The time spent in wolf form served well to burn off a bit of the excess energy Turos had. It had unfortunately, not helped sway his desire for Aela. He knew he could go to the Bannered Mare and get any girl in the inn to his room for the night. He was the Thane of Whiterun, a handsome blonde Nord. Tall and lean, well-dressed; Turos was eye candy with a reputation for being brave. He was also known as a ranking member of the Companions. That, he had heard from the twins, was usually an instant panty-remover. He was not strictly seeking release. He had grown to care for Aela for who she was. His wolf desired her wolf now too. Another girl, while she may be willing and pretty, was no substitute for the strong and wild creature that was Aela.

The wolves had frolicked in the plains and chased deer. They made no kills, but pounced at each other like kittens. Anyone who thought a werewolf to be a dangerous beast would surely have had a change of heart on seeing Aela and Turos at play. With a heavy heart, Turos realized he needed to get at least some sleep for the day ahead. He could rest some on the wagon, but he doubted it would be comfortable. He loped up the hill to the Underforge tunnel, and exhausted, fell onto the floor as his wolf subsided and he became a man once more. Aela crept in silently and curled up next to him before resuming her human form.

There was a brief moment of quiet before Aela climbed onto the Dragonborn and kissed him. His green eyes fluttered open and met her amber ones. The huntress leant in to kiss Turos again, but he captured her lips and took control of the movement. His hands, seemingly with minds of their own, left his side and found Aela's hair. He grasped great handfuls of her silky red tresses and pulled her face closer to nuzzle her. She gasped as his stubble brushed her cheeks a little too roughly, and Turos made a mental note to shave more often.

Now straddling her shield-brother, Aela moved lower to kiss his neck, and bite at it playfully, as she had done when they were werewolves. Her nipping elicited a husky moan from the man under her and excited her as well. His hands were all over her, caressing her softly rounded breasts, firmly squeezing her delicate rear. Turos even noticed the slightest bit of firm rounding beginning to show in her abdomen. Still not obviously swollen with pregnancy, the change startled him, but did not disgust him. Aela was beautiful, fertile, womanly and strong. He caressed her abdomen and then claimed her lips again reassuringly.

She was breathing heavily, her arousal making her head foggy. Turos could smell her desire and wetness and his cock responded by promptly becoming even harder. He inched his hand down to her opening and probed at the folds with a finger, earning a delicate cry from her throat. She pushed her hips closer to the Dragonborn.

"Please," she begged.

Needing no further encouragement, he put a gentle arm around her and flipped over so that she was underneath him. She was lighter than many things he'd had to lift. When she seemed comfortable, he pushed himself into her in one slow stroke.

Her cries were musical to him, and as he thrust into her warmth, he felt her tighten around him. Her nails dug into his shoulders and Turos worked her to completion. He felt his own climax approaching, spurred on by her pleasure. He spilled his hot seed into her with a groan and lay still with her for a moment, the both of them panting to catch breath.

She became strangely silent and made for her armor, but Turos held on tightly. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to think. I'm sorry," Aela replied laying a reassuring kiss on his nose. She stood up and dressed with a deftness that suggested she'd gotten dressed in the dark every night of her life. She smoothed her fiery locks down and helped Turos to straighten himself out as well.

"You need to rest. I know Vilkas will want you to take to the road before first light."

The Huntress grasped Turos' hand and led him, much more accustomed to moving in darkness. As they exited, she stopped suddenly noticing the door was already slightly open.

"What is it?"

Her eyes widened. "I know I shut that. What if someone saw us?"

Turos shrugged. "So what if they did? Would you be embarrassed?"

Aela shook her head, rather unconvincingly, and planted a quick kiss on the Dragonborn's nose. She slipped out of the Underforge and ran off to her room.

Turos did not feel like sleeping, but decided to stay up and wait for Vilkas to depart. His body may have been satisfied, but his mind was far from that point. Perhaps Aela was embarrassed of him.

That morning in the grey light before the sun rose, Turos made his way down the stony path to the Whiterun Stables. He was not at all surprised to see a dark hulking figure ahead of him, pacing impatiently. That was surely Vilkas, waiting for him to set off. As he approached, the Dragonborn saw the face of his shield-brother and smiled. He was met with a fierce glare that chased the smile off his lips.

"Good morning Vilkas. Are you ready to go?"

"What do you think, Blondie? We've no time for pleasantries. I already paid for the carriage. Get in."

Turos sighed as he hoisted his bags into the back obediently. What happened to the understanding they'd come to? Vilkas seemed to have resumed his former air of hostility toward him as if the past day had never happened.

The carriage set off along the road, and the first two hours of the journey were spent in absolute silence. Turos dozed in and out of consciousness, trying to make up for the last night's lack of sleep. His wolf raced through his mind, preventing him from reaching restfulness.

Vilkas had pulled out a knife and was repetitively stabbing at a piece of wood and staring at Turos grimly. The Dragonborn reeked of wolf and sex. Aela's scent, both human and beast was all over him. It was disgusting enough that he'd briefly walked in on their tryst in the Underforge, but that Turos hadn't even the decency to take a full shower before the journey was just vile. Surely he knew, being a wolf himself that Vilkas knew what he'd been up to.

"Could you stop staring at me?" Turos asked sitting up. "I keep feeling your eyes burning a hole into the back of my head."

"Of course," Vilkas said acidly, "wouldn't want to let all of that hot air out of your skull."

"What is your problem this morning? I thought last night we had an understanding."

Vilkas snapped on Turos suddenly. "We did have one. Then you blew it by taking advantage of my shield-sister."

"Is that what she told you I did?" Turos asked solemnly.

"She told me nothing. The two of you were too busy frolicking to notice that I was in the Underforge. Don't worry. I'm no voyeur. I left immediately when you started. I just want to know one thing. How could you take advantage of a pregnant woman in mourning like that?"

Dumbstruck, the Dragonborn fumbled for a proper response but got nothing. He hung his head in shame for the duration of the journey. At some point, Vilkas gruffly ordered him out of the carriage to continue the journey on foot. As they came upon Driftshade Refuge, Turos was forced out of his internal pity party.

"For Kodlak!" Vilkas shouted charging into battle.

"For Kodlak!"

AN: Sorry I skipped the other missions. I thought they would add tedium of reading a play-by-play of the game. I'm not going to skip Driftshade or Ysgramor's Tomb. They are actually some of the most important to this fic.