Afterglow: FVS2-1098 - Artisan

***\ **Disclaimer* ****

New from the Nexus Conglomerate, the Artisan Symbiont!

Have you ever had the desire to build a family but never had the time or the resources? Is finding that special someone to mate with and have a child proving to be too laborious? Have you tried over and over again and just never managed to get that child you've always wanted? Do you fear that once you have children, that body you sculpted over years will just get fat and lazy?

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Warning: effects of using the Artisan Symbiont may include muscle growth , penile and testicular growth , homosexual urges towards men , sexual interactions with men , some minor mental alterations , production of copious amounts of semen, male lactation, physical transformation into lupine based alpha male and impregnation of males who use the Symbiont. This product is not suitable for minors and it is only compatible with males particularly males either eighteen or twenty-one years and above based on regional laws.

If any of these effects concern you, close this product statement immediately, shut down the device by which you are viewing it, burn it to ash, spread the ashes over an unmarked grave and then sit on the nearest paternal figure's lap and tell him you love him. He doesn't have to be your father. Just the nearest paternal figure.

*******

Daddy's Desires

Reynard watched impatiently as the clock ticked by, tapping a finger against his wooden desk in time with every flick of the second hand as if that would somehow make it faster. Time always seemed to go by slower on a Friday. Especially a Friday after lunch and in the last class before a long weekend.

Tick-tick-tick.

He barely registered his teacher yammering on and on about something or another that happened in the past. Something on a presidential election where the nominees were actually telling their followers to vote for the _other_nominee.

Five minutes, he thought with rising urgency. Five more fucking minutes!

Part of him knew that watching the time would only make that irritatingly slow second hand go even slower so he turned away, glancing out the window. It was a beautiful day in fall. The leaves had turned gold, brown or red and constantly cascading past the windows in a mesmerising display. Past the lush foliage, poking out of the canopy were the various red-brick buildings of Dogwood, Oregon.

His teacher Mr. Howards did not seem to be in any hurry to finish and kept droning on and on about 19thcentury history. The man didn't seem to have much passion behind his lectures and just kept talking in a boring drone that made Reynard almost completely fell asleep on several different occasions. He was even starting to contemplate asking for a bathroom break, just so he could kill the last few agonizing minutes before the bell rang and he would finally be free. Admittedly, part of his impatience was due to 'Administration Day' for Calibre Cross High School. That meant he had three days for the weekend and that meant three days of fun with his dad and friends.

A soft buzz emerged from Reynard's pocket and he reached into his tan cargo shorts. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking before reaching into his pocket, retrieving the latest smartphone from ConNex, the communications branch of the esteemed Nexus Conglomerate. His best friend, Gary Summers had suddenly added something to the group conversation he was in with his dad and all his friends.

"Dude!" came the text from Gary. "Do you guys have a mark for this weekend? Mine totally fell through!"

A second later, a text came from Tanner Schaefer.

"Fuck. I couldn't get one either. Tell me someone has something."

Ace Patricks chimed in.

"Sorry boys. Been busy all week with clients. None of them suitable."

Then came Warren Shields.

"That's because all your clients are women."

"Women love me. What can I say?" Then Ace sent them a picture of his bicep flexing. Working as a nutritionist meant he had to stay fit himself and he worked closely with Terrance Graves, a personal trainer who, coincidentally was next to reply.

"I have someone. Sending details in a bit."

Michael Cortez, Reynard's father, added a second later. "Sorry. Busy. Got someone. Will text later."

"Are you paying attention, Mr. Cortez!?"

Reynard snapped back towards the front of the room where Matthias Howards was frowning at him through his thick, circular glasses. As he stared, the fifty-something man's pale features began to turn red in fury. Even that bald plate in the middle of his head started to turn bright crimson like a red light on a traffic light.

"Erm... Yeah," Reynard said. "Of course!"

Before Matthias could continue, the bell suddenly rang.

Class was over.

Everyone began rising from their seats.

"Everyone remember that your reports are due on Tuesday!" barked Howard, frowning so deeply that the creases on his forehead were starting to look like deep, white ravines. "No excuses!"

Fuck me, Reynard thought bitterly.

He had wanted this weekend for fun and enjoyment. Though he could make that report and get a passing grade fairly easily, he didn't want to disappoint his dad. The big red letters on a piece of paper really meant nothing to him but he it really wasn't about the grade, was it? It was about the effort. He was in this school for a reason and he had made a commitment.

At least until the end of the school year when he graduated.

As the thought of graduation entered his mind, though, a plot began to formulate in his brain.

He got up from his seat and carried his 6'3'' bulky Mexican/Asian frame to the front desk. Many had commented that Reynard should join the football team. The football coach had actually insisted on it since he was such good friends with Tanner already - Tanner being the high school quarterback. But he had refused. His chiselled frame, angular chin, pronounced cheekbones and eyes that looked like he was permanently smiling made gave him a certain 'exotic supermodel' look that had the girls of the high school swooning over him. Supposedly one of their biggest attractions to him involved some 'legend' that had been created after one of the girls saw him while he was changing. From what he had gathered it was called 'Rey's Abs' and it involved the belief that supposedly he had six perfectly cut abs that could grate chest.

Of course it was just a rumour.

There were eight of them.

He swaggered over to Matthias Howards and grinned. "Hey, Mr. H!" he greeted.

"Reynard," grunted the middle-aged teacher, packing up his belonging. "Don't think I didn't notice you with your phone. You're lucky the bell rang. And don't give me some story about just checking the time." He hiked his thumb over his shoulder at the clock. "That's why we have clocks in our classrooms."

"Nah, that's not what I'm gonna ask." He grinned broadly at the history teacher, flashing his pearly white teeth that stood out starkly against his coppery skin. "I was wondering what you were doing this weekend."

Howards frowned at him. "I don't see how it is any concern of yours but if you must know, I have a few papers to grade and mostly some time away from school."

Reynard smiled and reached out, resting a hand on the teacher's shoulder. There was a moment of awkward tension from the contact.

"Ever wanted kids, Mr. Howards?" he asked suddenly.

A frown crossed the man's features and he immediately pulled away from Reynard. "Again, that is no concern of yours. I'm perfectly happy even though I haven't found the right woman and that should be no concern of yours."

"Bet being fifty-four and a history teacher without tenure sucks too, huh?"

Howards frowned at him and took a step back. "This conversation is getting _very_inappropriate, Reynard."

He held up a hand in apology. "You're right. I'm sorry, Mr. Howards. How about I make it up to you? My family and I are going to take a little trip out to our cabin out in the woods. It's a nice, quiet place. Away from the hustle bustle of the city. You can grade your papers out there and we have high-speed internet connection."

Mr. Howards seemed stunned at such a sudden offer. "I don't think that's very appropriate..."

"Relax! I'm not trying to butter you up or anything." Reynard grinned reassuringly. "Just that we have a spare room and going up there isn't really worth the effort if not every room is taken, you know? Besides, I'm graduating this year! I thought I'd spend some time with the teachers that've led me along this amazing journey. Come on. I promise not to ask you about the paper."

Howards paused and looked out the window, weighing his decision before he finally shrugged and let out a sigh. "Alright, sure. Why not? I didn't have much else to do other than work. Maybe the air will be good for me."

"Great! We'll pick you up here at five-thirty?"

"But won't I need to pack?"

"Don't worry. We'll have you covered."

With those enigmatic words, Reynard turned and happily headed out of the room before Matthias could protest any further. He quickly reached for his phone and pretended to dial a number before pressing it to his ear. He had to brush aside his curly, jet-black hair that fell down just below his ears to get the call.

"Hey Alabaster," he began. "Mark is Matthias Howards. History teacher at Calibre Cross High School."

A male's voice responded from the other side. "Let's see... Matthias Howards... Ah, here we go. Fifty-four. Caucasian male. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Career teacher. No special characteristics or truly outstanding achievements. Constantly lamenting about wanting kids during the first few years of his career and commonly used that as a reason why he got into teaching. Has become jaded over the years especially when moving to high school." Alabaster sounded a little surprised for the next sentence. "Actually tried online dating for a little bit there. Never found anyone. Sure this is the one you want to put up for bid?"

Reynard glanced over his shoulder. Matthias Howards was just leaving the classroom, carrying the same old leathery suitcase with him out the door.

"Yeah. That's him. Put him up for bid."

Despite all the hustle and bustle of leaving school, Reynard did not actually leave the grounds. He headed towards a quiet corner at the rear of the school. There, wearing his brown leather jacket and green shirt with the words 'This is my flex-proof shirt' on it in white, he waited patiently. At four o'clock, another text came in.

It was from Terrance.

"Rain Man's Bid: Fredrick Trivoli. African-American. Overweight. 350 lbs. Plumber. Very conscious about his weight but due to late nights and spontaneous calls, he cannot find the time to go to the gym. Straight. Thirty-seven years old. Had a few girlfriends when he was younger but as he grew older and added more weight, never picked up a new one. Has had several online dates, however, where he's used someone else's image for his own."

A second later, his dad made his bid.

"Milkman's Bid: Philip Carinez. Asian-American. Thin. Barely 145 lbs. Trader on the stock market. Drives a very fancy car and loves to gamble. Has a bit of debt behind him and has been doing some dirty deals on the market to get them paid off. Has ties to the mafia in that he is indebted to them. Kind of a sleaze but kind of cute as well. Bisexual and even slept with a client once, a guy, to get what he wanted. Is actually entertaining two girlfriends."

Reynard smirked. "Oh dad... you always loved the group scene."

He then began tapping out his bid.

"Big Boy's Bid: Matthias Howards. Caucasian. About 160 lbs. Teacher. No tenure. Fifty-four. Always wanted kids and that's why he became a teacher. Became a little bitter about the decision and never found anyone to be with. Kind of an ass but he has to be to show dominance over the rest of the class. Straight. Still wants kids despite his age but knows that is increasingly unlikely with every year that goes by."

That was all the bids now it was up to the remaining members to make their votes.

Ace was the first to pitch in. "Patches' Vote: Rain Man."

Reynard rolled his eyes. Of course Ace would go for the overweight guy. Patches always did love seeing a guy go from fat to fit. That's why he became a nutritionist. Though he quietly cursed that he didn't get Ace's vote, there were still three others.

Thankfully, he could always count on Tanner's vote. "Monster's Vote: Big Boy."

"Yes," he quietly hissed, pumping a fist into the air. "I fucking love you, Tanner."

And where Tanner voted, Warren was sure to follow.

"Stock's Vote: Big Boy."

Two to one. Now if Gary would just vote for him as well, then that would mean they would have their mark. Otherwise, they'd have to go into a tie breaker.

"Bounce's Vote: Big Boy."

"Ha!" Reynard cried, jumping slightly in joy.

"Awww, no love for my guy?" whined his father. "Ah well. How do you wanna play this, Rey?"

He had already come up with his plan and with a grin, he began typing.

******

When the big, dark blue SUV came rolling up next big, iron gates of the school, Matthias Howards had already gone through his second, third and fourth mental scenario. The invitation from Reynard Cortez had come out of nowhere and thoughts of being murdered out in the woods on a three-day weekend came screaming through his mind. However, Reynard had never struck him as a serial killer and they hadn't had anyone go missing in Dogwood in years. He had also met Reynard's father, Michael, on countless occasions before. They had even shared a beer once at a 'Get to Know the Faculty Night'. He thought he had a fair gauge of the pair.

From what he recalled, Michael was a single parent. Never spoke about where his wife went but he managed a mechanic business all by himself. Dogwood was a fairly small town with a population of maybe fifty thousand in total. Small enough that everyone heard everything but did not necessarily know everyone. But Michael's garage was the only mechanic in town and he knew for a fact that the man was a trusted citizen of the city.

Surely an upstanding citizen wouldn't go to extreme lengths to murder his son's history teacher just because he had assigned him a paper due on the day after a long weekend?

Matthias began to turn around. Maybe he should make sure to call someone to let them know where he was going...

"Hey, Mr. Howards!" Reynard cried from the passenger's seat. "Hop in. We've got plenty of room in the back."

Did he mean the trunk?

Gingerly, the history teacher pulled open the side door and stepped into car. Reynard was a big, handsome young man with a light dusting of body hair but his father, Michael, was a real beast. Michael Cortez may have had the same perfectly symmetrical, angular features as his son but most of it was covered by a thick bush of black facial hair that almost met up with his equally thick chest hair. With the sleeves of his plaid shirt rolled up and his big hairy forearms in clear view, the man looked like a gorilla with the dense coat of black body hair that covered his body. In terms of build, he was about 6'11'', taller than his son and proportionally wide in muscle and mass. The shirt he was wearing was practically bursting at the seams trying to contain his muscular chest.

On some level, Matthias was jealous of this man's masculinity but on another, he was a little turned off by the foul stench of sweat and grease coming off the man.

"Nice to see you again, Mat," greeted Michael, waving a big, paw-like hand over his shoulder. "So you'll be joining us this weekend, eh?"

"Yes." Matthias inclined his head to the side. "You do this often? I mean, invite random strangers to your... uh... cabin?"

Michael laughed loudly, his booming cry almost drowning out the roar of the engines as the SUV pulled away from the curb. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it happening before! We do it every week! We invite people in our small little town to our cabin every weekend so we get to know our neighbours. It's just the right thing to do, you know?"

Dogwood wasn't exactly Hicksville USA but at the same time, it did breed a sense of... backwater resentment. It was gestures like this that made Matthias weep for having left California in exchange for this 'quiet town'. He forced a smile and buckled his seatbelt. "Well, I certainly appreciate you taking the time to accommodate me. Who else have you taken on these trips."

"You know Joshua Bartlet?" Reynard asked.

"The very successful lawyer who was called over to New York to represent a client?" Matthias responded. "Who hasn't? He came along with you?"

"Yep! Oh and there was Tate Reynolds, Buck Morrison. Sean Lidcombe."

All names of relatively famous or very successful people. All the named individuals had gone on to be incredibly successful in their fields and were both celebrated as local celebrities. It made Matthias somewhat jealous that he was being taken on this trip when he was... Well, who was he? He was just a middle-aged high school teacher who never achieved anything in his life.

"So... Erm..." began Matthias. "Exactly what do you do on these trips of yours?"

Michael shrugged his broad shoulders. "Oh, you know. Guy stuff. Drink beers. Talk. Just enjoy nature. It's a good way to get to know your fellow man."

Then Matthias realised what this was.

It was a networking exercise.

The Cortez family probably invited the successful and popular to these retreats and then introduced other lowly people like Matthias to them, potentially skyrocketing their careers. Did Reynard realise that Matthias was down on his luck and stuck in a rut? The student's words haunted him. The more he thought about it, the more this felt like a pity trip.

But a spark of ambition fired off in Matthias' chest

If he could connect with the Cortez family, then maybe they could get him to a better career and finally the life and family he had always wanted.

"Will it just be the three of us?" he asked.

"Oh no," Reynard laughed. "Tanner, Warren and Gary are coming too. Erm... I'm not sure if you know them." Reynard spun around in his seat so that his bright blue eyes were looking straight at Matthias. "Tanner Schaefer, Warren Shields and Gary Summers."

He knew who Tanner and Warren were. They were both on the football team and the coach would not stop talking about them. They were his star players. One on the offensive team and the other on the defensive. Matthias was vaguely aware of Reynard hanging out with him a lot so they must be good friends. Good enough for the coach to always groan on about how Reynard would be great for the team during faculty meetings. But when the sports department started talking he normally tried to tune them out. Gary Summers however was a vague memory. He recalled the name but couldn't quite bring up a face or even an academic record.

"Your... friends," Matthias stated as they left behind the city and began heading into the thick forests around Dogwood.

"Don't worry, Mat," Michael said. "There are adults coming too. I'm fairly sure you know Terrance Graves?"

"I think I've met him every now and then," he answered. "Comes to do speeches about physical fitness at the school. Promotes personal training as a career choice when students graduate."

"That's him. Not sure if you know Ace Patricks though. He works with Terrance as a nutritionist."

"I'm afraid I don't. But I look forward to meeting him."

So the town's mechanic, a personal trainer and a nutritionist? What could all these people have in common? Perhaps they were just all connected by the Cortez's tendency to take people up to their cabin.

"If you don't mind me asking," Matthias said. "Will we all fit in your cabin? That's... what? Eight people including me?"

Michael laughed brightly. "Don't worry. There's enough room for everyone to get their own beds. Of course, no one is opposed to shared sleeping arrangements." He snickered and stuck out his tongue like a child.

The history teacher frowned and wondered exactly what that sentence meant but shrugged it off and waited patiently. He was also very much aware that he was only carrying his briefcase with him and that meant he wasn't equipped for three days at a house that was not his own. Then again, perhaps they had laundry services there. In the back of his mind, he imagined a rustic bucket of water in the back of a small wooden cabin where everyone just threw their clothes in. One man would roll up his sleeves to wash the garments manually.

Was that why they needed him? Was he going to be their little 'wimpy slave'? Michael and Terrance were beasts of men and Reynard was a teen muscle god. Warren and Tanner even more so. Were they going to bully him and force him to labour for them over three days?

He made himself a mental note to pay EXTRA attention to Reynard's paper come Monday encase they did...

"Something bothering you, Mr. Howards?" Reynard asked.

He caught Reynard's blue-eyed gaze in the rear view mirror. "No, Reynard. Just... I suppose wondering exactly how this weekend will play out. What's our activities? Do we have an agenda?"

"Leave your schedules and agendas at the door, Mattie," Michael said. "It's just a couple of guys hanging out. Do what you want. No rules!"

It sounded a lot like he was just walking into a fraternity party, something he had never been involved in nor did he ever want to be involved in. Masculinity had never been something that Matthias had invested in even growing up. History always fascinated him and he found himself leaning more towards the bookish type than actual physical fitness. Perhaps that was one of the reasons for his lack of a wife or children at the moment. Women tended to favour hyper-masculine specimens of men who had bicep sizes bigger than their IQs.

But if anything, Matthias was not one to judge. Michael was a well-respected individual and clearly capable of not only running his own business but also maintaining his physical fitness. Terrance Graves was intelligent as well and he could only assume the same for Mr. Ace Patricks.

He remained silent for the trip, peering out the windows of the SUV. The dense forests of Oregon soon came to flank the road. They were pulling further and further away from civilisation, it seemed. It was beautiful, no doubt, but then he remembered that his allergies would likely kick up the moment dawn hit them and he was without his medication. By the time he realised this, they were thirty minutes into the drive and it would seem ungrateful to ask them to turn around to fetch his medication. These two were willing to put him up for a little vacation away from the city and demanding to turn around for some pills just seemed... demanding.

So he remained silent and resolved to just stay inside the cabin to avoid as much exposure to nature as possible. His resolved shook, however, when Michael turned away from the main road and entered a well-used dusty path, the SUV shaking as it headed down familiar tire tracks and grooves.

"Just where is this cabin of yours?" he asked, gripping onto the seat as he was jostled around.

"Just a little further, Mr. Howards," Reynard said with a grin. "Not long now."

Not long until you kick me out of this SUV and then give me a ten second head start before you hunt me like sport, Matthias thought bitterly.

But Reynard was true to his word.

Not five minutes later, they came to a clearing and Matthias saw the 'cabin'.

It really was more like a mansion. A red, lavished mansion at the top of a small hill. Standing at two storeys, the facility seemed to be made completely out of wood and was surrounded by a white, stone wall. Tinted windows occupied the beautiful building and from his angle, he could see what appeared to be a deck on the second floor where a pool was available. A pool or a Jacuzzi, he wasn't sure. Solar panels were perched on the slanted rooftops as well as a satellite dish.

They stopped momentarily in front of the iron gates which had a wolf's head motif running across it. Michael pressed waved something in front of the gates and they began rolling to the side. Matthias caught sight of a golden plaque over the mail slot.

"Afterglow?" he asked. "Did you name it after the beautiful sunsets you get around here?

Reynard got a strange smirk on his face. "Yeah, let's go with that. But we didn't name it. Ace actually thought of it."

"Ace? Ace Patricks? You mean that he built this place?"

"Not just him. We all did. Me, my dad, Ace, Terrance, Tanner, Warren, Garry. All of us. We built Afterglow."

"Really?"

"You'll find you can accomplish a lot when you have time on your hands," said Michael as he drove up to the little carpark area at the front of the facility. Matthias noted that there were already two cars there. "Come on. Let's head on inside."

Still feeling a little out of place, Matthias stepped out of the SUV. He offered to help the Cortez with carrying their equipment into the mansion but both said they didn't need help. Amongst some typical camping gear, there were some provisions as well. Thankfully, no guns. He followed them into the house, awed at its sheer size.

The entrance hallway alone was as big as half his house. It was a broad, wide, semi-circular plane with two sweeping staircases heading upwards to the second floor. The floors were covered in polished wooden floorboards and the ceiling was slanted in an almost cathedral-like design. To break away from the overly wood-feeling, there were some velvety rugs scattered about and some pieces of foliage hanging from the ceiling. Directly in front of them was a single hallway leading to the back of the mansion. He realised that the manor was 'T-shaped' with the hall going straight to the vertical part of the T and the doors to his left and right leading to the arms.

"Let me give you a tour!" Reynard said, clapping Matthias' shoulder. He was steered towards the left where Reynard pushed open the large double doors.

"Through here is where we eat."

He pointed at the large wooden dining table that looked about big enough to fit twenty people. A chandelier made from deer horns hung above it with bulbs meshed between the spikes of the horns. There were cabinets filled with pictures. From a distance, Matthias could make out the owners of this mansion as well as some of their guests smiling at the camera. Reynard then led him to the adjacent room. There, the wood façade faded in favour of a very modern kitchen.

"This is where we cook!" Reynard exclaimed happily. "Hang tight. I'm going to bring some of the food in."

As his student bolted back to the entrance, he took in the enormous, tiled kitchen. Stainless steel dominated the appliances. Everything seemed almost cold and mechanical compared to the warmth and rustic feeling he got from the rest of the house. There was a door leading outdoors into what looked like a patio. There was a large barbeque set out there along with a large picnic table and what looked like a big metal box. He recalled a faint memory of things that looked like that were used for smoking meats. But they took a very long time to cook.

Reynard returned a moment later with a basket full of fruits, vegetables and meat in his arms. "If you ever feel like getting anything to eat, this is where you'll find it. We've got a freezer out back as well."

After stuffing some of the food into the fridge and freezer, Reynard led him to the opposite arm of the manor. They crossed the atrium again and he noted that there was another man speaking with Michael. This man was slightly smaller than Michael with straight cut, spikey brown hair and similarly coloured eyes. Judging by his skin-tight athletic clothes and his own memory, this was Terrance Graves. The personal trainer had just the right amount of stubble to accentuate his square jaw and his black uniform was sure to accentuate every curve and bulge of his muscles.

Matthias avoided his gaze, feeling a little jealous of the sheer masculinity the man exuded.

On the opposite side of the dining area was the entertainment area. An enormous television that might as well have been a cinema-sized screen took up an entire wall while couches and pillows were arranged artfully in front of it. There was a flight of stairs heading to the deck with the Jacuzzi from where they stood. Again, there were cabinets and shelves filled with pictures of past residents and guests that had come to this place. Beyond that he was lead into a room where all noise suddenly stopped.

"This is our library," said Reynard, gesturing at the tall, ceiling-high bookshelves. Matthias gawked at the sheer size of the place and almost felt giddy at the sight of so many books. There were comfortable looking chairs sitting around the centre of the library while all the shelves were pushed up against the walls. Some of those roller-ladders were mounted against the bookshelves as well. It was hard to believe that muscle-heads like Reynard or Michael would even entertain a library.

"Anyway, continuing the tour..."

His student took him to the vertical section of the T, explaining that this was where people slept. There were twelve rooms in total. Six on the top floor and six on the bottom floor. There centre of the hall on the second floor was cut open so that those on the top floor could see down below with railings guarding anyone from tumbling over the edge. There were also six rooms on the left and on the right meaning that there were three rooms on the east-facing side on the top floor and again three rooms on the bottom floor. The arrangement was mirrored on the west-facing side. Toilets and bathrooms were at the end of the hallway.

"You'll be staying here!" Reynard explained, leading him to one of the farthest rooms. Again, all sound seemed to drop out the moment they stepped through the threshold lending credence to the idea that this place had soundproof walls.

Matthias gawked at the sheer size of the bedroom. It was much bigger than his own by at least three times as much. The king-sized bed at the centre of the room was almost dwarfed by the rest of the room. There was a lot of empty space between them and the rest of the walls but part of it was occupied by rugs, a television and some paintings of the nearby forests.

"It almost feels like I'm staying at a five star hotel..." he admitted.

"We try to make our guests comfortable," said Reynard with a grin. "Anyway, dinner is at seven. Feel free to explore around the place and get to know the others. Terrance and Warren are already here. Everyone else should be coming in soon."

He clapped Matthias' shoulder.

"Enjoy your stay, Mr. Howards."

******

Matthias noticed that there was a distinct wolf-motif in the Afterglow mansion. At first, he just noticed the subtle things. The ends of his bed had wolf heads carved into the wood. The drawers' handles came as bronze rings hanging from snarling wolf muzzles. Then the more he looked, the more he realised that it was more than that. The oil paintings all had wolves in them. Some were quite overt like the one in the dining room but others, like those in his room, were subtler.

Something he also realised was that the shower was a communal shower. There were no stalls, no individual en suites. Just a glass door and a row of shower heads in a blue-tiled area. Upon seeing that, he also realised that he didn't bring any of his bathroom essentials or even toiletries. He didn't have a toothbrush!

He had to wonder what he was thinking agreeing to this.

He wandered the hallway, looking for one of the occupants with the hope of asking them if he could go to a store nearby to at least get a toothbrush. Lucky for him one of the doors sprang open and out stepped Terrance Graves.

Only Mr. Graves was completely shirtless and only wore a pair of bright blue shorts with a white stripe down the sides.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Matthias cried, shying away and covering his eyes.

"Huh?" Graves began. Then he seemed to realise he was wearing nothing over his sculpted, hairless but perfectly bronzed torso. "Sorry. I just finished a workout and needed to cool off. You must by Reynard's guest." He held out a hand. "Terrance Graves."

Swallowing slightly, Matthias took the hand and shook it. "Matthias Howards. I'm Reynard's history teacher."

"Right. Welcome."

"If you don't mind me asking..." he began, growing a little more comfortable with the shirtless Adonis. "But how do you know the Cortez family? Are you a friend of theirs?"

"More like brothers," said Graves with a grin. "Let's just say we grew up together and spend a lot of time together. 'Friend' does not do our relationship justice."

"Alright..." Howards said warily. "The same goes for the rest of the owners of this place? Reynard said you all built this place."

"Well, we designed it, yes. It was a team effort."

"I see. For what purpose, if I may ask?"

"Sometimes you just need to get away from people and civilisation, you know? In order to form a strong bond with your fellow man, you need to lock yourself away and just focus directly on the person in front of you." For emphasis, Graves made a slicing gesture in front of him, fingers pointing directly at Matthias. "Remove all other distractions, responsibilities and interferences. It's just you and the guy next to you. Only then can you really know them."

That was surprisingly deep... but also very primal in Matthias' opinion. It felt like he was alluding to men beating their chests, howling and wrestling with one another to understand one another. Throw aside all the civilised developments of language and communication and just revert to being savage beasts again.

"That's... admirable," said Matthias. "Say, I sort of got hurried over here so I haven't brought any of my supplies. Basic things like clothes, underwear or even a toothbrush."

Graves laughed heartily, his highly defined pectorals bouncing with the gesture. "Fair enough. Leave that to us. We like to take care of our guests." He winked at Matthias. "But I can see you're a little tense. Can I interest you in watching the sunset? It's beautiful around here."

Though he was still somewhat dubious, Matthias shrugged and followed Graves out back through the atrium and into the recreational area. They headed up the steps into the outdoor deck with the Jacuzzi and pulled up two of the sun chairs there. Graves sat down, stretching out his legs and only then did Matthias notice that the man was walking around barefoot. A cry from somewhere below them brought his attention to where Warren, Tanner and Reynard were throwing around a football. All of them were barefoot and shirtless as well.

Weird...

He jolted slightly when Graves held his forearm. "Sit down, Howards. You want to be relaxed for this."

Matthias turned to look at the sun which was already starting to dip behind the canopies of the towering trees around them. Taking the personal trainer's advice, he lay down on the sun chair, clasping his hands against his belly and breathing in the fresh air. He figured this would the last time on this little vacation that he would actually be able to enjoy the forest air before his allergies kicked in and his medication wore off so decided to appreciate it as much as possible.

A soft crack and fizz brought his attention to an offered can of beer.

"Oh no," he said, shaking his head at the offered can from Graves. "I don't drink."

"You're on vacation," Grave said with a charming smile. "Just one won't hurt."

"I'm too old to be drinking..."

The personal trainer laughed and rested his other hand on Matthias' shoulder. "Trust me. You're never too old to enjoy a cold one. Come on. It's free."

Matthias rolled his eyes and took the offered can. "So I'm going to be charged for something then?"

That made the burly, shirtless man laugh as he reached down into the mini-fridge and plucked out his own beer. "Don't worry, Howards. I assure you that you'll get more out of this trip than you'd be sacrificing."

"I'll be sacrificing something?"

"Just your time and a long weekend. Then again, when you spend three long days in good company enjoying yourself, it's hardly a sacrifice, is it?"

Matthias smiled and leaned back into the chair, watching the sky as it turned from a bright blue to shades of yellow, then rosy pink. The clouds overhead caught the reddish sheen, painting the entire skyscape in a shades of grey, red and yellow. It really was quite serene. The stress of the day just melted away from his body. Though it briefly returned when the bitterness of the bear touched his lips, he son found himself relaxing to the point where his breathing became easy, rhythmic. He didn't even flinch when Graves rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Howards, you okay?" Graves asked.

The feeling of relaxation and maybe even a bit of lethargy prevented Matthias from uttering real words and just let out a soft, murmuring hum.

Terrance Graves grinned broadly and rose from his seat. Removing his hand from Matthias Howard's shoulder, he said, "Well, that was easy."

All the noise of activity downstairs suddenly stopped. The boys tossing around the football stopped their game and turned towards the deck. Michael and Ace who were cooking the food turned down the heat and poked their head around to where Graves stood.

"Damn, he didn't put up much of a fight, did he?" Tanner commented.

"My guy would've at least fought it," Michael said.

Reynard set the football down. "Get over it, dad." Then he began headed towards the deck and where Matthias lay in a dazed stupor. "Come on. The fun begins."

Moments later, seven men were surrounding Matthias as the middle-aged history teacher just lay on the sun chair, looking past them at the sunset. Slowly and delicately so as not to wake the man from his daze, Reynard unbuckled the teacher's belts and pulled down his slacks.

"Not very impressive," murmured Michael, regarding Matthias' flaccid dick almost disappearing into a bush of grey hairs. "Oh but he's uncut. Now that's delicious." An unnaturally long tongue slipped out between his lips, brushing across his chin and nose and dropping saliva everywhere.

Terrance snickered and wrapped an arm affectionately around Michael's shoulders. "You always liked them uncut." He leaned in and pressed his lips against Michael's. The two heedlessly groped and slurped at one another, strangely long tongues dancing around one another while their erections tented their black shorts.

Reynard rolled his eyes. "Dad, come on. I'm going to need your help here."

Grunting, Michael pulled his lips away from Terrance. He poked the tip of the personal trainer's nose with a finger, whispering "To be continued" before turning back to Matthias. The teacher's brown eyes were completely glazed over and his features slack, his mouth even hanging open a little. That made things easier for Michael. The burly mechanic leaned down, his long tongue hanging out and dripping thick wads of saliva onto Matthias' face. His lips collided with the teacher's, his tongue roving and exploring the man's mouth.

A soft moan escaped Matthias' throat. Blood began rushing towards his crotch. Within moments, his cock began rising out from the thick bush, fully erect and already dripping with precum.

Michael smirked and pulled away. "Oh yeah. He's delicious. I can't wait to taste all of him."

"Come on dad," Reynard said with a grin. "He's my bid, remember?" He positioned himself over Matthias, his own erect dick pushing up against the limits of his shorts and resting against Matthias' own member. "I get the honours."

His father rolled his eyes and took a step back but shamelessly rubbing himself through his shorts, a sentiment shared by the others in the little circle. Reynard indulged himself and rubbed his erect cock against Howards' raging erection. The fabric of his shorts rubbing against his own erection coupled with the heat he got from his history teacher was driving him wild. His one tongue topped out from between his lips. His body temperature began to rise so much so that the sweat that seeped from his pores immediately evaporated leaving him literally steaming hot.

The heat became too much for him and Reynard pulled down his shorts, revealing his immense eleven-inch dick. A slick, clear, oddly greenish liquid came pouring out of the tip of his uncut cock. With every breath he took, his foreskin seemed to slide and retract over his glands like it was a breathing, _panting_animal.

"Oh yeah baby..." he groaned, seizing both his and Matthias' cocks. Though the history teacher's member was completely dwarfed by his monster dick, it still throbbed with need as if trying to lengthen itself to grow as long as the giant pressed up against it. "Come on, man. Don't make me wait. I've wanted this all day."

Reynard's body suddenly seized up, a lustful grin crossing his features. Every muscle on his body tightened, steel cords pressing up against his coppery skin and veins popping. His flesh turned red with exertion and the heat it was expelling. His member throbbed violently.

"Fuuuuuck..."

A thick, greenish-white viscous liquid came pouring out of the tip of his member. Thick and almost gelatinous, the fluid dripped down onto Matthias' crotch. The goo lathered all over the history teacher's curly, grey pubes, seeping into the bush and dripping all over his balls. The moment it touched his balls, the goo seemed to obtain some degree of sentience. It gyrated, seethed and seemed to probe the teacher's scrotum, looking for a way into that sac. It followed the trail of Matthias' cock, running up from the base for six inches until it finally found the middle aged man's slit. Empowered and eager, the slime dove right in. Even as more of it came pumping out of Reynard's member, it slipped deeper and deeper into Matthias' member. It was actually possible to see the little bulges against the teacher's cock as the slime proceeded down into his cock.

Matthias grimaced. His eyes squinted slightly like he was trying to focus on something and his gaping mouth opened wide to let out a deep moan. His fingers curled against the armrests of the sun chair.

Reynard reached down with another hand, gently cupping his teacher's cheek in his huge palms. "Hold on there, Mr. Howards. Almost... urgh... Almost there..." A particularly large blast of the goo came surging out of his dick and an equally large amount poured into Matthias. "Just a little longer... Don't cum..."

Short, almost panicked breaths came rising out of Matthias' chest. A cold sweat drenched the man's brow and he squeezed his eyes shut, nails digging into the plastic of the armrests. A distinct bulge grew in his sac. His testicles jostled mightily in his crotch, almost thrashing in his sack against the invading force. But no matter how much it fought, this third lump grew bigger and bigger until it was just about the size of his other testicles. The three struggling orbs fell silent as the last drops of the greenish goo funnelled into his cock.

Reynard sighed in contentment and pulled away from his teacher. He pulled up his shorts once more, hiding his own three-ball sack.

"Fuck that's still as hot as the first time," rumbled Tanner. "Just wish it was me initiating the guy."

"We'll all get our chance," Terrance said reassuringly. "He's got his start now it's time for us to groom him before the final night." He reached down and rested a hand over Matthias' hand, still clutching the armrest tightly. "You can let go now, Mattie. Go on and cum."

Matthias suddenly gasped, bucking his hips wildly into the air. His seed came shooting out of his dick and splattering all over his blue, white-striped collared shirt. Two powerful blasts came rocketed out of his erection, the first being the most powerful reached all the way to his collar. The second had more volume and splattered some good white splotches onto his clothed abdomen. It was likely the most powerful orgasm he had ever had in a long while.

The seven men that stood around him watched the teacher slumped into the seat, relaxed and basking in... well, in the afterglow. Matthias' eyes closed shut and his head fell slack. A soft snoring came from him a second later.

Reynard snickered softly. "Sleep well, Mr. Howards. Enjoy the last time you'll ever cum as a human."

******

When Matthias woke, it was to the bellowing shout of someone from downstairs. He blinked away the bleariness in his eyes, rubbing his eyes beneath his thick glasses. A small wind blew and he became acutely aware of his lack of pants... and the thick splotches of semen on his collar and shirt. Glancing down, panic immediately shot through his system as he realised his slacks and underwear were now resting around his ankles revealing his crotch. A trail of semen led up from his flaccid dick.

"What...?" he began.

"Come on boys!" someone shouted from downstairs. "Dinner time!"

The sun had set leaving him in relative darkness and with only the stars as witness to his nudity.

"Hey, can someone get Mattie? Anyone know where he is?"

More panic rushed through his system. He immediately seized his slacks and pulled it up to his waist, hastily buckling his belt and attempting to make himself look presentable. It was his hope that it was dark enough that no one would notice the spots on his shirt. His eyes fell on the beer can sitting next to him and inspiration struck him. He grabbed the can, glad that it was still mostly full and splashed a bit of the amber liquid onto him. The smell was awful but it certainly hid most of the splatters on his body. Anything else that wasn't hidden could be passed off as splatter.

Not a moment too soon.

A dark skinned young man came up from the entertainment room. He was about Matthias' height, maybe an inch or two taller at about 5'8''. Unlike the muscular alpha-males that seemed to dominate this group, this young man was lean and fit but not brimming with so much muscles that he was bursting out of his clothes. He had a full head of dreadlocks tied back into a ponytail behind his head. Like the others though, he was just wearing a pair of black shorts and went around barefoot.

"There you are," the young man said. "Come on down. It's dinner time."

"Uh... right. Of course." Matthias looked down at his soaking shirt. "Sorry. I must have fallen asleep on the deck and poured some beer on me. At my age, you tend to get exhausted quickly."

"You're not that old. Mr. Howards."

He inclined his head to the side. "Sorry, but do I know you?"

The young man shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'd be surprised if you did. I don't take history. But I'm Reynard's friend." He approached Matthias and held out his hand. "Gary Summers. Please to meet you."

Matthias shook the student's hand and was glad, for once, not to have his fingers crushed by a vice-like grip. "Ah. The pleasure is mine." He gestured at his clothes. "Would you mind if I washed up first?"

"Ah don't worry about it," Gary said, waving a hand absently through the air while still holding onto Matthias' hand. "None of the guys mind if you smell like beer. Hell, Terry loves to work out, like, all the time so he stinks most of the time. And Michael somehow always smells of grease. So you don't need to worry. Come on down. Dinner is getting cold."

Somewhat encouraged by that but still a little awkward with his shirt drenched, Matthias followed Gary off the deck, into the sunroom right above the entertainment room, down the stairs and into the dining room. The delectable aroma of food had him following the scent instead of Gary before long. Upon entering the dining room, he was absolutely floored at the sheer amount of food there was.

He might as well have stepped into a Thanksgiving dinner because everything that was set before him was super-sized and looked incredibly festive. There was even a whole turkey there as well as a whole suckling pig!

"How did you manage to cook all this in a few hours?" he exclaimed, stunned.

"You'd be surprised how much seven guys can do in a short time," said Gary with a grin, guiding Matthias to the head of the table. He sat down right next to the teacher.

"Now I feel bad for not contributing..."

"Don't be! You're our guest. It's our honour. Can I get you a drink? More beer?"

Matthias politely refused as the others on the table instantly began to tear into meal before them. He reached for some potato salad and some ham. Everything smelled so delicious that he simply was spoiled for choice. The meals were also varied. He saw some noodles from Reynard's Asian heritage and also some tacos from his Mexican side. It was a very multicultural affair and something he didn't expect for axe-wielding redneck murderers.

He was starting to feel more and more at ease with his hosts.

"So how long have you been a teacher, Matthias?" asked one of the men he had yet to be introduced to.

It seemed that the adults were seated to his right and the teenagers to his left. The man who spoke sat to his right, a blonde man whose hair colour almost looked like it was unnaturally bleached. His skin had a healthy glow to it and lightly tanned. Like Gary, he wasn't brimming with muscles like the others. He was definitely athletic and well-built but had a slimmer build than the others. Compared to the giant, broad-shouldered behemoths like Michael and Terrance, however, he seemed almost normal.

"Thirty-one years," he answered with a nod. "And you...?"

"Ace Patricks," replied the man holding out his hand. Matthias shook it. "I'm a nutritionist and work alongside Terry here at the gym though I get most of my business at the local clinic. Been at this gig... well..." He blew out his cheeks and let out his breath slowly. "Well... for longer than I can remember, really! Time flies by when you enjoy your job!"

"Must be nice," Matthias whispered softly.

Patricks gave him a curious look and sat back down in his seat. "Oh? You don't enjoy your job?"

Acutely aware that Reynard was sitting just a few seats away, Matthias said, "I suppose I am at that point in my life where I would have expected that I would have achieved so much more. I mean I am fifty-four, I still rent this apartment in the city, I'm not married or even have any romantic partners in... I don't know... the last twenty years, I'm losing my hair" - he gestured at his very prominent bald plate - "my eyesight is shot and I don't have any kids!"

Matthias suddenly paused, only now just realising how open he had just been in front of these people he barely knew. It must have been the alcohol, he always was a lightweight.

"That's kind of the downside of being a teacher, huh?" Terrance said from the far end of the table. "You hang around kids all day and it just kills your desire to have them."

"That's not it." Matthias shook his head. "I would love to have my own children. The opportunity hast just never come up."

"Ever thought of adoption?" Reynard chimed in.

"On my salary? I would never be able to raise a child. Nor would I have the time."

Matthias swore to himself mentally. He didn't want to make himself sound even more pathetic than he already was in front of these guys. Still, at least it gave him some comfort to get that off his chest after keeping it to himself for so long.

Michael lifted his glass. "Still Mattie, props to you for sticking with your job and your dreams. May you see them fulfilled in the end."

"Easy for you to say," Matthias mumbled with a faint smile. "You love your job. You're one of the most popular and well-respected men in town. You have an amazing kid even if he does text in class sometimes" - he shot Reynard a playfully menacing look - "and you have this place that you can retreat to every weekend at your convenience! You have it made!"

The men on the table exchanged glances.

"We all have our different lives and problems to deal with," Terrance said sagely. "I guess the true test of a man is fighting complacency and moving forward, growing to be a better man and not sitting idly by to watch the years go by without any progress."

"Question for you, Mr. Howards," Gary said suddenly. "If you were given the opportunity to better your life, would you take it?"

This was it.

This was the test of whether or not they would start introducing him to their higher connections and possibly give him that push to better living.

Matthias Howards did not hesitate.

"Who wouldn't?"

That seemed to please the rest of the congregation and Gary pounced at the opportunity.

"Then the best place to start is by helping yourself to seconds!" Without warning, he dumped a huge five slices of meat onto Matthias' plate. "Lots of food to go around, you know! We can't let any of it go to waste!"

"What?" Stammered Matthias. "But can't you just store it..."

Michael snickered and took a drink from his glass. "We're only here for three days, Mattie. Anything we store won't last. So eat up! Plenty to go around!"

"Couldn't you just cook less?"

That just brought riotous laughter from the rest of the group.

Gary reached over and clapped his shoulder playfully. "Just eat up, Mr. Howards."

Shrugging, Matthias continued eating his meal. There was no doubt that the food was incredibly delicious. He hadn't noticed how hungry he was until he had finished off his plate and then looked longingly at that turkey. With his minimal budget, he rarely ever had turkey even during the holidays. Following his gaze, Michael reached over and gave him a few slices of white meat. A bit of cranberry sauce and some buttered bread loaves and he was set. He almost wept at how delicious and well-seasoned it was. But as he finished the turkey, he eyed the noodles that already had a large chunk taken out of it.

Would be a shame not to try it...

So he asked Reynard to pass him the bowl which his student happily did. After giving himself two scoops, he found the noodles absolutely tantalising. Salty, sweet and spicy all at once with that deliciously tender barbeque pork slices that he always loved about Asian cuisine.

"Hey, Mr. H!" exclaimed Tanner Schaefer. "Try some of the lamb. Ren's recipe. It's kickass!"

How could he refuse that? He got a heaping helping of it with some Greek Yogurt and even some pita bread which he ate all at once. Certainly a milder flavour than everything else but no less delicious. The lamb's flavour really came out quite well and the addition of walnuts added some crunch to it.

Lastly, he had to try some of the tacos. After three of them, he was finally feeling sated and patted his belly in satisfaction.

"Hope you have room for dessert!" exclaimed Warren Shields, bringing in a whole cart of delectable desserts including a whole cake. Suddenly, Matthias' belly was empty again and he just had to try a little bit of everything.

Even with himself and the rest of the clan gorging themselves on the incredible spread, there was still a lot of leftovers which Terrance explained would just be used for the following days and they would cook more as necessary. It took a lot of effort for Matthias to rise out of his seat and he was already feeling rather sleepy. He offered to help clean up but Michael insisted that he head on to bed as it was getting late. It was already ten o'clock in the evening making him wonder how long they had been eating for.

Shrugging it off, he gently tapped Gary on the shoulder.

"Uhm... sorry to bring this up but I don't have a toothbrush here so..."

"Not a problem at all, Mr. Howards," Gary said. "We've got plenty of spares."

He was led to the large, communal bathroom particularly to what appeared to be a linen closet within the tiled room. Spare toothbrushes and toothpaste was offered there and even some mouthwash. Matthias thanked the young man and cleaned himself up for bed. The weariness over devouring so much food started to really impair his cognitive abilities and he was fairly sure he had actually drifted off to sleep standing up while brushing his teeth.

Running predominantly on auto-pilot, he wandered into his room and didn't even get halfway through the door when his eyes shut. His body carried him straight towards his bed where he immediately slumped into the large, comfortable mattress, snoring away in his beer-soaked shirt.

******

That night, Matthias Howards had the oddest dream.

He naked and floating in what felt like a sea of gelatine. Everything was dark and there was a faint light shining above him, distorted by the constantly undulating and twisting face of the gelatinous mass. Weakness prevented him from moving.

Then, strange, furry hands started emerging from the darkness. He could see them; big, hairy, clawed. He tried to scream but the continued to approach and his cries died in his throat. Unable to move and with none of his limbs capable of moving, he could only float there, eyes fixated on those large claws as they drew closer and closer.

The first hand touched him... and it gently stroked his chest. It was warm. Comforting. It radiated serenity and... friendship. Another of the paws rand down his shoulders, sliding up and down his arm like it was massaging him. A pair of them gripped his left thigh, kneading the muscles there with their thumbs. There was even one that began massaging his feet. When one of them slid down his back and ran over his rump, he gasped. But it was not hostile.

None of these paws were hostile.

They were nice.

And he just let himself slowly drift into their warm embrace.

He didn't even mind when one of the paws grabbed his balls and began massaging the three distinct spheres there.

******

Impossible Decisions

Morning came with a blast of light. Matthias grimaced and squinted. The sun was blaring in from the nearby window. He had failed to close it when he had gone to bed but then again, the previous night had been filled with an enormous amount of food that he was amazed he had come out of his food coma at all. Groaning softly, he ran a hand down his belly, wondering if he now had a beer gut after all everything he had devoured.

What struck him as odd, however, was that his collared shirt was now unbuttoned. Worse, he could feel patches of hardened semen all over his chest. The culprit was his painfully erect cock currently teasing him while his slacks rested on the other side of the bed, discarded carelessly over one of the bedposts.

"What is wrong with me...?" he mumbled.

Shaking his head to wake himself up, Matthias got up and took stock of his surroundings. He was still in the Afterglow mansion. His first instinct was to go and get a change of clothes but then he remembered that he hadn't even brought any with him.

A plan quickly formulated in his head.

Take a shower, he concluded. Then ask Michael to drive me back home so I can get some clothes.

Adjusting his glasses, Matthias got up and hurried out of his room. He remembered where the linen closet was in the bathroom so it was there that he quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his otherwise naked waist. Sadly, there was no shampoo or soap for him but all he needed to do was to quickly wash away the evidence of the last night's activities and the beer smell from his skin. After that, he would be somewhat presentable.

He headed over to the large communal shower; essentially a whole stretch of wall barricaded from the rest of the bathroom by a glass door. Little surprise that such macho-men as that frequented this place opted for such a design instead of preserving privacy. Though Gary and Ace seemed to be less like hulking gorillas. He decided he would like to know them better after he had preserved his dignity.

After setting down his glasses, he stepped into the shower and quickly turned on one of the shower heads. Steam built up around him, filling up the rest of the shower area. With the noise of the shower and the steam, he never noticed when another person stepped into the shower as well.

"Early morning shower, Mr. H?"

Matthias started and immediately spun around, instinctively covering his privates.

There stood Warren Shields. The huge defensive lineman for the high school football team might as well have gone to the professional leagues with his chiselled body. His thighs were as thick as tree trunks, his pectorals so broad and perfectly shaped that you could've landed a plane on them and they'd be able to support it. The shoulders that supported his massive arms were broad enough to almost take up the entire width of the shower stall. A light dusting of red hair covered his chest, arms and legs and sat atop his head like a fiery emblem. Despite his clearly masculine body, his features were adorably boyish. With the freckles across his cheeks and nose and baby-blue eyes, he was stunningly handsome and seemed approachable. A regular gentle giant.

And despite himself, Matthias found himself growing hard upon seeing the young man. He had to fight hard not to look down at Warren's crotch but he _did_spy the rather seductive trail of red hair leading down from his belly button.

"Ah... yes, Warren, thank you." Matthias immediately turned around, hoping the student hadn't seen his blush or his rising cock.

What is wrong with me!? Why does the sight of this stud turn me on!?

And... did I just think of Warren as a 'stud'?

"Me too," Warren said. He turned on another shower head and had to raise his voice above the noise. "Days like this, Tanner sleeps until noon, the lazy ass. I can't blame Reynard or Gary for getting up late either. They tend to stay up all night. Michael and Terry like to workout before taking a shower but then again, in Terry's case the point is kind of moot, right? Man that guy stinks!" He laughed brightly. "Then there's Ace. He's currently out doing a run."

"That's... fascinating."

Go down, Matthias pleaded. Just please go down!

"Oh hey. Do you have any soap? Shampoo?"

Matthias gulped loudly. "Erm... No. Reynard sort of rushed me over here. So I had no opportunity to pack my belongings."

"Well shit. Here, use some of mine!"

"I don't want to impose..."

"Ain't nothing, Mr. H!" Warren stepped over, carrying a sponge and a bottle of some greenish gel. He poured some of the gel onto the sponge and handed it over to Matthias. Still a bit afraid of his erection, Matthias reached up with one hand to take it. Warren gently gripped his wrist and began massaging the sponge across his arm.

"W - Warren!" Matthias exclaimed. "What are you doing!?"

Despite his protests, he was brought back to his rather vivid dream of those paws rubbing him, gently massaging his arms. His raging erection grew only more painfully needed and he let out a soft moan.

"Take it easy, Mr. H," Warren said, with a devilishly handsome smirk look on his face. "I'm here to take care of you. You're our guest. I'm take care of you every need." Warren suddenly leaned down from his 6'7'' height, his lips hovered over Matthias' ears. "Your every need."

Some part of Matthias screamed that this was wildly inappropriate, the teacher part of him. This was his student. Admittedly no longer a minor, Warren was _still_his pupil and this kind of interaction was frowned upon.

But then again, they were in a secluded area and on holiday so...

"Oh... Okay..." he murmured softly.

"Good," Warren said. "Now turn around."

Matthias did as he was told, shivering slightly in anticipation. He felt so... exposed like this that he had to cross his arms against his chest to keep himself from shivering. Warren's huge hand gently glided down his shoulder, rubbing the suds across his skin. The other hand with the sponge in its grip, rolled over his back. The sensations sent shivers down his spine and his cock twitching with need.

"Hrmmm..." mused the gentle giant. "You know what'd be totally hot, prof?"

The high school teacher frowned at that. "I'm your teacher, Warren not your... your..." He groaned softly. Warren's fingers were kneading into his body quite well, reaching deep into his muscles and touching sore spots he never knew existed. The rhythmic circles that the titan was making using that sponge was hypnotic, mesmerising. He found himself trying to shift his shoulders and back, urging Warren in this direction or that.

"Yeah... It'd be totally hot," Warren cooed. "Totally fucking hot."

"Wh - What...?" Matthias asked, throat suddenly quite dry despite being constantly peppered by water. "What'd be totally fucking hot?"

Warren's hand curved away from his back, rubbing the soap into his flat, unassuming chest with saggy, almost womanly pectorals. "If you had some chest hair. Like, right here..." To emphasise his point, Warren's fingers brushed across Matthias' chest. "Big, hairy chest. Yeah. That'd be sweet. Totally turn on."

"I... I..." His eyes began to shut and his breathing grew even, relaxed. A soft moan came from his throat. His lips twisted upwards in an almost dumb smile. "Yeah. That would be fucking hot."

Matthias' breathing grew deeper and deeper, his chest visibly rising with each breath. As his lungs inflated, the air he sucked in seemed to fill more than just his airways. Tiny, little hairs began wiggling their way to the surface of his skin, just across upper body. Warren's hands brushed across each of the hairs, stimulating them. The water continued to rain down upon him seemingly watering the growing garden of chest hair. The hairs curled, swerving through the air before falling beneath the weight of the constant rain. He grimaced softly with the tingling sensation across his chest and more as it spread down his abdomen.

"Hmmmm... Yeah. Fucking hot," rumbled Warren. The student's voice sounded odd. Deeper. Almost like a growl.

For a moment, Matthias tried to pry his eyes open and he thought he saw two huge paws rolling over his chest covered in crimson and cream fur. A strange scent filled the air. It was like... wet dog. But just as quickly they appeared they disappeared. He blinked a few times before Warren's fingers began massaging his hair, running over his scalp.

"Can't shower without taking care of your hair, right prof?" Warren said.

Standing behind the stupefied high school teacher was a tremendous beast of fur and muscle. Warren's lupine muzzle split broadly into a grin as he squirted some shampoo onto his palms, having to apply much more as most of his fur would absorb it. With enough there, he began massaging it into Matthias' scalp.

"Fuck you got some gorgeous hair here, prof."

"Wh - what...?" muttered Matthias, his tone monotonous. "I'm... I'm bald..."

"What? You're shitting me right, prof? Shit, your hair is so fucking awesome. Nice and long. Makes you look like a total rebel. Badass long-haired professor."

As he said these words, Matthias' body reacted accordingly. Hair began springing from the bald parts of the professor's scalp. The monk-like cut of his evened out. Still maintaining the same colouration of grey and brown, each strand of hair rapidly lengthened, giving more for Warren to rake his claws through gently. A prominent Widow's Peak formed before the long strands completely consumed his scalp, leaving no area bare. The streaky grey locks tumbled past Matthias' ears, falling past his shoulders in a luxurious, silky curtain until it stopped at a moderate length.

Warren could not help himself. He reached around Matthias' waist, gripping the teacher's six-inch brick in his huge paw. That new third testicle of the man's jostled eagerly in his sack, making Warren snicker. He took hold to the erect member and gave it a few strokes. It didn't take more than that for the history teacher to gasp and shudder, unleashing a powerful load right into the wolf-like creature's paws. Matthias' legs went weak and he felt back, tumbling right into Warren's immense, cream-furred chest.

"Easy there, prof," laughed the beast. He pulled his paw gently away from Matthias' dick and brought his palm to his muzzle. His tongue lanced out, tasting the greenish-white goo that his guest had produced. "Hrmmm... That's fucking delicious. Sweet and meaty. You're coming along real nicely, prof. Real nicely. Up you get."

He gently pushed Matthias back to his feet.

"Better get out of here before you wrinkle up."

For his part, Matthias blinked several times and then shook his head. "Right. Good idea." He turned around, finding Warren's broad, smiling human features to greet him. "Thank you, Warren. I... I enjoyed this."

"No problem, prof," Warren answered, back to being human. He gave Matthias a thumbs up. "Any time, you hear?"

"Of course. Though I'm not a college professor. Just a high school teacher who has been teaching for over thirty years and still doesn't have tenure. Though I guess that says a lot, doesn't it?"

With a sigh, Matthias switched off the shower, enjoying the smell of the musky but also sweet scent of the soap and shampoo that Warren had used on him. He made a note to ask the student what brand he used so that he could get some for himself. His hair never felt so silky than it did now. Warren followed him out of the shower and they moved towards the many sinks that lay in a row beside the showers. Like another communal bathroom, there were ten sinks in total. A wall bisecting the room housed them with five on one side of the wall and five on the other. Behind them were various cabinets for toiletries and other products.

As he approached one such sink, he recalled that he didn't have any clothing but set that aside for the moment as he dried himself off, completely ignoring the fact Warren was right beside him, doing exactly the same thing. He tied the towel around his crotch, hiding his semi-hard cock that rose to a rather impressive six inches without being fully erect. Indeed, even his balls felt a little off. Bulkier. He was consciously aware that they were constantly brushing up against his thighs now.

I feel a little... heavier down there, he mused. Must be my imagination.

He looked at himself in the mirror. The image was rather blurry and he frowned, remembering his glasses.

"Uhm... Warren. I seem to have misplaced my glasses. Would you be so kind as to..."

"Here you go, prof."

He thanked the young man and put on his glasses. The image that greeted him in the mirror looked a little out of place. Wrinkled, weathered, pale features but with long, luxurious grey-brown hair with a mess of grey hair that was already starting to get curly as it dried on his chest. He was embarrassed that his student got to see him in such a state. He must've looked like a wet dog to Warren with all his hair pressed up against his skin and hung out to dry.

The best thing to do was to move on.

"I don't suppose you have something I can tie my hair back with, do you?" He couldn't remember why he didn't bring anything to this trip. Usually he was responsible like that but then again, he had been rushed here by Reynard yesterday.

"Sure, prof," Warren replied helpfully. The burly ginger ducked briefly behind one of the cabinets which seemed to be a sort of mini-walk-in closet. Showing no shape and clear pride in his body, Warren just strode around the shower with the towel over his shoulder exposing his perfectly shaped rump and raging, foot long erection.

Must be nice to be so confident in your body. And with a cock like that, who wouldn't?

Warren emerged a moment later with a black hair tie. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Warren."

Matthias took the tie and for a moment regarded it.

Now how did this go again?

A blush touched his cheeks for a moment. The ridiculousness of the moment made him smirk. Had he really forgotten how to tie his own hair back after years of sporting long hair? The school board insisted that it was inappropriate for a teacher to have long hair but he then countered them demanding to know where in the rules it said a teacher couldn't sport a ponytail. No one argued from then on. Maybe the board still held a grudge against him and that was why he didn't have tenure yet.

Shrugging, he tied his hair back with skilful and practiced hands.

"I don't suppose you have some spare clothes as well, do you?" he asked Warren. "Mine were a little... erm... Well, I left them back home."

"No problem at all, prof!" Warren set down some clothing beside him. "Here you go!"

Matthias plucked the black jockstrap from the pile. "You can't be serious..."

"All we got right now. Besides, it feels comfortable, you know? Just try it on."

Making note that he would really have to ask one of the guys to drive him back home to get some proper clothing, he shrugged and slipped on the garment. Surprisingly, it fit him rather well. The black shorts to match the ones that everyone else wore were a little too big however. Thankfully, they could be adjusted so he tightened it around the waist. Unfortunately, the legs fell down a little past his knees making them look ridiculous in comparison to the others. There was a black shirt that was offered as well and he was glad to not be pressured into walking around shirtless like the other men. He had started to feel a little ashamed of his chest hair when that too started to turn grey a few years ago.

Warren got dressed as well, although he did struggle with the bright green jockstrap he had decided to wear, forcing himself to pin his erection to the side of his leg while he slipped on a pair of black shorts. The fabric did nothing to hide the massive bulge underneath but he didn't seem to mind. Finally giving him a pair of socks and a pair of shoes that fit surprisingly well they both stepped outside into the hallway.

Warren told him that breakfast would be ready soon and encouraged him to take it easy before then. Matthias entered his room once more and saw where his beer-soaked clothes lay.

"Oh right..."

"Let me take care of those for you, prof," Warren insisted, reaching down to pluck the smelly shirt and undergarments form the ground. "I'll have these washed. By Monday, you'll have them back nice and dried."

"You don't have to Warren..."

"Nah. It's what we do. You're our guest. We'll take care of everything for you." He beamed at Matthias. "And just call me 'Ren'. Everyone does."

"Uh... Alright. So long as you stop calling me 'prof'. I'm not a professor. Just call me 'Matthias'. Or Mattie as Michael likes."

"Sure thing, Mattie!"

When Warren left, Matthias had his room to himself. So out of instinct, he set his own bed. Then he explored the vast bedroom a little more, still at awe at just how large it was. Each of the paintings on the room were simply spectacular and he wondered who had made them. He played a little game of 'find the wolf' with some of the landscapes since the lupines seemed to be hidden amongst them.

The game didn't last too long as Reynard knocked on his door and announced it was time for breakfast. He followed his host back to the dining room, expecting another lavished meal like before. Oddly enough, what he was instead met with was a large heaping bowl of what looked like oatmeal with some fruits and granola on the side. He went to sit beside Warren but Reynard steered him back towards the head of the table, the guest's seat apparently.

"If you don't mind me asking," he said, poking the oddly gelatinous, greenish-white slurry. "What is this?"

"Kind of a nutrient paste," answered Ace, the nutritionist. "You can sort of think of it as gruel but it's much healthier and better tasting. Give it a try. I know it looks gross but it tastes better than it looks."

Shrugging and really in no position to complain, Matthias tentatively brought a spoonful of the mess to eyelevel. It jiggled a little like gelatine and he could swear there were chunks of something green inside it. He placed it into his mouth... realising that everyone on the table was watching him. His eyes lit up at the taste. It oddly tasted a little like beef but had crunchy little bits as well despite being coated in goo. He also detected...

"Is that peas...?" he asked.

"Ha!" Reynard exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Tanner beside. "I told you he'd get it! Pay up!"

Tanner Schaefer groaned and pulled a twenty from his pocket and handed it to Reynard.

"What's going on?" Matthias asked, taking another spoonful of the surprisingly delicious mean.

"I tend to make breakfasts, Mr. Howards," answered his student. "It like to mix it up here and there and add different vegetables into the mix. This time was peas."

"That explains the crunch and the taste," he muttered through a mouthful of the stuff. "Really tastes quite good. You've got to give me the recipe."

There was a strange glint in Reynard's eyes. "Sure. Just remind me at the end of the trip and I'll write it down for you."

Matthias shovelled the paste into his mouth, digging through it like his life depended on it. He didn't pause or even look up from his mean or pay attention to what everyone else was talking about. Not that anyone else _was_talking about anything. All eyes were on the high school teacher as he was almost face-first with the tall bowl and slurping up the paste. Each member of Afterglow watched without making a sound though a few were quite overtly rubbing their own crotches beneath the table or just looking on with a different kind of hunger.

So mesmerised was he with his meal, that Matthias barely noticed the changes running through his body. The odd soft crunching noise he dismissed as him munching through the slurry but in reality, it was coming from his arms. Thick veins seeped out from underneath his shirt sleeves, running down his biceps and filtering into down to his forearms. The aged and saggy skin tightened. A pale complexion eased slowly into a lightly tanned, glossy surface. Muscles that almost clung exclusively to his bones inflated with every bite he took. A grunt left his throat as his back suddenly heaved and his deltoids widened his flanks lightly. He instinctively rolled his shoulders, stimulating the growth across them. A small belly built over years of poor health shrank away despite just how much he was eating.

All the while, his cock had grown incredibly erect in just the hour or so since he had last orgasmed. The now eight-inch member bounced happily with every swallow of the nutrient slurry. The strange being that had been embedded in his balls, the mysterious third ball, jostled happily as it was fed and continued its work across Matthias' body and his mind.

Thighs that almost looked like twigs swelled, causing it to just slightly spill over the edge of the chair. His calves rippled and surged. His toes to wiggled in excitement as they stirred and grew in his shoes. His balls bubbled audibly and more than an inch of girth was added to each one. He was forced to adjust himself slightly and even spread his legs a little more to accommodate for the sudden growth.

As he reached the bottom of the bowl, he savagely plucked the dish from the table and tipped it towards his mouth, slurping the rest of the meal down. His entire body heaved with the effort. For the first time in so many years, he pectorals actually pushed up against the fabric of his shirt and the top button of his collar was forced to pop open. When the last drop of the nutrient slurry fell down his throat, his cock jerked violently and sprayed a blast of cum straight into the loaned jockstrap.

Everyone on the table felt his orgasm and Tanner, who had been biting his lip through the entire ordeal, bent the metal spoon in his hands while trying to keep his own cock from bursting.

Matthias gasped and set down the bowl, blinking a couple of time. Like clockwork, everyone the table instantly began striking up random conversations, eating their own meals and completely ignoring the teacher for the most part.

"Wow... Wow that was good," he gasped. Boundless energy pumped through his veins and he was practically dancing in his seat. "I... I really need to go somewhere. I feel like I can run back to town!"

Ace laughed brightly and finished off his own food, flashing a brief smug look at the others. "Well why don't we go for a run around the grounds? I'm done."

Matthias missed the jealous looks the others threw Ace and eagerly agreed to the exercise. He was racing out the door, right on Ace's heels. They bolted out the of the front door and out the gates, his legs pumping and full of energy. Every inch of him was practically vibrating with energy.

But he forgot one thing as he exited the compound.

His allergies.

The moment the fresh air hit him, his eyes began to water. A fresh gust of wind blasted into his nostrils and he could already feel them starting to tingle. He tried to hold it in but the allergens won the round and he sneezed mightily, his pectorals heaving with the blast.

"Bless you," Ace said, as they ground to a halt. He clapped Matthias on the back as the teacher had to bend over, trying to hold in another sneeze. "You okay?"

"Not..." He sniffed. "Not really. Allergies."

"Allergies? An outdoorsy guy like you? Come on. You're pulling my leg. No way."

"I..." Matthias frowned. "I'm not... Outdoorsy? Me?"

"Well, yeah!" exclaimed Ace with a bright grin. "You're a fit guy. You work out. No way your allergies could be that bad."

He blinked a few times. Ace was right. It didn't make much sense for him to have such severe allergies. He liked to go on runs every morning after all. At his age, the key was to stay active. Though hitting the gym had been limited to the weekends, he still endeavoured to run every morning to wake up. That was why he was so full of energy after breakfast. He was just itching for his morning run. As for his allergies...

"Yeah. Something just flew up my nose," he sniffed. "Gone now." He beamed brightly. "Come on. I'd love to see more of your grounds."

Ace pulled his hand away and grinned. "You bet."

As they ran down a dusty trail, Ace explained that the Afterglow manor and grounds actually spread for a couple of acres into the woods. A river to the north marked the border out there and the road to the south was the limits of their property. Remembering how it took at least fifteen minutes of driving to get to the mansion itself, Matthias was awed that the compound was just so big.

Ace headed towards the west and before long, Matthias could hear the sounds of rushing water. A hot sweat began pouring down his body, soaking his chest and armpits but he enjoyed the cooling effect as it was combined with the breeze. The fresh air smelled beautifully of pine and nature that he was simply taken aback by its sheer beauty.

Then they came to the lake.

"This is the western limits of our property," said Ace, gesturing at the lake. There was a wooden pier with what appeared to be a large boat moored on the side. The lake itself wasn't very big but it certainly was no pond. Big enough that there were fish in it and certainly deep enough for someone to take a boat through. "The eastern side really isn't that well defined so we erected a low, stone wall that way."

"Do you go fishing often?" he asked.

"When the season or the guest fits it. Though I take it you're not much of a fisherman, eh?"

Matthias shook his head. "No, sadly. I much more enjoy sitting down with a good book."

"And working out?"

"And working out," he echoed. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Phew. You guys really do have a very large property. Not sure if I can make it back."

Ace clapped his arm playfully. "I'm sure you can, man. Come on. Let's head back."

His second wind seemed to hit at that moment and he followed Ace back to the complex. Were it not for his host, he would have been lost in the dense woods. How Ace managed to navigate his way back to the clearing where the manor rested was a mystery to him. But then again, he was a little distracted by Ace himself. The lean nutritionist's ass bounced seductively in front of him and that muscled back of his, glistening with sweat in the morning sun... it got Matthias sporting another erection. He was glad to be running behind the fit blonde not only so he could hide his raging nine-inch boner but also because it was a joy to watch Ace's tight muscles in action.

After about an hour of running they made it back to the manor, slowing their run to a walk as they made their way back to the gates.

"That was exhilarating!" he exclaimed, now drenched in sweat. "Though I think I may need to take another shower. I am fairly sure I stink."

"Ah don't worry about stinking up the place," laughed Ace. "Terry -"

"Stinks, I get it," he laughed. "Everyone keeps saying that though I admit to have only had the pleasure of smelling him up close and personal once."

The blonde man's eyebrow rose. "Oh? And what did you think?"

"He does stink," laughed the teacher. "But I sometimes stink worse if I go to the gym and forget to put on some deodorant afterwards."

Ace gave him a coy but thoughtful look. "I will admit to liking my men hot and sweaty."

Matthias frowned. "Your... men?"

Suddenly, Ace was pressing up right against him. His bare, hairless, chiselled chest pushing up against Matthias. Their nipples were almost touching and just by the proximity alone, they began to harden like they were trying to kiss one another through the fabric of Matthias' shirt. The teacher could do nothing as Ace pushed his lips against his neck, breathing softly and licking at his flesh. The gesture sent shivers down his spine and made him shiver.

"Hmmm... Yeah. Tastes good," Ace whispered. A smile crossed his features as he reached down and gave Matthias' crotch - particularly his erect dick - a squeeze. "I knew this was for me."

Matthias gulped loudly. A bit of macho bravado filled him as he gave the nutritionist a smirk. "You were running in front of me, bare chest and with that juicy ass of yours in those tight shorts. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Hmmm... So what? You were chasing me? Was I your prey?"

Prey... that... that seemed right. It fit well. The thrill of running through the woods chasing this fine piece of ass... Prey suited.

Yeah... My prey. He's my prey.

"Yup." He seized Ace's waist tightly. "And now I've got you."

Ace let out a bright musical laugh. "Oh really?"

With surprising dexterity, Ace suddenly leapt up and curled his legs around Matthias' waist. The sudden shift of weight caught the school teacher off guard and he tumbled over. Ace twisted from where he was, easily catching his weight on his hands and shifting away from a tumbling Matthias. In that second, Matthias caught sight of Ace's feet... his bare feet.

His prey had bene running that entire time bare foot.

That seemed... strange to him.

Hell... Did I just... grope a guy? Fuck, since when was I turned on by a guy?

Ace stood up deftly, his body twisting in ways only a gymnast's could. "You'll have to try harder to catch me, Daddy-O. Next time you wanna try, you know where to find me."

Something stirred in Matthias.

Something... primal.

He wanted Ace.

He was hungry for him.

And that was what scared him

******

A storm of emotions were whirling around in Matthias' head as he made his way back into the Afterglow manor. Emotions and questions.

Was this why he had never found the right woman? Because he was gay?

Was his lack of children tied to this one, overriding problem?

Why had he never been attracted to other men before? There were plenty of attractive men that had been paraded before him but why was he only finding himself constantly rock hard now?

Matthias clutched the side of his head, finding his brain overloading with these possibilities and trying to just survive the tumult that was aching in his head, heart and crotch. The sound of people talking erupted from his right as he entered the atrium. The conversation was coming from the entertainment room and as he poked his head in, he found the giant bear of a man Michael, lounging in one of the seats, shirtless and barefoot as always and with his eyes keen on what appeared to be a cooking show.

"What are you watching?"

"Lifestyle," answered Michael with a shrug. "Single father. You kind of develop an interest in these things."

Inspiration struck Matthias.

Michael is a single father. Somehow he raised Reynard to be the upstanding young man he is. Maybe... Maybe... he'll know something about my situation...

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Pull up a chair!" Michael boomed heartily.

With a thin smile, Matthias moved to couch, seating himself on the opposite end to Michael. He pretended to pay attention to whatever it was that they were cooking but was really just waiting for a set amount of time before he could finally ask the question that had bene nagging at him.

"Hey Michael..."

"Mattie, please. Just Mike. We've know each other for years now." Michael gave him a firm stare. "Oh... Oh you only ever call me 'Michael' whenever you've got something serious to talk about." He shuffled across the couch and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What's up, Mattie. What's bothering you?"

Matthias frowned. "We... uh... How long have we known each other?"

"Twenty years," answered Mike gravely. "Met in college. You were doing your teaching degree. I was taking up mechanical engineering. Met in that dumb history class." He lifted his other hand while keeping the other in contact with Matthias. "Sorry, sorry. I know you love history."

He did love history. And he did remember attending college with Michael. They ran with different crowds but they were still quite strong friends. He smiled as the memories began forming in his mind.

"Heh," he chuckled softly. "I don't know how you did it, Mike. You were always the popular kid in college. Yet no matter what, you always found time to spend every Thursday afternoon to hang out with me at Bee-Bee's Diner."

"I always make time for my closest friends," said Michael, sincere concern clearly in his voice. "Come on, man. What's bothering you?"

Matthias wrung his hands together, the thick veins at the back of his hands pulsating with tension. "You know how I've always wanted kids, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... Today, while I was out running with Ace, I kind of... I popped a boner while watching him in front of him." He lifted his hands, making a clawing gesture. "I wanted to fuck him so bad!" He looked worriedly back towards Mike. "And it got me thinking... Maybe the reason I'm alone and I don't have any kids is... is because I've been chasing the wrong kind of person."

"You mean...?"

He swallowed loudly. "Am... Am I gay, Mike?"

His friend looked away for a brief moment and then switched back to him, a smile on his face. "IF you are, you can at least join the club."

Matthias' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You mean you're..."

"Dude. I'm alone in the woods in a kickass house with five hot guys who walk around shirtless. You're smart. Do the math."

He did... and he couldn't help but laugh that he hadn't realised it before. "Is this why Reynard brought me here?" Then his eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... you don't..." He lowered his voice. "You don't fuck Reynard do you?"

Michael smirked and straightened. "I'll let you figure that out." He gave Matthias a sly wink. "Anyway, you just figure out what you want and how you want to get it. No one is pressuring you to do anything. You're young. Just forty-years young like me. Prime of your life, my man!"

Something seemed... off about that sentence. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He took a moment to ponder those words but as he frowned, the wrinkles around his eyes and the corners of his mouth faded. The shaggy cheeks eased back into place, growing firm and taut over his pronounced cheekbones. Coloured splotches from aging vanished into a pleasantly tanned skin. The greys in his hair vanished entirely leaving with a silky chestnut mane. He rubbed his chin absently, feeling a faint scratching there. Stubble quickly materialised on his features, giving him a ruggedly roguish appearance. He briefly wondered he had shaved that morning but then recalled that he hadn't brought any toiletries with him and his facial hair tended to grow like a weed.

As these new changes settled in, his chest inflated. His pectoral grew bigger and bigger, starting to stretch his shirt taut. An audible groaning rose from the fabric as his pecs pushed up from beneath it and the last few buttons of his collar popped off, revealing the dense forest of brown hair beneath. His arms and shoulders similarly grew. The sleeves of his borrowed shirt slid further up his bicep, getting caught between the deep nook between his upper arm and shoulders. Thick veins permanently engraved themselves across his forearms, the muscles there swelling in size until each one were like hams. A strange sensation like pins and needles rippled up from his fingers and he absently wiggled them, cracking his knuckles in the process. The little bursts of relief allowed for every bone in his hand to quickly reset and grow, becoming bigger, thicker, meatier.

Matthias absently reached down towards his crotch. It did not seem odd to him at all when his three testicles jostled at his touch on their own. They grew bigger in his grip and he was forced to widen his stance yet again. Though permanently sitting with his legs apart was common for a guy like him. With such enormous, thick thighs and bulging calves, it was only natural. His legs were his greatest asset after all. A faint itching touched his shins and he glanced down just in time to catch the hem of his shorts getting caught on the bulge of his quads. There was a faint memory of these shorts being too big for him but now that seemed ridiculous. These shorts were made for him. Mike knew his size. They were good friends. Hell, they had often compared dicks back in the day when testosterone was high and Matthias had to convince people to call him 'Mattie' instead of using his geeky name.

A deep aching reached came from his feet and he glanced past his thighs at his throbbing feet. The run with Ace had probably caused his feet to swell a little because it seemed stupid that he'd wear shoes that were too small for him. Still, the discomfort was too great and he absently took them off, tossing them and his socks aside so that his toes could breathe. He caught a whiff of his own stench in the process and reminded himself that he needed to take another shower. But amidst his musk, he could detect another scent.

The scent of a man in need.

He looked to his left where Mike was shamelessly appraising him. A faint blush touched his cheeks. Was the most popular guy in college actually checking _him_out? It had been years since they were in school together but Mike had always remained this personality in Dogwood. The only mechanic but also the friendliest guy in in town. Everyone knew Mike Cortez. Mattie was just lucky enough to know him personally.

To test out his theory, he lifted his arm and gave it a little flex. Mike's eyes were transfixed on the rising mound of muscle and the popping veins. As if realising that he was staring, Mike lifted his gaze and their eyes met.

No words needed to be spoken at that moment.

Mike shuffled forward and their lips met. Fireworks erupted both in Mattie's mind and in his crotch. It was almost painful how hard his nine-inch dick was in his shorts. Mattie could not get the garment off quick enough and even Mike quickly shucked off his own, tossing it to the side. The two men pressed their dicks up against one another, panting hard and taking one another's scent, their need, into one another.

"Fuck Mattie," rumbled Mike. "I've been itching for this since yesterday."

"Oh god..." whimpered Mattie, moaning softly as his cock was pressed up against Mike's immense twelve-inch monster. "I can't believe this is happening... I just can't believe..." He couldn't help but grin stupidly. "Fuck... This is happening. It's really happening!"

Mike smiled at him, pressing their foreheads together and with their eyes locked with one another. "Yeah. It really is Mattie. Dream come true, right?"

"Fuck yeah... You've always been so fucking sexy. Can't believe it took me this long to feel you against me!" Mattie suddenly gasped and threw his head back, eyes rolling into the back of his head. His body shook with the quakes seemingly originating from his cock.

Mike couldn't help himself. Though he was a little disappointed that Mattie had succumbed so quickly, he saw no reason to keep himself hidden while his cock was still very much hard. He rolled his shoulders and straightened a little. A soft rumbling came from his body. Muscles expanded, bones lengthened and widened. Dense, black fur sprang up all over his body save for the underside of his jaw and chest which turned a bright white. A long tail sprang up behind him, wagging excitedly alongside his long, lupine muzzle.

"Mattie," he crooned softly, brushing the back of his paw against the man's cheeks. "Mattie, Mattie, Mattie. Not long now." He leaned down and pressed his muzzle against the teacher's, long, flat tongue sliding between the curled lips. It was just the briefest of kisses but it was enough.

Mattie's hips bucked abruptly and greenish-white cum came spraying out of his dick in a delightful shower, staining the black of his shirt. Mike chuckled softly at the sight especially when one such blast caught the side of his muzzle. He lapped it up eagerly, assessing the taste.

"Warren was right. You are delicious." He licked the side of the man's cheeks. "But you know, I always found you fucking hot. You weren't like the others of the fraternity. Wanted to be a teacher. A history teacher. You were a good influence on us. Got us to study. At the same time, we got you to loosen up. Little bit of partying here. A few chicks here and there. Got you into working out and you make that smoking hot, hairy body of yours." He slowly slipped his paw up Mattie's chest. "That fucking hot, daddy body of yours."

Mattie let out a soft whine as Mike's fingers pinched down on his nipples.

"Oh... and is that a nipple ring, Mattie? You're a real rebel, ain't ya?"

As Mike's fingers pulled away from the nipple, a lump appeared against the dark, strained fabric of Mattie's shirt. A circular lump. A nipple ring.

"You're going to fit right in with us, Mattie," rumbled Mike with a grin. "Just you wait. You'll be just like one of us." He leaned closer, muzzle hovering just beside his guest's left ear. "We've help make you what you are. Now it's your turn. Just ask, Mattie. Just ask just what you want from us and we'll give it to you. Remember, you're our guest. We'll take care of your every need. Your every need."

With those words, the towering nine-foot tall lupine beast pulled away from the near-comatose teacher. The moment he pulled away, it was like the chains holding down Mattie were released. The man's balls tightened against his body violently. A steady stream of cum came blasting out of his cock, his body wracked with spasms and a primal, orgasmic cry ripping through his broad, corded neck.

Mike left his guest to ride the waves of orgasm and soon the gentle currents of afterglow. Still in his lupine form, he left the entertainment room, shutting the sliding doors quietly to give Mattie some privacy. The moment he turned, he saw Reynard standing a few feet away, tail wagging. The biggest of them all, his son stood at nearly eleven feet tall with nearly the same fur pattern as himself except Reynard's white crest on his chest formed a cross instead of Mike's general smear of white. Like him, though, both men had their monstrous erections up drooling precum. Neither member would fit within a normal human's in any form but when it came to others like them...

"I could smell him from outside," panted Reynard, ever the horny puppy. "Fuck dad, what did you do?"

Mike licked his lips. "Just made him my frat brother. Seemed appropriate. He sort of took it from there. Rewrote his own past himself. Made himself gay and gave that as the reasoning why he never found kids or a wife. Filled in the gaps there." He grinned broadly and ran a paw through his hair. "But now, I've got these memories of me spending Thursday nights with him in a diner just talking about guy stuff. Fuck me if I don't want to make this a total bromance."

"Why don't you?"

He snickered and approached his son, brushing his enormous, eighteen-inch member against his son's two-foot-long monster of a canine cock. "Because considering what he's going to become, he might just end up being your other daddy."

"Oh fuck that's hot," Reynard growled. He leaned down and pressed his lips against his father's and father and son shared a passionate kiss for a minute or so. Their keen, triangular ears picked up that Mattie had finally stopped orgasming and was now caught in the sexual stupor of afterglow, likely drifting off to sleep for a little while yet.

"Wanna take this to me room?" suggested Reynard.

"Just make sure to tell the others not to wake Mattie," answered Michael with a grin. "Give him some time to process what he's become."

******

Mattie had that dream again.

Floating in the thick, gelatinous ocean. Large paws groping him, massaging him. But this time, he could see who those paws were connected to. Intimidating, sexy bestial creatures that looked like a cross between man and wolf. Each was at least eight feet tall with the tallest of them towering over him at what seemed to be eleven feet from the base of his digitigrade feet to the tips of his perked, triangular ears. Each of them was the epitome of an alpha male in their own regard. Even the skinniest of them was so lean and ruggedly ripped that he seemed to sweat testosterone, secret manliness and _ooze_sexuality.

All these werewolves, for that was the best thing Mattie could associate them with, drew closer to him. It wasn't just their enormous paws roving his body now. Their hard, furry bodies were pressed up against him. One of them was pushing his hand against that immense chest of his, forcing him to rove the plateaus that were his pectorals, sliding down into his abdomen and playfully avoiding his crotch. Another drew a long, flat tongue between his toes, sending shivers up his spine. A third pressed his hard, wet nose against his nipples, sniffing at the dense hair there before lapping at the sensitive flesh.

Then there was one that seemed so familiar to him. This alluring, almost angelic creature leaned in towards him, muzzle hovering over his ear.

"We've help make you what you are. Now it's your turn. Just ask, Mattie. Just ask just what you want from us and we'll give it to you. Remember, you're our guest. We'll take care of your every need."

The dream began to blur as consciousness began dragging him back to reality. He didn't want the dream to end. Being worshiped by these creatures was heaven. He wanted to feel their hot, hard bodies against him. He wanted to touch, to taste their hard canine cocks!

"Your every need."

Mattie suddenly started awake, snorting softly and glancing around in surprise. It took him a moment to get his bearings again.

The Afterglow manor. He was in the entertainment room. He was in the entertainment room covered in his own cum.

"Fuck..." he rumbled. The sun was starting to set outside. The last thing he remembered was having a talk with Mike. He didn't remember falling asleep or even removing his shorts. Then again, he was used to sleeping in the nude so many subconsciously he had torn them off while he furiously jacked off.

And now the borrowed shorts were stained with his cum. Though if he remembered what Mike said, none of his hosts would really mind. Still, he had to at least be presentable. The guys at least walked around with their shorts on.

He stood up and pulled his shorts back up to his waist, finding that they fit quite snugly though they tight grip his thighs a little tightly. Wearing a cum-stained shirt wasn't very classy so he quickly removed it, struggling a little as it got caught on his deltoids. Once he had removed it, he moved to the door, hoping to get rid of it wearing just the black shorts and leaving his thick, muscular, hairy chest exposed.

The doors slid open before he reached them.

Tanner Schaefer entered and stopped a moment upon seeing him. After having just discovered his own sexuality, Mattie found himself _seeing_Tanner for the first time. The handsome, rugged man had a strong square jaw and thick brow that many would have considered made him look brutish and maybe even a bit like a Neanderthal but he had bright, intelligent green eyes. His light brown hair was tousled in a youthful disarray with golden highlights amongst them. Much like Warren, Tanner was tall, about 6'9'' and heavily muscled. Befitting the star quarterback of the high school really. Unlike Warren, though, Tanner's body was perfectly hairless and heavily tanned. It almost seemed like he had stepped right off the stage of a bodybuilding competition.

"Hey Mr. H," Tanner greeted with an award-winning smile. "Everything alright?"

Appraising Tanner started to get Mattie's cock rising again but he had no shame in hiding it. A guy like Tanner probably appreciated it when someone showed appreciation of their good looks.

"Yeah. Just woke up from a fucking sexy dream and then you stepped into the room."

Tanner smirked. "Oh really? What'd you dream about?"

"Believe it or not. Werewolves. Sexy, manly werewolves groping me and telling me that they would give me anything I wanted."

"Oh really?" Tanner replied, his interest piqued. "The other guys were just getting dinner ready. I was going to take a quick dip in the Jacuzzi before we ate. Did you want to join me?"

There was definitely more to the invitation than just a casual dip in a hot tub and Mattie found himself incredibly excited. "Yeah. Sounds like fun."

With that, he followed Tanner up the stairs up to the sunroom. There was already water in the Jacuzzi, nice and warm. Tanner just had to turn up the bubbles and then he set down his shorts, revealing his own foot-long erect member. Oddly enough, he was completely shaved down there which Mattie found quite fascinating and sexy at the same time. He found himself licking his lips wondering how that cock would taste. He threw aside his shorts a second later and lowered himself into the bubbling pool.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the others on the other side of the complex already cooking up dinner for the evening. But his eyes were focused entirely on Tanner who lounged back in the pool, smiling at him suggestively.

"You've got questions, Mr. H?" Tanner prompted. His big feet reached across the pool and gently brushed up against Mattie's soles. For the first time, Mattie could actually feel the mental brush of the other male against his consciousness. His balls tingled from the contact.

"Yeah," he said, unable to keep himself from smiling. "What's going on?" It was like he had just stepped into his own surprise birthday party and asking how anyone had ever planned this. "What are you people?"

"You mean what are we," Tanner said, pointing between himself and Mattie. "You're one of us now."

"Werewolves?"

"Sort of." Tanner momentarily got up and reached towards the mini-fridge, plucking two beers from it. He tossed one to Mattie who cracked it open without hesitation. The taste of the cool, refreshing beverage helped him fall more at ease. Tanner, however, didn't sit back down into the Jacuzzi.

"Notice anything odd about me?" Tanner asked.

"You mean apart from the fact that you're smoking hot? Not really?"

"Thanks, Mr. H," snickered the footballer. He gestured towards his scrotum. "But I meant more about these. Three balls."

Mattie regarded the huge spheres contained in Tanner's sac. "Yeah. So? I've got those too."

"But humans don't." Tanner sat back into the pool. He paused, giving Mattie some time to remember his anatomy lessons and to register that human males really did not have three testicles.

Upon seeing his realisation, Tanner spoke up again. "Ever heard of the Nexus Conglomerate? I'd be surprised if you did."

He shook his head in a negative as he took another sip from his beer.

"It's a pretty big corporation. Huge. Multi-dimensional if you believe it. Back when I was young, I wouldn't have believed it either. But back when I was young, the idea of multi-dimensional travel was bullshit. Pure fantasy."

"Young? You're still young."

"No. I look young. When I was young we were just going through the industrial revolution."

Mattie balked and almost choked on his beer. "Wait... You're shitting me."

"I shit you not," Tanner replied with a straight face. "But I'm actually one of the younger guys of the group. Terry is the oldest. He was actually a Romanlegionnaire when the Afterglow Project began. Then Ace who was a Viking followed by Warren who was a Scottish knight, would you believe it. Gary originally was a slave pre-Revolutionary America. Reynard and Michael are the youngest and the product of the project's experimentation into familial bonds. Barely a hundred years old."

It was a lot to take in but... he believed every word that Tanner was telling him. There was just something about his words and the weird mental touch he got from the man that told him everything he said was true. He felt like someone was brushing a feather up and down his brain in tandem with the playful prodding of Tanner's feet.

"You're... immortal?"

"Ageless," Tanner corrected. "Aging really occurs when your cells, after countless divisions and replication can no longer do so due to damage to its inherent structure. Our cells are different. Yours too now."

"How? How did they become different? What did you do to me?" Mattie was surprisingly calm. He knew he should be a little more hysterical. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was the soothing vibes he got from Tanner. Or maybe... maybe it was the fact that he had a mysterious third testicle that he had never noticed before.

"I see you're catching on," said Tanner with a smile. "That third testicle of yours. It's called the 'Fenrir Symbiont'. It's part of you now. It's a creature that has merged with you and helps regulate your cellular regeneration. More than that, it makes you incredibly malleable. Both physically and mentally. But I'm getting ahead of myself."

Tanner took another drink from his beer before setting it down on the edge of the Jacuzzi. "The Nexus Conglomerate began the Afterglow Project with one question in mind. We have the Symbionts. We can change ourselves however we wish. How will everyone else change themselves?"

Mattie remained quiet, his throat and lips going dry.

"The Fenrir Symbiont was built with this question in mind. Each of us now have the ability to manipulate the world around us but only in the company of one another." He locked gazes with Mattie. "Alone, a single Symbiont will never be able to alter the very fabric of reality. But with all seven of us plus you in the one area, we can alter history, change the very laws of physics and defy logic. You feel this?"

He brushed his toes against Mattie's foot again but it was more than that. He could feel Tanner inside of him. Within his very being. His balls were also jostling in agreement.

"Yeah. Yeah I can..."

"That's me reaching out to you through our Symbiont. Over the past day or so, we have all been working together to help you adjust to your Symbiont. See, when you first get a Symbiont in you, you are highly susceptible to change. It's kind of like a tree growing. When it's still a sapling, it's easy enough to uproot and replant. But when you're old and ancient like me with countless histories and interactions with people, it's way harder to groom. More dangerous too. You risk damaging the land around it if it's roots are too deep. Does that make sense?"

Mattie frowned but he nodded. "You... You infected me. Then you've been changing me." He closed his eyes briefly and could feel... and remember the changes that had happened to him. Warren gave him hair... The food... Gary had insisted he eat food to fuel the changes within him. His Symbiont was young and hungry after all and quickly metabolised all the food he had consumed that night to help him change. And Ace... Ace had gotten rid of his allergies with Mike... dear Mike... he made him beefier, bigger, stronger.

He should've been mad but... he felt glad. Grateful.

"Reynard was the one that infected me, wasn't he?" he asked.

Tanner nodded. "We have this thing where on the weeks we come up here, we make bids on who we want to bring up here to help them change." He gave Mattie a pleasant smile. "We're not bad guys, Mr. H. We're just looking for guys who look like they could use a change. If they happen to help us collect data for our experiment, so much the better. Reynard figured you needed to be cut a break. Now you have a Symbiont."

Mattie inclined his head to the side slightly.

"So will you eventually turn everyone into hosts for your Symbiont?"

Tanner shook his head grimly. "Creating a new Symbiont, finding the right mark, it takes time. We'll be lucky to find someone once a month. You were actually one of three chosen this go around and the others were panicking because they couldn't find anyone else. Yeah other hosts can make more Symbionts and infect others if they want but there are controls to keep that from going wild. We choose our targets well and we make sure that during the process, we instil into them the gravity of their abilities, their powers."

He regarded how their toes were intertwined beneath the waters. "You're doing it right now, aren't you? You're... brainwashing me."

"Not brainwashing. Putting suggestions. You understand that if everyone in the world had the power to change their very histories, their pasts and basically do anything they want, that'd be disastrous, right?"

That's right. I'm... I'm really lucky. Lucky they chose me.

"But it's not like just any host can do what you do, can they?" asked Mattie.

Tanner shook his head. "No. It takes a large number of people to be able to manipulate time and space like we do. And even then, we can only make small changes here and there. All seven of us have to be within close proximity of one another as well to enact those changes. It's a restriction put onto us by the Conglomerate. It's a controlled experiment, after all. And besides, we're an exclusively _homosexual_branch of the Afterglow project. Just guys."

"There are other branches?"

"Oh yeah. I hear there's a branch in New York that's bisexual. Another one down in Texas fully heterosexual. All over the world, there are Afterglow facilities like this one doing the same thing but with different target groups."

Mattie let out a thoughtful hum as he intertwined his toes with Tanner's. "Does that mean I'm not really gay?"

"Does it really matter? If Ace led you on or you came to that conclusion yourself, you can change it if you just ask us." Tanner gave him a sly wink and smile. "You've got pretty much until the end of the weekend to change who you are and your future and past, Mr. H. After that, well... you could_always invite us all over to your place and we can do a bit of reality altering but we've brought a _lot of guys into Afterglow. A lot of people want our time. Plus there's all the homework you set us..."

Mattie laughed heartily and decide not to point out that Tanner probably knew more about history than he did. "So my Symbiont... is... is it alive?"

"It's alive but think of it as another organ. It doesn't have its own consciousness. It's just part of you."

He looked down through the bubbling waters at his heavy three balls. "And... the way you changed me..."

"Was through touch." Tanner slid across the Jacuzzi to sit right next to him, draping a thick, muscled arm around his shoulder and the other drawing circles around his nipple. "It's an inherent ability of all hosts. To be able to communicate through touch. Even without a Symbiont, if we touch someone we can speak to them, plant a few messages or subtle commands. It's not strong or overly compelling but just the right words, the right emotion, and it could start a landslide of change. But in case you were wondering..." He leaned forward and licked Mattie's neck. "We'll have to make physical contact with you to really..."

Then, Tanner's voice rang out in his mind.

"... speak to you on an intimate level."

Mattie shivered. There was something oddly arousing of having the Adonis inside him on such a level. "Fuck that's hot."

"I know right?" Tanner kissed his cheek lightly. "Throughout the day, we've had to physically touch you to induce the changes. Like I said, your Symbiont was young and prone to our suggestions and needed guidance. So we listened to your complaints. Heard your grievances. And we made adjustments."

"My... My hair..." Mattie said, pulling his ponytail around his neck and regarding it with fascination. "My body... My... my past... You all gave this to me." He smiled and could not help but lean towards Tanner and kiss the man affectionately. "How could I ever thank you?"

"Don't thank me yet," Tanner laughed, swimming back to the other side of the pool. He lay there, pressing his feet up against Mattie's. "Weekend isn't over yet. We've made the changes to you, introduced you to your powers and possibilities. Now the reins are with you. You still have tomorrow and the day after. And you're not fully mature yet!" He winked again at Mattie. "When you can 'go wild' as I like to call it, then you're all grown up. But for now, you still have us here with you so you can still make changes."

Tanner fixed him with a firm gaze and a smile. "So come on. What else do you want changed about yourself? What else would you love to have but things like fate, destiny and _genetics_just wouldn't let you have?"

Mattie gave it some thought and as he did so, he became aware of how the hot steam from the pool was starting to fog up his glassed. He could feel_Tanner smile. He didn't see the smile. He just _felt it. There was a bit of throbbing from the back of his eyeballs enough to make him squeeze his eyes shut. That gave him time to pull off his glasses and wipe away the condensation. When he put them back on, however, he found his vision was still blurry.

Tanner's toes wiggled against his and the werewolf's thoughts came in loud and clear.

With a smile, Mattie removed his glasses entirely. Everything came in bright, clear and crisp. With a laugh, he crushed his glasses in his hand and tossed the useless pair boldly out of the compound and into the wilds.

"Even without reaching into your mind, I could tell you really needed that," Tanner laughed. Once again, he swam across the pool and rested against Mattie. "Anything else? Anything at all."

"This must be a dream," Mattie said, shaking his head. "I mean... This can't be possible. I'm just going to wake up tomorrow and realise that I'm back to being fifty-four, skinny, old and depressed."

"If that's what you want, that's what we can make happen. But this is real, Mattie." Tanner turned his face so that they were nose to nose. "Our we're here to make dreams come true."

Mattie let out a thoughtful hum. "I've always wanted a tattoo. But just too chicken to get one."

"And I know exactly the kind you would want."

Tanner began tracing curvy lines along Mattie's shoulder. The high school teacher moaned softly. A tingling sensation crept up his arm similar to when he felt Warren first give him his manly chest hair and full mane. Black lines swept down his skin, following Tanner's finger. The swirling tribal tattoos quickly took form and Mattie could not help but lift his arm and flex, showing off just how his biceps caused the ink to warp slightly like he was wearing them like skin-tight sleeves.

"Fuck that's amazing."

"Anything else I can do for you?" chuckled Tanner.

"Yeah." Mattie lowered his arm and looked hungrily at the man.

There, Tanner had to laugh and gently pushed Mattie away. "Nuh-uh. Sorry big guy. You're still not old enough. Your Symbiont isn't fully developed yet. You fuck me now, shit will get weird."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Tanner leaned back against the edge of the pool. "When you're fucking or being fucked, you're a whole mess of emotions and desires. Even a stray though could lead to a mutation that is irreversible. You could easily wind up with a cock sprouting out of your forehead like a fucking unicorn or turning into a huge-ass semi-sentient dick. Remember what I said. At this early stage, your Symbiont is entirely suggestable. It will take even the faintest of your desires literally. You've got to wait until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Tomorrow I'll be old enough?"

There, Tanner nodded and got out of the pool. "If you finish everything on your plate tonight and be sure to attend to your Symbiont tonight. Then, by tomorrow morning, you'll be ready to fuck any of us."

The star quarterback wiggled his ass tauntingly in front of Mattie.

"And trust me, we've been wanting to get in your pants since you came through that door."

******

Looking the Part

There was no holding back in the dream this time.

Mattie knew what he wanted. He knew what Afterglow was. He knew that these hunky werewolves were the men who had introduced him to this fantastic new life that he could make his own. For once in his life, he could reshape his world to whatever he wanted.

Even though he had never seen them in their lupine shapes before, he just knew who each wolf was. The red-furred one was definitely Warren, there was no hiding the bright crimson of his fur just like the golden blonde on was Ace. The tallest of them was Reynard and the one that looked like him albeit a little smaller had to be Mike. The brown furred one with the chiselled eight pack that could cut cheese was Terrance while Gary was the only one with dreadlocks. Tanner was the ruggedly handsome one with a squarish, shorter muzzle than the others and with white fur.

As before, the wolves were gentle, tentative with him. He realised that the thick gelatinous waters that they swam in was the collective will of the seven Afterglow members trying to keep him and themselves from diving in too much into their sexual desires. Know that they cared for him on such a level, that they pulled themselves back from the inherent desire to fuck him or be fucked by him just warmed his heart.

And it only made waking from the dream all the sweeter.

He rose from his slumber feeling full of energy and with a fresh pool of cum on his chest. Smiling, he wiped a bit of his seed with his finger and pressed it between his lips.

"Damn I taste good," he mused.

He had grown overnight even more. Once, he had stood at 5'6'' but now he towered past that at 6'7''. Every muscle on his body was clearly defined but masked slightly by thick hairs on his chest, forearms and legs. Each pectoral was wide and so taut that every tendon would've been visible had the dense forest on his chest not hidden it. Despite the covering of hair, however, each slab of his six-pack was clearly visible.

But it still didn't feel like his body. This was the body the others had crafted for him to help him prepare to be truly accepting of his Symbiont. He was not mature enough to use the full extent of his Symbiont but not a full 'adult' yet.

No, once he could grow a muzzle and a tail, that was when he would be an adult. As eager as he was for that eventuality, he had to be patient. There was a lot he still wanted before then.

For now, he had more crafting to do.

Closing his eyes and trusted his instincts. He could feel the energies of the other Symbionts around him. It was like... like being in the middle of a storm and each Symbiont was lighthouse in the haze. No, they were more like towers shooting the lightning into the dense thunderheads. Each emotion, each flare of ecstasy was another bolt of electricity. Somehow, he could tell which of the lights belonged to whom.

Reynard was bottoming for Michael because the biggest of the pack just couldn't fit into his smaller father. The soundproof rooms stifled their orgasmic cries as they both used one another to relieve the sexual tension they felt over Mattie's rapidly approaching maturity. Terrance was working out, as usual and he was using the exercise to stem his own arousal. Just to tease him a little, Mattie brushed against his consciousness and the personal trainer growled playfully at him. Though the effect was already done and Terry was rock hard in an instant. Tanner was fast asleep, his light a little duller than the others but he was still partially conscious. Mattie gave him a few strokes of thanks for awakening him last night and he got Tanner to spill a few dollops of his seed. Gary and Ace were out running, their lights farther than the rest but still somewhat visible thanks to their close proximity to one another. He suspected the two would quickly devolve into fucking in the woods soon.

And then there was Warren.

He made a connection with the red head who was currently in his room, doing a few stretches.

"Hey Ren. Up for a shower?" he asked.

Warren smiled and his light in the murk sparked up with excitement. "Fuck yeah!"

Going without his shorts or even his jockstrap, Mattie headed straight into the bathroom. Warren entered a moment later, naked, looking like a god and already glistening with sweat from his morning stretches. There was no hesitation or pretences. They moved towards one another, hands greedily groping for a fresh slab of taut muscle and lips meshing together. The moment their flesh touched, Mattie felt his mind broaden. He could feel everything Warren felt. Smell, taste, hear and all his senses were shared with the red-haired hunk. More than that, he could feel Warren's need. Shared with his own, he could only pant heavily and broadcast his desires to the hunk.

Warren smiled at him and ran his fingers down Mattie's abdominals, tracing lines down to his bellybutton before finally cupping Mattie's huge, heavy balls. Pride swelled in the high school teacher's chest as Warren fondled his sack, feeling the same sensation coming from his Symbiont in how much it had grown.

"Yeah..." rumbled Warren. "You're really at the Juvenile stage now, prof"

That didn't feel like a compliment and Warren frowned. "Juvenile? I thought I could fuck now."

"You can." Warren tilting his head to the side slightly, a coy smile on his face and waggling his eyebrows seductively. "And I'm glad you chose me to fuck first. Something sexy about taking a newbies virginity like that is fucking hot as hell."

Mattie licked his lips and grabbed Warren's bubble butt. "If you think I'm going to bend over for you, kid..."

"Me? A kid? You're full of it, prof." Warren snickered but let it go. "I get your confusion though." Despite being incredibly hard himself, Warren showed infinite control as he pulled away and swaggered towards the shower. "The Symbiont goes through several stages of growth. Upon introduction into the system, we call that the Larval Stage."

The hunky red-head turned on the shower and Mattie was compelled to follow him inside. "Larval Stage? When you guys first infected me?" He tried to make sure he was paying attention. This was very important though it was somewhat difficult considering his raging hard on and the fact that he drizzling water cascaded down every muscle on Warren's amazing body, highlighting every curve and every muscle.

"Yeah. No major changes there apart from the third ball. You got to be careful though at that stage. If you infect someone with the Symbiont at that stage and don't feed the person enough, the Symbiont will wither and die in the span of eight hours. Then there's also the possibility of rejection."

"Rejection?"

Warren gave him a comforting smile. "Not everyone can be a host, you know. If you were less of a man than what we suspected, your balls would have literally burst and you would've died."

That killed Mattie's libido. "R - Really?"

"Really. But that only happens when not all seven of us are involved. We all need to be here to help you transition." Warren strode forward, his fingers sliding over Mattie's broad shoulders. "Any less and our abilities wouldn't have been enough to synchronise you with your Symbiont."

Waves of comfort and warmth radiated from where their flesh made contact and Mattie felt at ease again. He knew it was just Warren trying to butter him up, to calm him about the possibility that he could've died, but he let it happen anyway. This was a coordinated and planned infection after all. "Well... Thanks I guess."

"You're most welcome." Warren then reached past him and plucked a sponge and some soap. Mattie puffed out his hairy chest, letting the sexy man lathering up the forest. "After the Larval Stage is the Development Stage. That's what stage you were at yesterday. The stage when we could connect with your Symbiont and start making changes. And today..."

"I'm Juvenile," Mattie growled lustily. "I can fuck."

"Yeah you can, prof," snickered Warren, running circles with his sponge down towards Mattie's once again erect cock. "After tonight, you'll be in your Adult Stage. That should be when you can go wild. But before then, you should visit each of the guys. Probably learn a thing or to. Plus..." he leaned down towards Mattie, licking the teacher's neck seductively. "I think it'd be fucking hot if you had a nice fuck with each of us before the weekend is over."

That was all the confirmation Mattie needed. He grabbed Warren's ass and gave those taut butt cheeks a hard squeeze. "I intend do. But I don't want to fuck you like this."

"Oh?"

"I wanna see you go wild. I wanna fuck the wolf."

He felt Warren grin. The ginger jock took a step back with a broad grin on his face. "Going for the authentic experience, eh prof? Can't blame ya." A soft snarl escaped his lips and he rolled his head slightly.

Mattie's eyes widened and his Symbiont pressed up against him in excitement, like it was hugging onto him in anticipation. His nine-inch dick was already rock hard that even the steady rain of water around them couldn't get it to go down.

Warren's features lurched forward by his teeth as if someone was pulling his face outwards by his jaw. His canines sharpened and lengthened, locking together perfectly. Supple, kissable lips turned black just as his nose flattened and turned the same colour. Warren let out a snarl, snapping his jaws powerfully and making Mattie's dick squirt. The bright, red hairs on his head spread rapidly down the sides of his face and across his jawline, covering the outer edges of his ears. Lighter, cream-coloured fur spread out from the crimson outline, quickly covering his emerging muzzle and most of his features save for his brow which remained a bright red. The insides of his ears filled with the same creamy fur as they were pushed to the top of his head where they lengthened and widened, transforming into a perfect set of adorable triangular panels at the top of his head.

Warren bowed his new lupine head slightly, shutting his eyes as he lifted his arms, hands closed into fists like he was flexing or doing some bicep curls. Mattie's gaze was drawn down towards the growing hulk's chest. Warren's collarbone rose higher and higher, the emerging beast before him growing taller. He watched in awe as that cream coloured fur swept over that highly pronounced Adam's Apple, swept over the pronounced collarbone and then over the massive, juicy pectorals, letting no part of their defined shape be masked by the thick layer of fur. Strangely enough, the red hairs on Warren's chest remained there, forming a faint outline like a crimson highlight across the rims of his pectorals and over the rigid edges of his eight brick-like abdominals.

A deep growling rose from Warren's throat as the crimson fur spread down his shoulders and then down his arms. Deltoids already built like bowling balls swelled even bigger making it impossible for him to wear any sort of human clothing. Even under the red fur, every band of muscle was clearly defined. A fact further emphasised over his biceps. Thick bands of muscle pushed his already large veins up against his skin. Not even the wave of cream and red fur could hide the outlines of those blue rivers. His triceps bulged all the more, supporting the weight of his biceps and ensuring that he could never truly walk with his arms pinned to his sides. The veins across his upper arm crawled across his forearms causing the muscles there to balloon out in a sudden burst of strength and water. Some of that water drizzled all over Mattie's face and he could not help but lap it up in the belief that he could have some of that power in him. Warren suddenly opened his palms. Nails jutted outwards as thick, black claws. His flesh closed over the roots of his nails, truly turning them into claws while black, leathery pads sprang up at the tips of his fingers and across his palms. The rest was covered in the cream fur while the back of his hand was coloured by his crimson fur.

Warren thrust his chest outward, letting out a soft moan that almost sounded like a howl. Mattie's eyes were drawn down to the werewolf's crotch. The seemingly human dick was still fully erect but as the white fur spread over his groin, it also fully consumed his dick in a furry sheath. Then, from the tip of his cock, a red point sprang up. The lips of his sheath began to retract to give way to the big, thick, pointed, throbbing piece of meat within. Mattie's throat went dry despite all the water cascading around him. The immense canine cock that came out had to be eighteen - no, nineteen inches long and monstrously thick. With Warren's new height, he barely stood at eye-level with the behemoth's nipples but this cock was just at the right level for him to shove into his mouth without bending down. He could not stop eyeing it even as his sheath fully retracted and the base began to swell with the well-known canine knot.

It took a lot of effort for Mattie to turn his gaze away from the throbbing member to follow the grown of fur down Warren's already enormous thighs. He gulped loudly as each quad group became as thick as his chest with a network of veins pulsating against its surface. Those calves bulged and throbbed, flexing and relaxing constantly as an odd change occurred to Warren's feet. The werewolf lifted his left foot and began to shake it a little. The sole of the foot stretched away from his toes, making his foot appear longer. When he set down the foot again, he was standing on the tips of his toes. Black claws took the place of his toenails and the fur spread down his new digitigrade leg. He performed the ritual with the other foot and suddenly, the transformation was complete.

Warren looked down upon himself, lifted his huge paws with a cute grin on his muzzle. "Well? What do you think?"

Mattie was all hormones and desires at that point. He threw himself at Warren. Despite the werewolf being over two feet taller than himself, he still had enough force to knock the beast down to the ground, pull up his legs and angle his dick right towards the wolf's hairy hole. Warren's tail was wagging excitedly. He was panting in need.

"I just got to... urf... I gotta fuck you!"

Warren grinned broadly and crossed his massive arms behind his head. "Then fuck me, stud."

Needing no further prompting, Mattie shoved his dick mercilessly into Warren's hole. The huge werewolf let out a howl of pleasure and squeezed down hard on the cock that was penetrating him. Mattie went straight into autopilot, primal - almost feral - instincts taking over. The overriding need to mate drove him to thrust his cock deeper and deeper into the wolf beneath him. Warren's legs curled around his shoulders, holding him tight and preventing any escape - not that he ever wanted to stop the incredible feeling radiating from his crotch.

"Oh fuck! Urgh!" he groaned. "Fuck! You're so tight! Ah!"

Warren was panting heavily, long, flat tongue falling past his muzzle. The sexual haze of the moment didn't stop him from losing focus, however. "Prof, you only got the rest of today. Tell me what you want. Let me see to your every need."

"Aaaaaah... fuuuuck!"

Clearly Mattie was overcome with the sensations of fucking a werewolf to really focus on his own needs. So Warren took another route. From the deep connection within him from having the teacher's dick inside him, he reached into Mattie's consciousness. There was a storm of emotions within; joy, ecstasy, freedom. But through it all, he found Mattie's conscious mind.

"Mattie. What is it that you want? Tell me and we can help you change it."

The others of the Afterglow team reached through the ether as well, connecting to Mattie through Warren, ready for the eventual wish that would spring from Mattie's lips.

"I... Oh fuck..." Mattie grunted. "I dunno... shit... This feels so good!"

"I know it does, prof. But you can't let that hold you back. What do you want?"

"Prof... Professor..." Mattie grinned to himself even though his eyes were sealed shut in ecstasy. "I wanna be a college professor. Not just a dumb high school history teacher! I've been teaching for years, damnit!"

"Yeah... You're a college professor, right? A big shot. Rebel. No other professor works out like you or hangs their hair like you."

Mattie panted heavily. "Fuck yeah. I teach history. I fucking love history. My students love me too. Hell, most of them are chicks because they can't stop staring at how huge and sexy I am. I even flex for them a little." He threw his head back and laughed before that cry turned into a soft howl. "Ooooooh fuck... I... I even throw in a little 'wardrobe malfunction' here and there. Teaching shirtless in the summer. Shit. It turns me on. Love it when the kids look at me like that."

Together, Warren and the rest of the Afterglow team made the desire a reality. They reached into the fabric of history, into the very fibres of Mattie's being and began twisting fiction and turning them into fact. Small changes occurred to Mattie's features as a process. His skin grew a little more tanned from hosting his classes outside during the summer. A tan line appeared on his left wrist where his watch usually was. He grew just that little bit bigger because he was always trying to impress his students with his physique. They would pour in to his classes just to watch him teach. Hell, even students that weren't in his class would appear just to ogle him.

And then there were the more mental changes. Such confidence blossomed a cocky swagger. Mattie's spine straightened as he would stand up straight constantly to maximise his height and so that his head was always puffed out. His stance was broader making sure everyone could see the immense bulge he sported. And just because Gary was a sucker for them, the confident one-sided grin that Mattie had would always show off his cute dimples.

"Aaaaah fuuuuuuck!"

Mattie's hips suddenly bucked violently, shoving hard into Warren. The shock knocked Warren out of his concentration and his Symbiont. The sheer proximity of his fully grown, adult Symbiont with the raunchy Symbiont sitting in Mattie's balls caused them both to suddenly burst with excitement. Hot, greenish-white cum came pouring out of both his and Mattie's thick dicks. Warren let out a howl, tilting his head while his testicles emptied themselves all over his chest. Mattie shared the same sentiment only he poured all of his seed straight into Warren's hungry ass. Both males bucked and jolted as wave after wave of cum came pouring out of them. The water from the shower desperately seemed to try and wash the stains away but they just kept producing more and more until even the shower's constant flood could not keep up with their torrent.

But whereas the shower had a seemingly unlimited amount of water, they were limited by the storage of their seed no matter how sizeable it was. After three minutes of straight orgasms, their bucking turned to dry orgasms and they eventually had to come down from their sexual high.

Warren sighed in contentment and so did Mattie.

They locked gazes, grinning broadly at one another.

"Fuck I can't wait to get back to work," Mattie said with a devious grin.

******

Naturally after such a session, nourishment was required. After showering for real, the two of them dried off and put on their clothes. However, when Mattie slipped on the jockstrap, he was a little incensed and impressed with it clamped down tightly over his crotch.

"Ah fuck..." he grumbled. "Must've grown again..." He regarded the shorts that had been offered to him and realised that they were likely equally as tight. "Terry made me grow, didn't he?"

Warren rolled his eyes. "He's such a size queen. Hold on a second. I'll get you some new clothes."

But instead of heading towards the linen closet like he did yesterday, Warren - back to being human - moved towards Mattie. He grabbed his own dick which was already growing hard again.

"Ren, what are you -?"

"Hang on," grunted Warren. "Just a sec."

Werewolves must recover quickly, Mattie thought bemused. He was still somewhat exhausted from having just drained himself into Warren but he decided to entertain the idea of Warren jacking off on him.

It didn't take long at all for Warren to gasp and send out a rather impressive torrent of seed shooting all over Mattie's abs and balls. After having just cum gallons, it was still a very impressive load especially since it covered most of Mattie's crotch.

"Are you done?" he said.

"Almost." Warren pointed at his greenish-white cum. "Check it out."

Glancing down, Mattie's eyebrows rose as the seed began shifting and moving of its own accord over his body. To his utter surprise, the cum wrapped around his crotch and balls, curling around behind him and forming a band to support his butt cheeks. The texture of the seed then shifted and altered, turning into a black fabric that wrapped around his crotch quite comfortably and gave him support. The excess crept layered itself over his newly formed jockstrap, changing and shifting as well into the same light material as his discarded shorts. Within moments, he was wearing a new pair of shorts that fit him snugly and a new jockstrap as well.

"What...?" he began, stunned.

Warren beamed at him. "Remember how Tanner told you that you can basically forge yourself now? That you can basically decide which direction to take your changes? That goes with our special 'abilities'. When the Project originally started, no one considered these 'supernatural powers' of ours. But naturally, someone got it into their heads and then it's sort of been tradition to give ourselves a little ability while we change. Me, well I can get my cum to turn into any material. Remember that soap and shampoo I used on you? Totally my cum. Everyone's clothes here? My cum."

"Why didn't Tanner tell me this last night?"

"Probably because he doesn't want to influence your changes," said Warren with a shrug. "People normally discover their own abilities by themselves but since it was never really in the original parameters of the experiment, we sort of let it slide." He grinned sheepishly at Mattie. "Besides, how could I say 'no' to that cute face of yours."

"Flatterer." Mattie gave the red-head a coy smirk. "So I'm literally wearing you?"

"Ha! Yeah, I guess so!"

"Then what's my ability?"

"That's for you to decide. Only you can make your own mutation. If you're looking for inspiration, speak with the others. Each of them has their own abilities that I'm sure you'll find..." He licked his lips. "... appealing."

Grinning broadly and finding him aroused at the thought of wearing clothes made out of Warren's seed, he headed out of the bathroom. His stomach rumbled and he could hear Warren's too as they headed into the kitchen. Michael was there, sporting his own erection while he was setting the table.

"Morning, stud," said Mike. "Stud_s_," he corrected. He made a beeline for Mattie and kissed him, tugging at the nipple ring lightly. With their cocks and Symbionts pressed up against one another, separated only by their shorts, Mattie was on the verge of cumming all over again. Mike broke the kiss before that happened though. "You're adjusting well."

"I can't wait to have you in me," rumbled Mattie. "I've waited so long for that cock of yours."

Mike slapped his ass playfully. "Maybe later, stud. You can't take me yet. Now sit that sexy ass down. Breakfast will be ready in a bit."

Mattie shook his head and turned towards the kitchen. "Naw, I'm part of this family now. I'm going to contribute. I'll see if Reynard needs help."

Before anyone could protest, Mattie was barging through the door into the kitchen where he was immediately caught by the scent of wet dog, sex and pure need. He gawked a little, not sure why he was surprised, when he caught sight of a _huge_eleven-foot werewolf with black and white fur standing over the kitchen island with his monstrous cock fully erect and levelled towards the many bowls lined up there.

Reynard's eyes widened upon seeing him and a light blush touched his cheeks, turning the white sections of his facial fur bright pink. "Uh... Morning, Professor."

After quickly regaining his composure, Mattie crossed his arms and smirked. "So I've been directly eating your cum, eh?"

"I mix some vegetables in there too," Reynard said, grinning sheepishly. "You know. To make it less conspicuous."

"Uh-huh. So is your ability the one to turn your seed into food?"

The towering hulk laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head. Unlike the other wolves, Reynard had a bit of a mane on him. His thick, black hair swept back down his shoulders and chest a single, big bush like he had been crossed with a lion. It made him look rather cuddly despite being so immensely muscular and masculine. "Oh no. What we cook is authentic. Just breakfast is made out of my cum." He gestured at the bowls filled with his gelatinous seed. "I sort of have two kinds of cum. The first is just the normal kind. The one that has my genetic material. The other is this one. The chunky, slightly crunchy version. It's like Ace said. It's a paste that's highly nutritious. My ability is to produce this stuff. To help feed the rest of my pack."

"Hmmm... Your pack, huh? I like that." Then a thought struck him and he glanced at the various photos hanging around the walls and in the cabinets. "All these guys. The people who had been here before me. They're all..."

"Yep! They're part of the Afterglow Project now. Each of them are testing out how their new bodies are treating them and going out there and living their life! That's really what the Project wants. To see how we would adjust to our new changes."

Mattie rubbed his stubbly chin thoughtfully, a soft rasping noise coming from the gesture. "I might have to introduce myself to the others then."

"I highly recommend it. It's not just our interaction with humans that provides useful data. It's also how we interact with each other." Reynard stuck out his tongue playfully. "You can't believe how fun it is finding out where one part fits with another."

"I'll say." His eyes gravitated towards Reynard's erect cock and huge, melon-sized balls. A loud grumbling rose from his stomach. "I'm sure the others won't mind if I had breakfast a little early."

"Oh...?" Reynard began. Even with the strong mental link between them, it still took the hulking werewolf a moment to realise what Mattie meant and only when the college professor gripped his cock did he catch on.

"So tell me something I don't know about the Project," Mattie said. With Reynard so big, he found himself at eye-level with the male's crotch. Hot waves of masculine scent wafted straight into his nostrils. It would've been a crime not to take some of that cock into him. He almost treated it as a little teaser to his eventual mounting by Michael.

Reynard purred softly. "Ah... you really got the hots for my dad, eh, Professor Howards?" The huge wolf had to lean back against the kitchen counter to so that Mattie could take more and more of his cock into his mouth. "Yeah... my dad is fucking hot." He sucked in some air between his fangs just as his balls began to jostle. He gasped as chunky, greenish-white fluid began pouring out of his cock and directly into Mattie's throat.

With the flow of the nutritious slurry, new information came flooding into Mattie's mind. It was like he suddenly became acutely aware of every cell in his body. With each pump of the slurry down into his stomach, he felt this itch to improve himself. He could feel Reynard and the others waiting on standby, waiting for his command on how to change himself. They were all connected through his Symbiont, like each of their huge, hair paws were gripping his balls, ready to lend their aid and strength to him.

He thought about what he wanted.

"Oooh... You wanna be strong, Professor?" rumbled Reynard. "Shit... You gotta be big then."

Yes. He wanted to be big. Big and strong. So big and so strong that he made the guys at the gym envious. But at the same time, he didn't want to conform. A beast. That was what he wanted - no_needed_ to be. A beast that ate a tonne and a beast that lifted a tonne. He couldn't think of the word to describe such a monster.

"A powerlifter," rumbled Reynard.

Yes! That was what he wanted to be. A powerlifter! Not ripped or shredded like the others. He didn't mind a little bit of a gut. That was a sign of health. He was well-balanced and not malnourished. But he didn't want to be fat either.

Terrance took the lead on this being the one closely related to personal training. Mattie suspected he was the expert on body types but didn't get much time to ponder it as the eldest of the Afterglow team went to work. Mattie groaned loudly as Reynard's cock rocked in his mouth, spurting more and more of that nutritious slurry down his throat. It seemed like his metabolism slowed as his belly began to bubble and gurgle, growing bigger and bigger. His highly defined abdominals faded slightly under a layer of fat but then they immediately surged outwards, defiant of being smothered by fat.

The veins around his arms and legs eased back into his skin a little as his body fat went up. At the same time, they also grew in strength and size. With more fuel for their sustained growth, there was nothing keeping them from bulging out to become far bigger than his head. His shoulders broadened all the more, his back muscles stretching wider until his lats were like two, fleshy wings folded against his spine. The shorts he wore stretched and groaned but thanks to Warren being connected to him, it quickly shifted and resized itself, sliding up his enormous quads and almost disappearing against the folds of his groin like a pair of black hotpants.

His own cock strained his jockstrap and Mattie pulled down the rim of his shorts to let his now ten-inch, beer-can-thick dick loose. Hot wads of precum were already splattering across Reynard's monstrous legs in excitement.

Memories began sweeping through his mind and he accepted them all eagerly, devouring them as greedily as he devoured the slush that Reynard was giving him.

He entered powerlifting competitions every year, always stunning the crowds by his sheer size and strength. Even outside of professional competitions, he participated in a few lumberjack games up north which normally involved the strongest men throwing huge logs as far as they could. The cafeteria back where he worked had to set up a meal exclusively for him simply because he ate so much. The jocks always hung out around him, asking for advice on how to get stronger and get bigger and he was always a wealth of information on the topic.

And why wouldn't he? He started bodybuilding when he was just sixteen despite advice otherwise. He worked out to make himself stronger not pretty. That was when he found his passion for powerlifting. After wrestling all throughout high school, he took up powerlifting in college and really found his passion.

History and powerlifting.

That was Mattie Howards in a nutshell.

Mattie's eyelids fluttered as his balls and Symbiont began to ache. He was forced to pull away from Reynard's enormous cock and let out a loud moan. His cock blasted hot seed all over his former-student's dick and he was in turn gifted with a hot blast of nutrient slush to the face. He lapped it all up, wiping up the goo with his fingers and slipping it into his mouth.

"Goddamnit..." he moaned softly. He looked at his very erect member. "Hands free, bro..."

Reynard grinned down at him and leaned down. The wolf's long, flat tongue gently cleaned the rest of the slurry of his face. Seeing as they were no longer in a student-to-teacher relationship, Mattie grabbed the back of Reynard's head and pulled the lupine into a passionate kiss. Kissing a muzzle was definitely different but he would have preferred having his own muzzle to lock perfectly with Reynard's.

"Soon, Prof," rumbled Reynard. "Real soon." He patted Mattie's cheeks lightly. "You can feel it can't you? Your Symbiont is growing strong. Making _you_strong. Won't be long until you're bursting out of those shorts and going wild like the rest of us."

"God I want it so much..." pleaded Mattie.

"I know." Reynard gently pulled him to his feet. He pulled Mattie into a big hug and the professor shuddered as he was pressed up against that monstrous two-foot long dick again. "The waiting hurts but it'll be worth it. Trust me. And we'll be here to support you the whole way."

For the first time, Mattie could this savage urge clawing at him from the inside. Whatever wolf he would become felt like it was banging at the doors of his resolve, digging its claws just beneath his skin and trying to find some weakness, some breach in his defences so that it could emerge and ravage this hunk of a wolf in front of him. But he remembered Tanner's warning the previous night.

If he let that happen, he could become unrecognisable. All the effort he had put into making himself this handsome, powerlifting college professor that made the women swoon and the men cream their pants would all go to waste.

But the desire was just so powerful. A soft growl rose from his throat. He needed to go wild so bad.

Then there were those hands again. Even as Reynard held him tightly, he could feel the ghostly paws of the other Afterglow members gently pressing their palms against his back. They might as well have been standing there in the kitchen alongside him. Together, they radiated an immense strength and unity that pushed the beast back down, taming it for the moment.

He sighed softly, calmed for the moment.

"Let's go eat," Reynard announced with a smile.

They brought the bowls together to the dining room where the others were already perched and ready for their meal. Reynard reverted back to his human shape as he sat down on his seat. A good thing as no chair would've taken his immense weight. But that got him wondering...

"Why do you guys stay human?" he asked, halfway through his nutrient supplement. "I already know who you are. You don't have to hide from me."

"It's discipline," answered Ace simply. "Each of us has been exactly where you are now. But we've always had the help of our pack to keep us sane. We all know the consequences of going wild while you're still in the Juvenile stage."

"It's tempting to live out all your sexual fantasies and more in the span of a single day," chimed in Gary. "But trust me, as soon as tomorrow comes, you'll be in your adult stage and your form will be locked down."

"You can't change me more when I'm in my Adult stage?"

The dark skinned man shook his head sadly. "We can but it'll be like trying to move a tree that's rooted in pretty deep. You'd be doing damage to your own psyche and others if you try."

Mattie didn't pretend to understand but decided to trust the experts on the subject matter.

"There's still a lot for you to change throughout the course of the day," said Terry. "After breakfast, meet me at the library. There's still a lot you have to learn."

Excited to learn more of this world he had been introduced to, Mattie agreed and eagerly waited until everyone had finished their meals. Then, he followed the professional trainer eagerly to the quietest part of the complex. Terrance shut the door behind them and then moved towards the one desk in the room.

"You know we're basically part of a large experiment, right?" Terry said, rifling through one of the drawers.

"Yeah. Your purpose is basically to make more like yourself and track how we deal with it. I guess how we make ourselves unique and interact with one another."

"Right." Terry pulled out what appeared to be a smartphone and brought it over to Mattie. "When we're in close proximity of one another, we can communicate through a sort of psychic link that all those with a Symbiont possess. But for everything else, there's this."

Mattie took the offered phone. It wasn't a model he had ever seen before. It almost looked like an ordinary touch-screen device except it was a solid, black panel about as big as his hand. Normally, most smartphones had a screen and a solid metal backing. This seemed to be all screen. He tapped the surface and a little burst of electricity erupted across the glossy surface, taking the form of multiple blue circuits shooting through the surface.

"Hello, Matthias."

The masculine voice caught him off guard and he immediately threw the phone into the air to get rid of it as if was made of molten metal. There was a loud sound like rushing water and suddenly a white lance of liquid caught the phone in mid-air. He was surprised when that lance of sentient goo led directly to Terrance's arm.

"In case you were wondering, my ability is based entirely around liquefying myself," said the personal trainer with a smirk. "I basically turn into sentient cum."

A realisation dawned on Mattie.

"Yes, you're right," Terry said. "I am the oldest of the Afterglow team and I was really close to completely losing it during my Juvenile stage. As you can see from my ability. Your form reflects who you are and your Symbiont will change you based on your desires. But once it fully matures and becomes an adult, any other changes could... well..." He gestured at his bared chest with his solid hand. "Case in point."

"You... You could've just been a puddle...?"

"A puddle of barely sentient goo that just wants to fuck and be fucked. I tried to change myself again after my Symbiont was an adult and was so caught up in my lust and desire that my constant changing genetic, mental and physical structure sort of... devolved into a primordial ooze." A rueful smile crossed his features. "Lucky for me the Conglomerate managed to fix me." He nodded towards the phone and dropped it back into Mattie's hands. "And Alabaster there will help you keep yourself in check just in case we're not around."

"Alabaster...? What? Is he kind of like Siri?"

"Not exactly," answered the phone. "I'm a networked artificial intelligence living and existing on a dedicated quantum entangled server hosted by the Conglomerate_."_

He gave Terry a puzzled look. "Huh?"

"He's an AI that basically lives in the cloud," Terry clarified. "Those 'phones' are our interfaces to him. He keeps us in contact with one another, monitors our activities and reports back to the Conglomerate on how we're doing. You won't have to file any reports or submit yourself for check-ups every month or something. Alabaster does everything."

"And I also work as pretty dandy music player. I'm taking DJ lessons!"

"Uh..." Mattie said with a chuckle. "Really now."

"Yep! Did you want to check out my playlist?"

"I'm good thanks." Mattie shoved the phone back into his pocket. "Thanks Terry. I appreciate it."

"One more thing," Terry said, holding up a hand. "Collectively, we're call 'Variants'. You've be given the designation FVS2-1098. It sounds impersonal, I know, but we've got six 'Andrews' in the Afterglow program and it just got confusing after a bit."

"What does it stand for?"

"The first four characters mean 'Fenrir Variant Series Two'. There are three Series currently in existence. The guys and I here are FVS1s. We're Series Ones because we were directly infected by the Conglomerate. Our Symbionts were created by them and then they gave them to us. Series Twos are those that Series Ones create. Series Threes are those you create."

"I can create others?"

"Nothing is stopping you except perhaps Alabaster's advice," said Terry with a shrug. "But just be aware that because of the 'dilution' of the pure Fenrir Strain from Series Ones, your Variants will end up adopting your own ability. Anyone you turn or make will inherit your traits."

"They'll be my sons?" asked Mattie, his eyes widening.

"I suppose so."

Mattie let out a thoughtful hum and nodded. "Thanks Terry. I appreciate you sharing your experience with me."

"Not a problem." That rueful smile crossed his features again. "And in case you're wondering, the reason why I stink all the time is because I'm basically living semen. So yeah... That's my excuse."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Well, I look forward to the day that I jizz you out of my cock."

Terry's smile became broad and genuine. "Nothing like slipping entirely into a guy's ass, sloshing around his balls a little bit before pouring out of his erect dick only to do it all over again. Never gets old."

******

Mattie was left with a lot to think about and he found himself itching for his morning jog. Though he knew it was just an implanted memory, a suggestion put into him by Ace, he still headed outside, barefoot and in just his revealing shorts for his jog. He was actually glad that Ace was there, waiting for him.

"You knew I'd be coming out here?" he asked.

"You kind of broadcast your thoughts quite loudly," Ace replied with a smile. "All newbies kind of do that. Eventually you learn how to throw a little shield over your emotions so you have some privacy around others."

"Is that the fog I see around you guys?"

Ace inclined his head to the side. "You see it a fog, huh? I honestly see it more like a sheet of metal. I know Reynard sees them as thick, thorny vines and for Michael it's like a lot of curtains for some reason." The lean, blonde werewolf shrugged. "I guess we have our own interpretations. And that's what makes the program great. We're free to be ourselves."

Mattie let out a soft, thoughtful him. Without further prompting and perfectly in synch, he and Ace bolted down the path down into the forest. This time, he ran right beside Ace. While he was still following the nutritionist's lead, he didn't need more than a little mental prompt to turn this way or that way. Within moments, they made it to the lake. Some ducks were swimming gently on the otherwise calm surface and they immediately began paddling away from the two as they broke out of the tree line.

"Something else you'll notice," Ace said. "Animals will tend to avoid you. Had this guy come in once. Had six dogs. When he got back home, they tried to maul him. He subdued them, thankfully but yeah..."

"Lucky they weren't cats."

'I guess so," Ace chuckled. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Given any thought to what ability you wanted to adopt?"

Mattie shook his head, his ponytail whipping out behind him. "Not really. It's a little hard considering I've got less than a day before my Symbiont matures." He chuckled softly and gently massaged his sac. "Little guy is growing like a weed."

"I know the feeling."

He glanced over to Ace. "What's your ability?"

Ace tapped his nose. "I'm a hunter. Enhanced senses in every way. It helps me with my job. I can usually what a person's eaten in the past twenty-four hours just by their breath alone no matter how much they try to brush their teeth. It helps also when we have runners."

That brought an eyebrow raised. "Runners?"

"Sometimes people aren't too enthused about being infected and dragged into the project. So they try to make a run for it. But we can't let that happen. They're a danger to themselves and others as the Symbiont grows. Other times, some idiots decide to wander up here and mess shit up. We had a burglar break in during the week once and tried to steal our stuff and Alabaster let us know. We trapped the guy and converted him. Turned out he was a pretty decent guy. Just really saw an opportunity and thought 'why the hell not'. Really not a very good burglar."

"Do you... Do you ever turn people back? To being human, that is."

Ace shrugged. "Even at the adult stage of your Symbiont, you can still go back to being human. Your Symbiont can die if it isn't fed. You'll find you'll be eating a hell of a lot more than before. Usually we actually get Reynard to pack newbies some of his slurry for the first few weeks so that they can get adjusted to the new diet and lifestyle. I mean, you know of your new life now but actually living it... Well, that's something entirely new." Ace fixed him with a grave stare. "Just remember, Mattie, your Symbiont lives for you. It will kill itself to make you happy. But don't abuse that. You're in this together. We all are."

Mattie nodded gravely and solemnly swore to himself that he would protect his Symbiont with his life. He could feel his Symbiont likewise reciprocating the gesture and sending him thoughts of appreciation.

Ace sensed it too and smiled. "Come on. Let's head back."

They headed back to the manor and Mattie thanked Ace for his time. Before they parted ways, though, Ace gave him one last piece of advice.

"Don't make yourself centred around your ability. It's entirely optional. For generations, the Fenrir Variants went without abilities. It's really only when the whole superheroes genre came about did anyone really go out of their way to make themselves that unique."

Mattie took that advice with a nod and wasn't even halfway through the threshold before a big, meaty, hair arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him into a kiss.

"I can't fucking wait anymore," growled Mike. "You me, the Jacuzzi. Now."

How could he decline such an offer?

Mattie was practically skipping all the way to the Jacuzzi on the second floor deck but was a little surprised to find it already on and with Tanner occupying it.

"Beat you to it, Mike," Tanner said, sprawled on the far end of the bubbling pool with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Fuck, Tan!" Mike roared. "You had your fun with him last night! He's _my_college buddy! Get the fuck out and let me fuck him!"

"Nuh-uh," Tanner said, waggling a finger at him. "I had to drop the exposition on him. Most boring job in the process. I barely got to touch his dick. He's mine."

Mattie was oddly flattered at being treated a little like a slab of meat. In his past life, he had never been so lucky. "Fellas, come on. I got two holes." He winked as he stripped off his shorts, revealing his erect eleven-inch member.

"Oh fuck..." gawked Mike, regarding the dripping, uncut meat. "You're almost there, bud. One more inch and you're a fucking adult!"

That sent a bolt of panic through Mattie's system as he realised he was perhaps just a few hours before being locked in his life. There was still so many things he wanted change.

"We better get to it then," he said, rubbing his palms together. He slipped into the Jacuzzi with Mike right behind him. The big, hairy mechanic's lips touched his against and their tongues danced against one another. Tanner swam to cover his other side, giving his nipple ring a little tug which only caused him to moan and his cock to twitch and jerk in excitement.

But the looming deadline had Mattie's mind racing. His ability was the first thing that came into mind.

"Hrmph... Mike..." he mumbled, hesitantly breaking the kiss. "What's your ability?"

"Hmmm?" answered Mike. His friend beamed lewdly at him, sticking out his tongue. "My drool will make you fucking horny."

"Huh?"

Tanner reached over and gave Mike's cheek a playful slap. "He means that his saliva is an incredibly powerful aphrodisiac. You kiss him, just once, and then all you'll want to do is to fuck. Or, more accurately, you'll be hard as... well..." He gestured at Mattie's erect dick that poked out the surface of the pool. "You know."

Mattie chuckled softly but both men instantly sensed his distress.

"Don't think about it too much," said Mike, gently tracing circles through his wet, hairy chest. "You don't need a power. You're sexy as hell!"

"It's not just that," rumbled Mattie. "I've got... I dunno... like an agenda. A priority list. Things I really want to look at." He began ticking off the items one by one with his big, meaty fingers. "My ability. Then my house. My finances and then, if we have time, my kids."

Tanner inclined his head curiously. "Kids?" Then his features softened in realisation. "Oh. Right. You want kids." With a smile, he leaned down against Mattie's shoulder. "Okay. Well how about this? Let's work backwards for now. Kids first. How many kids do you want?"

Despite the serious talk, Mattie was still rock hard and he tried to ignore his raging erection as he thought about Tanner's question.

Damnit, Mike. Your fucking kisses made me super horny!

"Two... No, three!" He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I guess I got it into my head that I always wanted twins."

"Not triplets?"

"Nah. I'd have trouble telling them apart already. But really, I'd be happy with a single son." He eyed Mike with a smirk. "And I'd love him to be in college. You know, older than Reynard is pretending to be."

His friend smirked and lifted a hand. "No matter what happens, you'll always be younger than me."

When Mattie felt a shift of weight to his left, he turned towards Tanner who swam to the middle of the Jacuzzi and then stood up.

"So..." began the brown-haired Adonis. "Think your son would look like this...?"

Right before Mattie's eyes, Tanner's thick, muscled frame began to shift and change. His square features began to become more angular, cheekbones becoming more pronounced and his tanned skin a little lighter. The muscles all over his body lost a bit of their definition as a thin layer of fat covered them all. Dense, brown hairs began springing up all over his arms, legs and torso. Unlike Mattie whose abdomen was completely covered in a forest, Tanner only had a thick crest on his chest. Hid dark brown hair became more a lighter chestnut colour and tumbled down his shoulders in a lovely, masculine mane. As a final touch, a bit of stubble covered his cheeks.

He actually looked like a younger version of Mattie.

"What the fuck..." moaned the stunned newcomer.

"Tanner's ability is to shapeshift," Mike said, gently licking Mattie's ear. His tongue had grown long and flat. "He can be anything and any_one_you want."

"Oh holy hell..." He eyed Tanner, his throat going dry as he gazed upon the handsome features before him. More than anything, he wanted to take that sexy beast into his arms and ravage him. His mind had gone blank for the moment and he didn't notice when Mike shifted into his lupine form and slowly gripped his dick.

"What do you think, daddy?" Tanner rumbled, his voice completely changed into a deeper, rougher bass. "Do I look fuckable?"

"Hell yeah," rumbled Mattie. But something was wrong. "But..." That one word made both Mike and Tanner pause. "You look too much like me. A younger me, yeah. But it's like someone cloned me. My son should be a little more... unique."

Tanner frowned briefly and nodded in agreement. "Okay, yeah. I get that. What would you change?"

He gave it some thought, rubbing his chin. "First of all, I'd be a little tougher on my kid about his hair. Only Daddy gets to keep his mane. I'm a fucking lion and he'll always be my cub. His hair should be shorter."

His pseudo-son grinned. "Shit that's hot." With those words, however, Tanner's hair shrank back into his scalp, pulling the long, brown locks back into some youthful spikes.

"Nah, now he looks like he's in middle-school. Maybe a little longer. Wavy. But keep the sides short." As he spoke, Mike leaned down towards his pierced nipple, lapping at the sensitive flesh there. He inadvertently began running a finger over his other nipple.

Tanner complied with his request, changing his appearance to fit the profile.

"And you know what?" rumbled Mattie with a smirk. "I'll be a little tough on my first born. No beard or even stubble. But he's a rebel. He's in college now. Same college as his old man but he wants to flaunt the fact that he's an independent, sexy man now. Give him a goatee."

"You are so fucking hot when you're all dominant like that," whispered Tanner. His stubble instantly faded back into his skin and a short, brown goatee took its place.

"His rebellious phase started in high school when he got a tattoo," said Mattie. "On his right arm. Opposite to mine. Big bulldog flexing. When he got it, he knew I'd be mad and then he'd argue that I had a tattoo so why couldn't he. Then I fucked him that night to show him who's still on top."

"You fuck your son?" Mike asked, taking a break from worshiping his nipple.

"You don't get to talk," growled Mattie and he seized the back of Mike's lupine head and forced his friend back to suckling on his nipples. As his eyes darted back to Tanner, his boy's image flexed his right arm, showing that sexy tattoo. "Yeah..." he rumbled in appreciation. "And my boy ain't no powerlifter. He's a bodybuilder. He's leaner. Ripped. Thinking about going pro."

"You're the boss!" Tanner exclaimed and all the body fat across his features faded, leaving him lean and shredded. Every line on his taut, muscled frame was perfectly accentuated, the shadows playing teasingly across his sculpted abdominals. Mattie watched as a little droplet of water slid down those meaty biceps only to disappear into the forest of forearm hair a moment later.

"Damn!" he exclaimed his work with a grin. "Now that's my son."

"Glad you approve, daddy." Tanner waded across the pool, pressing his cock up against Mattie's.

The thought of having his sexy-as-hell son so close, so aroused right next to him like that... It drove Mattie wild. His imagination ran with the idea of pulling his bodybuilding son into bed and breeding with him all night to make sure he got all the 'protein' he needed. Those dreams quickly became shrouded in the confining wills of the Afterglow guys. They were warning him that such a relationship would be pretty dangerous to have. If they were ever discovered, the consequences could be dire. But he still wanted it anyway. He wanted the pleasure of always being bigger and stronger than his eldest son and reminding him of that fact every night.

By the throb of Tanner's cock against his own, it was clear he approved too. The man disguised as his son leaned down towards his free nipple, lathering it with his tongue while Mike continued to worship the other. Mattie lay back, holding the two men's heads against his hairy chest as he lets fantasy become fact.

Lukas... That was his name. Lukas Howards.

Lukas had always been a bit of a rebel. He started off wanting to be just like his powerlifting dad but then he started veering off towards bodybuilding. Mattie never minded. He liked his men masculine. Lukas knew how much he turned on his dad and really just used his antagonising comments on how 'fat' and 'weak' Mattie was as an excuse to get his old man's dick in him. They loved each other very much. More than any father and son should in polite society but neither of them cared. Lukas was a real 'daddy's boy'.

He was studying to be a personal training just like his hero, his 'Uncle' Terry. They weren't really related but he always had a soft spot for the bodybuilding werewolf and would often suck his dick at every available opportunity. Through the murk of their connected consciousness, Mattie could feel Terry jizzing in his shorts. He knew the personal trainer would like that.

"Ah fuuuck..." Mattie moaned.

"We're not done yet, dad," teased Tanner, pulling away. "We've still got your twins."

Confused, Mattie pulled himself back from his sexual haze though it was hard to ignore his pleading Symbiont and his throbbing dick.

"Hey Mike," Tanner said. "Get up. Go human again."

"Do I have to?" moaned the black and white werewolf.

"Just trust me."

Sighing, Mike gave Mattie one last kiss, his powerful aphrodisiac of drool instantly kicking in and making Mattie buck his hips wildly.

"Bitch..." muttered Mattie to which Mike just gave him a coy smile.

The hulking werewolf shrank back into his hairy human form and stood in front of Tanner, arms cross, cock erect and expectant. "Well? What now?"

"This," Tanner answered with a grin.

The quarterback's body began to change again but this time, he grew a lot_more hair. Every follicle grew darker, practically black. His skin became coppery and his eyes became the same dark brown as Mike's. In fact, within moments, he looked _exactly like Mike.

Mattie realised exactly what Tanner was going for.

"What do you think, dad?" rumbled Tanner, his voice matching Mike's. He wrapped his big meaty arms around Mike's shoulders, pulling them close together. Taking his lean, Mike began lapping at his neck. The sight of two identical men grinding against one another sent Mattie's imagination wild. "You like it when your twin boys fuck one another?"

"Oh fuck yeah..." Mattie rumbled, seizing his cock in his hands. "That's it boys. Fuck one each other. Fuck for your dad." He groaned loudly as he caught sight of the two identical dicks rubbing against one another. "You love that, don't you? Love making your dad proud. You get a nipple each. Drink your dad's milk. And Lukas... Yeah... fuck. He gets my cock. Always gets my cock."

Mattie's eyes fluttered shut. Even then, he could feel how the two mean before him were stimulating one another. In his mind's eyes, he pictured his twin boys. Younger than Lukas. 18 years of age. They had seen their dad and older brother fucking for years and the moment they were no longer minors, they immediately joined in on the fun. It was the best fucking birthday party Mattie had ever thrown. Everyone had been there. The Afterglow guys especially. It was a naked birthday party. Corey and Cody had their fair share of dick that night.

They didn't have as much body hair as their older brother or father, though. Just a little crest between their highly defined pectorals. They had more swimmer's builds. They joked that their muscle mass was shared between them. They shaved their arms and legs constantly so that they were smooth and could feel the hairy, muscled masses of their dad and Lukas against their flesh.

"Oh fuuuuck..." Mattie moaned. "My boys... You're all so fucking sexy... Boys... my... my sons!"

Every night, they would retire to their home. A big double storey house in the suburbs. Each of the boys had their own rooms but they rarely slept in them. Lukas' was really more of a home gym. Cody and Corey just used theirs to study in. They slept in the two big king-sized beds that had been pushed together in Mattie's room. All four of them. Every night. Fucking, howling like the wolves that they were until they were exhausted and passed out in each other's arms, covered in their cum and in each other's loving embrace.

That was his life.

That was how Mattie Howards lived!

"FUCK!"

Mattie threw his head back, eyes snapping open and letting out a bellowing cry, screaming to the heavens. His cock went hard as steel and blasted a hot stream of greenish-white cum straight upwards. Even with the waves of the Jacuzzi lapping around him, the gush of his seed still managed to rocket into the sky like a jet fountain.

In that blast, he discarded who he had been. He acknowledged that once he had been a fifty-four-year-old, lonely, bitter history teacher who was mostly bald but no more. Now, he was forty-five years old, a powerlifting stud with three sons that he fucked daily. He had a career as a college professor, competed in powerlifting every year, worked out every day was part of the Afterglow Program.

This was his life now.

And he loved it.

******

Familial Bonds

But something was still missing.

And Mattie knew exactly what it was.

When dinner came around, they had a big feast to celebrate what Ace joking referred to as Mattie's 'coming out'. Each man in the Afterglow team congratulated him. He was really one of them now except perhaps for the last stages and as the meal wore on, he could feel himself growing that last inch to become a full-sized adult Fenrir Symbiont host. Throughout the meal, he was constantly growing hard, rubbing himself to check just how far he was progressing.

When dessert, came, he turned to Gary.

"Hey Gary," he began. "I know everyone else's ability. What's yours?"

"Mine?" said the chocolate skinned Adonis. "Well, I can merge with people."

"Merge?"

"Yeah." Gary reached out and gently touched Mattie's arm. A tingle ran up his skin where the flesh touched. Gary's fingers seemed to turned into dark veins that seeped into Mattie's skin and spread through his muscles and bones, reaching deep into him.

"Fuck... I can really feel you," Mattie moaned.

"That's what I was going for," snickered Gary, withdrawing his hand. The entire process was painless and even pleasurable. "When I first got connected to everyone, I didn't just want it to be mental, you know. And even being in someone or having someone inside me didn't seem enough. I wanted to be with them. Be one with them." Gary sighed. "Nothing like merging completely with someone, your minds melded, experiencing the same mind-blowing, fucking orgasm that's twice as strong because you're both in there... Shit."

Then he grinned as the others began clearing the table for dessert. "Plus, there's something real kinky about being merged with a black guy, you know? I got this button about interracial things. Nothing like adding a bit of chocolate to your vanilla to really make that ice cream pop, you know?"

Mattie laughed. "That was just so lame. But you gave me an idea."

He sprang to his feet. The others turned to him and he could feel their mental paws reaching towards him, trying to figure out what he was doing. He mentally slapped them all away and pulled down his shorts, revealing his very erect twelve-inch dong.

He was ready.

Meeting Gary's gaze, he said, "Merge your cock with mine."

"Huh?" Gary asked, a grin slowly splitting across his face.

"I know exactly what I want to be. I know what my ability will be. I'll need your help. Merge with me."

"Right here? Right now?"

Mattie slammed his arm against the table and then swept it from one side to the other, sweeping the plates and cutlery to the ground. "Right here. Right now. I'm not asking."

He grabbed the smaller man by the shoulders and dragged him onto the table to the hoots and cheers of the others. Their lips collided. Gary didn't protest and quickly pulled off his own shorts. Their erect cocks were compressed against this armour-like abdominals, legs intertwined and arms wrapped around each other, wildly groping and squeezing every muscle group they could find.

Mattie then propped them both up, placing his legs around Gary's legs while the ebony stud wrapped his around Mattie's waist. This left both their cocks pressed up against one another from their squatting position.

"You ready for this?" Gary asked.

He glanced around the room for a moment. All pretences of control were thrown out the window for the moment. Everyone else had gone wild. Six, huge, hunky werewolves stood around the table, panting, cocks erect and all watching him in anticipation.

"Yeah," he said. "Do it."

The moment he said that, he could feel that tingle running up his cock. More, he could feel Gary's heartbeat through their joined members. His own heart began racing, almost ready to burst from his chest. Looking down he watched as Gary's flesh reached out towards his own, joining their cocks together. When their cock heads joined, a bolt of ecstasy shot from his balls and their fused dicks let out a simultaneous burst of precum that splattered both their chests. The incredible force of Gary's power pulled them closer and closer together. Their two cock heads squeezed together and for a moment, it seemed like they wouldn't join. Flesh merged with flesh and Mattie could feel the pipes that unleashed his cum joining with Gary's. With two sources of precum pumping out of the same hole, he was experiencing double the pleasure.

"Oh fuck..." Gary moaned. "I know what you want, Mattie." He smiled at the professor. "Do it. Go wild. I'll help them come out. I know Lukas is always stubborn."

He smiled. "Thank you."

His Symbiont agreed and immediately reached throughout all of Mattie's system. The college professor could feel every vein and artery originating from his three balls swell with strength and the burning desire of a beast that wanted to be free; free to fuck. With a cry, he threw back his head and thrust his hips directly into Gary's crotch.

That was all the urging Gary needed. The dark-skinned werewolf moaned and began running his hands all over his sculpted torso. Every sensation rolled through his body, pooled into his balls and was then transferred across via the bridge of their merged cocks straight into Mattie. Both of their heartrates were beating wildly in their chests, both to a synchronised rhythm that Mattie dictated. With each throb, the newcomer's cock surged bigger and bigger, greedily consuming more and more of Gary's dick with its growing size.

The size of the immense member pushed their two ball sacks together. The proximity of the two Symbionts spurred the transformation all the more. Both symbiotic creatures desired to be closer to one another. It was just in their nature, what drove them to find mates. They were more powerful in groups after all. This urge caused the cells of their scrotums to mesh together, to merge. Another bridge of flesh and sensation was forged between them and Mattie howled in ecstasy.

The pulsations of Mattie's heartbeat rocked throughout all of Gary's body. The ebony model's body twitched and shook with every thunderous thrumming. Mattie's dick grew bigger and bigger still, seemingly consuming more and more of Gary's mass to be absorbed into his own. Gary willingly gave more of his himself into the growing monster. It slid up his washboard abdominals, kissing his belly button before pushing up against his supple flesh so hard that the heat emanating from it almost burned his skin. He hissed, eyes squeezed shut as that head seemed to melt his skin and muscle for that voracious dick to consume. He could feel Mattie's cock become part of him, the blood rushing through it, rush through him, turning him into an instrument for Mattie's pleasure and transformation.

And he was honoured to become that tool, both literally and metaphorically. He let out a cry, arching his head back. The shout was quickly stifled as a rush of hot liquid came pouring out of his throat and came shooting out from between his lips. It was the thick, slimy clear fluid of precum.

"Yes!" he gurgled. "God yes!"

He squeezed down on his nipples, bringing a cry of pleasure from Mattie as the sensation radiated through his own body all the way through to Mattie's form. The huge professor's bear-like hands wrapped around his frame, sliding up and down his flanks like he was trying to reshape him, make him more like the dick that he was destined to be.

Gary lost strength in his legs but not sensation. He could feel his bones turning to jelly and quickly being consumed to become more mass for him. Strong pectorals and rigid abdominals faded into a big, dark tube of flesh. Where Mattie's cock had fused with his skin, a thick vein erupted, bigger than his arm and springing from the lump of flesh to crawl and branch up towards the rest of his body. His legs lost their definition, becoming little more than fleshy tubes that hung quickly receded into his body. All that mass had to go somewhere as he felt himself widening, thickening in all directions, becoming more tubular. The rapid growth seemed to consume his own arms, forcing them to shrink towards his body.

Gary's eyes were forced shut and his head was forced to permanently turn upwards. His lips were pushed ahead of the rest of his body, his hair receding into his flesh as bone and all other organs faded into the form of a huge, black, canine dick. The last thing he could feel apart from the blistering heat of lust was his toes briefly brushing up against the enormous balls that Mattie had sported.

For his part, the Matthias Howard was in utter bliss. He was blinking away tears of joy and ecstasy as he held the enormous dick in his hand. It had retained the proportions of Gary, being a good six feet tall and about half as thick around. It was pure black with a pointed tip just like a canine's and a bulbous growth at the base for his knot. More, he could feel Gary's mass pouring into his balls, feeling his Symbiont. His testicles jostled wildly and devoured all that nourishment greedily. They inflated, growing to the size of watermelons but not stopping there. All three of them grew bigger and bigger. He felt a bit of discomfort as their sheer size caused his legs to stretch to the sides like he was doing the splits and their immense weight began bearing down on his scrotum. His Symbiont sensed his discomfort and added a new mutation. A thick gel began filling his sac, ballooning it into a perfectly rounded shape and acting like a cushion between its precious cargo and the rest of the world.

"Fuuuuuck!" he moaned.

That word was like a signal for the rest of his body to change.

Dense, grey hair fur sprouted all over his balls, taking place of his dark hairs and covering them entirely in a nice, furry, steel-coloured blanket. That same fur swerved around his pubic hairs but also seemed to encourage them to grow thicker, bushier and to leave no inch of his flesh beneath exposed. The muscles in his legs twitched and he grunted loudly as he was forced to kick out in both directions. Both his limbs surged outwards, adding an extra foot to his height. Bones reset, muscles grew and his feet snapped into the perfect digitigrade stance. Black claws jutted out from the tips of his feet as the grey fur spread down his legs, leaving no inch of skin exposed. His thighs swelled with new mass and strength, defying the fuzzy appearance of the fur and forcing each muscle to press up against his pelt so that it was perfectly defined. His calves rocked back and forth like he was pumping them full of mass. Two massive, permanently hard, heart-shaped muscles clung to his lower legs, more than enough to support not only his weight but also to carry his huge cock and balls with ease.

When he felt a tongue run across his right foot, he glanced over to find a red-furred werewolf adoringly lapping at his enormous feet. Warren always was a sub.

He could not dwell on that too much, however, the changes rocketed up his body. The dense hairs on his chest grew even thicker, transforming into a dark-brown crest that started from the treasure trail and rising up towards his chest like a majestic phoenix has imprinted its shadow the canvass that was his chest. His torso swelled in all directions, keeping their powerlifter proportions. Huge, pronounced pectorals that seemed primed for the milking were only challenged by a thick, rounded gut that framed a set of eight, hard concrete slabs that were his abdominals. His lats spread out to his sides, pushing his shoulders out further making it so that his armpits and the thick, brown hairs there carrying his manly scent were always visible from the front. Deltoids surged out, first the right and then the left, making him gasp. The wash of grey fur across their surface was like a gentle caress across his body.

A burst of relief like the fresh pop of slumbering muscles rocketed up his back. Another foot was added to his height. For a moment, he became disoriented and he tipped backwards. Strong paws quickly caught him and he found Michael there. His college friend and figurative brother crawled up onto the table beside him, taking up position to his left. Reynard, the man that had introduced him to this wonderful life, sat by his right. Both werewolves found their targets, Michael clashing lips with Mattie and Reynard worshiping Mattie's pierced nipple.

As Mattie reached up towards them, his arms and hands crackled with growth. Biceps already bigger than his head swelled in size, becoming big enough to put any bodybuilder to shame. His triceps would've made them piss their pants and his forearms became so big and vascular that it might as well have been a roadmap of the town. Even when the grey fur swept across his arms, the veins could not be hidden. His fingers snapped one by one. First the thumb popped and grew a large, black claw. Then his ring finger, followed by his middle. The rest burst outwards along with the growth in his palm, giving him a huge, furry paw that could crush a man's head or at the very least handle his huge, throbbing member. With his new equipment, he reached up to grip Mike's head, pushing those canine lips against his own.

Again, he was struck by the odd sensation of kissing a dog with human lips. But that was soon rectified. Thick veins crawled up his neck. His voice deepened, his voice box grew pushing up against the skin and fur to make sure everyone knew he was a man. Corded muscles grew to support the enormous head that was to soon sit atop it. Mattie was forced to close his eyes as an immense, pulsating head began pushing outwards from the insides of his skull. Mike wanted to pull away, sensing the change, but he held the male down. He did not want to break physical contact. His jaw thrust forward, crackling and working its way around Mike's muzzle like it was trying to find the perfect way to fit with the big, black and white werewolf's lips. He twisted his head to the right and for the briefest of moments, his wet, triangular nose brushed up against Mike's. That touch alone was electric and it send waves of stimulus all the way to the ends of his ears where they were pushed out to the top of his head, becoming big, triangular radar dishes covered in grey fur. The long, brown locks that he had tied back on his head swung back and forth wildly with incredible force. It somehow snapped the hair tie that had held them down and spread down his back like a true, wild mane.

When Mattie opened his eyes, they shone a bright yellow just like the rest of the Afterglow clan.

"I've been waiting for this moment all weekend," he moaned.

"It ain't over yet," Mike said with a bright grin. His paw reached down towards Mattie's ball sac, basically about as big as his torso. "Look. Lukas wants out."

Mattie turned towards his sac and gawked as a large paw pressed up against the inside of his scrotum. Tears welled up in his eyes. He reached down, his fingers brushing up against that of his son's.

"Lukas... My baby boy..."

He felt his son's mind brush up against his own.

"Daddy..."

An immense pressure came burning from his balls and that paw was retracted. Gary was in there with Lukas too. He could feel them both jostling in there, wild with lust and burning with the need to be free. Lukas, stubborn as always, wanted to remain in the warmth of being inside his father but Gary knew that they needed to make room for Corey and Cody. So Gary speared Lukas with his cock, causing the younger werewolf to howl, a cry barely muffled by the walls of Mattie's scrotum. Hot waves of cum came bursting from the tip of Mattie's six-foot long cock, splattering Ace and Tanner who stood at the tip, arms ready to catch the two of their own kind soon to emerge.

"Fuuuuuck!" Mattie roared.

His balls pushed up against his crotch, the first seizure that shoved the two in his balls up against the base of his cock. The fleshy orb that was his knot swelled all the more as Gary and Lukas began migrating up his shaft. Gary began actively wiggling up his dick but Lukas was trying to 'swim' back into his balls. The sensation was like someone was humping him from the inside his dick and he constantly felt the current of his cum shifting back and forth, leaving him perpetually stuck in that moment of orgasmic bliss just before orgasm. But Gary was more experienced, stronger and he was winning. Mattie could actually see their silhouettes stretching his member as the wiggled further and further up his dick, leaving the birth cavities of his balls feeling somewhat empty without them.

Then Gary reached up and pushed a finger out of Mattie's slid. With a cry, a torrent of the werewolf's seed came pouring out from the tip and with it, Gary's whole paw came surging out.

"Oh Shit!" Mattie cried.

Another burst of seed and Gary's forearm came shooting out.

"God!"

Gary's arm rocketed out of his cock, stretching his slit wide. That arm groped for something as leverage and both Tanner and Ace quickly grabbed it.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Mattie seized up as a tremendous blast of cum came shooting out of his dick. Gary came sliding out and in his arms was another man.

Lukas Howards.

The two were barely on the ground before Gary was immediately pounding Lukas' ass, grunting and growling in need. Tanner shoved his dick into the dazed young werewolf's - in human form - mouth while Ace dove for his dick. The physical connection between the four men allowed them to start 'teaching' Lukas, filling his mind with the memories and knowledge he needed. As this happened, Lukas growled and his body shook violently. His balls inflated, growing huge just like his father's and taking up half of his body size. Even his dick, already a foot long, shot out to an incredible seven feet - bigger than his father's and probably the only thing he could one-up his old man on.

Mattie smiled in pride as his eldest son took on his lupine form.

Suddenly, he felt something thick and slimy press up against his lips. He turned and found a silvery, gooey, grey lupine head hovering over him.

Terry.

"You've still got the twins to go," cooed the liquid wolf. "Allow me to help. Rey, he's going to need some nourishment."

Mattie could only nod as Terry swept beside him, moving silently. He braced himself but no matter how much he prepared himself, he was not prepared for the warm rush of liquid sweeping into his ass. It was a warm, comforting feeling and one that made him shiver all over. He wished it would never end. Thankfully, a second sensation came along in the form of Reynard pushing his gigantic cock against his lips. Without questioning, he took the huge dick into his muzzle, able to consume more thanks to his larger size and gave it a quick lick, signalling to Reynard to start the flow.

The thick nutrient slurry came pouring into his throat and straight down to his stomach. There, his ass. It was a warm, comforting feeling and one that made him shiver all over. He wished it would never end. Thankfully, a second sensation came along in the form of Reynard pushing his gigantic cock against his lips. Without questioning, he took the huge dick into his muzzle, able to consume more thanks to his larger size and gave it a quick lick, signalling to Reynard to start the flow.

The thick nutrient slurry came pouring into his throat and straight down to his stomach. There, his Symbiont rapidly metabolised it, pooling all of the resources he gained into his balls. Within seconds, he could already feel his youngest sons forming and with them, was Terry. The personal trainer-slash-liquid werewolf was sloshing around in his balls, forming the twins, guiding them, training them. Mattie dutifully drank, feeding his sons like the father that he should and carrying the twins to term. He was not sure how much time passed but when he felt his sac full and that intense pressure building against his balls again, he knew it was time to bring his twins into the world.

He pulled away from Reynard's muzzle and his former student moved towards his enormous dick, ready to catch Corey or Codey, whomever came out first. Warren ceased his worshiping of Mattie's feet and did the same. Mike held onto Mattie's paw, whispering encouragement into his ears and urging him to push.

With a cry, the first of his sons came pouring out of his dick and straight into Warren's arms.

It was Corey. He could tell because Corey was the slightly bigger one and he sported a rugged gash across his left cheek from when he had gotten injured during football practice. Warren lowered them both to the ground, gently licking Corey's cheek free of cum and urging the young werewolf to waken into the world as a werewolf.

He didn't get a moment to reflect on his works because Cody came shooting out a moment later in a torrent of seed that filled half of the dining room. Cody, the horniest of the Howards, was already fully awake and aware and slammed into Reynard, going into a full on kiss and starting to dry hump him even as he wildly took on his lupine form.

Mattie panted heavily, eyes barely seeing. But he could feel his sons, his family. No more was there the dark haze between the lights of their consciousness. They were all connected now. Not the Howards. No. All of them. All of Afterglow.

They were one.

Mike leaned towards his ear, holding him tightly and gentling lowering him to the table so he could rest.

"Welcome to Afterglow."

******

When Monday morning finally came, Mattie woke feeling rather exhausted but also excited. The warm bodies of the twins were pressed up against his chest, both young men wrapped in his arms and slumbering. Ever the slob, Corey was actually drooling on his old man's chest even though Mattie's chest hair was already covered in evidence of the previous night's activities. Though all of them sported morning wood, Cody was the only one who came the moment Mattie woke, spraying Mattie's flanks with a fresh coating of seed. And near his crotch was Lukas. As much as Lukas would deny it when they woke, his eldest had a hand against his deck and was coddling the erect member and suckling on the tip like it was a baby bottle.

Though it pained him to leave this wonderful place of his and his boy's birth, he knew they had to get accustomed to their new lifestyle. He took a moment to bask in the warmth of the cum-soaked bed for a little longer, reflecting on the wonderful two days of transformation he had spent here in the Afterglow mansion and the new life he had to look forward to.

After some reminiscing, he gently stirred his sons not with words or even a physical nudge but through the strong mental link he shared with them.

"Come on boys. Wake up. It's morning."

"Hrmmm... Five more minutes, dad..." complained Corey.

Cody was instantly awake and grinning. He gave his twin brother a shove. "Come on, man. Get up! More hours in the day we can fuck!"

"Dude, is that all you think about?" groaned Lukas, slowly rising.

"So says the one sucking dad's cock all night."

"You were the greedy bastards who took up his nipples! Don't blame me. Besides, I know you're jealous. I'm the only one that gets the D. First born privileges."

Mattie chuckled softly and rose from the bed, gently shaking Corey fully away. All four of them were in human form. As Terrance said, it was all about discipline. Yes they could 'go wild' any time they wanted but maintaining human form was a sign of their strong will and meant that they could control themselves. Besides, knowing that their species of Fenrir Variants was the only one that could physically 'birth' new Variants of their types meant they had to show a lot of control.

As he was getting off the bed, he realised that none of them had any clothes to wear back to their house.

He reached out to Warren. "Hey Ren. Mind cumming us some clothes?"

"Do I get a shower first with the Hot Howards?"

'Hot Howards'. He liked that.

"Like you need to ask."

His boys sensed his intentions and eagerly followed him, playfully pushing and shoving back to the showers. Mattie met Warren on the way there and gave the red-head a kiss of appreciation. They briefly discussed Corey's position on the football team and how Cody was on the wrestling team. Though they were twins, the two really were quite different people. Further conversation was cut off as they dove into the communal showers, once so alien and unnerving for Mattie, but now a welcome environment. They all had their turns with Warren who had to angle his cum outside of the showers so that his cum could be shifted into clothing for them. A good thing too. After being fucked five times - Mattie had first go and then after his boys had their turn, he had seconds - Warren was spent.

Warren needed to take some time to recover before he could command the pools of cum on the tiles to shift into some passable clothes for the Hot Howards. Mattie put on the tight-fitting but comfortable jogging jeans and the collared shirt that he wore with the sleeves up and completely unbuttoned to show off his muscled, hairy chest. Corey wore a blue tank top with red shorts, the letter 'Y' printed on his shirt in white. Cody was similarly dressed except his tank top befittingly had a 'D'. Lukas wore a black, tight-fitting shirt with some sort of heavy metal band printed on it and dark cargo shorts.

They all headed out of the bathrooms and to the kitchen. Reynard was already cooking them breakfast which they had to take to the entertainment room because the mess they had caused last night was still very much all over the dining room. Apparently Alabaster would clean it up once they all left. After birthing his three sons, though, Mattie found himself a little extra hungry and took some nourishment 'straight from the tap' from Reynard.

After the meal and while they were watching some Monday morning TV, Terry gently tapped him on the shoulder and asked to see him outside for a moment.

He told his boy to behave themselves and then followed Terry out into the front yard and small parking lot.

"There were a few things that I think you may have missed in all the thrill of your transformation," Terry said as they headed out into the cold morning. He tossed Mattie a set of keys. "For one, how are you going to get back to town."

Mattie's eyes widened at the small keyring and then at the new family van that sat in the carpark. "No... No way! How...?"

Terry gave him a lopsided smile. "After centuries of this sort of thing, cataclysmic orgasms like the one you had last night don't necessarily lead to being knocked out and basking in... well... in afterglow." He gave Mattie a sexy wink. "Me and the others had some time to plug a few holes while you and your boys had fun being a family for the first night every."

"Really? Like what?"

"We had a lot of funds dropped into your account. More than enough to see all of you quite comfortable. Lukas' student debts are completely paid as well so don't worry about that. We got him a job as well at the college radio station because he developed a taste for music even without our prompting. Corey is in the same football team as Warren and Tanner, naturally. He's on the offensive team. He's the centre. Definitely got the build for it. Cody, despite his _insatiable_sex drive, is surprisingly controlled especially when wrestling. And yeah, he's on the wrestling team."

Mattie somehow knew all these facts but only seemed to register them now. He guessed that was the effects of the alterations the others did for him. "Thank you. I mean... You guys have already done so much for us..."

"Think nothing of it. Oh and if anyone asks, you got your boys through a surrogate. That should explain why they look so much like you but you've never been married."

"Right. Of course."

"What else... what else..." muttered Terry, tapping his chin. "Oh right! Lukas' birthday is next week." He grinned broadly. "So I expect an invitation."

Mattie laughed brightly. "Count on it. Corey and Cody?"

"May 19th." Terry snapped his fingers as if realising something else. "Oh, speaking of birthdays, you know you're basically ageless now, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So you're going to need to change identities or at least gather some of the other Afterglow guys around to scramble your identities a little. I mean, me and the other guys have been living in Dogwood for about fifty years now and none of us look a day over forty. You can imagine how that would raise suspicions without a bit of reality and memory altering. Alabaster will remind you or warn you if anyone gets suspicious."

"What's the procedure if anyone does get suspicious?"

He got a predatory grin from the eldest of the Afterglow clan. "You can either convert them or alter their memories. Whatever the case, it usually ends in sex. And hey, I'm always happy to help. You would not believe how many new converts we've had by luring them to this place on the pretence that we'll 'tell them everything'."

"Sounds like fun!"

Terry clapped his shoulder with a grin. "Hey, just because you're one of us now, doesn't mean it ends here. You've got a new life, new powers." He looked past Mattie and nodded towards the mansion. "A new family. This is just the beginning."

"And I've just got to keep Afterglow a secret, right?"

"Sort of. Like I said, we're not opposed to a few chases and conspiracy theories. Spices up the conversions a little and gives us more data."

Mattie laughed and pulled Terry into a hug. "Thank you again. I really appreciate you guys making my dreams come true."

"Best thing about the program," Terry said, clapping his back in turn. "Your dreams come true so now you get to make new ones with a new foundation."

He held out his hand and Mattie shook it.

"Again, welcome to the Afterglow."

Alabaster Report - Artisan

From: Artificial Intelligence Alabaster [email protected]

To: The Director [email protected]

Subject: Artisan Development

Dear Mr. Director,

Do I call you 'Mr' Director or just Director? That's never been made clear to me. I mean how do we really differentiate between you and the regional directors? I mean they're directors too but you're the Director, right?

Ah well, I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong.

So today we managed to deploy the Artisan Variant, designation FVS2-1098. Initial results were well within acceptable parameters. The Afterglow team really managed to choose a good candidate here. Though the guy was a little dubious at first, he proved quite accepting of the situation. Wasn't too hard to find a place for his new personality and life either. Probably because he was in a bit of a dead end with his previous one. I can't reiterate enough how much I love working with these guys. They are brilliant!

Anyway, as for the Artisan himself, we called him 'Artisan' because of his ability to spawn others of himself, a unique variation in the Fenrir Variant. Basically, he's the only Variant thus far that can create new, intelligent 'sons'. This led to the development of an engorged testicular sac along with penis. I must commend his Symbiont for creating a sort of gelatinous wall casing around his balls to prevent them from being crushed by their own weight. Curious too that the sons came out already formed. It is my theory that the Artisan is more than capable of selecting the age by which his offspring come out. I suspect the original host's inherent loneliness and starting age may have subconsciously influenced the age of his offspring. No matter. It was easy enough to find places for them in this world and the teams was able to work in ways to make everything acceptable to the rest of the world without causing a XE-Level Reality Failure Event.

My greatest concern about this latest Variant, however, is the fact that the offspring were likewise Artisans.

With incubation periods from impregnation to labour to birth lasting only a few hours, a few minutes in some cases, the Artisans have the ability to reproduce at a very rapid rate. Due to the fact only consumption of food and nourishment is required to reproduce as well as a desire to generate offspring, this means that this product is available to both homosexual and heterosexual couples as well as single fathers. However, it also means that the rate of reproduction is much higher than normal if not regulated. This means that they could potentially grow incredibly fast in number and potentially consume an immense amount of resources in their reproduction cycle. Given their size and penchant for reproduction, it may be prudent to introduce some way to limit their rate of reproduction.

On top of that, they are, at their very basic, Fenrir Symbionts as well so they can manipulate reality when gathered in great numbers. Though all Symbionts save for the original seven have been designed to have a sort of 'lone wolf' mentality to prevent gatherings that could allow them to fully manifest their reality manipulation abilities, the fact that Artisans are essentially forced to be with one another due to their familial bonds poses the risk that they could make slight alterations to reality if the need arises. I am keeping a close eye on them, naturally, and I must say that they are quite well adjusted. I am astounded at the complex personalities the offspring have.

In any case, Stage 1 of the Artisan Variant is now complete.

Ready to proceed to Stage 2.

With Regard,

Alabaster.

From: The Director [email protected]

To: Artificial Intelligence Alabaster [email protected]

Subject: RE: Artisan Development

Alabaster,

Just 'Director' is fine. No need for formalities.

I am pleased with the results of the Artisan development - nice choice of name, by the way. I saw the original ideas were either 'Workshop' or 'Producer' but that seemed degrading to them. Either way, well done.

I agree with your assessment that we need to limit their reproductive cycles but perhaps not yet. Allow them some freedom for now. If they become endemic, then we can introduce limitations.

Approved for Stage 2 of the Artisan deployment.

Begin Sub-Dimensional Testing Project.

The Director

CEO of the Nexus Conglomerate

_ _

PS. If you are reading this, dear reader , this means that you have authorisation to proceed with performing your tests and experiments with the FVS2-1098 Artisan Variants.