apology, but as she reached for the words, they seemed to slip away like sand between her fingers. What came to mind in their place was a very simple question.

What if he wasn't exaggerating?

Sex had never been high on Katherine's list of priorities. Honour, duty, loyalty, integrity; she had been brought up to idolise such things, and the rigerous training regimes that dominated her early life had left little room for philandering. What relationships she had pursued had been brief and, in all honesty, somewhat physically unsatisfying. Most men found her too intimidating to pursue, and those who weren't unnerved by her size or physique could rarely match her for stamina. Eventually she had just given up.

But now, something stirred in Katherine's chest. Her eyes lingered on Torja's broad shoulders and the ropy muscles of his long arms. She had sparred with him often enough and knew the wolfman's strength was the equal of her own. Her gaze travelled lower, noting how his fur became shorter over his tight belly before fluffing out again around his hips, and wondered just how true the dirty little story she had read was.

Katherine shifted unconsciously, crossing her legs as she watched the Raudkhlo carefully over the rim of her glass. She held her silence for a few long heartbeats before finally inclining her head towards him.

"Alright then. Go on, prove me wrong."

Torja's ears pricked up and he grinned, lighting his lupine features up with glee. He unbuckled his kilt and tossed it aside without a show, before slouching back in the chair and spreading his powerful thighs to give Katherine a good look. Amidst the dense tangle of soft, downy fur she spotted the unmistakable shape of the wolfman's balls - which were, she had to admit, sizable - and the bulge of his sheath, with its little pink tip.

She looked up, raising her eyebrows skeptically. "I'm waiting to be impressed."

Torja snorted. "Torja did not know vinir Katherine so impatient. Watch."

The Raudkhlo began to rub back and forth across the visible tip of his cock, almost like a woman might do to pleasure herself, and before Katherine's eyes it began to emerge.

If whoever had written the pamphlet had erred, it had been to underestimate the size rather than overestimate. The thing was far larger than a human man's would be, almost perfectly smooth and glossy-red pattered with thin purple veins. Soon Torja was stiff enough that he could grasp his cock in the palm of his hand. His tongue lolled out and he began to pant, his chest rising and falling and filling the room with a heavy, wet rasp as he stroked himself to his full length. The narrow head twitched eagerly, a drop of white precome already beading at its tip.

"Oh, by the Gods's, that's - " Katherine drew in a sharp breath from shock and hid her face  in her hands, turning this way and that to try and conceal her embarrassment. "That's - yes, very well Torja, you've - gosh, is it hot in here?" She shook her head. "But you've more than proved your point, so, you can put it away now - "

Except he can't, Katherine reminded herself, no more than any man can banish his arousal with a thought. And he can hardly just leave in this state, he'll be walking around the castle with it sticking out from under his kilt!

She swore under her breath. Torja was still leaning back in his chair, one hand wrapped around the base of his cock, his lips drawn back over his wolfish fangs in an expression that could only have been called smug. Katherine tried to look him in the eye, failed, tried to avoid looking at the swollen, turgid shaft rising up from its sheath of fur, failed, and eventually forced herself to stare at a point somewhere over the Raudkhlo's left shoulder.

There was an awkward silence. Katherine could feel herself blushing. Her dress felt terribly hot, the velvet hanging off her like a lead coat. Beads of sweat crept between her shoulder blades.

"Well," she said eventually. "That is indeed a very impressive manhood. Whoever wrote that little story must have had some first-hand experience."

"Vinir Katherine like?"

There was a note of invitation in Torja's voice. Katherine glanced at him, then back at the pile of missives from her suitors. Only a handful would be from men she respected, brave and resourceful warriors who sadly lacked the resources she needed to restore House Wensley's ailing fortunes. Duty would force her to choose someone else. One of the weak-willed noblemen come to play at being an adventurer in the New World now that the most pressing dangers had been pacified, no doubt. And who would likely take a dim view of her maintaining a lover on the side.

She looked at Torja again, drinking in the patterns of old scars that crisscrossed his powerful body. Her stomach clenched as long-denied urges began to stir once more, the blush upon her fair features spreading down across the proud expanse of her cleavage as her propriety melted away.

Katherine breezed past the wolfman and opened the door a crack. Her guard turned, an expression of surprise on his unshaven face, but she interrupted before he could speak.

"Marchus, Torja and I have something of import to discuss. We may be a while, and I will be quite safe in his presence. You can consider yourself relieved of duty for the remainder of your shift." The man opened his mouth, only to be cut off again. "No, don't argue. Be somewhere else for the next few hours and inform the servants I am not to be disturbed. Consider it an order if you have to."

She closed the door and took a breath to steady herself. Then, without a word, she unlaced her gown, shrugged it off and turned back to Torja.

"Oh, I do like. I like very much."

Katherine's body was as toned and powerful as Torja's; the statuesque form gifted by her hybrid lineage had only been honed and strengthened by a lifetime of warfare. Her arms were as thick as a man's thighs, her thighs strong enough to crush that man's head like a walnut. Even the curve of her hip and swell of her bust were prodigous in size, and the old scars which marred Katherine's fair skin seemed to accentuate her heroic physique rather than detract from it. And though Katherine had always prided herself on function over form, she was absurdly pleased to see Torja's rigid cock jump in approval as he feasted his yellow eyes upon her nakedness.

The wolfman let out a long, rumbling breath. "Hrn. Like a warrior-goddess from the old stories," he murmured, rising and wrapping his long arms around the woman. "Wanted this for a long time, vinir. Hungered for it. Dreamed of it."

"And what are you going to do now that you have it?" Katherine asked as she returned the gesture, running her hands through the long hair on Torja's back and pulling the Raudkhlo in close to kiss. His musky scent filled her nostrils; deep and earthy, old leaves and fresh sweat, raw with animal potency. Fur tickled across her breasts and belly and beyond. Claws dimpled her skin, sharp pricks against the smothering wall of sensation as they embraced. Their lips met awkwardly, the gesture devolving into an affectionate lick across her cheek.

"Can think of a few things," Torja muttered. He lapped her again. His tongue was longer than a man's hand and almost as wide, rough and hot and slippery against her skin. He moved down further, burying his snout between Katherine's neck and her hair, alternating between hungry licks and soft, playful bites that set her trembling with excitement.

Katherine moaned softly and rolled her shoulders back, leaning into his caresses. "Oh, I'd forgotten how good this could be," she murmured, drawing a small bark of surprise from the wolfman.

"Have been with Raudkhlo before?" Torja asked, a faint note of hurt in his voice. Katherine snorted.

"No, how good it could be with anyone," she replied, catching his muzzle in one hand and gently pulling him away from her neck. "Never had the time, never had the...inclination. Until now, at least." He whined sadly until she pushed him lower. "But if you're going to mark me, don't do it anywhere people might see. They'll talk."

Torja's growl of complaint melted into a deep rumble of appreciation as Katherine pushed him down towards her heaving bust. She gasped as he nosed between her breasts, his hot breath tickling over their inside curves before running a long, indulgent lick down the valley which lay between them.

Katherine swore under her breath. Torja licked her again, bumping the cool point of his nose against her hot skin, making her jump and gasp in surprise. She had never thought the Raudkhlo would be so considerate, so worshipful; their society was matriarchal, yes, but their males were warriors first and foremost. Or so she had assumed. Apparently, she noted dizzily, their women made quite sure the men had their priorities straight after all.

Finally his hands found her breasts. Torja cradled each heavy mound in his calloused palms, gripping them softly as he appreciated their weight, their old scars and the light dusting of freckles which crowned them. And then he licked, dragging his tongue from the bottom to the top and back again. Katherine bit down on her knuckles and moaned, strangling the sound as best she could through her rising desire. Each motion steered masterfully around her stiff nipples, leaving the sensitive buds to ache and tremble, desperate for relief.

When relief did come, it caught her by surprise. It was the faintest of nips, yet it cut through her like a razor. Katherine cried out in pleasure as Torja's fangs closed on her bud, teasing her with the tiniest mote of bladed pressure before soothing it with a lick and moving to the other. She had never counted her breasts as the most sensitive part of her body, yet as the Raudkhlo repeated himself upon the second, she felt her legs trembling and the first pulses of arousal growing her her belly.

Katherine squirmed under his touch, desperate for more. It was something Torja was only too happy to provide. No longer restraining himself, he lapped, kneaded and nibbled with gusto, assaulting her with a barrage of sensations that made the warrior's head spin and chest heave with exertion. It was only when she felt Torja traveling lower and lower, following a particularly long scar from a blow which had almost opened her from sternum to navel, that she roused herself from the haze that had fallen upon her.

"You want to taste me?" Katherine asked. The desk creaked under the weight of her powerful body as she leaned back, her legs sighing open as Torja ran his rough tongue over her toned stomach.

He grunted something Katherine took to be an affirmative. "And I didn't even have to ask, either. You know, I could lose half the fingers on my good hand and I could still use it to count all the men I've met who've been so generous."

"Vinir Katherine wasted on them. Torja only runt, overlooked by Raudkhlo women, but popular with Geithrnjota and Bletressongrar. Torja show why, eh?" He let out a short, barking laugh and looked up at her. "Make up for lost time, no?"

His response prompted a lopsided grin in return. Katherine had seen the wolfman hanging around with the fauns and dryads who visited the Fortress before; now she knew why. "I'd call you out on that boast, my friend, but I think that would be the second bet I'd lose today." She said, placing a hand on top of his head and pushed him down between her thighs. "So I'll hold my tongue and let you use y - aaaaah!"

What she had felt on her bust was like nothing compared to the effects of the first lick along her folds. She was already slick and flushed with arousal, and Torja's attentions had left her panting lightly with need. The Raudkhlo easily parted her lips with his tongue and dipped into the soft, inviting space beyond, caressing the tenderness there before flicking up against the hard little bead of her clit

Katherine threw her head back and let out another moan, this one refusing to be stifled. She clutched onto the edge of the table with one hand and bunched her fingers deep into Torja's mane with the other, mashing his snout deeper into her sex. Obediently he licked again, exploring her folds, savouring the human's taste and the noises of pleasure she made in response. Her thighs tightened around his elongated head, knees resting on his shoulders, toes awkwardly stroking through the fur on his broad chest.

It was divine. Unselfish. Torja caressed her with total adoration, alternating between soft, puppyish laps at her clit and deep strokes into her passage. Fangs nipped at her skin, bright sparks of pain-pleasure that danced through Katherine's body like lightning, dragging her back to reality whenever the growing wave of ecstasy threatened to sweep her away. She could feel herself beginning to twitch and spasm and ground down harder onto the wolfman's mouth, almost fucking his tongue in search of the relief she craved.

"Torja," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Torja, don't stop. I'm close. By the Gods, I'm close."

Whatever the Raudkho's muffled reply was, he lapped harder, driving his tongue into Katherine's trembling passage with long, sweeping strokes. Strings of wetness and arousal trickled down Katherine's muscular thighs and soaked the carpet beneath them as she rocked back and forth, hungrily eking out every morsel of pleasure she could from the wolfman's slobbering tongue. She was burning, heaving, shaking so violently she was afraid she would fall apart, every fibre of her being exulting in the pleasure it had been denied for so long.

Katherine's heavy pants became moans, and then cries, and then, with one final bellow of release, she came. The world went black and white and for a few beautiful seconds ceased to be entirely, washed away on a tide of ringing ecstasy. Torja barked in surprise as Katherine spasmed around him, her legs clenching even tighter around his head as she rocked back and forth, trembling and gushing arousal into his mouth. He sucked in fractions of breath at a time, each whooping exhalation blowing over Katherine's aching flesh and dragging her climax on further.

Finally, the pressure relented. Torja fell backwards with a heavy thump as Katherine collapsed over her desk with a contented sigh, scattering the pile of missives from her admirers everywhere. Silence reigned, broken only by their heaving breathing, until Torja spoke.

"Vinir Katherine may want to warn next time," he said, wincing and rubbing his neck. "If Torja knew he would almost have neck broken, Torja might have been less eager to taste vinir Katherine."

Katherine pulled herself upright with a groan. One of her braids had come out and her hair had fallen loose, hanging half over her face in a dirty blonde curtain. She was flushed and sweating, her eyes dilated with arousal, a dizzy grin lighting her rough features up like a beacon.

"Yes, I - oh, blazes, I did get rather carried away, didn't I?" She gave Torja an apologetic look as she fussed with her hair, trying to push it back into shape.. "Sorry, it's - it's been a while is all, and I didn't expect it to be that good. Gods above, I thought I was going to rip myself in half for a moment there." A thought occurred, and her face fell. "Half the fortress probably heard that, didn't they?"

Torja grinned as only a wolf could. "So?"

"Well, it's - I mean there's expectations of a woman in my position. We have to conduct ourselves with an element of decorum and restraint."

"Torja thinks vinir Katherine not suited for these things. Duty, yes, leadership, yes. Funny dresses? Meek husbands? No, no. Decorum and restraint? Once again, no."

The Raudkhlo stood up and cupped Katherine's chin in one hand, tipping her face up to meet his eyes. "Torja think Katherine take him as life-mate. One warrior with another, tie together in might and strength. Show strength of bond with Fornhiem peoples, strength of unity against others."

Katherine winced inside. She cared deeply for Torja - he was a friend, probably the first she had made among Fornheim's peoples. But he was simple and straightforwards, with few concerns beyond protecting his people. Had he been born in the old world he would have been a knight, good and respectable in every way, and she would have been honoured to be wed to him. But she had come to Fornhiem and made herself a queen, or something very much like it, and her own desires had to be put aside in favour of the state.

But then again, she thought, this wasn't the old world. This was Fornhiem, and many of the godlings and warlords who ruled here did so with a virtual harem of husbands and wives behind them. Who was to say she couldn't marry two people? Or three? Who, exactly, was going to stop her? Oh, the traditionalists among the expedition would disapprove, and she was quite sure some would be moved to try and replace her with someone more to their liking. But that was a bridge she would cross when the time came. And possibly one she would burn behind her.

She grinned again, throwing an arm around the Raudkhlo's neck and dragging him in until their foreheads met. "I think that sounds wonderful, vinir, but it's a matter for another day. Right now, I'm going to take you through to my bedroom, and you're going to make love to me with that beautiful cock of yours until neither of us can walk straight."

Torja's face lit up with delight. His tail lashed in excitement as Katherine hopped down from the table and beckoned him to follow, leading the hulking werewolf through to her sleeping quarters. Away from prying eyes, Katherine had seen fit to let a little more of herself shape the room's decor. The cold grey stone of the fortress walls was more in evidence, the wall-hangings given over to racks of functional weapons. The bed stood alone as the last bastion of opulence, its beautifully carved frame piled high with silk sheets and hanging curtains of red and violet.

For months Katherine had been trying to get rid of the thing for something more practical; she slept better on hard surfaces, and only the fact the bed wouldn't fit through the door had saved it. Now, as she pushed the curtains aside and lay down upon the gossamer sheets, leading the Raudkhlo on with a crooked finger, she was strangely glad the four-posted monstrosity had remained. Something about the sight of Torja's hairy body slipping through the drapes and crawling up the bed towards her, his eyes alight with desire and his swollen cock twitching in anticipation, set a fire in her like nothing she had ever imagined.

The bed creaked and sagged an inch. Torja stopped, glancing back in the direction of the sound. Katherine snorted and kicked him gently with her heel.

"If it breaks, it breaks. Come on, stop wasting time."

"One second, vinir," Torja rumbled. He stopped halfway up the human's body, looming over her with an expression of wonder on his lupine face. Katherine felt his eyes roving over her, drinking in the sight of her naked body; her strength, her scars, all the things which had made her feel awkward and unsexy and unfeminine throughout her life. He saw them and he found them beautiful, and the realisation of that was like lightning down her spine. Katherine tugged her hastily rearranged hair out of shape and shook her head, letting it fall freely around her statuesque features. Torja growled his approval and resumed his advance, creeping higher and closer until his cock brushed against the crook of her thigh.

Katherine's hands knotted through the Raudkhlo's thick fur and stroked over the rigid muscles beneath. Her head spun, dizzy with the strength she felt in him, the strength of an equal. Pulling him closer, she craned up until her lips were level with his pointed ear, and whispered three husky words:

"Mate with me."

His tip caught her entrance, thin and pointed yet somehow almost as large as a normal man's head. Katherine let out a low hiss as it scraped along her folds, a great, hairy palm sliding beneath her and guiding her hips into position beneath him. There was no awkwardness, no clumsy jockeying for position; as bestial as Torja appeared, he wore the form of a man and their bodies moved together as if born to do so, his swollen, canine prick parting her aching lips and easing into the passage beyond.

Her groan was volcanic. The sensation was beyond compare. For the first time she felt truly stretched, truly filled, her walls straining to contain Torja's massive organ as it thrust into her core. Torja hilted himself and paused, his furry crotch flush against Katherine's steely thighs, his claws digging gently into her taught hindquarters. Katherine grinned and rolled her hips, a low groan escaping her throat as she felt the wolfman throbbing powerfully inside her.

She felt his need. His lust. His desire.

For her. Alone.

Katherine's hands found the sides of Torja's head. She stroked his muzzle, kissed the tip of his nose and pulled him forwards once more until their foreheads met and their eyes locked. Neither blinked as the Raudkhlo began to thrust, slowly pistoning into the human woman's eager body. Their breathing grew heavy together, the air filling with the scent of his musk and her faint perfume. Katherine's legs tightened around Torja's hips just as her slick walls clenched down around his cock, making him grunt with exertion and forcing him to thrust harder and deeper in search of the relief he craved.

"Vinir Katherine strong. Vinir Katherine worthy," he rasped, finally breaking their gaze to lap hungrily along her shoulder. Fur brushed along her steely belly and across her breasts, teasing and tickling against the heavy bow-wave of pleasure each stroke left in its wake. "Vinir Katherine so tight, feel so very good. Torja be good for her."

"Oh, it's good. It's good. But you can stop treating me like one of your Geithrnjota fauns. I'm not going to break," Katherine panted by way of reply. She bucked against him, pushing herself fiercely onto his prick as he fucked her. "I want to feel you, all of you. Go harder. Go deeper."

Torja's strange, chuffing laugh sounded in her ear. "Torja also strong," he growled. The sound echoed through her like the retort of a canon, so deep and powerful it sent a shiver of goosebumps across her scarred skin. "Torja show."

The next thrust was short, spiky; the wolfman threw every ounce of his athletic body into it, and was rewarded with a throaty cry as Katherine arched her back, grinding against his hairy body and squeezing him tighter inside. The next followed, and the next, each harder and more forceful than the last. The Raudkhlo's feral instincts sensed the presence of a willing mate just as strong as he was and drove him into a desperate, rutting frenzy. His lips drew back, strings of saliva rolling from his glistening fangs and dripping down Katherine's face and neck, even as his claws raked pale lines across her skin and dug into the priceless silk beneath them.

There was pain, of course. But Katherine had never shied from pain. On the battlefield pain meant you were alive, and in the bedroom it set her nerves alight, heightening the storm of sensations which flowed from head to toe. Her sex ached, stretched and pummeled by Torja's wolfish cock. His claws bit and pinched. But she took it all, demanded it all, hungry to finally test herself against a partner who could match her stamina.

Moans escalated to cries. Growls became snarls. They strained against each other, muscle against muscle, each seeing to wring as much pleasure from their partner as they could. Katherine would demand "more", "faster", "harder", and each time Torja would summon up some extra mote of strength and give it to her. Soon their embrace broke as Torja reared up, looming over the prone woman until she was bent almost double, her legs kicking air ecstatically as he piled into her from above. She came - once, twice, perhaps three times, each climax striking like a blow from a warhammer, sending her reeling until her monstrous lover dragged her back to her senses.

She could swear he was getting bigger as well. Katherine had grown used to the feeling of him inside her, yet the tightness in her nethers had not abated. There was something battering against her lips as well, something tough and hard and hot.

"Want to - want to knot you - " Torja growled. His frenzy had abated, and now his eyes were narrowed with the effort of maintaining his pace. Every so often a thrust would come erratically, throwing off the rhythmic slap of his body against hers. "Want to - tie, fill - fill you deep - "

Katherine had only vague ideas of what this meant. One of her childhood friends had reared dogs as a hobby, and she dimly remembered the girl explaining how funny it was that a male would lodge himself inside the female before breeding her. But those were just - facts, snippets of information, cold and meaningless. She growled deep in her throat.

"If you want to do it, vinir, do it. Give me everything."

And then she was - flipped, the world fading into a flurry of colour as Torja flipped her over. Katherine landed awkwardly on her hands and knees, her hair hanging over her face like a veil of old straw, the Raudkhlo pressing down on her from above. One of his long arms wrapped around her midriff, holding her tight as he redoubled his efforts, the other digging deep into the ruined sheets for purchase.

Doggy style, Katherine thought distantly, and laughed throatily. How apt. Her arms shook, tendons bulging as she stoically bore the huge warrior's weight atop her, but they held. There was a part of her that missed seeing him before her, missed the sight of him rising up between her legs, his muscles tense and tongue lolling hungrily, but she soon found he could push even deeper into her this way. Strangled gasps of pleasure tore from her throat. He was so hot, so hard, so fierce and vital inside her, his strength bleeding into hers and back again.

The pressure against her entrance became stronger. Torja wasn't thrusting any more - he was pushing, grinding into her, trying to force something into her straining, over-filled sex. Katherine snarled, as far beyond words as the Raudkhlo was, and pushed back, as eager to prove she could accept whatever Torja had as he was to give it.

A massive tongue lapped along the back of her head. Hot breath hissed over her shoulders. Fangs scraped her neck. Torja's hips snapped forwards, and the shock of his knot striking her tingling, singing lips almost drove Katherine face-first into the sheets. Her toes curled in delight. She squeezed and throbbed and twitched around him.

Torja jabbed forwards again and this time something gave. Katherine screamed as a razor-sharp jolt crashed through her, as much pain as pleasure. Her lips were roughly forced apart. Something - like a bulge, or a fist, something tough and sinewy and impossibly huge - squeezed inside, giving Katherine only a moment to appreciate what had happened before her sex greedily snapped close around its prize.

She let out a long, thin, trembling sound. She felt bloated, packed so full she could barely breath, like the time she had drunkenly allowed a man to take her up the rear but so, so much more. Every little motion set of a cascade of sharp, needling sensations as something tugged against her lips and hair dragged against her clit. It was sickly, queasy. Her head spun.
"Torja, what - " she gasped. "What did you just do?"

"Knotted. Tied. Holy thing, sacred. Only for most worthy mates, only those strong enough to take it." The Raudkhlo's voice was as strained as hers. He rocked back and forth, rutting hopelessly against the woman's prone body. "Vinir Katherine looked beautiful. Next time, do it face to face. Want to see you. See you face, see you spread around me." He let out a choked sound of pleasure. "But first time is easier this way."

Katherine tried to relax, forcing herself to focus on her breathing. Torja hugged her close, stroking one of her heavy breasts in his palm as he moved slowly against her. The sickly feeling began to fade, leaving in its wake a warm, turgid weight in her core and wonderful sense of closeness. Trusting the Raudkhlo to hold her upright, she groped between her legs and found a chord of sinew leading into her sex and the upper surface of his knot, buried tight between her aching lips.

"You come like this, right? Into the fem - into your partner?"

Torja grunted. "Soon. Coming soon. Coming - "

The sentance devolved into a wordless, animal snarl. His cock jerked and Katherine felt the first splashes of his seed coating her insides. It was hot, hotter than she was used to, and she moaned in gentle satisfaction at the sensation of him swirling and lapping against her walls. It went on and on, her wolfish partner rocking back and forth, his cock throbbing and spurting until Katherine felt it bubbling along her aching lips and dripping down her thighs in long, thin streams. Her fingers found her clit and there, lubricated by the mess of her own arousal and Torja's lupine come, she painstakingly nursed one final climax from her straining body.

Eventually, Torja's strength gave out. He sagged to one side with a groan of exhaustion, pulling Katherine down with him into a clammy, breathless embrace atop the ruined, stained sheets. A slow trickle of pearly seed leaked from the site of their union. She could only imagine how much would be released when the Raudkhlo's knot finally slipped free.

"Well, that was...a long time coming," Katherine sighed. She rested her head on Torja's broad chest, breathing slowly and deeply. "But very welcome. Thank you, vinir."

"No, Torja thank. Find good mate. Worthy mate, one Torja not have to worry about breaking."

Katherine snorted. "Wonderful. So. How long do we have to wait before this - before your knot, I mean - before it un-ties?"

"Mmm. Can be some time. Half-hour by human clocks, perhaps. Good time to talk. Enjoy company."

"Work out how we're going to explain the state of these sheets to the maids?"

Torja laughed. "That also."

---

Like a favoured courtesan ruined by too many gifts, Fort Shieldwall was already starting to burst its corsets. A sprawling shantytown had sprung up outside the fortress walls, home to hundreds of men and women, natives and settlers alike, all claiming to have business within the looming castle. It had not yet been officially recognised by the Fortress' authorities, and thus had unfortunately degenerated into a hotbed of crime which caused no end of trouble for the legitimate merchants and couriers who had to pass through its twisting, shadowed streets.

It also served as an excellent place for clandestine meetings, as Katherine was learning to her distaste.

"What do you mean, you wrote it?" She snapped, crossing her arms and staring balefully down at the pale slip of a girl opposite her. Lina stood half-hidden under a sagging awl, the broad-brimmed hat she typically wore keeping the drizzle off her narrow shoulders.

"I didn't write it. Not technically, anyway! I dictated. Bits. Other people wrote the bulk of it." The Miyur waved a hand dismissively. "Look, Katherine, no offense but you're not exactly the most...uh, how should I put it? The most skilled when it comes to affairs of the heart? The big furball had been giving you signals ever since you first met."

"In retrospect, yes, but it's still not - "

"What?" Lina rolled her eyes. "Not appropriate? Kath, look at me." She tipped the brim of her hat up, fixing Katherine with a slightly pitying look. "Nobody cares. Half the expedition crew went native within a month of landing here. Gideon and Douman had copped off with Vindbraag's wildlings almost as soon as we met them."

 She tapped Katherine's breastplate, flicking a crumb of dirt off the polished black steel. "The only person saying you can't have a bit of fun is you. So I decided to help you out. Man, I can't believe you actually showed Torja the book though - it was just supposed to put the idea in your head!"

Katherine's glower remained unchanged, though the tight, angry line of her jaw softened a little. "Well. Be that as it may, and given things worked out as they did, I'm not inclined to take the issue further. But I don't like the idea of people...meddling with my sex life."

Lina burst out laughing. "You didn't have a sex life to meddle with, that's the point! But now that you do," the Miyur took an elegant step backwards. "You have my utmost promise that I won't meddle with it from now on. Okay? We're still good?"

"Good enough. Just promise me one thing."

Lina quirked an eyebrow. Katherine leaned closer, a lopsided smirk on her face.

"If these stupid books start selling, I'm claiming royalties."