Coping (pt 2)

Story by n igma on SoFurry

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#2 of Second Chance At Life

Two months later, a pregnant Mark tries to deal with the reality of her situation as best she can and does what she thinks is necessary to pull Jack of out his depression.

Note: Unlike TTS, this series contains detailed sex scenes between the two main characters.


Mark was in a different cell from the ones like she'd first been thrown into and forced to mate with Jack in. This was one the two of them now shared a couple months later by her reckoning, a sick reward for the child that grew inside her. It was only somewhat less sparsely furnished than their original cells, having a larger bed along with a table and two stool-like chairs, though the room itself was only slightly larger and lacked a second doorway. They were expected to share the bed but Jack slept on the floor instead since neither would touch the other after the three days they'd been unwilling slaves to her overpowering heat.

She studied her left forearm as she sat on one of the stools. It lay oustretched upon the simple metal table while she held a crude plastic shiv in her right paw, ready to bring it down. She was supposed to be a dead old man, not a pregnant female cat, captive of a sadistic lunatic that kidnapped people and used them for personal profit. It would be so simple now, to end it all, yet try as she might she could not do it. If anyone ever stood to benefit from suicide, it was her, yet the selfishness of the act was something she could not overcome. It seemed as if nothing would drive her to take the coward's way out; having failed to bring herself to do it during the war and then later when her wife had died. Cathy... The thought of Cathy never forgiving her if she punished what grew inside her belly for what had happened stayed her paw and brought tears to her eyes. They had tried for over a decade to have children, resulting in heartache that had nearly ended their marriage, but they'd persevered as she knew she must now.

Her thoughts wondered to Jack and their shared predicament. She didn't hold what had happened against him, though he viewed himself as her rapist since he'd not chosen to end their lives, because she felt that she'd forced herself on him just as much as he on her. For weeks after they'd been moved to this cell upon confirmation of her pregnancy he wouldn't look at and barely spoke to her. His shameful looks and apologies had nearly driven her mad until she'd smacked him hard across the muzzle and the old soldier in her ordered him to pull himself together and grow a spine. If anything, they'd both been raped by the black-haired man's disgusting plans but she could not get him to understand that. The wolf still promised almost daily that he would find a way for them to escape this place and save all three of them from this nightmare and that his life belonged to her.

Knowing that he would be killed if she ended her own life along with their unborn child forced her to drop the improvised blade. Maybe it was the hormones, what they'd done, or some other change she wasn't aware of but despite her revolution at what she'd become she found herself caring for the miserable wolf and would not throw his life away as easily as she believed she could her own. She held her head in her right paw and tried to think, in war everything had been clear, and while this was a fight for their lives as much as battles long past there seemed to be no clear path. Her left paw moved down to her belly and she barked out a cold laugh, she would have to find a way or be firm in her decision to end it all. The only thing that was certain was that she refused to give birth in this place, she steeled herself to the hard reality that unless Jack found a way out she would have find the courage to end their lives rather than let the only innocent in all of this suffer.

It was then that the door to their cell opened and a bloodied and beaten Jack stumbled in, clearly fresh from the doctor after a violent bout in the ring. Mark looked up at him, recoiling from the sight, he looked more battered than usual and from the smell she could tell most of the blood that gave his black fur an even darker appearance was his own. The door slammed closed behind him and she got up and rushed over to catch him as his teetering stance threatened to bring him to the ground.

"Jack," she said with a voice filled with worry, "are you okay?" He wasn't light and while the cat's new body was stronger than it had been before, she struggled to keep him standing. She lead him to the bed and sat him down on it while she almost unconsciously began checking his bandages and wounds, all of her earlier thoughts pushed aside.

"I... I won," he replied miserably. He often refused to kill his opponents unless given no other option, a small rebellion against the evil man that pulled their strings, though it usually resulted in him becoming heavily injured. He stared blankly at the blood on his paws and tried to force the terrified look in the eyes of the doberman he'd just murdered from his mind.

She could tell immediately that he'd been forced to kill again, their captor delighted in fatal bloodsport. Sure his physical wounds would heal within a day or two, but his psyche was not as durable as his body. "At least you're still alive," she said softly, knowing from experience that her words were as hollow as they sounded.

Anguish and self-loathing played across Jack's muzzle and eyes and he held his head in his paws, muttering, "I feel dead inside."

There was no solace she could offer him, just the sickening understanding of what it was like to kill those who did not want to die else be killed by them. The faces of those who had died at her hand during the war still haunted her own dreams and nothing would ever truly clean away the filth such deeds left on one's soul. She focused on the physical instead and when she was satisfied that she had not found any broken bones, only a large number of sutured cuts, ripped out fur, and scrapes, Mark stood up, went to the sink with some rags and soaked them in warm water before returning to the bed. She couldn't wash away the metaphorical blood that stained his paws, but at least she could wash away the real blood. They didn't talk while she worked though occaisionally the wolf winced when a rag passed over one of his wounds.

Soon the floor beside the bed was littered with the now dirty rags and Jack was more or less cleaned up. "Thanks," he said half-heartedly and stood up again. He needed to try and get some rest, assuming he could even fall asleep and started to make his way to the corner he usually slept in. It was going to be a rough night.

"Jack, wait," Mark said, "you can have the bed tonight." She hated seeing him like this, each time he fought he came back more broken and this time looked as if it had been especially hard on him.

He stopped and turned to face her before responding while shaking his head, "No, you need it because..." he trailed off and his expression saddened.

Anger flashed across her muzzle and she said harshly, "I'm not made of glass, damnit! How are you supposed to get us out of here when you deny yourself a proper rest?"

Jack's ears drooped and he looked at the floor, quietly replying, "It's no more than I deserve."

She stood up and walked over to him, her ears flattened as she looked up into his eyes while her own narrowed, "Get over it, Jack. You have more than just your own misery to think about." She didn't know why but she grabbed his right paw and placed it against her stomach while her expression softened. "Stop blaming yourself. Neither of us wanted what happened, or this, but we both need to be strong for them." She needed him to accept that things were they way they were, even though she had trouble with it herself. There was little she could do, locked in this cell most of the time, everything depended on him.

The feel of her belly under the thin shirt she wore and her words made him sigh heavily before drawing his paw away. He knew she was right, but that did little to reduce the despair he felt. He put up no protest as she lead him back to the bed and pushed him down onto it, too tired and broken to resist. "What are you doing?" he asked when she started pulled his pants off.

"They're covered in blood, I'll wash them in the morning," she replied before pulling off her own clothes and sitting back down on the bed beside him.

He turned his head to avoid looking at her nudity and just sat there in silence, trying to avoid thinking about the fight and the cat next to him.

Mark breathed in and let out a sigh while looking at the depressed wolf. Her gaze ran along his frame and part of her mind recoiled from the small thrill that passed through her body. She steeled herself and made up her mind, they both needed this and she hoped he would be willing, she couldn't think of any other way to get him over his guilt. "Jack, look at me," she said softly, turning her body so that he would get a full view of her.

Seeing her offering herself to him was the last thing Jack expected when he looked at her. He couldn't help but take her in, his eyes wandering from the uncertain look in her own and down her lithe body. He felt his face flush when he noticed he was starting to get an erection and moved his paws over his groin in embarassment. When he tried to turn away she reached up and gently held his head in place, forcing him to look into her eyes. The deep grey wells that stared at him full of concern were hauntingly beautiful and he started to lose himself in them as they grew larger, only barely noticing that she was pulling his head down to hers. Surprise made him pull away from her grip when he felt her lips brush against his and he moved his paws to hold her shoulders. "Mark," he breathed, "why are you doing this?"

"You need to get over what happened or we'll never get out of here alive," she answered.

"I can't, I raped you!" he exclaimed as his eyes watered.

"Did I have your consent?" she asked.

Jack shook his head, "No, but that's different, you were in heat. I should've resisted."

She fixed him with a hard stare. "I seem to remember coming to you while you tried to avoid me."

"You were under the control of hormones and instinct."

"And you weren't?" She said hotly.

His ears drooped again, "Well, no, I was, but-"

Mark shook her head and interrupted him, "But nothing, we've both been greatly wronged and you must get past it." Part of her mind continued to revolt against her actions and words but she ignored it, there was no going back to who she used to be. It was a hard pill to swallow with eight and a half decades of manhood and experience behind her, screaming at the atrocity of her change. While she didn't care about her own survival, another life depended upon it and that meant accepting what she'd become. Accepting the facts of a situation was something that came to any experienced soldier and it was a lesson that Jack needed to learn.

"The only thing I'm sure of is that I will not bring a child into this hell," she continued. If this was going to work she couldn't lie to him and she pressed further, hating that she had to be so cold, "If you can't forgive yourself, then you might as well end our lives." She moved her left paw to pull his right one over the bite scar on her shoulder, she knew what it meant and hoped that the reminder would get through to him.

As Jack's fingers moved over each bump on her shoulder that represented where he'd marked her as his mate and mother of his pups. He knew she was being hard on him, and that he deserved it. She was right, they'd been forced together but together was what they were now. Escape would be impossible if he didn't accept what he was fighting for. He moved his other paw to Mark's cheek, cupping it before leaning down and kissing her. It wasn't the romantic kiss of two people in love but it would have to do, and she timidly returned it.

At least their bodies recognized what their minds had trouble accepting. While they kissed Jack pulled Mark into a straddling position on his lap before his paws began to explore her body with a gentleness that had not been present the last time they'd coupled. She wrapped her arms around him when she felt his paws grip her ass, arousal beginning to build within her.

They broke their kiss and the wolf looked down at the cat, her lower lip trembling with uncertainty as he moved his right paw back up to brush against her cheek. "Do you want this?" he asked.

Her response was to pull her left arm from around him and reach between them and gently rub the hardness still hidden by his sheath while answering, "I don't know, but you need it. We need it."

Jack's breathing became heavy as her paw worked him over, and he moved his own from her cheek to cup one of her uppermost breasts, rubbing it gently. Her answer was far from ideal but it was good enough for him to force himself to set aside his shame from their previous matings and he licked her nose before kissing her again, more passionately.

The feel of his penis pushing out of it's sheath would've been disgusting to her at one point but instead it served to arouse her further. His broad tongue prodded at her lips and she opened her mouth to greet it with her own sandpapery one. Jack's paw slowly moved between her breasts, making her twitch with each small pleasurable thrill that travelled along her body straight to her moistening groin. She pulled back from the kiss, surprised to find herself purring softly.

The smell of her arousal made his nostrils flare as he removed her paw from his hardness. He placed it on his shoulder while leaning back onto the bed and rolling over so that she lay under him. Mark shuddered under him as he kissed her neck and moved a paw to cup and rub her wet vulva, causing her eyes to close as she moaned and lifted her hips to press against it. Her arms moved to lay against the bed and she gripped the thin mattress while Jack's other paw resumed massaging her breasts, paying attention to each one until all six of her nipples stood out through her fur.

This was completely different from the times they'd mated during her heat when Jack took her with little foreplay. She cried out "Oh god!" when one of his fingers traced along her labia before dipping into her, brushing against her hidden clit and sending electricity coursing through her. She writhed against the bed and moaned loudly when the first finger joined the second. Her hips unconsciously started humping against his paw while his fingers began pumping in and out of her.

Determined to prove to her that he could be more than a rough and feral lover, the wolf continued his ministrations for a few minutes while ignoring his own arousal and desire to take the cat. He kissed and licked Mark's neck with her pleasured cries filling his ears. The smells coming from her crotch became too enticing and he pulled his paw away from her mons despite her protests. He lifted himself above and looked over her body, deciding in that moment she was absolutely beautiful despite her fur's desperate need of a proper grooming. He licked her nose before tracing kisses in a line between her breasts and past her navel, stopping above where he thought her womb was located and pressed his nose in gently, kissing the spot while he looked up at her.

She looked back at him and was almost taken aback by the faint traces of love in his eyes as he nuzzled her lower abdomen, reminding some part of her that he was the father of her child. After a few moments she watched him continue down to her groin and her body bucked when she felt his hot breath wash over the narrow slit that split the circle of her feline sex. It was almost too much for her to take as his cold, wet nose brushed along the opening and she let forth a bestial yowl with her claws sinking into the mattress as his tongue entered her.

It'd been some time since Jack had eaten out a female but he approached the task with gusto, having always enjoyed the taste. Using his arms and paws to gently but firmly hold her hips in place, his broad and long tongue snaked into her depths. Making sure to rub his tongue against the small nub of her clit, it caused the silken canal of her vagina to pulsate and reward him with more of her juices each time she spasmed in pleasure. Her moans and impassioned cries drove him on with their crescendo towards her building climax.

Mark's paws gripped the mattress so tightly she barely registered the prick of her claws against her palms as the oral assault upon her loins brought her to heights of pleasure she'd never experienced before. The protests in the back of her mind lay drown out and completely ignored by the amazing feel of the tongue that pushed her closer and closer to the edge with each lick that felt like they went for miles inside her. Her hips bucked against the wolf's mouth once, then twice before pressing to hard that the grip of his paws barely kept her in place as electric shocks made her body convulse while she came hard. She lacked the words to describe the feelings coursing through her, pleasure firing every nerve between her spasming groin and her brain.

The hard thrusts of her hips and the deep clenching of her passage warned Jack just in time to pull his tongue from her and press his open mouth firmly against her opening. Given how powerfully she came he was sure his tongue would've been crushed by her inner muscles and was glad for the warning while he drank deeply of her juices, holding onto her as best he could while she twitched and rocked in the throws of orgasm. When her body started to calm he pulled his mouth away and looked up at the cat's face, seeing that her eyes were while her mouth hang open with an expression of bliss. For the first time in months he felt happy, knowing that he'd brought such pleasure her. At some point they'd both forgotten where they were and instead focused completely on one another.

There was another need to fill, his erection was painfully hard and he released her hips from his grasp while crawling up along her body. He stopped with his nose barely more than a few centimetres above her own, smiling at her post-climactic panting. Her eyes opened and locked with his while she whispered out, "Wow..." between pants and smiled back. Jack's smile turned into a smirk as he lowered his hips and stifled a moan while he rubbed his erection against her still-sensitive vulva, slickening the underside with the juices he hadn't lapped up.

Mark's eyes widened and she pressed her own hips up against his penis while she gasped out "Please," in a pleading tone, desire filling her expressive face. Surprise crossed her mind as she realized that she didn't just need him inside her, but truly wanted it too.

He'd heard her beg for this before, but this time it was different. Their minds were more or less clear and he repeated his earlier question while slowly thrusting his sex against her's, "Do you want this?" It was her last chance to back out. He needed to be absolutely sure of her consent before going any further.

Her paws reached up and pulled his head the rest of the way down to her's as she answered, "Take me." She kissed him, noticing but not caring about the taste of herself on his lips. Despite knowing that this should feel wrong, for the first time it felt right and she did nothing to fight that fact.

Jack's back arched up as he kissed Mark back and moved his hips, positioning the tapered tip of his penis at her entrance. A sudden hesitation passed over him when the thought of the fact he'd only taken her from behind before this reminded him of the shame he felt from those earlier acts, threatening to end this before it began. It was almost like Mark could sense it and he felt one of her paws leave his head and move down to wrap around his manhood, pulling it towards her and causing his hips to involuntarily press down, casting aside his doubts. The two moaned into their kiss as he slowly sank into her, her paw releasing it's gentle grip and moving to his shoulder.

Once he'd hilted inside her he stopped moving and lifted his upper body off her's while keeping their hips pressed together and looked down. Mark's mouth opened and closed slightly with each ragged breath she took, causing him to shudder as he felt her slick velvet depths ripple around him every time she inhaled. In their rush to rut every time before he hadn't noticed that her vagina's embrace felt wonderful and he couldn't help but remain still for a few moments to enjoy it.

Tingles ran up her spine from the feel of the wolf's heartbeat through the hot flesh that filled her. She realized that she loved being on this side of the equation, and idly thought that she wouldn't mind if they just stayed like this. A thought that disappeared once he started to move again, drawing out of her almost painfully slow in a way that left her feeling profoundly empty until he pressed back in, forcing a lustful moan from her.

She reached up and pulled him back down on top of her so she could wrap her arms around him while he continued his slow pace. "Faster," she begged in a hoarse whisper in his ear as his head came to rest beside her's.

A soft growl answered her request as he began speeding up his thrusts into the tight confines of her depths. Instinct demanded Jack dominate his mate, but he remained as gentle as he could, wanting to make this enjoyable for the two of them. He snuffled along one of her large feline ears and licked at it while she rewarded his efforts to be a thoughtful lover with moans of pleasure. This was the way he wanted it to be, and their lovemaking was a balm for his tattered soul.

Another climax began to build itself inside Mark with each glorious meeting of their hips and she felt his uninflated knot slip in and out, driving her to move her body counter to his. She hadn't thought it would feel this good and she wanted more of him, spreading her legs just a little wider. The feel of his hot breath on her sensitive ear sent more thrills through her as she clutched at the wolf.

Jack held her just as tightly and shuddered for a moment, feeling his penis twitch as a shot of pre-cum rushed through it and into her. He slowed down for a moment to push himself as deep within her as he could with another pulse of pre, not sure how much longer he could last and needing the short break in their rhythm to regain some composure. She convulsed, crying out in ectasy when he did it and he felt the prick of her claws against his back until they relaxed as he sped back up.

The warmth that splashed against the tight pucker of her cervix at the same moment the tapered tip of his penis prodded it had nearly set the cat off. That act alone pushed her closer to the edge and some part of hew knew it would not be long before his knot would tie them together carnally in his own release. She wanted it, despite knowing how sore she'd felt for several days after the last time. Another deep throb of hotness within her sent a shockwave from her crotch to her head, leaving her ears tingling and she began driving herself harded against him.

His breath became ragged as he felt his knot starting to grow with each thrust, and he managed to barely gasp out the question, "Tie?" He desperately tried to hold back his building need to fill her with more than his flesh.

Mark's response was not quite what Jack expected as she cried out "Yes!" and once again started to spasm wildly as she came first. Her inner walls gripped him even more tightly, trying to milk him for all he was worth while the sound of their hips meeting became lewd, wet smacks with the flood of her juices. His embrace grew tighter around her shudder frame as he drove on, his knot popping past her entrance several more times before it grew to the point her lips tugged at it. She yowled as the tie set with the tip of his canine tool spreading her innermost barrier. It prolonged her release along with preventing more of her nectar from escaping around him.

A few short bucks of his hips were all Jack managed before his seed erupted into the spasming embrace of her vagina, each burning pulse filling her already inseminated womb. She was almost impossibly tight around the large bulb and he relished the feel of it.

After a few moments he started coming down and rolled onto his side, pulling the writhing cat against his chest while their hips remained locked together. Once she started to calm, except for a blissful shudder each time another pulse of cum shot into her, he tilted his head to gently lick the top of her's between the ears before saying, "Thank you."

"That..." she panted into his chest, "was wonderful." She nuzzled the black and still somewhat damp fur, inhaling his earthy musk and hint of wet dog. She was sore from the tie that now held them together but all the other feelings that accompanied it made the pain seem insignificant. She found the thought of being locked to him incredibly hot and gasped as a small jet of additional cum shot through it to join the rest.

Exhaustion from the fight, that their actions had pushed away from the forefront of his mind, and their coupling made his eyelids heavy. He yawned and moved his right arm to reposition the two thin pillows their bed under their respective heads, certain that she was probably tired too. The last thing he heard as he drifted off was the light sound of Mark purring.