Deep within a forest in Romania…

The  Carpathian mountains rising above the dark green silhouettes of the three-hundred-year-old trees were no match for the splendour of the castle, protected within the virgin forest. On its intricately carved balcony, a young woman stood trembling. She’d sensed him, and her toes curled on the cold grey stone.

He waited in the shadows, naked, admiring her beauty highlighted by the silvery moonlight. The night wind danced between them, and the scent of her arousal wafted toward him. 

“I smell you, my queen.” 

He drew near. His hands gathered her hair and braided the ebony locks, waving messily about her shoulders. His hard-edged yet handsome face unravelled her, and his hungry lips brushed the nape of her neck. “You did well today.” Light touches to her heated flesh followed. Roughness mixed with gentleness always kept her guessing his next move. 

She turned her head, desperation in her eyes as more wetness gathered within her folds. “Will you have me beg? You know I’ve been suffering.”

He gripped her jaw and kissed her hard on the mouth. 

“It was what you needed, brave Nadia.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist when her knees buckled from another passionate kiss. 

“When I deny your release, it gives you that edge — that aggressive fire —  that served you well for the negotiations. I know harshness isn’t your true nature.”

She faced forward again but lay her head back on his shoulder, pulling his arm tighter around her waist. “You know me better than I know myself, Dragan.”

Her hips rotated in slow circles, lightly grinding her arse against his hardening cock. He moaned, and she increased the pressure. 

“So needy, my queen. Perhaps I should remind you who’s in control.” 

He curled his fingers, summoning the vines further up the balcony wall. Nadia looked down, and her pulse quickened as the vines wound tightly around her ankles, securing her legs against the concrete balusters. 

Dragan grasped her hands and stretched her arms to the sides like a bird flying. “I’m leaving your wrists unbound tonight. A symbol of the freedom you’ve given us all.” 

She turned her head toward him again, offering her best pout. “I need you, Dragan. I’m aching.”

She was ripe. He released her hands and ripped the back of her dress open with his long nails, revealing her slender shoulders, waist, and shapely arse. She trembled, feeling his possessive gaze on her naked backside. 

“You’re mine. Say it.” 

She panted, “I’m yours.” All her stresses disappeared, and evidence of her arousal trickled down her thigh. Only with Dragan could she free her mind, relinquishing control. 

He grasped her hips and squatted, then rose, dragging his stiffening cock up the valley between her cheeks. “Bend over,” he growled, his arousal quickly reaching its peak.

She obeyed, bent over the balustrade, and he wasted no time thrusting deeply inside her molten core. 

Her head dipped, and as he penetrated her, he grasped her throat, squeezing gently and keeping her head raised to the breathtaking panoramic view that was now theirs to enjoy forever.

With a powerful thrust of his hips, Dragan buried his hardness deep and held it there, letting her enjoy the sustained fullness and stretch of her insides. A deep, guttural moan escaped her lips. She’d been starving for his cock and hugged it tightly with her muscles; dare he try to withdraw. 

Dragan spoke with pride in his voice. “Look, Nadia. Look at your lands — the sanctuary you’ve guaranteed for us all.”

Tears of joy pooled in her lower lids. They were finally safe and at peace with the villages lining the forest. Boundary lines had been drawn. The treaty had been signed. 

Then, his fuck began in earnest. Braced against the stone, she fully absorbed every forceful thrust. 

Her screams of ecstasy drew the ravens from their perches; they dived and twirled, mixing with the blackness of the night. Soon naked bodies appeared below, writhing in pleasure on the leaf-carpeted forest floor, fucking hard, and celebrating with their queen. 

~O~

More than a century later…

The rising sun stretched its rays through the open doors to warm the chilly stone floor where tips of toes rested. Bruised wrists hung limp from their iron chains. The bound one whimpered, exhausted and sated, with her orgasm continuing to ripple through her body as a substantial cock thrust upward, overflowing her well-used pussy with the last drop of seed. 

Moments earlier, when he had deemed her ready, the flick of a crop against her most sensitive flesh had propelled her over the edge. He always knew what she needed. As her alpha mate, it was his role to know. 

He withdrew from her, and his slick appendage collapsed against his meaty thigh; it, too, was exhausted and sated. 

After releasing his lover’s wrists, he scooped her into his arms, holding her tightly. She nuzzled her nose against his neck and whispered words of love and adoration. 

“Let me draw you a soothing bath, my sweet Nadia.” 

“Join me?” She said with a raspy voice, hoarse from their rough mating. 

“Mmm,” he kissed her mouth, “when I return. I want to check your borders first.”

She wriggled free, standing on her own, her brows knitting together in concern. “Should I be worried, Dragan?”

“That’s what I intend to see. The outsiders are venturing nearer than ever before. Their lifespan doesn’t mirror ours, and I fear some have forgotten the treaty signed by their forefathers.” 

~O~

A stick cracked underneath Bucur’s heavy boot, drawing a whispered curse from his cracked lips. Too late; the frightened buck leapt across the creek, which served as the border between peoples. 

Imagining the earthy, rich flavour of venison on his tongue and the twelve-point antlers mounted above his fireplace, Bucur recklessly crossed into the forbidden territory, determined to kill the deer.

There it stood — a picture of serenity in a patch of forest undergrowth — seemingly believing itself safe. 

Foolish creature, Bucur thought. Then he lined up the shot, held his breath, and pulled the trigger. 

The buck fell. 

Kraa! Kraa! Kraa! 

Bucur jumped back at the shrill sounds, stumbled over a root, and fell on his plump arse. Looking up, he spied the raven eying him… screeching at him! Desperate to end the bloody noise, he drew his gun again and shot the raven. 

The bird flew backward off its branch and spiralled downward with the impact mangling its body. 

In the distance, Queen Nadia burst from her bath and stumbled, naked and dripping wet, onto the balcony. Her eyes were wild, searching, scanning the horizon. 

“Dragan!” she screamed his name repeatedly, but no one came. 

She clutched her heart and collapsed, uncontrollably sobbing. Dozens of ravens dove toward her, surrounded her in a protective cocoon and joined her ear-piercing screams with cries of their own. 

Days of endless mourning followed with her becoming uncommunicative, unable to see a life ahead without her beloved. Then, her grief morphed into a rage — a rage boiling from newly created dark crevices of her soul. She knew what her fallen mate would expect from her and organised the flock. 

~O~

Although the sun shone brightly upon the village, an early riser named Vasile noticed an isolated, menacing cloud in the distance, moving swiftly across the otherwise serene morning sky. 

Vasile’s son soon joined him, inquiring what held his father’s intense gaze. Both froze with growing apprehension, watching the threatening cloud approach them. When the cloud broke apart into black flecks that began falling, their blood ran cold, and they ran toward their dwelling for cover. 

A raven dropped from the sky onto a rooftop. Then another. And another. All loudly cawing. More dived at the windows, breaking glass and chasing the villagers from their homes. These ravens were nearly twice the size of typical ravens. Terrified men, women, and children huddled in the village centre while the ravens circled them, continuing their caws, unbearable to the villagers’ ears. 

Then, the ravens suddenly fell silent. An elder, Timotei, pointed to the forest's edge where a statuesque group appeared. The woman in front wore a black dress moulded to deadly curves and an elaborate black mask with gleaming feathers sprouting from the top. She stood surrounded by men wearing metal chest plates with ripples of muscles proudly on display. They wielded varying ancient weapons.

As the masked woman approached the villagers, some whispered about her identity, but Timotei knew. She was Queen Nadia. He’d never laid eyes upon her before, but her appearance precisely matched the stories passed down by his ancestors. 

“Tell me, villagers of Colti, why I shouldn’t have my flock rip the flesh from your bones?” Her voice was eerily calm while speaking the terrifying words. 

Many gasped. Others drew their guns, drawing a raucous from the surrounding ravens. Timotei ran to the front of the villagers, placing himself between them and the strangers, wildly waving his hands. 

“Please, my friends, put down your weapons! Let us discern what this is about. You are Queen Nadia?”

“I am.”

“Forgive us. Our village hasn’t seen you for over a century, yet time hasn’t touched your face. I believe you knew my great-grandfather Mahail.”

She drew closer to the man. “Yes, I remember your forefather — a reasonable man.”

“As am I. What has happened to bring your wrath upon us? Do we not still have a treaty?”

“One of yours spit on our treaty, murdering on my lands. Therefore, penance must be paid.”

Before Timotei could protest, one of the warriors pointed at Bucur. “It was him, my queen. It is his stench that I smelled that morning on Dragan.”

Acting as one conscious, the people backed away from Bucur, leaving him quivering alone as an apparent sacrifice. “No, please, not me!” he begged, running from man to man only to be brushed aside. 

The queen’s pupils devoured her grey irises, and she raged, spinning around, glaring at each frightened face. “You think the one with a black heart, the one who killed not one but two innocents on my lands, is a suitable replacement for my beloved!”

“Your beloved?” gasped Timotei.

“Yes, he killed my mate!”

Bucur yelled, “She lies. I only killed a deer and an ugly ra—.”

Before he had finished his sentence, a raven swooped down to his face, wildly flapping its wings while Bucur frantically tried to fend off the bird’s attack. It was over in a few moments, and the raven flew back to a rooftop with blood dripping from its beak. Bucur was left screaming with his eyeballs pecked out. The villagers shook in horror as a woman took pity on him and bound his eyes. 

Queen Nadia pointed her finger at the blinded man. “Now, horrid monster, you cannot kill what you cannot see.”

“What would you have us do?” Timotei pleaded. 

“You will sacrifice a male to me. A strong male, important to your village, as an atonement for violating the treaty.” 

The townspeople gasped. Women clung to their husbands, sobbing. Then, Queen Nadia heard a male voice above the cries — a voice deep and steady. “I’ll go.” He shook off the pretty young woman named Daniela, fighting to hold him back, and fixedly walked toward the queen. He stopped when his toes almost touched hers. He loomed more than a head taller than Queen Nadia. 

“I’ll go with you as long as you hurt no one else and forgive us this wrong.”

The queen admired his bravery. The lone man not soiling himself in fear. She grabbed his face with both hands and pierced his eyes with her own, peering inside his soul. She saw a man of great strength and integrity but a part of his Spirit (and she didn’t know how great a part) was broken in some way. He, in turn, recognised something in her eyes — the root of her anger — pain. 

She raked a long, curved fingernail down his cheek, drawing a fine line of blood, to which he never flinched. “I grant you tonight to settle your affairs, then present yourself tomorrow at the border of my lands when the sun first peeks above the horizon.”

Before the queen and her flock crossed the tree line, she paused and looked back over her shoulder, again locking eyes with him. “If you don’t come… everyone dies.”

How can such nasty things come from such a beautiful mouth? Andrei wondered, not nearly as afraid as he should have been. 

~O~

Andrei couldn’t stifle his disappointment. “I’d thought the queen would be here?” Part of his body stiffened, recalling his dream of her the night before that had him waking to a wet bed cover.

“The queen’s whereabouts aren’t your concern, mongrel,” responded one of his escorts, Ion.

“My name is Andrei.”

“Your name is whatever my queen wishes it to be for as long as she decides you shall live, mongrel.”

Ion tested his patience. “If your queen wishes it, I’ll give my life to right the wrongs of my people because I’m a man of peace…” he took a step closer to Ion, “...until I’m not.”

A raven cawed overhead, and Ion immediately backed away with a grumble. They spoke no more and started their journey, keeping pace with the ravens. Andrei was indeed curious as to their obvious connection to the birds.

Soon, he reached a clearing and saw something that stole his breath. It was the crowning glory of the ancient forest — a castle. His pace quickened for a closer inspection. Stacked stones, each unique in size and shape, formed the walls. Vibrant green ivy climbed the front, giving colour to the grey-stoned structure. It was as if he had stepped onto a page from one of his childhood storybooks.

His eyes soon discovered a sight that proved even more breathtaking — naked men and women fucking in and around a bubbling stream running alongside the castle. Each was uniquely beautiful but had identical black hair that the darkest night sky would envy. And then something extraordinary happened. A few ravens spiralled down from the trees, transforming into human forms. He continued watching as a couple who’d been fucking stepped out of the stream. Wings sprung from arms and claws from feet before the newly formed ravens flew to a nearby branch and perched. They dried their spread wings in the sun’s rays that breached the tree canopy.

Is this real? He spun in circles, struggling to keep up with the magical scenes unfolding around him.

A stunning woman introduced herself as Cristina, then tugged on his arm and told him to follow her with the few belongings he’d brought. Andrei followed Cristina through the enormous wooden door into the castle. She started up the steep marble stairs, and he struggled not to trip as the swing of her bare hips was quite mesmerising. He’d always admired the shape of a woman’s backside, in particular, the cleft that split her perfectly rounded buttocks in a most delightful way.

His guide chattered in a friendly manner as she led him along the narrow, winding, dark passageways to his chambers. His escorts had talked as if he should expect a dungeon to be his new home, but somehow, he knew Queen Nadia would provide better for him. Yet, after opening the door, he was shocked at the opulence of his room.

That night, he lay luxuriating in the satiny sheets, replaying the day's events and wondering if it was but a dream. Maybe he’d wake tomorrow in his simple wooden bed in the village. Daniela would knock on his door, hoping to stuff his mouth with her freshly baked muffins and needy nipples.

*

Several days passed with no sign of Queen Nadia, which annoyed Andrei more than he’d admit. Impatient to see her, he roamed the castle until stumbling upon her in the library, sitting at a desk with her nose in a book.

He jumped in with the question burning his mind. “What will you do with me?”

She feigned disinterest and didn’t look up at him. “I won’t kill you if that’s what’s troubling you.”

“I know you won’t.”

That got her attention. “And how would you know that?” she asked, snapping her book shut.

“Because you’re fair-minded. I saw it in your eyes in the village. You won’t punish me for another’s wrongdoing.”

“But I did, forcing you to leave your home.”

He tipped his chin upward. “I volunteered, if you remember.”

His speaking, as if he had intimate knowledge of her mind, proved unsettling. “Make no mistake, Andrei, you have no idea what I’m capable of!” She’d lashed out in anger, but he heard something sorrowing in her voice.

“Oh, I think I know.” He remained calm, still confident in his assessment.

“You are free to roam about but stay out of my way. Now, get out!” She dismissed him with a wave and reopened her book. Her thoughts, however, lingered on her new arrival.

Andrei purposely waited a few moments before exiting the library. No woman in the village would dare speak to a man in this manner without getting a thrashing afterward, but this wasn’t Colti. Although, he had to admit the thought of her naked arse presented to him for punishment had him adjusting his cock.

*

An unfamiliar noise drew Queen Nadia onto her balcony, and she couldn’t believe the source of the racket. Shirtless, Andrei was chipping away at one of the stone gargoyles. 

“What is the meaning of this?”

“I’m a man used to working with my hands. And to properly atone for the wrongs of my people, I need to be of some use to you.”

“Destroying my home is of use to me?” she countered.

“Forgive me, but these hideous crumbling gargoyles don’t represent the beauty of your people or the beauty of their queen.”

“And how did you climb up here?”

“Courtesy of Ion and your magical vines.”

“It’s not magic. We, along with the fauna and flora, are the heartbeats of this forest. As such, we live together as one. And you said Ion helped?” 

“Yes, while you’ve been hiding in your chamb—”

She interrupted. “I’ve not been hiding!”

“I’ve been making friends with your flock.” 

He dropped his tool and walked toward her, and she retreated back into the room to which he followed, uninvited. 

“I’m not without my charms, which you’d see if you’d stop hiding from me.”

Then, something snagged Andrei’s attention. Canes and crops hung on the wall like proud trophies on display. He approached the spanking implements, and his fingers slid up and down their shafts. 

“You use these to punish your people?”  

“No.” The queen hugged herself, hiding her hardening nipples from him. 

“Then, who…” he didn’t finish his question, seeing the answer in her crimson cheeks. “I see.” 

The air vibrated between them, but neither was ready to accept the implications, so Andrei returned to his work, saying nothing more. His cock, however, wouldn’t let him forget.

*

“Do you think the pretty one in the village misses you?” 

Andrei dropped his tool, not expecting the queen’s sudden appearance. Settling himself, he answered, “Maybe at first, but I could never be what she desired.” 

“And what was that?”

“Her husband.” 

She knitted her brows together. “There’s more; I heard it hiding in your voice.”

Andrei’s mood abruptly changed; his voice quieted. “I was a husband once. My wife and my unborn child died during childbirth.” 

Nadia realised that was the broken part of his soul she’d seen the first time she looked into his eyes. Maybe part of his irresistible pull was their shared experience of loss. Maybe he could understand what others couldn’t. Maybe… 

*

Ana, Ion’s mate, peered out the queen’s window, watching Andrei's muscles flex while he tirelessly worked on the sculpture while naked. He’d only recently adopted their method of dress or lack thereof. 

“Do you find him handsome?” Ana asked.

“He’s not… without appeal.” Queen Nadia’s eyes darted away from Ana, fearing she’d see the depth of her attraction. 

“Curious that you knew I was talking about Andrei, my queen.” Ana smiled and raked her fingers through her queen’s tangled tendrils. “May I brush your hair?” 

“Yes, that would be nice.” 

She closed her eyes as the bristles sensually massaged her scalp. 

“His cock is magnificent,” Ana giggled. “One might think our blood ran through his veins.” 

Nadia abruptly stayed Ana’s hand. “That’s enough.” Her last word was nearly a shout. 

“My queen, are you alright?”

“Yes. Leave me, please.”

The younger woman placed the brush on the dressing table and hurried out of the room. Nadia looked at her reflection in the mirror and barely recognised herself. The sheen was gone from her hair. Her eyes no longer sparkled. Her shoulders slumped as if something heavy weighed upon them. 

“Whatever will become of me?” Queen Nadia asked aloud to no one. 

*

Ana approached Andrei, but he didn’t acknowledge her; something weighed heavily on his mind. 

She bent and waved a hand in front of his face. “Andrei, are you well?”

He shook himself alert and invited her to sit by the stream with him. “Yes, but I fear your queen is not. I feel her eyes constantly upon me as she peers from her window. Does she not trust me?” 

“If she didn’t, you wouldn't live among us.”

 “Then why does she choose to stay inside her bedchamber? Is this seclusion usual?”

“No, and we are all deeply distressed.”

“She’s still mourning the loss of her mate?”

“Yes, but it's deeper than that. There’s a certain dynamic within every flock.” 

“Please, Ana, tell me. I want to know more.”

“Well, as you’ve witnessed, we are each mated, and within each mated pair, there is an alpha and a submissive living in a symbiotic relationship. Each needs something from the other; only together can each be whole.”

“And the Queen’s mate?”

“That’s a unique relationship. Although the Queen is the lead alpha, leading and protecting all within the flock, her mate is her alpha. Our kind mates for life. When one dies, the other soon dies, too. To exist unmated is intolerable to us.”

All the puzzle pieces surrounding Queen Nadia fell into place, and Andrei immediately recognised the underlying misery befalling the queen. “And so, with Queen Nadia’s mate dead, she’s incomplete and out of balance — like a bird flying without its right wing.”

Ana nodded and swiped at a tear. 

“So, is she dying?” The thought paralysed him, but he had to know.

“She doesn’t have to. The queen alone can create another of our kind with her blood. She could be mated once again if she chooses.” 

*

Andrei hadn’t slept in days, worrying about the queen. She needed him; that much was obvious. He doubted she could ask for what she needed yet, so he’d take matters into his own hands. 

Queen Nadia stared through stinging tears at the pair of raven sculptures Andrei had finally completed when he barged into her bedchamber.

“When did you last cum?” 

He’d caught her off guard, and she cupped her mound in agony while the remainder of her aloof facade crumbled. “Not since my last morning… with him.”

He stomped toward her, half angry, half empathetic. “Why have you deprived yourself of this pleasure?”

“I only cum with my mate’s permission.” She choked on the emotion rolling up in her throat. “And he’s no longer here to give it.” 

He heard the thick desperation in her voice and pulled her roughly against his chest. “Then you will get permission from me.” 

She said nothing, considering his words with her fractured mind. He placed the palm of his hand on her chest, feeling the hammering of her pulse. 

“Nadia, give me your trust, and I will fill your vacant holes.”

He staked his first claim by leaning in to capture her bottom lip with his teeth. A low moan escaped her mouth. Andrei took advantage of her parted lips and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, controlling the intensity of their kiss.

When he pulled away, she instantly missed the taste of him. 

He gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. His sudden switch to a softer touch reminded her of Dragan, so she pulled away, protesting, “I can’t.” 

“Nadia, I care about you. More than you know, and what I’m about to do, I do for your own good.”

His words “for your own good” sent shivers down her spine, and forgotten wetness gathered deep within her pussy. 

Andrei briefly left her to select a crop from the wall. Her widening eyes fixated on the crop, and a deep blush blossomed across her face and breasts. 

He stepped closer and caressed her cheek once again. “Trust me.”

She whimpered but allowed him to position her on her knees on the bed, where he lifted her silk ivory dress over her head, then removed his clothes.

“Now, say, ‘I deserve pleasure.’”

She shook her head.

Snap!

When the leather tongue of the crop bit her arse, she buried her face in the bed covering so he wouldn’t hear her gasps.

“Say, ‘I deserve pleasure.’” 

She said nothing. 

Snap! Snap! Snap! 

Her lips remained tightly pressed together, and even though fire spread across her bottom, she stubbornly fought against the pain. 

“Say it. Surrender to me.” 

Snap! Snap! Snap! 

Her entire body shook, and he heard her faint cries. Sensing she was on the verge of submitting, Andrei pushed harder. 

“I can do this all night. Say. It.” He punctuated the last two words with a sharper tone.

She jerked her head to the side and spat at him. “No! I failed him! Don’t you see?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she cupped her hand against her mouth as if to push the words back down her throat. Her body crumpled and trembled as she sobbed. 

Andrei sat beside her on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. He brushed the strands of hair wet from her tears away from her face and softly caressed her back. After her sobbing settled, he softly spoke. “Dragan failed you, too. He was your protector, and he allowed himself to be taken from you, leaving you all alone.”

Her face changed, and he saw the wheels spinning inside her beautiful head. His spoken words lifted a burden from him as well, realising he hadn’t forgiven himself for not being able to save his wife and unborn child. 

He lifted her chin, forcing eye contact. “You self-loathe because, as queen, you ultimately bear the responsibility of the flock’s safety, and you feel guilty for loathing him because he left you. Is that about right?”

Nadia nodded and chewed on her lower lip, looking like a lost little girl to him.  

“But members of your flock have told stories of your love for Dragan and his love for you. The man they described has forgiven you. And that same man expects you to forgive him and yourself and experience pleasure once again.” 

He dipped his chin and kissed her mouth with the passion that had steadily been building since he first laid eyes upon her. 

She submitted to him and her desires, grinding her cunt on the hardness in his lap until he could stand it no longer. Dipping her back, he grasped his thick cock and thrust it into her softness, plumbing her depths. 

“See how we fit together, Nadia,” he grunted. “Two pieces needing the other to become whole.”

Andrei said no more as his mouth was needed for other things. Bowing his head, he exquisitely tortured her nipples while she rocked on his lap, burying him deeper. His cock reached new lengths with her undulations. 

“Cum, sweet Nadia.”

Her stomach tightly coiled as she became a wild animal, driven with need, and cried out each time she plunged her cunt on his cock. Her hands searched for new places to touch.

His dominance fed her arousal, so he gripped her hips and took control, thrusting deeper with a force she thought would split her into pieces. 

“Cum!”

She experienced ecstasy at that moment and toppled over the edge, screaming his name. His cock burst inside her with the first spasm of her cunt, and he bruised her mouth with his. His lap was soon wet with the spillage of their releases. 

It was only when Nadia’s upper body and head fell limp against him that Andrei repositioned them on the bed. They lay on their sides, facing one another. Their legs tangled, and he planted small kisses against her lips until her breasts rose and fell with deep, satisfied breaths. 

“Closer,” he whispered. She cuddled against him, and he held her tightly as if she was something he was afraid to lose. 

She wanted a future in his arms, so she impulsively pierced a vein in her wrist with a long fingernail. He bolted upright, startled by the blood pooling in the palm of her hand. 

She sat up, extending her wrist toward his mouth. “Drink from me, or return to the pretty one clinging to you in the village.” 

He hadn’t expected what she offered and was trying to grasp the gravity of becoming one of them. 

Tears ran down her cheeks. “I want you as my mate, but only if you want me. And if you don’t choose to be my mate, I can no longer tolerate you within my sights. It’s a pain I cannot bear.” 

~O~

The following morning, the sun barely peeked above the horizon, seemingly hovering in place, perhaps generously giving the night sky a few more moments as the romantic backdrop for the two ravens soaring over the castle. 

One was leading, the other following, and all was well again.