“I need another blanket,” Susan muttered.\u00a0 “This is ridiculous.”\u00a0 The walls of the young woman’s tent rippled against the light wind and she shivered under her blankets as the cold settled densely around her.\u00a0 The constant light snowfall pelted her tent with muttered pattering sounds.\u00a0 Susan peeked over the edge of her covers to watch her small tent sway.\u00a0 She could feel the cold somehow reaching through the blankets to seep into her and her bones ached from it.\u00a0 She weighed her options.\u00a0 On one hand, she felt like she could survive well enough with her parka, clothes, gloves, hat and four blankets.\u00a0 Going outside meant opening the tent and letting the sparse heat out.\u00a0\u00a0 But, on the other hand, she had another thick comforter in the back of her Subaru.\u00a0 Susan shifted on the thick padding as she considered.<\/p>\n
“The beach,” Susan said, her voice muffled by covers.\u00a0 “Hot tea just brewed.\u00a0 Oh, hot coffee.\u00a0 That’s a good one.\u00a0 Walking into a bakery during winter.\u00a0 Fireplaces.\u00a0 Summer.\u00a0 In Florida.\u00a0 Aw, man.”\u00a0 Susan wriggled from beneath her blankets and gasped at the sudden sharp hardness of the surrounding cold. Once she’d pulled on her boots, she unzipped the double lining to her tent and moaned as the wind wrapped its invisible arms around her.\u00a0 “J… just a little… oh Jesus.\u00a0 Just a little…”\u00a0 The ground and trees around her were covered with thick, smooth snow.\u00a0 The sky was the color of a dark bruise and she could barely see through the distance.\u00a0 A small part of her whispered in fear that she didn’t know which direction she was parked but she was sure she’d faced the tent towards her car.\u00a0 Mostly sure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Susan set off, crunching through the snow as lightly as possible.\u00a0 She used small tree trunks as handholds when she passed them and occasionally tested the ground when she wasn’t sure about her footing.\u00a0 While this wasn’t her first camping trip in the Northern Cascades, it was her first in winter and her first in this spot.\u00a0 She was fairly certain the area had no drop-offs but she wanted to take no chances.\u00a0 Silvery moonlight occasionally lit her way when the clouds parted enough to allow light through.\u00a0 This is taking too long,<\/i> she told herself.\u00a0 I should be at the car by now and I can’t even see it.<\/i>\u00a0 Real fear started setting in as she paused to look around.\u00a0 Her feet ached in her boots so she tried to move her toes.<\/p>\n
Through the near silence of the forest around her she heard the sound of a car engine.\u00a0 Susan’s heart leapt in relief.\u00a0 If there’s a car coming then that means the road is nearby and the turnoff should be close, <\/i>she told herself.\u00a0 Susan tucked her arms into her armpits and hid her face.\u00a0 She couldn’t see the road but she decided to angle slightly to the right.\u00a0 With a low howl, the wind picked up and snow flurries thickened.\u00a0 She could feel her ears burning in the hood of her parka.\u00a0 The light from the car flashed and then vanished as it took turns and went over hills.\u00a0 It sounded louder but-<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the vehicle was in front of her.\u00a0 Susan had a moment to make out a large pickup truck with a small snowplow mounted on the front.\u00a0 She squawked and stepped back.\u00a0 Susan’s brain registered the soft snap of thick, semi-solid snow breaking but it was too late.\u00a0 Her eyes caught the startled eyes of the driver as she fell over backwards.\u00a0 Too slow, she pulled her arms from her sides and flailed at the tree next to her but she was already falling.\u00a0 Tumbling and turning through the air, she tried to scream but the cold stole her breath.\u00a0 Her life story did not flash before her eyes.\u00a0 She said no prayer and formed no coherent though.\u00a0 Over and over in her mind she thought, I’m falling!\u00a0 I’m falling!\u00a0 I’m falling!\u00a0 I’m-<\/i><\/p>\n
The ground appeared suddenly and violently and she mercifully couldn’t remember the impact.\u00a0 Susan woke to herself gagging and, when she coughed, she tasted blood.\u00a0 Her head spun violently when she opened her eyes so she closed them again.\u00a0 Her whole body was in pain but it seemed to radiate from her left side.\u00a0 Every time she breathed in, she winced.\u00a0 Susan rolled to her right and groaned as her left side sent waves of nausea down her body.\u00a0 She forced her eyes open to look.<\/p>\n
“F… fuck.”\u00a0 Susan groaned.\u00a0 A rib.\u00a0 A rib was halfway out of her left side.\u00a0 The blood soaking it was shockingly red in the sudden harsh moonlight and Susan wanted to throw up.\u00a0 “Wait… just… wait…”\u00a0 Wisps of steam spiraled above the wound and the cold burned her.\u00a0 Far above her she heard a voice call out but she couldn’t make out the words.\u00a0 Susan slowly reached for the rib and then touched it gingerly.\u00a0 It moved and she felt the tip of it digging deep within her.\u00a0 With trembling hands, she pulled and the bone came out.\u00a0 Susan hissed through clenched teeth at the feeling of it moving through her flesh.\u00a0 Now, with the bone out, the pain in her side lessened and she rolled to her back.\u00a0 She’d made a small snow crater when she hit the ground and she now lay within.\u00a0 She felt tired.\u00a0 Susan held the bone above her eyes, squinting through the pain to look at it.\u00a0 It was old and pocked with small holes and dark with age or dirt.\u00a0 “Not… not… not mine.\u00a0 Hah.\u00a0 Haah.”<\/p>\n
Susan’s numb right arm dropped to her side and the bone tumbled away.\u00a0 “Pretty,” she whispered.\u00a0 Snow whirled above her in the semi-darkness.\u00a0 She couldn’t feel the cold much anymore.\u00a0 Someone was yelling and crashing around but all she saw was the delicate dance of the snowflakes as they fell ceaselessly from the sky.\u00a0 Her breath melted smaller flakes as she talked quietly.\u00a0 “Warm… warm showers.\u00a0 Hot pockets straight from the microwave.\u00a0 Gross but so good.\u00a0 Hot tubs.\u00a0 The sun on… on… on…”\u00a0 Susan’s eyes slowly closed and the world winked out around her.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
She was falling again.\u00a0 All around her were trees reaching and pulling at her but she felt the weight of gravity and she was falling.\u00a0 Susan gasped, suddenly awake.\u00a0 Lights.\u00a0 Lights and a weight on her chest.\u00a0 And noise.\u00a0 And smells.\u00a0 But lights.\u00a0 So bright.\u00a0 Old springs groaned under her weight as she shifted, wide eyed.\u00a0 The dream still clung to her.<\/p>\n
“Hey, whoa whoa.\u00a0 Hey,” a voice told her. \u00a0Susan looked to her left and winced at the movement.\u00a0 A young man walked quickly toward her.\u00a0 Susan grabbed the blanket and pressed herself against the corner of the wall.\u00a0 The man had both of his hands up in front of him as if showing her that he wasn’t a threat.\u00a0 He was tall and had a light beard over fair skin.\u00a0 His hair was brown and curly and there were a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.\u00a0 He wore a loose, green long sleeved sweater and an old pair of blue jeans.\u00a0 “Don’t- hey, don’t move so much.\u00a0 You’re hurt.\u00a0 I’m a park ranger.\u00a0 I saw you fall.”<\/p>\n
The man pulled a simple wooden chair from a small table and brought it over to her bed.\u00a0 “Do you mind if I sit?” He asked her.<\/p>\n
Susan shook her head slowly.\u00a0 The man was handsome in a rugged kind of way and, despite everything she’d been taught growing up, she felt immediately relaxed.\u00a0 His eyes were kind and worried.\u00a0 His voice was smooth and low and comforting; she had thoughts of her father holding her in his arms, rocking her to sleep.\u00a0 Still, she held herself tight and close to the wall.\u00a0 Men were men and she’d left her innocence back in her teenage years.\u00a0 The man sat carefully, five feet away from her.<\/p>\n
“How-” Susan’s voice caught on the words.\u00a0 Her mouth was incredibly dry.\u00a0 She swallowed but still her tongue clicked against the inside of her mouth.<\/p>\n
“Oh, crap, hold on,” the man told her.\u00a0 He walked away from her to a small kitchen at the opposite end of the cabin.\u00a0 “I’m Chris, by the way,” he yelled as he filled a cup with water.\u00a0 “Well, Christopher but I go by Chris.”\u00a0 Susan eagerly drank the ice cold water when he returned with it.\u00a0 A sudden cracking, popping noise made her choke on her water; base thoughts of branches cracking as she fell made the fear return.\u00a0 But, rational thoughts returned and she realized the man, Chris, had a fireplace warming the cabin.<\/p>\n
“How long have I been here?”\u00a0 She asked .<\/p>\n
“A few hours,” Chris replied.\u00a0 “I’m surprised you’re awake, actually.\u00a0 It was a pretty long fall.\u00a0\u00a0 Although, you missed every tree so you’re lucky there.\u00a0 And the snow helped.\u00a0 I’m – I’m sorry – I had to lift your shirt up a little to look at your side.\u00a0 You had some blood on you.”<\/p>\n
At the mention of her shirt, Susan pressed her hand against her left side.\u00a0 Heat rose to her dark cheeks.\u00a0 Heat and anger.<\/p>\n
“I swear I didn’t do anything else!”\u00a0 Chris’ hands fluttered around him as he spoke rapidly.\u00a0 “All I did was lift up the bottom a little bit and look and I didn’t do anything else.\u00a0 Except take off your jacket.\u00a0 And your shoes.\u00a0 And your socks.\u00a0 But that’s it!\u00a0 I swear!”<\/p>\n
Susan’s fingers explored her side as the anger faded.\u00a0 It was stupid and she knew it.\u00a0 He’d had no other choice and everything else felt fine.\u00a0 Still, the thought of her asleep and someone she didn’t know touching her… she shivered from it and pulled the blankets closer.<\/p>\n
“How bad was it?”\u00a0 She asked, afraid to hear the answer.<\/p>\n
Chris shrugged in return.\u00a0 “Surprisingly good. The bruise is massive but I didn’t feel anything broken.\u00a0 I have some EMT training so I checked what I could.\u00a0 And you seem to be-”<\/p>\n
“No,” she interrupted.\u00a0 “The wound.\u00a0 The… the stab wound.\u00a0 From the bone.”<\/p>\n
“I- what wound?\u00a0 What bone?”\u00a0 Chris’ brows knit together in confusion.<\/p>\n
“You said you looked.\u00a0 How could you miss-” Susan carefully pulled the left side of her long sleeved shirt up.\u00a0 A brilliant purple and yellow bruise radiated from where she’d pulled the bone from her side but there was no cut.\u00a0 No scar.\u00a0 Nothing to show where the bone had impaled her.\u00a0 “It’s-\u00a0 I landed on a bone.\u00a0 I thought it was my own rib coming out from my chest but it was old and… I don’t understand.\u00a0 It was halfway into my side.”<\/p>\n
Chris stared a moment but then nodded.\u00a0 “It probably just looked bad.\u00a0\u00a0 You could’ve just landed on top of it and pulled it out from under you?\u00a0 And the blood… well, you hit really hard.\u00a0 That could’ve been from biting your mouth or something inside and then spitting it out or… or something.”<\/p>\n
Susan touched her side, long black fingers gently rubbing the area just below her rib cage.\u00a0 She knew he was wrong.\u00a0 She knew the bone had cut into her.\u00a0 But, he was right, there was nothing there.\u00a0 It seemed impossible.<\/p>\n
“Does it hurt anywhere else?\u00a0 Inside or out?”<\/p>\n
Susan shook her head.\u00a0 “No.\u00a0 Hurts a little on my left when I breathe but- oh, and I have a headache pretty bad.\u00a0 But, huh, that’s it.\u00a0 Shouldn’t it be worse?”<\/p>\n
“Well, there was a lot of snow,” the man said.\u00a0 “I’ve heard of people falling from buildings and walking away so why not on snow?\u00a0 Consider yourself lucky, I guess?\u00a0 You can sleep here for the night and we can get you out in the morning, maybe find your car and campsite?”<\/p>\n
Susan nodded.\u00a0 “I can take the couch.”<\/p>\n
The man’s sharp, sudden laugh startled her.\u00a0 “No way.\u00a0 No ma’am.\u00a0 I’ll take the couch, you take the bed.\u00a0 I wasn’t the one that just dropped fifty feet. \u00a0No way I make a lady take the couch.\u00a0 Besides, I already changed the sheets and I only do that once a year so it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”<\/p>\n
Susan smiled shyly but arched her eyebrow.\u00a0 “‘Lady’, huh?\u00a0 I can take care of myself, you know.\u00a0 I’ve slept on quite a few couches, thank you very much.”\u00a0 Chris’ grin widened and Susan looked back over her words.\u00a0 “At… at friends’ houses!\u00a0 Jesus, what’re you, my mom?”\u00a0 The man laughed again and Susan blushed.<\/p>\n
The sudden silence widened between them and Susan’s blush deepened.\u00a0 Chris smiled down at his hands and coughed.\u00a0 “So, what is a la- a young female like yourself doing out here a week before Christmas?\u00a0 If you don’t mind me asking?”<\/p>\n
What am I doing out here?<\/i> Susan wondered.\u00a0 Out loud, she said, “I… Peace.\u00a0 That’s what I was looking for.\u00a0 Quiet.\u00a0 Time alone and away from people.\u00a0 Time to clear my mind.”\u00a0 Chris nodded, the understanding clear in his eyes.\u00a0 Susan took another sip of her water, relaxing again as she leaned back against the corner.\u00a0 “I do web development for a startup and it’s just non-stop work, work, work.\u00a0 A week ago my boyfriend broke up with me.\u00a0 Just left me a little note saying, oh gosh, what was it?\u00a0 Oh, right:\u00a0 ‘You’re never around to talk to me so I thought I’d write it out for you – we’re done.’\u00a0 And, he was right.\u00a0 I didn’t make time for him.\u00a0 I looked at the note, crawled into bed and woke up four hours later to drive to work.\u00a0 Today was my first day off in a month and I’m not sure I’m going to go back.”<\/p>\n
“Because they’re working you to death?”\u00a0 Chris asked.<\/p>\n
Susan rolled the water glass between her hands.\u00a0 “Yeah.\u00a0 But I also get the shit work because I’m a woman.\u00a0 I don’t even think they’re doing it on purpose.\u00a0 It’s just that every single job I’ve had since I got my degree has been me trying to prove that I can hang with them.\u00a0 I thought putting in all this time with a small group would finally do it but I’m still stuck with the clean-up work.\u00a0 They do the big cool jobs and I just get the left-overs.\u00a0 Error handling and test cases and-” Susan stopped and looked up.\u00a0 Chris watched her and she saw a kind of sadness in his eyes.\u00a0 Was it for her?\u00a0 “I’m just rambling.\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 Nerd stuff.\u00a0 So, I got away.\u00a0 And I thought I could handle camping out but it looks like I can’t even do that.”<\/p>\n
“Hah,” Chris laughed, bitterly.\u00a0 “Not very many people are good at camping during winter.\u00a0 I’d rather they all stayed away until spring or summer.\u00a0 Way safer.”<\/p>\n
“Even you?”\u00a0 Susan asked.<\/p>\n
“No, I like the quiet.\u00a0 I always have.”<\/p>\n
Susan rolled her glass again.\u00a0 “Always?”<\/p>\n
“I-”<\/p>\n
The radio blared to life and Susan thought she would either have a heart attack or pee herself.\u00a0 From the sudden, loud noise.<\/p>\n
“Chris.\u00a0 Chris, come in.”\u00a0 The female voice ordered.<\/p>\n
The man stood up and walked briskly to a desk nearby.\u00a0 He pressed a button on an old style microphone and answered.\u00a0 “Yeah, this is Chris.\u00a0 Go ahead, Jamie.”<\/p>\n
“We’re gonna need your truck over in Big Beaver.\u00a0 Got some downed trees causing problems.”<\/p>\n
“All right.\u00a0 I’m headed out.\u00a0 I’ll bring some extra chains and ropes.\u00a0 Is John there?”<\/p>\n
Jamie’s voice dripped with frustration, even over the old radio.\u00a0 “Can’t reach him.\u00a0 Again.\u00a0 Probably sleeping it off.\u00a0 Again.”<\/p>\n
“Got it.\u00a0 There in twenty.”<\/p>\n
Chris came back to Susan’s side.\u00a0 “I have to head out.\u00a0 Dunno how long I’ll be gone but the place is yours.\u00a0 There’s food in the kitchen and a little bathroom in the corner over there.\u00a0 Headache medicine is in the cabinet above the bathroom sink.\u00a0 Try not to move too much, though.\u00a0 The wood for the fire is right next to it but you should be good for a bit.\u00a0 I’ll be back when I can.\u00a0 It was nice meeting you…”\u00a0 Chris stared as the sentence trailed off.<\/p>\n
“Oh!\u00a0 Oh, gosh.\u00a0 I’m sorry.\u00a0 My name is Susan.\u00a0 Thank you so much for coming to get me.\u00a0 Jesus, I hadn’t even said thank you yet, have I?\u00a0 I’m a terrible person.\u00a0 I’m so sorry.”<\/p>\n
Chris grinned at her and she blushed again.\u00a0 “No, ma’am.\u00a0 Just shaken.\u00a0 I’m glad it wasn’t worse.”\u00a0 In nearly the worst Arnold Schwarzenegger impression she’d heard yet, Chris said, “I’ll be back.”\u00a0 Susan groaned as Chris walked away.<\/p>\n
With Chris gone, the house seemed less inviting.\u00a0 Susan laid her head against the thick logs of the wall, breathing in the old faded smell of tar and tree and lives lived alone in the wilderness.\u00a0 She felt a tiny hunger and realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch earlier in the day.\u00a0 As she did earlier, Susan weighed leaving the comfort of her blankets for the food in kitchen.\u00a0 Food won and Susan untangled herself, setting the glass on the small bedside table.\u00a0 When she swung her legs over, she realized she was still wearing her thick winter pants.\u00a0 Susan tugged them off and then sat, testing to make sure the house was warm enough for her to only be wearing the yoga pants she’d worn beneath the other pants.\u00a0 Satisfied that she wouldn’t freeze, Susan stood.\u00a0 The bare wooden floor made her shiver when her feet touched it but she scurried on until she reached the pantry.<\/p>\n
Lightly stepping on one foot and then the other, Susan dug through the food until she found a box of trail mix.\u00a0 Moonlight filtered through the wooden slates covering the window above the sink.\u00a0 Susan sniffed at the trail mix and shook it, eyeing it suspiciously for any peanuts.<\/p>\n
Susan’s eyes flicked slightly to the side.\u00a0 The skin on the bottom of her left hand was darkening.\u00a0 Thinking it a trick of the overhead light, Susan pulled her hand closer.\u00a0 The slightly lighter color of her palms was turning to black.\u00a0 The cartoon of trail mix crashed to the floor, spilling nuts and grains everywhere.\u00a0 Susan’s eyes widened and she turned her hand over and over.\u00a0 The back of her hand was still the rich mocha color she was used to seeing but the bottom of her hand – now the flesh under her fingers was changing, darkening the same as her palm.\u00a0 Susan gingerly touched the new skin and it was as rough as an old callus.\u00a0 The new growth puffed out slightly as she watched.\u00a0 Susan felt small tugs on her right hand and, when she looked, the same thing was happening.<\/p>\n
“What the- ow!”\u00a0 The tip of her right index finger split open.\u00a0 She felt movement within the skin – something pushing flesh aside.\u00a0 Her fingernail broke apart as a pearly white claw pushed through her skin.\u00a0 In horror, Susan watched as the little finger and index finger of her left hand also split open.\u00a0 She could feel<\/i><\/b> the flesh moving as the claws grew and, one by one, every finger flared with pain as all ten fingers grew claws.\u00a0 Small drops of blood fell from the deadly looking tips, each now extended half an inch from her fingers.\u00a0 And then, incredibly, they withdrew back into her hands.\u00a0 Unseen until now, the claws sheathed into new translucent growths at the tip of her fingers.<\/p>\n
“What… what…?\u00a0 Oh fuck!”\u00a0 Susan dropped to her knees, clenching her stomach.\u00a0 Her guts felt like they were on fire and she screamed, beating her hands on the floor.\u00a0 The bones in her fingers popped, shortening as her hands thickened.\u00a0 As her hand struck the ground, her claws came out from their sheaths to tear strips of wood from the flooring.\u00a0 Susan screamed, stretching her back feet out, feeling bones crunch along their length, rearranging themselves into new, wider shapes as her toes splayed out.\u00a0 The same thick black skin from her palms darkened the bottom of her feet.\u00a0 Susan rolled to her side, kicking her legs while gripping her sides in pain.<\/p>\n
The arches of Susan’s feet broke as they widened and she could feel the muscles moving.\u00a0 The sensation flowed up her body and she screamed as her calves knotted.\u00a0 She looked down, shaking and nearly crying.\u00a0 Her calves bulged out, pushing the stretchy fabric of her yoga pants.\u00a0 Susan frantically worked her legs as far back as she could to try to ease the cramps but the pain finally stopped when she felt and heard her shin crack.\u00a0 Susan watched in horror as her legs stretched out slightly but her attention was drawn back to her hands.<\/p>\n
Small gray and black hairs pushed through the skin on the back of her hands – hands now doubled in width and size.\u00a0 Susan flexed her fingers and they felt alien to her.\u00a0 She couldn’t bend the fingers as well because of their stiffness but when she pushed a certain way, her claws pushed out. \u00a0They seemed larger than before, perhaps an inch long and matching the increased size of her hands.\u00a0 The thick padding on the palm of her hand resembled at cat’s paw – as did the shape, halfway between a cat’s paw and a human hand.\u00a0 The hair grew thicker and patterns emerged, black blobs among her mostly light gray fur.\u00a0 Her skin itched as the fur grew along her hand, disappearing into the long sleeves of her shirt.\u00a0 She felt the fur creep up her arms and to her shoulders.<\/p>\n
A sudden pain on her chest made Susan cry out.\u00a0 Her bra was cutting into her breasts and chest.\u00a0 Fumbling with awkward hands, Susan grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled, struggling to get it over her head.\u00a0\u00a0 Her side was completely healed, light black skin free of any bruising at all.\u00a0 Her breasts pushed at the simple black bra, brown skin overflowing around the edges.\u00a0 As she watched, her left breast swelled, exposing one large black nipple just above the top of her bra.\u00a0 She bit her lip in pain and then cried out again as she tasted blood.\u00a0 She explored her canine teeth with her tongue and their sharpness scared her.\u00a0 All four canines were slightly longer and far more pointed than before.\u00a0 The pain in her chest brought her back as her right breast grew to match the left.\u00a0 Both of her fat nipples were exposed to the cool air and she felt them harden.\u00a0 Susan reached behind to unhook herself but her hands couldn’t seem to work right and she yelled in frustration.<\/p>\n
Grabbing the front of her bra, Susan pulled.\u00a0 Her biceps bulged beneath thick fur and the fabric snapped, freeing her engorged breasts.\u00a0\u00a0 Susan growled at the release.\u00a0 She kneeled, sitting back on her legs and the length of them felt unusual.\u00a0 As carefully as possible, Susan cupped her breasts, feeling the rough padding on her smooth black skin.\u00a0 And then, she ran her paws down her stomach.\u00a0 Something was happening on her lower stomach.\u00a0 Susan felt a peculiar sort of pulling deep within the pit of her stomach as things moved around.\u00a0 Susan leaned back and newly formed hard stomach muscle flexed in the overhead light.\u00a0 She was entirely lean now, her stomach full of hard.\u00a0 In two lines down the side of her stomach, six circular patches of skin darkened slightly.\u00a0 In the center of those patches, the skin turned nearly completely black and she felt them push out.\u00a0 Nipples, she saw.\u00a0 Susan grabbed her larger breasts and pulled them to the side as she watched six new nipples twist and grow from small patches of areola.\u00a0 She moaned, carefully biting her lip with sharpened fangs and, unable to help herself, she touched one of the new nipples.\u00a0 At first she felt nothing but something tugged in her gut and she moaned again as the nipple hardened, responding to her touch.<\/p>\n
Susan felt a different kind of prickling sensation on her lower stomach.\u00a0 She gently pushed the band of her pants down, exposing her mound.\u00a0 Light gray fur grew around her crotch, slowly at first and then faster.\u00a0 The fur poured up her body, surrounding the new nipples and then in a line up her chest and between her upper breasts.\u00a0 A soft sigh escaped her lips.\u00a0 It felt as if a lover’s hand was trailing along her secret spots as the soft gray and black fur spread over her body.\u00a0 Her lower nipples disappeared beneath the fur but then reappeared as tiny breasts pushed them out.\u00a0 Susan placed her paws on her thighs and then spread her legs.\u00a0 Something caught deep in her throat and a raspy, growly purr rumbled deep within.\u00a0 She kneaded her thigh muscles and they twitched under the attention.\u00a0 As if responding to her touch, her thighs expanded, skin and yoga pants stretching to accommodate muscles easily doubling in size.\u00a0 She could feel her ass growing and the combination of her thighs and ass thickening pushed at her pussy lips.<\/p>\n
Susan’s claws came out of her sheaths as she rumbled her deep purr, reveling in the sensations in her lower body.\u00a0 I like this.\u00a0 Feels nice.\u00a0 Feels nice.\u00a0 More.\u00a0 Want more.<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0 Susan slowly wriggled back and forth, spreading her larger ass cheeks open and closed over and over.\u00a0 Focused thoughts became more difficult but she hardly noticed.\u00a0 More,<\/i> she thought.\u00a0 Flexing slightly, her claws came all the way out and she traced a claw tip from the crotch of her pants and up to the band.\u00a0 The thin material separated easily, exposing her wetness.\u00a0 She purred louder and then cut the rest of her pants away from her body.\u00a0 The light black skin of her legs was vanishing beneath a growing carpet of gray and black fur.\u00a0 Densely defined muscles flexing as she sat up on her knees.\u00a0 Susan groaned and fell to her hands.\u00a0 Her upper breasts hung heavy and full and furry to the ground below her.\u00a0 She dug her back claws into the floor and stretched, luxuriating in the feel of her new muscles.\u00a0 In the size of her new body.\u00a0 Her black yoga pants fell to the floor in tatters around her.<\/p>\n
Muscles and tendons and bones popped in her back as her upper body widened further.\u00a0 She licked at her lips and felt the roughness of her longer tongue.\u00a0 \u00a0Fur grew up from Susan’s neck and along her cheeks.\u00a0 The fur on her neck grew longer than the rest, curving outward.\u00a0 Brighter colors flared around her as her pupils squeezed into vertical slits.\u00a0 Susan mewled in slight pain as her jaw cracked.\u00a0 The skin on her upper lip separated slightly and then puffed out as her jaw pushed away from her face.\u00a0 She spat and bloody teeth fell to the ground.\u00a0 Fangs pushed through her torn gums to join her canine teeth.\u00a0 Susan’s smooth black face disappeared under gray fur.\u00a0 Lines of black fur traced along her eyes and to the side of her face.\u00a0 Her ears twitched as they grew in length and size, light fur growing out to cover them.\u00a0 Small white hairs grew from the inside of her ears as the ears themselves grew to points, tipped in pure black fur.\u00a0 Finally, long white whiskers pushed painfully from the skin over her mouth.<\/p>\n
Susan stood, feeling her breasts settle against the fur of her chest.\u00a0 She held herself up on the kitchen countertop as she tried out her legs.\u00a0 My legs?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Fur on me?\u00a0 Something.\u00a0 Wrong.\u00a0 Is wrong.\u00a0 Something.\u00a0 Who?\u00a0 Why?<\/i>\u00a0 The fur along her belly was slightly lighter than the rest of her body.\u00a0 Standing on the tips of her feet felt right and the fur on her ears nearly brushed the ceiling.\u00a0 Susan tried to look behind herself when she felt skin moving above her ass.\u00a0 Unseen to her, fur and skin pushed out from her tail bone.\u00a0 A small nub of a tail grew out and she felt the fur from it sliding against the fur on her ass.\u00a0 A small four inch tail flexed behind her.\u00a0 Susan cocked her head in confusion at it.\u00a0 What?\u00a0 What that?\u00a0 Thing?\u00a0 Hungry.\u00a0 Food.<\/i>\u00a0 Hot.\u00a0 Much hot.<\/i><\/p>\n
The cabin seemed foreign to her eyes.\u00a0 Some things rang familiar to her but nothing made sense.\u00a0 It was shapes and odd things to her eyes and mind now.\u00a0 And too bright.\u00a0 She smelled food but nothing she wanted.\u00a0 Susan padded around, ducking under light fixtures until she reached the door.\u00a0 Out.\u00a0 Go out.<\/i>\u00a0 She looked at the door and knew she was supposed to do something.\u00a0 Something was supposed to happen so she could go out.\u00a0 Susan pushed at the door and then growled when nothing happened.\u00a0 Let out.\u00a0 Go out. <\/i>\u00a0A small part of her mind pushed her to play with the doorknob but she fumbled at it, unsure of what to do.\u00a0 Finally, she growled, dug her claws into the floor and pushed.\u00a0 The door cracked at the hinges and she fell with it.\u00a0 Reflexes kicked in and Susan tumbled to a roll, coming up on her hands and feet.\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 Good,<\/i> she told herself.\u00a0 Out.<\/i><\/p>\n
The snow fell in heavy sheets and Susan reveled in it.\u00a0 Steam rose in clouds around her shortened muzzle and it tickled her whiskers.\u00a0 Scanning the ground and trees, she bounded quietly into the night on thick, padded paws; a silent streak of gray and black.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
Susan woke to a sucking, bone-chilling cold.\u00a0 Her head was pounding and her entire body ached.\u00a0 She groaned and opened her eyes.\u00a0 She was lying on her side in the middle of the cabin and the fireplace was dark.\u00a0 Wind howled and she turned to see the front door missing.\u00a0 Small piles of snow covered the entryway.\u00a0 Something tickled the back of her mind as she looked at the door but she couldn’t figure out what happened.<\/p>\n
“I’m naked.\u00a0 What the hell?”\u00a0 Susan said through chattering teeth.\u00a0 She pushed herself up and then hugged her arms around herself.\u00a0 “What happened?\u00a0 Oh, Jesus it’s cold.”\u00a0 Susan took a step and then stopped as her feet brushed against something.\u00a0 She looked down to see the remains of her yoga pants.\u00a0 Bending down, she picked them up and held them to the light.\u00a0 Another piece of her mind tugged at her as she looked at the tears and holes in the fabric.\u00a0 “What…”\u00a0 Looking around the small area, she noticed gouges in the wood of the floor.\u00a0 Susan bent to touch one.\u00a0 They were as big and long as her index finger.\u00a0 Over and over, five of them.\u00a0 Like… “Like fingers,” she said.<\/p>\n
The hairs on the back of Susan’s neck stood at attention as she made her way to the fireplace.\u00a0 She worked fast, thankful that her parents had a similar setup at their house and soon the fire was burning nearly too hot.\u00a0 She could remember getting out of the bed and then going to the kitchen but there was nothing after that.\u00a0 Nothing… “Snow,” she said, slowly.\u00a0 “Lots of snow.\u00a0 Deer?”\u00a0 She could remember a small deer, staring at her in the snow.\u00a0 A dream?\u00a0 <\/i>She wondered.\u00a0 Susan massaged her slightly aching breasts but stopped when she caught herself rubbing at a spot on her lower belly as well.<\/p>\n
“All right, enough messing around,” she told the empty room.\u00a0 “Let’s get to it.”\u00a0 Susan pulled on her winter pants and then found her long sleeve shirt in the kitchen.\u00a0 She fingered the holes at the bottom of the shirt and then shrugged, pulling it on, shivering as the fabric slid along her hard nipples.\u00a0 She dug around to find a small, ancient broom and then spent the next half hour cleaning up granola, snow and wooden shards.\u00a0 She found the door buried under snow just outside of the empty doorframe.\u00a0 The doorknob was bent slightly and there was a large dent in the middle of the door where the aluminum frame bulged outward.\u00a0 Small warning bells went off in her mind but she couldn’t quite figure out why.\u00a0 Chunks of wood were still attached to the hinges on the door so Susan gently set the door back in place as best as she could.\u00a0 Finding the right angle, she let go and the door stood awkwardly, shaking slightly against the wind.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
Susan was stirring a skillet full of scrambled eggs when she heard the roar of an engine.\u00a0 Breaks squealed and a door opened and shut.\u00a0 Susan felt a sliver of panic.\u00a0 She’d cleaned up but the door-<\/p>\n
The door came off the hinges, hitting the hard wooden floor with a crash and Susan heard a muttered curse.\u00a0 She came around the corner to see Chris standing, staring at the broken door.\u00a0 The man looked up at her and his eyes were wide.\u00a0 “What in the world happened?”<\/p>\n
Susan could find no words.\u00a0 With all the cleaning she’d done, she’d made no time to consider what she’d tell Chris.\u00a0 “I… I don’t know.\u00a0 I woke up and it was like that. Broken on the floor.”<\/p>\n
“Just like that?\u00a0 And you didn’t hear anything?” Asked Chris.\u00a0 “I mean, it’s completely ripped from the hinges.”<\/p>\n
“No, nothing.\u00a0 I swear.”<\/p>\n
Chris took several quick steps to her, looking in her eyes.\u00a0 “Are you okay?\u00a0 Nothing happened to you, did it?\u00a0 Are you feeling okay?\u00a0 Here, let me see your eyes.”<\/p>\n
Susan pushed him off.\u00a0 “I’m fine.\u00a0 Nothing happened to me.\u00a0 I just woke… I woke up and it was like that.”<\/p>\n
Chris looked the young woman up and down.\u00a0 No way she did that,<\/i> he thought.\u00a0 No freaking way.<\/i>\u00a0 He turned to the door and picked it up, setting it back in the frame.\u00a0 When he did, he stopped and turned back to Susan.\u00a0 The dent is on the inside.\u00a0 How…<\/i>\u00a0 Chris stared for a moment at Susan and then he gently set the door back.\u00a0 “Well, I’ve had a bear sniffing around my trash now and again so maybe… I’ll fix the frame a little later.\u00a0 I have some tools and wood so it should be fine.\u00a0 But are you sure you’re<\/i> fine?\u00a0 Your side isn’t hurting you?”<\/p>\n
“Yeah.\u00a0 I’m totally fine.\u00a0 I even made some pancakes and eggs.\u00a0 To pay you back.”<\/p>\n
“Why aren’t you-” Chris started but then stopped.\u00a0 Why aren’t you freaking out about this more,<\/i> he wanted to ask.\u00a0 “Well, it smells good.\u00a0 I’ll take some.\u00a0 I’m sorry it took so long.\u00a0 I got the trees out then had to pull two people out of snow banks and then help a couple of stranded hikers.”\u00a0 Chris looked down and then blushed slightly, looking away.\u00a0 Susan’s nipples pressed hard against her shirt.\u00a0 Do I say something?\u00a0 Am I supposed to?\u00a0 Fuck.\u00a0 I’ve been alone for too long out here.<\/i><\/p>\n
“It’s fine! It’s your place.\u00a0 Here, show me where the plates are and I’ll get food served and we can eat.\u00a0 Then you can take me to get my car.”\u00a0 Susan turned back to the kitchen and Chris followed.\u00a0 His eyes strayed to her ass and he forced them back up.<\/p>\n
Chris watched Susan as she set the food on the plates he handed her.\u00a0 Her short black hair was thick and curled slightly above her shoulders.\u00a0 She obsessively combed her fingers through her hair to tuck the few straggling strands back into place only for them to stray again.\u00a0 Her brown eyes twinkled in the light (although he allowed himself some poetic license there) and she had high cheekbones just below a small curved nose.\u00a0 Her chin had an extremely light dimple and he found his eyes drawn to her lips.\u00a0 Full and beautiful and hiding nearly straight teeth; her left front tooth seemed slightly crooked.\u00a0 He wondered what it would be like to kiss her.\u00a0 Her skin was the color of caramel and he wanted to run his finger along her jaw line.\u00a0 You’re a creepy bastard,<\/i> he sighed to himself.<\/p>\n
“I hope the eggs aren’t too dry,” Susan said.<\/p>\n
Chris blinked and then took his plate.\u00a0 They both made their way to the small round table he used for a dinner table and desk.\u00a0 Awkward silence stretched between them as they sat and poked at their food.<\/p>\n
“Do you think-”<\/p>\n
“Maybe I’ll-”<\/p>\n
Both spoke and stopped at the same time and then shared a small laugh.\u00a0 Chris motioned for Susan to go first while she did the same for him and they laughed again.\u00a0 She has such an easy, beautiful smile,<\/i> he thought.<\/p>\n
“I was just saying,” continued Chris.\u00a0 “Do you think you’ll head back out after we get your car going?\u00a0 There’s the bed and breakfast two miles away and I’m pretty sure Sallie has some extra rooms.\u00a0 If you still needed to clear your mind, I mean.”<\/p>\n
The corners of Susan’s mouth turned up slightly.\u00a0 “Well, I was going to say that maybe I’ll stick around here for just a little bit, if you wouldn’t mind someone kicking around?\u00a0 I could maybe steal some paper and write a bit or something?\u00a0 I like to keep a journal because it helps me organize a bit.”<\/p>\n
Chris nodded.\u00a0 “Yeah, definitely.\u00a0 I have a few books too, if you get bored.\u00a0 It’s probably a good idea anyway because the snow is getting worse.\u00a0 Plus, I haven’t slept in a day and that’s not safe on the roads.\u00a0 If you don’t mind, I’ll sleep and we can see what it looks like tomorrow morning?\u00a0 I’ll just grab a few hours.”<\/p>\n
“It’s your place.\u00a0 Go for it.\u00a0 Just show me the books and paper and I’ll be set.”<\/p>\n
After a brief tour, Chris was snoring loudly on the small bed and Susan stood by the small bookshelf, digging though the books.\u00a0 Over half of the books were guides or true stories on wilderness survival.\u00a0 Very few were fiction and most of those were of the Old Yeller and White Fang variety.\u00a0 “Could it get more cliche?” Susan whispered quietly.\u00a0 She made her way to the small desk to find some paper.\u00a0 When she pulled a few loose sheets away, she uncovered a small round picture frame.\u00a0 Inside was a picture of a smiling toddler – a little girl.\u00a0 Susan stared and saw little pieces of Chris in the girl’s face.\u00a0 She brushed the photo with a finger and then took the paper and a pencil to the couch.\u00a0 Two hours later, the pencil slipped from her fingers as she fell asleep to the crackling and snapping of wood burning in the fireplace.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
There was warmth in her dream.\u00a0 Warmth and the reassuring comfort of the soft snow.\u00a0 Hiding her, quieting her steps.\u00a0 Letting her sink in to hide herself from her prey.\u00a0 Feeling the snow melt in clumps on her fur as she lies in wait.\u00a0 Cat eyes built for tracking movement in the brilliant contrast between pure white and dark night.\u00a0 The quiet forest is alive to her senses and she hunts on padded hands and feet, lean long body tracking, creeping and then stopping.\u00a0 A small doe stands alone, breath steaming in the cold night.\u00a0 It lifts its head and turns to look at her.\u00a0 She’s still, breathing into the snow to hide her existence.\u00a0 The doe’s tail is up.\u00a0 She’s transfixed but knows something is wrong.\u00a0 She’ll run.\u00a0 I’m leaping, yowling in the air as my claws dig into the doe’s side when she tries to bolt.\u00a0 My teeth find her neck and they’re sharp. I taste red meat and blood and my short gray fur is drenched in both.\u00a0 I’m excited.\u00a0 My blood is up.\u00a0 I feel my nipples aching and hard and my sex is wet.\u00a0 The chase.\u00a0 The chase is half of it.\u00a0 I feast, purring and growling as I bite and pull.\u00a0 Tearing with my claws. Releasing the warmth and the juices.\u00a0 I bury my face in the doe’s belly and-<\/i><\/p>\n
—–<\/i><\/p>\n
Susan gasped awake and her mouth tasted of blood.\u00a0 Her dream slipped through her fingers and all she was left with was a sudden arousal.\u00a0 Her breasts and nipples ached for touch and she could feel the juices within her pussy.\u00a0 Susan idly rubbed a nipple before realizing she wasn’t alone and then she yanked her hand away, shifting uncomfortably.<\/p>\n
Chris lay on his right side, facing the couch.\u00a0 His mouth was open but he was no longer snoring; simply breathing loudly.\u00a0 His left arm hung low to the ground and his blanket had come half-off.\u00a0 Susan stood and walked to him.\u00a0 After dealing with young clean-shaved men in the tech field for four years, she found herself appreciating Chris’ beard.\u00a0 And the way he looks at me,<\/i> she thought.\u00a0 Not trying to figure out what my place is or why I’m there or how to fuck me over to get some promotion or kudos from some boss.\u00a0 I hadn’t realized how much I missed that; how much I missed being seen as an actual person.<\/i>\u00a0 She wanted to trace her finger along the wrinkles in his forehead.\u00a0 He’s handsome.<\/i><\/p>\n
Susan pulled Chris’ blanket up and tucked him in.\u00a0 She found her pencil and sat back on the couch but spent the time simply staring blankly.\u00a0 Scenes from her life played in the back of her mind.\u00a0 Always moving, moving, moving.\u00a0 Trying to push and find her place.\u00a0 Sleepwalking through one relationship after another while-<\/p>\n
“Oh, you’re up.”\u00a0 Chris said sleepily.\u00a0 “What time is it?”<\/p>\n
“I don’t- Do you have a clock?”<\/p>\n
Chris turned and they both looked.\u00a0 The small round clock above the fireplace read a little after four pm and Susan’s stomach grumbled in agreement.\u00a0 How long did I<\/b> sleep, <\/i>she wondered.<\/p>\n
“Wow,” Chris said.\u00a0 “Later than I thought. I hope you weren’t too bored?”<\/p>\n
“No, not at all.\u00a0 I slept a little too.\u00a0 Still tired so I think I can sleep tonight.\u00a0 And hungry.\u00a0 I saw some hamburger meat the freezer. I could thaw some out-”<\/p>\n
Chris held up his hands.\u00a0 “Nope.\u00a0 You’re a guest and<\/b> you made breakfast.\u00a0 I’ll make dinner.\u00a0 I already have some chicken thawed so I’ll make a little chicken pasta thing.\u00a0 Is that okay?”<\/p>\n
Susan smiled.\u00a0 I’ve been doing a lot of that today<\/i>, she realized.\u00a0 “Yeah.\u00a0 Chicken sounds great.”<\/p>\n
Dinner was quickly made and Susan kept Chris company.\u00a0 Both shared horror stories from their childhood with Chris winning over the retelling of “How I lost four baby teeth and nearly my eye to a forklift.”<\/p>\n
They both sat at the small table again, laughing over a story of Susan eating a worm mud pie (out of pure hard-headedness, she assured him) when she was a child.<\/p>\n
“Hang on, I think I have some wine if you want some.\u00a0 What was it?\u00a0 Red with chicken?\u00a0 Well, now that I think about it, it doesn’t matter.\u00a0 I only have red wine.”<\/p>\n
“I’m in,” Susan told him.\u00a0 “Nothing like a fireplace and wine\u00a0 and good company to keep warm during a snow storm.”<\/p>\n
Chris poured the wine into plastic cups as Susan made fun of him for it and then she stared at him as he took a sip.<\/p>\n
“What is it?”\u00a0 He finally asked.<\/p>\n
Susan blushed.\u00a0 “Ah.\u00a0 No, nothing.\u00a0 It’s just… I haven’t felt so relaxed in such a long time.\u00a0 I needed this pretty bad, I think.\u00a0 And you’re a gracious host.\u00a0 So, thank you, kind sir.”<\/p>\n
Chris smiled and felt heat rise to his cheeks.\u00a0 “My pleasure, ma’am.”\u00a0 He reached his cup out and Susan met his with hers and they both laughed at the gesture.<\/p>\n
Dinner passed quickly and the two soon found themselves on opposite sides of the couch, sipping what wine was left.\u00a0 The wind howled around them and they shivered from the occasional daft that made it through the broken door.<\/p>\n
Chris nodded toward his radio.\u00a0 “I’m surprised I haven’t had any calls tonight.\u00a0 People must be staying away because of the storm.”<\/p>\n
“Well, good,” Susan told him.\u00a0 “Because I think I’m not the only one that needs a break.”<\/p>\n
“That,” Chris said, feeling the wine warm him.\u00a0 “Is a fact.”<\/p>\n
The silence between them was no longer awkward as they simply sat and enjoyed each other’s company.\u00a0 Finally, Susan spoke.\u00a0 “Is… I saw the picture on your desk.\u00a0 Is that your daughter?”<\/p>\n
Chris looked at Susan and then away at his desk.\u00a0 He started to speak and then stopped, swallowing.\u00a0 With his face still to the side, Susan saw tears glisten at the corner of his eyes.\u00a0 Oh no,<\/i> she thought.\u00a0 What did I do?<\/i><\/p>\n
“She…” Chris swallowed again.\u00a0 “Aw, I’m sorry.\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 That’s my daughter.\u00a0 Was my daughter.\u00a0 She…”\u00a0 Chris closed his eyes and a hot tear rolled down his cheek.\u00a0 Susan laid her glass down and leaned forward, resting her hand on his.\u00a0 His skin was rough against hers.\u00a0 Rough and warm.\u00a0 Chris grabbed her hand and held it as he shook silently.\u00a0 Susan bit her lip and then reached for him.\u00a0 Chris folded into her arms and she laid her chin against the top of his head, holding him while he cried.\u00a0\u00a0 He smells good,<\/i> she thought.\u00a0 And then, immediately chastised herself for the random musing.\u00a0 Slowly, gently, she stroked his hair and his trembling subsided.<\/p>\n
“She was six years old,” he told her.\u00a0 Susan continued stroking Chris’ hair while he talked.\u00a0 “I… I was gone a lot.\u00a0 Me and her mom divorced earlier and I never tried very hard to take her full time.\u00a0 I couldn’t separate out my feelings for her mom and for my daughter.\u00a0 Her mom was a piece of crap and I left her there.\u00a0 I needed to work, right?\u00a0 I had to pay for child support and myself and all the stuff I needed. So, I was gone.\u00a0 I was gone when my ex fell asleep, drunk.\u00a0 With a cigarette.\u00a0 My daughter was on the second floor of the house.\u00a0 Sleeping.\u00a0 God, I hope she was sleeping when it happened.\u00a0 I pray she was.\u00a0 Nothing was left.\u00a0 Nothing at all.\u00a0 My ex and my daughter and the house.\u00a0 All gone.\u00a0 Stupid old house wasn’t properly up to code or protected.\u00a0 My ex had unplugged the fire alarm rather than change the battery.\u00a0 My daughter…”<\/p>\n
Chris choked back a sob and Susan felt her own tears as he continued.\u00a0 “If I’d wanted, I could’ve had her.\u00a0 My ex had a history.\u00a0 I could’ve taken her.\u00a0 Or at least been there more.\u00a0 So, I quit my job after it happened.\u00a0 I quit and I drank a lot and was an asshole to my friends until my best friend beat some sense into me.\u00a0 He worked in the forest service and got me this job.\u00a0 Said it would help me get my head on straight.\u00a0 It’s been a little over a year since it happened.”\u00a0 Susan felt a small tear drip onto her hand.\u00a0 Chris’ voice was tremulous.\u00a0 “Merry Christmas, huh?\u00a0 It has<\/i> helped.\u00a0 I’ve had a lot of time to sit and think and help other people out and it has done wonders.\u00a0 I just don’t know what to do next.”<\/p>\n
They lay on the couch together, holding each other as time stretched on.\u00a0 Finally, Susan reached down and turned Chris’ face to hers.\u00a0 His eyes were red and he looked up at her, unsure of himself.\u00a0 Leaning in, she brushed her lips against his and he jerked in surprise.\u00a0 Did I read him wrong?\u00a0 <\/i>She wondered.\u00a0 There was always that small part of her that was unsure of men that weren’t of color.\u00a0 But then, Chris leaned back toward hers and their lips met.\u00a0 It was a hesitant kiss but she could feel his desire.\u00a0 Not only for her but for human contact.\u00a0 For the simple touch of another person.\u00a0 The echo of her own need was painful in response.<\/p>\n
Chris turned, breaking her hold.\u00a0 His eyes were serious and worried.\u00a0 “Are you sure?”\u00a0 He asked.<\/p>\n
In response, Susan lay back, draping her left leg over the edge of the couch.\u00a0 She reached for his face and he come to her.\u00a0 This time, she opened her lips to him and their tongue touched.\u00a0 Susan wrapped her arms around his head and held him, kissing, tongues twisting as she felt a heat begin in her lower belly.\u00a0 Chris broke away and lowered himself to press his lips against Susan’s neck.\u00a0 She murmured in approval and he kissed her lightly.\u00a0 When she felt his teeth touch her skin she felt the electricity begin to build within her.\u00a0 “Oh, yes,” she told him.\u00a0 Susan moaned as his teeth sank in.<\/p>\n
“Wait,” she told him.\u00a0 “This… damn… shirt…” Tugging and pulling, she freed herself and then lay back down again, dark skin nearly shining in the light of the fireplace.\u00a0 Her breast lay nearly flat against her lean body.<\/p>\n
“I’ve…” Chris’ voice was husky.\u00a0 “I’ve wanted you all day but… but no way I act on that.\u00a0 No way.\u00a0 Not… You’re a guest and…”<\/p>\n
Susan pulled the man down to her nipple and sighed as he took it in his mouth.\u00a0 She felt the nipple tighten as he flicked it with his tongue.\u00a0 The nerves along her spine lit with fire, driving all the way to her pussy and she could feel her wet lips pressing against each other.\u00a0 Susan gasped when Chris’ teeth bit her nipple and he muttered out a “Sorry” in response.\u00a0 Susan twisted, digging her fingers into his back.\u00a0 “More.\u00a0 More teeth.”\u00a0 She arched her back, moving her hips in a rocking motion as the electricity built.\u00a0 She wanted to touch herself so badly, to bring herself to orgasm but she held back impatiently.\u00a0 Waiting for him.<\/p>\n
“You’re so beautiful,” he told her as he pulled off of her wet nipple.\u00a0 Chris pulled his own shirt off and Susan admired the muscles he’d built from working in the forest.\u00a0 Strong shoulders, a flat stomach and big arms.\u00a0 He placed a hand on Susan’s breast and she bit her lip, nodding at him in encouragement.\u00a0 The man squeezed her softly and then traced a fingernail down her side and to her hip.\u00a0 Susan whimpered when he reached her side and then jerked when she felt his mouth on the same spot.\u00a0 He bit her gently while massaging her breast.\u00a0 Susan groaned when he tweaked her nipple.<\/p>\n
“I,”\u00a0 Susan paused.\u00a0 “I want your mouth on me.\u00a0 Help me with my pants.\u00a0 God it’s been too long.\u00a0 You’re driving me wild over here.”<\/p>\n
In one smooth motion, Chris pulled of Susan’s thick pans and she lie below him completely naked.\u00a0 Susan touched her pussy lips and then pulled her hand away.\u00a0 A string of her juice followed and she knew how incredibly wet she was.\u00a0 Chris knelt beside her and she looked him in the eyes as she brought her fingers to her mouth, sucking herself clean.\u00a0 She reached down with her long fingers and felt her pussy lips again.\u00a0 Ever so gently, she opened her sticky, wet pussy lips to him with her legs spread.<\/p>\n
“Ohhhh shiiiiit,” Susan moaned as Chris eagerly bent to her wetness.\u00a0 His beard scratched against her clit and lips and she arched her back up to him, slim hips pushing herself harder onto his mouth.\u00a0 His tongue worked between her wetness and she grunted from it.\u00a0 Thoughts slipped away from her as he pleasured her.\u00a0 She was close but something was keeping her from going over the edge.<\/p>\n
“Need you,” she told him, pushing his head away.\u00a0 “Need you in me.”\u00a0 She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this turned on.\u00a0 Couldn’t remember ever needing to cum so badly.\u00a0 Thoughts seemed strange.\u00a0 Words seemed strange.\u00a0 But, all she knew was she was on fire.\u00a0 Her nerves were on edge and the pressure in her belly had her near exploding with need.\u00a0 She purred her need at him.\u00a0 “Need.\u00a0\u00a0 Need it,” she said.<\/p>\n
Chris stood and undid her pants.\u00a0 He wore simple white briefs and she could see a small stain where his pre-cum had leaked.\u00a0 She could smell him and she mewled with a sudden urgency.\u00a0 She pulled his underwear down to free his straining cock.\u00a0 With barely a thought, she grabbed his thickness and pulled him into her mouth.\u00a0 She pushed herself down as far as she could while cupping his balls.<\/p>\n
“Oh fuck,” Chris told her.\u00a0 “How’re you doing that with your throat?\u00a0 The vibrating thing?\u00a0 Jesus Christ.\u00a0 D… don’t… it’s been too long.\u00a0 I don’t know how long I can last.”<\/p>\n
Susan looked up, purring her delight.\u00a0 She touched herself and moaned.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Him.\u00a0 Want him.<\/i> She thought.\u00a0 Small gray hairs slowly, lazily grew from the backs of her shoulders.\u00a0 She could feel the nearly silent whine as her canine teeth grew, teeth grinding on teeth.\u00a0 She pulled off, instinctively knowing how bad it would be to have his manhood in her mouth right now.<\/p>\n
“Down.\u00a0 Go down.”\u00a0 She told him.\u00a0 Words were becoming hard to think and to say.\u00a0 She felt her lip pull up as bones cracked at the base of her spine.\u00a0 A small movement told her that her short tail was growing in.\u00a0 Need.\u00a0 Need cum.\u00a0 Now.<\/i><\/p>\n
“I don’t have condoms.\u00a0 Are you sure?\u00a0 I.. I wasn’t expecting to have sex for… are you on birth control?\u00a0 Are you sure it’s okay?\u00a0 You seem kind of- ow!”<\/p>\n
Susan nearly slammed Chris down to the ground.\u00a0 Her forearms and biceps bulged and strained against her skin.\u00a0 She growled low in her throat, rolling her neck as new shoulder muscles pushed at nerves and bones in her neck.\u00a0 Fur grew in around Susan’s pussy as she sat astride Chris.\u00a0 He leaned forward to suck at her nipple and she purred her approval.\u00a0 Her scent flooded the room, mixing with her sweat and fur.\u00a0 Susan reached back to grab Chris’ cock.\u00a0 She pressed the tip against her pussy and moaned loudly when she slowly pushed down.\u00a0 Her lips spread eagerly for his thickness.\u00a0 Chris bit her nipple and she jerked in response.<\/p>\n
Lower and lower she moved until she felt the base of him against the wet fur around her sopping cunt.\u00a0 Chris lack back with his eyes closed.\u00a0 His hands massaged Susan’s breasts and she moaned, enjoying the sensation as they grew in size.\u00a0 They ached badly while they swelled and the massage helped.\u00a0 Fur crept up her stomach and she felt the muscles in her ass expand, flaring out her hips.<\/p>\n
She was close now and she rode him hard.\u00a0 Down and back, up and forward, pussy eagerly gripping and pulling as she moved.\u00a0 Her wetness was such that every time she slammed down on him, she heard the squelch of her juice.\u00a0 She yowled when he started pounding into her.\u00a0 That… that… spot… yes… spot…<\/i> The electrical storm broke within her and Susan screamed in relief as her body shook.\u00a0 Claws ripped through her right hand and then her left and she fell heavily onto Chris, unable to work her hips.\u00a0 He continued pounding into her until he grunted once, twice and then she felt his cock swell.\u00a0 She growled, purring as his hot seed poured into her.\u00a0 Susan lashed out with her rough tongue, licking the side of his face and then whining as her jaw cracked, extending out of her face.<\/p>\n
“Fuck, that… that… Oh Jesus!\u00a0 What the fuck!”\u00a0 Chris opened his eyes to see Susan above him.\u00a0 She was nearly completely covered in light gray and black fur.\u00a0 Her brown eyes were slit like a cat and she had a short muzzle.\u00a0 Long white whiskers pushed away from her face and she rubbed at them with a huge hand.\u00a0 Chris pushed back from Susan and his dick pulled out, still throbbing and wet from her.\u00a0 Susan purred and bent toward him.\u00a0 A tongue, far longer than it should be, rolled out of her mouth and he shuddered as it wrapped around his cock.\u00a0 “No!\u00a0 What the-!\u00a0 Hey!”<\/p>\n
Susan looked at Chris in confusion and then grunted in pain as her thigh muscles grew.\u00a0 Spurts of thick white cum pushed out between her pussy lips, dripping down to the ground while the muscles trembled.\u00a0 She looked huge compared to what she’d been.\u00a0 Her leg muscles from thigh to calves to feet were massive, made for running and leaping. Her fur was thick and a small, non-scared part of him wanted to run his hands through it.\u00a0 While he watched, six sets of small breasts pushed at the fur on her lower belly.\u00a0 Six nipples identical to her much larger top breasts sat atop small little a-cup breasts, mostly hidden beneath that thick fur.\u00a0 Her hands – paws – looked deadly and they were at least the size of his head.\u00a0 She reached for him and he held his hands up.\u00a0 “No.\u00a0 Susan.\u00a0 What… I don’t-”<\/p>\n
She stood.\u00a0 The fur on Susan’s inner thighs was slick with their cum and her breasts were magnificent and he cursed himself for noticing both things.\u00a0 She was at least seven feet tall at her full height.\u00a0 Susan looked at him for a moment and then turned.\u00a0 Nestled just above her ass was a small stub of a tail.\u00a0 And then, Susan dropped to her hands and feet and crashed through the front door.\u00a0 The wind roared its welcome to her.<\/p>\n
Chris stared after her.\u00a0 “What have I done?\u00a0 Oh god, she’ll…”\u00a0 Freeze out there,<\/i> he almost said. “I can’t just…”\u00a0 Chris grabbed his pants, pulling them on and then gingerly zipping up the front.\u00a0 His found his shirt, jacket and boots and then was outside.\u00a0 “SUSAN!\u00a0 SUSAN!”\u00a0 I can’t leave her out there.\u00a0 I can’t.\u00a0 What if something happens to her?\u00a0 What if…<\/i>\u00a0 He stopped and grit his teeth.\u00a0 What if I lose her, too?<\/i>\u00a0 “SUSAN!”\u00a0 Chris yelled.<\/p>\n
Either she left no tracks or the snow quickly covered them.\u00a0 Chris spent an hour tromping through the snow, yelling after her but, finally, he gave up.\u00a0 Chris made his way back to his cabin, shivering and stamping his toes.\u00a0 Barely stopping to take his boots off, Chris grabbed his blanket and lay down in front of the fire.\u00a0 His fingers and toes burned badly.<\/p>\n
“Stupid,” he told himself.\u00a0 “Stupid fucking idiot.”\u00a0 He played the last day over and over in his mind.\u00a0 She was surprise at the fall and the bruise and… she would’ve told me, right?\u00a0 If she knew this would happen, she would’ve said, right?\u00a0 What if she didn’t know?\u00a0 What if…<\/i><\/p>\n
Exhaustion and stress took him.\u00a0 He dreamed, as he almost always did, of the house.\u00a0 The burning house.\u00a0 His daughter wasn’t sleeping.\u00a0 She was never sleeping in his dream.\u00a0 She was screaming.\u00a0 Screaming for him.\u00a0 The house was an inferno.\u00a0 Too hot.\u00a0 Too…<\/p>\n
… warm.\u00a0 Chris woke and felt a great weight against him.\u00a0 The fire was low behind him but in front, pushed against him…<\/p>\n
“Susan,” Chris whispered.\u00a0 She was still changed as before and she felt even more solid than she’d looked.\u00a0 More solid and incredibly warm. \u00a0The fur on her shoulders pressed against his face and he pressed back, burying himself in her scent and warmth.\u00a0 She smelled of winter and woods and melted snow.\u00a0 Carefully, he reached over her, nearly cursing as his fingers touched her swollen left breast.\u00a0 Susan shifted, pressing herself back against him and he felt her tail move.\u00a0 Slowly, he moved his fingers down, stopping when he felt the thick bunch of fur around her mound.\u00a0 He stroked the fur of her belly and it calmed him.\u00a0 A slow, lazy purr sounded deep in Susan’s throat as he scratched at the flesh beneath the fur.\u00a0 The low, steady sound combined with her warmth lulled him back to sleep.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
Chris dreamt of a great white field.\u00a0 And peace.\u00a0 Running the length of the field was a beautiful lynx.\u00a0 Running for the pure exhilaration of speed.\u00a0 She (he knew she was a she) was beautiful.\u00a0 Compact and thick with her winter’s coat.\u00a0 He watched her run until even that dream faded.\u00a0 To nothing.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
When Chris woke a second time, pale light shone through the doorframe and window.\u00a0 Susan lay against him and she was naked and human and as beautiful as his dream.<\/p>\n
“I remember some of it,” she told him.\u00a0 “I’ve been awake for a while but I didn’t want to move.\u00a0 You’re warm and I didn’t want to wake you up.\u00a0 I remember some of last night now.\u00a0 I…” Susan paused.\u00a0 “I don’t know what to do.\u00a0 I don’t know what to do with this.\u00a0 With my life now.\u00a0 What am I supposed to do, Chris?”<\/p>\n
Chris gently rubbed Susan’s hard stomach, holding her close to him.\u00a0 “I… I don’t know.\u00a0 I don’t know what to tell you.\u00a0 I’m lost too, Susan.\u00a0 But, all I know is that yesterday, dinner with you… laughing and sitting and talking with you… I can’t remember when I’d been that happy.\u00a0 I thought the answer was to come here and be alone.\u00a0 To sit and think and try to figure out what I need to do.\u00a0 You showed me that maybe that’s not right.\u00a0 When you held me… when you… gah.\u00a0 When I cried and you held me.\u00a0 I felt something heal.\u00a0 Something small.\u00a0 Just the start of it.\u00a0 But, I felt it.\u00a0 Maybe… maybe I could help you.\u00a0 Stay with me.\u00a0 Stay with me and we’ll figure this out.\u00a0 Let me help.\u00a0 You’re beautiful and you make me laugh and you’ve healed a small part of a wound that I never thought could be healed.\u00a0 Let me help you.\u00a0 Stay with me.”<\/p>\n
Susan placed her hand on Chris’ hand.\u00a0 For the longest time, neither spoke.<\/p>\n
Finally, glancing at the open doorframe, Susan answered.\u00a0 “I… I suppose it could use a woman’s touch around here.”\u00a0 Susan closed her eyes and pressed herself back against Chris.<\/p>\n
Mentally, Susan continued her list from the day before:\u00a0 The warm embrace of someone that cares for me.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“I need another blanket,” Susan muttered.\u00a0 “This is ridiculous.”\u00a0 The walls of the young woman’s tent rippled against the light wind and she shivered under her blankets as the cold settled densely around her.\u00a0 The constant light snowfall pelted her Continue reading Winter Coat<\/span>