Page 14 of Whisper Woods (Legends of the Whisper Woods #3)

Rafe

Three Years Ago

The air is thick in the Woods tonight. Thick with sultry humidity and lustful tension permeating the air, making it near impossible to breathe. Travelling home on the full moon, at the height of summer, is never my first choice, but the Gods care very little for our plans. So here I am.

For the past two weeks I’ve been in Loqueaur City meeting with a contact of a contact—an extraordinarily demanding witch who required ingredients only sourced in Tathys. She was willing to pay my price but only after extensive negotiations. There were other trades along the way, and I was further caught up in following up some political information along with Joa, the Tavisher assigned to Carconnois.

It has been long and tedious, and I am more than ready to return home to wash away the itch of the city's electricity and modern technology. But before I can do that, I need to make my way through the Whisper Woods.

And tonight, of all nights, they are not amenable to my cause.

Perhaps it’s the excess of magical energy in the air that is making them so contrary, or perhaps I’ve done something to dishonour the Spirit of the Woods. That is the only reason I can think as to why the paths are behaving as they are—splitting and diverting, circling back and leading me on a fruitless and wandering journey.

A journey I do not have the physical or mental fortitude for.

Thick storm clouds conceal the night sky, adding an extra layer of mystery and chaos to the Woods. Tittering sprites offer the only light for any being still foolish enough to be finding their way. Most sensible beings were already either with their mates or on their sacred grounds celebrating the full moon and taking advantage of the libidinous energy in the air.

Glamour only works so far and despite my outward appearance still being put together, I’m sweltering underneath my linen shirt and pants. The humidity has already done horrendous things to my hair, I had to tie it back within minutes of stepping foot into the trees, but it feels as if it is draining the very depths of my body.

When the path turns again, shifting before my very eyes, once again taking me further away from the portal home, I cannot contain my frustrated roar of outrage. The sound echoes through the trees, creating a ripple of answering noises as creatures scatter in fear. Including a gathering of sprites in the undergrowth nearby, who rise as one glowing puff of light, near blinding me in retaliation.

Shielding my eyes, I take their harried abuse as they flutter around me, accepting their angry stings and barbs as my punishment. I’ve broken a sacred rule of the Woods—do not upset the sprites. The tiny beings are beloved by the Gods—there is some speculation by the Orun that the sprites are able to communicate with the Gods directly—and they are always regarded as such.

Satisfied, they leave me to follow my newly directed path in the dark—the way so black I can barely see even with my superior eyesight. The dark is not a reprieve from the heat. In fact, it gets worse. The electric sizzle of the impending storm is almost reminiscent of being in the city. It’s the storm that keeps me moving. I hoped to be on the other side of the portal before it breaks, but the Woods seem to have other ideas and so I’ve given up on such wishful fantasies.

I have well and truly lost track of the time when I hear the first sounds of life. The damp air must have limited the scent from carrying but it’s like a smack to the face once I reach it.

Wolf —and lots of it.

It appears the Woods have diverted me to the wolf shifter pack grounds. The knowledge revives my ailing spirits, my growling, huffing displeasure evolving into a hum of excitement. I try to tamp the feeling brewing inside me, but it persists nevertheless. It bubbles and brews within me with each step closer to the wolves’ pack grounds. The stench is too dense to discern any individual wolf. And even if I were able to, it would be foolish to think that he’d be here .

Or that he would be alone.

A vicious stab of anger slices through me at the thought of Seff with another. The burning flash of jealousy brings me to a stop. On the one hand, it is unreasonable to feel possessive of a man that I have laid eyes on twice. On the other hand, I’m quite confident that I could happily eviscerate any being I witness touching him.

Reason bludgeons me over the head, leaving me stranded in indecision. Dare I take the risk of approaching? My blood feels sluggish, pulsating in my veins with a thick thumping beat and I find my feet moving closer—my instincts making the choice for me, curious to know why the Woods brought me here, of all places.

The wolves’ party is loud. Tonight is the peak of the moon, meaning not every member of the pack is here. Those too young to partake in the festivities are cared for by those who are older or who do not wish to join the wild gathering. While mated pairs often choose to celebrate the energy and magic of the full moon in the privacy of their homes.

Howls pierce through the air, and with each step I can hear more. Their music, their laughter, the cheers and thuds from the fighting ring. The shifters here in the Mundane lack the ability to harness their magic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. It radiates from them, weaving a binding lascivious spell over their grounds, unleashing their more primitive drives. It is the spirit of the night, the pull of the full moon.

It infects me as I approach the clearing, inflaming my already heightened emotional state. My lungs lock when I draw close enough to spy upon them. I stick to the shadows, praying that my scent is masked by the magic in the air.

It takes long enough to find him that my stomach has tied itself up in knots—a knot that tightens painfully when he reaches out with one of his magnificent, big hands to stroke the cheek of the shifter leaning over him. Seff is splayed casually upon the steps of the shifter’s altar, with the other wolf stretched over him.

Acidic bile rises in my throat, my claws lengthening within my clenched fists, stabbing my own palms. I cannot turn my eyes from the scene before me and a feral growl rattles my chest before I can clamp it down. Once again, I find my feet moving of their own accord, slipping between the trees to get closer to the pair.

I can feel myself changing to the beast. It’s easier to move, easier to hide.

Easier to rip the wolf's head from his shoulders.

My fingers twitch, my elongated teeth baring when I hear the other wolf's laughter. I can’t tear my eyes off them. I catalogue every touch. The way the wolf straddles Seff’s thigh, allowing his own to tease the bulge in his ridiculously tiny shorts. The way he strokes Seff’s chest, the playful flick of his nipple.

Another growl escapes me, louder this time, when the shifter lowers their face closer. Whether from the shifter's action or because he hears me, I don’t know, Seff bristles, shrinking back from the affection, looking towards the shadows.

He definitely heard me then.

That terrible excitement is back again, and it is a conscious effort to steady my breathing. Smothering his concern with a mask-like smile, he eases his companion back with a gentle hand guiding his shoulder. The wolf takes the rejection well enough, returning to the dancing crowd with only one or two regretful looks back. Seff doesn’t notice, though.

He’s too busy staring at me.

Or at least, where he assumes I am.

I don’t think he can truly see me, only sense my presence here. He scans the shadows, his nostrils flared, a small furrow in his brow. A frisson of excitement makes my breath stutter as he walks towards the trees, with a quick backward glance to make sure he’s not being followed.

I withdraw deeper into the dark, praying to the Gods that he is as compelled in this moment as I am.

That he will follow.

Sure enough, he does, walking blindly into the darkness of the trees, leaving the safety of his pack behind. He stands proudly, hands on his hips. As absurd as it feels, in his white socks and sneakers, tiny athletic shorts and bare chest, he almost brings me to my knees. I want nothing more than to worship every inch of him. The need is primal, rooted in the very depths of my spirit .

I ache to touch him. To make up for every moment since the last that I have not been able to. To wipe away every trace of all others and replace it with myself. To embed myself in him. The power of the urge shakes me to my very core. It is as humbling as it is terrifying, and I find myself seeking refuge further in the shadows to regain control of my trembling body.

“I know you’re here.” Unable to see my exact location, he keeps his voice low. Just in case. He expels a shaky breath and rolls his shoulders. I can almost see the excitement sparking off his aura. “Here’s the deal. If you can catch me, you can have me. Got it?”

He doesn’t wait for my response. There is just the flash of that dimple and then he’s spinning on his toes, laughing wildly as he propels his body, running into the darkness away from me.

The challenge sparks something in me, solidifying the primal, volatile emotions boiling within me. My hunger for him sharpens with a singular focus, so heady I can almost taste it.

A smile tugs at my lips as I mentally count down from ten. More than enough of a head start for a predator such as Seff. By the count of five he has disappeared entirely, the darkness devouring him completely.

Four, three, two…

I don’t take off in the same hedonistic run as Seff. No, I slip silently between the trees, following the subtle traces of him. The Woods melt entirely away, everything ceasing to exist except for the rapid beat of his heart—a thumping beat that calls me to him.

Tension coils tight in my muscles as I stalk through the trees. There is a snap of a branch, the cracking of the brush under his feet. The thick, muggy air is infused with his scent, it confuses me, turns me about when I think I’m almost close. It is not until I hear his cackling laugh in the distance that I can recalibrate and follow the sound.

The longer I hunt, the bigger the feeling builds in me, until it almost crushes my chest. I know Seff is feeling it too. He’s getting sloppy in his movements, and I almost catch him behind an overgrown fern, of all places. My fingers brush the sweat-slicked skin of his arm before he launches himself away—veritably flying over a boulder to safety. A loud rumble of thunder covers my snarl as I follow him.

It’s the same thunder that covers my approach when I spy him hiding behind a tree, covered in sweat and mud, chest heaving with each breath. He almost glows with excitement, the air around him swirling with the energy firing off him. I contemplate my approach as I watch him reach down to rearrange the bulging erection straining his shorts. My own cock is aching in my pants, desperate for me to call an end to the game and claim what’s ours.

Thunder rumbles through the sky, vibrating through the ground and up the trees. It distracts Seff enough that I make my move. I come from the side, but he’s blessedly turned his back to me, turning to peer around the tree. I’m on him before he dares to run again, crashing into him with a victorious growl.

“Got you.” I snarl in his ear, manhandling his body, turning him to press his chest against the tree. He’s putty in my hands, letting me manoeuvre and grope him as I wish. I grind myself into him, and he answers, bowing his back to rub his ass against my straining length, one hand reaching back to grip my hair and tug me closer, to bury my face in his neck.

Roughly, I pull down his shorts to palm his ass, kneading it in my trembling hands. I can see in magnetic focus his white knuckled grip on the tree branch he hangs off, the pulse in his throat, the whiteness of his teeth as they bite painfully into his lower lip.

Our rough grunts fill the otherwise still Woods around us as I maul every available inch of skin I can reach, leaving my mark all over him. His whimpering cries fill the chorus, as I stretch him with shaking hands. The air is electric around us, the impending storm feeding the chaotic energy of us.

For one awful, dangerous moment, I fear I may cross the line, when I feel the slickness already inside him, the easy way his hole gives way to my finger. He’s prepared for this. No, not this, not for me, for us. For the full moon. Anger blinds me momentarily, my hand on his shoulder, pinning him in place, gripping him painfully. His hiss of pain pulls me back from the brink of the insane jealousy threatening to take over and ruin this.

My breath shudders as I draw in deeply, allowing myself to fall back into the moment, to drown in him, sinking two fingers into his depths.

“Please, Rafe. Need you. Need this.” Seff cries as I pump my fingers into him relentlessly. Thunder sounds again, rolling through the Woods in warning. It vibrates straight through to my balls, making them draw even tighter against me.

“I caught you, my sweet kushinavya. That means this delicious ass is all mine to do with as I please.” I stretch myself over his back, biting ruthlessly at his ear, tugging at the lobe, making him cry out deliciously. The sound just feeds the feral need inside me.

Pulling back, I drag my hand down his curved spine, delighting in his shiver. I take a moment to open my pants, relieving the aching pressure on my cock. I give it a rough stroke, collecting the pre-cum leaking from my head to coat my length. As much as I wish I could truly see him like this, not just shadows of him, the darkness is a perfect cover for my body's lack of control, skin giving way to scales.

I don’t know how much longer I’ll last, and from the way Seff is shoving himself back on my now-still fingers buried deep inside him, I don’t think he’s far off, either. He sobs when I withdraw my fingers, kicking his feet apart. Despite his disappointment, he parts them as far as the shorts binding his knees allow him, and I step closer, dragging my leaking cock down the seam of his ass. He groans when the head catches on the softened rim of his hole, and so I do it again, chuckling darkly when he desperately tries to angle his ass to force my tip inside him.

“Do you want this, my sweetness?” With one hand I press against the base of his ass to keep him from bearing down on my cock as I notch it against his hole.

“ Nrgh .” His groan is muffled against his arm. “For fuck’s sake, Rafe. Fuck me alr—.” His words catch on a cry when I drive myself inside him, filling him with one stroke. As his hot channel envelopes me I want to howl like a beast of the night. It fills my lungs with each punch of my hips into his until I cannot contain it and I let loose, the animalistic sound ricocheting through the night. The Woods answer with another clap of thunder and I curl myself around Seff’s quivering body. Taking his swollen cock in hand, I work it in time with his ass .

My forehead against his back, it’s too much—the scent of his skin, the taste of his sweat on my tongue, the feel of his feverish body under my touch, the way he submits to my touch—the tightness in my chest explodes and I lose control of my body.

It’s as if I’m beside myself, watching as we rut like creatures in heat in the Woods. Dangerous thoughts swirl in the chaos of my mind, caught up in the fever of our pleasure. With the last threads of my control, I clamp down the thoughts of mine , and forever , clench my teeth against the desperate need to bite him, to taste the blood pounding beneath his skin and claim him. I force the thoughts behind my mental wall, sealing them away while the sky continues its thunderous booms.

That doesn’t stop the words tumbling from his lips. I cannot even understanding the slurring nonsense dripping from him as I fuck into him again and again. Heat curls through me, my release licking at my spine. He’s agonisingly close—I can feel the throbbing of his knot—and I refuse to fall before him, so I change my grip to squeeze at that swollen bulb.

His release seems painful—his body spasming with a soundless cry as the first fat raindrops fall from the sky, mixing with his cum as it splatters to the ground beneath our feet like an offering. The drops become a deluge as I chase my high, his ass clamping my cock almost painfully, milking me on each thrust as I ride the wave. Seff is completely lax beneath me, letting me use him entirely for my own pleasure. The knowledge taunts the thoughts I’m desperately attempting to keep locked away.

My orgasm hits me in my chest first, like a punch to my heart. The first shot of lightning streaks through the sky, lighting up our obscene display as my head throws back in a snarl. I fuck him through my orgasm, fucking my cum deeper inside him, soothing the bitter disappointment that I could not claim him fully.

Seff’s laughing groan pulls me back to reality and away from the dangerous thoughts I have no desire to face.

“Fuck, Rafe. That was incredible.” Despite the rain soaking us, he makes no attempt to stand, crossing his forearms on the tree and slumping forward to rest his head against them. The move tightens his ass around my cock still lodged inside him, making me hiss. He chuckles a sorry that does not sound genuine in the slightest, not that I mind. I’m too busy stroking his skin, craving the feel of him to soak up the excess of energy tingling my skin.

Another bolt of lightning lights up the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder.

“We should get somewhere safe.” That lightning was far too close, and as much as I hate it, I pull out of Seff, ignoring his groans as I pull his shorts back into place. Another flash of lightning, directly overhead, changes his tune.

“Come on, I know somewhere.” He snatches up my hand, pulling me with him.

***

“I saw this just before. It’s not much but hopefully it’ll keep us out of the rain and safe.” He ducks his head inside the hollowed out, old tree. “It looks like something made a nest here. It might be a tight squeeze, but it looks comfortable.”

Pulling his head out he flashes me one of his cheeky grins, bestowing me with the sight of my dimple. We are soaked to the bone with the storm raging above us, so it’s not like we have any other options, so I wave him inside.

He’s right. It is a tight squeeze—neither of us are small men and we are certainly not able to stand in the den—but it is comfortable enough. Whatever creature has been here has padded the floor with layers of moss and leaves. And whilst we are soaking wet, it’s still steaming hot in the Woods so at least we aren’t cold too.

We get tangled in each other's legs while we try to get ourselves settled. Seff’s throaty laugh fills the tiny space when he topples and almost cracks his head on the sides before he finally finds his place between my legs, resting his back against my chest. Naturally my arms wrap around him, tracing lines along his skin.

“This is nice.” He sighs, nuzzling his head back into me just as his stomach lets out a wicked growl. The heat of his blush burns my skin when he turns to press his face into me. “Fuck, that’s embarrassing.” He huffs against me. On our run here, I managed to spy a branch heavy with aquat berries and I had the presence of mind to strip my shirt to carry some with us.

Brushing a kiss against his sopping hair, I reach blindly in the dark to find our stash of juicy, sweet fruit.

“Let me fix that for you.” I hold the berry to his lips. He takes it with an exaggerated groan, his tongue brushing my fingers lasciviously. A tender feeling, one that I associate entirely and solely with Seff, settles around my heart, while I continue to hand feed him the berries like a deity to be worshipped, all while he continues to moan in increasingly ridiculous sexual tones.

He doesn’t stop until I’m laughing along with him, at which point he’s unable to remain still any longer, shifting to his knees in the tiny, confined space. He has to duck his head, but that doesn’t matter, as a flash of lightning shows me the wicked glint in his eye before he dives on me, covering my neck and chest in snuffling, ticklish kisses.

I kick and squirm, but his hands snatch up mine and pin me down. I could fight him, but I can feel the absolute joy in him. And it’s not exactly unpleasant to have him rubbing himself all over me. So I fight back just enough for the game, bucking my hips as he straddles me, my boots digging into the thick layers of mossy bedding.

He doesn’t relent until I’m reduced to belly quivering laughs—the kind I haven’t experienced since I was a child. Only then does he sit back, a victorious smile curving his lips. He keeps my hands pinned by my side while he stares down at me, dishevelled, eyes damp, chest flushed.

He swallows thickly, as though it were difficult to do so. His words are written in his eyes—I can see them clearly. The same reverent adoration is reflected in mine, drawn from the same well inside that drove my desire to lay claim to him earlier. It’s the treacherous feelings, the primal instincts, that could see me betraying my oath to Tathys and throwing away everything I have ever known and held dear.

Perhaps he can see the panic on my face because something shutters behind his eyes.

“I like your laugh.” It’s not what he wanted to say, I know. But it’s what we can allow. His thumbs stroke the tender flesh of my wrist, and he drops his face down slowly. Our eyes remain locked until my vision blurs and I’m forced to shut my eyes.

The kiss is painfully sweet, the taste of the berries not able to hide the emotion poured into the slide of Seff’s lips across mine. He kisses me until we’re breathless, a soft cry leaving my lips when he pulls back and returns to his place between my thighs.

“Tell me what you’ve been up to.” He spies a vibrant blue-green phoenix feather and begins to play with it, spinning it in his fingers. I watch the spinning feathers for a moment, mentally rearranging my life into stories I can share.

“I have been travelling.” The veiled truth comes easily and I expel a tightly wound breath, relaxing even more into our embrace. “I’ve just returned from Loqueaur City. I had meetings there. They were… unpleasant. Tiring.” Seff snorts and shuffles himself around, unconsciously finding more ways for us to touch, even though we’re pressed together.

“I travel a lot, actually. It is part of my job.”

He doesn’t ask what my job is, knowing instinctively I cannot answer, perhaps. I’m grateful, but for the first time in my life it leaves a hollow feeling within me that I cannot share my truth in total. “I went to Alluyes a few months ago. It was beautiful.”

“Woah. Really?” Seff practically buzzes with enthusiasm. “I’ve always wanted to go there! Tell me all about it.”

Alluyes is in Hedrana, the country to the west of Carconnois, their country consisting of more water than land. Alluyes is known for its beautiful, dense tropical flora and the main rivers making up the region that glow with a vibrant blue bio-luminescent light.

And so, cocooned from reality in our hollow tree, the rest of the world washed away by the storm and pelting rain, I tell him of drinking hallucinogenic potions with the water mages, and the sirens who attempted to waylay our barge as I made my way through the rivers of the rainforest with my guide. Of getting stung by some terrifyingly large insect-like creature and almost losing a leg.

He listens enraptured, laughing until tears burn his eyes when I tell him about a communication error with one of the sirens that almost had me accidentally agreeing to mate with one of them.

“Man, it sounds amazing.” He sighs wistfully, leaning his head into my hand as I pet his hair. I can feel the longing rolling off him in waves. That deep longing I’ve sensed in him since I saw him on the cliff that first night.

I have spent more nights than I’d like to admit lying awake, thinking about Seff. Where he is in the world and what he is doing there. Wondering if he is happy, if he is well. If he is thinking about me, too. On the worst nights I have looked up at the moon, feeling the strange reassurance that no matter the answers to the questions that plague me, it’s the same moon as he sees. On those nights, I savoured it as the only connection between us.

Those nights always led to days of wondering how he’d managed to embed himself so deeply inside me. How, in our brief time together I have been left to walk the earth with a gaping hole next to me in the shape of him.

But now, with my body wrapped around him, I know the answer, feeling how his spirit calls to mine, like two pieces of a whole. It’s the acknowledgement of all the things I cannot face. It’s as reassuring as it is unsettling.

“It was beautiful there.” My voice is reedy from the thoughts I am battling to keep inside. Clearing my throat I ask, “Have you ever travelled?”

He shakes his head, dragging the phoenix feather up the bare skin of my arm absentmindedly. “Nah. I’ve always wanted to. Got a list as long as my arm. But it just never worked out.” He attempts to be nonchalant, but falls short of the mark.

“Why did it not work out?”

He doesn’t fidget at all, which is more telling than anything he could say. Even the feather is now still on my arm. “Just like, work and the pack and stuff. Wolves, they don’t do that, you know?”

I manage to suppress my grunt into a soft snort that twitches his hair. He smiles against my chest, his stubble scraping my chest lightly.

“It’s fine, though. Like, the Woods are cool. I’ve probably explored more of them than most of the pack put together. It’s… it’s cool.”

It isn’t. We both know it, but it feels almost cruel to say anything more when I cannot offer him anything more.

“Tell me about the Woods. The things you’ve seen.” I ask instead.

And that’s how we spend the rest of our night. He tells me of the hot pools he’s travelled to, and finding a mermaid's cavernous den by accident. About getting trapped in the bogs as a child and being rescued by a passing minotaur. The tales occasionally include his pack, but mostly include a being by the name of Caelan. His voice is tinged with sadness in those stories.

Eventually, the storm passes and the rain eases. It’s early morning when Seff’s eyes fall heavily and his words begin to slur before he falls asleep mid-story about a witch called Edith selling fake potions to townspeople she dislikes. His soft snores lull me to sleep, more content than I’ve been for far too long.

When the orange dawn light finally breaks through the hollow, I wake alone, with nothing but an ache in my neck, the memory of his gentle kiss goodbye and his phoenix feather tucked into my hand.