Free A Tale of Fur and Flesh by Unknown Page A

her.  His furry palm caressed her tender
breasts and Lally felt secure.  She was loved.  Before encountering Great Bear,
Lally had never experienced a truly explosive reaction to a lover.  The furry
creature rocked inside her core as he stroked the sensitive flesh of her
mound.  She felt as though her heart had burst into thousands of tiny
butterflies and taken flight throughout her body.  Warmth enveloped her form
and serenity, her mind.  Time stopped.  She felt safe and protected in Great
Bear’s hold.  His body led hers to ecstasy.  She cried out as though her soul
were leaving her body.  Consciousness escaped her.  Sleep took hold.  When she
awoke, she was wrapped in Great Bear’s huge pelt.  It had been more than enough
to complete her mantle, but her heart ached for the man inside the fur.  He had
gifted her with peace and wisdom.
    Allerleirauh would give anything to feel that way
again.  To feel safe, to feel loved, in the arms of the king.  Of the king?  
Lally’s heart beat quickly, and she smiled.  Covering her mouth with her
fingers, she stroked her lips, remembering King Aelwyn’s soft kiss.  She had
kissed many men.  She had seduced men on whims in what now seemed like her
youth.  King Aelwyn was different.  She loved him.
    Through the
intensity of her emotion, Lally recalled what she’d done in the kitchen.  The
needle in the soup.  How could she harm the man she adored?  Her knuckles
throbbed as she leapt to her feet, darting through the darkness of the woods. 
She must stop the king from eating from that bowl.  Under the night sky, he
would certainly consume the needle without seeing it.  He could die, as Snake
did.
    Concern carried her through the forest, narrowly
avoiding trees, leaping over stones and branches.  Her wolf’s mask bobbed
before her eyes.  When she came to a clearing, the festival’s fiery colours and
floating lamps came into view.  Though her side cramped and her hand throbbed,
Lally ran on through the clearing.  As she wheezed, she tasted blood in her
throat.  The drummer played on where she had earlier danced with the king.
    Despite the lateness of the hour, there were more
guests at the festival than there had been earlier.  Her heart pounded. 
Shuffling through the crowd, she caught sight of the king just as he lifted his
soupspoon to his mouth.
    “Stop!” cried Allerleirauh, attracting everyone’s
attention but the king’s.
    “What are you doing
here?” Liam instigated from his position at the king’s elbow.  “Hairy animals
belong indoors.”
    Lally did not respond.  Liam’s insult made no sense. 
Hairy animals belonged out of doors, did they not?  She ran straight up to King
Aelwyn and gazed into his soup bowl.  It was empty of all contents.  Lally
choked back tears.  He would surely die, and she would be twice a murderer.
    “Your bread soup was once again delicious, furry
creature,” the king cheered.  “You must teach Cook to prepare it, in case you
are one day unable to serve here at the palace.”
    What did that mean?   Had the king already begun to fall ill? 
Were they preparing the gallows for poor Lally?  “You ate it all?” she asked,
hoping he might have spilled some and lost the needle.
    “Everything but this,” King Aelwyn replied, holding a
thin shiny object between his thumb and forefinger. “I wonder where you might
have found a golden needle.  They are most uncommon.  And why, still, might you
have placed it in my meal?”
    Her knuckles throbbed.  Lally massaged her aching
hand as she lied.  “I know not from whence that object came.  Was it really in
your bowl?  How strange.”
    “It’s a mystery, then, like the thread,” said the
king, sporting a suspicious grin on his full pink lips.
    “It is a mystery indeed,” answered Lally.
    “What good are you if you can’t answer the king’s
questions?” the infuriating Liam spat.
    Through gritted teeth, Lally replied, “I am good for
nothing