"My wonderful werewolf. My dearest Nathaniel. Will you marry me?" asked the werepanthress, as she gently raised his hands to her lips and kissed them.
"It's a little sudden," replied Nate Anderson. "My heart is telling me one thing, while my head is saying another. Can we even do that before I turn 18?" he wondered, which was the legal age in Washington state, where Moon Lake resided.
"There are places. I know people. Please say yes," begged the werepanthress.
"I-I don't even know your name," said Nate, hoping that would at least buy him some time, if not finally give him the answers he's been looking for.
"You are right," said the werepanthress, as if having a sudden epiphany. "There should be no secrets between us, especially not if..." and then she kissed his hands again, before putting them in her lap, although she never released them.
"I go by two different names," she said, staring at him directly. "I am a natural born werepanthress of Moon Lake named Kenya Adaeze. I'm 27, have graduated both high school and college, and worked my way up to the current position of Head Teller for the Moon Lake Bank. I'm an only child. Although my parents have both gone on to meet their honored ancestors, I still have an aunt and uncle who live in town. Until my very first transformation, my life was normal in every respect. But when it happened a couple of months after my 14th birthday..."
Then she paused, looking at him as if the world were about to end.
"You can tell me. Please," said Nate, inching his chair a little closer to hers while never letting go of her hands.
Nate could see a tear actually form in the corner of Kenya's eye as she said, "My first transformation felt glorious. Sensual. Orgasmic even. But you know how they say that although a were has a higher libido, we're still in control? I wasn't. That summer, I was insatiable. Morning, noon, and night; all I could think about was sex. If I wasn't receiving or giving pleasure, my body was looking for its next partner. Thankfully, by the time the next semester began, I was able to gain some control, but at night..."
"I see," was all Nate could say, as he pulled Kenya closer to comfort her.
"Of course, in a situation like that, one cannot go through high school without gaining something of a reputation. I actually earned mine. Mostly as the werepanthress, but there were a few times when it was just plain simple me that enjoyed the moment," she said, trembling in Nate's arms at the recollection. "Sex, transformations, orgasms. They were all the same, especially in my fursona. I craved those moments more and more. Nights, weekends, holidays and summer vacations was when I really cut loose and prowled. College was no exception, except it gave me additional avenues to explore. Frat parties, weekend keggers and orgies. Men, women, it didn't matter as long as I had sex, especially as the werepanthress, and blessed orgasmic relief."
"And now...?" wondered Nate, as he moved to wipe Kenya's cheeks with a cloth napkin from the table.
"Somehow, miraculously, bless the goddess, since the first day it happened; I was able to not only keep any of my family from ever finding out my secret, but maintained my grades as well. High school graduation, and then college with a business degree, which I then applied to start working at the bank. I have certainly faced plenty of temptations from my fellow employees and some of our customers, but have never indulged myself with any of them, for I discovered a way to control the sexual desires of the panthress and earn money at the same time," revealed Kenya.
"How?" asked Nate innocently, but afraid he already knew the answer.
"In college, I was approached by this woman one day, who explained how a female of not only my exotic beauty, but my wereness, could earn money as a... companion for other weres. There are rich men, and some women, throughout Washington state and elsewhere, who are weres as well, who desire the unique and special, but are afraid of having sex with a normal because they do not want to be arrested for violating Moon Lake Statute 1A*, or whatever the equivalent might be elsewhere," revealed Kenya.
"So in college, I became Kendra Smythe. She is the one who earns the high fees that the rich weres are willing to pay to have their fun. She is the one who was able to remodel the Adaeze family home into what you see today after my parents left this mortal world. She is the one who, thankfully, helps keep the werepanthress sexually satisfied while Kenya Adaeze lives a relatively normal life. But... there is one thing that Kendra has never been able to give Kenya," she said.
"What's that?" asked Nate.
"True love," revealed Kenya. "When I saw you standing in my kitchen cooking, with that smile on your face, it was because you were genuinely glad to see me. When the first thing you said was not something sexual, but How do you like your eggs?, that is when I finally felt something flutter in my heart, and it has been growing from that moment on. Nathaniel Anderson, you are not only able to satisfy the werepanthress sexually beyond my wildest dreams, but you have also started becoming something special to me as well. Please say you will marry me," begged Kenya.
Just like that? I've heard some pretty wild tales about Moon Lake since moving here, but still... "The night we met..." began Nate.
"I had an... appointment cancel at the last minute on me, despite the fact he was willing to pay well for a duet between him, me, and another female were."
Then a duet is a threesome, but they don't count the customer, realized Nate. So multiple encores probably means multiple times, maybe even all night.
"So I went on the prowl, hoping for a one night stand," continued Kenya. "Instead, I found you. Perhaps it's your youthful enthusiasm. Maybe it's your sexual prowess. Either way, for the first time that I could remember, the werepanthress was truly happy, which is why I agreed to see you again, and again, and again. Then, seeing you cook..."
"Sexually, you're great Kenya. The best lover I will probably ever have in my entire life," began Nate, paying her the highest compliment he could. "But I want more out of life than just great sex, and I know you do too. I know a wonderful therapist you can see that will help you," he said, thinking of Doctor Frances Twist. "Start seeing her, let her succeed in helping you get better, keep taking your werepanthress birth control pills until after I graduate college, and I'll be more than willing to marry you after I turn 18 and graduate high school, provided you meet my folks and we start going out on regular dates, because I would also like Kendra Smythe to permanently retire."
"So, is that a yes?" asked Kenya, going back over everything Nate said.
"If you accomplish everything I requested," said Nate.
"For us, I will. For love," replied Kenya, as she gently kissed him.
"For love, in time, I will marry you," promised Nate.
And then the new couple finished their meal, before returning to her bedroom to explore the more romantic aspects of sexual bliss. It was the first night she ever did everything as plain old Kenya Adaeze.
It would not be the last, although there would still be plenty of times that the werepanthress would make her presence known.
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*Any were guilty of changing a normal against their will faces a minimum jail sentence of 50 years in Moon Lake.
AFTERWARD: DIMENSIONAL DIFFERENCES
Long time Moon Lake fans will realize I borrowed heavily from Earth-1's Yvette Smith's rogue werevixen background story for Earth-2's Kenya Adaeze/Kendra Smythe history. Hopefully the Earth-2 Kenya and Nate can truly work things out, but only time will tell.—tmw.