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The Seduction of Seleste

From the world of the mating season

The Truth About Meketh

Chapter 65

The next morning, Seleste was surprised to awake in the tower, curled tight amidst Nahimana's red sheets and pillows. When she sat up, the sorceress told Seleste that she had teleported her there . . . having missed her. Seleste smiled.

Seleste spent the next three days in Nahimana's tower and couldn't bring herself to venture out again. She became ill, throwing up at least twice a day. She began to suspect the reason for her sudden illness and her suspicions were confirmed when she asked the sorceress for her professional opinion only to receive silence . . . and a wise smile.

During the time that Seleste was queasy and ill, Nahimana not only prepared the talisman for her, but she also taught Seleste about magic, how to use her powers, and who the frost wolves were. Seleste absorbed everything she could and was fascinated by the sorceress' beauty and wisdom. She doted on her as she sat in her lap, and often as she was talking, she would find herself humming happily as she played in Nahimana's floating mane. That such an elegant, beautiful female could be hers and all hers still amazed Seleste, and each night as the candles went out, she knew a hunger she had never known before. Her clit would elongate into a cock, and reaching under the covers for Nahimana, she would pry those sweet thighs apart and cram herself home.

The final night found Nahimana on her paws and knees on the bed, screaming her echoing scream as Seleste banged her from behind. She was so wet now her juices were splashing. Her pretty gray eyes narrowed with satisfaction, Seleste held the sorceress by her round hip as she slammed her way in. She loved to watch as Nahimana's breasts flapped. She reached around and fingered her nipples, and Nahimana cried out again. Seleste smiled: her breasts were so sensitive.

"Ah - ah - Ahhhh!" Ahhhh, ahhh, ah.

Nahimana came, and with a toss of her mane, she collapsed on the sheets. She turned over with her breasts heaving, and as Seleste massaged her pink cock, the sorceress smiled at her and rubbed her tits. She arched her back and pushed them to the ceiling, crying out as her fingers rotated her own hard nipples.

"Just like that . . ." Seleste whispered and winced when her cock flinched in her paw. It spurted, and the wet fluids slapped Nahimana, falling across her breasts and smooth belly. Seleste sagged over, breathless and deliciously happy.

Nahimana sat up, and after rubbing her nose happily in Seleste's neck, she kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Seleste stared at the fluids that glistened on Nahimana's breasts. "But what is it? It can't be . . . my seed."

Nahimana shook her head. "No, for you are not truly male. It is the same sweet wetness . . . that erupts when you orgasm." Orgasm, orgasm, orgasm. So saying, she dipped her finger in the wetness on her breasts and tasted it. She smiled at Seleste.

Seleste moaned. "Oh, don't. . . . you'll make it . . ." She looked with trepidation at her cock but was glad to see it had shrank into a clit again.

Nahimana rose, and Seleste sat naked on the bed, watching as the sorceress went to a basin on the nightstand. She began to wash herself clean. Seleste's eyes traced over that tall body, the dimpled back and high backside. . . She shivered and looked away.

"The talisman is finished, isn't it?" Seleste said miserably to her lap. "I have to leave soon."

She could hear the water splashing as Nahimana bathed her breasts. "And you don't want to," she said, her voice soft with concern. "Why, Seleste? What is it you fear?"

Seleste laughed dryly. "What shouldn't I fear? I'm a frost wolf! What if I help restore the kingdom . . . and then I am forced to stay!"

Seleste stared miserably into space as she thought of it. As Nahimana had explained to her, the frost wolves not only protected the crystals but also helped them grow. When a crystal was sick, they administered remedies. When a crystal was cracked, they healed it with their healing magic. The crystals were living creatures who needed love and care. When they didn't receive that care, they slept . . . only to eventually crumble. Thinking of the crystal in the cave, Seleste knew it had come awake at the joy of "seeing" her, a frost wolf who could care for it. But then LiAnh came, and the crystal shut its eyes again, falling back into its eternal slumber.

"How long do frost wolves live anyway?" Seleste wondered miserably.

Nahimana smiled. "About as long as I."

"What!" Seleste stared at the sorceress, aghast.

Nahimana nodded, her floating mane shifting around her. "That is why you don't see many frost wolves. There aren't many. They rarely leave the crystals to mate. And when they do leave, they usually come here, seeking a mate with which to produce a new guardian.

"They have been known to breed with the sea wolves as well . . . though the resulting offspring proved incapable of fully maturing into frost wolves. Those of the sea hate and fear magic, while other tribes do not have enough ancient blood to breed. . . ."

Ancient blood. The blood of the elder tribes, the first tribes, Seleste thought.

"So it is to the Meketh that the frost wolves come," Nahimana went on. "I have only known three frost wolves to pass through here in my thousand years. And that includes you." You, you, you.

Seleste stared. "So . . . how many of them are up there now?"

"Hmm . . ." Nahimana frowned with thought. "Probably about . . . seven?"

"Seven!"

"It doesn't take many guardians to care for the crystals. They are powerful enough. Though the frost wolves have only healing powers, the foxes still fear them and closely monitor their numbers. Only the chosen are selected to set forth, to find a mate and to breed." Breed, breed, breed.

"Ugh! They're slaves!" Seleste cried and her gray eyes fired. "My mother was one of their slaves! Perhaps she ran away, and that's how she found my father . . ." Seleste said the last bit to herself. She rose from the bed and went to the stone basin, where fire danced, its brilliant fingers pointing at the ceiling. She stared pensively into the flames. "She ran away to be with Father . . . and it was her death."

Seleste closed her eyes. She felt Nahimana come up behind her, then her slender fingers closed on her shoulders and massaged. She squeezed Seleste's shoulders tight and buried a kiss in her neck. Seleste sighed as her lips left a pleasant tingling in their wake. Then something dropped on her chest, and she looked down. Nahimana had placed a necklace around her throat. It was woven of long hemp cord, and at its center, a small pouch rested on her breasts. Seleste carefully touched the pouch. Inside, she could feel rocks and bones, and something soft . . . perhaps feathers.

"Inside are wards," Nahimana whispered. "To protect you from the sickness of the fox queen. She will not be able to drain you as she drained the other guardians. Keep it on at all times when you reach the sea of ice. Never take it off. Or you will sleep."

Thinking of Keme's talisman, Seleste fingered her pouch and whispered, "Thank you, Nahimana."

". . . A lock of my mane is also inside."

"What?" Seleste turned to face the sorceress and was surprised by the look of sad longing that filled her yellow eyes. She cupped Nahimana's cheek and peered up at her. "Why?"

"I . . . want to go with you . . ." Nahimana said heavily, and Seleste was shocked when a tear slid free over her cheek. "I deceived you," she whispered. "The truth is, the Meketh are_frost wolves. I was among those who fled the crystals, denouncing the fox kingdom and its . . . _slavery." She seemed loath to say the last word and frowned.

Seleste's eyes widened. "You were a frost wolf!"

Nahimana grimaced through her tears. "Yes. It's the real reason I can not return. Being near the crystals . . . it might . . . change me back."

Seleste's eyes danced over her. ". . . what do you mean?"

"To break our connection to the crystals . . ." Nahimana swallowed hard. "We had to become something else. Something else entirely. We experimented with magic and wove spells in desperation, frightened that we would be forced to return. Eventually, we succeeded in our magical experiments, becoming . . . mutants with yellow eyes." Nahimana closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I can not help you . . . because I am a selfish coward." Coward, coward, coward.

"No!"

"I care more about - saving my own skin - than going back and helping you --!"

"That's not true!" Seleste said at once. "Maybe I don't want you to come back with me! It's too dangerous! If what you say is true, you could revert form, become a frost wolf again - become a slave." Seleste shook her head, and cupping Nahimana's face, she made her look at her. "I don't_want_ that for you."

Nahimana smiled down at her. "You are too kind - just like someone I used to know. That I live in comfort here while you march off to face who knows what . . ." She sighed miserably. "If anything happens to you, I will sleep. And never wake."

"Nahimana . . ." Seleste said sadly. "Don't you see? You've helped more than you realize! I actually _know_how to use my powers because of you! And when I cross the sea of ice with the others, I won't fall asleep." She fingered the pouched around her neck absently.

"There is one more thing," Nahimana said.

Seleste looked at her, waiting.

"When you reach the sea of ice, the others will not be able to survive the crossing. Perhaps your dark lover and his mother. But the others? No. Not without the help of a fox." Fox, fox, fox.

Seleste smiled. "We don't need to worry about that. The fox king himself is going to help us."

Nahimana frowned. "Ah. The fox king. I had heard that Nontikmah's son . . ." She scowled. "No matter." Matter, matter, matter.

Seleste shook her head. "What is it?"

"I heard he was ruling there now," Nahimana said with a sneer. "What's happening now. . . . I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't somehow his fault." Fault, fault, fault.

_ _

"Why do you say that!"

"His mother was mad!" Nahimana said at once and her breasts heaved. She began pacing, her face furrowed in a frown. "When her mate died, she went crazy and departed on some fool mission to bring the faith of the fox kingdom to the wolves! Tch!"

"The faith of the fox kingdom?"

"Yes. She sauntered around the mortal realm, dishing out death and justice in the form of hexes and curses. She believed she could save the wolves from themselves, show them . . . the light. To be fair, she saved a great many lives. But her actions took lives as well. She abandoned the kingdom, took Sylas and went off to live in the forest like the nutcase she was."

". . . what happened when she left the fox kingdom?" Seleste asked slowly.

"A thousand years of chaos. The dead king's brother fought for the throne. Civil war tore the kingdom apart - the frost wolves suffered the most for it. And Nontikmah . . . she turned a blind eye. For years, she remained in her self-imposed exile, until finally, she promised to send her son to take the throne once he found a mate. The foxes were content again. And the bloodshed stopped." Stopped, stopped, stopped.

"But we of the frost. We'd had enough. A small group of us decided to flee. We broke in the grand library of the palace, we stole the magical secrets of the foxes, and we fled. It was our intention to learn their magic, to become stronger, to break the hold the crystals had on us." She straightened up defiantly. "And we succeeded. We of the Meketh, we command magic that rivals only that of the foxes! We can destroy with fire, scorch with lighting, move objects with our minds! And we are no longer bound to the crystals!"

As triumphant as Nahimana looked, Seleste was surprised to see her lip tremble. She frowned. "Nah . . . what is it?"

The Sorceress of the Seat swallowed hard and bowed her head. Her floating mane tumbled forward around her face. "I left a lover . . . on the sea of ice. He was wounded as we fled, he couldn't get away. I tried to stay behind with him. I would have gladly faced whatever punishment the foxes had for us! But he grabbed me and kissed me and told me to run. He didn't want me to be a slave. So . . . I ran." Ran, ran, ran. Nahimana closed her eyes, and Seleste knew she was silently reprimanding herself. The sorceress opened her eyes again and looked at Seleste. "We of the Meketh left many loved ones on the sea of ice . . . many of whom are no doubt dead."

Seleste stood and crossed the room to Nahimana. She took her paws in hers, and they stood thus a long time, their heads bowed.

"Maybe he's still alive," Seleste said.

Nahimana shook her head and blinked out tears. "No, Seleste . . ."

"You don't know! He could be! If I see him on the sea of ice, I'll give him your lock of hair, tell him you live, that you love him and still think of him."

Nahimana lifted her head. "You would do that for me? Even though I cower here . . . even though I refuse to come --?"

Seleste put a finger to her lips and shushed her. "I'm your friend, Nahimana. Of course I would. It's not as if you haven't helped me!" Thinking of the warm nights they had spent in each other's arms, Seleste sighed. "In more ways than one, you've helped me."

Nahimana's lips twisted in a smirk. "Such loud thoughts," she said in amusement. "I should have taught you to quiet them, but some of them are just too sweet to miss."

They smiled at each other and kissed.

The next day, Nahimana and her warriors escorted Seleste and her companions to the village's northern gates. These gates faced not the sea but the pine forest that spread away to the horizon. In the distance, Seleste could see the mountains, and she knew that beyond that, the hidden paths to Miras Eii waited.

"You have but to head due north, summer wolf," Nahimana told Kilyan. She floated beside him, her feet hovering just off the ground as her mane and gown billowed around her.

Standing there with his traveling pack and spear, Kilyan stared up at her, then suddenly offered his paw. "I'm Kilyan. You never told me your name!" he said with a laugh.

Seleste saw Nahimana hesitate, as if she hadn't expected this. But she slipped her paw in Kilyan's and answered, "I am Nahimana, Sorceress of the Seat." Her lashes fluttered when Kilyan kissed her paw and said reverently, "Thank you, Nahimana. For everything."

Nahimana smiled.

The group turned and made their way toward the trees, but Seleste hung back. LiAnh called her name uncertainly, but Kilyan told the others to wait and let them say goodbye.

Seleste peered into Nahimana's face, and the sorceress peered down at her, smiling sadly, all her red curls snaking across her pretty eyes. Nahimana was clad again in her silky red gown, and Seleste was wearing the white gown with the beaded collar that she had given her. Her traveling shawl was also wrapped around her shoulders, and as a light rain had begun that morning, she had pulled the hood up around her pale mane.

_"_Nahimana . . .?" Seleste fingered the pouch around her neck thoughtfully.

Nahimana lifted her eyebrows. "You want to know his name. What he will look like. How you might indentify him."

"Yes," Seleste admitted. She shook her head. "You're so certain he's dead! Please . . . tell me his name at least?"

Nahimana gazed off dreamily. "His name was Wichahpi. All frost wolves are white - it's where the name comes from. His mane was always so long, it fell to his tail . . . and he had eyes . . . like stars." The dreamy glaze left her eye, and she looked down at Seleste. "Now go. Miras Eii awaits."

Seleste hesitated, then floated up from the ground. She heard the others gasp behind her as she pressed her lips to Nahimana's. Her sudden elevation made their mouths push together hard. Breathless, Seleste pulled away and floated to the ground again. She adjusted her shawl and went to join the others, who were staring in astonishment that she could now levitate.

"Let's go," Seleste said. Then she marched on, and she didn't look back.

As they traveled through the northern forest, the others stared curiously at Seleste. She knew they wanted to ask what had happened between her and the sorceress, but they did not. In fact, no one spoke for a long time. The rain started to come hard, and desperate to see them out of it, Kilyan was determined to march them to the mountain tribe before three days had passed. Keeno told him he was insane: the last time he went to the mountains, it had taken more than a week. But Kilyan pointed out that Keeno had also wandered lost for days. If they marched all night and sacrificed their sleep, they would make it before the rain became unbearable.

They crossed the swollen river on the second day, the rain lashing at them, traveling packs and spears held high over their heads. Inden flew Avi across in his arms, and everyone watched in silent wonder as Seleste rose up and flew herself across. She didn't tell anyone, but she almost fell in the river twice. She was still new to levitating, a form of magic that took a great deal of effort and concentration. By the time she reached the opposite bank, she was so drained, they made camp to allow her to rest.

"Are you sure you should have . . . done that?" LiAnh asked Seleste anxiously. He took her paw in his and stroked it, a frown of worry on his face.

Keme sat beside Seleste as well, an identical frown on his brow. "If she had fallen in and gotten swept away," he said to LiAnh and shook his head. "Seleste, I could tell you were struggling, it's too dangerous. Next time, LiAnh and I aren't going to let you."

"Think you could have held her down?" LiAnh joked. "She might have taken off anyway, with you dangling from her foot."

Keme laughed.

Seleste smiled at them from under her hood, happy to see them getting along.

"They're right, Seleste," Avi said. She came to stand over them, and her dark eyes were filled with such worry, Seleste could see Keme in her face. The hood on her shawl was drawn up, and wisps of gray mane licked at her eyes in the wind. "Seleste only use that power in real emergencies. Next time, Inden fly Seleste across. Promise Avi!"

Seleste smiled to hear the anxious note in Avi's voice. "I promise," she said sincerely.

Avi nodded. "Good."

"Zee . . . what are you doing?" Mio groaned.

Seleste looked up. Everyone was sitting and resting, but Zee was standing off to the side, peering resolutely into the rain. His paw was tight on his spear, as if he anticipated a struggle.

"Even you can't see in this rain!" Mio insisted when his brother ignored him.

Keeno shrugged. "Maybe he can. You know, you and your brother are winter wolves, too, Mio. Winter wolves have an excellent sense of smell and can see through the thickest blizzards. They had to hone their senses if they were going to hunt in snowstorms."

Mio made a face. "Then why can't I see through the rain and smell stuff a thousand miles off?"

Keeno grinned and shrugged again, "Maybe you're more summer wolf than winter wolf." He was sitting on a rock, legs open, holding his spear in both paws as it stood upright between his knees. He grinned through the mane that slicked down his eyes when Mio looked distraught. "Don't worry, Mi. Summer wolves have great skills of their own."

Mio looked at Keeno hopefully. "Such as?"

Keeno's grin spread wider. "Picking berries. Breeding sheep."

Mio's face twisted as he realized he was being messed with. "Uncle Keeno!"

Seleste heard Kilyan laugh. "Alright, Keeno, that's enough," he said.

Kilyan was standing over the small fire they'd managed to build. The rain was letting up, but the wind was so merciless that the tiny fire was guttering terribly. Inden sat beside the fire, his back to it as he spread his wings and tried to dry them. Kilyan helped him, extending one of his wings near the flames.

"But at least part of what your uncle said is true," Kilyan added over his shoulder to Mio. "Winter wolves really do have excellent senses."

"It's how Ohana always smells it on him when he messes around," Keeno joked and jerked his head at Kilyan.

Mio's eyes grew round. "What!"

"Shut up, Keeno!" Kilyan and Avi cried, and Keeno laughed heartily.

They traveled on, and as the rain fell harder, Kilyan became more determined. They hadn't slept in more than twenty-four hours when they finally reached the mountains. It had taken them five days.

The rain stopped the night they reached the meadow, and they were only too happy to make camp and rest. Seleste took the opportunity to pass on what she had learned from Nahimana. The others listened intently as she related the tale of the Meketh, the frost wolves and their enslavement to the foxes, and what they could expect to find on the sea of ice.

When Seleste had finished, a grim silence followed, and it was only broken when Kilyan said, "I knew I shouldn't have let Wynn go."

Avi's ears flattened as she looked up at Kilyan, and she rubbed his arm. "Kilyan, no . . . this not Kilyan fault!"

The look on Kilyan's face said he felt otherwise.

Seleste glanced at Keme and LiAnh, who were gazing at her at a loss. She squeezed Keme's paw and they peered sadly into each other's eyes. One day, she was going to have to leave him. . . . or she would die.

After Seleste's grim news had sunken in, they continued on and were met by five mountain wolf warriors. The warriors greeted them and announced that they had been sent to escort them to "his majesty."

"You were sent?" Kilyan shook his head. "But how did he know . . .?"

"Their scouts have been watching our progress the last seventeen hours," Zee said dispassionately. He sounded a little exasperated, and looking at him, Seleste had to wonder what it was like to see and hear at distances that others could not.

"You couldn't tell us!" Keeno scolded. "I thought I heard something a while back --"

"I didn't see a reason to," Zee said and shrugged. "I knew they meant us no harm."

"Still, you should have told us," Kilyan said. "Our lives should not depend on your judgment alone, Zee!"

Zee sighed. "Yes, Grandfather . . ."

One of the mountain wolves cleared his throat. "If you would come with me," he said graciously. "His majesty is most anxious to see you."

Clinging to LiAnh's arm, Seleste exchanged worried glances with him. What did that mean?

But no one questioned the mountain wolves. It was beginning to rain again and the cold wind that swept through their fur was fang-rattling. They followed the mountain wolves across the meadow and up the winding mountain path to a yawning cave.