Stranger

This is part three to a story started in Heat and continued in Lost. It's been edited by an outside source, but some spelling and grammar mistakes may remain. Just a heads a warning.

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In a limp furry mass Lilli lay unaware on the bed as Keith stayed on his knees in shock. His mind fumbled at all the kitties he'd known and nothing like her came to mind, in either his world or the standard world.

Slowly he got to his feet thinking maybe she could have been a highbred. It was extremely rare, but not unheard of. It would explain why she had been abandoned, as most "sports" were very unwelcome.

Yet the closer he got to her the less she looked like any cats he'd seen. Sports usually looked somewhat like one of their parents; she almost looked like a Domestic cat, which was completely impossible. Domestic cats were bred into what they were, his kind were not. Myth was that they had evolved along with their wild animal cousins.

Slowly different characteristics came clear. She was a fuzzy reddish grey tabby, a compact ball sprinkled with faint spots. Her legs were loosely bared, her tail ringed, her forehead spotted - a mess of markings. Her face was slightly flattened set with low, red backed ears that framed white and black rimmed eyes. Black and white stripes ran from the corner of the eyes out, looking like fanciful makeup.

No, she wasn't a sport.

But what in the world could she be?

Quickly tucking himself back into his pants Keith stumbled to the door. Maybe Mathus had seen something like her.

Out of the room and into the kitchen where Mathus was reading and sipping at coffee, and Keith hadn't a clue what to say. In the end he just shook his head at the Alpha and asked him to come look.

When the Alpha just stared down at the kitty on the bed Keith felt his viewpoints shifting. Of course it was a completely unreasonable expectation to believe your Alpha would know everything, yet he knew he had. He knew Mathus was just a normal changer, not super human, not imbued with super powers, but he also knew that the Alphas often shared things with each other that they kept from those in their packs.

They stared down at the kitty before them, and Keith felt a moment of pity for her. She'd lived her life abandoned and unwanted, had been put through the wringer, and now he couldn't even find her a pack. As far as he was aware this was a completely unique situation. Was she doomed to be kicked out again, to struggle with her new life as best she could? Could she stay with them or would the other packs expect them to give her up? He'd promised her answers and found he could give her none.

"Holy. Fucking. Hell"

Keith really couldn't have said it any better.

The two confused leopards sat in the kitchen, thoughts to themselves. Mathus had said something about getting all the Alphas together, but had left his sentence unfinished. In the end neither of them had a clue what to do.

A wail suddenly tore through the house, pulling each man to his feet. It was a sound that should have sent shivers down their spines but actually tightened everything below their belts; it was the sound of a cat in heat. They glanced at each other and both changed into their other forms, whatever they were about to face wouldn't respond to human words and logic, not after it's very first change. They both knew that for the next few changes she'd mostly be lost to the animal nature running through her.

Mathus was a large, brightly-hided Leopard. Keith was softer and paler looking; not a snow leopard, but not standard. He knew something about sports, and while he was extremely powerful he wasn't likely to rise above the station he currently held, even though he was just a mix of leopards. Most packs would take down sports that tried to fight for the Alpha position.

They found her in the hallway, crouched low and obviously without thought, she was all cat brain, no human. It just hadn't occurred to him to shut the door; most cats changed back to human before waking if they fell asleep in cat form. She was so past the age that most cats changed for the first time that he didn't think she might stay trapped like sometimes happened in younger changes, or he hoped she wouldn't anyway.

Lilli clearly only had mating in mind and both males had to remind themselves that they were here for other reasons.

Although they hadn't talked about it, they started to "herd" her though the house toward the basement. When he'd taken on the Alpha position and the house, Mathus had had the basement converted into a safe room for cats in trouble. The walls were thickened and sound protected, the door bolted from the outside. Nearly everything easily destroyed or dangerous had been removed or locked away. The only illumination came from a caged light in the ceiling; the bed was a thick futon pad on the floor. Also included was a bathroom with a rather large tub. Mathus had wanted every one of his charges taken care of, no one left out in the cold.

Crying out her need, Lilli let herself be herded until the three of them stood in the safe room. She crouched before them, ready to be mounted but also ready to fight. Their instincts swallowing them up and they both slinked toward her, but when Mathus made to move for her Keith pushed his way between them, baring his teeth and growling. This kitty was his and he intended to fight for her.

For a long moment - filled with growls and hisses - the males sized each other up. Even though they were closely matched in power, Keith had never challenged his alpha. He knew doing so could lead to his death or expulsion, but at the moment he couldn't stop himself.

Finally Mathus stepped back and changed back into his human form. "I had no interest in keeping her Keith, you know what this was." With a shrug he backs out, shutting the heavy door behind himself.

Keith wasn't interested in thinking that through. Currently, he only had one thing in mind.

Throughout the next couple of days Keith did everything he could to meet Lilli's need, but nothing he did seemed to be helping at all. In cat form her heat didn't seem to respond as it had in human form, all his effort just seemed to keep it from getting worse. He begin to suspect that without climax her heat wasn't being matched; he'd never heard of such a thing, but she was turning out to be nothing anyone expected. He and Mathus agreed that sense they'd forced her to change, it would probably be best to let her come out on her own. Yet as more time passed they both started to wonder if they should force her back. Could she not change on her own?

Finally Keith had to admit that he couldn't keep up with her need, something that had only happened two other times. He had the position he had in the pack in part because of his high sex drive and ability to continue on when most men could not. So he brought in one of the lesser leopards, a kitty that was happy with his standing and had shown little interest in anything else. One of the few leopards he spent any time with, and the only leopard he'd ever shared a kitty with. He hadn't a clue how Lilli felt about having relations with more than one man, but at the moment he had very few other choices.

A soft heavy breathing brought Lilli out of sleep. For a moment she sighed in contentment; she was comfortable and warm, soft fur brushing her skin. Memories echoed through her and she draped her arm over the furry body in front of her, fur like velvet started to vibrate under her arm. Finally pains and need started in her, she stretched and crept out from the little cocoon she lay in.

That's when she realized the bed she was on wasn't what she was use to as a bed and that the furred body wasn't what she remembered of Keith. She pressed into the wall and noticed that Keith was asleep not far from the nearly black leopard she'd been cuddled against.

As she huddled there, wondering what had become of her, the dark leopard stretched as cats do and sort of inched toward her, a loud purr preceding him. Finally he flopped over bonelessly, heavy head thumping into her lap. There he lay, purr rattling her bones, waiting for her to relax.

Very slowly Lilli's muscles un-tensed, responding to the leopards purr; she finally reached up and oh so lightly brushed her hand down his head. The purring kicked up into a roar and the leopard rubbed his face against her belly.

It should terrify her to have such a powerful set of jaws so close to her bare stomach, but she felt no malice from him. Some part of her knew he wasn't a true leopard, but for now she was content to pretend he was a very large house cat.

In wonder Lilli brushed her hand along the magnificent creatures head, awed at herself and what she was doing. He bumped his dark head into her, rubbing his face along her belly. The deep purr crept through her, settling into her bones, creeping down her body. The animal wiggled higher and now his fur brushed along the underside of her breasts; a silky soft caress. Both hands came up to rub the leopard's ears, and somehow he purred even louder. Another brush along the underside of her breasts and Lilli shivered, the delicate caress and the rumbling of his purr was building a familiar tension in her. Even though every part of her ached and she couldn't remember being so tired, a gentle arousal washed over her.

The dark cat pressed against her, slowly sliding her down the wall until she was on her back, the large cat laying across her, rubbing against her skin. The beautiful creature stretched his neck out and while staring at her with eerily intelligent eyes he carefully brushed his chin across her nipples, his fur barely touching her.

Lilli's gasped as her nipples hardened farther. If anyone could say a cat smiled, this one did as rubbed his face along the tops of her breasts. Her back arched, her eyes fluttered closed, and that purr settled deep into her core; Lilli pressed her legs tight in response. That head rubbed against her several times before the cat hitched up slightly. The startling sensation of a harsh cat tongue scrapping along the underside of a breast pulled a sound between a gasp and a moan from her and she opened her eyes to see the leopard licking her breast with his eyes locked on her own. The knowledge that the creature atop her somehow contained a human burned through her and confusion tangled with the arousal; she couldn't tell if it bothered her more that the creature atop her contained a human, or that what was so clearly working to turn her on was a cat. Her inner turmoil had no chance to overcome how she felt because the leopard ran his tongue along the very edge of her nipple. The sharp feeling pulled a moan from her, and her eyes slid closed. The leopard continued to carefully lick all around the sensitive nub, chasing all thoughts from Lilli's brain except expectation laced with dread for where he was going next. Shivers raced through her, raising goose bumps along her skin.

When that tongue finally lightly caressed over her nipple, Lilli cried out in a harsh unused voice, her hips rising off the bed. The feeling was somewhere between pleasure and pain, each lick burned through her and ratcheted her need higher.

Just when Lilli thought she couldn't handle the feelings crashing through her the leopard moved on, licking back down her breast and slowly working lower. The move bought her time, let her catch her breath. Then she realized that the cat was continuing his southward journey and the pent up need hitched up another notch.

Once at her lower belly he started his slow teasing again. The idea of that sharp tongue between her legs was terrifying, but it was equally arousing. Soft pleading whimpers escaped her and she started writhing in place.

"Oh god!" Lilli cried out when the cat's tongue caressed the crease between her thigh and mound.

"Ok brother cat," A hand pushed the furry head away from Lilli. "I don't think she's ready for that yet."

Lilli's eyes opened to see Keith right before he scooped her into his arms. "Oh Keith!" She hugged him while he carried her into the bathroom. He continued to hold her as he crouched to start filling the bathtub.

"I think a bath would do you well."

She laughed, she couldn't have said why, but she found herself extremely happy to see him. As he started to set her down next to the tub she caught herself whispering to him, "You have left me needing a bit though." She did feel need burning in her.

Keith laughed. He was even happier than she was, he'd almost run out of hope that she'd change. Before pulling away he tunneled a hand into her hair and tightened his fingers at the back of her head.

"You'd think you'd know better by now", he whispered back. He hoped this was the dying end of her heat, this need smelled and felt different.

A silence settled over them as the bath filled, a silence that was neither easy nor strained. What there was of their relationship had never neared anything like normal, and this was normal. With nothing huge hanging over their heads they didn't know what to say to each other. They caught each other's eyes and laughed. Kevin reached a hand out to her, "Come on".

They settled in the tub together, Lilli sitting between Keith's legs. Rather slowly Keith lathered up his hands, then lifted one of hers and began to very carefully clean every inch of every finger. He was attempting to do a couple of different things; he was hoping to reconnect the two of them after such a long unusual break, and to keep her from the physical reminder of how long she'd gone without a proper bath.

Keith's hands moved up one arm then repeated for the other. When he started to work on her shoulders he felt her breathing deepen, a natural reaction, not the frantic one he would have gotten from her even the day before. Something inside him relaxed, he had been extremely worried that that driving need wouldn't have left her.

Those clever hands started working down, his large hands rubbing and kneading her breasts, causing a slow burn to start in her belly. Lilli shifted about and felt Keith growing against her behind. With a small smile she wiggled, hoping to encourage those hands to work faster.

Keith chuckled and shifted Lilli forward slightly. "Impatient little minx," he whispered in her ear and gave it a small nip.

Lilli tossed a small glower back toward Keith, then quickly forgot her beef with him when his fingers moved onto her nipples. She sighed and relaxed slightly, her head falling back against his shoulder. He rolled and pulled her nipples, working them until she moaned softly. Then his hands moved on. Once below the surface of the water the soap washed away, but Keith's hands continued to move as if he was working soap into her skin.

Another moan left her lips as his hands continued to move. She'd never realized that someone washing her could be so erotic. Quite suddenly Keith hooked his feet around her ankles and pulled her legs apart in a move so forceful that it pulled a sound half way between a cry and a moan from her. "Sense I don't have the right faucet I'll have to do this the old way." He chuckled at the startled look she tossed him, then his hands slid between her legs and 'washed' everything but the flesh that she truly needed him to touch. She was shifting and moaning long before those hands moved up. Finally, just as she was certain she was going to scream his fingers grasped each of her outer lips and began to knead and gently pull on them. She couldn't recall any of her past lovers paying any true attention to them in the past, yet what Keith was doing was slowly driving her wild.

She started to whimper and finally Keith's fingers let go of their prisoners and slid between them oh so slowly, the water providing a delightful mix of lubrication and friction. Lilli moaned loudly and arched back into Keith, a shutter running hard through her. Despite her urgent cries he continued running his hand back and forth through her folds. As her body moved more and more erratically he tilted his head to whisper "I missed you," and then sped up his motions until her body tightened and she cried out her pleasure.

"I missed you too," she laughed softly, but anything else she might have said was interrupted when Keith swung her around until she was draped over the tub and entered her roughly, thrusting in her so hard Lilli began to moan as a new wave of growing pleasure washed into her. Keith grabbed her hips and tilted her so he would hit against that tender spot deep in her. She cried out and struggled against the sharp pleasure bolting through her but Keith's strong hands held her firm until he managed to push her over that shiny edge again, quickly following her into pleasure as her flesh rhythmically grasped his own.

Lilli collapsed against the tub and pulled in air. "Wow," she gasped, Keith chuckled against her back then gently turned her so she was sitting in the seat he had started in. With a tender smile he brushed his thumbs against her cheeks.

"There is some of your clothing on the shelf above the toilet, finish washing up and I'll meet you upstairs."

Lilli batted her eyes at him, her body tired and sore. "Sure", she murmured back.

With a smile Keith climbed out and after drying off walked out of the bathroom naked.

When Lilli eventually got dressed she noticed that her pants were few sizes to large and dread grew in her. The room she'd awaken in was empty by the time she passed through, her eyes skittering over the contents, not wanting to focus on much of it. All she had were flashes and vague impressions and she was oddly fine with that at the moment.

The smell of cooking steak suddenly hit her and she all but ran up the stairs. Lilli saw nothing but Mathus cooking on the other side of the low kitchen counter. The older man laughed at her when she eagerly sat at that counter, her eyes hopeful, and without a word he slid the freshly cooked steak and eggs in front of her.

It was the best thing she'd ever put in her mouth near as she could remember. She scarfed it down, paying no attention to the two men watching her, the only thing she really cared about was finishing the food in front of her. It felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks. As soon as she finished her plate she snatched up an apple from a nearby basket. Mathus laughed and quickly whisked away her plate, "Careful girl, wouldn't want to choke yourself!".

Lilli bit into her rose colored prize and closed her eyes in bliss as its sweet nectar burst into her mouth. She slowly chewed her bite, swallowed and then sighed.

"I think I can breath now" she murmured and opened her eyes to find the men smiling at her. She blushed and looked away.

"No worries kitten, we've all been there." Keith gently rubbed his hand down her back. All he really wanted was to hold her and not tell her the info he was about to revel, even though he knew that wasn't an option.

"I had hoped that you were about to tell me I was a leopard, but from the heavy feeling in the room..."

The comforting hand fluttered on her back and fell away. "No, you aren't a leopard."

Her heart started up a terrified rhythm.

"What am I?" she whispered. When the silence stretched painfully long she lifted her deep blue eyes up to meet Keith's beautiful green ones. "What am I?" she asked again.

Keith sighed "We... " He cleared his throat. "We just don't know, to be honest." He watched utter shock flood into her eyes.

"How could you not know?" It was just not a response she ever would have considered hearing.

"Normally I would have said there was no way we wouldn't know," Mathus shook his head. "But frankly you surprised us."

"What does that mean for me?"

"Nothing yet," The Alpha came around the counter to stand near the two of them. "Keith and I have a meeting with the heads as many of the other cats as we could round up. Surely someone will have an answer." He gave the girl a goodwill pat. "You have a place with us for as long as it takes." It was the best he had for her.