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"And that, ladies and gentlemen, leads me to my big announcement: in light of the success of the Southwest Regeneration Project, we will be taking the initiative national!"

The room exploded with questions and Cindy fought down a grin. The press had been all over her in the last few months, so it was nice to take the fight to them. All the press conferences she'd done, all the hearings in front of the council, all of it was worth it. After a little over a year, and the rapid spread of regen tech in every city she'd put her units in, (and quite a few other cities as the regen tech began to gain national attention) they were ready to expand.

She smiled into one of the cameras pointed at her and raised her hands to try and quiet the roisterous crowd. "Over the next two months, the Prey League will be adding regeneration units to community centers all down the east coast. Over the next five years, we plan to introduce the technology to every center in the country. Already, our international affiliates are looking over our results and discussing adding regeneration to their own plans. In short, ladies and gentlemen, regeneration is here to stay."

The reporters exploded again and she spent the next half hour fielding the usual questions: how could she justify this perversion? Was she being paid by the regen company? Why was she doing this? What did she think of the cities that were trying to ban the technology? Did she really think this was a good thing for prey, to upset the delicate balance of society?

She churned through them with practiced ease, sighing inwardly. Someday, maybe not in her lifetime, but someday there would be a press conference about regen that didn't involve fearmongering traditionalists trying to trick her into revealing that she was secretly some kind of anarchistic monster trying to destroy society.

Cindy raised her hands after a half hour. "I'll take one more question, but only if it is an original question."

The room fell silent as the journalists frantically tried to come up with something, anything. At least, most of them. A hand shot up way in the back and she leaned on the podium, frowning. The person had to be super short.

"Uh, I see a hand, but-"

A tiny voice sounded out. "Excuse me, sorry, excuse me, pardon me, coming through-"

Cindy's eyebrows went up as an absolutely diminutive opossum pushed through the crowd. She fought to control her face as she realized it was a kid. Wearing an old school fedora, no less.

"Hi," she said with a grin. "Who are you?"

The kid finished pushing to the front of the room. "Chip Hawkins, junior writer for EveryoneTogetherNow.com."

She blinked. ETN was a newish website that was growing explosively. Focusing on youth issues and pred/prey solidarity, the website was rapidly becoming a massive force for the new generations, as well as the most popular news source for the 18 and under crowd. "Well, hello, Mr. Hawkins. I'm honored to be joined by a representative of ETN. What's your question, sir?"

The little possum drew himself up and pointed a recorder at her. "Our readership has been strongly divided over regen issues, with a split between those who were raised with traditional values, and those that see regen as a boon to society. What would you say to kids on each of those sides?"

She blinked again and gathered her thoughts a moment. "First, thank you for an intelligent and open question, Mr. Hawkins. To the traditionalists, I would say this: please, keep an open mind. Regen doesn't have to change our values. It's not a destructive force, it's just a new way to grow together, to become more than we are. Prey can still tap out if they choose, but the point is that they have the opportunity to choose. It opens the door for prey who may not have been willing to fulfill that role due to the finality, and allows for closer and more open relationships between pred and prey. And, of course, there will always be prey that want to do things the traditional way."

"Just last week, I went to a dinner held by an old friend of mine, a wonderful man named Glen Edwards. Glen had met a lovely pred girl and he wanted to give her the ultimate gift. They planned that dinner together, and Glen tapped out that night. It was a wonderful, happy occasion shared between friends and loved ones."

"Glen had access to regen. Glen had, in fact, used regen to help plan the occasion, making sure that the recipe used on him was the very best. Far from creating doubt and regret, as I sometimes see bandied about," she glared at the other journalists, "regen helped Glen to solidify his decision to make his gift permanent. So please, to the traditionalists, try to look at this as a way to explore and grow, not a way to cheapen and hide from who we are as prey and predator."

She took a deep breath. "And to the ones who look at regen as the next wave of society, I say this: I agree. But. There is absolutely no reason to cast off the traditional. I've heard some of my younger colleagues argue that traditional ways only exist because that's all we've had. I disagree, strongly. The right of prey to tap out, the beauty of the final gift, the excitement of survival camp, the shivery joy of the cafeteria line, these are things we should preserve. These are the things that have built us, that have made us who we are. I do not seek to change the wonderful, beautiful act of being prey. And neither should you."

"What I hope to change, and what you should be working towards yourselves, is closer relationships with preds and a more equal standing in society for prey. We should not be looking at this as a way to get one over on preds, or to change where we came from, but as a way to unite society as never before. Don't fight the traditionalists who see the wonder of who we are. Celebrate them. Come together with them. Build on what we have instead of tearing it down. Together."

She nodded and stepped back from the podium, giving Chip a little wave. "Thank you again for the question, Mr. Hawkins. And thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen."

There was the inevitable roar of journalists hungry to keep badgering her as Karl hustled her off stage and out to her car.

~~~~~

Cindy sat at her desk, staring at her monitor. Regen Movement Leader Supports Traditional Values, Calls For Unity. The article was a gorgeous piece of work, and she admired the talent of its young writer. Chip had quoted her almost in full, and then explored other quotes she'd made in other interviews, building up her position. He'd talked to a few other people as well, on both sides, getting their opinions on her words and making a deep and intelligent case for unity between the old and the new.

She hummed as she flicked over to another tab. The article had been syndicated and it was fucking everywhere. Talk shows were picking it apart, bringing in their own experts to deride or explore it, podcasts were discussing it, magazines were running it. Chip Hawkins, with one article and one very intelligent question, had managed to do more for the cause of regeneration and societal unity than she had in a year of fighting for it.

She flicked over to another tab and tapped a few keys to send the massive bouquet of flowers to the youth office that Chip worked out of. She glanced over the transcript of the card again.

Mr. Hawkins,

Thank you again for such a wonderful question and for the thoughtful article you created with the answer. I'll be happy to speak to you, or to another ETN reporter, anytime.

Gratefully yours,

Cindy "Doc" Lawson

She clicked to pay and send and then turned to her pile of paperwork with a sigh. She grabbed a folder off her desk and flipped it open, humming as she went over a proposal for yet another freaking university to put yet another freaking survey in the centers to try and study the societal effect of regen. What she wanted, as always, was for them to stop fucking depending on the League to push their stupid survey and grow the spine to go to one of the new clubs that had been popping up nationwide to cater to those who wanted a party evening with a regen unit nearby. There'd apparently been underground clubs before, but when the initiative had started gaining traction, a bunch of companies had decided to ride the train and started adding units to the clubs.

She grinned as she idly wished she could buy stock in the company the League used. Beth had been bitching for a year about conflicts of interest and the annoying fact that the company that was the foremost provider of units to the League, HappyDyne, was taking off in a big way and she couldn't jump on the coattails of it. Not everyone was using HD units, but the proven safety record that the League gave them made them very popular.

Her ears pricked up as she heard shouting in the lobby, and she frowned. She set aside her paperwork and stood up, hoping against hope that it wasn't yet another nut job trying to get in to destroy the units. Her center alone had been attacked six times in the last year, and some of the others were basically under siege 24/7, with onsite security and everything.

Cindy opened the door and trotted up toward the front, the sound of panicked shouting making her break into a run.

"Where is she!?" a voice roared and her hearts all but stopped. She skidded around the corner and stared in shock and horror. Most of the people had hit the walls or cleared out if they could, but there was a small contingent that was frozen in place. Standing in the middle of the lobby was a tall foxtaur who looked like he'd been dragged backward through a knothole. His fur was unkempt and uneven, and she could smell that the only bath he'd had in days had been whatever beer dribbled out of his mouth down his front. She shuddered as she realized he was currently drunk, and holding a huge knife to the throat of a young rabbit, whose eyes were rolling in fear.

"Daddy?" Cindy whispered.

His eyes snapped around and narrowed. "There you are, you disgusting little cunt."

"Daddy-"

"Cindy, get back in your office!" Karl yelled.

She glanced at him and took a shuddering breath. "Karl, that's my dad," she said flatly. She looked back at him, fighting down the prey urge to run panicking from the armed predator in front of her. "Daddy, let the kid go."

He snorted and jerked the rabbit's ears back, pulling him up on tiptoe. "Of course meat defends meat. God, you don't don't even have the decency to fucking die properly."

She shuddered at the hate in his tone. "Daddy, please-"

"I am a laughingstock!" He roared. "My fucking daughter, my fucking last name, is out in the world promoting fucking disgusting filth!"

Her eye twitched. She started to try again, when Karl broke over her. "Sir, the cops are coming. You don't want to do this. Just put the knife down-"

"Let 'em come!" He snapped. He started walking forward toward Cindy, dragging the rabbit with him. "They can put me out of my fucking misery after I clean up my mistake."

Cindy shuddered and stepped back.

"Don't you walk away from me! You stay right there or he dies!"

Cindy stopped and raised her hands. "Ok. Ok, I'm not moving."

And then he stepped past Karl. And the bear, obviously thinking he had a chance in hell, lunged forward to try and grab his knife hand. Cindy shrieked as her dad's hand flicked out almost casually and slit his throat before a strong leg kicked the choking bear backwards.

Cindy's eyes snapped to her dad and she shuddered, hand dropping in a blur while he was looking away and coming up with the tiny one shot pistol that Karl had given her for Solstice. "Daddy, don't make me shoot you."

He stopped, glaring at her. "A fucking gun? God, you're just the most useless taur ever born, aren't you?"

"Drop the kid," she said, voice shaking. "And back the fuck up."

He sneered at her and...she breathed a small sigh of relief as he released the kid. The rabbit scurried away to safety. And in the moments she was distracted, he lunged forward, knife shooting around to try and stab her in her main heart. She yelped and jumped back and the gun went off, hitting him in the forequarter. He snarled as his leg crumpled and he hit the ground, scrabbling towards her frantically, knife waving.

"Police, nobody move!"

"Help!" She shouted, and for a wonder, they did. It took two tasers to stop him and then the cops dogpiled him and got the knife away from him.

Cindy lunged past them towards Karl, who was laying on the ground, hand pressed to his throat. She whipped around and looked at the staffer on the counter, a young buck name Eric. "Help me!"

Eric leapt over the counter and started towards her office. "No, no time, grab his feet!"

The buck stumbled as he reversed course and came over to grab Karl's feet. Cindy hauled him up and they dragged the massive bear as fast as they could, running for the back rooms. She fought down the panic inside her as they slammed the door open on an unoccupied room and she dragged him over to the unit. She pressed his hand into it and heard the ping, then slapped the button.

"Please work, please work, please work," she chanted softly, cradling his head in her lap. The next few seconds were some of the longest in her life and then there was a faint ripple at his throat. She let out a slow, shaky breath of relief as the wound closed. It would take the unit a few minutes to replenish the blood he'd lost, but he would be ok, she hoped.

Eric stared at her in silence for a moment, "How did you know it could do that?" he asked softly.

She smiled tiredly. "I didn't."

Five minutes later, Karl groaned. "Ow."

She chuckled and stroked his head. "Hey."

His eyes opened and his hand shot up to his throat. "I...what happened?"

"Got you to a regen unit and healed you," she said softly.

Karl sat up with a groan. "That why my whole body feels like I've been attacked by an angry swarm of bees?"

"Uh, yeah. It'll stop once your blood is finished replenishing."

He shuddered. "Fuck. Remind me I owe Nat a fucking medal for doing this every night."

Cindy shuddered and leaned on the wall, giggling helplessly. "Noted. God, I thought for a second there-"

He grunted and turned around to glare at her. "Don't think about it. Now, what part of run away was unclear?"

Cindy shivered and crossed her arms. "I...he's my Daddy. I thought...I thought I could-"

"Cindy, he was a drunken nut with a knife and a hostage."

She winced. "Yeah," she whispered.

"Cindy?"

She sighed. "In here, Beth! I'm ok!"

Her girlfriend stumbled into the room and froze, her eyes tracking the blood to its source. "Jesus," she whispered. "Karl, are you-"

He nodded, and then let out an explosive sigh of relief as the unit pinged and stopped working. "Yeah, boss, I'm ok. Doc got me to a regen unit, which apparently can heal after the fact."

Bethany stared at him. "I...did not know that."

Cindy stood up, still shaking all over. "It was a shot in the dark and I took it."

Bethany shivered and smiled. "Glad it worked."

Karl grinned tiredly, rubbing his throat. "You and me both."

~~~~~

Bethany leaned over the table, slapping a little gift box down. "Here. Special bonus for service above and beyond the call."

Karl looked at her in confusion. They were out at a very nice restaurant, along with Cindy and Renata, having a dinner to celebrate not dying. "Uh, I thought the dinner was the bonus, boss."

Bethany grinned and nodded at the box. "Nah, the dinner was for something else."

He picked up the box and pulled off the top. Inside was an envelope and-

Karl pulled out the small black box with the bright red button. "What the...boss?"

Bethany took a sip of wine. "I know you're not prey, Karl. But Cindy's idea to keep you alive was a good one. So, you now have a safety button."

He fingered it silently for a moment. "No offence, Boss, but...why buy this for me? Why not Doc?"

Bethany hummed cheerfully and slipped her hand into her purse. Before their shocked eyes, she pulled out three more, setting one in front of Renata and one in front of Cindy. "I did."

Renata picked hers up with reverence. "Uh, why-"

Bethany smiled. "Because I can. And I thought you'd like one." She held up hers. "And I even got one for me, just to be on the safe side."

Cindy stroked the familiar, lovely little box with one finger. "Beth...I know you're rich and all, but-"

Bethany laughed softly. "Yeah, about that 'something else' that dinner was for? You remember that lil startup I invested in six months ago?"

Cindy closed her eyes and racked her memory. "Uh...which one?"

"The app for regen friendly preds to meet prey."

"Oh, yeah!" Renata said cheerfully. "Lyfe, right?"

Bethany nodded and picked up her glass of wine. "That's the one. We had our IPO last week." She grinned and took a sip. "As of last Thursday, I and everyone else involved in the app are multimillionaires."

Cindy's jaw fell open. "Holy shit!"

Bethany laughed. "Ta-da!"

Renata whistled softly. "Damn. That's amazing, Beth. Congratulations. Do we have to call you Ms. Bodolf now?"

Bethany shuddered. "God, no." She stuck out her tongue at Karl. "I'm still trying to get your jerk of a boyfriend to stop calling me 'boss.'"

Karl chuckled and slipped his regen button into his pocket. "Not happening, boss. You'll have to fire me first."

Bethany grinned. "Hmmm...maybe after you open the card, you'll be so grateful you'll stop."

Karl frowned and picked up the envelope. He slit it open and shook out the contents. A single sheet of thick paper fell into his hand. He turned it over and his eyes widened, jaw falling open.

"Ok, I lied, it's not a card," Bethany said with a smirk.

Renata frowned at the look on his face and stood up to look over his shoulder. "Holy shit!" she yelled, drawing every eye in the restaurant.

Cindy jumped. "What-"

Karl turned the paper over so she could see it. It was bank note, made out to him, for $250,000.

"Boss-" he whispered.

"Damn," Bethany said with a teasing smile. "I really thought a bribe would work."

"Boss, this is three years of pay."

"No," Bethany said calmly. "That's an apology for my girlfriend's dad trying to behead you."

His hands shook as he turned it over and over. "Jesus," he whispered. "You, uh, you're not going to do this every time, are you?"

"Oh, god, no. That's what the safety button is for."

He nodded, swallowing. "Um...thank you."

Bethany grinned. "No problem. Oh, and I'm sorry that yours isn't wrapped up really pretty, Nat."

Renata stared at her, stunned. "No, it's...I'm just happy to have a button. You didn't have to, though."

The wolfess smiled. "No, Nat, your paycheck isn't wrapped up."

"My...what?"

"Didn't you hear me? Everyone involved in Lyfe is rich. That includes you."

Renata blinked slowly. "I...wasn't..." her eyes widened. "Oh my god, the stock options you gave me were for Lyfe!?"

"Yup. Finder's fee for bringing it to me. If I'm remembering correctly, you have about a million dollars of stock."

Renata sank down into her chair. "Holy shit," she whispered.

Bethany chuckled. "Yeah. So, that's why we're having a nice dinner."

Cindy grinned and leaned over to take her hand. "God, you're the best, sweetie."

Bethany leaned over and kissed her softly. "What's the point of being rich if you don't take care of your friends?" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

~~~~~

Cindy hummed softly as she checked that everything in her office was tidied away one last time. She'd been looking forward to this weekend for a month, but she knew she was going to come back to a nightmare amount of paperwork. Consequently, she'd emptied her inbox and there was an 8 x 10 framed sign in front of it directing everyone to put any paperwork in the box and not just pile it on her desk.

She nodded in satisfaction and flicked the lights off, stepping out of her office for the last time for five days. Feeling light, she all but danced to the lobby, humming under her breath.

Karl laughed as she stepped out into the lobby. "Ready for your romantic weekend, I see?"

Cindy grinned as he fell in next to her from habit, walking her out to the car. "Yup! We planned it originally when I had the old regen box, but since we couldn't exactly take the unit with us..."

He nodded as he opened the door for her to slide into her special seat, glancing around for threats automatically. "Gotcha. Well, let's get you out of here."

She smiled and tapped at her phone as he walked around and got in, the car setting off. Off work, omw! Love you!

Her phone chimed a moment later. Yay! C u soon, love you too!

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up at the little office complex that Bethany worked out of. Despite her girlfriend's wildly successful venture capital company, Bethany's offices looked like a little flagstone house in a complex of similar buildings. She had three employees now, sorting through loan applications and meeting with people, although she still met with a lot of them herself. The wolfess was outside, the office already closed for the day, leaning against her SUV in jeans and a flannel shirt. Her long dark hair was tucked up in a ponytail, and she smiled when the car pulled up.

Cindy hopped out and walked over to kiss her. "Mmmm, you look hot when you wear hunter chic."

Bethany laughed and pulled her in, making out with her for a moment. "Thanks, babe." She leaned around smiled at Karl. "Thanks for bringing her. Enjoy your weekend off!"

He smiled and leaned over to haul the door closed. "You too, boss!"

They watched him pull away, and Bethany traced a finger over Cindy's shoulder. "Now, about all these clothes..."

Cindy blushed and pulled her shirt off, then her bra, shivering at being naked in public. "Better?"

"Much," Bethany said with a grin. "Now, hop in."

Two hours later, they pulled up to a small cabin and Cindy hopped out, sniffing deeply. The air was redolent with pine and dirt and the scent of fallen pine needles. "Mmmm...it's nice."

Bethany nodded as she climbed out. "Isn't it?"

"How'd you even find this place?"

Bethany smiled. "A client bought it to attract investors. I asked if we could borrow it for the weekend."

Cindy shook her head, grinning as she turned to watch Bethany pop the back hatch. "You know, it is crazy dating a business mogul."

The wolfess laughed as she slung a quiver over her shoulder and pulled out her bow, checking it over. "I could say the same about dating the fucking national face of the Regen Movement."

Cindy grinned, shivering in anticipation as Bethany slung a net over her shoulder, rolled up ready for rapid deployment. "Yeah, yeah. You ready?"

Bethany nodded, licking her lips. "I'd give you a head start, but as I recall, you don't need it."

Cindy stuck out her tongue. "Nope!" And then she took off like a shot, diving into the woods. She heard a peal of laughter behind her and the soft whistling of an arrow.

For the next hour, she hummed excitedly under her breath as she teased and dodged Bethany. She'd stay still for a little bit, listening, and then take off whenever her lover got close. They both knew from past experience that there was no way Bethany could actually take her down without a lot of luck, but they wanted to at least play around a little. The sun was starting to set when she decided that she'd had enough of being hunted and was ready to be caught. She slipped through the trees, deliberately making noise, ears tracking as Bethany snuck up on her. There was a sharp whistling sound and she yelped as Bethany repeated her shot of years earlier with a lot more luck this time, slicing through a tendon on her back leg, crippling her.

Cindy hissed as she looked at the arrow with amusement and kept hobbling, humming softly as she lived the dream. There was another whistle and this time Bethany got her forequarter, crippling her front leg. She huffed with laughter and sat down, waiting.

The wolfess stepped out of the trees a moment later, licking her muzzle with anticipation. "Mmm, what have we here?"

Cindy blushed. "Oh, please, Ms. Hunter, please let me go!" she teased.

Bethany chuckled as she walked around, stroking Cindy's body possessively. "Now, now, little preygirl, you know better than to ask that."

She flung the net and it easily encompassed Cindy, making her shiver. Bethany gathered it up and leaned down to look her in the eye. "You're caught, and now you're dinner. I'm going to eat you all up."

Cindy shivered and clutched at the net, getting into the game. "Oh, no! Couldn't you just eat a little of me and let me go? I have a lot of meat!"

Bethany hummed as she reached into the net and unscrewed the shafts of the arrows, making Cindy gasp as the arrow heads twisted slightly in her flesh. "No can do, meat. You've got enough meat that I'm going to eat for days, and I intend to."

Cindy felt her hearts quicken and squirmed as Bethany grabbed the net and began dragging her along the ground. "Ow! Oh, please no, Ms. Hunter! Don't eat me all up!"

Bethany laughed. Cindy had been careful to get taken down only a short distance from the cabin, so they didn't have far to go. "Shush, meat. If you didn't want to be eaten, you shouldn't have been running around a hunting ground with no clothes on."

Cindy fought down a giggle and weaved her fingers into the net, wincing as she bumped over some tree branches. "Oh, no! I was in the hunting grounds? I just went for a swim! I live near here, I didn't mean to be in the hunting grounds!"

Bethany sighed with relief as they came into view of the cabin. Cindy felt a pang of sympathy for her lover. Bethany was strong as all hell, but her beloved pred was a foot shorter than she was and less than half her weight. The wolfess turned and grabbed the net with both hands, hauling it up onto the porch with a grunt. "Too bad, meat. You were in the grounds and you were naked. Whether you wanted to be there or not, you're just food now."

Cindy whined as she was pulled into the cabin and the door closed. Bethany whuffed out a breath of relief and bent over, resting her elbows on her knees. "Now, you know the laws, right? I shot you, I caught you, and now you're mine. You going to behave?"

The foxtaur sighed and put on a mournful look. "Yeah, I guess."

Bethany grinned and unwrapped her, humming cheerfully. She took Cindy's hands and helped her limp over to a prey shower in the kitchen. She rinsed Cindy off, getting the dirt, sweat, and pine needles off her, leaving her sopping wet and squeaky clean. A quick blow-dry later, she was fluffy and ready to eat. Bethany helped her over and up onto the prep table in the kitchen.

"Now," she said softly, running her fingers through Cindy's fur, "what should I eat first?"

CIndy whimpered, going along with the fantasy. "I don't want you to eat anything!"

Bethany chuckled and squeezed her hindquarter thoughtfully. "Maybe this nice ham, hmm?"

Cindy took a shivery breath. "Please, Ms. Hunter. I can...I can make you feel good?"

The wolfess smiled as she stepped around in front of her. "Oh?" she rubbed her pussy through her jeans. "What are you offering, meat?"

Cindy blushed. "I could lick you? Or use my fingers?"

Bethany grinned and unzipped her pants, pushing them down. She stood there in her panties, rubbing herself through the thin cotton. "And what makes you think you won't be doing that anyway?"

Cindy squirmed. God, she was wet. "I...I...you're going to make me do naughty things to you and still eat me?" she whispered, trying to sound scared instead of massively aroused.

Bethany nodded, pushing down her panties. She stepped out of them and climbed up on the table, standing in front of Cindy with her legs splayed, pussy inches from her muzzle. The aroma of her arousal made Cindy want to dive in, but she stuck to her role.

"Well?" Bethany said with an evil grin, reaching forward and entwining her fingers in Cindy's short hair. She pulled Cindy forward and forced her muzzle into her pussy. "Get to making me feel good, meat!"

Cindy groaned and began licking eagerly, hoping Bethany wouldn't mind the slight lapse in the roleplay. Her hands tentatively came up and rested on Bethany's hips, squeezing gently as she lapped and slurped at her lover's sopping pussy. Bethany sighed contentedly and stroked her thumb along Cindy's forehead, grinning. "You've, mmm, got a talented tongue, meat."

She shivered and looked up at Bethany as she nibbled slightly on the wolfess' clit, making her gasp. Bethany growled softly as she tightened her grip, and began rolling her hips, riding Cindy's muzzle. The foxtaur moaned and squirmed, wishing not for the first time that she was bipedal so she could reach her pussy. Bethany moaned in answer, closing her eyes as she pressed into Cindy's eager tongue.

"God, yes, meat, enjoy your last meal," Bethany whispered. "This is all you're getting for the rest of your short life."

Cindy moaned and clenched her hind legs together, desperate for any kind of stimulation. The thought of this being her last few days, of having only the taste of Bethany's pussy to sustain her as she was slowly eaten, was driving her wild. They hadn't talked about Cindy getting off this weekend when they'd planned this roleplay, but she secretly hoped Bethany had planned for it or she was going to tackle her at the end of the weekend and ride her face until she exploded.

Bethany growled again as Cindy's efforts redoubled, her tongue diving in and out of the wolfess hugrilly, filling her mouth with the amazing flavor. Her girlfriend shuddered, legs starting to shake, and then she let out a soft moan as she came, eyes screwed up, panting as she clutched at Cindy.

They sat there for a moment, Cindy still happily lapping at her until Bethany blew out a breath and pushed her back. "Damn, meat, you're pretty good at that," she said with a grin as she shakily climbed off the table.

Cindy took a deep breath, fighting the urge to ask her to get off, falling back into her role. "Good enough that you'll keep me around?"

"For a little bit," Bethany said with a grin as she walked over to a magnetic rack that had several cooking utensils and a few knives stuck to it. Cindy sucked in a breath as she pulled down a huge chef's knife, walking back over to her humming softly. "At least until you're all eaten."

Cindy whimpered and twisted around to watch as Bethany stroked her hindquarter, a hungry look in her eyes. "Ms. Hunter-"

Bethany grinned and pressed the knife into her, making her squeal as the incredibly sharp blade bit deep into her hindquarters. "Yes?"

Cindy shuddered as she began slicing around, quickly and easily starting to cut her leg off.

"N-Nothing, I guess," she whispered, lost in the sight of being carved. They didn't do this often, since Bethany usually preferred the just eat Cindy raw, whole, and alive, and refused to share her meat with anyone. But Bethany had found a cookbook that had her salivating and Cindy whimpering and humping her girlfriend's hand and decided to give it a try.

The wolfess hummed softly as she swiftly jointed her hind leg and separated it from her body, carrying her prize over to a counter. Cindy reached back and touched the void where her leg had been, licking her muzzle and wincing at the pang of pain. She shivered and turned back to watch Bethany work.

The wolfess set the chef's knife aside and pulled down a slender knife that she used to swiftly skin the leg and hock. Cindy shivered again as she watched her leg turn into meat. She was food 100% of the time, but rarely had she seen a part of her body become obviously butchered and prepared meat. Bethany pulled down a meat cleaver and chopped her paw off, leaving just the naked shank. She hummed softly as she opened the cupboards and swiftly worked to season and oil it, before sliding it into a roasting tray and popping it in the oven.

Bethany hummed softly as she leaned back against the counter, wearing only her flannels. "Mmmm. Took a lot out of me to put that in the oven, meat. I seriously wanted to just sink my fangs in and go to town!"

Cindy shivered. "Good for you. It took a whole leg out of me," she said with a little grin.

Bethany laughed and leaned over to stroke the portion of her pelt from her leg. "Yeah, I guess it did. Damn, you have really soft fur, meat. I wonder what I should do with it?"

Cindy shivered. They hadn't talked about this. "Um, well, considering that I'm apparently just dinner now, what does my opinion matter?"

The wolfess grinned and picked up her pelt section, looking it over. "A scarf, do you think? Maybe a coat?"

Cindy couldn't fight down a groan at the thought of Bethany walking around wearing nothing but a Cindy-fur coat. "Um, yeah. Or a blanket, maybe?"

Bethany nodded at her cheerfully. "Yeah, that might be good. You have a lot of fur, after all." She laughed and set the pelt section aside. "I could probably have made a rug out of you if I hadn't gotten so eager and whacked off a leg instead of just skinning you whole."

Cindy bit her lip, twitching at the thought of Bethany fucking her on a rug made of her own pelt. "I mean, you could just...stitch it back on, I guess," she said softly.

Bethany cocked her head, running her hands down Cindy's lower back. "Hmmm...that really does sound delightful. Feeling your fur between my toes...curling up on it in front of a fire with a good book and a glass of wine..."

Cindy's breath was short as she twisted to watch her lover stroke her fur thoughtfully. She was fighting the urge to break character and beg Bethany to just skin her. The wolfess seemed to come to a decision. She walked over and grabbed the skinning knife, coming over with a glint in her eyes. "Guess you're going to be a rug, huh, meat?"

"I guess," she whispered, trying to hide her elation. Bethany grabbed one of her forelegs and tugged, pulling her to the edge of the table while pushing to roll her over. She discreetly helped, rolling over herself, so that her lower belly was showing. Bethany hummed cheerfully as she went to work, and Cindy shivered and gritted her teeth, trying to hold still.

It was obvious that Bethany had done this before, though Cindy had never seen any pelts around and her lover wasn't usually one for trophies. Her hands were sure and swift as she sliced through Cindy's pelt with practiced ease, and then began skinning it off her. She lifted her head and watched, licking her muzzle as her lover cleanly divested her left side of fur, leaving naked muscle. Still humming, she worked to flip Cindy over, and once she had, worked the right side of her pelt off as well. And in keeping with the traditions of good fur rugs, Cindy lost both her hands and her three remaining paws. She lay on her side, breathing slowly, feeling the coolness of the air on her muscles without her pelt to protect her.

Bethany gathered it up, burying her face in it with a sigh. "Mmmm...now I can't decide it I want a rug or a blanket," she said with a grin. "Hold tight, just going to go clean this and hang it to dry."

Cindy nodded and listened as the back door opened and closed, feeling oddly content inside. Even though she knew she was going to walk away at the end of this, laying here skinned on a prep table, with her leg cooking in the oven in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, she could understand the appeal of tapping out this way. Her everything ached and her missing leg, paws, and hands were giving off little phantom twitches as her brain struggled to come to terms with the abrupt amputations, but she had never felt more like prey in her life. She'd been hunted, she'd been caught, and now she was being treated like meat.

She was still laying on her side, drifting hazily and smelling the growing scent of cooked meat, when Bethany came back in. "Mmmm-mm! Smells fantastic in here, meat!"

Cindy shivered softly. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Bethany popped the oven door open and a wave of aroma poured out, making the wolfess moan. "You guess? Can you not smell yourself?"

Cindy grinned. "I don't eat meat, Ms. Hunter."

Bethany laughed softly and checked the doneness of the shank in the oven. "Then you are missing out! You're gonna be such a treat!"

Cindy blushed as she watched Bethany pull her leg out of the oven. She pushed herself up on one arm, hissing as her slippery muscle made it hard to do on the smooth table. She got her first clear look of it, and she gasped.

Sitting in the pan was a gorgeous roast. It was golden brown, lightly crisp around the edges, with a scattering of spices and herbs over the surface. But above all, it looked like nothing more than a delectable cut of meat, and the fact that it had been her leg until a couple of hours ago, made her moan.

Bethany grinned at her and set it on the counter, humming softly as she rapidly used ingredients from the fridge to whip up some lemonade as the roast cooled a little. She then carved out a large chunk of it and put it on a plate, poured two glasses of lemonade, and walked over to set them down into front of Cindy. Then she snagged a barstool and straddled it, sitting down to eat in front of the woman whose body she was dining on. "God, this looks delicious, meat. I'm so happy you decided to go for a swim today."

Cindy shivered and looked down at herself, denuded, handless, pawless, missing a leg. "Speak for yourself," she teased softly.

Bethany grinned and winked at her, then cut into the portion of Cindy on her plate. She popped a bite into her mouth and closed her eyes, moaning almost sexually. "Oh mah gah," she whispered around a mouthful. "'At's fughin amashing."

Cindy couldn't help a smile at hearing close to the same words Bethany had said on having her true first taste of her. "Glad you're enjoying me, Ms. Hunter."

The wolfess grinned and swallowed, then set to work, devouring her portion in minutes, before going back for seconds. And then thirds. And then fourths. Cindy hid a grin as she sipped her lemonade through a straw and watched Bethany do her damnedest to eat her entire leg in one sitting.

Finally, the wolfess sat back with a groan. "You're gonna make me fat, meat."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm pretty lean!"

Bethany stuck her tongue out. "Not too lean. Got a nice bit of marbling on ya."

The foxtaur privately filed that away. On the next rare occasion that Bethany let her be on top, she was going to tickle the shit out of her while they had a conversation about "marbling."

Bethany stood up and stretched extravagantly. "Mmmmm...I think I'm going to have the rest of that leg for breakfast," she said with a sigh.

She hummed as she tucked a surprisingly small amount of Cindy into the fridge and scrubbed down the dishes. Cindy pillowed her head on one of her arms and tried to get comfortable as she watched her lover go about the domestic tasks, smiling a little at how ordinary this all felt.

Finally, Bethany tucked the last dish in the drying rack and turned around to look at her thoughtfully. "Welp, I guess I'm going to go snuggle down in bed for the night. You just lay there and be tasty, ok?"

Cindy blushed and nodded. "Yes, Ms. Hunter."

~~~~~

Cindy sighed as she flopped down on the couch, rubbing her temples. She'd had yet another trying weekend of installing regen units. The stupid things were plug and play, but there was always, always a meeting with the local city council, and a meeting with the local Leaguers to discuss security, at least one reporter she had to to talk to, a report to file, and of course, she was white knuckling it in and out of every city after the lovely little incident when some fucko had tried to firebomb them with a Molotov cocktail (and as much as she was grateful to humans for inventing regen, she was ready to dig them all up and piss on their bones for inventing that lovely little treat) a couple of months ago. This last weekend hadn't been her worst, the firebomb held that delightful position, but it hadn't been fun, either.

She snagged the glass of wine off the side table and took a sip, grinning into the dark liquid. She'd never been a wine drinker before she started dating Bethany. The wolfess had despaired that with all of her super senses, she still didn't have a palate to speak of. She liked her wine to basically be cheap candy, sweet as sugar and as alcoholic as she could get it. Her poor pred kept a stock of cheap shit that she sighingly referred to as "brown bag special" around for when Cindy had a long day.

Cindy considered flicking on the TV and ignoring the stack of paperwork she'd brought home with her. Bethany was normally here to greet her after an installation, but she'd had to fly out for business. The foxtaur tried to keep abreast of her lover's job, but Bethany's company had grown to bewildering proportions in the last year or so. She was still running on a small crew and still working out of a business complex, but she was essentially the patron saint of the prey small business community and she was starting to go international. Cindy was pretty sure she could have stopped at any point in the last year and never worked another day in her life, but Bethany enjoyed business almost as much as she enjoyed Cindy. The foxtaur had a funny feeling that Bethany was going to be one of those people who went into the office at 110 years old and put in a full day's work.

She sighed and grabbed her paperwork. Might as well get it over with.

Two hours later, she was up to her elbows in proposals for television commercials, of all things, when she heard the front door open. Her ears flicked and she grinned, looking up.

"Hey! I thought you were overseas!"

Bethany groaned and dropped her bag on the floor, staggering over to sink into her lover's arms. "I was. I showed up and the asshole already had funding. He was signing the paperwork while I was over the middle of the Atlantic."

Cindy winced. "Jackass couldn't pick up a phone and let you know he was that fucking close to a deal?" she muttered as she started rubbing Bethany's shoulders.

Bethany snorted and leaned into the rubbing, closing her eyes. "Oh, god, babe, you have until the thirty-second of never to stop that."

Cindy laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Seriously, though, what the hell?"

The wolfess sighed. "Apparently, Bodolf Capital is becoming threatening."

"I...run that by me again?"

"You remember what the deal was, right?"

Cindy nodded. For once, she did, because it was something she'd been sitting on for over a year since she'd discovered it by accident. "Medical applications for regen."

Bethany nodded. "It won't stop any kind of disease, but it's hell on wheels for a broken arm. The problem is speed."

She knew this. The units they distributed to the League took forever to heal someone, and they couldn't work on more than one person at a time. The race had been on to find a way to make a viable ER version that could either handle more than one person at once or go fast enough that it could be more than a last resort. "And you think he cracked it."

"No," Bethany admitted. "But he had a fantastic research proposal. I vetted it through a couple of experts on human tech and they thought he had a line on at least figuring out something about the mechanism for regen that would let us speed it up."

"Ok, so he had a good idea, and you had the money, what was the issue?"

Bethany gritted her teeth. "The problem is that he had investors lining up to throw money at him, but he didn't want to work for a regen company. Thought they'd just jack his research and use it for business applications. He wanted a government grant so he could work without having to pay back the money."

Cindy groaned. "So he used you to scare his government into giving him one."

"Got it in one. Because while 'a regen company will pay me to make their machines better' isn't scary, 'Bethany Bodolf will use my research to advance the cause of prey rights' is apparently fucking terrifying, now in international flavor."

Cindy snarled without thinking and Bethany jumped. "Um, it's...upsetting, but...I haven't heard you make a noise like that in years, babe."

The foxtaur took a few deep breaths. "Sorry. Sorry, I just...God, the fact that making prey lives better is so abhorrent to a government that it can be used as a scare tactic is just...Goddamnit, what the hell is wrong with people?"

Bethany hesitated and turned slightly, stroking her arms. "Babe...how did the installation go?"

Cindy winced. "The units are in place," she said with a tight smile. "And we're still in one piece. And no-one shot at us."

Bethany blew out a slow breath, and turned Cindy's face to hers. "But?"

Cindy sighed and gently tugged her head away, reaching over to snag her wine. She took a gulp of it and glared into it. "There was a protest outside the center. Not a peaceful one. They threw shit at us."

Bethany shuddered. "Like what?"

Cindy smiled sourly and shuddered at the memory. "No, Beth, they literally threw shit at us. Actual dung."

The wolfess gagged. "Oh god. Oh my god, baby that's awful."

Cindy sighed. "At least it wasn't on fire."

Bethany licked her muzzle. "Yeah," she said softly. She squirmed around and snuggled into Cindy. "Well, there's obviously good news here."

"Oh?" Cindy said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yep. You officially win shittiest workday pretty much forever."

Cindy snorted with laughter and hugged her. "Damn, I love you."

Bethany grinned up at her. "How can I help, baby? You've already got wine, so we're on the right track."

The foxtaur's smile dimmed. "I don't know. Just...hold me for a while? Be here with me? Remind me that the whole world isn't fucking crazy with prey hate?"

Bethany winced inwardly. "I can do that," she said softly.

~~~~~

The restaurant was full, and for once in her life, it was full of people she knew and trusted. Leaguers from all over were here to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the East Coast Regen Initiative. Some of Bethany's business partners were here for the party, Renata had invited every one of her fellow city councillors that would show up, and most of the staff from her center were here. And far from a prey packed room, it was a glorious mix of pred and prey, all of them friendly toward prey rights, all of them gathered here to party like there was no tomorrow. Her eyes swept the room, old habits and new ones mixing together as she looked for threats.

Her city had been ground zero for the regen movement, and while it was still not the city with the most regen available, Renata had been doing her damndest to get them to make it a point of city pride that they were the first. It had even been working, actually. She'd heard people on the street actually saying the words "Home of Regen," as a point of pride instead of a curse. So the police outside probably wouldn't let a gunman sneak in and massacre them, but she and Bethany had quietly worked with Karl to hire friendly security for inside the restaurant. Even if she hadn't known them all on sight, she could spot the security people by the way their tux jackets sat weird over their body armor. She made eye contact with Karl and he gave her a discreet thumbs up. All well.

"Dr. Lawson?"

She grinned and turned toward the voice. Chip was growing like a weed, but his voice was still soft and polite. "Doc is a nickname, Mr. Hawkins. It's just Ms."

He nodded, filing that away in his steel trap of a brain. He raised his glass of sparkling cider and took a sip. "Gotcha. Always wondered about that, I thought you were a little young to be a PhD and I couldn't find a college record anywhere."

She laughed softly. "Yeah, I should probably go to college at some point."

Chip shrugged. "I haven't, and it hasn't hurt me any at all."

She chuckled. "Point to you. What can I do for you, Mr. Hawkins?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "It's a lovely party, Ms. Lawson, and I thank you for inviting my family and I. But why, exactly, am I here?"

She cocked her head. "Would you believe that your coverage has been instrumental in advancing prey rights massively and I wanted to thank you? Or that your article two years ago kicked off the initiative positively and I wanted you to be in on the milestone at the end?"

He took a slow sip, gimlet glare never leaving her. "Not for a second, ma'am."

Laughing, she stepped a little closer. "And whyever not?"

"Because I've criticized you as much as I've praised you. Hell, I went after Ms. Bodolf over some of her business decisions a few months ago. Just because you sent me flowers once doesn't make us friends. And if you wanted a reporter, you could have had any one of the major networks that were chewing their arm off to get in here. So." He grinned, his sharp teeth bared in challenge. "Why me?"

Cindy tapped her glass. "Two reason, Mr. Hawkins. The first is that you may be the single most honest journalist I've ever met. The second," she said with a small smile, "is that I genuinely did want to pay you back for the good work you've done by giving you a scoop."

He frowned. "Even though I've said bad things about you and your partner?"

Cindy grinned. "Wrong way of looking at it, Mr. Hawkins. You've said honest things about myself and Bethany. It might surprise you, but I follow your work avidly, and Bethany and I place a lot of stock in your opinion. When you write something negative, we take a good long look at what the hell we're doing and sometimes, we change it."

Chip stared at her. "You...really?"

She nodded. "Never lose your integrity, Mr. Hawkins. You're an asset to society, and I hope you keep working for a long, long time."

He looked flustered for the first time since she'd met him. "Um. Thank you."

"Just the truth, Mr. Hawkins. Now, that scoop I told you about?"

Never one to miss a beat, he began fumbling in his pockets. "Hang on, let me get my recorder-"

She shook her head. "You got a good camera on your phone, right?"

He blinked. "Yes?"

"How good?"

"Uh, it'll shoot almost movie quality."

"Awesome." She pointed at a little stool that she'd set up discreetly in a corner. "I would never stoop to tell the press what to do, but as a source, I'd suggest you stand on that stool and start recording sometime in, oh, the next five minutes."

Chip frowned. "O...K. What, are you going to give a speech?"

She winked. "Something like that. Look, I promise, cross my hearts, that you'll get a lot of views out of this."

He sighed. "Fine."

She watched him go with a small grin. She just hoped he was nice about this, though she couldn't think of a way he could spin it negatively, and to be honest, he didn't tend to spin things anyway. Which was why she'd chosen him, above and beyond the other very true reasons she'd given him.

Cindy took a deep breath and walked to the raised dais in the center of the room, which conveniently faced the corner Chip was now standing in. She stepped up on it and tapped her glass with a fingernail, the sound ringing gently since she happened to be holding one of the restaurant's fine crystal goblets. Not that she'd given it any thought. The room slowly fell silent and she smiled widely.

God, she hoped she wasn't about to make a terrible mistake.

"Ladies and gentlemen and friends," she said her voice carrying quietly, but confidently. "I'd like to take a moment to thank you, all of you, for coming out tonight to celebrate with us as we close the book on the installation phase of the East Coast Regeneration Initiative."

There were cheers and she grinned, letting them go for a second before she raised her hands. The room quieted again.

"I'd like to take a few seconds to thank a few people in particular. My boss, Mrs. Karnacki, for looking at a scared young preygirl and saying yes. My wonderful friend, Councilwoman Renata Dakota, for keeping me alive through two years of camp and for being a bedrock of sanity from the start. My friend and bodyguard Karl Dickinson, for keeping me alive for the past three years despite my best efforts to, and I quote, 'run screaming at the biggest asshole with a target strapped to my chest.'" There was a round of laughter, and she grinned sheepishly.

Her smile deepened and she raised her hand, holding it out to Bethany. "But most of all, I'd like to thank my beautiful, amazing girlfriend, Bethany Bodolf. She was the person that led me to regen, she was the person that found the regen units we use in the League, and most of all, she listened to me, laying on our apartment floor three years ago when I told her I wanted to jump of a cliff into a sea of insanity, and this crazy, amazing woman took my hand and said, let's jump together."

There was a round of applause, and Cindy smiled at Bethany, who was blushing madly. "Now, you all know Beth as the CEO of Bodolf Capital and the avenging angel of the prey business world. But let me tell you how I know her. I met Beth when we were nine years old and I transferred into her school. I was just a scared little closeted preygirl, and this big, cute wolf walked up to me when all the other kids were still scared of the taur girl, and decided on the spot that we were best friends."

She ran a finger over her glass, grinning fondly. "She was my first crush. When I came out as prey, she was the first person I told, and she took it amazingly. She helped me come out to my parents, held me when I cried after my father disowned me, got me into survival camp. She was the first person ever to hunt me. And when I found out she had feelings for me two years later, just after we graduated, well," she cocked an eyebrow and waved her glass. "I mean, can you look at that gorgeous woman with a heart bigger than both of mine put together, and blame me for charging into regen headlong?"

They laughed and Bethany looked like she could have stood in for a stoplight.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and she took a deep breath. "Three years, we've been together now, Beth and I. For three years, she's worked from the top down, and I've worked the ground game. Always together."

A waiter stepped up and handed her a covered dish. She traded it for her wineglass and stepped down into the ringing silence, walking toward Bethany with a smile she hoped covered her nerves. Bethany stared at her in confusion and she snickered inwardly. She stopped in front of her and knelt down, and Bethany's eyes widened. Cindy lifted the cover off to reveal both her hearts, braised to perfection, and atop them a small silver ring.

"I want you to have my hearts, Bethany Bodolf. I want us to be always together forever. Will you marry me?"

Bethany reached out with shaking hands and gently took the tray, setting it on the table. Cindy stared at her, hearts pounding as the whole room held their collective breath. Bethany turned back to her and grinned.

"God, yes."

There was a massive cheer and Cindy leaned up to kiss her soundly as the room fell away.

~~~~~

Cindy stood nervously in front of the mirror, turning this way and that, looking herself over. She didn't think she looked all that bad, but she still wasn't sure of the outfit. It had been Bethany's idea, her solution to a very simple problem: a taur in a dress looked like a loosely draped table.

So now, for her wedding day, she was wearing a beautiful cream colored tux top and tie, her League pendant dangling free and, somehow, not spoiling the sharp lines of the tux. She supposed that in the wider traditionalist view, that made her the "groom" of the wedding party, although she snickered at the thought. She might be the butch of their relationship, but she was by no means the top.

There was a tap at the door, a pattern she recognized. "Come in, Karl!"

He cracked the door open and leaned in. "Heya, Doc. There's someone here to see you."

She blinked. Karl wouldn't bring this to her if it wasn't important, but... "Who is it?"

The bear took a deep breath. "It's, uh...it's your mom."

Cindy froze, staring at the mirror. She hadn't spoken to her mother in three years. The first six months of her relationship with Bethany, Mom had tried to call a couple of times, and texted more than a few, but since the texts were always negative, she'd finally just blocked her mom's number and gotten on with her life. At low moments in her life, she still missed her, a little girl who wanted to hear comforting words from her Mommy, but...

She swallowed, trying to think. She had no reason to think Mom was here to wish her well. "Did you, um-"

Karl nodded. "She's clean."

Cindy breathed a small sigh of relief. Hypothetically, that meant her mother wasn't here to kill her, at least. "I guess...let her in," she said quietly.

Karl cleared his throat. "Doc, are you sure? You're an hour away from walking down the aisle."

Cindy blushed. "Well, at least if she's horrifically hurtful, I have the sight of Bethany waiting at the altar to cheer me up."

Karl regarded her thoughtfully. "Ok, Doc. Gimme a sec."

The door closed and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply, feeling her lungs fill and empty as she counted breaths. Few minutes later, there was a softer knock. She swallowed hard. "C-Come in."

The door opened hesitantly and her mother stepped in. Cindy looked her over curiously. She'd inherited her blond hair from her mom, but hers was a lighter shade. Where Cindy's hair was corn yellow, her mother's was more strawberry and gold. Ms. Lawson's hair was starting to go grey in streaks and at the temples, the contrast making her look more mature than her 43 years. She wasn't dressed for a wedding, to Cindy's mixed relief and disappointment, wearing a clean pair of jeans and a simple blouse. She stepped in nervously and closed the door behind her, looking Cindy over just as curiously as Cindy looked at her.

The two women stared at each other in silence, three years of it standing between them. Cindy wasn't sure what to say to the woman who'd supported her choice to die, but not to live.

"You have a bodyguard," Mom said quietly after a moment.

Cindy shrugged. "You'd be surprised how many people want to kill me."

Mom winced. "No, I...I've followed the papers. He searched me."

"Yeah. After Daddy tried to kill me, we stopped taking chances."

Mom shivered. "He's still in jail, you know."

Cindy shrugged. "If his lawyer would stop fighting tooth and nail and just plead out to the assault charges, he'd be out already. I doubt a taur will get more than a year for assaulting a rabbit. Hell, he could probably get time served at this point."

Mom licked her muzzle. "You could...speak on his behalf."

The foxtaur stared at her. "I think not pressing charges for attempted murder was about the limits of my patience, Mom. Did you come here to talk about Daddy, or?"

The older woman shivered. "No. Sorry, I just...no."

Cindy waited quietly, folding her hands in front of her to hide the shaking. A minute went by. "Look if you're here to yell at me, you might as well get it all out so I can get back to my life."

Mom blew out a breath. "I..I just had to see you, I guess. For myself."

"Well, you have. Was that all?"

Mom squirmed. "You're really going to marry...that woman?"

Cindy gritted her teeth. "Yes, Mom, I am. And don't give me any of that rushed shit, you knew Daddy for six whole months before you got knocked up with me and married him."

Mom shivered. "Do you hate me?" she blurted out.

The foxtaur blinked, the wind going out of her sails. "No, Mom," she said softly, sagging a little. "I've never hated you. You took care of me. You loved me, even when it was hard. I just...wish you'd kept loving me when it got harder."

"I never stopped loving you," Mom said tiredly. "But I couldn't...can't-"

"Support me, yeah," Cindy said rubbing her temples. "You made that clear."

"I want to try," Mom said quietly.

Cindy blinked. "I'm...sorry, what?"

Mom grinned a little shakily. "My new...I don't even know what to call him, yet. We've been on a few dates. A couple months now. It's looking...it was looking serious. I like him a lot. But...he thinks like you do. That prey are oppressed, that regen is the way forward."

Cindy blinked again, slower. "Is he-"

"No, Cindy. He's a pred. A panther."

Cindy nodded. "Sounds like a nice guy. Was looking serious? Past-tense?"

Mom stepped over to a table, her movements suddenly filled with nervous energy. She ran a hand over the scrollwork on it, tracing the pattern. "Did you know there are bars that have regen units in them now?"

Cindy nodded. "I take it he took you to one?"

Mom nodded distractedly. "He...I guess he assumed since I was your mother that I would be ok with it. He didn't realize that the fact that I didn't...don't talk about you meant we weren't...yeah."

The foxtaur sighed. "And you freaked out all over him, huh?"

Mom laughed softly. "Kinda. But...before I realized where we were, and what the place was...God, Cindy. I've never seen so many happy people. Prey and preds dancing together. Prey being eaten, not just calm and resigned, but happy and laughing and joking with their preds. It was...it was beautiful. And," she swallowed, "And after I stopped to think about it, I realized that that's not something I've ever seen. A whole roomful of happy people, just being people, no matter who they were."

She turned and looked at Cindy. "I got a glimpse of the world you want, the world you're working for. And now...I don't know what to think anymore."

Cindy took a deep breath. "And the guy? The one who took you there?"

Mom shrugged. "I doubt many people will take you back after you scream 'perverted freak' in their faces in the middle of a crowded club."

"No, I suppose not," Cindy said with a sigh.

They stared at each other for a moment. "I miss you, baby girl," Mom said quietly. "I'd...I know it would be work, but...I'd like to try and be a part of your life again. Even if it's just a small one."

Cindy swallowed. "I'd like that. I miss you too."

Mom smiled a little. "Good. Well. Um, text me? We'll...we'll try lunch together."

"Ok." Cindy said quietly, not quite daring to let hope build inside her.

Mom nodded and turned to go, reaching for the doorknob. "You look very handsome," she said softly.

Cindy blushed. "Thanks, Mom. And Mom?"

She paused, looking back.

"If the guy is serious...if you have feelings for him...give it a try. There's a lot to be said for swallowing your pride."

Mom licked her muzzle and nodded. "I think...I think I will."

Cindy watched her go and took a shaky breath. That was...unexpected. She was staring at the wall without seeing it when Karl knocked again. "Yeah?"

He poked his head in. "You ok?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. She came to reconcile, not to scream."

Karl blinked. "Wow. That's awesome, Doc. I'm happy for you."

Cindy grinned. "Congratulate me after this doesn't blow up in my face the first time she and Bethany get within five feet of each other."

Karl chuckled. "Will do. Just forty minutes now, by the way."

Cindy grinned wider. "Thanks, Karl. See you on the other side."

He gave her a thumbs up and closed the door.

Cindy turned and looked at the mirror again, straightening her lapels for the thousandth time. In forty minutes she would walk down the aisle on Renata's arm. She'd always assumed her Daddy would give her away at the wedding, but...

Her mind ticked over, lost in thought. She'd destroyed her family. The tightly knit, loving unit she'd grown up in was gone. Her father was in jail. Her mother was a stranger. Maybe she could build something new with Mom, but...

There was a knock on the door and she glanced at the clock, blinking. She'd been lost in melancholy memories for the whole time. Renata poked her head in, ginning. "It's time, Doc."

Cindy grinned, setting aside her darker train of thought. "Sweet." She stepped into the hallway, smiling as she looked at the coyote. She was wearing a floor length ball gown, a deep blue that set off her tan and rust fur. She took her maid of honor's arm, feeling butterflies in her stomach. "You look great, Nat."

Renata chuckled. "Yeah, just wait til you see Bethany."

Cindy shivered. "Looking forward to it. Shall we?"

They walked quietly through the halls to the doors of the room they were holding the wedding in. At Mrs. Karnacki's insistence, they were holding the wedding at the national Prey League HQ in the conference center. Partly to ensure security, partly for the statement, partly because Mrs. Karnacki had managed to swing the location for free as a gift. The double doors opened to a swell of music and her breath caught.

Bethany was smiling at her from the altar, and she was stunning. Her long black hair was pulled up in an elaborate updo, held in place by little prey heart pins. And she was wearing a frothy confection of a white dress, lace and satin that set off her dark grey fur, flowing out from her waist in an explosion of fluff. She looked more feminine, more soft, than Cindy had ever seen her. The walk down the aisle passed in a daze as Cindy couldn't take her eyes off the vision waiting for her.

She stepped up to Bethany and took her hands, trembling slightly. "Wow," she whispered.

Bethany blushed. "Thanks. It's not too much?"

Cindy shook her head, eyes roaming over her. "You look fantastic," she whispered.

They turned to face the priest, and set off on the rest of their lives together.

~~~~~

Cindy snuggled up to her wife, sighing contentedly. Bethany being the insanely rich woman she was, she'd rented a beach house for them for a month in a private resort. There were other people here, but the only time they saw them was if they made the trek to the shared part of the beach. They had a little stretch of it all to themselves.

Now, though, they were at the public beach, feeling delightfully anonymous. This little Caribbean island might not have heard of the Bodolf's yet, or at least, if the patrons had, they were rich and powerful enough to want their own private vacations and leave them alone.

Bethany took a sip of her drink, the primary reason they were here. They'd run out of mojito ingredients at the house, and rather than running into town to restock, they'd come down to the public beach to have a drink where there were cabana people to serve them. She watched as a pair of wolf cubs played and laughed in the surf, her stomach clenching a little.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Cindy asked quietly.

The wolfess snorted. "What the hell is a penny?"

"No idea. Old human saying."

Bethany chuckled. "I love that you're weird," she said with a grin, kissing her wife on the nose.

Cindy kissed her back. "Still. Something on your mind?"

The wolfess nodded at the cubs playing. "Kids."

Cindy shivered. "Ah. You know, we agreed we wanted kids years ago, but...I don't think we ever really talked about it beyond the fact that we'd like to have them."

Bethany nodded slowly. "Can you imagine? Little kids of our own?"

Cindy grinned. "That would be amazing. And since you're richer than God, we'd have no trouble adopting." Her smile faded slightly. "We might have to adopt internationally, of course, cause I'm not sure we could get anyone to give us kids at home, but..."

Bethany rolled over onto her side, looking at her wife. "Yeah, the pred/prey couple stigma is strong. But...what if we didn't adopt?"

Cindy cocked her head. "Bethany, we're lesbians. You can't exactly knock me up."

"Well, I mean...come to that, there's always IVF."

The foxtaur blinked. "You'd want one of us to get pregnant?"

Bethany took a deep breath. "I'd want you to get pregnant. The thought of you stuffed full of cubs, our cubs, is just...amazing."

Cindy grinned shyly, her hand going back to stroke her flank. "I mean, yeah. I always wanted to be a mother, to feel that joy of pregnancy. Not...not sure how I feel about fucking a test tube, though."

"What...what if we did it the traditional way?" Bethany asked carefully.

The foxtaur went still. "Beth are you...are you saying you want me to fuck a guy?"

Bethany stroked her chest quietly. "Well...you are bi."

Cindy licked her muzzle. "I mean, yeah, but...I kinda promised to be faithful to you and all. Like, two weeks ago. There was a ceremony and everything," she said teasingly.

Bethany snorted and grinned. "Yeah, I was there, babe." She sat up, staring out at the surf.

"So...why the sudden thought that I should bang a dude?" Cindy said quietly.

The wolfess pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. "It's...an old fantasy. Seeing you with someone at both ends. Hearing you moan as you eat me while someone bangs you. It's...it's not important, we can adopt-"

Cindy sat up, cutting her off. "I never knew you wanted to see me with other people," she said softly. "I mean...you always had this...hot streak, about that."

Bethany coughed. "Other preds," she clarified. "I don't want another pred getting within spitting distance of you."

Cindy hummed thoughtfully. "Why haven't you mentioned this before? And why now?"

"Well...not before because...how do you tell your girlfriend that you want a threesome, I guess. And now," Bethany said softly, "now, we're married. We've had three years to get sick of each other, and I'm pretty sure you're not going to run screaming if I bring up something weird. I mean, you gave me a ring and all," she said with a teasing smile, "So I guess you must like me a lot."

Cindy wrapped her arms around her wife, resting her chin on her shoulder. "True that. I'm not going anywhere. So...what, we track my cycles, hit the clubs, pick up a dude, bang one out, rinse and repeat until pregnant?"

Bethany shrugged, leaning back against her. "I...honestly hadn't thought of it like that," she admitted. "But before we go into details, are you even comfortable with this? I don't want you to just do what I tell you on this, I want you to tell me what you want, honestly."

The foxtuar went silent for a moment, watching the cubs. "I'm more worried about you," she admitted quietly.

The wolfess frowned. "Why? It's my idea."

Cindy stroked her wife's arms. "Beth...it never came up, but...I don't feel sexual attraction to most people. I have to...I have to feel love for someone before I can feel sexy towards them."

"Oh. Wait so, that first time-"

Cindy snuggled into her, grinning. "Loved you since we were nine, sweetie."

Bethany blushed. "God, I can't believe it took me almost half a decade to see what was right in front of me."

The foxtaur giggled. "Yeah, for someone that can spot a flaw in a 400 page business proposal at seventy paces, you're surprisingly oblivious. Still, we spent two years staring at each other and not realizing, so it's not like I'm any better."

"Yeah, yeah," Bethany said with a smile. "Can I ask...how did you figure that out? That you had to love someone to want them that way?"

Cindy took a deep breath. "You know I dated a couple of people, right?" Bethany nodded. Cindy shrugged. "The guys always asked me out, not the other way around. And...I didn't feel anything for them. Not sex, not attraction, nada. But I wanted you in the worst way, so I figured it was just...you."

She coughed. "You have to swear to keep the next couple parts secret, ok?"

The wolfess laughed. "I swear."

Cindy kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks. So, um, I had a crush on Nat-"

Bethany choked with laughter. "And she doesn't know?"

The foxtaur blushed. "No. At least, if she does she never said anything. She, um, knows me better than I know me sometimes, so she might."

"Yeah, I was super jealous of her for a while there," Bethany admitted. "So you figured you were a full on lesbian, I guess?"

Cindy nodded. "Yeah, except...then I developed a crush on Glen, too."

Bethany blew out a breath. "Ah. So here you are with two girl crushes, one guy crush, and no differentiating between pred and prey."

Cindy nodded. "And...I realized that the connection, the fantasies about, you know, sexy stuff, was that these were all people I was super close to and had strong feelings for. So I went out with a guy that everyone at the center agreed was cute, who'd been asking me out a while, and...nothing. I mean, I could see he was pretty, but...I couldn't feel a damn thing about him. So I tried a girl, and that went a little better. We got close, and I felt a little something of that about her. It might have gone further, actually, but she just wanted the sex, I think."

"And you didn't."

"And I didn't," Cindy agreed. "I was starting to notice her that way, but she was always all over me and I just...couldn't hack it. I needed time for it to grow, and she wouldn't wait."

Bethany nodded, mind spinning. "So."

"Yeah. I can try the pickup sex if I have you with me, helping me through it-"

Bethany shuddered. "God, no! The thought of some guy basically raping you is...God, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."

Cindy sighed inwardly with relief. "So, that means...we'd have to date someone. And I don't know how you feel about that."

Bethany snuggled into her. "That'd be...interesting. I...I'm not really into guys, honestly. And it's not like we could date the guy long enough for you to feel sexy with him, then kick him to the curb."

Cindy nodded. "And we'd have a shitty time weeding through the guys with a lesbian fantasy."

"And the guys with a taur fantasy," Bethany said quietly.

"And the guys who just want to fuck the Bodolfs."

Bethany sighed. "And the guys that want to fuck me."

"And the sugar babies."

Silence fell between them as they listened to the surf and the sound of children laughing. Bethany chuckled. "You know, only we could be this complicated."

Cindy giggled and kissed her on the neck. "It's like I said three years ago, sweetie. It was never going to be uncomplicated between us."

Bethany nodded. "So...we're doing this?"

Cindy blushed. "I guess we are."