Halloween Night — Samhain — and Shia sat on the window-seat in her room, dark eyes looking out. A book lay open on her lap, one golden-tan hand lax on the pages, ignored as she listened to the distant sound of the sea. Her other hand twirled a strand of amber hair between her fingers as she allowed her thoughts to wander. For nearly four years, she had been held captive. Her seal-skin stolen and hidden from her by a man named Roel, and she could not return home to the sea without it. Roel fancied himself a collector of rare and unique objects — and a selkie, bound to the holder of the skin which was her magical essence, definitely qualified.
That evening, as he did each year, Roel was hosting a Halloween masquerade. Shia reflected on how different this human celebration was from the simple gathering of thanks to the spirits her people honored on this same day. Though the celebration wasn’t particularly out of place, Shia felt the human tradition of disguising themselves and their children to be rather insulting. She couldn’t see why anyone — fairy, spirit or otherwise — would want to steal human children away from their parents.
As always, Shia considered whether she could make use of his distraction to find her seal-skin and escape. She had tried more than once in the first year, but the manor was large and easy to get lost in, with many locked doors. Her captor always kept the heavy iron ring of keys on his belt during such events, and Shia didn’t have the skills to take them from him — either by stealth or by force. She knew better than to try, at this point. She had quickly learned most of his motivation for the gatherings he held were to show off his acquired rarities. Including her skin. Last time, she had barely glimpsed her own beautiful, tawny pelt among the crowd of people. People who would stop her from getting close to it, let alone take it back.
So she stayed in her room and watched as the gas-lights were lit down the front walk to welcome guests. Shia rarely interacted with humans, but she often observed as Roel’s guests arrived. Tonight, most of the guests were dressed as various creatures of the sea. She supposed it must be a themed party, as there were ladies dressed as ‘sirens’ and ‘mermaids,’ with fish-tail styled dresses and gowns. She also observed men with shark-like fins on their backs and masks edged with sharp ridges that hinted at large teeth.
She was startled when she first saw them. Among the guests, Shia noticed two of her own kind enter the manor house. Her eyes stayed on her kin for as long as possible; the selkie magic inherent in their greyish spotted skins was unmistakeable to another of their kind, even at a distance. She could see it as a sort of shimmer, though as far as she knew most humans could not.
They were not the only guests with seal-like costumes, though most others wore masks and dark furs or fabrics which were not actually seal pelts — for which Shia was extremely glad. Selkies weren’t true seals, but she remembered being a youngling playing with seal pups in the sea, and she didn’t like seeing them killed for their skins either. But if Roel was showing off her seal-skin as part of his collection, her own folk would know instantly what it was. And they would wish to see her free, if at all possible.
Unlike most men who hid the seal-skin of a female selkie, Roel didn’t want her for a wife or lover. It relieved her greatly, as Shia had a mate back home in the sea and she had no interest in a lover other than her life-mate. No, Roel wanted her simply for the ability to say he had a selkie in his collection. Perhaps he enjoyed the accolades of those who knew about or believed his tale of the seal-skin; she didn’t know, because she hadn’t heard him talk about her specifically, and she had stopped participating in his little fetes and celebrations.
Shia missed the sea desperately. She was often melancholy and homesick, which also made her less than pleasant company at a party. She longed for her mate, Doran, for her home beneath the waves, for the family she had been parted from for so many years. She missed the dynamic of the herd, the scents and light touches which kept them all bonded as a group. She didn’t have any pups of her own, but she had helped mind the herd’s youngest so the mothers could eat or hunt.
She wondered if anyone would recognize her if she made it home again. If Doran had waited for her. Selkies mated for life, but as young as she and her mate were he might take a new mate if the herd thought her dead. She hoped he knew she lived and would return to him as soon as she located her skin.
The last of the guests arrived, their raucous laughter drifting up to her perch. An hour passed. Then two. Shia abandoned first her book and then her place by the window; instead, she paced back and forth in front of the room’s large fireplace, wringing her hands. She held onto hope as best as she could, as if she could grip it in her tightly-held hands, though fear also grew as more time went by. Was Roel not showing her skin? Had her brethren been discovered too soon? Perhaps it was only that dinner was taking longer than expected, and the main event, as it were, hadn’t started yet?
Part of her wanted to go out and join the guests, to try to pass word to her brethren, but she was afraid to as well. There had been other times when she had tried to mingle with party-goers, but she hadn’t enjoyed the experience. She didn’t understand the culture or the humor of these people. And really, Roel’s guests were not the sort of folk in whom she would find sympathy or understanding, much less the kind of assistance she could use to free herself. After attempting a dinner or two, she mostly kept to the suite of rooms he had provided; she would never leave her true skin behind, and thus her captor allowed her to roam the grounds freely.
She decided patience was her best option. She didn’t want to draw attention to her kin, knowing all too well that if Roel suspected others were there he would keep her seal-skin hidden, and possibly try to take theirs too. But the waiting was hard. She absolutely did not want to subject any others of her kind to the captivity she had endured. It was bad enough she had lived here bereft and alone for the past four years.
The moment ownership of her skin changed hands, she knew. A tingle shot up her spine, and a sense of urgency pushed her to find both her skin and the new owner. Unfortunately, that sense couldn’t tell her where or who . If it could, she would have found her skin long ago. But the urgency pushed at her mind, and she needed several moments of deep breathing to master the emotion so she could respond rationally.
Shouting from outside caught her attention. Shia darted over to her window, hoping for some clue as to what had happened and who might have her skin. A figure dashed down the long front walk headed away from the manor, one arm holding something to his chest. A glimmer of her own familiar magic glinted from the object he held, and though she couldn’t see her skin clearly she felt strongly he had it. His own selkie skin flapped behind him as he ran, and she felt a moment of intense relief.
Shia wasted no more time, knowing she had to slip out quickly. Shielding her face within a hooded cloak, she made her way out into the hallway. Instead of heading toward the commotion at the front or the chatter of the party, she headed toward the servants’ stairs.
It was simple to walk through the kitchen to the gardens and out the garden gate. She smiled at one of the maids and murmured a quiet, “Good evening,” to the cook as she passed. The servants were quietly sympathetic to her, though they weren’t willing to risk themselves helping her. They were, however, accustomed to her idle wandering.
As the garden wall faded behind her, Shia’s steps slowed. She had instinctively headed in the direction of the sea, but she couldn’t actually go back without her skin. And she only had hope the current holder of her skin was one of her kindred, who would return it to her.
“This way, herd-sister,” a quiet voice reached her ears.
She turned in place, looking for the owner of the voice; the man who’d spoken was tall, leanly muscled as many younger males tended to be in human form. His fair-hair was woven with strands of grey to match his pelt now that she was close enough to distinguish details, and his eyes reminded her of the sea. He wore his dappled seal-skin like a cloak, and she immediately relaxed, knowing he wouldn’t harm her even though she did not recognize him. Young males often changed herds as they sought mates, and she had definitely been gone long enough for the herd’s old males to have moved on and others welcomed. She was merely happy to have been rescued.
“Shia?” he asked.
She nodded. “And you?”
“My name is Tollin. Your mate sought help to find you when you didn’t return, but it took us some time to track you down,” he explained as she followed him down a narrower side path.
“Where are we going?” she asked in a low tone which wouldn’t carry far in the open air. She didn’t want to chance that someone had followed and might overhear them, though it was hard to contain her excitement at being free. She could voice her joy once they were safely beneath the waves again.
“My brother Sorrin has your true skin, and he waits for us by the sea cliffs.” Tollin waved his hand to indicate their path, the sound of the waves growing louder and louder with each passing moment. “We didn’t want to chance the road or the beach, in case your captor tried to follow.”
She nodded. “I thank you for taking the risk. I hadn’t dared to hope for a rescue, though the opportunities to search for my skin have been few over the years.”
“Will he seek you out?”
Looking over her shoulder nervously, she thought about Roel. There was nothing to see but empty terrain, which made her feel a little better about their escape. “I don’t think he’ll chase after me specifically, once we make it to the sea. I certainly intend to avoid him, and we should pass word to all our folk to avoid this area for some time to come. Roel wants a selkie for his collection of rarities; I do not believe he will care who, as long as he has one.”
With a nod, Tollin agreed, “That was our assessment as well, but you have had more exposure to him. Despite his tendency to brag, he is a difficult man to meet; we had to replace one of his guests to get into this celebration. So he truly was uninterested in a selkie wife? That’s most… unlike his kind.”
“I never asked,” Shia admitted. “I didn’t want to put the idea in his mind, if it had not already occurred to him.”
“Understandable.”
They fell silent as the way became rockier and both needed to keep their attention on their footing. Clambering over rocks and cliffs did not come naturally to those accustomed to swimming over and around them, but at last they reached the cliff’s edge. Down below, as near as the crashing waves would allow him to swim, was the lithe form of a dark seal carrying a second skin between his teeth.
Shia looked at the water with a deep longing, and need made her brave despite the height of the cliff. It was high, but she could make the jump without being injured. With a grateful smile to Tollin, Shia took the last two steps and flung herself off the precipice. As she hit the water, the seal swam to her side to pass over her seal-skin. Her skin was suddenly hers again, and she embraced the return of her power. With a shimmer of selkie magic that felt like ripples of water along her body, her true skin enveloped her in a gentle wave of warmth and she transformed. To her seal-self, the water was no longer cold and dark but cool and comfortable, full of familiar flavors as she opened her mouth to taste. The cloak, dress, and shoes she’d worn as a prisoner slipped away in the water, and she shed them without a second thought. She had no intention of ever needing them again.
A second splash sounded as Tollin joined them, and the three seals swiftly swam against the current and away from land.
Finally safe, Shia let out an exuberant bark. Her joy was echoed by the triumphant calls of her rescuers, and the water carried their cries to others of their kind. Sleek seal-forms appeared, some leaping across the surface in the light of the moon, dappled skins echoing the sparks of light that tipped the waves. Others rose from the dark depths of the sea, surfacing with a splash of water. Soon a huge herd gathered, the rocks echoing with barks and cries, the salt-air heavy with scents of others both familiar and not. She took in each individual’s musk and memorized it, identifying everyone as quickly as she could.
Shia danced among the waves and frolicked with others of her kind, experiencing the comfort of friendly touch and shedding the grief and melancholy of her captivity in her joy at being home. The welcome of so many, even those who hadn’t known her personally or had joined the herd while she was gone, lifted a weight from her body and calmed her fears. She was known, remembered, and welcomed.
As the herd moved toward the isolated cove which often was used as a gathering place for their kind, Shia heard the voice she had long missed. She swam as fast as she could toward the sound, and then he was there. Her mate. Her Doran. They swam circles around each other through the waves, joyful calls echoing through the water. The herd circled protectively around the reunited pair as the couple surfaced, cooing and nuzzling each other with love and happiness. His dark brown pelt contrasted prettily with her tawny, but their liquid-dark eyes were very similar. While they were absorbed in each other, the two were guided toward safety and soon they arrived at their herd’s cove.
The selkies’ cove was a lovely thing, a long stretch of shallows guarded by rocky walls with openings far too narrow for even a canoe to broach. The cliffs surrounding it were sheer and unforgiving, and other than the selkies, it was only ever shelter for small fish and seabirds. As they approached the beach within the cove, Shia caught sight of several small driftwood fires with leanly muscled figures surrounding them.
Shia hesitated for long moments as others of the herd swam toward the shore and shifted forms, wearing nothing but their true skins across their shoulders. She’d been trapped in human form for so long she wasn’t sure she was ready to change again. Still, the air carried scents of seaweed soup and roasting fish along with the laughter of both children and adults, and Shia knew they celebrated her safe return as well as Samhain night. She couldn’t disappoint the community by staying away.
Doran nudged her with his nose, soothing rumbles escaping from his throat. Though they didn’t use words in this form, he was promising to stay with her, to make sure she and her skin remained safe. It was hard… but after a moment she touched her nose to his and started toward the sand. She hesitated again in the shallow water, and Doran simply shifted and sat in the soft sand. His dark skin blended into the dark pelt he wore over his broad shoulders as he settled in water up to his barrel-chest. There he stayed, waiting patiently with her until she was ready to emerge.
“Shia!” excited young voices shouted as she drew close enough to be recognized. Seconds later, a swarm of younglings plowed into the waves, some shifting and some not, but all reaching out to touch and be touched. She recognized them as pups she had helped mind just after they were born, just before her capture. They were more or less adolescent now, by human standards, but her folk never forgot the ones who influenced their formative months.
She’d missed so much in the years she was gone. They were all so much bigger than she remembered them, their voices and personalities much more apparent, and their scents more mature. As she exchanged nuzzles and gentle touches, sounds and scents, it suddenly hit her how isolated she’d been. Deprived of the basic necessity of frequent contact that kept their herds and pods together and connected. A very human-like whimper escaped her seal throat.
The younglings stayed close on one side as Doran wrapped his arms around her from the other. She shifted forms automatically to return his embrace as she wept for all the years she had lost and the things she had missed while trapped on land.
Doran held her close, and she clung to him as she cried. “You’re home, Shia,” he whispered to her in a voice rough with emotion. “You’re safe. Surrounded by family. Loved by many. All will be well.”
She lost track of his words as she cried out all of her loneliness and grief. His warmth and familiar scent wrapped around her until she only knew the safety and comfort of being in his arms. Only heard the soothing murmur of his voice, allowing the tone to soothe her more than the words.
Comforting sounds and gentle touches eventually roused her from her tears. The shallow water was filled with bodies, human and seal forms both, as her herd shared her grief and did everything they could to help temper sadness with joy at her return.
“Food’s ready.” Shia recognized the voice of the Matriarch as she called from beside the fire. “Shia starts the feast tonight, in honor of her homecoming.”
The Samhain feast was typically the last one before the cold season began, and it began with a ritual of thanks to the spirits who looked out for their people. Shia was deeply aware of the honor being given to her; under normal circumstances the Matriarch or one of the herd’s primary hunters would start the holiday feast. She freed herself from the press of bodies with only a touch of regret. Doran helped her to her feet, and they headed for the shore hand-in-hand. She searched her memory for the right words as they reached the fire, worrying she might have forgotten the language of the ritual. Doran squeezed her hand gently, and the Matriarch smiled and gestured to the stack of bowls.
The Matriarch’s confidence helped calm her as she picked up a bowl formed of driftwood and took a serving of soup from the pot over the fire. While the soup poured into her bowl, she spoke in a shaky voice. “We thank the spirits of Water that shelter our herds. We thank the spirits of Earth that grow what we need. We thank the spirits of Air that allow us to breathe. And we thank the spirits of Fire that allow us to cook when we choose. The spirits of our world will shelter and provide for us on this Samhain Night.”
She sipped from the bowl in the ritual fashion, and the Matriarch nodded to her approvingly. Several of the herd’s elders were serving food, and shrewd glances took in the weight she’d lost during her time away. Before Shia moved aside to allow others to line up for their own portions of the feast, skewers holding roasted fish were passed to her, followed by another laden with various vegetables gleaned from the sea. Doran took his own servings quickly, and the pair moved back into the shallows to sit and eat.
They were joined by others of their age group. Shia listened as her mate and friends told her about the changes to the herd while she’d been gone. Who had left to find mates; who had their first successful hunts and when; which couples had new young. It was a lot to take in, but she was intensely grateful for the stories they told. It helped her feel at home again.
As the evening passed, Shia’s mood settled to one of quiet contentment. Surrounded by her own folk, at ease in the sea and in the arms of her mate, she could relax and simply enjoy the peace of being at home. Her seal-skin rested over her shoulders like a shawl, and her fingers wound into the edges in an unconscious need to keep it to hand at all times.
She startled briefly when Doran nudged her shawl down her back a bit, but relaxed as she realized he’d only moved it enough to gain access to her neck. He nibbled gently on the sensitive flesh, following the curve from her shoulder up to her ear. “I have missed you so, dear heart,” he murmured to her in his rich bass voice, relishing how the sound rumbled through her like the pulse of the sea.
“I missed you too. It has been so very lonely, being held away…” She turned her head to look over her shoulder, her grey eyes meeting his sharp sea-green gaze. “I’m glad you waited for me.”
His dark eyes glistened in the moonlight, and he gave her a smile full of love. “How could I not? You are mine, and I am yours. Forever. Even if you died tomorrow, I would not take another mate.”
“I love you, Doran.” She freed one hand from her seal-skin and turned in his arms so she could touch his face. Her fingers grazed across his high cheekbones and down along his straight, almost pointed nose. He nipped teasingly at her fingertips as they passed over his thin lips, making her smile.
He caught her hand and held it aside as he leaned in to press his mouth to hers. The kiss was everything she’d missed about him; warm and gentle and playful as he coaxed her tongue to dance with his. His arms wrapped around her body, cradling her close, and it was all so familiar, so comfortable, and so right she almost wanted to cry again. She closed her eyes against the stinging sensation and pressed closer, clinging to her mate.
“Shh, love,” he murmured as their lips parted. “I have you. You’re safe,” he promised, repeating the words over and over again. He kissed the line of her jaw, down her throat and along her collarbones. His words and kisses took on the cadence of the waves lapping gently around them, and slowly she relaxed into the comforting sensations surrounding her.
Shia let her mate lay her back, settling into the soft sand far enough up the beach the waves caressed her calves but left the rest of her bare to his touch. She found herself in possession of both of their seal-skins, and she took a moment to appreciate the silent reassurance and trust implicit in the gesture.
The sounds of the still-ongoing celebration faded into the background as Doran consumed most of her attention. Her hands slid up his arms and across his shoulders as his kisses resumed, moving down her chest and along the swell of her modest breasts. She moaned softly as his tongue flicked out, licking away traces of salt from her soft mounds.
As if that sound was a call to action, Doran’s tenderness morphed, becoming more frantic, more aggressive. His fingers dug into her hip and she felt the sharpness of his teeth as he nipped just a little too hard. Shia gasped and shifted her hips, wriggling beneath him until the pressure eased.
“Weren’t you the one telling me that I’m home and safe?” she teased, attempting to deflect any apologies before they could start. He was usually gentler with her, but she understood the impulse to cling, to be certain this was real. After four years of forced separation and celibacy, passion could easily consume them.
“I know.” He loosened his grip on her hips and soothed the skin there instead. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Shia grasped his head and pulled him down into a kiss before he could speak.
She kissed him passionately, trying to tell him she didn’t want him to apologize or slow down, just to ease back from the edge of pain. She thought he received the message when he returned the passion, his fingers finding their way to the apex of her thighs. He stroked the soft flesh there almost possessively. His fingers explored every fold and curve of flesh, sending tingling waves of pleasure washing through her.
His fingers moved easily in their quest aided by the slick wetness from her core. She wanted him, needed him so much. “Please,” she whispered when their mouths finally parted. “I don’t want to wait. Now, love, please now.”
To his credit, Doran didn’t ask if she was sure. Perhaps he needed her as much as she needed him, the demands of the more animalistic side of their natures too overwhelming to ignore. Or possibly it was that four years of waiting were over.
Pushing her knees apart, he moved between them, and she wrapped her legs around his hips to urge him closer. They fumbled for a moment, urgency making their movements less than coordinated. His cock slid against her slick folds until they lined up properly and he pushed inside her. Shia arched against the sand, crying out her joy as they renewed their bond.
Doran grasped her hips and held her tightly, withdrawing almost all the way before plunging back in again. Their rhythm mimicked the surging of the sea crashing into the cliffs, lost in their need as they were. He was all Shia could think of, the mingling of their breaths and the clasp of their bodies; the water lapping at their feet and the sand beneath her shoulders barely even registered. There was nothing but him and them.
Neither lasted long in the face of their urgent need. Doran peaked first, thrusting almost frantically into her heat. His loud groan filled her ears and his cock pulsed as he released his seed within her. Still, he kept moving, kept pushing her higher until she followed him over the edge. Her body arched again, muscles going taut, and she cried out in ecstasy as her channel clenched rhythmically through her orgasm.
As her body relaxed, Doran wilted into her arms. She enjoyed the feel of his weight on her chest, his chin on her shoulder and his head beside hers. Dark curls brushed against her skin, tickling just a little. Shia held him close, relishing the familiar scent of his body as she caught her breath. Voices filtered back into her awareness; she heard pups playing and splashing nearby, and the soft murmur of conversation slightly further away. A soft groan of pleasure from further up the beach told Shia she and her mate weren’t the only ones indulging themselves in the cove, either. Their folk saw no reason to keep mating acts private, It was a natural thing, and Shia felt no embarrassment.
After a short time, Doran’s hands dug into the sand in an attempt to get beneath her, to hold her in return.
Shia giggled when he gave up and rolled them onto their sides so he could wrap an arm around her. “It’s so good to be home,” she sighed, snuggling close.
“It’s good to have you home,” Doran replied, his voice a low note in her ear. His fingers trailed gently up her spine, making her shiver but not from cold. He chuckled. “Surely you didn’t think I was done with you? Not when I’ve only just gotten you back…”
“I wouldn’t mind if you needed a break.”
“Oh, I do,” he replied with a grin. “But you don’t, not really. And I intend to make the rocks around the cove ring with your cries before I’m finished.”
Shia smiled and kissed him happily. “I won’t mind that. But I think I may need to spread our furs out a bit more, if you’re going to do that. I love the feel of the sand, but I’m not used to it anymore and I don’t want either of us to have to worry about abrasions before we’re done.”
“Anything for you, my beloved mate.”
They quickly brushed the sand off each other and made themselves a more comfortable space: a slightly hollowed area on the beach, barely big enough for their bodies and lined with their seal-skins for softness. When Shia lay back down, Doran stood over her for a moment; the heat in his gaze made her shiver again, but she otherwise held herself still to let him look. She studied him just as intently, eyes tracing the familiar and long-missed planes of his barrel chest, the whip-cord muscle running the length of his strong limbs, and the sharp facial features she loved so well.
When, impatience got the better of her, she held her hand out to her mate. Two pairs of dark eyes met and locked. He took her hand, golden toned fingers twining with sienna, and let her tug him down beside her; she smiled at him before their lips met again. This time the kiss was slow and strong, just like Doran, and she knew he intended to tease and explore her body until she screamed for him.
That sounded perfect.
As they kissed, Doran settled half on her body half on the sand, so his chest rubbed against her breasts and one of his legs sprawled across both of hers. She wasn’t pinned fully, but she enjoyed the feel of his weight over her as always and held herself still beneath him.
Their initial coupling had taken the edge off the frantic need, but she knew they both still felt the urge to connect. The part of his mind which was more seal than human had always driven him to possess her physically as well as emotionally. Though their human side allowed for lifelong mating bonds between couples, the animal in their natures still led to competition and the drive for physical superiority.
Most of the females of the herd understood this about their males; Shia knew that for her mate, it meant he would pin her to the sand in some way while he lavished pleasure on her body. She typically let him, the pleasure he gave rewarding her patience. Sometimes he teased too much, though, and in her passion she could be just as frenzied and demanding as he.
When he pulled away from her lips, Doran placed light, nipping kisses down her neck to her shoulder. He shifted his body until his belly pressed against her hips as his mouth worked its way down to her breasts. He slowly circled there until he reached her nipple and latched on.
Shia moaned, her eyes bright in the dim moonlight, watching her mate’s every move.
He switched breasts, repeating his actions; this time when he settled in to suckle, Shia tangled her fingers into his hair. She didn’t try to lead, all she did was tighten her fingers on his head slightly when his teeth caught, pleasure skirting the edge of pain as he marked her. He teased her sensitive skin with playful nips between sucks. When his seal nature got the better of him and he forgot he didn’t have to fight to keep her as his mate; he always kissed the abused spot apologetically before moving to a new patch of skin to tease.
Shia sighed, relaxed and content to enjoy the pleasurable sensations as his fingers and lips reaffirmed their knowledge of the way her ribs tapered down to her waist, before curving back outward toward the swell of her hips. She laughed as he stroked his mouth over sensitive, mildly ticklish spots on her belly and dipped his tongue into her navel.
When he pulled back and urged her to flip over, Shia complied. She curled her knees under her, and his body draped over hers as he resumed his slow oral exploration. He buried his face in her thick hair for a long moment before he nipped and sucked on the back of her neck. She moaned at the sharp spikes of pleasure and wiggled beneath the blanketing drape of his body.
She nearly whimpered with loss when his weight slowly left her as he kissed his way down her spine, sucking deeply here and there to leave a row of darker marks in his wake. As her pleasure built, the pain faded into heat, and she ceased caring about the bruises his mouth left behind. His cock pressed against the swell of her ass as she moved, and she moaned again at the intimate pressure almost - but not quite - where she wanted it.
“Be still,” he growled at her, his voice at once urging her to patience and reminding her he would fight for dominance if she pushed him. Shia took a deep breath and willed her body to relax in compliance. He rewarded her with his tongue easing into the cleft of her ass, and then moving downward until he could taste her again.
Shia lifted her hips at his urging, carefully keeping her head and shoulders pressed to their furs, letting him manipulate her hips into the position he wanted. When she was settled, he dove in, licking and sucking at the slick fluids welling up from inside her. His tongue found her pearl, the sensitive little nub at the front apex of her slit, and she keened aloud.
She felt more than heard the low rumbling growl emerge from his throat as he drank deeply from her. The vibration passed through her, setting her nerves alight. Her wail of pleasure transitioned into a full-throated keen as the wave of orgasm washed over her body and swept her away.
Though she gasped for breath as her body stopped shaking, Doran refused to give her a reprieve. His tongue thrust in and out of her entrance while his fingers took the place of his lips on her pearl. She cried out his name as her pleasure intensified, building swiftly, “Doran! I need you inside me. Please, fuck me! Right now, please, love…”
“Soon,” he promised, only removing his mouth from between her thighs long enough to answer. “Come for me once more, and then I’ll give you what you want.” His tongue resumed stroking into her channel, teasing her with pleasure but not filling her the way she wanted to be filled.
Shia trembled, torn between letting him play with her and the need screaming through her body. His free arm looped around her legs, holding her in place, while the fingers of his other hand alternated between stroking and lightly pinching her pearl. Her fingers gripped their skins tightly as her body shook; pleasure overwhelming her again. She cried out wordlessly as she came for the third time that evening.
He gave her a moment to catch her breath while she came down from her high. His arm still held her hips in the air, and she could feel the head of his penis nudging her entrance. Still, he didn’t enter her, and Shia had finally had enough of patience.
Moving so quickly he didn’t have time to respond, Shia gathered her arms under her and pushed backwards, impaling herself on his turgid rod before he could stop her. His moan mingled with hers as her hips writhed, seeking friction. For a short eternity, he let her take what she wanted: him. All of him.
Shia rocked on her hands and knees, revelling in the slick slide of their bodies. It wasn’t a fast pace, but their bodies matched so well and he filled her so deeply that fast was unnecessary. So long as she had her mate within her, Shia was blissfully content.
Eventually, though, he reasserted himself and took hold of her hips, thrusting faster and harder into her welcoming body. She let the hand on her shoulders push her upper body down into the ground again, the fur between her with the sand chafing her nipples as he pounded into her. The change in angle sparked new waves of pleasure from deep within her cavern, and her pleasure-filled scream mingled with someone else’s in the air around her as she climaxed.
Doran grunted as she clenched around his cock, but he refused to let it slow him down. If anything, he moved faster, deeper. His voice in her ear demanded in a husky growl, “One more, my mate. Scream for me once more, and I will fill you with my seed.”
She whimpered, well beyond words, but nodded in agreement. He always knew what she needed, though, and true to her memories he gave her exactly that. His arms around her hips shifted, and his fingers found her pearl again. The sudden increase in sensation had her writhing helplessly into the sand as he pounded into her mercilessly. Her fluids dripped down her thighs and each stroke made an audible squelching noise. His thighs slapped into hers, and she knew at least one hip would have bruises from his tight grip, but she didn’t care. She needed him too much; it felt too good.
“Now,” he groaned. “Come now.” His cock twitched as he pressed deep, seemingly reaching almost to her womb. “Shia, now!”
His urgent command on top of everything else pushed her over the edge. Pleasure swept her away, drowned her in currents she couldn’t fight, and her screams reverberated off the rocks of the cove and filled her ears drowning out everything else. She spent what felt like forever caught in the whirlpool of sensation — floating, falling, swirling — before her senses slowly returned to her.
The first thing she realized was they had collapsed onto the furs spread on the sand. Her mate’s body sprawled atop hers, still intimately connected. It should have been hard to breathe, but her breath was already labored, so she supposed it didn’t matter. His was just as harsh, rasping in her ear as the ringing of her own screams faded.
Sounds of others splashing nearby reached her next, as well as the gentle lapping of the waves against the sand. Many of the voices from earlier had quieted, and it took twisting her head to glance at the sky to realize quite a lot of time had passed. Dawn was still some hours away, but the moon was nearing the western horizon.
“All right, love?” Doran asked in a rough voice as she shifted again. He lifted his body from hers, gently disentangling them, and settled on his side next to her.
“Yes,” she agreed, her voice hoarse from screaming. She arched her back and stretched her limbs before rolling onto her side and snuggling her body into the matching curves of his chest. Spooning, she thought she’d heard humans refer to it once; now that she knew how they stacked spoons for storage, she understood the expression better.
His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her tighter into his chest. “I’m glad. I missed you. Missed this … all of it.”
“I did too,” she agreed, relaxing fully in his embrace. She double checked both their skins were still safely tucked beneath their bodies; that was a mistake she had no intention of repeating. She didn’t think she’d ever let her true skin out of her sight again for as long as she lived. She could only relax now because she knew the cove was the safest place their herd ever stayed.
“I think we missed some of the good night calls,” he said after taking a moment to look around. The cove was definitely emptier than it had been after dinner.
Shia shrugged as best she could while lying on one arm. “I doubt anyone has gone far. Perhaps we - and some of the other pairs - were simply too loud to allow them to sleep when they wished.”
“The others will stay, though,” Doran assured her. “You’ll be well-protected tonight. Probably for some time to come.” He nodded toward their feet, and Shia caught sight of a small pile of young seal shapes at the waterline, less than a foot away from their legs. The topmost lifted his head when he noticed them looking and nodded. A very human gesture from what looked like an animal, if only one didn’t know the truth of their race. “The herd looks after its own.”
“I’m glad,” she admitted. “I don’t ever want to be taken away again.”
“Then we won’t let it happen,” he promised. “Sleep, love. You’re safe.”
Though exhausted from their intense lovemaking, Shia didn’t drop off to sleep right away. She couldn’t settle, so she listened to the sounds of others sleeping around them. The soft murmur of other lovers speaking softly. A low, whining sort of snore from the pile of seal-forms near her. She eventually heard Doran’s breathing deepen into the restful rhythm of sleep, but she still lay awake.
It wasn’t until others came closer, sensing her need, that she felt drowsy. A soft female form, wrapped in her own seal-skin, settled into the sand in front of her. A second followed, with her mate trailing behind her. More and more bodies settled close, one just above her head, another behind Doran. And finally, finally… Shia fell asleep, secure in the knowledge she was safely home with her herd.
* * *
Shia woke to the sound of excited pups splashing in the waves. The tide had gone out while they’d slept, so the waves were a ways down the beach, but the high pitched sound of young voices carried throughout the cove. Despite the bright blue sky above them, Shia had no desire to remove herself from the comfortable cluster of bodies surrounding her and her mate.
Aside from Doran’s arm still around her, someone’s head rested on one of her legs, a hand wrapped around her outstretched arm, and a second hand idly stroked her hair. The scents of her herd-mates blended with the salt-tang of the sea, and Shia nuzzled into the hand in her hair, earning herself a soft chuckle and a gentle caress of fingers against her cheek.
“Good morning, Shia.”
“Good morning, Grandmother,” Shia responded without opening her eyes, recognizing the scent and sound of the herd’s Matriarch. Though not actually her direct relation, the older woman was accorded the title of ‘Grandmother’ by the entire herd out of respect.
“Everyone is happy to have you back.” The fingers carded through Shia’s hair. “Shall I bring you a drink? I don’t think you’ll be moving until the others start to wake.” The Matriarch sounded amused, and Shia opened her eyes to smile in return.
As she looked around, Shia realized the brothers who rescued her, Sorrin and Tollin, were among the pile of bodies keeping them sheltered. Sorrin was the one with his head on her lower leg, and his brother and their mates were just behind. Shia made a mental note to thank them again when they woke.
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Their voices caught the attention of the pups, though, and moments later waking the rest of the herd was unavoidable. “Morning, Shia!” several young voices cried joyfully. Small, wet bodies flung themselves at her, and in seconds she had her arms and lap full of happy children. The herd adults parted, smiling indulgently at the younglings. Shia managed to sit up, and though the others gave her some space Doran shifted with her so her back rested against his chest, leaving her arms free.
She met Sorrin’s eyes as he moved away, gesturing wordless gratitude to him and his brother. They smiled brightly and waved away her concern, indicating there would be time to talk later.
She greeted as many of the children as she knew by name, then paused. “I’m afraid I don’t know some of you, pups. Tell me your names, please?”
As they did so enthusiastically, Shia took each one by the hand, pulling them in for an embrace so they could scent each other. They gleefully scented her back, and Shia carefully noted personality traits as they each spoke to her in turn.
Everyone wanted to be recognized and accepted among the herd. It was only natural.
The Matriarch returned as the children dispersed, bearing small bowls of leftover broth from the night before. “You’re good with the pups, still,” she observed as Shia took the bowl with a gesture of thanks. “Perhaps it’s past time to consider your own?”
Shia stared thoughtfully into her bowl as the Matriarch left them to break their fast in peace.
“She’s right, you know,” Doran’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “We had discussed it, not long before you… well.”
Shia sighed and nodded. “I remember. Our lives were put on hold because I was careless.”
“It’s not your fault, Shia,” he consoled her. “Humans are cunning creatures, and our history tells us they care little for our places in our society, only what we can do in theirs. It’s why we stay separate, rather than attempting to coexist in a more friendly manner.”
“I know. And that human… well, let’s just say that if we didn’t rescue him from drowning, the world might be a better place.” Shia hated the anger lingering in her heart toward her former captor. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon. She took a deep breath and tried to let the anger go. She was free, and hate served no purpose in herd life.
“But we should not let him stop us from living now . You’re home, you’re safe… and I want us to celebrate life by adding to our herd.”
Shia set down her bowl and turned in his embrace so she could hold him as much as he held her. They were quiet for a time before she nodded. “I want that, too. I don’t want what happened to make us less.”
Doran stood abruptly, bringing her to her feet as well with both their skins in her hand.
“What..?”
He grinned at her, eyes sparkling with joy and lust together. “If we’re going to be certain to have pups soon, we will use a lot of our time and energy mating. We should go hunting… so you have the energy to expend.”
Shia laughed and nodded, tossing his fur over his shoulders as she wrapped hers around her back. She ran for the water, and moments later two sleek seals leapt through the waves, heading for open water and better fishing. The sea was cold, and the crisp air sharply contrasted with the thin streams of sunlight, but it only made her appreciate the thick fur which covered her body in this form. Shia and Doran swam around each other, chittering quietly in their aquatic forms.
Because hunting together could be food, fun, and foreplay.
* * *
Líadáin Douglas is an American author of erotica stories. Also an avid reader, she enjoys taking an active role in various creative communities. All creativity is art, regardless of medium.