I carefully removed a glove to light a cigarette before putting it back on. My world was in absolute turmoil. The Dark Lord had said he did not think I suffered from a true malady, but it was clear to me that I was unequivocally not my usual self.

Firstly, there were the strange sensations and feelings I had been experiencing. I knew, for certain, by that point, that they originated from me, and not from (Y/N), because they had no taste. They had rendered me virtually a slave to (Y/N), I could no longer fathom living without her affections and approval. I had felt their like only once before, which led me to my second point.

(Y/N) tasted and smelled just like Lola, it was undeniable. Their resemblance was uncanny. If I hadn't known it was completely impossible, I would have thought perhaps she was, in fact, Lola, with all of her memories somehow erased.

But my contracts could not be broken, and I had left Lola, like an ass, ending our time together. I knew from experience that it would be physically impossible for me to approach Lola, because I had already tried, and suffered through agony for my efforts.

So what had happened last night? Had I hallucinated? I felt a heaviness under my ribs, it was uncomfortable.

After a moment, I deduced I had to be feeling guilt. I had thought of Lola, almost exclusively, when I had been making love with (Y/N) for the first time. The tight prickling increased in a quick surge, and I felt nauseated.

I had done (Y/N) a great disservice, forgotten all of my skills, and rutted with her while dreaming of the past. I had fantasized about one of her ancestors.

I was dangerously close to breaking our contract. If I couldn't get a firmer grip on my sanity, I would cease to exist.

Overwhelmed at the prospect of my own demise, I curled my tail around my newly pudgy self for comfort. It didn't matter that the logical solution was to leave (Y/N), to free myself of the danger. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her side ever again! Her taste, her words, they brought solace where nothing had for centuries.

Again my stomach ached. I had repaid (Y/N)'s devotion with giving her less than she deserved, and less than she agreed to. She loved me, despite herself, and I had responded by calling her my old lover's pet names!

I felt lost for a moment. Was I supposed to tell (Y/N)? Is that what the pain in my stomach wanted? I didn't see how that could possibly help. If (Y/N) rejected me for such a confession, I would surely die.

Clearly, my illness was making me extremely weak, even in the mind. Perhaps it had slowed my metabolism as well, and that was why I had grown so fat? I had never had this happen before from joy alone, only from misery.

I had a strange thought: Was I changing in some more essential way? I had been acting so different, almost like the human women I had preyed on for so long. Could it possibly be that I was becoming one? That I had been cursed? That I was not fat, but pregnant?!?

I looked down at my stomach dubiously. It appeared composed of adipose tissue, but many pregnant bellies could look similar. Suspicious, I laid a hand upon it, and thankfully felt nothing protesting within. I then grasped for my genitals, worried, and was glad to find I still had my stick and berries.

Ultimately, I decided the true test would come when I tried to store the excess energy and resume my customary shape. If I were somehow still male, yet with child, but still under contract to (Y/N)... My mind spiraled, and I felt overwhelmed. Would I be the father, the mother, or neither? How could I please (Y/N) if I were pregnant!?! Was I not sterile, I simply wasn't prepared for this!

Wallowing in my self-pity, the most terrible doubt of all struck me. I had been so lost, repeatedly, in (Y/N)'s arms, I had heard Lola's familiar words, not (Y/N)'s. Who was to say what had, in fact, actually occurred? Had (Y/N) actually told me she loved me? Or had that just been my wishful memories of Lola? Did (Y/N) even love me at all?

I felt as though a hand constricted around my heart. Surely she did! And if she did not, then surely she would soon. Alarmed, I stubbed out the cigarette and hurriedly winked into (Y/N)'s bathroom.

As quickly as I could, I flung off my gloves, washed my hands, and brushed my teeth, shamelessly using circles and side to side motions because of my haste. Anxious, I popped into the kitchen, a distance away from (Y/N), so as not to frighten her. "(Y/N)?"

She was making some manner of item with eggs, and it smelled good. She called over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

I couldn't let the fine odor of the foodstuffs distract me. I wasn't sure how to be discreet about my line of questioning, so I dove right in. "Mistress... ah, you like me?"

She snorted. "You goofball, how many times do you have to hear it? I love you, silly!"

Relief flooded through my whole body. I nodded, pleased. "Just, uh, verifying."