To catch a wolf. (Closed for RotheAllure)

[MaiusImperium]

OOC: Ok, this is a closed thread but for anyone interested in the premise, my character Davik, a werewolf kills the fiancée (who was also a hunter) of a female hunter. Crazed with loss and anger, the huntress seeks out the werewolf to claim her revenge.

Deep within the bowels of the woodlands surrounding the remote town of Blackhollow slept an unnatural thing. The townsfolk tell tales of the wolf-man who dwells within the haunted wood, to the people of the town of Blackhollow it seems as if the werewolf story has existed for time immemorial. The werewolf, so the stories go, is a canny fellow, hard to track and harder to glimpse. They say anyone who gets close enough to look him in the eye dies soon after, he is both man and beast, a demon of the woods and a bogeyman used by parents to frighten their children into compliance.

The wolf-man has a name, Davik Kaine has lived his long unnatural life in the wood for as long as he can remember, hunting the animals of the forest to sustain him, occasionally he will grow bold and venture into the town for human flesh, for the fear makes it taste that much sweeter. When the moon waxes full in the night sky he runs with the wolves on the forest, with whom he shares a natural mental bond with.

Even in human form Davik has a feral wolfish look about him, he is tall and broad-shouldered, an imposing figure with well muscled arms and legs. His shaggy mane of brown hair is wild and billows loosely in his wake when he chases prey in the woods, his grins are a little too toothy and his us usually unshaven. Yet despite the feral wildness and the wild gleam in his golden eyes he is quite handsome, his features are well defined and his stature is striking, everything about him screams predator rather than prey.

Over the years a few have dared to hunt Davik, none of them were as foolish as the one that stood before him now, in the gloom of the deep forest, right in the wolf’s den. The chase had been hard, the man that pursued Davik had been a hunter of considerable skill. The werewolf was exhausted, panting and gasping for breath as he eyed the hunter approaching him, at the other end of a small clearing, there would be no more running. Davik already bore many scratches and flesh wounds from the hunt, and a stab wound in his shoulder from an hour ago still burned and fizzled painfully from the silver that hunter had used.

One of them was going to die, and it would be decided in a matter of seconds. Davik tensed himself, crouching and backed against a large tree. The night was deathly quiet, this deep in the forest there was only the chirrup of insects and the distant howl of a wolf to keep they two combatants company.

Davik prepared himself, strong muscle and sinew curling up, tightening, ready to spring loose as the hunter advanced, his crossbow with silvered bolt trained in the werewolf. He could feel his heart pounding, beating madly in his ears like a frantic marching drum that had lost all sense of rhythm. There was a loud click. The silvered crossbow bolt flew through the night air, but Davik was not where he should have been. There was a flurry of motion in the darkness as Davik sprang from the shadows of the trees to the side of the hunter, who cursed loudly and tried to draw his blade.

It was too late, Davik roared triumphantly and sank his jaws into the rich, soft flesh of the man’s neck and clung to his bleeding jugular until the would-be hunter’s body fell limp and lifeless. The hunt was over, Davik would feast well for another night.

 

[RotheAllure]

Blackhollow, nothing more than a blip on the map, whether that map belong to a mercenary, a gypsy, a merchant, or travelling royalty. Blackhollow was not a place that one visited, let alone lived. Yet the town, that blip on the map, did have it's residences, as well as a Tavern, a church, even a healer, if one wanted to call the old drunk that.

Remote, that was a good word to describe Blackhollow. Just the name alone was enough to send a weary travelor to the next town, which was some miles away. But again, Blackhollow had it's residences.

She had been born here. The night she had come screaming into the world, the healer was not yet a drunk. No, that would come several years later, after his wife was slaughtered by the Beast. The Wolf. The WereWolf. The half Man, half Canine. But that is a story for later, or not at all actually. This is not about him, the Drunk that is. This is about her.

The night she came screaming into the world, her financee, was already 7 years old. Vharcan was a trouble maker from the very start. Headstrong, intelligent, wily, cunning, and strong. He cared less about the babe that had just been born, their love would not come until much later, much much later.

Vharcan had other things to think about. Hunting. Hunting for food, hunting for a game, hunting for the excitment, mattered not. He was a hunter, a predator, a killer. By the time Vharcan was 19, he was on the hunt for the Werewolf. It would become an obsession for him. An obsession that would eventually kill him. But you already know that.

Tah, Tah Vlos, a simple name, for the babe that came screaming into the night, that cold winter night. Despite the frost, the darkness, the chill that hung in the air, she was a burst of heat. Flaming red hair, even as a babe, deep golden eyes, and an attitude to match. She was fearless, Tah was. She would face anything, anyone. That was what had attracted Vharcan's attention. He was 22, she was 15, and... she was not afraid of him, like so many seemed to be.

He liked that.

By the time she was 18 and he 25, they were deeply in love, and quite the hunting team. He had used her natural fearlessness to cultivate the hunter deep inside of her. By now, they had either driven off, or caught and killed, several horrific monsters that had roamed the shadows surrounding their beloved Blackhollow. Beloved to them, it was home.

Monsters, wild beasts, even the criminals that sought to make Blackhollow home. All were prey to the Hunters, Vharcan and Tah.

But the one Beast that eluded both of them, the Werewolf, the Lycan, the Man whose blood was partially Wolven.

That Wolf was the one thing, the one creature, that Tah feared. Not for herself, no. She was as fearless as always. She feared for Vharcan, for his obsession to capture and kill the WereWolf was consuming him. She feared that he would make a mistake, that he would take one too many chances. Tah begged him to think first, to take a step back before again stalking the Wolf.

He refused.

The night that the howl had called to him, the night that Vharcan swore he would capture and slaughter the Wolf Beast, the night that he kissed her as he left, refusing to allow her to come with him, that night.......

He never returned.

Tah found him the next morning. His throat ripped out, a look of pure horror in his so very dead eyes.

It was said her scream of rage and despair rivaled the howl of that very Beast of a Werewolf.

Vharcan was gone. Her entire life had been wrapped around him since she was 15, now, about to turn 19, and she was utterly alone. The only Man she had ever loved, ripped from her. Ripped from her by a Beast, a Beast that she swore, on Vharcan's grave, she would capture and make suffer.

Suffer as she was.

Feel the pain she felt.

She left Blackhollow the night after what was left of Vharcan was laid to rest. She used the coin that she and he had saved up, saved for their marriage, saved for their life together, and purchased a rather large Keep, of a elder man that lived outside of the town she once called home. It was large by the standards of what Blackhollow had and was. The larger Keeps and homes more than often were found in the larger, more prosperous towns. But as much as Blackhollow was a blip on the map, it had it's wealthier people. This old man was one. He was dying, and the idea of his home being in the possession of such a lovely young lady as Tah, made him quite happy in his last days.

For Tah, the place was perfect, and she set to work turning the basement into the dungeon she would hold the Beast in when He was caught. Oh and He would be caught, she had made a promise to her Love, her Finacee. She would catch the Wolf and make Him suffer.

She was a Hunter after all....

Tah

 

[RotheAllure]

It was said that she went mad, mad with grief, mad with rage, mad with revenge. Many thought that the red headed girl had simply lost her mind. Many thought she was dangerous......

......... And she was.....

Tah trained, alone. She honed her skill at fighting, at stalking, prowling, hunting, capture, and killing. She amassed an array of what one may call torture devices, everything from whips to chains, to daggers and blades.

When she was seen in Blackhollow, she was often dressed in black, her crimson red hair pulled back in a tight long braid. The light had gone out of her golden eyes, dulled by the greif and rage she kept sequestered deeply inside her.

And.......

She hunted. Most everynight, she hunted her prey. The Wolf, the Man, the Beast, the Monster. It was said He sometimes walked the streets of Blackhollow, it was said that sometimes HE hunted within those streets. Tah had learned, to capture Him, she would have to catch Him here, outside of His stronghold, which was the forest, the shadows. She had her silver tipped arrows, her silver lined blade, enough to weaken Him, not enough to kill Him. No, she would not let Him die that easily.

He would suffer, just as she was, just as Vharcan did. Oh yes, He would suffer.

Each night, after an unsuccessful hunt, she would lay in the darkness, as the sun began to rise, and talk to Vharcan, just as she did when he lived, when she would lay in his arms, feeling his heartbeat, hearing his voice.

Now her only comfort was the silence of the old Keep and her own heartbeat, and the sound of her soft crying.

"I miss you" she whispered, before falling asleep, the tears wetting the pillow.

 

[MaiusImperium]

Occasionally Davik would be drawn to the sleepy town of Blackhollow. Foxes, hares and deer provided sufficient sustenance, but they didn’t give the same sort of sport as human prey. Whenever he thought about it he felt his feral teeth sharpen, dark images flooded his mind and his heartbeat quickened as he saw the frightened look in their eyes before he sank his jaws into their soft, vulnerable flesh, he could almost taste the sweetness of their blood, the warmth of it as it splashed against his face from broken arteries.

It was unfortunate that the only humans nearby lived in the town, it was a horrid place, full of sickly smells, humans were a filthy race for Davik, who relied on his sharp sense of smell to stalk prey. In his lair he could smell a human the minute they stepped foot into the woods, but here there were so many vile stenches it confused him.

The raw shit of human existence, the sweat, the alcohol, the sickly spices and the crude perfumes those vile harlots wore all assailed him relentlessly when he chose to hunt in the twilight. If one were skilled in the arts of the hunter…but Davik had killed the last hunter in Blackhollow, hadn’t he? Now Davik grew brazen, openly killing humans in the streets with contempt and disdain, no longer just to sate his hunger, but just for the sheer thrill of the hunt.

Even without his keen sense of smell he was more than match for any normal human, he would hunt and stalk with wild abandon, flitting to and fro from under the shadowy eaves of the decaying wooden houses that leaned in on every muddy street of Blackhollow.

This night he stalked another, from the shadows, following her, waiting for a moment to strike, down a darkened alley or behind a seedy tavern. She was a pretty young thing, her scent more than anything to him intoxicating. Her luscious red hair was long and flowed down her back, ample cleavage pressed full together and up, seemingly offering her delicious flesh to him.

He was a man as well as a wolf, after all…

 

[RotheAllure]

Human prey. Human.... prey.

Tah tossed the words around her mind over and over. Funny how she often thought like the very Wolf she hunted. Funny? Or chilling?

That was where Vharcan had errored, she was sure of it. He was intelligent, cunning, wily, strong. But He never learned to think as the very prey that he stalked, whether that be Predator or otherwise. Not that she faulted Vharcan, he was a hunter, and a talented hunter, but Tah's fearlessness had matured into something much more powerful. The ability to think as the prey she herself was hunting.

In this case, it was the WereWolf. The Legend, the Monster, the Beast, the Savage, the Demon, the Predator that had been stalking, hunting, living, feeding, in Blackstone for as long as time itself, or so it seemed.

Human prey. The stories told of the Wolf that walked as a Man, He coming into Blackhollow, to sate His appetite for human blood, for the fear, the screaming, the chase, and, for more..... carnal... pleasures.

Surely nothing was sweeter than tearing into the throat of a climaxing female, feeling her body spasm, and tasting the sweet, orgasmic flow of her blood.

The thought made Tah shiver, and it was a chilly night this night. But then again, all her nights, since Vharcan's death were cold. So very cold.

So many nights, fruitless hunts, not seeing, nor hearing, nor even sensing the WereWolf. Tah had everything ready, a cell in the dark basement of the Keep, with silver filled bars. Thick chains, so strong that not even the strongest horse could break, that should hold the Beast. A collar of pure iron to tighten about His throat. Oh yes, she had everything she needed. It wasn't much, just enough to hold Him, until she was convinced He had suffered enough, then she had one arrow head, made of pure, thick, silver. It would be that , that she would use to penetrate His heart. She would watch Him die slowly. She was a ace with the arrow, that pure silver would not miss it's mark.


She knew she was being followed. Her thundering heart deep in her chest, that chilling tingle that spindled down her spine, and the funny thing was, this was a night she had not gone hunting. She had ventured out with the intent on having dinner at the tavern, no longer mattered which one, many had sprung up in the town as of late. It seemed that since Vharcan had been killed, the prey he and Tah would have hunted and driven out of town, came back. And she did not have the heart to hunt on her own, not for them, no. Not for them.

But even tho she was not actively hunting, she was thinking about the Wolf, the Man who was the Wolf, the Legends, the stories, the rumors, the truths and half truths. She was think about Him, she was thinking like Him.

Was that why she was in the most remote part of Blackhollow, in the darkness? Was that why she had shied away from the more popular Taverns, and was heading to one of the more, secluded? Because she knew that if she were a WereWolf, a Predator, hunting for a human, this was one of the places where said prey, said human, would be easiest to stalk, capture, and slaughter?

Tah lived only to kill the WereWolf, even when not hunting, and after she captured and heard His own screams of pain and fear, and only after that, she was fully prepared to end her life, and join Vharcan in the afterlife.


She already knew, she would never be able to overpower the Wolf. No. Her hand tightened on the small blade that she always carried upon her belt. It too was coated with pure silver. Coated with silver and a poison, not one that would kill, or even render the Beast unconscious. No. But it would weaken Him, just enough for her to get the liquid into His system. That, would confuse Him, He would follow her every command then, while in that state. It would be short lived, often people used it to extract the truth from a prisoner, for it made the mind vunerable. Being that she was doing this alone, it was perfect for what she needed.


Tah slowed, the shadows of the nearby buildings, this one was one of the newer Taverns that had sprung up in the area, slithered over her, almost hiding her from site completely, if it were not for her long, flaming red hair.


"Show Yourself" she enticed Him, hoping to lure Him closer, so much closer.

"If I have an admirer following me, then allow me to see who that may be. Perhaps, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship" her voice was deeper than one may have expected, melodic, hushed, sensual.

She had turned as she spoke, and the golden hue of her eyes flickered in the darkness, much like His own. The blade was palmed and ready, He only needed to advance. She hoped her wildly beating heart would not betray her.


"I must think like Him" she told herself, there in the darkness, so very alone. "He would seek a female, perhaps even a willing one."

She would be that willing one.

"Come to me" she all but whispered as she stood, seeing His shadow prowling closer.

 

[MaiusImperium]

There was something not quite right about this woman, the tone of her voice, she was too knowing, but the thirst, the hunger within, the beast inside of him called and whimpered pleadingly with him. Since he had butchered that hunter in his lair there had been little to keep his wits sharp in Blackhollow, the hunters had dried up and for the last month he had had nothing to fear, nothing to be wary of. Yet the hungry imperative cried out, I must feed. A statement repeated over and over in his head, like the beating of a drum so loud that it drowned out all sense of reason.

As he loomed larger and larger in the shadows his keen eyes could see her perfectly in the shade of the houses, his eyes shone unnaturally in the darkness as he came closer and he allowed them to rove over her soft feminine body, cleavage, neck and face pale and teasingly exposed in the moonlight. And there was something else…her scent was…familiar? It pulled and teased at his memory, thoughts bubbled just beyond the perception of his consciousness.

Davik didn’t often find willing prey, only once or twice a year, usually a lonely woman. He was by no stretch of the imagination unattractive, but he was no enticing, willowy vampire with powers of seduction. He was so close, so temptingly close to her now, and she seemed such a small thing to his broad frame, he felt as though he could wrap his hand around her throat and squeeze the life out of her so, so easily.

Her voice was low and sweet like honey, like silk caressing his ears, almost pleading, imploring him to come closer, he was almost upon her, she called to him, and the wolf within called to him, both pleading for the same thing to happen. All thought of wariness had deserted him, he was just so…hungry, hungry for her flesh.

Finally he stepped from the shadows, into the silvery moonlight and moved forward unwittingly. In one swift movement he had embraced her, his long, powerful arms enveloping her fragile body, pressed to his now as he felt his fangs sharpen and his loins come alive with a voracious desire for her. Suddenly he felt…alive, again, this was it, the climax of the hunt, the culmination of his existence. He lived for this, all he had to do now was take his prize.

Davik was eager to feel her body break, to feel her soft skin under his iron grip, to feel her struggle with every ounce of sinew, muscle and bone before he took what he desired from her.

 

[RotheAllure]

For a moment, for an all too brief moment, there in the moonlight, in the shadows, in the chill, as His arms came around her, drawing her to Him, for a flash that ingnited in her mind, she wanted to give into the Wolf. To beg Him to take her, to show her something she would never feel again, that feeling of being... wanted... she wanted to beg Him to bring her to the heights of pleasure, a pleasure she had never shared with Vharcan, for Tah was still virginal, they were to share his taking of her the night of their wedding, a night that never came. She wanted to beg the Wolf to bring her to those heights of pleasure, and she would then beg Him to kill her. To end her suffering, to free her heart.

Gods help her, the words almost left her lips as those arms, those strong arms, came around her trembling form and those golden eyes met hers.

He was so handsome, in a fierce, deadly way. So opposite of the almost pretty, yet sexy looks of Vharcan.

Again, the words, those begging words, almost left her lips.


"Tell me Your name" she did manage to whisper, just as He drew her to Him, and just before she plunged the silver tinged blade into His side, just above His kidney, in a vunerable spot, yet she would do no real damage to the Beast, the Man.

The silver, mingled with the poison, and His aroused, racing blood, acted quickly, and instead it was He, and not the weaker woman, who fell back, reaching for the wall at the opposite side of that small alley, trying to find support.

Ah yes, it had worked all too well.

Tah was upon Him in a moment, easily prying open His mouth. He was already trying to ask her what the hell was happening, so pouring the vial of the much stronger toxin into His throat was quite, easy. She had to be quick. The fact that He indeed was Wolven, she knew, from her research, and yes, she had done much on the subject of her prey, something else that Vharcan tended not to waste time with, she knew that she had to be fast, or His own abilities, His own healing strength, would counteract what was racing thru His blood.

The vial emptied, He blinking at her, already it was taking effect. Good, good, she thought to herself, her own heart racing with the excitement that she woudl finally be able to exact her revenge.


It took the better part of an hour to guide the confused and barely lucid Wolf/Man to her Keep, and get Him into the cell in the basement. She quickly locked the iron collar about His throat, and pulled the chain taut. The chain snaked up, out of the top of the cage, a cage that was a good 15 feet by 10 feet or so. Enough room for Him to walk either upright or on all fours, and for Him to lay down and stretch out. She provided a blanket for sleeping, a bucket for water. That was about it. The chain snaked upwards and out of the cage, where it looped thru a makeshift wheel, then descends down on the outside of the cell. This allowing her to pull upon that other end, pulling him to the wall, to restrain Him. She certainly did not have the strength to pull Him up off His feet by the collar. Just yanking Him to the wall, where the chain snaked up and out of the cage, would be hard enough, but she had the wheel/pulley to help offset His weight, and she was strong, this was something she had been training for.

For the moment, she left the chain loosened, after checking out the strength and her ability to pull it while He was still barely aware.

She locked Him in, then tossed a bucket of ice cold water on Him to rouse Him from His stupor. More than likely the toxin would be wearing off.

She herself changed, into a long black, very common, dress. A dress that perhaps a servant girl would wear. Simple, clinging to her every curve, comfortable. Her long red hair was again braided and hung down over one shoulder.

"wake up" she almost cooed, standing on the other side of the steel bars.

 

[MaiusImperium]

That voice called to him, roused him from his slumber, his cold, wet body began to stir, limbs moving groggily and for a moment there was a strange, gentle smile of contentment on his face. All he remembered, or thought he remembered, was sinking his jaws into that beautiful young thing’s neck and feasting until he was completely sated, yes, even know after the act he could almost taste her.

It was a rude awakening indeed when he finally opened his eyes and the gravity of the situation hit him, his thoughts seemed to be travelling through thick soup in his mind, but slowly broken images came back, the dull pain of her blade, the strange elixir she had poured down his throat, but little else. His eyes glinted and shone, reflecting the dim light of the…cell? Dungeon? He became aware of the hem of a plain skirt, between bars, in front of him, and slowly his eyes moved upwards, until they came to rest on…her. His first reaction was anger, rage and…fear? He had forgotten what it felt like, to be uncertain, afraid.

Slowly his senses were returning, he felt the stout collar around his neck, and the bitter cold of the wet garments clinging to his body. His eyes met hers through the iron bars that kept her safe from him, and in the darkness he growled, low and feral, at first it was hard to tell if it were the sound of man or beast. His lips parted in a grimace, revealing his set of inhumanly sharp teeth and slowly, not without strain he lifted himself up on his arms, them his knees. Immediately his head swam and he felt unsteady, his arms reached out for the bars of his cage to steady himself.

First he had been angry at the girl, now he was angry with himself for allowing himself to be caught so easily. He’d enjoyed free reign in the squalid town of Blackhollow for too long, that must was obvious. She…she was just a girl, and here he was, shackled and at her mercy.

“So, you’ve caught yourself a wolf, girl. Do you know what happens to little girls who toy with wild animals?” Despite his somewhat compromising position, barely able to kneel and looking up at a young woman who was only up to his shoulders standing, his voice was gravely, almost a growl and full of bass. His hands tightened around the iron bars, muscle and sinew flex in his arms as he vainly tried to pry the bars apart, to no avail. As a Wolfen he was afforded a great amount of strength but the legends and stories were…exaggerated, he could not bend iron bars this thick even had he been fully recovered.

The frightened, caged animal inside him quavered and he felt the panic rise up in him, wolves of all kinds detested being locked up, and the half-wolf was no exception. He felt the pit of his stomach twist in a knot of sickness as he became overwhelmed with the urge to batter himself at the bars of his prison, to escape, to feel the midnight air on his skin again and run free.

Even now he could feel the fogginess of limbs leaving him, slowly he felt his strength returning, all he needed to do was bide his time, when his strength had returned she would beg for death before he had finished with her.

 

[RotheAllure]

“So, you’ve caught yourself a wolf, girl. Do you know what happens to little girls who toy with wild animals?”


She watched as His strength returned, as He tested His cage. Of course He would test it. She had forseen that. The bars were steel, reinforced with a solid silver core. Tah has spent the balance of her coin on that cage. The man who had designed it, a man not of these lands, he said he was a gypsy, he had assured her that the cage would hold a WereWolf, a Lycan, one of the Damned ones, as he called them. Damned Ones were the Wolves, Dead Ones were the Vampires. This cage would hold either.


"Yes, it seems I have indeed caught myself a Wolf. And I am not a girl. That is an insult. But then again, perhaps You do not know any better... Beast. My name is Tah, I am a Hunter. You may address me as either, Hunter or Tah. Perhaps if You tell me Your name, I will know better who has so easily fallen into my trap." she hissed, actually stepping closer to the bars.

"Oh and You will find these bars are pretty strong, steel, reinforced with a solid silver core"

There were no windows, no moon light or star light, no sun, no air, no breeze. It was dark, the only light coming from two flickering lanterns that hung behind her.

She grasped the chain that draped down from above her then, using her own considerable strength, again not enough to ever overpower Him hand to hand, but here, she had the advantage, and when she viciously pulled downwards, the chain went taut and yanked Him wickedly back from the bars, His back actually striking the hard stone that made up the back all of the cell He was imprisoned in.


"As You can see, I am no weakling girl, Beast" she hissed. "You ask if I know what happens to little girls who toy with wild animals. I ask YOU, Beast, do You know what happens to animals that KILL those that this little girl loves??? Do You... DO YOU???? You will not leave this place alive. Trust me on that. I want only two things from You, Beast. I want to hear You scream in pain, and I want to hear You beg for mercy"

 

[MaiusImperium]

The caged werewolf watched the girl intently, he could see her as clear as daylight though the room was dimly lit, he listened carefully to her words. She had some fire about her, but it was a reckless fire, driven by revenge. There was something familiar about her name though, Tah, and that scent. He swilled the name about in his mind

Tah, suddenly it hit him. Tah, that hunter’s beloved, the memory of that man’s death was still fresh in his mind, he could recall with perfect clarity what had happened that night. It was an effort to speak clearly, pinned against the wall as he was, the collar digging into his neck harshly, yet the smug grin of realisation on his face compelled him to speak.

“Aah, Tah. You were the man’s pretty little beau, weren’t you? My name is Davik, child, but you can call me Beast if you like, it surely suits me. I hope, for your sake Tah, that you are a better hunter than your pretty plaything was.”

He laughed low and bitterly, trying to pull away, testing the strength of the chain attached to his collar. It was quite sturdy and he could smell the sickly tint of silver from the cage. Whoever had built this cage had indeed built it with one purpose in mind. Silently he questioned her resolve, this was no crime of passion, done in the heat of the moment, no, she had thought long and hard about the methods she would use.

She had silver in abundance and knew about elixirs and the best way to hold preternaturals, she was indeed a hunter. Davik was not especially frightened though, apprehensive perhaps. After living as long as he had, you learned to adopt a more relaxed attitude to threats of death and torture, especially if you’d received so many of them over the years.

“He squealed your name like a stuck pig before I tore his throat from him, tasted nice though, even if he was little challenge.” He goaded her openly, a sickening grin on his lips. “I wonder if you will taste as good.”

In reality Davik couldn’t see a way out, he didn’t give up easily though. She hadn’t killed him yet, and she could have. That was something, something to cling onto and he wasn’t convinced it was because she was a sadist and wanted to prolong his suffering.

“You should kill me, girl, now. The longer you keep me in this prison the more chance there is I’ll break free. You cannot watch me all the time, you will grow tired and curl up under your bedcovers one night, and when you wake up, you will find yourself between my hands. So I tell you again, kill me now, if you can.”

 

[RotheAllure]

Her eyes snapped open, a startled scream wanting to escape from her lips, silenced by the harsh press of a hand.

"no no, no screaming yet. That, is for later."

THe words were spoken within the rumbling sound of a growl, a low, deep, venomous growl. Tah's eyes staring into the golden Wolven eyes of her Captive.

Her CAPTIVE??

He had her pinned to her own bed, His considerable weight and strength making it next to impossible to move as He pressed down into her, seeming to enjoy the feel of her trembling body beneath His. She hadn't even felt Him draw the covers from her.

“You should kill me, girl, now. The longer you keep me in this prison the more chance there is I’ll break free. You cannot watch me all the time, you will grow tired and curl up under your bedcovers one night, and when you wake up, you will find yourself between my hands. So I tell you again, kill me now, if you can.”

His threat echoed in her ears as He let His lips, human lips at the moment, brush her ear.

" I told you, you should have killed me when you had the chance. Now, your MINE"


Tah shot bolt upright in the bed, her own hand slapping over her mouth to silence the scream that came ripping forth. Her heart was thundering in her chest, she gasping for breath. She was pale, shaking, her eyes darting around the room as if looking for someone, or .... something.

Looking for Him...


It took her more than a few moments to realize that what she had expierenced had been a dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare. Tah sat there in bed, drawing the blankets around her, trying to find comfort, and calming.


Her mind traced back to the hours before.


His vicious words, bringing to life the savage death of the only man she had ever loved. His threat, that she should kill Him, otherwise she would awaken one night and find herself His captive.

Her breath had caught, but she had managed to remain calm. She wanted to scream at Him, to let loose her seething anger, but moreso, her despairing sadness at losing Vharcan. No... NO.. She would NOT let Him see that weakness in her. NO. A Hunter can not show His/Her weakness. It made them vunerable and careless. He was certainly not showing any weakness, and He was the one caged.

Calmly she had released the chain, letting Him have free run of the cage. She attaching the end of the chain to a hook in the floor outside of His cell, that way He could not pull the chain within completely. She said nothing, but if one had looked into her eyes, one would have seen that His words had hurt her, her eyes were almost dull and lifeless, she was desperatly trying to hide her emotions.

She had locked Him in the dark, the thick door to the cellar closing with a vibrating THUD.


Once in her own bedroom, Tah had let the emotions out, sobbing herself to sleep. She was not sure she could do this. She thought she could, in the heat of her rage and despair. But truth be told, Tah was indeed a Hunter, yes, but she had been the tracker, the one who thought like the prey, who would lead Vharcan, it had been her Financee who killed, when killing was neccessary. She had been the brains of the duo, He the brawn. She thought everything out, planned, just as she had for this dungeon for the Wolf. Vharcan had been the muscle, the Killer. That was why she had begged him to reconsider hunting the WereWolf. Let her think on the Beast, let her plan. But his obsession had gotten the best of him, and now he was gone.


But as the thoughts of her loss, her lonliness took over, the anger, the rage, came back. She would do this. She would make Him suffer. Then, she would beg Him to kill her, that was what she would do.

The plan made perfect sense to her grief laden mind.


Tah paced her room after awakening from the dream.

She wanted to hurt the Wolf, but how? Physical pain was one thing, but what about, a deeper, more agonizing pain? To do that, she would have to do what she knew best, learn her prey. Talk..... to Him.


Drawing her silken robe about herself, she decided to see if her guest was awake, and made her way down into the cellar below, and into the pitch black room that held His cage.


She had that same cold demeanor that she knew she had to have when dealing with Him. She could NOT let Him see her emotions. She just hoped she could control those emotions, she had never been very good at that.

 

[MaiusImperium]

The wolf was left alone to mull over his situation for the rest of the night, though he could move about the cell now, which calmed the inner beast a little. It was pitch black now in his cell, though he could see the cold stone walls and icy metal bars as clear as day. Settling back against the stone wall he closed his eyes and replayed over and over in his mind what he would do to her.

Once he had escaped he would come upon her while she slept, hand pressed over her mouth before he ripped the bed sheets from her and sated himself, or he’d catch her whilst bathing herself, no clothes, nothing to protect that tender pale body from his hands, his mouth, his claws. The scenarios were different but the outcome was the same, he would ravage her until there was no struggle left in her, and then, if she begged enough he might spare her life, to keep as his plaything. She would give good sport, hunters always did.

Of course, he still had to escape, and it looked unlikely, but those dark, intense thoughts of her demise kept him sane, gave him hope, a reason to break free. There was little chance he could force his way out, the cage was strong, but perhaps…if he could get inside her head. She hadn’t been able to kill him, when he dared her to take his life something had died in her eyes, she was frightened of him and unsure of herself. Davik knew it.

The night passed surprisingly quickly, with only his own thoughts to keep Davik company. Though it was hard to tell when morning truly was, trapped in an underground cell as he was, he deduced it must have been some hours since his incarceration. Light streamed in through the thick bolted cell door, the huntress stood silhouetted against the light, making his eyes strain a moment as they adjusted. Davik didn’t move, he sat still against the stone wall.

“Good morning, my pretty little hunter.” His eyes never left hers as she came into the cell, her silk robe swaying softly as she came, so thin, concealing the prize beneath, he could feel himself salivating just at the thought, the scent. He hadn’t been able to feed the night before, his tolerance for going without food was not as good as that of a mortal, he could barely last a week without feeding. If she chose to keep him locked up, she would walk in to find him a feral wolf, gnashing at the bars of his cell hopelessly. He would have to be out of this cell before the week was up.

“Did you sleep well, Tah? I hope your dreams were sweet, mine certainly were.” He raised himself to his feet, grateful that her poisons had worn off now, he grinned leeringly at her, his darkened face set with two gleaming golden eyes. His gaze burrowed into her skull, as if he could somehow look inside her mind.

“I wonder if you had the courage to kill me in your dreams, little one, and I wonder if you enjoyed it.” He leant forward against the bars of his cage, hands tightened around them, he seemed to loom even now, though he was imprisoned.

“I also wonder, how many have you killed? Have you killed any, or did your beau do it for you? We aren’t so different, you and I, we both seek the thrill of the hunt. You hide under the pretext of doing good, or claiming revenge, I, do it because I enjoy it.”

 

[RotheAllure]

"I, do it because I enjoy it.”

His words sickened her, not because of what He said, but because of the image that those words painted in her mind. Vharcan would not have gone down easily, she was sure, no matter what the Beast before her said. He had been a Hunter, a Fighter, a Killer. She imagined that the hunt would have been enjoyable for the Beast, even if He were the one being persued.

Had He ever been the prey during that hunt? Or was He merely toying with Vharcan, before going in for the kill.

Why, why was she even thinking this way?????? These thoughts could only bring the pain of her loss to the surface.

But she knew why. She had to get into His head, His mind, His thoughts, His feelings.

Not to mention, she was lonely.

LONELY?? What the fuck was she thinking.???

She must have looked quite amusing to the Wolf. Her eyes betraying the silent conversation that was going on deep in her mind. She had to shake her head to tear herself away. If she kept this up, she would slowly go crazy.


"I, do it because I enjoy it.”

"yes, I imagine You would enjoy it Wolf" she answered Him finally. "Your a Predator, a Killer. You care only for Your own survival, and nothing more. But then again, that makes You nothing more than an animal" she said almost more to herself than Him. "Animals care for their own survival and nothing more. They kill, mate, live, breath, kill, mate, live, breath.. not much else. When threatened they fight."

She had stepped closer to the cage.

"But You, You are so much more than an animal, Wolves kill to feed. You kill because You enjoy it. That makes You, a Monster"

She did not address whether she killed or not. She would not. She herself really did not know the answer. Factually, if one were to look at the plain fact of the matter, Tah had never spilled blood. Vharcan had always been the one. She was responsible for the deaths of what they hunted, because in most cases it was her that had located and trapped the prey, whether beastial or human.


His presence, even in the cell, was chilling. What had Vharcan been thinking when He took this Beast on alone.


She turned away from Him for the moment, drawing the robe closer about her form.


"Yes, that makes You a Monster. I would imagine being trapped in that cell, with no hope of hunting, of killing, of feeding, would drive one such as You slowly insane." She turned back to face Him, her own eyes, strangely nearly the same color as His, flickering in the darkness. " A Monster trapped in a cell, at the whim of a mortal female. No fresh meat, no fresh blood. Perhaps I will tempt You with rancid flesh, as You grow hungier, perhaps You will find that foul meat of some... comfort"

She was milling the thought around in her mind. Her words were almost more to herself than to Him.

"At the whim of a mortal female" she repeated. "Tell me Davik, did You think You would die at the hands of one such as me? Did You ever think that You would be bested by a female, A FEMALE?... Caged, helpless, hungry, at the mercy of little ole me" she teased. She wanted to push Him, wanted to see what it would take to push Him.

 

[MaiusImperium]

Occasionally he would allow his eyes to move over the length of her body, encased enticingly in that silk robe, he couldn’t help but appreciate her form, he smouldered malevolently to himself as he took in her words. Her words were true, he could scarcely deny them, but his eyes could see into her soul, her eyes flickered with indecision and inner conflict, she was frightened of him.

At the whim of a mortal female indeed, a bitter, dark laugh surfaced from his throat and he bared his teeth, part rictus and part grin. If nothing else this would prove an interesting hunt, of a sort. His prey held all the cards, all the bargaining chips and held his life in her hands. Not that he’d ever give any hint away that he realised the true extent of his situation.

“I am old, child, I have lived many lives of men and I can assure you, I have been taunted and threatened by far greater hunters than you. As for my hunger…you shall taste all the sweeter for it when I do slip out of your shackles.” If he could only get inside her thoughts, she was strong, but fragile at the same time, the look in her eyes betrayed that much.

He guessed she had been broken ever since he had killed her lover, she hid behind her cloak of morals, her idea of what was good and evil. If he could make her realise the folly of her motives, bring her around…but that was something to seek for the long-term, she would not melt like butter at any lectures or reasoning he cared to throw at her.

“I did not hear anyone else during the night, are you here all alone? All alone with a…monster caged in your cellar. Not very wise of you to leave me to my own devices down here, unwatched and unguarded. Let me free and I could keep you...company. Yes, for the rest of your life, even.” Her life, of course, would be caught bitterly short. He chuckled inwardly, his tone sarcastic and mocking, company, yes, some might call it that, harlots certainly did, and Davik had fed on more than his fair short of those.

He was so close to her now, yet so far away, just beyond his reach through the bars, tantalisingly close, her scent strong so close. Idly he wondered what would happen at the next full moon, taking into account the last time he had had to shift forms, he would probably have starved to death before the change came over him again. Still, these shackles were made for a man, not a wolf, he would need to feast heavily before a voluntary shift though. It still would not solve the problem of his cage, but it was something to think on.

“I do not think you shall kill me. Truthfully, I do not think you have the stomach for it.”

 

[RotheAllure]

It was funny, not funny ha ha funny, but more like a chilling, haunting funny, how both He, and she, had moved closer to each other as they spoke, even tho they were trading threats. It was like an invisable force had slithered around both of them and was drawing them in towards the middle, towards each other.

“I did not hear anyone else during the night, are you here all alone? All alone with a…monster caged in your cellar. Not very wise of you to leave me to my own devices down here, unwatched and unguarded. Let me free and I could keep you...company. Yes, for the rest of your life, even."

He spoke in a deep growl, His voice having a hypnotic quality to it. She could imagine Him as He stalked His human prey. Enticing, Charming, Luring the female into His arms. The seduction, the erotic dance that Predator and prey would do, before He struck. Before His lethal bite. The blood flowing, her scream fading as He fed.

Alone, she was all alone. Because of Him, she was all alone. But...

Not anymore. She had Him. She wasn't alone now.

"Let me free and I could keep you...company. Yes, for the rest of your life, even."

She knew the words were taunting and sarcastic. Meant to hurt, to break her down, to fool her, to entice her, to lure her. Yet deep inside, she did not want to be alone. That was Tah's greatest fear, living, and dying, alone.

"Alone" she murmered, blinking, in the brief moment that fear showed, a flash that colored her gaze. Tah was fearless, or at least that was the personification she put across to most people. Why was she having such a hard time with this Beast she had captured????

"A monster caged in my basement who will only grow weaker as the time wears on" she finally answered, having put the barriers back up in her mind. "I know You must feed, and that is something that will not happen here. I don't need to make You suffer, I can watch you suffer as You grow weaker, just as I grow weaker from being alone... ALONE... GOD DAMN YOU... WHY...." She lost control for that moment, she hadn't meant to, but she did.

"WHY, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM... He was all I HAD... You BASTARD"

She had kept it bottled up for so long. During the burial, while she bought this place, during her hunting of the Wolf, she had kept it inside except for when she slept, when the nightmares would come, she would wake up crying.

"I know full well that He would NOT have caught YOU.... You didn't have to kill Him, You did it because YOU.. YOU ENJOY IT"

She managed to turn away. God Damn it why had she broken down like that. NEVER show Your weakness, NEVER. She would, she would just leave, leave Him down there to rot. Starve and rot, until He was dead, that's what she would do.

Would she?

"You, You must know what it's like to be alone.. don't You?" She had sunk down to her knees, wrapping her arms about herself to stop her trembling. Her back was too Him, head down. She had opened herself up, and was trying to reconstruct her wall around her.

 

[MaiusImperium]

They were so close now, she was certainly closer to him than she should have been, he could reach out, and if he were fast enough, throttle her in a moment. It wouldn’t have improved his situation, she held the only key that would set him free from this cage, yet he thought about it…for a moment. Instead all he did was listen carefully, attentively to her words, her monologue of sorrow and loss. There was something magnetic about her, about the two of them, a strange sort of chemistry, he had to admit it despite the murderous and lustful thoughts he held for her, his captor.

To say that he had sort Vharcan out to kill him was not really the case, he had been hunting in the city, true enough, yet it was Vharcan who sought him out to slay him. Of course, Davik had grinned with delight when the hunter intruded on his wood, as he thought of it. Once that man had stepped into his domain he was as good as dead, Davik had lived so long in the wood he could detect any foreign scent within a hundred yards, and he had his own eyes and ears in the wolf pack that inhabited the wood. Still, he had enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the exhilarating, almost orgasmic sense of elation as he completed the hunt and claimed his victory.

Strangely, as he opened his mouth he found himself speaking softy to her, though his voice was still quite low and rough, as it always was.

“I have been alone for a hundred years, Tah. More than you know, I have learned to live with it, to live with my…nature. I cannot deny what I am, nor can you. You may think what you will, but we are not at all dissimilar, you and I. We both kill to survive, though I may take more pleasure from it. We both enjoy the thrill of the hunt, though you chose to become a hunter, I was given no such choice. We are both…alone, in a way.”

It was a strange thing to say, yet for the first time in a good many years he felt himself speaking from the heart, without any calculation or dissimulation. His words were true, whether she wished to believe him or not.

“Your love is dead, Tah. He chose to come into my home and I did what I needed to do to survive. I won that particular hunt and he was mine to do with as I pleased. You, Tah, have won this hunt, you have me at your mercy and you…must do what you need to survive. Take your anger out on me and I will not stop you.”

Had he really just said that? He told himself he would have said anything, he would have promised this woman the world if it would have set him free. Yet, there was a certain fairness to what he had said, it was the way of nature that the strong prosper and the weak perish. It was something Davik had known about since he had become a werewolf.

Davik was lowered on his knees now, his arms held before him in supplication though his eyes still had an intense gaze, he looked up into her eyes and waited.

 

[RotheAllure]

She should have left Him there, right then and there, she should have just left Him there. If she had been a cold hearted killer, the Hunter that Vharcan had wanted her to be, she would have. He would have. It would not have bothered Him at all to leave the Wolf, the Man, to starve in the cellar. Or worse, it would not have phased Vharcan to have tortured the Captive and laugh at His pain.

Was Vharcan really any different from the Wolf, the WereWolf Himself? Was..... she??


She looked at the Wolf, on His knees, the last of His words having faded into the darkness of the cellar. Her eyes and His, both with a golden glow that almost seemed to want to alight the darkness of the cellar.

It was she who blinked and turned away. Tah got to her feet, and left the darkness of the room. She reappeared, only moments later, with fresh water for the Captive, which she poured into a bucket and placed next to the cell, a ladle inside would allow Him to reach thru the bars to ladle Himself a drink. She made sure to move quickly, she was not naive enough to trust the Wolf and linger within His reach.


She had planned to capture Him and torture Him, and had involved herself so deeply into that plan that now that it had come to fruition, she was no longer sure she could go thru with it. Hearing Him scream in pain would not bring back the love she lost in Vharcan's death, nor the sense of lonliness.

In fact, having the Wolf there, was doing more for that horrible emptyness than anything else.


No, NO, she was supposed to hate that Beast, kill Him.

But.....


That would just leave her alone again.


She turned back toward the door, as if to leave, but paused...


"I thought, I thought it would be easy to just make You suffer and kill You, I thought that would make me feel better. Take away the emptyness I feel."

Taking a deep breath.. "I was wrong"

She shut the door behind her with a loud thud.

Tah did not like the feeling of confusion that had come over her. And was not sure how to deal with it. Now she was not even sure what she was going to do with Him.

 

[RotheAllure]

For the next 2 days, Tah did not venture into the cellar. She had left Him enough water to last, that she knew. The idea of feeding Him was something entirely different, as was the thought of just setting Him free. His threats still fresh in her mind, she now felt trapped herself, between what she had thought she could do, which was torture and kill Him and what she wanted to do, which was just release Him and leave the town of Blackhollow and hope that would lesson the pain she felt.

Release Him...

Tah knew she did not have the stomache to kill Him. She was a tracker, a planner, one may have called her in modern times, a Profiler. It was that ability that had lead her, over these 2 days, to the conclusion that she should just release Him.

Tah wanted to blame the Wolf for killing Vharcan. But she knew, deep inside, that her Lover had been the one who had, more or less, attacked the Wolf that day. He had left their home with the specific intent on hunting and slaughtering the Wolf. She tried to blame the Predator, and He was a Predator, a Killer, for taking Vharcan from her, but in reality, she knew better.

Vharcan had lost the battle, that simple. The Wolf was stronger, smarter, more lethal than Vharcan had been. It was not the Wolf's fault. He had not hunted Vharcan. Her thinking told her this. He was protecting His life, His home. The only reason she had captured Him was because she caught Him off guard, her scent, as she was what one may call in heat, she knew that the Wolf would seek prey that was female, and weaker, to satisfy both His urge to feed and to mate.


That small fact had gotten her thinking. He would always be alone, for the rest of His life. Wouldn't He? How sad was that? SHe knew what her lonliness was doing to her, what could His be doing to Him?

That was what had made her decide that she could not do what she had thought she could. She had been trying to act like Vharcan and not herself.


What she did not know, nor realize, was that back in Blackhollow, rumors had begun to circulate. Starting with the drunk that had seen her capture the WereWolf. The drunk happen to the the Healer who, so long ago, had lost his own wife to the Wolf. It only took a matter of days for the rumors to cascade down thru the town.

Blackhollow, being what it was, was populated mainly with cowards, for most theives and killers and the like, were cowards. None wished to answer the Drunk Healer's call to go to the Keep that Tah was living within, and keeping the Wolf within, to see if she had indeed killed the Beast, and if not, to kill it for her. He, the Drunk that is, managed to convince 2 other men to go with him. Armed, they felt confident that finally, if she had not done it herself, they could, and would, kill the Wolf.

Tah was caught by surprise, by the pounding on her door. When she answered, they pushed their way inside, demanding to know what was going on and where was the Wolf, carcass or alive, where was He??

Tah refused the answer the drunken men, and they began to ransack her home. It had never felt like home to Tah, to be honest. The Keep was a dark, cold place, but she did not want them exacting a revenge on a helpless, caged Animal. As they destroyed her place, room by room, she managed to slip away and get downstairs.

"WHERE IS HE??" came the bellow of the drunk healer... "WHERE IS HE GIRL?"

She came bursting into the cellar, finding the Wolf weakened but still alive. But the fading glimmer in His eye told her she may have left Him too long, her instincts had, after all, told her He would need to feed. What had she done??

"Get up" She urged "there are men here, searching for You. I can not kill You, but they can. I will not have You be slaughtered while caged and helpless, so I am letting You go"

And with that she unlocked the cell door and left the key to the steel collar on the floor before His feet. She knew He could easily attack and kill her, and in reality she hoped that maybe He would. But there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"DAMN YOU GIRL, WHERE IS HE??"

 

[MaiusImperium]

Davik waited for what seemed like an eternity, on his knees, in front of her and totally at her mercy. The deathblow he had been expecting, the bolt of silver, never came. He was left relieved, hopeful, but perplexed more than anything. After formulating such a meticulous plan, she could not kill him, perhaps he had misjudged her. He thought her to be a killer, she had a sharp mind which made for a far deadlier hunter than just a strong body alone. He listened to her words, yet barely registered them.

"I was wrong"

With that she had left him, to ponder what she had said, to wonder about his fate. The days passed quietly and quickly, Davik was quite used to being alone, he had gotten used to it over the years, but even in the woods he could still communicate with the wolf pack, he felt more akin to his four-legged brethren than he did to the human flock at most times. Mortals were dishonest and dissimulated everything, they wove patterns fashioned from lies and self-denial, they built stinking factories and cut down the forests to build their houses. Wolves did none of them, they had clarity of purpose, there only imperative was to survive and they took little from mother nature, save a few deer and hares every month.

Davik did not miss the company, though he did wonder about what Tah would do with him now. He had to admit she had taken the sting out of his manner, it had been easy to be vicious and arrogant to her while she was making threats, yet the conversation they had had two days ago had changed his opinion of her. Try as he might, he could not let his anger for her stew, he still dreamt of escape, of perhaps ravaging her, but he found day by day his angry thoughts were mellowing. She was not all that different from himself, lonely now that he had taken her beau from the world. Davik had not taken a mate since he had become a werewolf, there were no others of his kind for a hundred miles and he had never had the inclination to travel. Wolves were very territorial.

By the night of the second day he could feel the hunger tugging at him, always poking away at him insistently, crying out to be sated. Doubt started to creep into his mind, was she to leave him here to die? He could have accepted being killed during the hunt, he could accept dying by a silvered blade in battle, that was the way of nature for him, life and death in a delicate balance. Yet to be left to die, rotting away slowly while his Wolfen self drove him mad with hunger, that was no natural end for a werewolf.

He was deep in these hopeless and depressed thoughts when he heard commotion above him, there came angry male voices, chairs and tables thudded as they were turned over and rooms were ransacked. His keen ears could hear every word they said, their scents were distant but clear to him, full of anger and violence. Slowly he felt himself rise from his torpor, he felt the weakness leave him as it was replaced temporarily by adrenaline. If Tah had already been overpowered, or killed, they would surely find him here, chained like a dog. He doubted these men, from Blackhollow no doubt, would be as merciful as Tah had been.

The cellar door creaked open as it was unlocked with a loud metallic clink. Davik’s eyes moved up slowly to regard the silhouette stood in the door way, he felt a pang of relief as he saw it was Tah. He watched on in silence as she came down and unlocked his cage, dropping the key for his collar before him.

There was a tense moment, his eyes met hers, the hunger was maddening, and he had her, right there in his grasp. Looking so tender, so vulnerable, so…delicious. Davik was an honourable man, of a sort, he could kill to feed, even to enjoy the rush of excitement, yet he would not kill the huntress who had granted him mercy when she held his life in her hands. Gingerly he picked the key up, the men were closing in on the cellar, the wolf roared demandingly within himself, crying out for blood, for meat. He quickly undid the lock at his collar and the steel fell to the stone floor with a loud clank.

He was about to open his mouth, to speak, to grow, to thank her. He wasn’t sure which. But there was a loud cry from the cellar door way.

"DAMN YOU GIRL, WHERE IS HE??"

A shadow sat in the door way, one of them men. He wasn’t sure what it was, the need to feed, or a sense of protectiveness over Tah, but something drove him towards the man. Later on he would tell himself it was the hunger, the hunger had done it, the girl could handle herself, right?

Davik covered the distance remarkably quickly, it all happened so fast. He barged past Tah, knocking her against the cell wall unheedingly. He was a blur in the darkness, a blur that seemed to become more wolf than man. There was a roar, turning to a moan of pain as Davik charged up the stairs towards the man. By the time he reached the man he was wolf.

The man screamed helplessly as the huge wolf barged him to the floor. The beast growled loudly, it’s teeth long and razor sharp plunged into the man’s weak and yielding flesh. Davik was no longer man, he could not comprehend what he was doing, he was driven on by the beast inside him, his jaws sank into the man’s neck like a hot knife into butter. The teeth severed the man’s jugulars and windpipe in one, familiar movement, cutting his screams short. The blood was thick and voluminous as it spurted spastically from the man’s neck, matting Davik’s dark grey fur.

There was little time to savour the man’s flesh, the was not alone, he picked up the scents of two others in the keep easily. He would feast well tonight. The screams of cries of agony filled the keep and the night sky above it. For thirty blood minutes the wolf ran wild, tearing at their bodies, hunting them, stalking, teasing with their fear. It padded amongst the shadows of the now ransacked keep, attacking them for a moment, only to disappear once more. Fear was a delicious spice for Davik’s meals, second only to lust. In his basest state now, Davik was primitive, but terrible in his clarity of purpose. The two remaining men were driven to madness as they were stalked through the keep, when Davik finally chose to end their lives they were gibbering nervous wrecks, their limbs turned to jelly and their smallclothes stained with effluence.

 

[RotheAllure]

Gods, it was horrible to listen to. The screams, painfilled, terror filled, horrible, agonizing screams, accented by the growl, and the howl, of the Wolf that hunted them. The first man, the one that had almost burst into the cellar just after her, she had heard His gargled shriek of pain, and the splash of his blood as the Wolf tore into flesh. She could not see what had happened, for thankfully, the door had shielded her from that.

She had been thrust back against the cell when the Wolf had torn by her. It was enough to knock the wind out of her. Was that why she did not run? While the Wolf hunted the others, was that why she, who knew the Keep well, did not run, screaming, from the horror that was happening all around her??

She never moved, staying in the darkness of the cellar, legs drawn up to her body, rocking slowly as the Wolf slaughtered the other men.

Strangely, altho she was scared, she'd be fool not to be, she was calm. The idea of being hunted, like the others were, would have driven her as mad as it did the men. Here, she was safe, at least for the moment. If He came for her, and she had no doubt that He would, she would accept her death. At least she would no longer be alone. The only thing she would do is beg for Him to make it quick, a mercy He had not given the others, save for the first man.

When there was nothing but silence, she had to wonder if perhaps that was worse than the screaming. Her golden eyes stayed focused on the still partially open door, the light on the other side was quite dim. But there was enough of it that she would see the shadow when He approached. More than likely she would hear Him.

Tah had to admit, as the silence wore on, her fear began to get the better of her.

Should she now venture into the Keep? What would she find?

That was a stupid question, she would find those men, in the same state she had found Vharcan.

Think like the Hunter, the Wolf, she told herself. Think like the Predator.

He had been hungered, certainly, more than likely close to starving. She had not meant for that to happen. It was her indecision that had caused that. Indecision that was very uncharacteristic of her. But, He had confused her, she was having trouble dealing with the conflicting feelings she had been having. Again, very unlike her.

Think like the Wolf.....

He had been hungered, and even tho she did not *see* it happen, more than likely when He attacked that first man He had changed into that Beast that she was not sure she even wanted to see. The others He had hunted, to feed His need for fear, and the sweetness that would make the kill.

She could think like the Wolf, and what she thought, that chilling image of being stalked, being terrified, being so slowly driven insane by the sheer fear of knowing that He was there, and would come for His prey, scared her.

That was when she thought she heard Him approaching. She stayed quiet, watching the door. She would not scream, she would accept her death. The lonliness was killing her, slowly. He, at least would kill her quickly.

 

[MaiusImperium]

It must have taken him about an hour, all in all, to hunt them and feast. As he lay atop the last man, clawed paws still dug in the man’s chest, he felt his mortal self surface again. The wolf that was Davik gave a low content mewl which was at odds with the carnage that surrounded him. Bone and sinew creaked and cracked, flesh stretched and morphed and fur faded away as the transformation reversed. Within a minute all that remained was a man, he was human again. At least as close to it as he’d ever be. Uneasily he got to his feet, he was a horrid sight, blood smeared his face, gristle and flesh still clung to his teeth, congealing blood caked his now naked body. His clothes had been torn and shredded as he had changed.

He wandered for a few minutes, unsteady on his feet, endorphins coursed through his blood, a natural high after feeding himself. It took him a few minutes to find the cellar once more. Tah.. Suddenly he remembered her, he hadn’t seen her, and if the wolf had found her, she would likely be dead with the men. The beast was animal, it did not care for the affections it’s human half held for others. Affections? For her? That thought puzzled him, he buried it quickly, his mind still hazy with bloodlust, it hurt to think. Still, he was grateful she had not chanced upon him In his animal state. The grim harshness of feeding, the rending of flesh and the cracking of bones as they were pulled from the lifeless corpses was not something he wished her to see. Normally Davik would not care, why now did he care about what this girl though of him?

Finally he was shaken from his thoughts as he came upon the cellar again. Hazily he started down the stone steps, unaware of his appearance, naked and smeared with blood like a barbarian Celtic warrior of old. He was vaguely aware of a huddled form in the corner, it must have been her. He came to the end of the steps, darkness surrounded him, the blood on his naked muscles glinted in the dim candle light of the cell. His breathing was ragged and feral like, his voice was rough and grated lowly.

“It’s done.”

After the physical high he felt drained, tired. Exhausted but very much alive, a world away from the sleepy weakness that had assailed him alone in the cell. The reality of his situation hit him, he couldn’t meet her eyes, the memories of their screams were etched in his mind. She must have heard them, she would have been deaf not to. He wiped his face, tried to remove the blood but there was so much, he felt…ashamed? He’d never felt ashamed of himself…of his nature, he had accepted it centuries ago. But he felt alive, aware, he could sense every hair on her head, perceive every quiver of her lips in the darkness, her scent was accentuated by her fear, and she was terrified.

“You are safe, girl.”

Was she? The thrill of the hunt, of the kill had awakened his other…desires. He felt alive, after languishing in a dank cell for days he was free again, free to take what he needed, what he desired. She looked so fragile.

 

[RotheAllure]

She did not hear His footsteps, He was a Predator, even in human form, His steps were naturally nearly silent. She heard His breathing, the slow intake of air, in and out, and saw the shadow descending the stairs that took Him back to the cellar that had been His dungeon, His cell, His cage. One lone candle burned in the cellar, one that she had managed to light after releasing Him, after the carnage had begun. She could not stand to be in that total darkness and hearing what she could hear. That one lone candle, along with the dim light from the height of the stairs, showed the looming form of His shadow as He stepped into the doorway.

Tah wasn't sure what she would see, Man, or Wolf, or a horrifying combination of both.

What had those men seen?

“It’s done.”

The words, for a moment, made no sense to her. What was done? His hunt? His feeding? His change back into human form? But after a moment of thought, think like the Wolf, she realized what He meant. The death....

The death, the killing, the slaughter... was done.... for the moment it was over.

For the moment.

She.... still breathed.

“You are safe, girl.”

Safe, was a relative word, she knew. She was far from safe. What she was.... was lucky. He was in Human form, and His hunger was sated. His hunger and His need to hunt, to stalk, to kill. Tah was no fool. She was still prey to Him. If the situation had been reversed, surely he would still be prey, no matter how sated she was, prey that had taken her captive.

Think like the Wolf.

"I did not ask for them to come" she whispered, He would know, just from her scent, from the sound of her beating heart, that she was telling the truth.

"I thought, I thought I could do this on my own. End my own suffering. I think that's why, deep down inside, I captured You. Not to kill You. But instead to end my own life" she admitted, maybe more to herself than to Him.

"They, were not part of this.... plan.... and I am sorry...not for them. I am sorry that You, You were driven to ..... to.." she could not say it. It wasn't that she was afraid to say it, no. She had seen her share of death, Vharcan was good at killing. But NOT like this. Not quite that much blood, horror, agony, carnage.

She knew now that Vharcan had been vastly overmatched. If only he had listened to her, and let her think like..... the Wolf...

 

[MaiusImperium]

He listened to words, but didn’t really take them in, not the meaning of them, he was walking in a daze, a dream, his heart was slowly beginning return to it’s normal rhythm, yet the transition from wolf to man had been painful, it always was. And there was her…, they were out of immediate danger. Davik could not have killed her after setting him free, now the men were dead though, it was a different matter entirely. Free of his bonds and she…huddled in the corner, such a scared little thing. He took a step towards her, casting hungry eyes over form, a different, less urgent hunger to be sure, but one that needed feeding non the less.

They were so close now and there were no bars to keep him from her now. Another step and he was right up against her, sandwiched between himself and the hard stone wall of what had been his cell.

“The fear made them a filling meal. You are fearful also, as they were.”

He was operating without free will now, there was nothing he could do to prevent what was to occur now, the wolf had not subsided completely, it howled and roared in his mind, animalistic lust filled his burning golden eyes. He could feel the heat pouring off her body, after the hunt his senses were so acute, sometimes painfully so, he could smell her fear, her soap, her want. In one swift movement he pinned her arms at the wrists on either side of her face, against the wall. His shackles had been made of steel, hers would be his hands. She was very much his prisoner now, strong as Davik was after the hunt, she could not escape any more than he could have broken from his silver cage.

Her wrists were so thin compared to his rough, large hands, which kept them firmly pinned to the wall. Slowly he pressed himself to her, his strong, broad chest hard against the softness of her breasts. For a moment he simply looked her in the eyes, looking for something within them. A satisfied look seemed to come over him and he brushed his blood-stained cheek against her pale jaw-line, and he growled, low and slowly into her ear, his breath hot and full of insistence. He nuzzled her for a moment, in a peculiar, almost dog-like fashion. He acquainted himself more familiarly with her scent, before his face slowly pulled from hers, their breaths mingled in the air, so close, so agonisingly close.

Then the lust broke the dam, the last vestiges of his willpower destroyed in an avalanche of want and desire. His lips met hers, strongly and full of need, it was a selfish kiss, his lips locked with hers, he always enjoyed the way they squirmed in his hands after the first kiss. Her skin was so soft, her lips like silk, she was more delicious than he had imagined. Slowly the kiss softened, his tongue stayed firmly in his own mouth, yet he did allow his teeth to drag against her lips. Gripping her lower lip between them and nipping her with his teeth, her blood mingled with the remnants still in his mouth but a tiny drop coursed it’s way down her chin and dropped onto her full bosom.

Had be been hungry the scent and the taste of her blood would have sent him into a frenzy, as it was he could enjoy the subtle flavour more. He pulled away for a moment, his eyes delving into her own.

“You need not be afraid.” Of course she didn’t have to be afraid, but he would not be denied now, one way or another he would have her.

 

[RotheAllure]

He approached her, stalking, prowling, still hunting deep inside. His footsteps silent, His breathing deep, those eyes, almost glowing with the flicker of the hunt, and the thrill of the killing He had only just completed.

Tah felt the fear nearly overtake her. It took all her willpower to thrust it back. She had no where to run, no way to escape. Fear would do her no good here. But even knowing that, and indeed she did know that, she could not quell the fear completely. Her heart was thundering wildly in her chest, her breathing increasing the closer He got. She knew that He could feel that, scent it, taste it in the darkness all around them.


“The fear made them a filling meal. You are fearful also, as they were.”


Oh yes, He certainly could sense her fear.


"Davik.. please" she managed to whisper as He lowered to her level, easily reaching for, and pinning her wrists to the stone wall at her back. She could smell death all over Him. Death and fear, not His fear, but the sweet terror of the others. The Men, who had screamed for so long in the horror of the Keep and the Hunt...

Tah was not even sure what she was begging for. Mercy? Death? Life?

He pressed into her, nuzzling, His heated breath washing over the skin of her throat, along her jawline, His low growl vibrating in her ear.

Oh God, He wanted to mate.

The thought struck Tah like a thunderclap. But deep down, she had known, now that His starved hunger was sated, He would seek her for what she was, female. She felt a chilling shiver shudder thru her body, as He breathed in her scent.

Her scent

Of a female

A virgin female

A female in heat, if that can be said for a human female

"Davik" she again manage to say, wanting to try and draw the human out of Him. She could see, as He stared into her own golden gaze, the animal, the Wolf, the Alpha Wolf, that still raged in the body of the Man that how held her in His hands, just as He had said.

He lunged forward, His growl melting into the kiss that He forced upon her. Tah's answering scream, was muffled and ultimately silenced by that kiss. She could taste the blood of His kills, minlging in His mouth, as His teeth, still razor sharp, bit into her lower lip, bringing forth her own blood. Sweetened with her fear, how much sweeter and warmer would it be with her arousal???

He pulled back, a lacing of her own blood slithering down along her jawline, trailing to the swell of her right breast, and ending at the very tip of her nipple. She had only a cloak upon her, she had grabbed it and thrown it over her shoulders when the Men had come knocking. Tah had been so captured in His eyes that she did not even realize that the cloak had opened.

“You need not be afraid.”

His body against her own, insistant, urgent, aroused. Tah was suddenly afraid for a very different reason. She was a virgin. He could tear her apart in the state He was in.

"Davik, please... don't... Oh God... " she moaned, the words fading into that erotic sound. His mouth had lowered and found that blood tipped nipple. A cascade of sensations suddenly exploded thru her. She arched against the wall, struggling suddenly to break free, knowing she could not..

 

[MaiusImperium]

Her blood was such a fine wine to his senses, the smell, the taste, all adding fuel to his arousal. He was painfully erect already, the wolf howled for the claiming of his new prey, it commanded he claim ownership of her, to take her as his mate. But even in this intoxicated state Davik realised there were other pleasures to partake of before the final consummation.

Eagerly he lapped up the tiny drop of blood that was hanging from her erect nipple, kneeling as he was now, his hands now moving from her wrists and pinning her shoulders to the cold wall. He nuzzled her breasts warmly, burying his face in them, hungrily he opened his mouth and took her breast into his mouth, claiming it. His tongue danced smoothly about the erect nipple while his teeth and lips clamped down on the soft flesh around them, sucking them, drawing them into his mouth until he could take no more. He lavished the same attention on the other breast, looking up into her eyes.

“Be still, girl.”

A fire burned in the pit of his stomach, to take everything from her, to sample every delight and to devour her very essence. Slowly, languorously he eased his grip on her left shoulder, gently he allowed his fingers to slip down her front, pushing the cloak over her shoulder. His fingers coursed down the swell of her breast, grazing over her nipple before dropping to the flat of her stomach, and slowly, inexorably homing in on her now exposed sex.

As his fingers brushed teasingly at her pubic mound his other hand snapped shut around her neck, his thick fingers and strong wrist clasping shut, as tightly and as firmly as any collar could have. He felt her heartbeat against his hand, her jugulars pounding away furiously. In one swift motion his long thick fingers encapsulated her labia, cupping her mound before penetrating her. It happened so quickly, with such force that he pierced her maidenhead easily, it was an incredibly powerful feeling, to feel such a fragile thing tense and jolt with pain under one’s iron grip. So easily could he snuff out her life, her existence, just by squeezing down on her neck a little harder.

He did so enjoy how they squirmed. The scent of blood came anew from her sex, faint but very much there from her virginal membrane, now violated by his intruding fingers. He felt her sex convulse around his fingers, he felt as every fibre in her body tried to expel him from her neck, from her sex.

He remained inside her neck pinned in a vice against the wall and her sex in an equally vulnerable position. Oh how he yearned to penetrate her, to claim her completely, first he would toy with his prey, as he so often did. Teasingly he brushed his calloused thumb against her clitoral hood while his middle finger remained inside her. He looked up into her eyes, she may have thought her world was ending, but before the night was over she would be moaning like the lowest Marseille whore.