Claimed

Something smelled different. It was clear the moment she'd stepped foot across the ravine. The scent was obvious and pungent, the claw-marks on the trees sending a chill up her spine. The first instinct for her was to flee the moment it was evident to her, and her mouth grew dry as she took a few more tentative steps, before stopping completely to try to make a decision about what to do. Perhaps, if treading lightly enough, she could go unmolested through the territory entirely, and come out the other side to continue her escape. She could only go forward, but was unsure if the monster that claimed this piece of land would be any less terrible than the one she'd left behind.

The day faded too quickly, and the pungent smells that had given her warning of where to avoid and where to cross tracks were quickly lost in the spell of the cold air. Her breath painted clouds around her head, and the landscape seemed to climb, enclosing her into the forest like it was itself hungry and consuming the light. The stillness and silence seemed menacing alone. The instincts that had told her to keep moving forward began to lose their confidence, and she found herself taking each step with more care, praying internally for the end of the territory to come into her horizon.

There was no rustle of leaves, baited breath, whisper of a threat. One moment she was upright and alone, the next she was on her back, the cushion of dead plant debris breaking her fall as the weight above her was constant, strong, and took hold of both her wrists. The scent of the attacker was no mystery, now in its full strength and glory, the musk of the creature surrounding her, she was acquainted with the ruler of this domain.

A deep snarl, as the male seemed content for the moment to let her writhe till she spent herself, or realized her struggle would be useless. It took a few moments and her heart kept beating out of her chest, but eventually her eyes focused to see the visage of the aggressor and felt her mouth go dry. From what she could tell he was powerful, beyond simple brute strength, and quite possibly could have been an Alpha male had he the members of a pack or pride to follow him. But the only scent she'd noticed was the one. Green-gold eyes came into focus, as she finally stopped her struggle to re-assess her options.

"So weak..." the laughter was dark and rich. "I'd almost assumed you were human when I first caught your scent."

She said nothing, not sure if she would just make the situation worse for herself. The last thing she wanted to do was goad him into doing worse. He released her wrists, but stayed, straddling her body and pinning her with his weight alone. He seemed entertained by her bemused expression, and crooned as he reached out to stroke her hair, which had come into disarray. "I had no intention of taking a mate so early in the season, but you seem to have fallen into my lap for me.

She swallowed hard, trying to find a tactic to refuse while appealing to him. "I-I'm not powerful enough for you..."

He half-smiled. "I'm not concerned about your lack of power, little one."

"No-I'm far too much trouble. The pack might even be on my heels by now..." She felt it stumble and fall from her lips and wished she could take it back that instant.

"You're unclaimed." He stated, "Which means that if you do have a group on your tail that I must claim you unless I want to make a formal challenge..." He paused, looking over her with an appraising eye, less threatening, more objective. "Have you whelped?"

She was too surprised to do anything but tell the truth. "No."

"Well," He purred, his hand gentle at her jaw, as he stroked along the curve of the bone. "I have no intention of dealing with a group of intruders to allow to explore my land, and you should know the only way they'll respect that is for me to claim you."

She shivered at the intonation he used, and tried to object. "Please, I promise if you let me go I'll leave as soon as I can and I won't be back to bother you."

He pressed his chest against hers, sniffing along the edge of her collar-bone until it met her neck. "Mmmm I don't think so. They have no claim on you, so if I do you'll be mine without question. They cannot even step foot in my territory if I present you as mine. I don't think I'll let the opportunity go to waste-"

As he finished the sentence he plunged his teeth into the skin of the neck, avoiding the more delicate blood vessels and nerves but producing a painful spasm of the muscle beneath and she couldn't restrain her yelp of pain, which neared a scream as he retracted and bit again, closer to the nape, now worrying at the mouthful of skin and muscle till she felt warm blood oozing down the neck and back. Reflexes kicked in, and she tried to launch him away from her with her feet and legs, and turning to crawl away. She traveled a mere few paces before he was on her back, now easily finding where he'd bitten her, and made quick work of the clothing separating them, stripping and ripping away the less durable of them, while the thicker pants were balled up at her ankles, hobbling her as she reached away, feeling him use her hips as an anchor as the hard sensation along her buttocks and sex made her suddenly stop and tremble.

The male had shifted in the scent he gave off, to the point where her own inner beast was responding with wild abandon, begging her to accept this powerful male to be granted entry, to mate. She fought herself, letting out a half-growl and snarled at him. Yet she couldn't help but feel it...

"You're not even in heat and you are so appealing..." He sounded almost drunk, heady on the sensation. "So hungry..."

He teased at her, rubbing back and forth as she felt herself responding unwittingly, warmth and wetness slowly growing, burning with a similar feeling he expressed. That same hunger. She keened as the fear was overcome by desire, her heart beating with the same intensity as she moved toward him, and he shoved himself inside of her in a fluid, none-too-gentle movement. He made a small sound of pleasure as he felt her surround him and slowly began to move within her, building a rapidly increased rhythm. She whimpered her mind clouded with desire to finish what he started, and separately trying to remember the fear that had driven her to run from the first aggressors that had chased her to the den of this particular beast. As she neared climax she began to feel his own mount and gripped onto whatever she could find, the pine litter digging into her fingernails and palms, while the slow ebbing of the open wound dripped along her shoulders and neck, down between her breasts, cold in the night air where the blood stained her flesh.

He came as she did, his movements more and more fervent as they climaxed one on top of the other, his body sagging onto hers as she twitched and shuddered beneath him.

A few moments of empty bliss.

She finally began to shiver, but not due to the cold. The heat of the male's body enveloped her, almost crushing her against the ground. She felt almost as if she would vomit or burst into tears, this new, foreign sensation overtaking her in a way that sex alone never had.

"What...did you...do?" Her words came out in bits and pieces. Tattered like her clothes.

"I claimed you and marked you." He grimaced, rolling halfway off of her, and scooping her closer to him. "You're mine."

So that's what it had meant. Why she had been encouraged to run as fast as she could away from those that had made such a threat. Away from the safety of the pack. To avoid this...and now with a stranger. Perhaps an entirely different species. She felt connected to him, in an intimate manner she'd never felt before, with any other creature. The feeling was heart wrenching, as it slowly dawned on her.

"So...I can't leave." Her voice was too quiet.

"We've got a lot to teach you..." He murmured. "Sleep for now. I can take you home."