Stop it,Itold myself asIrinsed the shampoo out of my hair.Stopfucking thinking of her like that—she’s off limits, forGod’ssake!
But the image wouldn’t go away.Herfull breasts swaying slightly when she moved…the tight points of her nipples that looked so incredibly suckable…the dark triangle between her legs which must be the curls on her pussy mound…
BeforeIknew it,Ihad taken myself in hand.
Just once,Itold myself.Justto blow off some steam.Iwon’t even think of her.
ButIdid.Asmuch asItried to put her out of my mind, it wasVivenne’sface and figure and gorgeous gold-ringed eyesIsaw asIfinally came with a groan.
AsIpumped my cum in spurt after spurt against the gray marble wall of the shower,Iswore to myselfIwouldn’t do this again.Itwas wrong to think ofViviennethis way—she was off limits.Icouldn’t go on like this.Jerkingoff to the thought of her wasn’t right—this had to be the first and last timeIdid it.
I had no idea how hard that promise would be to keep…or how soonIwould break it.
NINE
VIVIENNE
That night,Ihad the dream…butIhad it twenty years too late.
I was in the woods, running from something.Themoon overhead was full, and its silvery light seemed to ice every branch and tree and blade of grass with frost.Butit was summertime—Icould smell the night-blooming plants, their sweet scents heavy in the air.
Behind meIheard the long, lonely howl of a wolf.Thesound raised the short hairs on the back of my neck, andIstarted running faster.Myheart was pounding in my chest, and my breath was tearing in my throat.Icouldn’t let him catch me!
But thoughIwas running as fast asIcould,Icould hear the wolf gaining on me.Thesnapping and crackling of the underbrush behind me got louder and so did the howling.
I knew somehow that if the wolf caught me, he would mount me.Icouldn’t let that happen…and yet, part of me wanted to stop.Toturn and shed my clothes and let it happen.
I could almost feel the huge, hairy beast pushing me to the ground, his thick, throbbing shaft sliding deep into my trembling pussy, thrusting over and over until he filled me with his hot cum.
I knewIshouldn’t want that and yet in the dream,Iwelcomed the wolf…welcomed him and opened for him as he demanded.Ispread my legs for him and gave him everything he wanted and more…
I woke up panting and drenched in sweat.OhGoddess—Ipressed a hand to my chest, feeling my heart drumming frantically.Ilooked around, almost certain thatIwould see the wolf from my dream somewhere in my room.
But thoughIpeered into all the dark corners,Isaw nothing.Thehalf-full moon was visible in the huge arching window that covered most of one wall of my room.Itwas bright enough for me to tellIwas alone in my bedchamber.Nohuge, hairy shape was hiding in the shadows—Ihad nothing to fear.
Or soItold myself.
I slid out of bed, pulling the white nightgown away from my chest.Iwas sticky with sweat, andIfelt likeIneeded to cool down.Iwalked to the window and opened one of the panes, letting in the chilly night air.
I stared out into the garden beyond my window.Themoon was only half full, butIknew soon it would be a fat, round disk in the sky.SoonKorwould be participating in theAlphaChallenge.Wouldhe win…or wouldIbe married toHarrisMurdochby the end of the month?WouldIhave to endure him mounting me, asIhad withCarterfor so many years?
The thought made me want to vomit.Oneof the best things aboutCarterbeing older than me was that he had eventually stopped breeding me.Foralmost three years before his death, he hadn’t been able to mount me and eventually stopped trying.Ihad been so grateful when that happened.Icould go to bed without fear that he would come into my room with no warning and go to sleep without being worried that a rough hand would shake me awake and a voice in my ear would say,
“Turn over woman and spread your legs.It’sbreeding time.”
Just the memory made my skin crawl.Ihad never wantedCarter—not even when he was younger.Andas he grew old, he had gotten even more repugnant to me.It’shard to describe the revulsionIfelt on those nights he woke me for breeding or the relief that came whenIknew he physically couldn’t mount me anymore.
But nowIhad that fear again.Iwondered if that was whyI’dhad the dream.Itwasn’t an uncommon dream for femaleWeres, but they usually only had it before their firstHeatCycle.Itwas known to be a rite of passage—a harbinger of a femaleWere’sfuture and fertility.
MyCycleswere far behind me, so why wasIhaving it now?
I had no answer—only the lingering anxiety about my fate and the future.
I took a quick shower and tried to calm down.Ittook a long time with the steaming water rushing soothingly over my body but at last my heart stopped pounding andIwas able to take a deep breath without feeling like someone was sticking a knife in my side.
I put on a fresh nightgown and slipped back into bed.Butit was a long time beforeIcould get back to sleep again andIkept thinkingIheard a wolf howling somewhere in the forest around the edges of theManor.
Far away but getting closer by the hour.
