FSE

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Chapter 4

Three female wolves sat by a creek in the forest, enjoying a little sunbathing.

“An antique key, huh?” said the one with the unruly coat of black fur. “Any idea of what it does?”

“It’s a key, Rose. It probably opens something, as most keys do,” offered the robust she-wolf with a coat of gray fur, faintly bearing a sarcastic smile.

“Ha-ha. Very funny, Marjorie. You sure got me there...”

“Well, I have no clue,” responded the one with the pristine coat of white fur, shaking her canid head. “All I know is what’s on the note Mom left for me.”

“It said the key belonged to your father, right?”

“Yeah. Other than that, I have no idea what it’s for. And chances are we’ll never find out.”

“At any rate, it makes for a nice family heirloom, girl,” said Marjorie as she scratched her ear with her hind leg. “It’s got some cute little flowers engraved on it, and it’s bronze too, which is not something you see every day.”

“The shape reminds me a bit of those legendary master keys from the Era of Knights,” noted Rose as she straightened her posture. “I heard my ancestor had them all, and was able to open any door in the kingdom with them.”

“E-even silver doors?”

“Even silver doors.”

“Whoa...”

The white she-wolf, Anabelle, lapped up some fresh water from the creek. “Well, there was an old book in the safe too,” she said. “Maybe there’s something in there about what the key is for. Too bad it’s written in Ancient Galian, so we can’t read any of it.”

“Oh!” Marjorie exclaimed, standing up, ears perked. “I’m pretty sure my fluffball can read Ancient Galian! Maybe he could translate it for you!”

“Hmm, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“Still, though...” began Rose, the black-coated huntress, as she took a step forward. “Was it really a good idea to tell that inspector guy about the whole werewolf thing, Anabelle? Can we trust that he will keep the secret?”

“He’s a good man. I’m sure we can count on him to keep it,” the snow-white she-wolf stated with a confident nod.

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll just have to hunt him down, bite his head off, and eat his entrails.”

Silence...

“That was a joke!” said Anabelle with a light chuckle, as the other two she-wolves exchanged nervous glances with one another. “Come on, girls; you know I wouldn’t do that! I had promised I wouldn’t stain my claws with blood ever again, remember?”

“Y-yeah... But, uh...” tried an uncomfortable Marjorie, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

“Ah, alright, alright. It was a bit too much, wasn’t it? Fine, I guess I’ll wait another five years before trying to make that kind of joke again.”

“I think you should just leave the inappropriate jokes to me, Annie-girl,” said Rose. “They’re kind of my thing anyway, y’know?”

“I thought your thing was trying to find new and more humiliating ways to tie up Daggerclaw.”

“I can have two things,” affirmed the huntress, turning her wolf nose up in mock contempt.

“Heh, alright, fine,” conceded the beautiful she-wolf with the white coat of fur. “Regardless, no, I wouldn’t do anything to Mr. DuPont, even if he broke my trust and spilled the secret. I mean, I would be very disappointed in him, for sure, but that’d be it.”

“Hmm... Come to think of it, even if the worst came to pass, we still have the Howling Grove barrier protecting us,” reasoned Rose. “As long as it’s up, no one who isn’t either a lycca or a soma-bonded vanni could ever get in.”

“Also,” Marjorie added, raising a front paw, “I don’t think anyone in their right mind would spill any secrets after seeing Anabelle tear apart a freaking safe.”

“I just took the lid off. It wasn’t that big of a deal, I don’t think...” the white one said.

“Girl, come on. To his eyes, that must have been like you telling him: ‘dare to betray my trust, and that will be your neck, pal.’ It’s a miracle he didn’t wet his pants right there and then!”

“I— didn’t intend for it to come across that way...” said Anabelle, her emerald eyes downcast as her cheeks burned with embarrassment under her fur.

“So, what are you going to do now?” asked the jet-black huntress, shifting her tail to a side.

“I’ll... apologize to him, I guess?”

“No, not that! I mean with the bank account thing!”

“Oh!” exclaimed the white she-wolf. “I suppose I’m claiming it.”

“Heh, so you’re gonna be a billionaire now? You better buy me some very nice handcuffs, whips, and leather stilettos, you hear me?”

“I’m not going to fund your dominatrix fetish, Rose.”

“Aw, you’re no fun.”

“Regardless,” Anabelle continued as she sat down, “I don’t really plan to do much with that money myself. Yes, Mr. DuPont said that a billion Gold can change someone’s life forever, but... my life is perfectly fine the way it is. It simply doesn’t need any more changing. I mean, I’ve got Darkhowl and Littlepaws; and of course I’ve got you too, girls. I also have my freedom, a vast expanse of forest to explore, a roof over my head, and good food on my plate. What else could I possibly want?”

“Okay, I can’t argue with that,” admitted Rose. “But... having all that money and just sitting on it still sounds like a waste, don’t you think?”

“Well, I had this idea... I was thinking of giving Mr. DuPont a power of attorney, so that he can administrate my fortune on my behalf. I trust that he’ll know how to best do things like investments and all that difficult stuff I just can’t be bothered with.”

“Geez, girl,” said the gray she-wolf. “You must really trust that man.”

“What can I say? Other than Mom, he was the only person who actually cared about me before I met Darkhowl. Just for that, I think he’s earned my vote of confidence.”

“Alright, that’s fair. Still, I hope it all goes well!”

“I’m actually impressed that you seem to be quite familiar with things like ‘power of attorney,’ ‘investments,’ and whatnot,” commented the black-furred huntress, licking her nose. “Where have you even heard those words before?”

“What, you think I can’t know things, Rose? You forget my stepfather was an accountant. I mean, yes, he was a garbage human being, but I still picked up a thing or two about his trade.”

“Ah, yeah, I suppose that makes sense.”

At that moment, a fourth voice made itself known:

“Sorry I’m late!”

Everyone turned to see a familiar she-werewolf with a grayish-brown coat of fur headed their way.

“I was feeling a bit sick, but I’m better now!” she said in an apologetic tone.

“Ah, don’t worry about it!” said Rose as she began to transform into her bipedal lycca form.

“Yeah, come join us, girl! The sun’s real nice today!” brightly chirped Marjorie while she, too, transformed.

“Hey there, Elise!” simply said Anabelle as her body shifted in much the same way as the other two.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that for me, girls!” quickly said Elise as she approached her friends. “You can stay in your feral wolf shapes if you want!”

“Nah,” said the huntress with the wild black fur, waving a hand dismissively. “It’d be weird if we did that while you’re here, considering you can’t change out of your werewolf form yourself.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Elise said while sitting down among the other three she-werewolves. “I miss transforming into a wolf so much! You have no idea!”

“I hear you, Elise. I was there too,” said Anabelle, rubbing her friend’s shoulder as though to ease some of her tension. “The morning sickness and back pains were annoying as well, but all that discomfort will be worth it in the end, I promise.”

“It isn’t just that, though. There’s Fang too. He wants me to stay in the den all day long! I know he means well, but I’m not made of glass, you know? A little open air isn’t going to kill me!”

“Oh, yeah. Darkhowl was like that too. I guess a lycca’s natural protective instincts go into overdrive whenever this happens,” she said, pointing at her friend’s moderately distended abdomen. “They absolutely must protect their pregnant mates at all costs, even if it means keeping them in the safety of their dens twenty-four seven. But don’t worry: I’m sure your Fang will go back to normal once you give birth to his cub.”

“Speaking of,” said Marjorie as she caressed Elise’s belly, “you’re due this month, aren’t you, girl?”

“I think so. It’s been almost nine months since the day I found myself locked in my werewolf form.”

“That’s what I thought. Heh, it’s a miracle Fang let you out of his den when you’re this close to term!”

“He didn’t. I just snuck out when he was taking a nap!” explained Elise, grinning as though she was an unruly little girl getting into some mischief. “So, what did I miss?”

“Not much,” grunted Rose. “Anabelle here was telling us about her plans to become a she-werewolf tycoon, which obviously include budgeting for a nice pair of black stilettos with my name engraved on them in big golden Gothic letters.”

The white lycca-vanni rolled her eyes hard at that.

“Oh, yeah!” exclaimed the grayish-brown mother-to-be, turning to the aforementioned white one. “You had said something about going to Roud City soon, right?”

“Yes, my meeting with Mr. DuPont is in six days,” replied Anabelle, nodding her wolf head. “Since it will take Darkhowl and me five days to get there on foot at a reasonable pace, we have to leave tonight. Which reminds me... Can I count on you girls to take care of my Littlepaws while we’re away?”

“You’re not taking him with you?” asked Rose, raising a canine eyebrow.

“We’re not. Darkhowl and I decided that we shouldn’t be taking him anywhere outside the forest before he awakens the ability to change into his werewolf form.”

“Oh, that’s right. The little pup hasn’t turned twelve months old yet, has he?”

“Exactly. Which is why he has to stay here, where it’s safe for him.”

“Ah, alright, fine. I suppose it just can’t be helped,” said the huntress, throwing her clawed hands up in pretend annoyance. “I guess Daggerclaw and I can watch over that tiny ball of fur until you come back.”

“No, not you, Rose. No offense, but you’re a bad influence.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know kids love me! I’m a wholesome role model, god damn it!”

“Don’t worry, girl!” quickly interjected Marjorie, flicking her furry ears. “My fluffball and I can take care of Littlepaws while Darkhowl and you are away!”

“Thank you, Margie! You’re a lifesaver!”

“Meh... I offered first,” quietly muttered Rose under her breath, somewhat miffed. “Where’s the kiddo anyway?”

“He’s with Darkhowl, who’s recently started to teach him the basics of hunting prey animals.”

“Already? Daaayum, they grow up so fast!” exclaimed the sturdily built she-werewolf with the gray coat of fur. “Why, it’s only been like... what, eight months since he spoke his very first words?”

“Well, yeah, but at the end of the day they’re still wolves. They mature fast.”

“That’s true. But, I dunno, it still amazes me, girl. I mean, your Littlepaws already talks and acts like a ten-year-old boy, even though he’s only a ten-month-old wolf puppy!”

“If I recall,” added Elise, “Fang once told me that the average lycca ages ten human years on their first year of life, six human years on their second, and two on their third. Then, after that, their aging rate drops to like half a human year per year lived, and stays that way for the rest of their lives.”

“Ack! Gross! Take that math away from me, you nerd!” protested Rose, making an exaggeratedly disgusted face. “I’d rather take a silver arrowhead to the knee than be confronted with such algebraic evil!”

Now it was Marjorie’s turn to roll her eyes at the purposefully overdramatic huntress.

“Anyway...” said Anabelle, turning to Elise. “Have you thought of an infancy name for the little cub yet?”

“I’m not sure. I guess I want to see him first before making a decision. But so far I’ve been leaning on calling him ‘Kicky,’ because of how I can feel him kicking his tiny little feet inside me every now and then.”

“Aw, that’s so cuuute!” squeed Marjorie.

“Heh, you know; I was a bit confused at first, since I thought lycca boys are nameless until a vanni gives them a name. But then I was like: ‘Wait a minute! I’m a vanni, right? What’s stopping me from naming my own boy? Heck, what’s stopping any vanni mother from naming their own lycca children?’ So I asked Fang about that, and that’s when he told me about ‘infancy names’...”

“Yep. Although it’s true that any vanni can name any lycca, it’s understood that they hope to get their ‘definitive’ names from the one vanni they are fated to soma-bond with, and we all respect that. But since mothers need to call their children something, there’s a special provision for them.”

“We can give them an ‘infancy name,’ which is good for their first three years of life,” Anabelle elaborated. “Once they turn three years old, they shed their infancy name, and become adults in the eyes of the pack. There’s a little ceremony and all.”

“And then, after that,” continued Rose, “they will be nameless until they meet their fated vanni. Or at least that’s what they hope for, like Marjorie already said.”

“Still, most of them do get nicknames in the meantime,” added the gray she-werewolf. “For example, Fang’s used to be ‘he-who-wears-a-bandage.’ Though that was a bit of a mouthful to me, so I preferred to call him ‘handkerchief boy’ instead!”

“Heh, now I’m wondering what Fleetpaw’s nickname was!” said Elise, smiling.

“His was ‘he-who-races-the-wind.’ Also, Darkhowl’s was ‘he-of-the-undefeatable-strength,’ and Daggerclaw’s was ‘he-who-prowls-in-the-night.’ Granted, some of those weren’t what you’d call terribly original or unique, but they got the job done all the same, I suppose!”

“Ah, I wonder what kind of nickname my Littlepaws will get once he comes of age,” dreamily wondered the white lycca-vanni. “And then, once he finds his fated vanni, what name will she give him? I hope it will be an amazing one he can bear with pride.”

“I’m sure it will be, girl. So long as it comes from the heart, it will always be the most amazing name a lycca can get.”

~*~

The starry blanket of the night had descended upon the forest of Lanea. A cricket or two chirped in the distance as a number of werewolves gathered around the gate leading out of Howling Grove.

“Got all the stuff you’re gonna need, girl?” asked the bigger she-werewolf with the coat of gray fur.

“Yeah, I think so,” replied the white one, patting a medium-sized sack hanging from her furry shoulder. “This is my best change of clothes, for when I have to set foot in the city. It’s all I’m taking with me, since I’m pretty sure I won’t be needing anything else for this trip.”

“Packing light, eh? What about food?” asked the one with the jet-black fur.

“That won’t be a problem. Darkhowl and I will just have whatever nature has to offer us along the way.”

“So... you’re going to eat your prey raw?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I won’t have a choice. I mean, it’s not like I could just light a bonfire without possibly drawing unwanted attention. Besides, I’m sure we’ll find other stuff like berries, too.”

“When are you coming back?” asked the brownish lycca-vanni in the late stages of pregnancy.

“I’m guessing in ten days. Maybe eleven or twelve, depending on how long I’ll need to stay in Roud. But I don’t think it’s going to be longer than two weeks.”

“Remember to stay a good distance away from roads and whatnot,” advised Rose, the huntress. “Especially if you’re going to be carrying that sack around as a wild white wolf. I mean, that’s not a sight people from the outside world see every day, y’know? It could easily draw just as much unwanted attention as a bonfire would.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why we’re going to trek through the wilderness the whole time, away from any beaten paths. That way, no one should be able to spot us.”

“Alright! Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, then. Now go get that Gold, you lucky girl!”

Then, both Anabelle and Darkhowl changed into their quadruped forms. As the former secured the sack with her clothes on her back, a tiny wolf pup approached her and began to lick one of her forepaws with his little puppy tongue.

“W-why can I not go with you?” he whimpered.

“It is not safe for you out there, Littlepaws. You are still far too young to leave the safety of the forest,” said the big, fatherly wolf with a sigh as he stood next to the cub’s mother.

“But... but... I will be all alone... I— I do not like being alone.”

“You will not be,” Anabelle affirmed, looking at her little one with eyes full of maternal compassion. “Remember that Margie, Rose, and Elise will be with you. They will care for you until we come back in a few days.”

“Y-yes, but... I am still going to miss you, Mother, Father,” tearfully said Littlepaws between canid whines. “Please be safe, a-and come back soon.”

“Aww, sweetie...” sighed the white she-wolf as she nuzzled her son tenderly. “We’re going to miss you too, but I promise we’ll be back before you can count to fifteen sunrises. Until then, we’re counting on you to watch over our den. It’s a big responsibility, but I’m sure my brave little boy can handle it. What do you say? Can you do it?”

“I... think so,” replied the cub after sniffling a bit. “Just... please do not let those bad people outside hurt you again.”

“Mom is going to be fine,” sweetly said Anabelle after exchanging a quick glance with her mate. “Yes, I was hurt in the past, but that was before I had lyccan claws and fangs to defend myself with. Now, ‘bad people’ simply don’t stand a chance against me.”

“And I will be by her side the entire time,” powerfully added Darkhowl in his deep, gravelly voice. “Anyone who wants to hurt your mother will have to get through me first, except nothing can get through me.”

“Well, we have to get going now. See you in a few days, my little furry sunshine. Be good to Margie and the others, okay?”

“I— I will, Mother.”

“Have a safe journey, Anabelle-vanni and Darkhowl. And may Mother Moon’s silver light illuminate your way,” wished Daggerclaw as he put a muscular arm around his vanni-mate’s athletic waist.

“I, uh, um, a-about your book, I promise I will try my best to, uh... to have a translation ready for when you return, Anabelle-vanni,” timidly affirmed Fleetpaw, whose relatively smaller frame stood engulfed in Marjorie’s embrace.

“And do not worry about Littlepaws, for we shall all take turns to look after him while you are away,” assured Fang, standing next to Elise, as the other male werewolves nodded in agreement.

Thus, walking on four lupine legs, Anabelle and Darkhowl departed from Howling Grove on their journey to Roud City.

~*~

“...but if you’d only make the choice, you may grow from the tiny, vulnerable candle-flame you are now, into a glorious, blazing star which will light the way for the world.”

After a brief pause, Marjorie closed the storybook she was reading from. “And that’s all for tonight!” she announced, smiling.

“Ooooh, but I want to know what happens next!” excitedly barked Littlepaws.

“Now, now. I’m afraid it’s time for cuddly little cubs to go to sleep and dream of nice things. I promise I’ll read the next part to you tomorrow!”

“Aww, all right, fine,” said the tiny one as he lay on his favorite pillow with a cute little pout.

That was the night of the second day after Anabelle and Darkhowl departed for Roud. Littlepaws was now staying over at Marjorie and Fleetpaw’s den. Elise was there too, helping to keep the little one company. Although the latter had curled up for bedtime, it didn’t seem like sleeping was in his immediate plans just yet.

“Miss Elise-vanni,” he began, raising his puppy head pleadingly. “If I may ask, what is the world beyond the forest like?”

“Oh,” exclaimed Elise, flicking her werewolf ears. “Well, it’s... big. And there are towns and villages full of people living in houses made of bricks and wood.”

“And are all those human people dangerous?”

“Oh, uh... Well, that depends. You see, anyone can be dangerous when they feel threatened, and most people feel threatened when confronted with things they don’t understand.”

“Things like us lycca?”

Elise and Marjorie exchanged a quick glance with each other.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” said the gray she-werewolf, kneeling down next to the curious cub. “The thing is, the relationship between vanni and lycca is not something mankind is ready to comprehend, let alone accept. Just the idea that a woman and a big, scary, humanoid wolf-like creature could love one another would be alien to them. Also, it doesn’t help that many myths and legends across the globe portray werewolves as sinful abominations with a thirst for human blood.”

“And that’s why we keep all of this hidden from the rest of the world,” finished the brownish mother-to-be.

“But... we do not hurt human people, and only want the best for vanni. Why would they still fear us so much? Are we really that scary?”

“Ah, Littlepaws...” sighed Marjorie as she gently petted the cub’s furry head. “One thing you should know about humans is that too many of them tend to hate things that are different. Anything that deviates from what they call ‘normal’ makes those people uncomfortable. They don’t like having their conception of the world challenged, and some of them will readily resort to violence to ‘correct’ what they perceive to be wrong.”

“Alas, in the end, beating what’s different to a pulp takes less brainpower than actually making an earnest effort to understand,” added Elise.

“T-that is awful!” said the little one with a whimper. “I did not know the outside world could be that scary. Oh, how I wish Mother and Father were here and not out there, where it is so dangerous and unsafe...”

“I promise you, nothing bad is going to happen to them, Littlepaws. Your mother is a master of stealth, and your father is the strongest lycca in the pack. Together, they’re unbeatable!”

“Yeah, they will be fine! There’s no danger out there that they can’t handle!” affirmed Marjorie with a big smile that radiated positivity. “Now here’s a challenge for you: close those adorable puppy eyes of yours, and think of a hundred fluffy sheep grazing on a meadow. Now imagine that you are there, and you’re so hungry that you start gobbling them up one by one. Try counting every juicy sheep as they go down your voracious gullet, and let’s see how far you can get!”

“Yes, Miss Marjorie-vanni,” politely said the wolf pup, closing his eyes after a big yawn. “One sheep... two sheep... three sheep... four sheep...”

Fifteen was as far as he got before falling sound asleep.

~*~

Meanwhile, somewhere between St. Belaroix and Roud City...

Two wolves trekked across the wilderness at a steady pace, concealed under the veil of a quiet, starry night. The slender one with a white coat of fur was in the lead, while the bigger one, with a dark coat of fur, trailed closely behind.

“We’ve made good progress today, Darkhowl,” said the white she-wolf, Anabelle. “A couple more miles, and we should be entering Araucaria Forest.”

The large male didn’t say anything.

“Rose told me we might encounter a few ratagor nests there, so we have to keep our eyes open for those,” added Anabelle after a long pause.

Yet the big wolf remained silent, seemingly preoccupied with something else.

“Uh, Darkhowl? Is anything wrong?”

“...Oh!” he suddenly exclaimed, snapping back to attention. “N-no, I did hear you, my Anabelle-vanni. Possible ratagor nests in Araucaria Forest a couple miles ahead. Yes, I will watch out for those, certainly.”

Anabelle stopped and turned to her mate:

“Darkhowl, what’s wrong?” she firmly asked.

“I, uh...” tried the sizable male as he quite conspicuously averted his gaze, obviously struggling to come up with a satisfactory answer. Eventually, though, he simply gave up. “Ah, all right... I did not want to have to admit this to you, but the truth is that I, uh... I simply could not... I— I mean...”

“Whatever it is, just say it.”

“Y-yes...” he said with his head down; his ears drooping in shame. “I failed to answer in a timely fashion before because... t-the manner in which your lovely rump sways from side to side as you walk has proven to be quite, uh, distracting to me.”

The white female canid blinked, surprised, and then smiled as she dropped to a more relaxed stance:

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, I... I apologize for failing to stay focused on the task at hand. I shall endeavor to keep my gaze off your angelic behind, Anabelle-vanni.”

“Ah, but you liked what you saw, didn’t you?” said the she-wolf as she slowly approached the male, putting an extra sway in her step.

“Of course I did. You know your beautiful figure is a treat for these lyccan eyes of mine. I cannot help but be enthralled by the glorious allure of your feminine charms in motion.”

Anabelle sultrily rubbed the side of her body against his in an almost cat-like manner, then turned to whisper into his ear:

“You know... Ever since our Littlepaws was born, we didn’t really have many chances to enjoy each other’s bodies, did we?”

She then buried her black lupine nose deep within the thick fur around Darkhowl’s neck, and filled her lungs with his powerful masculine scent.

“Yessss... I’ve been missing this too,” said the aroused she-wolf with her eyes closed. “It’s been far too long since the last time we’ve had a good roll in the hay together...”

“My angel-vanni... Your words stoke my desire for you.”

“That’s good,” quietly cooed Anabelle; her lips curving into a seductive smile with half-lidded eyes as she met the gaze of her mighty mate. “After all, it just so happens that I’ve gotten this sudden craving for something... big... hard... hot... veiny... thick... and deliciously throbbing...”

Indeed, the whispering tone of her voice as she spoke those last few words was positively dripping with lust.

“I... do believe I have something that might fit that description,” said Darkhowl with a little primal rumble in his deep lyccan voice; his ears drooping no more. “Now, what would you like me to do? How should I service my beloved angel-vanni tonight?”

“You don’t have to do anything. Just stand there, where you are. I’m pretty sure I know where to find what I’m looking for...”

Anabelle then walked to one side of Darkhowl and lowered her head, crawling into the space between the larger wolf’s four legs. Once there, she found herself face-to-face with the male’s big, pendulous orbs. The female wolf then marveled at how enormous they looked up close like that, and her nostrils flared as she took in the intoxicating scent of their earthy masculine musk at point-blank range.

“Oh, Darkhowl... You smell so good down here...” said the albino-girl-turned-feral-wolf in a whisper; her mind swimming in the powerful, pheromone-laden scent of her mate’s stallion-sized sack. Soon, after licking her lips, she began to rub her snout along the plump sheath, causing a little gasp to escape from between the teeth of the bigger canine. It didn’t take long for the moist red tip to emerge.

Anabelle greeted it with repeated licks from her wet lupine tongue, coaxing more of it out of the sheath as she watched it grow bigger and longer. At last, the white she-wolf beheld the engorged girth of Darkhowl’s impressive endowment throbbing mightily before her; its heft made readily apparent in the way it bobbed up and down with each one of his heartbeats.

“Why, hello there, you magnificent beast. Long time no see...” she cooed, delighted. “What do you say, Darkhowl? Should I give your handsome friend here a little kiss?”

“A-Anabelle-vanni... Please...”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, giggling to herself.

Thus, the white lycca-vanni proceeded to slide her tongue along the tremendous length in long, slow strokes. Again and again, she dragged the wet, velvety surface of her lupine tongue from the bulging base of the bigger wolf’s virile mast, all the way to its tapered end.

“Ah, I had almost forgotten how good you taste...” said Anabelle with a moan as she relinquished the salty flavor of the red, hard canine rod’s densely vascularized flesh. No inch was left unattended, for the female wolf was very thorough in her worshipful ministrations. Eventually, the whole shaft was glistening with her saliva, but that didn’t stop her tongue from continuing its amorous assault with reckless abandon.

Throughout all that, Darkhowl kept sucking in air through his teeth with his eyes closed, fully immersed in the incomparable feeling of his vanni-mate making love to his turgid girth with her tongue. A little trickle of clear liquid had begun to ooze out of his unbearably swollen arousal, which was quickly lapped up by the greedy female as it collected at the underside of the tip.

“Ah, look at how large it’s become!” sultrily noted Anabelle as she admired her handiwork. “It’s throbbing with such needful fury, as though it could burst any second now. What do you say I should do with it, Darkhowl?”

“U-uh... Y-you already know what...” replied the male between frustrated grunts as he struggled with the painful need for an immediate release.

“No, I don’t. You’ll have to tell me what you’d like me to do now,” teasingly continued Anabelle, clearly enjoying herself.

“Guh-grawrr... Your— your m-mouth, please...”

“My mouth? What with it? You’ll have to be more specific, Darkhowl,” she said with a playful grin.

“P-please, my angel-vanni... Grhhh... D-do not make me say it...”

“But I want to hear you say it. What happened to ‘the desires of a vanni always come before the desires of her lycca’?”

The large male stuttered as he realized he had no recourse but to give in to Anabelle’s twisted demands. And so, after a small pause, the quivering wolf gathered all of his pent-up need and forced those most unbecoming words out of his throat:

“I... I would like you to... urgh... to p-put your mouth around... gwrgh... a-around my... my m-m-malehood. If— if you would, please...”

Anabelle chuckled.

“Oh, Darkhowl, Darkhowl...” she said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. “As usual, you’re being far too nice. A girl likes to hear some dirty talk in bed sometimes, you know? And let me tell you: whatever you struggled to say just now was anything but dirty.”

“I... I just asked you to perform an act which no lycca has a right to expressly request from a vanni. How is that not dirty?”

“Oh, alright, fine,” said Anabelle as she crawled out from underneath Darkhowl’s frame. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to tell you the exact words I want to hear, and you’re going to repeat them back to me as loud and as aggressively as you can. Got it?”

“I... think so, Anabelle-vanni,” he said as a vague feeling of dread started pooling in his stomach.

“Alright. The magic words are...”

Anabelle then approached his mate’s lupine ear and whispered something very quietly into it. First, Darkhowl’s amber eyes opened wide in utter shock. Then, his jaw hung in horror as his ears flattened against his head; all blood draining from his face.

“I— I cannot speak any of those words to you!” the male exclaimed as he turned to her; his eyes aghast at the sheer vileness of what she had just instructed him to say.

“You can, and you will,” firmly stated Anabelle with an evil grin. “Come on, Darkhowl! I’ve told you what I want to hear coming from your mouth! Now channel that inner beast of yours for your vanni-mate, will you? Let the world hear your savage roar as you repeat those words back to me at the top of your lungs!”

The large male stood still for a few moments as though he was frozen in time. And then, he reacted. After taking a deep breath of air, the enormous wolf bared his terrifying fangs and snarled Anabelle’s profane words with the unbridled fury of a rampaging werebeast from hell:

“ANABELLE! I WANT YOU TO CHOKE ON MY BIG, FAT WEREWOLF COCK LIKE THE CUM-GUZZLING BITCH YOU ARE! NOW!!”

Silence.

Throughout the wilderness in the whole area, not another sound was heard except for the lingering echoes of the last couple words. Even the crickets had stilled their chirping. A gust of wind blew by as Darkhowl just stood there with a blood-curdling scowl, breathing heavily, and with his very sharp fangs still bared. Only after the last echo had faded into nothingness did he finally snap back to his senses, all his aggression melting away in an instant.

“I... I am deeply, deeply sorry. I promise you, I did not mean any part of—” he meekly began before Anabelle gently shushed him into silence.

“That was perfect, Darkhowl. Please don’t ruin it with an apology, okay?” warmly said the white she-wolf, smiling at him. “Come here now, will you? I think you earned your reward. And I, mine.”

And so, after nudging the large male’s virile flesh back to its full splendor with her snout, the not-so-innocent lycca-vanni parted her thin black lips and slipped the entire length into her moist canine mouth. Then, of course, she began to suckle on it as thoroughly as she could, bobbing her head back and forth at a slow, steady pace while her skillful tongue bathed it in her saliva.

Darkhowl grunted as his fully engorged malehood was completely engulfed in the wet warmth of Anabelle’s heavenly mouth. The rhythmic suction and the subtle gyrations of her head soon set his pleasure center on fire, as she had done countless times since soma-bonding with him five years prior. With all that experience under her proverbial belt, the white she-wolf knew exactly what she was doing.

“Oooh, how I missed the feeling of your soft lips wrapped around my flesh...” said the male in a whisper as Anabelle continued to worship his huge, throbbing girth with zealous devotion.

It’s worth mentioning that the she-wolf was enjoying the act just as much as her partner was, if not more. Indeed, the fact that she had the skill to bring Darkhowl to an explosive climax with only her mouth filled her with an intoxicating sense of empowerment. After all, down there, she had full control over everything. Also, the mere presence of that meaty masculine rod filling her mouth was a sensorial delight in its own right. Its mass, its heft, its scent, its taste, and even its texture; it all combined into a carnal coalescence of primal male vigor that made her submissive side swoon.

“I... ooh... I am not going to last, ahh... m-much longer, my angel-vanni...” warned the big, burly wolf.

“That’s fine. You can feed me your seed, Darkhowl. Your vanni will drink every last drop of it,” she confidently proclaimed before redoubling her efforts while applying extra pressure on the swollen knot at the base of the shaft.

“Oh, Goddess! Nnghh!!”

One... Two... Three... Four...

Eight. A total of eight powerful spurts sent just as many ropes of warm, creamy werewolf seed down Anabelle’s welcoming throat. She swallowed the generous offering as it filled her mouth with every gushing spurt, relishing its delectably salty goodness melting on her taste buds. ‘Yes, give me all of it, my love. Feed your crazy nympho vanni with the rich masculine essence of your nutritious seed,’ she drunkenly recited in her thoughts.

After that, Darkhowl returned the favor by lavishing lots of attention on his vanni-mate’s womanly petals with his skilled wolf tongue, quickly bringing the latter to a spectacular release. Then, he mounted her, stretching her needful tunnel with the rekindled fire of his voluminous girth. His feral, beastly thrusts quickly had the she-wolf moaning his name once more, over and over, as he ground his haunches into hers with the raw, animalistic force she loved so much.

One monumental explosion of bliss later, the two wolves rode the waves of their afterglow together, lying on their sides. Anabelle rested snugly against Darkhowl’s furry body; their haunches still tied together by his palpitating canine knot. Both lovers had their eyes closed and a faint smile upon their lips, only gasping and panting quietly as they recovered their breath. And so, for the next several minutes, the two of them lay there, simply enjoying the intimate closeness of the moment.

“...Anabelle-vanni?” the male eventually began.

“Yes?”

“May I offer you my apologies now?”

“You don’t have to. After all, you only said that because I asked you to.”

“Yes, but still... I feel horrible knowing those horrendous words came out of my mouth, regardless of why that came to be. I do not think I will be at peace with myself until I have offered you my apologies.”

“Ah, alright,” she conceded. “I will take your apologies now then, if it will make you feel better.”

“Thank you, Anabelle-vanni. I... simply cannot express how sorry I am about calling you something so vile, even though it was what you requested of me. Truly, I do not expect you to forgive me, as such disrespect is utterly unforgivable, but I would still like to at least say that I—”

“You are forgiven.”

“I... W-what?

“I forgive you, Darkhowl. Even though you haven’t offended me in any way, I still forgive you,” she repeated, smiling. “There, I said it. Will my precious gentlewoof be alright now?”

“Yes, I think so,” he said, noticeably relieved. “You cannot imagine the weight those simple words have just lifted off my shoulders, my beloved angel-vanni.”

She chuckled lightly.

“Heh, you’re so silly sometimes! I mean, do you think I’d be lying here right now, tied to you, if I thought you owed me any sort of apology?”

“Yes, I realize that. But I cannot disobey my lyccan blood. It is stronger than me, and it demanded that I apologized to you anyway,” he explained while affectionately nuzzling his beloved female. “Still, if I asked you, would you consider not telling anyone about the words I had uttered tonight?”

“Of course! This is going to be our little secret!”

“Thank you, my delightfully strange angel-vanni. I love you so much.”

“And I love you, Darkhowl. You’re still my savior, you know? And you’ll always be.”

Slowly, the nearby crickets began chirping again. There was peace and quiet in the wilderness as the two wolves rested together in contented communion, still tied to one another.

“May I... ask why you wanted me to say those things to you?” said the large male after a few moments.

“Hmm... I don’t know,” she began. “I guess the mind of a vanni is a mystery even to ourselves. Maybe it was my submissive side wanting to be put in its place, as it were. Consensual humiliation can be weirdly exciting if done well. Or maybe I enjoyed watching you struggle to say something dirty, and wanted to see just how much further I could push you.”

“So you are telling me you have both a sadistic and a masochistic side.”

“I guess I am!” she admitted with a joyful giggle. “Sorry that you’re stuck with such an odd vanni, Darkhowl.”

“No, do not be,” he emphatically said. “You are a wonderful vanni, ‘oddities’ and all, and I would not change any of it for anything in the world.”

“Awww, you’re ever so sweet! Thank you for putting up with my brand of crazy, my beloved wolf-mate. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It is the miracle of the soma bond, my adored angel-vanni. It will stand through anything and everything to keep our hearts beating as one.”

Up in the night sky, the moon shone brightly while the two canine lovers continued to enjoy each other’s company. Lying on the ground, still joined, they both rested their eyes with a little smile plastered on their muzzles.

“You know...” Anabelle eventually said. “When I saw you snarling at me with your fangs bared like that, my heart actually skipped a beat. That was a truly terrifying sight, Darkhowl... and I loved it. I loved the rawness of the fear that seized me in that single moment. It was thrilling in ways I wouldn’t know how to describe myself.”

“Well... you had asked me to channel my inner beast, and I did. But now that you tell me this, perhaps it would be best if I never did that again.”

“That would be a shame. I really wouldn’t mind seeing that sexy wild side of yours every now and then.”

“A-are you sure?”

“I am,” she nodded. “Sometimes it just so happens that I want to feel like I’m your prey, so don’t be afraid to put a little fear in me when we’re together like this.”

“I... will certainly try, but I might still require your help,” he noted. “It is not easy for us lycca to show aggression to vanni, even at their request.”

“I know. And don’t you worry: I’m sure I can come up with even worse degrading names for you to call me next time we do this.”

“I am certain you can, and I dread it already...”

Anabelle simply chuckled.

“Ah, well, it looks like we aren’t tied anymore, so how about we just get some sleep for now? We need to be well rested for the next leg of the journey anyway.”

“Good idea. You take the first turn, Anabelle-vanni, and I will stand watch.”

“Alright. Good night then, my fearsome beast.”

“Good night to you too, my snow-white angel.”

And so, the female wolf drifted off to sleep as her large mate remained awake to stand watch for any possible threats.

~*~

Meanwhile, in Howling Grove...

Elise, Marjorie, and Fleetpaw, all three of them in their bipedal werewolf forms, watched Littlepaws sleeping peacefully on his pillow. The first two in particular were noticeably affected by the sheer cuteness on display.

“Look at him sleep, girl. Isn’t this little guy the most adorable thing in the world?” asked the big gray she-werewolf sitting on a wooden chair.

“Careful, Margie. You don’t want to make your lycca-mate jealous, do you?” jokingly warned the brownish one with the fairly prominent pregnant belly.

“I, uh... I am not worried. A-and I will concede that it is, indeed, a remarkably cute sight,” humbly offered the slender male with a bluish coat of fur.

“See? It’s all fine, girl!” said Marjorie to Elise while pulling her meek werewolf partner into a big hug. “Fleetpaw knows he’ll always be my adorable fluffball no matter what!”

“Well, I guess soon we might have a new contender for the title of cutest thing ever,” noted the expecting lycca-vanni as she caressed the distended surface of her own stomach. “Of course, my Kicky will be ten months younger than Littlepaws, so that will give him an edge... Ah, who am I kidding? So long as they get along well, it won’t matter who is the cutest, for they will both have won.”

“Oh, you just know they’ll be best buddies! I mean, there are no other cubs in the pack at this moment, so I’m positive Littlepaws will be ecstatic to finally have someone his age to play with!”

“You’re right! Heh, now I can’t wait to see what sort of mischief they’ll get into!”

“Me either!” Marjorie concurred, still hugging a helpless Fleetpaw against her voluptuous assets.

Suddenly, Elise’s expression changed...

“I— I think Kicky might have just heard me.”

“Hm? What was that, girl?”

“Margie, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I, uh... I’m pretty sure my water just broke.”

To be continued...