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The Holy Knight Of Eriskay
Chapter 24: Dusk At Dawn

Chapter 24: Dusk At Dawn

Ash turned over with a groan as Khukri’s strong, warm arms squeezed him tighter. A smile crossed his lips as he breathed in her scent; that spicy earthen mix that lulled him to sleep each night only to lure him to consciousness at sunrise. “You’re alive.” He mumbled, ruffling the fur along her thighs and side as he hugged back. “Thank Deianira.”

Her head rubbed roughly against the side of his muzzle as she clung to him under the haphazard clothing nest. She let out a low whine, the kind she used when desperate for approval, and something he hadn’t heard in weeks.

“Shhhh, that’s a good girl,” he assured, tracing her back up to her ears with one hand before gently gliding down the silky fur to her tail. He repeated the process, letting her cling to him for as long as she needed.

Eventually, her arms loosened and she shuffled back to meet his gaze when he opened his eyes. With a sniff and a soft laugh, her arms retracted to rest gently on his chest. “Good morning, Master.”

“Morning, Khukri.” Ash pulled back as well, gently scratching under her chin. “I’m going to take a look at the beast, okay?”

Her eyes widened, hands eagerly folding around his wrist. “It’s early. You’ll be cold.”

“I’ll only be a minute,” he assured, squeezing her hand softly. “Keep the bed warm for me?”

She gave a soft smile, fingers loosening. “Yes, Master.”

When Ash's feet met cold stone, he paused, rolling his ankles as he explored the myriad of cuts and sores from last night’s stumble through the darkness. Judging them acceptable to walk on, he stood, breath illuminating as it caught a sunbeam. The warehouse sprawled out before him in all its glory, radiating with the rays of a rising sun at an angle he’d never had the pleasure to see.

Ash stepped up to the railing, getting his first look at the hissing laughter from the darkness that haunted his nightmares. Sunlight fell across its strange clear skin, blended with swirling clouds of white, like milk and water that wouldn’t mix. The monster’s skeleton was a network of wiry fishlike bones connecting the massive jaw to the rest of its body. It lay sprawled across the tops of the lower shelves, though the light revealed a shimmering puddle of cloudy fluid filling the rows beneath it. Blood, Ash realized, blood that would rot, once the cold dissipated. If they couldn’t scrub it clean, their hiding spot would fill with bugs and a vile smell by the next night, which would be doubly troublesome if it messed with Khukri’s sensitive nose.

Ash followed the railing to the entrance where his rope still hung. It slid easily off the beast’s limp claw as he pulled, revealing a notch in his noose. It'd nearly been sliced in two. A lump formed in his throat as his gaze returned to the fallen monster, realizing what happened. When he’d stumbled, half-conscious, through that door, running on instinct and terror, Khukri was fighting for her life. He didn’t know what the laughter in the darkness was, only that he couldn’t let Khukri face it alone. With a barrel of ale and his helmet wrapped in a cloak, Ash had set a lantern and yelled. He’d intended to tighten the rope once it bit his dummy, then hold it in place and strangle the thing.

What he’d actually done was snag one of those long, curved claws. That wouldn’t have been enough to kill it, even if the claws hadn’t been sharp enough to slice free. All he’d succeeded in doing was piss it off, leaving Khukri to save his dumb ass… again.

The rope thumped against the ground floor as Ash turned, releasing a long trail of steam with his sigh. His back pressed against the cold railing. Yesterday’s clothing was probably torn and soaked in monster blood somewhere down there. The sword was still up here, of course; he’d discarded it the moment he’d entered the building. Even in his delirious state, Ash wasn’t stupid enough to think entering the fray was anything more than suicide.

A chuckle escaped as he tucked his hands under his armpits, the chill numbing the painful scratches beneath his feet. He was lucky to be alive, lucky to have dragged the strongest girl he’d ever met into his nightmare, and lucky she didn’t resent him for being too weak to pull his weight.

This was the second time Khukri had nearly died fighting his battles. Ash wasn’t strong enough to fight Via honourably, and now he had Issac’s mother to contend with. A new enemy with far more resources and in her own territory, of which he knew so little he didn’t even have her name. Ash had let his guard down after the plan to beat Via went off without a hitch. He thought he was so clever that nothing could touch him. But being clever wasn’t a choice, it was just what you called yourself when you didn’t have the strength to fight like a girl.

It was too late to come clean, now. Even if he told them it wouldn’t make a difference. They’d still detain him until they were sure, probably punish him for tricking them, and definitely make Khukri tell them about his powers.

Ash padded toward the straw bed, catching Khukri’s inviting eyes as she shuffled back so he could curl up against her the way he liked. People like Khukri deserved to be protected. It was what Sturm would do, but last night quashed any notion that Ash could protect anyone. It’d be one thing if he’d done everything he could, but the truth was he hadn’t. He’d been given power he didn’t deserve, and if he wanted to live, wanted to protect the ones he loved, he couldn’t live with a weapon sheathed.

Straw crinkled under his weight as he pushed the clothing aside and climbed atop Khukri, with one knee nestled between her legs and hands braced on either side of her head. His eyes freely roamed her body, from her feet, past her waist, and lingered on the clawed hands covering her breasts. He settled, waiting until she cocked her head with a curious glance and folded her hands behind it.

On her first day, Khukri stripped naked and never stopped Ash from looking, but he’d tried to be better than his base impulses. After months of lying with her at night, resisting his ignoble urges as she affectionately played with him, he finally took a moment to drink her in. The soft layer of fur covering her breasts shifted as her chest rose and fell. Clouds of steam rose with each breath, rustling her fur gently enough he could barely make out her nipples, hiding like hunters camouflaged with the snow.

He smiled, eyes trailing up her chest to the silver circle around her neck with ‘Governor Ruari’ etched in place. Past that, he found her lips, twitched up in a playful smirk before resting on her eyes, a vibrant cobalt blue that reminded him of the ocean surrounding Eriskay.

The first jump into the ocean after winter was always a shock. Icy water slipped between your fur and slithered over every inch you fought all season to protect. Your feet swung helplessly as you realized the reality that tethered you to the earth was severed and nothing you did would bring it back. For a moment, that part of your mind that knew better shut down and panic shot through every inch of your body, leaving only a single primal command. One Ash intended to heed.

“You’re beautiful, you know.” Ash’s hand slid around her head to caress the side of her face.

Khukri twitched, pressing into his hand with an affectionate growl. “I’m the best.”

Ash brought his muzzle close to hers, turning slightly as his eyes shut. “I know.” Her lips parted easily as they kissed. He moved softly at first, exploring the soft ridge of fur around her mouth with one lip, and the inviting warmth inside her mouth with the other. Soon he pushed deeper, finding her tongue eagerly awaiting him as it playfully wrapped around his, teasing him as she pushed back. His throat vibrated as she moaned into him, urging him on as his hand cupped her head, pressing further until she grunted and gently clenched her jaw, sending goosebumps through his skin as a row of sharpened teeth sank into his cheeks.

Heavy, heated breaths escaped them as he pulled back, meeting her playful gaze with his own hungry stare. Khukri swallowed, ears folding as she smiled. “Wolves… not the best kissers. It’s the jaw, see?” Her mouth parted, spreading far wider than any animal or beast he’d seen, revealing a long row of wicked teeth framing her perfect pink tongue.

A grin crossed Ash’s face as his fingers traced the side of her maw, running a thumb down the daggerlike row. “Sorry.”

Her mouth closed, returning to a smile as she trailed a claw up his arm, then moved it to her own neck, sliding it across the collar with a metallic ring. “Don’t worry Master, everyone needs a reminder of what they’re supposed to do, from time to time.” Her hand left the collar and grabbed his wrist, gently guiding him to her breast.

Silky fur threaded through his fingers and caressed his palm as he fondled her, gently massaging the firm mound as it filled his hand. He squeezed, eliciting a soft moan as her hardened nipple pinched between his middle and ring fingers. Fire stirred deep in Ash as he released her, guiding her leg around him so he knelt between her spread thighs. He leaned over her, pressing their bodies together as he easily caught her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, kneading the little button and making her squirm in his grasp.

Curious now, Ash brought his mouth to her tit, flicking his tongue across her nipple as he massaged her breasts. She tensed, moaning tinged with reservation as he pressed on before sinking his teeth into her with a teasing bite.

She sucked in a frightened breath, then exhaled a long nervous giggle. “Your teeth are flat!” she teased, running her hands down his antlers and over his ears.

Ash felt his length unsheath, slowly gliding through their fur as it forced its way between them. He let out a displeased grunt, teeth still firmly clamped around her, and gave a warning bite that made her gasp and retract her hands to above her head. His jaw loosened as he returned to teasing her, holding her between his teeth and toying with his tongue. Her moans increased, getting more pleading as she started writhing underneath him, stimulating his fully engorged shaft between her soft coat and his coarse one with each movement.

The base of his cock slipped between her pussy lips, pressing her eager wetness against his groin. He instinctively released his bite, moaning with her as a rush of heat flooded him, banishing the biting cold as he shifted his hips back. The underside of his cock slid between her folds a few times as he experimented with grinding against her, rubbing her clit with each stroke.

When he met her eyes again, steam radiated past sharpened teeth in eager pants as she wriggled underneath him, letting out a low pleading whine. Ash leaned back, spreading her legs to either side of the straw as he felt her tail dance uncontrollably between his. Then he resumed thrusting, gliding most of his length along her sensitive lips as they rolled their hips together, rocking harder and faster as urged on by her pleased moans.

Unable to take any more, Ash pulled back further, rising to a full kneel as the head of his cock pressed against her entrance. Her moaning vanished, replaced with a terrified whimper as she looked down at him, clenching fistfuls of straw. He hesitated, swallowing between pants as he met her eyes. “Uh, is it alright if I, um, you know.”

“No,” she whined. “That’s mine.”

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Ash’s head swam as he stared down at the vulnerable girl exposed before him, waiting for him to decide what to do. If she didn’t want this, she could’ve stopped him whenever she wanted. Even now, spread beneath him as he cupped both her knees in his hands, she was still the hunter that downed a velkammer. As Ash’s mind refocused, he remembered what had stopped him in the first place. Khukri, for all her strength, was a slave. She thought she’d literally go insane if she tried to stop him, and she’d do whatever he wanted, whether or not he had her consent.

For a moment, the better man in him held back, urged him to pull back for now and... and what? Explain things to her? Romance her like one of those sweet-talking island boys? So long as he held her leash, it didn’t matter what else he said or did. If he wanted her consent, he could just order her to give it to him, as though that would somehow ease his conscience. What then? He was willing to risk her life fighting his battles, but not her comfort? Did that somehow make him less of an asshole, or just a hypocrite desperately trying to feel better about the monstrous decision he’d already made?

Khukri shuffled back uncomfortably, letting his dick slip from between her slick folds as she moved. Instinctively, he released her leg and seized her collar to return her to her place. He needed a moment to think, damn it, she could wait one minute.

Khukri swallowed, speaking in an uncharacteristically small voice. “I said no...” His cock throbbed, urging him on as he pressed harder, slipping the tip between her slit. That wasn’t like her. Sometimes she disagreed, sometimes she proposed alternatives or laid out his options to convince him to take another path. Not once had she ever flatly refused him. “Master... stop.”

Ash’s eyes widened as he felt her tail twitch beneath him. Was she... was she getting off on this? He’d never understood this girl, not really. Like anyone else she enjoyed good food, a soft bed, and someone to talk to. But what he didn’t get was her constantly treating him like he was stronger than her, despite the obvious reality. The messed up part? He’d actually come to enjoy it.

Curious, Ash veiled his features in a stern mask, pulling her collar and leaning right up in her face. His voice dropped, losing any softness. “You belong to me. You don’t tell me no.”

Her tail jumped, batting against his leg. Unbelievable! The crazy bitch was messing with him... Issac’s warning surfaced as Ash shoved her back down and grabbed her leg again. Khukri’d been obedient and soft with him, but she’d never been honest. She’d hidden how much she understood about his powers and intentions for months. It was possible, even plausible, she understood how much he’d enjoyed being treated like he was strong, and she was weak, rather than the reality. Hell, there was a chance she acted that way because she understood what’d make him happy.

Maybe she was a bit unstable, a touch unhinged, but if she wanted Ash to be rough? Well, he’d come to enjoy what she’d offered. She stared up at him, ears folding as she let out a pathetic whimper.

Ash bucked forward, burying his cock to the hilt as he slammed into the wolf and was rewarded with her pained cry. He ignored Khukri’s pleading eyes as he sank deep. Her warm pussy wrapped around Ash, enveloping his entire length in a pulsating wet embrace. With a pleased groan, he released her knees and grabbed her hips, pinning Khukri down as he fucked her, enjoying the mewling yelps that came with each thrust and encouraged him to go faster.

Thoughts burrowed through the intoxicating rush as he watched her fruitlessly trying to squirm away. This wasn’t what he came here for. It was hard to remember why that mattered, but it was literally his life on the line. Ash looked down at her stomach, enacting the search for magical energy that had become second nature over a year of casting Dawn. Immediately, Khukri lit in a pink glow that pulsed in intensity every time he drove into her.

Despite suspecting this was the trigger for Dusk, Ash was still stunned. How was he supposed to cast anything like this? He could barely think! Ash moved one hand from her hip to her stomach and seized her light. Her stomach muscles tightened around him just beneath his hand before he tried extracting it.

It flowed to a point, instantly slamming into Khukri’s skin and refusing to flow any further. Her whines stopped as she bucked against him, back arching as she let out a primal scream. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she thrashed, howling uncontrollably as her pussy seized, vibrating and spasming as it clamped so hard around Ash’s cock he couldn’t pull it free.

Ash yelped in pleasure and surprise, releasing the light as he used both hands to steady himself. As fast as it started it stopped. Khukri’s back fell onto the straw and her wail cut short, eyes locking onto Ash as she steadied her trembling limbs. “What the fuck?” she asked between laboured gasps. “Is that what it feels like when men cum?”

Ash watched the receding glow fade with every moment he wasn’t moving inside her. “Sorry, I’ve never done this before. I think I did something wrong. Did I hurt you?”

She collapsed, exposing her throat as she leaned back to catch her breath. “A little, but at the end, it stopped hurting and got… intense. I forgot what it was… ”

“I need to try again,” Ash told her, grabbing her by the hips and steadying himself inside her.

She let out another whine as she raised her head. “Can you be gentle this time, please?”

“We’ll see.” In the year Ash had been casting Dawn, he extracted the light through his hands. It made sense; that was how you interacted with the world, but maybe it wasn’t about making sense. The question he should’ve been asking was, would the pervert goddess design a spell that limited the positions you could have sex in? Further, was his ‘enhancement’ actually a gift she added, or was she honest when she said the only changes she made were to enhance his magical ability?

Ash slowly dragged back, then buried himself inside her, causing the glow to pulse again. This time, instead of treating it like Dawn, Ash focused on drawing the light through her opening. Again, Khukri reacted, releasing a shuddering sigh as he pulled it closer.

He started fucking again, increasing his pace and drawing light with each thrust. The more he gathered, the faster Khukri panted, trembling as she started rocking her hips against him and letting out small moans as she tried to take him faster.

“Done resisting, Khukri?” he asked, feeling her pulse around him with every push.

“M... Master? I feel...” Khukri trailed off into an incoherent moan as Ash moved faster, frantically slamming into her as he got closer, greedily siphoning light into himself like a drug he needed for the world to feel right. Khukri’s eyes rolled back as her pussy swallowed him, convulsing tighter every time he pulled out and eagerly sucking him back in. Her mouth fell open, drool dripping from her tongue as she let out breathy beastlike wails of pleasure, dropping any hint of resistance as he ravaged her.

With a bestial groan, Ash pushed her into the hay, falling over her in ecstasy as cum flooded from his cock, pumping into Khukri as the pent-up light exploded into her. Khukri howled, back arching as she convulsed against him. Her pussy seized, pulling cum deeper before she went limp, twitching and quivering as it gushed around his dick and leaked out of her.

Ash stared at her absently blissful face, twitching as rolling waves of pleasure washed over him. He felt unstable waves of light spread throughout his body before collecting in his throat. He moaned again, leaning over his toy as his jaw shifted, pressing further from his face as his climax extended an agonizingly long time. Ash twitched breathlessly as his teeth spread through his extended mouth and sharpened, each change sending a shockwave of pleasure through him until he hunched over, breathing in Khukri’s musk like she was conquered prey.

Khukri’s eyes fluttered as she looked around, muscles still twitching as she caught sight of him. A furious snarl escaped her as she bared her teeth, jaws opening as she lurched forward. Instinctively, Ash retaliated, diving face first under her open mouth and wrapping his teeth around her throat as he pressed her into the hay. When he tightened his jaw, she went limp, letting out a small whimper of surrender. “I’m sorry,” she said in a panicked whisper. “I’ll be good.”

This was what it was like to have a woman fear him, wasn’t it? To fear his power; what he could do to her if he felt like it. His teeth sank deeper into her throat, moving her whisper to a frantic choking gasp as he felt her heartbeat quicken through his teeth. His cock throbbed, hardening again as he listened to her beg. Ash held her in place, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as he started fucking, barely letting her breathe. Cum gushed from her with each thrust while he dared her to resist. He’d teach this bitch where she bel... onged... Oh goddess, what the fuck was he doing?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw tears rolling down Khukri’s desperate face as she soundlessly moved her mouth, still trying to beg for forgiveness. Ash opened his jaw, letting Khukri gasp and cough as he pulled out of her and let cum flow freely into the straw.

Without waiting to see if she’d kill him, Ash scrambled off, leaving a trail on the floor as he staggered upstairs. Once he reached the top, he turned, pressing his back to the banister overlooking the warehouse and sinking to the floor, letting the morning chill seep into his fur again.

That was bad, really bad. He’d known his fear of women was unhealthy, but this was a step beyond the pale. All he’d ever wanted was to be away from them, not hurt them, and to take it out on Khukri of all people?

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there before Khukri padded up after him, sinking to crawl and lowering her head once she saw he was sitting. “Master?”

Ash squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hands over his face as though he’d be less of a monster without seeing his victim. It did nothing to keep the noise of her shuffling toward him from getting through. When she was right next to him, she collapsed to the floor, folding her warm neck fur across his feet.

When he opened his eyes she whimpered, curling into a ball and tucking her tail between her legs. “I’m sorry, Master.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ash said. “I think... I’m not a good person.”

“I tried to bite you,” she insisted. “I could’ve gone feral; any other owner would’ve put me down just to be safe.”

Ash only curled tighter, pressing his forehead to his knees.

“Master?” Khukri whined. “Are you afraid of me again? Do you want me to stay outside?”

He sighed, fingers brushing the reddened fur of her throat aside as he checked the wounds. They weren’t very deep, thank the goddess. His hand trailed up to her head, slowly petting her as he realized he’d fallen out of the language she preferred. Khukri was his beast, and a beast didn’t blame their owner. “You’re a good girl.”

She let out a doubtful whine.

“Shush now, it was a mistake, I probably spooked you back there with uh...” Ash curled his lips back, revealing his new teeth. When she nodded, he withdrew his hand, patting the space next to him. “Come here, sit.”

Khukri shuffled next to him, then curled up the same way he had. When she was finished, he resumed petting her. “That’s a good girl. When Deianira came to me, she gave me two spells. One was the plant growing thing, this is the other one.”

“It gives you a dog’s mouth?”

Ash blinked, exploring his new teeth as he licked the blood from them. “I... I’m not a hundred percent sure what it does. I’ve never used it before.”

Khukri’s head cocked. “You’ve had it for a year.”

He groaned, withdrawing his hand. Apparently, he was going to spill all his secrets. “I can’t just use it whenever. I need to draw the light from someone first. The plant one, Dawn, I can pull out of someone by touching them, someone fertile, I think. Doesn’t seem to work on little kids or some older people. The other, Dusk, I need to have... I need to do the thing we just did.”

A long silent moment passed while she processed that. “So if you fucked me again, you’d get even stronger?”

A choking laugh burst from Ash before he could stop himself. He’d nearly killed her not ten minutes ago, and she was already willing to do it again. “If it’s anything like Dawn, I can’t. I get one cast per person, once per day... ish.”

Another pause. “So if I brought you another girl- ”

“Woah!” Ash said, causing her to flinch. “Woah, just, no. I might be a bad guy but... holy shit, there’s a limit.” He hesitated, then scooted closer and put an arm around her. “I think it has something to do with what I’m thinking about when I uh...”

“When we,” she corrected

“When we... climax.” He looked away awkwardly. “I dunno.”

“You were thinking about my mouth?” she asked, playful tone returning. “Out of everything you did to me, my mouth is the thing that put you over the edge?”

“...Shut up.”

She grinned, nuzzling against him. “Would’ve been weird if you were thinking about my pussy, huh?”

“Shut up.”