Redtail Rise [m] I think we better do it like we're doing it now

A strong wind gusted across the face of Redtail Rise, buffeting Saena on its ascent over the ridge's peak. She stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the eastern half of the taiga.  The redtailed hawks circled low, and together with the gathered grey clouds and the whipping wind, it was a sign of an oncoming storm. The wolf wasn't bothered by its imminence, and relished the opportunity to predict the weather, something she hadn't done in a long time.

She knew it would come soon, ten minutes tops, but even so, she didn't take cover. Rather, she lay herself down on the ridge and stared out at the horizon. For a week or two since encountering and chasing Sebastian off, Saena had kept busy, and had managed to keep her thoughts away from the incident and what she'd learned. Now that she was alone with nothing but the wind and mounting humidity to occupy her time, her mind wandered, and for the first time in weeks, Saena's frame collapsed in on itself with the weight of exhaustion and grief.

As the rain began to fall, Saena buried her face in her forearms and wept. She wept for her splintered family, for the stress she and her pack had all been under. She wept for Arion, who was so torn over his drug addiction that he was hardly himself, and she wept for Reek, who seemed permanently depressed. She wept for Smash who had left them, and for those wolves whose presence was lacking here. She wept for her family in Blacktail Deer Plateau... but mostly, she wept for Junior, whom she would never see again.

Wynter was back and Reek should have been happy. Sadly, this was not the case.  He still felt just as gloomy as the approaching summer storm.  Even though Wynter had returned, it was as if she never came back in the first place. The two rarely talked; she did her thing, he did his.  An icy wedge had manifested between them, making the relationship near unsalvageable. Perhaps Bazi was right, it was over.  As quick as their relationship began, it crashed and burned at twice the speed.  The pieces scattered like a jigsaw puzzle and Reek scrambled to no avail.  She got what she wanted.  

The sads eventually turned into misplaced anger toward his estranged wife, although to Reek, it wasn't very misplaced at all.  She did this.  Her fault.  The moment she left, she made her decision.  This was what she wanted.  The rain started to fall and Reek concluded his patrol and began to head back toward the Rise and his (more than likely) empty den, but his trek back was interrupted by the sound of sobbing.  Saena?  

While Reek had never really been the consoling type, seeing his alpha in her sorrowful state made him at least want to try.  She was family.  He walked his way to her side and slunk down beside her.  "Hey," he whispered, nestling the side of his face into her neck. "Wanna talk?"  His ears swiveled forward, ready to listen and play therapist.

The rain quickly grew in intensity, but if the sobbing alpha noticed, she didn't show it. She didn't move from where she lay, but was fixed there as if by chains. It was the weight of all their despair holding her down, and until she cried it all out, Saena would not move.

Well, at least, she wouldn't have. A touch on the side of her neck was enough to break her reverie and she slowly lifted her head to reveal her tear-streaked face. She was surprised, but not displeased, to find that the wolf who came to console her was none other than Reek, her closest confidante. Her heart thrummed lightly in her breast to know he cared, in spite of all his own problems. After all, he had Arion to worry about, and Wynter was far more elusive than Saena liked lately... though the alpha female secretly didn't mind that, for her own recent selfish reasons.

"Do you think we did the right thing with that Redhawk wolf?" she whispered, pressing back her ears at the foolishness of her own thinking. She didn't regret tearing Sebastian to shreds and sending him fleeing across the tundra, not one bit, but she wondered if perhaps those assembled were right. Maybe she was making it more of a problem. Maybe she was dragging her family into something they needn't be a part of. "I just wonder... I don't think we did the wrong thing... they killed Junior... but... she tried to kill our half-siblings. I can't blame them for what they did in defense, but... she was my sister." She took a shaky breath in, then said, "and Oliver, he seemed horrified with what we did. Do you think we went too far?" She hadn't seen the other ragged wolf lately, so that made it even harder to gauge whether or not he held their behaviour against them.

After the incident with Sebastian, Reek had done little to consider the moral implications or the mental gymnastics necessary to justify the pack's actions.  But with the news of Junior's fate at the hands of the wolves of the Caldera, every single outsider was now a threat, even more-so than before. The north was sacred ground and not to be crossed by those who don't belong and Reek was dead set on keeping it that way.  Sebastion had sealed his fate as soon as he crossed the Sunspire Mountains.

Reek took a long, ponderous pause as he played the events over in his mind.  The fray, the blood, the escape.  He sighed and whispered, "My only regret is that he left with his life."  It may have been harsh, cruel even, but Sebastian keeping his life would only cause more trouble for the Rise in the long run.  If the picture Reek had formed of Peregrin was accurate, there would be war on the horizon.  "We did the right thing... but if he makes it back to the Caldera alive, we may have issues."    But even if the Redhawk died on the road, the debt was not paid.  Junior deserved more.  Vindication was necessary. 

"As for Oliver," he continued, "he just doesn't understand.  If he knew what happened... if he knew Junior— he would have been just as angry."  The pack had been emotionally charged, and seeing as Oliver was new, he didn't hold the same sentiment.  A righteous cause seemed more like senseless violence.  "He'll learn,"  he stated with finality.  And if he didn't, he could leave.

The beta male was right, as he always was. Saena felt her hackles ripple in aggressive agreement with him. Sebastian should've died. Any regret she felt over their behaviour melted away when Reek justified their actions, replaced by pride for what they had done. It was misplaced pride, but Saena overlooked that. Sebastian himself had done nothing, but he stood beneath Peregrine and Fox and willingly followed their example, and so he was as much an enemy as Saena's father himself. That was all the reason in the world she needed to try to rip his throat out.

"Y'know, the way he escaped was like... magic or something," she said conspiratorially. Having been down in the grotto, Saena knew there was only one obvious way out, but Sebastian had managed to make his own exit. The alpha female snorted and shook the fur on her neck out and whispered, "If he makes it back alive, he's like... a wizard. And if he is a wizard, well... we have the advantage if they try anything."

Chuckling because that was all just ridiculous and because she needed a bit of a pick-me-up, the alpha allowed her body to relax just slightly. Boldly, with almost no nervousness about how Reek might react (and a lot of fluttering in her chest that she shoved aside), she leaned her head into the juncture between his shoulder and chest and sighed softly. "I hope you're right," and she sincerely did. Oliver was a good addition to the Rise. The last thing Saena wanted was for him to leave because they behaved like savage beasts, even if that's exactly what they were.

"You knew that one female that was there," Saena said then, curious to know what he knew about Nochtli and their pack. "Not the one who thought we were dumb enough to give her a prize for nothing, but the other one, the smart one. Who is she?" What is their pack? was the underlying question, but it was very possible that Reek didn't know that. He knew Nochtli by name, though, so that was a start for sure.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Reek smiled.  It wasn't the forced smile he had grown accustomed to wearing that was born of stress and anger, but it was a genuinely happy smile in response to the farcical nature of Saena's joking suggestion.  Sebastian's escape in the grotto had been nothing short of miraculous.  How he'd been able to fit through that tiny hole in the ice was far beyond Reek, who was unable to fit through the same hole despite being scrawny and small of stature.  Obviously, Sebastian was a shapeshifter.

It may have been ridiculous, but it was a funny thought all the same. "Some wizard, eh? He didn't really put up much of a fight," he chortled back, joking along like old times.  "I mean— talk about useless superpowers... what should we call him? Fit-Through-Ice Man?"  And with a snap of the finger, everything was like normal.  Reek joked; Saena joked. Wynter who?

What happened next took Reek by surprise.  She rested her head on him, much like Wynter used to.  Maybe if it had been another time, and their relationship had been healthy, he would have pulled away.  But his relationship with Wyn was in shambles and he relished in Saena's touch.  His heart pounded away like a crackhead with a bongo, but he remained silent, still, and enjoyed the moment.  "Don't worry," he whispered, attempting to console Saena's doubts. "I'm rarely always right."

She went on to ask about Nochtli, his muddy acquaintance. "I don't know her well, but I met Noch a while back. Remember when the pack first formed and I went traveling for a bit?  We played around in the mud, but didn't talk much," he explained. "I can't speak for her friend, but Noch is a good wolf.  Friendly."

Saena snorted. However silly Reek's nickname was for Sebastian, it really was strange how the Redhawk wolf managed to get away from them. The Redtails hadn't been able to follow him. All the same, it was over with now and he was either dead or licking his wounds, so it was easy to joke. "He's made of goo," Saena giggled, "he's Fit-Through-Ice-By-Becoming-Goo-man!" Sebastian had not become goo, but he'd gotten lucky, which was probably about as miraculous as turning into goo when half a wolf pack was on your heels.

More surprising still than the lightened air between them was the fact that Reek didn't pull away. Saena selfishly didn't want him to. She knew what she was doing was wrong—cuddling up to a man with a mate was wrong and an alpha should know that—but instead of breaking the contact like she should've, the yearling breathed in slowly, then shyly preened the fur that was in reach. Her shoulders were tense, though, the muscles taut, ready to pull her head back in an instant at any sign that Reek didn't appreciate what she was doing. It was well within his right. He was a mated man and what she was doing was wrong... but Saena hadn't felt so right in a while.

To avoid making it too awkward and heavy, though, the alpha only allowed herself to do it for a minute, tops, while he spoke of Nochtli (assuming he let her do it at all). She lifted her snout slightly when he finished and nodded gently. "She seems like a good wolf," Saena mused quietly, remembering how Nochtli had also been there to confront Meldresi. Saena still didn't know who the Blackfeather Woods witch was, but the exchange made it obvious she was someone dangerous. Dangerous, and stupid. "Actually I saw her once before. There was a female from somewhere in the south, and a lone male hanging out kinda nearby, and Scimitar from Nova Peak showed up, and then she was there too. She claimed the female trespassed on her territory. Y'know what that female said?" She paused, then said with a chuckle, "she said Noch's pack wasn't official or something, like it doesn't count. She also tried to tell me I didn't know where our pack is. Have you ever heard such lunacy coming out of another wolf's mouth?"

She shook her head, settling her snout gingerly back against his fur, and muttered, "if not for my family at Blacktail Deer Plateau, I'd say every wolf in the south half of this place is totally insane."

*Aggressively ships* Plus, I love any excuse for drama!

Saena quickly added her own addendum to Reek's nickname to the possibly dead-unlucky-SOB that was Sebastian, causing Reek to grin one of his trademark toothy smiles.  "Hmmm," he hummed in mock consideration. "But, who's to say the guy didn't like— teleport or something to the other side? Although, I like goo... and Fit-Through-Ice-By-Becoming-Good Man has a nice ring to it, is it the most plausible answer? I'd like to think he blinked his eyes and then— Bam! Otherside!"  The scenarios became more and more ridiculous, but it had been so long since Reek had any fun, and the entertaining back-and-forth that he and Saena shared on the subject was more than welcome.

Speaking of more than welcome— Saena had began to preen and primp the fur around Reek's neck while he spoke of Nochtli, and the little voice in the back of his head that would have said no was apparently on strike for better conditions and her touch served as a comfort to his troubled mind.  It may have been wrong, but Reek wallowed in sin happily.  But soon after he had finished speaking, she stopped and lifted her head and it took everything Reek had not to beg her to continue.  But as she continued her story, Reek quickly became wrapped up in the details.

"What a looney," he mused emphatically with an almost comical shake of the head.  "A pack's mark is mark all the same, new or old."  If only he had been there, it all sounded so entertaining.  "I think I'm starting to agree... the south's full of crazies.  Let's never go there." It was true that Reek no longer held any intention of crossing the Sunspire Mountains— only possibly going to the plateau to meet Saena's family, but that could have been the end of the world for all he cared.  The north and the wolves that inhabited it were his home.

He felt her rest her head on him once more and he exhaled slowly in relaxation.  "I want to meet them," he whispered, referring to the wolves of the Plateau.  "Your family."

I'm enjoying this twist way too much~

"Bam-man," she said with a chuckle before letting that subject slide. There was no point really thinking about it too much longer. Either way, Sebastian got away and the Redtail wolves need not worry about him.

A redtailed hawk screeched loudly over their heads, drawing Saena's attention away from the beta male momentarily. From its talons dropped a half-eaten something-or-other, probably a mouse or vole, and she traced its descent into the trees with her eyes. She had half a mind to go find it and eat it as a snack, but then she would need to move, and she was very comfortable where she was, wrong or otherwise.

"Yup," she readily agreed. It was sort of common knowledge that piss equaled a claim. Saena doubted that Nochtli and her wolves had failed to mark their territory; it was the first thing most wolves did when they settled. It was instinct. "It's a dark place," she said with a grin, "you must never go there, lest the crazies infect you with their... crazy-itis." It was becoming easier and easier to believe their jest. The south really was full of insane wolves. The north probably was, too—Citali came to mind—but the majority of them seemed to like the sunny side of the mountain more, which she supposed wasn't too far-fetched.

And though they were talking and joking and though she kept reminding herself that she was toeing a line, the young alpha couldn't keep at bay the subtle flutter in her chest whenever she breathed in Reek's scent, nor the urge to remain close. Very close. In fact, she nudged her body nearer to his whilst saying, "what, you didn't get enough of my shitbag dad already?"  She was testing her boundaries and seeing just how far Reek would let her go while still attending the conversation, though her focus on that was gradually waning, and from there she began to preen higher, near his jawbone now. Her contact was intimate, and though inexperienced in such tender matters as this (having had no more than a slight crush once in her life on a wolf who was younger, and gone now), her touch was ever-so-slightly heated as she tended to his fur.

Yay for organic IC plot twists!

Bam-man! Now that was a name!  A hero the Teekon Wilds deserved.  Too bad the kid was probably dead by now.  However, that fact did breathe a bit of cosmic irony into the situation making the whole thing incredibly funny and causing Reek to double over in exasperated laughter.  It had been so long since he had a proper fit of the gigs, and he realized how much he had taken the power of humor for granted. He was the happiest he had been in weeks.  

The goodnatured joking continued with speak of the dreaded crazy-itus, and Reek shuddered in mock fear.  But the more time he spent in the wilds, the more he had begun to thing that the itus was a real thing in it's entirety... and it was running rampant at an epidemic scale down south... it was as if everything below the mountain range was the wolfish equivalent to Florida.  And once one goes to Florida, they quickly realize that it's a silly place.  "Let's hope your friends at the Plateau are safe," said Reek jokingly. His eyes spread wide like he had been struck with a sudden revelation. "Or maybe the crazies have gotten to them first.  Cue dramatic music!"

"But seriously though, I'd love to meet them," he added, tone becoming more serious.  But thoughts of visiting the Plateau were quickly replaced with thoughts of something else.  Saena's muzzle worked it's way up to the underside of Reek's neck in an intimate display.  He shut his eyes and exhaled as his body tightened in anticipation.  It was wrong, but he didn't care.  It felt right.  His heart thrummed in his chest like a drum and he returned her affection with a nuzzle of his own, working his way from her side, to her neck, then planted a slow lick on the side of her face.  

"Should we— Should we go somewhere private?" he sputtered in a whisper in her ear.  It was all so confusing, but still, Reek wanted.  She was beautiful, and whatever she wanted with homely boy like Reek was beyond him, but he didn't think of that.  He only thought of her when he nuzzled in close.

Saena chuckled through her nose at the thought of the Blacktails going crazy. They were their own brand of crazy, but far from the type of insane that Redhawk Caldera fell prey to. None of them would make ridiculous claims like Meldresi, nor would any of them ever attack a wolf without an explanation. Still, the thought that she would go to the plateau and find them all mad was as funny as it was terrifying.

But she didn't have the fortitude or the attention span to say anything else, for at that moment, Reek tensed up. She drew her head back, heart pounding fearfully as she waited for his expected request that she stop. She expected to be reminded of Wynter. Their relationship was definitely tense right now, but as far as the alpha knew, they were still together, which made this much worse.

Saena readied herself to be shut down, but that isn't what happened at all. Rather, Reek's tension turned to some sort of passion as he returned the affection with touches that made Saena's breath hitch. Her heart beat hard against the cage of her ribs. A shiver crawled along her back, prompting her to return to her ministrations with twice the vigour. For some reason, she was finding it hard to catch her breath, which caught her off guard. She'd never experienced this sort of feeling before, after all, though she was whisked away by it very willingly.

When he asked if they should find somewhere more private, Saena peered up and him and shyly said, "okay." No doubt it was the meekest she'd ever been around him. From here, she wasn't sure exactly how to proceed, or what would follow, thanks to youthful naivety, but her gut told her to stand and follow (or lead) him to somewhere more secluded. She did that, or at least the part where she got to her feet. She was surprised to find she was unsteady, drunk on Reek as it were, and she swayed gently while waving her tail.

Alrighty! How do you want to play this out?  We can fade it all tastefully and such, or continue to play things out. Your call!

Reek's heart jumped around his chest like a ten year old who had been given a double-shot of espresso.  His affections were retuned two-fold and Reek struggled to not just take her here, atop the ridge for all to see.  But, (a little) common sense won out and he resigned to wait until the pair was out of sight.  She agreed to follow meekly, which Reek attributed to her own inexperience, but it was a far cry from the strong alpha he was used to seeing. Truthfully, even though Reek had Saena by years in age, he was largely inexperienced when it came to romance, especially physicality. They were in the same boat, and due for some awkward fumbling.

Part of Reek knew if he followed through, there would be no coming back from this in his relationship with Wynter.  And even though their relationship was already perceived dead, this would be the final nail in the coffin.  But for once, Reek didn't care.  A part of him wished to lash out at Wynter with this, but at the same time he was closer to Saena than anyone.  She was his confidant, best-friend, everything. After Wynter's absence he found himself closer to Saena than ever, the feelings he felt were only natural.

"The Emberwood," he whispered breathily, finding his feet on wobbly paws to begin the brisk walk south.  "No one will see us."  But, so what if they did.  Reek was already in too deep and the decision had been made.  "I want you to know," he added in a hushed whisper, gently teasing the fur on her neck.  "You're not my second choice... Me and Wyn, we havent— but, I want to with you."  

Hmm, I'm comfortable with either type, so I'll let you choose with your next post! Surprise me (like the rest of this thread lol). We can mark mature if we choose to continue it. :P

She was just steadying herself as Reek stood, urging her toward the Emberwood in a voice scarcely above a whisper. She detected the same breathlessness in him and Saena felt the strange, unfamiliar burn in her stomach growing larger. Looking back, she would never know exactly what spurred their action, but she would never question it or wonder. She was too caught up in the slow burn for that.

Reek stumbled over himself then, eager to ensure Saena knew she wasn't second best. If her mind was in full control, she might've been more insecure, but instead she stepped boldly up to him and murmured, "shhhh" while drawing her nose along the side of his neck. While her motions initially had been unsure and gentle, now it was with a fiery resolve and unbridled intimacy as she let go of her insecurities and let her concern for past and future melt away in favour of the present.

It was hard to tear herself from him, but Saena did at long last, and began a swift trot down the ridge in the direction of the Emberwood, panting lightly as tense heat rippled through every cell in her body. Like Reek, she secretly didn't care if they stoked their mutual fire here and now in plain sight, but she understood the ramifications of certain wolves seeing them. Most of the pack would consider it adultery.

The distance between the ridge and the wood wasn't so large, but it felt like hundreds of miles. By the time they reached it, Saena was so consumed by desirous fire and youthful lust (and she succumbed to it so easily that it commanded her now in spite of her complete inexperience) that she drew to a stop barely past the treeline and turned to Reek with a wanting whine.

Awkward sexytime it is! Fair warning, it was a 13 hour day at work, so my writing may or may not be horrendous tonight.

Mature Content Warning

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: The sex and stuff.

There she was.  The confident and fiery leader that Reek found himself so attracted to was back in action with a sultry shush, effectively shutting Reek's awkward bumbling down like a cannon. A sexy, sexy cannon.  He practically shook with anticipation as her nose trailed down his neck.  It was near impossible to speak with that sort of stimulation anyway.  Perhaps it was better for Reek to remain silent, so he could let his actions speak for him before he had the chance to screw everything up with his mouth.

She took off toward the Emberwood and Reek followed close behind in a brisk trot.  Although the Emberwood was close to the Rise he couldn't get there fast enough, and minutes felt like hours which felt like nothing short of an eternity.  But eventually, the duo made it to the safe seclusion of the wood under a thick canopy of trees.  Maybe eventually, the pack would see them together and not bat an eye; but now was not the time.  The Wynter problem would have to be dealt with first.

She stopped once she deemed they had traveled far enough to evade the prying eyes of the rest of the pack and let loose a whine that made Reek's knees shake.  He moved past her, brushing against her side and teasing her back, working his way down with his muzzle.  He nipped and teased with his teeth in one slow swooping motion, taking in her scent the entire way down.  Moving down past her docked tail he flitted his tongue about before moving in to mount.

He wrapped his forelegs around her tightly as if he would never let go.  However inexperienced he had been, instinct took over and Reek stopped thinking conventionally with the mind, but through the flesh— through touch.  And in that moment he became closer to Saena than he had ever been with Wynter, in both senses of the word.  Although he was completely caught up in the moment, he couldn't help but feel it was better this way.  That this was right.  It certainly felt it.

It occurred to Saena once or twice on the walk, and again now, that they might be merely using one another to forget their respective tragedies, but the alpha female didn't believe that thought, no matter how many times she had it in the agonizing time between first contact and blast off. Once or twice, the black beast of guilt reared its ugly head in the pit of her stomach for the harm she was likely to cause her friend, Wynter, but it was beat back by the even uglier head of selfishness each and every time. She wanted this, Reek wanted this, and Wynter... well, she'd made her bed the minute she left, and Saena could provide what she couldn't, at least right now.

She dared to think for an instant she could do so indefinitely, but there was still the chance that Reek would stop this, or regret it later. Hell, there was still the chance she would regret it later, though their tentative, shy touches had awakened a part of her that was far too selfish for that, especially right now.

As soon as Reek stepped into the shade, Saena closed the distance between them and trailed across his collar with fervent nips. Her teeth tangled with his fur and pulled gently, each repetition followed by a flick of her tongue across his pelt. Her shortened tail waved as best it could, fast and high, a welcome signal from any wolf. She peeled back her ears when Reek began making his way down her spine with gentle rakes of his teeth and nudges of his nose, and the further he went, the weaker her legs felt. By the time he reached her rump, Saena was trembling.

She almost turned to return his favour with fevered kisses along his own back, but then she felt his arms close around her hips and his weight fell suddenly on her back. Saena was the thicker of the two, petite though she was, what with Reek being all but a skeleton with how gaunt he was, but still his weight made her falter for a moment. Her front half bowed gently forward, her hind legs splayed to distribute the added weight, and though she truly didn't know what she was in for now, her heart was beating so quickly it made her almost dizzy.

The same instinct that guided Reek bid Saena to stretch back her legs and (try) to move her tail, though it wasn't long enough to really require that. In that instant, without much warning at all, Reek joined them and Saena initially snarled as discomfort and pain broke the spell. She tossed back her head and flashed her teeth, and for the briefest of seconds, she considered bucking him off. It was fleeting, though, and in the next instant she was drowning in Reek's scent, made heady by it, and the sensations he sent through her with each surprisingly skilled movement he made. Her initial snarl gave way to soft gasps as they acquainted themselves in a way no other wolf had ever experienced either of them.

Three years. For three long years he had waited for this moment without even realizing it; and it had all been much more than he expected.  The act was so intimate and personal.  He could feel the rhythmic thump of her heart from under him. Even before he began to move against her, Reek felt as if he had simply become an extension of herself, and likewise, she himself.  A single being without autonomy, writhing and wriggling in a pool of it's own endorphins and hormones.

She spread out and made herself stable under Reek's boney frame and he began to move in the way instinct dictated.  And though he enjoyed ever bit of it— from the beginning and onward, she seemed to not feel the same.  Reek's eyes went wide as she threw her head back and snarled.  He must have done something wrong, given his experience in the subject.  His rhythmic stokes slowed to a near stop and he opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could speak, her snarl shifted into gasps and moans of pleasure.  He picked his pace up back to where it had been before, rocking against her in a powerful and wanting way as he physically shook the confusion from his head.  Maybe that was normal? Who the hell knows?  The female body is weird.

But weird as it may have been, Reek was captivated.  The curves of Saena's form, the sounds she made, her enveloping scent, everything only served to further ensnare the bedraggled beta in Saena's spell.  "You're amazing," he panted between strokes with heavy breath.  If it were up to him, their dance in the wood would never end.

Reek slowed down, but if Saena was at all impatient about it, she didn't make it known to him. She was far too busy quivering below him. The tremble that had started before he even took her in his arms had mounted into quaking, and all of it from sheer desire. That they were connected now certainly served to heighten that feeling, to the point where Saena started losing the ability to think straight the longer they were at it. Soon, her body responded automatically to him as she pushed back, and all the while her voice poured from her lips without conscious control.

Reek's breath and voice poured across her ears suddenly. She opened her mouth to say, "You," but before she could get any further, something changed. She wasn't sure if it was something Reek knowingly did or not, but she became a thousand times more sensitive to his movements, as if he'd pressed a button on her back that made her feel things with an almost painful intensity. Whatever she'd been about to say was carried away on the breath of a moan as she squeezed her eyes shut and groaned, "wow," as he pushed her closer and closer to... well, something. She didn't really know the end result of sex, but she knew she wanted it badly, especially now that he'd hit his stride.

And seemingly, she'd hit hers as well, for she moved against him fervently without even thinking about it. Her paws gripped the ground to steady the two of them and somewhere in there, she ground out his name on a low breath as they drew each other higher and higher.

Although Reek didn't believe in any gods or adhere to a set of beliefs, he could finally see why some would; and for a moment, he felt as if he could see God himself— or herself, or... whatever. However, it was no god, it was only Saena writhing and wailing in pleasure beneath him. Close enough; he would have worshiped her if given the chance. Both wolves had been swept with a wave of collective euphoria and it was the closest Reek had ever had to a religious experience.

She tried to speak, but her words only became garbled in her moans that began to increase in amplitude.  Unbeknownst to Reek, she was knocking on climax's door... and so was he.  While he wished their coupling could have lasted forever, it seemed biology had another plan in store.  It felt as if a fire had been set in his loins and an atomic bomb went boom in his head.  Every single muscle in Reek's body seized into a taut mass as he pushed harder and harder.

Then everything went loose.

He pulled himself off of Saena's back and sunk to the ground in post-coital bliss.  "Oh my god," he muttered, unable to form proper sentences.  "Oh my god," he repeated once more.  "Let's stay here tonight," he panted in exasperation.  That way, he could spend the night with Saena in peace... and he wouldn't have to move.  Two birds with one stone.

It was like running up a hill and knowing on the other side was the most tranquil meadow in the entire world. Saena was on that uphill run, galloping hard toward it with the motion of their bodies and the thrumming of her heart. This time, it wasn't meant to be—Reek's arms tightened around her and then he slumped forward, obviously spent—but even though she hadn't crested the metaphorical hill, it was still the most euphoric thing she'd ever experienced. Definitely better than she'd ever hoped.

Reek was muttering against the nape of her neck, then he slipped off her and panted. Saena, once released, wobbled on the spot before shakily laying herself down, still lost to waves of euphoria. Her breath came in gasps, voiceless ones now, but when she looked up at Reek, it was with soft eyes in spite of her flagging energy.

Like him, she was loathe to move, and agreed with a weary, "that sounds nice," but she managed a little bit of effort. She managed to get to her feet, shaky as they were, and very slowly approach him... and once there, she shoved her snout into the crook of his neck and breathed in deeply, savouring his scent and cataloguing how it changed with what they'd just done. She then sank back to her stomach again, still shaky, but smiling gently even though her eyes were half-lidded with blissful exhaustion.

It was a struggle for Reek to keep his eyes open, but if they closed, he wouldn't be able to keep his gaze on Saena— which would have been nothing less than a travesty. Even though they drooped, his eyes had been opened (figuratively speaking) to what he really wanted. Her.  Although Wynter was technically still his mate, she had become an afterthought in the wake of the moment he shared with his alpha. Reek felt emotions that he had never felt before; ones that he thought he had felt, but now he realized they were fraudulent.  But this, now, was truth.

She made her way to his side and the pressure of her muzzle on his neck. He exhaled slowly, completely relaxed.  Thankfully, the summers in the taiga were mild, so when Reek moved in as close as he could get to rest against her, he knew it wouldn't be too uncomfortable and hot.  But, even if The Emberwood were truly on fire, he still would have found her embrace eagerly.  

"I'm going to break things off with Wynter," he whispered.  "I can't carry on with her if I feel this way about you."  While Reek could go, lie, and live on as normal; that was the last thing he wanted to do.  Saena was his closest friend— and now lover.  That wasn't something he wanted to hide from the pack.  "I want there to be an us,, he continued as he nestled in even closer.

Reek settled beside her and Saena's heart picked up its faster pace again, though her eyes fluttered and threatened to carry her into sleep. The press of his body around hers was comforting, and while it was unthinkable just over an hour ago—her crush a mere subtlety, almost unacknowledged, and now this—she felt at ease with it now. Any thoughts of his relationship with Wynter were far from her mind. There would be time for them later, but right now, the alpha wanted to enjoy his closeness and at least pretend that it could last.

Well, she wasn't thinking about Wynter until Reek mentioned her. The alpha female lifted her ears and tired eyes to him, and though he was talking seriously, she couldn't help the gooey smile that spread across her lips. Wynter who? But then the haze began to lift and she remembered that he was still a mated man, and her gooey smile began to falter toward a frown.

"We'll hurt her," the alpha female said slowly just to press her lips together thoughtfully. The two sides of her warred within. Part of her selfishly wanted to say, well fuck her, she left! while another part cried out, she's your friend! But Wynter wasn't really a respected member of the pack any longer, not after her departure and subsequent avoidance behaviour. She was a bit of a recluse, and their relationship (Reek's and hers) was dead as of now, so he was technically available anyway. "But... you're... well, you're incredible. You're too good for... well, y'know." She didn't want to say bad things about a friend, and yet... and yet.

In the end, Reek won out over Saena's guilty conscience, and she whispered, "really?" She hadn't known, hadn't had the slightest idea before this, that she might want the same thing, and though they needed time—time to understand one another as a couple rather than as friends and colleages—she did want it now that they'd broken down all their own walls. "I want there to be an us, too," she whispered shyly, smiling almost sappily as she rested her head across his legs. Though sleep was coaxing her, so too was her budding attraction... and slyly she asked through his fur, "wanna go again?"

Saena was right, the events that had transpired between the alpha and beta would just about kill Wynter, but at this point Reek couldn't have cared less about the reaction from his soon-to-be-ex mate.  She had thrown him through the emotional gauntlet when she left, and in a sick/twisted way, Reek felt as if she was getting exactly what she deserved.  A swift taste of her own medicine.  But, twisted sense of justice aside, the situation would have to handled delicately or else there would for sure be a blow-up.  

"I don't know how to handle it," he whispered truthfully after Saena brought up the emotional implications.  "—But, I've made my choice... and it's you."  While Reek was fueled by spite, the relationship he shared with Saena was something completely unrelated.  Wynter left and Saena became his rock and steady shoulder.  She was more than just a best-friend, but it had taken him until now to realize it.  

"So like... really," he confirmed with a slight chuckle.  The thrumming in his chest had just begun to slow to normal pace just before she affirmed that she wanted there to be an us too, causing the rhythm of his heartbeat to build in a sudden crescendo ending with a wide and happy grin.  "I mean, we don't have to be like mates or anything... yet, but you can't deny that we've got some serious chemistry."

Obviously they had chemistry since she was rearing to do the do once again. And Reek, even in his state of utter exhaustion, was happy to comply. "Of course I do," he breathed from behind a smirk while pulling his legs slowly out from under her head to rise on wobbly legs. His tail wagged excitedly behind him as he waited for her to take her feet and initiate round two.

Can either archive here or fade with your next post! Omg thank you for all these plot twists, I haven't been so excited to write Saena in a long time! ^_^

It's you. Saena could've listened to him say that about a hundred times before it would start to really sink in. Two hours ago, the two couldn't have been further from this point. A month or so ago, Saena was convinced she would never love anybody. She didn't love Reek, not even close, but there was definitely something there, ignited by their very sudden lusty fling. Perhaps she would, one day. Perhaps, even if they hadn't come to the woods on a whim to fuck each other silly, she would've discovered that something on her own anyway.

"More serious than Bam-man?" she asked with a chuckle, not even really knowing what the point of that joke was or if it was even a half-decent joke at all. Truthfully, she was still sort of riding a personal high and was the equivalent of a drunk blonde girl. "I think you're right," she whispered, then giggled giddily. Where the hell had that come from anyway?

She didn't have time to really think about it. Reek was ready to go again too, so Saena was on her feet in an instant, though she didn't give up what they both wanted immediately. She did trail her nose through his fur, and she did nibble his jaw line and press her body close, but before either of them could get too worked up, she turned and shakily trotted deeper into the forest. Their first attempt was a rather quick, needy affair—they hadn't had time or desire to find a location with a better mood—but though Saena was quickly climbing toward desperate wanting once more, she would coyly lead him somewhere nicer than the Emberwood's outskirts before they'd give in and lose themselves to one another again.

To the archives! I totally love the direction this thread took and I can't wait for the next one (I'm probably going to jump into the one you just posted... I'm too impatient). On another, unrelated note, I just realized these two have the same birthday!

Reek stared down at his alpha/lover in earnest anticipation as he waited patiently for her next move. Just as his own mind was floating in post-coital bliss, it seemed Saena was in the same boat. Her giddy state became obvious because of lame joke about bam-man... but Reek was the king of lame jokes. They were his bread and butter, and he began to laugh without holding back at her call-back to their previous conversation. "A tad," he wheezed between happy heaves. For a man who rarely took anything seriously, in this instance, a tad, was an understatement. He was dead serious. Jokingly serious, but still steadfast in his decision.

She stood to brush up against Reek's side with her muzzle and he trembled at her touch. His body went stiff and then loose, like putty in her paws to be molded as she pleased. He was her plaything. Just as soon as he was ready to go for round two, she pulled away and ventured further into The Emberwood. He quickly took off behind her in an excited lockstep as they went deeper into the wood to get it on elsewhere. Somewhere more fitting to the moment.