MAIL ORDER BRIDE: ARISTOCRAT: The Duke’s Engagement (Historical Victorian Duke Romance) (New Adult Romance Short Stories) (13 page)

Erica glanced out the window only to see one of the engines explode in a fiery blaze.  Metal scraps trailed the wing and spun off into the sky.  Her terror soon turned to despair and then to downright frenzy.  She was not a religious woman but she couldn’t help but send a silent prayer up to God to see her through this ordeal.  The woman next to her vomited onto the floor and then fainted.  She wanted to help the woman but knew there was nothing that could be done.  Another glance out the window and now the mountains were closer and the ground was quickly approaching.  She knew that only moments stood between the present and the inevitable crash.  Soon a flurry of white, powdery hail pelted the aircraft and she knew that there was a stormy blizzard outside.  Another quick prayer and the plane leveled off somewhat before smashing into the ground, sending rock and snow every which way.  Erica blacked out.

*****

As consciousness back crept in, Erica was aware that she could hear before she could clearly see.  The noises, which were frightening, could only be described as low, steady growls.  The cold, wet snow beneath her chilled her to the bone.  She realized that she was going to have to regain her faculties soon if she was to avoid imminent danger.  She forced herself to sit up.  Pain shot through her spin and down her legs and her head rang and throbbed.  She could feel blood trickling down her forehead.  She opened her eyes and everything seemed a blur.  The growling noises intensified.  Whatever was making those sounds was coming closer.  Finally, she regained her vision and was shocked to see a group of about six or seven large brown bears gathering around a smouldering pile of wreckage which was the destroyed aircraft.  Bodies, blood, and gore were strewn about haphazardly in a wide radius surrounding the wreckage.  It appeared, from the outset, as though there were no other survivors.  Erica made a mental note to check for signs of life, but then quickly realized that this would be impossible with the pack of predators close by.

She crawled on her hands and knees over to the plane and hid beneath a broken piece of wing.  She could only hope that the bears did not see or smell her.  They seemed to be aggressive and would probably jump at the chance to make a meal out of her.  Suddenly a growling noise thundered from behind her.  She turned about and saw the biggest bear she had ever seen charging towards her.  Moments before the bear was on top of her a grey blur intercepted the attack and knocked her backwards while saving her from certain doom.  Her head hit the side of the wing and she was once again concussed into darkness.

When she woke up for the second time she was aware that she was lying in some sort of sturdy bed.  The mattress felt soft beneath her and she felt the warmth of a quilted blanket.  There was also a warm, wet towel on her head.  She thought of the bears, and the dead passengers, and the plane crash.  She wondered if the woman who had sat beside her had survived.  She wondered if anyone had survived.  The cabin that she was in was modestly decorated, and a fire was blazing in a stone hearth in one corner of the room.  A man was sitting in a chair next to her reading a book.  The man was tall, dark, and handsome.  He had a muscular build and was wearing tanned pants and a loose-fitting white cotton shirt.  His mouth seemed to have a sort of handsome benevolence to it, as if he was constantly smiling about something.  She guessed that he was her saviour and was now taking care of her and treating her injuries.  She also guessed that the cabin belonged to him and that he was probably some sort of lumberjack or mountaineer.  After all, they were in the remote wilderness and probably miles away from any town or settlement.

Erica decided to speak up: “Hello.  Who are you?”  It was a simple question, but she did not know how to begin a conversation with this strange man.  She knew very little about her current situation, in fact.

“I am Igor.  And you are Erica,” said the strange man.

“How could you possibly know that?”  asked Erica.

“I searched through your clothes and found your wallet.  Your name is Erica Wendy Jameson.  And you are 31 years old.”

There was a long pause.  She did not know what to say.  She admitted to herself that it was reasonable that this man would search through her stuff, but she felt violated in a strange way as well.  But of course she was alive, and she should be thankful for that.  It didn’t seem like there were too many other survivors of the crash.

“I guess I should thank you,” stammered Erica.  “You did save me did you not? The last thing I remember from before I passed out was a pack of bears searching through the wreckage.  And then that large bear came at me.  Was that you who intercepted the attack and saved me?”

“Those bears were part of an old, fierce tribe.  They claim these mountain ranges for themselves and are extremely territorial.  And yes, that was me that saved you.  But there is no need to thank me, I did it for as much as my own peace of mind as for your safety and benefit.”

Erica was not sure what to make of Igor’s last statement.  Why would saving a complete stranger be for his own benefit? She did have to admit that he was cute.  She had always had a thing for rugged-looking, masculine men.  She sat up and propped herself against the wooden wall.

“Do you have anything to eat?”  she asked innocently.

“I have some stew broiling on the hearth.  Relax and I’ll pour you a bowl.  I hope you like mutton.”

He prepared for her some of the stew, and she quickly gobbled it down.  She had to admit it was the tastiest thing she had eaten in days.  Much better than the airline food at the very least.  “Were there any other survivors?”

“No.”

“So I am the only one?”

“Yes.”

“What a shame.”  Erica hung her head and frowned.  She was truly disturbed by the transpiring of events and didn’t quite know what to make of it all.  It almost felt as though she were in a bad dream.  But she felt close to her saviour.  She would have to content herself with being his companion and allow him to help her survive out here in the wilds until she could get back to civilization.  She decided to ask him a few more questions about her plight.

“How am I going to get out of here?”  she inquired.

“Well, it’s a bit complicated.  As you may have guessed, we are in the middle of nowhere.  I make a living around here by harvesting nearby wildlife and hauling lumber to the closest settlements but I am not
completely
alone.  There are, others…”

“Other men like you?”

“Yes, other men like me.  I will be taking you to see them once you have recovered a bit more of your strength.  I imagine that within another day or so you will be ready for the journey into the nearest settlement.  But I warn you, you must keep an open mind.  We are not what you would call
ordinary
humans.”

Erica was a very open-minded individual.  She had always been used to hanging around unordinary people and even considered herself to be one.  But people who weren’t human? Could this be real? She wondered, if they were not human, what could they be?

“There is a war going on,” Igor continued, “Between our race and a warring faction.  I am a tribesman of the wolf shifters.  I belong to an ancient den of shapeshifters, and am myself a councilman, a fairly high-up rank.  We have the ability to transform into wolves.  When I saved you from that bear I was in wolf-form, a highly agile and ferocious manifestation that enables me to accomplish unbelievable feats of strength and courage.  Are you still with me?”

Erica nodded her head affirmatively.

“The warring faction that I am talking about is the group of bear-shifters.  They are similar to us in that they are shapeshifters, but their form takes on that of the brown bear.  They are a formidable enemy and have been for a long time.  They pose a threat to us and cannot be underestimated.  Tomorrow, when you are feeling better, I will be taking you to see the Alpha wolf.  He will make a decision about what to do with you.  But don’t worry, with me as your advocate, it is unlikely that any harm will befall you.”

Erica stared into Igor’s eyes for a few brief moments.  In them she sensed both a wildness and a benevolence at once.  It was as if he was a very kind spirit.  A question came to her: “How old are you?”

Igor laughed.  “I am many centuries old, my girl.  We don’t age in exactly the same way that you do.  The most common cause of death for my people is to die in battle.  We are a war-obsessed bunch.”

Erica’s heart began to throb.  She was still quite shaken up but she was beginning to feel safer by the minute.  At the same time, it was as if one of her girlish romantic dreams was coming true.  And this was romantic.  She had never been saved before and now she was sitting face-to-face and talking with an actual shapeshifter.  She was happy that she had him as her protector and would do all she could to live up to the privilege.

“Eat some more of that stew and rest up, girl.  Tomorrow we will start our journey and you will meet the head Alpha.”

Erica did as she was told and eagerly gobbled up the remaining portion of her stew.  She felt at peace and in a daze, knowing that she was lying next to a magical creature.  She had read about shapeshifters in her books and secretly always hoped that they existed.  Now she was in the same room as a real live one.

Igor went over to one of the bookshelves in the room and reached behind it, pulling out a black canvas case.  He drew from the case an elaborately decorated, delicate musical instrument.  As the light from the fire played off of it, Erica recognized it as a flute.  Igor started to play and after a few minutes became deeply set into his melodies.  His fingers forcefully and accurately pressed down onto the frets and a magical, beautiful tune ensued.  Erica became lost in the music and presently dozed off into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Erica awoke to the most sensual feeling she had felt in years.  There was a hand massaging her clit and another circling one of her nipples.  She let out a moan and opened her eyes.  Igor was lying beside her on the small cot, his legs entwined with hers.  She did not resist, and felt under some kind of magical spell.  She was powerless to resist (even if she wanted to).

She turned to face Igor.  Now there was only about a few inches between their noses and he leaned in and their lips met.  Their kiss lasted an unbroken two minutes, and then each of their pairs of lips parted.  Igor’s tongue danced inside her mouth, as their lips made kissing movements.  His breath tasted minty fresh and as her clit and pussy moistened thoughts of sex and love entered her mind.  She wanted to take things to the next level.

Erica adjusted her position and mounted Igor.  She started riding him and grinding back and forth.  She was fully wet now and could feel his throbbing manhood harden underneath her vagina.  She undid his fly and pulled out his hard, erect cock.  It was a pretty big cock, about eight inches, and it entered her vagina easily.  She then gyrated and bounced up and down, riding his cock effortlessly.  She was lost in pleasure.  The sensations and feelings were so good that she lost track of time.  She rode him for half an hour, until finally his hips shook and he got ready to come.  She promptly withdrew herself and kneeled down in between his legs.  She grabbed hold of his penis and jerked it off until he released a fresh load of cum that exploded onto her face.  She licked it from her lips, enjoying the taste.  Igor let out a manly sigh and put his arms behind his head, stretching.  They relaxed into a position together and dozed, half in sleep, half in sublime reverie, together.

By the time they crawled out of bed and got dressed it was well past noon.  Igor gave Erica a woolen cloak with many pockets to drape around her for their journey to the tribe.  He also managed to outfit her with some furry boots with leather seams that he happened to have on hand.  To make better time Igor decided that he would shift into wolf form and let Erica ride him as he cantered over to the settlement.

As they opened the cabin door and were met with a gust of wind and snow, Erica looked rather nervous.  “Don’t worry,” explained Igor.  “You will be riding me so just hold onto my fur and let me do most of the work.  You will stay warm – that cloak is very thick and has survived many winters.”

Erica marveled at the shapeshifting process.  Outside the cabin, Igor turned his head up to the sky and let out a fierce howl.  His neck grew thicker and longer, his arms grew muscle and fur, and his spine contracted as his back arched out into that belonging to a four-legged creature.  Once shifted, he looked like a magnificent specimen.  His fur was dark blueish black, and his long black claws made big tracks in the ice and snow.  She rode him for several miles until they ended up on a big hill overlooking the beautiful, natural wilderness.  Jagged peaks chased the sky over the horizon and dense forests filled the landscape.  A snowy blizzard obscured her vision and coated her cloak in a thin, powdery layer.

“Do you see it?” asked Igor.

“Yes.  I see a group of huts and tents down in the valley.  I see fires and smoke.  Is that your clan?”

“It is.  We will arrive momentarily and I will present you to the Alpha wolf.  You will not ask him any questions, and will listen carefully to what he says.  He and the rest of the group will be judging you to determine your fate.  It is my hope that they will see fit to help you return to civilization, but we will need to be very cautious and show a great deal of reservation.”

Erica nodded in assent.  She ducked and clutched onto Igor’s fur, preparing herself for the speedy descent into the valley.  He started at once and they raced in the snow, dodging trees and rocks as they made their way towards the clan.  It took about half an hour until they were within sight of the tents and huts.  She saw truly how big the settlement was, and was surprised to see it was very well organized as well.  There didn’t seem to be any extraneous structures and the tents and huts were all lined in a parallel fashion.