15

We stepped out of the tent, the soldiers were going about their duties as usual. The sun was just touching the western edge of the icy land, turning the snow pink and lavender with its slowly failing rays. A cool breeze whispered around, promising a new snowstorm for the evening. We had spent the entire day making love, sharing stories of our past, laughing, and for the first time in my entire life, planning and daydreaming about our future. It was our rumbling stomachs that forced us to finally leave our tent, and Rabbit decided he wanted all to know of our wonderful news.

As we approached the middle of camp, the men moved apart and nodded their greeting. I slowly moved forward, my nerves heightened. Rabbit led the way, his face lighting up as he reached for my hand.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m proud to announce you as my wife,” he whispered in my ear. I smiled, blushing as we stood in the middle of camp.

As silence fell around us, Rabbit waited for everyone to gather. The soldiers could see he would make an announcement. “I would like to inform my fellow soldiers that I had the honor of making Alice my wife. Please acknowledge and show her your respect as I know you will. Tonight, we celebrate!”

Ovation rang out amongst the men as Rabbit pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes again. “You are even more beautiful today, now that you stand here as my wife,” he whispered, before leaning forward for another kiss. The cheers of the men grew even louder.

Finally pulling back, he turned and stood alongside me, facing the men. Taking my hand, he pulled me close and slid his arm around me. Then, with deliberate care, he led me through the cheering men to accept their wishes for the future.

Rabbit and I remained side by side for most of the evening, the only exception being when he would get pulled away by a soldier offering advice when it came to women. As the evening darkened and the stars came out, everyone slowly finished the jovial talk and left to return to their tents, leaving Rabbit and me alone in the frosty night.

“This icy land brought us together,” he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You are so beautiful in the glow of our love, but I still remember how beautiful you were the first time I saw you.”

I laughed. “I was covered in snow, blood, and my filthy hair was knotted and matted, hardly beautiful for any woman.”

“It was the fire in your eyes and your spirited courage that made you stunning then. It is not looks, but your heart and spirit that make you beautiful to me. I was hooked the minute I saw you.”

“So you had me chained? Naked?” I asked as I playfully shoved him in the arm.

“I had to gain the upper hand somehow. Trust me, your eyes and the way you looked at me were more powerful than any weapon you could have ever used. I was hypnotized.”

I huffed. “Is that why it was so easy for me to kick your ass when you were testing my abilities?” I giggled.

Rabbit chuckled. “I let you win.”

“You did not! I surprised you.”

He smiled a large, toothy grin. “All right, you kicked my ass. And yes, you surprised me. I had no idea that such a fighter could be inside such a beautiful woman. I can’t wait to have children with you, for no doubt they will be just as wonderful as you.”

My smile faded and I looked up to the starry sky. “We can’t have children. I’m mutated, remember?” The thought of never being able to have his children broke my heart. But this wasn’t a gift I could give him.

“Why the hell not? And don’t ever call yourself a mutant again unless you want another taste of my leather.”

“But I am,” I insisted as tears filled my eyes. “The cDermo-1 runs through my veins and, therefore, would run through any baby’s I brought into Wonderland.”

“So? What is so awful about that?” He reached for my wrist and ran his fingertips along the edges of the feathers softly. “I like your feathers. I don’t like that they were forced upon you, nor the beliefs behind the Penna, but they do serve a good purpose. You never have to worry about freezing to death. You don’t feel the bitter cold as I do.” He brought my wrist to his lips and gently kissed the feathers. “I love that you can give the gift of warmth to our children.”

I started to sob as all the insecurities, all the hate of my body, all the deep disgust of what I thought I was—a mutant—left my body. With Rabbit’s simple and honest words, he freed me from a darkness I had carried my entire life. He loved me. He loved every inch of who I was, both inside and out. He allowed me to be strong, and also allowed me to be weak. He loved the blood-stained, dirty soldier just as much as he loved the jeweled and gowned woman. He embraced me. He loved me… a Penna. He loved me… his dark feather.

Rabbit led me back to his tent as the stars glinted in the deep indigo vault of the heavens. We walked into his tent, which would now be ours. Gently, he guided me to the bed. I slipped out of my clothing and stood alongside him, completely nude, as he did the same. It was as if we had done this so many times in how natural we were. My body, my soul, and my heart now belonged to him.

Lowering me onto the bed, Rabbit reached for my wrist and placed soft kisses along the feathers. When he was done with one wrist, he grabbed my other wrist and kissed there, as well. Mumbling against the kiss, he whispered, “So exotic, so sexy,” he moaned, “my dark feather. Never doubt for one minute how beautiful I feel they make you.”

Still new to the art of making love, I tentatively lowered my hand to his hard cock and stroked it as he licked along the edges of my feathers. He eventually made his way, one delicate kiss at a time, to my pert nipple and took it into his mouth, rolling it along his tongue, and squeezing it between his lips. Arching my back, closing my eyes, I moaned in pleasure, almost forgetting that I had his large cock held firmly in my hand. The silky smoothness of his dick as it flexed in my palm, brought me back to the now.

I wanted him.

I wanted him this very second.

Now.

Rabbit continued to suck my breast, then moved to the other to give it equal attention. Lowering his hand to my mound, damp with my own arousal, he dipped a finger to my clit and applied pressure as he roused an overwhelming longing that had me gasping for air. Moving from my clit, he pressed his fingers past my silky folds and pushed one, then two, digits into my sex. I forced my hips up to drive them inside my pussy even deeper. They weren’t enough. I wanted to feel the small bite of pain as his cock stretched me as he claimed what was now his. I wanted to feel him so bad that the hunger changed who I was.

I was an animal.

I was a hunter in search of its prey.

I was a woman who needed to be fucked hard by her man.

Not being able to hold back the fever that scorched me, I begged, “Please, Rabbit. Please…”

“Please what?” he asked as he danced his fingers inside of my core. “Say it, Alice. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you,” I panted, desperately wanting to feel the orgasm that rested just beneath the surface, begging to be set free. But I needed Rabbit’s cock to make that happen.

“Say it, Alice. Say what you really feel.”

“Fuck me!” I blurted out as a moan followed my command. “I want you to fuck me hard, and make me remember the feeling between my legs for days. Make me sting. Make me hurt. Fuck! Fuck me!” I was absolutely desperate at this point as his fingers hit a spot inside my pussy that had me gyrating uncontrollably. I needed more! I needed him so bad that I could have lost my mind in wild thirst for more if he didn’t mount me and take me right then.

Merciful as he was, he did just as I needed. Feeling his weight on top of me, I was soon rewarded when his cock pressed up against my opening, and easily slid in with the aid of my wetness. Wrapping my legs around him, I held on in fear that I would cede complete control over to the lust.

I was so hungry.

I had such a craving and an urge that only he could quench.

And with a forceful shove of his hips, he drove his thick cock all the way in, claiming me completely. Yes, yes, yes… I was his. I was finally his.

In and out, he thrust, deeper and deeper with each one. My moans blended with his as our bodies merged as one. He was my commander, and my body would forever be his to lead, to master, to conquer.

“So fucking good,” he growled as he powered into me, his muscles taut, his eyes glazed over. “Come for me,” he groaned. “Come for me.”

As if I needed the command, like a dutiful soldier, I did just as he ordered. A wave of warmth that had been resting on the cliff since he took my nipple into his mouth finally released. Pure carnality shook through my body as I screamed out his name… my husband’s name. Moaning with each pulsation of decadence that attacked my pussy, I truly melted into an abyss of sexual heaven. With a few more thrusts, Rabbit joined in with the pleasurable moans, and he too joined me in our own utopian paradise.

After a few moments of deep breaths on both of our parts, he looked deep into my eyes. “On this day, I make a promise to you. We will end this war in peace. Somehow, some way, we will reclaim our lives in peace. You and I will stop the fight. I am ready for calm. I am ready for stillness. But above all, I am ready for a life with you.”

“And then what?” I asked warmly, as I positioned my body so I could snuggle on his chest. “All we know is war. What will we do if we don’t have to get up and battle every day?”

He pulled me close to him tighter and thought for some time before speaking. “Go back to Danis and have babies. Live a simple life. Somehow figure out how to better survive this harsh land and make it better for the next generation. I want more for our children. But basically I want us to be bored out of our minds.”

I smiled at such a wonderful thought, and felt like I had been lit up from the inside by a ray of sunlight breaking through my internal storm. Wiggling on top of Rabbit, I kissed him firmly on the lips. “We will never be bored. Adventure is in our soul, I will not let us become soulless.”

He chuckled. “Life with my warrior will be full of adventure, I have no doubt.”

“You would have it no other way,” I teased, embracing him with my whole body.

Rabbit laughed before tumbling me over and pinning me down. Gently, he kissed along my jaw. “You are right; I would have it no other way. I promise you, Alice. I promise you that we will end this war side by side. But it will end.”

Our perfect bubble popped with the sound of shouts and chaos erupting outside. The sound parted and died away. Footsteps came closer, and the door of the tent was swept aside to reveal a soldier. Rabbit and I inhaled sharply as I scrambled to conceal my body.

Rabbit stepped forward in fury, trying to block me with his large frame. “How dare you just storm into my tent! Never enter my—”

“Forgive me, sir. But the scout has just arrived and warned that an army of a hundred are marching our way. A surprise attack, no doubt.” The soldier looked down at the ground as I quickly dressed. “The Penna will be here by dawn if we don’t head them off.”

Rabbit glanced over at me with regret in his eyes before turning back to the soldier. “Prepare the men,” he ordered.

The night passed in a whirling blur as the army prepared to meet the Penna head on. Dawn came too soon, and the snow turned a shade of rose in the new light. As I exited the tent, Rabbit approached me gravely. “Would you stay back if I asked you as your husband, not your commander?”

“Would you ask me to stay back as your best archer and not your wife?”

Rabbit frowned. “No.”

I nodded and mounted my snowmobile. “Then I think you know the answer,” I said with a warm and loving smile. I started my engine and gave him a reassuring look, silently promising him that all would be well. “We have a battle to win, my love,” I declared before turning my snowmobile and heading toward the enemy.

Rabbit caught up to me on his own machine and grabbed hold of my handles, causing both of us to stop. “I would like a kiss from my bride before we leave.” He swatted the side of my bottom and added, “And I am the commander. I declare when we leave for battle.”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a wink.

I smiled as my heart soared with love. I leaned in and met his lips with mine. Offering a last smile, and a kiss upon his cheek, I turned to make my way toward the battle.

My heart was calm, my mind at peace. I could never have the sweet, gentle life of a wife and mother until this war was over. But I believed that we could end it. We were close. We were so very close. And until the white flag was flown above the equally white landscape, I would fight beside my commander and my husband.