AN: Hey all! So bit of a trigger warning on this chapter. It does edge close to SA so if that is a topic that does not sit well, or is uncomfortable for you, please be advised.
Things are really heating up, there is some spicy stuff in this chapter.
Cheers.
It was two in the afternoon, when Alastor felt he couldn't wait anymore. He knew it had been a late night, but he wanted to see her again. Why? She was nothing but bad news, trouble followed her wherever she went. He couldn't shake the buzz he felt since she had kissed him and while he was still a little worried about keeping himself in check, he was confident in his ability to keep control. This was the last day of his rut.
He waved his shadow to him. "If she's awake, would you let her know I would like her company?"
It gave him an enthusiastic nod before disappearing into the shadows. It was getting very attached to her it seemed. He would have to have a talk with him.
He made sure he was more presentable than before, freshly showered, shirt tucked in, though he kept the jacket and tie off, and sleeves rolled up. He was still running too warm for them. She had already seen his tail anyway, no point in being uncomfortably warm.
There was a little knock on the door and with a simple wave, he let her in. His eyes widened when he found she was still in her sleeping attire. He snapped his fingers to put her into something a bit more modest, but his subconscious mind had taken over.
A mix of shock and horror filled his face as instead of her nighty she was now dressed in a velvet emerald green dress that hugged her every curve. He quickly pulled his gaze away, as his eyes found that the neckline plunged low leaving little to the imagination, the top of her chest exposed. She looked ravishing. His cheeks heated and his static pitched a bit. He snapped again, now focused on what he intended. She now had sweatpants on and a baggy shirt.
She made no mention of the changed appearance, but she had a small smirk on her face. He hoped the burning in his face was his rut.
"Soooo…." She said, breaking the silence. "You wanted to see me?"
He took a breath. "Yes, I was hoping maybe you could do what you did last night. With my ears?"
Her smile widened and she moved to stand in front of him. He tried not to inhale her scent.
"I would be honoured." She mocked a bow, her smile wide across her face and led him to one of his chairs. She stood behind him while he sat and she went to work immediately. Her touch soothed his racing mind, pushing all of his worries and concerns to the side. All of the impure and carnal thoughts seemed to reduce. He melted into her touch, he wasn't really used to it. His rut had clearly reduced his disdain of physical touch. Something about her being so close made him relax. He would even admit that he may just enjoy having her in such close proximity to him.
"So I was kind of thinking, since you invited me back, I can assume that maybe…" she trailed off. He flicked one of his ears and she continued. "… when I…you didn't hate… ummm sorry." Her hands slowed as she struggled to get the words out. He closed his eyes.
"You mean the kiss? It surprised me but your assumption is correct." Her hands went back to the pace they were at a few moments before she stopped.
"So are we…going to continue that sort of stuff? Did it help with…your situation?"
He sighed. He should have known she would inquire about it. She was a curious little thing, much to his dismay. He himself still wasn't too sure how to proceed. He wanted her close to him, but he had no way of knowing what part of him wanted that. He decided he would be honest.
"I don't really understand these feelings, I want you close, but I…I'm hesitant."
She moved around so she was in front of him. "Okay so we set the expectations. We make boundaries. Simple one first, sex is completely off the table." He could hear his own static fill the room. His face burned hot. It indeed was off the table, but that didn't stop his rut side from filling his head with those thoughts. She pressed on ignoring him. "Bed is off limits. Clothes, bottoms stay on, tops negotiable."
"Clothes remain on" he countered. He did not want to venture into anything that may involve the removal of clothing. He had a hard enough time trying to keep such images out of his head, he did not need help. Despite a part of him, the more animalistic side, longing to see more of her soft skin, to place soft bites down her neck, pass her collarbone…
"Alright, clothes stay on. Hands, stay above the waist."
He inhaled sharply, trying to focus. "Hands only touch exposed skin." Even that was something he would have to mentally prepare for, touch wasn't really his thing. And he wouldn't want the temptation of having his hands wander to places they shouldn't be.
"Okay. Anything else?
He swallowed nervously, he felt he was capable of remaining in control, but in case he needed it, "If I tell you to leave at a moment's notice, you do without question."
He had never gone through a rut with someone, anyone. He would spend the week alone by himself away from everything. Cold showers, a good book and some music was enough to keep him distracted. This time around it did work, though he did have a harder time keeping carnal and libidinous thoughts from his mind. Something changed when Ellen touched him, the simple act of massaging his ears. Nothing intimate about the touch at all yet the animalistic side of him grew more ravenous, more hungry for her touch, for her smell. He didn't even want to address what the kiss had done. He needed…wanted her to be his. And that terrified him. Stupid rut.
She gave him a confused look before responding. "Okay, but if it's just overstimulation or getting uncomfortable, we can just send each other to a corner, right? It seems a bit extreme but if you feel you need it-"
"- I do."
"Then fine. Anything else?"
He shook his head and she smiled.
"Good, then with that settled…" She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him to his feet. His stomach did a weird little flip already knowing what was coming yet no matter how hard he braced for it, he reacted the same. The second her lips met his, he felt a jolt through his body. He pulled away slightly out of breath, his mind a little fuzzy. Why didn't he hate this? She was invading his space.
"I don't want to hurt you." He very well could, and it would be easy. And it would be ecstasy.
She smiled at him through half lidded eyes. "I don't think you could even if you wanted to. You like me too much."
In a quick motion he grabbed both of her wrists and pushed her to the wall a few feet away, pinning them to the wall above her head. It happened so quickly she bounced off the wall from the force. She let out a small gasp, but it was cut short when he pressed his lips to hers. He didn't know what was coming over him, but he couldn't get enough of her. He wanted more of her. All of her. He wanted to do unspeakable things. He mentally shook the thoughts. This wasn't him. His rut had never been this graphic, this needy, so full of unbreakable desire before. He pulled back for air, panting.
"You don't have to stand so far away you know, you already have my hands. I can't touch you with them." He was about to ask what she meant when she swung her legs up wrapping them around his waist pulling him closer to her. His eyes widened, breath hitched and an appendage he had disregarded for decades had started twitching to life. Oh he wanted that, he could feel the heat through all the layers of clothes. His heart was racing. No this was too close.
"Corner!"
She dropped her legs as he let go of her wrists and stepped back trying to recollect himself. He was shaking. What was wrong with him? She slowly made her way to the closest corner and stood facing him with a sly smirk. That cheeky little vixen.
What was going on with him? He wasn't like this. He didn't enjoy these sorts of things. He never reacted like that. He had been through ruts before. Why was this one so different, so uncontrollable? And why couldn't he just send her away? Was it her? Why her?
He was playing a dangerous game, he had never lost control during his rut but with the emotions and feelings he was currently battling, it was making it difficult. He just had to make sure he remained in control, or at least make sure he could give her enough of a warning to leave before he slipped. He was not going to let his instinctual, animalistic side take hold. He didn't fully know what it was capable of, but with the never ending thoughts and carnal desires, he was certain it wouldn't be good.
He nodded at her and she skipped back to him a smile on her face. "I'll keep my legs to myself then. Add it to the list." She grabbed his hand and twirled herself under his arm. "So is sitting on your lap out too?"
He nodded. "For now" His thoughts were already traveling to impure images.
"You know I could heal the rest of that wound for you."
He pulled her toward him. "Or perhaps another dance?"
"If only I wasn't so short." She muttered pulling him to her. She kissed his forehead. She brushed his hair to the side. "Where's the little red 'x'?"
"It's only visible in my demon form."
"Why's it there?"
"It's my death mark." He turned away from her. He didn't want to talk about his death. It was something he hated. He had been sloppy, one moment of misjudgment and it all ended.
"Touchy topic, okay we'll come back to that at a later date." She grabbed his arm lightly pulling him to face her. "Hey, sorry I didn't want to ruin the mood, lets-"
He pulled her face to his again. He didn't want to think. He didn't want anything but her. Her lips on his, her smell filling his head, that's what he needed. A distraction from his thoughts, to relax into her and let this satiate his hunger and need for her.
Her hands threaded into his hair lightly pulling. He deepened the kiss and she pulled harder on his hair. Why did that feel so good? His heart would surely beat out of his chest. Even his stomach was affected, twisting in an oddly delightful way. Here all he could feel, smell, taste was her. Her skin was cool to the touch compared to his. It was refreshing. He didn't have to think, he could enjoy the moment. A moment he didn't think he could enjoy. This was what a heat was for, he might as well enjoy while he could.
A light moan escaped from her lips and he quickly pulled back. His vision started to go black around the edges and panic set in. He tried to warn her, his throat tightening and vision slowly going. He had lost control and now he was doomed to watch from afar as he no longer had control over his body.
Her face heated, she hadn't meant to let the moan escape. She may have gotten a little carried away, but how could she not? It may be a rut, but holy shit, he wanted her in an almost uncontrollable way and that was not something she had experienced before. She didn't want sex, but it still worked wonders to her lower regions. That was hot.
When he pulled back she was expecting him to tell her to go to the corner again, but when she looked up she froze.
"Alastor?" It looked like him but the demeanor was…off? Almost like an imposter. His eyes were black, pupils' red radio dials and his antlers had grown larger. At his name, his head cocked to the side, the grin menacing. This was not Alastor, this was something else.
"What a lovely little thing you are." His voice was deep, low and a little sultry. No static. Very unlike Alastor.
She took a step back, fear starting to seep into her core. This was why he wanted the reassurance of having her leave on a moment's notice. Whatever this thing was, Alastor clearly didn't trust it. Why didn't he give her a warning?
"Look at those little doe eyes, yes you will do just perfect." It moved closer to her reaching out with a clawed hand.
"Nope, no thank you." She swatted it away from her.
"But my little fawn, we are here for the same thing. We mate, and we move on, simple." He eyed her hungrily up and down. She shivered. "I'll make quick work of this." He grabbed her and threw her onto the bed, before she could move he was on top of her.
"No, this is not what I'm here for. If you've been listening, the bed is off limits."
"Oh is it now?" He took a claw and ran it down her chest, the shirt cut exposing her. "Don't think I can't smell your arousal. It's exhilarating." His eyes flashed dangerously.
She pressed her legs together, cheeks heating. That was something you could smell?
"Where's Alastor? Bring him back."
"We are one in the same, but he is weak. He lacks the resolution to finish mating. My little fawn I am simply here to put an end to the torment, the silly resistance." He leaned his face closer to hers and she turned her face away. "I WILL get my way." He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "What a lovely little thing you are, too. Pity," He cooed.
She didn't think she could fight him. No, she needed to make a run for it. Her eyes moved to the door. If she could get it open and out, she would most likely still have it chase her down the hallways and around the hotel, not an ideal situation. Her eyes moved to the swamp. Surely it was big enough to get lost in. She just needed to figure out how to get there.
He removed his shirt and Ellen found his weakness. The wound. If she hit it hard enough… her eyes wandered to the rest of his torso. Her cheeks flushed as she tried to push her intrusive thoughts out. She had seen his chest before, when she was working on his wound, but she never thought she'd ever see him shirtless. It wasn't a bad looking body. Bad Ellen! Focus!
He removed his belt and she moved to strike. She dug her hand into the wound, grabbing the flesh and pulling chunks out. She shuddered at the thought but dashed into the swamp. She couldn't help but mutter a silent apology to Alastor. She was going to want to check on it later. She misstepped and face planted into the mud. She rolled quickly and broke into a sprint.
"Yes my little fawn, run. I do love the thrill of the hunt. You better hope I don't catch you."
She ran as fast as she could, resisting the urge to look behind her. She ducked behind a tree trying to catch her breath. She stuck a finger out trying to see if there was a breeze. If she could stay down wind it would make it more difficult for him to find her. The roll in the mud would also help mask her scent, or so she hoped. She crouched down and moved at a slower pace hoping it would help her stay quiet. She would periodically check the air, keeping down wind. She would take pauses behind trees and anything that could hide her.
This was some horror movie shit. How the fuck did she get herself into something like this? And why the hell didn't Alastor mention that if she pushed him too far he would lose control to a demonic lust monster version of himself. Last she checked, deer didn't become predatory animals that chased and hunted down prey. So what the heck was this?
She looked down at her chest, exposed. She tied the ends of the neck hole to the best of her ability. It wasn't perfect but instead of a deep 'v' she now only had a keyhole. At least he hadn't cut through her bra.
She darted from tree to tree, trying to be as quiet as possible. Every once in a while she would hear a screech that would send a shiver down her spine. All she had to do was keep hidden. Eventually Alastor would get control again right? All she had to do was hold out until then. She had no concept of time. Had she been running for five minutes? Twenty?
A rusting from her left had her heart racing. She took a calming breath then quickly peeked around the tree to find a buck. It had its head up listening, ears twitching behind him. He took a few paces forward and to her horror, she watched a clawed hand rip him to shreds, never even standing a chance. The sounds of its screeches caused her to press herself closer to the tree, eyes forward. She held her breath trying to slow her heart rate. She heard sniffing.
"Smart little thing. Oh how I do love a good chase."
Would she just have to keep out running this thing until it got tired? Until Alastor gets back into control? Was he even still in there? Surely he had to be right? They were one in the same. Or at least that's what this thing said.
She slowly peaked around the tree again. She couldn't sit and wait there much longer, but if he was close by, she would surely get caught. Fuck. A twig snap had her darting further into the swamp. She knew he had seen her. At this point sound wasn't a concern. Her breath was coming out labored. The humid air, loss of adrenaline and sprinting was starting to get to her, she was not going to be able to keep going for much longer. To her right was a little hill and she dove and slid down finding a tree to slip behind. A quick check showed she was still downwind. She closed her eyes trying to get her breathing and heart rate back in control.
Her foot was grabbed and she screamed as she was dragged into the open, him now standing over her with a devilish grin on his face.
"Found you." His tone was sinister.
She tried squirming, but it was no use. "Let me go!"
He only chuckled before gripping her throat and pulling her face to his. She could see blood dripping from his teeth and lips and she didn't even want to think about the smell. She tried pulling away but couldn't, instead pulling her gaze from his face. "I enjoyed our little game of chase, but you've only made it worse for yourself."
He looked disheveled and a bit out of breath. Sweat was dripping down his neck. The air was humid and he too had been running around, perhaps she had tired him out enough, Alastor could take back control? But if it wasn't enough… She didn't want to think about that option.
His other hand had moved to her waist pulling at the waistband of her pants. She shuddered involuntarily. She had one shot. He took one claw and made a mark along her waist matching the one he had. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out. She wouldn't give it the satisfaction.
She kicked as hard as she could into the wound on his hip, the one she had already torn into. She ignored the thought that she had just packed mud into the open wound. This was the only weakness she could think of. Both hands dropped her as he stumbled back letting out an angry cry of pain.
"ALASTOR NOW!"
She had no idea if this would work but she wasn't going to take any chances. She pushed to her feet, sprinting away stealing glances over her shoulder. She didn't want to run too far, enough that she could still keep an eye if it did work. She pressed a hand to her waist. A quick look eased her nerves. It wasn't that bad.
His hands were gripping his head as he stumbled around still screeching. She had to cover her own ears from the sound. He fell to his knees, and then silence as he fell to his side, unmoving. She waited for a full minute before she cautiously made her way over.
She kept her distance as she approached slowly.
"Alastor?"
She took one step forward, calling a little louder. "Alastor?"
His body shook.
She quickly closed the gap kneeling beside him, rolling him over onto his back. His eyes slowly fluttered open, normal red. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
His skin was cool to the touch, and he shivered. Of course he had no shirt on, though she seemed to have forgotten in all the chaos. "I don't suppose you can travel through shadows right now can you?"
He shook his head.
She sighed. Looking around her, she had no idea where she was. "You think you can direct us back?"
He nodded.
She helped him to his feet then pulled off her shirt and handed it to him. His face turned red and he opened his mouth, no doubt to ask what she was doing, but she beat him to it. "You've freezing, I'm not and in order to get back I need you awake and alert. Everything that needs to be covered, is. You won't offend me if you stare." She had already started in the direction she knew she came from. She didn't need to turn to know his face was glowing red. She also knew he wouldn't be sneaking any glances at her. He was better than that.
The two took a while getting back to Alastor's room, their pace slow, but eventually they made it. Nothing was spoken the whole way, whether it was because they were both tired or unsure how to start a conversation, she didn't know. She sat down at the edge of the room so as not to bring muck in. Alastor just kept going, heading straight to the bathroom.
She let out a heavy sigh. She was angry at him, but right now she was exhausted and maybe still a bit terrified. If he had been clear from the start what his rut entailed, this whole mess could have been avoided. She could have been watching for signs, she could have been a little more prepared. Everything about him always had to be so secretive. This was definitely something she should have gotten a warning for.
She sat there for a while, letting her thoughts wander. She didn't realize she was cold until a blanket was wrapped around her, she turned to find Alastor, dressed like usual, jacket and tie included. He handed her a bowl of soup and she took it soundlessly, gazing back into the swamp watching the fireflies dance in the distance. It truly was a beautiful sight, one she probably never would have noticed. Alastor sat down beside her, enjoying his own bowl of soup. They sat in silence for a long time.
"So I take it this ends your rutting season?" She kept her gaze on the fireflies.
"If I ever thought-"
"-no." She gave him a sideways glare. "That was something you should have warned me about."
"Well yes, but I-"
"But what? Thought it wouldn't have come to this? You said so yourself, this was the most difficult one you've had yet. If you had just told me…" She left out a frustrated sigh glancing at her bowl of soup in her lap. "I had no idea it was a risk, no idea what to expect, no idea what to do, where to go, hell I didn't even know if you were still in there to help. I just hoped for the best because the other outcome was…" She let the sentence hang, not wanting to speak the words aloud. "You put me into a lot of unnecessary risk today. Which is saying a lot considering the past week or so. It won't happen again." She finally turned to face him. "Am I clear?"
He only nodded, quickly turning away.
She wanted to stay angry at him. But one look at him killed the desire. He wasn't looking at her, but his ears were back, not annoyed, ashamed. He knew exactly what that other form was capable of and what could have happened, probably more so than she did and he felt bad about it. That was probably the closest she would get to an apology from him.
She gestured to him. "You're no longer burning hot, so you've finished your rut." She didn't pose it as a question but he nodded, returning to his soup. She followed suit, the two falling back into silence.
"I saw all of it, from the background, but I couldn't- I thought I could take back control."
"You did when it mattered."
He shook his head. "That was all you. Your scream, you calling out to me, I don't know why it got to me. I had never been a part of a hunt like that. It was thrilling, the best I've had in decades, not many make it as challenging as you did. I'd say I was impressed if not for the…circumstances."
She remained silent, unsure of how to respond. It was all a bit much to comprehend. She focused back on her soup. After a few minutes she broke the lingering silence.
"How are you feeling?"
"Angry mostly. Tired." He turned to face her again. "Ellen I really am sorry."
"I know." She gave him a small smile. Looks like she did get an apology. "Your ears are giving you away again."
She pushed to her feet wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. "I think I should get cleaned up. Thanks for the soup."
"Of course." He quickly stood to follow her to the door. She didn't bother trying to tell him he didn't need to, he would have insisted, like the proper gentleman he was. She smiled at the thought.
"Get some rest Al. You might hide it well but you still look like shit." He was taken aback from her words but before he could comment she reached up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. She put a smile on her face but she knew it didn't reach her eyes. "Good night Alastor." And she left. She was in desperate need of a shower and some rest. If only it was all that simple.