Becky was like the opposite of the forest. Where it was a little harsh, quiet and cold out here, Becky was loud and lovely and warm. The contrast was amazing. I’d always loved the full, luscious cushion of flesh at her belly, always loved how many different places there were for me to grab her hips. But out here, her body seemed even more exciting to me. She was like a walking miracle, every part of her abundant and full.

I admired her from the tent. She was outside, bent over the base of a tree and examining some flowers growing in the knotted roots. God she was beautiful. Hurting Becky was the biggest mistake I’d ever made, I could admit that now. But I would make it right. I was Hugo Turner, and if my weapons of mass seduction didn’t save me now, I didn’t deserve her.

“Hey Bex, come back in here for heaven’s sake, it’s cold,” I said, and stretched my sore muscles.

She said nothing.

“Hey what are you looking at?”

She gave me a hard look.

“Hugo. We’ve passed by this spot before. I remember these flowers,” she said plainly. “Are we lost?”

Shit. I couldn’t think of what to say. She marched back to the tent.

“Well?”

“Becky, think about it. I’m a trained Navy SEAL. I’ve had extensive survival training and I’m an accomplished orienteer. I know what I’m do—”

“But I have seen those flowers before.”

I peered out the tent to where she was pointing.

“Claytonia virginica. They’re called spring beauties,” I said matter-of-factly. “They’re pretty common out here.”

“But the way they’re growing in the tree like that. I remember this spot. We’ve been here before.”

I sighed.

“Okay, fine, we have been here before.”

Her eyes went wide.

“So we are lost,” she whispered.

I stooped to leave the tent and began to quickly pack it up.

“Lost? No, Becky, I told you. I know exactly where we are. We’re not lost.”

“But…”

“I’ve been deliberately stalling us, okay?”

Her wide eyes now narrowed right down again.

“What? Stalling?”

“For the past day we’ve been doing a big loop around the cabin. It’s only a few hours away in that direction, but I took a long way around on purpose,” I said, unable to hold eye contact with her.

I could almost feel her getting mad. I packed the tent up in silence. One thing they teach you in the Navy is how to clear up quick in a crisis situation. Which this was rapidly turning into.

“But… why?” she said. I hated the disappointment in her voice. I turned to face her.

“Why? Come on. Why else? Because I wanted to spend more time with you, that’s why.” I could endure anything. But having her look at me the way she was right now was something I had a very low tolerance for.

“So… you lied,” she said and watched me strap the compacted bag to my back, ready to leave.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” I straightened and looked her in the eye.

“We could have been there already.”

“Exactly. And then what? Would we have seen each other again?”

She frowned.

“Exactly. That would have been it. I just …wanted some more time with you, okay? I’m sorry.”

She held my gaze and chewed on her lip, and we both stood there and weighed things up. Weighed the heft of the past against the flimsiness of the future. Weighed her sins against mine. Weighed our love for one another to see in which direction the balance would swing.

“Would it matter if I told you I regretted it? Would it change anything for me to be sorry about everything?”

A look of panic flashed over her face.

“Hugo, oh my god…”

“Well?”

“Shhh!”

I froze in my tracks and realized she was staring in horror at a spot somewhere just behind me. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck to see the fear build up in her eyes. Her lips mouthed the word: wolf.

I gulped and slowly turned to see the forest behind me, but in a second I could see what had frightened her – several pairs of yellow eyes prickled out from within the foliage. The silence in the forest whined all around us. They were standing still, watching us. A pack of at least six but probably more.

Unbelievable.

It struck me immediately: they were bigger than I would have guessed. They were covered in dull, rat-colored fur that was part silvery, and their outlines blended seamlessly with the shapes and shadows of the forest. Now, I’ve talked myself up at times, it’s true. I had never encountered a wolf in the wild and hadn’t the first clue how to deal with them. But I couldn’t let Becky know that. I had hurt her enough already. There was no option, I would do whatever it took to spare her more hurt now.

“Becky, get behind me,” I said as calmly as I could.

Slowly, I turned to face the wolves and heard Becky’s scuttling footsteps behind me. The largest wolf positioned himself in front and followed her movements with a slow twist of his head. Something told me they had been tracking us all this time. Waiting for a good moment to strike.

Without letting the others slip from my periphery vision, I locked eyes with the larger wolf and reached slowly behind me, thanking the gods that the small knife I’d brought was exactly where I’d packed it. Moving as little as possible, I carefully unsheathed it and gripped its handle tightly in my fist. I heard Becky muttering in panic behind me, but all I could focus on was the threat in front of me.

Instinct. If it was good enough for a wolf, it was good enough for me. I don’t know how, but I just felt what I had to do. It was like thinking, but in your bones and blood rather than in your head. I just knew that this was a standoff. The moment where they were taking the measure of us both, and if I didn’t take a stand now, didn’t scare them enough, they’d sink those teeth into our throats and kill us both.

Nothing in the forest moved except the four inches of scruff on the wolf’s back. I watched his hackles rise as though in slow motion. I tightened my grip on the knife. I could already sense other wolves moving to flank us on the sides, positioning themselves to dive in and finish us off from behind if necessary. I took a deep breath and saw my plan play out: I’d have to strike soon, and hard. The alpha male’s thick pelted neck was just a few feet from me now. He took a few menacing steps towards me, keeping the bony shelf of his back perfectly level. The other wolves advanced in step, watching him closely. The alpha wolf growled deep and low, and it spoke to something in me.

Then, three things happened all at once: Becky shrieked, the wolf drew back on its hind legs and leapt at me, and I sprung forward towards it, twisting violently to avoid his immense jaws. The whole forest came alive with snarls and growls. I keened backwards and staggered under the weight of the animal, who seemed to squirm just clear of the blade I swung in a swift arc at him. No top secret mission, no grueling training exercise, no interrogation technique could have prepared me for the fear that ripped through me to have the wolf’s face so close. The world around me blurred as I grappled with his giant, grey body but I had to think quickly – the other wolves would go for Becky soon.

Drawing my arm back again I pierced the wolf’s ribs just as he bit fiercely down into the flesh of my shoulder. We tumbled to the floor. The wolf was a demon, a bony killing machine wrapped in thick silver fur and hell bent on driving all his weight down into that bite, ripping through the muscle and sending tearing, screaming pain all through my arm.

Becky screeched and I yanked out the knife to stab again, and then a third time. The jaws loosened on my arm but then began nipping at my ear and neck, trying to snap at my face as I squirmed away under the colossal body, bigger than my own. I squeezed my eyes shut but heard growls and commotion one every side of me. With all the strength I could muster I shoved the animal off me and it snapped at me, so close to my face so I could feel the heat of its breath. On my back now I was able to roll up and deliver one fierce kick upward, dealing a blow straight to the creature’s underbelly. A wounded yelp rang through the forest and just as quickly as he had leapt at me, the wolf leapt off again and disappeared back into the forest, the rest of the pack scurrying after him. Their yelps and growls faded away.

Silence.

My entire body rang out with pain and I was breathing so hard it felt like my chest would explode. It was a long, strange second to gather my senses, but that was all it took me to remember: Rebecca. I staggered to my feet and stumbled over to her crumpled form beneath a tree. She was white as a sheet and trembling wildly, and when I came to her she clung at me and began sobbing, her hair hanging in tangles over her face. I folded her into my arms and forced myself to think straight.

“Shhh… it’s okay, I’ve got you…shhh,” I whispered and stroked her brow. I instinctively began to search her shaking body for wounds. She hadn’t sustained any serious injuries, only a lattice of scratches over practically every exposed patch of skin. She was blathering and holding onto me tightly. She was in shock, almost certainly.

“Hey, Becky,” I said and tried to catch her eye. “Becky, listen to me. It’s okay, they’re gone. I’m here, it’s okay.” When she looked at me I gave her a little smile, despite the ferocious burning pain on my shoulder and arm. She nodded quickly and tried to stop crying.

“They’ve gone. I got the big one pretty bad, I’d be surprised if they try anything with us again soon.” I only realized in that moment how desperately I needed her to say that she was glad, that she was proud of me for protecting us.

“They won’t come back?” she whispered, eyes wild. Her pretty, pale skin was angry with red welts.

“No. They won’t.”

I didn’t really know if they would come back. How could I? A wolf attack? I could scarcely believe it had even happened, even with the fresh blood streaming down my arm. But I knew if they did come back, I would be ready for them. Becky had come back into my life for a reason. I wasn’t going to let a pack of wolves, no matter how fearsome they were, take that opportunity away from me.

I kissed her neck and her cheek and squeezed her hands till she calmed down. But when she saw my shoulder she freaked out again.

“Oh my god!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! It’s nothing. I promise it doesn’t even hurt,” I said and kissed her to distract her.

“We have to get you to a hospital. What if they gave you some… disease or something?” she said, eyes wide as she gawped at the blood streaming down my arm, so red it was almost black.

“A disease?” Uh oh. You mean like… I’ll turn into a werewolf?” I said with as shocked a face as I could muster. It took her a second but she soon began laughing to herself. My heart glowed.

“You are something else, you know that? That thing takes a big bite out of you and you’re back to cracking jokes right away?”

“Unbelievable.”

I guess so. I didn’t care about my damn arm. She was safe now, she had stopped crying, and even if I would never have admitted it, it felt good knowing that it was because of me. I didn’t care if I stood before her covered in leaves and blood and looking a mess. I had told her I would take care of us out here. And I had.

She wasted no time in pulling my backpack off me and fumbling around for the water bottle. I braced myself and let her wash the dirt from the gash on my arm. The water was icy cold and made little rivulets that rolled down my arm and streamed off each fingertip. Her hands worked gently to clean the area, and I could make out the faint pink tip of her tongue as she stuck it out in deep focus.

“How bad is it?” I asked. “I can’t really see anything.”

“How bad? Well, I’m surprised you’re still conscious.”

I reached into the bag and pulled out a cotton shirt. “Here. Tear this into strips and knot them and when the skin’s clean, you can bind this round me like a bandage. It’s gonna have to be tight.”

For the next few moments we worked together in silence to carefully peel the blood-soaked shirt off my back. We then used the bundled, dry edges to blot away the seeming bucketful of blood still streaming from me, and I did my best to not wince too obviously and scare her all over again. It was difficult to keep a clear head and give her instructions on what to do, when it was so obvious how shaken she was. It hurt like a bitch but I didn’t mind much. Pain was fine. Pain was always bearable. It’s when shit stops hurting that you should be worried.

When she had carefully made a ragged bandage that looped right across my chest and under my opposite arm, there wasn’t much fabric left. The blood was already beginning to seep through. She bit her lower lip, then with a force that surprised me she quickly tore at the lower edge of her shirt and bundled the scraps into a ball that she placed inside my bandage. Things like this felt simpler and easier, somehow. I couldn’t begin to tell you what had passed between Becky and I in the last two days. But this I could understand: she had been in danger, and I helped her. Now I was hurt, and she helped me. It seemed like such a pity that life ever had to be more complicated than this right here, this silent working of her hands over me. When she was done, she gave me a little pat on the shoulder and nodded.

“Let me know if you get the urge to howl at the moon, okay?” she said and then there it was, that irresistible little smile of hers.

“Thank you,” I said, and got to my feet.

“Thank you. I don’t know what kind of training they gave you, but color me impressed. I bet that wolf regrets messing with us, huh?”

Her smile was contagious.

“I bet.”

The pain was dulling a little but the fact that it didn’t let up even for a second was probably going to become an issue at some point. It was a nagging pain, one that could irritate the crap out of you. Still, it was pretty badass to have a wolf bite on your arm. We stood awkwardly avoiding each other’s gaze.

“Becky? I’m sorry about lying. You get why I did it though, right? Please don’t be too mad.”

She shrugged.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”

“No?”

“No.”

I couldn’t decipher the look she was giving me. She took a slow step towards me and lightly touched my bandages. The forest held its breath all around us.

“I want more…” she said quietly.

“I don’t und—”

“What we did last night. I want to do it again.”

Despite my sore muscles, despite my tired feet and the great big fucking hole in my shoulder and neck and despite the fact that I was covered in mud from wrestling a giant grey wolf …my cock was instantly rock hard. But the pain was making it hard to think. I placed my hand on top of hers and we locked eyes.

“I think I should take you to the cabin,” I said.

She leaned in closer and placed both hands on my mostly naked chest. She wasn’t pushing, she wasn’t grasping. She just placed her hands there, just so, and contemplated the scratches on my pecs.

“You will. And when we’re back at the cabin we’ll find a way to get you some medical help and then we’ll both go back home and we’ll forget any of this happened,” she said sweetly.

My head spun.

“Forget it ever happened?” I began to wonder if I too was in shock, and if I was even about to throw up.

“Hugo, I don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend, not ever again. You know that. Besides, I have a busy life now…”

I felt weakened as a wave of nausea passed through me. I immediately sat down on my haunches.

“I’m sorry, Hugo, but what did you expect? I’m really grateful that you came out here and saved my butt, but… we’re broken up, remember?”

It felt like slicing ropes of pain were radiating out from my neck. It was like I was being bitten all over again.

“Yeah… of course. I know we’re broken up. But…”

She knelt in front of me and took my chin in her hands. It really was remarkable how nothing seemed to dim her beauty. She was tired and scratched up and her vivid red hair had lost its characteristic gloss. But she was still no less of a queen to me just then. She leant forward and delivered a warm, wet kiss to my cheek. I couldn’t help but jerk back a little in surprise.

“But… I don’t understand,” I said. She looked down at my bandages and began stroking them with her fingertips again.

“Look, the problem between you and I was never that the sex was bad, right? And obviously that’s one thing we haven’t forgotten… We’re out here now, we may as well enjoy it, right?”

“But you—”

“But I’m not an idiot. These last two days have been fun, but nothing we do here has any real future. So… just kiss me,” she said and leaned in to touch her lips to my cheek again. She hovered there, giving me a full view of her gorgeous tits pressed together in her shirt. By now I couldn’t tell what was pain and what was horniness. She traced dainty pecks towards my mouth and then gave me a soft, syrupy kiss on my mouth.

“But Becky… I still have feelings for you. Isn’t this asking for trouble? This is not just… this is…”

She seemed to be enjoying the fact that she had me flustered.

“It’s what?” she purred, leaning in close enough to brush her chest against mine.

“It’s …I missed you. We used to be engaged, Becky…” I said between kisses.

“So? We’re not anymore. And when we get back home we still won’t be. You’d better kiss me now while you still can,” she said. In another situation I would have relished how naughty she was being right now. I would have grabbed her hair and kissed her hard and told her how she was asking for trouble. But I didn’t have it in me just then. Had these last few days really meant nothing to her?

“Becky, please let’s just think…”

She shushed me and kissed me quiet, and I was too dizzy to resist. She pushed me down a little and onto my back, laying herself partly on top of me. I winced loudly.

“Ouch!”

“Whops, sorry,” she said and kissed me again.“Looks like you’re in no shape to give me what I want, are you?” she added with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “But then, I’m used to that by now, huh?”

It wasn’t unusual for Becky to take the lead like this, to be kind of dominant and a little teasing. But it was unusual that she would do it now. When I tried to speak again she pressed a fingertip to my lips.

“Shhh, just relax. You’re torn up pretty bad. That’s okay. But I haven’t said thank you for saving me yet….” She slinked her kisses down over my bare chest and smiled as my skin prickled up into goosebumps instantly. She undid the button on my pants and unzipped, pausing for a moment to notice the stiff erection.

“Don’t move,” she said. “It’s my turn to take care of you…”

I didn’t get it. Did she really tell me only a second ago that she was planning to never see me again once we got out of here? Was this just a game to her? I reached out my hand and placed it on her head to stop her just as she began tracing her lips against my shaft.

“But are you …sure?” I said. She shoved my hand away and folded a warm tongue over me, enveloping an almost painful hard-on completely into her mouth. My eyes flickered closed. Oh fuck. This I remembered. This silky wet, frictionless caress. This gentle sucking, this unbearably delicious sensation of having her little tongue flick all over my cock…

I could do nothing but flop back and succumb to all the prefect little things she was doing to me. I had forgotten how good she was at this. At how she seemed to burrow right into my brain and know just exactly where and how to lick, to suck, to gobble me down like she couldn’t get enough of me. Her warm breath played against my groin as she dipped closer to me and then away again with each slow bob of her head. When she picked up pace I was in heaven, completely forgetting the pain on my arm. Completely forgetting my arm.

I felt myself bounce and swell large against those plump lips and when I did she knew instantly to take me in even deeper.

“I’m gonna…” but before I could finish my sentence I exploded easily inside her, bursting right down into her beautiful throat and feeling her eager tongue lap it all up. I would have moaned out loud if I had any breath in me to do it. My abs crunched in spasms as I lay back and let the orgasm wash over me. She held me in her mouth and waited for me to calm down, for my breath to slow again. How could she think of leaving me now, when it was so clear how well we fit together? How could she make me feel so good and yet just walk away from it all like it meant nothing?

“It’ll get dark soon,” I said, clearing my throat and sliding out of hers. I tried to back away but the adrenaline was really beginning to wear on me. “We’d better get moving if we hope to make it to the cabin before it’s too late.”

She shrugged, then wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Fuck, it nearly got me started again to imagine how such pretty lips had just a few moments ago done something so dirty….

“Let it get dark then. You said the wolves won’t come back. So, let’s stay out here one more night then.”

I smiled. She had to be feeling the way I did right now. My instinct just told me, and my instincts were never wrong. She’d come around and forgive me and we’d start over again. She had to.

“Besides, the bachelorette is already over by now. And you were right, I don’t care about those women, not really. You… meant what you said? You don’t want to …I don’t know, stay in touch?”

She laughed like I had just told her a corny joke.

“How about this. How about we be forest husband and wife, just for tonight, and then we’ll divorce tomorrow morning and we’ll make our way back to the cabin?”