As Ria opened her eyes to take in the cabin interior on a temperate, early summer day, she noticed a few things; birds were chirping, singing lovely songs to one another just outside the window; it had rained the night before, judging by the scent of wet sod and wood; there was a bear bumbling around in the distance, crashing through the forest loudly enough that she could hear it a mile away; and, finally, Ria noticed that she was extremely, without a doubt, insatiably horny.
That could only mean one thing.
She shifted, stretching out her limbs in a way that was practically orgasmic. Being in heat always felt so good, like those moments right before an unconquerable itch was finally scratched, but that was just it: it was the moments before. It was the feeling of almost fixed, nearly finished, not quite there but trying. It was beautiful, and empowering, but also frustrating beyond belief.
When she moved, Victor had reached out for her, sensing her absence. She had slept pressed up against his side, like she did every night, and ever since her horrifying night terror the week before, her big mate had clung to her whenever she was asleep. There were times when she woke up because she couldn't breathe. Thankfully, her nightmares hadn't returned since they got back home, and she considered that to be one tiny victory. She was going to need her sleep in the coming days, and recurring nightmares about labs and doctors slicing her up wouldn't help her get any rest at all.
Victor's giant paw of a hand collided with Ria's side, claws stinging as they cut into her naked flesh. The sensation made his eyes flutter, but with a soft growl, he was asleep again. He had to be really tired to not be waking up because of her scent by that point, because Ria could smell herself and she reeked. Come to think of it, maybe that's why that bear was so much closer than he usually was. Maybe he was curious. If he was smart, he wouldn't get much closer, though; Ria guessed that as soon as Victor woke up and figured out what was happening, he was going to be much more possessive than usual, and he wouldn't hesitate to kill a bear if it got too close. Ria would make sure he didn't, of course. Innocent bears didn't need to get tangled up in feral business.
She looked down at his sleeping face and smiled. He even looked grouchy while unconscious. Carefully, she ran the back of her hand over his cheek, lightly brushing her fingers over his skin. He twitched in response, reaching for her again, and this time she complied, sliding up next to him and pressing herself flush against his chest. He growled again, a bit louder, and as Ria's skin came into contact with his, she felt like she might catch fire. Every little bit of friction, every rub against him, every gentle brush of her naked body against his was waking her up more and more and setting all of her nerves off.
"Victor," she crooned in his ear, a hand traveling down his arm.
"Hm?" he grunted sleepily.
"Wake up, darling."
His eyes cracked open and she saw his nose twitch. Her lips curled into a grin as she watched him wake up, nostrils flaring as he tried to recognize the pungent heat-scent that was enveloping him. When he finally figured it out, his eyes shot open and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her firmly up against him while his claws pressed into her back.
"Ria," he breathed against her neck.
"Yes?"
"You're mine." with a loud snarl he pulled her on top of him, hands on her ass while he pushed his morning wood against her stomach. Her body responded eagerly, already slick and sweet and sticky and ready for him as he made her ride him, hands moving up to squeeze her breasts while her own fingers gripped his chest. Her claws drew blood, but neither of them paid any attention; over the next few days, they were probably going to be doing far greater damage to each other. Ria had even heard stories that back in the day, males would occasionally kill their females during sex.
Her face was flushed and she was sweaty by the time Victor came and filled her with warmth, but she had barely rolled off of him to service herself-figuring that he would be done for a while and she would be left alone to keep herself occupied until he was ready again-before he grabbed her by the hair and shoved her face down against the bed, mounting her from behind and fucking her until she felt her own juices running down her thighs and she was panting and begging for him to stop.
He did, but only briefly.
They spent all morning fucking, breaking only for food and the bathroom. With each round, Ria only felt her frustration rising, and by midday, she had had just about enough of having her face shoved down against the bed.
As Victor went to push her down again, one hand on the back of her neck and the other at her hip, Ria twisted with a hiss and dug her claws into his chest. He paused in surprise as she faced him, wondering what exactly had changed so suddenly, but he didn't have much of a chance to do anything before she had a hand at his throat and was shoving him down onto his back.
Victor snarled as she climbed on top of him. He didn't mind her riding him-he enjoyed it, in fact, because he got to watch her-but he definitely didn't like her thinking she was in charge. He wasn't going to go belly up for her like this, heat or not.
He knew that she liked to test him, to see how far he would let her go, but she always backed off once he asserted himself. He didn't expect her to snarl back, fangs mere inches from his face as she lowered herself into him and he felt himself push up deep inside of her. He went to flip them over so that he could be on top, but her hand flashed to grip his throat, claws digging into his skin. This was a side of her that he definitely wasn't used to seeing, and he figured her heat was bringing it out. So he growled but complied, making sure to hold her hips tightly enough that he left bruises.
The sex was pure ecstasy for both. They exchanged very little words, both too distracted and lost in each other to be bothered with much foreplay or pillow talk. It was a euphoric feast, wherein both ferals were allowed to indulge their primal sides and they became more animal than ever before. Ria shrieked and Victor roared, both clawing each other up as if they were at war.
In a way, they were; their normal power struggle was amped up, egged on by the pheromones that hung in the air. Ria constantly tried to put herself in charge, vicious snaps and snarls her only real weapon against the much stronger Victor. He would use his weight to pin her against the wall or bed or floor, and if she couldn't get away quickly enough, she was stuck underneath him like that until he let her go.
When her feral mind took over, Ria was the furthest from herself that she had ever been. She focused on one thought at a time, mental tunnel vision forcing her to remain occupied with the task at hand, no matter what that might be. It allowed her to be precise and deliberate in every movement, yet she didn't care. She wanted to be free, to be wild, to shriek and snarl and completely let herself loose. That's what it meant to be feral.
She alternated between hating Victor, despising the way he threw her around as if she were a plaything, and loving him for the way he made her feel, the way he looked and smelled, and the way he dominated her. Between rounds, she would swipe at him, claws slashing his flesh and drawing blood, but as soon as he had her underneath him, she could think of nowhere else she would rather be.
They spent the rest of the day like that, fucking without speaking, only really talking to each other when they ate. Ria was impossible to satisfy, but Victor was able to keep up, thankfully, encouraged by the scent of her fertility and arousal. He couldn't last forever, though; he was, though he nearly wasn't, mortal, and he had to rest at some point.
When they finally stopped for the night, he forced her to hold still and lay down next to him, both covered in each other's sweat and panting hard. Ria pressed a lazy kiss to Victor's lips, softer than anything else she had done that day, and he responded just as gently. They went to bed happy that night, tangled up in each other, desperate for as much skin on skin contact as possible.
Then they woke up and did it all over again.
The heat lasted five days. It wasn't Ria's longest, nor was it the shortest, but it was the best, and when it was over, she was very, very happy to wake up feeling like herself. She had clawed and bitten at Victor the entire week, relentlessly mauling him as he did the same to her. The difference was that she could use her full strength and not seriously maim him, while he was forced to hold back to avoid killing her.
It was on the final night that Ria did what she had said she would back in the motel. When she had once again had enough of Victor suffocating her against various surfaces, she gathered all of her might and threw him into the wall. He protested with a series of extremely angry snarls, but in a flash, she was at his throat, lips ghosting over his sensitive skin. She ran her tongue along the side of his neck, feeling his pulse, and when she finally grew bored of this, she pulled him onto the floor and climbed over him. She had chosen the spot she wanted.
He was transfixed. He knew he should be resisting, but she was so dangerous, so beautiful, as she sat on him, ass rubbing against his cock as her lips returned to his throat. With a loud moan, he thrust up towards her, and she smirked before lowering herself onto him.
They both moaned, and as Victor sped up, Ria stayed bent over him, lightly biting him. But the harder his thrusts became, the more dearly she had to hang on for life, and she sank her teeth deeper and deeper into him until she was whining against his skin and she was covered in his blood.
When she came and he followed shortly after, everything was completed. She had marked him deeply enough that it wouldn't heal, and they were bonded forever. It was a big, ugly mark, just like the one he had given her, albeit a little smaller. When he washed the blood off, he even winced a tiny bit, and Ria was amazed that she had caused him pain. It made her feel a little guilty, knowing that it was her fault that his neck was sore, but at the same time, she didn't care. He had done the same to her.
To celebrate, Victor killed a few geese and was nice enough to drive to town for extra food so that they could cook what Ria called "real food." She slept while he was gone, regaining strength after such a demanding week, and when she woke up, she was greeted by the smells of food actually cooking.
"I didn't know you could cook," she commented with a yawn as she sat up. Despite her powerful healing factor, she was still sore from their last night of fun, and bed was where she intended to stay until she could walk without hunching over.
"I can do lots of things, Spots." Victor answered gruffly from the kitchenette.
"Oh, I know." She purred. "You showed me."
He glanced at her. "Anythin' stand out in particular?"
"Actually...that thing you did outside, against the tree? I liked that a lot."
The big male smirked. "Thought you would."
Ria smiled and stretched out on the bed. "What happens now?"
"We wait." He answered as he walked over to her. "Gotta ask you somethin' though, frail…"
"What?" She moved over for him to lay next to her.
He leaned over her, taking a strand of hair in his fingers and looking at it as if he were avoiding her eyes. "What would you say...if I told you I loved you?" He finally looked her in the eyes.
Ria blinked. She knew he had some kind of feelings for her; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so nice all this time. But love...she hadn't thought that was something he felt. He was so violent, so angry and rough. He had taken her with the intention of mating, not for love. But...apparently she was wrong.
"I…" She looked down at the small space between them. Something in her chest fluttered. "I would say that I did too."
Victor let out a big breath and pressed his forehead against hers, smiling in relief. Ria closed her eyes and returned the smile, pecking a quick kiss to his lips. In that one moment, everything was perfect.
"Do you think we...you know." She said as he pulled away to look at her.
"You're havin' my cubs." He growled, almost threateningly.
"You don't know that for sure." Ria argued.
"Darlin'." He almost glared at her. "We just fucked for a week straight."
"I guess I'm just...nervous. A little."
"It's all gonna be fine, spots." He began rubbing small circles on her back. "I gotta confess somethin', though." He looked away from her eyes, and a tiny pang of terror struck her. "I...ain't exactly the type of man who knows how to raise anythin'."
The panic dissipated and Ria smiled gently, utterly relieved that that's all he was worried about. "This was your idea, big guy. I think you can figure it out."
"I was young when I left home, frail. I...well. Wasn't exactly close with my parents. We finally left when Jimmy killed one of 'em. Ever since, it's been war, and killing...never making life, just takin' it away." He exhaled sharply. "I've done horrible things, spots. Things no man who wants to call himself a father should do. I lose control in the bloodlust, I...can't be stopped. I'm an animal, a monster. I ain't exactly a big teddy bear."
"You are to me." Ria moved a hand to the side of his face, holding it gently. "You're going to do fine. You'll be a big, scary, tough daddy tiger."
He was quiet for another moment. "What if...what if it isn't one of us?"
"You think it'll be human?" She frowned. "I don't think it could be…"
"Mutants come from human parents. It could work backwards, too. How're we s'posed to raise a human?"
"Victor." Ria said firmly. "We don't even know if there's anything yet. Why don't we wait and see before getting all freaked out over nothing?"
"Right." He didn't seem convinced, but he sat up anyway. "Let's have some of this real food, 'fore I change my mind about it."