FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Seduction of Seleste

From the world of the mating season

Enough

Chapter 61

A giant crystal was in the cave. Seleste couldn't stop thinking of it.

Soon after Inden's report, Kilyan and Keeno decided that everyone should eat and rest before exploring the cave further. Zee protested that he should keep watch, but Kilyan insisted that everyone should sleep. They would all need their rest, and there was no telling just how deep the cave went.

Everyone was tucking in when Seleste realized dismally that she would have to share a bedroll with LiAnh. She hadn't been allowed to bring her own. In fact, the village council had insisted that they share everything during the journey - the better to make them more warmed to each other.

Seleste had only glowered at the time. The village council was only concerned with getting an heir. It was common knowledge among the royal protectors and the council alike that LiAnh had never touched her on their wedding night.

As the fire burned low, Seleste watched LiAnh roll out their bedroll. Everyone else was settling in, and she saw Kilyan and Avi snuggling close.

Watching LiAnh as he stalled for time by adjusting the fur blankets, it became apparent to Seleste that he didn't want to share a bedroll anymore than she. She made a face. What had she done to make him so repulsed? So cold? So . . . uninterested? She wasn't eager to have sex with him, but to be shunned by ones own husband was insulting. To say the least!

As if resigned to his fate, LiAnh pulled back the sheet and climbed in. He waited patiently. Seleste hesitated, then she climbed in with him. He pulled the sheet up over them both. She firmly expected that he would turn his back and go to sleep, but he spooned her instead. As his big arm enfolded her, Seleste's blinked.

"LiAnh . . ."

"It's cold," he said matter-o-factly. "Thought I'd keep you warm."

"Thank you," Seleste whispered. She could feel the brush of his soft cock and rippling belly against her. It was the first time she had ever felt his body against her like this.

"What did he do to you?" LiAnh whispered darkly, as if he would cut Keme's head off at her word.

"Keme?"

"You know who I'm talking about, stop stalling."

"He didn't do anything," Seleste said irritably. "Anyway, why do you care? You don't want me."

"Seleste . . ."

"You don't!" she snapped.

He sighed, and she felt his hot breath hit the back of her hood. "That's not it. It's not that I don't want you."

"Then what is it?" Seleste demanded. "I - I mean, I'm not any happier about this arrangement than you, but at least you could talk to me!"

"I know . . ." he said miserably. "But you aren't the only one I've mistreated. It's been really hard since . . . since she . . . died."

Seleste went very still. "Who? Who died?"

"My wife."

There was a long pause as the words sank in. LiAnh was in mourning. Now the reason he hadn't touched her suddenly made sense. It didn't excuse his other behavior, but it made sense.

Frowning sadly, Seleste rubbed her paw over the muscles of his arm. "I'm sorry, LiAnh."

"Ehawae was the moon and the sun. She was everything. I loved her since I was a boy. She . . . . couldn't give me children. But we had each other. And then . . . the fires." LiAnh paused and took an angry, ragged breath. "She couldn't get out. And everyone was so busy killing each other, no one helped her. I was out on patrol when all of it started. I was coming home. . . ." He heaved another breath and said apologetically, "You don't want to hear about this."

"No, it's okay," Seleste whispered. "I lost someone that day too."

"I'm sure you lost a lot of someones," LiAnh said sympathetically. Seleste was surprised when he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, my wife," he whispered.

Seleste closed her eyes. "Goodnight, my husband."

But Seleste had no intention of sleeping. She had to get a look at that crystal! She had been called Daughter of the Crystals twice now, and now there was a giant crystal nearby! And she was certain that sly old wolf - or whatever he really was - had put her in this cave so she would have to go to the crystal. All the pieces were slowly falling into place. Now it was up to her to help the puzzle along.

The sound of gentle breathing rose and fell in the dim firelight. Seleste slowly sat up and glanced around. Everyone appeared to be sleeping. Kilyan and Avi were snuggled in close, smiling as they held each other. Keme slept on his back in his bedroll near them, and not too far away, Keeno did likewise. On the other side of the fire, Mio, Zee, and Inden were all dozing lightly. This was her chance.

Seleste stared at LiAnh a moment to make sure he was really sleeping, and looking down at his sleep-absorbed face, she was reminded of the night she had slipped away from Ahote. Unlike Ahote, however, LiAnh really appeared to be sleeping.

Seleste carefully slipped from the bedroll, and rising to her feet, she glanced around. One of the snuffed torches lay near Keme. She carefully took it up, then lit it on the fire. Torch in paw, she crept to the back of the cave. And the closer she drew to that dark tunnel, the more aware she became of the darkness pressing in around her. The fire and her companions seemed to drop further and further away.

Seleste entered the cold tunnel and suddenly felt foolish for going off alone. What if she fell down a hole like Keeno said? Or hurt herself? What if the crystal was dangerous? But there was only one way to find out, and that was to go to it.

The tunnel widened out the deeper Seleste followed it, until at last she came to a large cavern. On the other side was another passage, but in the center . . . Seleste halted, and she gasped so loudly, her hood slipped back on her mane. Her hood fell away entirely as she approached the crystal. It was huge. It towered in the center of the room, a massive white rock of near-transparent material. She could see her own reflection approaching as she moved.

As Seleste drew close to the crystal, it suddenly began to glow, and she was aware of a face peering out at her. A male's face! Seleste halted and dropped the torch.

"MeRorr!"

It was indeed MeRorr. His ghostly form stood with haunted eyes in the crystal, gazing down at her sadly. Dark gray, tall, handsome, and with a bloody stain in his side where they had stabbed him - everything she remembered was painfully, clearly depicted in the crystal. Seleste's eyes darted all over. Surely, this was a trick, some magic or her tired mind!

Seleste took a frightened step back and shook her head. "MeRorr . . .?" Her voice was a tiny sob. "Is it really you?" Tears rose to blind her.

No response. He stared at her with haunted eyes, and before she knew it, the crystal had stopped glowing entirely. MeRorr was gone.

Seleste looked up at the crystal angrily. Why had it stopped working now? She saw a reflection in the crystal behind her and whirled around. LiAnh was standing there holding a torch. A mild panic gripped her as she wondered if he had seen anything, but the look of relief on his face said he hadn't.

"There you are," LiAnh said and pushed his free paw back through his mane. He came to Seleste and frowned at her. "You have any idea - I didn't know what had happened to you!"

"I'm sorry," Seleste said sincerely. "I just wanted to see . . ." She turned back to the crystal and frowned. Why had it stopped working? Because of LiAnh?

LiAnh gave a low whistle and came to stand at her side. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said happily. "Inden, Zane, and I couldn't stop staring at it."

"Zane?" repeated Seleste.

LiAnh glanced at her. "Oh yeah - Zee's name is actually Zane, after his dad. We all call him Zee for short."

Seleste nodded. "Ah."

LiAnh studied Seleste's face a moment, then frowned. "You've been crying."

"N-No," Seleste stammered. She quickly wiped her face. She felt foolish for trying to hide it. Of course she'd been crying! Her voice was hoarse and her face was wet. She tried to turn away, but LiAnh lifted her face by the chin.

"What's the matter?" he insisted. "Keme? Want me to punch his lights out?"

Seleste laughed sadly. "You couldn't if you tried."

LiAnh shrugged. "I know. But I'm not beneath making the gesture."

Seleste laughed again. Looking up at him, she realized he wasn't all that different from Keme. They had the same silly sense of humor, some of the same handsome features, the same height and build - they even had the same pretty shape of Kilyan's eyes. But LiAnh was always so miserable and withdrawn that it was hard to notice his humor. She didn't even want to imagine what he was going through after losing his wife. Not that she didn't know. She thought of MeRorr in the crystal again and stared into it, willing him to come back.

"I know it seems like . . . I hate him," LiAnh said after a pause.

Seleste looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Seems?"

LiAnh laughed flatly. "Alright, fine, maybe I do hate him. But deep down, I know nothing is really his fault. I'm just so angry and . . . alone. I need my father's support right now, I need him. But all Dad thinks about is Keme. It's like he doesn't even notice me over here with a spear through my chest." LiAnh heaved a sigh and sat before the crystal with his legs folded. He set his torch on the ground nearby.

Seleste sat likewise, thigh to thigh, and set her torch near his. She looked at LiAnh and suddenly felt guilty: he was slumped over and he looked so . . . torn. Here he was going through hell and going through it alone, and she had been so wrapped in Keme, she hadn't made the effort to reach out to him. Comforting him in moments of weakness and pain was her job: she was his wife.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to find out what was the matter," Seleste said.

"I'm sorry I was such a prick I couldn't be bothered to tell you," LiAnh returned.

Seleste laughed. "Apology accepted."

After a pause, Seleste said into the silence, "Kilyan and Avi care more than you know."

LiAnh snorted and glowered at the crystal. "Do they?"

Seleste looked at him incredulously. "Of course! They're both worried for you. I see it in their faces. They know what you're going through, LiAnh. They care, they aren't blind. After knowing your father, I can say I've never known a male who cared about his children more . . . and I say this even after having known my own father."

LiAnh blinked at her. "Chief Misae wasn't that bad, certainly."

Seleste cast him a look and laughed humorlessly. "When I was a little girl, I thought my father made the sunrise. Meleste's betrayal made me finally realize . . . my father had neglected his other daughters in favor of me. Meleste was obviously the one who resented him most for it, but my sister Syizma . . . she often complained that she felt ignored as well. Her complaints were usually jokes to tease me for being favorite, but I . . . I knew how she truly felt."

"So . . . where are the other princesses?" LiAnh asked curiously. "When we quelled the uprising, the village council discussed trying to locate one, bring her home, put her on the throne. But no one seemed to know where any of them were. The one over in the winter village would never be allowed to come back: she was given as tribute to bring peace."

"Yes, that was my sister Princess Luyua. They sent her before I was even born, when Dad was still very young and the war was coming to an end. As for the others . . . I was so young when each was married off. And they never tell us where anyone is sent. It's always hushed up, in case a princess wants to run away to her sister, you know?"

"So you have no idea? Not even an idea where Syizma is?"

Seleste shook her head sadly and fiddled with her fingers. "No," she said. "I still remember the day they sent her away. We held each other and cried. I was so scared for her. Daddy had gone on by then, and we both knew Meleste had bartered Syizma off to some cruel male eons away."

LiAnh's eyes danced over Seleste sympathetically, and she knew he was thinking what difficult lives princesses of the summer tribe must've led. There were the luxuries and the comforts, of course, but those were simply privileges within the confines of their gilded cages.

". . . why were you crying?" LiAnh asked after a pause. When she looked at him, he was frowning with concern.

Seleste smiled at him fondly. "Why do most wolves cry? I'm unhappy."

"Part of that is my fault, I know," he said apologetically. "What can I do to . . . I mean, I want to make it up . . ." He fell silent and looked at her.

Seleste was surprised. And truly touched. She didn't know what to say.

"Well, here you've made the effort to comfort me," LiAnh said and shrugged. "What would you like? Name it."

Seleste folded her arms and smirked. "Anything?"

LiAnh smiled, "I'm going to regret saying that, aren't I?"

"Be nicer to Keme!" Seleste said at once.

LiAnh glowered. "And she whipped out the knife . . ."

"Really, is it so much to ask? He's your brother! And as you said, what you're going through isn't really his fault! I'm not asking you to - to give him your bedroll and sprinkle flower petals in his path --"

Seleste was surprised when LiAnh laughed. It was the first time she had ever heard him genuinely laugh - no sarcasm, no bitterness.

"Well, I'm not!" Seleste protested. She smiled. "And why are you laughing at me?"

LiAnh's bright eyes watched her fondly. "You're cute. I've spent so much time walking around bleeding out my chest . . . I . . ." he shook his head, "didn't even notice."

LiAnh's eyes searched Seleste, warm with desire. She was suddenly very glad she was clad in her shawl and skirt. What must she look like to him, sitting there with her arms folded under the swell of her bosom, her pale mane a mess around her face? The slit of her skirt fell away around her thighs. She adjusted the skirt shyly, and it occurred to her that he had never seen her naked: she had insisted on sleeping in her shawl on their wedding night. He hadn't even noticed or cared. But now . . .

"Well, will you do it?" Seleste demanded and looked abruptly away.

"Okay, Seleste," LiAnh said in amusement. "I'll stop . . . lunging on Keme. And glaring at him. That good enough?"

Seleste looked at him skeptically and raised an eyebrow. "It's a start."

LiAnh cleared his throat. "Good."

Seleste was relieved when he got to his feet. For a moment there, it had looked as if he was going to come on to her. The way his eyes had searched her body, silently undressing her . . . it made her . . . Seleste swallowed hard and got to her feet as well.

They took up their torches and went back to the front of the cave. Everyone there was still sleeping. Seleste could tell that perhaps Zee was faking: he had probably followed LiAnh just to check on him, then had slipped back into his bedroll.

LiAnh snuffed their torches in a pile of dirt, then pulled back the top sheet of their bedroll for Seleste and said playfully, "After you."

Seleste smiled as she climbed in. LiAnh settled in behind her, and the warmth of him engulfed her as he pulled the sheet up to their shoulders. She smiled when his arm closed tight around her and his nose nuzzled in her mane. What would it be like, she wondered, to know LiAnh between her thighs? Keme had moved on. Maybe it was time for her to move on as well.

Gentle breathing hummed around the cavern, and Seleste was slipping off when she felt a soft slap against her tail and buttocks. Her eyes sprang open. LiAnh moaned in her ear: he was hard.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'll turn over --"

"Don't!"

"Seleste . . .?"

She carefully took his big paw and slid it under her shawl. She heard him moan again when his paw closed hard on her tit. He started massaging. His lips buried kisses in her neck, then his other paw smoothed down her hip to her skirt. He reached under, and his knee nudged her thighs apart. His fingers gently stroked her lips. Seleste twisted against him as he fondled, kissed, and groped her. His big fingers carefully massaged her clit, and then he spread her pussy lips, and she felt the first sudden thrust of his cock.

Seleste bit her lip to keep from crying out, and with his lips moving against her long neck, LiAnh whispered and moaned as her pussy became wetter and deeper, lengthening and moistening to further admit him.

They twisted together under the fur sheet, and Seleste knew that if anyone awoke, they would see their bodies wrestling and know exactly what was happening. But she suddenly didn't care. She reached back and cupped LiAnh's face - then kissed him hard, tongue and all. He fucked her deep and slow - the exact way that his tongue pushed against hers. When his touching and kissing became too much, she felt her clit clench hard against their joined sexes. She gave a soft cry and squirted under the sheet. LiAnh cried out in her ear as he came inside.

Pulsing all over with pleasure, Seleste sagged against LiAnh and smiled as he stroked her mane. She closed her eyes and snuggled against his chest, and when she glanced up at him, he was smiling and content. She kissed him on the cheek and his bright eyes grew warm.

Falling asleep against LiAnh, Seleste realized that she didn't have to be in love with him. But she could be his friend. And maybe somehow . . . that would be enough.