Warning: The following story contains gender transformation, nonhuman (anthropomorphic werewolf), and mind control elements. Those who wish to avoid such things might prefer to read something else.
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Life in the Windspear Moors was hard, of that there was no doubt. Its rocky ground was little use for crops, making even the most humble vegetable patch an unforgiving challenge. The highlands were cool in summer, and buried under wet, heavy snow all winter long. Scrub grass made for decent grazing, though, so it was wool and mutton all day every day.
It was a life. Herds multiplied, nobody starved, and the tall mountains kept the worst beasts away. Their village was prosperous after a fashion, but it was not an easy life. Never easy.
Being just a tiny bit too young the last time army recruiters came, Kaiden was one of the very few able bodied men in town. It was hard work. Many tasks called for a man's strength and there were few enough of those to go around. Even at nineteen, he was only just coming into the fullness of a man's strength, and with only a few others his own age around, much of the hard work fell to him.
Difficult though it was, his situation did come with a few notable perks.
One of which happened to approach just as he was halfway through splitting firewood for the coming winter.
"Got a moment to yourself?" she aksed with a twinkle in her eye and a sway to her hips.
Kaiden laughed, and with an easy swing left the axehead buried in the stump. He straighted to wipe the sweat from his brow, but made no move to replace his missing shirt.
"Good to see you Rose, but weren't you supposed to be pickling beets for Widow Olsen?"
Rose answered with her lips against his, and with the press of her soft body. Axe forgotten, his hands took to the task of unlacing her dress.
"If anyone asks," she breathed as their kiss broke. "That's exactly where I am."
"I really shouldn't," he said reluctantly. "Mr Vintner asked me to swing by just as soon as the splitting was done. Sounded mighty important."
"Then we'd better make this quick," she laughed, shucking off the rest of her clothing and bearing him to the ground.
Four years older than him and with a body to shame a goddess, Kaiden should have been utterly beneath her notice. Had things been otherwise, she would have been long married now, likely with children of her own on the way. These were far from normal times.
Sure, she could have had an easier life if she'd taken up with one of the grey bearded widowers who had propositioned her. Even the old mayor of Bywater Keep - the closest thing they had to a nobleman - had talked about taking her as a third wife.
Rose was something of a free spirit and a romantic, however, and not one to be tied down by a husband thrice her age. She wanted youth and excitement, and wasn't willing to settle. As there were no men her own age to savor, the young man she had so laughingly called "runt" just years ago became the prime target for her affections.
A role he was all too willing to play.
She rode him with wild abandon, wide hips swaying to a music only she could hear as her pussy milked his cock for all it was worth. Rose touched herself, moaning softly as she became lost in her own little world of carnal bliss.
Not every girl was as wildly forward as Rose, but somewhere along the line old inhibitions had eased. Those like her were free to express their affections in a way the community had frowned upon in older days. If anything, it had forced the more reserved girls outside their comfort zones, encouraging them to be a little more forward if they wanted to keep up with their wanton competition.
Rose finished before him, as she so often did. In turn, Kaiden picked up his own pace, lifting up her lush body and rolling her until her back was against the soft dirt. He saw her about to cry out in pleasure, and covered her mouth in another kiss to muffle her screams of passion. However lax they had become, he did not want the village gossips to overhear.
He pulled out just before he was done, spurting across her creamy skin before collapsing at her side in satiated satisfaction. For a brief moment, he pulled her closer, nuzzling against her neck as his arms wrapped around her soft body. In that moment, he almost felt that he could lie here beside her forever, but life was never that simple.
"That was wonderful," he told her, planting another kiss against her neck. "But I really do have to go see Mr Vinter."
She opened her mouth to speak, but he quieted her with another kiss.
"Honestly, I'm late as it is," he said, "But we'll talk later, I promise."
"You'd better," she told him. "I'm not done with you yet, Kaiden Mayfield."
"Never," he told her as he hurried to get dressed, leaving her to take whatever meaning she wanted from his words.
Rose had been hinting at marriage for a while now, most especially when they were lying together on the mattress (or the haystack, or meadow or flower bed). Kaiden had never quite been able to say no, Rose was a hell of a catch by anyone's standards, but he wasn't exactly in a hurry to say yes.
People looked the other way at a youth's dalliances, especially in these circumstances, but a married man's affections were expected to be a great deal more constant. Much as he loved Rose, it was a hard thing to give up on Emmy or Trish or Daisy, to never hold Larkin's pillowy breasts in his hands or feel Harmony's tongue on his cock.
The good times wouldn't last. He was the oldest of the youths, but not the only one. Give them time, and the others would catch up before long. Hard enough to split the town with his friend Hammond, but Timmony was coming of age soon and already the girls were noticing how broad his shoulders had grown. Would Rose become impatient if he kept on dithering? Dare he even risk it?
Besides, the monster war must surely be coming to a close. At any time the menfolk could come marching triumphantly over the hill and back to their homes. What chance would the "boy who stayed behind" have competing against a bunch of war heroes?
Better to be done with it and have Rose as his own forever. There were a lot worse fates than getting hitched to the most charming, beautiful girl in the valley. He resolved to propose soon.
Just, not yet.
Mr Vintner was leaning heavily on his crutch when Kaiden finally found him. Though far from an old man, he had been crippled years ago and thus left behind when the others marched out. He had trouble walking the ranges on a good day, and this was not a good day.
"There have been signs-" he began before a spasm in his leg forced him to gasp, but the man refused to bend. In truth, he shouldn't have been standing, but stubborn pride refused any accommodation with his injury.
"Please," Kaiden said. "Let me get you a chair."
"Damn it boy, I don't need your help!" he started irritably, only to have his leg give out on him altogether.
"Fine," he said. "Fine. Go get it then, damn this thing!"
Most days, he was a nice enough man. Kind, thoughtful, and as keen eyed as anyone Kaiden had ever met. But when the weather turned and his injury flared up, the man's irritable streak came hurling towards the forefront. He'd been a soldier once, and proud. Had he been whole and healthy, it's likely that he would have captained the men they sent to the monster war, but his injury meant staying behind entirely. It had been yet another blow to his proud sensibilities.
Even so, he was (just barely) self aware enough not to let pride interfere with his duty. Seated reluctantly in his rocking chair, the man was finally free to explain what had been troubling him.
"There are signs," he explained again. "Animals missing, tracks and spoor along the forest. I've been tracking it for weeks, but with my leg as it is I just can't range far enough to find its den. I'd wait, if I could, but my boy Hammond's out in there the southern pastures without knowing there's anything amiss, and I'm getting worried about him."
"Did you find out what it is?" Kaiden asked. There were any number of things that could startle a flock. A mountain lion, perhaps. They wandered close every now and again, tempted by easy prey, and were quite the pest for an unwary shepherd.
"Aye, boy, I did," Vinter said, "A werewolf."
"That can't be," Kaiden protested. "There haven't been werewolves this side of the mountain for over a hundred years. Granda said his own grandpappy killed the last one himself."
"And skinned it real good, I've seen the pelt. But this one ain't from the north, it wandered up all the way from down south. Crown garrison's not even at a third of their strength. If a monster was savvy enough, then yes, they might just make it this far."
"I- I'm not sure I'm ready for this."
"Ready enough," Vinter said, which was as high praise as he'd ever handed out. For the past three years, Kaiden had trained with him in his brief moments of free time between chores and women. He'd learned all about the monster lore. How to track, and how to kill. Just in case the king's recruiters returned once again. He'd never thought to need the skills here, or to face them alone.
