War and Greed (Javorcek x ClearSight)

BOOM! The entire building rumbled, the smell of something foul filled the air, and yet none of the city guard moved. They all simply looked towards the sturdy stone building and shook their head, a small sigh escaping the lips of a few of the more informed soldiers and surrounding mages. This was the city of mages, a bastion of advanced technology and the birthplace of knowledge. In this city explosions and the impossible were not unusual, the adopted mantra thus being, 'The impossible is only a truth not yet understood'. Still, even if it was normal for an explosion to occur this was an even more special case, this particular blast was created from the very top level of the alchemists guild, a tall, magically enhanced stone building with strange design. Arches and gold were no strange sight to the building, elaborate loops and internal lighting all far ahead of most other parts of the city. The top floor though, the top floor belonged to its founder, a figure head, an eccentric young mage who did nothing more than explore the mysteries of alchemy and magic to her hearts desire. At 27 she was not simply the alchemy guild head she was part of the mage council and one of the few aware of the situation they were in as a country.

Bell, known to her parents as Isabelle, had all but ignored the blast right in front of her, a magic barrier preventing any harm to her and a thrilled little smile on her face. "That will do the trick" she muttered to herself, looking down where moments ago a trace amount of powder had been mixed with some of her magic to produce the explosive effect. Usually she didn't work on weapons, she preferred potions and rare minerals, or raw magic research, to be the focal points of her little inquiries, but with war on the horizon she had begrudgingly agreed to do this dirty sort of work. Dirty or not a breakthrough was a thrill and she quickly proceeded to repeat the experiment, always checking multiple times before being sure. Explosions continued in such a manner every few minutes for nearly half an hour, a brief period between the individual explosions as she took notes and adjusted both quantity of power and magic applied to test the effect. Any lesser of a mage wouldn't just find her insane, they wouldn't have the magical prowess to keep a barrier strong through the trials.

Many people knew Bell, though most people referred to her as 'Grand Magus' or 'Elder', as even at such a young age she stood at the peak, only weaker than a few of the other mages that had been cultivating mana from the earth for much longer than herself. Even then, her talent was extraordinary and more than that she had a thirst for knowledge. Aside from being well known and powerful she was quite gorgeous as well, porcelain white skin without a blemish, fiery red hair, captivating emerald eyes, and a lithe body with satisfying curves. Of course it would have been even more appealing if she didn't walk around with her hair a mess, but appearance meant little despite how lovely she was. Even her clothes were for comfort first, a form fitting pair of leather pants and a short-sleeved shirt that clung to her body, showing off the modest bust she had been graced with. The clothes didn't fit her position but she so rarely attended meetings and made public appearances that it didn't much matter. Besides, she wasn't a popular woman among her peers, beauty only went so far when the common belief was that she had no interest in other people.

---

Talia looked at as she yanked her sword from the dead corpse of a wolf, eyes roaming over to look at the other dead soldiers, on both her side and the side of the werewolf empire. She was one of the few knights of the mage city. Even the mages had a use for foot soldiers. The mage military had several legions however, one of humans under their rule, the basic soldiers, there was a small legion of wolves who believed in their rights to freedom and were closer to nature and the mana the mages used to commune with it, and then there was a magic knight legion. This was the legion Talia belonged to, but it was so small that most of them served as captains or special officers, going to battle as one or two people instead of an entire battalion. There were also magic wielders who didn't serve as front line soldiers but there didn't get their hands dirty too often.

As the sickening sound of blade retreating from flesh filled the air Talia took count. Forty plus dead, a fourth of that being her own people. War cost lives, but her soldiers were beginning to grow stronger, her tactics growth along with the military strength of those under her command rising, and as they became veterans the loss of life became minimal. That was what she wanted, her band of fresh recruits to become battle ready, and truthfully that included her. Talia was young, wet behind the ears as a commander, but even then she was a leader, a mage knight, a soldier specializing in combining military expertise with magical power, a terrifying existence on the field of battle... More so than a majority of wolves, though even she would be hard pressed if met with some of the more outstanding alphas. Fortunately these little outskirt skirmishes were still negligible and thus far had not included the wolves true might, it was giving her time to perfect her skills in actual combat... To prepare.

"Captain Talia!" A shrill voice filled her ears and she stood to find a young male rushing towards her, the insignia of a different squad displayed on his armor. "Quickly, Captain please! The fourth squad has come under heavy attack, we need assistance." Her eyes narrowed, a confused expression on her face. Why would they be struggling. Immediately she rallied her troops and within minutes they were heading out, to support a group that shouldn't have had any trouble with the rabble on their border.

”Sasha, do you need someone to walk you home? It's gettin' dark out...I can protect you.” Cole asked hopefully as he put Sasha's money in the till.

“No! I'll walk her home. Plus, I'm stronger, I can carry those things for her.” Nils practically pushed his brother to the ground as he tried to wedge his way between the younger boy and a very confused looking Sasha.

“I don't want want to be a bother, I'll be fine on my own...” Sasha took an unsure step backwards as the two brothers began to growl at eachother over who was going to get escort her back to her home. She had known Cole and Nils for a very long time and the two of them were acting very strangely; neither of them had ever offered to walk her back to her home before...in fact both of them were very afraid of her father, the town blacksmith, so why go somewhere that he would surely be? And why on earth did they think she needed help getting home anyways? She may be a beta but she was still more than capable of carrying a basket full of lamb meat a stone's throw away.

“Oy! What in the flaming hell is this ruckus?! You boys shut yer yaps an' git back to yer jobs!” Piers snarled as he came out of the back room of his small butcher's shop when he heard the commotion. For a moment he seemed to be about to wring both of his sons' necks, but once he got within five feet of Sasha the large man abruptly stopped in his tracks, his face suddenly softening as he stared at the young girl as though seeing her for the first time. Then, as if remembering himself, he knocked his sons' heads together. “You two fools watch the shop and don't let nobody steal nothin'! I need to speak to Sasha's father. Come on, girl, let's go.”

Sasha was about to protest, she still had a few more errands to run, but upon looking at Nils and Cole again and noticing how the two boys were still looking at her with that dumb gaze, she decided that having Piers protect her wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

----

“But I don't want to be an Omega!” Sasha practically burst into tears after her father had broken the news. Piers had walked her home, told her father everything, and then the next thing Sasha had known she had been banished to her room while her father closed his shop early so that he could secure the downstairs. Now he was up in her room, measuring the window so that he could install iron bars to keep lusty young wolves from climbing up here and ravishing Sasha.

“Shhhh...shhh, pup, it's alright...” David moved to his little girl and awkwardly pat his daughter on the back, wishing yet again that his mate were still alive to help him. Jocelyn had passed away and had left him with two daughters! Two! He cherished both of his girls, but what did a blacksmith know about raising girls to be women? He had already messed up Sasha, the girl was far too interested in weapons and fighting than any young lady should be. While it was a relief that she wasn't trying to sneak off with boys like many of the girls her age, it did worry him that his eldest might not be marriage material. She could barely sew, she cooked about as poorly as he did...he had failed her. David had waited far too long to get a female slave to pick up the slack. But Sasha being an Omega might actually be a good thing! Now the girl had an excellent chance of attracting a wealthy mate who could take care of her...unfortunately such a prospect seemed to have dawned on Sasha and the girl began to cry.

“I d-don't want to be a porcelain d-doll!” Sasha sniffled. “I d-don't w-w-wuh-want to be nothing more th-than a p-p-prize for a male! I don't want to leave h-huh-home and b-be a m-mate!”

“Shhhh shhh... Those things won't happen to you...” David grimaced, he hated lying to his children but he didn't know what else to do. While he would not force Sasha to marry someone who she did not love, he couldn't deny that she was going to be treated differently from now on. Boys were going to fight amongst themselves for her approval or throw their services at her so that she never had to lift a finger ever again. “Sasha...shhh...here, look at me...” The old wolf smiled gently and peered down to his daughter. “I'm not going to sell you off to a nobleman. I'm not going to make you leave home. Now please...stop crying..." The old wolf paused for a moment...work always made him feel better, so he decided to suggest a chore for Sasha to do so that she could keep her mind off of her swiftly changing future. "I need you to buck up and go make dinner, Ori and Lena will be home soon and I need to make some bars for your window to keep the rabble out. Everything will be alright, pup, you will see.”

-----

Over the next five years, Sasha had never had to go through an Omega heat and she hadn't needed those bars on her window after all. Ori, the family servant, had managed to magically bind all of the things that had made Sasha an Omega, with great success too. Her scent, her sexual appetite, her physical build, all of that remained normal: Sasha looked and felt just like a regular beta. Piers and her family were the only ones who knew what she truly was and it stayed that way throughout Sasha's teenage years and into her adult life. She got to grow up normal! ...But of course her aging brought other sorts of problems to her. Sasha was 19 now, still unmated and still with little interest in any wolf of either gender, the girl's lack of a libido was probably a side effect of her Omega binding. Her only saving grace was that she was a journeyman blacksmith and astonishingly beautiful and strong for...for a beta female, anyways. But the fact that she was unmated made her choice to answer the call for soldiers from the city easier. Her sister was too young to enlist and her father was too important to the family to give up.

"I wish you would reconsider your decisions..." David frowned as he watched his daughter don the light chainmail that he had made nearly two decades ago. It was an expensive piece that he kept for sentimentality sake. Made from elven Mithril, it was the masterwork that had earned him the title of Master in the blacksmith's guild.

"There is nothing to reconsider." Sasha sounded matter of fact. There was in fact no other choice. She could not possibly run the shop on her own and her father was too old to be marching with the young men. "It just...makes sense. Besides, father, there are no wolves in town that I have any attraction towards. Maybe traveling will help me find someone."

"War and adventure are not the same thing!" David growled, knowing that his daughter was just trying to get a rise out of him because of his constant concern about her single status. "You are like your mother, pup, too much elven in you...it makes you crave the unknown." The old wolf grumbled.

"I am glad to be like her." Sasha grinned as her father growled. There was very little that Sasha remembered about her elven mother, but the stories that her father and the people in town used to tell about her led the wolf to believe that she was a wonderful person, if a bit odd because the ways of elves did seem so to be strange to wolves.



-------------------------------------------------------------


"Mommy, I don't want you to gooooooo!" Lucy cried as she clutched tightly onto her mother's leg. She wasn't the only child crying for their parent as the soldiers began to form ranks for their march out of the city, but she was by far the loudest.

"Oh my dear pup, I will be back soon, you will see." Danika's heart clenched as she watched her three year old whimper and sniffle. At least her son was doing a much better job at keeping a stiff upper lip though, five years old and he was already more of a man than their father was. "Caleb, come, take your sister." Danika very gently pried her daughter off of her armor and then leaned down to give her a hug before Caleb took his little sister's hand and led her back a few steps towards their aunt and uncle.

"I don't understand why you have to go. Why can't they just send father?" Caleb grumbled.

For a moment, she didn't know whether to be touched or worried that Caleb would rather see his incompetent father go off to war rather than his military trained mother. Richard could barely wield a sword, much less inspire confidence in a legion of men. "Your father is a brilliant strategist, he needs to stay here with grandpa and Uncle Liam and be part of his council." It was a lie, Richard was a mediocre strategist, but hopefully it would make her pups believe that their father was doing something important. While it was true that her mate was a cowardly snake in the grass, that didn't mean that she wanted her children to think ill of their father. Danika was not perfect either, even though her pups thought that she was the shining example of what every wolf should aspire to be. "And I am going with the troops because grandpa wants our people to know that we are willing to make sacrifices too. Just because we are royal doesn't mean that we can hide in our castle while we ask other wolves to go fight for us."

"Dani...thank you, for all of this." Liam spoke up after a moment. He felt like a coward, sitting here at home while his elder sister went off to war in his stead. Dani insisted that he stay behind because his mate was pregnant and because she had more military experience than he did...but that excuse didn't make him feel any less a yellow-belly.

"Thank you for watching Caleb and Lucy." Dani smiled at her little brother, as though this all were nothing, and then gave her pups one final hug and kiss goodbye. "Be very good for Uncle Liam and Aunt Olivia. I will be back before you know it." Then she moved over towards her horse, easily swinging herself up into the saddle although she was laden with her armor and weapon.

"Mommy! Wait! Take Tiberius too!" With tears in her eyes and a sniffley nose, Lucy ran over to her mother's horse so that she could offer up the ragged looking stuffed dog that the three year old brought everywhere. "He'll protect you!" Caleb had to pick up Lucy so that Danika could reach down from her saddle with ease and accept the toy.

"Are you sure?" Danika frowned with worry that Lucy would miss her toy too much while she was gone. But the little girl shook her head adamantly, and at that Dani smiled and put Tiberius in her pouch with his head sticking out. "There, now he can see all the places we go."

While most soldiers were busy saying goodbye to their families and having a touching conversation with a mate, or simply chatting with fellow soldiers they had known through training, Myra was different. She was watching Danika, a curious expression on her face as the princess bid farewell to her family in a rather grand fashion, the adorable pup Lucy being touching to say the least. Myra herself, well after a slap against the back of her head from her father and a quick, 'make our kingdom proud' he left. Her father was a military man himself so accomplishments were what he cared about, and Myra had been raised as a soldier from the day she was born, much to her mother's displeasure. The unfortunate part, her talent actually did fall to strength and swordplay as opposed to being a good daughter, and after a few skirmishes and a campaign she was considered a veteran soldier. One could tell who had went before, rank aside, because those like Myra had a carefree look on their face and quite a few scars beneath their armor, and Myra had a good deal of those. She was more carefree than others, bordering on foolish, but nobody doubted the vice-captain's abilities, she was a force on the battlefield and had actually won the kingdom tournament previously, though after her one win she refused to fight again, she hadn't wanted to in the first place.

Perhaps the most curious thing about Myra was her background though. She had been raised to be a soldier but in actuality she was a noble, a low level aristocrat but an old family with quite a bit of history as both servants of the crown and loyal fighters. It meant she knew Danika quite well, they had been together as friends since childhood, and even in recent years when time didn't allow them to meet she still had a special place in her mind for the gorgeous princess. Hell, she had pulled a few strings to be under the woman's command, using a lovely excuse about protecting her, which only worked because she was well known as a skilled military asset. Yep, 'protecting the princess', the only reason it worked was because nobody was aware of just how skilled the royal pain in the ass was. Even the foot soldiers had their doubts about any form of aristocracy being present as their leader, untested only meaning death in the hearts of some, but she had some faith things would go well.

After they left the castle Myra wasted no time moving around the back, screwing up formation a bit to get herself next to Danika, a ridiculous grin spread on her face as people rearranged themselves for her. "Ooooh Daaaaaanika~" She chirped, not sure her friend had noticed her at all, and ignoring the looks of shock on peoples faces as they heard someone call the name of the princess without any form of respect or title. The alpha wasn't scared though, she was all grin, and eye catching herself, even if the air of nobility had long since been cast aside. She was a tad tall, standing five foot nine, had a lean athletic body and ample curves hidden underneath her armor... Muscle and scars also hiding beneath the metallic uniform. Her face was feminine but had an edge of devilish charm to it, sun kissed skin giving away how much time she spent outside training and fighting, and her medium length brown hair was put up in a very short pony tail, only a few rogue strands falling across her face. She didn't mind scars but her face had been preserved with great effort, including one time where she almost died taking a sword to the chest to avoid a scrape to her cheek, it was worth it. Her mischievous green eyes sparkled and she tilted her head a bit, waiting for the princess to give her a response, curious whether her time serving the woman would be that of friend or that of a strict military nature... That would be so stuffy.

---

"Talia, love, you're strong, no damn wolf will be able to stand up to you. Now go be big and bad for me so I can hold my head up high." She chuckled, the short woman giving her a brief kiss and a smile. It was her girlfriend, and while they hadn't been dating for long they had known each other since the academy, and both specialized in combat magic, only Lily didn't have the aptitude with mana to make a proper soldier. Her skills were best used in the research division trying to think up effective spells or engrave spells to equipment for the soldiers, both of which took less mana. She wasn't particularly talented at that either but it could save some lives, and let more talented people like Talia worry about more pressing matters. The truth was being a mage knight had been less her choice and more her friends and family pressuring her into being one of the select soldiers, and even Lily had been for her running out to the front lines and giving their city a bigger chance at victory. The only problem, Talia was a shitty swordsman. Not the worst but her ability with a sword was comparable to anyone with less than a years experience, the only advantage she was was her immense mana pool and creative use of it. Mainly she used repulsion and attraction magic, as well as support based magic and fire spells. She had a lot of tricks, and so many books on magic in her belongings that one would think she didn't own anything else. In her mind it had all become about survival... After all, so many people were expecting her to do great things, and defend their people.

---

Talia wiped blood from her blade, an ugly look plastered on her face as she sat atop a rock and surveyed the battlefield. Nearly half of the troops from two different squadrons were dead. Even her skills had led to an injury, one which she had already healed up but didn't hurt her pride any less. She had known it was going to be bad, by the time she arrived most of the fourth squadron had been wiped out, only a handful remaining and by less wolves than the usual patrol. She figured out why quickly enough, these were the real wolves, the actual fighting force of the kingdom, and the enemies Talia had been dreading her entire time on the front line. The average soldier simply couldn't compete with the strength and speed of an alpha wolf, a beta sure, with proper training and experience, but alphas could only be competed against by the most powerful humans or equally powerful wolves... And the number the mages had of that was minuscule. Their only hope was mages and mage knights, but even they were few in number compared to the wolves. "Fuck" she muttered, wiping the last traces of blood from her blade before standing up and sliding the weapon back in its sheath. "Gather up the wounded and let's go, no reason to let them get the drop on us!" She shouted, getting quick responses from her men as she herself took one last look around. She had a bad feeling, death was coming.

Even though they were headed off to war, the air was still light and cheerful as veterans caught up with one another and new recruits began to form bonds within their squads. Danika knew that things would change as they drew closer to the border; but for now, she relished in the ease and camaraderie of her men…unfortunately such peace was not going to last her very long. A very familiar face came riding up beside her, causing the princess’ heart to start hammering in her chest. Myra… Even though they had spent a little over six years apart, Danika hadn’t forgotten her first love. Myra’s mere presence still filled her stomach wit butterflies…an issue that she was apparently going to have to deal with now and make sure she kept under lockdown for the rest of this war.

“-Commander-“ Danika stressed her title, loud enough so that nearby soldiers would hear the correction. She stilled her heart and slaughtered those butterflies with ice as she hid behind her rank and professionalism. Danika needed to be seen as a serious leader, not as the carefree girl that had grown up playing games and laughing with Myra. “I did not know that you would be part of my escort, Vice-Captain.” Danika’s personal guard was not supposed to include Myra…the princess was going to have to have to remedy that problem when they set up camp. But for now, she let Myra stay, not wishing to make her old friend look anymore like a fool than she already appeared.

-----------------------------------


“Come on, Smithy! Hustle!”

Sasha did her best to hurry as the Lieutenant barked at her….or maybe he was a Seargent? She had no idea. All she knew was that without any formal military training, she was the lowest of the low and so earned a lot of yelling because she didn’t know what she was doing, or did the things that she knew what she was doing not fast enough. Now she felt like a bumbling apprentice as she struggled to complete even the easiest of tasks: crafting a short sword. It is your first week as my apprentice, pup. Do not be so hard on yourself…you will find your way soon. The words of her father rang in her head and she took a deep, steadying breath. The first time that she had ever wielded a hammer under her father’s scrutinizing gaze had made her hand shake with nerves, now, as she tried to craft a sword infront of one of the impatient commanding officers, she felt just as scared as she had back then. It’ll get better… I know what I’m doing, I’m a journeyman now, not an apprentice. I just have to practice and get faster…

“Damned new recruits.” The Alpha spat and then turned away from the bumbling beta to turn his attention to one of the other officers who was also waiting for one of the other blacksmiths to service his weapon. “And damn these mages too…swing my sword at one of them and have the damned thing explode into pieces in my hand!” It had soon become clear that the mages had imbued their weapons with some sort of magic that caused them to be stronger and sharper than wolven blades. Werewolf soldiers who were equipped with cheap bronze swords had their weapons shatter into pieces; even steel blades were subject to chips and needed to be repaired after a battle.

“Uh, sir?” Sasha timidly spoke up. “If I might suggest…mithril is stronger than steel and naturally imbued with it’s own magic, it might be able to withstand the mage’s spells. It’s difficult to work with but um, it may be a better investment… Even if we just mix the ores together, it would increase the strength of the steel…” The young wolf’s voice trailed off as both burly men turned to her and Sasha braced herself for a tongue lashing about minding her own business.

“Ya don’t think we know that?!” The officer who had been yelling at her before growled. “Elves are the only ones who can turn that mess of an ore into anything other than a rock fer throwin’! We’re at war, we can’t afford trading with those knife-ears.”

“My mother was a knife-ear.” Sasha growled and stood up a little straighter, forgetting her place as her lineage was insulted. Most betas were born from an elven and wolf union and while they lacked the ability to shift on command like a pureblood Alpha, they still were fully capable people. “And I can work with the ore, any beta born of an elvish parent can.”

“It appears your blacksmith has some fight in her, Ulric.” The larger, more decorated man who had been conversing with the Lieutenant chuckled. “What’s your name, smith?”

After a moment of hesitation as she contemplated leaving the safety of anonymity, the young wolf responded, “Sasha, sir.”

“Sasha,” The old wolf repeated, then introduced himself, “Captain Merek… I will speak to my commanding officer about your suggestion. We will be passing near elvish lands as we push further southward, a little diplomacy may be worth looking into.”

Myra was a vice-captain, and had previously held the rank of captain, several times in fact, but her mouth often led her to move up the ranks only to be smacked back down. She was charismatic, a capable leader, and a skillful veteran, but she was also a smartass who didn't do well with authority. In the military that made her life difficult. Still, big mouth or not the aristocrat often had an air of dignity and grace, and even when joking came across as charming. However, even since the army departed from the capital she had been nothing of the sort, absolutely forgoing that dignified presence to instead lean over and press her face into her horse, pouting and muttering to herself. The unit under her command couldn't help but laugh, poking fun and getting belligerent grunts in response. None of them knew what happened but they let their leader know just how stupid she looked, "Cap, if you're not careful they might just bust you down another rank for being such a sight." The one speaking was a soldier that had been under her command long enough to see her rank go up and down, in fact most of her squad was comprised of veterans, and most of them still referred to her as a captain, refusing to add 'vice' anywhere on the title. In their eyes she was the reason they had made it so far, and they were clearly comfortable poking fun at the powerful alpha.

"Shut your traps" she spoke, shooting a glance at her soldiers and sighing, all of them laughing and enjoying the atmosphere far too much to try and figure out what was behind it. Little did they know it was over their princess. How could anyone guess they had been on such good terms in the past, not only as friends but as temporary, young lovers. They had spent countless nights together, fooling around and learning, and it hadn't been that short a fling. Alas it had ended roughly, and Myra had come out banged up, a little worse for the wear. Heartbreak eventually faded but she hadn't forgotten about Danika... The princess... Her princess. Her feelings weren't as solid as before but the moment she had seen her childhood friend she had been all grins, desire and some lingering affection making her act like a fucking fool. She had been so friendly, acted like she had been on good terms with the woman, and then boom, shut down. Danika hadn't been happy at all, only cold and professional, as if they barely knew one another. Not only had she lost some face with the surrounding officers, but the wolf had quickly turned in to a pouting mess, which would have been adorable if it hadn't continued almost the entire way to the elven forest, only then did she pop up and act something like an officer, eyes to the trees and ready to fight if they were welcomed as trespassers instead of guests. She knew elves, she knew how they could be. Luckily nothing of the sort had happened and they had come to a village without incident, but that didn't mean her guard went down.

---

So many humans had arrived that the elves of the Dark Forest couldn't help but be astounded, irritated even. To them humans, and their pathetically rushed lives, were nuisances to their race. Of course some watched with interest as the human race attempted to make something out of less than a century, but most would rather stay out of it and forget they existed. At least some humans weren't so bad, and among the humans elves could relate to the most... That happened to be mages and werewolves. Sure certain other races and subsets would naturally have overlap, but werewolves and mages had a deep connection with nature, wolves living longer than average lives with unique vitality and a primal connection with nature, very similar to their own druids, and mages tapped in to mana, the divine source of power within the earth. Not everyone shared this sentiment but most did, tolerating those groups more so than others. Still, the arrival of such a large group did make them uncomfortable, not because of fear but general tendencies to be reclusive and not receive guests. Among these was Sora, though as with most elves this was but a common name, her true name held too much power to be given out. Upon acquiring a true name anyone could hold power over even the most skilled elf. It was guarded more closely than life and given to spouses upon the day they were wed.

Sora despised having people enter the village, and while it seemed the wolves had arrived on business it didn't comfort the young elf. She was still in her second century of life but she already held a vast enmity for humans, and mainly for mages. The youth had the usual elven features, femininity and beauty that was breath-taking, subtle curves, and a grace that came naturally to the ancient race. Sora was one of the clans elites in terms of status, a border captain with unrivaled archery skills and the innate magical talent of her kind, a formidable and agile combatant usually so deadly anyone attempting to cross in to their land didn't know they had died until they had passed over. So when wolves came to request aid in forging weapons and counteracting the magic of the humans she was one of the few suggested, and while she had a right to decline she did not. As much as wolves annoyed her she hated human mages much more, their abuse and disregard for nature and mana sickened her. Of course even with her agreeing it wasn't set in stone, the wolves had to offer appropriate compensation, and the elves were often shrewd and unyielding in regards to military aid, knowing a few of theirs were worth tens of any normal soldier. After all they had soldiers who perfected their abilities over hundreds of years and powerful magic. Their gift with mana wasn't like a humans, they didn't have to rely on luck and talent nearly as much, it was innate, a gift they were often born with, and thus the availability of skilled users was vastly superior to any other race.

---

Sora hadn't waited for a deal to be struck to wander over to the wolves camp. She had a feeling they would pay whatever price to acquire some magically capable soldiers. Not that she heard the details. Really she didn't care, her entire body was covered in a cloak and a mask covered her face, she didn't have any plans to stand out or talk with anyone, instead looking around and trying to get a feel for the army. As far as she was concerned they were mere brutes, most of them looking like nothing more than piles of muscle, but upon watching some spar she found herself surprised at the agility wolves possessed, not having any interest in humans but some in the primal gift werewolves had been bestowed. It made them stronger, faster, and gave them reflexes and instinct that could cause even the most sheltered lamb among them to put up a fierce fight. Still, when faced with magic instinct didn't mean as much as experience, and she had a feeling most of them hadn't seen real magic.

Danika had been to the Dark Forest a handful of times before. Her mother was a very skilled diplomat and would oftentimes go to the Dark Forest before a trip in order to purchase elven wares to be given as a gift to werewolf rulers in countries who may not have a colony of isolated creatures nearby. Wolves themselves didn’t see much use in creating things that were beautiful; as a race that admired the functionality of an object over anything else, the ornate qualities of a piece were usually used as a way to show the prestige of the owner, nothing more. It is a shame the pups are so little… I wish I could let them see further than the castle walls so they knew how others lived. Perhaps she could bring them back a souvenir on their return journey, provided she didn’t spend all of her money on armaments for her men first.

Several of the forward squads had had to retreat in order to gather new weapons and replenish their supplies from the main army. The bronze swords that had served her men so well were being shattered to bits by mage spells. So now Danika was placed in the very awkward position of asking for aid from a people who preferred to remain neutral and retreat deeper into the forest rather than hold their ground and fight.

“We ask simply for a fair price for your ore and your men should be eager to join us in battle so that they may defend their lands from the invading human forces.” The price for elven troops was high, and while Danika knew that the money would be well spent, she knew better than to throw all her kingdom’s money away.

“You are human; do you mean to invade us?” The old elf eyed the princess carefully. So far, the wolves had been very respectful of the land. The forest was a little more crowded and nosier than usual, but the humans had not slain more wild game than they needed, nor had they chopped down anything to fuel their fires.

“We are not human.” Danika bristled. “We are werewolves. Our kind do not reproduce like rabbits like the humans do, we do not destroy entire swaths of forest for the sake of feeding our young, we do not pollute the rivers and lakes with dyes for cloths and leathers.” She supposed she shouldn’t be angry for the mistake, in this form, Danika did appear to be human and an elf’s nose wasn’t sensitive enough to smell the difference. At least she was thankful that the elf hadn’t called her ‘barbarian’ as the mages and humans sometimes liked to do.

----

After a long day of negotiations, Danika was eager to go back to her tent so that she could get out of her armor and collapse onto her cot. Life in the castle didn’t require her to carry a metal suit on her back all day, and motherhood had made the wolf soft in general. Her rear and thighs ached from her saddle and it was difficult for her to walk without wincing, but somehow she managed to keep her gait steady and her face a mask of indifference. It was only when her squire had finished helping her out of her armor and then retreated out of her tent to give Danika some privacy did the princess sink to her cot and let out a whine of pain. Goddess, give me strength…


--------------------------------------------------

“I’ve got 10 silver on Cooky!”

“Come on, Smithy! Show ‘im who’s boss.”

“I’m not fighting her!” The cook grumbled in response to the circle of jeering werewolves around him and Sasha.

“And why not?!?!” A few of the female soldiers glared at the chef expectantly, obviously they were taking offense to such chivalry.

“She’s just a pup!” The cook said exasperatedly as he tried to grasp for excuses, not wishing to offend the female soldiers but also not wishing to hit a girl either.

“I am not a pup! And I can fight just fine.” Sasha growled. The cook was maybe only a year or two older than her! Guh, this whole thing was embarrassing! The cooks, medics, and blacksmiths were not expected to actually fight in battles because it was difficult to find skilled replacements for them; but still, the officers made them practice and spar. Whether it was to prepare them for a surprise attack that broke through their ranks or simply for the amusement of the foot soldiers, Sasha couldn’t be sure.

When the Seargent barked at the two of them to suck it up and spar, both specialists complied. The group that had gathered around them was soon surprised to see Sasha knocking the cook’s sword away after a few blows, the young chef looking just as astonished as the rest of the crowd.

“Beginner’s luck… Isolde! Get in there!” The Seargent hollared and now Sasha found herself facing off against a female foot soldier who was obviously an Alpha. But again, Sasha’s speed, flexibility and agility made her the victor of this round.

“Enough!” The Lieutenant barked and Sasha froze, mid-swing. “Smithy, I’ve got a present for you.” Ulric pushed forward two beta foot soldiers her way and motioned towards a cart full of ore. “Yer gonna show these gits how to forge a sword, they’re halfie, just like you. An’ all three of ya are gonna stay up the rest of the night and keep the forges burnin’. We need as many weapons made before tomorrow as possible so we don’t have to march with this damn cart full of rocks.”

Myra hated the Dark Forest. At best people didn't get attacked and they had to deal with the constant mockery of the elves, which was fine to some extent but annoying to the few elites who knew they were an even match for the woodland race. Myra was one such wolf and she knew full well she had the skills to shut the smug things up, but at the same time know exactly what they had come to do. So she had to ignore all the bullshit and look at the positive, mainly admiring how beautiful the surroundings were. Still, that wasn't much and she spent more time muttering to herself about being there and about Danika than she did doing anything else. Even training was tossed aside, the vice-captain going and crushing a few people in the makeshift ring before cursing about how weak people were and escaping, knowing if she stayed around for too long she would be dragged over and made to lead the training. Like hell she was going to do that. Myra was an incredible fighter but a shitty teacher, which had more than a little to do with the fact that she used reflexes, an exceptionally trained body, and instinct to fight, and that was not something the average soldier could do or try and mimic. Without experience and dedication most soldiers would die fighting like she did.

Instead of helping people get themselves killed she took another route, finding a nice place near the command center and setting up tent before slipping inside and pulling out some strong liquor. Might as well drink while there was no danger... And while there was a chance to restock from the elves, a task usually impossible but easily carried out by the half-elf she had in her squad. Myra didn't care about lineage as some wolves did, to her ability was all that counted and in her little squad she had several half-elves and betas. If they had the talent she scooped them up, and more often than not the officers she requested them from were delighted to get less skillful alphas in exchange. It was funny how many people believed the word alpha meant more powerful. Most of them couldn't beat her human form while shifted. "Hah, what a joke." She muttered, taking a sip of the alcohol and rooting around her bag, pulling out a crinkly piece of paper that had obviously been shoved in her belongings for a long time. It was a letter, and as she read it her face jaw clenched, "Six years... Seems you've all but forgotten me." While it was no longer as pristine as it once had been he letter was written in gorgeous handwriting on exquisite paper, and signed at the bottom was a familiar name, 'Danika', the words 'I love you' right above. Time didn't always help.

---

Sora smirked as she got caught up in watching the matches, especially one rather interesting girl, apparently a smith, though it was ignorant how they all called her by profession rather than name. Disrespectful really. Sora wasn't a bastion of respect, she would most likely just not bother speaking if she didn't want to be courteous, but insults were rare from her lips. The girl was skilled though, and while ignorance was blinding most onlookers, Sora could see the training beneath the surface, how this 'smith' had not only crafted many swords but trained with them, which was admirable in a way. Elven smiths would do the same, learning how to use a sword as to craft one not for mere design but to understand why certain aspects needed to be crafted in a particular way. Any smith who didn't was asking to create shoddy work. None of this really made a difference to her, but right as she was about to leave she heard a word that did, halfie. She knew what people referred to her people as, the respectful ones used half-elf, others said things like halfie or knife-ear or mixed. Those words tended to piss her off, even when her own people used them... And it was just as common among proud elves.

So, where she had planned to keep herself out of the mix and in the background she instead slipped through to the front of the crowd and stood in the middle of the group, right where the sparring was occurring. Sora seemed rather small standing there, shorter than the average human woman and seemingly delicate while covered with the cloak. Even her hands and the revealed sections of her face made one believe she was less of a fighter, softness and pale white skin seeming to betray her courage. However, if only looked they would notice the tips of her fingers, the sign of an archer, and the fact that her eyes were sharp, the gorgeous blue orbs chilling as she stared at the person who had walked in after the previous match, ready to show his skill after the humiliation of a foot soldier to a smith. As eyes started to look her way she flipped her hood back, her shimmering black hair was shorter, practical for combat but still holding a certain grace to it. Her mask stayed up but through the fabric a hint of a smirk could be seen and as she unsheathed her dagger she gave the wolf a challenging look. The man grinned, looking to the officers for confirmation, as if scared of hurting her and endangering their mission. After a moment they nodded, and in overconfident form he charged in. It took but a moment, a single breath, for Sora to go from standing to launching herself forward with speed that put the wolf to shame, dashing in front and using surprising strength to slam the butt of her blade into his solar-plexus, following up with a graceful roll of her body to get behind the temporarily stunned wolf, foot coming down hard behind his lag and sending the man to his knees, and in a flash a thin, sharp blade was at this throat. It all happened in an instant, and the elf leaned in, her cold voice traveling to his ear, "I'm an archer." Then, without a thought she removed her blade, sheathed it, and walked away, returning her hood to the top of her head and giving one last glance to the smith and the 'halfies'. Being an elf was a good thing after all.

---

As the day passed Myra had drank plenty, a slight bit buzzed as everything settle down, the sky starting to slowly darken. It was only then she left the comfort of her tent and the warm embrace of the brandy she had been nursing all day, and took a look around. As opposed to earlier when she set up the camp was more dense, more people having prepared for their night's rest. The wolf sighed, a hand going up and pushing through her hair as she let the cooling air brush against her heated flesh. After a moment her hand fell down and checked that she hadn't forgotten to put her blade on, being just a bit out of it, and then, upon discovering she had her weapon, made her way towards the tent she knew belonged to Danika. Earlier had sucked but she couldn't leave it like that, she needed to give it another try, perhaps being more blunt and less 'friendly' because friendly hadn't been her goal from the start. Being in Danika's group had never been a coincidence, it had taken owing a favor to an annoying general. Her emotions had dulled some sure, but Myra had never been capable of forgetting Danika, no matter how hard she tried and how desperately her family was to marry her off... She wasn't exactly in her teens anymore, there were expectations she refused to fulfill, only nobody knew her affections for the kingdom's princess were the cause.

Myra didn't knock or speak until she had already gone inside Danika's tent, immediately seeing her but Danika being in no position to be seeing the door, instead sitting and staring at something. The alpha moved quietly behind Danika, eyes glancing over and seeing the drawing in her hand, heart constricting slightly. It was clearly drawn by her kids... And instantly she could keep the jealousy down. She hadn't even met Danika's kids... And her husband didn't fucking deserve her. "It's not smart to keep your back to the door... Danika." She said in a mockingly cheerful tone from behind, refusing to call her commander and a sad smile on her face as she let her presence be known. Myra was already so close that the moment Danika moved to turn around she moved forward. Before she knew what she was doing Myra was pushing herself against Danika, lips capturing soft lips and built up desire from six long years taking over. It was stupid, seemingly rash and random, but for her the kiss contained more unresolved feelings than anything else. She had waited and planned for a moment where she could be by Danika's side, and instead of being intelligent and rekindling things she lost control, drank too much, and took the princess' lips... Passion and lust being poured out with each second they were connected, and she showed no signs of ending her needy advances unless Danika stopped her.

---

Talia had a grim expression on her face, the scout in front of her panicked as well. "Did you just say army?" The scout's face was ashen and he nodded his head rapidly, "Yes ma'am, not just a border party. We got word from one of our spies within the forest that an entire army of wolves seems to be heading this way, and it seems like the main force." Talia slammed her hand against the table, causing the scout to jump. A real army would wipe them out, the mage presence on the border relying on quality and not quantity, the few commanders and elite mage knights using their superior abilities to crush a larger number of wolves. Against an army though... They couldn't stand up to such large forces, especially with there being just as many elites in such a force as they had. "Give me the orders and then leave, I assume you're to report to the capital as well?" She asked, taking a sealed piece of paper from the general overseeing the border units. "Yes ma'am, I'll be leaving then" the scout forced out, and then without another word he fled, having already seen several officers react to their missive, and while not knowing what orders they were getting he knew it wasn't good. He needed to hurry to the capital.

"Bullshit!" Talia's voice carried through most of her dwindling camp, barely having fifty men currently, the battles having been vicious and reinforcements slim. The main reason for her anger wasn't the shitty aid or the horrid food, it was the piece of paper she was holding in her hand... The piece of paper informing her of a mass ambush the general in command was issuing. He had gone mad, apparently thinking that since they couldn't hold the border with the usual skirmishes that trying their luck in a large scale assault was a better plan. Sure it gave them the chance to kill or capture leaders, but they barely had a thousand soldiers to scrape together. She grit her teeth, not knowing how she was going to tell her men that they would be going to die soon, that when the army they didn't know of yet made it to the border that they would engage. Goddess help them, how were they supposed to do anything. Yes, magic was strong, but numbers meant something, and this army was not going to be as easy to bully as some inexperienced greenhorn wolves who continuously bombarded the borders.

He wants that cart done in one night!?!?!? Sasha looked at her commanding officer as though he had two heads. Even if she forged only the blades and then left the hilts until later, there was no way that she’d get through even half of that cart. The realization that she would have to fall into this cycle of marching in the morning and then forging at night made her face fall. She’d never get any sleep ever again! Why hadn’t she just kept her big mouth shut?! The only consolation she had was that her helpers were also half elven so that processing the mithril would be slightly less painful. It was like the metal –knew- whether or not the blacksmith had any elf blood running through their veins.

The young wolf sighed dejectedly and was about to turn to leave when she noticed a cloaked figure making it’s way through the crowd. Tall and lean, Sasha realized that it must be an elf. How strange…they have been keeping to themselves almost our entire stay here. Because her commanding officer also seemed to be distracted with the fresh meat, Sasha decided that she could spare a moment and watch the elf compete with one of the werewolf soldiers.

“Wow…” Sasha murmured to herself as she watched the stranger move. The woman was just so –fast-. She couldn’t believe that the elf was an archer! Partly it was due to her holding the very common werewolf belief that archers were cowards, pretend-warriors who were too afraid to let their opponent get near them.

“What’re you gawkin’ at, Smithy?!” Ulric noticed Sasha not moving and apparently staring at the elven warrior. “We don’t have all nigtht! Get your tail over to the forges and get to work! Double time!” The Lieutenant barked, and Sasha all but ran towards her station so that she could get to work before the Lieutenant devised a punishment for her.

----------------------------------


Can’t sleep…not just yet… Danika’s body was practically shouting at her to go to bed so that they could have time to heal, but the wolf didn’t want to call it a night so soon. The princess forced herself up so that she could grab her journal out of her satchel, her satchel that was now the home of Tiberius. Well, at least now my personal effects have a guard dog. Seeing the stuffed toy made her smile and rather than open up her journal to a blank page so that she could start writing, she flipped open to the end where a folded up piece of paper had been tucked in. Liam had drawn a picture of himself and his little sister waving at the viewer, as well as Uncle Liam and pregnant looking Aunt Olivia. I’m really going to have to talk to him about omitting his father in family drawings… Lucy had colored in the four figures and had drawn some blobs that looked like trees and flowers. On the top of the paper, in her five year old’s messy handwriting was scrawled ‘Love you mommy! Come home soon! Love, Caleb and Lucy’ the ‘y’s tail had been dragged down into a jagged edge, Lucy had probably tried to grab the crayon from Liam. She could imagine her stubborn little one telling her big brother that she could write her own name by herself.

The sound of someone’s voice made her jump, but at the realization that it was only Myra, Danika calmed right back down. She quickly closed her journal, not wishing for anyone to know that she was so sentimental, or so homesick on the first day of their journey. “Yes, well… Usually my guard does a fine job of keeping intruders out… I see your somehow managed to sneak by though.” Danika did not reprimand Myra for using her name, after all, they were in private now, the princess could neglect appearances for a moment, if only for an old friend. So she stood up and turned, preparing for a quick chat before showing Myra out of her tent. Before she could even get a word out, the Vice-Captain was ontop of her, lips pressed against Danika’s in a searing kiss.

Danika couldn’t even stifle a moan as Myra took her into her arms. Six years was not nearly long enough for her body to forget what it had been missing this whole time. Her heart raced, her entire body hummed with energy, and as Danika allowed the kiss to deepend, she caught the taste of alcohol that ignited a memory that she had buried for so long.

”Hold shtill! You’re makin’ this verrry difficult.” Myra was all slurring words and smiles as she lapped up the wine that was running down from the centerline of Danika’s chest and to her ribs.

“I can’t help it!” Danika was slurring a little bit herself as she laughed. After drinking half the bottle that Myra had stolen from her father and eating a few pieces of fruit infront of Danika’s fireplace, one of them had gotten the bright idea to start eating food of the other one’s body, and once they had run out of fruit they had switched to wine. Maybe they should have started with the wine first…now they were both too tipsy to keep from making a mess. “You need to either pour with a steadier hand or lick faster, ‘cause every time you lick my ribs, it tickles.”

“This is supposed to be romantic, not funny!” Myra huffed, stopping her licking just to pout.

“Aw…Myra. This –is- very romantic.” Danika swallowed her laughter and sat up so that she could kiss her pouting, inebriated lover. “Mmm… Come on…stop sulking, love. This is the best anniversary present ever.”

The only thing that kept Danika from dragging Myra down into her cot and reliving that experience from so long ago was the phantom-like burning she felt on her neck. She couldn’t do this… Myra would make her want to leave Richard, well, leave him even more so than she already wanted to. Most of the castle knew of her mate’s transgressions. Hell, her father had even been unable to turn a blind eye to them. She could do it…she could leave him…

”Treaties be damned, Danika. I will not have him make a fool of you!”

“While I appreciate your concern, father, I am able to handle my own affairs.” Danika smiled sadly. She was trapped in this marriage, damned by the pups who she loved so much. If she divorced Richard, he would demand that his heirs follow him back to his kingdom….she’d never get to see her children again…

Danika couldn’t do this. She couldn’t cry over Myra again. She couldn’t wish for the two of them to run away together anymore. Perhaps she would have abandoned her pack in order to pursue a life with Myra six years ago, but she would never abandon her children now. With great effort, she forced herself to pull away. “Myra…you’re drunk.” Danika grasped at the only good excuse that she could give: Myra was drunk, she obviously didn’t know what she was doing. “You can’t be here, you need to leave.”

The moment Myra's lips touched Danika's it all came flooding back. They had been in love, and not that bullshit young love that was shallow and fleeting, true love. Myra had foolishly believed she could be Danika's mate, that they would never be apart, and it had been the most joyful period of her life. More than that, it was the only time in Myra's life that she constantly drifted back to, the comparison for every aspect of her current years. Each time someone made a move on her, each time she took a lover or tried to make a meaningful relationship... They all fell short. It was Danika's fault, nobody could compare to her princess. It was so bad that casual, routine moments in her life took her back to times she shared with the gorgeous wolf, and often she had to drink or fight to get the memories to fade for awhile longer. It had been getting better, the strength of her affections slowly fading, and yet the moment she heard Danika would be an officer things had changed and she felt the familiar tug of emotion begging for her to listen. It was horrible. Maybe a few more years, just a few more, and she could have moved on, but as if sensing she were on the precipice of a breakthrough the universe shoved Danika back in her life. It made her miserable, and yet at the same time she was inexplicably happy. Nobody made her feel the way this particular member of the royal family did, nobody.

So when their lips met and she felt the heat and desire pressing back she quickly let a spark of hope ignite all of the forgotten flames, making the aristocrat pour even more desire into the lip lock. It was too soon to have such hopes however, and the moment Danika forced them apart her heart sank, as if knowing what was about to happen. "Drunk?" her eyes narrowed slightly and she struggled to keep her voice down, even if keeping it calm and unwavering was impossible. "The hell I am... Maybe tipsy but I'm no lightweight Danika." She struck back, instantly hating what was about to happen, hearing the bullshit immediately and not missing a beat... Danika always had been amazing at rationalization, and why else would she bring up a bit of alcohol when she both knew how Myra had always felt and reciprocated even if for but a moment. The alpha just stared at Danika for a moment, part of her wanted to growl and push forward, slam Danika onto the bed and force her lips, make it to where she couldn't lie... But her confidence was shattered with the rejection and she couldn't be absolutely sure in assuming her ex wasn't serious. "Hmph... Fine. I'll leave you alone 'Commander'. I'm sorry for the inappropriate advances." She was angry and sad all at the same time, staring at Danika a moment and reaching out, tempted to ignore all of it and touch her one more time, but then she stopped. If Danika had wanted her she could have come for her at any time, because Myra knew, she knew the princess had her share of affairs, she knew how loveless the marriage she shared with Richard was. Myra's affections were worthless.

---

It had taken her most of the night to fall asleep, which was actually just her passing out after truly getting drunk, taking the rejection to heart, and an entire bottle of liquor to her liver. When she woke up it was only due to one of her soldiers shaking at her, a nervous voice whispering in her ear, "Cap... Cap, if you don't get up now you won't have time to get ready." The voice belonged to Delia, an adorable blonde with perhaps the most insane skills with a spear Myra had ever seen. Whether it was mounted combat or the shock trooper style of Myra's squad, the girl was an asset. Myra was perhaps a tad too hungover though, and more than a little heartbroken, which caused her to turn over and give the girl a very inviting look. "C-Cap." She said again, eyes roaming Myra's body before she blushed like a teen and turned to start cleaning up the tent a bit, knowing very well how Myra could get after a few too many and being use to the lusty looks of the half-sleeping alpha. It never went anywhere but before Danika jumped back in to her line of sight Myra had definitely been flirty with Delia, and old habits were hard to kick entirely when drinking had been involved. Only when she became a bit more awake did she sit up and look back at the girl, a sigh escaping her lips as she pinched her own skin, a little, 'idiot' gesture at herself. "Sorry Del, just give me like five minutes and I'll be out. Need to freshen up and get my gear on." She smiled, this time being much more natural and charming, and less lusty lecher.

Delia nodded, flattered whenever they flirted but more comfortable around the charming, reliable captain than the horny booze fiend Myra could sometimes become. Not that Myra had even slept with one of her soldiers, it was a hard line, but she had definitely been a bit flirty in the past. She really was a silly person, serious and powerful with another personality that was irresponsible and pouty. That morning, after cleaning up using a bit of fresh mint for her breath and a water ration to clean her skin, Myra came out and broke down her tent, armor glistening and two swords on her back. This wasn't her ceremonial gear, the crap she was supposed to wear to look good upon departure, it was her battle gear. The armor covered less but was more protective where it mattered, allowing mobility and more life saving protection, and she was carrying two swords, her preferred combat style being a dual blade style. She was dressed for war and knew enough to do so before the first battle than after. Fuck ceremony and matching uniforms, she wasn't the type to care about appearances when they could engage in battle at any point, after all, they were headed towards enemy territory. If only Danika was as easy to handle as war. Even if she were prepared to kill and possibly be killed, the moment she mounted her horse and found her place near Danika, being one of her 'honor guards' of sort, she felt more than a little distracted. Why couldn't the princess just love her...

Danika’s heart sank as she noticed the anger and sorrow in Myra’s eyes. It made her want to draw the beautiful soldier into her arms, to whisper sweet words into her ear and take away the pain she felt. But Danika knew she couldn’t, as much as she wanted Myra, she couldn’t afford such emotional entanglements. It actually frightened her how just one, drunken kiss had her contemplating dropping everything and riding off into the sunset with her knight like those princesses in fairy tales. And so as Myra’s hand twitched and the Vice-Captain moved forward as though to touch her, Danika tensed up, prepared to move back if Myra came too close to her, she didn’t trust herself to say ‘no’ if her knight kept pushing.

Myra was the one who left you in the first place. You shouldn’t feel bad about this! Danika thought to herself, her heart having tightened in sorrow as she watched Myra leave her tent. And then she remembered that a few days after she had brought up that her parents were finalizing an arranged marriage between her and a prince from Argis, Myra had disappeared from her life. The other girl had avoided Danika like the plague after that; she hadn’t returned any of the love notes that the princess had snuck under her door, hadn’t scaled the wall to sneak into Danika’s window at night…Myra had made it abundantly clear that they were over with her aversion. The loss of her lover had sealed her fate, Danika couldn’t very well protest to an arranged marriage if she had no good reason for doing so. And so with a broken heart, she had allowed Richard to bond with her.

Richard was not the one she wanted marking her neck though. His touch was too rough, his words were not sweet, he was selfish and prideful…Danika could barely stand to be in the same room as him. She missed her Myra, her playful, romantic Myra, and had quietly cried over her for many nights during that first year with Richard. It had been easier to forget about her pain once Caleb had been born; there was a little creature that needed her and her love once again. Being a mother was something that Danika had always wanted and a subject that her and Myra could never confront because there couldn’t have had a family if they had become mates, and being a mother was something that helped her forget about the silly pup she had once been.

For a moment she wondered if her old friend knew of her affairs and that was what had brought on this sudden turn of events. No, no, she couldn’t know about them. She was just drunk…and Myra was always handsy when she was drunk. Like a good princess, Danika had been very careful to hide her affairs. Even Richard didn’t know that she was sleeping with several of the servants a few of the noble dignitaries that visited the castle from time to time. Then again, her husband not knowing wasn’t a grand feat, the man was oblivious and too wrapped up in himself to notice what was going on around him. But still, her lovers were all discreet, she was very careful in her choices in both women and locations for meet ups, there was no way that Myra could know…at least that was what Danika liked to believe.

----

The next morning, Danika woke up with a hollowness in her chest that she had not felt in years. Without her pups clambering into her bed to wake her up, without her children to take care of and teach all day, the princess was left with zero distractions. For the first time in a long time, she remembered what it was like to feel truly alone. She didn’t like it, not one bit, and so hurried to busy herself so that she wouldn’t notice. If there was one thing that Danika was good at, it was finding enough reasons and distractions to make the sacrifices that she so readily made seem easier. So after getting dressed into her ceremonial armor, she fell into ranks with her generals in order to listen to their reports and hear their recommendations for action. Her role was more mediator than anything else, so many strong Alphas usually made for a lot of headbutting.

In the end, it was decided that they would send a small force forward to reinforce the border parties. This force would establish a base camp and send out scouting squads so that when the rest of the slower moving army arrived, they would not have to delay their attack.

--------------------------------------------

Everything hurt. Sasha had been hammering out mithril all night, her eyes ached from straining them in the darkness and her hands hurt from wielding a hammer for hours and hours. When the morning came, she didn’t even know how she was still standing, didn’t even know how she was supposed to march with the rest of the army. She was so tired that she didn’t even give a damn about cleaning herself, and so formed ranks, sweaty and covered in charcoal dirt. Thankfully one of the footsoldiers in her squad came from a wealthy family and had a horse. The kind male let her ride while he walked and held the reins, guiding the horse while Sasha dozed in the saddle.

It turned out that her squad was one of the groups that would be sent forward. Without the slow moving carts from the main army, they should be able to arrive at the border within the next day or two. And while Sasha should be ecstatic that the half full wagon of mithril wasn’t going to be following her, she still knew that she had many hilts to make tonight.

All she could do was ignore everything about Danika and focus on her job, which was to follow orders and be prepared to fight. It wasn't easy with every fiber of her being wanting to be with Danika, which made it quite clear to a lot of those in her squad that something was wrong. Usually, even in the most serious of situations Myra would be grinning from ear to ear telling stories or making jokes, keeping the spirits of her men light and having her eyes shine with the desire to do battle. This time she was solemn, if anything a bit pouty, and not nearly as cute as she would normally be, her entire aura exuding a hint of the rage lingering within. It was enough to make some people worried, thinking that maybe they were about to go in to a battle that even made their captain nervous, though Delia had a feeling it was something else, and furrowed her brow as she looked at Myra. She gained the vice-captains attention after a moment and Myra looked over, forcing a grin before winking to her and continuing the march, mind quickly drifting back to her own worries. No war was as fucking oppressive as the rejection throw at her by Danika, and as an alpha Myra had some pride, which was making it troublesome. She wanted to look over, to beg with her eyes, to try and approach the princess again, but if the results were the same, which they probably would be, she would be heartbroken. In the end she didn't dare do so before they won their first battle and set up some sort of foothold camp, she couldn't be distracted in battle.

---

Talia had an angry expression on her face as she listened to the generals plan for the ambush, her helmet protecting her from being caught but even with it on there was a sense of hatred pouring out of her. The plan had been suicide for most of the squads, relying on countless meaningless diversions for a main force to break through and attempt to 'take the head of the snake'. It sounded well and good but the main force was made up of only a few mage knights and the general mixed with a few hundred regular soldiers. She had a feeling the man was disregarding the strength of the wolf main army, and even more the elites that would protect the leader of theirs. Even Talia didn't have faith she could break through with proper soldiers, much less the rabble they planned on attacking in. Yet even with the stupidity of the plan it went forward, leaving Talia to sneer and stomp back to her soldiers, preparing them to march to their deaths... Otherwise it was pointless, it wasn't like they could flee, where would they go? She felt helpless, not only for her soldiers but for herself, unable to think of a way this upcoming battle would end with her still breathing.

---

It had all happened in a flash, Talia and the rest of the unit had rushed in at the same time as the diversionary troops, cutting right through the back of the enemy formation and approaching the heart of the group, right towards the cluster of officers. The general had been smug, but before they even made it to the center he was cut down by a scary arrow, one that pierced through the cracks between multiple people and lodged in the leaders throat. Little did she know it was an elven archer, and that the elf, after taking down the commanding officer, had walked away without a word, leaving the rest to the wolves. It had served its purpose, as without direct leadership the less experienced troops panicked and forgot about their mission, fighting for their lives or instantly attempting to surrender. Talia was not one of those and made it towards the center with nearly fifty others, blade drawn as she leapt from her horse and nearly cut an unsuspecting soldier in half, blade glowing with a purple energy. "Mage knight!" several soldiers cried out, watching as she turned and with a wave of her hand sent another soldier flying, some unseen force launching him through the air and smashing him to the ground. Before he landed she had already moved, impressive speed launching her in the direction of what seemed to be the commander, as the guards were more tightly clustered. If she was going to die it might as well be trying to take out the leader.

What Talia hadn't expected was the skill level as she neared the person in charge, each soldier stronger than the last and she had to slow, even some of her troops getting to the inner circle first, including another mage knight. She could only watch with horror as the man's frightening fire magic launched out and was immediately countered by a young wolf who seemed to know how to fight magic, some quick wolf with two swords grabbing a shield and launching it into the ball of fire and causing the explosion to be away from the high value target, keeping the leader and officers safe from the inferno that had been coming for them. Worse, the second the fireball dispersed the same soldier had launched forward and with a few lightning fast strikes had decapitated the mage knight, effortlessly dispatching the man once in close combat range. This woman was Myra, and she was fearsome to see in battle, even causing Talia to lose a step, though it didn't last long. The young mage knight launched herself forward, taking advantage of a seemingly powerful guard being occupied to make her move, hand stretching out as she ran and the mysterious invisible energy smashing two guards aside, each unable to understand what happened, but looks of horror soon stretched on their faces as Talia slashed forward towards none other than Danika. *Clang* the sound made her eyes go wide under the helmet and she looked to see the same guard that killed the other knight snarling at her, both swords blocking hers. Unfortunately her blades weren't mithril and with a smirk Talia used her magic to slide through the metal and down into the wolf's shoulder. No matter her skill magic was superior.

A howl of pain and anger escaped Myra's lips as the magic blade sunk into her flesh and bone, a numb feeling in her left arm as it went limp, unable to move. All she could do was snarl and kick out, sending the mage flying back and turning with fierce eyes at the rest of the protective detail, an authoritative, "Do your fucking job!" ringing out before they watched in horror as the same unseen force from early sent Myra flying and smashing against the ground, knocking her unconscious. Once again Talia charged forward, but this time her face was revealed, the blow sending her helmet flying. Underneath the armor she was rather... Adorable. She had lovely dignified features and strands of dark hair put up in a bun, but more than that bewitching violet eyes, the color unusual and intoxicating. Both orbs narrowed as she went for Danika, not knowing whether the leader would be capable or not, but knowing she only had the last chance as the injured officer had seemed to snap the other wolves out of their stupor and they would descend upon her if she didn't finish her mission quickly, and dying for nothing wasn't acceptable.

Only a few hours after the forward troops started to split away from the main army, chaos overtook the rear of the procession. A company of mages had managed to loop around them without any of the werewolves noticing, circumventing the heavily defended front of their formation and breaking their way through the less guarded rear. “Protect the Princess!” The cry rang out from one of the generals and the formation of Danika’s honor guard instantly collapsed into a dense ball of bodies around her. Shields up, swords and spears drawn, all of the veteran soldiers were prepared to block a spell or an arrow for their leader.

“Get down!” There was more shouting, the smell of blood and smoke were in the air, and Danika was being yanked off of her horse. Before she hit the ground, she saw a blazing ball of fire coming their way. She wanted to cry retreat, wanted her men to break formation and dodge the inferno, but before she could even open her mouth to shout, a shield was thrown infront of the ball, causing a small explosion that would surely have incinerated the soldiers protecting her. Danika had never seen magic such as this before, she had never witnessed a mage tame the elements and wield them as a weapon. It struck fear into her heart, and she could only imagine what her men must be feeling. Though perhaps her being here was a good thing, her soldiers were too concerned with the task of protecting her in order to be properly scared.

Myra… The princess couldn’t keep her heart from swelling as she watched her old friend in her element. But just as quickly as her spirits rose that her protector was here to save her, her heart sank. Myra was crying out in pain, then being tossed aside like a ragdoll by an invisible hand. The two veteran soldiers who stood infront of Danika as her last line of defense were also flung away, leaving the princess to stand and face the mage knight who had hurt Myra, -her- Myra. Before Danika knew what she was doing, she was shifting. Not even thinking or worrying about whether or not the mage knight had a silver tipped sword, she gave up the safety of her armor for the power of her werewolf.

Mages may have her magic, but werewolves were not without their own abilities as well. Instead of the weak, rational human princess that had been standing before the mage knight was now a large, feral white werewolf who was –very- furious that her Vice-Captain had been injured. Before the mage knight could even lower her sword to strike, Danika had grabbed her in a massive clawed hand, picked up the small female, and threw her into a tree with all of her might. The sickening crack she heard let her know that the mage wouldn’t be getting up for awhile, if at all. And now, after dispatching the mage knight, she rounded on what was left of the enemy troops. “ARRROOOOOO!!” Danika howled, alerting her men that she would be fighting with them.

Rather than take advantage of the fact that the princess was no longer encased in a protective armor, the men and women of the mage army merely panicked and either fled or threw their hands up in surrender. Werewolves were an honor-bound people, they did not kill an unarmed opponent. They were not the barbarians that humans and mages believed them to be. They treated their prisoners of war well (unless they were high ranking officers, in which case those individuals were interrogated, but regular soldiers were fed and clothed). Their goal was to convert others to their pack and to acquire territory, not to murder civilians and slash and burn fields like humans sometimes did.

With the battle won and the prisoners put in shackles, Danika could finally shift back into her human form. She was not scarred, nor was she built of nothing but hard muscle. Life as a mother had made Danika the picture of femininity with wider hips, a luscious rear, and fuller breasts. “Princess!” The General Asher was trying to avert his gaze while attempting to offer his cloak so that Danika could cover her naked body. “You needn’t fight, my Alpha. My men would gladly take a blade for you.”

Panting, pale, and looking rather drained, Danika offered the man a tired smile. “While I appreciate the loyalty of the troops, General, I am not here to inconvenience them by protecting me rather than themselves and the pack. I am here to fight too.”

“I can arrange for sparring lessons for you then. Hell, I will gladly train you myself, as long as it prevents you from leaving your armor again.”

“I would be honored to take lessons from you, General.” Danika was eager to pretend that she needed some coaching and that was why she had not even bothered to draw her sword. She probably could have defended herself just fine with her blade, she had sparred with Myra nearly every day when they had been younger, and while Danika had never gotten to be as good as her friend, she could still hold her own. But when she saw the Vice-Captain get tossed away, when she had heard the heartbreaking thud of Myra’s limp body hitting the ground, something inside of the princess had snapped.

“Find that mage soldier who attacked me. If she is alive, I want her brought to my tent for questioning.” Then Danika paused, eyes roving her army. That attack had cost them a few soldiers lives’, others more were wounded. “If we have any dead, I want them buried. Then gather up our wounded and we will march for awhile longer, then set down for an early camp.”

Talia had finally caught a break, as it seemed the most skilled guard of the bunch had been without proper weapons and the others didn't know what to do against magic, a fatal flaw. At least it should have been. What she couldn't have seen coming was the target, apparently the princess, suddenly becoming an extraordinarily powerful wolf and using such force that she nearly died, her entire body numb as she slumped against the tree, eyes barely remaining open and a twisted miracle had her still conscious. Her body felt broken, a few bones clearly shattered and her internal organs worse for the wear. Her hand, too weak to hold her sword took a long time but eventually it moved up to her chest, and the young mage desperately sent healing magic through her body, knowing if she didn't do something she would fall asleep and never wake again. Her eyes started to feel heavy, and as her mental state diminished she redoubled her efforts to heal the pitiful state of her body. The horrifying part was, that by the time she finally fell into darkness she wasn't sure whether or not she had healed enough to remain alive, but at least if she didn't she would never know. Her tiny, now seemingly delicate, body slumped even more, until the powerful mage that had just burst through the werewolf lines was nothing more than a helpless girl, barely breathing against the tree.

---

When her eyes opened Talia found herself face to face with an angry looking male wolf, and he slapped her face hard, his voice finally entering her consciousness "I said wake up!" he growled. Talia looked up, pain shooting through her entire body... But she was alive. When her eyes settled on him the wolf finally grinned, a sinister look on his face and some rather crude thoughts being presented through his expression. Obviously the wolf was considering how nice it would be to question her himself, but after a moment of admiration that made Talia's skin crawl he turned and gave a courteous bow to a woman before leaving the room. As Talia looked towards the other presence in the tent her heart lurched, the young mage swallowed, and a bit of fear was in her eyes. It was the very wolf that had nearly killed her, and the woman didn't look pleased in the least. The worst part though were the stories Talia had always heard, and in her mind she was about to be tortured, kept alive only to torment for her attempt on a princess' life. Instantly she considered the fact that dying quick may have been better, but she soon dismissed the notion and let a bit of fire enter her eyes, trying to keep her wits as she glared up at the rather stunning woman in front of her.

---

Delia had been horrified when Myra went down. She didn't love her, it wasn't something so silly, but to her and the rest of the soldiers Myra was an idol, one of the few aristocrats with real skill who took care of the average soldier and had a fair sense of things. So when her leader fell in battle it had been demoralizing, and upon learning the reason why she had been a tad furious. She knew a good deal of the officers had been given mithril weapons, but it seemed that someone higher up had ignored Myra, most likely one of the people she had pissed off, and left her fighting with weak metal which almost ended her life. She was fine, Myra woke not long after the surprising scene where Danika lost herself and nearly smashed the assailant into pulp against a tree, but she was still hurt. Even with magic and her own healing abilities the captain wouldn't be swinging a sword for a few days, maybe a week, not with her left hand anyways. That made Myra's mood sour, because even if they had plans to camp for a time it meant if an attack happened she would be forced to sit back like the rest of the injured soldiers and be protected, and she didn't believe anyone could protect her better than she could with a single hand. So, in an effort to cheer her up the soldiers had pooled some money and sent Delia to one of the smiths, armor to be repaired and new swords to be acquired, even taken one of the old broken ones to give an idea of the weight and size. The smith she ended up going to was named Sasha, and after a short conversation she even got the girl to agree to take it to Myra. "Make sure they're really good." Delia gave a charming smile before moving away, leaving the smith to her work.

---

Myra was in her tent, a mirror in front of her as she peeled off the bandages and took a look at the wound. It was most healed on the surface, though there was now another scar to add to the near countless collection on various parts of her body. Myra was a real veteran, surviving longer than most and always seeming to find trouble. The fact that she was so skilled and still had numerous scars merely spoke to the danger of the missions she got involved in, as well as her willingness to be the first one in with her soldiers. Still, the scar wasn't her main concern, what it represented was. She hadn't seen it but Delia had told her what happened, how Danika shifted. Her heart swelled and she grinned like an idiot looking at the mirror. Maybe Danika didn't want to admit it but the kiss and her reaction... They both provided meager evidence that Myra started to cling on to, hoping she wasn't still being foolish and hoping for too much. Even if she was, the only reason she wasn't depressed and breaking everything in her way was the thought that maybe she still had a chance, even if a small one. A lot of questions still begged answers, like why Danika was so resistant. The rejection still hurt, and she was bitter about it, but there was a spot of hope buried deep. With a long sigh Myra leaned back, closing her eyes and relaxing a bit, letting her wound dry out, all the while her entire, perky top half revealed under the privacy of her tent.

The only thing that kept Sasha from collapsing, curling up into a ball and passing out was the knowledge that her mithril weapons really were helping soldiers to stay alive…well that and if she collapsed right here she’d either fall into the forge or ontop of the red hot piece of metal that she was hammering into a blade. Part of her was a little sad to be making such plain swords though. While she took solace in her craftsmanship and a job well done, mithril was a material worthy of a masterwork, not meant for all of this mass production. Maybe when I go back home, I’ll have enough experience to start my masterwork. The thought made her smile to herself as she hammered away. Nineteen years old and a master blacksmith, wouldn’t that be something?

This particular blade, well, set of blades, would be good practice. The soldier who had come by asking for the swords had said to ‘make them good’ and had even brought sword for her to model the set after. Everything Sasha made was ‘good’, she was going to make these things ‘great’. So after practicing a little bit with the sword that was given to her in order to get a better sense of what it’s master was looking for, Sasha got to work forging two identical swords. And after conversing with her two apprentices to figure out what the correct insignia for a captain was, Sasha pounded three metal bars into the base of the blades, a little bit of ornamentation that not only showed off the soldier’s rank but also helped to balance the swords near-perfectly.

Because her makeshift apprentices were hungry, and because she was starving herself, all three of them took a break to go get food. Sasha wanted to take care of the matter of delivering the swords to the officer they were made for first before she sat down to enjoy her meal. After a little bit of questioning, she was pointed into the direction of Myra’s tent. The captain’s soldiers had said that their commanding officer was resting, and that Sasha would probably be good to go inside and drop the blades off as long as she was quiet. But when she silently slipped inside of the tent it turned out that Myra wasn’t sleeping, nor was she wearing any clothes on the top half of her body.

“Oh! G-goddess…I’m so s-sorry.” Sasha sputterd, immediately starting to backpedal. Ever since she had joined up with the army, she had been yelled at for every little thing she had done wrong. And now, intruding on an officer’s tent without asking permission to enter first had her fearing a lashing. “I, uh, er… Y-your soldiers said you’d be resting…I took that to meant you’d be sleeping.” Blushing furiously and looking rather panicky, Sasha all but dropped the swords in her haste to get out of the tent. And as she hurried out, she managed to find more bad luck in the form of an stranger who she bowled right over. The two fell to the ground, Sasha falling ontop of the other female with a soft ‘oof’.

“Ah!” Of course you can’t just knock into a foot soldier or something Sasha, no, you have to tackle an elven mercenary to the ground. “Excuse me, I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there.” Sasha scrambled, accidentally kneeing the elf with her tired limbs in her hurry to get up and off of the other woman, “Sorry! I’m so sorry, are you alright? I didn’t mean to – I wasn’t watching where I was going…” The young wolf bit her bottom lip nervously as she finally sprang up to her feet an then offered a hand to the elf to help her up.

Myra had been minding her own business, completely in her own world, and then suddenly a nervous little thing stumbled into her tent and had Myra grinning from ear to ear. At first she had been caught off guard, after all she didn't like revealing her scars to people, to her they were less 'badge of honor' and more 'ugly marks of shame'. Still, the sweet thing that wandered in was so panicked that Myra couldn't help but chuckle, thinking how cute the girl was to be embarrassed after seeing her, and the alpha chose to take it as a compliment, though there was also the possibility her injury and scars scared the girl off. "Be careful cute smith!" she hollered with a chuckle, giving a quick, "And don't worry about it." Myra wasn't like most officers because as long as people followed her orders in combat she didn't give a flying fuck about attitudes. It wasn't like someone bottling up their opinion or acting like a normal person was going to matter, and she preferred the fluid nature of being friends with the soldiers. Still, it was not a shared opinion... But what did they know. Most officers cared about the power of their position as a status symbol, but for Myra the only reason her being an officer was important was because she knew she could keep people alive, and that was all that mattered. Fame and status meant nothing.

The wolf rose up and walked over to retrieve her things, an eyebrow raising as she looked at the weapons, a smirk on her lips as she gave them a once over. They were beautiful, absolutely astonishing craftsmanship, but what had her utterly amused... The symbol on the weapon. It was the symbol of a captain, which was how people referred to her and the rank she had held before being busted down for her 'attitude' but not her current rank. "Hah... This is going to piss some people off." she muttered, moving the blade around with her good arm and nodding slightly. It was perfect, as if her own weapon was in her hand only better, the material and edge exceeding the 'master quality' weapons she had owned. She was going to have to find that girl, the work was worth admiring, and possibly bringing up to Danika if the girl would listen. Commander's and above could requisition specific people for their unit, getting a skilled smith was worth some effort, especially if it meant reducing the workload and giving the person better conditions in exchange for easy orders and repairs. Not that she wanted to talk to Danika all that much... The jerk. Okay, maybe she did, and maybe just thinking about her had Myra putting on a shirt and pacing about, trying to decide whether to push her luck or not. In the end she didn't, curling up on the bed and letting her mind get the better of her. Danika didn't want to see her, she would have come if she did.

---

The absolute best part about being with the wolves, the food. Elves ate well, luxuriously, but they always had the same things and never added any fats aside from natural animal fats. What Sora discovered upon eating the werewolf food was absolutely amazing meals, and she was practically beaming under her mask, a grin on her face as she pulled the cloth down, revealing supple lips, and took a bite of a piece of bread covered in some immaculate herb butter. Right as she was about to go for a second bite someone came barreling out of a tent and smashed into the side of her, which wouldn't have been a big deal if the piece of bread hadn't hit the ground next to her and been covered in nasty dirt. Sora's face was filled with horror and then narrowed into anger as a knee hit her side. The tiny elf, revealed in all her delicateness, was furious, turning over to look at the oaf that ran into her but then quickly showing a look of surprise as the woman above her continued to apologize. She was cute, and she was the girl from earlier, the half-elf smith with sword skills. Still, the bread... It made even the surprise of running in to a mildly cute human dull, and Sora refused the offer of her and vaulted up onto her feet with immaculate grace.

"Damn wolf." Her natural language flowed from her lips and she cast an icy glare at the girl, moving from the offender to her bread and then sighing. It wasn't like she could do anything about it and after a moment she turned to the girl and leaned in a little closer than she should have, "Don't be so careless in the future." She didn't say anything more, reaching back to pull up her hood before too many people caught a glimpse, and even moving to pull up the cloth mask, but noticing a glint in Sasha's eye, her own gorgeous orbs looking towards the young smith and her lip quirking up into a smirk, "What, is there something on my face?" When she spoke there was an edge to her voice but at the same time it was soothing, almost seductive in how comforting the tone was. If only she could control her desire to tease humans. Even earlier when she should have stayed hidden she engaged in combat and humiliated a wolf, mainly because of the halfies comments but also out of boredom. Elves lived long lives after all, toying with people provided them a bit of entertainment.

After changing into a more comfortable leather jerkin and a pair of trousers (an outfit that the princess secretly loved; it was nice being out here and not having to wear feminine dresses that were designed to show off her 'assets'), Danika headed back to the tent where her little mage captive was still shackled to prevent her from casting any spells. Her prisoner was admirably tight lipped, refusing to give up any intel about her city's defenses or their troop movements...even after Danika had tortured her for several hours. After deciding that a change of tactics was in order, Danika went to see if the cooks had anything especially delicious. The mage must be hungry by now, she was being deprived of food and water...it was a method that worked when breaking wild horses and the princess figured it might work on this young girl too. Hopefully some of the crueler officers hadn't gone in there to harass the girl while Danika was away. One day away from their wives and families and they were already turning into feral animals.

"Now, where is my shadow..." Danika called, and it only took a moment before Thea appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Sometimes the princess forgot that the older woman was around, always watching over her. Her personal bodyguard was very good, able to sync her breathing and pace with Danika's near perfectly so that the wolf didn't notice her. "Ah, there you are. I am going to interrogate our little friend the mage knight. I don't want to be disturbed, that means 'no Myras allowed'."

"I apologize, Alpha. I merely thought..." Thea's voice trailed off because she realized that it would be best to not complete that sentence. The guard had been assigned to Danika ever since the princess had turned 16; and while she always tried to give the girl plenty of privacy, it had not been difficult for her to pick up on the love that Danika and Myra shared. It was a shame really, the two seemed perfect for each other...but, that was only her opinion, and in her line of work it was best to keep her opinions to herself. "It won't happen again."

"Good." Danika nodded, she made a mental note to speak to some of the commanders later, just to see if she couldn't get Myra moved somewhere else. It was just far too distracting to have the other woman near her, and she couldn't afford any more mistakes such as foolishly shifting and nearly revealing the strong feelings she still harbored for the soldier. With those thoughts in mind, Danika slipped into the tent to find the mage there, curled up in a ball on the floor with her arms chained behind her back and her ankles manacled together. "I see that you are still trying to recover from our last 'chat'." Danika said as she pulled up a stool so that she could sit down, just a little out of reach of the mage knight, a plate of delicious looking venison and fresh bread in her lap. "Am I correct in assuming that your magic takes up much of your energy? Just as my transformations take up mine?"

---------------------------

Sasha spoke five different languages, 4 of them at the level of a child who had an extra large vocabulary pertaining to weapons, tools, and smithing. But even though her elvish was a little rusty, she knew enough to understand the 'damn wolf' that the elf spat at her. She cringed a little bit, having expected a good cursing out but not quite prepared for it. Her eyes immediately went downwards, the beta being inherently submissive. "Sorry..." The wolf mumbled again, then she looked up, figuring that she shouldn't just blindly walk into things or people anymore, her eyes catching the elven woman's face for the first time. Wow... She was absolutely gorgeous, and Sasha didn't realize that she was staring at the stranger's pretty face until she mentioned it, the young wolf blushing bright red now that she had been caught. "Lle naa vanima." Sasha blurted out before she could think better of it. Yes, she looks beautiful and I look like something the cat dragged in. Smelling of sweat, smoke, and soot, Sasha knew that she was also covered in all of those things as well. She hadn't even taken off her blacksmith's apron!

"I-I should go..." The young wolf stammered out and turned to go. Yes, leave, before you say more stupid things.

Talia wasn't as badly hurt as she tried to seem when Danika returned, though she was more furious than ever. After the princess left a few others had noticed, and while none of them had the courage to sneak in to the tent of royalty, quite a few of them decided to blurt things out... Many of an obscene nature, and part of her thought back to the rumors of what wolves were like. The mage began thinking that her fate would have her bound and offered to whoever wanted her, and it was terrifying, enough to make her feel backed into a corner and ready to kill whoever she could, or possibly kill herself before that happened. All she could do at Danika's taunting was glare, fierce eyes trying to disguise her helplessness. If only her hands were free... Just one good movement of her hand and the commander would be at her feet, pulled with significant force. She couldn't get enough force with the mere flick of her wrist, at best she would get Danika close and still fail to accomplish anything, as well as alerting the wolf to her presence, and she had learned quickly that if the other woman shifted and they were close... Well few mages would have the ability to fight that. In fact probably only two or three, and even then it would be iffy. Mages thrived when they had ample space or time to fight, because to a mage controlling the situation was their ultimate weapon.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, taking a look at both the food and the woman. Poison was the first thing on her mind, but poison would probably be a relief to the battered knight, her entire body in pain even if her magic was doing a decent job sustaining her. "You're not entirely correct." She finally muttered, looking at the food with an almost pitiful expression. She didn't need food specifically to cast, but it did help. "Mana is everywhere, food just keeps our energy up which makes it easier to cast... And we get hungry as well." She was speaking in a low, almost defeated tone, absolutely depressed... But still managing to keep the secrets of her people safe. She didn't want them slaughtered, even if she had some anger at being sent in as a sacrificial lamb. "If you're hoping to squeeze information out of me with food please don't bother. I would rather starve than be the reason my friends and family are slaughtered and become slaves. Besides, you'll eventually be sending me off to a fate worse than death... To those animals who want to tear at my clothes and strip my dignity from me." She turned and faced the flaps of the tent, a good deal of fear showing in her eyes before she turned back and hardened her gaze towards Danika, "So keep your food, I don't want it." It was difficult to say those words, and she didn't even try to sound convincing, because even if she had the resolve not to eat, she would never be able to truly deny being hungry.

---

Sora was quite amused by the attitude from the wolf, though as she pondered on it, the personality the cute girl was showing made sense. If she was indeed a half-elf she could have received some gentle disposition, and with being treated as a 'halfie' lowering her head probably became second nature. Not to mention she was a beta if what Sora understood about wolves made sense, considering she was half-elf the alpha thing wouldn't have been natural. Still, why didn't matter, what did was that Sora was grinning and found it utterly delightful. That was, until the blacksmith spoke her native tongue and even called her beautiful, bringing an odd expression on her face. Sora wasn't the type to become embarrassed, she knew how beautiful she was, but it did surprise her to know a werewolf spoke elvish, even if she was a half-elf. At that moment her hand shot out and she grabbed Sasha, using surprising strength to pull her back and practically into Sora's arms, a playful smile and bright blue eyes looking at the young wolf. "You're adorable" She wanted to see what Sasha's comprehension was of the language and intentionally spoke in a thick accent, but even then the words were fairly common, and it was paired with her leaning up a bit to capture Sasha's lips.

She didn't kiss her for long but the elf knew what she was doing, Elves were fairly promiscuous creatures after all, and she had been no different. As she parted her lips from Sasha's she leaned in past her face and to one of her ears, this time speaking in common, a very soothing tone speaking into the blacksmiths ear, "I've taken interest in you." And with that she released Sasha and walked away, though turned after a few steps "Sora", she gave her name without explanation and then swiftly fixed her mask to hide her appearance again before disappearing into the crowd. She wasn't even thinking of her bread anymore, she was more than happy with the compensation. Now that she had something interesting for the future days she was much more cheerful, even if on the surface she still had the icy glare and indifferent attitude towards others... Deep down she was giddy. It was hard to find people like Sasha in an elf village, most of them were either arrogant or just as experienced, and grace was so overly abundant that clumsy adorable things were almost non-existent. So what seemed ordinary or odd for some was the perfect form of plaything for Sora, and as she found her own people and their little corner of tents she slipped inside, thinking of the little smithy the entire time.

“I think you’ll be changing your tune after a few more days without food.” Danika smirked and grabbed a small chunk of deer meat, purposefully popping the delicious bit of meat into her mouth and eating it. She hummed happily, offering proof to the mage that werewolf food was just as good as it smelled. “Hmmm…those men. If it is of any consolation, I would not give you to them. Though, I cannot guarantee that my people would let you walk away from all of this either. You did attempt to kill their princess after all.”

Danika studied the beautiful creature that was bound before her. Stubborn, and though that trait irritated her, she also admired it. “Let us think about this logically, hm? My troops are going to march into your city with or without your aid. But the more mages we have to kill in battle, the longer this war draws out, the more angry and feral my men will grow without their wives to temper their wild nature. So while it is admirable that you wish to not be the nail in your people’s coffin, they are going to be getting buried no matter what you do.”

“Your people, the ones who have sent you on a fool’s errand to dive into ranks of veteran soldiers in order to assassinate their leader, are the ones who brought this upon themselves.” Danika’s features became sharp, no longer the charming, logical princess as she thought about the whole reason for this war. “We are not animals to be harvested for our pelts. Nor do our bones have any sort of mystical magical power to them. Your people are the ones who came into our lands and slaughtered members of our pack during the full moon.” Wolves used all of an animal, they didn’t just skin deer for their pelts, they ate the whole beast, even down to the marrow in their bones. But humans were wasteful creatures, hunting them for their prized coats and then desecrating their bodies by removing their bones. Humans and mages believed that werewolf bones could be ground up and mixed into tonics and potions in order to cute a plethora of ailments. It was barbaric.

“So, mage knight, you can choose to lay here and starve while my army pushes forward. My army who will grow more angry the further they march and the longer it takes to eradicate your people. Or, you can speak up now, and perhaps we will be in a better mood when we arrive at your city. Perhaps we will allow innocent parties to survive, people who have no scent of werewolf in their home may go free.”

----------------------------

Sasha understood what Sora said, her mother used to call her that when she was little; ”My adorable little pup,” she would always say. So with that as her only reference point for the word, she didn’t know whether to be flattered that the elf thought she was cute or feel foolish because cute was for children, kittens, and bunnies. The kiss helped clear up her confusion though, and nearly caused the poor, tired smith to melt into a puddle on the ground. Despite Sasha’s lack of experience when it came to physical affection, she liked to think that she kissed Sora back fairly adeptly…when in reality she sort of froze up like a scared doe.

As the elf leaned forward to whisper into her ear, Sasha felt a spike of heat blossom in her belly as warm breath wove it’s way around her ear and down her neck. The young wolf gulped as the older woman revealed that she had an interest her. She was waaayyyyyyy out of her league and she knew it, so having Sora say that she had any inkling of an interest at all in Sasha confused the hell out of her. “S-Sasha.” The wolf stammered out in response as Sora moved away. For awhile she just stood there, staying at the place where the elf had disappeared into the crowd before she finally seemed to remember herself, remember that she still had many things to do, and then uprooted her feet so that she could head off towards the food line to grab a meal and then head back to craft some more swords.

Talia had a chilling sense as the princess began to talk about the destruction of her people, but Talia knew something most didn't, that mages had already disregarded the entire, werewolf bones were magical. In fact the one who opposed it the most was the alchemist head, the young mage having done a quick analysis after the rumors started and quickly put an end to that line of thinking within the upper echelon of the mage world. That didn't mean all of them took her word for it, but mainly those who collected and used the werewolves for such purposes were the normal humans and while it made her sick the idea of sacrificing normal humans compared to her friends and family seemed less sinister... And it felt like a reasonable price to pay if they were to lose the war, but she wasn't so sure they would. While she was perfectly aware of the wolves strength she also knew as far as magical prowess was concerned, she was at the lower end of the upper tier, quite a few surpassed her on magic alone. How could they be destroyed so easily, even if the physical power of the werewolves was overwhelming. As long as they could hold out a single mage had the chance to topple many wolves and human soldiers. Still, in that moment she had a feeling her people wouldn't hold out, and more than that she felt pressure, that if she didn't do something drastic that not only would more people suffer... She herself would be tormented before death. After all, she had nearly killed the princess.

So, naively, she came to a rash decision, looking up with a glare and letting her beautiful eyes land on the alluring leader of the wolves, a hint of desperation behind the feigned strength. "I will cooperate under certain conditions, and while it may seem foolish listen carefully. If at any time you attempt to go back on your word do not blame me for trying something desperate, and do not blame me for giving you false information in hopes of leading your people to slaughter. This is a gamble of trust for both of us after all." She had a sense of how the game needed to be played, and if she were truly to save the lives of her enemy with information, she needed to take care of her people as well, and if the princess went against her word she had to try and lead them to their doom and even try once more to end the woman's life. Part of her hoped it didn't come to that, as after leading her troops it became clear that aside from the mages in the city no human could compete with the might of a wolf. Perhaps it was true to say they had no chance, and that helping the war end swiftly would be the best way to save lives.

"The first thing, I don't want to be touched by any of your men... The things they have said... I know if I wasn't in your tent and was in some other place I would have long since been violated." Just the words made the mage grit her teeth, horrified and angry at the idea of being used by anyone, especially men. "I trust that should be easy. This won't be and if you cannot do this I'll have to accept whatever is done to me and end the conversation here... Mages that have no traces of wolf in their homes must be spared, and even if they fight prisoners of war must be spared and not be touched by your soldiers... In addition, anyone under 15 within a home containing traces needs to be spared. If even the young must die then I will give my life to oppose you." The mage spoke viciously, obviously not convinced that the things she heard about wolves were entirely false, and more than that having a fear deep in her heart that everyone she knew and loved could be killed, or worse. Being slaves, it was horrible, she knew a good deal of them wouldn't be let go, her for instance, but being used or killed was worse. If she could save enough of them, to be more or less free and not abused, she could bare being branded a traitor. If she truly thought it was for the best to cooperate, and if she could get further assurances as they went that nothing would happen to her people. "Do you accept these terms?" she asked impatiently, though less threat and more fear slipped out in her tone. After all, this woman could just as easily kill her, because they both knew it was either that or cooperation, torture wouldn't work.

While the Generals may think of Danika as ‘soft’, the princess would prefer words such as ‘merciful’ and ‘careful planner’ be used to describe her current negotiation process. Many of her people would want the entire nation of mages and humans destroyed or enslaved, but such consequences, while serving to send a message to the rest of the world that wolves were not to be trifled with, were far too drastic. That last thing her isolated nation needed were slave revolts, and if they provided no quarter to their enemies now, they may receive the same treatment from another threat later.

So she listened to her prisoner’s conditions with an open mind. Fifteen seemed a little old as a cut off between child and adult, she probably would have slaughtered anyone over the age of thirteen, but the wolf knew that humans coddled their young for longer than wolves did. “Your terms are not entirely unreasonable… I agree to them. But trust me, mage, if you cross me or waste my time, I will not rest until your entire homeland is nothing but ash and rubble. And if you think that killing me will be the solution to all of your problems, know that my brother will come to fight in my stead. And he is not as level headed as I am. The males of my kind can be a little…passionate.” ‘Passionate’ was a nice way of saying ‘quick to anger’ and ‘relentlessly ruthless if seeking revenge.’

Now there was just the problem of ensuring that no one touched the exotic beauty that lay in her tent. Danika knew what the males of her species could be like, first hand even. Richard was a prime example of the sort of unfeeling ass that was a male wolf. She herself had been bonded to her mate during her heat, ensuring that her body would accept Richard as her mate even though her mind had been screaming for him to stay away from her. Danika wouldn’t wish that kind of treatment upon anyone, not even an enemy who had tried to kill her. “You will stay in my tent then, mage, no one will bother you while you are in here. But if you are to stay here, you should give me a name to call you by.”

Talia knew what was being told to her wasn't an empty threat, after all Danika's soft exterior was not as simple as it seemed, she had experienced some torture that proved it after all. So when the wolf made it clear provocation would be the wrong course of action she believed her, even if Talia didn't give a damn about her brother. Sure, it would be horrific, but her killing Danika, if even possible, would only happen if the princess did something so gruesome she couldn't sit by and watch. As long as they could mutually benefit and her people could be saved she was going to be helpful and ignore the sickening feeling that came from betraying her people. Besides, the age limit of fifteen had been set, it was generous to say the least, and if things went as she imagined them going many of those who would have died whether they won or lost could be saved. That was worth everything, and she had already made her decision to act with that in mind. "You have nothing to worry about, I won't act unless forced." She reassured, her position not giving her much power but it was more a gesture than anything, and her tone carried no hint of threat. Talia knew enough not to push it.

After a moment the best new of all came, that she would be remaining in Danika's tent. She had a feeling her security was dependent upon being in a place that belonged to a princess, as no wolf would be so bold as to steal from the royal family. So hearing those words, even if not excited about sleeping on the ground, was enough to make a beautiful little smile appear on her face. Looking at her, despite everything she had been through, Talia was gorgeous, and as her mental anguish was relieved by the gracious deal, her form returned to a more graceful one. "My name is Talia. I specialize in gravitational pull magic, healing magic, and some other minor forms of magic." She stated, a little extra information but to a mage it was rather customary to exchange such information to represent status, and while she doubted anyone outside of the mages would recognize the power behind any form of gravity altering magic, she was sure healing magic would raise her stock. If she was to be cooperative she might as well do a bit to improve standing. "Would it be presumptuous to ask for a bite to eat now?" She asked nervously, a rather cute look on her face as she looked towards the plate... It was going to be hard to adjust but she had to try, and had to force herself to do so quickly.

---

An entire day had passed since Talia decided to made a deal with the princess Danika, and while the first day had been less productive than she would have liked, mostly detailing formations, major figures in the mage community, and a rough estimate of troop positions, it had been an important foundation. It had also led the mage to go to bed late, though Danika had provided her with some basic comforts such as a tiny mattress, a pillow, and a blanket. She still had to wear the shackles for the time being but she took what she could get. Alas, as morning came the slightest noise alerted the mage, her body slowly rising from slumber and sitting up, and in front of her was one of the most surprising scenes she could imagine. Danika was naked, a fresh set of clothes on her bed but not yet adorned on her... Mouth-watering body. Every curve was perfection and instantly Talia's body became rigid and heat ran through her. She wasn't exactly inexperienced but as far as women went... She hadn't been with someone one could call a 'peerless beauty'. Danika certainly was, and seeing her gorgeous skin and supple curves the young mage blushed furiously, a small sharp inhale as she tried to stifle her surprise, and failing miserably. All she could do was stare, frozen between wanting to absorb every second of the sight before her and the opposite instinct to flee under the covers and feign ignorance.

Danika perked up at the mention of healing magic, perhaps she would be making out a bit better on this deal after all. Not only was she getting the opportunity to end this war quickly rather than make her men suffer through a long campaign, she now had a mage’s healing powers to add to that of her medics. “Yes, it would be presumptuous, especially because you said you would rather starve a moment ago.” The princess reprimanded, but placed the platter of food carefully infront of the girl so as not to spill any of the delicious food onto the ground. “But you may eat anyways. And then we will go to the war tent so that you may tell the Generals of everything you know.”

After a long meeting in the war tent, both Danika and Talia were exhausted. The princess took pity on her prisoner, giving her a mattress and blanket rather than having the human sleep on the cold floor and dying of hypothermia. Though it soon turned out that taking care of Talia was like taking care of a lame pet: no one trusted the mage enough to remove her shackles and so she needed aid in even the most menial of tasks. Of course Danika couldn’t be bothered to take care of a bird with clipped wings, and so the duties of helping the prisoner eat, change, and wash herself were left up to the princess’ squire. But because Danika’s squire was so young and hadn’t quite grown into her fangs and claws yet, Alys was watched over by Thea, just incase the mage made any moves…and to keep both the squire and mage safe from the more forward males in the camp.

------

The next day, Danika had gotten up early in hopes of getting a chance to bathe and then dress in a fresh set of clothes in the privacy of her tent. Seeing that Talia was still asleep, the wolf set out her outfit as quietly as possible, then left so that she could wash up. Upon returning, she noticed that the mage was still curled up into a ball and padded towards her cot, dropping her towel as she went. Apparently the sound of the fabric falling to the floor was enough to wake up the human, because seconds later she heard a soft gasp from behind her. Danika turned, about to tell the mage to turn around and that she would only be a minute…but then she saw the girl actually –staring- at her, frozen and blushing…it was kind of cute.

“You like what you see, mage?” Danika chuckled, not at all bothered by her own nudity. While it was considered rude to gawk at a bonded female, especially a female who had children, she knew that men and women still did so anyways. The princess was quite aware that she was beautiful, it was one of the reasons that Richard’s family had been so eager to get the two of them married, and it was one of the many reasons that the wolf had to put so little effort forward in order to draw a woman back into her bed. “I wouldn’t have thought you the type to be attracted to women, I thought all humans were only interested in procreating and mating with the opposite gender.”

Talia was frozen for a lot of reasons, but more than anything she was aroused. Talia herself was attractive, but Danika, every curve of her body had this feeling of perfection that couldn't be denied, and none of the women the mage had even seen undressed could compare. Even her current girlfriend, a woman she hadn't even seen naked yet, was far from the same league as her captor. It made her swallow hard, teeth unintentionally chewing at her lip, eyes drawn to every part of Danika's body until she was looking up at her with glistening eyes, her fascination and desire too large to hide. As if that weren't enough the blush on her cheeks had only become worse and it made her soft white skin shine red. The question went unanswered, Talia had been too distracted to react quickly and too embarrassed to give an honest answer, so she kept her mouth shut, but really some things didn't need to be said. Words or not the mage made a clear statement as her both stiffened and interest piqued. With Danika facing her it had only become more evident. Somehow she had missed it before, the armor and the situation blinding the mage, and only now that this happened did she realize just what kind of woman had a hold of her, and a tiny piece of her couldn't help but shudder with delight. She didn't expect anything to happen, but to Talia, a mage who was stifled by her peoples culture, just getting a glimpse of such a beautiful creature was a blessing.

Mages just didn't agree with such affections, believing that men and women belonged together, and that same sex relationships were wasteful and inappropriate. They didn't condemn people for it, but judgement from the vast majority of people made being with another woman suffocating. Even Talia, who was considering beautiful and of relatively decent status had difficulty finding people to be with her, and every relationship she had was secret and didn't last very long. To her it was a difficult thing, and even with her new girlfriend, although they were considering to be 'dating', they hadn't progressed much and kept it private. Talia didn't care, she was resolute when she decided upon something, but for every girl she had ever dated it was unspeakable to come out and go places together in an intimate manner. It had led Talia to being confident of what she wanted but unable to easily get it, and there was no shame in her mind when she looked at Danika and realized the wolf was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life, and the wolf seemed so okay with it, which only made her want to drool all the more.

"U-Uhm... They are." She managed to get out, slowly regaining control over her body and relaxing just a bit as her eyes once again took in the sight before her. "Most mages... They..." She stopped, almost whining as she caught Danika's ass, brow furrowing and teeth biting on her lip as she forced her eyes to go back up, not being able to talk otherwise. "I-It's not accepted, not strictly forbidden but having such attractions is considered distasteful and frivolous, the common convention is to chose the... Procreation route." She finished, knowing Danika probably didn't care but needing to say something to try and distract herself. It wasn't easy, the pent up desire after years of repression had always led Talia to be a bit high strung and snappy, and with every marriage meeting she had gone to she felt more and more hopeless. To the world, or at least her world back home, it had been past time for the mage to settle down, and as a respected Mage Knight people often questioned why she hadn't started a family, why she hadn't found a 'good man' to take care of her. The answer of not liking men wasn't an accepted one, and she never said it, even if her desires weren't well hidden. People knew, they simply chose not to acknowledge it, a truth that was more than lonely, it was depressing. Yet that was where she had always been, up until now. She now found herself gawking at a gorgeous... Princess... And instead of ridicule or disgust she was getting teased, and every innocent expression was giving away her lack of experience when it came to such treatment. "G-Guh... I'm s-so-sorry." She finally got a hold of herself, starting to turn her body, to hide herself and let Danika get dressed without the rude staring, and to hide her face in the pillow until she died.

Danika couldn’t help but grin as Talia struggled to carry on a conversation with her. For a moment it actually reminded the werewolf of Myra, of the first time the two had ever slept together and the soldier had gotten a chance to see the princess naked. Back then, Danika had been very self-conscious about her figure, she was a lot curvier than many other werewolf females, as though her body had been specifically designed to carry pups. No matter how hard she trained and sparred with Myra, she had never been able to get any sort of muscle definition. But as self-conscious as Danika had started out back then, it had all melted when the sight of her ass and breasts had turned her first girlfriend into a blushing, stuttering mess. Talia seemed to be the same way: adorably innocent, with eyes that liked to stay glued onto the princess’ luscious rear end. It was a pretty nice ass, if she did say so herself, but one that was strictly off limits…except to a certain Vice-Captain who she had stupidly thought would be her mate. Ugh, this always happened, every woman she ever slept with she would liken to Myra. And it hadn’t helped that the women she slept with were all brunettes with bright eyes, athletic bodies and sun-kissed skin.

With great effort, she pushed the memories of past conquests away and focused on the beautiful mage lain out before her. “Same sex matings are not frivolous…the heart wants what the heart wants. Wolves do not believe in divorce, so it is better to marry your heart’s mate than anyone else.” Unless you’re the princess and your heart’s mate turns tail and runs at the first sign of struggle and commitment and your parents need you to marry a male for alliance and trade purposes. “Besides, it takes the pack to raise a child. Many of my teachers and nannies had no children of their own because they had married into the same gender. We are a sexual people, but wolves do not see the need to birth so many children as humans do. The majority of us only have one or two pups.”

The wolf chuckled as the mage finally broke, unable to hold this conversation any longer, so long as Danika stood there in the nude. So as the mage started to turn, so did she, purposefully bending over her cot in order to grab her bra, giving the mage one final, tantalizing look of her body before she started to cover herself up with clothing. Danika was dressed in her arming jacket and riding pants, the army would be packing up camp and marching forward today.

“Don’t go back to sleep.” Danika moved over towards Talia’s sleeping mat so that she could nudge the hiding mage with her boot. When the girl refused to move, as though she were trying to play dead, Danika actually knelt down and leaned forward so that she could nip at her ear to make sure that the girl was awake and listening. “Do not be so melodramatic.” The wolf murmured. “You saw me naked, you are a prisoner in my tent so it was bound to happen. I will not punish you for staring; though if you like, from now on I can have Thea rouse you from your sleep and carry you out of my tent like a sack of potatoes whenever I need to change.” Danika grinned at the image in her head and then leaned down to give Talia one more fleeting nip, a bite that was lighter this time…one that was meant to show interest. “Now, up. Alys will be coming soon to help you get dressed.”

----

Over the next few days of their march, Danika wouldn’t hesitate to brush up against Talia whenever she was sure that no one was looking, a wolf’s way of showing their interest. She continued to get changed infront of the mage in the morning and evening when they were in the privacy of her tent. Every time she had to disrobe, she moved with the grace and slow deliberation of a woman performing a strip tease. It was all designed to drive the human mad with lust, especially because the girl’s hands stayed bound behind her back for most of the time so she never had a chance to relieve herself. Of course Thea would take pity on the girl and remove the shackles around her wrists (keeping the ones around her ankles) when Danika was away at dinner or at a meeting, just for a few minutes at a time so that Talia could stretch her arms. But whenever Talia was out of her wrist restraints, she was kept close watch over and would have no time or privacy to touch herself.

It was on the second day of the march that her squire was tasked with brushing down the horses, as well as feeding and watering them. Danika didn’t want the girl to shirk her duties and so Alys was dismissed to go deal with the animals and Danika would take over caring for the prisoner tonight. That meant that the princess had to feed Talia her dinner, a task that was easy for the mother of two.

After the meal though, it was time to wash off the dirt and grime that Talia had gotten onto herself. With a basin full of hot water and a soft cloth at her disposal, Danika began to clean the young mage. She started innocently enough at first, efficiently washing Talia’s face and arms. But once those parts were toweled off and it was time to work on the girl’s bared torso, Danika became slower and more deliberate in the way she moved her hand and cloth, choosing to teasingly circle the mage’s breasts and nipples rather than scrubbing her up and down.

Talia found herself curious about Danika as time went on, words that had struck her that first time she had seen the princess naked resounded in her head, about the whole mate thing and how Danika seemed so interested in her. Over the course of several days she had been nipped, had the gorgeous woman brush up against her, and teased on so many occasions she felt as if she would go mad. What made it truly difficult was not being given any privacy to take care of the building desire. It had the mage thinking about a lot of things, and one was that Danika must not be in love with her husband, because she had picked up on various things and none of them led her to believe the wolf had chosen her mate. It didn't surprise her, a princess would most likely have a political marriage, but it was rather sad. That, reassuring Talia she wasn't a horrible person, and her overwhelming attraction, had led the mage to slowly grow more comfortable and recently she had tried flirting back, failing miserably but managing to be cute and not look as ridiculous as she could have. She simply didn't know how to flirt, and barely how to be sexy. Wolves had a sexual culture, mages did not, and Talia was stuck trying to compete with one of the sexiest women she had ever seen, a woman who came from a sexually driven culture. She hadn't stood a chance.

One thing could be said, that Talia being more worried about her attraction to Danika than being a slave was fucking weird. Still, by the second day of the march she was constantly stealing glances and thinking about the wolf, her body hot and needs played out on her face every time she wasn't being watched. She wasn't sure how much she could take, not with her hands bound and fate to be teased and at the woman's mercy. That's how she felt, right up until she was undressed and standing in front of Danika. She had seen the wolf nude a few times but this was her first time being completely undressed in front of the other woman, and she was feeling very, very shy. A blush covered her cheeks and she looked nervous. She had no need, Talia was gorgeous with an incredible body. She was athletic but soft where it counted, and her eyes quivered as she looked at Danika, a fight between embarrassment and need occurring in the violet pools. As if being fed by such an incredible woman hadn't been enough to get her worked up, being naked and about to be bathed was making her heart pound in her chest, she couldn't get it under control.

When it actually started, when water and cloth brushed over her flesh at the will of the princess, it wasn't so bad. The embarrassment started to shrink as it proceeded like any other bath, if not better with Danika's soft touch. Only after her face and arms did things change, and the cloth started being used... To tease her. Each circle had her stirring uncomfortably, her desire swelling up inside of her as she shifted nervously, nipples become hard and her gorgeous body glistening. "D-Danika..." She stuttered, a hint of her desires in her voice, but the mage stopped, having to control herself. Unfortunately she wasn't prepared or skilled at resisting this brand of torture, and she was whining before her chest was even half washed, a small pitiful noise ringing out, and one that did come far before a surprised little moan. The second the moan slipped out her face went pale and she lowered her head, trying to keep her eyes away from Danika. At the same time she was gently panting, thighs wet before the cloth ever approached. It was humiliating but at the same time there was nothing the mage could do, this reaction wasn't under her control, and while it was inappropriate and she was red with embarrassment, she was also a bit relieved. Talia had long since accepted she was attracted to Danika, and after getting over the shock she looked up, another moan escaping before she looked to Danika, a needy look in her eyes, she needed more.

---

Myra had been in a shitty mood the past few days, and while she did her best not to take it out on her people they had noticed the change. It was hard not to. Myra was an upbeat, fun leader, and now she seemed irritated and depressed. The cared about her so of course her people noticed. The only thing they didn't know was why, even if some of them guessed it was what happened a day before. One of the generals was talking shit about the troops reaction to the ambush, and had decided to make an example of one of Myra's soldiers who had been under her orders and chose to react to her as opposed to the one in higher command. She had blown up, and in front of half the soldiers and many officers she made him look like a fool, not just for his tactical sense but due to his idiocy of yelling to protect the princess. In an ambush they shouldn't advertise the location of the kingdom's princess, even more so when she was a commander in an army. The moment she mentioned it the man had become a laughing stock, though nobody dared laugh out loud. Instead they all sat in silence and before anyone could say anything else, Myra had given a cold look and walked off, damning him for his actions and making the man furious. He didn't understand why a Vice-Captain had any right to speak, but she had thoroughly shut him down.

That was not the reason for Myra's mood, but it was connected. The reason for her mood was Danika, and the fact that every attempt she had made since they met again had been ineffective, and Danika didn't seem to hold any feeling for her now. It broke her heart, for so many reasons, the least of which was Myra still seeing Danika as her mate in some ways, her first and only true love. It made her think back to those days, how foolish she had been, how scared... How she had received that fucking note threatening Danika's life if Myra didn't leave her alone. It wasn't that people didn't know about them but the average person believed them to be nothing more than friends, Danika was a princess after all and Myra was a low noble, not worthy of even looking at the princess, much less being her lover. So when she received the note she had a distinct feeling the sender was capable enough to deliver on the promise, and in her youth had chosen to protect her in the only way she could. Now Myra was stronger, a force few could pass, and Danika could take care of herself as well... But was it too late. Myra didn't want it to be, but she didn't know what she should do. It was a question she was sitting in her tent alone, asking herself with a freshly opened bottle of honeyed wine from the elves.