Instinct of the Wild

hurt

Conri Sult.

For the last few years the name had been whispered from wolf to wolf in hushed whispers and nervous tongues. 

The pack had known it was a taboo name, even if it hadn't been openly announced. It was a topic you refrained from encroaching on unless you were whispering it to ears you trusted. 

Conri Sult was a dictator. A titan among wolves.

Stories began circulating about him years ago, each one more terrifying and gory than the last. It was said he ripped the throats out of countless humans, and pillaged and raped their homes and women. He was known for operating a mass abduction of breeding-age she-wolves in the Northern Territories. It was hard for females to conceive, and even harder for them to birth healthy young, so Conri's had put out a bond on all females in his lands to be sent to him. Woman he found attractive were said to be called upon to enter his harem of concubines, and the others discarded back to their homes, often raped of their innocence. 

The horrors of Conri Sult's reign over the Northern Territories was contemporary legend, and made my skin crawl just thinking about meeting the evil savage.

"Doesn't that beast have a harem of women at his disposal? Why doesn't he just mate one of them?" I spat, my eyes narrowing as a sour taste befell my tongue.

Jazmine shook her head, a sympathetic light glinting in her eyes. "Tis not that simple girl, yer a wolf reeking o' fertility, an' you've driven half o' the lands a'mad with yer scent already. Conri caught wind o' yer tale and he's been ravin' mad tryna get yer to 'im. I'm afraid there's no escaping 'is grasp."

My breath left me as if I had been winded, taking all of the oxygen from my lungs and squeezing them dry. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes and I tried desperately to blink them away before Jazmine could detect my weakness. 

I stilled myself and inhaled, my eyelids squeezing shut as I exhaled. "Can I bathe?"

I opened my eyes to see Jazmine nodding, her hands folding as she pulled away and walked from the room. I followed, my feet sticking against the pristine tiles with each step. Beyond the archway Jazzmine led me to an ascending staircase, winding up to the ceiling in what I imagined resembled the stairs that led to the gods. Jazmine tread carefully up the dark wood of the staircase, her hand running along the white banister creating a smooth noise that tickled my ears.

The silence that accompanied us wasn't all too unpleasant, and allowed me to engulf myself into my thoughts. 

Conri Sult. 

I never imagined I'd one day be forced to meet a beast as fearsome and terrifying as he. I couldn't imagine why he'd wanted me so bad when he had his fair share of hand-picked concubines to choose from and any point in time. However, I refused to mate with him. I wouldn't have my innocence stripped from me as if I were some frail pack-bitch. 

"Nova," My eyes shot up to Jazmine who was appraising me with a concerned eye. She gave me once-over before she began to speak again, "the bathroom is here." She gestured to solid wood doors, her eyes not leaving mine. 

I nodded my thanks and moved passed her, assuring our bodies didn't touch. I pushed open the door and was bout to enter when a firm hand gripped my forearm and I immediately tore it away and pivoted to defend myself.

My body tensed as Jazmine stared at me, her dark eyes appearing a few shades darker under her lowered brows. "What?" 

She looked at me, her lips curling. I knew she wanted to snarl at my attitude, but something in her held her back. She stood straighter, her lip folding back over her teeth. "I just wanted to warn you: the bathtub can be slippery."