A Monster Life Ch. 01-03

They moved silently further into the forest until they spotted a couple of deer. Iphigenia pulled out her bow. 'Your nose is fine.' she said and scanned the area. 'Let's see if your hunting ability matches it.'

Carefully they sneaked closer within firing range and Ulric waited for Iphigenia to shoot before giving chase to his own kill. She drew the bow slowly, concentrated while aiming, and released the arrow.

It brushed the side of the deer and they bolted away.

The thrill of the chase overwhelmed Ulric and he rushed off in pursuit.

Pleasantly surprised at the agility and speed with which he moved between the trees his enthusiasm increased. Catching up to the slowest deer didn't take long and despite its best efforts to sprint left and right to shake him off he slashed at its hind legs to bring it down and killed it quickly with a twist of its neck between his strong jaws.

"Wow." he thought as he examined his kill. "I really did this?" He figured the hunting instinct was ingrained into the bloodwolf's body and that's what guided him to success. He shrugged mentally. "I got it in the end eventually."

Iphigenia came running and looked at the deer. 'Well done. I must admit you're able to hunt for food.'

He grinned. 'Yeah. So what was it you said? You only get to eat what you catch?'

She pouted and fiddled with her bow as she looked away.

He chuckled. 'I doubt I can eat it all myself and I certainly can't cook it, so how about I hunt from now on and you cook?'

She grinned. 'Deal.'

After processing the deer's meat and eating the first meal, Ulric leaned back against a tree and looked up at the sky through the branches. 'I'm not sure but shouldn't it be dark by now?'

Iphigenia looked up. 'No, why should it?'

'Seems to me the day here is longer than on Earth. I feel like I should be asleep by now.'

'You only sleep during dark?'

He nodded. 'Most do anyway. Don't you?'

'We sleep when needed. Doesn't matter if the sun is out or not. Most people sleep four times from sunrise to sunrise.'

He yawned. 'Then I think I'll need some time to get used to that.'

She packed the last part of the meat and stored it in a special sack she carried for that purpose. 'I feel like resting as well so let's do that.' she said and they made themselves comfortable between two thick roots of the tree and dozed off.

***

Iphigenia woke up later first and nearly choked when she looked at Ulric sleeping on his back next to her. She had barely managed to stop thinking about the image of him surprising her during her bath and now she witnessed that thing ready for action. She looked away but her eyes were drawn to that exposed part of him. Although she had heard stories from other women about men and had seen some at community baths, she hadn't yet seen one that wasn't just hanging about.

The men she had met in her life were either insensitive jerks or just out to get into her breeches, and were nothing she wanted to get close to so she had no idea what sex was like. She gazed at the size of his erection and wondered what it would feel like inside her. If it would indeed feel as good as some of the other women claimed.

She screamed at herself in her mind. "What are you thinking!?" she thought. "If indeed he was a human as he claims, he's still a bloodwolf! And you don't even know his intentions!"

A groan and shuffle next to her startled her. He rolled on his side and blinked his eyes. 'Morning already?' he muttered.

She looked away. 'Almost end of the day. We should get going.' she said, stood up, moved away some distance behind a bush, and squirmed a little when she felt more sensitive while she relieved herself.

Ulric sat up straight, stretched, and shrank as soon as he felt the sensation below. "Oh shit." he thought. "If she'd seen this I would have gotten an earful from her again."

After a quick bite they went on their way again and Ulric carried the heavy sack of meat on his back. Iphigenia explained what she could about the various countries close by, often ruled by a queen, and everyday life for most people. He thought it was like most people imagined fantasy stories with low tech industry and good and evil races. "Some would give anything to be here." he thought and imagined a whole line waiting to be a hero and slay mighty demons. Or dragons.

He was about to ask her about it when a foul scent prickled his nose and he froze. She saw his scrunched up expression. 'Something wrong?'

He sniffed to see where it came from. 'I don't know. There's a smell I don't like at all.'

They laid down their packs on the ground and proceeded forwards to scout the way ahead. At a small clearing of uneven bare ground and a bulging patch of brown grass they halted. He searched left and right. 'The smell is stronger here.'

She stepped aside towards the grass when it suddenly rose up. A roar sounded and a giant bear with brown scraggly fur on its back turned around out of a deep hole in the ground, and lifted one clawed paw to strike her.

'Iphi!' growled Ulric, jumped in front of her, embraced her, and tensed his whole body to receive the hit from the bear.

A hard blow struck his back with a loud screech from the bear.

His feet were pushed deeper into the soft ground but he still stood firm. With some surprise he looked back at the bear who yowled and limped away in a hurry on three legs.

'Ulric?'

He looked back at Iphigenia in his embrace. 'Are you okay?'

She nodded. 'Thank you. Are you okay?'

He smiled gently. 'No worries. I'm glad I reacted fast enough.'

She nodded again but her heart didn't just pound from the sudden scare. The embrace in his strong arms against his warm body set off a thrill in her chest. She blushed and looked away. 'You can let go of me now.'

'Ah!' he said and released her while embarrassed. 'Of course.' He cleared his throat and looked back again to where the bear had fled to. 'I wonder what happened.'

'Your fur!' she said. 'That's what!'

He stared at the spines covering the backs of his arms, hands, and legs. 'What the..'

'Your back and tail too!' she said. 'You're completely covered!'

He carefully ran a hand over his head and into the back of his neck. 'Where did this come from!?'

She looked at him. 'That must be what your hedgehog ability is! You can transform your fur into defensive spines!'

He stroked the spines on his lower arm and touched the points on his paw. 'That's damned useful. These things are really sharp.'

She nodded and grinned. 'You're even more dangerous now.'

He chuckled. 'I hope it's not permanent though. I do prefer the soft fur and I don't want to accidentally hurt you.'

'Try imagining the spines turning back.'

He closed his eyes to do so and opened them when she said it worked. 'Wow.' he said as he stroked the familiar black fur. 'Does this happen more often?'

She pondered and shook her head. 'Not that I've heard before.'

He grinned. 'Well, I feel more confident about our journey now.'

She chuckled. 'Yeah, so do I.' she said and they went back to pick up their packs and continue their trek.

***

At a river they stopped for rest and Ulric went in to wash the remains of blood from his back. Iphigenia giggled when she watched him struggle to reach his back to rinse it. She undressed into her green, light undershirt reaching just below her behind and stepped into the water. 'Here, let me help.'

He sighed at the comfortable massage from her fingers running through his fur and sighed. 'Thanks.'

She chuckled and let her hands explore his broad back while she rinsed the blood and dirt from his fur. It reminded her a little of the times she bathed with her parents and washed their backs, and when she rode on her father's back during games at the village's festivals to celebrate the harvest. Her chest tightened and she closed her eyes to suppress her tears.

After a few moments of trying to ignore the soft bumps pressed against his back and her arms tight around his stomach he cleared his throat. 'Iphi? Are you okay?'

She opened her eyes and realised she had embraced him from behind. 'Ah!' she said and stepped back. 'I just got caught up in old memories, sorry.'

He turned to look back at her. 'No, it's-' he said and looked away.

She watched him sit down quickly into the water. 'What?'

He gestured with his head. 'I can see kind of everything.'

She looked down on herself and saw her wet undershirt stuck to her front revealing every line of her body from her breasts and nipples poking behind the fabric to her bellybutton and the V shape at her thighs. She cried out and plunged down into the water and covered her breasts. 'Don't look!'

He coughed. 'I'm not looking! So just go out.'

She hesitated for a moment, then hurried out to grab some dry clothes. He couldn't resist peeking at her smooth tiny behind as she moved away though, and needed to sit in the cool water a bit longer.

03 - Fatal Fight

The next day they travelled through low but steep rocky hills and Iphigenia took the lead during narrow paths so she wouldn't have to look at Ulric and be reminded of her embrace and her thoughts about him that had kept her awake half the time at the last rest.

They still distracted her though and she slipped on a loose stone during a shallow climb. With a yell she fell back but Ulric caught her. 'You okay?' he asked.

She nodded and blushed at his firm and safe hold. 'I'm okay. I just overlooked a bad step.'

He nodded and she moved on again. He hummed as he suspected she was uncomfortable around him after yesterday's incident and hoped they wouldn't have more until she could finally be free of him when the wizard council releases her.

They reached a level and wider part of the path between steep walls but as soon as they reached the middle goblins popped out from behind crags in the rock.

'Shit!' said Iphigenia, drew her sword, and looked around at the group of stone axes and battered old swords wielding creatures. 'They're not strong on their own but as a group they're tough.'

Ulric dropped his pack and transformed his fur into spikes like he had practised during their rest. 'Any advice?'

'Yeah, don't get overwhelmed.'

For a moment the goblins just stared menacingly at them while rocking on their feet, then cried out and rushed in for the kill.

Iphigenia parried and slashed the goblins coming at her while Ulric covered her back, catching the goblin's strikes with his spines and taking them out with massive punches from his spiked fists. Wounded goblins yammered and the ones that could still fight lost their confidence.

'They're getting unsure!' shouted Iphigenia while she stabbed a goblin in the throat. 'Let's push them!'

Ulric followed her lead and they concentrated their fight on one goblin at the time and took down their numbers at a steady pace.

'We're getting there!' she shouted when there were just a few goblins left. 'We'll-'

Ulric turned around in a flash at her cry.

She sank back against him with an arrow in her side and he looked up at the top of the rock wall where a goblin put another arrow to his bow. Without any hesitation he grabbed one of the goblin's swords at his feet and hurled it at the archer.

The creature sprung up backwards from the force of the steel piercing its chest and Ulric rushed with fury through the remaining goblins.

Covered in blood he returned to Iphigenia. She had ripped open her tunic to reveal the wound and remove the arrow, and cursed. 'They did something to that arrow. I can sense poison.' She put her hand on the wound and mumbled her healing incantation, then cursed again. 'I can heal the physical damage but not the poison. I don't know what it is.'

Ulric climbed up the wall and came back soon with a blooded satchel. 'Maybe this'll tell you.' he said and upended it.

She searched through the contents until she gasped at a bunch of blue-green leaves with a metallic shine.

'What is it!? Is it bad!?' he asked as he watched her pale face.

'Seasword.' she said, her eyes fixed on it while her hand trembled. 'It kills.'

He grabbed her shoulders. 'But there is a cure, right!? You can fix it, right!?'

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked into his eyes. 'There is no cure. I'll die in a day.'

He trashed around the contents of the bag on the ground and ripped the bag apart to be sure nothing was left in it. 'There has to be! You can't use a poison without making sure you have an antidote!' He growled as he sniffed and examined every scrap of parchment and stone jar and herb.

'Ulric.' she said and put her hand on his arm. 'Ulric!' He glared at her. 'There is none. It's no use. They must have gotten their hands somehow on this rare plant. And they don't care about any possible danger to their own to find an antidote.'

His paws trembled and his head started to hurt. 'I can't let you die like this! I have to do something!'

Her heart beat faster at his worry for her. She thought she could have fallen for him if she had met him under normal circumstances and she smiled softly as she stroked his cheek. 'Then take me quickly beyond these hills. There's a beautiful shallow valley I'd at least would like to see.'

He wasted no time gathering their packs, hoisting them on his back with her, and hurried as fast as he could without making her uncomfortable.

***

The valley was bathed in a golden sheen by the time Ulric halted at a pond halfway down one side, overlooking the valley and surrounded by sweet smelling berry bushes. Trees were scattered around the grass covered valley with large patches of flowers in almost every colour of the rainbow.

'Told you it was beautiful.' Iphigenia said as she climbed off of his back and removed their packs.

He nodded. 'Yeah.'

She chuckled. 'You need a bath. You look horrible and stink.'

He looked at his rough fur covered in dry goblin blood and dirt and scrunched up his muzzle. 'Ugh, indeed.' He looked back at her. 'You go first though. I'll wait here.'

She smiled and shook her head. 'No, you go first. I need to do something first.'

'Ah.' he said as he thought he understood what she meant. 'I'll be quick then.'

He hurried towards the water and took a dive. After coming up he began rinsing his fur furiously at his arms. When he reached back to scrub his back he remembered the trouble with that. 'Oh, yeah.'

'Let me.' said Iphigenia and poured water over his back.

'Iphi!?' he said and looked back at her.

She smiled at him. 'You're no good at this.' she said and chuckled.

'True.' he said and chuckled while enjoying her massage.

She finished his back, bit her lip as she gazed at it, and embraced him tight from behind.

'Iphi?' he asked when he sensed her trembling against him.

She sniffed. 'Thank you.'

He held her arms. 'I didn't do anything.'

She squeezed him. 'You did. You climbed that wall and cut and scraped yourself to see if that goblin had anything with him.'

He looked down at his damaged paws. 'How could I not?'

'You genuinely care.'

He caressed her arms.

She took a deep breath. 'I have one last request.'

'Name it and I'll do it.'

She held on to him for a moment longer, then let go and to his surprise turned him around. The moment he saw her he looked away. 'Hold on! You're naked!'

She chuckled. 'Yes.'

He glanced at her when she took his paws in her hands. 'But what about you hating it when I see you?'

'I didn't know if I could really trust you then.' she said, moved against him and leaned her head against his shoulder. 'But now I know I can. And the sight of you didn't leave me unaffected either.'

He nuzzled her hair while he quickly grew erect. 'I don't know what to say or do, other than feeling happy upon hearing you say this.'

She cupped his cheeks and kissed him. 'I want to experience the pleasure of sex before I die.'

He embraced her. 'Are you sure with this body? Wouldn't a real man be better?'

She smiled at him. 'I want it to be you.'

He kissed her and their tongues found each other as they slipped between their lips. He enveloped hers with his length and she slid her mouth all the way across his to give her all while she pressed her lower abdomen against his hard and hot flesh.

They kissed until she needed to catch her breath, and she smiled wide at him before she took his paw and led him out of the water and back onto the soft grass where she sat down with him. She blushed as she looked at his erection, and carefully touched it. 'It's so hot.' she said as she caressed it with his fingertips.

'I believe this body has a higher temperature than a human body.' he said and caressed her cheek. 'Is it okay?'

She nodded and smiled at him. 'I think so.'

He kissed her again and caressed her side with one paw before caressing her breast. She pushed her chest against his paw while her nipple hardened between his fingers. He pulled back slowly from the kiss, pulling on and brushing against her lips with his, before moving down and kissing her neck and throat. She hummed in pleasure and a shiver went down her spine when he licked her and brushed his fangs against her throat.

Her firm small breasts were next as he licked his long tongue around and across them and paid attention to her sensitive nipples, and she embraced his wide neck and buried her fingers inside his thick fur. 'This feels good.' she breathed.

'I'd like to lick every part of your body.' he said and bit gently into her breasts and nipples. She squealed softly and pressed her chest more against his muzzle while his paw slid down her front and stroked her hot mound.

He moved further down with his tongue and she spread her legs wider when he licked along her mound and inhaled her scent. She gasped at the first lick across her clit and sending a shock through her hips, and breathed harder while he slipped his tongue through her slit and explored every fold.

'Mmm.. I never imagined it would feel this good.' she breathed and grabbed at the grass while her insides trembled at his touch.

'It'll be even better when I do this.' he said and slipped his tongue slowly as far as he could inside her.

Her whole body trembled hard at the sensation while she breathed fast and her heart raced. She pulled out grass with her tight fists at the wonderful torture she endured at his hot tongue moving inside her sensitive depths, and moaned long. The grazing of his front teeth against her clit twisted her insides even more and flashes of light appeared before her tightly shut eyes.

She uttered incomprehensible moans and groans while her whole body trembled uncontrollably from the inside until he licked her clit hard and fast. A surge of heat and tightness exploded between her legs and she tensed, pushing her mound against his muzzle while her mind blanked out.

She panted hard and smiled at him as he leaned on his paws over her. 'I believe you enjoyed that.'

She chuckled with difficulty between her breaths and stroked his chest. 'I really did.' she said. 'And I want more.'

He grinned. 'You shall have more.' he said and stroked her wet slit with his slick tip.

She breathed hard as her insides filled with his burning erection and let out a long and satisfied moan when he completely entered her and his furry balls pressed against her mound and furry abdomen against her clit. She embraced his neck and moaned softly at his slow and deliberate thrusts and her body tightened in reaction. 'I love this.' she breathed and kissed him again.

Their tongues connected and both panted harder with each thrust inside her. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him tight against her to feel his fur all over her. She sensed the tension in his erection and his desire to be inside her and her heart raced knowing this man in beast form had taken her and gave her this fantastic sensation. He groaned and growled and she let her moaning run free.