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Alex's head ached, the strong odor of disinfectant stinging his nostrils. He couldn't move, his body paralyzed for reasons lost to him for only a moment. He scarcely remembered the night before, the events happened so quickly. He woke up up after hearing something in his apartment. Bat in hand he walked to the other room to check out the disturbance. He saw, heard and smelled nothing, passing the sound he heard as the creaking apartment playing tricks on him. In hindsight it might have been a wise idea to turn on a light rather than rely on the inadequate lighting the small bedside lamp provided in the other room.

The bat didn't help in his defense, but even if he had known about the intruder Alex doubted it would have been much good. His attacker not only removed the bat from play, but also use of the hand that held it. Alex could only make out a vague figure striking him in the dark. The assailant had no gun, made no threats, just disabled him little by little, laughing as each strike disabled him.

The intruder had been toying with Alex.

Alex's attacker only took small quick slices, each slash leaving behind what would only look like a small scratch but rendering the flesh numb. Whatever agent he used to deadened Alex's nerves spread quickly. Shortly after the first nick his left arm went numb. Another slice left the right arm numb. Alex's attempts to flee were cut short by a third slice to his calf. The figure pulled a shape from a pocket. Alex started to scream, only to have his mouth held shut. The attacker pressed the shape against Alex's neck, the hiss of the pneumatic gun plunging a needle into his neck.

To find that he wasn't dead came as an immediate surprise, but the moment was fleeting. His mind raced as quickly as the drugs that were being pumped into his body would let him, which was still sluggish at best. He had no idea where he was, who had kidnapped him, or what was going to happen to him. Alex had an idea about that latter most concept, and they all ended poorly for him.

He wanted to scream, cry, anything that might let him feel better about his bleak position. He could do none of these, his body only allowing him to be conscious. No, his body demanded he be conscious. He'd prefer to ride into his inevitable doom in the ignorance that he was afforded while sleeping, but it was a luxury he would not be able to enjoy.

Alex did discover that he was still able to open his eyes. He was hesitant to do so, not knowing what to expect once he did open his eyes. His fear was overwritten by his curiosity, although he opened his eyes carefully. The minute amount of light that hit his eyes made his head throb. His vision was just as foggy as his mind. Blinking helped just barely to clear his sight, which only allowed him to see the dark grey concrete ceiling. His neck kept it's stubborn alliance with the rest of his body, allowing no movement and nothing more than the view of the plain ceiling and the ambiguous shapes of the machinery off to his sides.

He had no idea for what purpose someone could want him captured. What little he could offer would require his freedom, or at the very least access to a stove and something to cook. He had no living family to pay off a ransom and barely enough money to pay the rent, that much was apparent by what little he had in his apartment and in his bank account.

Perhaps that was the idea.

A man with no attachments who's just barely living month to month vanishes, no one the wiser. They would notice at his work, which meant that at the very least Rose would figure out something had happened. The chain of communication probably wouldn't go very far from there. Rose might take whatever reason they come up with for his disappearance the hardest, despite them no longer being together

Or maybe the events he remembered had just been a dream. A figment his mind created to explain some traumatic event that left him paralyzed. It made just as much sense as him being attacked by some quick specter that removed his ability to move one by one before knocking him out and transferring him to some dank building. Alex wasn't certain he preferred that scenario, living out the rest of his life as a vegetable.

A motor in the bed whirled, the head of the bed shifting Alex's body into a more upright position. The room was as gloomy as he had originally thought it was. The walls were bare, made of the same dark grey concrete as the ceiling. A large steel door finished the room's dungeon like appearance. Were it not for the medical equipment the room Alex might have assumed he was in a BDSM dungeon somewhere. A bespectacled crow wearing a pristine white lab coat stood next to his bed only just convinced him he wasn't. Just barely.

"Good evening mister Brooks," the crow said. The words didn't so much flow out of his beak as they stumbled out, as though his mouth was numb. He managed to speak the words far better than any other avian Alex knew, but it still had the same mangled pronunciation that came with having a beak. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I've got to get some readings while you're awake." The crow walked over to a machine next to Alex's bed. He tapped the paper thin display, the light illuminated his face. For as plain as he appeared before, the light made him look far more sinister. The only thing that reflected any light on him was his glasses. His beak, feathers, and even his eyes held a matte-like appearance. It almost appeared as though his body absorbed light.

The crow tapped the tip of his beak with his right index finger, his left arm wrapped around his waist as he read the display carefully. His finger stopped, tapping the display again. "Looks like the drugs are working better than we expected," he muttered under his breath, the tapping sound his beak made was louder than his words. "Good. I was afraid we might have to up the dosage after that scuffle in the apartment." The crow turned his head, his eyebrows lifted in the middle. It looked a close to a frown as Alex assumed the crow could create. "I do apologize for that. I got excited and might have gone a bit overboard. Probably why they don't like me doing the field work." He shrugged. "Live and learn."

The crow turned his head abruptly back to Alex, as though he might have forgotten Alex was in the room. "Well mister Brooks, you are quite the specimen. My colleagues and I have been working on this project for a long time. We've had many test subjects, but none who have been so responsive." The crow pulled the display from it's mount, rapidly tapping the touch screen. Alex could make out what the screen held through the transparent back, but it was all backwards and his mind wasn't nearly clear enough to decipher what it said. "I hope you'll give me a few minutes to double check that we have the right person here. Not that you can do anything to stop me," the crow chuckled, the same laugh from the apartment.

"Okay, let's see here. Alexander P. Brooks, is that correct? Blink if it is." Alex hesitated, but blinked. "Oh good." The crow hummed to himself as he quickly scanned the display, occasionally reading out the random fact. "German Shepherd, five foot eleven, two hundred pounds. Oh, this is interesting." He looked up from the display. "Adopted. How progressive of your parentssss..." The crow drew out the end of sentence as he continued to read the page. "No, wait. Your mother was barren. How sad. And the child abuse history here, it just tugs at the heart strings. Well," the crow pipped. "at least they're dead. Car accidents can be so convenient sometimes."

Alex closed his eyes, growing sick of looking at the crow. Fingers pried open an eye. "Oh really now mister Brooks. You're being a child. Just because we removed you from your place of residence doesn't mean you can't be civil." Alex kept his other eye closed. "Very well then," the crow said, removing his fingers from Alex's eye. Alex heard the sound of the display clicking back into it's place. He opened his eyes, curious about what was happening. The crow drew a large needle from a pocket on his lab coat, adjusting his glasses to examine the contents clearly. "The amount of useful data we'll be able to collect from you if everything goes according to plan might actually help us finish ahead of schedule. And the fortunate piece in formation is that..." The crow stuck the needle into Alex's IV. "You might actually be lucky enough to survive."

Alex's eyes grew heavy. He tried desperately to cling onto his consciousness, but it was no use.

---

Alex had no idea how long they were experimenting on him. He would occasionally awake for short moments, but he wasn't talked to directly again and wasn't able to open his eyes. He was, however, able to feel. He wasn't sure if it was intentional, or just an oversight, but for as long as it lasted he didn't care. Every time he awoke, it was to intense pain.

The pain focused only on one specific area to begin with, but the pain expanded as time went on. They were usually quick to sedate him again, but on one occasion no one was around. He could have been awake for less than a minute, but the pain had it's ways of drawing out every agonizing second. His skin felt as it might have been peeled back, his lungs burned, his heart in a vice, every bone in his body broken and haphazardly reassembled. Then, without any warning, the pain began to ebb away, slowly diminishing to a tolerable level. Yet he remained awake.

Alex noticed someone was talking, several people for that matter. The voices were familiar, but he couldn't place where from or what they were saying. He heard the words just fine, understanding them was another thing entirely. He couldn't process them, his mind was still reeling from the pain. One voice sounded new. It wasn't saying anything, just... screaming. The voice was raspy, light, almost feminine and it sounded close, far too close.

Was he screaming?

He couldn't be. They never let him move and this wasn't how his voice sounded, even on the worst days. But it was the only explanation. He tried closing his mouth and the screaming stopped. Alex lifted his hand off the bed. He groaned as his muscles screamed, relaxing once he was convinced he could move. He would have preferred to avoid the pain but it was a relief to learn he wasn't paralyzed. Alex took deep breaths through his teeth in the hope of coping with the pain more. His lungs and throat hurt more because of it but he was able to think more clearly, the voices he heard came into focus.

"-re they doing now? Are we actually sure they're awake?" Ken asked. Alex was right, he knew the voices. But if Ken was here, then where were they? Could it still be the same dreary dungeon he was in before? No, even with his dulled sense Alex could tell that something had changed. The place smelled different and even the machines sounded different. A fist knocked on Alex's forehead. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Alex's head throbbed, he groaned again. "Please don't do that again."

"Oho, sleeping beauty awakes. I'm sorry, did I disturb your little nap?" Ken mocked, a knuckle burying deeper into Alex's forehead. The Husky was Alex's oldest friend and the closet thing to a brother that he had. The unfortunate matter of living next door to Alex was that, along with being friends with Alex for many years, he also heard many of the arguments Alex's parents had late at nights.

"Please Ken, stop it. My head hurts," Alex pleaded. He weakly tried batting away Ken's hand.

The room grew silent.

"How do you know my name?" Ken growled.

Alex barely opened his eyes despite the feeling that a fine powder of glass was ground into the sockets. He looked at Ken through the thin slivers. "Ken, we grew up together. I live next door to you for most of my life."

Ken scoffed, face tightened into a scowl. "You break into Alex's house, steal his things and now you're trying to pass yourself off as him too? Are you that stupid or do you just think we are?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Alex rubbed his eyes, his vision cleared but they still stung. His hands froze. His muzzle was shorter and rounder than it used to be. The tawny and black peppered fur colored fur he used to have was replaced with a dark chocolate color. He ran his trembling fingers along his muzzle. A word stumbled out of his mouth. "What?" His hands searched for his ears and found horns, albeit short stubby horns. When he did find his ears they were no longer the pointed shepherd ears he had know his entire life. "What have they done to me?"

"Are you okay?" Rose asked. Alex and Rose had been broken up for the better part of a year. They worked together on a daily basis, but still managed to keep it professional at work, even the day following the break up. Alex still loved her. Her soft melodic voice, the radiant red fur indicative of her name. She was beautiful, and they used to be together. Cat and dog, odd to the occasional person but they were together for a long time. She was with Seth now, which would have stung if Alex hadn't suggested to Seth to ask Rose out to begin with. "Ma'am?"

The word made Alex's stomach knot up. Maybe she was mistaken, the hospital gown just bundled up in such away that it might suggest something. Or perhaps she was joking. Alex tilted his head down as much as his stiff neck would allow, and she saw it. A pair of large breasts extended from his body, his hands confirmed that he wasn't seeing things. "No," Alex whispered. His hands removed themselves from the soft orbs and examined further south. Alex didn't find what he, or more accurately, she was looking for."No, they couldn't. Those motherfuckers," she sputtered.

Ken shifted impatiently. "You done with the act? We're not going to buy your idiotic story."

"Oh shut the fuck up Ken!" Alex furiously screamed. Her voice was shrill and cracked, she hated it already. "You can continue to bark all you want, but my story's not going to change."

Ken's upper lip raised, baring his teeth as his throat rumbled. "You fucking bastard." He took a step forward swinging his clenched fist.

A pair of black fur covered arms stopped him. "Ken, stop it," Seth calmly said, holding back Ken's fury. Ken nearly looked like a child next to Seth's colossal stature, which was tall even for a horse. If Seth weren't a tailor, he'd probably have a lot of trouble finding clothes to wear. He was a monster of a man, but perpetually peaceful. He looked more intimidating than he actually was. As small as Rose was, they worked together, perhaps better than Alex and Rose did.

"Really Kenneth," Rose interrupted. "Regardless of what the truth, the doctor will be back soon enough. If he sees that his patient has a black eye and you have a nice bruised hand, then they'll just have you arrested."

Ken relaxed, opening his fists as a sign of surrender. He sighed. "Fine, I'll be a good boy. I'd appreciate it if you let me go though." Seth obliged him. "Thank you." Ken straightened his shirt in an effort to regain some pride. "You know how to make a guy feel short."

"Well, what now?" Seth asked in an uncharacteristically cold manner. "Just wait for the cops to get here, hope they get something out her?"

Ken shrugged. "Might as well, unless our good friend here," his started, doing nothing to hide his ever present hostility. "would wish to regale us with more stories of years gone by."

Alex sighed. She didn't entirely blame them, but she was bothered by it nonetheless. "Okay Kenny, what do you want me to tell you, huh? How about the time when we were changing for gym class and you got a hard-on while we were talking about Molly O'Halloran? Or maybe I should tell you about the time I broke my leg after trying to avoid getting run over by a car because your basketball rolled in the street? Then my parents, as a result of not having insurance and being afraid of not being able to pay for the hospital visit, wrapped my leg up in a few rotten two-by-fours, a garbage back and gaffer's tape. It never healed up all the way, but hey, that's a limp to remember for a lifetime. No wait." Alex snapped her fingers. "I got it. What about the day they died? I spent the following hour in the walk-in fridge we have at work. That was an absolute hoot." She paused, waiting for a response. Alex swallowed, wincing at the burning pain it caused. "Wonder when those cops'll be getting here. Always was curious about how it felt to be in a straitjacket."

The room grew deathly silent, which suited Alex just fine, all of the noise made her head hurt and ears ring. It was all the pain of getting hit by a car while having a hangover without the fun stuff to go with it.

Ken didn't know what to say, none of them did, but the other two hadn't made the big stink he did about what Alex said. His ears were pressed flat against his head, he scratched the back of his neck and shuffled awkwardly. Rose's sobbing made him feel even worse. He had to say something, and there was one question that jumped into his mind. "So... what happened?"

She wasn't completely sure how to respond, a bit disarmed by the question and the tone Ken said it in. "You won't believe me."

---

Alex told her friends what had happened, not avoiding any details regardless of how much her throat hurt. They were reluctant to believe the story, but she couldn't blame them. The crow and his 'colleagues' had not only changed Alex's gender, they had changed her species entirely. She had been changed from a German shepherd into a cow, a devon specifically. The doctors had no clue there was such a development and the police never came. Her every file was change, no report of her missing had been filed.

As far as the world was concerned, Alex had always been a woman. Only a handful knew otherwise.

Alex had been missing for the better part of a month. She only retained her job because her replacement was undertrained and started a huge grease fire in the kitchen the week before. Her boss hadn't cared if she was a new chef or the same one, just that she was good, or at least better than the one they had.

She wasn't quite as lucky with her apartment. Had it not been for the occasional late rent check, she might have still had her apartment after disappearing for a month, but her landlord couldn't wait to get a more reliable tenant in. If it were not for Rose sentimentality, which lead to her grabbing what she and Seth could fit into their car, Alex might not have any of her belongings, or anything to wear for that matter. It was something of a miracle that her old clothes actually fit her new form, even if it was a little tight.

Which brought Alex to the predicament of having some place to live. Rose's offer to live with Seth and herself was declined without a moment's hesitation. The offer, though appreciated, would have put Alex in another uncomfortable situation beyond the one that had her looking for a new place to live: living with her ex and her ex's boyfriend.

Ken's offer was more difficult to turn down, due in large part to Ken refusing to take no for an answer. Alex had spent her time sleeping over at Ken's house as a pup, if just to be away from the house for what few precious moments she could muster, but this wasn't quite the same as an innocent sleep over. Still, it might take a while for her to find a place to live in, and she didn't have the money to pay for a hotel until she did.

So she stayed with Ken, sleeping on the pull out couch that was a better bed as a couch than it was as a bed. Alex had every intention of finding a new place to live as soon as possible, but she frequently found herself too tired to do much of anything beyond work and trying to sleep. The subpar bedding was a contributing factor to her lack of sleep, but not the main reason. The main reason were the nightmares she had every night.

Every night, without fail, Alex woke up from a nightmare, the details of which changed from dream to dream. The first few nights were by far the tamest, reenacting the attack in her apartment and the first night in the grungy lab. The dreams still weren't particularly accurate, with the crow occasionally outright killing Alex or waking up on a wooden bench with a guillotine waiting overhead. The crow's appearance didn't stay the same either. His face grew more and more sinister with each dream. After a week his grotesque visage scarcely resembled what it used to. What had scared Alex the most, was how vivid they were. Frequently Alex would wake up and still feel some degree of what she experienced in the dream.

It eventually got to the point where Alex outright refused to sleep, spending her waking hours trying scouring the classified section for a place close enough to her work that she could walk or take a bus to without having to starve every other week. Her efforts were shoddy at best, rarely being able to focus well enough on the small print to actually read the details. She would inevitably fall asleep during this task, nodding off at the kitchen or dining room table only to wake up around an hour later uncertain of where she was for a few minutes.

The problem probably could have been rectified with some prescribed medication, but Alex couldn't bring herself to seeing a doctor, and likely couldn't afford it with the trouble she had with her medical insurance. Alex couldn't look at a person in a lab coat without having a mild panic attack. She had the same trouble with most avians or just non-anthro birds in general. Crows in particular caused her skin to crawl.

The loss of sleep had come to a point where it was effecting her work. She might overcook a dish, or use the wrong spice, maybe send out a sloppy plate, but it was noticeable. Her boss had let it pass for the most part, having become convinced that Alex was who Rose said she was, but he had enough of it when she had burned her hand grabbing a cast iron skillet. He wasn't so quick to fire Alex, but she was on a short leash, sending her home to have the afternoon and the following day to get some rest. By the time she got home most of the afternoon was gone, purposely taking her time to avoid having to deal with the conundrum that she faced.

When Alex got home the apartment was empty. She was frequently the first one out of the apartment and the last one back. By the time she usually got to the apartment Ken was there, the place was lit, and there were signs of life in at least the form of a TV. The sun had just set and he wasn't home. She didn't know when he got off work, having never desired to really know. The room was profoundly silent and a blanketed in a chilling darkness. Alex hit the switch, the lights causing her to flinch at a shadow that she thought was the crow. She took a cleansing breath to calm herself.

Her eyes swept across the lit room, a precaution she took even when Ken was here. She doubted that, if someone was in the room, it would make any different that she knew they were there. The crow was quick and she was slower than she used to be. She had no sharp canines or claws to defend herself with, just clumsy hooves that she was still trying to get a handle on. She walked into the apartment with no sense of apprehension hidden, double-checking the locks just to maintain some peace of mind.

Alex didn't waste any time walking over to the couch-cum-bed. The couch was almost exclusively used as her bed during her stay, but she always tried to make sure it looked like it was before she began staying with Ken. In general she tried to approach living with Ken the same way she would approach going through a nature reserve, with as little disturbance as possible. She left before he woke up and got back late enough that he was either asleep or in bed. Alex felt her presence had to be putting a cramp in his lifestyle. As far as Alex knew Ken had avoided monogamous relationships, with the exception of a few relationships in high school that ended on less than amicable terms. He went as far as getting annual shots instead of wearing a condom to avoid a certain unwanted complication

Yet every night nearing a month since she had been there, he hadn't made any efforts to keep Alex from returning to the apartment. On more than one occasion she offered to stay at a hotel so he could have some free time. Ken would decline the offer time and time again, despite her staying for far longer than she said she would have to stay. For lack of a better term, he was the perfect gentleman.

It was so unlike him.

Alex pulled the bottle of painkillers from her pocket, putting it on the coffee table next to the couch. The doctor had given her the prescription to deal with the pain she felt during that first day. The pain was gone by week's end, but with her painfully vivid dreams and poor sleeping situation she continued to take them. She was down to three, having taken one after bandaging her hand with the sparse materials in the first aid kit. Her hand still felt as though a piece of red hot razor wire was imbedded in it, but she hoped it wouldn't bother her so much that she couldn't get some sleep; if she could muster the courage.

The last time Alex slept she had a dream she remembers all too vividly. She was on a concrete slab, her limbs held firmly in place with thick iron cuffs. The room was freezing, cold enough that she could see her breath. The crow stepped out of a black corner of the room, hands behind his back, which was bent over in a curve that didn't seem physically possible without a few broken vertebrae. His beak didn't have a completely solid form, it looked to be made of a tar that constantly oozed wherever he walked. I defiantly kept a vague shape that could resemble a beak at just the right angle without sliding off his face. The lab coat he wore was immaculate as ever in spite of the pouring tar.

The crow said nothing, just approached Alex, staring at her with the bottomless pits that were his eyes. His hands hovered over her body. His razor sharp fingertips barely touched her flesh yet it left behind pin pricks wherever he touched. His impossible beak twisted into a horrible farce of a smile, the corners of his beak stopped their leaking as if to emphasize the grin.

He began skinning her alive.

She woke up screaming when he began extracting her eyes. According to Ken she had been screaming for at least five minutes. Alex walked to the first twenty-four hour convenience store she could find and bought a pack of cigarettes, a habit Rose had gotten her to quit years ago. In the past four days she had smoked just as many packs, and at least one cup of coffee for each cigarette to keep from falling asleep. Rose occasionally gave Alex an angry look, but said nothing. Alex couldn't find the energy to care what Rose thought.

Alex unbuttoned her chef's jacket, folding it up into a tight square placing it at one of the arms of the couch. She pulled out the blanket from one of the three boxes of her belongings. The uncertainty of if she was willing to sleep and risking the chance of having another crippling nightmare mingled in her mind. Ultimately she came to the conclusion that her anxiety wasn't worth losing her job over. Alex unfurled the blanket and laid down, the jacket acting as a makeshift pillow. It took no effort to get to sleep.

Unsurprisingly, she dreamt.

The room Alex was in wasn't dark, lacked the faintest coppery whiff of blood, and she wasn't bound to anything. Off to a good start thus far. She wouldn't call the room cheery, but it was bright and looked lived in. Alex laid on the large bed in the room, fingers intercrossed, the palms of her hands resting on her chest. Her left leg was crossed over her right, a hoof hovered in the air, bobbing to an random tune she hummed. She wait there, her nude body calm on the soft sheets.

She waited patiently, and her attitude spoke as though she would wait as long as was necessary. Her idle hands began drifting, sliding down her body. Her left hand stopping at a breast, the other proceeding further below. If she was going to wait there was no reason she couldn't at least have a little fun.

Alex gripped the breast firmly, enjoying both how it felt in her hand and how the hand made her feel. Her thumb rolled over the hard nipple, the fingers squeezing the orb gently. The other hand found its mark swiftly enough, the hot lips of her cunt already slick with anticipation. The digits pressed down lightly, just barely parting the soft folds. She didn't want to get too far along before the main attraction, but it was hard to avoid the thought of getting lost before-

A man walked towards the bed. Details about his identity obscured by an inexplicable shadow that hid enough to conveniently keep him from being immediately recognizable. He walked towards Alex with a comfortable non-threatening stride. His ears were triangular and pointed with a slender muzzle. His tail was bushy, no discernible color to it that she could see. His body was fit, but not muscular, and naked. She couldn't make out who it was, but there was something about how he looked that struck her as intimately familiar. If she were more lucid she might be able to piece together who he was by the silhouette alone.

She must have known him, there was something about his presence that put a smile a on her face and caused her to stop. The man climbed on the bed, crawling towards her down the center of the bed. Alex giggled as she felt kisses traveled up her body, stopping temporarily at her waist. She let him stay for a few moments before encouraging him to refocus his efforts. He lingered again, but didn't need any other convincing. His body loomed over hers, the shadow that hid his features stuck to him.

Alex felt the tip pressed against her slit, a tingle of anticipation swept through her body. It took every ounce of herself control to keep from pulling him towards her, then he did it himself. She gasped joyously as he entered her. Her left hoof dragged long the sheets away from the foot of the bed as he began pumping. Her hands ran along his back, moans and murmurs of ecstasy freely escaping her lips.

Her hands embraced him, pulling him closer. Her mouth was open, words forming on her lips just unable to produce them between the squeaks of joy. In the brief moments of rest she spouted them. "Oh-gods... Ken!"

Alex woke up, her eyes wide. She rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with her right hand, stopping when she realized her fingers were wet. She rubbed her fingers together, studying the fluids with the morbid realization of what she had been doing in her sleep. Her other hand was the same way. She tossed off the blankets, grabbing the apron she tossed absently to the coffee table next to the couch to clean off her hands as best she could. The room wasn't completely dark, light from the blinds had lit the room surprisingly well given their position. She could manage to walk through the apartment without having to fear about tripping over something or running into a surprise guest.

For the first time since she started staying with Ken, Alex was glad for the cold winter and his apartment's poor insulation. Her entire body felt bizarrely warm. It wasn't a fever, she wasn't sweaty, just hot in a way that made wearing clothes seem like an extreme inconvenience.

She was surprised that she had slept for such a long time, but she still felt so completely exhausted. Alex glanced around and snuck through the apartment to the bathroom, trying her best to keep her hooves from making too much noise. She closed the door and hit the light. Her gaze stuck to the ground as she walked the short distance from the door to the toilet. Alex had yet to actually come to terms with seeing herself in the mirror, it was too difficult to see a different person staring back at her. Alex approached the toilet, reminding herself that she had to sit down having on one occasion forgetting to do just that, to her embarrassment. She stared at her hands intently as she used the toilet, her mind running over the dream and some of the details.

In the nearly twenty-five years Alex had known Ken, she only thought of him as a friend, at most what she could hope for as a brother. Had it been two months ago, when she wasn't in this predicament, wouldn't have thought much of the exact same dream. It was a bit of a different story when, even though she was the same person mentally, she wasn't the same person physically. She lived with this man, was now dreaming about being with him, and waking up to find that her hands had been buried in her crotch while she did so.

It occurred to her that it might have been a result of her sexual urges playing out their frustration. Alex hadn't had sex in over a year, and the last time she had masturbated was when she actually wasn't a she. But even then, Alex came to the same question. Why did she have a dream about Ken? Had so much really changed about her that even her sexuality was at the folly of her manipulated genes?

Alex had always felt comfortable enough to admit that Ken was an attractive man. The phrase "tall, dark and handsome," came to mind. Dark grey fur mixed with white around his body, tall for a canine though not particularly towering, broad shoulders, lean though not a particularly muscular body. It was probably his birhgt blue eyes and friendly and confident charm that made him so successful in his promiscuous lifestyle though. The thought had never occured to Alex that she might ever actually be attracted to him though.

Alex finished her duties on the toilet and flushed it. She walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. She pulled off the bandages wrapped around her injured hand, flexing it to see how it was fairing. Alex winced, then placed the bandages on the counter next to the sink. She washed her hands thoroughly, hoping to clean the scent from her hands. No matter how much she washed, or how much soap she used she could still smell the same fragrance filling the air. No, the smell wasn't coming from her hands, this was a different scent. She knew it, in a way, but it had been a long time. Alex wasn't intimately knowledgeable with the scent, and she only recognized the scent at the time through what her instincts had told her. The scent, her flush body, the dream; it all made sense.

She was in heat.

The apartment suddenly became a place she wanted to get far away from. Alex only had first hand experience with what the pheromones did on one occasion. By Alex's estimation it was probably Ken's first time too, as it had been his girlfriend. It was for this reason that most women took pills to suppress the hormones that caused the release of the powerful pheromones and avoid the urges their bodies felt during their species' own respective cycles. Rose only had to worry about it during the fall, Ken's girlfriend took it twice a year as Alex recalled being told. It hadn't occurred to Alex that she needed to worry about it, but she didn't know to exactly what extent her body had been changed.

Alex had to isolate herself as soon as possible. The proposed task was made more difficult by the fact that, even if she did manage to find another place on such short notice without having every male glaring at her with lustful stares during the process, she didn't know for exactly how long she would be in heat.

How she hated hindsight.

There was a dull thud at the door to the bathroom. Alex's head snapped towards the door. "Um, occupied," she responded nervously.

"Oh, sorry Lex," Ken replied, his voice groggy. He yawned, the sound loud enough that Alex was able to hear it though the door. "Half asleep, walked into the door. I'll just wait until you're done."

Shit, Alex thought to herself. She grabbed the air freshener and sprayed a healthy amount in the air. The chemicals stung her nose, but she hoped it would mask the scent of her heat while Ken was in the bathroom. What she was going to after that was anyone's guess. Alex opened the door and passed by him without a moment's hesitation. "It's all yours."

He tilted his dazed head up and yawned. "Huh? Yeah, tha-" Another yawn. "-nks. Sorry to interrupt you in there."

She said nothing, just walked back to the couch. Alex grabbed her blanket, running the cloth through her hands, a habit she developed during the loud arguments her parents had in the room next door. She didn't know what to do. Going to the doctor's was far from the top of the list of possibilities. The only computer she could use to find out exactly how long she would be in heat was Ken's, and she didn't want him knowing about her current situation. Or she could just tell him what was going on, but the tension that might be created as a result was something she didn't want to deal with. And even after she did tell him, what was there to do about it?

Alex stopped fumbling with the blanket after coming across a rather large wet spot. The blanket stank of the same scent her hands did. It wasn't until his moment that she realized the same spot appeared on her pants. Either she had pissed herself in her sleep, or her sleep fingering had developed into a bigger problem than she first thought. The latter seemed more likely considering what she had just done on the toilet and the notable lack of any urine smell coming from the couch. Alex rolled the blanket up into a ball and tossed at the cardboard box it had been in before she used it. The blanket struck the side of the box and fell to the ground in a sad heap. She laid back down and rubbed her eyes.

The door to the bathroom opened. Alex put her back to the bathroom door in her best effort to hide the sign of her heat that showed at her wet crotch. Ken walked over to the couch, resting his elbows on its back. "So, no work today? That's a big surprise. Your busted up paw have anything to do with it?" He tossed bandage on the coffee table next to the couch.

Alex sighed. She forgot the bandage in the bathroom in her rush to escape the room. She hoped that he hadn't noticed anything off about it, specifically the way it smelled. "Yeah. Got the day off to let my hand get better." It was a half lie, but she hated the truth even more. "I hope you don't mind."

Ken shrugged. "No skin off my back. Do whatever you want. Just because you're sleeping on the couch doesn't mean you have to live like a homeless person. Shit, if you want I'll take the couch tonight and you can sleep in my bed." He rubbed his nose. Alex hoped that he just had a runny nose.

"Thanks, but that's not necessary." Alex tried to keep her replies brief, but not so much that he might goad more out of her.

"Alright, offer still stands." He didn't move immediately at first, just lingered silently for a moment. She wasn't sure if he was expecting her to say something or if he was just trying to figure out what exactly he was smelling. Ken finally signified his departure with a tap on the couch before walking to his bedroom.

Alex let out a sigh of relief. Ken must have caught wind of something. It was inconceivable to her to believe he couldn't have. His sense of smell was far sharper than Alex's was, and he was too close to her just a moment ago to not have smelt it. Maybe she just remembered the scent being stronger than it actually was. It had been quite a while ago. Beyond the obvious, the circumstances back then had been different. Alex, Ken and his girlfriend had been the same species then, it only made sense that it might effect them more than someone of another species would.

But then why had she been effected so much?

The apartment bled of Ken's smell, even the couch that she had spent the past month sleeping on still smelled like him. It must have been for this reason that Alex had that dream. She had never made any real note of it before, but she couldn't get past it now. Every time she took a breath she could smell him. No matter how old or how close it was she couldn't escape it. The longer she stayed in the fog that overwhelmed the apartment, the hotter she got, the more stifling the clothes felt, the less comfortable she felt like laying down on the couch was the right thing to do at the moment, and the more her mind ran with the various images it picked from the dream; along with fabricating a few new ones. Alex wrapped her arms around her head and groaned, then stopped when she realized it only made the imagery worse.

Alex pulled out her wallet. She had about forty dollars, mostly in small bills and less than five hundred in her bank account that wasn't accounted for elsewhere. She could manage to shack up in a hotel for just a few days, longer if she didn't care if a drug deal was going on next door. There was a hotel a few blocks away but she would have to walk there unless she wanted to be a bigger burden on Ken, which she didn't. Juggling the three boxes of what few possessions she still owned would be a slow task, one that probably would see her robbed. She wanted to be out of Ken's hair as much as possible, so she decided to sort through the boxes and only pick out the bare necessities.

Even as little as she had at this point, Alex found it difficult to toss out what she had. Most of it was stuff that Rose liked, but Alex still had fond memories of all the stuff. Still, she sorted out what she didn't need or could part to deal with if she couldn't stick it in the sturdiest of the three boxes she had. It was a depressing chore, but it kept her mind focused on something other than sex. The erotic theater still played in the back of her mind like a small child with too much energy and nothing to do with it, but she tried ignoring it. The minor inconveniences of her subconscious bothering her aside, she managed to complete the task with an expediency that surprised herself.

As much as Alex wanted to get away from Ken, she was reluctant to actually leave. She enjoyed what little peace of mind it gave her that she wouldn't have alone another place. Had there been another room in the apartment that would allow either of them more privacy, she wouldn't feel like such a hindrance. But for that same reason it might have been the reason why it had taken longer than was necessary to find another place, which was all the more reason for her to leave.

Even so, as she approached the door to Ken's bedroom to say goodbye her train of thought progressively strayed back to a territory she had wanted to avoid. Alex thought of what exactly would happen if she and Ken did in fact have sex, an idea that all hinged on the dream that troubled her less with each passing minute. The stretch from the couch to Ken's door was short, but dozens of unanswered questions bounced around her mind during the brief trek.

What would it be like afterwards between them?

Could they look each other in the eye?

Was this just because of what the crow had done to her, or something that she had missed for a long time?

What would it be like?

Alex thumbed a broken piece of the worn neoprene wallet as she stood at the door. A check- one she had written the day before that she had planned to give Ken next week as a small, very small, token of thanks for the place to stay- peeked out in the billfold. From the crack in the door bled out a more potent mixture of Ken's musk. It wasn't foul, just more virulent than the scent had been elsewhere. Her imagination included the smell in it's estrous driven mental imagery. She tugged at the collar of her shirt, which was small enough to make her feel trapped in her clothes without the heat induced change in her body temperature.

Alex wanted to get away from the apartment, Ken's bedroom, Ken, but she continued to walk towards the door. She was inexplicably drawn towards the bedroom, no longer thinking about telling Ken she was going to stay someplace else, but with a baser idea in mind. Her body almost moved of its own accord, and she let it. She was too tired to resist what her body had wanted her to do. Alex pocketed the wallet and rapped lightly on the door. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say to Ken. She wasn't entirely convinced that anything she might have concocted was a smart idea.

He came to the door, pulling the door open a little more and peaking just his head around the corner. "Hey Alex, what's up?" His speech was slightly hurried. He didn't seemed bothered by her presence, but he was hiding something.

Alex took a deep breath, trying to make some time to think of what to say. "You mind if I come in Ken? I got something I need to talk to you about."

He looked back at something behind the door. He clicked his tongue and said, "Yeah, one sec. Let me... one sec." He vanished and opened the door all the way, wearing a robe cinched tightly at the waist. "Come on in."

She walked in, wading through the invisible miasma of Ken's musk. Her eyes passed around the room, this being the first time she had actually been in his bedroom.

"You can sit down, you know."

Alex shook her head. He might have thought it was strange, but she felt too wound up. If she sat down she was certain her legs would be bouncing up and down like a sprung jack in the box. "I'm fine."

Ken shrugged. "Okay then," he said. He closed the door all the way then leaned against it, his hands stuffed in the pockets of the robe. She almost questioned him why he didn't sit, but ultimately didn't care. "What's on your mind Brooks?"

"Nice room," she absently spouted off, waving her hand around at the room.

"You wanted to talk about my décor?"

Alex sighed. "No, I-just..." She wrapped her arms around her chest, and pivoted away from Ken as she tried to actually figure out what she was going to say. Her chin dropped down, she took another deep breath through her nose. "Look, I think-I mean, I'm pretty sure, that I'm..." Her voice got progressively softer. It didn't matter what volume she said it at, he'd hear it clearly, but she didn't want to say it out loud. "I'm in heat."

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, I had a feeling. What about it?"

Alex walked over to the window. She didn't actually stare out it, she was just still trying to figure out how she was going to word the next sentence. She wasn't completely decided that she was going to make the proposal, but she had given up on leaving by now. "That shot you get, is it up to date?"

He shifted awkwardly against the door, his hands burrowed deeper in the pockets of his robe. "Which one?"

"How many shots do you get once a year?"

"Well, a few, but what does that..."

Alex interrupted, "Ken, after what I just told you what other shot would I need to know about?"

Ken's mouth stayed in it's mid-sentence position briefly before closing. He ground his teeth, his eyes darting from a blank space on the bed in front of him to her, then back to the bed. His right hand escaped his pocket and rubbed his nose vigorously. The hand returned to his pocket, his posture more relaxed than it was a few moments ago. His eyes grew serious, locking onto her gaze. "Okay," he began calmly, his head tilting to the right with the eyes fixed on hers. His stone was an odd mixture of confused frustration. "So... you want to have sex?"

She nodded meekly.

Ken ran his tongue across his teeth, eyes wandering off again. "You know, I woke up this morning and walked into the bathroom after you." Ken walked over to the bed and sat down heavily. His tail curled around towards the foot of the bed. "I knew there was something in the air, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Over at the couch I caught it again. I tried to figure out what it was and why it was so intoxicating. It was on the tip of my tongue, no, nose. Then I realized what it was and that it was you." Ken began picking at the tip of his tail. "I couldn't stop thinking about it. My friend, the boy I grew up with, was in heat. And the thing is, I don't see that boy anymore. I know you're Alex. You still act exactly the same and you still even walk the same even though your leg is just fine. Despite that, I don't see Alex. I try to see Alex, and eventually I convince myself that you're my friend and old next door neighbor.

"Then it slips and once again I no longer see you. I just see a woman, someone I would love to approach at a bar, maybe a cafe, shit, anywhere, and try to get a number out of. I'm sure there are plenty of other men who would to the same. Anyone else wouldn't think twice about it, but I know better." Ken let go of his tail and looked back at Alex. "If I forget and do something that I might do with some other woman with you, it could ruin a lot. I don't want to make a decision I'll regret later."

Alex nodded. She was partially relieved, and also surprised by his response. She asked because she couldn't think of anything else, quite literally. She wanted to silence the demons that pushed her towards him, and while they weren't silenced, she was content to know that she had tried without doing something insane, like disrobing and presenting herself. She had really expect, at most, a simple "no", not the speech he gave. "I understand, forget I asked." She walked towards the door, turning the knob while trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her gently away from the door. Ken turned her around. "I'm not done yet." He said solemnly, hands still on shoulders. "Though I'm ashamed to admit it, I have thought about it before. I know I probably should say 'no', it's the smart thing to do, but I don't think I will. I'm not going to say 'yes' either." He paused. His bright, almost pearlescent, blue eyes once again locked with hers, though softer than they were before. She felt incredibly small at that moment, strange given that the changes had made her tall enough to have her eyes level to the tips of Ken's ears. "I don't want to fuck anything up, but if you really want this then we'll do whatever you want."

Alex swallowed, unsure how to respond. His hands were barely resting on her shoulders, but she felt that if he weren't touching her she might jump out of her skin. She wanted to get out of the clothes, but not for the same reason anymore. The heat across her body intensified, her crotch in particular grew uncomfortably warm. Alex was terrified, not of Ken directly, just terrified by what was going to follow.

"I'm sure." Alex said, hoping he wouldn't notice some minute change in what she said that would giveaway her lie. She was no more certain about this than she was about getting a night's rest. Alex hadn't thought much on the prospects of her love life after her life had so drastically changed. She avoided it on purpose, the mechanics on either side being so different than what she had been used to. As apprehensive as she might be about it, and as torn as Ken was about it, Alex did at least find it strangely comforting that it was with Ken.

Ken chuckled. "I didn't actually think you were going to say that." He inched closer, his hands moving from her shoulders to her back searching for something. His fingers barely touching her back, almost hovering as they gently probed along her spine before finally stopping. "Huh. no bra."

Alex felt self-conscious about being underdressed, even though she wanted desperately to get rid of her clothes. "Ever since I got out of the hospital all I've had time to do is work, sleep and look for a new place to stay. Even if I did have the money to do any shopping I wouldn't have the time to do it."

"Calm down, I'm just stating a fact. It's not surprising, you're wearing clothes that I'm pretty sure are at least ten years old. I was just too thickheaded to realize it sooner." He further closed the gap between them until there was barely any space between their bodies. He didn't push, but her body leaned back until she felt the cold wooden door against her back. His left hand drifted away from it's position south, stopping at the small of her back just above her tail. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this," Ken slyly whispered to her. "Even when we were kids you were so serious. It's kind of..." he paused trying to find a word other than 'adorable' to suit his teasing. "endearing."

Alex didn't get a moment to respond, or even growl at his banter. She became too preoccupied with Ken's amorous pecking. While Alex wasn't sure what to expect from Ken, this affectionate kissing was the least of what she thought he might do. His firm short kisses ran down her neck as his hands slowly pulled her shirt up. Alex took over, pulling the shirt off all together quickly enough to not disturb Ken for too long. She didn't think much of being shirtless in front of Ken until she noticed the flash of a grin that grew on his lips just before before he went back to kissing. He picked up the pace to make up for the lost time, occasionally adding a gentle nibble. Every place Ken touched grew hot and tingled, as though he had been generating a low current of electricity.

His left hand inched away from its position at her back. She only noticed it's absence until she felt it reappear, sinking past her pants and underwear. A shiver rocketed up her spine as his fingers found her sex, brushing against her sensitive clit due to the lack of purchase in her pants. He didn't proceed further south, his fingers focusing solely on the swollen nub lightly rubbing it slow circles. Alex tried her best to stifle her whimpers and moans of bliss. Wave after wave of pleasure splashed over her body, but it wasn't enough. His toying only spurred the ache that had driven her to him to begin with. Alex couldn't push aside the uncanny want of being filled, to have him inside her.

Two fingers finally entered the passage while her clit continued to be stimulated. The tips of his fingers raked along her walls, seeking to coax out a reaction from her, succeeding with a labored moan. Ken's ear twitched at the noise, and his fingers quickened their pace. While the pleasure from his fingering was far more profound than she could have imagined, it was a sad substitute for what she wanted.

Alex's hands worked between the two of them to unbutton her pants, a task made considerably more difficult with Ken's arm being where it was and his hand making it surprisingly difficult to concentrate on such a simple task. By some fortunate twist the button came undone due to either her tinkering with the area, Ken's hand helping it along, or a combination of the two. Alex didn't care about the specifics, she just wanted them off by whatever means possible. She tried her best to remove the offending pants and underwear but couldn't find the purchase required to remove them without some assistance. "Ken, the pants," she whispered, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Huh?" Ken simply replied, his eyes in a dull haze. He looked, and sounded for that matter, half drunk. He was clearly intoxicated by the scent of her heat, and barely aware of his surroundings as a result of it. He still seemed to retain some self-control, snapping out of his almost inebriated state promptly. "Oh, yeah. I'll take care of that." His hand left her pants, causing an angry flare of heat in her loins. He pulled down her pants and underwear, an old pair of briefs that had really seen better days and probably should have been tossed out years ago. He undid the knot on his robe, the slick juices from her cunt were absorbed by the cotton fabric of the robe. "So... are you ready?"

No was the word that immediately popped into her mind, reinforced once she saw the full extent of his naked form. She wasn't so much deterred by his absence of clothes, but what she saw because of the complete absence of clothes. Alex couldn't avoid looking at it, the white fur that extended from his chin down even drew her eyes towards it. The canine cock just about pointed at her. By her best guess it was around eight inches long and just a bit thinner than a soda can. She couldn't be entirely certain about her guess, but in any case he was bigger than Alex had been prior to her changes. Bruised ego aside, it wasn't even as big as it would get with the knot, the glands decidedly relaxed at the moment. She didn't really want to say no though, and she wasn't going to.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Alex said with a smile. It occurred to her it was probably her first real smile in over a year, and she wasn't sure why she felt the need to do it. It wasn't a conscious decision, just something that felt right to do at the moment.

Ken nodded, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. Ken's right hand grabbed his cock, his left her waist, it was just the little bit of guidance he needed. His prick lined up to her waiting slit, the tip breezing by her clit before it pressed against her entrance. Alex wrapped her arms around Ken's neck, an effort made to reassure both herself and Ken. The tapered tip pushed its way into her, slowly spreading the passage more than it had been before. Alex didn't feel the pain she was expecting; there was some minor discomfort that passed quickly, but no pain, not even in her hand. It wasn't the painkiller, she had taken it too long ago and she didn't feel even the faintest of sluggish effects that came with it. Her less than slight frame chosen for her by her former captors might have been more suited for the task than she originally thought, but with her hand feeling free of pain her estrus had to have some hand in it.

As big as Ken's dick looked it felt even bigger. She could feel ever minute detail, regardless of how intricate, as it entered into her. Every millimeter she felt slide into her seemed to move slower than it did. Her body didn't go cold, but the heat that had infected her body earlier ebbed away, seemingly to let her focus on the heat that came from him. It pierced deeper and deeper, she wasn't sure when it would end and if she wanted it to.

Then he stopped.

"Alex, are you okay?" Ken asked. The thin veneer of the haze she saw earlier crept into his eyes.

She wasn't sure why he stopped, she didn't want him to stop. Then she realized she was holding her breath. Alex exhaled through her nose, the same smile she gave earlier appeared effortlessly. "I'm perfectly fine," Alex paused and leaned in. His length shifted inside her, causing a little more of his manhood to slip deeper. "You don't have to go so slow though. You're not going to break me," she said in a silky voice, a seductive tone that itself alone could make a man hard. It wasn't anything she had planned, and she wasn't sure where it came from. No, she knew exactly where it came from.

It seemed to catch Ken off guard as much as it did Alex, but that was all the encouragement he needed. Ken grinned, the looks of which Alex likened to what a predator might display just before attacking its prey. In a way, it wasn't too far off. "Is that so?" His hands gripped her thighs tightly, pulling her closer and causing her weight to shift a bit. Another half an inch slipped in, a shiver rolled up her spine. "If you insist."

He lifted her off the ground, a few more inches of his length rocketed up into her causing her to gasp a bit in surprise. He showed no strain in holding her weight, beyond the sudden dip moments before. All that kept her from falling to the ground on her ass was the door pressed hard against her back, Ken's hands, and, although to a much lesser degree than the former two, his cock. Not only was she in his hands, literally, but she was in his control. She could try and say something that might stop him, if he would listen was another matter entirely. But she trusted Ken; or at least wanted it enough to not care one way or the other.

Ken didn't wait long to get moving after the shift in position. He drew out, still holding her impossibly stable without so much as a quiver. Alex on the other hand doubted her legs would have supported her, her body trembling so lightly it was barely noticeable to anyone but Alex herself. Every inch of his manhood rubbing what felt like every sensitive part in her sex. She exhaled, the very motion almost feeling as though it were forcibly drawing the air from her lungs.

Then it plunged back in. Alex squeaked. No pause, no hesitation, just a sudden savage thrust into her that had still held back to a considerable degree. Alex's entire body leapt, not only from the swift and powerful nature of the action, but from the rush she felt as a result of it. Her body, burning as it did with lust, shuddered. Every muscle tensed, flowing from her crotch across the rest of her body in a split second.

She came. Just one full motion into the act and she already came. It was a short orgasm, just a taste of what she should expect further down the line, but it was the first one she had experienced -while awake as far as she knew- in her new body. Alex's body bounced slightly as Ken tossed her up a bit to get a tighter grip on the legs. Her hair, that had been perfectly cooperative up until this point, fell from it's previously stationary point to cover her eyes. She could only see thin wisps of him through the strands of hair and preferred to keep it that way until she wasn't precariously hovering in the air by the whim of Ken's paws.

She didn't need her eyes much that moment anyway.

Ken knew she came, grinning with more than a bit of pride showing. He didn't dwell on it for much longer than a breath, choosing to continue his work with the diligence that the situation deserved. In, out, repeated in a slow but powerful rhythm. He couldn't pull out too much, the positioning requiring him to lift her higher to do so, but he performed his job just as fine. Each thrust filling her body's want with each inch his shaft occupied. The emptiness in her cunt as he drew out made her body ache as it trembled from pleasure. Tremendous waves of pleasure rose and crashed across her synapses, orgasms coming regularly and with increasing strength. Her heavy breathing and soft feminine moans dominated a majority of the sounds in the room. The sound of Ken's dick sliding in and out of her wet slit was a faint background noise along with Ken's barely perceptible breathing.

As stalwart as Ken had been acting, his stamina was dipping. Alex drew her arms tighter around Ken, trying to help carry her weight as best she could. Her chin rested on his shoulder, the sound of his breathing and the toll on his performance became more apparent. A slightly quickened pace, an edge of a grunt at the occasional thrust or when she would cum, his grip weakening. He had to be reaching his breaking point.

His grunts grew louder and deeper. He practically drove her into the door with each thrust, quickly becoming more calculated with each slight movement. She noticed a more subtle change in him, another inch and a half that drove in and out of her, something she thought of as him just thrusting in further. She had liked it, the extra length that filled the deeper recesses of her cunt. It even felt a little thicker, especially at the base. She realized exactly what it was when she felt it thicken. The animal in him had taken over, the beast driven by the pheromones and the innate desire to breed. She could hear it and feel it, but she lacked the willpower to stop him. Maybe he would catch just how close he was and avoid tying with her.

Each thrust drove the slowly swelling knot and out of her. He was holding back some, but every time the swelling stretched her open and left behind a pop made it seem like an after thought. Ken wasn't going to catch it, not unless she said something. She forced herself to stop her ecstasy laden moans long enough to speak. "Ken, knot," Alex sputtered. It was just about all she could manage. The words were loud, but not nearly loud enough. "Ken..." Alex tried again.

Too late.

Ken thrust in one last time, a guttural growl rumbled from his throat as he came. The knot well and truly swollen, holding his cock inside her and sealing the entrance tight. Alex let out a sharp short cry, her arms and legs instinctively squeezed him. The stabbing pain of her pussy being stretched so profoundly drove the air from her lungs in such a hurry that she couldn't utter much more after the cry. But despite the pain she came again, creating an odd mix of sensations that collided with each other head on. When she had collected enough air in her lungs to do so, she whimpered.

Ken did nothing, said nothing, just held her as his sperm continued to collect inside her. His own chin rest on her shoulder as continued his heavy breathing. She could feel each jet splash inside her, the hot cum filling the void that his cock didn't. The heat subsided with each stream that lined her insides, seemingly content with the sterile seed that Alex's body was accepting. She wasn't sure if the pain was worth the relief, but it was a small victory that she was happy to accept.

"Fuck Ken," Alex finally managed to sourly say after a few moments. "You just had to tie with me."

Alex saw his tail hide between his legs. "I'm sorry," Ken replied in a dour tone. "Just, the heat of the moment and all."

Alex opened her mouth, then stopped. She wanted to berate him, but she didn't really care enough to do so. "Like a fucking pup," she decided to mutter instead. She wasn't talking about him in particular, she was just as guilty, but it suited the situation perfectly on both ends. She stared at the bed that sat just a few feet away from the door. "Why don't we move to the bed while we wait for you to settle down?"

"If it's what you want," Ken said eagerly despite wanting to sound aloof. The lactic acid in his arms and legs were beginning to burn just enough that he was feeling some strain in holding her. He gripped her thighs tightly. One foot went back and he spun on the pads. Alex yipped, his member wildly stirring in her sending a ripple of the mixed bag of pleasure and pain through her body. "Sorry, I guess there's not really an elegant way to do this," he apologized. He took a little more care with the awkward steps to the bed. The bed frame was too low to the ground to easily set her down, but he did his best to avoid just dropping her on the bed. He laid her down carefully on the bed, nearer to the edge but not so much that she would easily slide off. His hands moved from her legs and propped up his body over her own. Alex's arms and legs likewise let go, her arms rested over her breasts even though she realized how silly the act was given the present situation. "How's that?"

Alex nodded slightly, eyes squeezed tight. "It's fine." She exhaled deeply. "I think I can feel your pulse," she half-joked after opening her eyes.

Ken glanced away, "I said I was sorry. Most of the women I sleep with tend to prefer it. I just forgot in the fog of it all."

Alex smiled. "It's alright. I forgive you, kind of."

He caught the smile out of the corner of his eyes, turning his full attention back to her when he did. He chuckled. "There it is again."

The smile vanished, she stared at him perplexed. "Say what now?"

"You smiled."

"And? I've smiled before."

"But not recently. It's been a long time since I've seen you sincerely smile like that," he paused, grinning. "And it hasn't changed a bit."

Alex turned her head away from Ken, blood flowing to her ears causing them to flutter slightly. "Why'd you have to go and say something like that?" Alex said indignantly. "It wasn't nearly awkward enough laying here with your grapefruit sized knot locked inside me."

"You're not going to let that go are you?"

"No, at least not until it's out of me. Especially not if I can't walk right tomorrow," Alex said. In truth she wasn't as bothered by the knot as she had been. The pain was a dim soreness that continued to dim the more she got used to it. Her hand had begun to throb painfully again, a pain that she couldn't blame on Ken. Ken had stop cumming long ago but the copious amount of his seed left inside her still held an ambient heat to it that reminded her what would have happened if Ken didn't have that shot. Really, it felt like he unloaded far more than should have been possible. "A little pent up?"

"Just a little," he admitted. "Didn't want to do anything incase you got home early or heard me doing anything. So I've just been abstaining."

"Certainly would explain the gallon of spunk you deposited in me," Alex joked.

"Well," Ken started, standing up and grabbing the base of his cock. Alex braced herself for whatever pain would follow after he pulled the knot out. Ken withdrew his manhood, the shaft slipping easily from her slit. A small trail of milky fluids followed his penis, a thin string extended from the tip for a few inches before snapping. "you can take a shower if you want. If you don't, then it's no big deal. Splatter jizz on the walls if you want." Ken handed Alex her clothes. She put on her underwear and the shirt. He opened up his dresser drawers and pulled out some underwear. "The bed's yours for as long as you want it. The day, a week, whatever," Ken explained as he quickly put on his clothes, finishing with the belt that Alex assumed was standard issue as a security guard. "I'll see you later, I got to get to work."

"Thanks," Alex said. She was inclined to just sleep, the bed was too comfortable to just walk away from. "Um, Ken. Can you do me one favor?"

Ken paused at the door. He hesitated to respond for a moment so short Alex missed it. "Sure, what 'cha need?"

"Don't tell anyone about this," she said. It was a simple request, something that Alex very much doubted needed to be said, but she did it anyway. It wasn't so much that she was ashamed, but that to those that knew about what had happened to her it said something about her and Ken that Alex felt was going to be hard to accept. "I-I really don't need to deal with that drama right now."

Ken nodded, a grin that really said about all that needed to be said plastered on his lips. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks a lot Kenny, I really mean it."

He simply nodded again and closed the door.

Alex laid back on the bed for a moment. She sighed, rolling her neck producing several loud cracks. The bed was huge, at least a queen size, and so incredibly soft. It was exponentially better than the couch and was far more comfortable than her old bed. There was no way she could make it to the shower after lying on this bed for a few seconds; she didn't even want to move to get under the covers. She yawned and finally managed the determination necessary to get under the blankets, although she chose to just crawl to the head of the bed instead of walking there.

Her head hit the pillow and she sighed again. She hadn't felt the comfort of a pillow since she was at the hospital, and the ones they gave her there were more like over-fluffed towels than pillows. She worked her way under the blankets and wrapped them around herself. Alex didn't want to take his bed, but she was still so tired.

She didn't care if she might have a nightmare, it didn't even cross her mind. She was still thinking about what had happened with Ken. She didn't say anything about it, but she did enjoy it. Ken knew, it was hard not to with the way she moaned and squirmed in his hands. As much as she liked it, she knew she had to find a new place to live, to give back Ken his old life. She couldn't get fixated. It wasn't fair to Ken and a childish thing to do just because they fucked.

Alex drifted off to sleep easily, still thinking about Ken. She couldn't stop it, the room, the bed, the pillow, it all smelled like Ken. She slept peacefully, no dreams, negative or positive, just the blissful embrace of sleep.

Then she woke up. Her ear twitched at the sound of the door to the bedroom opening. Her eyes cracked open, her head turned towards the door. The door was closing again by the time she saw it. The image of the crow as he tore small chunks out of her arms and legs flashed in her mind. "Ken, is that you?" she wearily asked.

She heard the sound of air being drawn through teeth. "Yeah, it's me. I was curious if you were still sleeping. Sorry to wake you."

Alex relaxed and yawned. "It's okay. I'm not bothered." She tried to find the clock but her eyes couldn't focus enough to make out the time. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

"Really?" Alex said surprised. She had slept all day, and she still wanted to sleep a little longer. "You going to bed?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm not going to steal the bed back from you. See you in the morning."

Alex scoffed. "No offense, but that couch is a nightmare." Alex's hand patted the empty space on the bed beside her. "I don't take up a lot of space, and it is your bed." She didn't think much of the invitation she just made. She had all but forgotten about what happened earlier that day. Alex still felt awkward about sleeping in his bed, it was only fair that he be allowed to sleep in his bed even if he didn't want to kick her out of it. And she really didn't take up much space. Alex had developed the odd habit of sleeping at the corner of the bed just incase her dad got kicked out of her parent's bedroom and drunkenly crashed on her bed. The less space she took of her own bed, the better chance she had of not literally getting kicked out it. "Don't make me beg. I'm groggy enough that I just might do it."

Ken groaned, the door opened up again. "Alright, just get back to sleep. Rose left a message on the answering machine. She wants to see you back at work fully rested in the morning."

"I don't think that's going to be too difficult." Alex pulled her side of the blanket up around her neck. "Though it might be easier if it weren't so fucking cold in here."

"The insulation's not so great in the building, but I don't really notice it."

"Hmm, lucky you and your thick coat of fur. If I still had mine I might not hate the winter so damn much anymore."

Alex didn't feel the bed shift. She didn't expect him to do anything, but she wasn't thinking too clearly at that moment. At most Alex thought he might get another blanket, what he actually did was better but no less surprising. "How's that?" Ken asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

She sighed agreeably and nuzzled his arm. "That's... hmm, nice. You're so-" she yawned, the words came slower as she began drifting back to sleep. "-so warm," Alex murmured. She probably shouldn't be doing this, but what was the harm in enjoying a little warmth?