U.O.T.W. Chapter 85 A Taste Of Blood

• Posted by Sotek October 30, 2015 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,057 views

   

  Hircine initially ignored Sotek’s conceited tone and instead cast his eyes on the figure knelt at his feet. His hand gripped Aela’s shoulder tightly, but not in a way to cause her any pain.

  “You have disobeyed me and his arrogance has done nothing to change my mind. However, his will and spirit is strong, as is your love for this... miserable creature. I have a new task for you, my hound... let us see how much your mate loves you in return... bring him to heel”.

  Sotek took one single pace towards him and hissed angrily at the Daedric Lord who seemed to have Aela enthralled by his spell.

  “Don’t expect me to get on my kneess, it issn’t going to happen”. As he spoke, his tail slammed down, sending a small cloud of dust rising up from its impact with the ground.

  Aela looked up at Sotek with a face full of worry and concern; however, when Hircine once again stroked her hair like a master does with his beloved pet, her features seemed to settle to a more relaxed pose. As if he knew she was somewhat calmer, Hircine stepped away, allowing Aela to stand. She immediately ran up to Sotek and pulled his hand around, forcing his back towards Hircine once more.

  “Stop it. Please... I’ve defied his will as it is... don’t give him reason to be angry... don’t make me regret my decision... please, don’t”

  Sotek glanced over his shoulder at Hircine and studied the Daedric Lord one last time before he sighed in defeat. His defiance was still as strong as ever, and he spoke loudly and clearly, leaving no room for error as to where his loyalties lay. He leaned right into Aela’s face and hissed angrily.

  “Fine. You can bow to him all you want... jusst don’t expect me to. You might follow him but I won’t...”

  Sotek glanced back at Hircine, who seemed to have a mischievous smile on his face. He slightly nodded with the smallest of gestures, as if he really understood what was going on in Sotek’s mind. Sotek sighed heavily as he stared at the ground between them before he whispered quietly.

  “I will however... follow you”

  Hircine’s voice seemed to seep deep within their souls. Aela felt her body quiver from an unseen fear, while Sotek’s own body fought against the energy Hircine displayed. The Daedra’s words echoed in Sotek’s head before his mind filled with a misty fog.

  “I find your defiance tiring. You may not bow to me, but you will kill in my name. Now, hunt for me. We will soon see just how much you can be trusted”.

  The next second, Sotek’s mind filled with the vivid imagery of when he drank Red’s blood in the Underforge all those nights before. He saw Aela’s transformation weeks ago when they cleared out the mine which lay northwards of Whiterun. Scenes of Red hunting across the plains under the twin moons flashed before him, and finally the Blood Moon blotted out everything as the taste of Red’s blood seemed to fill his mouth and pour down his throat.

  His entire body felt like it was on fire, even the scales on his back felt like they were blistering and cracking from the heat. Each limb stretched out like they were being torn off from four horses pulling him in a multitude of directions.

  He hollered out in absolute agony as he fell on the floor contorted. His body seemed to try to double up in pain and stretch out at the same time. He tried to cry out, but he couldn’t. The pain went on for what seemed an eternity, and all the while he was dimly aware that Aela was screaming at him.

  He opened his eyes to find himself lying there on his back. The pain had mercifully passed, but it certainly took its toll. He felt weak and groggy. A blurry figure slowly came into view and he found himself staring up at an auburn-haired girl who had his head resting in her lap. He lifted himself up, but he instantly felt dizzy, tired, and very hungry. Some distant memory caused him to nervously lift his left arm. He expected a shockwave of pain but there was none. To his surprise, as he looked down he realised his entire arm was thickly muscled with pure white fur.

  He was a werewolf, though not an ordinary one.

  A heavy laugh took Aela’s attention away from the Albino werewolf that now stood in front of her. She turned around to see Hircine grinning at them both.

  “He is on a tight leash. A very tight leash which I place in your hands. Don’t let go of it... prepare him. Teach him the ways of the Hunter... Huntress...”

  Aela’s mind was in a spin. She couldn’t even remember standing up. An awe-struck smile crept across her face as she examined the werewolf form who stood before her. She had spent so many nights longing for it, begging to Hircine before she slept. There were even a few times when she silently wept after she let Sotek share her bed. The longing she felt for Red to share in a hunt with Sotek’s wolf form plagued her constantly since he drank her blood. For so long she felt cheated of that life.

  Until now...

  She fell to her knees in front of Hircine as her hands fell against her beating heart in an overwhelming sense of passion and lust for the hunt.

  “Than... thank you, thank you, my Lord... I will, I will watch over him, I swear, I swear to you... Thank you...”

  As she rose to her feet, she let the lustful need of blood, of a kill, to consume her. Red transformed and stretched upwards howling out with a wanton fury of power and desire.

  The white werewolf turned to face the howling she-wolf who surprisingly stood taller than him. Her auburn-red color seemed to contrast against his snow-like fur, while her eyes shone with an intense yellow gleam. His own eyes glinted with the deep bright green of emeralds, which would have had any man stare at him as greed filled their hearts.

  Red seemed more muscular as well. She slowly walked around him, studying his form. A soft low growl called out to him demanding that he look at her. He did so willingly. As Red’s eyes moved over him, a strange sensation, a need which she had felt only once before, flowed through her body. She howled out to all who could hear as she ran across the plains and he obediently followed her. Like a moth drawn to a flame.

  He thundered along the ground as fast as he could run, but despite his best efforts, he just couldn’t keep up with the she-wolf. Soon Red had a massive lead on him. She glanced over her shoulder and growled almost like she was laughing, then her head lowered slightly to cut out the wind’s drag against her sleek form. The white werewolf whined as Red sped up, increasing the gap between them even further.

  Red came to a rapid stop and sniffed a few times while she lifted herself upright as high as she could. Her senses worked overtime and quickly honed in on the trail of her prey.

  In the distance, a small pack of wolves fed on a recently killed deer. Red could easily detect the scent of blood, along with the strong odour of the wolves themselves. With a sudden burst of speed, she was on their trail. The hunters of the deer found out what it was to be hunted. Hunted by something far larger and far more deadly than they could ever be.

  Red singled out a wolf, and then headed straight towards it. She dismissed the others as insignificant threats to her own wellbeing. They were nothing and she was all. Her claws glistened in the sunlight as they flashed across the side of the wolf. With a single swipe, Red tossed the wolf to the ground, causing blood to spurt out in a spray of gore. Broken ribs poked through fur and flesh as Red’s fangs tore off chunks of meat, which she greedily fed upon. The other two wolves fell back in disarray at the frenzy and sheer aggression which Red had shown, marking her as the Alpha of the plains.

  The white werewolf could smell Red’s scent in the air; taste the blood of her prey on the wind. His hungry eyes fixed on a target and he honed in upon it like a hawk would as it dives towards a rabbit who sat in ignorance to the hawk’s presence. The wolf, which he had fixated on, was far from ignorant though. It too had senses which picked up the oncoming werewolf easily.

  The wolf that he had marked as his prey darted along the ground in a wide arc. It had intended to come up from behind Red to avenge its fellow pack member, but that was impossible now; the appearance of the other werewolf saw to that. The wolf came out of its turn and charged headlong towards the approaching white werewolf. They slammed into each other under a flurry of claws and fangs. Blood splattered along the ground and stained the earth as clumps of white and grey fur were torn away from their respective owners.

  The white werewolf fell among the tundra’s shrubs, and for the scantest of seconds, his throat was prone. Snapping out at anything which came near him, he threw himself upright and charged back into the fight, but the fight was already over. His enemy, the wolf, lay on its side whining as its lifeblood slowed to a steady seep from a multitude of pierced holes along its neck.

  The white werewolf bit into its throat once more and savagely threw its head side-to-side, tearing out the wolf’s gullet. He just stood there licking his lips as his eyes studied the wolf’s carcass with a quiet morbid fascination.

  A hunger unlike anything Sotek had ever felt consumed his spirit and mind. He ripped into the wolf’s side and fed, ignorant of the fact that Red was approaching his blind side.

  As he sated his hunger, Red reared up behind him and howled out across the plains, warning anyone of their presence. She then came alongside him and joined in with his kill. As if he had hunted with her all his life, the white werewolf moved to the side, allowing her access to the richer meat on the wolf’s remains.  Then once they were both satisfied, they turned as one and headed out across the plains once more.

  The white werewolf picked up on a new smell. He slowed down to a steady prowl as his nose snorted a few times so he could get used to the scent. Red started growling softly at him. He initially thought that he had angered her, but he was quick to realise that not only had Red noticed the smell as well, but she had detected the scent way before he had. Her nose turned once more towards the source of the bandit’s odour and she stealthily dropped down on all four paws as she headed towards an old run-down fort.

  The white werewolf blindly ran towards the fort, leaving Red momentarily behind. Red wasn’t one to be left out, though, and she quickly stole the lead away from him. As they closed in upon the fort, one of the archers who was on lookout saw or rather heard Red’s howling cries as the two werewolves ran alongside each other.

  In his panic, the poorly-trained archer fired off several arrows in their direction, but as he never took the time to aim properly, like Aela would have, every shot missed. His panic-stricken cry alerted the few bandits that were in the courtyard and they quickly armed themselves for the upcoming fight.

  Red snarled angrily as an arrow thudded into the ground alongside her. She couldn’t help but take it as a personal attack against her. She hunted the plains, nothing dared hunt her. This was the first time that she could hunt with a member of her pack and to have some miserable stinking bandit try to shoot at her was more than she could bear. With a deafening howl, she bolted through the main archway and charged at the closest living thing she could see through her blood-hungry eyes.

  Instead of following Red, the white werewolf leapt at the wall to promptly slam into it. He fell backwards in a daze, but shook himself off and quickly recovered. He starred at the wall like he had some half-forgotten memory, but then he howled out as he followed Red’s trail and ran through the archway to see a bandit charging towards him with a deadly sword swinging in the air.

  As the bandit closed in upon him, he leaped up in an attempt to claim an easy kill, but there was nothing easy about it. Both the werewolf and the rogue traded blows and neither made  headway. That was until the bandit saw a hole in the werewolf’s defences. He thrust the tip of his sword under the werewolf’s arm as the beast swiped out wildly at the outlaw’s head. He ducked down as his sword drank the blood of his enemy.

  A gash cut into the werewolf’s side, causing him to holler out in pain. In a frenzy of anger, the werewolf charged straight into the bandit, forcing him to the ground. He tried to scream as razor-sharp claws rained down in a torrent of blows tearing into his chest like a crazed wild animal. Immediately after the bandit fell, the white werewolf fed on the corpse.

  He sniffed around the area where he stood a few times as he became accustomed to the scent of fresh blood on the wind. By the time he had finished off the one bandit, Red had killed three others. The very air was thick with the stench of their blood. If killed was the right word. The three corpses were torn asunder as if the very gods themselves unleashed their wrath against the motley collection of scum who infested the fort. If stench was the right word. If the truth be told, he found the scent of blood invigorating and exciting. He wanted more.

  He lifted his head up as high as he could and howled out with all his anger, rage, and fury. Red, who was still feeding off one of the corpses, stopped and slowly turned around to face the white werewolf. She tilted her head to the side as if she was trying to listen to his howl. It was far quieter than what she expected, even from a werewolf of his calibre and size.

  Red joined in and howled out with him, catching him off-guard as her deafening cry drowned out his. He stopped and turned towards her with a puzzled expression as he tried to work out how his own voice lacked the power hers had shown. He found himself admiring her form, her strength, her body.

  Almost as if she knew he was watching her, she moved close towards him so she could compare her bulk to his. Although her waist was the same width as his, where she stood at least a foot taller, she was far sleeker proportionately. If he was her own size, his strength would be superior to her own. But it wasn’t…

  Red tilted her head before she stretched her neck and inquisitively sniffed the top of his head. All the while, his green eyes scanned the fort’s defences.

  Out of the dark shadows, towards the rear stables, the single cry of a bandit in full steel heavy armor charged across the courtyard towards them. He brandished a sword and shield as he ran headlong into the fray.

  Sotek’s werewolf form may have been weaker and smaller than Red, but his ferocity couldn’t be disputed. In one fluid motion, he turned to meet the new threat and bound along the ground to counter the enemy. In mid-pounce, his claw swiped through the air to claim the first strike, but the blow never made contact.

  The bandit’s shield held that honour which was granted to it by being slammed into the werewolf’s maw. The white werewolf fell to the side in a daze from the blow, but somehow his paws quickly recovered. Holding his ground, he slowly prowled around the rogue, despite the fact that he was still half-dazed from the initial blow. All the white fur was up on the nape of his neck and his shoulders were hunched as he growled bitterly.

  Once again, he charged forward, leaving clouds of dust in his wake. The tip of the sword was lunged up at his chest, but the werewolf twisted in mid-air causing the weapon to cut a gash on his side rather than a far more lethal blow which the bandit had intended.

  A loud crash rang out like three bells which were struck with a Warhammer as the werewolf collided with the steel-plated chest of the bandit. The sword, which had caused the werewolf to growl out in pain, fell to the wayside with a clang, leaving the bandit laying on his back with his shield covering his chest. He pushed the shield against the beast as it rained blow after blow, but no matter how hard the werewolf tried, it could make no headway.

  A few times it managed to land a clawed strike which bypassed the bandit’s defences, but even then his claws couldn’t penetrate the armor. Desperately, the man fought as he tried to get the werewolf off him but the weight of Sotek’s werewolf was too great. They were both in a stalemate as neither could make any progress against their opponent.

  The bandit tried to hold out long enough for his hand to attempt to pull out the silver dagger which was in his belt, thereby drastically turning the tables in his favour. The werewolf was hell-bent on taking advantage of any opportunity to cause any and all wounds which would have the effect of draining the bandit’s own strength and fortitude, which, in turn, would weaken him.

  If at any time in her life that Red would have rolled her eyes, it would have been at that moment. She paused as she watched the struggle with disdainful eyes. A deep growl alerted both the bandit and the white werewolf at the same time that the whole scene was about to undergo a rapid change of pace.

  Within seconds, Red joined in the attack. Her claws tore through the metal and her teeth bit deeply into flesh. Within moments, the bandit’s body was transformed into little but bloody gore, which seeped out of the armor which could do little against Red’s raw power. Without even breaking a sweat, she tore him apart.

  As if she needed a reminder that the archer was still on the ramparts, an arrow flew past Red and slammed into the stonework. Her shoulders hunched up as she growled deeply, while she slowly and methodically approached a gangway which would lead her up to the very battlements themselves.

  The moment the archer saw the great red behemoth claw her way along the ramparts, he dropped his bow and ran. He intended to get to the main block, where there were more men inside. Men who could help him fight, but the fact that the best fighter was just torn limb from limb made him regret firing at the werewolf. He silently wished he had just hidden instead.

  A thunderous pounding of heavy paws drew closer behind him, causing the wooden platform to shake like it was caught in an earthquake. He grabbed the side rail in an attempt to stop himself from falling over while he kept running. As Red closed in upon her prey, fate intervened.

  The gangplanks the bandit was running along so frantically began to creak. Years of neglect and poor repairs played their part, but Red’s weight proved to be too much. In a deafening crash, the bandit disappeared from Red’s view as she leapt safely to the ground.

  The archer pulled himself out of the rubble and snapped his head back to where Red was watching him. She slowly proceeded to approach him as he backed away, making his way towards the door to the inner fort. As if she was playing with him, Red bound forwards but only by a foot or so. The bandit panicked and lost his footing. He fell on his back in a small cloud of dust and kicked out with his feet to try to shuffle backwards away from the evil-looking fangs which snapped together hungrily.

  He knew he was going to die; his fall was just a temporary reprieve. The doorway was too far away and the red werewolf was closing in on him. Despite how much she wanted it though, fate was fickle to her as much as it was to the bandit. He could hear Red’s heavy breathing and almost smell her breath; nonetheless he wasn’t hers to kill.

  He started to scream as a shadow fell over him. As he looked up, to his horror, the white werewolf was standing behind him. He had nowhere to go. The white werewolf’s breath was the last thing the bandit smelled. His last vision was of white fangs as they bit down savagely into his face. His skull cracked as he screamed, while the red werewolf bound forwards to join in on the kill.

  The two werewolves growled at each other trying to make the other one back away as they both ripped away at the body, systematically tearing it in two. Red pulled on a leg and dropped to all four paws as she fed like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. The white werewolf, however, dragged his share of the kill alongside Red before he started feasting on the chest.

  Red growled at the white werewolf as he moved alongside her. Her eyes seemed to fixate on him with a curious fascination as she watched him carefully, despite the fact that she kept eating. Without even thinking about it, she sidestepped slightly just to be that bit closer to him. The white werewolf stopped devouring a piece of flesh as he tilted his head to look at her. Her soft growl served its sole purpose of telling him to resume feeding. They shared the kill between them as if they were one, regardless as to what piece of the corpse belonged to whom.

  Once her hunger was sated, Red reared upon her hind legs and howled out for all her worth. Her head lowered in encouragement to the white werewolf, letting him know to howl with her. He stretched up as high as he could, but even then he couldn’t get the height that Red had, let alone the volume.

  The moment Red dropped to her four paws, she regretted her heavy consumption of the bandits’ remains. She felt bloated and sluggish, which was unusual for her. She growled angrily at herself, for she knew she was far more vulnerable in this state. She was slower and her limbs felt heavy. Werewolves, wolves, it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t gorge themselves so they could stay nimble and quick. Ready to fight.

  Red wasn’t though; all she wanted to do was sleep. She took a few steps forward, then slumped down on her side and whined pitifully to herself. The white werewolf approached her from behind and sniffed along her body so he could commit her scent to memory. She growled a warning at him, letting him know that his movements around her were grating her nerves. She already felt dizzy and each of his paws’ steps were aggravating her headache not that she had one, but she certainly acted like she did.

  The white werewolf laid down just behind Red and turned towards her like it was his natural place. With a complete lack of regard for her personal space, his front paw rested on her waist to hold her. Red reacted to his intrusion by lifting up slightly and growling at him, but then her head thudded onto the dirt and slid back against him, tucking herself under the werewolf’s jaw.

  After a few minutes of lying there upon the ground, Red flipped herself onto her back, throwing off the other werewolf’s leg. She started howling out as she began to transform back into her Nord form. Her back was arched and Red’s howling changed pitch until it formed a yell. Aela slumped down on her back then her hand covered her eyes to protect them from the sun’s glare.

  She burst out laughing and turned towards the white werewolf with a look of ecstasy on her face. As she watched him, she stopped laughing, almost like she was mesmerized. Her breathing slowed down to a more regular pace, and she smiled warmly at him as her hand lovingly stroked the side of the werewolf’s head.

  “Hey… your turn now… time to change!”

  Within a few seconds the werewolf started to transform as well but unlike Aela’s transformation, which took mere seconds, yet again his went on for what seemed like ages. At the same time, he screamed out, hollering in agony while his body contorted and twisted as it changed its shape. Once it was over, Sotek just laid there on the floor. He was wracked with pain and he felt exhausted. His limbs ached like he had muscle cramps and his head felt murky and disoriented. He lifted his arm to show that he was going to speak, but he was unable to maintain the strength in his limb and it fell to the ground like a felled tree.

  Aela’s face came into his view as she lifted his head up to rest it on her lap. She stroked his forehead, wiping away the sweat which covered his brow.

  “Take it easy… steady… do you, do you know where you are?”

  Sotek’s eyes tried to focus on her face, but it hurt his head and the effort was too much of a strain, so he gave up and blankly gazed upwards. Vague memories tried to form in his mind, but they disappeared before he could pick up any details.

  “We… we’re at the outcrop… Hircine… the bastard hit me… no… I ermm… hi, Aela… How’s it going?”

  Aela frowned slightly while she slowly shook her head in sympathy at the pathetic state he was in. She stroked his cheek with her fingertips, along with a friendly smile which masked her true feelings of concern.

  “Hi Sotek. Fancy meeting you here… you changed… into a werewolf, a white one. He’s ermm, a scrappy bastard. Bright green eyes, your eyes. So full of spirit and life”.

  Sotek closed his eyes as he lay on Aela’s lap. He could focus his mind better now and thought back over the last half hour. He recalled memories of his transformation, of raw wolf meat and the taste of Nord flesh as he and Red tore apart the bandits.

  “I remember… running alongside her. Red… she’s one beautiful specimen. You know that? So… he’s finally allowed me to transform. I’m a werewolf…”

  He closed his eyes for a few moments, but he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  He burst out laughing, making Aela jump slightly.  However, when he tried to get to his feet, he fell sideways to end up on his hands and knees. Aela held his waist and helped him to his feet by bearing some of his weight.

  “Steady. Your transformation wasn’t an easy one. Even Farkas had less trouble than you did”.

  Slowly, as the next few minutes passed, Sotek felt far steadier. He managed to take a few steps without Aela’s aid, although he still felt tired. He sat on a stone-blocked wall which formed part of the courtyard and quietly studied the fort’s layout while he tried to form his thoughts into actual questions.

  “So, what are we going to call him? I presume Red is called Red ‘cause of her fur. I’m not going to be called ‘White’, that’s for sure”.

  Aela chuckled at the thought, then shook her head at the “suggestion”. She had her own ideas and was quick to suggest them.

  “Hahaha… White! Whiteback, White Tail… makes him sound cute and fluffy. He’s small but… Albino… that’s his name. We’ll call him Albino”.

  Sotek gave her a puzzled look as he slightly raised his hand, openly objecting to the name.

  “Albinos have red eyes. You said his were green”.

  Aela’s eyes flashed at him and her voice had a seductive husky tone which she used to good effect. Whenever she used that voice against Sotek, he always caved in, allowing her to have her own way.

  “His eyes might not be red, but he certainly had eyes for Red… his name’s Albino. Why are we still discussing this?”

  A single loud ‘gulp’ told Aela all she wanted to know. Sotek shook his head slightly as he caved just like Aela expected him to do. When Sotek began to speak, he felt Aela’s hand stroke the muscles of his chest. He tried to blank the sexual energy between them, but his tail rebelled against him and the tail tip started to curve around.

  “We’re not. Albino’s a great name”.

  A much darker thought plagued the Huntress. She ended up staring at one of the bodies which was now lying in a large pool of blood. She leaned back against a wall to find herself gazing across to Sotek, while confusion and a fear which she hadn’t felt for a while returned, gripping her heart. The euphoric feeling she had felt earlier was quickly banished, pushed out by a much darker sense of foreboding which took its place.

  “My nightmare… you said you were the black wolf in my nightmare, yet you’re white!! You’re not him! You’re not the black wolf”.

  Sotek’s own ecstatic feeling was lost the moment Aela spoke. He quickly walked over to her and held her head protectively against his bare chest. His own fears returned and hit him just as hard as they did Aela. Without even realizing it, he hissed out his reply.

  “No, it would sseem I’m wrong about that. I’m confussed, Thiss just don’t make ssensse… I need a minute, and then we’ll talk”.

  He looked around the old fort and at the corpses which Albino tore into, then at the leader, which despite his best efforts, he couldn’t touch.

  “This just don’t make sense… let’s get back to the overhang, the others will be wondering where we’ve gone”.

  As they made their way back across the plains, Aela asked him about what he had said.

  “What don’t make sense?”

  Sotek stopped, then turned towards her and held her waist. He looked right in her eyes, but not in a way to make Aela feel loved. A distant memory which was buried many years ago returned. It was when her father had sat her in a chair by herself and questioned her. She felt interrogated.

  “Aela, I have to ask you something. I need a straight answer, none of your backtalk either. What did Hircine tell you to do?”

  He continued to hold her with his good hand, but his left arm fell limply to his side, causing a searing pain to shoot through his shoulder. His tail slammed down on the dirt as a result.

  A nervousness took hold of Aela and was easily conveyed in her voice. Her mind fell blank as she struggled to think of something to say.

  “Wh… what?”

  “Tell me, it’s important. I know he told you to do something and you wouldn’t do it… I don’t care what it was, but I need to know. Just what did Hircine tell you to do?”

  “He... he told me to give you up. The first night we slept together at Jorrvaskr. That was the night he came to me. He told me to let you go! But I wouldn’t… I can’t”.

  Aela’s cheeks started turning pale due to the blood draining from her face and her eyes closed tightly.

  Sotek shook his head as he tried to work out all the angles. No matter how hard he tried to place all the facts in some sort of order, everything seemed wrong.

  “But why? It don’t make sense!!”

  Frustrated, he tried once more to look at all the possibilities, but he couldn’t get his head around any of it. Just for emphasis on Sotek’s agitated state, his tail seemed to have a mind of its own and thrashed about wildly behind him.

  Aela held on to him tightly just for the slightest hopes of receiving some comfort from him instead of the cold distant Argonian which he now seemed to have become.

  “Because I lo… because I need you”.

  Sotek laughed in response to her words and shook his head dismissively.

  “No, no, no!”

  Aela went to step back in shock, but she was surprised instead. Sotek held her tightly, then kissed her full on the lips.

  When they broke off, he kissed her forehead and hugged her reassuringly.

  “Not why you didn’t, but why was Hircine afraid? Hell, I can’t even kill a bandit. I’m the smallest werewolf out of the Companions and the weakest. Definitely the slowest”.

  He sighed as he rested his chin atop her head.

  “It’s not going to get better either. Also, I’m white… of all the sodding colours to be… stealth is way out of my reach. As werewolves go, I’m quite pathetic… so why am I a threat? It don’t make sense”.

  He started to walk to the overhang again, but then he looked over his shoulder at Aela.

  “Even my changes take far longer… put it this way, would you be afraid of me?”

  Aela stopped walking and just stared at him. Slowly, she shook her head knowing deep inside that her words could hurt him, but lying just wasn’t an option. She had to tell him the truth.

  “Ermm… no, no I’m not scared of him at all. Sotek…”

  “Exactly! Hell, Red!! She killed a wolf with a single blow! When I fought the other one, we just… Played tag”.

  He held her in his arm and gave her a slight squeeze.

  “God, I miss holding you with two hands”.

  Catching Aela by surprise, Sotek started laughing and grinned at her.

  “Still there’s a plus side”.

  A small look of confusion filled Aela’s face as she tilted her head to the side. She grudgingly agreed with everything Sotek had said, despite the fact that she didn’t care whatsoever. He was a werewolf and Red wouldn’t have to hunt alone anymore.

  “Red and Albino can now hunt together?”

  Sotek nodded slyly at her.

  “Yess and now you have to do all the work”.

  With that, he smirked while his eyes traced the contours of her body.

  Aela gave Sotek a look of concern, despite the fact that she had no idea what he had meant.