Chapter 34 | Ravinica

Chapter 34

Ravinica

MY HEART HAMMERED AGAINST my ribs as I scanned the woods helplessly, drawing my spear because I felt abruptly unprotected and small.

Behind me, the darkness of the trees called, drawing me in. Ahead of me, open campus grounds, cobblestone roads leading down to the safety of my dormitory.

I clenched my teeth, palms growing sweaty around the haft of my spear. With a growl, I cursed, "Fuck it," and then bounded into the woods after Grim, going against his demand not to follow him.

I wasn't sure why I tailed the huge bear shifter. I didn't fear for him , per se, but rather other people he might run into. That look in his red-rimmed eyes before stalking off had alarmed me, showing me his self-control was fraying.

It was a full moon, which I knew held strange powers over shifters. I'd seen it before at Selby Village, from the few shifters housed there.

I sprinted through the woods, passing his scraps of torn clothes that had exploded when his body expanded. His tracks were easy to follow—huge paw prints embedded deep into the dirt, mud, and grass.

Grim hadn't run the way we had walked. He veered off west, and I sprinted to keep pace. I couldn't see him, yet I could hear howling and growling coming from different pockets of the academy, eerie crooning lifting into the sky. It reminded me of the way hounds barked in unison at strange hours of sundown, as if their primal psyche was connected by some unseen force.

Grim's tracks exited the woods at the western edge and continued toward Gharvold, and then the gates after the garrison.

I hurried to the gates, noticing Huscarl Grant standing off to the side, looking wide-eyed. Other guards stood in the towers, hands on their bows.

"Did he come through here?" I called out as I ran up to them.

Grant said, "Who? Grim Kollbjorn? Him and many others, initiate."

I threw my arms up in frustration. "Why didn't you stop him?!"

He gawked at me incredulously. "A half-ton fucking bear running at full speed? What am I, gods-damned crazy?"

He made a good point.

"It's not even that," called another guard from the top of the guard tower. "This is normal during full moons. Lunar Night is the one time shifter students are allowed to leave the academy freely. No questions asked from Huscarls. It prevents madness inside these walls. Gothi Sigmund decreed he'd rather they run amok outside them."

"What about non-shifters?" I asked. "Can we leave?" Or am I going to have to fight you for it?

"Only if you're crazy enough," Grant fired.

I bared my teeth and pushed past him.

"Ravinica!" Grant called after me. "It's dangerous out there in Delaveer Forest on Lunar Night! The shifters are uncontrollable!"

I fucking know! I barreled down toward the mountain pass. But if there's anyone who will be able to calm Grim down, I think it's me.

I sprinted, slid, and scrambled down the mountain pass quicker than I ever had. Within twenty minutes, I was on level ground, without any sign of Grim having come through here.

Clues followed me, though. Ahead, I heard more howling, more growling. The shifters were running wild through the trees, letting their primal forms take control and guide them.

I tore into Helgas Wood, skirting around the thin birch trees toward Isleton. As I snaked through, I caught sight of a broken branch, snapped at an odd angle. I crouched over it, noticed the huge paw prints, and continued in a different direction away from the village.

The trees got thicker as I moved. Within a few minutes, I wasn't in Helgas anymore, but had traversed into the denser, wider expanse of Delaveer Forest. This place was a veritable jungle taking up most of the southern half of the Isle. It was the first place I'd trekked through after disembarking the Gray Wraith.

I recalled Arne telling me not to walk through here alone, because it was dangerous and magical. I've been doing a lot of things against people's suggestions, though. Maybe I'm too stupid to survive this place. Guess time will tell.

I gathered my nerves and followed Grim's trail. Throwing caution to the wind, something deep in my gut carried me forward, foolhardy as it might have been.

A few minutes later, I gained a grassy hill and hopped down a few ledges. I crossed over a babbling creek and noticed a glade ahead. The low growl and hum of a huge animal in the clearing drew me toward it.

Grim paced between trees in the clearing, shaking his giant furry head. He let out low snorts and sniffs as I hesitantly approached.

Bracing myself, I pushed through some foliage and marched into the clearing.

With a loud sniff, Grim's bearish body went taut. He spun, snout flaring as he scented me. His usually calm, amber eyes were lost in a torrent of uncontrollability, red and angry.

I inhaled sharply, putting my spear on my back to show him I meant no harm. "Whoa there, big boy. I'm not here to hurt you."

As if I could. The bear was massive, easily ten times my weight, with his snout coming up to my face. He slowly approached, opening his jaws and growling in a low huff at me.

Every fiber of my being was telling me to run . . . yet I stayed firm. What would fleeing at this point accomplish? He would just run me down and savage me.

"I'm a friend, remember?" I eked out, bending my knees and offering a posture of supplication and friendliness. My palms were held above my head.

Gods above, I'm an idiot for coming here. One of my best friends at the academy is going to kill me, and he has no control over it!

Grim wasn't seeing me for who I was. He was seeing his next meal. With my stomach twisting into knots, my heart plummeting, I could only keep pumping my palms, waiting for him to charge and clamp those jaws on me.

But the bite never came. The dagger-sized claws never raked across my face to maul me. Instead, Grim lowered his head and sniffed. He inhaled my scent and his red eyes started to dim to an orange hue. Closer to returning to normal amber color.

He circled me, and I stayed where I was, my entire body going tense. I didn't make any fast movements, I didn't strike out, and I didn't turn tail and flee. Even though I wanted to do all those things.

I knew he could outrun me. He could demolish me. Yet I stayed strong in his presence, squaring my shoulders and not backing down.

And Grim's bearish form began to meld away. The fur dissipated first, submerging into tough skin, and then the leathery skin became soft-looking and human. Tanned, like Grim, though not the bronze of his bear's hide.

Within seconds, and after a painful sounding cracking of bones and musculature, Grim stood before me as a man. Muscled, naked, giant.

"There he is," I said with a smile growing on my lips.

He took a step toward me, staring down, teeth bared.

My smile faltered—

Because his eyes hadn't reverted completely to their amber hue. They pulsed orange and red. When I looked into them I didn't see the same man who protected me and escorted me through the academy woodlands on nightly strolls.

I saw a predator—confused, intense, frustrated.

Grim towered over me. His hands were balled into fists at his sides as he tried to reconcile who I was.

I said, "Come back to me, Grim," all but begging him.

He stepped even closer, a mere three paces from me. The heat and earthy smell of him washed over me, driving me insane. Now my primal instincts were taking over, and when I glanced down, I muttered, "Oh. Shit."

I started to get an idea just what kind of "madness" the Lunar Night brought out of the school's shifters. Why Gothi Sigmund let them run free in the Delaveer Forest for a night.

It's a mating signal, I ventured. The big fucker is in heat.

Grim's hanging cock was thickening by the second between his muscled thighs. As he stared at me, tilting his head curiously and still making grunts and huffs like he was in his bear form, the massive man grew erect and, well, even more massive.

It was an imposing sight, having Grim Kollbjorn leer over me in all his glory. With one more step, the huge ridge of his hard cock pressed into my belly and slid up my chest.

I blushed furiously. I was not trained to take care of this. He was somewhere caught between man and beast.

His hands fell on my shoulders—warm, callused, demanding.

I swallowed hard. My throat had gone dry. I stared down and watched as clear fluids dripped down the broad crown of his cock. He was drenching my new shirt just by standing in front of me.

The poor man had no control over himself. Yet he recognized me, somewhere in the back of his addled mind, and hadn't flung himself on me yet.

Slowly, with my breath coming in short spurts, something came over me. I reached down and wrapped a hand around the thick length between us. His shaft was veiny, angry, demanding attention.

I'd never even kissed this man. I had wanted to over the past few weeks during our nightly walks. And now I had my hand wrapped around the length of him, fingertips not even touching from the girth of his manhood.

Grim stepped closer. I found myself backing up, even as I held him firm in my grip.

My hand slowly stroked him. "Does that . . . feel good, Grim?" My back bumped against a tree at the edge of the clearing. He had me pinned, with his arms going over my head to lock me in place.

I squirmed, thighs squeezing together. Shamefully, Grim's utter masculinity and arousal turned me on, and I felt my panties growing damp, my pussy slick with smoldering heat that pooled at my belly.

A thrum of anticipation and need pulsed through me. I waited for him to make the first move, while I lazily glided my hand up and down his thick shaft to keep him from lunging at me.

Grim eyed me with curiosity, closing his snarl. His hands came down from the tree over my head and landed on my shoulders, gently pulling my shirt off my collar. He peeled it down my warm skin, eyes locked on me as he bared my breasts.

My nipples hardened against the gentle breeze in the woods. Around us, the forest was quiet. My cheeks were hot as I allowed the bear shifter to do what he pleased.

Because the truth was, I wanted what he wanted, perhaps just as badly as he did. I wouldn't fight my impulses. I wouldn't let my doubts claim me and define me. I had daydreamed about something just like this, and now my vision was coming to fruition. I had Grim Kollbjorn right where I wanted him, my hands wrapped around his intimidating cock.

He leaned forward, slanted his head, and kissed me. I closed my eyes, giving myself over to the kiss, shocked with how tender and gentle he was in that moment—especially for being lost to a shifter trance.

His tongue battled mine and easily won, overpowering me. His entire frame throbbed with tension, with need, and before I knew what was happening, he was dragging his hand down my front and bringing my pants with it.

He cupped my wet center with my slacks down at my knees. Grim didn't even bother ripping my pants completely off before he became lost in a daze of desire. His cock pulsated against my belly and spilled more precum onto my bare skin.

I let him unclothe me, witness me in my entirety, kiss me, and now I was allowing him to trace his fingers over my slick cunt and plunge his fingers inside me.

I rode his hand, my back against the tree, letting out a small moan. "Oh gods, Grim. It feels fucking good."

While I "allowed" him to do these things, I wasn't sure I could have stopped him even if I wanted to.

Luckily for me, I didn't want him to stop.

He pressed forward, smearing his fluids against my pelvis before I guided his cock. "Okay, big boy," I whispered in a thick, raspy tone in his ear. I was on my tiptoes now, grinding my body into his.

The thick topside of Grim's dick slid between my thighs, giving me needed friction along my throbbing clit as it dragged over me. I squeezed my warm thighs around his length and he bucked his hips once.

With a growl in my ear, he bent his head into the nook of my neck and nibbled on my earlobe, then peppered kisses along my nape.

I short-circuited. He knew exactly what he was doing. He might have been lost to a lust I didn't understand, but this was nothing new to him.

To me, it was a rush of excitement—new, exhilarating, fresh. I couldn't stop my heart from beating out of my chest as Grim devoured me.

"I don't know if you'll fit," I told him. The giant man remained mute and wrapped around me, crowding me against the tree. "But I'll try."

Gently, I slid my palm to the ridge of his monster cock and positioned him along my slick lips. He lifted my right leg with one of his big hands, clutching under my thigh and hoisting it up so he could move closer.

His hips thrust. I inhaled sharply, holding my breath as Grim's cock plunged inside me. My eyes fluttered, tears pricking the corners. He was too big. I felt full in an instant—stuffed, content, and already losing my mind.

When he let out a needy purr close to my ear, I unraveled and came on the spot, without him needing to move a gods-damned inch inside me.

I clamped my muscles around his cock and it only gave him motivation to thrust harder, deeper. His ass tautened and he drilled inside me.

My head fell forward from the intensity that ran through me, landing on his muscled chest. He wrapped his arm around me in a tight embrace, keeping my right leg lifted and bent at the knee, and then began to move in a slow, forceful rhythm.

The tree behind me groaned almost as loudly as I moaned while Grim fucked me in the clearing. I looked down, dumbstruck with how far he stretched me and how good it made me feel. I'd never had something so large, so beautiful, inside me, and I lived in the moment.

I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Fuck me harder, Grim. Oh gods, please."

His low growl returned. His eyes flared dark, a wicked expression overcoming his face that almost looked like he was about to shift into a bear again.

His hands moved from my side and leg, sliding over the swell of my hips, down to the curves of my ass. He cupped both cheeks and abruptly lifted me into the air. My feet dangled and kicked as he speared me on his cock.

With a grunt, he pushed my spine against the tree trunk. I bared my teeth and grimaced from the quick pain that lanced through me. It was drowned out by the sheer pleasure of him railing me, keeping me full and stretched.

My eyes widened when he took me airborne. I instinctively wrapped my muscled thighs around his middle, planting my calves and ankles on his flexing ass.

He pumped me hard against the tree, jiggling my body against it while he used me like a toy. Losing himself to the heat of the moment, to the full moon that commanded him, and the silver-haired woman who demanded his attention and lust.

My toes curled. The crack of desire exploded into fragments behind my eyes, stars shooting as I came a second time.

I hugged him tighter, begging him for more.

He moved faster, hips bucking, a roar escaping his lips—loud enough to send the nightbirds in the trees fleeing from their nests, cawing into the air.

With a gasp, I rolled my head back. My eyes swam wildly, feeling that huge piston thrust inside my canal, punching and reshaping me to his liking.

"Ravinica."

His voice, low and firm—the Grim I remembered.

I hugged his head against my breasts as bounced me on him, crying out, "Oh Grim!"

When he pulled back, his eyes were amber, piercing straight into my soul. His trance was gone, but the lust remained. His hands dug into the soft flesh of my ass while he pummeled me.

"Fuck," he grumbled, and he throbbed, stretching me further. The slap of his heavy balls against my ass and the thick clapping of my thighs against his hard hips rang out in the night.

Keeping me aloft, my legs dangling, Grim's oversized cock abruptly pulled out of me and it sent a shockwave of ecstasy through me as heat swam in my gaping hole.

I glanced down just in time to watch his cockhead bulge between us. He shot ropes of thick cum across my front, launching up between my breasts and slashing across my belly.

I cried out as he released himself all over me, defiling and claiming me. I hugged him tighter than ever. His breaths were coming in quick, shallow spurts against my ear, my heartbeat running rampant against his cheek as he folded in on himself.

Slowly, Grim let me down. I landed on wobbly legs, my knees knocking together. He helped keep me upright until the intensity of my climaxes was fading away.

I smiled at him when he looked down, his face sweating. "That was unexpected," I murmured, "though not unwanted." I curled a hand under his chin, along his short-trimmed beard, and went on my tiptoes to kiss him.

A low growl purred from nearby.

Our bodies went rigid.

The growl wasn't from Grim.

Holding him tight, my body recovering, I looked over his shoulder . . .

As four wolves appeared from the shadows at different angles, stalking into the clearing with their heads low, their teeth bared, and their eyes alight with lust, danger, and violence.

"Shit," I breathed in Grim's ear.