Mate of My Dreams

Story by SoulImbibe on SoFurry

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This mid-length story commission with my male smilodon character "Canimus" and the lovely female cougar "Lanela" was expertly crafted for me by Cheetahs!

This story takes place after "Uncharacteristic Audacity". If you haven't read it yet: https://www.sofurry.com/view/910549

You can also find the first part on Cheetah's account named "Yowling in the Hills": https://www.sofurry.com/view/916885

This story features a feral version of Canimus. Check out his ref sheet here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17921462/


Visit avatar?user=312237&character=0&clevel=2 Cheetahs for more stories or to get your own commission!

Mate of My Dreams

"This beer tastes like piss," Jay B. said, switching his mug around to look at the stain marring its bottom. "And it's dirty too. Bartender, get me another one."

"You know where the bar is. First to the left after you go inside," Nathan countered.

The blue jay threw him an incredulous look. "I'm the guest. You're the host."

"You've already drank half a bottle. I think you can handle a little more, piss taste or not. I'm not joking."

The crew scoffed rather than laughed at Nathan's jape, surprising the black wolf, who shook his head, leaned back into his lounging chair, and took a gulp from his bottle. He hated mugs, Nathan. Found them impractical and a chore to hold in those big paws of his.

At Nathan's behest, the whole band had gathered on his patio, chairs spread in front of his big pool (or lounging chair in Nathan's case), their forms illuminated by the bulbous garden lamps he had scattered around. The pool resembled a pond with flowing shapes and an inconspicuous stair to clamber out of it, tucked behind the clumps of reeds Nathan had planted for a more authentic experience. If he couldn't have a lake house, Nathan had settled for the next best thing.

"You should follow through with your 'no joke' rule. Nobody's really laughing anymore," Fred said. The cheetah stood far out in the back, one leg crossed over the other, his toes flexing whenever he slurped his cocktail. Of all the guys who had assembled tonight, he was the only bare chested, dark leather clad individual. Punk to the bone, the slender cat.

"The ladies do. I don't need you sad fucks to vouch for the quality of my jokes. The old wolf still has it," Nathan said.

"Yeah well, they laugh at you, not with you. Ever heard of the saying 'you have a face only a mother can love'?"

Canimus grinned at Jay B's insult. The blue jay succumbed to the effects of alcohol faster than the rest, his crest feathers falling and rising with his silent chortle.

"For sure. I also heard of a saying that goes like 'Offer free drinks and every single one of you thirsty beggars will love me forever.'"

"Your drinks, sure. You? I think not. Too old, too unkempt, tame hairstyle. Now Canimus, on the other hand..." the avian blew Canimus a kiss, provoking the rest of the guys into a fit of laughter.

"I'd be careful with Canimus. You'll end up as B. Jay with him."

That did it. Jay B. sought the refuge of his mug, draining it dry while Nathan flaunted an elegant, victorious smirk and Fred kept slapping the armrest of his chair with one paw, bending over in his chair due to his manic cackles. Cheetahs had an interesting way of laughing, chirps mixed with cackles, and Fred was no different.

"You're lucky I don't like beaks, Jay, or else..."

"Oh come on," Nathan intervened. "There's more than one hole to a bird like him. Don't shut yourself to the possibilities now, Canimus."

"Guys, guys, guys," Jay B. cried out, placing his mug on the ground and spreading his arms, the lavish feathers adorning his elbows flared. "If I knew there would be a gangbang, I'd have brought my girl over to this sausage fest, to even out the odds a little."

"That's too kind of you. There's a chill in the wind tonight, and having Clara's fluffy butt in my lap would feel better than any blanket." Nathan fumbled for another bottle from the box settled next to his lounging chair and offered it to Jay. "How is she, anyway?"

"Insane as always?" Jay grabbed the proffered drink and took a hearty swig. "She's sitting in your lap right now, and the next moment she's pegging your ass raw."

Fred gasped, Canimus grinned, and Nathan laughed while Jay slumped in his chair to stare at the sky with an absent gaze. "I love her. She's the one for me. But fucking hell, keeping up with her infinite fantasies is tough."

"I know a fair amount of people who'd die to be in your place, Jay," Canimus said, winking at the bird. "A leopardess who likes to take the initiative is quite the kinky dream."

"This dream is more exhausting than you think." One of his aquamarine eyes drifted towards Canimus. "It's a good thing you don't have to put up with the shit of girlfriends, Canimus. That's one heck of a life you're living."

"Can't say I disagree," Nathan pitched in. "The more freedom you have, the better I can exploit it on my end. I like sipping cocktails while you scribble your notes."

"Oy, there has to be somebody in your life," Fred said. He got up to stretch his back until his spine popped audibly and then strolled over to Nathan for a refill. "I mean, your paw is all good an' soft as a big cat, but it's hardly your best choice for a lover."

Canimus' frame tensed. Lanela flashed through his mind, and her yowls of pleasure still rang within his ears, ever so softly. It had been more than three months, yet the memory of her still quickened Canimus' blood. It still gripped his heart, making it beat faster from the mere memory of their first mating.

"I know that look."

Nathan's gruff voice jolted Canimus back to his senses.

"So there is somebody, you silent old fuck." He put down his drink and shuffled his paws enthusiastically. "Come on, spill the beans. I told you everything there is to know about my Charlotte, and Fred, well....you know Fred."

The short lapse in his voice was enough to force the cheetah to flee back to his chair faster than Canimus deemed possible. The whole band knew of how quick he tended to express his passion for a female. Too quick. Nathan had even trolled him by naming an album "Burst of Passion" which had more than a few songs with various references to his speedy ways of loving a woman.

"Thing is, we've all shared all manner of erotic tales with you, while all you give us is the usual. One night encounters, mindless humping, wake up the next day alone in your bed, ready to start your day as if nothing happened."

"That's a freaking awesome life, Nathan. Disagree, and I'll invite you over for dinner one day while I politely excuse myself to leave you alone with Clara," Jay said.

"So you're literally inviting me to bang your girl."

"Nope, I'm inviting you to have my girl bang you silly and forget about the nonsense you keep spewing."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but a host that keeps his guests hungry deserves two stars in my book."

Nathan groaned as he took the cue. With great effort, he rolled onto his feet, his shorts and T-shirt tight against his well sculpted body.

"Dude, what about the grill all the way in the back?"

Nathan shrugged. "A piece of contemporary art."

Canimus couldn't help but chuckle, as did the other guys. Nathan...always working their asses raw while he casually strode into his villa and returned with juicy hamburgers that he handed to all of them. One bite was enough to get Fred moaning and Canimus to lick his lips from the savory meat and the quality sauces drenching it.

"Oh I be damned, you're one hell of a cook," Fred remarked.

"I know right?"

"Humble too. May we get the recipe?" Canimus asked.

"Sure. I'll give you their number and you can order whatever the hell you want."

They continued to eat their burgers in silence, sharing glances with one another. Jay B. looked positively morose, pondering on how to stand up for himself and take back the reins of his relationship. Fred minded his own, far out in the back, enjoying his veiled solitude, while Nathan stared Canimus down with his intense brown eyes, as if trying to read his thoughts.

Canimus knew what the sly wolf wanted from him. To spill everything about Lanela, to make her theirs as much as she was his.

No, Canimus decided as he washed down a mouthful of beef with a gulp of beer. _Lanela is mine. Only mine. _

"You're unusually quiet, Canimus," Nathan tried to unravel Canimus' tongue. "If there's somebody special in your life, might as well--"

"There is. A cougar named Lanela. She is fierce yet affectionate, the type that gets what she wants and who prefers to ask forgiveness than permission," he said in one go. That was all they would get.

"Uuu, seems our list of bachelors is growing thin if Canimus succumbed to the fetters of a woman," Fred said.

It made Canimus smile, the way Fred had jumped to conclusion. He visibly relaxed, releasing his drawn-out sigh and finishing the rest of his beer, along with the burger.

"Just...just be certain she's the one for you," Jay mumbled, his eyes already drooping from his fourth beer. "There's more to a woman than meets the eye, and felines--" he paused to chortle and scratch at the azure fluff lining his cheek, "they're a very temperamental sort. All you have to find is a way to tame them."

"Something tells me you're having difficulties applying your advice," Nathan said, his expression smug.

"Yo, let's switch girls for a week. See how well you can handle yourself around my cat, alpha."

"I don't know about that," Nathan said while getting up. "But Jay's getting cranky, Fred is close to toppling over in his chair, and Canimus has a predatory look in his eyes. Fucking hell, it's a party, and I'll remind you just what partying means, you old wretches."

As soon as Nathan entered his imposing villa, Fred dragged his chair closer to Canimus, his ears erect, his tail tip flicking with excitement. "A cougar, eh? Did you make her yowl yet?"

There was a hunger burning within his eyes, an obvious desire that forced Canimus on guard. Even while sober, Fred had the habit of spreading gossip around. Give him a couple of beers, and you would wake up with a bunch of paparazzi surrounding your house the next day, eager to find out about your new love interest.

"I did. More than one time. She barely entered her heat, and you well know how needy cougar females tend to be."

"Say, what did you do to her? Oral? Mate her till she passed out?" Desperation coated Fred's words, creepy yet amusing at the same time. Poor cheetah took a coyote for a mate, the sort who needed a thorough pounding before she spilled her juices. For a cheetah who was done with her in less than a minute, that must have weighed hard on poor Fred.

"Something of that sort."

"Hrrr, you sneaky bastard. How come you haven't introduced us to her yet?"

Canimus' features hardened in an instant, the smile vanishing from his face. He must have struck a chord, for Fred idly took a sip from his beer and slowly backed away.

Nathan returned from the house the same moment, carrying a tray with four tea cups.

"The fuck is this? A british themed party?" Jay asked, staring at the tray with a look of total disbelief.

"You, my friend, couldn't be more wrong. This is boiled peyote, with a few added aromatic plants to make it easier to swallow and to quicken its effects."

"And you waited until we almost passed out to bring the good stuff, you sneaky bastard," Fred said.

"Actually, it takes several hours to boil this thing. It was supposed to be the main course of the evening. Grr, don't drink," he growled at Jay, who grabbed a cup and leaned his beak forward to take a sip. "Just wait until we all have a cup, you impatient bitch."

Jay rolled his eyes, looking at Canimus for support. The smilodon simply shrugged, equally baffled by Nathan's queer choice of drug. Why not marijuana or something that didn't knock you senseless? His body tingled from the prospect of experiencing the effects of peyote, and when Nathan tilted his tray forward with a smirk, Canimus grabbed a cup, nodding his gratitude.

Once he sat back into his lounging chair, cup cradled between his paws like a long lost lover, Nathan lifted it in a toast-like fashion. "Try to think of something nice. Who knows, maybe your dreams will actually become real. Oh and, drink it in one go. It packs quite a punch."

"I'll think of your mother," Jay B. said.

"And I of yours," Nathan replied, downing the bitter elixir and tossing the cup into the pool. Jay and Fred followed his example, while Canimus paused for a moment, looking into the depths of his cup.

_I should find a more secluded place. Excuse myself to the bathroom or some shit, _he thought, fondling the porcelain cup. Lanela would appear to him. Of that, he was certain.

But she was his. Only his. To be with her in the presence of his fellow band members...it was...

"Go ahead. It's not that bad," Nathan's voice rang within Canimus' ears. He gulped the tea down instinctively, snarling from its pungent, bitter taste.

"Tastes like shit, doesn't do anything," Fred mumbled. "Leave it up to Nathan to organize the best party ever."

Jay B. said nothing. He simply melted into his chair, head tilted to the side, tongue lolling out of his beak.

Gods. What a vegetable.

"Enjoy yourself Canimus. Don't let your imagination limit your peyote experience." With that, Nathan made himself comfortable in his lounging chair, leaving him alone with Fred, who scoffed at Nathan and excused himself to head over to the bathroom. He wobbled on his way over there, and the faint thump that came from the house suggested that he had failed to make it to his destination.

Whatever Nathan put in his tea had quite a kick indeed. Canimus' eyelids turned increasingly heavy, his head swirling with a plethora of thoughts and images. He cupped his face in his palms, rubbing his eyes to keep them alert, yet the sudden weakness that seeped into his body took hold in the most vicious of ways.

It paralyzed Canimus, rooted him to his chair, forcing him to watch the hazy patio with wide, unfocused eyes.

Something emerged from the swirling mists that settled over the landscape. A light brown silhouette with glistening emerald eyes and a white muzzle streaked with black on the sides.

A cougar.

No--not just a cougar. She lifted her head, eyeing Canimus from head to toes before turning around, tail aloft to present her wet gender to him.

"Become like me. We can't truly be together unless you are like me." She had a smooth, melodious voice that fettered Canimus' senses. He had to go after her. Follow her, find out what she meant.

Canimus got up from his chair, shuffling after her with slow, tedious footsteps.

Become like her? What the hell did she mean?

"I'm a feline myself, darling. I'm already like you," Canimus said, but no sound came out of his mouth. Only steamy vapors that dispersed into the evening chill.

"No you aren't. You are too slow in your current form. You can't keep up with me, not in a million years."

She had it right. His body felt unusually heavy, his footsteps too sluggish to match her elegant gait. The cougar disappeared into the mists, her playful tail tip engulfed by the thick haze.

Canimus' stomach sank at her departure. A pang of fear rocked his frame, a deep feeling of loneliness slithering its way into his heart.

"Please wait," he murmured. "Don't leave me. I'll follow you, Lanela. I'm your...your mate..."

His paws crossed one another, and he crumpled to the ground. No matter how hard he tried to push himself up, his body remained glued to the ground.

He laid like that for what seemed to be an eternity, his flared nostrils taking in what remained of her fragrance. It bore the same nuance like the one permeating his piece of bark, slightly sweet and earthy, a mixture that made him pull up his lips in a flehmen response.

She was so receptive, at the peak of her heat! Her need overwhelmed Canimus, triggering his dormant instincts.

He rolled onto all fours with surprising ease, his balance greatly improved, his senses suddenly alert. The mist vanished before his eyes, as if blown away by a gust of wind, revealing the empty patio with the empty chairs and the clear pool upon which stark moonlight reflected.

Where was everybody? Did they go back inside? Try as he might to recall it, Canimus couldn't. His mind felt numb to anything apart from the urgency to track down Lanela. Her lingering scent felt like a trail to his eerily keen senses. All he had to do was follow it in order to find her.

_This--this is crazy, _Canimus thought, running a paw over his face. His fingers refused to stretch, and when he tried to scratch his cheek, his sharp claws drew thin scratches, the sting taking Canimus aback.

What the... he thought, moments before his gaze settled onto his forepaws.

Forepaws! Not hands!

When he tried to switch onto two feet, he merely staggered for a few seconds before he was forced back onto all fours, his quadruped form unaccustomed to standing upright.

Rather than dwell on the uncanny situation, Canimus padded over to the backdoor of Nathan's villa. He hoisted himself onto his hind paws, grabbing onto the doorknob with both forepaws. His smooth pads slid off the brass surface, and his claws offered no better purchase. Without opposable thumbs, twisting the damn thing proved to be a bigger chore than Canimus expected.

He settled onto his haunches, his gaze drooping towards his paws.

I _'__ m a feral, just like Lanela, _he realized, numb rather than excited. This whole situation felt like a dream, and at the same time, the sting of the cuts he inflicted upon his cheek by accident proved him wrong.

Canimus closed his eyes, trying to recall how it all began.

With Lanela, of course, urging him to become like her.

His stomach knotted due to nerves. To have no control over a given situation unnerved Canimus a great deal, especially when his body changed its shape without his consent. To get accustomed to it, the smilodon began pacing around the cobbled patio, the pitter patter of his pads upon bare rock filling his ears. Walking on all fours never felt easier, his body agile, his movements graceful. Even his tail gained renewed mobility, the dark brown tufted tip twitching in every direction.

Surprised by the good control he had over his feral form, Canimus settled onto a grassy patch by the pool, a few feet away from the reeds that bent under the caress of the evening breeze. A thousand scents assaulted his sensitive nose, but he could filter them out instinctively, until Lanela's pheromone trail remained the most prominent one.

The silence disturbed Canimus more than it should have. It was too thick, and, no matter how he shifted his ears, all he heard was the swishing of the grass, the whoosh of the wind, the grass crumpling under his right forepaw.

He lifted it to his brown nose, sneezing when it touched his overly sensitive whiskers. Unlike his hands and fingers, his short, stubby toes lacked mobility, fanning out only a few centimeters to the side to reveal the clumps of fur occupying the crevices running between his smooth, dark pads.

Canimus stared at his bean shaped toes for a moment, at the way his white colored fur contrasted with his pads. His belly, chest and inner thighs boasted the same coloring, the fur on the upper portion of his limbs, back and sides gaining a cream-like nuance. Just under the elbows of his forepaws, two rings of dark brown fur engulfed his limbs, creating two bracelet-like formations, slightly jagged and uneven due to the way the wind crept through his fur.

It ruffled his mangy dark orange crest and fluffy cheeks, urging him to rest his chin onto his forepaws and think of his next move. How did Lanela even infiltrate the city? It boggled the mind just to think of it, but her scent didn't lie, nor did the reactions it triggered from Canimus' feral body.

His sheath tightened, turning firm from the swelling member trapped within it. With Lanela's scent deep within his nostrils, the smilodon emitted a light growl, tongue bathing his pristine fangs as he tried to lick his nose clean of her scent.

It retained the same potency, however, forcing Canimus' barbed and tapered head to poke out of its sanctuary, the sensitive surface spearing through the strands of grass. To alleviate his discomfort, Canimus rolled onto his side, releasing a deeper than usual growl. The sound made his hackles stand up briefly as the smilodon checked his surroundings, only to chuff in amusement the next moment.

His body changed. No wonder his voice acquired a deeper, more primeval tone. His heart still pounded from the panic that seized his frame, the quick beatings pumping more and more blood into his penis. Unusually alert, Canimus' gaze darted towards his hindquarters, looking over his white colored belly streaked by a brown chevron across his stomach and down to his nethers.

Breath stuck in his throat. As a feral, he expected his package to be modest in size, but the ruddy rod continued to throb and pulse, wriggling its way out of his sheath, acquiring full mast in the span of a few frenzied heartbeats.

Unlike a typical feline conical shaped member, his own malehood bore a cylindrical shape across most of the shaft, thickest at its base and thinning to a tapered, barb covered tip. In anthro form, his six inch length was considered decently endowed for a big cat. His new feral equipment looked somewhat longer and appreciably girthier, eclipsed only by the round orbs encased in his furred pouch dangling under his sheath. The plump sack stirred Canimus' curiosity, its smooth, fuzz covered shape quite perfect to his eyes. Sensitive and firm, his enhanced genitals bothered him not one bit while he rolled from side to side, scratching his back upon the grass and purring his satisfaction from the hefty caress.

His hind paws tensed up, toes curling inwards from the jolt of pleasure dashing through his muscles. Lanela's scent urged a bead of precum to surface through the tip of his penis, the tantalizing display of arousal had a deep scent to it, quite stronger and more noticeable compared to his anthro one.

It teased Canimus, tugged at his senses, the prominent musk urging him to wipe it with a single flick of his tongue. Simple enough, right? Yet, no matter how Canimus rolled and twisted in an attempt to reach towards it with his muzzle, he couldn't. His mind still refused to wrap around the concept of a feral form, holding him back from exploring his newfound flexibility.

The distant wail of a siren forced Canimus upon his feet. He looked around, from left to right, his posture low, his shoulders tense.

Cops. If cops found him like this, a feral smilodon in a human city, they would either kill him or capture him and ship him over to a zoo.

This irrational worry bloomed within his head, fueled by the tremors whipping his frame. Try as he might to convince himself otherwise, his dormant instincts awoke, spurring him to flee and leave the city.

Yes. That was what he had to do. Leave the city, follow Lanela's trail, find her and quench the fire trapped within her slick folds.

A police car door banged shut a few hundred feet in front of Canimus, the noise crisp and clear to his keen ears.

"Same old, same old," one of them said, his voice gruff. "First weed, then cocaine. Do these people never learn?"

His companion didn't bother addressing him. He spoke into his walkie-talkie, requesting back-up from the feminine voice that crackled to life.

"Copy that. Five minutes. Don't do anything stupid meanwhile."

Blood froze within Canimus' veins. A nagging thought, trapped at the back of his mind, sought to wriggle its way through his fear-laden thoughts and remind him of something. Something important, yet forgotten to Canimus in this eerie landscape.

He was a feral. He could smell the salty stench of sweat beading upon the foreheads of the two obviously human cops. The longer he waited, the more would come, until his escape became nigh impossible.

Canimus broke into a light dash, running through the night across Nathan's lawn, his footing surprisingly sturdy on the dew-sprinkled grass. Once he made it to the front gate, Canimus spotted the flashing red and blue lights, their intensity forcing his pupils to shrink to tiny beads. The two cops were both portly, with barrels for their guts, leaning against the car and muttering to one another.

They can _'__ t see me in the gloom, _Canimus realized, the intimate piece of knowledge strangely reassuring. His body almost prowled through the half opened gate on its own, stopping when one of the cops shushed the other, and continued his silent lurk on the sidewalk, his silhouette draped by the comforting shadows of the oaks.

As soon as he left the police car behind, a weight lifted off Canimus' heart. His ears still shifted from side to side to catch the various noises permeating the air, and his tail tip flicked apprehensively as the city's scents assaulted Canimus. Dogs, cats, perfume and cologne sprayed over the skin of people located of hundreds of feet away, he smelled them all. For a moment, he lowered himself onto his belly, the stimuli too much to process them all at the same time.

His heightened senses seemed overwhelming, Canimus' head whirling under the pressure of a thousand impulses. Flee, fight, mark his territory, ward off the smaller predators from his turf.

Impossible for him to settle on just one, the smilodon hoisted himself onto his hind paws, scratching the bark of an old oak with his fore claws, rubbing his cheeks against it to spread his scent, then turning around to mark it with his pungent urine.

It felt like second nature to him; a need, just like any other. Without any nearby threat, he continued to do that, his head aloft, his nostrils flared to take in more of Lanela's scent. It was one of a kind, subtle yet enthralling, the pheromone trail heating his blood, stirring his most powerful of instincts: to breed.

Everything else paled in its wake. Canimus no longer prowled. He strode ahead, shuddering from the barking of dogs without turning his head to face them. He snarled, hissed, growled at the cats crossing his path, forcing the smaller predators to scurry under the safety of parked vehicles.

Caught in the fetters of a cougar's heat, Canimus' senses lost some of their sharpness. With his focus shifted on solely one desire, he overlooked his surroundings, the too loud and too harsh barking of a Rottweiler forcing him behind a tree to conceal his presence from the beast taunting him from across the intersection.

His owner, a blonde woman with a frail constitution and a red leather jacket, cussed at him as he began to practically drag her forward, her spindly body no match for his strength.

"What--the fuck--is the matter with you? Stay the fuck down, you sack o' shit." She huffed between the jerks of the leash, and every time the beast lurched forward, her sandals skidded across the concrete.

Her petite hands gave in as the dog wrestled himself from her grip, and Canimus' heart lodged into his throat as he eyed the charging mutt.

He leapt out into the open, crouching into a defensive position, snarling his threat at the dog. It gave him pause, the moment of hesitation enough for Canimus to swipe his paw forward and draw bloody rakes across his face.

Bad idea.

The dog charged him with unmatched ferocity, lunging straight at Canimus, who jumped to the side to avoid his attack. In the same instant, he whirled to the left and arched his front half of the body for an skillfully executed tackle. His forepaws found purchase upon the dog's chest, claws sinking into its hide, just as his oversized fangs lessened its squirms until it moved no more.

Blood tasted so strange. Not salty and metallic, almost coppery, but invigorating. Every fiber within Canimus' body tingled from his first hunt, the screams of the panicked woman thinning to a background noise the more distance he put between them.

Kill, or be killed. Hunt, or be hunted. Two simple rules, more urgent than ever, kept Canimus going. It baffled him, how dogs barked their defiance at a bigger predator, while humans--the real threat--kept mostly silent while fondling their cells to call the cops. They appeared in their doorway, some naked, others wearing pajamas, and a select few pointing rifles and pistols at him.

His ears still rang from the earsplitting bangs, even when the woods located on the fringe of the town engulfed Canimus. Were they still after him? Canimus couldn't tell. Once he clambered a hill, his legs gave in, muscles searing from his prolonged dash. He panted, tongue thrusting between his fangs with every deep huff, blinking fast to adjust his eyes to the ripples of moonlight dancing through the boughs.

"We'll mount a search for it in the morning," a distance voice cried. "Until then, we'll set up a perimeter and keep the cougar from coming out of the forest."

A cougar? Did they honestly mistake him for one?

"Hasn't somebody shot that damned beast already?" Another voice chipped in, a woman from the tone of her voice.

"Could be. Whether it's dead or alive, only the morning will tell. Return to your home, people. It's not coming out of the forest alive. I assure you."

That last remark made Canimus' frame relax visibly. He crashed onto his side, his belly rising and falling in unison with the deep breaths he took. That solved the human threat. With no hounds to chase him, Canimus had the entire forest to him, free to pursue Lanela.

Up here, the pheromone trail she had left for him grew in strength, the aroma tickling Canimus' nostrils with a soft, enticing touch. He brushed them with a flick of his tongue, almost wishing he could taste her.

His tongue only licked air, however. Ethereal, shapeless, tasteless. It only carried a promise, one that put Canimus back onto his feet before he fully recovered. As his panting subsided, Lanela's trail became his utmost concern. She left markers for him, invisible to the naked eye, but painfully obvious to his nose.

Canimus found her fragrance sprayed on boulders, the bark of trees, even ferns swishing in the wind. He thrust his head into a clump of them, a mellow growl rippling in his throat, his eyes closed while he took in the allure of a cougar's fertility.

This particular mark had lost most of its luster. It must have been placed a while ago, for it barely managed to stir Canimus' member before his footsteps forced it back into its lethargic state.

The song of the crickets filtered through the sounds of the night, accompanied by the occasional howl that made Canimus' tail stiffen and rise in challenge. Unlike dogs, wolves instilled a deeper fear within him, quite potent and vile enough to make him reconsider his pursuit.

If a wolf pack happened upon him...

No, that _'__ s ridiculous, Canimus thought in an attempt to shrug off the panic that crept under his hide. _I _'__ m a smilodon. Bigger, stronger, more agile than they are. _

Facts didn't soothe the frenzied beating of his heart, nor did they alleviate the stiffness gripping his limbs. With the threat of wolves made known, Canimus reduced his pace to a mere stroll, alert to every sound and scent that might betray the close proximity of a predator.

Deeper into the forest, the air grew cold and crisp, the ground muddy and wet from the previous rains. His paws squelched upon contact, sinking halfway into the mud. It failed to cling onto his paws, like it would have done in his anthro form. Still, Canimus kept to the drier portions of the ground, preferring the bedding of leaves over the decaying slush of mud mixed with leaves and hidden branches with sharp protrusions that might wound his bare feet.

He didn't know for how long he had walked. Caught in his trance to follow Lanela, Canimus continued his trek in spite of his growing cock. Her perfume colored his mind with all manner of pictures, each irresistible in its own way. Canimus licked his muzzle with gusto as he imagined her splayed onto her belly, tail swept out of the way to present him the dark and white wet fur of her nethers, with her sopping pink slit in the middle.

"Grr...rr...rrrrrrr," he began to growl, wincing from the way his inner thighs brushed against his full erection. It bobbed with each footstep, the motion sending it against his velvety fur, each tantalizing touch producing an electrifying jolt of pleasure.

The repeated motion brought Canimus upon his haunches at first. His furred sack protested, the orbs residing within too tense, forcing Canimus to roll onto his back for a more comfortable position. From down here, all he could do was sweep the leaves away with his swishing tail and stare at his tightness.

It refused to go away, the rhythmical throbs keeping him painfully hard and more than a little stiff.

"Mrowr," Canimus expressed his exasperation as he stretched out a forepaw above his stomach, his toes fanning out, then tucking in. These were his only available motions. Without a thumb, there was no way he could grab and stroke himself.

That didn't stop him from trying to rub one off. While still sat on his back, he pumped his hindquarters forward, reaching out with his right paw towards his barbed tip. His sensitive spines met his cold, clammy pads, drawing a hiss of displeasure from Canimus.

Fuck. Dirty paws, because he now walked upon them. His ears pinned back as he brought the paw in front of him, cleaning it with thorough brushes of his tongue. His lips shuddered with displeasure from the earthy taste of grime making its way into his mouth, but the heat welled within his loins quickly dispersed it. Right now, alleviating his throbbing discomfort became his most prominent concern, speeding up his licks to hungry slurps, until his glossy pads shone a pristine onyx.

With his paw still slick with saliva, Canimus brought it upon his tip. He jolted as soon as his barbs kissed his moist pads, thrusting into his paw, lodging his tip between his pads. At the same moment, his toes curled inwards to grab himself, the pressure eliciting a shuddering moan from Canimus.

It seized his being, fiery coils clenching around his muscles, paralyzing him for a brief moment from the too intense pleasure. It subsided as quickly as it flared to life, and once it did, Canimus switched over to his side to keep thrusting into his paw with frenzied strokes.

In his desperation to stoke his pleasure, his aim suffered, sending his tip sliding over his pads and towards the outer edges instead of sinking into the furred crevices between them. After a few more infuriating attempts to hit home, Canimus snarled his frustration and ceased his ministrations to recover his breath.

"Hrr rrr rrr," he growled while staring at his cock, pulsating within the air, without proper sheathing to sink into. His pads proved too smooth to contain his thrusts, his toes too stiff for a hearty grip. Precum covered the surface of his broad, central pad, thicker than his saliva, smooth like oil and musky enough to etch a snarl upon Canimus' face.

It bore the same tints of his anthro form, only stronger, more feral. Even the taste of it proved strong enough, making him snort from the first lick. It didn't bother him; on the contrary, the more his tongue glided over his pads, the better he began to taste. He kept at it, closing his eyes to savor this exotic experience.

Until his taste thinned to an aqueous memory of the real thing.

By now, after touching and tasting his precum, Canimus' senses tingled, and his head grew heavy under the weight of his lust. Previous maneuvers that seemed tedious before--like switching onto his back and twining his hind paws with his fores to try and force his whole girth into his mouth--now turned into failed attempts to groom his erection. Limits became irrelevant when Canimus throbbed with purpose, and he fully knew that a feline like him had the necessary flexibility to reach his malehood.

Whilst on his side, Canimus coiled into a ball, then lifted a hind leg towards the sky, high enough to bring his neck under it.

That did it. The tip of his nose connected with his barbs, running over them, feeling their slightly rough texture before his tongue dashed along the surface of his shaft. His paws trembled, a rumbling moan vibrating within his chest from the deep pleasure that shot through him.

He didn't even make it halfway down his length before Canimus' tongue returned to his tip, bathing it with warm saliva, relishing the intricate feeling of his barbed tongue caressing the ones littering his tapered tip. That also seemed to be the most receptive area of his member; only a few licks, and Canimus already oozed a dribble of precum that he swallowed too fast to savor.

A blaze ignited within him, begging to be stoked. To do that, Canimus lapped at his cock with renewed vigor, his tongue lashes forcing it up and down, left and right in his rush to ascend to his peak. Swirling his tongue around his tip failed to carry him towards that sweet spot, however. It kept him in a constant state of arousal, every muscle within his body hard with desire, his member the hardest.

Without even pondering his next move, Canimus folded his tongue around the first half of his shaft to protect it from his teeth, then shoved his head forward, his fangs kissing the fuzzy surface of his plump balls.

Canimus' eyes widened, and his ears and tail tip twitched with surprise as he managed to take himself all the way into his mouth. Afraid to scratch himself, Canimus remained lodged within his muzzle, suckling himself while he used his fangs to fondle his ripe orbs with light dabbing motions.

Confined within the scalding embrace of his maw, with his tongue to blanket most of his length and his fangs to tease his balls, it didn't take long until Canimus squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to fight back the fiery lances of sheer bliss poking at his underbelly. His pouch grew taut, the testicles nestled within quivering, ready to spill their load. Tremors wracked Canimus' frame, his claws emerging out of their sheaths, toes curling inwards, drawing furrows across the ground moments before the smilodon gave in.

"Rrrrrrraa--" Canimus tried to roar his great pleasure, only to have it snuffed out by the great load flooding his mouth. His first spurt shot with the might of a ballista arrow, forcing Canimus to swallow it breathlessly, least he choked. For the following ones, he covered his tip with the base of his tongue to protect his raw throat from the savage might of his seed lances.

They came in quick succession, one after another, three to four per throb. Before Canimus knew it, his cheeks swelled to refuse, unable to keep in both seed and cock on his first oral experience. Once his shaft fled his mouth with a wet plop, Canimus gulped down the mouthful of thick, potent, creamy seed, then rushed to lick his member and encourage more delayed spurts out of his pulsing shaft.

They shot with the same might, pelting his neck, head and ears with musky smilodon essence before Canimus brought one of his forepaws around to cum into it while he recovered his breath. After one last bead of seed snaked its way through his shaft, Canimus splayed on the ground, eyes half closed, trapped between dream and reality. Everything felt so thin, so surreal, like a veil that could be torn to reveal a completely different reality.

Canimus fought to keep himself from drifting off. If he closed his eyes, dawn would come, and with it, the humans.

He couldn't afford to rest, not when he only had this one night to reunite with Lanela. With his mind freed from the burdens of lust, Canimus felt strangely invigorated, ready to restart his journey.

A fleeting gust of wind made it painfully obvious to him that he had forgotten to wipe the traces of his climax. It chilled the strands of seed latched upon his fur, pinpointing their location. To wipe himself clean, Canimus collected the glistening snakes with the toes of a forepaw which he promptly wiped clean with his tongue. He repeated the procedure to clean his face and neck, his lower belly all too accessible to him.

By now, his penis fled back into its sheath, remaining unresponsive while Canimus dragged his tongue over the fringes of his sack, along its surface, and down his sheath. His strong, sharp taste permeated his mouth, and the mere memory of his deep, satisfying pleasure was enough to coax a reaction out of his gender. His pouch tensed up, his sheath stiffened, even after the huge impressive load he just dumped into his maw.

As much as he wanted to go for a second round and test the resilience of his feral body, the promise of meeting Lanela was all too powerful. He sprang onto his paws, striding through the woods at a brisk pace, all too eager to meet up with her.

He should have wondered how she had been faring. Why she had made her way to his town, and most importantly, how. Instead, Canimus couldn't take his mind off her lean and strong body. He almost saw her, hovering in front of him, wriggling those haunches playfully, her tail brushing against her soaked vulva while she twisted her neck around to regard him with half closed eyes, practically panting with lust.

Her scent. It was her scent, Canimus realized. It drove him mad, rousing his inner instincts, encouraging him to act like a wild animal. The fresher her markers turned, the tighter they coiled around Canimus' mind. A damp patch on a rock. A tree trunk, sprayed with her bittersweet urine; Canimus licked them clean with frenzied slurps, his heart drumming in his chest, his tip poking out, as if ready to delve within the needy female.

Instead, Canimus turned around and sprayed his own scent upon hers, to show the forest denizens that this female, along with this territory, belonged to him now.

It became increasingly harder to keep his arousal in check the closer he got to Lanela. She had stopped marking once the ground smoothed ahead and the hills subsided, relying on the wind to signal her position. That kept Canimus on edge, and his member fully erect. More than once had he leaned onto his side, ready to take care of his growing problem, only to shake his head and force himself out of the tempting trance. He was so close to Lanela. Painfully close.

And, more than anything, he wanted to cum inside her, to fill her belly with his potent seed.

Canimus found her in a clearing, bathed in moonlight, her fur radiant. She regarded him with those striking emerald eyes, so deep and filled with concealed longing. He stopped in his tracks, almost uncertain of how to act. He had been waiting for this moment; counted every second of it, almost. To finally see her, be within her reach--it overwhelmed Canimus.

Lanela let out an inviting growl, rounding the clearing, throwing him the occasional glance before striding over to a nearby tree to rub against and bathe with her scent. The wind carried her aroma straight to Canimus, more powerful than ever, enough to heat his blood to boiling levels.

He took a step forward. And another. Then one more, until he found himself drawn to her like a moth to a source of light. In a way, Lanela was his beacon of light, her scent luring him closer to her while she frolicked in the grass, rolling from side to side, kicking her paws at the air.

Canimus spotted it, that patch of wet fur situated above her tailhole, the strands clumped together from the dribble of arousal she constantly leaked. And her lips! They spread invitingly every time she moved her limbs, speeding up Canimus' pace until he lied a few infuriating feet from her.

_Pounce her. Claim her. Breed her, _his instincts raged within him, but the delicate nature of her movements, the playful mood of such striking creature, mesmerized him. Although he throbbed harder than he had ever throbbed in his life, Canimus watched her swat her forepaws at her tail tip, lick it, bite it, her eyes fixated on him permanently.

"Awwrrrr," she uttered, splaying onto her back, her head slumped to the side.

Was that an invitation?

Canimus didn't wait for the confirmation. He licked his chops repeatedly as he advanced upon her, snaking his nose towards her damp nethers.

In the same instant, Lanela got up, retreating a few steps back, yowling, calling to him.

Canimus chuffed his greetings, tried a few thinner growls, uncertain of how to proceed. How did big cats even greet each other in the wilds?

Faced with his mate, Canimus suddenly felt like an anthro again, incapable of fully understanding her body language. His instincts offered him no guidance, nor had he read enough on cougars to form an educated opinion on how to claim a female in heat, unless she signaled her readiness to mate.

Lanela made the choice for him. She wasted no time in covering the short distance between them, nuzzling his white cheeks, brown nose, and nipping at his crest playfully before her tongue bathed Canimus.

The rough texture of her tongue caressed his fur better than his paws ever did, and it felt so good Canimus found himself leaning forward, mewling for more, like a kitten demanding affection from his mother.

Lanela let out a soft growl, pawing at his neck playfully to get him to lower his head. He stood more than a few inches taller than the cougar, her lithe body small by comparison, yet deceitfully strong. When Canimus didn't get her cue, she tackled him with both paws, pressing onto his neck so hard she forced Canimus down onto his stomach.

"Mrrr?" she crooned, her voice as lovely as ever. Her nose drifted along the areas previously stained by his seed, blowing warm air upon them, ruffling his fur in the process. She dabbed the tip of her tongue at the conspicuous patches of disheveled fur, tasting his lingering essence. From the way her face wrinkled, Canimus realized that she had pieced it together, that she fully knew how Canimus got his seed all over his face and neck..

To prove it to him, she settled next to him, pushing against his side with all four limbs to get him to reveal his blood-engorged cock. A pang of excitement welled within Canimus' stomach at the prospect of presenting his mate with his member while she was in heat. In one quick motion, he switched onto his side, his haunch out of the way to give her a good view.

Lanela's nostrils flared the same instant, her muscles shifting and tensing under her brown-red hide. She jumped onto her feet, turned around to face his lower belly, then flopped back onto her side, her new position allowing her to grab Canimus between her forepaws, chancing him a glance once her warm pads engulfed him from either side.

"Grrrr," Canimus made his delight known to her, raising his haunch even higher to give her complete access over his malehood.

Lanela let go of him for a brief moment, trudged closer to Canimus' male equipment, then gripped him between her forepaws again, one paw supporting the weight of his member while the other added a gentle caress to it while her nose touched his barbed tip lightly.

Hisses of various intensities fled Canimus' parted jaws, her ministrations keeping him on edge all the while. She didn't lick his tip, the little devil, but made sure to rub his barbs with her nose, fast enough to trigger a reaction from Canimus.

The smilodon's tail stiffened, his eyes widening a tad as he felt the bead of precum slither through his length and poke its way out of his tip, encouraged forward by the jerking motion of Canimus' penis. Lanela drew her head back, tilting it to the side, almost surprised by the result of her doing.

Before Canimus had the chance to nuzzle her neck and encourage her to explore him in every way she desired, the cougar flexed her toes around his member, squeezing so hard it brought Canimus on the verge of climax when Lanela began lapping at his tip to slurp his arousal.

Almost....almost there....

She stopped. She bloody stopped, right when Canimus' life reached its sweetest point. Lanela let go of his shaft, letting it fall to the ground, the jarring touch of dirt and grass forcing Canimus to shift onto his back.

Quite the vulnerable position, especially when Lanela now towered above him, her tongue darting back and forth across her muzzle, her eyes sparkling with mischievous intent.

His mate placed one forepaw on either side of him, then lowered her chest upon his, her middle half located to the side, painfully far from his member. Aroused beyond belief, Canimus couldn't fully savor her petite nose, sweeping through the fluff of his neck, or the soft bumps of her nose against his. He wanted but one thing from her, every instinct pushing him to get it.

Something triggered within Canimus. Before he knew it, his forepaws latched around her, and with an abrupt swing of his body, Canimus found himself laying on top of her, the cougar's shoulders pinned under his forepaws.

"Rarrrr raaaarrrrrrrrr," she growled and spat at him, gnawing on one forepaw or the other, too soft to be taken seriously. Her scent spoke volumes about her readiness to mate, and for a brief moment, Canimus noticed the drooping motion of her ears, longing floating within the verdant pools of her eyes.

More than eager to deliver, Canimus lowered his haunches, bringing his member to the level of her vulva, then thrust--

And missed. At the last second, Lanela shifted out of the way, using Canimus' moment of surprise to shove him off her with a powerful push of her hind legs.

Canimus lunged to the side, staggering on his feet, claws out to adjust his balance. They both snarled at each other, Canimus' tone acquiring a graver pitch as it descended into a growl, and Lanela swinging a paw forward menacingly, too close to Canimus' face for comfort.

Then, affection washed away aggression, her hisses turning into low, needy yowls as she began circling him, her tail weaving around his neck, down his body, even brushing against his erection.

"I know what you want," her fleeting glance seemed to say. "I've been waiting for you for far too long."

To emphasize her point, Lanela presented her rump to him, tail rising like a flagpole to present him with the lewdest sight ever.

Then, she sprayed him.

Canimus reeled for a moment, the strong scented concoction both vile and a nectar of the gods at the same time. She smelled so strong! Salty, sour, but most importantly, in heat.

Without even realizing it, Canimus swept his tongue all over his muzzle, licking off her urine while his cock throbbed harder than it ever did before. To make it worse, Lanela decided to give him a helping tongue, licking off the mess from the areas that Canimus could only access by means of paw.

Her musical purr flared to life while she groomed her mate, the song spearing through Canimus' lust-induced haze. It stirred his mind, forced him to see more in her than just a wet pussy.

As her tongue bathed him with repeated strokes, Canimus closed his eyes, savoring every touch of that nimble appendage along his fur. His mate was so tender to him, adding a teasing nuzzle between every few tongue strokes. Once done, she rubbed her cheek against his neck before pawing at his ear playfully.

What a wonderful and fascinating creature. One moment, she licked him. The next, she lowered herself upon her stomach, tail curled to the side, out of the way. Canimus' heart skipped a beat at the display. His body knew what that pose meant, his barbed tip already leaking precum in anticipation.

He took a step forward...

And Lanela sprang to her feet to rub her lithe body against him, the smaller feline having perfect access to Canimus' jaws and chin. She licked him there, soothing his budding nerves a little, and then strode in front of him, tail lifted, just like before.

No spray took him in the face this time. She stood like that, motionless, the tendrils of lust drawing Canimus closer and closer to her weeping slit.

He tried a short lick at first. Just to test the waters. It began with his tongue tip, sliding over her slit, collecting her arousal in its wake before meeting Lanela's wet, sweltering lips. A visible contraction ran through her nethers, dispersing through her folds, proving to Canimus just how sensitive she was down there.

Canimus couldn't even lick her all the way up to her tailhole. Her scent overpowered him, and her taste lingered upon the tip of his tongue, teasing him to bring it into his mouth and taste her.

He rolled his tongue back into his maw...

And released a drawn-out whine, filled with passion. The thin sound surprised Canimus as well, but the sweet, overly smooth nectar he just swallowed fettered his senses, brushing aside his logical side, freeing his instincts from its clutch.

Unrestrained, Canimus began to lap at her dainty slit with broad, wild tongue strokes, meant to take in as much of her delightful juices as possible while stimulating her to produce more. Caught in his frenzy, Canimus forgot about the rougher barbs covering the middle half of his tongue. He simply licked her in a fast, savage way, his hips pumping forward out of their own accord.

Mad with lust, Canimus' barbs tightened in anticipation, his cock jerking in its socket, each swing fueling his own budding pleasure. Even though no tongue, paw, or cunt engulfed his member, the potency of her taste was enough to trigger untimely jets of precum from Canimus, his liquid desire drenching the grass below.

Lanela's own haunches quivered, even worse than her heat-drenched pussy. She kept raking the ground, released high pitched, shuddering yowls. Canimus' tongue, in his feral form, was equipped with barbs of different textures, a real treat to a cougar whose most prominent need was to have her bothersome itch attended to.

Canimus did that, and more. Lanela's form began to sway, every joint in her body wracked by tremors of pleasure whenever his papillae raked across her clitoris. His tongue not only rubbed against her lips, but poked into her nether sanctuary, swirling within, scooping her fluids, scratching her too sensitive walls almost as good as a barbed member did.

She disengaged by leaping forward, panting from the unsuspected treat, juices dribbling down her haunches. Canimus simply stared at the way they glistened like diamond snakes when caressed by faint moonlight, gasping for breath as he tried to push his budding orgasm back. He never expected her rich flavor to bring him so close to completion, without even a nudge or caress upon his member.

And still, it did, the culprit for it standing a few feet in front of him, her tail swaying enticingly from side to side. Canimus walked up to her to place a forepaw upon her rump and apply enough weight to force her upon her stomach. Lanela brushed him off with a graceful tilt of her body, shifting to the side so that his paw met the grass. He tried again, this time sliding his paws between her thighs and belly, grabbing her in a similar way a dog seized a bitch in heat, holding onto her with a steadfast grip.

"Hrarrr!" Lanela growled, her warning dying in her throat as she spun onto her back, hurling herself at the ground and dragging Canimus with her. She kicked him with her hinds square in the jaw, forcing the snarling smilodon back.

A rumbling thunder welled within Canimus' chest. Too hard for comfort, and more than a little shaken after eating her out, he no longer cared for Lanela's playful antics. As a male freshly reunited with his mate at the peak of her heat, he wanted to breed her, pump her full of his seed, until it quickened within her womb.

His menacing vocalizations must have triggered something within Lanela, for she fell limp, her tail splaying upon the ground, motionless. With fluid dexterity, the cougar switched onto her belly, adopting a position much too inviting for Canimus.

After he licked his whiskers, Canimus straddled her, crouching halfway to pin her down with his strong chest, bringing in his haunches around hers to trap her under him.

"Mrrrarr!" Lanela yelped, shooting forward, leaving the confused smilodon bucking his hips a few times, too caught up in her fertile miasma that floated around the grove. She returned to him with licks, neck rubs, tail swings, her fur soft, her voice softer still.

Why didn't he just pounce upon her? She would have a hard time overpowering him, and once his member pierced her, Lanela's own body would turn against her, the pleasure too much for her to think of ways to get Canimus off her back.

Canimus pondered on this thought while she made her affection for him known by sliding her body against his, then rolling around in front of him, licking a forepaw and curling her tail inwards.

Yes. Maybe he should go for it. Her receptiveness certainly hinted at her desire to breed more than her alluring gaze did. Canimus' feelings conflicted with his instincts, constricting his choices, leaving him hard and throbbing, yet still unwilling to take what was his.

He loved Lanela too much to strip choice from her and, in spite of his burdening lust, Canimus wanted nothing more than to see her splay before him, to offer herself to him. That marked her deep level of trust for him, and that was what made her his mate after all.

Lanela used his moment of hesitation to sprint forward, her footsteps producing the faintest swish upon contact with the ground. Canimus dashed after her, growling, hissing, scrunching his eyes as his malehood wriggled back and forth. It shrunk to a manageable size, fleeing back into his sheath almost entirely, easing his discomfort.

Just when Canimus caught up with her, Lanela sprinkled her scent upon a boulder, her tail and haunches shuddering from the act. Canimus hurried after her, holding his breath for a few seconds to keep her pheromones at bay. If he inhaled them, he'd grow helplessly hard again, and Lanela would...

She would do what? Lose him? Her heat was a dead giveaway, the smell too pungent to lose track of. So, instead of playing her games, Canimus stopped in front of a freshly marked tree, licking the twisted bark, the taste of cougar heat mixing with the stale wood. It still got him hard and throbbing, but this time, he sat on his side, rubbing his length with a paw, soft enough to keep himself from spilling forth his essence.

Sure enough, Lanela returned to him, sniffing at his malehood and dabbing at his chubby sack with a paw, her claws safely sheathed.

"Awrrrr," she purred, circling Canimus, trying to find the best angle to approach his erection. Instead of licking it, she licked her muzzle. Instead of touching him, she started to play with herself, an erotic dance reserved for her already horny mate.

It lasted longer than Canimus expected. His lovely cougar not only rolled and twisted around, but grabbed her hind paws within her fores as a display of flexibility, shifted towards him to face him, then sprang onto her feet to meander between a clump of ferns, eyes closed, purring her heart out as the plants caressed her tawny hide.

For a short moment, Canimus forgot about his desire to breed, awed by her intricate movements and sounds. Lanela began to yowl, calling to him, getting Canimus to follow her out of the woods and into a meadow, caressed by the night breeze, illuminated by the full moon shining above. It was a pristine landscape, silent and calm, contrasting with the turmoil raging within Canimus.

Although he walked at a slow pace, one glance at Lanela's frame was enough to heat his blood, make his muscles tense, his heart to pound harder and faster. Everything about her was beautiful, from the dark sides of her muzzle to the playful tail tip of her long tail, and her lighter colored belly looked more inviting than ever when she flipped onto her side, presenting herself to him.

Canimus approached her, his footsteps sluggish and calculated. Lanela was his mate and, in spite of the tug of his instincts, he wanted to spoil her, cherish her, savor every part of her lithe body.

He approached her from her rear, shifting his focus from her slit and towards one of her trembling hind paws. He poked his tongue between his fangs, rolling it across her dainty pads. They bore an earthy fragrance, crisp and invigorating, mixed with various other scents that added to the prickly touch of her taste.

Lanela shook her paw, toes wriggling from the soft caress of his barbs, her pads obviously ticklish. Canimus emitted a low huff of amusement, continuing down the cream colored interior of a haunch. The fur there became short, fine, almost like velvet, embedded with her distinct scent. Canimus dragged his muzzle through it, relishing the caress of her coat against his sensitive whiskers.

To gain better access to her belly, he settled onto his stomach right next to her, placing a foreleg on her other side to embrace her once he reached her neck. Instead of greeting her with a nose bump, Canimus rested his head against the fluff of her neck, exhaling his pent-up sigh.

He had never felt so light-headed, completely relaxed. Warmth seeped through her fur, adding to her comfortable embrace. To make things better, Lanela started to nuzzle his cheek, sniffing inquisitively, mewling ever so softly.

Canimus raised his head to regard her--

And tensed up when her tongue greeted his nose, wet, warm, unusually skilled in the art of licking. Canimus decided to return the favor with his own sluggish licks, keeping to her chin while Lanela masterfully danced around his face, drenching him with her affection.

Caught up in their tongue dance, the two mates began growling their passion for one another, Lanela's purr weaving through Canimus' rumbling growl. Her tone was as subtle as her touch, her barbed tongue stroking Canimus slowly and carefully. Her touch sapped the strength out of him, lulling him to rest his head on the ground, close his eyes, and simply enjoy the attention of his mate. Lanela rumbled her agreement, making sure to reward him with a couple of enthusiastic licks across his muzzle.

Canimus only opened his eyes when she shifted onto her feet and turned around, her rump replacing her petite head, a droplet of heat dribbling onto his forehead from the sudden motion. Lustful hisses broke through his muzzle, the source of her heat standing just a few inches from his nose. With every ounce of his strength, Canimus fought back the urge to lick her there. He wouldn't be able to stop if he did, and Lanela began kneading at his belly with one forepaw, her face sifting through the downy fur adorning Canimus' belly.

The smilodon's paws jerked, his tail stiffening as she inched closer and closer to his gender. Down there, his fur had quite the surprising sensitivity, Lanela's touch both ticklish and arousing upon one of his inner thighs.

Canimus throbbed. Against his will, pre snaked its way out of his member, the bead of arousal tempting Lanela with its powerful scent. She swept it with an abrupt tongue lash, her barbs connecting with the ones protruding from Canimus' tip. The friction was too much for him to bear. His furred pouch turned taut, his member rigid, and his forepaws encircled her hindquarters, holding her in a tight grasp, applying enough pressure to force her cunt right into his muzzle.

Blissful growls burst from Lanela's throat. She whipped her head back to snarl at Canimus, not the fierce sound meant to emphasize her aggression, but an intense mewl of longing. It reverberated through his chest, stirring his desire to pleasure his mate to the best of his abilities.

Intent on doing just that, Canimus ate her out like a ravenous beast, without holding back. No longer a virgin, Lanela had grown accustomed to both soft and sharper barbs, the ones covering the back of his tongue kissing her folds with their prickly touch.

She yowled, staggering for purchase, a spray of arousal shooting from her quivering depths and straight into Canimus' nostrils. He paused to lick it off before resuming his ministrations, claws protracting from his toes to lodge onto her thick hide for better purchase.

His mate tasted so good! With each lick, Canimus hungered for more, folding his tongue and pushing it straight through her sopping folds and into her shuddering twat. Lanela clamped down upon him, shrieking, wriggling her hips as she tried to dislodge herself from Canimus' grasp. He forced his claws deeper into her hide, flaring Lanela's cry a pitch higher.

Pain didn't register over the deep pleasuring coursing through her. Lanela's head threatened to burst, her chest all tight, her limbs rigid and unresponsive. All of her focus shifted to her nethers, to that perfect tongue wriggling its way into her, scooping away her gathering arousal.

She glanced down with half-lidded, unfocused eyes, noticing the ruddy member of her mate, bobbing up and down, without proper sheathing to sink into. To distract herself and prolong her bliss, Lanela tried a few licks around his length, starting with the tip and sliding over the rest of his shaft, where she wrapped her tongue around him.

Canimus paused for a split second, taken aback by the barbed tightness embracing his erection. Lanela lapped at it with enthusiastic strokes, rubbing her lips against it, poking her nose against his tip. The pressure exerted upon it made Canimus' barbs flare. His hips bucked out of their own accord, driving his length deep into Lanela's maw, too caught up in the fetters of elation to care about her fangs.

Blessedly, Lanela didn't bite him. On the contrary, she eased him into her throat, draping her tongue around him for a more effective suckling motion. Her gentleness took Canimus aback; many sharp teeth littered Lanela's mouth, but she kept them all at bay as she guided him, deeper and deeper into her silken, too hot, too wet mouth, her jaws wrapping around the base of his shaft to emphasize her feat.

Trapped within the confines of her maw, Canimus throbbed harder and faster than he ever did in his life. Lanela's paws firmly fixated upon the areas where his haunches joined his body, pinning him down, keeping him from thrusting forward. Not that Canimus needed to. The gentle swings of Lanela's tongue worked him to completion much faster than he expected, the lewd, suckling sounds wafting through the air.

He was close, so close, and Lanela's shudders too weak for comfort.

Canimus slammed his muzzle against her twat, thrusting his tongue all the way into her, swirling inside her with quick motions. For a cougar at the peak of her heat, his girth was too much to bear, and Canimus could tell from the quaking motions wracking her depths.

Unable to yowl with her mouth full of smilodon cock, Lanela heralded her climax with a deep, muffled growl. Her muscles clamped down upon his tongue, squeezing him for a fleeting moment before relaxing to allow her juices to flow freely.

Thin, aqueous, fertile femcum flooded Canimus' mouth, its earthy, bittersweet taste making the male's head swirl. The constant spasms of her muscles pushed him out with a wet plop, her hindquarters caving in, pressing her shuddering pussy tight against his muzzle as she continued to cum into his mouth. If ovulation had not been induced by Canimus' prior oral efforts, it most certainly was now.

Pinned under her, sniffing and tasting nothing but her juices, Canimus burst into his mate's throat as well, unable to resist her alluring fragrance not a moment longer.

The cougar's eyes widened, her throat tickling from the might of her first splash. She swallowed the mouthful of thick, musky and creamy essence to keep from choking, then tried to pull back when more seed erupted from Canimus' pulsating cock.

The smilodon had none of it. With a mighty shove, he buried himself all the way in, shooting the rest of his seed down Lanela's throat, his flared barbs keeping her in place.

Once his spurts began to subside, Lanela pulled her head back, coughing the surplus seed on Canimus' shrinking length and softening orbs. He cracked an eye open to watch her lick away his seed, the mellow purr igniting within her throat too low, as if she was ashamed of her inability to swallow his entire load.

Canimus planted a few more reassuring licks upon her pussy, her swollen labia hotter than usual and utterly drenched. She did better than he had ever expected of her, giving him one of the best orgasms ever. Besides, he had too much pent-up passion for her trapped within his sack, and came twice as hard compared to his previous self-service session.

Lanela shifted to face him once again, bathing his face with a series of slow, relaxing licks. Seed still clung to her chin, making her fur clump in patches. Canimus groomed his mate, and, once her head was squeaky clean, he dragged her down on top of him.

With her lithe body draped over him, Canimus felt strangely energized. He yearned for more than just her taste; he wanted to breed her, to claim her womb by planting his seed deep inside her. To mirror his thoughts, his balls tingled in anticipation, aching for his next release.

Lanela proved to be equally restless. One moment, she purred in his embrace; the next, she disengaged from his with a leap, prancing around, flicking her tail invitingly. Like before, her playful nature and irresistible scent tugged at Canimus' senses, begging him to follow her.

They ran through the shoulder-length grass, Lanela's slim frame granting her surprising bursts of speed, keeping her ahead of him every single time. She only stopped to catch her breath and spray her scent upon the grass. After a climax, it grew in potency, her want even more obvious, even if she pretended otherwise.

Every time Canimus approached her, the cougar held him back by pawing at him, sliding from under him when he prepared to mount her, or dash into the distance after brushing flanks with him, leaving Canimus half-hard from her fragrance.

Lanela seemed to relish her game. Not only did she increased the frequency of her spraying, but she also snaked her tongue between Canimus' legs to plant a few licks upon his member, jumping out of reach every time he whirled around in failed attempts to tackle her.

"Mrowr, rowr, rowr," she teased him with her yowls, circling him like a veritable predator, evading his paw swings gracefully. Now fully hard, with precum trickling from his tip, Canimus found her frolic increasingly tedious. Combined with her vocal taunts and infuriatingly arousing scent, the smilodon's poise hardened, his eyes becoming sharp and focused.

He waited for Lanela to place a scent mark before pouncing on her from behind. Accustomed to a bulky, sluggish feline, the cougar loosened a desperate shriek as she found her back and hindquarters pinned beneath Canimus' chest and haunches.

"Hrrrrr," a rumbling storm gathered within Lanela's throat while she twisted her head around to snap at Canimus. He kept out of her reach, but the smaller cougar still managed to bring one of her forepaws around and draw three rakes across Canimus' neck.

Pain flared his senses. Pain awoke his dormant, breeding instinct. And, matched against his strong desire to breed, pain didn't register.

He squeezed her harder with his chest, then locked his oversized fangs around her neck, applying moderate pressure to get his point across. Ever the fighter, his mate spat and hissed her fury at him, squirming in his embrace to no avail. Left with no choice, Canimus grabbed her scruff, biting hard upon the mouthful of cougar hide he took in his maw.

That got her yowling rather than hissing, a tint of longing coloring her beautiful chant. Regardless of her wriggling form, Canimus aligned his hindquarters with her, pushing her tail to the side with his member to clear her entrance, then shoving all the way into her tight canal.

Her earsplitting yowl made Canimus flinch; so intense it was, that every bone rattled within his body. He speared through her, his tapered tip stretching her muscles, the barbs raking at her silken walls. Lanela's passionate cry picked up at that, while Canimus' vision dimmed from the exhilaration washing through him. Lodged within his slick, sweltering mate, his member swelled, the spines decorating his tip blossoming within her.

Lanela's shriek died, the pressure exerted upon her insides taking her breath away. Pain mixed with sweet pleasure within her, confusing her, keeping her trapped between a tension-filled pose and a relaxed one. She still tried to turn her head around, her ears flicking with obvious impatience. Canimus allowed her no moment of respite. He pulled out of her with a wet plop, then drove all the way in, his balls slapping against her fur with an audible thump.

Lanela's claws sank into the ground, fight leaving her body. She now let out a constant, smoldering growl while Canimus pumped in and out of her, each thrust triggering spurts of premature femcum.

Already?

His heart swelled as he felt the shivers disperse through her thighs. Her head leaned to the side while her forepaws raked at the ground, the cougar's eyelids twitching as her great pleasure consumed her. The added wetness eased Canimus' thrusts, the thrill of the mating urging him to pick up his pace.

Lanela immediately responded with a shriek that gained amplitude the harder Canimus bred her. His feral girth stretched his mate to her limits, his tapered tip knocking against her cervix, raising Lanela's pitch a tad every time he did.

The ecstasy of mating his beloved partner consumed Canimus. Try as he might to take it slow and savor every moment of it, he couldn't, not when his balls quivered with unspent seed and Lanela's insides began to knead around his length with persistent strokes.

Feeling the fire well within his underbelly, Canimus buried his claws into the ground, his growl deepening to a feral, rumbling sound. Pure bliss threatened to wash over him, stoked by his erratic thrusts.

He kept at it, pounding her with feral efficiency, his lips pulling into a ferocious snarl as he felt his resilience fading. His cock became hard as stone, his barbs turned rigid, and Lanela began to squirm under him, her own orgasm threatening to overwhelm her.

Canimus pulled out and, in one mighty shove, sank all the way inside her, shuddering balls slamming against her rump. He remained lodged within her, practically trembling from the pressure building at the base of his cock.

Almost...almost there...

Lanela gave in first. Her walls collapsed upon Canimus, squeezing like there was no tomorrow, stars popping before his eyes. His fiery torrent erupted from the tip of his member, the mighty gushes of rich seed filling her womb with his warm essence. To keep her from moving, Canimus bit down on her scruff, hard enough for a droplet of blood to visit his tongue, its metallic tang flaring his senses.

His mate unleashed her piercing yowl, Canimus' love bite carrying her to her highest peak. She didn't just cum; Lanela practically leaked a torrent of juices, her splashes knocking against Canimus' shaft and pushing him back from their sheer might. If not for his barbs, she would have succeeded, but Canimus didn't allow her. He remained there, tucked within the embrace of his mate, until the last of his seed was spent.

He pulled out as fast as he entered her, rivulets of juices flowing in his wake. As he rolled onto his side to rest, Canimus glimpsed her stretched pussy, her ruddy labia swollen, her drenched tunnel exposed to him for a few fleeting moments before her lips folded upon themselves.

Lanela's purr of contentment filled the night, soft and smooth, just like her tawny hide. The way she rocked from side to side, kicking her paws at the air, instilled a great feeling of pride within Canimus. He bred her; he impregnated her. And now, by rolling around, Lanela confirmed that he had fulfilled his ultimate duty to her.

Canimus closed his eyes, relishing the tingles welling within his stomach. His heated blood demanded more copulations, and the swishing sound of her body rubbing against the grass was enough to get Canimus worked up again.

He opened his eyes....

And gasped to awareness when harsh light greeted him, searing his eyes, blinding him.

"Ghah," he groaned, rolling onto his stomach.

He took a moment to regain his breath, his head reeling, his heart pounding while he stared at the short grass rising between his fingers.

Fingers?

Dazed, numb, and more than a little dizzy, Canimus simply stared at his hands. They seemed so broad, so unnatural, and his thumbs so alien.

Realization settled in a moment after. Canimus' stomach sank, an overwhelming feeling of loneliness growing within him, pressing against his stomach, taking his breath away.

But I mated her, _Canimus thought. _I mated with my mate. I impregnated her. I...I...

As much as he tried to bring back those too vivid moments, they slithered through his ephemeral grasp like a slippery eel, close yet infuriatingly far away. The gust of wind washed away some of the numbness, his anthro body feeling so cold and vulnerable compared to his feral one.

And wet. So wet.

Canimus shifted onto his back, hissing from the soggy feeling of his shorts.

_Great. I pissed myself, _was the first thought that crossed his mind before he took a whiff of stale, musky seed.

He blinked his wide eyes to clear some of the blur, then grabbed the seams of his shorts with two claws, pulling them up to reveal his seed drenched sheath and balls. The ivory slime covered most of his groin. It trickled down his legs, making the fur of his thighs stick together, painfully visible to the naked eye.

Canimus ran a paw through his crest, pinching his cheeks, rubbing his eyes to wash away his drowsiness. Then, he looked around, squinting against the glare coming from the villa.

Jay B. and Fred collapsed upon the ground as well, their limbs splayed in all four directions, their pants conspicuously clean. Nathan sported a raging hard-on, painfully visible. Unlike the other guys, he sprawled upon his lounging chair, butt naked, his clothes piled somewhere to the side. Even he, with his knot halfway out, didn't spill his seed like Canimus did.

His stomach churned at that, his temples throbbing with the urgency to leave the scene of utmost embarrassment. If one of the guys noticed Canimus...

The smilodon gathered his feet under him, pushed himself up, and wobbled to the back door of the villa, chancing a glance back at his friends to make sure they didn't notice him.

Not a chance. They were completely out of it, and Jay B. even drooled a little, the peyote too much for him to bear.

Canimus smirked on the way to the door, strangely satisfied with the outcome of this evening.

Until the door refused to open. No matter how Canimus twisted the door knob, it didn't budge.

Fucking hell. Why had Nathan locked it?

Canimus didn't have time to ponder on that. Faint streaks of light appeared on the horizon, the bruised sky illuminating with the dim rays of early morning. At first, Canimus took upon the alley leading up to the gate, confident that he could walk home. Every few steps, however, a searing jolt shot through his head, making his vision whirl and his legs to twist awkwardly.

Half drunk and still dizzy from the peyote, there was no way he was going to make it, so he brought out his cell phone--clean, much to his relief--dialed the first cab company and stuttered.

He dialed a second, third, and fourth company, too embarrassed to repeat himself over and over again, until his tongue unraveled enough to pronounce Nathan's address right.

"Will have a car for you at the specified address in three minutes," the female voice said.

And so began Canimus' arduous slough to the front gate. Once he switched from grass to the cobbles of the pathway that led to it, Canimus squinted against the wet, squelching sounds his pads made upon the contact with the stone. He lifted a foot, and swallowed emptiness when he noticed seed embedded within the crevices running between his toes.

How in the seven hells? Didn't he sleep on the floor?

Not at the very beginning, he realized. And you didn _'__ t cum only once. _

It started to make sense. His dick ached something fierce from the few odd orgasms his anthro body experienced while his mind savored the idyllic ones of his feral body. Unlike his feral self, Canimus felt utterly drained, ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice.

He didn't even notice the gryphon waiting in front of the gate before it was too late.

"Seems like you had one heck of a party here. Let me get this for you."

He walked over to the door, pulling it open for Canimus and offering him half a smile, mixed with kindness and genuine surprise.

Canimus froze in his tracks, his heart turning to the size of a pebble. With his musk deeply embedded within his nostrils, the driver would surely notice his--his...

He straightened his shoulder, nodded his thanks, and tried to keep it cool as he walked through the gate, one small step at a time to keep his soggy pants from squelching or give away his great shame.

"Thanks a bunch. Yeah, the guys invited me over for--" he paused to lick his lips while searching for an explanation through his tornado of thoughts. "For fun times," Canimus added, trying his hardest not to shrug and betray his lie.

"Glad to hear. You're my first client for the day, so I may get a bit chatty. It's how I properly wake up at this hour. Hope you don't mind."

"No problem, so long as you don't mind my..."

Fuck. He reeked, but maybe, just maybe, his driver didn't notice.

"Possible stutter and short replies," Canimus said.

He picked up his pace, walking past the gryphon, a reddish-brown bird with keen yet warm eyes and quite the good manners. He simply got the back door open for Canimus, waiting for him to slink inside before shutting it and assuming his position at the wheel.

"So, where do we go?"

"Home," Canimus mumbled, the soft seat lulling him to sleep right then and there.

"And where is home, precisely?"

"Uh, it's...it's on the..." curses. With the way his head throbbed, it was no wonder Canimus' focus went to shit. He favored the gryphon a meek smile, fished his phone out of the pocket, and opened the message he had sent to Jay B. a week or so back, showing it to his driver.

"Sneaky. You're sharper than you seem."

In his current state, Canimus assumed he referred to the smell, and couldn't help but spill out the first thing that crossed his mind. "It was a strange night. My mate--she's a frisky cougar, you see."

As soon as he sealed his mouth shut, Canimus trudged towards the right side of the bench, opposite to the gryphon, his legs pressed tight against one another to blot out the tendrils of musk slipping through his soiled shorts.

It didn't help. The earthy scent filled the cab, and the gryphon kept the car under 30 MPH, even though the street was empty.

"Um, could you like...go faster?" Canimus asked, keeping his eyes glued to the window, pretending to watch the buildings speeding by, just to avoid his gaze.

His stomach lurched when a flash of red caught his attention. Canimus turned his head to take a better glimpse at the slim blonde, crouching to give her Rottweiler a thorough petting, keeping her face away from his affectionate tongue lashes.

It was....it was them, from the dream, the same pair, the same dog he...

Canimus looked away, taking a deep, reassuring breath. It was just a dream. An incredibly vivid one. Nothing more.

"Drive faster, mate," Canimus urged, eager to get home and put his thoughts in order.

"Only if you insist. After a night of drinks, games, and the added bonus that comes with them, I assumed you wanted to take it slow."

"I'm not drunk," Canimus objected. "Just...a little shaken."

That didn't even begin to describe the shame seizing him in its tight talons. The gryphon's car smelled worse than a brothel, yet he kept his cool while driving, without even looking at the rear view and making Canimus even more self-conscious about his precarious situation.

"And more than a little lucky, by the looks of it. Your cougar sure knows how to work up her man."

"What can I say? She's the mate of my dreams," Canimus said, his thoughts drifting to Lanela.

Within his mind's eye, she still rolled around on the grass, her pussy filled to the brim with his seed. It brought a smile to Canimus' face, along with a shudder that reminded him who he was, and where he was.

An anthro, in a cab that was driving him to his house, hundreds of miles away from her. It soured his mood just to think of it and, for the rest of the ride, the two remained silent while Canimus simmered with pent-up embarrassment.

Once he paid the gryphon and entered his house, he released his drawn-out sigh, tossing his shorts into the laundry basket, wiping his paws on a wet towel in the corner, and walking straight to the book case in the living room, where he had stored the piece of bark within the confines of a glass.

It still bore her fragrance. Faded, dim, a memory of the real thing.

Yet still enough to put Canimus into a contemplative state while he fondled his cherished token.

"I'll return to you," he promised. "I'll be the mate you deserve, Lanela."

By Cheetahs