1. Bear

Stepping forward, your eyes carefully trace over the different signs, taking in each one slowly. Though, he was the one who provided you with the talisman, you know you could never choose Ulf. You've grown quite tired of his brutish mannerisms and trickery. In fact, you may have also grown tired of his brother now that you think over it more. While his touch does leave you completely satisfied you feel as your life with him isn't. The only time he seems to be around is when he craves your body and that's just not enough for you. Turning, your eyes settle on the sign pointing left and think about your time with Sten. Though he's as rough as your average Dane he was always more careful around you than anyone else has been. It's true the life he leads isn't an easy one but you feel as if you still have so much to learn from it. You don't look at the other signs again when you step past the post and make your way down the left path. After you take a few steps down it, you gasp when you're hit by a sudden down pour of rain. The sky is turning black and you look up when a bolt of lightening streaks across the sky. The lightening is quickly followed by the loud crash of thunder and you wince slightly at the noise. When you look back down you're surprised to see you're standing back in the real forest where you had been before. Reaching a hand out, you feel the tree you've been standing in front of and lean around it.

You're unable to see anything and the only sound you can hear comes from the storm. Hesitantly, you move around the tree and take a step forward. A bolt of lightening pierces the sky and you jump slightly in surprise. Sten is standing, facing you, a few yards away. His gaze was cast downward at the slumped figure before him but it moves up when the area is light up. His eyes land on you just before the world is engulfed in darkness again. You hold your breath as you hear him move forward and after a minute you feel his hands on your arms. He sighs deeply as he pulls you into a long embrace. He somewhat reluctantly pulls back a moment later before saying, "It's not safe here." There's a slight pause before he continues to say, "I'm sorry to have to this again." Your brow furrows but before you can react you feel yourself being picked up and slung over his shoulder. Sighing, you relax your body and accept your fate as Sten starts moving through the forest. Eventually, you exit the treeline a considerable amount of distance from the keep and he sets you down. It's not quite as dark now that you're outside of the woods and your eyes slowly start to adjust. You falter slightly when you make out the shadows of a group of men ahead. Sten starts walking towards them and eventually you find yourself following behind him.

When he reaches them he turns to one of them men and you hear him say, "It's done." They nod to him and he continues past them to where some horses are tied up. You relax slightly when you feel his familiar hands on your waist as he helps you on the horse. A moment later he's sitting behind you and wraps one of his large arms around your waist. Relaxing further, you lean back into his warm chest as he leads the horse forward. The men follow some yards behind as you start heading north along the side of the forest. The rain continues beating down as it grows later into the night but Sten keeps riding. Hours later the storm has passed and the first rays of sunlight are beginning to peak over the edge of the horizon to your left. They continues rising and further illuminate the area before you, revealing large white in the distance before you. You've never seen mountains in real life before and though they're still quite far away, you're in awe at their large stature. You continue for another hour or so before Sten stops to let the horses rest and eat. He's been silent the majority of the trip and seems to still be solely focused on the journey. He doesn't let the horses rest for long before you're on your way again. The mountains slowly become larger as the day grows later and you continue heading in the direction of the long, dark, shadow they cast.

Large swaths of dark orange and red swirl around the sky as sun set begins approaching and you finally reach the edge of the mountains. A few crudely built wooden structures sit along the base of the mountains and Sten stops his horse a few yards away from them. After he helps you down, you take a moment to stretch and realize just how exhausted you've become. Following a few steps behind Sten, you're confused when he walks past the structures and into the trees that cover the eastern side of the mountain. The sun continues slowly sinking lower in the sky and a light breeze blows around you. After walking for a few minutes you hear the familiar sound of water rushing. Sten rounds a bend and when you follow him you see a narrow stream of water flowing down the side of the mountain. Your eyes follow the trail of water and see that it ends at a large pool of water a few feet ahead of you. The past day has been so distracting that you're just now noticing Sten is still covered in dry blood and dirt. When you glance down at your own clothes you see you've also become quite dirty as well. Looking back up, your pulse increases slightly when you see Sten start pulling his shirt over his head.

You stand locked in place as you continue watching him undress and re-familiarize yourself with his figure. When he turns his back to you, to enter the water, you frown when you see another series of long scars across his back. They look quite similar to the one's he's recently acquired on his face and neck. While his back is turned to you, you quietly slip out of your clothes and walk up behind him. Sten pauses slightly when he hears you enter the water but doesn't turn around. The water cold but refreshing water is invigorating and you feel yourself becoming more alert and awake. Sten lowers into the water and stays submerged for a moment before resurfacing. You watch as water and dirt run down his broad back and find yourself reaching a hand out. You feel him tense slightly when your fingers trace down the long, wide, scars. He slowly turns around and his eyes trail down to your bare form. The water line sits just below your bosom and you're nipples have grown stiff and hard from the cold. Sten's hands are still under the water and in a moment you feel them brush up along your sides. They slowly surface and you feel his wet, warm, hands curl around your cold skin. You moan softly when his thumbs brush against your nipples a moment later.

Reaching your submerged hand out slightly you blush when your fingers graze past his warm skin. Taking a deep breath, you steady your nerves and reach forward more. Your fingers curl around his already rigid shaft and you see him close his eyes when he feels your touch. The surrounding water allows your hand to easily slide up and down his length as his hands continue moving about your body. Soon, one of his hands slides back down your side before coming to rest on your thigh. He squeezes your soft flesh gently before moving his hand in between your legs. Your grip on him tightens slightly when you feel his finger tip run along your entrance before moving inside. Tilting your head back slightly, you sigh as you realize how much you've missed his touch. His finger slowly but steadily begins moves in and out and it's not long before an intense orgasm overtakes you. Sten's other hand release his grip on you and slips back under the water. A moment later you feel him take your hand and pull it forward. Your fingers brush against rough skin and you blush again when he places your hand on the lower half of his gentiles. Hesitantly, you gently cup your hand around him and squeeze lightly. Sten groans slightly before removing his hand and placing it on your waist. He pulls you forward closer to him then slides a second finger deep inside you. Despite the overwhelming sensations coursing through you, you do your best to keep your grip on him steady and even.

The sun has completely set now but you've hardly noticed how dark it's grown as you find yourself lost in the moment. Closing your eyes, you moan again as Sten's fingers ram deeper inside you. His warm, rough, skin scratches the palm of your hand, and the other one starts pumping slightly faster. A moment later, your hand freezes and tenses lightly as another climax rushes through you. Sten's fingers slowly slide out of your still throbbing opening and pulls you even closer to him. He leans back slightly so he's almost in a sitting position and you quickly release your grip on him as he pulls you onto his lap. The water helps decrease some of the resistance but you still can't help gasping out as he enters you for the first time in months. You feel yourself relax into his arms as your body quickly readjusts to his size. Sten wraps one arm around your back and places his other hand on your hips. The tips of your toes just barely touch the bottom of the pond when he lifts you up. A moment later you feel yourself crashing back down onto him. Water splashes around you but you hardly hear it over your own cries of pleasure. Using what little leverage you have, you try to move yourself up and down but find that Sten is doing the majority of the work. His arm around you tightens as he lift you slightly higher this time.

You feel him slam deeper inside and cry out again from the sudden rush of pain. His pace begins to quicken and soon the feeling of pain becomes lost when you feel another orgasm building up. Wrapping your arms around his broad back, you squeeze tightly as the feeling overcomes you. You can hear Sten breathing deeply and the muscles under your hands flex and ripple as he moves. One of your hands slides down slightly and you feel the thick, rough, scars on his back brush against your soft palm. Sten's warm breath makes your cold skin tingle slightly as he buries his face in the crook of your neck. His rough beard scrapes against your delicate collarbone and you feel his pace slow down slightly. His firm but gentle movements are a stark contrast to the rough ones you've become accustomed to lately. You feel yourself melt further into his embrace as you moan his name. Pressure slowly builds up inside of you again and your nails dig into his back when it all comes rushing out. Your grip around him loosens as your body tries to recover from the immense wave of pleasure. Sten holds you steady in his arms for a moment before pulling your body off him. Frowning slightly, you don't have to react before he quickly turns you around and pulls you back into him. You gasp as you feel yourself roughly slide into him and his arms wrap around your waist again. Shifting back slightly, you find that your feet are finally able to touch the ground.

Sten keeps his grip around you loose as you start sliding yourself up and down his thick shaft. Leaning back into his broad chest, you close your eyes, and enjoy your controlled pace. Sten allows you to keep moving on your own and soon you feel your legs trembling slightly. With a bit of exertion, you lift yourself up one more time before collapsing back down into him. You exclaim lightly as your walls spasm around him and pleasure shoots through your body. Sitting back, you spend a moment catching your breath before you feel Sten's arms tighten slightly. You gasp in surprise when he sits up suddenly and water rushes down your open mouth as your upper half is submerged. Sten's arms release your waist and you feel his hands grab your flailing arms. You remain in a 90 degree angle, completely submerged, as Sten stands behind you and begins ramming inside you. **** slightly, you feel more water rush down your throat, as your body is thrust back and forth. Thankfully, Sten doesn't take long and a moment later, he pauses inside you after a deep thrust. The feeling of warm liquid shooting inside you, contrasted with the cold water around you, causes you to shiver. Sten's grip around your arms tighten and you gasp in a deep breath of air when you re lifted out of the water. Sten pulls you back into his embrace and close your eyes as you slowly catch your breath. Maybe Sten's not quite as gentle as you remembered but you find that doesn't seem to bother you. Sighing deeply, you settle back further into his broad torso and enjoy the moment of silence.