Wolf Mountain {Darkest Nightmare & Vertigis}

Holly sucked in a large ragged gulp of air as Logan finally pulled out, bringing a froth of saliva and cum over her lower lip as he did so. It spilled down into her cleavage sloppily, although at the moment all she could think was breathing. Her chest was still heaving as she looked up and saw his big hand come down towards her still stinging cheek, and flinched reflexively. This time he didn’t slap her though. He simply petted her face while cooing out words of praise. …bastard… she thought angrily, but was too exhausted and dazed to do much other than kneel there in front of him and accept his compliments.

All the while his hand kept pumping his thick length intently. He said something about opening her mouth and extending her tongue, and she shook her head slowly. “What? No, Logan, please q-” The first spurt slashed wetly across her face, leaving a thick glob of hic cum hanging from her forehead. His cock continue to spasm excitedly as he groaned like an animal, and soon he was painting her stunned features with splash after splash of white goo. It quickly gummed on her lashes, making it hard to see, and he made sure to aim several heavy blasts in her mouth as she opened it, more to protest than obey his orders.

Holly was sputtering by the time he was finished, bubbles of cum forming on her lips. Sitting half-naked by the lakeshore covered in his salty warm jism, she could only listen numbly as he praised her for being such a ‘good bitch’. Reaching a hand up, she wiped out her eyes before spitting globs of his cum onto the grass rather than swallowing it. Her body was almost trembling with helpless rage. The asshole had practically choked her with his fat cock and now he’d sprayed her with his sticky goo, getting it in her hair and eyelashes, knowing full well the others would see it, unless she could wash it all off in the lake. It was not only gross, it was incredibly selfish. As mad as his rough treatment made Holly, what was even worse is that he’d just gotten off while leaving her perfectly frustrated. He’d intentionally worked her up until she was ready to fuck him despite his overbearing behavior, and had instead been gagged with his cock until almost crying, after which he emptied his load all over her flushed face and body, offering her with no relief whatsoever.

Flinging the sticky strings of his cum from her fingers, before wiping them off on the grass, she reached her hand up under the belt and tried to jerk it roughly over her head. “You’re an asshole, Logan, you know that?” she managed to say, voice still weak and shaky from her frightening experience. “You could have fucking hurt me. This was complete bullshit. I hope you liked it because it’s definitely all your getting for the rest of the trip…” And that was even assuming they still had a relationship. She wasn’t too sure. Unless he had something more to say to her than ‘good bitch’ then he’d be sleeping in the tent alone that was for sure. She’d rather stay in the car at this point.

…sort of…

****

“No, Ethan, I said…” Tara started whine as he refused to even turn her around again so that she could face him, instead resting his heavy weight against her curved back, effectively pinning her in place. She’d waited so long to have things just the way she wanted and now he was deciding everything all at once. Her protests were cut short though by the sensation of his warm length rubbing against her slick folds. He was carefully positioning the tip before her entrance, breath ghosting over her neck and cheek as he nipped at her ear. She followed the sound of his thickening voice, left eye rolling so as to meet his intent gaze, large and vulnerable and quite innocent in this moment. Tara was more than a little confused at how things had gotten so completely out of her control, such that she was still bound to the tent wall, her hands a tangle as her fingers stretched uselessly, chest and belly pressing against the cold ground while her normally sweet sensitive boyfriend prepared to fuck her at his own pace in his own way.

It felt sooo good though. As the tip finally entered her pussy, the head scraping past the sensitive bundles of nerves that had been ignited by his fingers, she gasped loudly. “…ah…Ethan…ah…!” She continued to make small needy noises in this manner, occasionally whispering his name between them, as his fingers wrapped around her slim shoulders, letting her feel his strength. Her own hips raised ever so slightly, positioning her knees up under her to allow him better access, steadying herself as he slowly began to push deeper into her tight depths.

“Don’t…don’t…” Tara whispered back at him, suddenly finding her voice again as she screwed her eyes shut. Her body wriggled under his own causing their warm flesh to rub together as he pressed down onto her slender frame. “…stop…” Her breathy moan carrying through the tent with increasing volume, increasing urgency. “…don’t stop…”

Logan was in a post-orgasmic haze, pleased at both his sweet cum and the sight of the very visible remnants of his lust painted all over Holly's face and breasts. Face fucking her had been fun, very fun, and he was already thinking of what else he was going to do to Holly this weekend, when he realized she was started to grow angry. Being a little dazed from his rough treatment was understandable, he would have expected her to maybe be slow to obey his commands, but outright disobedience was a bit of a surprise.

Perhaps this girl had more fight than he expected?

The thought was actually a pleasant one as it meant that Logan's fun was going to continue. Bringing her to heel so quickly had been unrealistic, he supposed, but in his earlier altered state of mind, horny, intoxicated with dominating her, and so close to cumming, he'd started to assume that she was already the little fuck toy he wished to create. Now, drained of his cum and recovering, he felt like a drunk that had sobered up and discovered his date wasn't quite the looker he remembered taking home. Not that Holly wasn't attractive, just that she wasn't quite the accommodating little slut he'd fantasized he'd already broken her into becoming.

"All I'm getting for the rest of the trip?" Logan replied, giving her a smug grin. Not only was she pissed at him, mouthing off and trying to tug his belt free from her neck, but she was spitting his cum out of her mouth like she was disgusted by it. He squatted down before her, massive frame still dwarfing hers despite being at her level now. "I'd be more concerned about that being all you'll get. I don't mind fucking your mouth, but I know you'd prefer my cock in other more appreciative holes."

To emphasize his point, Logan's hand flew out and cupped her mound again. She was still warm and damp, her slit likely still needing a release even though Holly's brain was trying to undo all of Logan's earlier teasing. He touched her for only a brief second before he reached up and undid his belt from around her neck, pulling it off her forcefully and tossing it to the ground.

"Now, my cum. I think you missed a drop," Logan said, reaching up to grab her hair again with a strong hand. He pushed her head down to the ground, burying her face in roughly the area she had just spit his sperm, smearing her cum covered cheeks in the grass as her ass was thrust up behind her. Logan shifted, tugging her shorts and panties free from her legs as he kept her pinned her face down. Then he raised his hand and began to spank her her luscious ass.

"I think..." SMACK. "You need..." SMACK. "To realize..." SMACK. "That I'm in charge." SMACK. "You'll do what I say, and I'll do whatever I want."

Logan released her and stood up, giving her reddened ass cheeks a long glance, before striding towards the lake with a mocking laugh. He didn't even give her a backwards glance. A spanking was always a nice, humiliating discipline to administer, giving a grown woman a little girl's punishment. Plus asses, and Holly's in particular, were just so damn nice to smack. He was confident Holly wouldn't want to make him more upset after those blows, although part of him was looking forward to her trying to disobey him again. She had no where to go, no place to hide, and it was night out. He was going to make her his bitch, one way or the other.

"I"m going to rinse off. I want you to clean yourself up with your mouth by the time I get out. Then maybe I'll let you get in the lake."

---

Ethan wouldn't have stopped even had Tara protested, the feeling of her tight walls gripping his aching manhood was just too amazing for him to pull out. But, as he inched deeper into her warm, wet embrace, he could feel her responding. Little shifts in her body hinted that she was trying to help him, not block his teasing, raising her hips against his weight to give his cock better access to her slit and slightly rocking her body in time with his burrowing pushes. Her words, when they finally came, were not even needed. Ethan knew she wanted him to fuck her, she needed him to take her right now, position be damned, just as much as he wanted her.

"Oh yes, fuck.. Tara, I'm in your cunt, I'm fully in you," Ethan groaned out, fingers squeezing her shoulder as he bottomed out in her pussy with a final buck of his hips. Being buried in her like this, balls deep, was almost too pleasurable for him to even think of ever moving. Her inner muscles were tight around his girth, squeezing his entire cock like a tight, hot sleeve. Every breath she took, or twitch in her body, send little shocks of pleasure through his rod. He could almost stay like this forever, but the need to cum finally spurred him to action.

Ethan shifted suddenly, turning their bodies slightly to the side so his weight wasn't fully on her and giving him more range of motion in his hips. The elbow he was resting on slid under her stretched torso, that hand finding a breast to hold onto as he reset his grip on her shoulder. He was going to need to brace her well because he knew that when he finally started fucking her he wasn't going to gentle. All of his pent-up frustrations, at being teased by Tara, being teased by Logan, and the frustrating insinuations in both their attitudes that he wasn't man enough to take what he deserved from the skinny brunette, were fueling his lust now and turning it into a bonfire of raw, untamed passion. He couldn't control himself anymore, he was going to fuck her like a wild animal.

"I'm going to fuck you right now Tara, from behind, and so hard that you'll never want to be fucked any other way," Ethan growled into her ear, his voice deep and husky with passion. And then he started to move his hips, a long slow pull out of his cock, followed by a hard, fast thrust back in. He rocked her petite body with every stroke, only his hands keeping her from bouncing away with the force of his motion. And every stroke got faster, harder, and deeper, like his cock was growing as he fucked her, pushing further into her and stretching her tight passage more. Until finally, he was slamming into her with reckless abandon, spearing his thick meat into her dripping wet slit, spraying juices and filling the air with loud, wet thwacking sounds from their violent union. Ethan's moans and murmured dirty words were only audible because his mouth was right on Tara's ear, and he grunted them between ragged breaths as their bodies shook from the pounding of his cock. "Mhmm.. mhmm... yes.. mhmm.. fuck... yeah.... you like it.. don't you? You love my cock fucking your cunt... and all while you are tied up and helpless. You love being mine."

When Logan knelt down in front of her, Holly immediately felt a little lump of fear in her stomach. The lats rays of the setting sun were still to his back and his sizable frame cast a dark shadow over her much smaller one. That fear wasn’t just the natural anxiety that came with being towered over in such an extreme way though. At five three, Holly had always been small. She was used to most of her boyfriends being taller, although Logan was undoubtedly the most physically intimidating of them all. The fear in this case was a rational response. She could no longer be sure what he might do, and he had made it increasingly clear that she didn’t have a say in it either way. Maybe the game was over now that he’d come so explosively all over her face, and made the point that he felt he had to make. But maybe it wasn’t.

Her body tensed as he reached down to grab her sopping mound again, rough fingers brushing over her lips, gathering a bit of her moisture at the tips. Holly felt her face burning. He didn’t need to say anything. His message was perfectly clear. Her words were saying one thing and her pussy was saying another, and it was obvious which he felt carried more weight. In truth a small shameful part of her wanted to say something as he pulled his hand away too, wanted to ask him, beg him if necessary, to do something for her instead of just ending things here. Would that make a difference? Would it make the rest of his brutish behavior suddenly okay? No, no of course it wouldn’t, she told herself. But it would change her feelings somewhat. At least a little. She wouldn’t feel so used and discarded for one…

Logan slipped the notch on the belt and removed it from her neck. Holly assumed that meant things were over. Even though she was still mad, she let out a deep sigh, relaxing a little, letting her guard down. This left her completely unprepared when his fingers suddenly twisted themselves into her messy blonde locks and shoved her face first into the puddle of spit and cooling cum that had collected on the grass. “NMmmff!” she squealed, reaching one hand back to slap at his wrist while the other held her upright. He drug her up and down roughly over the slick patch, smearing her already messy face with dirt and slime. His other hand jerked roughly at her shorts and panties, tearing them free to leave her ass and legs completely exposed while her toes dug into the dirt for purchase. Too concerned with trying to break the grip on her hair, she was entirely unaware of the way her rounded little bottom was thrusting up towards Logan, wiggling back and forth as she struggled.

“AH!” The first slap struck hard and sudden, a sharp crisp spank that carried along the shoreline, over the sounds of singing crickets and gently lapping water. He struck her several more times in quick succession, words emphasizing that he hadn’t been joking earlier. He expected her obedience. He expected her to be his bitch. As he walked away laughing, her cheeks glowing bright red, the imprint of his thick fingers visible where they'd struck, she felt it too, dominated, owned, a bitch in all the ways that mattered. Holly was crying softly as she slowly sat up. She hated doing that, she hated feeling weak, but this was most helpless and degraded she ever been made to feel in her entire life. That her pussy was still moist to the touch only made it worse. It was like being betrayed twice, one by Logan, and again by herself.

Her chest was heaving rapidly as she watched him walk into the lake, splashing the water across his broad chest as he cleaned away the sweat. Holly felt a mess, and badly wanted to wash off as well. She wasn’t going to lick up his cum though like he'd ordered. Not after all of this. He was out of his mind. He’d taken things way way too far. She knew there wasn’t any way he could stop her from entering the lake herself but that fear came flashing back just the same. If she disobeyed him…he might do anything, including another spanking, or perhaps even holding her head under the water as punishment. What she needed to do was get away.

Silently fuming, but making as little noise as possible, she grabbed her clothes, and hurried away from the lake’s edge. Her direction was aimless. Holly didn’t want to go back to the camp, not in this state, naked and covered in Logan’s drying cum. It was the first place he’d look anyways. Instead she headed towards a nearby thicket of trees, nothing more specific in mind than to escape him, and find a place to gather her thoughts and clean herself up the best she could. And then…

She didn’t know what. She would figure it out later.

"You'll come around, just be a good girl and follow my orders and I'll make you cum. I can already tell you'll enjoy being my bitch, won't you?" Logan was talking over his shoulder as he splashed himself with the cool water. The lake was brisk, but not freezing, and perfectly refreshing after the long hike in and his torrid session with Holly. "Isn't that right? What the- Holly? FUCK! HOLLY! Come back here! Shit."

Logan had turned to find the shore empty, with Holly nowhere in sight. His sharp eyes scanned the tree line frantically and he caught a brief glimpse of her pale form scurrying into the woods. He cursed again, splashing the water in frustration. Of all the things he wanted to do tonight, chasing Holly through the woods was definitely not on the list. He started to wade out quickly, but slowed his pace and chuckled, shaking his head. What was the rush? Where was she going to go? At night, and half dressed, she wasn't going to make it back to the parking lot alone. He could probably just wait for her in the camp if he was really lazy, but she was probably close by. He figured she would likely just wander a couple hundred feet away and cry, hoping he'd find her and console her. He'd been rough, shockingly so, and she was still struggling with the wild part of her that had responded to his domination as if by instinct, and the civilized part of her that likely viewed him as a monster.

With a sigh, Logan exited the water and shivered slightly as the cooler night air touched his wet skin. Given he was still dripping, he didn't bother with pulling on his jeans, but picked up his belt to carry. Swinging that strip of leather like a whip, he walked nude towards the woods, aiming towards the set of trees that he had last seen Holly disappear into. He'd have to invest some time calming the girl down, soothing her, and hopefully setting the table for a bit more fun later. The smart and stubborn ones, like Holly, could be tricky, so he'd have to read her carefully. A spooked horse had to be lured back in gently before you could saddle it anew, and Logan was definitely going to ride again tonight.

The full moon was rising higher in the night sky, glowing a bright orange red as it still caught the hidden rays of a sun that was now long set. Moonlight shone down on the lake and shore, casting an amber glow that was almost as bright as daylight to Logan's eyes, but within the woods it was much darker, with only small patches of moonbeams filtering through the overhanging pines. Dark moon shadows shifted on all sides as a light breeze stirred the pine boughs above. The air was filled with the sounds of crickets and an occasional hoot from an owl, but beneath those noises was a deep and heavy silence, like the forest was holding its breath.

No, Logan didn't think Holly would make it far by herself in this setting.

"Holly!" he called out as he crept forward, carefully placing his bare feet with every step as the forest floor was littered with sharp pine cones. "Holly! Come back baby, I'm sorry. Come back!"

---

The wolf rose slowly from the boulder it was sitting on as the human approached. It was almost jet black, with blazes of silver grey on its belly and around its muzzle. Its eyes, light blue normally, glowed yellow and appeared as large as saucers as they reflected the moonlight that shone brightly into the small clearing. Downwind, of course, it had smelled the female coming several minutes before she actually stepped out of the trees and saw it.

As it stood, its unnatural size became fully evident. The creature was a hulking, chest high mass of black fur and powerful muscle. There was no mistaking what it was, way too big for a coyote and larger than any common dog. But this beast was also larger than any normal wolf, a fearsome monster out of some dark nightmare.

The eyes it fixed on the female were intense and the wolf's body went taut as its head lowered and ears swiveled back, looking like a coiled spring about to release. Its nose wrinkled as it sniffed, smelling the strong sexual musk of a human female and the thick, salty smell of human male cum on her body. The skin on its muzzle curled back slowly and exposed a row of fangs that glittered bone white in the amber moonlight.

And then it growled.

The noise was loud, deep, and powerful, an almost palpable vibration that the human might feel as much as hear. And the emotion in that growl was unmistakeable, the wolf was angry, very angry.

It twitched, almost leaping forward, but instead arched its back and raised its head up high, pointing its mouth straight up at the moon. Posed on the rock, the black beast let out a blood curdling, incredibly loud howl. Wolf howls could carry for miles, and the piercing strength of this one close up would be terrifying. In the distance, not that far away, an answering howl was given. The cries fused together in an ancient harmony that these woods hadn't heard in generations. But all the animals that moved in the forest that night, little or small, from deers to possums, instinctively knew what that fearsome song meant.

The pack was hunting. Wolves were on the prowl tonight.

Holly knew as soon as she left the camp area that this wasn’t a good idea. Under the trees' thick canopy, it was much darker than it had been by the shore with the moonlight reflecting off the lake. Leaning against the trunk of one towering pine, she brushed the dead needles from her bare feet, noting a couple nicks and scratches on the heel. Dumb. Running off half-naked this way. The cuts were little things but they could easily get infected out here if not cleaned. Plus the mosquitoes were already gathering around her in clouds, and she waved a hand before her face irritably before tugging her underwear and shorts back on. Her top followed despite the yuckiness of wearing it over Logan’s still drying cum. Her tennis shoes were still back by the camp somewhere.

There was pretty much no way she was going to be able to navigate the dark trails back to the parking lot tonight. She could very easily get lost, and after what the park ranger had told them that wouldn’t be very smart. Plus Holly hadn’t even eaten yet and her little session with Logan had left more than tired after their long hike. There was also the question of whether or not she could just leave Tara. She may not like the girl but she didn’t deserve to be left out here alone with Logan and Ethan both, especially after what she’d overheard between them. There was really no telling what might happen.

Holly didn’t want to go back though, with her tail tucked between her legs. She’d had enough of Ethan’s macho shit for one night, and that would only further encourage him. Hearing his voice calling from the edge of the tree line, she instinctively started moving again in the opposite direction, heading further into the forested area around the lake. As long as she didn’t stray too far from the water, she figured she should be able to find her way back eventually without much trouble. She still needed a chance to wash off anyways. Preferably alone.

Another five, maybe ten, minutes passed with her picking way gingerly over the rough ground and its layer of prickly cones and knotty roots, before she entered a clearing. A full moon shone down brightly through a wide hole in the boughs, lighting up a grassy area strewn with several large rocks from the nearby mountains. It seemed an excellent place to rest up, and she hadn’t heard Logan calling for awhile, meaning maybe he’d gone back or lost her trail. Part of her hoped that he was upset, maybe even a little scared at her disappearing this way. He might learn his lesson not to take her for granted again or push things too far. She could wait here for a little bit then walk back to the shoreline, clean up, and head into camp on her own. If Logan was left still wandering the woods looking for her in worry then it only served him right after his treatment.

It was a decent plan. At least until she realized she wasn’t alone. The dark pelt of the wolf had blended so well with the dim light that she hadn’t even seen it seated atop the largest of the boulders. When it finally shifted, fur rising up in a ridge along its back as it scented the air, she jumped, watching as it bared its long stark white fangs. God, it was huge, Holly reflected, stumbling backwards, very nearly losing her footing when her back struck the trunk of a small pine. Fear roiled off her small body in waves as its back legs tensed, preparing to leap across the clearing before suddenly throwing its head upwards to let loose a terrifying howl. The sound reverberated through the trees, and Holly clapped her hands over her ears, eyes darting around the surrounding dark as several voices seemed to answer.

Then she ran. Fleeing headlong back the way she came, or at least the way she thought she’d came, bare feet smashing through the heavy foliage, needles and fallen limbs pricking her painfully. A hidden log caught her ankle and sent her headlong into the tall grasses, where she scrabbled back up again, continuing to run, uncertain whether or not she was being pursued. Crashing through a thicket of tangled overgrowth, Holly struck something hard and nearly fell unto her behind, a shriek catching in her throat. Reaching upwards for purchase to steady her balance, she felt something grab unto her wrists and suddenly realized it was Logan.

“Oh, God… oh, Jesus…” she panted, some of the tension immediately leaving her body. That she had been intentionally dodging him only moments ago was forgotten now in the pure relief she felt upon seeing him again. “There was a wolf…back there…huge…like…massive. Almost as tall as my shoulder, I swear to you. It was right there…it almost jumped on me…” Burying her face against the hard plane of her chest, Holly took a moment to catch her breath, knowing she was safe now. Even if it had pursued her this far, the scent and sight of Logan would surely send it running. “I can’t believe it came so close to the camp… We should check on Ethan and Tara…” There was a serious expression as she stared up at him in the dark, their past argument apparently forgiven or at least forgotten for the moment. “…thank God you came looking for me… it was…I swear it was going to attack me, Logan.”

The crashing noise of Holly running wildly through the forest was easy to hear and Logan maneuvered slightly to get directly in her path. She was definitely scared, glancing off trees, hitting limbs, and finally bouncing directly into Logan's burly frame and falling backwards in surprise. The hand that grabbed her wrist was strong and he easily pulled her back up to his side, one hand resting lightly on her waist.

"Holly, it's me... it's ok," said Logan, strong arms encircling her as she buried her face against his bare chest. She'd tried to clean herself up a bit, but he could still smell his cum on her skin, the aroma making a little grin appear. He listened to her babble, her voice frantic and bordering on hysterical. Her heart was pounding against his body reminding him of a small, trapped animal in his arms. "Baby, relax, calm down."

"I'd never let you get hurt, I'll protect you," continued Logan, holding her at arms length by her shoulders and staring into her eyes deeply. In the wan light of the forest, his blue eyes glittered slightly as they caught some of the filtered moonlight. "I heard the howl, but it was a coyote baby. Just a trick of the darkness or something. There are no wolves in this state. None."

"Now, let's get back to camp, I have a gun there just in case that big coyote you saw gets too close," Logan said giving her a reassuring squeeze. Grabbing her hand securely, he began to lead her out of the woods, the leather belt slung over his shoulder. He picked a path carefully over the underbrush, dodging fallen logs and pine cones as he held Holly's hand tightly. He looked back at her as they walked, making sure she was ok. "You shouldn't be scared of me, you know I won't really hurt you. I just like to play a little... rough. We can talk more later..."

They were out of the trees and into the campground as he said his last words. The full moon was higher now, and turning its normal silvery white. The clearing was bathed in light, like they'd stepped into bright daylight from a dark room, and their little campsite was easy to spot with the tent and small stacks of supplies strewn around. As they approached it, Logan held a finger to his mouth and shushed Holly, cocking his head as if listening. Faintly in the still night, noises could be heard. As they got closer, the unmistakeable sounds of sex grew louder. Tara's high pitched moans and squeals, Ethan's grunting groans, and finally his dirty verbal encouragement as he started to tell Tara he was going to cum.

"Oh God... Fuuuuuck.. yes, Yes, YES! YES! FUCK! I'm cumming!" came from inside the tent.

"Let's have some fun," Logan whispered, grabbing a headlamp from the ground and giving Holly a mischievous wink. The fact that he was still naked didn't seem to bother him and he tiptoed, pulling Holly, to the flap of the tent and then crept inside. He waited a half second, until Holly's head was in the tent, and then turned the flashlight on. In front of them was Tara, hands tied above her head and attached to a tentpole, lying on her side with her legs half-open. Ethan was behind her, his cock pounding between Tara's thighs and sliding into her glistening wet slit. She was lying on one of his arms, her breasts jiggling wildly with his violent fucking, while that hand reached down her stomach and rubbed her clit in furious circles. Ethan's other hand was holding the inner thigh of her raised leg, spreading her wide to enable his cock to penetrate as deeply as possible. They were at the verge of climax, eyes shut and mouths open, with their bodies glistening with sweat and sexual juices as they moved together in search of ecstasy.

"Yee-haw! You kinky motherfuckers! Fucking cum then!" shouted out Logan as he moved the light around Tara's naked body. Ethan's eyes opened wide as a moan escaped his lips, his body tensing and a shudder rocking his frame as he hilted himself deep into Tara. As his eyes took in the interlopers, he began to grunt in a mix of pleasure and shock, unable to speak as his orgasm ripped through him. His cock jerked visibly, balls swinging, as he began to cum, helplessly spurting his hot seed into Tara as his Logan and Holly watched.

Ethan had started gentle at first but the force of his thrusts was soon causing little unintended squeals to tear from her lips between the constant moans. It was way too rough, she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t hardly talk as her body bounced to the time of his savage rhythm, ass jiggling with the slap of his hips and breasts flopping audibly against her heaving chest. Yet the steady pounding of his thick length against her silky wet folds was so good, so very good. It was easier just to let her eyes drift shut and enjoy the intensely pleasurable moment, ignoring the occasional of stab of pain from his rough thrusts and the discomfort from him rubbing her clit so hard that it felt raw.

Tara was too lost in the sex and lingering high to hear the tent flap open. “…wai…wai…” wait, she was trying to say as Ethan shouted he was about cum. Not inside me, she wanted to tell him, but before she could get the words out, a bright light was shining across her sweaty wriggling body, catching her now wide startled eyes as she looked up to see Logan and Holly. That would have killed it for her normally but they were too far gone as she felt her orgasm crash over her just moments after Ethan emptied his seed deep into her pussy with several long twitching spurts.

“You fucking psychos! Get out of here!” Tara screamed in a shrill high pitched voice once the aftershocks started to wear off, still trembling slightly as she looked for something to throw at his brother’s leering face. Her arms were still tied tightly in place though, and she helpless to do anything but cry. “Ethan! This isn’t funny! Get them out of here!” She was blushing head to toe almost, angry and embarrassed both, this being nothing like the romantic moment she’d imagined. He’d fucked her like an animal in heat almost and now his crude brother was cracking jokes over the pair of them while she lay on the ground sweaty and trussed up. “…you weren’t supposed to cum in me…” she added in a distressed whine, almost as an afterthought, struck by just how much control she’d lost. “…Ethan…!”

****

Holly had shook her head when Logan said coyote. She knew the difference. She liked to think she knew the difference at least. She’d never actually seen a wolf except on movies and television. Coyotes on the other hand were not unfamiliar and that huge black beast had not looked like any kind of coyote she’d ever seen. Still, even though he didn’t believe her, just having his strong arms wrapped around her made her feel better. Holly hated to admit that after what he’d done but it was true. He might be a bastard but at least she knew she’d be safe with him if anything happened. Logan was strong and confident and inexperience in the forest, and just importantly he had the gun. He wouldn’t let anything out here get close enough to hurt them. To hurt her.

He didn’t exactly apologize on the way back to camp but he was more tender, reassuring her that it jus been ‘rough’ play down by the lakeshore Holly felt she knew that. Of course he hadn’t really intended to rape or hurt her or anything. He was just playing around and getting way into his kinky games that he liked so much. She liked them too most of the time, but this had gone too far. They would need to talk out it like adults, and she would need to know that he understood her position and respected her limits more in the future. It didn’t have to mess everything up between them unless they let it.

They heard the groans and cries of Ethan and Tara before the even saw the tent and she couldn’t help a little smirk. She felt funny about sneaking under the flap with Logan, it was an asshole thing to do as it was probably their first time, but she let herself be dragged along anyways. The looks on their faces was kind of priceless, and helped to break the tension between her and Logan. Puling him back through the flaps by tugging on his upperm while prissy little Tara screamed and threw a fit -- tied up, Holly noticed with some surprise, and having just shrieked loud enough to wake the forest with her orgasm -- she gave him a stern disapproving look. “You shouldn’t have done that to them…” But it quickly dissolved into a barely concealed snort of laughter. “God, why are you so mean? I never would have guessed she‘d be so noisy…”

Maybe it was a good thing to have seen it though. With what Logan had been telling Ethan when she overheard them she was halfway worried he was going to force something on her that night. It was pretty clear she wasn’t fighting him though. It could be Logan’s perverse little pep talk had given him the confidence he needed to move their relationship forward. Probably she should have just butted out and minded her own business. That didn’t quite make the all the ‘bitch’ stuff and his rubbing her face in the dirt okay though. Crossing her thin arms over her chest, she walked over to one of the logs and sat by the unlit fire. “You went too far, Logan. That wasn’t fun. You made me feel like crap out there…and I’m still a fucking mess… I didn‘t even get to wash off! I honestly thought our relationship was going somewhere. Now I don‘t know. If that‘s all you think I am…some ‘bitch’ you can treat however you want to get yourself off and then toss aside. It‘s not cool. Don‘t you care you made me feel bad?”

Logan was enjoying the sight of Tara squirming helplessly, her sweaty body flushed with shame now as well as arousal as two people had just witnessed her orgasm on Ethan's pulsing rod. Even her red faced attempt at a tirade to get them to leave just made him laugh, the flashlight focusing on her breasts and then her crotch with Ethan's cock still buried in it. It was amusing listening to her try to give orders when she was tied up so helplessly. The delicious sight was enough to make Logan's cock, even recently drained, stir slightly. But, Holly was tugging at him and Logan reluctantly left the two embarrassed lovers in the tent, following his girlfriend back into the night air.

"Skinny Tara has got a kinky side," laughed Logan as Holly moved to sit down on the log. He kept the flashlight on as he fished into his backpack and removed his pistol, leaving the belt he still was holding on the ground. The gun was a heavy, 45 caliber revolver made from unfinished steel that glinted dully in the moonlight. He opened the cylinder with a casual flick, inspecting the chambers as Holly began to talk. Logan kept his face straight as he listened, idly flicking the cylinder closed as she finished. Still not bothering to put on any clothes, he turned and knelt before her, staring in her eyes at close range.

"Holly, don't ever think I don't care about you. You are amazing, I wouldn't be so rough if I didn't think you were so strong. I love strong women," Logan murmured, letting his eyes bore into Holly's orbs. He leaned forward, kissing her deeply as he reached with one hand to clasp the back of her neck and hold her tight. Pulling away, he gave her a little, wry smile. "I'll make it up to you, later tonight, that I promise. You ran off before I could give you the orgasm you deserve. And don't worry about not being clean, I like you dirty, sexy, and all mine. I want you all mine for this trip, and I think you'd prefer that as well."

The crickets were loud in the night air, but a rustling noise sounded above their creaking from the woods beyond the camp clearing, like some large animal moving in the underbrush.

----

Ethan had been lost completely in his mindless, animal pounding of Tara's sweet pussy. The slender girl's body, tied up helplessly in his arms, had become a living fuck doll for him to use with no ability for her to do anything back to him. He had started fingering her clit out of reflex as he felt his own climax inexorably building, like playing with the volume on a toy to make her ear pleasing moans and cries louder as background music for his own orgasm.

Ethan did, indeed, feel like a wild animal. He could almost hear howls in his head, like he was being cheered on by a pack of distant wolves. This savage, primal fucking was just what he needed right now, to remind Tara that he wasn't some boy toy to be kept under her pretty thumb. No, this was what Logan wanted him to do. To overwhelm and dominate a woman, to use her for your pleasure and let her get her own as by product of that treatment. To manhandle her and show her you were in charge. And most importantly, to cum as much as you wanted.

And Ethan really needed to cum, thrusting himself deeply into Tara one last time and feeling her tight and hot passage quiver as it gripped his straining cock. For a second, he thought he was orgasming so hard he was actually seeing lights in his mind. Only as he opened his eyes did he realize it was a flashlight and that Logan and Holly were peering into the tent and watching the whole scene. By then it was too late, waves of unstoppable pleasure were already stiffening his entire body and making his buried cock pulse. Ethan could only moan, forced to ride out the shocks of pleasure lancing up his cock as he pumped spurt after spurt of his hot cum into Tara with the other couple watching every twitch of their bodies. Somehow, he still managed to enjoy his orgasm, even feeling a hot flush of embarrassment and kinky voyeuristic thrill at finishing the act in front of witnesses. Logan and Holly would both know how he'd fucked Tara and tied her up so submissively.

"Noo... what the fuck... get out! GET OUT!" Ethan said, shaking his head to clear it as the last aftershocks of his cum started to fade. Now that he was drained of his need, he realized how horribly Tara might react to the intrusion and humiliating sight of how she'd been fucked. He joined her voice in urging Logan to leave, and when his brother was finally pulled out, he breathed a long sigh of relief. Slowly, he slid his softening cock out of Tara, a stream of his seed and Tara's nectar flowing out onto her bare thigh. "God, what an asshole... fuck... I'm sorry about him."

Ethan lowered his head and kissed Tara, trying to placate her as he ran his hands up and down her still tied up body. He shifted and let her fall onto her back as he began to untie her hands.

"Sorry, Tara, I.. I just couldn't stop. You felt too good. That was amazing!" Ethan said as his suddenly tired fingers worked the knots on Tara's wrists. "Come on, you enjoyed it right? Fuck, you were so sexy tied up like that. Mhmmm. Maybe I should just leave you tied up and have some more fun? I could fuck you all night, baby."

Holly had watched as Logan checked his pistol with an obviously experienced hand. It made her a little nervous that he’d decided to brink that. Why did he think he’d need a handgun out here? Why not a hunting rifle or something like that? She knew she was just feeling on edge after what had happened between them though. There were probably a million good reasons, not least of which was the fact this wasn’t a hunting trip and without permits the ranger probably would have fined him. It was better this way, and there was no denying she was glad he had it now. That thing in the woods had not looked friendly.

Already she was calling it a thing rather than a wolf. It was another subtle bit of giving in to Logan, accepting his version of events, even though he hadn’t been there. It really really hadn’t looked like a coyote yet he was probably right. The lighting was bad and she was upset. Holly found it disturbing though how easily she found herself drifting back to him and letting him have his way again. Was that how their relationship was going to be? Is that the kind of woman she was at her core?

She didn’t want to think so and yet a part of her lapped up his reassurances with an unquenchable thirst. Her soft brown eyes returned his level gaze as he told her that he did care, that she was amazing, and that he’d make it all up to her later. Holly made a decision to forgive him right then. A girl like Tara might take something like this and pout and sulk for days on end as a way to punish him. That wasn’t her style though. She didn’t really like to play emotional games. Like Logan she tended to be very straightforward and quick to speak her mind.

It wasn’t really the specific things he’d done that bothered her anyway. Yes, he’d been overly rough with his choking, and, no, she didn’t like to be called a bitch, but those were little things, in a way, things she could maybe even put up as part of his bedroom games if he really enjoyed them so much. If she’d really hated it she could have tried harder to get away. What had hurt was when he’d just walked off into the lake, leaving her unsatisfied and discarded like crumbled up tissue. That’s why she’d run. That’s why she needed hear him say that he did actually care.

“You’re just so confident I’m going to forgive you, huh?” she answered, feeling his strong hand around her slim neck. There wasn’t any steel in her voice though. Holly was already smiling slightly. “You’ve got a lot of making up to do…especially after seeing your brother in action. He looked like he might really know what he's doing. Sure you don’t need some tips from him instead of the other way around?” Her own hand had started to reaching down, over the hard ridge of his stomach to brush against his always impressive cock. It would be hard to give that up, just because of one fight, she mused. Maybe you had to give a man with this kind of equipment a pass sometimes if he let it to his head.

“Hey, wait… Did you hear that?” Her hand dipped back up quickly, now resting against his chest. “No, I’m serious, Logan. Listen. Like something moving around in the brush. Ethan and Tara are still in the tent, aren’t they? You don’t think it might have followed us back do you?”

****

Tara continued to squirm atop the bedroll and fret for several seconds after the tent flaps closed. The more she thought about Logan‘s intrusion, the angrier she got, although it did serve to distract her from the fact she was leaking Ethan’s cum onto her thigh. Otherwise it might have been him she was mad at. In truth it was herself that she was mostly disappointed in. She’d lost control of the situation and her own urges. It had been good, really good, but that only made it worse in a way. Tara wondered if the balance of power in their relationship hadn’t already changed. Tugging at her bound wrists, it certainly felt that way.

“No, let me out, Ethan,” she whined as he suggested keeping her tied up. Enough was enough, although his suggestion that he could fuck her all night didn’t sound at all bad. Tara was still hungry for him, especially if he could make her orgasm like that again. She didn’t want to be tied up for it though. “I want to be able to touch you too, baby. You were/I]really hot….maybe I might be convinced to do it again if you’re nice to me…and keep your stupid brother out of here…” As he worked with the ropes, she craned her neck upwards to nip playfully at his ear before resting back, flashing a mischievous smile. “I really don’t want to go back out there right now. I am hungry though. Do you think we could eat? We still have all night together…”

Her smile widened as her long legs shifted under him, her tone of voice suggesting that despite her playful choice of words she wasn’t entirely kidding. “You should tell your brother and Holly we want the tent to ourselves tonight…at least until it’s time to sleep. They should be punished anyways for bursting in don’t you think? You really need to stand up to him more…”

"Forgive me? It's not my fault that you are so sexy you turn me into an animal," growled back Logan as Holly started to turn around in his grasp. He ended his words with a little grin that turned into a small moan as her wandering finger grazed his hanging manhood. Slightly aroused already by the sight of Tara bound up and being fucked by his brother, Logan's cock twitched under her finger, swelling noticeably as he felt his pulse quicken. Perhaps it would be time to reward Holly now after all...

The noise in the brush caught Logan's ears as well and he swiveled his head, eyes searching the darkness as he took a deep breath. He didn't seem particularly concerned and reached down to rub Holly's cheek lightly.

"Baby, it's nothing. I'll go check it out, here... you know how to use a gun? Just flick the safety off and brace yourself, then squeeze the trigger. Take this and shoot any animal that comes out of the woods," said Logan, pressing the handle of the big pistol into Holly's much smaller hands. Turning off his headlamp, he strode towards the woods with nonchalant swagger, glowing slightly in the silvery moonlight. He paused, just before he reached the edge of the trees and turned to holler back towards the tent. "Ethan! Get your ass out here! Holly thinks she saw a wolf!"

Then he disappeared into the murky darkness of the trees.

---

"Mhmm, yeah, I'll tell him off don't worry about that," replied Ethan as he released Tara's skinny wrists. He lowered his face down and kissed her again as he pulled her naked and still hot body against his own. Their skin was slick with cooling sweat and she felt slippery, warm and delightfully small as he pulled her into his arms for a longer and deeper kiss. "It's only you I want to eat tonight... but I can get the fire going I guess if you are hungry."

Logan's cry cut through the tent walls and made Ethan freeze, his arms going tense around Tara and a scowl appearing on his face.

"What the fuck? What kind of shit is he pulling...." groaned Ethan as he stood up and searched for his boxer briefs, suddenly distracted, and his face going red again, this time from anger instead of passion. Tara was almost forgotten it seemed as he was suddenly consumed with getting outside the tent. Yanking his shorts on, he quickly exited through the flap, eyes searching the moonlit campsite and peering into the dark trees around them. He settled his gaze on Holly, eyes widening as he saw her holding Logan's pistol. "Holly? What is going on? What is Logan talking about? Did you see something?!"

There were a couple pieces of firewood lying around the fire ring and Ethan started laying them out for a fire as he moved closer to Holly to listen to her response.

"He better just be fucking around."

Holly’s soft brown eyes met Logan’s steady gaze, all apparently forgiven, at least for now, as their mouths grew closer, his breath ghosting warmly over her small chin. Then came the noise, the distraction, pulling them apart again. She was disappointed by that fact, yet relieved at the same time to know he’d heard it as well and took her concerns seriously. Logan still seemed to think it was nothing, but at least he was going to check it out. As silly as it was she knew she’d sleep a little easier that way.

“Be careful,” she called after him, watching his broad masculine frame disappear into the tree line, swaggering with fearless confidence. It was both reassuring and a little worrying at the same time. Logan wasn’t invincible, regardless of what he thought. But wild animals don’t just attack people…not unless you’re threatening them or invading their territory… He’d be fine. Whatever it was would catch one scent of him and scurry back to its den to stay for good. Then why do I feel so nervous…

The gun didn’t help. Holly didn’t really like guns even though she’d grown up with them. She’d fired her brothers’ hunting rifles on several occasions, and had proven an ’okay’ shot, at least enough to satisfy herself. Although she was often competitive with her older siblings, hunting had never been an interest and she’d left the shooting to the boys. Rolling the pistol over in her small hands, she checked the safety and made sure it was loaded, wondering if she’d really shoot should something did come crashing the brush. She’d have to Holly supposed. That thing she’d seen in the clearing…it hadn’t looked at her like she was a person threatening its home or babies. It had looked at her as if she prey.

“Hey, Ethan,” she said as Logan’s brother emerged, seeming agitated, although that was their fault. Holly recalled him being nervous about wolves as well. “I thought I saw something out in the woods awhile ago. Logan thinks it’s just a big coyote. He’s probably right. Better to be safe though, right? He shouldn’t be long…” Placing the gun down atop her bag, she helped him setup the fire, feeling that was probably the best idea of all. It would scare anything away that had grown curious, and the air was already getting fairly chill. Sitting back on the log, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms, suddenly feeling it more as the adrenaline from her fight with Logan and the earlier scare gradually wore off.

“You two are really hilarious. Like a couple of thirteen year olds, I swear to God…”

Tara had emerged from the tent having changed from her earlier skimpier attire into something more suitable to the evening weather. She was still barefoot but she’d tossed on a pair of hip hugging jeans and the hoody from earlier, looking slightly peevish as she ran her fingers through her tussled hear, trying to fix it back in place without the benefit of a mirror. Finally, giving up with a sigh, she sat down on the log opposite Holly, not pitching in, just watching them ready the fire.

“Sorry, Tara. That was shitty of us. It was Logan’s idea.”

“Of course it was Logan’s idea. Someone needs to stand up to him,” she complained, starting to sort through the bag for whatever crappy food they’d brought along, which admittedly had started to look tastier with every passing hour. “…and the wolf? He made that up too, I guess?”

Holly shrugged. “I heard a noise, that’s all. Not a joke but still probably nothing… He’ll back any minute.” Eyes scanning the spot where Logan had disappeared, she waited anxiously for him to prove her right, to emerge back through the trees grinning his cocky grin and making some kind of offhand comment about a squirrel or raccoon or something. Come on…everything’s forgiven…let’s just get back to our vacation…

"Large coyote, huh?" asked Ethan as Holly began to help him arrange the logs on the fire. The low full moon was surprisingly bright, but he knew they needed a fire to help his mood. Though he tried not to show it, his half-dressed body was tense and his movements deliberate as he worked on the fire. Ethan's normally sensual lips were stretched thin and his eyebrows furrowed, blue eyes constantly darting into the dark woods around the clearing at the slightest noise. The wind was light, but in the quiet night the rustle of pine boughs could be heard over the incessant chirping of crickets, but aside from an occasional hoot from a distant owl, there was no sound from Logan. He added as an afterthought, "Don't worry about barging in, I know it was all Logan. He pulls shit like that all the time." In the moonlight, a slight hint of color came to Ethan's cheeks as his eyes met Holly's orbs. "I'm sorry, uhm, that he made you.. uhhh... see."

"Oh hey, Tara. Yeah Logan is an asshole. But Holly thought she saw something and now heard something... I'm sure it's nothing. We'll get the fire going and start cooking in a sec," said Ethan, summoning a brief smile as he struck a match and set it to the kindling at the base of the logs. The warm, yellow glow was bright enough to blind him for a second, and he watched with visible relief as the flames started to take hold. Within minutes, the kindling had caught and the dry logs in the fire were already starting to brown. "We can cook up that rice and maybe throw in some of the sausage."

Ethan moved to sit next to Tara, one hand sliding around her slender waist as he fished for a pot in the backpack with the other. He pulled her slightly towards him, to reassure her, but his eyes kept scanning the darkness outside the growing circle of light from the fire.

"Yeah, I'm sure Logan is just fucking around..." began Ethan and then he turned his head sharply, looking towards the trail with a searching eye. He stoop up, pot and Tara forgotten and strode to the edge of the firelight staring intently. Without turning, he uttered some final words to Holly and started walking away. "Someone is coming. Not Logan. Grab the gun just in case."

In her emotional state it took Tara a moment to really feel the tension in the air. She was still angry about Logan, still wanting Ethan to do something about his behavior for once, and it wasn’t until Holly mentioned having seen a coyote or wolf that she realized this could be something serious. Not just his brother playing more tricks. Despite Holly’s insistence that the park ranger’s warning about animal carcasses in the area was no big deal, Tara had been nervous. She was not the outdoorsy type and thoughts of wolves or bears around their campsite had made her want to head straight for town. Now she was starting to wish she’d insisted more strongly.

Sitting down before the fire pit, she watched while Ethan got it going, rubbing her hands up and down her legs while waiting. Now that they were outside the tent, it become obvious just how chilly it was getting, although thankfully there was little wind. Just seeing the fire crackling to life made her feel a little better though. The flames threw off an instant heat that caused her to lean forward a little, the warmth feeling good on her face and arms. “Sure, we can get the rice going. If Logan doesn’t get back in time to eat that’s his problem as far as I’m concerned…”

There wasn’t much left anger in her voice though, and she touched Ethan gently on his wrist as he slid his arm around her waist. A glance at his face told her just how anxious he was feeling right now. In a way she hoped he was right and his brother was just fooling around, even though it would serve him right if a wolf bit his leg off or something. She didn’t like seeing Ethan so upset. Squeezing his hand with her own, Tara knelt over the backpack to help him to find the cooking pot, when he suddenly he was rising quickly to feet.

“What? What is it?” she asked, and he muttered something low to Holly. The other girl picked up the gun again and placed it in her lap, looking wary as kept a firm grip on the handle. Tara’s heart began to hammer at her chest, and she couldn’t help but leap to her feet as well, “Ethan! Be careful! Don’t go too far! Are you sure it’s not your brother? Logan, if you’re playing another joke, you better fucking quit! I mean it!” Her voice carrying shrilly through the quiet little clearing.

Ethan's eyes searched the distant trail where a bobbing circle of light was approaching the campsite. As it grew closer, the shadowy figure of a man resolved around a flashlight that was pointed at the ground. The intruder was a hundred yards away still, but Ethan started to relax. Whoever it was wasn't likely aiming for trouble if they approached the group so openly and with nothing to hide. With a relieved exhale, Ethan returned to the fire to stand by Tara as the person approached.

"Someone's walking towards us, but not Logan. They have a flashlight. Holly, I'd hide the gun," Ethan murmured to the two women as he reached down to rub one of Tara's shoulders.

"Evening, sorry to disturb, it's me again," boomed out the voice of the Ranger as he entered the clearing. The large man's deep baritone rumbled in the quiet night air and he closed the gap and was standing by the campfire in a dozen large strides. He was still dressed in his uniform, but held a hunting rifle in his free hand. Turning the flashlight off, he gave the three campers a friendly smile, but his eyes scanned them carefully. "I hope you all are enjoying the night. What a sunset, huh?"

"Evening, yeah, just gorgeous. We are all having fun," replied Ethan, giving the Ranger a return smile and glancing at Holly and Tara. He felt on edge suddenly, like he was a boy caught by a teacher doing something wrong, when so far he had nothing to be guilty about. Tara had wanted him to tie her up and, well, she had enjoyed it. The man couldn't know what Ethan had been planning, could he? So why was his pulse racing? It was the man's stare, like he was measuring them up.

"I just got a radio message that there is a missing thru hiker. Was supposed to be home today and the family called the park office. You all haven't seen anybody, have you?" he asked, studying their reactions closely. "Should be a man in his late twenties. Brown haired. Red backpack."

"No, sir, we've seen no one since we got here," replied Ethan truthfully, relieved that the man's suspicions were in a direction that had nothing to do with Logan's perverted kinks. "But if he turns up, we'll tell him to check in with you at your cabin."

"I'd be much obliged," the Ranger said, giving them all another big smile. His gaze lingered on Tara and Holly. "You girl's all right? You look a little tense? Those coyote howls bothering you? Say... where is the other fella?"

The Ranger looked around suddenly, noticing Logan's absence finally.

Holly took a deep breath and released it, then again, then a third time, until her nerves started to calm. They were all so on edge. How had their supposedly fun vacation turned out to be such a stressful ordeal for everyone? Ethan was so tense when he walked away from the campfire, Tara calling after him in her high-pitched anxious voice, that she was left gripping the pistol as if she expected a mountain lion to leap out of the bushes any second. Or a wolf.

At the park ranger’s approach, she tucked it up under one of the loose blankets, nodding as Ethan told her to hide it. He was in their circle of light a few quick strides later, the crackling flames casting a long shadow off his broad imposing frame. She couldn’t help but notice the rifle he was holding, and wondered why he felt he needed it if he was only looking for a lost hiker. His dog was gone as well, she realized, although that was probably a good thing given it‘s previous hostile behavior around Logan. Was that I saw? His dog? Maybe that was it… Holly still wasn’t convinced though. It just hadn’t looked like any dog, or a coyote either.

“Yes, we’ll definitely let him know. I…” For some reason Ethan’s obvious reticence in talking to the man made her reluctant as well, but she couldn’t understand why. If anything a park ranger with a rifle should bring a sense of reassurance. She’d just been frightened of a wild animal jumping out at them, after all. Here was a man who could no doubt handle such things, probably better than Logan, despite all his boasting. The rifle still made her nervous though. It suggested the park ranger himself felt there really was something dangerous out here, something worth keeping a weapon ready at hand.

“He went out to check on a noise I heard,” Holly explained, glancing over at Ethan and Tara, who sat huddled before the fire in his arms, little help as usual. “It’s been awhile though. You didn’t see or hear anything while approaching, did you? Earlier I thought I saw a wolf…although it was dark…Logan felt it was just a coyote, and he was probably right, of course. There aren't any wolves around here are there?” Reaching up to swipe a hand over her cheek, she flushed faintly, realizing she was still a mess from earlier, the dried leavings of Logan’s little game still smeared on her cheeks. Hopefully the dim lighting hid it. “Maybe you could help us go look for him? I am a little worried. Especially after what you said earlier to us… Are you sure it’s safe out here?”

The Ranger studied Holly as she spoke, nodding at times and then shook his head and chuckled.

"No wolves, no, don't worry about that," he said, but his eyes looked troubled and his brow furrowed as she continued. He glanced back at the woods by the trail he had just walked and shrugged his shoulders, fingers idly tapping on the stock of the rifle he hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much, but I can take a look around as I walk back. If you need me, just come on down to the cabin at any time. If you want to be safe, I'd just stick by camp tonight and not go wandering around in the woods. There could be mountain lions or bears around, but they'd avoid humans unless there was a lot of food left out unguarded."

With a final nod at Ethan, the large man spun and turned his flashlight back on, heading back down the trail he had walked up minutes earlier.

Ethan felt a strange feeling of relief and waved goodbye to the ranger, before sitting down next to Tara again. The firepit had a metal cover that he lowered and placed the pot on, making himself busy filling it with rice and water.

"I'm sure Logan is fine, just hiding or something to fuck with us. Don't worry ladies, you are both safe out here with us around. Plus we have Logan's gun. Nothing to worry about," said Ethan, trying to keep his tone light and easy. Once the lid was on the pot he sat back and smiled at the two girls. "What's a night in the woods without some excitement, right?"

"Logan... he likes to play pranks as you both know. Especially while camping. Nothing scares him out here, nothing at all. And he loves it when he can fuck with the heads of people who aren't comfortable in the woods. I'm sure he has some trick up his sleeve," continued Ethan, smiling and trying to ease the mood. "But, just don't let him get to you--"

Ethan was interrupted by a loud yell in the woods nearby, a man's voice. It sounded like Logan, but a bit tortured and in pain. The words were clear though in the quiet night.

"Heee-lp! Heee-lp me!"

Tara didn’t speak a word while the ranger was around. For some reason she found herself feeling embarrassed, imagining just how close they might have been to the man stumbling onto to them in the tent. If Logan and Holly had come back just a few minutes later, it might have been his shaggy head peeking through the flaps. She wouldn’t put it past him either. She didn’t like the looks of the man, despite how friendly he acted. What sort of person wanted to spend every day alone out in the woods all the time anyways? Especially in a woods filled with bears and mountain lions and, maybe, wolves. And how could he really know for sure there weren‘t any?

Wrapping her arms tightly around her chest, pulling her hands into the sleeves of her hoody jacket, she watched while Ethan poured the rice and water into the pan. Tara didn’t offer to take over. She wasn’t terribly good at cooking, but she was hungry and privately hoped he knew what was doing. She didn’t want to see the rice burnt or underdone. She’d had enough drama for one night. And most of it all Logan’s fault, she reflected irritably.

Ethan made a comment about the excitement being a good thing, and she shrugged, mumbling, “I guess,” before giving him a small obviously forced smile. Tara wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about what had happened in the tent between them. It hadn’t been at all what she’d envisioned for when they finally made love. It had been fun though, and better than she hoped. If only Logan and Holly hadn’t been along to cause problems, this might have even proved a perfect little trip for them, despite how much she disliked all this outdoorsy stuff.

She nodded as Ethan warned them not to let Logan‘s tricks get to them, finding some cups in their bags and wiping them out with a napkin for when the rice and sausage was done. Tara had just finished the last when a voice carried through the woods, calling out for help in a feeble pained tone. A voice that clearly belonged to Ethan’s brother. Her blood froze for a few seconds and then she frowned. “This is probably one of his tricks isn’t it? We should just ignore him. I don’t want to go walking into something like an idiot so he can laugh at us again. His crap really stopped being funny hours ago.” She took hold of her boyfriend’s wrist, glancing up into his face with her sultry hazel eyes. “Right, Ethan?”

“Well, I’m going to check,” was all Holly said, already up on her feet and heading towards the forest edge with the pistol in her hand.

“…let her go,” Tara urged, “…we don’t all need to check do we? I’m hungry and it’s just going to be another dumb joke like you said…”

Ethan went tense yet again when he heard the voice, eyes searching in the darkness in roughly the direction of the noise. The rice was forgotten and he stood, ready to head out and help his brother. Tara's words made him scowl and he shook his head. It could be a trick, it probably was a trick in fact, but that still didn't mean he could ignore it. Logan was his brother, and as much of an asshole as he could be, Ethan couldn't ignore a cry of distress.

"Baby, don't worry, he may be fucking with us, but I have to go check. This will get him back in camp where we can keep an eye on him anyway," replied Ethan, giving Tara's shoulder a gentle squeeze. He forced a smile at her and nodded towards the fire. "Just stay here by the fire, you'll be safe. I'm not going far."

Holly jumped up, with the pistol, and announced she was going to go look. Her courage surprised Ethan and he was tempted to try to convince her to stay with Tara. He wasn't sure if she really felt comfortable handling a pistol and she could be more of a danger than a help. But, he could tell she had her mind set and he wasn't going to talk her out of it. He grabbed two flashlights and handed her one of them.

"Here, take this, stay behind me. Don't take that gun off safety unless I tell you to. I don't want you shooting Logan by mistake if he jumps out from behind a tree!" said Ethan, turning on his flashlight and taking the lead as they walked towards the woods. With their eyes accustomed to the roaring fire, the campground was dark except for the light cast by their flashlights. Once into the deeper night of the woods, the flashlight was a circle of vision, with everything else a wall of blackness around them. Casting that ray of illumination back and forth, Ethan crept forward slowly and began to call out.

""Logan? Are you there? You better not be fucking around, asshole. Say something," Ethan shouted repetitively, creeping slowly deeper. He could hear Holly's breathing behind him as the crickets seemed to quiet once they were in the trees. It was hard to see much, just trunk of pine trees, fallen logs, the brown pervasive carpet of pine needles and pine cones, and occasional smaller shrubs that seemed to jump out of no where. The flashlights cast long shadows that moved as they swept the forest around them, giving illusions of motion.

""Where are you asshole!? This isn't funny dickhead," growled Ethan, growing annoyed. Suddenly, a flash of color could be seen up ahead and he picked up his pace, trotting forward. It was a red object, leaning against a tree. As they got closer, it resolved into a hiking backpack. It was torn open, partially shredded with clothing and camping items spilling out and seemed to glisten wetly in the beam of the flashlight. Ethan knelt and his eyes widened and a familiar smell hit his nose. The wetness was a red liquid, and the odor unmistakeable.

Human blood.

"What the? Shit...." gasped Ethan, turning his flashlight in a half circle around him as he knelt by the pack. There was blood covering half of it and a pool of it darkened the pine needles underneath it. Turning his flashlight slowly, he caught a trail of blood drops heading away from the bag and leading deeper into the trees. "What the fuck is going on?"

Ethan turned to glance up at Holly, eyes wide and face grim. His gaze flicked down to her pistol and back up at her face. Part of him wanted to have her go back to the camp, but he also liked the idea of her having the gun and being under his eye. Strange things were afoot and he didn't want the two girls alone, scared and with a gun. Tara, of course, was another concern. She was all alone at the camp, but there was nothing he could do about her right now. Following this trail seemed to be the right thing to do. Someone could be hurt and in need of help and maybe Logan was there too?

"We should follow the blood."

Holly was quick to her feet at the sound of Logan’s cry for help. She almost surprised herself by the speed of her reaction, but the truth was she’d been worried ever since he disappeared into the brush alone. She still hadn’t shaken the image of that massive black wolf in the clearing. However much she kept trying to convince herself that the creature wasn’t what it had seemed, the image kept coming back to her of it snarling savagely in her direction and howling at the moon. It was had been answered by other howls as well. Holly was positive that she hadn’t just imagined that part.

In normal circumstances she might have been annoyed as Ethan took the lead, warning her to stay behind him and keep the safety on. Holly wasn’t the biggest gun enthusiast in her family by far but she wasn’t an idiot either, and being told what to do wasn’t something she normally tolerated, except maybe from Logan in the bedroom. This wasn’t the time to argue about that sort of thing however. Ethan was clearly every bit as concerned as she was and he was right -- it was better to keep the safety on just in case Logan was playing a stupid joke on them. It didn’t really feel that way though.

Their hurried walk through the woods only increased her growing sense of unease. After the bright light of the fire, the darkness felt overwhelming and the heavy canopy of the pine trees allowed little moonlight to break through. They had to rely on the beams of their flashlights, and it was not long before Holly felt she was stumbling along blindly. Ethan kept calling out to his brother, but there were no further cries, and she began to worry they might even be moving in the wrong direction. It was difficult to know. It was difficult not to start panicking.

Finding the backpack only made matters worse. Kneeling down next to Ethan she examined the ragged tear marks and touched the wetness, her fingertips coming back wet with the blood. “Oh, my God, Ethan…” She met his grim stare, other hand tightening reflexively around the grip of the pistol. “The ranger said something about a hiker with a red pack didn’t he?” He suggested following but Holly felt frozen. They still didn’t know where Logan might be, and there was Tara to consider as well. Alone back at the camp she’d be an easy target for anyone…or thing. The park ranger needed to be told too. This had now become quite serious and he was the closest thing to the authorities in these woods. “I don’t know, Ethan… What about Tara? Whatever did this… We both know she wouldn’t be able to defend herself. Maybe one of us should go back?”

There was Logan to consider as well though. He could be dying just feet away from them even now. It was so hard to tell in this dim light. The hiker too was obviously in trouble, although she had to admit, he was the least of her concerns right now as cold as that might sound. She had to make sure her friends were safe first. “Logan! Can you hear us! Call out to us if you’re near!”

Ethan looked torn as Holly spoke, nodding along as his eyes searched through the dark woods around them. The flashlight, although bright, made everything outside of its cone pitch black and even more unknown. A sour frown appeared on his face and he shook his head angrily, clearly upset at the situation they were in with Tara back at the camp.

"You are right, we can't leave Tara there alone... I think you should go to the car with her and get out of here. I'll find Logan and take him to the ranger's station. He'll be fine, he's a tough motherfucker," Ethan said at last, turning to stare at Holly with his lips set in determination. "The two of you shouldn't be out here tonight, not with everything that is... happening. You have the gun, take it with you. Let's go back to the camp right now and get Tara."

Holly looked as upset as Ethan did and very worried about Logan. She started calling out his name, hoping for some reply. Just as Ethan was going to tell her to let him find Logan and repeat his request that she go back to camp, a piercing howl ripped through the woods around them.

It was loud, coming from a source relatively nearby and straight ahead in the woods. Not a mournful cry, but one with a throaty lust and excitement to it. It's pitch rose and then hung in the air in a sustained, long and slowly fading noise that seemed to echo in the trees. Almost immediately, another howl answered it coming from a direction at a right angle to the first one.

Both were unmistakably wolf cries.

"Holy shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," said Ethan, face flushing red and a grimace appearing on his face. He grabbed Holly's hand and started to jog back towards the camp, pulling her with him. "We have to go. Let's get Tara. Come on. Now. Follow me!"

Tara hadn’t bothered to hide her annoyance when Ethan left. Once again he’d chosen his brother over her, leaving her alone in camp as he rushed off to find him like a fool. He was almost certainly playing another trick. Even if that wasn’t true, it didn’t say much for how Ethan felt about her to leave her behind if there were wolves around. He’d even let Holly take the gun. The mood from the tent was entirely shattered now. She felt scared and cold and abandoned, and really just wanted to go home. Under all that she also hoped Logan was alright. Even if he was a huge asshole.

Sitting by the fire, she stirred the rice slowly, adding chunks of sausage to the mixture as it started to thicken. If not for the moon shining above, it would have been a near pitch black night, and it was difficult for her see much beyond the flames’ light. The forest itself was eerily quiet. Tara really didn’t know what being in the middle of woods was supposed to sound like but she’d expected owls and insects chittering, and there wasn’t much of either. It was still and calm, with nothing but a slight cool breeze rustling the nearby bushes and pine needles.

That changed abruptly when Ethan and Holly came rushing out of the woods, limbs cracking loudly underfoot. Tara stood up at once and her sleeve caught on the pot‘s handle, sending rice spilling into the flames. “What’s going on?” she asked in a frightened voice, “What’s happened?” She grabbed at Ethan as he approached the fire, seizing hold of his arm in her hands. “Is everyone okay? Did you see something? Ethan!”

Holly rambled something about a bloody backpack and a trail of blood leading further into the woods. They needed to grab everything and head for the car as quickly as possible. Ethan would take the gun and go looking for Logan. Holly was adamant about that, but Tara felt less so. She didn’t want him wandering these woods alone if someone had already been attacked. “You should come with us! You can’t just go racing off into the dark, Ethan! The ranger can look…or… ” She grabbed his arm more tightly, staring up at him, her hazel eyes wide with fear. “I know he’s your brother! I know! But what if you get hurt as well? There’ll be no one to help either of you! W-” Tara paused as the howls erupted from the woods, the color draining from her face. “Oh, God. Ethan you can’t leave us!”

Ethan was relieved to see Tara by the fire still, apparently unharmed. She was on edge and here eyes wide as Holly began to try to fill the brunette in on their discovery in the woods. Ethan let Tara grip his arm as he steadied her with a hand on her shoulder, staring into her eyes. Another round of wolf howls rang out and Tara quavered, fear fulling setting in as the gravity of their situation seemed to hit her. Impulsively, Ethan scooped her into his arms, pressing her slight frame against his toned chest and squeezing her tightly as he whispered into her hair.

"It's ok baby, we'll be alright. You should go now, with Holly. I'm fine, wolves won't fuck with me," Ethan said, giving her neck a soft kiss before pushing her to arms' length before him to stare into her eyes. His own blue eyes were flickering and bright in the fire light and he gave her a stern look. "I need you to be brave. And strong. If anything happens, make it to the car and get the key from the wheel. Drive and get help. Don't try to rescue me or anybody. Ok baby?"

Ethan looked at the woods as another set of howls echoed in the night. The wolves seemed to be slightly further away, and shifted, like they were moving in pursuit of something. He was angry and he shook his head, cursing as he turned to face Holly.

"I'll walk you back to the cars, but you keep the gun. If anything happens, run for the car and I'll keep the wolves busy. Once we are at the car, you two leave and I'll find Logan," said Ethan, looking determined now and seemingly with more anger than fear. "Ok, ready? We have to move fast. It's all downhill so we can jog it."

Gripping Tara's hand and holding the flashlight in the other, he tugged the skinny brunette after him as he started a slow jog down the fire road. In the dark, lit only by the cone of his flashlight, the rutted road was perilous and he had to move slowly to avoid twisting an ankle. He still hadn't put his shoes on, but the road was mostly soft dirt and Ethan seemed to move easily despite being on his bare feet. Around them the silhouettes of the pine trees were visible, backlit against the moon filled night above them. The crickets had even seemed to fade and the only sound was their light breathing as they moved down the trail.

"Come on, it'll be twenty minutes max, you can do it girls."

Holly had explained everything to Tara as quickly as she could. She wasn’t sure how much the frightened girl actually understood but doing so at least had a calming effect on herself. Ethan was helping too. Despite what he’d said earlier about being terrified of wolves, and the fact he had just made the choice to leave his brother behind to help them, he was remaining remarkably calm. Her respect for him went up another notch. She only hoped Tara would have some success in talking him out of going back alone. She knew his girlfriend was asking for mostly selfish reasons -- understandable ones as she was scared and completely out of her element -- but as much as she was worried about Logan, Holly didn’t want to see him get hurt trying to play hero.

She wouldn’t ask him to stay though. She had no right to do that. Logan was his brother after all. If one of her siblings was in trouble, she wouldn’t have left the woods without him. If she was entirely truthful with herself she probably would have even come back for Tara in that case. Family came first as far as she was concerned. Thankfully for them, Ethan felt responsible for seeing them to safety, maybe because they were women, and maybe because he actually did care about his girlfriend. Tara probably had her good points too. Managing a crisis didn’t seem to be one of them though.

“Ethan, no, no, you can’t go back,” Tara was demanding as she clung tightly to his arm, following him down the trail, “you have to stay with us…we’ll get the rangers…and the police… They’ll put a search party together and…and…”

“We shouldn’t talk too much. The sound might draw them.” Holly doubted that was true, she’d heard the howls trailing off in the opposite direction, but it served the purpose of quieting her down which had to be easier for Ethan. Choosing between his frightened pleading girlfriend and his missing brother couldn’t be an easy situation for him. “We should keep our attention on the trail.”

That was true enough. In the darkness, Holly found herself having to be careful of each footstep, there being far more rocks and roots on the dirt path than she remembered from this afternoon. Keeping the pistol gripped tightly in her left hand, she used her right to shine the flashlight ahead of them, illuminating the trail for a few feet in front of them, but little more. Occasionally she would glance over her shoulder and direct the beam that way, still unable to shake that eerie feeling from earlier when she fled the clearing.

The feeling they were being stalked.

"You'll be fine, I have to go back baby," Ethan replied to Tara's pleading, giving the skinny brunette another soft peck on the lips. She wasn't handling the stress of the situation well and it took all of Ethan's discipline to try to keep his demeanor confident. What he actually felt was anger and a bit of uneasy terror. This was all Logan's fault. No matter what happened tonight, his brother was the root cause of it. Fuck him. Ethan gave Tara a grin and tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "He is my brother, I have to at least find him to yell at him for convincing us to go on this trip!"

Ethan let Tara cling to him as the trio moved down the dark trail. Their three flashlights swung in circles, spending as much time on the trees around them as they did on the rocky trail in front of them. They had to abandon the jog that Ethan had started them out with, the trail proving too rocky to do more than a fast walk on, but they were making good time. The heavy silence of the cooling night air was punctuated by a howl or two, each occurrence getting louder, but it was tricky to pick out exactly where the noises were coming from as the wolf cries echoed amongst the trees and hills in the alpine lake. Then suddenly, there was a long pause of several minutes with no cries at at all.

The girls might be relieved, but Ethan started to get more worried, his flashlight pointing into the woods around them and his pace quickening, practically dragging Tara down the trail after him. Peering around behind him, his beam of light caught the a distant reflection from up the trail. Two pinpricks of reddish light that gleamed in the flashlight glow like diamonds. They could be reflections of something inanimate at first glance, unmoving and eerily still, but then they moved, sidling sideways across the trail and disappearing into the trees. At this distance, no trace of what the eyes were attached to could be seen.

"Shit," said Ethan, voice lowering to a throaty whisper and a scowl appearing on his face. "I... think I see one around three hundred yards behind us. Keep moving, you two go ahead without me. Get to the car. I'll trail behind you."

He disentangled Tara from his arm and gave her a brief hug, planting another soft kiss on her lips before staring in her eyes. "I need you to be strong, baby. Get to the car. Holly, keep the gun."

Ethan turned to Holly as he gave Tara a gentle push away from him down the trail. Lips set, he nodded at Holly in encouragement.

"Take care of her. Don't shoot until something is close enough to you that you can't miss."

Tara stuck close to Ethan as the three of them hurried down the darkened trail, keeping her slim arm wrapped tightly around his own. She knew from the start this vacation was a bad idea. She didn’t know anything about camping, had never met Holly, and barely knew Logan. Of course if she had known him better that would have only increased her desire to stay home. Ethan joked about this being all his brother’s fault, but she didn’t find it that funny actually. He was the one who picked these woods, he was the one who laughed at the idea of there being wolves -- him and Holly both -- and he was the one who’d wandered off alone. Now Ethan was going to go get himself hurt or worse trying to find him.

“Ow!” she muttered as another rock caught the tip of shoe, causing her to lurch forward. Tara wasn’t sure how many times she’d already stumbled during their flight, nearly tugging Ethan down on top of her, but her feet hurt, her legs were sore, and she was as scared as she could ever remember being. The way the howls of the wolves seemed to be following them, growing louder and closer as the minutes passed, made her heart skip and her palms sweat. The light of her flashlight bopped along fitfully over the hiking trail, barely seeming to cut through the heavy darkness. More than once Tara could swear she heard rustling bushes and cracking twigs but her nerves were such she couldn’t be sure of anything.

Ethan whispered a warning about seeing one behind them and her legs seem to freeze up as her nails unconsciously dug into his forearm. “What? You mean they really are following us? The wolves? Oh, my God, oh, my God…what are we going to do?” Her words came in a panicked rush, and Tara struggled as he pulled away from her grasp, planting a reassuring kiss on her mouth. “No… You can’t stay behind, are you crazy?! You have to come with us! You can’t just leave us alone!”

He gave her a little push, forcing her a few steps further up the trail. Holly grabbed her wrist immediately and, even though she tugged back, she wasn’t able to pull free, the smaller woman stronger than she looked. “We can’t leave Ethan…”

“He’ll be alright. We won’t leave without knowing he’s okay. We just need to get you in the car. You don’t have a gun like I do…”

Tara allowed herself to be convinced, too frightened to really consider staying on the trails when safety was so near at hand. A terrible howl split the air, sounding right on top of them, and the two girls broke into a rapid jog, tripping over the loose stones but managing to keep their feet. Within a few a minutes they emerged into the dirt lot, and Tara saw the jeep up ahead. “Oh, thank God! Ethan! We’re here! Can you hear us? Hurry!” A crackling sounded in the brush and both girls whirled, expecting to see him. Instead the shape that emerged was large and dark, fur bristling along its back in a ridge as it approached on all fours, eyes glowing in the glare of the flight lights.

Holly released her wrist and raised up the pistol. “Go!” Sobbing in her fear, Tara scrambled towards the jeep, falling to her knees before picking herself up and practically throwing herself at the car. Shaky hands grabbed at the handle, jerking at the door. “It’s locked, it’s locked! Holly!” Then she remembered Logan placing the keys on the tire and began to grope for them in the dark. “Please, please…this can’t be real…it has to be there…!”