Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Author's note: Haldir arrogant? I thought he was showing his sensitive side. hehehe
Thank-you for the reviews. Elladan, Orophin, the big bad wolf and some bitches. Sad ending for the big bad wolf.
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Elladan shouldered his bow and waved at Orophin to come on. The morning was cold but there wasn't any wind about and the sun was almost blinding on the white patches of snow. Besides it was their turn to bring in some game.

Tiger, sitting by the fire, smiled as Orophin blew her a kiss. She was still looking pale but not as pale as her first night in camp. "Bring you back a nice fat buck," he promised and fell in beside Elladan. The Sakas had been bringing in boar and game birds, but Orophin was in the mood for some venison. And with the snow only being recent, the deer would not be stressed out yet.

Wandering deep into the wood, their ears attuned for the sound of anything moving, they thought they heard something and moved towards it. Elladan motioned for Orophin to go one way and he would go the other; this would put the animal between them.

Orophin slipped along a shallow ridge, until he was certain he was close to the animal. Peering through some brush, he stopped as his breath caught in his lungs. A huge white wolf stared back at him with lightning in his green eyes. Two smaller female wolves were lying on the ground beside him. The male wolf looked right at him and then darted away with the females trailing him.

"Elladan!" Orophin shouted. "Come on, we'll lose him." You can't eat a wolf, but the white pelt was the most beautiful skin that he had ever seen. And he wanted it.

Elladan stepped out of the brush and together they set upon the wolf's trail.

For a good hour, they followed it, the animal making no effort to mislead them. And the two smaller females stayed right with him. They crossed a stream and then loped up a bank. Elladan and Orophin caught up with them at a clearing, but what they saw was not what they expected. A woman, at least they thought she was a woman, stood in front of the wolf and laid her hand on his head. She was beautiful with hair the color of fall leaves, and a gown of pure white sprinkled with diamonds and emeralds. She petted the wolf a moment and then stood back. The wolf shifted in front of their eyes, and in his place stood a man, at least they thought he was a man with white hair crowning his head and hanging down his back. He was nude, but the cold didn't appear to bother him. And worst, he looked right at them, his green eyes seeing through the brush and fixing on them. When he turned his head, they could see he had pointed ears.

"Tomy would like him," Orophin commented.

"I'm certain of it," Elladan agreed as the woman now looked at them with a smile on her face.

"Elves in my wood," she said. "I bid you welcome."

Elladan looked at Orophin and shrugged. Stepping into the open, he said, "Greetings from the elves of Rivendale. Lord Elrond is my father and Lord Celeborn my grandfather. I am Elladan and this is my companion Orophin."

"I have heard of Lord Celeborn," the woman replied as the female wolves stepped up to her side.

"I am Korolevacher," she answered politely. "What brings you to my wood?"

"We have a camp a couple of hours that way," Elladan answered. "we were hunting deer when we spotted your....uh, wolf."

Korolevacher looked up at the magnificent male and smiled. Her affection for the creature was evident. "This is Volk," she said, "and his sisters, Anya and Nisha."

The two elves nodded at the man who was also a wolf. He inclined his head in a very wolfish way. Tomy would have certainly found him attractive.

"I do not get company often these days," Korolevacher said, " I would enjoy a visit."

"We really need to find some game and take it back to our camp," Elladan explained, "although we appreciate the invitation."

"Perhaps I can convence you with these," she said and ran her hands over the female wolves. A moment later two breathtaking females, completely nude with pointed ears, stood up and smiled at the elves.

"Are your companions elves?" Orophin asked, unable to take his eyes off the two wolf women. " I mean were they?"

Korolevacher laughed softly and said, "They have always been wolves, although I find this body more attractive." She ran her hand down Volk's hard abdomen.

"I suppose if you are going to turn a wolf into a man, it ought to be one you enjoy looking at," Orophin summized. "How do we know this is not a trap to harm us?"

"No, I mean you no harm, but I did promise Anya and Nisha some companionship should they see anyone in the wood that they liked."

"And this means?" Elladan asked suspiciously.

"Too long they have seen their brother and me enjoy each other. They desire some love themselves."

"You aren't abducting us, are you?" Orophin asked. "I assure my brother and his jinn tiger would find us. And you don't want to mess with a jinn tiger."

Korolevacher paused a moment. "A jinn tiger? How fascinating," she said and ran her hand back over Volk's naked abdomen. Something in his eyes showed that he was also fascinated by their claim to know a jinn tiger. "Please join us, and I promise you a nice fat buck to take back to your camp." She nodded at the she-wolves and they confidently approached the two elves, each one picking the elf they wanted. Slipping their arms in their, they led them back through the woods to a very large door. On the other side of the door was the interior of a palace made of massive trees and rocks of many colors. It's beauty was the beauty of fall, and only the delicate crystals of ice dripping from the ceiling spoke of the winter outside.

A table was set and food was delivered by invisible hands. Wine flowed abundantly, although the wolves did not drink, and the elves could not get drunk. Still it was pleasant and made them think of Longma's keep.

"You wouldn't happen to know a dragonwitch named Longma, would you?" Orophin asked curiously.

"I have heard of her. She is the keeper of the jinn tiger, is she not?" Korolevacher asked.

"No, my brother is," Orophin corrected her.

"I had not heard that. He is fortunte."

"Are they jinns?" Elladan asked as Anya poured him some more wine.

"No. My beautiful Volk is mortal, as are his sisters. I do not have the power to extend their lives beyond what is normal for a wolf."

"Their lives are only as long as a wolf's life" Orophin asked and studied the beautiful Nasha who was sitting beside him. "That is short."

"Yes, but I can not help myself. Are they not beautiful?"

"Very," Elladan agreed, Anya's smile enchanting him.

"Feel free to enjoy them" Korolevacher said, her fingers messaging Volk's scalp as he sat beside her on the floor. She leaned down and kissed his waiting lips. She caressed his face and then sat up. "They can assist you in way you desire. I will see you before you leave." Korolevacher stood up with Volk and slipped her arm through his. Without so much as a backwards glance, they wandered down a passage towards her private chambers.

Orophin looked at Nasha and smiled. She returned it. "What do you suggest we do now?" he asked her. Her smiled became almost carnal as she slipped to the floor and knelt between his legs, her hands on his thighs. "I think she has an idea," he told Elladan, her fingers kneeding the muscles.

"Come," Anya said and offered her hand to Elladan. He accepted it and stood up. Suspecting that Orophin was having a similar experience, he followed Anya down the hall to an empty room that looked more masculine than feminine, but he didn't have time to observe it as the she-wolf claimed his mouth with a savage kiss. She possessed him with her lips, tongue, and teeth. Hungry for male flesh, she moved her mouth to his throat and lightly bit him there.

Elladan moved away long enough to get out of his clothes, and then he drew the she-wolf to the bed and laid her back on it. Savaging each other's mouth, unlocking passions long held in check, they clawed each other leaving red marks on pale flesh. Elladan captured a dark nipple in his mouth and suckled on it until she writhed beneath him and arched her back upwards. She twisted her head and bit one of his. It sent lava bolt surging through him.

This wasn't sex; it was the mating of two animals. Elladan pressed her down and poised himself to drive into her. Anya moaned wantonly as he slipped inside of her warm wet body with one thrust. She locked her legs around his waist and then rolled them both over so she was on top. Her breasts were so close and yet so far from his hungry mouth, but nothing was so delicious as the way she rode him and spurred him on with her hands. This was living and dieing, sweet oh so sweet, and Anya saw to it that he tasted that sweetness several times before she had enough.
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Orophin was remarkably content when Elladan returned with a knowing smile on his face. The she-wolves were almost purring through their own contentment when Korolevacher arrived alone and with a worried look on her face.

"Have you seen Volk?" she asked anxiously.

"Not recently. Why?" Orophin asked.

"I fear he has gone looking for the jinn tiger," Korolevacher said. "He's convinced she can make him immortal."

"We need to get back now," Elladan said quickly.

"Come with me, I have a sleigh," Korolevacher said and hurried back the way she had come.
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Tiger stood in front of the fire and watched Glorfindel stir up the coals. She was feeling better, but only in regards to how she had felt the day before, or even that morning. Haldir was helping the Sakas gather food for the horses, and Lord Celeborn was writing in his journal using a homemade ink to keep the lettering from fading.

Not expecting any trouble so close to the fire, she was almost caught off guard by the white male wolf that leaped out of the brush. Thinking he was after Lord Celeborn, she shape shifted and attacked.

The wolf yelped in surprise but the tiger was on him, and it was fight or die. But even the strongest wolf is no match for a tiger, and she opened him from shoulder to hip. He yelped repeatedly and fell in the snow, his blood staining the snow. Asplil ran up with his bow in hand and fired it into the injured wolf. One final yelp and the white wolf died.
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Korolevacher was beside herself with grief when she saw her beautiful Volk dead in the snow. Craddling him in her arms, she turned him back into her beautiful lover for the last time.

Tiger was confused when she saw the shape the wolf took, and she almost wondered if he was a jinn. "Tiger thought he was attacking," she said, grieving with the beautiful women who had brought Elladan and Orophin back to the camp.

"He didn't want to die so soon," Korolevacher said regrettably. "You are the jinn tiger, aren't you?"

"Yes, my lady. Tiger is sorry."

"I know Tiger," Korolevacher replied sadly. "I have had five and twenty Volks. All died while the beauty of youth was on their faces." She stopped and caressed his cold pale face. But for his death wounds, he looked as flawless as when she first raised him up on two feet. "Hopefully one of his sisters will give me another with a longer life this time."

Elladan and Orophin looked at the she-wolves but did not voice what was going through their minds. Helping Korolevacher put the body back into her sleigh, they stood back as she drove her horse back the way they came. But later that night, a wolf appeared at the edge of the fire light dragging a deer. Elladan didn't know if it was Anya or Nasha, but he was certain it was one of Korolevacher's she wolves.

"She had a long enough name, I'll say that for her," Elladan said as he and Orophin dressed the deer.

"You do not know what her name means?" Scopias asked them.

"No, do you?"

"She's the Snow Queen, and this is her forest. I am sorry we killed her lover, but we had no way of knowing what he was."

Orophin knodded and wondered if either Nasha or Anya would have cubs in the spring. He then looked at Tiger and wondered why she didn't have another cub herself. But he was not about to voice his thoughts. He didn't like knowing that a she-wolf might be pregnant by him, or that a forest spirit named Korolevacher was raising him to be her lover.