Primal Instinct

Introduction to this two-part story. It begins in the Fantasy genre and was initially intended as a stand-alone, but I couldn’t bring a definitive ending. It felt lacking and unfinished, and after taking the advice of one of the editors, I decided to keep it as a continuation and do a crossover of genres. The second part of this tale will be written as a Horror rather than Fantasy. One story spanning two separate genres. I hope it works out as well as it does in my mind.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it. I am still new to writing, this being only my second ever attempt.

PRIMAL INSTINCT – Part One

It had been snowing all afternoon, and the clouds were low. It was the first fall of winter, and it seemed to have arrived with a vengeance. Cain felt he had no option but to give up for the day. It was pointless trying to hunt for deer when you could barely see through the whiteout. Trudging home, he felt a little unnerved, and his inner senses were on edge, he felt as if he was being followed. Cain continued walking steadily forward, not wanting to look behind him, fighting the urge to run.

The cabin was only a few hundred feet away, and he would be able to make it before his fight or flight instinct took hold. On opening the door, he finally allowed himself to turn around and look behind him. Nothing. Just an empty forest. Cain laughed; his mind was playing tricks on him again. Of course, there was nothing; there never was.

Inside the cabin was a welcoming warmth; the fire was still glowing enough to rekindle. Cain placed a few small pieces of wood on top to slowly feed the flames while looking around for what he had in the kitchen to feed himself. He spotted the rabbit he snared yesterday, which will go well with some of the wild mushrooms he had picked this morning. If this snow continues, Cain will have a much harder time finding food. He began to skin the rabbit carefully, not wanting to tear the hide. Starting at the back feet, he quickly cut around them and worked his way around and lengthwise down the body until reaching the head. Taking the rabbit from its hook, he placed it on the work surface, removed the head and feet, and set the fur to one side. He quickly gutted it, then took the innards, head and feet outside to the back of the property, leaving them on a log for whatever critter lucky to pass.

Walking back around to the door, he felt it again, that prickling feeling on the back of the neck, the feeling of being watched. Once again, he looked out into the dense woodlands, peering through the snowflakes, yet he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Re-entering the cabin and closing the door, this time, he went to the window and looked out, trying his hardest to focus through the heavy layer of dust on the pane. There was something out there. He could feel it. He had a keen sixth sense, honed from all his years of hunting and living in the tail end of nowhere.

Then a quick movement caught his peripheral vision. He turned his head towards it. Was that a shadow he saw next to his old pickup truck? He watched for a few more minutes, but soon decided it was pointless.

Turning away from the window and convincing himself that his eyes were playing tricks on him, he went back to prepare his dinner. After butchering the rabbit and wrapping a few pieces up for tomorrow, he threw three seasoned chunks into the frying pan hanging over the now blazing fire and lowered the chains until the meat started to sizzle and soon the aroma of cooked rabbit filled the cabin. He quickly prepared and threw in the mushrooms and a bit of butter towards the end, a few minutes later, it was ready to eat. Eating directly from the pan, he savoured the flavours as his mind drifted to the failed hunting trip for today. He had hoped to have been able to catch that roe deer he had seen a few days before, she would last him a good week before needing to go out again, and he did like a nice bit of venison. Never mind, he would try again tomorrow.

Throwing the now-empty pan in the sink, he quickly washed away the food residue, but not scrubbing, for fear of losing the conditioning built up over the years. He hung it back on the chains over the fire, pulled them back to the highest position, and it was ready for the next feast, which with luck would be some roe deer.

Standing in the main room and looking around, Cain reminisced. The cabin was one left to him by his father. He had been killed in a mining accident a few years back, and it had taken the lives of over a dozen men from the small town community of Broderton a few miles East of the cabin. His mother had never been one for the wilderness, so it was only ever Cain and his father who came here every second weekend throughout the year. It was here that he learnt to handle both the gun and bow. His father taught him to catch his dinner and to forage for vegetables, fungi and herbs. If you didn’t hunt, trap or forage your food in the mountains, you didn’t eat. They never brought anything with them apart from some dried beans and condiments.

He glanced at the memories that covered the walls, various skins from his first kills, a few cleaned skulls of rabbit, deer and squirrel. There were some very impressive antlers over the door that his father had taken from a stag he caught only a couple of years before he died. He was incredibly proud of that kill, and they ate well for over a week. Some photos of himself and his father were on the mantelpiece, one rather poignant one from when he was given his first real hunting rifle for his 13th birthday. Against the far wall was the bed he built with his own hands from an old birch tree that had fallen just behind the cabin a few years back during a rather impressive storm. It was much sturdier than the old camp bed upon which he used to sleep. The cabin was somewhere he always felt comfortable and had recently stayed for more extended periods each time. This time he had already been here ten days with no plan on returning home anytime soon.

Cain wasn’t your average entrepreneur; he caught a lucky break towards the end of the 1990s with a good business model, and over six months, his internet-based luxury vacation company was soaring. He made a point of marketing his website to attract the myriad of tech companies that had appeared over that time and benefited greatly from it. By the year 2000, the company was taking in an easy seven figures every month in revenue. In 2002, due to a stockbroker friend’s foresight, he noticed that the tide was turning. He sold his business to a larger holiday company and made a handsome profit from it, not much longer after that, there was a market crash. The “dot com bubble” had burst. He no longer needed to work and lived quite comfortably from the monthly income brought in from a few choice investments.

He had never found anyone with whom he wanted to make a lifetime commitment, so he was still single at the age of 51. At 6 foot 2 inches in height, Cain was the prime personification of a man with a healthy weight and a slim but fairly muscular physique which he kept in reasonable condition by following a quick but gruelling morning fitness regime. Sporting a military-style cut to his dark hair, he found it was easy to self-manage, so had not felt the need to change it since the vanity of his youth. He was incredibly handsome with gentle deep blue eyes the colour of the mountain lakes, a corona of amber flecks encircled the pupils, adding warmth and kindness. A chiselled jawline with a trace of unshaved shadow and a bashful but alluring smile hinted at the inner sensitivity often missing from an alpha male like Cain.

He had never been short of female attention, but he was looking for that special companion, and thus far, she had eluded him. There had been one or two that had got close to being the one. A girl he had gone through high school with had come back into his life about six months before he became successful. Zoe was exciting, a girl of action. She liked similar things to him and was looking for a way to leave Broderton behind. Sadly, this small-town girl got the taste of the big city and the money that came with it. She became materialistic, selfish and greedy in a very short space of time and would be out with friends shopping and dining daily. Cain was ready to end this toxic relationship when she did him the favour of running off with a wealthy hedge fund manager. He wasn’t very good at finishing relationships, so this action of Zoe’s did him a great favour. After that, he became very suspicious of female attention.

The night was now drawing in, so he tended the fire, made sure no logs could roll off during the night, checked the lock on the door and turned down the light.

Laying in his bed, Cain thought he could hear snuffling outside the door, claws clipping on the small porch. It was probably a fox, he thought, coming to look for extras after finding the remains of the rabbit left on the log, and with that, he drifted to sleep.

——–X——–

Cain was awake early the following day, ready to resume the hunt, hoping to bring home that beautiful roe deer. He had already checked the weather conditions, and they looked favourable, at least for now, but could change with each passing hour in these mountains. Dressed in his favourite camo hunting jacket, with deep pockets to carry extra ammunition without needing an additional backpack, he left the cabin and took the well-travelled path into the forest.

The air was crisp, and the leaves crunched underfoot where the morning dew had frozen before the sun had fully risen. As he traversed along the track to where he last saw the deer, he began to realise that the forest was eerily quiet. Usually, it would be a cacophony of noise; insects, birds, rodents, but today it was silent. All he could hear was his footsteps on the frosty floor. Stopping, he breathed a little shallower and listened. He couldn’t hear anything, but something had undoubtedly spooked the natives. Continuing on his way, he became more in tune with his surroundings, and then that recognisable prickle started on the back of his neck, that feeling that unseen eyes were watching him, following him, hunting him!

He stopped again, turned and looked behind him. Nothing there! This time though, he readied his gun. He would not be caught off-guard.

As he moved deeper into the forest, the trees became denser, and the canopy blocked out more of the sun. The floor became damper and softer; the snow wasn’t thick here because of the heavy cover above. Cain decided on a whim to take a less travelled route through the forest, not so well known but led to a small lake with a waterfall that hid a little-known cave system. Following the path down the side of the mountain, he could hear the distant whisper of the cascading water. It was a magical place that never failed to capture him each time he saw it.

——–X——–

It was approaching noon when he finally arrived at the waterfall. The sun was high and was dappling through the canopy. The beauty of this setting was never lost on him; it was a magical place with myths and legends attached to it. Stories of witches and ancient shamanic circles that Cain had heard about as a child but paid no attention to. There was almost an ethereal glow here that didn’t exist elsewhere in the forest.

He was sure that this is where most of the local fauna came to drink, so he searched around for a good spot downwind that he could sit and wait. He was convinced that the deer would come here, and as there was only one way into this glen, he was in prime position to keep watch.

Cain sat just behind a hawthorn bush for about 45 minutes, watching the path to the watering hole when his periphery was triggered. He moved his eyes to look, and he swore he saw a glimpse of something, the shadow of a tail disappearing behind the waterfall.

He tensed!

What was that?

Was it a dog?

He didn’t think so. It seemed too big to be a dog. However, his curiosity was piqued, he rose from his hiding spot, stretched his tightened muscles, and walked towards the side of the waterhole where he had seen the skulking figure enter the cave system.

As he approached, he looked to the ground. The tracks were significant; this was definitely not a dog; this looked more like a big cat, the paw prints were large and defined. Cain checked his gun. He wanted to be prepared for whatever he found behind that curtain of water; this area was not known for big cats. He took a couple of deep breaths to ready himself and walked through.

His eyes took a moment to adjust to the gloom. There was an ethereal light here too due to the trailing fronds and the waterfall across the entrance; it added a muted glow to the cavern. Initially, looking around, he didn’t see anything untoward until he noticed a dark mound in front of him. He could see no recognisable features, to begin with, but it seemed to be moving. Raising his gun, he tried to focus on what he couldn’t quite make out using the night vision sight. Then as he peered through the sights, the mound began to transform. As it rose from the shadows, it seemed to be changing shape, becoming more recognisable as a human form. Cain’s mouth fell open.

Slowly, he moved his face away from the weapon to see better what was now in his visual viewpoint. He was transfixed by the vision in front of him and also somewhat confused about it. Standing there was a beautiful, lithe woman, snow-white hair hanging around her face and shoulders damp and wild. She was completely naked and did not attempt to cover herself. She seemed to just appear from nowhere.

“Hello”, Cain spoke gently, “Where did you just come from?”

In any stretch of the imagination, he should be terrified of what had just transpired, but he wasn’t.

The woman did not reply; she just looked at him, her eyes fixing his with a dominant glare.

Her body was incredible; he couldn’t help but look. Her skin was pale and smooth. Her breasts were ample, plump with perfect pert nipples. As his eyes travelled down her nakedness, he watched the rivulets of water work their way down to the light hair that covered her womanhood, and he could slightly see a glimpse of the pink flesh that caused his desires to start taking hold. He felt movement in his trousers and the blood starting to engorge him. In an involuntary action, he licked his lips and felt his pulse quicken. Still, she never moved.

There was something quite primal about this girl in front of him.

Where did she come from?

Who was she?

How was she just stood there naked in front of him?

He tried to talk to her again. “I’m Cain,” he said, “What’s your name?”

She took a step towards him. Then another. Her movements were very feline in motion. She didn’t reply, but her look had changed. She was curious; this man who stood in front of her was not afraid of her. She could smell something on him, something she desired.

Cain took a step back, unsure what to think; this was so far out of anything he had to deal with in his life that he just wasn’t sure what to do. He removed his jacket and tried to offer it to her, but she just looked at it. She carried on coming forward, her hips snaked, and her breasts swung slightly. Cain was getting extremely uncomfortable in his trousers. This woman exuded confidence in her grace, either oblivious or uncaring of how her nakedness affected him.

She was now right next to him; he could smell the earthiness and the natural sweetness of her body. It was intoxicating. Her pheromones were engulfing him, and he wanted to run his hands down that sleek, perfect figure. She brought her face in towards him and started sniffing his neck. Well, this was new, he thought to himself. He almost thought he heard a slight growl in her throat.

Cain went to open his mouth to talk, but the woman placed the tips of her fingers on his lips, “Ssshhhh,” she said, “Do not speak.”

“My name is Arianrhod,” she continued, “I do not have long in this form.”

What does she mean in this form? Cain wondered, does she mean naked?

“I am sure my appearance surprises you, but you already know this place is full of magic and mystery. You have always known this. I am just one part of the hidden magic that this forest has to offer.”

This whole scenario made no sense at all, but he was captivated by her. She had him completely under her spell and almost felt powerless within his mind. All Cain knew in himself was that, initially, there was nobody here with him and then there was, that the woman in front of him was someone that he desired with every fibre of his being at this moment in time. It was unlike him to feel so vulnerable as he did.

She now had pressed herself against him, rubbing her face on his. She grabbed at his clothes and urged him to remove them. At this moment in time, Cain felt there was nothing he wouldn’t do for this woman. He quickly removed his shirt and t-shirt and threw them to the floor. Her hands started stroking his chest, and he swore that she purred.

He was now rushing to undo his belt, fumbled with his jeans button and let them fall down his legs to the floor. The relief was instant as he had become pretty uncomfortable inside those restrictive pants, finally pushing down his shorts and standing there to attention. Arianrhod was now already working her hands down his torso, and she was not wasting much time at all.

He tentatively lifted his arm to touch her; he wasn’t sure if she’d let him. Placing a hand on her hip, he slowly caressed her body, curving the waist and side of her chest. She felt incredible and was very responsive to his touch, and she slinked herself against him with subtle moans of contentment.

She moved her hands towards his expectant erection, wound her hand around it and cupped his balls. He gasped at the initial touch; it had been some time since he had been intimate with anyone. She caressed them gently and then grabbed his solid manhood. This is the hardest he can ever remember being, the attraction he had for this strange woman who was seducing him inside this cave was like nothing he had ever experienced. It almost felt like a form of witchcraft.

The sun began to peep through the cave entrance shimmering via the waterfall and creating a kaleidoscopic display within the cavern, adding to the magical feel of the place. With the cave being less dismal, he could see a little better. A small stream fed by the fall trickled its way along the right side, heading to the back of the cavern and the cave system beyond, and a little further up the back was the prize he had been searching for the last couple of days. The roe deer carcass had been dragged there by whatever he had seen entering here earlier, but he had no care about that at this moment in time. To the left, a sizeable mossy area was a little crushed like something significant had been sleeping upon it. It was here Arianrhod now guided him to, she pointed for him to lay down, and he did as she commanded.

Standing next to him, she looked down approvingly, and Cain could now see the moist pinkness between her legs. He reached out and stroked her thigh, and she responded by slightly opening them for him, reaching up higher, he felt the heat coming from her. Pulling her closer towards him, he rose onto his knees and stroked the soft hair covering her pubic area. She flinched a little but didn’t move away.

Kneeling next to him, Arianrhod brought up her hands and held his face, she studied it intensely, and he felt that she was trying to look into his soul. Bringing his face closer, she gently kissed him for the first time. Her face was enigmatic, she was strikingly beautiful, but there was no real emotion in her features. She spoke more with her eyes than her face; they were a very pale blue with a ring of grey, her pupils were not round but slightly elliptic. They seemed more cat-like than human, but they were entrancing. Cain thought that it might have been because she suffered from a form of albinism, what with the white hair on the head and pubic area, but whatever it was, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon.

Her lips were full and soft, and he could smell the sweetness of her body. Embracing her gently, he pressed her to him, hands on her back, ensuring she could not escape. Her tongue flicked out quickly across his lips as she explored him deeper and more passionately. His hands moved down to her buttocks, they were round and firm, and he pushed himself tight against her, feeling his manhood against her taught stomach. She pulled away and stared at him. Did he do something wrong?

She was looking at him with a primal hunger, and she brought herself forwards more forcefully this time and was kissing, licking and biting her way down his neck and across his chest. She had this animalistic quality about her, and it turned him on even more – if that was even possible. Cain brought up his hand and cupped a perfectly formed breast; she gave a little moan as he gently tweaked her nipple. She felt incredible in his arms, and he was enjoying her attention.

He bent his head and greedily took the nipple in his mouth, twirling his tongue around it and causing her head to snap back and the arching of her back, pushing her upper body closer to his face. He suckled greedily, feeling it harden under his tongue as he did so. Giving a hard suck as he let go, it popped out of his mouth, then nibbled it while tweaking the other. It made her squirm, but she seemed to like it, and there was that purr again that he thought he heard earlier.

She reached down and grabbed his throbbing member, it was aching for her touch, and he almost lost control when she finally placed her fingers around it. She started to stroke the shaft, gently to begin with, then as she heard Cain gasp, with more enthusiasm. His one hand moved to cover hers on his erection; he liked the feel of his penis with a woman’s fingers around it, something that had always aroused him. His other hand moved to her warm flesh between her thighs, the deep epicentre of her desires. He stroked her gently, searching for her pleasure zones, using his fingers to flick and tug her clitoris gently. She softly growled as he did so, and her hand pressed him harder against her wet genitalia.

Arianrhod was getting desperate, and as she ground against him, he pushed his fingers inside, rhythmically pressing her g-spot while still massaging the clitoris. This seemed to send her into an overload of sensory pleasure. She lifted her head and cried out with pure ecstasy.

Cain slowly pushed her down onto her back; he wanted to taste her, to push his tongue deep inside. With his fingers still inside, he kissed those full, soft lips and started to work his way across her ear, sucking her lobe; she sighed and moved her head towards him. He carried on down her neck with soft lingering kisses across her chest and paid close attention to both of those perfect breasts, pressing them together and greedily taking both nipples at the same time. Arianrhod responded by arching her back in pure lustfulness. Letting her breasts go, he kissed his way down the centre of her stomach untill finally reaching his desired location.

Using his fingers, he parted her lips and gently kissed her; she was salty and wet. He darted his tongue around her clitoris, making her growl and writhe under him. She lifted her pelvis towards his mouth, that action silently pleading for him to continue. His tongue was playing with that little pink button, and he would give it the occasional suck to add to her pleasure. Bringing his hand under his chin, Cain pushed his finger inside her. She arched her back as her breathing quickened, her moaning became louder, she was grinding her pelvis on his mouth. With a great crescendo, she began to convulse as the orgasmic bliss took hold, her toes curled, and she screamed out with pure primal passion. Cain did not stop, continuing until her body began to relax, only then ceasing into gentle kisses around the spent area, with Arianrhod falling back with soft moans of satisfaction.

Cain lifted himself from between her thighs and knelt in front of her. She had her eyes closed, and he knew he had fulfilled a carnal desire. Her eyes slowly opened and honed in on his, and she lifted her arms to beckon him and widened her thighs so he could place himself upon her. Arianrhod kissed him passionately; she could taste her spent juices on his lips and savoured it. She reached down with one hand and found his throbbing, rock hard manhood guiding it to its final destination. Slowly he fed himself inside her, the initial resistance leading to gliding into that soft warmth.

Staring into those mesmerising blue-grey eyes, Cain began to move gently at first, but Arianrhod responded to that gentleness by grabbing his buttocks and urging him deeper. He started to thrust lustfully, deep into her, pounding on her. Each thrust was emitting hoarse moans of desire from her lips. She began to match his movements; he didn’t think he could go any deeper, but when she lifted herself slightly, found that he was wrong.

Their breathing had become almost as one as they rhythmically ground against each other, their passion was travelling a precipice, and there was only one way down. Cain felt the growing urge in his balls, “Damn,” he thought; he didn’t want to come yet. He ceased his movements attempting to quell the hunger. Arianrhod opened her eyes and looked at him pleadingly, unsure why he had stopped. She was squirming with impatience underneath him. He knew the conclusive inevitability was nigh, so he ran with it. She had driven him almost to insanity with her body, her desires, her natural beauty, and now he was going to make her remember him.

Cain pushed her legs up and positioned himself in front of her. Grabbing her pelvis, he bore down with an urge to get as much of himself inside her as possible. Arianrhod gasped with this newly found feeling; Cain had found another pleasure spot and started to fuck her hard. Each thrust now made her catch her breath continuously, making him take pleasure in it even more, eyes utterly locked with hers and fully committed. Pushing herself up on her elbow to watch, Cain grabbed the back of her neck with one hand so she could enjoy his enthusiasm.

Wholly transfixed, he watched her pupils expand, and she began to cry out in pure ecstasy; her body tensed, started to tremble and began to lose control again. Leaning back in his strong arms, she released the climax; it was all Cain could deal with before he could hold off no longer. Pounding hard, he came forcefully and vocally, climaxing with her, both clinging to each other, mutually supporting the other in that final explosion of the lust they were sharing.

Utterly exhausted, they fell sideways onto the mossy shelf where they held each other in a spent embrace. Cain now returned to being slightly confused and overwhelmed. No longer overcome by his carnal desires, he was back to wondering how and why this was even happening.

Why was this woman in the cave?

Why was she naked?

Why did she seduce him the way she had?

And where was the animal he glimpsed coming in here?

Looking at Arianrhod, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was becoming slow and rhythmic; he wondered where she was from. She had a distinctive look, but he could not put his finger on a culture or a race of people. He felt himself slip out of her, the finality of their passion. So he slowly moved his arm from around her while she was sleeping and quietly rose to gather his clothes and get dressed. He wasn’t comfortable being caught naked outdoors, even if he was hidden away in a cavern.

Once dressed, he went to the entrance just behind the waterfall and peeked out. The sun was relatively low now; the fingers of dusk will be lengthening the shadows in a few hours. He should be considering his journey home, but he couldn’t leave Arianrhod here on her own. Even though the first snowfalls had arrived and there was no fire within the cavern, it was not cold; in fact, it seemed to have a fairly comfortable temperature. Cain thought that there must be some underground lava tubes further into the cave system causing this; it was the only possible answer. One day he will have to explore these caves properly.

Turning back into the cave, he would gently rouse her and….. what?

Arianrhod was no longer lying on that mossy shelf.

Cain looked around the cavern, and there was no sign of Arianrhod anywhere; the place was utterly desolate. He started looking deeper towards the rear, and a frown furrowed his brow. Where was the roe deer?

Standing there, Cain shook his head. He didn’t think it was possible, but the day just became even more surreal. How can a woman and a deer carcass just disappear in a matter of minutes without him seeing or hearing a thing?

Not wanting to leave without knowing where she went or if she was safe, Cain prepared to search a little further into the cave system. He didn’t have any rope or any of the right equipment, but he had a torch to at least check a little further. She can’t have gone too far, especially naked; she didn’t pass him at the entrance to the cavern and certainly will not have just vanished into thin air.

Walking towards the rear, he could see many tracks on the dusty floor and long continuous marks where something had been dragged through the tunnel into the cave system. Cain switched on the torch and pointed it down a large opening to a long crack. Slowly making his way along this long natural fissure, he could feel warm air pushed along the tunnel by an unknown breeze. He came to a turn and cautiously looked around the corner and found it just a narrower long section of limestone tunnel.

Following this new route, he had to use his hands to feel along the side of the walls as well as his torch. Reaching the end of the section, once again, there were options, left or right? This time it was getting a little riskier, it was incredibly dark, and Cain wasn’t happy to continue without better equipment and lighting; the torch wasn’t doing much in such blackness.

He stood there listening; “Arianrhod,” he called down the tunnel…

Nothing

He cupped his hands around his mouth “ARIANRHOD!” he shouted louder.

He thought he heard a distant growl but put it down to the wind coming up the passage, but there was no other sound after that.

Cain sighed; this was ridiculous. There must be a rational explanation to this, but he really couldn’t think of any at that moment. He would go home and come back tomorrow with all the right gear and explore further.

Where on earth had she gone?

——–X——–

It was dark by the time Cain arrived back at the cabin; he was in a daze all the way home. Could there have been a more surreal day than he had experienced today? He was almost beginning to doubt that it happened, that he hadn’t fallen asleep and dreamt the whole thing.

Exhausted and with his mind focused on tomorrow, he grabbed himself a protein bar and decided to get an early night. He threw a log on the dying embers of the fire and turned down the light. Tomorrow he will try to get some answers to some of the strangest questions he never thought would need answering.

——–X——–

Cain woke with the dawn, it was a crisp early winter’s morning, and the icy mist was still lying on the forest floor, yet dissipated by the sun. His mind was focused on just one thing, and there were a few things he had to do before heading off to the caves.

He pulled out a rucksack from under the bed and began his preparation. Firstly, he grabbed the coil of rope from the cabin wall; not believing he would be rappelling anywhere, but never went anywhere like this without a backup plan; he added a basic harness, carabiners and ascenders. Next, several extra flashlights and batteries; he had good light on his helmet but never took chances with his only form of illumination. He grabbed some protein bars and a plastic bag of homemade rabbit jerky, ammunition for his rifle, and threw in some matches, duct tape, water purifying tablets, spare socks and a small first aid kit for good measure. He didn’t intend to be more than a few hours, but you never go in short with cave exploration.

“That should do,” he muttered to himself.

Dressed in a pair of tactical pants, sturdy boots and a warm jacket, Cain grabbed his helmet, water bottle and his Kimber Montana hunting rifle and proceeded down the path to the waterfall cavern.

The air was bitingly cold, and the forest floor crunched underfoot, but the weather was clear, and the sun was beginning to warm up in the cloudless sky. Cold he could deal with, Wet? Not so much. Especially on a day where too much rain could cause chaos in an otherwise general caving environment. Checking his trusty Zodiac Sea Wolf divers watch, he deduced he would reach the clearing in around forty five minutes, making it around 10:30 am, thus giving him plenty of time to search.

Cain continued to hike the path, deep in thought while also being aware of his surroundings. If I don’t find Arianrhod, he thought, then what? Do I call in the Search and Rescue service? What would I even tell them?

He laughed out loud at the thought.

Yes, he mused, he could tell them that this beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere in a cavern, totally naked, seduced him and then disappeared into nothingness–a believable story.

Cain arrived at the waterhole right on time. He popped his rucksack down and had a generous guzzle of water. He always lacked at not drinking enough on the move, so he found himself very thirsty.

Apart from the cascading of the waterfall, the area was quiet, with just a few crows cawing in the distance. Cain checked the perimeter of the cavern, he didn’t notice many new tracks, a few deer and what looked like a fox. The large prints at the cave entrance had almost disappeared, but there were no new ones to his relief. His boot print indentations from yesterday were also still noticeable, but no other human prints at all. So how had she gotten in or out of the cavern?

Rummaging in his backpack, Cain pulled out the bag of jerky; he had a few pieces to give his energy levels a boost and prepared himself to enter. Placing the helmet on his head, he fastened the chin strap and checked the light was clipped in place securely. The sun had a few hours yet before it would sink low enough to peep through the entrance, so it would be pretty gloomy in there as soon as he got behind the waterfall. Placing the rucksack on his back, he picked up his rifle and proceeded to move in.

Cain stood on the far side of the falls and waited for his eyes to adjust to the murkiness; he then switched on the head torch. Checking the surroundings, it seemed no different to yesterday apart from the lack of life. The mossy ledge to his left was still showing the aftermath of their lovemaking from yesterday; the little stream to the right still trickled its way along the wall down to the rear of the cave. Heading in that direction, he didn’t notice that eyes were watching him in the dark of the tunnel.

——–X——–

Arianrhod crouched in the blackness of the passageway, just out of reach of the light. She was curious about why he had returned here.

Was he looking for her?

Did he know about the hidden location in this cave that was her home?

Should she approach him?

She didn’t want to scare him, so for the moment, she stayed in the shadows, just keeping ahead of his beam.

——–X——–

Cain headed towards the rear passageway, this time; he was able to see the way forwards. Water over millennia had cut through the limestone rock, creating this rather smooth-walled tunnel into the mountain. Unlike most other caves he had ventured through, this one was unique in that there was a warmth where it should be pretty dank and chilly, especially this far inside. Walking down towards the bend, he could feel his inner warning sensors telling him that he wasn’t alone again; the feeling of a presence was pricking the hairs on the back of his neck, so readying his rifle, Cain turned the corner to where he wasn’t able to see yesterday.

The torch lit up the new route ahead. It was empty as far as he could see, but it wasn’t very long and seemed to open up ahead; there was almost a luminosity coming from within. Venturing forwards with the rifle ready but pointed downwards, Cain progressed through this section and towards the opening at the end. An unpleasant smell touched his nostrils; it was a putrid, rotten smell, like a dead animal. The warmth here would not be kind to the remains of anything that died here. A slight pang of dread hit the core of his stomach, but he shook it off. If anything had happened to Arianrhod, it would not have started to give off this kind of smell this early on.

Walking through into a large void, Cain did a quick visual recon before entering fully. He marvelled at the enormity in front of him. The cavern was vast, at least 100 feet to the roof. Stalagmites and stalactites jutted from ceiling and floor, many meeting in the middle; it was like a calcified cathedral. The methodical artistry of water and time created a subterranean temple that had evolved over the kind of period that made timepieces irrelevant.

He saw a large hole in the ceiling; it was completely covered in greenery and probably not visible from above. Still, it allowed a hazy beam of light to enter this glorious abyss below and shed its ethereal radiance around its walls. A luminous lichen was around the cavern walls that gave the walls an eerie glow, and tufts of ferns grew out of natural cracks encouraged by the warmth and moistness. In the centre of the cavern was a shallow lake fed from rainwater filtering through the plantlife covering the hole above, and unlike your average lake, the water was crystal clear.

Still, within the majesty of everything in front of him, he could smell that putrid stench. Looking to his right, he soon discovered why. There it was, the last remains of that roe deer that he had hoped to make his dinner for the week. Not much of her was left now, but she had been brought here and eaten by something quite large and no longer edible to this creature; it was slowly being devoured by the insects, bacteria and enzymes that made this cavern their home.

Cain entered and made his way towards the small lake; small flashes of rainbow caught his eye as he noticed tiny fish had made it their home. Crouching at the edge, he swished his fingers in the water. It wasn’t ice cold like it should have been, but rather tepid. Cupping his hand, he scooped up a sample of water to taste; it was sweet tasting but had a slight salinity, probably down to the natural salts within the limestone itself.

He had been coming to this forest for almost half a century with his father and by himself. He knew the locals who frequented the area, and nobody had ever mentioned the existence of such a place before. How had a place such as this been overlooked?

Behind him, he heard a noise, and a quick movement was caught in his periphery. Quickly he stood, turned towards the area and glimpsed a flash of light fur as it disappeared behind a cluster of stalagmites. He had not been mistaken after all; he knew he wasn’t alone in there. Cain raised his rifle and looked through the scope, searching for his target. From the brief glimpse he had, it was certainly not a small creature. It was about the size of a large wolf but far stockier, feline in its movements and seemed to have an extraordinarily long tail. It reminded him of a Snow Leopard, but that would be impossible as this was ultimately the wrong environment and country for that animal to be living in.

Cain slowly and carefully walked towards the rocky cluster, not making any sudden or noisy movements, his aim pointed directly towards where he thought the creature might be hiding. Sidestepping now to bring more of the rear of the outcrop into view without approaching too closely, he began to see the animal that had been stalking him for the last couple of days. What he didn’t expect was that it would just sit there calmly.

It was a snow leopard, a female by the looks of it. Thick pale smoky-grey fur, with rosettes of darker grey mottling its pelt, a long tail almost the same length as its body curled around its feet while it sat looking at him, but it was the eyes that caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks. The eyes were a striking blue colour with a surrounding circle of grey, full of curiosity and intelligence. He had looked into these eyes before, but this was impossible.

Cain was still looking through the scope; he was dazed and utterly confused. It was a product of science fiction, not reality.

The leopard did not move; it just sat there and stared at him.

He lowered his rifle. He could do nothing at this point but stare into those eyes. He felt a little weak in the legs and needed to sit down, but he continued to stand and stare.

He gave a slight frown, and hesitantly he asked, “Arianrhod?”

The leopard’s ears twitched, and then it rose.

Cain stepped back in an involuntary action, then stopped.

The leopard ambled towards him, her massive paws making no noise in the soft dust covering the floor.

“This is impossible!” Cain whispered to himself, “This isn’t happening! I’m going to wake up in my cabin, and it will all have been a dream caused by some bad mushroom I picked.”

His legs completely gave up this time, and he sat down quite hard on a small rock formation that jutted out behind him.

Sitting there, just staring ahead, the leopard he now completely believes is Arianrhod walks right up to him and sits on her haunches about 2 feet away. In his seated position, she is precisely the height where he is gazing into those eyes. Now he realises why he couldn’t place her face into a culture or a creed; it’s because there wasn’t one.

Arianrhod was a Metamorph. But Metamorphs were a myth?!. A story to keep children close to home.

After what felt like a few hours but was mere minutes, in reality, Cain asked, “Can you become human so we can talk about what happened yesterday?”

The leopard’s head bent sadly towards the floor; the answer was evident in that one action.

“So when you said you could only be in that form for a short amount of time, that is what you meant? You could only stay in human form briefly?”

She now lifted her head again and regained her eye contact. Cain took that to be a reply in the affirmative.

Cain looked at her sadly; he had hoped that he could have seen her again. He had felt there was something special about her, more than just the perfect body or the incredible sex they shared the day before. He had felt a deeper connection to her that he hadn’t had with another woman previously.

There were so many questions that he felt were never going to get answered.

Why was she here?

How was she here?

Why did she stalk him?

Did she live in this cavern?

What was this place?

Instead, all he could muster was, “I have to leave. I’m not qualified to deal with shit like this.”

He rose from his seated position, gave Arianrhod one last longing look before he turned on his heel, picked up his gear and left, not looking back. Cain felt empty. He came looking for Arianrhod, looking for answers, but all he got was a lot more questions and something that didn’t even seem real.

Cain walked back up the passageways, through the magical cavern and back out beyond the waterfall. The sun had already turned mid-afternoon, and the icy floor was now just damp leaves. He trudged up the pathway leading back to the forest and the cabin.

Shutting the cabin’s door, Cain dropped everything where he stood and went to lie on the bed. He tried to make some sense of the last few hours, but the previous 24 hours had changed everything he thought he knew about this area and the animal kingdom in general. Now he was in the world of the supernatural and folklore. He was aware of the mythology from ancient history where Gods could shapeshift into beasts or even insects to help or even deceive humanity. Well, he sure felt deceived at this moment in time.

Should he ask the local people at the café in the nearby small town? Cain instantly decided against such a thing as not to put Arianrhod in any sort of danger from superstitious people.

Arianrhod! He could still feel her skin under his hands, her body in his arms, her taste in his mouth. Nobody had ever made him feel so alive or so turned on. In his mind, he could see her eyes boring into his, those beautiful blue eyes with the grey outline, and now, those same eyes that he just stared at but in a snow leopard. He was just finding this whole scenario very difficult to deal with at this moment in time.

He had already decided that it was time to go back home to the city on his way back to the cabin. He knew no surprises were waiting for him there, just the busy roads and subways, coffee shops and supermarkets. The subways would be full of daily commuters, and the place where cats and dogs are exacly what they are meant to be.

He would spend the day doing menial repairs and securing the area; he wasn’t sure when he would return here again.

——–X——–

Cain was pottering about in his apartment, which was located in a quiet part of Merriford. It was about 8 miles up the main road from Broderton. After the disaster, many people who lost someone in the mining accident moved to Merriford to distance themselves from daily memories. It allowed Cain to heal properly, but his mother had stayed in Broderton, not wanting to leave his father’s grave unattended. She visited it every day until only a week before she died of pneumonia four years ago. He had her buried with his father, just as she wanted.

It had been five months since he had been to the cabin. Still, he had a friend, Jack, who would do a drive past once a month just to check the perimeter and make sure everything was sound, so hearing his mobile ring and seeing his name on the screen didn’t seem odd apart from he had only rung to check-in only two weeks ago.

“Hello?” Cain answered.

“Hey, mate, sorry to disturb you,” Jack replied.

“That’s okay; I wasn’t busy. What’s up?” Cain queried.

“I think there has been a break-in at the cabin, the door was open. I had a quick look, and someone has certainly been sleeping there. I’ve secured it for now, but I think you need to come and take a look.”

Damn, thought Cain, I really could do without this.

“Thanks for letting me know Jack, I will make my way there first thing tomorrow; hopefully, it’s just the local kids messing around again. There isn’t anything there for anyone to steal, just some personal bits and pieces.”

“Do you want me to meet you there in the morning?” Jack asked.

“Nah, it’s good, mate, I’ll be fine. I’ll get some things together; it may do me good to hang around there for a bit anyway, give the cabin a lick of paint ready for Summer. Thanks again for ringing.”

“No problem, anytime. If you need anything? Just let me know.” and with that, Jack rang off.

Cain sighed. He was a lot more positive on the phone to Jack than he was feeling inside. The last time the cabin had been broken into, it almost got burnt down. Since then, no combustible liquids were ever stored there when he wasn’t at the place. Any spare fuel or spirits went home with him. Many of the cabins in the area had installed LPG as a fuel source, but Cain much preferred the old way of using logs or coals to heat and cook, plus it was far more authentic in such a setting.

I will have to pop to the stores for supplies; he thought, best get myself moving before they close for the evening.

——–X——–

Cain was cursing while loading up the pickup; he could have done most of this last night. Instead, he was getting soaked to the skin because he didn’t check the weather forecast. He was losing his touch being in town for too long and maybe ready to be back at the cabin. Securing the industrial-sized pots of paint in the rear of the pickup, he was finally ready to leave.

Driving up to the forest, unwanted memories from five months ago invaded his mind. He had tried not to dwell on the events that transpired on the previous visit to the cabin. The first week he was home, Arianrhod didn’t venture far from his thoughts; that magical time at the cavern had left both a wonderful and painful imprint on his mind. What had happened the next day, however, had left him completely distraught. He had hoped to have discovered Arianrhod safe and sound, where he could have asked for her story, he could have got to know her. Instead, he had found Arianrhod but not in the way he had hoped, and it had floored him.

Turning up the driveway to the cabin, he wondered what he would find when he arrived and if there was any structural damage.

Cain pulled up outside the door and noticed the damage that indicated the break-in, he also saw the crude repair that Jack had done, but that was dangling there. This means whoever had broken in before had been back since yesterday. He got out of the pickup and went to the lockbox at the rear of the cab; he unlocked it, pushed back the roll-top and removed his rifle. Grabbing a handful of ammo, he loaded it and put the rest in his jacket pocket, then headed to the cabin door.

He stood to the side of the doorway from the window and slowly pushed open the door. Nothing happened when it opened; he heard no movement or voices. He carefully walked through the door with his rifle ready and, before completely entering, did a quick visual recon.

Everything seemed to be where it should be, but it did look like someone had been sleeping in the bed and had been wearing his clothes. There also seemed to be animal carcasses dotted around, which did nothing for the aroma inside. This was indeed a curious sight.

Walking into the room, he looked around all the areas that someone could be hiding. There weren’t many places, but there was under the bed, in the utility closet, around the corner where the cabin was an L shaped into the kitchen area. That’s when he saw her, crouching in the corner – Arianrhod, in human form.

Cain almost dropped his rifle in shock. “What the hell?” is all he could muster as he stood there rooted to the spot, his eyes wide open. “You were the last person I expected to see here,” he exclaimed.

Arianrhod was initially terrified when she heard the vehicle pull up outside, not knowing who it was that could find her here. The day before, a man with a not too pleasant smell had come in and locked her in. She had hidden in the corner, and he had not seen her there. She could hear him outside talking to someone when he left, but there was nobody else there. Now, with her fight or flight senses activated, she was in the same position again. This time, however, she recognised the scent. It could only belong to one person and, at this time, the only person she wanted to see.

Leaping to her feet, she ran towards Cain, clasped herself to him and sobbed.

Cain was taken aback by this display of affection, especially as she was in leopard form the last time, and he just walked away from her. She was dressed in one of his overshirts, and it was huge on her tiny frame, but there was something else. She was obviously pregnant.

Putting his arm around her, he led her to the bed and sat her on it. He then went to close the door and put his rifle away. She looked very lost sat on the bed, and he started to feel pangs of guilt for not coming back before today to check on things.

He came back over and sat on the bed next to her. Cain wasn’t great at moral support or consoling people who were upset; it was awkward for him.

“What are you doing here?” he gently asked her.

“I need a place to be safe,” she replied. “When beings like me are in this condition, there is a small chance that the offspring will be human. This is one of these times. We can only procreate with humans as we were once human. Normally our offspring would be born as cubs and will live their lives in animal form.”

Cain just listened and looked at the floor. Then after a moment, he looked at her with a look of realisation and asked, “So this is my child you are carrying?”

“Yes, it is,” Arianrhod confirmed.

“And it will be a Metamorph like you?” he continued?

“It is possible,” she replied. “but it is also possible it will be completely human. This is why I am happy you have returned. I can only hold this form now because I am carrying a human child and not cubs. But only until a few days after the birth where I will return to my normal form.”

Arianrhod continued her story.

“I used to be human many years ago. I tripped and fell onto a jagged rock while gathering food in the forest. As I lay there bleeding, a creature appeared to me. I cannot remember what the creature was as I could not see properly in my weakened state. It bit me on the leg, I assumed it would try and eat me before I had passed on, instead it lay next to me. After a while, I began to feel sleepy; I thought I was dying right there on the forest floor. Then there was darkness.”

Cain sat on the bed and took in every word; it was like being a part of some fictional fantasy.

Arianrhod resumed.

“I do not know how long I had been on that floor when I woke; it only seemed like moments, but I was covered in leaves so that it may have been a day or so. What I did notice was that I had no pain. The injury had almost healed. I did not understand this; I should have been dead. I then remembered the creature, that it bit me. The bite mark was still there, but this was also healing. I felt healthier than I had done in many years. I looked around for the animal, but it was nowhere to be seen.”

She pulled the shirt from her leg and showed Cain the scar that still remained from the bite.

“I went home to my family and told them what had happened. They laughed at me and ridiculed me for the story I was telling them, even though I showed them the injury and bite. They said that I was bitten by a rabid fox and hallucinated, never injured as badly as I thought. A few days after I had fully healed, I started to notice a difference in myself. I felt wilder, and I did not want to eat foraged foods. I wanted to eat meat, nothing more. I collected my bow and went to see if I could catch a rabbit. Wandering through the trees, I could feel my heart rushing, but I could also hear noises in the forest that I had not heard before. It was like I could hear the mouse scratching underground or the squirrel jumping from branch to branch. I could also smell different scents. These were strange sensations for me. Then came the pain…”

Cain could see this was a difficult memory for her, and she had stopped to steady her emotions.

After a minute or two, she continued.

“It was the first time I had ever felt such pain and itching. My whole body felt like it was aflame. First came the fur, from every part of my body; I was writhing in agonising contortions on the floor and had no idea why this was happening. Thankfully it was a rapid change from human to the beast; the pain did not last long. I was so terrified that I ran. I ran for a long time until I collapsed exhausted on the side of the mountain. I was confused as to what had happened to me. Why I was now a beast instead of a woman?”

“What happened to you after that?” Cain asked.

Silent tears began to roll down Arianrhod’s face as she continued telling her tale.

“I eventually found my way back through the forest to my family home; I had never ventured so far before. I walked up to the house, but my mother saw me coming, she screamed and called for my brothers. They ran out of the house, saw me walking towards it, and threw stones and logs at me. Initially, I was confused and hurt; why were they doing this? But then realised that they did not see their daughter, their sister, all they saw was a beast to be feared. It was then I realised I could never go home again, so I ran and found myself at the clearing by the falls; I discovered the caves beyond the cavern and made my home there.”

“How long ago did this happen to you?” Cain queried

“I am not sure, but it has been many, many years, and I have watched changes happening that are beyond my knowledge. My family home and the village it was in no longer exists. Everybody I knew and loved has gone.”

“Where was your village?”

“It was right here,” she replied, “this cabin is almost right where the blacksmiths’ hut was.”

“My father built this cabin a few years after he bought the land; there was nothing here but an old foundation. Those stones were used to build the foundation of this cabin”, Cain explained. “But this is impossible, this cabin was built over fifty years ago, and you can’t be any older than thirty years old.”

Arianrhod smiled sadly, “When you are a creature such as I, age is irrelevant. This is the age I was when I was bitten and how I have been ever since. I will age no further. Our history in the area spans thousands of years, long before man made this place his home. Mostly our men turn into wolves and females into felines of many different kinds. Our men can retain human form indefinitely and change at will, and often became shamanic healers of the tribes of old.”

“Look, I’m here for a few days,” Cain said, “We have plenty of time to talk and see how we go on from here. This has been a lot for me to take in, and I need to process all this information.”

What he didn’t say out loud was that he was scared to death with all this information. Arianrhod would give birth to a child and return to snow leopard form, leaving him to bring up the child by the sounds of where the conversation was leading. His child.

He also wanted to discover what had happened to the village that Arianrhod claimed was here and where she was originally from.

“I’m going to empty the car and get us some food, then let’s see what the day brings.”

——–X——–

Arianrhod sat on the bed; it had been a long time since she had spoken to someone about her life, she was exhausted from remembering such difficult times. It had been many decades since she had last seen her family, but the pain was still very raw. She was usually alone in her life, only travelling further from her home when looking for a mate. It had never been difficult to attract a mate, and she knew that her alluring form was quite irresistible to the male form.

What she hadn’t expected here was the lingering depths of feeling from this particular male. From the beginning, she had been captivated by him. He had gentle eyes, and his sexual prowess was like nothing she had encountered from the quick liaisons in the past. Now she had been sat with him for the past few hours and felt like a human woman for the first time in a very long time. She had forgotten what that felt like.

For now, though, she laid on the bed, and her eyes closed as she fell into a slumber brought on by this afternoon’s emotional turmoil.

——–X——–

Emptying the car, Cain brought what he needed into the house; he noticed Arianrhod asleep on the bed and placed a blanket over her. Looking down, all he could think was how lost she looked and how incredibly beautiful she was. The shock of discovering that she was a Metamorph didn’t last long, concern had replaced it on how he would be able to look after a child. This was not just any child, but one that could change form. So even if he considered adoption so the child could have an everyday family life, the possibility of transitioning to a creature made that consideration impossible.

As he unpacked and placed the paint and additional fuel in the storehouse, he rang Jack.

“Hi Jack, sorry to bother you, it’s Cain, I have a couple of questions about the location that the cabin is sitting on here.” Cain began, “I’ve been talking to a local, they said that there used to be a village on this spot; in fact, I remember Dad saying that he used stones from an old foundation that was already on the land when he bought it to build the base for this cabin. Do you know anything about it?”

“Hey Cain, all well up there? Any sign of much damage?” Jack asked.

“No mate, it’s fine. It must have been kids, as I thought. Everything is present, just needed a bit of tidying up,” Cain replied.

Jack continued, “I’m not entirely sure about a village, but I remember a load of old buildings from when I was a kid. Tell you what, I will pop down to the library in town tomorrow and see what I can find out.”

“Cheers, mate, I appreciate that. It’ll be interesting to see what you find out. Talk to you soon.” and with that, Cain ended the call and headed off back inside the cabin.

As he hadn’t set out to go hunting today, he had brought some basic rations with him to last him a few days. His father would have frowned on an infraction like this as it wasn’t self-sufficient at all.

He quickly chopped up some bacon and onions, fried them in some beef fat on the old camping stove, whisked up a couple of eggs and added to the pan to make a quick omelette. It wasn’t brilliant, but it was fast, easy and tasty. Though, would Arianrhod eat it, or would she have to have raw meat?

Cain heard the padding of bare feet behind him, and he quickly looked over his shoulder. Arianrhod was right behind him. She looked at what he was cooking and seemed very hungry.

“Have you eaten today?” he asked her.

“I have not eaten for three or four days,” she replied. “It is hard to catch food in this condition and form. In my old life, I would have had my bow to hunt, but I have nothing like that here.”

“So, what have you been eating?”

“Oh, just some berries and the odd mouse or vole I was able to catch with my hands. A man was fishing at the river a few days ago, and I stole some of his fish while he was sleeping.”

Again, her eyes were drawn to the omelette in the pan.

“That smells very good,” she said. “I have not eaten cooked food for a very long time.”

“Then you take this one,” Cain replied, placing the omelette on a plate, “I will make another.”

Arianrhod took it quickly as if she was afraid he would change his mind and went off to sit back on the bed to eat it. The small noises coming from her direction was enough to tell him that she was enjoying every mouthful.

Cain plated his omelette, sat at the table watching Arianrhod eat hers, and wondered what was coming next. At this moment, he resolved that he would go with the flow and see what lies in store.

——–X——–

The day progressed quite quickly. Cain set the fire in the hearth to take the edge off the chill. While it was an enjoyable late Spring day outside in the mountains, the days, especially the nights, were always cool. Even in Summer, the hearth would be lit at night.

Tomorrow he would go out to hunt, he had to make sure Arianrhod had food regularly, and he would go to the town to buy general supplies. He would have to ensure that she was kept safe, could not let any of the locals discover her, not even Jack. Too many questions that he just couldn’t even begin to answer.

While he was happy to live off the land while staying at the cabin, he was not comfortable for her to rely only on what he could catch or forage. She was pregnant with his child, and he felt responsible now for her wellbeing.

Tonight, however, they had to deal with sleeping arrangements.

Cain went to the supplies cupboard and reached the uppermost shelf, where he brought down a duffel bag. Inside was a hammock which he used to love to sleep in as a child. He opened it up and hooked it to the two old rings in the rafters. He hoped they would hold his weight as they hadn’t been used for many years, but he would find out very soon.

Arianrhod looking curiously at him, asked, “What is that?”

“It’s a hammock,” Cain replied, “It’s for me to sleep in tonight while you keep sleeping in the bed.”

She looked dismayed at that reply.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been on my own for a long time, and now that you are here, I was hoping for the comfort and warmth of your being next to me tonight. The bed is large enough for both of us, is it not?” she asked with a hopeful look.

“The bed will take us both, yes, but I can be quite restless while sleeping,” he responded.

“I don’t mind; I would like to be in your arms again.” Arianrhod looked at Cain pleadingly. “Did you not feel as I did in the cavern? Did you feel that we had a deeper connection? I felt something with you that previous mates had not given me. I felt a bond to you after we mated, even after I changed form again.”

Cain remained quiet, unsure how to answer. He walked over to where she sat and offered his hand. She took it and rose to her feet. He looked deep into those beautiful eyes of hers. She had an aura of mystery, and the penetrating intensity of the eyes were like twin blue flames that seemed to burn into the very core of his soul. He could not refuse her, and once again, she had him captivated. He stroked her face gently, bent his head and kissed her.

In an instant, the feelings he had first felt at the cavern returned.

Cain scooped her into his arms and gently placed her on the bed. She still only wore his shirt and nothing else. He made a quick mental note to pick up some clothing and footwear for her when he went into town. But at this moment, all he was interested in was being with the woman that was making his whole world turn upside down, and he didn’t care about that anymore.

Arianrhod felt she belonged in this man’s arms; he seemed to care for her, his muskiness was intoxicating, and when he kissed her again, her heart soared into where only birds usually inhabit.

Cain lay down next to her; he pushed a lock of hair that had fallen across her face. That white hair that gave her that mystical look about her made her different to any other woman he had met.

He kissed her again, and this time she responded with that hungry intensity he remembered from his previous encounter.

He felt himself harden as their breathing quickened.

Their kissing became inflamed with a yearning to become one with each other.

Cain began to slowly unbutton Arianrhod’s shirt, unveiling the flawless pale skin underneath. The two sides falling to one side revealed those two perfect breasts; his hand brushed over them with a careful caress as he moved his hand slowly over her swollen tummy. There he rested his hand for a moment as he remembered what was right under his palm. A feeling of protection came over him as the realisation finally hit home. He was going to become a father, and he had such strong feelings for this woman that would continue far beyond her human form. For now, he was going to enjoy whatever time they had together.

He moved his hand back to her breasts, cupping each one gently, almost like he was afraid he was going to hurt her in her condition.

“Will it be okay for us to…” Cain began.

Arianrhod did not allow him to finish the sentence. She swung herself astride him while beginning to unbuckle his belt. “I am with child; I am not an invalid. Now please be quiet and help me with this thing,” she complained.

Cain chuckled, undid his belt and the buttons on his jeans. She stepped off the bed, and Cain finished removing his trousers and boots. Just before laying back on the bed, he whipped off his t-shirt. Arianrhod looked at him with lustful eyes. His body was so toned, and his manhood was erect and waiting for her. She started to sit astride him again, but he stopped her.

“Not so fast,” he said, “We have plenty of time., and he pulled her down to one side. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to taste her. He didn’t want something to be over with quickly.

Arianrhod lay back down next to him; he turned to face her, their eyes locked, desire evident in both of them. This was more than just sex now.

Cain leant over her once again and kissed those beautiful full lips while embracing her and pulling her close to him. Her tongue darted out and licked his lips, and she playfully bit his bottom lip.

They smiled at each other, then Cain started to kiss her neck; he left lingering kisses down the side of her neck, around the base of her ear and down towards the collar bone. Arianrhod murmured with content at this, moving her head away from him slightly to give him easier access. Cain enjoyed her natural saltiness on his lips as he worked his way across her throat and down her chest. She was very responsive, squirming on the bed as she got more aroused.

Cain hovered over her breasts, cupping one and caressing it; he kissed around the nipple of the other, licking around the outside and feeling it harden under his tongue. He sucked it greedily, making Arianrhod moan loudly. He moved over to the other and gave it the same attention.

Arianrhod entwined her fingers in his hair as she enjoyed the sensations that were coursing through her nerve endings. Mating had never felt so wonderful, and she had never been with a man outside of the mating season.

Cain was already working his way down her body. He kissed along the growing mound of her belly, caressing it lovingly as he did so. Letting his hands rest on her stomach, he continued kissing down towards her pelvis. She slightly adjusted her position as he moved to kiss her thighs, then took a deep breath in anticipation of his journey to her ultimate desire.

Arianrhod felt his breath as he looked at her womanhood with a hunger that was consuming his senses. His hands came down, and as his fingers parted her, she slightly lifted her pelvis; he noticed her wetness and kissed that pinkness that was uncovered. Her body responded, her back arched, and a gasp escaped from her lips.

Cain continued to lay small kisses on her vaginal lips, each one more longing than the previous. Finally, he licked her, his hot tongue flicking her clitoris and sending her into another realm of existence where nothing else mattered apart from the sensations she was now feeling. He licked and sucked her clitoris with such a craving that the feeling of lustful desires was growing in her groin, the feeling of being completely overwhelmed. He inserted a finger inside her and began to massage her erogenous zone, then a second finger. Never once did he stop his deft tongue from sending her mind into completely losing herself.

Arianrhod’s breath started to quicken further, the expansion of warmth spread, and she felt herself fall into that zone of ultimate bliss. She was thrusting herself slightly now to match his movements, to which Cain recognised as the sign that she was about to hit her precipice. He decided then that pleasuring her was all that interested him.

He quickly removed his fingers and brought himself back up to her, guiding his rigid manhood into her as he rose. The initial surprise on her face was quickly replaced by absolute ecstasy as he started to thrust himself deep inside. She was already caught in her orgasmic zone and could barely breathe with the intensity that it brought. Her thighs clamped, her hips raised, she let out a loud sigh, and Cain felt her whole body shudder uncontrollably, pulsating on his erection. He continued to thrust, his reactions sending his mind into a frenzy and an orgasmic zone of his own. As she started to release him and relax in her body, he mounted guttural moans and emptied himself inside her. His forehead on hers, breathing in unison, the passion at that moment undeniable.

Cain’s body relaxed into that post-coital embrace that followed, both breathless, both satisfied and content at the moment. He was conscious of not lying directly on top of Arianrhod, so he slipped to one side of her. He pulled her into him and held her tight. Their spent naked bodies entwined, and as one and in that embrace, they both fell into a deep slumber.

When Cain awoke, it was dark. He hadn’t even replenished the fire, which was now just a dull red glow, or turn on the lights.

He was aware of the warmth in his arms in the darkness, and he could hear the light breathing. Arianrhod was still there. Just before he drifted into his slumber, he had a coldness envelop him of her being gone, returned into her creature form. Cain held her tight, feeling a deep care as well as protectiveness for her and his unborn child. How could all this happen in 24 hours?

On that final thought, he drifted again into a contented sleep with Arianrhod cuddled into him.

——–X——–

The light was streaming through the window when Cain woke up in the morning. This time, however, there was no warmth in his arms. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up quickly, looking around him. He couldn’t see her, but what he did see was a fire in the hearth. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he quickly pulled on his trousers and headed towards the cabin door. He reached out to open it, and just that second, the door opened and made him jump. Arianrhod walked through it and dropped all the wood she was carrying in shock.

“You scared me,” she said. “I thought you would still be sleeping.”

“I woke, and you weren’t here; I got concerned.” he replied, “The last time we were together, you disappeared and…”

Cain stopped mid-sentence.

“I know…, it was difficult, but it was out of my control. I had mated, and the time was over quickly afterwards. Most men don’t bother coming to look for me when I disappear, so it was a surprise when you did,” she explained.

“Well, I was worried,” he stated softly, “You just disappeared, not a word or any noise at all. Just gone.”

Cain bent down and picked up the wood from the floor and added them to the small flames that were struggling for life.

“Why are you out there getting wood? You have no clothes or anything on your feet.”

“You wanted to add to it it last night, but we slept all the way through,” she replied, “When I woke, I wanted to do something helpful. I used to light the hearth in my family home, I wanted to know if I still remembered how to do that.”

She looked at the fire, “and it seems that I still remember,” she added with a big smile.

Cain looked at her with amusement, and then a rush of affection filled his being. He was falling for this woman. I can’t, he thought to himself, I can’t fall in love with her. She’s going to be changing back to a snow leopard again within a matter of months, and then what? His head was in turmoil with the new feelings he had.

“I’m going into the town this morning,” Cain said to her, “I want to pick up some food and supplies, and I’m going to get some clothes and shoes for you. You can’t just walk around in my shirt for the next few months.”

He finished dressing and pulled on his boots.

“Is there anything you can think you would need?” he asked Arianrhod.

“I don’t know,” she replied, “It’s been so long since I needed anything that I don’t know what I need anymore.”

“I need to take a few body measurements and of your feet. A little bit of an odd request, I know,” Cain said, “But as you cannot come with me to town to buy clothing, I will have to make sure that the clothes and shoes will fit you.”

Arianrhod stood there while Cain sized her up and then spoke, “You asked if there was anything I needed, and while it’s not a need, it is a want. I was thinking about it while you measured me. I always loved apples, the green ones. Could you get me some apples, please?”

Cain laughed. “Is that all you want after all this time? Of course, I will get you some green apples. I don’t mean to laugh, but your average woman would be so much more elaborate in their requests.”

As he was making to leave, Cain pulled her to him and kissed her with the feeling of joy in his heart. Until now, he had never appreciated how empty his life had been. The last thirty six hours had been the most emotionally fulfilling of his life, and he would make the most of the next few months.

——–X——–

The town of Broderton was a semi-rural but busy hub for local shoppers. It had a selection of convenience stores, two cafes, an upmarket restaurant, and a few independent clothing and hardware stores. It also had an excellent pub, a cinema and a well-used library, which doubled up as a community hall.

The place had a bittersweet feeling for Cain. It was the town where he was born and raised and the town of the worst mining disaster in the country responsible for his father’s death and the mental breakdown his mother suffered shortly afterwards. He only ever came here now if he needed supplies at the cabin.

Today he needed to pick up more supplies, food and clothing for Arianrhod. Walking into the clothing store, he looked around for the assistant; he had no idea where to start. Spotting one at the back of the store, he wandered over and asked if she would help.

The assistant looked somewhat bemused as Cain explained what he needed, giving her the piece of paper with Arianrhod’s measurements. He asked for a couple of lovely dresses that allowed room for her pregnancy growth, some underwear, and two pairs of comfortable flat shoes. The assistant explained that she would do her best with what she had to work with, but it would be difficult just from measurements. He asked if it was okay to leave her to it and return to pay in about an hour. The assistant was happy to accommodate.

Cain walked up to the library. He had arranged to meet Jack there at 11 am. He had rung earlier that morning to say that he had information about the site’s history where the cabin was built. He could have told him over the telephone, but he thought it would be good to meet up for a beer at The Foxhole Tavern as he was coming into town anyway.

Jack was already waiting for him outside and waved to Cain when he saw him walk across the forecourt.

“Hey,” Jack said, “How’re things?”

“Good, good,” Cain replied. “I thought it would be good to meet up, have a pint in The Fox. Have a proper catch-up.”

“Yeah, that would be great. First, though, come into the library so I can show you some things I found out about your little patch of land up there.”

They turned and climbed the few steps into Broderton Town Library. Walking in through the large mahogany doors, the smell of thousands of books took Cain back to his childhood. He loved his books growing up, never leaving the house without one, so he was a regular visitor to this library. In all that time, the smell had never changed.

Jack led Cain to a table with a few books open at various pages and an old fold-out map of the Broderton and surrounding areas.

“You’ve been busy, I see,” Cain stated with a look of surprise.

“I didn’t mean to dig so deep,” Jack replied, “but it got fascinating. I had never heard of this village or the history of what happened. It’s fascinating and a bit x-files.”

“Really, what like a Scooby-Doo type mystery?” Cain asked with a grin.

“Close enough, Shaggy,” said Jack with a laugh. “This is what I found.”

So Jack began with the story.

“The little hamlet was called Blakesley, which comes from the Old English by-name of Blæcwulf or black wolf combined with Lea, which means woodland or clearing. It had been there since the early 1600s, and its final inhabitants vanished without a trace, back in 1890.”

Jack pulls over the map and an old book about local mysteries.

“Look at this,” Jack continued, “This old ordinance map shows the old village; it wasn’t big. There were no more than a dozen homesteads, a blacksmiths workshop, small community bakery, a potter, a brewery and the remains of what could have been a small marketplace. It was just a small settlement with the villagers having to make do with what the forest provided or ride to Broderton.”

Cain was a little confused by one part more than the rest.

“So this settlement has been gone since at least 1890?” he asked, “Are you sure that date is right?”

“I’m positive,” Jack replied, “It’s in more than one publication, and your dad built the cabin back in the 1960s, and there was nothing but overgrown trees and old foundations remaining at the time. Look here; it’s even mentioned in this old book about the local mysteries of Broderton.”