26

I rode silently on Fiore, any nervousness I felt from riding her the first time were gone. I wore a grey dress beneath a black hooded fleece cloak. Some of the villagers mostly young men were riding their horses close to people they knew. The wilderness was quiet today and I could smell something was hidden deep in the snowy forest. I looked around some smelling quietly as if trying to remember where I was. Flurries of snow fell on us. Ophelia and a few of the servant girls accompanied us, to attend to me I guess. They stayed closed to the horse. I looked ahead at Karl who decided to walk with a very large hammer on his shoulder. No one rode ahead of him, no one was falling behind either.

Fiore suddenly stopped and snorted heavily. I looked at her noticing she was starting to back up as if not wanting to go forward. Ophelia grabbed the front of her rein shushing her some. I suddenly felt a tingle shooting up and down my spine. I looked around at the trees. I looked to my left and then to my right.

"Lady Heisenberg, is something wrong?" Ophelia asked. I continued to look out into the woods silently, trying to make sense of this odd smell I was smelling. But whatever it was, I didn't like it. Karl approached and stood by Fiore as well looking out to the trees himself. Now everyone had stopped and had looked toward their lord. He then looked toward the villagers.

"We will camp here for the night! Let's get some fires going and set up our lodging tents!" he commanded. As if needing no further instructions everyone was moving in different directions setting the items on their backs down and moving with purpose. Karl placed his hammer down firmly into the ground before turning to face me. He raised his arms out to me and quietly I took holds of his arms and he helped me off Fiore. Ophelia began to guide her in the direction of the other horses. I was surprised I didn't jump at Karl placing my hood over my head suddenly. He looked focused on the top of my head before our eyes met.

"Don't wander from the camp. There are still creatures out there who came to be from Mother Miranda who are mindless and have no loyalty to her. I'll be sure to mark my scent close so, but there are more lycans here and together we can ward off any threats." he explained. I was stunned at the news of lycans being among us. I looked around at the camp.

"Who are all lycans?" I asked.

"Most of the men here. For pledging their loyalty to Mother Miranda and then me, they were granted the ability to become lycans and as long as they follow under their alpha, their village and family will always be taken care of." he said. I wondered if anyone ever rejected the offer. I thought no more of it and just nodded.

"What should I do?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing, you are a lady, you don't work. Our lodge is being set up now and then food will be brought to you." he informed. I leaned back staring with distrust. He tilted his head confused. "What?" I shook my head.

"After how we both have been toward each other in the past few days you still see my… needs attended to. Why?" I asked. He looked a bit annoyed as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Because if I treated you way worse than how I have been treating you then you would never submit," he said now looking down eyes softening before looking back up at me, "You would never be happy." I winced at his words and looked down in thought. I guess I should be grateful he hasn't shackled my feet and wrists again or even tried to hurt my physically. Even when he forced himself on me, it was never truly violent even though we both knew he had it in him.

During most of the day he kept his distance from me. Ophelia and a few other maids approached with a bow.

"My lord and lady your lodge is ready." she told and I looked at her and then at Karl who nodded.

"Go. I will be with you shortly." he said. I just nodded and turned and moved off with the other women. They lead me to a large tent. Inside were numerous furs and blankets on the ground except for the middle where a small fire was made. No snow touched the inside. I smiled at the warmth. Ophelia helped remove my cloak and I just sat down. Immediately the women were huddled around me.

"Some meat stew and bread are being prepared and water is being boiled to clean you up." Ophelia reported as she patted off the snow off the bottom of my dress. I nodded and smiled at her before looking around at everyone working.

"Thank you… please make sure everyone else is fed first before me." I replied. Now all the women stopped and stared at me stunned. Ophelia gave a graceful smile before looking at me.

"We thank you for thinking of us first milady, but that would not be allowed. If Lord Heisenberg caught us eating when you have not…" she trailed off. He's likely to rip your stomach out so you could never hold anything again. I nodded slowly in thought of how I could somehow bond with these women as they will be a part of my life.

"Then eat with me. If I'm going to be here for a while, I'd like to know a little bit about you all. There aren't a lot of people who look like me. I'm sure you all have many questions." I replied. Now all the maids looked at Ophelia with glimpses of excitement. Ophelia looked from them then to me and nodded.

"As you wish." she replied. While the ladies got me cleaned up, food was eventually served and the six of us ate. Karl and the few other men had left to mark a perimeter of their scent around the camp sight. The women were nervous to ask questions, but after Ophelia broke the ice about my hair, it got things go.

'How do you get your hair to stand that way?'

'Do all Africans look like me?'

'They came in other shades? What about their hair?'

'Different patterns of curls?'

'Dominant genes? So all of your kids will have curly hair?'

'Do all women in America wear pants?'

'Are there more buses like the one that used to come through the village?'

That struck a nerve and luckily Ophelia caught it.

"That is enough questions for Lady Heisenberg. The moon is up high we should let her rest. Lord Heisenberg does not want to come back to all of us here." she said. The maids pouted and slowly got up and began to leave the lodge. Ophelia held the flap open for everyone. Once they were gone she smirked at me.

"I will see you in the morning." she said bowing her head at me. I smiled back and nodded.

"Yes, goodnight." I replied and now I was alone for a while. I lied down on the blankets trying to figure out my next move. Was there even a next move? I knew it wouldn't be long before Karl tries to take me again and I don't want to be helpless when he does. I was tired of feeling that way. I thought about the first moment he begged me to take him. I remember the moans and the obvious submission I had from him. I closed my eyes for a moment remembering the feelings of what I was in control. The throbbing and tingling sensations inside me were unlike anything I had ever felt before and truth be told, I wanted to feel it again. I wanted to feel control again, but I knew that came with submitting to Karl. He wanted my submission again. I knew if I showed one ounce of submission then it would be me surrendering to my kidnapper.

The time to myself didn't last long as the tent flaps came open and a sweaty Karl now stood before me naked, hair crazy. I sat up and looked at him and he just looked at me with a steady pant. He stared at me with deep heavy eyes and I stared right back. That moment was here again, I am very much familiar with his scent of arousal. My fingers curled into the sheets and he let out a sharp snarl before coming at me, jumping on top of me with great speed. I lied back and let his body lie stiffly on mine.

He's expecting defiance and expecting to resist. His eyes are wild yet captivating at the same time. All the while I am just lying here like the helpless doe I was. He's still huffing and puffing as if trying to assert himself. I had to show him that he didn't have to keep trying. Slowly I raised my hands to gently caress his face. Immediately he stills, any feral noise he makes is gone as he just looks at me stunned. His skin is soft and it feels like I'm absorbing every inch of him as I move my hands around his face. Slowly his eyes fluttered close as he felt the warmth of my hands against his flesh. His face leaned to the side to feel more of my palm. We were both smelling each other, identifying the other and slowly his eyes opened and now they were calm and soft. It made me happy to see him this calm and so I gave a gentle smile, letting one hand curl into his hair and the other gently hook around his neck to pull him to me and he responded. With no other sounds to be made, our lips collided passionately and his fists that were once planted into the blankets wrapped around me.