Of Daughters and Mates

Rebekkah fled through the woods. The echoing howl of a lone wolf chased her. Her heart pounded as she wove around bushes and jumped over fallen branches. She needed to get to the creek. Maybe, just maybe, it would mask her scent enough to confuse Moonshadow. Her only hope was to make it to the county road before he caught up with her.

She did her best to control her breathing. Distant memories of grade school gym class flitted through her mind. Breath in through the nose, out through the mouth. Don't just swing your arms. Pump them to drive you forward.

Why did I think this was a good idea?

she groaned to herself. Already she could feel the strain in her legs. She'd be in pain tomorrow.

Up ahead, the west Georgia pine forest opened up to reveal a shallow brook. Bekkah slowed down as she approached it, wary of slipping on the muddy bank. She hiked up her skirt in the hopes of keeping it dry and made her way into the stream's center. Another howl, closer by far than the last, sent a thrill through her heart.

Bekkah picked up the pace again. Cool water surged up her legs as they churned beneath her. It felt good, and she gave brief consideration toward stopping to wash off some of the sweat she'd built up. It would cut down her scent, make it harder for Moony to track her. But no, he was too close already. If she stopped, he'd catch her.

A hundred yards through the knee-deep brook was all Bekkah could handle. The extra resistance slowed her down too much, made running too hard. She'd have to take her chances. A narrow game trail ahead to her right seemed the best option, so Bekkah waded out of the brook and let her skirt fall back down. The light cloth clung to her wet skin. "Damnit," she muttered, "I didn't think of that."

Still, she was only about a half-mile from the road now. Her goal was so close she could taste it. Rebekkah hiked her skirt back up and started to run again.

It's a good thing there's no one around to see

, she thought to herself as she flashed her ass and pussy to the world.

All such thoughts ceased as a large, black-and-grey-furred shape loped out of the woods ahead of Bekkah. She skidded to a halt, blood surging in her veins and heart hammering in her chest.

No, I was so close!

she despaired. Moonbeam's-Shadow took a step towards her, and Rebekkah felt a bolt of energy shoot through her. She turned and lunged into a dead run heading deeper into the forest.

There was no hope of outrunning him now, Bekkah knew. He was too close, too fast, in much better shape than she was. Her defeat was inevitable. Still, she couldn't give up, not with the victory line so near. Freedom was so close Bekkah could taste it.

Moonshadow lunged out of the bushes ahead of Rebekkah. She squealed in surprise and twisted aside, managing to dodge past him. A growling bark from behind her provided evidence of her lupine mate's frustration. A few seconds later, he emerged again, closer this time, only a few feet ahead of her. Bekkah swerved, but he moved with her now, keeping ahead of her. She took a step back, her dark-furred master shadowing her movement, then spun on her heel.

And ran into a tree. Rebekkah managed to get her hands out to reduce the impact but couldn't keep from falling backward.

Nooo!

It was over, and Bekkah knew it. She rolled over rose to her hands and knees only for a heavy weight to press against the small of her back.

"Damnit," Bekkah cursed. "You win," she told Moony, looking over her shoulder into her lover's smiling, panting maw. He barked in happy agreement and leaned forward to give her a doggy kiss. Rebekkah let his tongue into her mouth for a moment, then pulled away and tried to stand.

Moonshadow's paw on her back kept her pinned. "Moony?" Bekkah asked in between pants for breath. Her mate answered her by straddling her prone body. His forepaws dug into the loamy soil on either side of her neck while his hind legs pushed hers apart. "Oh, shit. No, Moony, not here," Rebekkah complained as she remembered her wardrobe predicament.

A wet tongue lapped at Bekkah's neck, sending a shiver down her spine. She tilted her head to the side despite knowing her submission only encouraged him. "Moony, no," she tried again, gathering her knees under her and rising off the ground. Bekkah's ass smacked into Moonshadow's belly, and she felt the tip of his dick slide through her lower lips.

God, they were out here in the open, where anyone could see. It was so wrong. She belonged to her father. Only Samson and Moonshadow should get to enjoy her nakedness. But Moonshadow didn't seem to share her misgivings.

"Oh, God, not like this," Bekkah begged her mate even as he forced her legs further apart. Pressure built in her mind, pushing aside her embarrassment and negative feelings. Despite herself, she could feel wetness trickling down her thighs.

Moony licked her neck again, then yipped in Bekkah's ear, a playful sound. He knew how hot she was. Even if he wasn't familiar with her mannerisms by now, Bekkah knew he could feel her arousal through their bond. She buried her head in her arms and moaned as Moonshadow's tapered tip sawed back and forth against her. "Noo," she protested, for a different reason now. He was teasing her. He wanted her to beg for him.

Every time the tip of Moony's cock caught against Bekkah's pussy, then slid past to scrape along her clit, she moaned out a protest. Every time, her resistance decreased. She started to sway beneath him, to angle herself so he'd slide inside her, but Moony nipped at her shoulder. She shuddered and stopped her motions. It was too much. "Please," she mumbled into her arms. "Please, Moony, I need you."

Heavy paws clutched at Rebekkah's shoulders, holding her in place as Moonshadow's hips withdrew, then pressed forward. Hot doggy breath panted in her ear as a long, thick, lupine cock separated her inner walls. Her head tilted back, a wanton cry escaping her lips.

Bekkah never got used to it. This supernatural invader had filled her dozens of times by now, but each was like the first. Her body fought against its inevitable conquest while her mind dissolved in a river of molten pleasure. The first thrust took forever to Bekkah's perceptions as her lover's girth forced her to take its shape once more. And yet, when Moony grew tired of the resistance and withdrew for another attempt, she could feel her inner walls clinging to him in a desperate effort to keep him inside.

The next lunge came, harder, faster, forcing its way deeper inside Bekkah. Her pussy ached with the strain of containing him, yet her mind burned with the ecstasy of yielding to Moonshadow's claim. He was bigger, stronger, faster than her. She was helpless to resist his domination even if she wanted to. Her place was beneath him. Yielding. Accepting her fate. Submitting to her mate's every carnal desire.

Furry hips came to rest against Bekkah's raised ass. Fireworks burst in front of her eyes as Moony's knot rubbed against her clit. She convulsed and writhed in ecstasy as she felt her father's full length flex inside her. Powerful jaws closed around her braid and pulled her up onto her elbows as Moony shifted his stance to grab her by the hips.

The pace Moonshadow set was punishing and satisfying in equal measure. His hips moved in relentless motion, a neverending succession of short, sharp strokes that set Bekkah's mind and body aflame. Her mouth hung open, gasping in breaths only to let them out again in needy whimpers and moans. The bulbous knot at the base of her conquerer's cock battered against her already-stretched entrance with every swift jab.

Oh God

, a stray thought spiraled through Bekkah's limited awareness.

He's going to knot me out here under the sky. Anyone could come across me, stuck on his dick, all his seed seeping into my pregnant womb.

She tried to force out a protest, beg him not to, but her body betrayed her. Bekkah's half-formed words devolved into a howl of completion as a second orgasm exploded through her. Her back arched, her hands scrabbled in the dirt, her legs kicked out behind her.

Moonshadow growled around her hair. His movements gained extra power as he forced his way through Bekkah's clenching muscles. The rapid, ravaging rhythm transformed from quick stabs to full-length lunges, steady at first but increasingly erratic. Every slap of Moony's hips against Bekkah's plush ass led to his weight shifting forward and down until he pinned her beneath him.

The unmistakable howl of an adult wolf sounded through the forest as Moonshadow lurched against Bekkah. His cock jerked and bucked in her deepest depths, flooding her with liquid warmth. He drew back an inch, then lunged forward again. His knot pressed hard against her labia, demanding entrance, threatening to lock them together. Then, Moony withdrew and thrust again as another shot of lupine semen erupted from him.

Bekkah squirmed against the ground, shuddering through erratic aftershocks. Moonshadow's heavy pants washed her shoulder and neck with hot air. After a minute or so, he gave her cheek a lick and pulled out of her.

Bekkah shook through one more mini-orgasm, then rolled onto her back, reached for Moony's hips, and tugged him into position above her. Her tongue returned his favor in a more intimate fashion, dragging across his stiff length. Another couple of minutes passed while Bekkah cleaned their combined ecstasy from Moonshadow's glistening red shaft. When she felt satisfied he was clean, she leveraged herself into a sitting position, leaned against the wolf's side, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you, Woofy," Rebekkah murmured. A happy bark and wagging tail assured her he felt the same. Then she pushed away from him and rose to her feet. "Even if you are a beast, taking me where anyone could see." She tapped a finger against his nose. "At least you had the good sense not to--"

A gunshot rang out somewhere in the distance. The snarling scream of a panther followed it, then two more gunshots. Bekkah stiffened. "Those weren't hunting rifles," she said. Moonshadow growled and paced forward, then looked over his shoulder at his daughter. "Go," she told him, but he shook his head and darted behind her. Before she could turn to follow him, he pushed between her legs, and Bekkah found herself clinging to his back as he sped through the woods.

---

They came across the first splatters of blood against the undergrowth a quarter-mile from the cabin. Moonshadow stopped to sniff the evidence, then raised his head and scented the wind. He paced back and forth for a few seconds before taking off again. This time his pace was slower, stealthier. He avoided bushes and fallen branches as he followed the sanguine trail.

A couple of hundred yards later, Moonshadow stopped, then crouched low to the ground. Bekkah followed suit, flattening herself against his back. The massive wolf crept forward on his belly until he saw his target. Rebekkah swallowed a gasp when her eyes followed his gaze.

A scruffy-looking man in faded jeans lay propped up against a tree trunk, a high-caliber pistol in his lap. The button-up shirt he wore was white at his shoulders--and stained a deep, dark red around the slashes crisscrossing his chest. Blood still flowed from his wounds, but only at a sluggish trickle. Bekkah felt her breakfast roiling in her stomach.

Another blood trail led away from the man's corpse, and after a brief pause, Moonshadow set off following it. The track led them on a familiar route out of the forest and into the clearing around Samson's cabin. There, limping toward the front porch, was the biggest panther Rebekkah had ever seen. Fresh blood dripped from matted fur along its right side.

As soon as the pair broke free of the woods, the panther whirled to face them. Its ears lay back against its skull, and it hissed and spat in a warning. Bekkah slid down off her father's back, then raised her hands in a soothing gesture and walked toward the big cat. Moonshadow moved in front of her to block her path, but she pushed past him.

"We don't want to hurt you," Bekkah said to the tawny-furred feline. She took slow, steady steps toward the unhappy cat. Moonshadow followed a half-step behind her. "I'm a vet, and you're hurt. Let me take a look at your wounds, please?"

The panther backed away as the pair approached. Now that she was closer, Rebekkah could see the darker, older blood staining the cat's forepaws and muzzle. There wasn't much doubt that it'd killed the man back in the woods. Still, her instincts told her there was something deeper going on here. Among other things, unless Bekkah missed her guess, this was a Florida panther. There hadn't been any of those this far north since the 1800s.

"We aren't with whoever was back in the woods, OK?" she continued her soothing speech. Rebekkah wasn't positive the panther could understand her, but animals could still take cues from tone and body language, even with unfamiliar humans. "I just want to help you."

The closer they got, the wilder the panther's tail lashed behind it. It looked back and forth from Bekkah to Moonshadow, letting out an unhappy sound deep in its chest. It started walking laterally, shifting to the side of Bekkah opposite her lupine companion. She stopped, bit her lower lip, and crouched down facing Moonshadow.

"Stay here. It's scared of you," Rebekkah told her father. He growled back, shaking his head. "Please? I don't think it sees me as a threat. I think it'll let me treat it as long as you keep your distance." Moony growled again, deep and low in his throat. He looked past Bekkah and barked at the panther, then turned and walked a few paces away before turning back and settling onto his haunches to watch, teeth bared. Bekkah blew him a kiss, then approached her potential patient.

"See?" she asked. "It's just me, and I have no way to hurt you. No gun, no knife, no protective puppy." The panther looked up at her with wary blue eyes. Bekkah stretched out her left hand, open with her palm up, toward the cat. It made another unhappy noise, and Bekkah froze. The wounded feline watched her for several seconds before stretching out its head and sniffing at her hand. It glanced up at Rebekkah again, then flopped down on its uninjured side in front of her.

Having gained tentative permission, Bekkah sank down on her knees beside the wounded cat. She probed along its side with gentle fingers, aware that Moonshadow was too far to save her if her patient reacted badly to her ministrations.

Two gunshot wounds marred the golden fur along the panther's flank. One was a shallow graze along its ribs, but the other was a deeper puncture around its right shoulder. Bekkah carefully pulled the animal's fur away from the injury and gave a soft hiss of displeasure. This needed actual medical attention.

Bekkah looked over her shoulder at Moonshadow and mouthed, "Go get my tools." He looked unhappy but eventually got up and loped around the side of the house. The panther watched him the whole way. While she waited, Bekkah stroked her fingers through the panther's golden-brown fur. "You're a beautiful kitty," she told her patient. "That guy deserved what he got for shooting you. He was trespassing, anyway. This is my dad's property. You're safe here."

The front door opening caused the panther to twist onto its feet and hiss at Samson. "That's my dad," Bekkah told the big cat, "he's not going to hurt you. We're not going to hurt you. He's got my medical bag so I can try to get that bullet out of you and clean the wound, OK?"

Samson set his daughter's veterinary supply bag on the porch then backed away into the house. Bekkah shot him a grateful look as he went. She retrieved her tools then turned her attention back to the panther. "I can't anesthetize you here. I don't know the right doses for a kitty your size. I have some cream that'll numb you a bit, though."

Keeping up a constant stream of soothing patter, Bekkah put on a pair of surgical gloves, then fished out a tube of topical anesthetic cream. It wasn't an ideal use case, and this was as far as possible from a sterile surgical arena, but needs must. First, she cleaned the panther's wounds with distilled water then applied the cream around the deeper injury. "I'm going to have to dig inside you to get that bullet out," she said. "It's probably not going to feel very good. Please don't maul me."

The panther let out a huff of breath and looked away, which Bekkah took as acknowledgment. She pressed a thick wad of cotton to the gunshot, then inserted a pair of tweezers. Her patient twitched, tail lashing, but didn't turn against her. "That's a good kitty," she said. "I'll be quick as I can, but I don't want to leave anything inside you."

When Bekkah found it, the bullet was still in one piece, much to her relief. She didn't relish the idea of trying to chase down slivers of metal through the feline's innards. She pulled it out and dropped it in a bowl. Gold gleamed through the red blood. Bekkah frowned at the oddity but put it out of her mind for the moment. "OK, kitty, I'm gonna clean this out again, then stitch you up." The cat looked away, aloof. "Yeah, you'll be fine," Bekkah said with a laugh. A few minutes later, she set her needle and thread aside, job finished.

"Bekkah," Samson said from the doorway. The panther tensed again but remained otherwise still as Bekkah worked on it. "I need to call the sheriff about the dead guy out in the woods. I think it's best if they don't find our guest, though. You think you can convince it to come inside?"

"What do you say, beautiful? You want to come live with us for a little while until the heat dies down?" The big cat looked between Bekkah and Samson, then rolled to its feet and strolled into the cabin. "I guess that's a yes," Bekkah said.

"You get it settled in," Samson told her. "I'll try to clean up the blood trail out here. Maybe use the spare bedroom for now?" Bekkah nodded and followed the panther inside.

"Oh, you're getting bloody pawprints everywhere," she groaned. "Come on, I don't dare subject you to a bath, but we can at least wash your face and paws, alright?" Another huff was the only answer she got, but the big cat followed her into the half-bath in the hallway. Bekkah scrubbed away at the matted fur with careful fingers.

"Man, you got that guy good. His blood's all over you. Who was he, anyway?" The panther, of course, didn't answer, but its tail lashed and smacked against the walls. "Alright, that's as clean as I'm getting you for now." Rebekkah stood up and walked out of the bathroom, the cat once more at her heels. She led it into the cabin's spare bedroom, the site of her fateful encounter with her father.

"Make yourself at home here, but try not to come out until nightfall. The sheriff'll take an hour to get here, and I'm sure there'll be a manhunt out for you afterward." Bekkah cocked her head at her feline guest, then smirked. "And if you want to shift back to human form, there are some spare clothes in the closet. No idea if any of it will fit you, though." The panther's wide-eyed glance was all the confirmation Bekkah needed. "I'll come to get you for dinner. You can stay like this if you want, but I'm pretty sure my dad suspects, too." With that, she walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her with a click.