Like a Cat in Heat by Lilith T. Bell

***

    “ Are you sure you want to stay
out here? It's awful dangerous for a woman by herself, with this big
storm coming and all.”
    I snatched the key out of the old man's hands and resisted the urge
to yell at him. He was fussing and trying to be helpful, but between
his good-intentioned sexism and the hormones screaming through my
bloodstream, I was fairly certain he wouldn't survive if he stuck
around any longer.
    “ Yes, I'm sure. Thank you.”
I flashed him a tight smile and just about bodily shoved him out the
cabin door before I shut and locked it.
    Alone at last, I sank down to the floor and just laid on the wood
there for a moment, my eyes closed, breathing a bit unsteady. I'd
been traveling through Oregon when I'd felt the first stirrings of
the season come upon me. Usually, it came closer to February. A
Christmas heat was unexpected and annoying. If I got pregnant, I knew
I'd have some relief during the pregnancy and while lactating, but
all of the male werecats I'd known were assholes and I had no desire
to raise their children. Being a solitary species, us cats didn't
have the benefits of a pack structure influencing our breeding like
with wolves. Once in winter and then a milder heat in summer had been
hitting me year after year since I'd turned eighteen.
    A cabin out on Mount Hood during a sudden snow storm was perfect. No
one could get to me and I couldn't get to anyone else. I'd be in
agony, but it was safer this way. Both for me and for any stupid
human male that crossed my path. Feline shifter females were violent
when aroused and it only became worse when we were in heat. To ensure
I didn't go tearing anyone's throat out when fucking, I'd had to
insist on all my past lovers tying me up.
    They thought I was submissive. They really had no idea.
    The sound of a wolf howling in the distance pulled me back to the
world around me. They'd been reintroduced in Idaho from Canada a few
years back and their population had been growing as they spread to
neighboring states. Unlike the feline or rodent shifters who
preferred to live close to humanity, the lycanthropes tended to stick
close to their wild relatives. When real wolves were almost wiped out
by humans, so were the wolf shifters. It was possible their
population was growing alongside their animal counterparts, though.
    I got up from the floor and picked up my bags of groceries to take
them into the kitchen. I put the carton of milk and salmon away
first, then made myself a sandwich before I put the rest away. If the
storm was as bad as everyone was predicting, the food would have to
keep me for the next eight days, until I was sure my heat was over.
In my animal form, I could hunt and feed myself just fine during
summer, but most of my prey would be harder to get in the middle of a
snow storm.
    The cabin had propane heat, but the fireplace looked particularly
inviting. The idea of curling up on the bearskin rug in front of it
was really appealing. Once I had the fire going, I stretched out on
the rug, squirming and arching my back. I felt cooped up after
driving all day and groaned as I felt joints pop. Using my feet, I
kicked off both of my boots and then pulled my socks off with my
toes. My leather jacket was feeling uncomfortably warm next to the
fire, so I unzipped that and slid it off as well.
    My hands immediately smoothed down the front of my body, cupping my
breasts through my shirt. Masturbation wouldn't satisfy me during my
season, but it could take some of the edge off, at least. My thumbs
caught my nipples, pinching them between my thumbs and the sides of
my hands. I took a shaky breath as I teased myself. The longer I drew
it out, the calmer I could get after I came. A quick orgasm would
only leave me in a frenzy and I'd have to masturbate for hours just
to get a little peace.
    One hand slid down my body to rub myself through my pants slowly, my
hips gyrating up to my own touch. Just as my other hand was moving
under my shirt, I heard a howl