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Theirs was not exactly a fairy tale romance.

Lucy had met Eric when he began patronizing the 24-hour MMA gym where she worked as a personal trainer. She never put herself out there as available, though of course, there was no shortage of guys who thought they could take her, one way or another. (A good armbar usually resolved that situation quickly and neatly.)

He had been a regular for about three months, or at least, that was about when she started noticing him. He didn't seem intimidated by the fact that she was the same height as him (six foot one on the dot), nor by the fact that she was built considerably more heavily than he was. She was used to intimidating men. She liked intimidating men. But Eric was different. He gave as good as he got in the occasional verbal sparring match, and even though they never trained together, he was always a welcome sight.

The first time Eric really caught Lucy's eye as more than a friendly acquaintance was the night she'd broken her personal deadlift record. He had been training on a heavy bag at the time, pretending that he wasn't watching her, and when she actually didn't, he was so stunned that he knocked the bag off its chain. That had been a bit of a surprise; Eric was rather wiry, built more for agility than strength, or so Lucy had thought, but he'd knocked the entire bag clear across the room. It was the funniest thing Lucy had ever seen and she asked him out right then and there.

After that, things went quickly, and after a year of dating, Eric told Lucy three words that changed their relationship forever.

"I'm a werewolf."

After Lucy was convinced that this wasn't an elaborate prank, by means of him gaining a foot of height, a hundred pounds of muscle, and a thick coat of silver-gray fur right before her eyes.

After the initial shock had worn off - faster than Eric had anticipated, if she was being honest - she had proceeded to ask him a barrage of questions. She asked him if it was transmissible (no). She asked him if the silver allergy was a real thing (yes). She asked him if the whole alpha thing was real (very emphatically no). She asked him if he was in total control of it (yes, except when the moon was full). And, most importantly of all, she asked him who was a good boy, at which point he tackled her and pinned her to the ground while she laughed her exceptionally well-toned ass off.

They went up to the courthouse and got married the very next day.

That had been two years ago and they remained exceptionally happy the entire time. Things couldn't have possibly been going better for them. And that was when Lucy broached the subject of starting a family. In truth, she hadn't known if it would be possible. She'd never quite been able to find a tasteful moment to bring up the whole issue of biological compatibility. Eric was hesitant. Not because he disliked the idea, but because there were a lot of potential issues to consider.

Which led Lucy to where she was now, sitting in the waiting room of a hospital unlike any she had ever seen before. Eric had made a phone call, and that evening, as they stepped outside, Lucy watched as a door materialized out of thin air and an actual factual goddamn elf welcomed them inside.

Lucy had taken the werewolf thing with considerable grace and aplomb. This was going to take a bit more getting used to. She nervously drummed her foot as she tried not to stare at the other people in the waiting room, which included a mermaid, a centaur, and a woman of some variety that Lucy couldn't quite put her finger on, almost eight feet tall with green-gray skin, craggy features, and muscles that would have driven of her gym bro friends to weep in awe. She was currently knitting the longest scarf that Lucy had ever seen.

"First time, dear?" she said. She didn't look up from her work, but gave a little smile all the same. "I'm an ogre."

"Oh, uh, thanks," said Lucy, feeling her cheeks color. Eric chuckled. Lucy punched him on the arm.

The ogre's assessment made Lucy painfully aware of how much she stood out. Granted, Lucy had always been something of a striking figure. "Tall, dark, and handsome" wasn't a look that a lot of women wore well, but she made it work for her. But there was standing out because you were bigger and more muscular than your average Jane, and standing out because you were the only human in the room.

Granted, Eric looked pretty normal, too. Fair skin, lean athletic build, dirty blonde hair in a tasteful bun... nothing about him screamed "werewolf", at least not to humans. But according to him, it was obvious to everyone else. ("They can smell it on me," he had said.)

"You okay, honeybuns?" he said, earning her a dirty look. He only broke out the schmaltzy pet names when he knew that she was nervous.

"Sorry, it's just a lot," said Lucy. "The whole 'hospital in another dimension' thing. Where did you even learn about something like this, anyway?"

"It goes around," he said, nodding. "Werewolves - all shifters, really - have a bit of a reputation for being kind of insular compared to other nonhuman communities. But everyone needs care sometimes. The Hospital has a way of reaching out to people who need it."

"I heard the capital letter there."

"Oh yeah, it's a little bit alive. Long story. Not important right now."

"I think it's a little bit important!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Gunnarsson?" said the receptionist, a short, stocky woman with a magnificent beard. "The doctor will see you now. If you'll take the door to your left?"

"Thank you," said Eric, getting up and motioning for Lucy to follow him before she could get any more questions out. He made his way over to the indicated door. Lucy was a bit puzzled at the lack of further instructions, but she assumed that Eric knew what he was doing.

But rather than opening into a hallway or something, the door took them straight into an examination room, and Lucy felt a shiver down her spine as the door shut behind them.

"What was-" she began, but then the door opened again, and the room it revealed as a doctor stepped out of it was not the room they had entered from mere seconds ago. She whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes at Eric, who just shrugged.

Then she returned her gaze to the doctor. She was taller than Lucy, but exceptionally lean and lanky, with green skin, silver hair, and long, pointed ears. Aside from that, she looked like any other doctor. Indeed, she ticked every single box: White coat, stethoscope, clipboard, all checked off. It was like the woman had looked up "doctor" in a database of stock photography and adjusted her appearance accordingly.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Gunnarsson," she said, looking down at her clipboard. "My name is Dr. Winkle, and I will be your fertility specialist, such as it is. I understand that you are a human and a shifter?"

"That's right," said Eric, giving Lucy's hand a squeeze.

"You made the correct decision in making your appointment, then," said Dr. Winkle. "Interspecies reproduction can always be difficult, though perhaps not in the ways you have anticipated. Compared to most beings, shifters are exceptionally closely related to ordinary humans. Biological compatibility is not the issue here. You are perfectly capable of impregnating your wife without any assistance whatsoever from me."

"Glad to hear it!" said Lucy. "Sorry to take up your time-"

"But it would be exceptionally ill-advised for him to do so," said the doctor, looking up at Lucy. "Shifters are very close to humans, but they are not humans. They have very particular needs. May I assume that the two of you are sexually active?"

"Boy are we," said Lucy, now squeezing Eric's hand as he blushed.

"Have you ever had intercourse while Eric was shifted?" said Dr. Winkle, as dispassionately as if she was asking about the frequency of their bowel movements.

Lucy wasn't made of stone, and it was her turn to blush now. But, well, if she couldn't be perfectly open with her weird magical elf doctor, then what was the point of her even being here?

"Once or twice," said Lucy. "I was sore the next day every time. Worth it, though."

Dr. Winkle nodded, making some notes. "That's not surprising. Even when unshifted, shifter bodies are remarkably resilient. Their muscles are exceptionally dense compared to humans', and their immune systems extremely strong."

"So that's why you never get sick, you jerk," said Lucy, punching Eric lightly in the arm.

"The odds of a shifter naturally impregnating or becoming pregnant by a human are low, but not zero," the doctor went on. "And if the pregnancy was successful, it would be exceedingly taxing for you. In times before modern medicine, birth was invariably fatal for human bearers of shifter children. Their bodies simply could not take the strain."

"But modern medicine has solutions for that, right?" said Lucy, with a hopeful lilt to her voice. "Or at least, like, modern magic medicine?"

Dr. Winkle looked at her, and though her expression didn't change, it remained unchanged in a slightly exasperated way.

"Yes," she said, withdrawing something from her pocket. What Lucy had taken for a pen was in fact a bit of polished and twisted wood with a tiny quartz crystal on the end of it. She tapped Lucy on the forehead with it and whispered something. Then she did the same on her chest and, after instructing her to lift up her shirt, her navel and her groin. She made a few more notes.

"You are in exceptionally good health," said Dr. Winkle.

Lucy just grinned and flexed her biceps. Dr. Winkle remained impassive.

"I'll have to examine you as well, Eric," she said. "Would you mind shifting for me?"

Eric nodded, unbuttoning his shirt as Lucy turned around. He didn't like for Lucy to watch him transform. It wasn't that the shift was gruesome; in fact, it was over his second. It wasn't an entirely physical transformation, as he had tried to explain it. There was weird supernatural bullshit involved, as Lucy had understood it. She'd tried to watch him do it once, out of curiosity, and she'd very nearly gotten a migraine trying to comprehend what she was seeing, so she'd looked away very rapidly.

There was a subtle change in the air, and Lucy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. When she uncovered her eyes, there was Eric, now standing tall seven feet and change, his body thicker and beefier than before, not to mention the coat of shaggy gray fur he was covered with head to toe. And even though his features had shifted too, his face having elongated into a lupine muzzle, it was still unmistakably him. She'd know those kind eyes no matter what shape he was in.

He also looked noticeably edgier. Being in wolf form didn't make him mindlessly bestial; rather, he'd described it as pushing his animal instincts to the forefront. They could be restrained with practice and a lot of effort, but being a wolf, especially if he hadn't shifted in a while, was like existing as pure id.

He still hadn't forgiven her for the time she'd thrown a stick. She didn't know what he was so mad about. He was the one who ran after it.

He was nervous now. Wolves didn't like enclosed spaces. She ran a hand along his back, and her touch comforted him.

Dr. Winkle went through the same routine with the wand as she had with Lucy, making more notes. "I am going to need to take a blood sample," she said, making her way over to a cabinet and pulling out some supplies. "This is a silver-tipped needle. It will sting. Please refrain from mawing me."

Eric let out an annoyed huff. Lucy smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Relax, puppy," she said. "If you behave, we can go to the park afterwards."

Eric shot her an annoyed look, and as he looked away, Dr. Winkle very quickly collected her sample.

"You can turn back now," she said, making a few more notes. She gave Eric a moment to get re-dressed before going on.

"I see no reason why you should not go ahead and start trying to conceive," said Dr. Winkle. "You will both be given some ointments that you should use. For best results, Eric should be shifted, and you should make your attempt while the moon is waxing gibbous. Afterwards, Lucy, you will be given some medicine to take once a week once you have successfully conceived, and you should come in for biweekly check ups. But if you follow all of these steps, I see no reason why you should not safely deliver a healthy litter."

"Did you hear that, babe?" said Lucy, grinning ear to ear as she gripped Eric's hand. "We're going to have a- wait, did she say litter?"

Eric looked sheepish all of a sudden. Dr. Winkle cleared her throat.

"I will give you two a moment," she said, leaving the room.

Eric let out a nervous chuckle. Lucy folded her arms and tapped her foot on the ground.

"I was going to tell you!" he said.

"How many?"

Eric sighed. "I'd have to ask my mom to be sure," he said. "But three or four is pretty average. Five or six is rare, but not unheard of. I have a distant cousin who had eight."

"...So, if we do this, there is a nonzero chance that I'll have eight babies?"

Eric nodded. Lucy stared a hole through him for a moment, then started laughing again.

"Shit, puppy, you are too much," she said, leaning into him. "I want to do this, baby. Whatever it takes, whatever happens, I'm in this for the long haul."

Eric relaxed as he wrapped his arms around you. "I love you, Lucy. And I can't wait for us to start our family."

"Me neither. But if I have eight, I'm getting you fixed."

"You know what, that's fair."

~*~

It was a beautiful night. The sky was clear, crickets were singing, and the moon was waxing gibbous.

As Eric had explained it, the closer the moon was to full, the nearer to the surface the wolf was, even when he was human-shaped, and on the night of the full moon, he had no choice but to give in to it completely and fully. The first time it had happened after they had moved in together, she was afraid she would have had to shackle him or lock him in a room. But in fact, as soon as the moon rose, he would just run off into the woods, and she wouldn't hear from him until he returned the next morning, sometimes with half a deer carcass in tow. She couldn't complain. He got to enjoy himself, and she got to enjoy his amazing venison chili.

For the past few days, she'd been taking some medicine that Dr. Winkle had given her, and sitting nearby was a bottle of something that was supposed to make her a bit more... pliable, she guessed? It just looked like ordinary lube to her, but apparently it was full of fairy dust or unicorn jizz or something similarly magical. Who knew?

And now here she was, waiting in their bedroom while Eric got ready for her. She was weirdly nervous. They were usually much more spontaneous. Doing the deed with so much pomp and circumstance was off-putting.

Still, she wanted to make sure that this worked, so she could put up to fit. And when she saw Eric in all his glory, it was hard for her to complain.

When he came out of the bathroom, ducking under the doorframe, he was already shifted, and she took a moment to admire him, and to think about how many people on certain internet forums would give a selection of internal organs to be where she was right now.

"Oh no," she said, dramatically swooning. "A most terrible beast has broken into my boudoir, no doubt intent on ravishing me! What is an innocent maiden to do?"

No matter what shape he was in, that look of being absolutely done with her nonsense was unmistakable.

"Oh, come on, puppy," she said, grinning. "It wouldn't kill you to lighten up a little oooooh!"

Her sass was cut off as he pounced on head, spreading her legs and burying his face between them, putting that long, strong tongue to good use. As amazing as it felt, it occurred to her that she should get things in order now, before things really heated up.

"Easy there, pup," she said, running a hand over his head as he ate her out with reckless abandon. "Let's not spend all of our energy up front, hmm? As much as I... whoof... don't want you to stop... we've got a job to do."

Reluctantly, Eric pulled away, waiting at the food of the bed for her to give him the go ahead. But he was eager. If she really and truly wanted him to stop (their safeword was 'argentum', because Lucy thought she was clever), then he would, no questions asked. Wild instincts or not, he was still Eric, and Eric would never hurt her. But something was different tonight.

As she had told the doctor, they had only done this a few times, and every time, it had been amazingly intense. But they had never done it when the moon was so close to full. Eric ordinarily held back and let her take the lead. But not tonight.

There was a hungry gleam in his eyes. The wolf was wide awake, and it knew what it wanted.

And Lucy was all too happy to let him take it.

She quickly retrieved the little glass bottle from her nightstand and upended it over her hand, then proceeded to rub a generous dollop over her pussy and the surrounding area. It went on pleasantly cool and gave her a shiver. Once she was suitably oiled up, she flipped over, raising her ass in the air.

"See something you like?" she said, as she waved it from side to side. And soon she could feel his presence, his weight, as those enormous hands held her steady, and she could feel something hot and twitchy pressing into her.

That was the other thing about sex with a werewolf. Everything got bigger.

As Eric lined the tip of his cock up, there was a brief moment of hesitation. She heard him let out an inquisitive little growl, asking one more time if she was sure.

"Do it, babe. Don't hold back. Take me. Make me yours." And then, because she couldn't help herself, she added, "Make me your bitch."

It was like a switch had been flipped. There was no more hesitation. There was no more reluctance. There was only instinct. Eric did not take it easy or take it slow. In the space of a second, most of his cock was inside of her, and Lucy let out a prolonged gasp. Normally, she would have needed a minute or two to get used to his size, but now he slid right in like she was made for it. What was in that ointment?

It felt good when he entered her, but it felt amazing when he began to move. It was rough and it was sloppy and it was good so good oh my fucking god so good. Lucy held onto the bed for dear life as she felt Eric's furry hips slapping into her. He leaned down over her, mounting her in earnest as his shadow loomed over her. His motions slowed for a moment as he got situated, but once he did, a second wind overtook him as he pounded into her, deeper and deeper... and then she could feel it, something thick and swollen, even thicker than his cock, pressing right against her outer lips.

"Do it," moaned Lucy, bracing herself. "Knock me up! Fill my belly with your pups!"

Eric let out a guttural groan as, with one powerful motion, he forced his knot inside of her and began to move with quick, shallow thrusts, hips bucking like a piston as he pounded her so hard that she could feel her skull rattling, and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he held onto her tight and let out a needful yowl as his knot engorged inside of her, holding her in place as he came, and it wasn't long before she could feel her own climax crashing over her.

When she could see straight again, the two of them were side by side on the bed, Eric's arms wrapped securely around her, his knot still holding them together.

She wriggling around a bit so that they were face to face, then leaned into his fluffy chest.

"Guess we're not going anywhere for a while, hmm?" she said. In response, Eric gave a content little whuff.

"I feel all warm inside," she said, bringing a hand down to her belly. "Is this what getting impregnated feels like? ...Probably not, but it's nice to imagine."

She laughed as she nuzzled closer to him, squeezing him tight.

"We'll have to see if we can't get more of that magic lube. This was fucking incredible."

Another little growl, this one agreeable, but also a little bit annoyed. (There was an art to interpreting a variety of lupine noises, and Lucy liked to think that she was pretty good at it.)

"...Was 'make me your bitch' a little much? I was worried it might have been."

He responded by pressing his nose against her cheek. Lucy laughed and tried to push away from him, momentarily forgetting the fact that they were still quite firmly tied together.

"Guess I'm not going anywhere for a bit," she said, leaning into his chest once again. "Ain't that a shame."

~*~

Lucy wasn't sure what she had been expecting. She figured that she would just nip down to the pharmacy and get a pregnancy test just like any other person attempting to get pregnant. What she got was hoisted off her feet within moments of stepping in the door after her early-morning jog.

"Oof! What is it, boy?" she groaned, as Eric spun her around. "Did Little Timmy fall down the well again?"

"You're pregnant!" The words came out in an excited squeal, and he could barely hold still.

"Wait, what?" she said, as she urged him to set her down. "How can you possibly know that?"

Eric just grinned and tapped his nose. It took Lucy a moment to catch on to his meeting.

"You're fucking with me."

"I mean, yes, that's how we got to this point."

Lucy groaned and socked him on the arm. "You know what I mean, you mangy mutt. Are you telling me you can smell it on me? Are you sure?"

"The nose knows," said Eric, earning him a punch on the other arm, followed by Lucy giving him a full-body hug.

"Holy shit, this is happening! This is really happening!"

"I've already made an appointment with Dr. Winkle," said Eric. "It's going to be tough from here, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

"You think I was expecting pregnancy to be a walk in the park?" said Lucy. "I'm a tough cookie! I can handle whatever life throws at me!"

~*~

Unfortunately, there was no way to quite prepare for everything that was coming. She couldn't exactly nip down to a local bookstore and pick up a copy of What To Expect When You're Expecting A Litter Of Werewolf Puppies. Dr. Winkel had given her a supply of a rather potent herbal tonic, which she would need to take a shot of once a week for the duration of the pregnancy. It was viscous and earthy, but she'd had protein supplements that had tasted worse. She could handle it.

In addition, the doctor had warned her that a number of physiological changes over the course of her pregnancy would be likely as her body prepared for what was to come. But Lucy still wasn't worried. Three months in and she hadn't even gotten any morning sickness! She had this pregnancy thing down pat.

The first thing to really throw her off her game was the cravings. She normally tried to maintain a fairly balanced diet - her body was a temple, after all. Lunch was typically a combo sub from the sandwich shop down the street from the gym. But on her way down the street, something made her stop. To her surprise, the burger joint across the street was emitting the most wonderful aroma she had ever smelled, and when she saw their advertisement, showing off the new Big Bertha BBQ Brisket Baconburger, she felt her heart skip a beat.

She ordinarily wouldn't be caught dead ordering something like that outside of a cheat day. It would be a lot of calories to burn off, after all. But when she saw the sign, she was this close to plowing through the window to get one.

When she was done, rather than feeling full and sluggish like she'd expected, she felt more energized than ever, so much so that she spent the rest of her lunch hour on the treadmill.

It only got worse that night, when she came home to find Eric preparing to grill steaks for dinner. When she saw him unwrapping the big cuts of thick, juicy meat, she could feel her mouth beginning to water, even though they weren't cooked yet.

"Oh hey, just in time," he said, waving to her. "Was just getting ready to start cooking. Medium-well like usual, then?"

"What?" said Lucy, reluctantly pulling her gaze away from the meat. Then she shook her head. "Rare," she said. "No. Almost blue. I want to taste it."

Eric just smiled at her, like she had said something funny, but he soon got to cooking. And when the time came to serve dinner, she didn't even think twice about the fact that he served her two steaks. She barely retained the presence of mind to use her utensils. When she was finally done, only then, for the first time that day, did she feel satisfied.

"What's come over me?" she said, as she unwound for the evening, lying down on the couch with her head in Eric's lap.

"I was on the phone with my mom today," said Eric. "And, well... you know that shifters tend to have big appetites, yeah?"

Lucy nodded. It was true. Eric usually ate twice as much as she did at any given meal.

"Well, mom was telling me that when she was pregnant with me and my siblings, she got even hungrier than usual. I had a feeling that you might need a little extra energy, too. And, well, wolves are carnivores. So I called on my cousin Lars, who works at that artisanal butcher uptown, and got him to double my usual order. If I was wrong, then hey, more steak for me. But it looks like I wasn't wrong."

Lucy grumbled, looking down at her stomach. "So this is your doing, you little meat-eaters?" she said. It was subtle, but she could almost swear that she had a bit of a pooch.

"Sounds like you'd better get used to it," said Eric, running a hand through her hair.

She grinned at him. "Have I ever backed down from a challenge in my life? Bring it on."

~*~

"Leave me here. Tell them I've run off into the woods. I'm sure it happens all the time."

"You're going to be fine, I promise," said Eric from the other room. "It's just a family gathering. You've met my siblings before and they were fine."

"That was two other werewolves! This is a whole pack of them!"

"It'll be okay, you have a few weeks to psych yourself up for it. Besides, there'll be food!"

Lucy thought about that. "What kind of food?"

"Your favorite kind: lots."

She snorted. Well, he wasn't wrong. Lucy had almost doubled her daily caloric intake over the past several months. She looked back at herself in the mirror and sighed. She hadn't gotten dressed for the day yet, and took a moment to size herself up.

"Physiological changes"... the doctor wasn't kidding. She had already just started to show at two months along. At four, she now had an unmistakable bump, round and protruding. She had gotten a bit thicker, too, particularly around her chest and hips; her breasts had filled out a bit, going up a cup size and sagging slightly, and her waist had grown a bit more pronounced. She'd lost a bit of her muscle definition, but none of her strength. If anything, she'd only gotten stronger as the months went by. She'd very nearly broken the squat rack at the gym the other day.

And that wasn't all that had changed. Lucy didn't habitually shave her body, but even so, there'd never been much need to. As of late, though... she wasn't sure if it was the weird shifter hormones or the tonic, but her body hair had grown thicker and denser. What had been a fairly sparse thatch of pubic hair had blossomed out into a thick bush, complete with a little trail that went up to her navel. Likewise, her underarms had filled out a bit, and her legs were now covered with a thin but nevertheless visible coating of fuzz.

All in all, the changes to her body made her look more... primal, maybe? Like maybe she could go run off into the woods. Maybe go find a bear to wrestle with.

She grinned at her reflection, striking a pose and running a hand over her bump.

"Yeah, y'know what? I still got it."

"Sorry, what was that?" said Eric, coming out from the bathroom.

"Nothing," said Lucy, gesturing for him to come closer. "If we're going to be spending a weekend surrounded by your family, then let's take advantage of the privacy we have, hmm?"

Eric didn't need telling twice. With a grunt, he scooped her off her feet and deposited her gently onto the bed, and wasted no time in showering her belly with kisses.

That was another thing. Eric had always been very touchy-feely, something that she ordinarily encouraged, but her pregnancy had amplified it a thousandfold. He could barely keep his hands off of her, especially her belly. He never passed up an opportunity to give her bump a quick rub. It could be annoying at times, such as when she was trying to get dressed, but it was hard to be too upset about the attention. It felt good to be appreciated.

Eric had his head against her belly in an extremely protective way. She smiled as she thought about their walk in the park the prior week, where an ill-behaved dog had barked at her and Eric had actually growled at it, reducing it to a cowering mess while its owner looked on in awe. While Lucy had never been shy about standing up for herself (as a veritable rogues' gallery of men with black eyes could attest to), it was hard not to feel a little bit flattered. She was His and he would look after her.

"You're cute," she said, running a hand through his hair.

"What brought this on?" he said, opening one eye to look up at her but not moving from his perch.

"You being cute, obviously," she said, giving his face a pat. "What, am I not allowed to-"

Almost in perfect unison, Lucy's and Eric's eyes snapped wide open.

"Did you feel that?" he said, in a low whisper.

"Shoosh," she said, holding as still as possible. Sure enough, a few moments later, there it was again.

"That was a kick!" said Eric, practically vibrating with joy. Lucy could see the tail which he currently didn't have wagging.

"I'll say it was," said Lucy, putting her hand on Eric's. "I felt that one in my ribs."

Eric just laughed and continued to nuzzle her, and Lucy had a feeling that she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

~*~

Just around the time she'd passed the 20-week mark, Lucy had undergone another growth spurt. If she had been carrying a single average-sized human baby, a casual onlooker would think that she was well into her third trimester. She didn't have any of the expected back pain. Carrying her growing bulk around was easier than she had anticipated, and she said as much to Dr. Winkle as she came in for her latest exam.

"Everything seems normal," said the doctor, as she finished checking Lucy's vital signs.

"Normal for a werewolf pregnancy, you mean?" said Lucy, with a sly smirk.

"Yes, that is what I meant," said Dr. Winkle, the attempt at humor sliding right off of her, as usual. Lucy swore she was going to get a rise out of her one of these days. "As I said before, we are going to be performing something very similar to an ultrasound today. The technician should be here at any moment. In fact, she should have been here by now."

Lucy had been a regular at the Hospital now for long enough that the only thing she expected was the unexpected. The only thing she knew for sure that she would not be seeing was a person wheeling a machine into the room. She tried to think of several things that it could have been. A crystal ball, maybe? Some kind of psychic scanning?

But it turned out she was way off, a bright red comet streaked in from one of the nearby vents, zooming around the room a few times before abruptly freezing in place, revealing itself as a tiny person.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Winkle!" she yelped, in a high, shrill little voice. "It was my lunch break and I had that nice pot of tupelo honey that I was looking forward to all day but then Dr. Ironroot had an appendectomy patient and that took all afternoon so when I finally got around to sitting down I was famished and really wanted to take my time and enjoy it and by the time I was finished I realized it was already three o'clock and I came here as fast as I could!"

"Do take a moment to breathe," said Dr. Winkle. "We are professionals here. Lucy, this is Vermillion, our imaging technician."

"Just call me Vee!" said the technician, flashing a peace sign. She was about a foot tall, with glassy wings, chitinous limbs, and bright eyes, surrounded by a cherry red glow. And she was dressed in a very tiny nurse's uniform.

"Holy shit, you're a fairy," said Lucy.

Vee giggled at that. "A very common misconception! Fairy - or more specifically, fae - refers to a wide variety of otherworldly creatures with similar ancestry, including Dr. Winkle here! You might liken it more to a genus than a species, though of course mortal taxonomy can be difficult to apply to-"

"She's a sprite," said Eric, giving Lucy's shoulder a squeeze. "You get used to them."

"Just don't ask me if Pepsi's okay," said Vee, smiling a little bit too widely for Lucy's comfort. "Now, let's see how your buns are baking, hmm? Lie down and lift up your shirt for me!"

Lucy was a bit hesitant, looking over to Eric. He nodded, and Lucy did as asked, lying back on the examination table and hiking her shirt up over her belly. It didn't have far to go.

"We can take care of those stretch marks for you, if you'd like," said Vee. "We have some very nice moly-and-cocoa-butter lotions that will do the job quite nicely."

"Thanks, but I'm good," said Lucy, nodding as she traced one of the subtle red streaks. "I kinda like 'em."

Vee let out a delighted chitter as she landed next to Lucy, laying her tiny hands on her belly. "This might tingle a bit," she said, as she began to rub, her hands making little spirals. Sure enough, something did tingle, and Lucy shuddered like a cold draft had just washed over her. The sprite closed her eyes and began to hum lightly, and the crimson aura surrounding her began to glow more brightly.

"Okay, I'm ready!" said Vee, lifting off once again. Dr. Winkle snapped her fingers and the lights in the room began to dim. Vee began to dart through the air in figure eight patterns, leaving streaks of light behind her. Then she began to twirl, and the trails coalesced together, before finally resolving themself into an image. Sure enough, hovering right in the air before them was a semi-translucent cross section of Lucy's belly, made from pale red light.

"Holy shit," she said, squeezing Eric's hand. "This is amazing!"

Eric, meanwhile, was completely dumbstruck as Dr. Winkle paced around the image.

"Everything looks very good," said Dr. Winkle. "You have four very healthy babies."

"Four?" Lucy squeezed tighter as she looked at the image more closely. Vee obliged by zooming in. Sure enough, she could just about make up four distinct shapes.

"Four..."

"Are you okay?" said Eric, looking back at her with concern.

Lucy then started to laugh. "Honestly, babe, I'm just thankful it wasn't eight." She then pulled him close into a tight hug. "Four babies!"

"Would you like to know their sexes?" asked Dr. Winkle.

"Nah, we'll be surprised," said Lucy. "Holy shit, Eric! I'm having a litter!""

"I will give you two a moment," said Dr. Winkle, giving them a nod before making for the door.

"Congratulations!" chirped Vee, as she poofed into a luminous cloud and disappeared back through the vent.

"We're going to need to renovate the nursery," said Lucy, holding tightly onto Eric. "Maybe knock down a wall."

"And put up a bigger fence around the yard," Eric added. "Trust me on this one. Werewolf pups are natural born escape artists."

"Oh, good. And here I was worried that interspecies parenthood was going to be boring."

~*~

Lucy had grown yet again by the time the family gathering had rolled around, which came in just around at the start of month six. Dr. Winkle had warned her that it was going to happen, yet it still caught her off guard. She resolved herself to wearing sweatpants for the remainder of the pregnancy, something that was in no short supply in Eric's wardrobe. Werewolves liked clothes that they could get out of quickly.

However, Eric was quick to reassure Lucy that her fashion choices would not be remarked upon.

"There is going to be casual nudity," he had said, the night that they had received their invitation, which had turned into a Werewolves 101 lecture, complete with illustrations. "It's not a possibility, it's a certainty. That's just not a taboo we have. Also, we're very physically affectionate. If you're not okay with being hugged by total strangers, let me know now so I can give everyone some advance notice. And they're going to want to touch your belly. I repeat, they will respect your boundaries if you say no, but among them, the default assumption is going to be that you're okay with it. There's a strong chance that you will be sniffed. As a human, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb, olfactorily speaking. Don't take it personally. If you can handle it, don't wear any scents or deodorants."

Then Lucy had made fun of him for using the phrase "olfactorily", and that rapidly turned into a makeout session, and the rest of the night was something of a wash, in terms of education.

And now, here they were, pulling up to an unpaved parking lot next to a large farmhouse. Every other car parked near them was either a minivan or a pickup truck of some kind.

"Are you ready?" said Eric, putting a hand on hers.

"As ready as I'm going to be," she said. "Let's do this."

But there was absolutely no amount of preparedness for the sight that awaited Lucy on the other side of the farmhouse. What she saw was upwards of thirty people, most of whom were in some state of undress, all of whom were in peak physical condition, and a few of whom happened to be enormous bipedal wolves. A couple of them were attending the biggest barbeque pit that Lucy had ever seen, roasting - among other things - an entire pig. Several were playing some kind of game that looked superficially similar to horseshoes, except they were throwing tractor tires. But most of them were just interacting with each-other, making spirited conversation, sharing anecdotes, or just playfully tussling.

And all of them turned to look when Eric and Lucy turned the corner. In her head, Lucy could almost hear the record needle scratch.

"Um... hi there," she said, feeling like a bug under a microscope. "I'm Lucy. It's so nice to meet you all."

And then she was mobbed. Everyone wanted to get a close look at her. The ones who weren't currently wolf-shaped (which was more than Lucy had expected) all had something to say.

"Omigod, Eric, you were right, she's glowing!"

"Welcome to the family, Lucy!"

"Oh wow, you're even bigger than I was when I had my litter!"

"She looks so strong! I didn't think humans could be so strong!"

"We're SO happy to finally meet you!"

"Are you having a hard time keeping up with Eric?"

"Is he having a hard time keeping up with you?"

Then there was a sharp whistle, and the crowd scattered as a woman stepped forward. She was older-looking, with laugh lines on her face and gray streaks in her dirty blonde hair, and built like a brick shithouse. Lucy knew immediately that she could take any number of gym bros to the cleaners without breaking a sweat.

She was also shamelessly nude, and Lucy tried to keep her eyes turned upward.

"Give her some breathing room, would you?" said the woman. "Do none of you have any manners!"

"We can't help it!" said one of them. "We were raised by wolves!"

This was met with a round of uproarious laughter. Eric and the woman both rolled their eyes in a very similar manner.

"You must be Eric's mom," she said, offering the woman a hand.

"He said you were smart," she said, accepting the handshake. "My name's Gudrun, and it's so nice to finally meet you in person. I admit, we were all a little skeptical about Eric's relationship at first, but I mean, look at you now!"

Even though the general atmosphere in the yard was friendly, Lucy could tell that some of the onlookers still weren't sure what to make of her. At a time like this, it was important to show solidarity. So Lucy smiled and opened up her arms.

Gudrun returned the smile, and pulled Lucy in for a soft but very strong hug, and for its duration, Lucy was quite certain that she had never felt more safe and secure in her entire life.

"Sorry about that, dear," she said as they parted. "They're interested in you! It's been awhile since we've had a new addition to the pack like this."

"It's okay," said Lucy, turning back to look at the crowd. She supposed it was time to give the people what they wanted.

"Okay, listen up, Paw Patrol," she shouted, lifting up her shirt to uncover her belly. "If y'all want to get up close and personal for a moment, then find me someplace to sit and form an orderly line! Also, you had better bring food, because I came hungry and I've got a litter to feed!"

This got a chorus of appreciable laughter, and this time Eric and his mother joined in.

"I told you that you'd fit right in," he said, escorting her over to a lawn chair that somebody was already setting up for her.

"Compared to dealing with the gym crowd, this is a piece of cake," said Lucy.

"More like a piece of steak," said Gudrun. Lucy hadn't seen her move, but she was now carrying a compartmentalized dish piled high with various kinds of smoky meat. Truly, there was no force in all the world more powerful than a mother who wanted to feed you.

"Just for that, you get first dibs on tummy rubs," said Lucy, greedily accepting the bounty as she got settled.

Gudrun smiled as she put one enormous hand on Lucy's bump. "Hi there, lil' puppers," she said. "I'm your grandma."

Lucy wasn't sure if they were happy about the attention or about the food she was about to give them, but regardless, they knew what was expected of them and began to wiggle about.

"So energetic!" cooed Gudrun, giving one little bulge a quick smooch. "They're going to be a handful, mark my words. Don't ever hesitate to call on one of us for pupsitting!"

"Can I get that in writing?"

Gudrun smiled at her. "I won't keep you for too long. It looks like you've got company and I'm holding up the line." Lucy peered around her, and could see that there was, indeed, an orderly queue behind her.

"I think I'm going to need seconds before long," she said. "Alright, you fleabags, get in here! I know what you want!"

~*~

Thirty minutes and a lot of tummy rubs later, Lucy was exhausted. Everyone had marveled over how big she was and gotten in their words of congratulations, and Lucy polished off two heaping servings of barbeque. Now, enjoying having a moment to herself as she finished a chicken drumstick and began to idly gnaw on the bone , she watched Eric and his family doing their thing. Several of the adults had gone into Wolf Mode and were playfully wrestling with each-other. Currently Eric was grappling with one of his sisters, who currently had him in a headlock. You couldn't get entertainment like this on TV.

She was distracted by the proceedings as her belly began to shift again, the bare surface rippling as the pups re-settled once again.

"Easy there, you little gremlins," she said, running a hand across the surface. "You can't still be hungry after all of that, can you? What am I saying, of course you can-"

She suddenly felt a sharp cramp inside of her, and watched as the surface of her stomach began to distort more than ever.

"Hey now, calm down- oooh!"

It felt like the pups were having their own wrestling match as the pups shifted to and fro, her belly practically shifting from side to side as they moved about. The dull cramp intensified, and Lucy watched with a horrified expression as her belly bulged outward and kept on bulging. It was like watching a time lapse of the last month of her pregnancy, except it was happening in real time, her belly warping and distending in odd directions as it happened. She couldn't stop herself from crying out, and she didn't even care that several people were looking at her now.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eric suddenly straighten out, hurling his sister across the yard as he sprinted over to her side, not even bothering to change back. Several others tried to approach, and he growled at them.

"Out of the way, you mutts!" said Gudrun, parting out of the crowd as she approached Lucy's side. Eric flinched as she approached, but relaxed when he recognized her.

"What's happening?" said Lucy, groaning as Gudrun laid her hands on her belly. "Is something wrong?"

Gudrun laid her head down on Lucy and began to gently rub, letting out a low, throaty sound as she did so. The pups began to calm, but even though they weren't moving, Lucy's belly remained engorged, and it now protruded out further than before, giving her a bad case of torpedo tummy.

"Everything's okay, dear, I've managed to settle them down," said Gudrun, giving her a pat.

"Everything is not okay!" snapped Lucy. "What just happened? I'm bigger than before!"

Gudrun looked at her, and then at Eric. "You never told her?!"

Eric cowered back from her, letting out an adorable little whine that Lucy was never going to forget. Gudrun sighed.

"Everything's okay, sweetheart," she said, putting a hand on Lucy's hand. "The pups have just started shifting."

Lucy looked at her, then at Eric. "Shifting?! They can do that? And you didn't warn me?"

Gudrun laughed and sighed. "Please excuse my idiot son," she said. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal for us. It's probably a little harder because your body isn't adapted for it, but you'll be fine."

"Thanks," she said, still looking at Eric. "I need more food. And a piece of cake."

Eric did not need telling twice as he dashed off. Lucy leaned back and sighed, making a mental note to go in for her next checkup early.

Aside from that, though, she'd had a great time. But Eric was going to be paying for this in foot rubs for a long time.

~*~

As Lucy's pregnancy progressed, there was a topic of discussion that they needed to have. Namely, what they were going to do at the end of the pregnancy.

Delivering at the Hospital was an option, but Gudrun had advised Lucy not to do it unless she absolutely had to. Werewolf pups had certain instincts baked right in, even from the moment they were born, and they wouldn't be comfortable being confined.

It was typical among the pack for pregnant members to have their litters somewhat secluded, surrounded by their family for support. But Lucy didn't want that much of a fuss, which Eric's family had respected. So they had decided on a home birth, with Dr. Winkle informed and standing by in case there was an emergency.

Lucy had only gotten bigger and bigger as her due date got closer, and under any other circumstances, it would have gotten harder for her to keep active. But she was having the opposite problem. She never wanted to keep still. She was on maternity leave from work; despite her insistence that she was fine, people were hesitant to spar with a visibly pregnant woman, even though she could "still totally take them". Which was probably true, but admittedly, the optics weren't great.

So she remained home with Eric, alternating between watching TV, jogging around the yard, and frantically rutting in an attempt to kick-start labor. But the pups would come when they were ready and not a minute before.

It was the middle of the night when things started happening.

Lucy had a dream where she was a wolf. Not the bipedal hybrid form of Eric and his kin, but an enormous, four-legged she-wolf with fur as dark as the night sky, loping through an endless forest. In her dreams, she felt none of her body's symphony of aches and cramps, just the pure thrill of freedom. She didn't know what it was she was chasing, but she knew that would catch it. This was her hunt.

The clouds parted overhead, and the full moon shone above her, and she felt an adrenaline surge. Looking up at the moon, she threw her head back and let out a long, piercing howl that echoed throughout the forest.

And then she woke up with a start, her body slick with sweat.

"I need to go," she said, looking over at the clock. It was almost one in the morning, but she didn't care. She had to go.

"Mm?" said Eric, rolling over blearily.

Lucy let out a growl, standing up and ripping her sleeping clothes - a tank top and pajama pants - off of her body. "Too close," she said. "It's too close in here!"

Then she took off, and Eric woke with a start and ran after her. Thankful that they lived in an isolated area, she burst out the front door and stood under the night sky. There were no clouds, and the moon was half full. It was perfect.

"Babe, what's wrong?" said Eric, catching up to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay," she said, grinning at him. She looked down, and Eric followed her gaze, until he could see the trickle of fluids running down her leg.

"Get the supplies," she said, panting heavily. "I want to do it out here."

Five minutes later, Eric had retrieved a blanket and some pillows, as well as a large stack of towels and the kit that Dr. Winkle had put together for him, and he watched as Lucy paced back and forth across the grass, hands supporting her back.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, keeping a respectful distance for the moment.

"Hurts," she said, her smile not faltering. "But it's a good hurt. Like the burn during a good workout, when you almost want to stop but you know that when you push through it, it's gonna feel amazing."

She stopped and staggered as a contraction hit her, and she gasped as her belly abruptly changed shape once again as one or more of the babies shifted within her womb.

"They've been doing that a lot more often the past week," she said, giving her belly a pat. "I can't even begin to describe how fuckin' weird it feels."

"You're going to have to clean up your language a bit once they're here," said Eric. Despite the snide remark, he wasn't quite able to hide how awed he was.

"Well, they're not here yet- oooh!" She winced and doubled over as her belly tightened with a contraction. "Nngh... it's happening fast..."

"Is there anything that you need me to do?" said Eric. Birthing werewolves typically preferred to be left alone, and assistance was only given when it was asked for. But Lucy had made it clear that his assistance was welcome.

Lucy took a deep breath as she steadied herself. "This is going to sound kind of weird," she said. "But can you shift? Makes us... oof... feel safe, knowing that we've got a big strong papa wolf to protect us."

By the time Lucy looked back around, Eric had already complied, his furry hand on her shoulder. Lucy smiled, leaning into his chest. "Good boy," she said.

Hours went by, and things proceeded quickly. The pups were restless, eager to come into the world. Lucy was sitting upright with Eric's arms wrapped around her, humming to herself as she rode the contractions out.

Then her eyes snapped open with a start, and she found herself gripped by a deep-seated instinct.

"It's happening," she panted, putting a hand on her belly. "The first one's - nn! - coming! Help me move!"

With Eric's assistance, Lucy got onto her hands and knees, legs spread apart as she gave in to those instincts. She felt like she barely had to do anything. To say that she had the urge to push implied a level of mindfulness that she didn't have at the moment. She was pushing, and she could no more stop herself from doing so than she could stop the moon from rising. Her body ached as she felt the passage of the pup through her birth canal, slow but steady, and it wasn't long before she could feel her pussy burning with its emergence. Eric let out a quiet whuff sound as he gently nuzzled her. Then she felt something wet against her body, and it took her a moment to realize that he was licking the pup clean. Seemed like she wasn't the only one giving in to instinct right now. It was strange, but oddly comforting. Regardless, she had her own work to do, and soon she began pushing once again, the sense of pressure within her growing more and more intense, until it finally released.

She turned to look, and sure enough, there was a little ball of matted wet fur between her legs, squirming and yipping as Eric continued to clean it. Carefully, she turned herself around and scooped the bundle up.

"Hey there, lil' pupper," she said. "I'm your mama."

Her newborn son relaxed in her arms, comforted by his mother's touch. Lucy averted her eyes as Eric made short work of the cord and deftly tied it off before wrapping their firstborn in a towel. No doubt he was needy, but Lucy's work wasn't done, and sure enough, she could already feel the pressure of another puppy trying to make its way out of her, with even more swiftness than before.

Lucy got up and braced herself in a low crouch as she felt her muscles squeezing, and before she knew it, yet another fluffball emerged from her body, with a sibling hot on their heels. She barely had to do anything but give in and let things happen.

It all happened in kind of a blur, and soon enough, her son had two sisters, each one bundled up and squirming.

"One more," she said, giving her tender but still swollen belly a pat. "You're not gonna keep us waiting for too long, are you?"

But this one, it seemed, was stubborn. Minutes turned into an hour, and though Lucy could feel her pains intensifying, nothing was happening yet. Eric nuzzled her with a look of concern, and Lucy was considering calling in to the hospital.

Then, suddenly, she felt an intense cramp, harsher than any she'd felt thus far, and she found herself jolting upright. Something needed to happen.

Growling to herself, she walked away from the blanket, while Eric looked on with concern. She made her way over to the large oak tree in the center of their yard, bracing herself against it with her legs apart, and with a hoarse growl, she bore down as hard as she could. Something began to give, moving through her body with excruciating slowness.

"Come on... you little... gremlin!" she growled through grit teeth. "It's time... to come... OUT!"

She let out a primal scream that would have sent nearby wildlife scattering for cover as she felt herself stretch open once again. No wonder this pup was giving her trouble, it felt twice as big as the others! But there was no stopping now. Leaning hard into the tree, she pushed relentlessly, feeling the baby work its way out of her body little by little, inch by inch, until finally, she felt it slip free, and the sense of relief that washed over her left her dizzy, sinking to the ground as she scooped the baby up.

"Hey there, little one," she said, looking her newborn over. "You sure gave me a hard... time?"

Something was strange about this one. She was indeed almost twice the size of her siblings, but she didn't look like them, either, with coarser fur, a more blunted snout, and smaller, more rounded ears. In fact, she didn't look like a wolf at all.

Slowly, Lucy looked up at Eric, in human-shape once again, standing over her with a wide smile on his face.

"Congratulations, sweetie," he said, giving their youngest daughter a pat. "It's a bear."

"...What?"

Eric chuckled. "So, funny thing. All shifters come from a common ancestor, thousands of years back. So things like this are rare, but not unheard of. I have a great aunt who's a werecow."

And now Lucy started to laugh too. "Your family is just full of surprises, isn't it?"

Moments later, Lucy was settled down back in bed, letting two of the babies nurse while Eric bottle-fed the other two. In a few hours, she'd take the whole pack over to the hospital and make sure they were happy and healthy. But this moment here was theirs, and she never wanted it to end.

...At least, not for another few minutes. Giving birth had worked up her appetite and there was a pot of leftover stew in the fridge with her name on it.