Reality hit me hard after the adventure of tracking and killing the elk. It wasn’t that my effort or success could be faulted, but the preparation and allotment of time afterwards was sorely lacking. I was focused on the hunt and kill, without understanding or appreciating the time involved afterwards in making the jerky and tanning the hide.

I completed much of the jerky last night and I was not able to sleep late. This was another difference from the 21st century gal. I couldn’t merely pull the drapes tight and borough deep into my soft bed with various muscle ointments after exhausting days and overuse of my body. My entire body ached: muscles, joints, and skin from scratches and scrapes. The makeshift bedding over the ground was still hard and unyielding, providing little relief for my body. As evidenced by the light streaming in from the shelter opening, I did manage to sleep later than usual, however. The world outside was buzzing with local and distant sounds of nature, completely different than the sounds of civilization, but evident in its own way when the artificial noise of civilization is stripped away.

I wrapped myself in a lab coat and saw Bo loping up from the lake as I exited the shelter. I kicked some wood at the fire pit with my bare foot and found the coals glowing underneath, new flames licking up at the new wood brought to it to consume. With one hand holding the lab coat closed against the cool air, I piled more wood over the fire. Bo and I communed in our morning ritual of strokes and licks before I gave in and put clothes on. Daytime in the sun of the altitude can be very hot, but mornings and evenings can be very cold as fall approached. I put my only pair of jeans on, a t-shirt, and an army shirt with the cuffs rolled to mid-forearm.

After a breakfast of nuts and berries, I’ve already had more than enough red meat, the day was going to be focused on preparing the hide. I had taken a wilderness survival class and done some reading, but this would be the first time I would prepare a hide on my own and would have to live with the result. The prior time was a small piece of hide that ended up being a decoration piece in my apartment. This was for real if I wanted something more substantial than a lab coat for covering.

The steps were time consuming and precise. The excess flesh and fats had to be scraped off the inside surface; the hide had to be thoroughly washed; it needs to be stretched and dried; a mixture from the brain of the animal is used to rub into the hide; the hide is rolled and stored for at least a full 24 hours; and, finally, the hide again cleaned, this time of the brain mixture, and softened with a stick by rubbing it over the surface. It was hard work and time consuming and I was sure to become more efficient at it as time went on. For my first effort, however, I was extremely satisfied. It would be a great covering with colder temperatures coming and allowed my mind to work on ideas that might have seemed too ambitious before.

Those past days were huge milestones to accomplish. I had proven, not just wishful confidence, but proved that I could belong here. I was more than capable of finding and securing quantities of high protein food, to make use of much of the animal beyond just a food source, and to establish a camp that was comfortable and suitable, even if in a primitive way. The days were long and full, but the nights became a time of restful, slower activity. Many nights found me asleep shortly after full dark. Other nights I was busy with easy activity like organizing and cleaning around the fire area, which was our main cooking and lounging area. The guns and rifle didn’t get used much at all, but night-time was a good time for cleaning and making sure they were dry and functioning.

All of that allowed the achievement of a thoroughly delightful step for Bo and me. From that first time that Bo had saved me from the bear, he and I had been comfortable companions. He was there when I needed to feel connected, when I needed to talk even if he didn’t understand, and when I needed the security of a presence when I was alone, especially in the wild. I still had all that, none of that had changed, but it went even further now. He was no longer merely a comfortable companion to have around. Since those early days of this adventure, when we experimented with sex, the relationship changed dramatically. It might seem dramatic to say that a dog and woman could have profound interactions and feelings. To be completely honest, it took me a little time to fully accept the idea myself. I would have been exceedingly happy with merely having the same relationship with the good sex on top of it. But, there was more. He was somehow more attentive to me; and, I was clearly more attentive to him. My strokes weren’t merely the strokes for a pet, my touches were more familiar, more meaningful, and more intimate. I found that I teased him by showing my ass, by touching him on his belly but grazing his sheath, and kissing him with my tongue on his.

During the day we were generally together and the touches were meaningful, but it was at night when we, or I, could relax when the touches truly became intimate. It was not uncommon that the evenings or early mornings would include some form of sexual play. We experimented with the sex in the weeks that passed as much as we experimented with anything else in this new existence. And, everything was an experiment in one form or another as we learned what we would need to survive. My life was good, hard, even harsh sometimes, but it was good.

* * * *

Over the weeks that followed I was nagged by a recurring question, how can there not be civilization, or humans, at least. If this was some kind of alternate reality, some ‘Otherland’ as it was named, there was too much of this world that was like my world for evolution to leave out the development of humans. The geology and environment were very similar. The animal life was very similar and maybe exactly the same. But, there was no evidence of humans in this region. There were no vapor trails in the sky indicating air travel, there was no transmission lines crossing the land, and there was no indication of hunting, camping, or anything that might mean human habitation.

It bothered me that I was about to enter into my first winter in these conditions and not knowing if there was civilization close by but not in this valley. So, I made purposeful exploration of my surroundings. I went a full day further down river than I had been when I killed the elk. I reached a place that effective stopped me at a narrowing of the river as it passed between two sheer walls of rock before dropping 30 feet below. I managed to crawl out on a ledge to see down into the distant valley. I only saw what I had seen where I was: more mountains, the river continuing, valleys with meadow, and more forest. I saw no roads, powerlines, buildings, or smoke that might indicate some habitation. But, looking across the river I saw a better trail along the face on that side. I could image that wildlife used it to move down river.

I went in the direction of up-river and bumped into a similar situation. A series of steep rapids rose about 25 feet and lots of rocky walls making the route treacherous, but not impossible. On close examination, I found a trail containing multiple animal prints in dirt sections. What I also found, though, was much more thermal activity, including a natural hot-pool that I promised myself I would visit for some therapeutic bathing.

The mountains to the west were out of the question, at least at this location. The sheer walls of rock would require significant climbing skills and equipment, both of which I was sorely lacking.

The mountains behind me, though, were accessible. I could see a pass that would be easily crossed. I packed enough for three or four days in my backpack, strapped on the gun and assault knife to my thighs over my jeans. It was going to be colder going over the pass above. The bow and arrows were a constant piece of equipment and my skill and confidence with it had improved dramatically. It took us a big chunk of the day to reach the crest of the pass, but I wanted camp to be off the top in case any surprising weather came in. But, from what I could see from the top, there was nothing new on the other side, either. The following days, though, I trekked cross-country to the next rise and found the same thing. Everywhere I look, it was like I was in a large, unspoiled, and very unused wilderness area.

I stood on the top of that rise looking to the east, no real focus to my sight. Beyond this rise was a wide plain, interrupted by trees, rivers, and a large lake. At first I thought the ground was moving, but remembered description of the American plains as an endless expanse of an ocean of grass moving like waves on the ocean. In the distance was another mountain range. I didn’t know how to gage the width of the valley but the mountains in distance seemed massive. Even in late summer these mountain tops were still snow covered. There was a part of me that was relieved; this new life was exciting and was challenging every fiber of my being and that was something I relished. The other part of me was anxious and intimidated by the meaning behind it; as exciting and challenging in a good way this was, was this forever? Was I to never again have human interaction, even on my own terms? And there was the puzzlement; could seemingly similar evolutionary tracks really produce an outcome that was void of humans? And, if that was true, then what else was true about evolution here?

The return trip was purposely taken along a route that was a distance south of my original one, just in case, and to cover a little more land for possible discovery of some evidence of something I had missed earlier. The only evidence I found, though, was the reinforcement of a land that was rich in potential, beauty, and abundant in wildlife. Like the valley I was camped in, a skilled hunter was not without variety of game and would not go hungry. So, as I crested the pass to again survey ‘my’ valley, the nagging questions had not been resolved by these days of investigation; the nagging would persist. But any further consideration of those questions would have to wait. With the coming of winter, survival was paramount to any other consideration and there were still requirements that I needed to meet. I still needed to solve the warmth issue, wood to be stockpiled and kept dry, and a store of food beyond the jerky, food stuff like berries, nuts, and roots. But, as I looked out over the land before me, I could not see how these could not be resolved with work and planning. But even that thought of the work and effort required brought a smile to my face. This was certainly a tough life, but it continued to be the most satisfying and fulfilling life I have experienced.

Sometimes, there are moments where everything just clicks into place, your view of the future becomes crystalized and clear, and when your future (immediate or longer) is laid out in front of you in such a way that there is no doubting the course of action required. As I stood on the crest of the pass and overlooked the valley below, I had that kind of moment. Was it a forever understanding? I don’t know, but I did clearly see what my direction was, what my focus had to be. There was no Cabela’s to get some winter gear. There was no grocery store to replenish my supplies. There was no bus station to take me away. Whether I would even want to or not was an entirely different question or consideration. With my hand on Bo’s shoulder, I looked out over the valley, north and south, and knew that this was my, our, life and if we were to last the winter there would need to be some actions taken and decisively.

If you’ve ever had one of those moments where your focus and understanding and commitment becomes clear, have you noticed how things seem to come to you? Not to say they are handed to you, but your awareness and preparation turns acutely to the need at hand and things come into play for you. That’s exactly what happened to me. In that moment I understood what my life was, what I could expect and not expect. My concerns about the coming winter had been put on-hold, delayed by the thoughts of ‘what if’, by the thoughts of the uncertainty of where I was. I could now, as clearly as the river below me, that there was no longer any ‘what if’ and there was no uncertainty. In that moment my attention shifted completely and solely to what needed to happen.

Evidence of that was exactly what happened when we were about half way down the side of the mountain. Bo had this crazy ability to discern situations. When we were surprised by something that could be potentially dangerous, he became aggressive and threatening. But, when we were in hunting or tracking mode, he would show alertness and focus while remaining quiet, alerting me to the game he detected. That is what happened going down the slope. We had somehow taken a slightly different route going down and found ourselves on top of a 10-foot ledge when Bo crouched low and focused to our right. I crouched with him and saw a large black bear coming down a faint trail, a trail that was leading it right under us along the ledge we were above. Most times, I would have avoided a bear and not had any interest in it, but at that moment I saw potential for meat, sinew, and a warm hide. I was concerned about warmth for the winter and what better than a covering or robe of bear fur.

What followed next was almost surreal in its quickness and exactness, and it was precisely what I needed. I reached over and stroked Bo over the shoulders. I removed the pack and quickly went to work, murmuring about stopping the bear somehow. As I assembled the bow and removed two arrows from the sheath tube, Bo moved off to the left. My first reaction was that he would be protective and end up trying to scare off the bear. I seemed to have the bow assembled in record time, so I removed the gun and holster from the pack, removed my belt and attached the holster to it, tying the holster securely to my right thigh. I unclipped the restraining strap at the top, removed the safety and made certain there was a round chambered. I peeked over the ledge to find the bear.

The minute or two that all that it took me seemed longer than it was and I was pleasantly surprised to see the bear stopped right below me. It’s attention was concentrated on something on the path ahead and he was growing more agitated and disturbed. I heard a low, fierce growl and remembered Bo leaving in that direction. I inched closer to the edge with an arrow notched onto the bow string and tension put in with a small draw. Bo was confronting the bear and, as I watched, the bear reared up on its hind legs, presenting the most imposing and threatening size it could against this challenge. There may even have been confusion in its reaction as this single animal was threatening its passage. Regardless of what was in its primitive thinking mind, it reacted instinctively by rearing itself up and in the process presenting to me a perfect target as it raised its front legs to heighten its image even more. I released the first arrow as soon as the soft spot under its front leg came into view, the spot that allowed access to where the heart was located. The bear seemed wildly bewildered now; the danger was in front of it but it was now suffering from a piecing pain in the side. As it turned toward me, it dropped to all fours only to rear up again at seeing the new danger. I pulled on the string an extra couple inches to penetrate the needed depth into the chest, but the tension in my arms didn’t allow a steady aim. At this distance, I could hardly miss but I wanted a clean hit. I released an inch of pull to allow a steady hold and released the second arrow.

My newly established commitment to my surroundings and life in it provided a perspective on relationship to the world around me. As I was already in the effort for the final kill, I was profoundly moved by the majestic nature of the beast. Killing an animal had never been a simple and easy thing, but it now took on an almost spiritual effect that this animal provided me with the ability to survive and the very essence of what my place in that survival meant. That included not wanting this animal to suffer. Two arrows well placed into the area of the heart and it was still not down for the count. It fell to its forearms but with its legs still under it as if it was not accepting the inevitable; maybe, it just wasn’t aware of what the inevitable was if it was not aware of the dangers that humans brought with them.

I didn’t hesitate in that thinking, however. I pull the gun from the holster and leapt from the ledge onto the shoulders of the animal, pressing the muzzle of the gun into the back of its skull, pressing my weight onto it, and pulled the trigger. The result had the effect that I want, but far more so than I ever expected. I was not afraid of guns and had used them defensively, but never like this. This animal that had refused to recognize its fate was instantly quiet. The hot gasses from the muzzle had no way to disperse, so the clean hole from the bullet instead produced an explosion inside the fur, skull and brain. It was traumatic for me, instantaneous for the bear. And, a reminder of the callous nature of life in the wild. The bear undoubtedly had experience that it was at the top of the food chain. Without my weapons, he would still be.

The camp was downhill. Unlike with the elk, this was close and gravity would assist the transport. I would still leave the carcass where it was and make trips back for what I needed and what I needed was even more of the carcass than I had used with the elk. The hide would become a winter overcoat/robe during the day and a cover for the night. The meat would be eaten or made into jerky. The newest need from the carcass, however, was the sinew. One of the immediate needs and glaring shortages was thread, twine, rope.

The little bit of rope that I had was used and reused in one application after another, always weighing in my mind what was the most important application at the moment. It was frustrating and inefficient to be using the same pieces and taking them from one application to be used in another, only to have to reverse the process later.

The process of making my own cordage became almost an obsession. My first attempts were using the dried inner fibers of trees. Although it worked and was useful, it broke down after exposure to weather and with age. Animal sinew, however, produced exceptionally strong rope and twine. With care in separation it could also be made thin enough to use on clothing like a threading. Sinew strand no thicker than carpet thread could hold my weight and a braided rope of it was exceptionally strong for whatever purpose I might come up with for it. I could see it being used for fishing lines, snares, and wrappings. My immediate use, though, was for threading the hides into outerwear for the winter, especially the bear hide. The added benefit with sinew was that used wet, it shrank and dried as hard as gluing.

That was my plan for the bear hide. The hide was cut off the animal to include the legs and the head portion. The front legs would be sewn for arms of the overcoat and the head portion as a hood. The bear was large enough that the rear legs were cut off and about a foot and a half of the body portion. As it was, the hide would reach nearly to the ground on me. The remainder of the hide would be fashioned into boot and hand coverings.

My mind was opened to the way the land and animals in it worked and the interdependency of all things. Large animals became as important to me for what they provided beyond their meat as for the meat. I wasted less and less of each animal. I even found uses of bone and antler after other animals had clean them of any valuable food for themselves.

By the time the temperatures at night were leaving shallow water areas with a thin layer of ice, I had the overcoat and other items ready for cold weather. I put the overcoat on and modelled it for Bo. It was heavy on me, but that seemed to be fine as it would help to keep me warmer by the energy I would expended under it. It would be a problem if I didn’t feel I would have enough food to replace the calories, but I had grown confident that this land would easily support two more predatory animals in Bo and myself.

As I moved and turned in the new coat before Bo, feeling it on me for comfort and usage, a thought came to me and I turned to Bo. I knelt down before him, scratching his ears, and finally kissing his snout. I stood and went into the shelter. I had been so singularly fixated on being ready for winter that the nights found me exhausted and leaving me with little interest in anything but sleep. And the colder nights reinforced the desire to burrow under everything I possessed to be warm. We had become like an old married couple. Despite our sharing and dependence, I had been neglecting Bo … and myself … sexually. That was the thought that came to me. I smiled at that. An old married couple, like having a knot filling me could become stale. But it wasn’t the sex, it was the life, a hard and tiring and exhausting life. I now felt that I was finally over the hump in being ready for winter, so tonight would be different.

I quickly exited the shelter, but this time I was barefoot while still wearing the heavy bear hide coat. Bo actually seemed to look at me questioningly as if to ask, ‘what are you up to woman?’ I was holding the coat closed as I walked up to him where he sat near the dying fire as though he anticipated my return. I squatted directly in front of him, taking his head between my hands, allowing the coat to fall open, and spread to expose my naked body underneath. I separated my knees as I scratched his ears and leaned forward to share a kiss with him. That’s what I call it, a kiss, when we touch tongues. His attention wasn’t on the kiss for long, however. He did that thing he does, when his nose comes alive and sniffs the air and moves involuntarily between my thighs, that thing that is so animalistic, that thing that is so base to a canine’s sense and awareness, and that thing that lets me know what I am. I am his mate.

There is something about the action of sniffing the air when he catches my scent. It is one of the most animalistic and base things. I am aroused and I am giving off a scent that he recognizes, desires, and wants. On a base nature level my body is giving him signals that I cannot pretend isn’t there, cannot be coy to pretend otherwise. I am but another female making my need and readiness known. It is primal. It is a huge turn-on. I am desired by a dog, a dog that accepts me as his.

He knows what that scent means and is not hesitant to act on it. His nose follows the scent in to its source and gives it a quick lick. He isn’t hesitant, he licks and continues. My knees spread as far as possible while maintain the position and he licks with increasing intention. I know his licking is increasing because of the secretion coming from my pussy and the more licking, the more secretions.

I have to fight within myself. At the moment it feels like there is nothing on earth (or wherever I am) that I would rather do than lay back and enjoy his tongue on my drooling pussy. That is until my brain recalls the wonderful knot at the base of his cock; the feeling of that knot inside me; the way my body pulses when I cum with him inside me; and, the amount of cum that he pumps into me when he climaxes.

I stood up with the coat separating, exposing my pussy and breasts to him, and he stands with me. He licked my thigh and hip, then looked up at me. He got a sexy smile from me in return. I turned, and with a flat piece of wood, I carry bright red coals from the outside fire pit to the pit inside the corner of the shelter. I lay several pieces of wood over the coals. I then close the door of deer skin stretched over a pine bough frame. It wasn’t greatly insulating but it at least kept the wind out.

I glanced to the side and found Bo sitting erect and expect; very expectant. I could see the tip of his cock peeking out of the sheath. And, I might have blushed, not that he would notice, but I could feel it as it spread over my chest and neck and up into my face. I felt almost like I imagined if I was seducing my husband of several years to make amends for giving into the pressures and fatigue of overworking at the job instead of tending his needs … to our needs. In fact, it was very much like that. Our act of mating was more than just pleasure. It had created a bond between us that turned our situation from one of existing and survival into an expression of life and dedication, that together we wouldn’t be denied.

I slipped the coat off my shoulders and Bo was immediately at my bare butt, licking it at each cheek and seeking my heightened scent emanating between them. I turned and squatted, bringing his head between my breasts. His tongue shot out, licking one and then the other, licking the breast tissue and occasionally hitting my nipples. My nipples meant nothing to him but even accidental attention to them created a wonderful response in me. Hmmm … maybe that is something I can teach him, like our kissing, how much I like my nipples licked.

I spread the coat over the bed of grass underneath the elk hide. It was a bed we shared. It wasn’t exactly soft, but was better than lying directly on the hard ground. The newly completed coat needed to be made a part of us, christened. It needed to have our scent embedded in it as much as the bear’s, even after all the cleaning and washing and working. I lay Bo on the coat and after stroking him to ease his body into position, I eased his cock out of the sheath. I was very deliberate this time. This was no longer a teasing effort or a seduction; this was me wanting his cock; this was me needing his cock; and, this was me reminding him that I was his mate and that unlike other animals, we didn’t wait for a season to mate or to come into heat; we mated as our needs and desires dictated. And right now, my desires were dictating.

I took his hardening cock into my mouth, stroking it in and out, and sucking the pre-cum from the tip. The pre-cum that was such a part of loving him and so different than men. Only one of the differences that I relished. He was completely out of the sheath in only moments. This wasn’t a night for long and protracted efforts of oral pleasure making. This was a night and a moment for becoming his mate, again … and always.

I pulled my mouth from his cock and moved to kiss his snout. He sniffed and licked my lips, then licked more as he took in the residue of his own pre-cum on my mouth. As I sat back, he scrambled up and stood before me. I smiled, thinking he was understanding what I was about to present to him. I didn’t know if he really anticipated what was to come, but I wanted to believe that he did.

I moved to my hands and knees and turned, presenting my ass to him. He wasted no time, he was on my back with his hips thrusting to find the entrance to my pussy with his driving cock. My hand was immediately between my legs, guiding his hot, hard, slippery cock to my opening. He plunged deeply into me on the first stroke and I cried out while pressing my body back into his thrusts. It again felt so primal, so animalistic, that my cries and moans seemed to take on that nature in my response to his mating. I was no longer subject to the expectations of the human and civilized world; my world now was primal, animal in many ways. And, I didn’t regret it in the least. Quite to the contrary, I seemed to be reveling in the acceptance in my mind of nature’s ways, nature’s dominance for my life.

I pushed back onto him as he thrust into me and I continued to cry out my pleasure and need. I heard no words, no pleading, and no pledges being promised coming from me. What I heard was only sounds, sounds coming low in my throat and unrecognizable as human. I truly and completely felt as his mate and my response was proof of it.

I soon felt his knot forming outside my pussy and as he pushed against me, I pressed back against him. I felt like a bitch, a bitch in need of breeding, but not a bitch that was dominated. It was an odd feeling and mix of feelings. But, I pressed against the knot as he pressed against my pussy opening. Little by little, quicker and quicker, the knot opened my pussy and passed into me, eliciting another guttural near growl from me as I felt full of cock and knot, his pre-cum leaking steadily into me. And, as it did, he grew, his cock and knot growing longer and larger, filling me more and more while the strokes were constricted by the knot lodged inside.

I felt my orgasm growing, building inside me, my body glowing with warmth as the blood flowed and pulsed through me. I knew I was close to exploding and prayed to the Mother of all Nature that he would join me. I moaned as I understood I couldn’t deny my building orgasm, when I felt his cock twitch inside me, then jerk violently inside. I crashed into orgasm, my pussy flooding his cock and knot, washing them in my warm fluids. But, he was right behind me, the jerking was a signal, a precursor to his climax and I felt the first powerful jet of cum spray into my pussy, washing my pussy with his cum just as mine had coated his cock. Our bodies responded in unison to each other, sending me into a second peaking orgasm.

I collapsed to the fur. My ass still in the air while tied to my lover, my breasts and face were pressed into the hide. I reached back and held his leg in place. I wanted to feel the fur of his belly and chest against my back. I wanted to feel our union just like this. I wanted to experience this for the rest of my life.

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Continued in Chapter 7