The Clever Dame

It felt right to have a little girl with a league of older brothers to protect her. For a long time, life was perfect. You were smart and bubbly, just as happy in the mud as you were riding a horse.

Time passed. You grew older. And as you aged your parents prepared for the day you would need an Alpha. They took care to pick a good man. A confident but gentle son from an excellent family that would be able to give you the life you were accustomed to.

Then came your first heat, the agony of all-consuming need that your husband - your Alpha - should have been able to satisfy. But he could not. You spent a week in pure torture. Suffering you would later describe like a bug having its legs pulled off.

After three heats and three months of spine-curling pain, your father decided an unconventional decision needed to be made. Your marriage was dissolved and the hunt began to find an Alpha. A mate who could give you what you needed.

Months of searching turned into years. You slowly began to suffer the effects of being unmated. Dreams of children gave way to simply staying alive.

When it became clear that your life was in jeopardy, your father had a spell cast. A spell that ensured you would stay in painless sleep until a suitable mate was found. Then you were hidden in a tower along the southern border.

More time passed. And the urgent search felt much less urgent to those who tucked you away. So a year became two, then three and before anyone realized a decade had gone by.

A Decade Later...

“I think there’s probably a good reason we can’t get through,” Sam offers, resting his arms over the horn of his saddle.

“I’m sure there is.” Dean reaches out with a gloved hand, poking at the invisible barrier that shimmers out in all directions the moment he makes contact. “It’s exactly why we should be interested.”

“If the map is correct we crossed into Karrstad an hour ago. We shouldn’t have crossed the border into their land. Now you want to dismantle a magic wall of questionable origin. What part of this seems like a good idea to you?”

Dean looks at Sam, shaking his head in annoyance.

“All of it.”

“Dean.” Sam dismounts his steed, venturing closer to his brother. “There’s been enough trouble. We don’t need to create more bad blood between us and them.”

“I’m not trying to poke the bear. I’m just interested in what the bear is hiding. What constitutes this kind of protection?” Dean gestures toward the shimmer. “They could be planning something. What if they’re hiding a weapon? I don’t think we have a choice. We have to take a peek.”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you telling me you’re not interested? No one loves a mystery more than you.”

Sam is out of reasons to walk away. He helps Dean cast a simple spell, something they learned as boys. And with a puff of smoke and few holy words, the barrier fades away and they venture on with eyes peeled.

The terrain in Karrstad isn’t much different than home, except here there are more trees and less open fields. Thick forests of green and brown that shield them from the sun as they ride onward. It’s not long before the narrow path opens back up, the sun shining down and a strange sight in the distance.

“What in the hell is that?” Dean’s awestruck, tipping his head back.

They both look upward at a tower so high it’s impossible to see the top. It seems to end above the clouds.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Sam cranes his neck, trying to imagine what could be up there.

“Why would this be out here in the middle of nowhere? No guards as far I can see.”

“They probably thought a magical wall was enough to keep people out,” Sam reasons.

“Not us.”

Dean guides his horse out in front and they approach slowly expecting to spot a soldier in the distance but there’s nothing. They walk right up the base of the tower. There’s a thick wooden door that looks as if it hasn’t been opened since the structure was erected.

“Shall we?” Dean nods to Sam and together they work to pry open the door. A breath of cool, musty air hits them in the face as the tower is unsealed.

Inside there’s nothing more than stairs that spiral upward until they disappear from sight.

“What the hell?” Dean looks at Sam, who’s already calculating how far up the climb would be. “We have to find out...don’t we?”

Sam wants to argue, but the adventurer within him wants to know just as badly as Dean. Maybe more. A tower cloaked in magic, seemingly forgotten for God knows how long, is something one doesn’t come across every day.

“That’s a long way up.” Sam steps out of the entryway.

“How far do you think?”

“I have no idea. A long, long way.” Sam pulls off his riding gloves and looks to his brother. “Should we go?”

“I don’t think there’s any need for both of us to go.” Dean shrugs, pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket and pulling out a dice. “Let’s roll for it. Loser makes the climb.”

“I suppose.”

-

Over an hour later Sam reaches the peak. He’s sweating and out of breath. Truth be told there was a point when he wasn’t entirely sure if he was going to make it at all.

It’s just as he steps on the landing at the top that he smells it. The ever so faint scent of an Omega.

Omega.

He thinks. What would an Omega be doing all the way up here? It’s likely someone hid something with the scent still on it. That would make more sense.

There’s only one place to search. To his right is a large wooden door. He carefully, slowly pushes it open to reveal the last thing he would have ever imagined.

It appears to be a bedroom with narrow windows every few feet. In the center of the room is a four-post bed with a woman laying on it. You. Your hands are crossed carefully over your chest. Lying peacefully under a light blanket.

Has he discovered a dead body? Is this tower just an elaborate tomb? No. He can smell you now, the scent growing stronger. It’s much too sweet to be a corpse.

Sam inches closer, leaning forward to inspect. You’re beautiful and appear to be near his age. Perhaps a little younger. Your chest softly rises and falls with your breath. He wishes Dean were here.

“Hello?” he says.

When there’s no answer he draws closer, quietly making his way until he leans against the bed frame.

“Excuse me...I don’t want to wake you but...madame, are you alright?”

There’s nothing. Your body is still and the room silent as the grave. Perhaps he’s hallucinating your breath, seeing what he wants to see. After a few more minutes of silent observation, he reaches out to check for a pulse.

The instant his fingers touch the skin of your wrist he knows three things; you’re alive, you’re nearly in heat, and your pussy smells more enticing than any woman he’s ever come across in his life.

“Oh,” you murmur, head falling to the side. Your body twitches and he pulls his hand away.

“Madame,” he starts again, falling silent when you begin to stir.

You look like something out of a storybook. A breathtaking woman gently blinking awake as if you’re opening your eyes for the very first time.