This story was written for Catprog as part of my patreon request days for May. It contains transformation involving consenting adults. :3

Jenna grinned as she dragged the large box up the stairs, not saying a word even as her husband cocked an eyebrow at her from the downstairs hallway. She vanished from view around the corner of the upstairs landing soon after, and with a curious chuckle Drew followed. 

By the time he made it to the bedroom, his wife was already un-boxing the contents of that huge and to his mind entirely unexpected package. Whatever was inside was itself wrapped in thick sheets of protective paper, and Drew watched as she laid it out piece by piece upon the bed. 

"So... we got a delivery, huh?"

He chuckled playfully, expecting Jenna to perhaps explain herself. She just giggled in response though, continuing to unpack things until the huge box was empty and their bed was utterly covered in various wrapped objects of all different sizes and shapes. Only then did she stop. Only then did she turn and look at her husband with a warm smile, gesturing for him to come closer. 

Drew did so of course, and after receiving a warm kiss on the lips from the woman he loved, he stood by her side, hand in hand, and watched as with her free remaining hand she began to unwrap a large and vaguely circular object. After a few seconds, he jerked briefly backwards as it was revealed.

A head?! 

The panic lasted a mere fraction of a second though, for he soon realised several things about the head. First, it was unmoving, not an entirely reassuring thought but made less worrying by the following factors. Next, it looked soft and fluffy, more like a stuffed animal than anything else. And third, as Jenna retrieved her hand from his grasp and reached out to pick the head up, he saw that there was a large hole in its base. It was wearable, like a mascot or something. A mascot in the form of a thick, golden-brown maned lion. The more Jenna unpackaged, the more likely this option seemed. Drew watched as she put together what looked like an entire mascot costume; the head, but also a body suit, feet and hands. There also appeared to be other parts though, and while still wrapped up a second, slightly differently shaped head. 

While this very much answered the what part of his question though, it made absolutely no headway in addressing the how or why. His wife did at least seem to recognise his confusion though, even if her way of answering those concerns was a little different than what Drew had expected.

"Just stand over here, I'll show you exactly why I bought it."

Drew did as he was asked. There was no reason not to after all, this was his wife. He stood back from the bed, leaning up against the side of their wardrobe, and watched as Jenna began to don the suit she had unwrapped. She slipped into the bodysuit, zipping up the back with only a little difficulty, then began to slip on the footpaws, followed by the hands. Finally came the head, and only then did she pause, smirking to herself before looking up at her husband with raised eyebrows.

"Huh, it just occurred to me. This is a male."

Before Drew could acknowledge that rather obvious statement of fact though, on went the head. 

Rather than answering Drew's questions though, seeing his wife fully dressed in that costume only created more curiosity and confusion within his mind. Particularly when, mere moments after sliding the head on, he could no longer see the seam between head and the neck of the body-suit. Similarly as his gaze fell to her wrists and ankles the dividing seams there too seemed to be gone, and when he next found himself looking up at the lion's fluffy, slightly cartoony head, it wasn't quite so toony. In fact it was rather intimidating to behold, because no longer was it a static and inanimate mascot head. Instead it was looking at him. Blinking at him, and fixing him with a toothy, eager grin. 

"You see, dear?"

The voice was deep, rumbling and intense. It didn't sound anything like his wife. It didn't sound anything like anyone the human male had ever met. It sounded like... well, quite frankly it sounded like a lion was standing before him and trying to talk to him. 

"Doesn't this look amazing? Because... it feels amazing. To be me. To be this, at last."

She turned. Or rather, the lion turned, tail swishing behind him, and purred as he gestured to the remaining parcels upon the bed.

"And soon... soon you'll understand, even if you don't right now. All you need to do is try on your suit, and everything will make sense."

Drew blinked. He stared, and then quietly, calmly, he reached down and pinched himself.

Nothing happened, except for the lion laughing.

"Nope. Not a dream. C'mon now. Just try the suit on. After all... you love me, right?"

He tilted his head, he smiled, and though nothing about this lion looked at all familiar to Drew, he felt a twinge of recognition. A pang of guilt for doubting his wife, and then an even larger one for even considering the fact that this wasn't her. Because... if the creature in that suit, or indeed the suit itself wasn't in some way still his wife, then where was she?!

"I...I'm... n-not sure. Can I...can I talk to you, to you, Jenna... for just a minute? Like... t-take off the head?"

The lion laughed again as though what Drew had said was the funniest joke in the world. He shook his head.

"No. But... if you put yours on? If you put the costume on, and after that, after just a few seconds of wearing it, you still want me to take mine off? I promise you, I'll do so if you ask."

Drew frowned. This was all so... impossible. But then again, if it couldn't possibly be happening, what was he worried about? Nevertheless as he kept on staring at the lion before him, trying desperately to rationalise how it could look so real while obviously being the costume which had come out of that box not even half an hour ago, there was one point which he simply couldn't allow to pass him by without consideration.

This was his wife.

He had seen her put on that suit. He had seen her voluntarily, willingly bring this package into their home. And, if she wanted this... whatever this was, be it some fantasy or some hoax or some weird marital trust exercise... he would do it.

For her.

Thirty minutes later, the lion knelt upon the bedroom floor. He chuckled, purring gently as a lioness rubbed up against him, her own deep and guttural purrs betraying her joyous happiness. Unlike him however, she walked naturally upon all fours, a perfect example of the kind of gorgeous creature which might easily have been found wandering the savannah. She didn't speak. She didn't try to make sense of the situation. She just purred, nuzzled at the bipedal lion, and wound her way happily around him as he addressed her in a deep, soothing rumble.

"Good girl, Drew. My special little kitten."

The lion chuckled softly, scratching the quadruped feline under the chin. 

"I told you. I told you that you wouldn't want me to take my costume off. And now... now we never have to. Now we can start our new lives together, just like I wanted us to. A new kind of family, even stronger than we were before. A... a new pride, with me as the king, and you as my queen."

By Jeeves 

Like my stories? Want access to a whole host of writing weeks or even months before it appears on other sites as well as exclusive request days to get stuff written for yourself? Consider supporting me on patreon with rewards from as low as $5 per month! https://www.patreon.com/jeevesroo :D Alternatively,  you can throw me a few bucks through [url=https://ko-fi.com/jeeves]my Ko-Fi page[/url].