The Princess' Heat

_©2023 Bruno Hirschkoff

*_

_The following is a work of fiction intended for adult audiences. If you are not an adult, this isn't for you. All characters, situations, settings, locations, names and concepts are the intellectual property of their respective creators (@IrvingWrites [Twitter] and @BrunoHirschkoff [Twitter]). Do not repost, distribute, alter or copy anyelement of this work without the express written permission of the author. _

_All characters, settings, religions, histories and geopolitical structures are fictional and resemblance to real-world characters, settings, religions, histories and geopolitical structures is purely coincidental. _

*

Chapter 4

Apos, Forlasea

*

Lu-Temba's journey across Forlasea was to be a first for a _tahlab _of the Venium Academy. His destination was far to the north, in the foothills of the mountains - further than any outsider had yet been allowed to travel into the isolated nation. It was, Lu-Temba and his professors suspected, an archaeological gold mine. When the _Hurait Albahr _docked at the small port city of Apos, on Forlasea's southern coast, the 'otherness' of the strange nation was immediately apparent to the gazelle. It felt as though he had stepped back in time. Back home in Goza, and indeed in Venium as well, a revolution in science and technology was well underway. After a centuries-long 'dark age' during which the use of Aethyr as an energy to manipulate matter had been strictly prohibited, progress was finally being made anew. Yet here in Forlasea, the people he saw wore belted tunics the likes of which he had only seen in history books, and built their houses of cob and thatch and mud-brick, with not a pane of glass anywhere to be found. As the afternoon light faded into dusk, candles and oil lamps were lit in the windows. Nobody seemed even to be aware of the existence of Aethyr, let alone how to use it. The Arahanic holy book expressly forbade it; Aethyr, it said, was the sacred life-energy of all organisms, and after the Prophet's martyring it also contained His soul--so using it for mundane purposes was considered by the early theocracy to be blasphemous.

Lu-Temba himself drew attention from the locals, many of whom had rarely seen anyone from outside the Lupa nation actually set foot in their land, even in a trading port like Apos. The captain of the _Hurait Albahr _had wished him luck before he disembarked, and had given him the name and location of a local guide, who was to be his chaperone for as long as he stayed in Forlasea.

"To prevent you from being eaten," she'd told him with another of those derisive sneers.

Whether she'd been joking or not, Lu-Temba was not entirely certain. By the end of the journey, the captain was well-aware of the effect she had on the young gazelle, and pushed his buttons at any opportunity that presented itself.

He decided not to risk it.

The guide's home was a short walk from the Apos docks, and Lu-Temba made his way there as quickly as he could. A polite knock on the heavy timber door, and the gazelle stood back. The street was busy and bustling with wolves even this late in the day, many of whom stared openly at such a curious outsider. Lu-Temba shifted nervously. He could've sworn he saw more than one Lupa woman looking at him as if he were an appetiser. The Lupa were typically significantly taller than Lu-Temba, and from what he had gleaned so far, their women all carried themselves with the same haughty confidence he'd seen in the Hurait Albahr's captain. He supposed that might be expected in a matriarchal society, but he had not been prepared for how brazen it was.

Finally, the door swung outward, and a portly middle-aged wolf appeared, wearing a monk's robe tied at the waist with a frayed rope. He peered with gentle, golden eyes at Lu-Temba.

"Nem, ahaban? Halimkan a'asaidek?"

"Are... are you Brother Astal?"

The wolf blinked, and slipped effortlessly into lilting, heavily-accented Gozan.

"Aye, that I am. What can I do for you?"

"I just arrived on the _Hurait Albahr, _the captain said to come to you. I'm seeking a guide."

"A guide. I see. First time in Forlasea, is it?" Brother Astal gave a thin, knowing smile, and stepped back to invite Lu-Temba inside.

Astal was probably forty-five - although it was difficult to tell, wolves seemed to age differently to ungulates. A generous sprinkling of silver marred otherwise jet-black fur around his muzzle and temples, and crows' feet converged at the corners of his eyes.

"It is, yes. I'm a _tahlab - _a student intern, at the Venium Academy. Archaeology. I'm here on assignment," Lu-Temba explained, following the monk into his modest home.

"Ah, yes, yes of course. Captain Frieda occasionally sends your type my way. Young and boisterous and full of wonder at being immersed in a world so different from your own." Astal moved to an ancient stove of mud brick and iron, upon which a battered copper kettle steamed. "Tea?"

"Yes, yes thank you. Please. Uh... Frieda?"

"Aye. Captain Frieda of the _Hurait Albahr, _the nymph of the sea herself," Astal chuckled. "She never told you her name, did she?"

"No, she didn't. I didn't like to uh... impose. Frieda isn't a Lupa name, is it?"

_Nymph of the sea. _Unbidden, an image burst into Lu-Temba's mind of Frieda, naked, doing unspeakable things to a sea monster... He swallowed thickly, and shook his head to return to the present. It had been a long two weeks at sea, and his body chose that moment to remind him of that fact.

"...raised by pirates on the Mare Ossium, she was," Astal was saying, as he handed Lu-Temba a clay cup full of a peculiar, fragrant tea. "Or so she claims. I think she's exiled nobility, myself. The way she carries herself, that alpha presence. I'm sure you saw it for yourself."

"Yes, I believe I did. Often."

"So where are you going, if I might ask?"

"North-east," Lu-Temba replied. "All the way. To Coralesh. I'm told there are villages in the mountains there which have barely changed since the Second Crusade."

Brother Astal's eyebrows rose, and he grunted. "Coralesh is a mighty long way. Further than any other _tahlab _has ventured, to my knowledge. It's the furthest province from the coast that's... civilised. But if your coin is good, that's all that matters to me. And for what it's worth, there are most likely villages there that have not changed since long before the Crusades."

Lu-Temba shrugged off his duffel bag, and fished around in his satchel for a moment to produce a bag of Lupa coins, all of them silver Dinariae stamped on one side with the likeness of the Grand Matriarch, the Queen of Forlasea, and on the other with the stylised sandal which was the symbol of the Arahanic faith. Lu-Temba passed the bag to Astal, who weighed it in his hand a moment, and nodded.

"Very well, that'll about cover it. We'll set off at first light. You'd best get some good rest. There's a tavern just a short ways to the east which will put you up for the night - just tell them I sent you, and they'll feed you for free. I'll be there at dawn to collect you."

Chapter 5

Lady Eibed of Apos Convent, Coralesh, Forlasea

*

The Great Alignment was drawing ever nearer. Saliel rose high in the sky each night, a shining orb of the brightest silver that bathed the snow-capped mountains of central Forlasea in its ghostly light. And right beside it, nearly touching, sat the opalescent bauble that was Seilyr. Asantrea's third moon, Hadriel, a dark moon barely visible most of the time, was due to begin a months-long series of transits of the bright moons within a few days. It was an event of enormous significance for the Lupa people, whose calendars, festivals and fertility rituals were governed by the three moons.

"Wine, my lady?"

Malatheia's golden eyes flicked open and focused, and the Princess, drawn back to reality by being directly addressed, held up her empty cup to Sister Cadille. The young Urssa woman shakily refilled the Princess' cup from the small amphora she carried, and then moved towards Sister Auliabe.

The Great Hall of the Lady Eibed of Apos convent was a far cry from the typical austerity that might have been expected of such an institution. The cold stone walls were richly hung with tapestries and carpets, and the cavernous space was lit by elaborate oil chandeliers, as well as candles along the length of its two great feasting tables, which groaned under the weight of so much food.

Exotic fruits, wine, bread, cheeses and cured meats all but obscured the long tables, and were hungrily picked at by twenty-three Sisters. Malla and Auliabe, as the two most senior women in the convent, occupied the heads of those two long tables, and were waited upon by the younger Sisters. Cadille moved around the Hall with her wine amphora, refilling cups as she went. She stood out among the Sisters for the simple reason that she was the only Urssa woman present - a bear among wolves. She was a good companion to Malatheia, as were Cadille's two closest friends, Justia and Gelvandia. The former, a slender, quietly-spoken girl of barely twenty years, was playing a merry tune on a flute, while another Sister kept rhythm with a drum.

Of Gelvandia, however, there was no sign.

Malatheia tipped back her wine cup, and felt a dribble run out of the corner of her mouth and down her neck. She was more than a little bit drunk, and kept rhythm with the music by drumming her fingers on the table before her. It was a raucous, noisy environment, even though the many feminine voices, raised in conversation and laughter, were dampened by the rich decoration of the Hall.

Auliabe did a quick head-count. There should have been twenty-four. Sister Superior's eye moved around the room once again, and then fell on Malatheia. The golden wolfess was hunched over her food, and seemed distracted, unfocused. Breathless, even.

As she watched, Malatheia emptied her cup again, and beckoned to Cadille to refill her. As the Urssa Sister did so, Malla leaned in and whispered something to her that nearly made her drop her amphora. Hurriedly, Cadille retreated, and Auliabe's suspicions rose. Abruptly, Malatheia's claws dug into the table, and her body convulsed a couple of times. Her eyes fluttered closed, and when they opened again, they were met by the gaze of Sister Superior. Malla simply met Auliabe's stare, and flashed her a slow, lazy grin.

Moments later, Sister Gelvandia emerged from beneath the table to sit at Malla's right. Her grey-furred muzzle glistened with moisture, her wimple was missing and her curly brown hair was a mess. And Princess Malatheia looked extremely relaxed.

Auliabe couldn't help but chuckle. Malatheia had something of a reputation among the Sisters for her openness. She was a strong, dominant woman, even accounting for her social status. She could be haughty and demanding, but gentle and reciprocal once her needs were met. And, when the mood struck her, she was more than capable of being an absolute debaucherous wench - in her own words.

*

Malatheia's eyes fluttered closed. Her breathing was heavy and deep, her bare, supple breast heaving with each pleasured gasp and breathy growl that passed her lips. The peak of her cycle was nearly two weeks away, but her body burned with desire, hotter and brighter with every hour that passed. Heat radiated from her, and her fingers curled, grasping the dark hair of the head between her thighs. This was a heat unlike any the Princess had ever felt before, and the influence of the Great Alignment was undoubtedly to blame.

Auliabe moaned into Malla's molten core, her tongue lapping and curling within the burning flesh of her swollen folds. After the display of lewdness the Princess had given in the Great Hall hours earlier, Sister Superior found herself unable to resist offering her services, as well. Malatheia had, of course, accepted. The Princess was close to orgasm, Auliabe could tell. This was far from the first time the two women had enjoyed such intimate time together. The way Malla gripped her hair, gyrated her hips and tensed her muscles; the way her shuddering gasps of pleasure trembled with lust was a clear and familiar nonverbal language. And when Auliabe felt burning hot flesh fasciculating around her tongue, she knew the Princess was teetering on the edge even before the guttural howl that marked her climax pierced the room. Her lust oozed forth in a heavy gush to soak both Auliabe's muzzle and Malla's own groin and thighs, and Auliabe savoured every moment of the Princess' rhythmic, orgasmic contractions around her lapping tongue.

Auliabe allowed the Princess to ride out her orgasm, and then gently withdrew, cleaning the swollen, glistening petals of Malatheia's womanhood with soft, tender licks. Sister Superior was drawing closer as well. Malla could feel the shallow, staccato breaths that washed over her auburn-furred mound. The Princess wasn't the only one struggling with her heat. Auliabe reached down to pull Sister Gelvandia's head more firmly into her crotch, and gently, Malla reached to stop her.

"Auliabe... if I may?" she asked, with a knowing smile.

Auliabe wasted no time. An offer like that was too good to refuse. It didn't even need to be said - Auliabe knew from experience that the Princess was offering her own tongue in return. Just in time, too. She'd been so close. With an excited murmur, Auliabe clucked Gelvandia out from beneath her habit, and crawled up and over Malla's body, to straddle her chest. Like a child hiding beneath a tablecloth, Malla chuckled, and flicked the hem of Sister Superior's habit over her head, assuming the position Gelvandia had occupied until that moment.

The younger wolfess was panting visibly, her own habit long since discarded while she'd serviced first the Princess and then Sister Superior. Her hands were far from idle, and Auliabe beckoned the frantically masturbating younger woman onto the bed with her, to kneel above the Princess' head astride her luxurious pillows. Gelvandia's lust assuaged her hesitancy to adopt such a dominant-seeming position over Malatheia, and she shuffled eagerly into position. Auliabe captured Gelvandia's wrist, and lifted it to her muzzle to lick the younger wolfess' nectar from her fingers.

Malatheia knew precisely what she was doing. Auliabe's muzzle tilted as she leaned in to kiss Gelvandia, and Sister Superior allowed her eyes to close as the Princess' tongue bathed her aching loins in pleasure. Her ample bust strained at the heavy cotton of her habit, her nipples casting peaks in the fabric. Auliabe hurriedly lifted the restrictive garment off over her head, and fell forward into Gelvandia's arms, hunched over Malla's muzzle. The princess' fur was matted with sweat and cum, its usual flawless shades of caramel and sandy brown streaked with wetness. Her amber eyes gazed up at Auliabe between the two Lupa bodies over her, and Sister Superior slid her hands down Gelvandia's lithe young body, cupping her much smoother pubic mound in her palm and slipping two fingers within her. The grey wolfess' flesh was swollen and sensitive, her entire body buzzing with arousal. She cried out in pleasure at the feeling of Sister Superior's fingers slipping inside her and bucked her hips, collapsing against Auliabe. Malatheia wriggled her hands up to knead and grope Gelvandia's shapely rump, the three wolfesses tying themselves into knots of pleasure on the Princess' luxurious bed.

Auliabe felt Malla's tongue delve deep into her. She cried out and rolled her hips forcefully onto the Princess' muzzle, falling limply against Gelvandia while the young wolf rode her fingers. The three of them rolled and gyrated together, a churning maelstrom of pleasure punctuated by breathy moans, heated growls and gasps of desire. Malla's face was suddenly splattered with sticky sweetness - although from whom was less than clear. Tremors of pleasure wracked Auliabe's body, but Gelvandia too was fast approaching the peak of ecstasy. Within moments of them beginning, Auliabe was teetering on the brink of the orgasm she'd denied herself only minutes before. Malla knew that. She brought Auliabe to the brink and then paused, pulling her tongue back and brushing her lips teasingly over the swollen bud of Auliabe's clitoris, eliciting a whine from the older woman. The spring uncoiled, and Malatheia once again sealed her lips over Auliable's mound, pressing her tongue inside the older wolfess' tunnel to repeat her pleasurable assault. Auliabe kissed Gelvandia to stifle her heated moans, while Malla stretched Sister Superior to the limits of her endurance, edging her over and over with skilled precision, bringing her hands up to cup and knead first Auliabe's, and then Gelvandia's breasts.

The younger Sister came first. That was hardly surprising; Malla was foggily aware that Gelvandia had been masturbating even hours earlier beneath the feast table, but as far as she knew, was yet to climax even once, despite her best efforts. She was demure and subtle when she did finally arrive at her peak, fluttering delicately around Auliabe's fingers and releasing shaky, trembling whimpers, even as her womanhood told a much less subtle story of her arousal, coating Auliabe's wrist and hand with her desire. Malla squeezed Gelvandia's buttocks firmly, a silent encouragement while the Princess teased Sister Superior relentlessly with her tongue.

When Malla finally allowed Auliabe to climax, it was nothing short of explosive. No words were exchanged between them; these two Lupa women had so much experience of each other's bodies that none were needed. The hasty breaths, the high-pitched whimpers, and the barely-controlled bucking of her hips gave away Auliabe's point of no return - not to mention the feeling of her tunnel clenching and spasming around Malla's questing tongue. Sister Superior's hand snaked down to cup the back of Malla's head, and she hunched forward over the Princess into Gelvandia's arms for those final moments, riding the wave of pleasure that swelled forth from deep within her, rising like a wave on the ocean - and this time, Malla let the wave crest.

Auliabe finally threw back her head. Her hips gyrated convulsively, and a muffled, urgent howl pierced the bedchamber. Rhythmic contractions fluttered around Malla's tongue, and the Princess couldn't help but growl with delight into her dessert.

Chapter 6

North of Apos, Forlasea

*

The highway that led north out of Apos into the heart of Forlasea was unlike anything Lu-Temba had ever encountered in his life. The whole Lupa nation, it seemed, was on the move. Countless thousands of travellers crowded the dusty road, with wooden ox-carts and horse-drawn wagons clattering noisily over flagstones worn smooth by centuries of movement. There was an air of festivity everywhere he looked, although Brother Astal seemed to carry with him a nimbus of calm. The monk walked along the edge of the road, leading a cantankerous mule burdened with Lu-Temba's rucksack and satchel, as well as his own travel equipment - a lean and well-ordered assortment of gear refined over years spent making similar trips.

"Is it always so busy?" Lu-Temba asked, trotting a few steps to catch up to the monk.

They'd been on the road for several hours already, and Asantrea's twin suns were approaching their zeniths, the shadows they cast becoming ever shorter and ever closer. Apos was a number of miles behind them already, and every hour or so they passed through or around a tiny hamlet or village built alongside the road.

"If your head swivels any faster, _tahlab, _I expect it will fly off!" Brother Astal replied with a chuckle. "No, it is not always like this. Have you not been paying attention to the heavens? Saliel and Seilyr grow ever closer at night, and Kesh and Aror ever closer during the day. Hadriel, though we rarely see it, is guided by the hand of Aktis the Keeper of Souls ever closer to his sister moons, and will soon pass across them. The Great Alignment draws closer by the day, and for us, for the Lupa, it is a time of great joy, and great festivity."

"The...Great Alignment? I...I've heard of it, yes, of course - the astronomers at the Academy talk about its rarity. What is its significance here?"

Astal turned his head and gave Lu-Temba a slightly unnerving stare. "It really _is _your first time in Forlasea, isn't it? My, my. Such an innocent and naïve young mind you...!"

Abruptly, mid-sentence, Astal placed a hand on Lu-Temba's chest, and shoved him off the side of the highway, just as a wagon drawn by four galloping horses barrelled past, in a cloud of dust and shouted curses from the people it scattered. Lu-Temba fell roughly onto his backside in a thorny bush, and even Astal shook a fist at the cart - which was crammed with very drunk, very naked Lupa women.

Lu-Temba stared after it. He'd never seen such immodesty! Their howls and whoops of glee rang in his ears. The sight of so many women with not a stitch of clothing between them, and seemingly not a care in the world as to who saw them, caused his muzzle to burn. Astal wrestled to calm the braying, dancing mule, and several other wolves came to his aid. From where Lu-Temba sat, the harsh midday light of Kesh and Aror was suddenly blocked by a wolf looming over the dazed gazelle. He blinked rapidly and squinted up at the figure. She was tall, strong and lean, and her belted tunic did nothing at all to preserve her modesty - Lu-Temba hurriedly averted his gaze upon realising he could see right up it, only to have his eyes fall on the Lupa woman's generous bust, instead. He wrenched his gaze higher still, to fall upon her face. A jagged scar ran from her forehead to her jaw, and she wore a leather patch to cover her ruined eye. She extended a hand - a paw? - down towards him, and after a moment of blustering, Lu-Temba took it, allowing her to haul him upright with a hand-to-wrist warrior's grip.

"Nasty fall," the one-eyed Lupa woman said, in rough, broken Gozan. "Hurt?"

Lu-Temba was level with her chest. His mouth hung open. Her tunic was open to the sternum, and split up both sides to the waist. It was little more than a loincloth with shoulder-straps, and only just barely covered her nipples. At her hip was an ornate dagger in a leather scabbard, but she seemed otherwise unarmed. He stammered something nonsensical, and the Lupa woman, instead of being disgusted or offended by his inability to wrench his gaze from her breasts, seemed all the more interested. She began pacing around him, under the guise of checking for injuries. Lu-Temba bleated in shock when she began plucking thorns from the bush out of his buttocks. Were all Lupa women so... shameless?

At length, Astal managed to calm his mule, and came to the gazelle's rescue. He spoke briefly with the one-eyed woman, who laughed and laid a heavy, muscular arm around Lu-Temba's shoulders. She reeked of sweat, and for some reason that only flustered Lu-Temba all the more. He was erect in his loose linen trousers and completely embarrassed, hands clasped over himself, nostrils flaring to fill his lungs over and over with a scent he never thought he'd find so enrapturing.

To Lu-Temba's horror - at first, anyway - the Lupa woman didn't leave when Astal began to walk again. She accompanied them, and even called to her travelling companion to join them.

"Brother Astal? Wh-who are they?" Lu asked, awkwardly shaking his shrinking erection down the leg of his trousers.

The monk gave the gazelle a knowing look. "The one-eyed one is Caleia, her sister is Suetia - they are bound for the same town as we are, so they have elected to travel with us. They seem to have taken quite a liking to you, young tahlab."

Lu-Temba glanced back over his shoulder to where the two near-identically dressed Lupa women followed them, chatting and laughing between themselves. Their eyes were both fixed on the gazelle, and as if to emphasise Astal's observation, Caleia licked her lips and lifted the hem of her tunic to expose herself to Lu-Temba. He bleated again, and hurriedly turned his back to them, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Why... why would they... why me?" Lu-Temba stammered, his gaze drawn by another group of similarly immodest Lupa women travelling the other way. Have I died and ascended to Paradise?!

"Well now," Astal grinned. "You're a healthy young man with... a respectable endowment, if I may be so bold. Don't fuss, it's difficult to avoid noticing. Lupa society is not typically defined by tenets of abstinence and modesty, as Venium or Goza are. As a man of the cloth, of course, I took certain... vows, as dictated by the Arahanic Holy Orders. I am off-limits to them, as are they to me. But... to answer your earlier question more succinctly, the Great Alignment is a once in a generation festival - a grand celebration of fertility and sex. If you were to come back to Forlasea this time next year, you'd be up to your armpits in wolf pups."

"That doesn't exactly explain why they're looking at _me _like I'm on the menu!"

"Doesn't it?" Astal fixed Lu-Temba with a long stare. "Sex isn't just about making pups, you know. You've probably been brought up to believe that, but here it's a social currency as well - far more valuable than the Second Crusade coins you're looking for. We Lupa have hormonal cycles that are closely tied to the cycles of the moons. It just so happens that this particular Alignment coincides with the ascension of Saliel, and the highest point in many Lupa women's hormonal cycles."

Lu-Temba swallowed heavily. "What does that mean for... uh... my journey? Is it a bad time? Should I have waited?"

"I will admit I am more than a little surprised your Academy saw fit to send you over right at this moment, they surely must have been aware of the impending festival," Astal mused. "But no, unless you exclusively enjoy the company of males, which..." the monk glanced at Lu-Temba's crotch, "I can safely assume that you do not, the chances are that you will have a very enjoyable time over the next few weeks! Not all Lupa women want pups, you understand - many of them will want you because you can quench their thirst, but cannot produce offspring with them!"

The gazelle's mind went blank. As soon as Astal said it, it made perfect sense to him. Was he really so naïve that he needed it explained in such literal terms? Lu-Temba could feel blood pumping into his shaft once again even as he walked alongside the monk, and the increasing friction of his trousers caused him to hobble slightly. Caleia and Suetia were alongside him moments later, one barely-decent Lupa woman on either side of him. There was no hope of retaining his dignity then, and Lu-Temba knew it.

"Walk badly, Horned One. Hurt from fall? Or... painful... uh... plank of wood?" Caleia chuckled, reaching down to grope him.

Lu-Temba shuddered, and Caleia squeezed him roughly, feeling out his size and girth before communicating this to her sister. Suetia growled under her breath, and shoved her sister's hand aside to feel him for herself.

"Mm! Like donkey!" Suetia said. She glanced around theatrically, and shrugged. "No cart to ride."

"We Lupa strong!" Caleia demonstrated, flexing a bicep. "Ride us instead?"

Lu-Temba nearly fainted.

And so it was that Lu-Temba arrived in the village of Basa-Talriq, their destination for the night, riding on the shoulders of a Lupa warrior woman.