Frost Bite.

Chapter Two.

Blythe.

I could smell blood, leather and metal as I came to, my head turning this way and that as I blinked my eyes open, giving them time to adjust to the light. I was leaned back against the base of a tree, wrapped in a thick fur jacket that concealed my naked form, down to just above my knees. The man from before was sat on a rock, sharpening his arrowheads, using a wet stone. I tried moving then realized that my wrists were tied with silver rope, making it impossible for me to escape "So you finally came too" he said, without bothering to look in my direction. I took this time to study him, he had on a sleeveless shirt, finger less brown gloves, a pair of warn trousers and wolf skin boots. The coat he had been wearing was now concealing my nude body. A brown leather belt hung from his hips while his bow and arrows were sat in the snow by his feet. He had scars all over his face, his short beard the only thing concealing most of them. One side of his head was shaven to look almost bald while the rest was covered in long brown strands, dangling in the opposite direction as the buzz cut. His eyes were dark, they held sol much sadness and hardship in their depths which explained the madness that swirled deep within them. His arms were tone, muscular and tan despite the weather in the North with a long scar running down one of them, from his shoulder to his hand "Who are you?" I found myself asking, feeling the cool metal of the necklace still pressed against my skin and dangling around my neck. He stilled his sharpening and turned his gaze to look at me, eyes roaming over my form and down to legs which were bent on either side of me then up to my slightly exposed chest since the coat didn't close up that high "The name's Aron, Prince Nixon's personal hunter" he introduced, setting the arrow he had been working on back in its holder. I watched him move, rising from the boulder and stretching out his stiff muscles, cracking his knuckles and neck on either side. This man was dangerous, very dangerous "I understand you that gave him quite the show" my eyes narrowed into a glare at the mention of the previous day's situation. I had no interest in where he had gotten that type of information from and instead remained silent as he moved closer to me. He knelt down in front of me, locking his arms underneath my knees and pushing them back until my knees were level with my shoulders. I cried out in both surprise and discomfort when he braced his hands in the snow and gazed down at my exposed lower half. I tugged at my restraints, my legs struggling to get free and kick him in the jaw but my attempts were to no avail. He blew out a string of cool air which tickled me, causing my bud to tighten. I whimpered to which he chuckled and leaned forward so that our faces were mere inches apart. The front of his pants rubbed up against my exposed core once, hard and agonizingly slow "If his majesty had not ordered that you be brought to him unharmed, I would've taken you right here and now" then he was gone, my legs falling limply at my sides as I gasped for air. He threw his head back laughing, looking down at me with entertained eyes and a sly smirk plastered across his lips. I wanted to strangle him, to dig my claws into his chest but I was helpless, the feeling something I detested. I hated being restrained like a dog in a cage. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood and bits were cut away where he had managed to stitch his own wound in a messy fashion. He looked to be around the same age as the Prince which meant that he was over ten years older than me. Speaking of the Prince, if he got his hands on me I would more than likely be executed for my actions. I had to escape but how? Aron took a seat on the boulder again and continued sharpening his arrows, lacing some with poison and scrapping teeth like groves into others to make it harder to remove "Blythe" I said, forcing him to look up at me, his eyes boring into mine. I could see him pondering over what the single word meant and sighed heavily, turning my head to look off in the direction of the shoreline "My name is Blythe" I repeated, wanting someone to know my name before I was to be sentenced to death.

Aron.

This girl was beyond what I had been expecting. She managed to put up more of a fight than any of my prey in the past, going so far as to wound me with one of my own arrows. In the end I had managed a satisfying victory over her, but it felt like a loss which was why I was busy sharpening my arrows and adding lethal additions to them. Blythe was humming a tune, rolling her head this way and that with little fear of her surroundings or of me. She wasn't afraid of me like most everyone I've encountered but instead found her situation very boring. She groaned loudly after an hour or so of watching me work on my arrows. The sound caused a my teeth to grit so I stood, stalked over to her and dragged her onto her feet "Careful!" she snapped in my face, her canines bared as a warning for me to see. The irritation faded away from me and was instantly replaced with excitement towards a challenge. I forcefully turned her so that her back was to me and she began to protest to which I breathed a breath of laughter "Easy, sweetheart" I said, untying one of her wrists then turned her to face me so that I could tie them back together in front of her. Once done, I moved to grab my bow and arrows, hoisting my bow onto my back and attaching the holder to my belt, I then dug a piece of rope out of my bag and tied it to the ropes wrapped around her wrists. I gave it a hard tug, letting her stumble forward a few steps and nearly fall into the snow "Walk" I ordered then began walking, leading her like a dog on a leash further up the shoreline and to the Capital city of Vexin. She followed a short distance behind me, silent and compliant until the sun began to set and darkness started to fall over the horizon.

Blythe.

I have been silently contemplating my escape for the past few hours, eyes staring down at the endless trail of white show as we walked. Aron was a sadistic man, one who enjoyed watching people in pain, but he had restraint which was a plus to his personality. Even with all of these perks and disadvantages, he was still a man, still weak to a woman's touch. I threw my head back and closed my eyes when I realized what I was going to have to do. A single fleck of snow landed on my cheek and I opened my eyes to the starry night sky, snow starting to fall all around us. The sight was beautiful enough to bring me to a sudden halt. It didn't take long for the hunter to notice and turn to glare back at me, only to marvel me as I watched the sky turn dark and the snow reflect the light until they appeared like small stars that were falling all around me "It's beautiful" I muttered under my breath, lowering my eyes to look at Aron. He was staring at me, an awed look in his eyes that quickly vanished and turned to annoyance as he turned to tug me along once more "We'll set up camp here" he announced, removing his rope from the one that was wrapped around my wrists then started gathering dried wood for a fire. I huffed, my breath turning to white smoke as I slumped back against the base of a tree. He knew what he was doing and in no time a fire was blazing not that the cold bothered us but mainly to ward off any unwanted animals like wolves and brown bears. He retrieved some meat that he most likely took from the moose earlier from his bag and started roasting it over the open fire, sitting on a composed pile of branches. I decided that it was as good a time as any and reached up with my hands to unbutton three of the coat's top buttons, exposing my torso down to just below my navel. I moved towards him, my feet dancing across the surface of the snow until I was stood in front of him. He was left handed, I noticed, feeling stupid for not having noticed it earlier when he had strung his arrows. He looked up at me when I blocked his view of the fire and furrowed his eyebrows when I sat down on his lap, my bound hands gripped at the material of his shirt as the fabric of his coat slipped down my shoulders and to my elbows, exposing my breasts to his eyes, my n*****s hard and erect from the cold. He leaned back slightly, his eyes watching me, jaw tense and hands balled at his sides. He wasn't fooled so I had to do something to get him to let his guard down. I bent my head and dragged my tongue along his exposed collar bone, up his throat and to his ear where I breathed out a strangled moan, moving my hips back and forth as my hands moved to caress his neck and shoulder. His breathing began to quicken and his pupils began dilating as I nipped at his earlobe.

Aron.

I understood why Nixon had an interest in this woman. She moved her hips and I clenched my teeth, the friction was enough to drive any sane man insane. I looked away when her tongue roamed over my skin up to my ear. I shut them, fanning disgust when a small moan escaped her lips, a sound that made my body pulse with a need for her. An image of her on my lap, haloed by the light of the fire and nude from the waist up flickered past my closed lids. She suckled on my earlobe and dragged her claws lightly over my throat and shoulder. Her touch was toxic. I grunted and turned, one hand gripping her moving hips while the other wrapped around the back of her neck, bringing her close enough for me to kiss her lips. Her drooped eyes widened slightly when I forced my tongue past her lips where it tangled with hers. A small cry came from her when my fingers dug into her flesh, likely to leave bruises. I prayed to the gods that they would heal before morning when she would appear before the King. She was a wolf, a commoner, nothing special much like I was so surely there would be no wrong in taking her there in the snow, beneath the stars. She deepened the kiss, suffocating herself in me, pressing her chest up against mine so that I could feel her n*****s through the fabric of my shirt. Breaking the kiss, she tilted her head back and exposed her throat to me which was a sign of submission in wolf terms. I moved my hand from the back of her neck to grip it, tightening my fingers around the exposed, vulnerable flesh in a show of dominance. She met my eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she dragged her hips forward then back "f**k" I groaned, needing her, wanting her. It was the first time I had so badly wanted a woman in over a decade and here she was demanding me to need her, forcing me to bend to her will. Just as I was about to stand, lift and bury her in the snow, she pushed me back, causing me to fall into the snow myself with her on top of me, straddling me. It took me a moment to realize that one of my arrowhead were being pressed against my neck, my hand still wrapped around hers. She wasn't moving, only staring down at me with emotionless eyes, at least for a few seconds before she burst out laughing, a sound that bounced off the world around us and danced in the light of the fire "f**k? Did you honestly just hear yourself?" she mocked me. My hand loosened around her throat, dropping away completely when she bent over in laughter, eyes squeezed shut and shoulders shaking. What is going on with me? Why does this woman excite and intrigue me so? After she stopped laughing, she tossed the arrow aside and raised her bound wrists "Do you mind?" she could've just killed me, slit my throat without thinking and instead she threw away her only chance at escaping to politely ask me to untie her wrists. I reached up to untie the ropes, allowing them to be discarded in the snow when she stood and rubbed at them, eventually buttoning her jacket back up to conceal her nudity. I sat up and watched her, arms resting on propped knees, ready to strike if she so much as made an attempt to run, but instead she headed for the fire "I'm starving" she announced, taking a seat in the snow to stare into the flames.