Cardinal by DeadlyGlacier

Cardinal

Cardinal

Kagome cracked her neck as she made her way through the woods, adjusting her crimson cloak of velvet. The light of the full moon broke through the bare branches of the trees above, casting shadowy webs across the leaf-littered ground. The air smelled vaguely wet, as if a storm was brewing. Rain would fall late tonight or early morning, she decided, glancing up at the clouds with a sigh.

Grandfather's house wasn't too far—she could make it, if she didn't dawdle. Not the she was afraid of the forest, far from it. Kagome merely wanted to have a single visit to her Grandfather's without an incident. The past three visits she made, Kagome had had to fight almost the entire way. She adjusted the leather strapping her tusty crossbow to her back. It was a gorgeous weapon of polished ebony steel, engraved with scrolls and runes of protection; it fired redwood bolts tipped with silver—perfect for killing the monsters that appeared at night, as they often did on her favorite route to her Grandfather's.

Tonight, however, the woods were quiet, and Kagome prayed to the gods that it would remain that way.

Life as a monster hunter was rife with struggle and hardship, putting her own life at risk for work, the never-ending travel from one village to the next, and never knowing if the customer would actually have the money to pay her. It led to a lonesome existence, a mistrustful one—so she would take her pleasures where she could, even if it was just a quiet walk in the woods.

"You've returned…"

Kagome let out a sigh, stopping at the sound of the beastly growl that echoed around her, threatening. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the shadowy depths of the trees, her adrenaline surging through her veins in an instant.

"You know me?" she asked the dark. Her perfect pink lips spread into a sarcastic smile, "I don't believe we've met, creature."

"Coy huntress," the beast growled around her.

Kagome's eyes narrowed, and she snatched the crossbow off her back, a bolt immediately clicking into place—a warning. "I'm no mere wench, monster," she announced, turning slowly on the sharp heel of her brown leather boots, lowering her hood. "Reveal yourself."

"And why would I do so, huntress?" the cold, gravelly voice asked.

"It would be cowardly not to," Kagome said simply, the smirk returning to her face as she stopped her turning. She laid her finger on the trigger, and set the bolt sailing into the darkness, barely hissing in the air.

The answering roar of anger and pain told her she'd struck true, and the ground soon shook under the weight of some massive creature. Birds scattered from the branches above, crying out in fear—but Kagome stood her ground, chin raised in defiance at whatever would step into the light before her.

A shock of silver fur glowed under the moonlight for an instant, and then Kagome found her back shoved against a tree, pinned under the muscular forearm of the most impressive beast she'd ever seen.

He towered over her, almost as wide with muscle as he was tall of limb—every inch of his body was covered in magnificent snowy white fur, save for the section of his shoulder that bled a bright scarlet, a bolt still lodged deep within. This creature had lived centuries, from the look of him—a blue crescent moon and two pairs of magenta stripes adorned his forehead and cheeks, respectively; the markings of an ancient werewolf. Mere inches from her face, his snarling maw revealed enormous fangs, golden eyes glared into her blue.

"Brazen thing, aren't you?" he growled, the sound reverberating so much that it traveled into Kagome's body as well, tingling all the way down to her toes and back again. "You dare strike this one, in my woods, my domain?"

Kagome scoffed, "You have no claim here."

At this, the werewolf chuffed—a laugh—but he did not respond. Instead, his golden eyes appeared to survey her, over her cloak, over her corset and leggings… her boots. Then, Kagome shuddered as his nose closed in on the side of her neck, wet but strangely warm in the cold night air. The werewolf breathed deeply, rustling the flyaway hairs of Kagome's braid, tickling her skin.

The creature purred, and his wide, flat tongue came to lick up her throat. It ended at her chin, flicking off her jawline as he murmured again, a softer growl.

"Roses," he rumbled, his breath warm and oddly sweet. His maw pulled into what could only be a predatory grin, an expression that elicited confusing emotions within Kagome, and she instinctively covered her abdomen, as if to calm the butterflies this werewolf had hatched there.

He took another long breath of her scent, chuffing again when he exhaled. He leaned in, pressing his large fangs to her ear as his voice went low, gravelled, and husky, "You have curious desires, huntress."

Kagome closed her eyes, her entire body shaking under him as his arm shifted from her chest, and both of his massive, clawed hands smoothed down the curve of her waist. "Shall I fill them for you?" he asked aloud.

She didn't answer, not with words, but her hands found themselves running through the fur of his chest, feeling the defined muscles underneath. The beast's pointed ears folded slightly, and another purr rolled like dull thunder, vibrating under Kagome's fingers. She shivered with it, swallowing.

The night was cool when she was fully-clothed, but colder still once her leathers were snatched off her body, leaving her only in her underclothes. She didn't protest, but stayed rooted in place, frozen—not in fear. Her breathing shallowed, and she made to cover her chest for warmth—only to have the beast's hands insistently pull her arms away from herself.

Gooseflesh broke out over her entire body as the creature's nose inhaled her scent, occasionally dragging over her skin and leaving wet marks that chilled in the moonlight. A whimper pressed against her throat, but Kagome refused to let it escape, desperate to save some of her dignity and power, futile as it was.

In another blur of white, Kagome found herself on her back in a soft patch of grass, untouched by fallen leaves—or perhaps the creature had cleared them before laying her down? She wasn't sure, but he set her upon the ground with a gentleness that surprised her. He was careful, as if she were made of glass. She could feel the light pinpricks of his claws as they dragged across her skin, scratching but not cutting. The sensation sent her blood rushing through her ears, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

The werewolf loomed above her, backlit by the full moon. If her monster hunter brethren could see her now, they would be ashamed. Outraged. Incensed.

But looking up into the serious gold of the creature's eyes, Kagome couldn't seem to muster the energy to care.

He tore her underclothes from her, sending fistfuls of tattered fabric to the air, only to disappear somewhere in the black shadows near them. Her body was alight with awareness, sensitive to every touch of the creature's fur, claws, or the rolling puffs of his warm breath. Kagome's own breaths came in shorter intervals, jostling her ample breasts—she watched the creature's eyes linger on them, and she found herself arching her back, a wordless beg for more.

He obliged.

The tongue was hot as it laved over her hardened nipples, and Kagome gave a startled cry, finally letting her voice out into the night. She swore she heard the creature chuff in amusement once again, but she was too lost in the feel of his tongue, slightly rough against her sensitive nipples. Her knees drew up and apart, fully-exposed to the creature before her—but she didn't shy away from him that time. Kagome willfully stared back at him, at his mercy.

If he desired it, he could kill her now. One swipe of his massive claws, and her world would go black forever. Her closeness to that feeling placed an unrelenting thrill in her chest, one that walked the line of madness and absolute fear. On either side lay oblivion, and tonight… Kagome would get lost in it.

The creature moved lower.

When his tongue took a single, lingering lick up her center, he growled approvingly, and Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, arching her back involuntarily with a sharp gasp. Enormous fur-covered, claw-tipped hands came to steady her small frame as he went in for more, greedy and ravenous all of a sudden, his tongue grinding along her folds urgently. It flicked along her bud, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her knees would have pushed together if there wasn't a massive werewolf between them, and instead they squeezed either side of his head, Kagome's entire body contorting from the sudden pleasure.

The monster didn't pause, and was in fact encouraged by her response, burying his muzzle between her legs with renewed aggression.

She felt slick, more than she had ever been in her life.

More than that, she felt more alive than she had ever felt in her life.

Kagome arched her back again and grabbed fistfuls of grass above her head as she took her pleasure, vision cloudy as she opened her eyes. She stared up at the sky listlessly, absently thinking just how beautiful it was before euphoria rushed up to meet her, and her core overflowed with wetness that coated the beast's muzzle.

She quivered in aftershocks, body warmed and tingling from the release. Vaguely, she felt him moving above her once more, and then she felt the coolness of the night on the skin of her back—until the warmth of one of the creature's hands was supporting her from below, holding her midair.

In her euphoric delirium, Kagome's eyes caught sight of his cock for only an instant before she felt it pushing into her, a colossal column of flesh that slowly stretched her full. She latched onto his length, and the werewolf grunted in surprise. His hot breath once again washed over her, and she shivered, opening her legs to accommodate the swelled base of his cock. She hissed as the thickest part slipped inside, the noise fading into a satisfied groan.

The creature stared down at her, his golden eyes narrowed but unreadable, and Kagome writhed, urging him on. His hands took hold of her body, and slowly… he started to move.

Her body had already accommodated him, and moved his hips with relative ease—but painstakingly slow. Kagome's hands reached up to him again, fisting in his glorious white fur, and her eyes silently pleaded for more. For good measure, she rolled her hips, letting out a moan as she took him a little deeper with the motion.

The werewolf grinned again, in that manner that sent shivers down her spine, and he spoke a single demand:

"Say it, huntress. Tell me."

Kagome's body went tense, but she broke out in tremors—of desire, of fear, of anticipation? It wasn't clear, but she tugged on the fur of his chest all the same. Her sapphire eyes narrowed, meeting his gold ones, and she hissed up at him, unafraid:

"Fuck me, wolf."

With a nasty snarl, the werewolf once again obliged her, holding her steady in his hands as he plunged himself inside her cunt. Kagome moaned, letting her head fall back, trusting that this monster would keep her thoroughly secured in his hands as he utterly used her. Her face flushed, arms open, she felt the beast take hold of her easily. She took all of him, whimpering needily with every collision of flesh, every time she softly clapped into his fur.

Another growling purr sounded from the werewolf, and Kagome felt his tongue on her nipples again. Her second release snuck up on her then, and she screamed out into the night, feeling her core overflow once more, dousing the searing hot appendage with her wetness. It didn't stop him. The creature was spurred on by her pleasure, she could feel it firsthand in the way his cock throbbed inside her.

He went faster, each thrust coming harder, more desperate. Kagome's pleasure remarkably began building once again, this time to new heights—her gasps became shrill, and she whined softly, fighting the release.

"T-Too," she panted, struggling to speak, "t-too mu—"

Her mouth was covered by his then, in a strange, startling kiss. His tongue lapped at her lips, which she parted without thinking, and her own greeted his a moment later. A final slam of his hips had them both calling out into the darkness, Kagome's a scream, and his, a howl.

The creature's essence spilled inside her, and then dripped from her as his knot began to swell. Kagome buried her face into his chest, pressing her forehead into him as hard as she could. The monster's breath came in purring huffs that rolled over her naked skin, and he continued to spill inside her. Kagome shivered with delight, sank down further on him, her head lolling backward as he filled her so completely. "O-Ohh," she breathed, teeth clenching as she stretched around him.

She broke out in hot tremors again, and the werewolf slowed for her, one of his massive thumbs rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Her feet hung uselessly over the edge of his palms, her body spent. Kagome felt herself being jostled again, hissing when their connection was tugged. The creature grunted an apology, and when she opened her eyes, she was closer to the ground, as the werewolf had knelt.

They stayed like that for a long time, with the creature protecting her from the late night chill, letting her ride out her high as long as she liked.

When his knot began to recede, he pulled out of her, and more of his essence spilled over her core, her belly, and over her breasts—Kagome took it all, blue eyes looking up at him through her long black lashes. The werewolf purred again, chuffing in satisfaction.

The werewolf set her back down in the grass, grunting. He looked at the bolt still lodged in his shoulder, "Was it necessary to shoot this one?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, "Was it necessary to tear all my clothes?"

"I heard no complaints."

"And your shoulder is more than fine: that bolt is sterling silver—meant to sting, nothing more," the huntress said with a wave of her hand.

"You do have such strange desires, huntress."

"I heard no complaints," Kagome fired back, smirking.

Silence followed, only the subtle breeze rushing past her ears. The cold crept back onto her skin.

"You were gentler this time," she commented, looking at the sky.

At first, she didn't think he would answer, stealing a glance at him as he also gazed up at the sky, at the moon.

"Yes," he said finally.

Kagome smiled, "Shall I return to you sooner next time?"

The werewolf nodded, "Yes."

"You know my name."

"As you know mine," he said, turning his golden eyes on her.

"I do," she agreed. "Sesshomaru."

He regarded her with another nod, "Will you return to this one sooner… Kagome?"

Kagome nodded. "I will," she promised.

Sesshomaru leaned over her, nudging his forehead against hers, "Good."

She nudged back, humming contentedly.

Yes, the life of a monster hunter was a lonesome, mistrustful existence… except on nights of the full moon.

o0o