A bit of a long one, but I just got going on writing from The Kurgan's point of view and before I knew it it was over one thousand words. I think it turned out nice though. Please tell me if I did alright in writing from His p.o.v.. The last thing I want is to lose The Kurgan's image completely and turn him into a big softie. We can't have him going completely soft now can we? Just a little for his mate. Enjoy. . .

The Kurgan awoke the next morning and opened his eyes to see his mate nestled in close to him. He could feel her body heat and never recalled feeling so warm. He refused to believe he was going soft, even for a woman. He reached out and stroked her face with the back of his fingers. Before Arielle the only reason to survive was The Prize, but everyone knew how that ended. Without her he floated along in the universe unknowingly created by cinema and drifted through time and space, searching for another purpose.

He had waited for her to come back to him and now he had her. He ran his hand back through her hair and grinned and how smooth and soft it was. He looked at her a moment longer before rolling out of bed so smoothly he didn't wake her. He wanted to go make morning rounds before she woke up.

He dressed quietly and strapped his sword to his back. With one last glance at his woman he walked out the door and down the stairs. As he was descending his staircase he happened to pass a younger man servant who was most likely in his thirties. A man who looked capable of defending something, he would do. The Kurgan stopped by him.

"If anyone comes here with the intention of kidnapping the Woman you will defend her with your life," he looked at the other man dead in the eyes.

The servant, whose name The Kurgan didn't care enough about to remember, merely nodded steadily twice before bowing his head and dropping his gaze respectfully. Satisfied The Kurgan grinned and walked away. He made his way to the stables where he saddled and mounted his strong, big black horse. A magnificent beast of gigantic size and stride, his hooves alone were as big as The Kurgan's hands, the master liked strong animals as much as he liked Arielle's unclothed body. As he cantered out of the stables, to the surrounding hills to survey what was his, he didn't glance back at his castle. His mind though, did think about the sleeping woman back in his bed. The woman he could take whenever he wanted and without a fight. Yet she was a free woman and enjoyed their nightly ruttings.

"She would call it love making," he thought to himself while he rode, he chuckled. "Well I rut her but let her call it what she will." He looked out and smelled the air. Nothing of interest.

He turned his beast to the west and followed a ridge of bright green leaved greens to a ridge that over looked a valley. In this valley there was a hard river and farther to the west there was an even thicker forest than the one he just came out of. He frowned as he looked over at the land of the people he was suspicious of. He looked at the castle nestled between another village and the darker forest beyond. He stood at the threshold of Lord Hartmann's lands, a fat old man and who lived surrounded by many servants, his aging wife, their four sons and one daughter.

The Kurgan's reputation followed him when he came to live in the village he was ruler over just a few hours away. His reputation was enough to make the other lord fear him, commonly sending spies and would-be assassins. The Kurgan would dispatch them all easily enough but ever since he brought Arielle with him and word spread that he had taken a mate the assassination attempts stopped, being replaced by triple the amount of spies he knew where roaming his lands. His traps in the forest caught plenty of them.

He knew it was because of Arielle. Just a few weeks after bringing the woman to his world he notice that while out for a stroll through his village a man had followed them the whole day, of course The Kurgan was more curious as to what the man was doing than if he was an actual threat or another Immortal. When they were preparing to go back to the castle The Kurgan disappeared for only a moment to kill the man. He slipped back to Arielle's side without her ever even knowing he was gone. He prided himself in being so clever and quick to be able to kill a man without his mate ever even realizing he had gone to do it.

Thinking back to his woman he growled in fierce protectiveness over her. She was his and his alone, if Hartmann thought he could spy on her without suffering any consequences he was gravely wrong. The men sent as spies paid for their master's doing but that didn't make The Kurgan take any less pleasure in killing them. The sight of their blood would sometimes make him wish he had gotten to Arielle when she was still a virgin; so he could have made her bleed and say his name in pleasure at the same time. He was fascinated by the way blood flowed and had taken many virgins in his lifetime.

He reined his horse back towards the path he came from and ducked as the low hanging branches passed over him. He heard what sounded like footsteps and his ears twitched at the muffled sound. He stopped his horse and stood still for a moment to listen. There was nothing else, only silence. He searched the area for a little under an hour before deciding that his traps would catch whatever it was he heard.

He wanted to get back to his bed where his wife . . . "Wife?" he asked himself. He raised an eyebrow; they weren't married. He loved her but he didn't think he needed to marry her to prove it. She was his mate and everyone knew they could never be separated by any mortal or immortal man.

When he reached his home he was pleased that nothing had occurred while he was out. He stalked upstairs and found Arielle just as he had left her. The sun had finally risen above the horizon and he didn't care if they slept late. He removed his cloak and let it fall to the ground by the bed, he placed his sword in its scabbard on top of it.

He gently crawled onto the bed and stood on his hands and knees above his sleeping mate. She was so fragile to him, well all women were. He gazed down at her and had no desire to so much as rape another woman, Arielle was all he wanted and he was satisfied with that. He leaned close and kissed her firmly on the temple, slowly kissing along her jaw line and back to her cheek. He smirked and his tongue left a light trail of saliva along her skin.

Until she woke up he was content with just watching and lying beside her. While he did he closed his eyes and stretched out behind her, the curve of her body filling in against the curves of his perfectly. His hand snaked up her waist and caressed her lovely neck. Very smoothly he slid his hand down her chest and into the loose bodice, he purred when he gently grabbed her breast. He had to control his sudden urges when he felt her soft and warm skin in his rough hands.

She was the most valuable thing he owned and wouldn't let a simple mortal man such as Lord Ambros Hartmann get to her. The Ultimate Prize that he had eternity with. He nestled his nose against the skin exposed on her neck inhaled her scent, grinning darkly as he did. He had just closed his eyes when a shriek echoed out from the stables. The Kurgan shot up and dashed from the bed as a woman could clearly be heard screaming, Arielle's eyes flew open and she shot up in bed just as her mate grabbed his sword and cloak and left the room.

He thundered down the stairs and ran out of his castle to where screams had come from. When he came up on the stables he saw the elder red haired woman who worked in his kitchens, her name didn't matter to him, sitting on an upside down bucket and leaning against the outside wall. Her face was pale as if something had scared the wits out of her. He didn't ask questions as he strode in the stables and stopped just passed the door, the horses whinnied at the woman's crying but otherwise were unharmed, it was what was held up on the door with a small dirk blade, a large dark sapphire in the hilt, that made his fury rise.

It wasn't just a mysterious blade stuck in his stable doors, that alone meant a threat to him and his estates, but it was what was pinned to the door by the blade that angered him the most. It was one of Arielle's cloaks, she had two trimmed with sable rabbit fur, one white the other black. Pinned to the door soaked with blood was her white riding cloak. Just then he heard approaching footsteps and he knew by sound alone that it was his woman.

He looked to his right and saw her look at the servant woman with curious eyes. Once she spotted him she walked to him. He noticed that she was wearing her black cloak and held it around her body against the chilly morning air, with the inside covered in fur she was more than protected from the elements. Her hair in disarray and her eyes wide with curiosity she stepped up to his side. When she saw her bloody cloak hanging from the door she swallowed a lump in her throat and her face paled in color.

She stared at the cblood covered cloak. "Does that mean someone wants to kill me?" Her voice was in monotone as she blankly stared at her cloak.

The Kurgan nodded, "A violent death. To stab the door is a threat to me. To stab my door and hang your white cloak soaked in blood is a death threat to you and a challenge to me." He firmly shut his jaw and Arielle could hear his teeth grind together.

She moved closer to him and pressed herself flush to his body. He wrapped a muscular arm around her body and pressed her against him. A younger boy named Erik, maybe fourteen or so who worked alongside his father on the property came running up to group of servants and Master of the castle.

"Father!" He called as he went to the man trying to calm the kitchen woman down. "Father I found a cockerel dead, its head cut offand its body drained of blood."

"Where?" The Kurgan's gravelly voice came out of the stable as he walked forward, his mate still pressed to his side.

The young boy's face went pale and he looked at his father for help, the man nodded. "Near the eastern border of the forest Master." The bosaid with his voice a little quieter than when he spoke to his father. "Near an old hunting trail," He said.

The Kurgan glared down at him, "Show me."

Nearly twenty minutes later the master of the property, his woman, and the boy were all standing around the dead body of a large rooster. It's head was smashed and nearly compeltely severed from its body, no blood appeared around the body so The Kurgan knew that the kill had been made inside the barn and the body left here. He bent down to get a closer look at the ground and decided that this was too perfect a trail to be true.

"He wants me to follow," he said, more to himself.

Arielle looked down sadly at what used to be an impressive animal. "Obviously," she said gently. "Have you had many spies come at you like this?"

He shook his head, "This is one is clever. No one has ever dared threaten me like he did."

"How long has it been dead boy?" Arielle asked the young one.

"Just under the hour Mistress. The body itself though be naught but dead since as late as midnight," he said.

It was at that moment that Arielle realized that Erik understood her and must be speaking in his native language, she understood and spoke it back. If she knew her history and geography correctly, Saxonia was Germany where she came from and in her past life she didn't speak a word of German. She guessed that being in this new world she automatically spoke the language that her mate spoke. She wondered if she would understand others that The Kurgan knew just as easily. She shook her head and quickly came out of her tangent.

The Kurgan was looking off into the darkened forest ahead. Arielle followed his gaze and felt an ominous presence lurking somewhere before them. Without knowing it she edged closer to her master while they gazed into the trees. The Kurgan was deciding whether or not to go after his prey but with a smirk decided to let this smarter spy come to him, no matter how tantalizing the chase might be. He stood and snaked an arm around Arielle's waist. Unnoticed by the younger boy, he slipped his hand to her back and then moved lower.

She yelped at the suddenness of it and then turned to glare at him playfully. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "In such times you dare to play with me?" She asked seductively.

He chuckled, "With you I do whatever I want." His hand roamed lower and grabbed her rounded bottom, feeling how thin her night gown was. When he glanced back at her he saw that her body was alert from the cold. She shivered and he moved his hand to her shoulder, brining her in closer to him. "I'll take you back inside and show just what I'd do to you." He stopped suddenly and while Erik stood behind them and looked at the ground as he blushed furiously The Kurgan wrapped his arms around her torso and lifted her off the ground, pushing a kiss against her lips.

He set her back down and while she was glad for his confidence she was shaken by the death threat that had been sent to her. They walked back into the castle and The Kurgan ordered that the bloody cloak be burned in the courtyard.