The real Little Red - And The Beastly Realms

Chapter Two

Little Red hangs her cloak from the lowest branch of a tree only a few meters form Phillip’s vantage point. Her intoxicating scent banishes thoughts of the meeting room from his mind, and he breathes it in deeply, his mind fogging with carnal desire.

“Lotus flower and lavender.” He muses out loud, a little louder than intended. Little Red turns to look over her shoulder in his direction.

“It must have been an animal.” She tells herself, thinking nothing more of the sounds she thought she heard. Phillip chuckles to himself, shaking his head with amusement. If only she knew how right she is. His eyes follow her every move as she makes her way deeper into the trees, her hands resting momentarily on each rough trunk she passes. Phillip follows at a distance, making sure to never lose sight of her.

Before long Little Red stops at the sandy edge of a vast lake. She reaches behind herself and tugs on one of the ties that hangs from her waist. Her plain, heavily gathered, peasant skirt pools at her feet, her modesty only preserved by the almost translucent cotton chemise that grazes her knees. Phillip knows he should turn away, a gentleman would. He is too entranced by the scene playing out before him and our beast is no gentleman. His eyes burn amber with his longing, his body yearns for her touch and his mouth waters at the thought of tasting her, marking her, making her his.

Little Red takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with crisp, fresh air, as she drops her stiff linen corset on the unnaturally smooth boulder, partially submerged in the lake beside her. She hates wearing those things, the bones awkwardly mould her waist and hips and her breasts spill over the top, calling unwanted attention to her now womanly shape. Mama Flora insists she get used to them now. Her birthday is in two weeks, and young ladies at court all wear corsets. The only relief she gets is the few hours she can sneak away to her secret spot.

She discovered the lake entirely by accident when she followed some fox cubs through the woods, she couldn’t see their mother and wanted to make sure they made it back to their den safely. Such a cliché, I know, the princess lured into the deep dark woods by the cute little animals. Well. The fairy tales had to start somewhere, didn’t they? When she emerged from the trees to see the little bundles scampering into their cosy hideaway, she was breath taken by the undiscovered gem right on her doorstep and returns to revel in its beauty at every opportunity.

Phillip’s eyes hungrily survey every curve and dip of the little human’s soft, tender form. How he would like to feel her pressed against his hard, sculpted body. Like his wolf, his human form is larger than most, strong and sturdy. His sun kissed skin shows off every peak and valley of his rippling abs, a complete contrast to her flawless milky white flesh. His broad, firm chest heaves embarrassingly as he watches her submerge herself in the cool, clear water. By the time she has waded in up to her waist the water has saturated the flimsy cotton all the way up to the collar. Phillip doesn’t need his wolfs vision to see her n*****s blushing and stiffening beneath the pointless garment as it clings to the contours of her body. He continues to observe, fighting an internal battle to pull her from the lake and into his aching arms. She turns in the water, her arms outstretched, her fingers barely breaching the surface, causing a cascade of ripples which catch the sunlight making the water sparkle.

Phillip takes a few long strides backwards and shifts into his wolf in an instant. He needs to get closer. He shakes out his silver fur, a motion that starts at his head and ends at the pure white tip of his tail. Phillip isn’t foolish enough to think he can pass himself off as a Jordenian wolf, his shoulders are easily five feet from the ground, more than three times the size of any wolf she may have seen before. He doesn’t want her to mistake him for a common wolf, he only wants her to accept his presence without running, screaming in the other direction. With his pulse pounding in his ears, he takes small steps towards the water’s edge. It goes against the grain, but he lowers his head submissively, his eyes not leaving her as she floats peacefully on top of the water.

The moment she sees the movement out of the corner of her eye, Little Red knows she is being watched. Her feet find the lakebed and she stands with her back to the shore. It looked like a wolf, the wolf, she shakes the ridiculous notion from her mind. All she glimpsed was something large with a glossy grey coat. She laughs at herself as images of her dreams come to mind. She holds her breath, mentally preparing for whatever stands between her and home. Phillip sniffs the air, to see if he can scent anything to tell him what she is feeling. When she turns and her eyes fall on him, his front paws as close as he can get to the water without getting wet, she exhales shakily. Little does Phillip know, it is an exhalation of acceptance.

Phillip is on foreign ground both literally and figuratively. He has never had to approach anyone with caution, everyone back home knows exactly who he is, they either love him, fear him, or both. As the Eldest son of the Alpha King and Head of the Werewolf war council he is as much a monster as you can get whilst still having a human side. Battles, blood and brutality are all he has ever known. It was drummed into him as a pup and brutally enforced at every opportunity. Yet this human has him stumped, he wants to please her, protect her and keep her. The thought amuses him. If his father was in his head, he would say he was going soft and lash the weakness from him. Coming from a man who takes women to bed against their will, his father’s opinion matters very little to the prince. There is no doubt in his mind that when he ascends to the throne, he will be making many changes.

Little red stands for a minute watching the enormous wolf, she takes a step towards him to see what he will do. He doesn’t seem to want to come in the water. She takes another step and is surprised when he lays down, his head rests on his front legs and his eyes follow her every movement.

“Aren’t you magnificent.” She says to calm her nerves more than anything. Of course a normal wolf wouldn’t understand a word she is saying.

“Your coat is so beautiful, and unusual.” She says as she steps closer. The chill in the air whips at her wet skin, her soaked chemise drips down her legs as she gets closer to the lake shore. Her eyes dart to her skirt and Phillip tilts his head to see what she is looking at. He knows she must be freezing, he can clearly see the little bumps as they texture her skin. Phillip remembers the cloak she left hanging on the tree and slowly gets to his feet and turns to head in the direction they came from.

Little Red is surprised to feel disappointed as she watches the wolf dart away. She reaches down to take hold of the hem of her underwear and starts to peel it up her body, the fabric clings and pulls, refusing to relinquish it’s hold on her. When it is almost off, her arms in the air above her head, her view obscured by the soaked opaque fabric, she sees movement through the sodden garment, something red heading towards her.

Phillip almost stumbles over his own paws as he runs back to the lake with her cloak held carefully in his jaw. She has got herself stuck in her wet chemise, she obviously tried to pull it off over her head and now her arms are sheathed in the soggy mass above her head. Knowing he might not get another chance, he walks up to her slowly and crouches to rub his side against her, blending their scents. Their heads are the same height when he is in his wolf form and if her face wasn’t hidden, he would be able to look right into her eyes. She grunts and struggles as she finally frees herself from her clingy prison.

“You’re back.” She whispers. Phillip thanks the goddess the naked woman shivering in front of him has no idea what he is. If she did, she would undoubtedly be in a rush to hide her nudity. Ever the charming prince, he bows his head and finds his nose right at the apex of her thighs. Little Red innocently thinks nothing of it and takes it as permission to reach out and touch him. Phillips mouth waters, his tongue aching to reach out and taste the warm, soft skin only inches from his nose.

Before he can act, one way or the other her hand reaches into the fur on top of his head. Her fingers tickle him as they brush against his skin. She gasps and steps back, stumbling over herself she falls flat on her backside. Deep down she knew the moment her gaze fell upon him, but her mind couldn’t accept the truth even as it stood before her. It was all just childish fantasy, there could be no other explanation, that’s what she told herself.

“How is that possible?” she looks at the unnaturally large wolf and holds out her hand.

“I’d like my cloak please.” She calls out, part of her hoping he doesn’t respond, the other part, the one that lives in your gut, tells her that her vision was spot on, she couldn’t deny it any longer. Without thinking, Phillip steps forward and drops her cloak onto her outstretched arm. She makes quick work of covering herself before clambering, unsteadily, to her feet.

“I know what you are.” She states matter-of-factly. Her effort to keep any emotion from her voice was in vain, her cheeks betray her as a blush slowly creeps up them at the realisation of how close his head was to her most intimate area. Phillip c***s his head, weighing up his options, trying to decide if he believes her.