Craving Red: Paranormal Erotic Retelling of Red Riding Hood (Erotic Kingdom) Read online

  “The primal wolf in him craved her as he had craved nothing before.

  She would give up the only life she had ever known for him.”

  It is the night of the snow moon. Sweden, 1790.

  Maiden Kaia is days away from being married to the handsome Leif when her mother suddenly becomes gravely ill. Desperate to save his wife, her father sends his only daughter to the village on his horse to obtain help for her beloved mother.

  But Kaia will not be returning home.

  Out on the path, wolves emerge from the trees, surrounding her and spooking her horse. Fainting in sheer terror, the next thing Kaia knows, she is being dragged through the snow back to their lair. Shivering cold, half naked and bound, she startles awakes to the feel of warm breath blowing out over her body.

  The following day, she realises she sees no wolves around, but does see several other women there. Noticing they are all pregnant, Kaia fears her fate. Her fears are validated when one of them complacently informs her that her initiation is imminent. The moment her scent is ripe, she is to be mated by all males of the pack.

  Still worse than that is the struggle she is having with herself upon being presented with so much blatant man flesh walking about, leaving Kaia flustered with the responses of her body which are swiftly summoning forth to betray her. And then, she feels herself drawn to one in particular, Dane, the youngest member of the pack. But she swears she will not allow herself to fall for one of them.

  Will Kaia ever escape this primitive place to see her family again? And if she does, will she be able to suppress the primal need she feels awakening in her? Worse yet, will she want to?

  There is a battle of two wolves inside us all

  One is evil.

  It is anger, greed, jealousy, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego.

  The other is good.

  It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.

  Which wolf wins?

  The one you feed.

  ~ Cherokee Proverb

  Chapter One

  Though at the time it seemed an absolute horrid succession of tragic events, I now know that it all happened for a reason. The finest reason. And now, I can honestly say I am glad I endured it. For had I not, never would I have been led to my fated mate.

  The year was Seventeen hundred and ninety. It was December, the night of the snow moon, which in the northernmost region of Sweden meant it was right frigid.

  At that time, Kaia Klingstedt was a maiden, engaged to a promising young man, Leif Göransson. Though she would not go so far as to say she loved him, she did feel she was reasonably well-suited to the man she was to wed in three days’ time, and believed that in time she could grow to have an exceptional fondness for him. He was a good man, she told herself.

  Nonetheless, she accepted without question that this was the way things were. Passionate love was nothing more than a romantic notion conjured up in fairytales. It did not really exist, and therefore had no place in reality. Thus, Kaia, having been reared to be a sensible young woman, had never even considered the possibility. So to say that she was disappointed to be marrying a man she did not love would be inaccurate. She knew he would be a good provider and she would have a comfortable life with many smart, handsome children.

  Little did Kaia know how dramatically her path was set to alter before the next sunrise.

  Her mother, Britta, had suddenly become gravely ill. Her father, Tomas, had recently lost a leg in an accident and so could not ride great distances. Therefore, it was left to her to go procure medicine for her mother.

  Recognising at once the fact that she was in the midst of her menses, Kaia became somewhat concerned that the scent of blood might attract wild animals. Nonetheless, never could a young lady disclose a matter of such personal nature to her father.

  Detecting her ambivalent expression her father patted her arm in reassurance. “Not to worry, daughter,” he pronounced as optimistically as he could muster under the circumstances. “You are an excellent rider and the light of the full moon shall guide you home if darkness falls before your return.”

  Resigned with what she must do for the sake of her mother, Kaia shadowed him to the stable and stared blankly as he readied Absalon, his large, black horse, for her. Her mind was faraway worrying about venturing out alone through the wood. The journey would take most of the day. It would be a miracle if she made it back before the sun made its descent behind the towering fir trees. And she knew all too well how there was nothing darker than the wood in winter once the sun vanished.

  At least there would be the light of the moon. Although that thought did not offer much solace to her. Rather, it conjured up terrifying legends she had heard too many times as a young girl of the evil creatures to which the full moon brought life.

  “Absalon is my most surefooted mount. He shall keep you safe,” her father stated, though whether it was for her benefit or for hers, she was not entirely sure. “Now, daughter, you better be off if you are to make it back before the sun descends.”

  “Yes, father,” Kaia replied, her tone stoic.

  “And here,” he added, handing her a heavy red cloak. “I want you to wear this. Animals have a healthy fear the colour red. This will assure any you may come across keep their distance.”

  It will not be the red they perceive with their eyes, but rather the red they detect with their noses to which I fear their reaction.

  Nevertheless, to appease her father, Kaia slipped the cloak about her shoulders. Much too elongated for her small frame, the crimson fabric spilt onto the ground resembling a pool of blood upon the snow. At once, she strove to expel the unnerving image from her mind.

  Tomas smiled in satisfaction and planted a kiss upon his daughter’s cheek before helping her onto his horse. After taking a moment to settle herself in the saddle, he slapped the horse’s rump. Knowing her father would prefer her to keep a careful, steady pace, Kaia set off at a reserved trot. However, fully intent upon doing everything in her power to make it home before darkness fell, once out of sight of him, Kaia drove Absalon faster.

  She was delighted when she reached the village in scarcely half the time predicted by her father. Quickly making her way to the apothecary, Kaia procured the medicine and anticipated making it home well before sunset, a sense of relief settling in her that her journey was now half finished.

  However, as fate would have it, her intended path would drastically alter course before the day’s end.

  The initial delays all seemed harmless enough. First, after she had to explain to each person she came across why it was that she happened to be about the village on her own, then every single one of them had to extend their congratulations on her upcoming nuptials to Leif Göransson.

  Every maiden with whom she crossed paths would swoon to her, “Oh Kaia, do you realise how fortunate you are to be marrying Leif? He is so dreamy! Nearly every girl I know envies you your fiancée!”

  While she was not blind to the fact that he was indeed an exceptionally dashing man, still he was simply too refined for her taste. In the deepest crevice of her psyche, she found herself drawn to a more masculine, more raw sort of man. Not that her parents would ever allow her to be given to such a brute of a man, let alone be in the presence of them!

  But Kaia had spied them whilst out and about in the village. On more than one occasion she had even been gently reproached by her mother when caught staring at these men. The young men labouring on the streets, their hair disheveled, the glimpse of the muscles of their fo
rearms flexing, the perspiration making their skin glisten. The appearance of them was just so primal, so raw. It beckoned to something deep inside of her, though she could not be certain as to what it was.

  Two hours had passed by the time she was finally able to turn towards home. Looking up towards the descending sun already sinking below the midline of the sky, Kaia was disheartened that virtually all of the headway she had made on her journey there had been eaten up by this frivolous chit-chat. Anxious to make up for it, Kaia steered Absalon away from the village, digging her heels into his side firmly to urge him forwards.

  By the time she had reached the wood, already the sun was skimming the horizon. Kaia felt her stomach knot up at the thought that she may surely be caught there in the dark wood after all. As an only child, she had always endeavoured to give the impression of a brave girl before her father, and so had been careful never to reveal her fear of the dark, even as a child.

  Not that it would have changed anything. She still needed to do what must be done. For her mother.

  Anxious to make her way beyond this as soon as possible, Kaia spurred her horse into a run. However, it had already been a long day and having foregone his midday meal, the old horse simply could not maintain those speeds for long. Sensing his gait faltering, she sighed and pulled back the reins to let him slow to a walk for a time.

  The wood suddenly seemed darker now, twilight having come and gone in a flash whilst Kaia was focused upon moving briskly. Now only halfway home and reconciled to this temporary sluggish pace, she felt much less in control, and far more vulnerable. And she did not like it one bit. With each successive step through the snow-covered path, she felt her anxiousness mounting.

  Suddenly, the most unnerving feeling came over Kaia. The eerie feeling of being watched, like a deer being stalked by its prey. Unsure of whether it was the fear taking control of her mind or if it was indeed real, she swore she heard movement within the trees which flanked the path. When she could sense Absalon, too, growing anxious, she knew she could no longer hope it was merely her imagination, and cursed this fact.

  The horse’s anxiousness was mounting by the second— and hers along with it— as he stomped his feet beneath her, his tail swishing madly, his nostrils flaring out sending his hot breath out into the cold air like fog.

  Kaia’s pulse began to race.

  Her eyes were drawn to the trees, their lower branches now visibly rustling. She gasped as a second later an inconceivably large, stark white wolf stepped out, its red eyes staring intently at her. A moment later, another followed, followed by another and another. One by one, the massive wolves emerged from the evergreens, until the whole pack was standing there, staring at her and snarling.

  As though suddenly shrunken, Kaia’s chest tightened and her stomach clenched until she could scarcely find her breath.

  Should I command Absalon to run? But then that will only instigate them to chase us, and wolves are swift. Certainly more so than an old horse is capable of outrunning. Perhaps if we simply remain still, they will leave us and be on their way.

  From the savage expression in their glowing eyes, she quickly comprehended that she was gravely mistaken. And now her time had run out.

  Only lured in more by her fear, the wolves began stalking towards her. With each step they took, her chest squeezed in on her, restricting the necessary flow of oxygen, making her head feel hazy. In a matter of moments, they had surrounded her.

  Struck entirely helpless, Kaia was rendered as frozen as the Nordic landscape. The wolves rushed in on them and began mauling Absalon’s legs. Though she wished she could save her father’s old horse, she knew she was helpless to be able to do anything for him. All she could hope for now was to save herself. She rose her own legs up as high as she could to avoid the beasts’ gnashing teeth. The horse reared up high in terror, abruptly sending Kaia to the ground to fend for herself.

  Landing in the snow a few metres from her mount, the first sight her eyes took in was the dark blood streaming down the horse’s legs, the flesh hanging grotesquely from his bones. Absalon bolted down the path towards home, leaving her to the mercy of the wild animals. Though she felt utterly dreadful for thinking it, Kaia suddenly found herself hoping they would be diverted and pursue him, distracting their interest from her. But rather than chasing the frightened animal, the wolves swiftly closed in on her, snarling, their hot slaver melting the snow as it trickled onto it.

  Instantaneously her fear magnified to unparalleled levels. As though intent upon escaping with or without her, her heart commenced to beating wildly against her ribcage.

  What a way to go, to be torn to shreds and eaten alive by monster wolves.

  Expecting death, Kaia just squeezed her eyes shut tight and began to pray.

  Please God, for whatever reason you have chosen me to die in this horrid way, I cannot begin to understand, but please, if this is what it must be, than please just let it be swift. I only wish I could have gotten the remedy to my mother she so desperately needed. Now she will be sure to join me on the other side. But never would I have dreamed I would arrive there first.

  As the wolves moved in on her, she could feel their hot hungry breath beating down upon her in gusts, contrasting the frigid night air.

  Her heart unable to withstand another second of the intense level of sheer terror, Kaia fainted.

  Amid her wavering state of consciousness, she had the vague awareness of being dragged through the snow, though it seemed as nothing more than a dream.

  Or rather, a nightmare.

  Chapter Two

  If only it had been a nightmare.

  Shivering cold and bound, Kaia was roused back to consciousness by the feel of warm breath blowing out over her. She startled fully awake, taking in her immediate surroundings. At once, she comprehended that she was naked. And she was on the ground. But it did not seem to be on the path any longer, for she was not on snow, but rather some sort of animal hide. And she was cramped, very cramped. Her body ached something dreadful from the hard fall she had taken from the horse.

  Kaia attempted to stretch out her aching body only to find her limbs hit something solid. She was confined. She strained her eyes to assess the situation through her foggy eyesight, but could not seem to see a thing. It was still night, and evidently the deepest part of the night from the coal black dark which engulfed her.

  Reaching her hand out, she grasped onto something hard and cold. Wrapping her hand about it, Kaia quickly determined that it was an iron bar. She quickly let go and moved her hand over to the side, only to find another and another. Realising she seemed to be surrounded by the iron bars, she comprehended she was caged, much to her dismay. Nevertheless, she continued to search with her hands for an opening, all around her, above her. Yet, she found none other than the consistent span of a hand width between each of the bars.

  Her whimper elicited the bearer of the breath to move closer. At once, remembering the earlier events of the night, Kaia let out a small cry. Even through the dark, the moonlight glinted off of the red eyes staring down at her.

  But how did wolves manage to put her in a cage?

  The enormous white wolf stepped closer to her. Kaia attempted to scuttle away, but found she had nowhere which to move in such tight quarters. The beast seemed to smile down at her as she struggled, drooling, its white teeth gleaming in the moonlight, as if to exhibit the sharpness of them.

  The wolf stepped closer still, lowering itself to the ground where she lay and began sniffing her. Kaia stiffened when its large snout was a breath from her face. She breathed a slight sigh of relief when, seemingly satisfied, it moved away from her face. But it did not go away. Instead, the wolf sniffed along every inch of her body, until it had reached the V of her thighs. There it stopped, its sniffing growing more frenzied.

  Knowing it would surely be picking up the scent of her menses, fear rose up in her again. And she was not ignorant to the effect the scent of blood had upon wild predators. Deciding s
he was about to be devoured, Kaia screamed out.

  The wolf jerked its head back momentarily, laying its ears back flat against its head. Then it came back, drawn to the same spot and with its tongue protruding, reached out to her. Her eyes flared when its tongue made contact with her bared feminine flesh.

  Naturally, Kaia’s first reaction was to fight against it, clamping her legs closed. But its responding low rumbling growl quickly made her reconsider the rash movement. Parting her now quivering legs again, the wolf sneered at her for a moment in satisfaction before lowering its head back to her womanhood.

  The creature resumed with its long tongue lapping at the tender flesh. The heat of his breath washed through her and tongue penetrated her, diminishing her shivering at once.

  Kaia lay there stunned. She did not know what to think, what to feel. She could not deny that the warmth felt good when she had been so terribly cold. But that was not all that felt good. Still, she was not ready to admit such a thing to herself just yet. On the other hand, her mind was screaming at her to beware, that at any moment the wolf would chomp down upon that tender flesh with those razor sharp canines of his. But what could she do, trapped as this?

  Oh… Ohhh!

  Regardless, the instinctive responses of her body were rapidly clouding the sensible alarm of her mind, the wolf’s licking upon her swiftly transforming to unknown sensations unlike anything Kaia had ever experienced.

  Unable to believe the intensity of the pleasure she was feeling, it built up within her core more with each stroke of his tongue upon her. Kaia began panting out in short breaths as she squirmed beneath his tongue, actually finding herself hoping the creature would not suddenly stop lapping at her sex. Soon she was writhing, the climax of her pleasure quaking through her, her insides melting into molten liquid, her bewildered cries of ecstasy practically illuminating the dark night.

  Drawn to the scent or perhaps her sounds of pleasure, she noticed an equally large black wolf had come up full of acute interest. The white wolf growled at him fiercely, not willing to share his indulgence. She whimpered automatically when the beast temporarily removed his magnificent tongue from her.