# College of Celestials - Chapter 2.0 - Vigilant

Author: Nex_Canis
Tags: Anal, Balls, Cock, Cum, Goo, Horse, Human, Hypnosis, M/M, Mind Control, Muscle Growth, Muscles, Plot Development, Romance, Spooge, Story Series, Transformation, Unicorn, Wolf, hellhound, merging, transform

Chapter 2 of College of Celestials - Part 1  
  
Frank Valentino is a man of many surprises and no one was more surprised than Flash when the two got close. VERY close. But Virgo isn't taking the defection of his youngest Astral very well and he has already deployed his most experienced Astral.  
  
Author's Notes: The scene with Flash and Frank went rather differently in the initial draft. Originally, I had meant to make it along the lines of the original HSiH where the boys absorbed the divinity from the Thralls and would gradually become more hybrid-wolf creatures like the original demons. But then I decided that Flash needed his own thing so... this happened.  
  
Enjoy!

**College of Celestials - The Zodiac**

**Chapter 2 - Vigilant**

  

 

**The Zodiac Families**

_The origins of the Zodiacs as a whole has been kept a mystery even to the Godhunters. They keep their true identities and even when they obtained the power of the Celestial Cradle close to their chests. What we have discerned, apart from what was already iterated, is that the Zodiacs consider each other_ _‘family’._

_This is different from the_ _‘Families’ that they construct to cement their power, that is a separate beast. No, the members of the Zodiac such as Virgo, Leo and Sagittarius all consider each other brothers and sisters. Whether or not this bond is spawned from genuine blood relationships or a connection forged from sharing the Celestial Cradle at the same time has been a hotly debated topic since before my time._

_While they act cordially amongst one another, it is no secret that the Zodiacs are always vying for power as many of the other Celestials against one another. This naturally means that they scheme against one another. However, it should always be noted that should one of them be endangered, their familial bonds may come into play. There is no guarantee that the Celestials of the Zodiacs will come to the aid or detriment of their brothers or sisters in peril._

_They are very much like a true family with all the infighting, feuding and pettiness that comes with it._

_ _

_\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*_

**November 25th, 5:00 AM, Castello della Vergine**

Frank’s defection hurt. There had to be some irony in the fact that Virgo had once saved the youngest of his Astrals from a series of betrayals only to be betrayed himself. The moment he had felt Frank’s soul waver, he emotionally severed ties with the rogue. It was much like cutting off a finger. Painful and filled with a lot of hesitation but reduced to a mild stinging now that he had cauterized the wound.

Virgo lay in a bed of freshly fucked men and women, the new experiences he had exposed them to helping soothe his wounded soul. Closing his eyes, he still felt Frank’s presence on the eastern coast of the United States but it was more like a phantom limb. He could no longer influence his youngest ‘son’ nor draw strength from their connection but just had a vague sensation that he was still there.

That wizard must have done something. Even when one of his Astrals died of old age, it didn’t hurt this badly. Like Frank, he still felt fragments of their souls in the leylines. In fact, it was these fragments that ultimately led him to the people who would eventually become his Astrals. So much easier to work with people who - even unconsciously - were already yours.

But Frank… Something had corrupted his soul. His pure, beautiful soul filled with the divinity that Virgo had given him. It sickened him that someone could blacken the perfect being he had crafted. Caution was clearly needed when dealing with this guardian of the _Cradle_ as he was much more wily than first anticipated.

Extracting himself from the sweaty and sticky mass that was the result of the previous night’s orgy, Virgo quietly glided amongst the slumbering bodies, careful not to wake anyone. The previous night’s festivities had charged him with a lot of energy but not nearly enough to make the trip back to _Angelton_ and still have enough to safely combat someone who had taken down one of his Astrals. He needed to be prepared… but at the same time, he needed to remain on the offensive.

Having staked his claim, his brother and sisters of the Zodiac were no doubt waiting on the wings for an opportunity to pounce. The moment he showed _any_ sign of weakness, they would swoop in and try to snatch the _Cradle_ from him. This quickened his pace out of one of the many ‘orgy rooms’ he had in _Castello della Vergine._ The sounds of slumbering celebrants and even some early-morning risers who were once again exploring the limits of their bodies echoed down the halls. The rooms were purposefully designed to carry sound. Nothing thrilled mortals more than knowing that only a thin wall separating them from other like-minded people indulging in sexual revelry. Of course there were rooms where his guests could enjoy themselves in a more private fashion but those were located in the basement.

Entering his private chambers, he made a booming entrance where he burst through the ten-foot-tall, rose-red doors and stood in the entrance for a good long ten seconds before moving again. Naturally there was no one in his room to appreciate such a dramatic entrance save perhaps the long, flowing, gossamer curtains that hung from the ceiling at every possible angle. Sex was just taken to an entirely different level when you were tumbling through these drapes; the heat of passion contrasted against the cool fabric.

Virgo moved towards his wardrobe, the silken banners brushing against his flesh like gentle wisps of wind dancing across his bronzed flesh. He stopped in front of the gilded wardrobe and retrieved a long, flowing, white silken gown with a gorgeously glittering golden trim. The fabric was cool against his skin, helping to calm the storm of thoughts swirling around his head.

“It isn’t often that an Astral is lost to a non-Celestial force.”

Virgo bristled in annoyance and turned his head towards the nearby balcony. A tall, statuesque man with short, curly blonde hair stood on the balcony, fully clothed and currently holding a glass of wine in his hand. The Celestial’s broad back was turned to his brother.

“Libra,” Virgo greeted, barely managing to keep the venom from his voice. “Not often that you come to my soirées. Though I am disappointed you are fully clothed. Sex is so much more pleasurable with less clothing. Not always, though.”

Libra didn’t turn to face his fellow Celestial. “Much like your wine, dear brother, your verbal barbs are unremarkable. But I did not come here to rub salt into your wound.” Only then did he turn to face Virgo, his soft, black eyes regarding Virgo with a degree of pity. “I know you staked your claim in the region but the fact that you are here instead of in Maine indicated that you rushed into this with little regard of your resources.”

Fighting hard to ensure that no hint of weakness was shown, Virgo inclined his head to the side, flicking a wrist dismissively in the direction of his brother. “My resources are vast as you should well know. Within twenty-four hours, I was able to mobilize one of my Astrals to the location of the Cradle and mount an assault.”

He decided not to mention that he had spent a significant amount of his resources going back and forth across the world to measure the defenses of the _Cradle__’s_ guardian. Let Libra and the rest of his siblings figure it out should they make a play for the sacred artifact. That’ll buy him more time to claim it.

“You should know,” Libra said calmly. “Myself and the rest of our siblings are watching your progress quite closely.”

“How flattering,” Virgo answered, batting his eyes at his brother. “But fitting. You can document my ascent to godhood.”

“Or your attempts to batter the guardian’s defenses and waste your power.”

So that was their game. _That_ was the reason why his brothers and sisters had yet to act. They were using _him_ as a spearhead. They would let him throw himself at the walls of the last Godhunters, weakening himself and the defenders at the same time then, at the last moment,  they would come swooping in to steal his prize.

“You have such little faith that I will claim the _Cradle_ for myself,” Virgo replied haughtily. “What makes you think that I will fail in my attempt?”

“Your record does not speak well for you,” answered Libra almost instantaneously. “Within a day, you already lost an Astral.”

“Frank was my youngest and my least experienced. Though formidable, his loss was a calculated move to determine the strength of my opponents. Now I have a good understanding of their defenses and can prepare someone more… experienced.”

The cold smile Libra was giving him was unsettling. His often astute brother lifted the wine glass in his hands to those rosy lips of his. “I have it on good authority that your dear Astral actually surrendered and continues to live but now in the company of the guardian and his newly minted Celestials.”

That he did not know. Though he suspected. The fact that Frank’s soul hadn’t dispersed into the leyline network told him his Astral was still very much alive. Part of him expected the loyal Astral to have been trapped in some sort of soul prison created by that wizard lawyer. But to surrender willingly…?

“I shall have to speak with him next time we meet,” Virgo answered dismissively, barely hiding his irritation. He eyed Libra warily. “Why are you even telling me this? I could have been blissfully unaware of your machinations and then would have been caught off guard when you swooped in and took the _Cradle_ right out from underneath me.”

Libra took a sip from his wine before making a face and setting it down on the balcony. “To curry favor. On the off chance that you actually manage to defeat the guardians and obtain the _Cradle_, I want you to remember who gave you this information.”

Virgo narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Would it stop you from making your own attempt?”

“I think we would bot be disappointed if I didn’t.”

Vincent Valentino let out a soft laugh and proceeded to finally tie up his robe. “I won’t soon forget this valuable information you have given to me, brother. Continue to please me and, rest assured, you will have a place in my pantheon once I ascend.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Libra warned, holding up a hand. “There is something you should also know about the region if you have not already detected it.”

“That _Angelton_ sits atop a leyline node,” answered Virgo lazily. “Yes. I felt it the moment I stepped upon the suspiciously rich soil.”

“But did you also know that the two other townships that it calls its sisters are both a leyline intake and distribution sites?”

Virgo narrowed his eyes. Leylines nodes were quite common. Almost every location in the world that would be called a town or city was a node. Intakes were rarer and were often located in areas that were rich with wildlife and nature. The distribution sites tended to be harsher and more inhospitable. To have all three in close proximity to one another would make sense from a defensive stand point especially if a wizard was involved.

“I did not,” he admitted. “Consider that another point in your favor.”

“This is not a secret between us,” warned Libra. “Cancer was actually the one that discovered it.”

That complicated matters. So long as the rest of his family steered clear and continued to treat him as their spearhead to be sacrificed to the wizard’s wards, then he would be able to act without interruption. But that didn’t stop any of them from starting to plot. He would have to keep an eye on each of those locations as well.

As he lifted his head to speak again, he found he was alone once more. Libra was gone. Likely to slink off back to his mansion in Greece. Virgo closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about his next steps.

“Frank was too young,” he told himself. “But now we know a little more about our enemy. What this situation calls for is _experience_.”

He turned and raised his voice.

“Alfonso! To me!”

  

 

**Valentinos the Family of Fresh**

_The Valentinos all have the Mantle of Virginity, a gift from their patron, Virgo. Each of them take different aspects of this with few overlaps to avoid draining the same sources and having to fight amongst one another for the rich energies that keep them superhuman. Their definition of Virginity helps drive this as they have broadened the concept to be related to anything new that one has not experienced yet._

_This means that a Valentino can draw power from something as mundane as getting a splinter in a place you have never received before or simply drinking water from a different glass. Thrill seekers are amongst the many people that easily become Thralls for the Valentinos or whom the Family draws their sustenance from._

_Sadly, they also work in the opposite side of Virginity. There are those amongst the Valentinos that draw strength from people maintaining their virginity and staying as far away from new experiences as possible. They promote conservatism and even enjoy breeding shut-ins and fostering phobias in people to ensure that they remain within their comfort zone. I believe these kinds of Valentinos are certainly amongst the worst._

_But the worst of the worst, in my opinion, are those amongst the Valentinos that seek out losing various types of virginity themselves. You might think it impossible to generate energy from your own experiences but this particular Family has perfected the art of drawing energy from Virginity to the point that they are capable of putting their bodies under extreme stress just to get an incredible boost in strength. These are the most dangerous of the Valentinos simply because they often rush headlong into unfamiliar situations and grow stronger for it. Worse still are those with the ability to_ _‘refresh’ their bodies with their gathered energies, ensuring that everything they experience is always new._

_Be very careful around them, my dearest Dante._

_Men who do not fear the unknown throw caution into the wind and are more likely to hurt others than themselves._

_ _

_\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*_

**November 25th, 6:00 AM, Reaper Residence**

Jacob’s home was situated far from _Angelton_ proper and rather far from anyone else. Built on the coastline on a cliff overlooking a nearby beach, it was both delightfully modern and rather lonely at the same time. On the surface, it looked like a simple two-storey building with the attic accessible to include a balcony looking out into the ocean.

It took a lot of trust on Russ’ part to allow Frank Valentino to drive one of the large trucks all the way to the home. The black-furred unicorn had been insistent that they not leave his bike and Jacob similarly refused to leave the three comatose men Frank had once turned into Thralls alone. No vehicle in their arsenal could currently house them all in a single trip so they hauled the three former-truckers into the rear trailer of one of the trucks and then had Frank drive - with Jacob offering directions in the cabin.

When they arrived, Dante once again gazed upon the pleasant home guarded by a brown-brick wall to denote the limits of the property. While much smaller than Flash’s home, it still had a decent front yard with a rock garden instead of grass.

Dante draped one of the unconscious men on his shoulders, surprising himself at his own strength and hauled them through the front door of Jacob’s home. The large, wooden door had a window plane shaped like what appeared to be three chain links forming a triangle. He had never been inside the home even though he had seen it many times before when his grandpa had taken him along for short visits to the lawyer.

Immediately, heated floorboards met his bare feet, almost making him melt with how pleasant they felt against his leathery footpads. The coppery wood glistened in the entrance foyer. A little coffee table surrounded by a simple white couch on a wooden frame sat of to his right, the ensemble positioned in front of a bayview window. Off to his left was a flight of stairs leading both up and down. Immediately ahead of him was a small, rise that transitioned into marble tiles and the kitchen.

“Just set the guys in the sitting room,” Jacob said, gesturing toward the room to the right of the kitchen. “We can put them in the guest room later on. You guys must be starving.”

“Famished,” admitted Flash. He gently punched Frank’s shoulder as the unicorn had to duck to enter the house. The ceiling was suspiciously tall allowing even the nine-foot equine to stand up straight without issue. “This guy really made us work for our dinner.”

Frank glared at Flash but that didn’t deter the crimson wolf’s bright, friendly smile. That had to be Flash’s superpower. He made friends easily with everyone and Dante could already tell Frank was warming up to him. They had exchanged a few words before the drive, particularly around Frank’s obsession with his motorcycle.

Dante carried the man he held up the step to the kitchen. There was a full kitchen island complete with bar stools positioned in front of a vast gas range. An enormous refrigerator was pressed up against the wall, dwarfing the blue-clad wizard while there was plenty of space to prepare meals on the marble counter tops. A full dining set complete with a large, rectangular, wooden table that could fit ten people was placed off to the right of the room. Vast, floor-to-ceiling windows gave a crisp view of the ocean beyond with one of them actually being a sliding door to grant access onto the large balcony that could fit three, wicker chairs.

Just beyond the dining set was another room that was the ‘sitting room’ Jacob mentioned. A very large sectional lounge set was placed against the far wall facing another window/door combination onto the balcony. There were no televisions or entertainment centers in this area. It was designed specifically to just look and appreciate the gorgeous view of the ocean. Apart from a single coffee table and a strangely empty glass cabinet, the room was otherwise empty.

Dante set the very naked man that was barely draped in a towel they had fetched from Flash’s mansion onto the sectional. He was amazed at the muscles on the trucker. There was an image in his head that all truckers were fat, hairy, bearded men. The body hair and beard were there but beyond that, the guy looked like a bodybuilder ready for a show but just hadn’t shaved or been bronzed.

“I see you’ve got a type,” he commented as Frank set down one of the other Thralls.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” growled the unicorn.

Holding up his paws, Dante said, “Nothing! Just that all these guys are huge, ripped and hairy! I approve!” Feeling Frank’s smoldering gaze, he quickly added, “I’m gay too. I can appreciate any man’s physique and these guys are sexy as hell!”

Frank snorted at him and turned away, allowing Russ to set down the remaining man. “They didn’t used to look like that. When I turned them into Thralls, their bodies changed to fit the look of their souls. When you drained the part of their souls that was linked to my divinity, you took away everything that made them part of Virgo but left the human. Their bodies followed. They didn’t return to their original forms because… well…”

“That’s impossible to just erase,” Russ completed. “You changed their souls. You can’t just wave a hand and fix that. Their coma and bodies are on you, asshole.” The legendary hound poked Frank’s broad chest. The unicorn didn’t respond.

With the tension no longer directed at him, Dante quickly excused himself under the pretense that he would help Jacob and shuffled back to the kitchen where Flash was observing Jacob mixing ingredients into a bowl. He recognized the ingredients for pizza dough.

“Won’t it take for that to proof?” he asked, leaning against the kitchen counter. It took him a second to reorient himself as he was now at least a foot taller than he was and having to lean down to a surface that would have once been at about chest high disoriented him.

“That’s why we have magic,” Jacob responded with a sly wink. With all the ingredients in the bowl, he quickly ran it through a mixer so that it was all incorporated. It only took a minutes or so before the dough was perfectly smooth. He then placed it into a separate bowl and covered it in plastic wrap. Taking out a black marker, he quickly drew a rune onto the clear, surface. It was _far_ more complicated than the light rune they had been taught. Two concentric circles were drawn with the inner circle barely being half an inch smaller in diameter. Several smaller runes were drawn in the gap between the circles, arcane symbols that Dante couldn’t recognize. The lawyer then drew what appeared to be three arrows pointing in different directions within the circle followed by a few squares and geometric shaped that overlapped one another.

When he was done, he flicked the plastic with a finger. A soft, blue glow emanated from the symbol, bathing the dough beneath it in a gentle light. The plastic wrap immediately began dissolving into the light while the dough rose rapidly right before his eyes.

“It’s like watching one of those time lapse videos,” Dante commented.

“What was that rune you just drew?” Flash asked. “Some sort of time acceleration spell?”

“Exactly,” said the lawyer, adding more ingredients to his mixing bowl. “It’s a really complicated one, though. The runes that form a ring in the circle controls the rate at which time flows. The three arrows say how many hours, minutes and seconds will pass. The remaining shapes direct the flow of time forward. There are variations of the symbol, naturally, if you want it to go faster, slower, forward or backward and for how long.” Reaper finished adding the ingredients and then let the mixer do its magic. “Time magic is certainly one of the most complicated forms of magic out there.”

He proceeded to divide the dough into four pieces and then started rolling them out into flat circle, even doing that fancy pizza dough flip where he tossed it into the air.

“Will those guys in there be okay?” Dante asked, pointing over his shoulder at the comatose men.

“Let’s not talk about that right now,” Jacob advised. “You guys just won a major victory here. Put business aside and just enjoy the moment. Dinner will be ready in a bit.”

Once he had each of the pizza doughs ready, he began preparing some toppings, fishing them out of the fridge and arranging them on the counter. There were some sauces right out of the can that he also set out. As he applied magic to the remaining dough and caused it to rise, he called over Russ and Frank from the other room. It was ‘make your own pizza night’ apparently and he asked them all to just throw as many toppings as they wanted on their own pizzas. Jacob had already started his oven, lamenting that he didn’t have a pizza oven.

Dante went ahead and went for a rather basic pizza; mozzarella cheese, a red sauce and basil. Flash seemed to get into a competition with Frank on who could add the most protein onto theirs while Russ added an inhuman amount of anchovies. When they were all ready, Jacob gently placed each pie on a pan and slid it into the oven to cook. It only took a short seven minutes later before he was taking out fresh pizzas for them to enjoy and already asking each of them to prepare their second helping.

That was when Dante realized that Jacob wasn’t preparing anything for himself.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked.

Reaper smiled at his concern and gestured at one of the pizza doughs he had prepare. “I am but I’m going to make a calzone.”

“Oh damn!” Flash exclaimed, waving a paw while his other one was holding a slice to his lips. “I want one too!”

Frank snorted derisively. “You Americans. Putting so many things in your calzones. A _true_ calzone just has sauce, cheese, salami and spinach. All the colors of the Italian flag.”

Dante almost forgot that Frank was Italian. He didn’t have that strong of an accent.

“It doesn’t matter what tradition you follow so long as you like what you’re making and enjoy what you’re eating,” Jacob said, preparing his meal. “Your ancestors can’t haunt you for putting goats cheese into your calzone or using a dough more akin to shortbread.”

Frank’s eyes widened and he pressed a hand against his massive chest as if he was having a heart attack. “Oh! My nonna is turning over in her grave.”

“Just try it,” laughed the lawyer, making a third calzone for the unicorn. “If you don’t like it, that’s perfectly fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Just as long as they don’t become entitled _because_ of their opinions.”

After a bit more literal magic in the kitchen, Jacob produced several calzones for everyone to try. Dante didn’t realize just how hungry he was as he scarfed down the pastry _and_ the pizza he had made for himself. Never before had he consumed so much. At one point, they had migrated over to the dining room table and ate with at least one chair in between each of the diners. Whether this was because of discomfort or the fact that almost each of them were the size of bodybuilders, he couldn’t really say.

Gallons of water were produced in large jugs for all of them. Instead of getting up to refill the jugs, Jacob just dropped a piece of a paper with a rune inside of it, explaining that it was the symbol of water. The purest water, as it turned out. Dante honestly missed the slightly metallic aftertaste of regular tap or bottled water as the ‘pure’ version left a bit of a tingling sensation on his tongue.

Conversation didn’t really start in earnest until about halfway through the meal.

“Ha!” Flash exclaimed, suddenly jumping up and flexing both of his biceps. “In your _face_ Frank! That’s my third pizza!”

The unicorn glowered as he finished off his sixth slice, just barely finishing his first. “Careful, pup, or all those carbs will go to your thighs.”

“Bullshit! I’ve got the metabolism of a goddamn superstar!”

“He’s not wrong,” Russ commented, absently waving his half-finished calzone. “Being a Celestial or even an Astral” - he threw Frank a sneaky and quick seething look - “means that you’re above most humans in almost every aspect. All those muscles will need fuel. Besides, we just fought a bunch of souped-up unicorns. That has got to at _least_ be worth two thousand calories.”

Despite that look, Russ was at least easing away from antagonizing Frank.

“I suppose you’re right,” mumbled the black-furred unicorn. “Guess I’m not really up for much of a competition.” He pushed his finished plate away from him. “You win, pup.”

“Fuck yeah!” shouted Flash before seating himself down again. “But also, dude, you okay?”

Even Dante gave the crimson wolf an irritated stare.

Seeing that, however, Flash just shrugged and said, “Guys. Come on. We’re over the whole _Cradle_ thing, right? We’re _literally_ breaking bread with our former enemy right now. Let’s move on!”

Frank leaned against his chair, crossing his arms with a huff. “It’s not easy to just uproot your life and change the way you think. I spent the last three years working for Virgo. Hell, I think I even _loved_ him. I kept calling him ‘dad’.” He grabbed the side of his head as if trying to keep it from shaking. “And now I’ve just learned that it’s basically _impossible_ for him to become a god again. Not that I _want_ that since he basically _farmed_ my soul over and over again…” He lifted his hands. “It’s just a _lot_ to take in.”

“How did you take it when you learned that gods were real?” Dante asked, his ears perked.

One of Frank’s dark eyebrows rose at the sable wolf. “Honestly? I thought I was just going through withdrawal from all the drugs I missed out on. I wasn’t going to question some guy’s delusion that he was a god. Then he started changing me and… well… He had me the moment I stepped through the door into that penthouse suite of his.”

Jacob set down his half-eaten calzone. “It’s the unfortunate reality of your soul’s composition. The Celestials have polluted the leyline network with their influence that _everyone_ has got at least one part of a former Thrall or Astral embedded deep within them. As as Astral, you just happen to a large percentage of your soul dedicated to a former Virgo enthusiast. You’ll _always_ be fighting Virgo’s compulsion and his call. Probably more than most people.”

“And if we kill him?” Frank snarled.

Dante wasn’t sure how he felt about killing a god. It sure did seem that the Celestials were more like parasites that were slowly poisoning the blood of the planet but they were _still_ people. Once, they were even mortals, but like everyone, they feared death and would do anything to keep it at bay. Having fought in a threatening battle just a little over an hour ago, he could understand wanting to feel strong and powerful to fend off the ultimate end.

“He won’t be able to seduce you,” Reaper responded. “But you still contain a shard of his connection with you, something twisted and corrupted by him. If we take that out, you won’t be any better than those three in the other room. Given your resilience and the fact that you _always_ had this part of Virgo in your life, you might at least remain conscious but I can’t guarantee you won’t feel…” The lawyer paused for a moment and pursed his lips. “…like a part of you is missing.”

Frank’s big hands curled into fists. “Now that I know what’s inside of me… I keep feeling dirty. Especially in this form. I want to switch back to being human but then I remember that for the past three years, I’ve been nothing but Virgo’s lapdog. I want to get rid of his stench but I don’t know how…”

Russ grunted and pushed away his finished meal. “The soul is a fucked up thing. It’ll _always_ keep reminding you of the shit you’ve done. For guys like us that have a bigger connection to our souls, it’s worse. Can’t do much about it except _use_ it to our advantage.”

“And how do you propose that?” Frank asked sardonically.

The hellhound’s reply was blunt and instantaneous. “Soul Manifestation.”

There was that term again. From prior conversations, Dante recalled how Soul Manifestation was the transformation of his very soul into something tangible in reality that he could use to defend himself. It was never specified exactly _how_ this could be achieved as they were interrupted before they could go into it further.

“What’s that?” Frank asked.

“It’s a technique that some Godhunters developed,” Russ explained. “Apart from psionics, Godhunters were masters of manifesting their souls. It started with guarding your own soul against the compulsion of Celestials and then, eventually, got it to come out and be used as a weapon. It ain’t easy but I figure that since you’re all divine in some sense, it should be easier for us.”

“Wait,” Flash said. “Does that mean _you__’ve_ already mastered Soul Manifestation.”

Russ grinned and puffed out his chest. “I wouldn’t say _mastered_ but…” He placed a paw on his plate, fingers completely overlapping the entire dish. The porcelain blackened from where his paw touched, red, fiery veins branching out like the plate had turned into cracked magma. Russ then pulled his paw back, the blackened material following his palm as a long, dark spike. That spike undulated like liquid and reshaped into a small, hellish dagger.

“I call my ability ‘Hellforged’,” said Cerberus with a proud grin, spinning the weapon in between his fingers with surprising dexterity. “I can push a bit of my soul into any inanimate object, turning it into this material. Then, once its under my control, I can reforge it into anything I want.”

Jacob’s shoulders slumped and he mumbled something about ‘his plate’.

“That is so freakin’ cool!” Flash exclaimed, slamming his paws into the table. “Teach me how to do that!”

“Can’t,” Russ said, setting down the dagger. “The function and shape of your soul is unique to you. No one else can do Hellforged. Some might be similar or close but never how I do mine.”

Flash sat back down and let out a long, drawn out ‘fuck’. “Guess I’ll just have to make do with magic now.”

The ‘M-word’ left a bitter taste in Dante’s muzzle. Throughout the entire fight, he hadn’t been able to use magic at all while Flash was unleashing literal flashes. Sure, the entire plan hinged on him learning how to drain the divinity out of his foes fairly quickly but there was still a part of him that felt like he had been more than just acting when he was running away from that Thrall.

“Speaking of magic,” rumbled Frank. “I was never good at that stuff. But the other Astrals are better at it.”

Everyone in the table lifted their gaze, even Jacob.

“Hang on…” the lawyer began, lifting his calzone. “Are you telling me that the Celestials and Astrals have the capacity to use magic? They _know_ magic? _How_…?”

Frank explained that the Zodiacs had been around a while and while they were often content to stay away from major conflicts until now, they still had their engagements from the Circle. Those battles led to some insights. Some former Astrals were members of the Circle once and passed on their knowledge. Not everyone could _learn_ the magic and the Celestials often guarded this knowledge jealously so there were a lot of gaps in knowledge.

“Do they experiment?” Jacob pressed. “Do they try figuring out new combinations of runes? Try to make alterations to find new ways to use what symbols they have?”

Frank gave him an incredulous look. “You haven’t spent much time amongst them, have you?”

“I’ve never had the pleasure of interacting with any of them in a mage’s duel,” the wizard admitted. “I’ve been fortunate to be stuck in this sleepy town and most of my knowledge was based on what Virgil told me in the intervening years since we started working together.”

“Then you should know that few Celestials and Astrals are willing to go digging deep for anything new especially if it’s too hard. What we learned was often broken and incomplete. Most of us relied on our natural divine abilities with magic as a supplement. We saw no reason to hone it or even develop it.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Why waste your limited time looking for something that’s old and _might_ help you when you’re already well above the majority of the world and you’ve got to develop your _main_ skills, right?”

Dante couldn’t believe the pride and arrogance of a lot of these divines. Were humans so far beneath them that they didn’t even really consider improve themselves to become better? Or was it that Celestials were purposefully suppressing their Astrals so that they wouldn’t rise up like the Godhunters did?

“Still something to consider,” Jacob mused. “I had some defenses against magical attack but I may have to reinforce them now. I don’t suppose you know what spells your siblings know?”

Frank shook his head grimly. “Only one I know is this one.” He grabbed a napkin and dipped his big finger into his half-finished calzone. With the sauce on the tip of his finger, he drew a very simple symbol on the napkin. It looks like two triangles slightly overlapping each other side by side with a third triangle placed above the right one. Once completed, Frank picked up the napkin and scrunched it up in his palm. There was a faint, white glow that emitted from between his fingers. When he opened his palm again, there was a large ball of compacted earth between his fingers.

“A simple earth rune,” Jacob surmised. “But without a projectile matrix or even a force variant, it’s just static and will rely on you to throw it.”

“Against you, it would’ve been useless,” Frank said, getting up and carrying the ball to the kitchen. He asked where the garbage bin was stored. Turns out, the trash was in one of the cabinets; it was one of those cabinets that slid out to reveal the bin built into it. “I mean, even if I managed to throw this at you, you’d have been able to swat it away with your crazy ninja moves.” He gave Jacob a suspicious look. “What’s with that, anyway? I thought wizards were meant to be old, weak, frail men.”

Russ threw his head back and let out a barking laugh. “That’s just a myth perpetuated by your Hollywood. Funny that’s still going on fifty years after I went dormant.”

“Have you _never_ seen _Fantastic Beasts?__”_ Jacob quipped. “Dumbledore is a DILF.”

Both Flash and Dante let out a loud groan, all appetites sated for the moment. With the meal done, they all helped Jacob pack up and clean up. There was a sense of… camaraderie and even family as they moved about their assigned duties. Russ wiped down the table, Flash did the dishes, Frank wiped and cleaned the kitchen while Dante helped load the dishwasher. Jacob - being the only one that can step outside without arousing suspicion - took out the trash.

Dante then remembered his own family.

“Jacob, can I use your phone? I want to call my dad and Zeke. I left my phone back at the mansion.” He wondered if it was still intact given their… explosive transformation.

“Sure.” Jacob threw him his phone. “Just be gentle. You’re a lot stronger now than you were before.”

With a nod, Dante gave his dad a call, grateful he had taken the pains to remember his father’s number.

_“Hello? Jacob?”_ answered Shaun.

“Hey dad,” Dante greeted. His tongue suddenly got tied as he realized he had _no_ excuse to give. It took him a second to remember he was calling from Jacob’s phone and could use that. “Jacob had to call me for something big happening at work. I won’t be coming back home tonight.”

_“It’s eight in the morning… I thought you spent the night at Flash’s place?”_

He slapped his own forehead. That was right. He had told his dad that he was sleeping over. A glance outside revealed the faint rays of sunlight peeking through the perpetual clouds above the town.

“Yeah… but then the boss called me in. Flash and I agreed to reschedule. I’ll be spending most of the day at work..”

_“Really? What could be so big that he would have to call you late in the day when you’re not supposed to work.”_

Glancing around for inspiration, his eyes settled on Frank. “Horses.”

There was a second of silence on the other side that gave Dante a moment to solidify his lie. _“Horses?”_

“Italian horses. Jacob apparently has this big case regarding Italian horses. Because it’s not something he’s ever done before and since it looks like he might have to figure out how to ship them back, there’s a lot of paperwork that goes with it. So… yeah. Sorry dad.”

There was a lot of confusion on the other end of the phone. _“Alright, I guess. Huh… Italians horses. I would never have guessed. Okay. As long as he’s paying you overtime. Take care, son. I’ll see you on Sunday.”_

“Yup! Sounds good! Night dad.”

He sighed and held out the phone at arm’s length. Nothing could be done now but to corroborate the story with Zeke. Grateful that he had again memorized Zeke’s number, he quickly tapped a message explaining that his phone was dead and he was using Jacob’s.

_‘Boss is making me work late. Issue with Italian horses of all things. Probably won’t be able to see you today.’_

Zeke took a second to reply but eventually said, ‘_Really? Italian horses? What, did someone try to breed them over here or something?__’_

_‘You could say that,’_ Dante responded. _‘Apparently, the sheriff’s office caught one of the Greens trying to smuggle them in to breed them and eat them.’_

‘Greens’ was colloquial term used by natives of _Angelton_ to refer to any wealthy people new to town trying to set up in the Emerald Suburb but weren’t familiar with local customs. Though rare these days, Greens did come in every year or so trying to build their mansion in the Emerald Suburbs. The term referred not only to their inexperience but also the fact that they lived in the wealthy part of town.

The moment he hit send, he immediately regretted it.

_‘Seriously!? They wanted to eat horses? Italian_ horses!?’

_“Apparently the meat is juicier?’_ Dante was sinking further and further into the ground the more he typed. _‘I don’t know. It’s really weird and it’s with one of the Greens so they want to keep it all hush-hush. I’ve probably already said too much.’_

_‘Don’t worry, babe. I get it. Reaper deals with a_ lot _of weird shit. I__’ll see you Monday then? After class as usual?’_

_‘Sure. Love you.’_

_‘Love you too, babe.’_

He sighed and let his arms slump, shutting his eyes as he mulled over the intricate lie he had just spun.

“Italian horses?”

Dante jumped and turned to his left where Frank stood, arms crossed.

“You were looking over my shoulder!?” he accused.

“I’m nine feet tall. I look over _everyone__’s_ shoulders.”

Cheeks afire with embarrassment, Dante placed the phone on the counter for Jacob to pick up. “Look, it wasn’t a _total_ lie. You _are_ Italian. You _are_ a horse.”

“Unicorn.”

“Still a horse. And there was some… _breeding_ and eating of your meat involved… sort of.”

Frank snorted and turned his head as Jacob came back from outside. “You should be a lawyer.”

With the dishes done, Jacob announced that it was time for the tour of the house and to allocate where everyone was going to sleep. Dante didn’t realize just how mentally exhausted he was. Physically, he was brimming with energy but his mind was completely drained.

The first stop was the upstairs. There were only three rooms on the second floor. One of them was a large library. Virgil had apparently given him the books from his collection as he recalled Russ enjoyed reading the classics. Russ’ nub of a tail wagged excitedly at the huge bookcases that touched the ceiling, all of them packed with different kinds of books.

The room directly opposite to the library was Russ’ bedroom. There was a certain ancient Greek aesthetic to the entire room. Columns lined the walls and the lights on the walls were shaped like sconces and torches. A walk-in closet was artfully hidden behind a velvety, black curtain while the bed itself was a large, circular pit at the center of the room lined with cushions. Just beyond the closet past another curtain was an entire bathroom suite complete with an enormous tub that could have fit all three hounds _and_ Frank. It was honestly more like a pool than a tub. A single window facing inland showed the dark forests leading into Jacob’s home. Russ immediately took a liking to it and roamed the room for a bit before giving his nod of approval

Just past Russ’ room was the guest bedroom where Frank would be staying. Unique to this room was a large, slanted, glass ceiling that had an unobstructed view of the sky. It could be tinted to block out the light during the mornings. An enormous bed that had to be more than twelve feet long was pressed against the nearby wall directly to the right of the exit. Wooden wardrobes and closets were placed along the walls as well as a large corner desk. A door on the opposite side of the entrance led to a bathroom suite significantly more private than Russ’.

“You’re treating your guest like a king,” Frank commented. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Virgil wasn’t really forthcoming with what to expect from the Celestials,” Jacob admitted with a helpless shrug. “He did say that not all of them were bad and I took that as having the possibility of allying with some of them. He _also_ wasn’t clear on the exact dimensions of many of you let alone how Dante or his partner will transform so I pretty much made everything as big as I could without going overboard.” He rolled his shoulders. “Making that mattress was a colossal pain. Especially getting it into this room.”

Dante regarded his employer, stunned. “You made this all yourself? As in the whole house?”

Jacob nodded as he turned to head back down the stairs. “Well, yeah. No builder would’ve even _dared_ to build something like this let alone know where to dig into the cliffside to make the rest of the house. Not to mention they’d be asking questions about all the dimensions of the furniture and clearly clashing aesthetics. Interior designers would’ve burned me at the stake for witchcraft and heresy against design principles. Besides, there’d be a _lot_ of unwanted questions about _aetherite.__”_

Frank and Russ suddenly looked very alarmed.

“You used _aetherite_ to build your house?” blurted the hellhound.

Reaper gave him a sly look. “I’m not stupid, Russ. I _know_ you guys are going to be fucking all over the place. I need to make sure you won’t be smashing a wall every time you cum.” He glanced off to the right. “Though I suppose that’d be a funny side-gag. Like you orgasm, smash through the floor or a wall and I’d be like, ‘My drywall’.” The lawyer waved aside the thought as he headed down the stairs. “Nah. That’d be too cliche.”

“Where the hell did you even get that much _aetherite_?”

Flash lifted a paw. “What _is_ _aetherite_?”

Russ explained that long ago, before most modern pantheons, ancient deities were still following the process of activating the _Cradle_ and then dying to pass on their magic to the rest of the world. One of these creations was _aetherite._ The extremely rare material only formed around leyline nodes like _Angelton_. When leyline energies coalesced long enough, they would infuse themselves into the very earth and crystallize into a dull, black rock that absorbed all light.

In terms of their properties, _aetherite_ was as hard as diamond unless brought up to a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius or 392 Fahrenheit. Then it became weirdly gelatinous. In this state, it could be cut and then pressed back together where it would heal. Even reconfiguring them into different shapes would work. As soon as it was cooled, it’d be as hard as diamond again in their new configuration. This made it perfect for being shaped and reshaped as needed.

“It’s greatest property, however, is that it suppresses divine energies applied to it,” Jacob said as they passed the first floor. “It doesn’t suck out your powers but it means that if you try to punch a wall and expect your supernatural power to help you break it down, you’ll only end up with broken fingers. It _also_ means that if someone tries to throw a fireball at us, it’ll fizzle out.”

“You made this place a damn fortress!” Frank exclaimed. “Coupled with your damn Domain around the whole town and you could hold this place indefinitely.”

Dante paused halfway up the steps, stopping Flash who was behind him. “Domain? You have a Domain, Jacob? I thought only Celestials have Domains.”

“It’s not a _Domain_ per se,” Jacob said, reaching the first of the lower floors. “It’s more like a huge barrier around all of _Angelton_ that imposes a certain rule for all Celestials and their ilk from passing through. It’s directly connected to the leylines so it’s nearly impossible to disrupt.”

“So that’s why we couldn’t find its source,” mumbled Frank. “How the hell did you manage to twist the leylines itself?”

“Wasn’t easy,” Jacob answered with a shrug. “It took me _years_ to research it and even more to actually implement it.”

“Why didn’t you cover all of _Angelton_? I got my Thralls in a truck stop bar not too far from the city.”

“Expansion. I set up the barrier about two years ago. Since then, people have been building and expanding further and further from the city center. Hard to keep up with that.”

Frank laughed softly. “We honestly thought it was a trap. Like you had surveillance at the bar or something to watch for any Astrals coming in.”

Jacob’s face brightened into a grin. “No but that’s a great idea! Thanks.”

The first of the basement levels was dedicated to more living quarters. A large central foyer spread out into three separate rooms. This part of the house had been dug into the cliffside as was evidenced by some of the walls being artfully left bare as actual rock. The foyer itself had the same wooden floorboards as the first floor and had a large bayview window that had a clear view of the ocean and beach below. There was no balcony this time around but there was a quaint sitting area with a tea table and some fluffy-looking seats.

“Before we go on,” Flash asked, “what is this ‘rule’ that you imposed on _Angelton_?”

Frank was the one that answered. “Only men can cross the barrier.”

Dante made a sour face. “That’s a little sexist.”

“It was Virgil’s idea,” Jacob said. “He’d known you were gay for a long time, Dante, but when you started dating Zeke about three years ago, he _insisted_ that I make the rule to accommodate. Only divinely-touched guys are allowed to cross the barrier. This forces Celestials to take on male forms if they ever enter _Angelton_ and only Astrals with male bodies are allowed to enter.” The lawyer gave Dante an apologetic look. “He wanted to make sure that if you were ever forced into a confrontation where you’d have to have sex with any of them, you’d at least be doing so with your preferred gender.”

Dante wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Thanks… I guess…?”

“Three years?” squeaked Flash. “You’ve been dating Zeke for three years?”

Surprised that the number was the only thing Flash chose to focus on, he regarded the crimson wolf with a raised eyebrow. “We only started having sex like a year ago, if that’s what you’re asking. We only officially started dating three years ago.”

Flash looked pale though it was hard to tell with his canine features covered in crimson fur. “Uh-huh…” The larger wolf shook his head. “Hey! Let’s see our rooms!”

Giving his friend a suspicious stare, he brushed off Flash’s strange behavior as someone who probably wasn’t comfortable talking about their former tutor’s sex-life. That was perfectly understandable. Their relationship was only about a year long. Not exactly ‘complete confidant’ level of sharing. Quietly vowing to pull back on the intimate details with his boyfriend, he followed Jacob who brought them to the rooms on the left side.

“This is Flash’s room,” Jacob said, pushing open the door. “Now, it wasn’t exactly clear _who_ would be Dante’s partner in this endeavor so I didn’t really have time to customize this space for you, Flash. You’ll be glad to know, however, that you’re right across from the gym.” He gestured at the door behind them which currently stood open. There was a decent home gym there though there wasn’t very much in terms of natural lighting as the gym was facing inland and no out into the ocean.

Flash’s room had one whole wall build of the natural cliff’s stone while the others were polished and flat. A large bed, about as big as the one in the guest room, sat against the jagged stone of the cliff wall. At the foot of the bed was an enormous entertainment center complete with a television. A desk sat against the wall opposite to the bed. The window facing the cliff was elevated on a small platform that led out onto a balcony. A walk-in closet was positioned against the wall beside the desk big enough to fit all three hounds without issue but they would be cramped with Jacob or Frank.

“Damn,” Flash said, running his paw over the natural wall. “This place is so modern and chic. I mean, you could _totally_ rent this out to _AirBnB_ or something and make a profit.”

“Probably but it’s your room,” Jacob responded. “I know you’ve come to town recently and considering the state of your mansion currently, this might be a good place to stay.”

“No question.” The red wolf sat down on the mattress, bouncing on it and slapping his tail against the quilt. “This is really way too much, Jake. I mean, you’ve got to at least let me pay you back.”

“It’s _Jacob_ and considering how you’re putting your life on the line to save the rest of the world from total domination by a divine tyrant, it’s the least I could do.”

Flash gave him a narrowed stare. “Let’s talk about that, for a second. Considering we _only_ just transformed less than a day ago and all of this shit has been piled on us, I like to think we’re taking all of this _really_ well.”

“_And_ we just fought a demigod,” added Dante, gesturing a Frank. “I think we’re overdue for a little bit of a panic attack.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Jacob said. “I fully expect that you’ll all be rolling in your beds and unable to sleep tonight. Except Russ. He hasn’t had any mindblowing revelations hit him.”

Russ coughed softly. “Actually, I’ve been asleep for fifty years so there is a _lot_ I’ve got to catch up on. I’ll be awake for an entirely different reason.”

“There’ll also be your different biologies you’ll have to get used to,” Jacob added. “You’ll have to learn how to the bathroom, bathe yourselves and groom yourselves in your new forms. At least until you learn how to change back into a human. Thankfully, both Russ and Frank are well-versed in the art so we can spend the next week or so learning how to do that.”

Jacob guided them back out the door, indicating that he’ll be showing them Dante’s room.

“A week!?” blurted Dante. “I can’t hide out here from my dad and boyfriend for a week!”

“So tell them.”

The blunt response caught him entirely off-guard. “You mean I should tell them that I’ve been thrust into a cosmic war, been turned into a werewolf and am now fighting against Celestials to preserve free will in all of humanity?”

Jacob gave him a flat stare. “Yes.”

It took him a second to comprehend that statement. “Are you nuts!? They’ll never believe me!”

“Considering you’re stuck in that form, I’m pretty sure they will.” Reaper gave him a sympathetic smile. “Trust me. I’ve seen this cliche enough times to know that it is _way_ better to just come out with the truth instead of trying to dance around the topic. The longer you keep it hidden, the more it’ll hurt when you eventually do tell them the truth. Just tell them now.”

“Not gonna lie,” grunted Frank as they entered Dante’s room, having to duck beneath the door frame due to his height. “The wizard has a point. I’ve seen it as a tactic the Zodiacs use for their Astrals. Give them a taste of power, turn them into an Astral and then use the excuse of the other party not ‘understanding’ to pull them further and further away from their families. Just tell them the truth. Give them evidence. If you trust them, there won’t be any issues of ‘governments finding out’ or being in danger because we can _actively_ keep an eye on them.”

Dante didn’t even entertain the thought. “Look, it’s _my_ secret to tell, okay? We’re keeping this from them. _No one_ is allowed to tell them. Got it?” He pointed an accusing finger at the gathered group. “It’s my dad and my boyfriend on the line. Not yours. So I decide how we approach this and we are _not_ letting them in on this.”

“But what if the Celestials go after them?” Flash asked. “It’d be pretty damn heartbreaking if one of them gets turned into an Astral and we have to fight them.”

“We’ll deal with that if it happens,” Dante huffed. “I’m _still_ coming to grips with the fact that I sucked off three complete strangers. I don’t know how Zeke would feel about that especially if he found out that they were half-man, half-unicorn Thralls.”

“Four,” Russ corrected. “You sucked off four strangers. You gave me one _hell_ of a blowjob when we first met, pup.”

Dante let out a frustrated cry and stomped into his room. He only got about two steps when he came to fully appreciate the space in front of him. While appearing like a mirror opposite of Flash’s room there were subtle differences that smacked of his grandfather’s influence. There were books on various topics mounted on bookshelves embedded into the craggy, natural wall on the right. A little sitting area was positioned just beneath the shelves complete with beanbag chairs and a small coffee table. To avoid constantly having to go upstairs to get drinks, a fully stocked mini-fridge sat in the corner. A desk was placed on the bar end of the room right beside the window giving lots of natural light to the dark wood. A Like Flash’s room, there was a walk-in closet available that could easily fit all of Dante’s belongings.

Instead of standing opposite to a gym, Dante had the benefit of having direct access to the large bathroom he and Flash were expected to share. Gym-style showers where it was an open-floor design and multiple showerheads meant that the two of them could shower at the same time with ease and maybe even fit both Russ and Frank if the latter ducked. There was a floor-level hot tub available as well as large, communal sinks and mirrors. Three separate toilet stalls lined the walls. It looked more like a public bathhouse than an actual bathroom for two boys.

Then it hit him.

“We’re in this for the long run, aren’t we?” he asked. He turned back towards the lawyer. “All of this. It isn’t the space you give someone that’s just going to be staying here for a week or two. It’s going to be a long battle.”

“This is a war,” Russ said bluntly. “Wars take years.”

“That isn’t to say it couldn’t take just a few weeks or a few months,” Jacob interrupted quickly. “Your grandfather took great pains to accelerate the timeline by purposefully antagonizing the remaining Celestials and leaving hints the to _Cradle__’s_ whereabouts. Not to mention the fact that the _Cradle_ is now bound to you.”

Frank suddenly lifted a paw. “Run that by me again. I’m still trying to piece that together.”

Jacob quickly explained to the unicorn how Russ, Dante and Flash _were_ now the _Cradle_ and bound to their mortal lives. With none of them fully attuned to the _Cradle_, they could not benefit from the agelessness other Celestials could and that meant that as soon as they passed, the _Cradle_ would be forever lost. This would be the final nail in the coffin against the Celestials.

“None of the Celestials know that, though,” Frank argued. “They won’t come rushing in at your doorstep. There’s a lot of internal politics that go on among them. One of the reasons why they haven’t come all barging in here is because there are treaties and agreements in place that keep them in check. But if they found out just how close they are to losing the _Cradle_…”

“Which is why were aren’t going into this unprepared,” Jacob quipped. “Follow me.”

The next basement level was dedicated to more guest rooms. Smaller than either Flash or Dante’s rooms, these only had bedrooms and small trunks for closet space. Windows provided natural light and there was a desk and TV but other than that, they were fairly bland. This was where Jacob anticipated they would keep any Thralls as all four bedrooms had two very large beds each and were big enough to fit two people comfortably. Three if one could sleep on the floor. Below the guest rooms was some utility rooms including the laundry, a shared bathroom for all the guests on the floor above, a common area and even a mini-kitchen.

Below _that_ was Jacob’s offices. The stairs went down a little further and their host explained that it actually opened up to a little exit on the beach level. Not only did it offer access to the beach itself but if they ever needed a quick escape, they effectively had a back door.

Jacob had his own bedroom which was understandably larger than Flash or Dante’s and more akin to the Russ or the upstairs guest room. Everything was strangely _white_ with the walls, floors and ceiling made of strange, polished stone that had a opalescent quality to like it was made of pearls. The bed was placed on a small dais at the far end of the room. No windows allowed any sort of light into the room so all the illumination was based on the ceiling lamps. A large television screen was mounted on the opposite wall to the bed. To the right of the bed was a walk-in closet leading into a private bathroom. To the left was a path leading to Jacob’s private study which had a floor-to-ceiling window but no balcony.

By far the most interesting area, however, was the room _opposite_ to Jacob’s study.

It was a training room and armory.

A large, open space with padded walls and floors yawned in front of them. Training dummies and punching bags hung from the ceiling. Lining the walls were a variety of weapons, some looking ancient and others appearing relatively new. The moment he saw them, Russ’ eyes went wide and he instantly bounded over to what looked like a staff with an ankh at the top.

“Holy shit! Is this _The Staff of Osiris?_ I thought this was lost?”

“Virgil managed to find it,” Jacob answered. “He gave me his entire collection of magical artifacts and I’ve been adding my own since I arrived. I’ve forged a few myself as well.” He waved a hand at the entire space. “Should the Celestials decide to assault us, we’ll be prepared. Not to mention this place is fairly secure.”

Frank rubbed his chin as he examined a large battleaxe that had a suspiciously red blade. “Damn. You really have prepared for a war… Makes me glad I defected early before coming up against any of these…” He ran a finger over a dagger with a green blade.

“To be fair, you kind of ambushed us early,” Flash said, absently striking one of the punching bags. “I think if you had tried to hit us a day later, we would’ve come armed.”

Frank snorted. “Maybe but then you’d have to fight with your urges.”

Flash caught the swaying bag of sand. “My what?”

The unicorn grunted softly and massaged his temple. “Right. You’re new to all this and haven’t walked into a crowd yet.” He turned towards the two wolves. “Look, I get that you’re not traditional Celestials but from what I’ve been told, you’re meant to be the storage unit…” He pointed at Flash. “… and you’re meant to be the intake.” He gestured at Dante. “When you first become a Celestial or Astral, there’s a sort of… grace period where you’re still riding high on the divine energies you got when you initially transformed. Virgo pumped a lot of his own power into me to change me and for a day or two, I was still living off that. But then, I started getting hungry.”

“We just ate,” Dante quipped, pointing upwards. “Those pizzas and calzones? Remember?”

Russ padded over, clapping Frank’s shoulder even though he had to reach up a little to do so. “That’ll fuel your physical body but you’ll also need fuel for your divine powers,” explained the hellhound. “Two entirely separate types of ‘fuel’. Remember how I have the Mantle of the Cerberus? I feed of people’s Anger, Lust and Fear. I have to ‘devour’ that sort of stuff every day to maintain my strength and use my powers. It’s why the Celestials needed to evolve and find other ways to draw power from people, remember? Because they’re no longer connected to the leylines.”

“When I first became an Astral, it was hard,” admitted Frank. “My Mantle is that of the Virgin, like others under Virgo but specifically, it was _taking_ someone’s virginity. That’s how I maintained my powers. Back then, I thought it meant fucking people. Trust me, I was _not_ a nice guy.” Frank snarled at himself. “The more I think about it, the more Virgo was whispering in my ear and tugging at my heartstrings, telling me what to do and forcing me to do shit. Only after I found out that ‘virginity’ could be expanded to any new experience did I mellow out a bit.”

“If you don’t maintain a good store of your power, you’ll probably start getting ‘hungry’,” Russ continued. “If you’re in human form, you might find your divine form starting to come out as you instinctively want to ‘feast’ on whatever it is that you’re drawing power from. Stay like that too long and you’ll end up dying.”

Before Dante or Flash could express their panic, Jacob stepped in to assure them.

“But you’re not full Celestials or Astral,” said the lawyer. “You don’t have a Mantle and you can’t devour energies from that Mantle. Your powers are fueled by divine energies. That said, you can _also_ supplement that an exuberant amount of calories.”

Dante exchanged glances with Flash. Their appetites had been rather large since they had transformed.

“So… we can just keep eating and that’ll be enough?” Flash asked. “Like normal food?”

“Yes. It’ll be at _least_ three times what you normally would have eaten,” Jacob said, holding up three fingers. “You’ll be supplying your new bodies which are twice as large as your old ones and then another time for your divine energies. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty I can supply you with.” He gestured over his shoulder at what looked like an empty wicker horn. “That’s Demeter’s Cornucopia. I can produce a lot of fresh food from that once I activate it so you won’t have to worry about that. The _problem_ will be that you will instinctively _desire_ to devour divine power. Like Frank said, you might accidentally slip into wolf form if you smell or sense something aligned to a Celestial.”

Dante shrugged. “That won’t be a problem, right? I mean, you said I’m like the intake. Like what I did with the Thralls, I can probably…” He fought for a way to describe his role of draining the divinity from others without sounding too perverted or dark. “… drain? I mean, I suck out the divinity from others. If Russ is meant to be the dispensary, then Flash must be the storage. I don’t think we’d have to worry about that unless Flash literally will suck up free space everywhere.”

The three adults exchanged glances with focus solely on Jacob.

“Dante,” the lawyer began gently. “Remember how Frank said he used to fuck around a lot to get his fill? And now he’s expanded it to _all_ new experiences?”

“Yeah…? So?”

“The same will happen to you too, pup,” said Russ. “Yeah, maybe it’ll start out that you drink divinity from Celestials or Astrals. But everyone’s got a bit of Celestial or Astral in them. That’s how Astrals are made, remember? Thralls die, they pass on themselves into the leylines and are reborn? You might end up getting sensitive to just those little bits.”

“Magic is also a bit of divinity,” Frank said, gesturing at the weapons around them. “You might develop an appetite for them.”

“And me?” Flash asked, worriedly. “What’s my instincts going to make me do?”

Russ shrugged. “Honestly, pup, I don’t know. Mantles are as much about your own creativity as anything else. Since you two don’t exactly have Mantles, it’s more of a mystery. Maybe you will get your power from draining excess for someone else. Or maybe it’s all about stockpiling what you have and not using it. Hell, maybe your whole purpose is to constantly get fucked by one of us so we can give you the divinity we’ve stored and then you give it back to us when we need it.” Again, Russ shrugged. “It isn’t an exact science.”

“But we’re here to help,” assured Jacob. “We all have something to learn from this and we’ll all be evolving to make sure we beat the Celestials and free the world from their tyranny.”

Dante felt unsure and nervous. Thinking about suddenly ‘going wolf’ in the middle of a conversation with his father or Zeke scared him. Admittedly, sucking the corruption of other gods from both of his loved ones had noble undertones but if he reduced them to a comatose state like the three former-Thralls upstairs, he wasn’t sure he wanted to risk it.

Another reason not to tell either of them the truth.

“Let’s get those guys down here and in their beds,” Russ said. “Then turn in for the night. We may be divine, but we still need sleep.” He eyed Frank warily. “Virgo isn’t going to attack again tonight, is he?”

Frank gave him a soft grimace. “He’d be stupid too. One of his Astrals just defected. He has _no_ idea what you guys did to me. He’s always been a cautious predator. Besides, he doesn’t know where we are. As far as we know, we’re still at Flash’s mansion.”

Flash’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh shit! My dad is going to kill me if he finds the place like that!”

“I’ve got it covered,” Reaper said, waving him down. “For now, bring the guys down to their beds and then go to sleep. One of the advantages of living in _Angelton_ is that even in the middle of the afternoon, it’s basically twilight.”

  

 

**Vineyard of Virginity**

_Like most of the headquarters of existing Celestials, Castello della Vergine is placed on a key leyline location. In this case, it is positioned over a leyline intake; a nexus where the souls of the departed enter the leyline network from. One would think that with all this energy flowing it, the land would be rich and ripe with good fortune or bountiful harvests. But because Virgo and the Valentinos are constantly using their influence to empower themselves with dark rituals and hedonistic acts, the energies going into the leyline are subdued and corrupted._

_I theorize that the reason the wine that the Valentinos make are so__… unremarkable is because of this. Think of it like a waterfall. When in its purest form, the waterfall is a roaring force of nature that inspires awe and beauty. But if mankind started siphoning off the water into different directions upstream, the strength of the waterfall starts to dwindle. Eventually, it will be little more than a trickle._

_The Valentinos and this particular leyline intake hasn__’t reached that point quite yet. I believe Virgo is aware of this fact which is why the Valentinos aren’t a particularly large ‘Family’._

_Still, one cannot help but wonder what would happen if this siphon were ever removed._

_ _

_\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*_

**Forty-Two Years Ago, 2:00 PM, Logrostela County Prison**

Faith was a funny thing. The ability to believe something despite lack of evidence often threaded the fine line between delusion or faith. As Father Alfonso Romano often preached, belief was both a gift and a test. But Alfonso found himself tested over and over again. He liked to believe that he constantly came out better for it, his soul grew weary from the constant questions that his faith had to endure.

_‘How could you have helped that man?’_

_‘Why did you give that man his last rights?’_

_‘What have I done to deserve this?’_

And, of course, the most common, ‘_Why do bad things happen to good people?__’_

Alfonso said his prayers and quietly kissed the rosary he had hanging from the rear view window of his modest car. To his left, beyond the card door, was the prison where he offered sermons and the last rights to those criminals who were breathe their last within the drab, dark, prison walls. No executions. Just those doomed to live out life sentences that they would never be able to see through to the end. Murderers, rapists and thieves rested behind those walls, locked from the rest of the world. Most saw them as beyond redemption and cursed Alfonso Romano for trying to change them.

The one thing mankind would _always_ have difficulty doing is forgiving.

With a soft sigh, Alfonso uttered a soft prayer to the Lord before starting his car and driving back to his parish. The city of Giannivos was located in northern Italy and wasn’t exactly a bustling town but it was big enough that Alfonso had to hold multiple sermons every week just to ensure he could accommodate all of his parishioners. The cathedral that he called his second home was located at the heart of the city, nestled amongst the smaller businesses. It was a quaint little town with its own private airport.

An airport that predominantly served as a stop-over for dignitaries, celebrities and those opulent enough to be able to afford a holiday at _Castello Della Vergine_. As he drove quietly through the idyllic country side, he could see the vast vineyards of the Family Valentino. Two roads led to the golden villa surrounded by grapevines; one from Giannivos and the other straight from the airport. Few ever took the trip directly from the city to the villa. It and the family living there had this reputation of being deviants.

They had been here well before the 27-year-old priest had started but his mentor had warned him to stay clear of the Valentinos and everything they did.

_‘Sinful, corruptive demons, they are,’_ Father Marotta had insisted. _‘They tempt men, women and children who have just become_ barely _legal to their villa with their wine and celebrations only to draw them into a cycle of addiction and soulless revelry.__’_

Alfonso had always been of the belief that he needed to meet a man and shake their hand before he could make a judgment. That didn’t stop him from staying clear of the Valentinos, however. His older parishioners had long stories about how the Valentinos were there before the town was even formed and that they were immortal vampires. Especially the current head of the family, Victor Valentino. If the stories were to be believed, Victor was just the same man as his grandfather, great-grandfather and so far and so on, merely just changing his name when it became suspicious. There were never any marriage records, death certificates or even birth certificates and Victor never seemed to age whatsoever.

Of course, this was a small, backwater town in Northern Italy. People rarely had time to do anything else but gossip so these stories just become wilder and wilder. The Valentinos had become this cautionary tale for young children to behave.

The young, brown-haired priest shook his head as he parked his car at the rear of the cathedral reserved just for the priests there. He stepped out and, still dressed in his priestly vestments, hurried into the rear entrance. There were already a few people in the pews, saying their quiet prayers before the actual mass which would be held in…

He checked his watch.

“Forty-five minutes,” he whispered to himself, entering the chambers where he could prepare. “More than enough time.”

As he entered the room, however, he was surprised to find someone was already in the room. Not one of the altar boys or assistants either. This man had a statuesque figure and dressed in an all-white suit, back to Alfonso. He had the communion chalice in one hand and swirling it absently, lifting it to his lips. Alfonso saw the flash of crimson that indicated that the man was drinking communion wine.

Anger immediately flashed in his eyes and he stormed forward, seizing the man’s shoulder.

“You had better have a _very_ good reason to be doing that!” he snapped.

The man regarded him with haughty, eyes that had a strange ‘starry’ quality in them like tiny stars were dancing in his irises and twinkling through the sky-blue. Smooth, platinum blonde hair was tied back in a curt ponytail that contrasted against his deep, bronzed skin. Everything about the man _screamed_ ‘demon’ to Alfonso. Perhaps it was those defined, sharp cheekbones, the broad, full lips or the way that, despite the fact that they were about the same height, Alfonso _still_ felt like he was being looked down upon.

The man smiled softly and then lifted the chalice back to his lips. Before Alfonso could stop him, the man spat the mouthful of wine back into the golden up.

“Even my wine is better than this swill,” the man commented in perfect Italian. “I don’t know how you feed this to hundreds every week. Let alone have them _all_ drink from the same cup and the same mouthful. Disgusting.”

“You dare!?” Alfonso raged, his cheeks turning red in fur. “You, sir, are under the house of God! How _dare_ you blaspheme here!?”

The man let out a short laugh and pushed the chalice back into Alfonso’s hands. “Your ‘God’ is nothing more than the concoction of a group of zealots dedicated to taking the power from the true divines.”

“If you’re talking about the Council of Rome -”

The stranger sat down on the modest chair Alfonso had in front of the desk in the room. This was where Alfonso liked to compile his sermons. “Of course not. The Council of Rome and Saint Jerome were merely fronts for the Godhunters and their efforts to rid the world of the true gods. No better way to take power from the true deities than creating a fake religion by picking and choosing true stories that were convenient to their narrative and making that the ‘canon’ of the faith.” The man’s strange eyes never stopped staring into Alfonso’ very soul. “But you already knew that, didn’t you, Alfonso Romano.”

There was a strange… tingling sensation within Alfonso’s chest. A sense of familiarity like… like he _knew_ who this man from somewhere before.

“Who are you?” he demanded, setting down the chalice respectfully.

“I am Victor Valentino.”

That name alone froze every bone in Alfonso’s body but then it was what came afterwards that really sent his blood curdling.

“You may know me a Virgo.”

Alfonso tilted his head slightly. “Virgo? The Constellation Virgo?”

“Yes.” The man spread his arms as if to welcome Alfonso into his arms. “I am a god.”

It took him an entire thirty-seconds to come to terms with was was just said. To which he finally responded with a loud laugh. “Excuse me? You believe yourself to be a god?”

“I do not _believe_ I am a god,” answered ‘Virgo’ haughtily. “Belief is for those who do not have proof. I _am_ a god. That is a fact.”

“You -”

Victor suddenly grabbed the communion chalice and threw its contents right at Alfonso. The warm touch of the crimson wine against his priestly vestments was nothing compared to the totally insult this man _dared_ to throw at him. The pure white, silky fabric on the entire left side of his robes from the waist down was now stained with a quickly spreading off-pink liquid.

Alfonso took a step before… and then Victor pointed at the stain. He indulged the intruder a glance… and watched in mute shock as the wine began vanishing from his garment. A whole ten seconds passed before he seized a part of his robes that was still wet with the wine and physically _felt_ the wine just vanishing from between his fingers, leaving the fabric clean, perfect and smelling faintly of lemons.

“What…?” he breathed.

“Do you need further proof?” Victor taunted. He gestured towards the crystal decanter where the remaining wine was stored. With a wave of his hand, the wine began to bubble and churn. Those were no ordinary bubbles, however. They were solid. They were… _grapes_. Within seconds, the crystal was filled with actual grapes. Alfonso reached forward and shook the bottle, hearing the rattling of the fruit inside.

He stared in awe at the man before him. “This must be some sort of trick,” he breathed. “You must be a magician…”

“And thus the human paradox,” Victor said, rising from his seat. “Humans are _always_ looking for a higher power, some meaning to life and possibilities after death but when given evidence of divinity, they immediately deny and try to rationalize it. One of the many poisons that the Godhunters have injected into society.” The wine maker sighed dramatically and moved to step around Alfonso.. “I thought as a man of faith, you would be easier to convince than so many others. I guess I was wrong.”

A test of faith. Could this be a true god that was standing before him and would he be found wanting?

“Wait,” Alfonso said, seizing the man’s arm. “You must forgive my reluctance to believe you. I have devoted my life to a Christian God. To have that belief criticized as a machination and another god step in front of me as living proof is… is just hard to swallow.”

Victor’s strong finger gently cupped Alfonso’s chin, turning his head so that they were once again locking gazes.

“You have lived in this town for a year or two, yes?” cooed the ‘god’. “Surely you have already heard the rumors about my family and I? What do the gossips and old wives say about me?”

Alfonso let out a soft laugh and turned his head away. “That you are some immortal vampire that holds hedonistic parties at his mansion home to drain the blood and vitality out of his victims and make it into wine. But that cannot be true.”

“It is not. Yet the facts do not lie. I _have_ lived for centuries, only assuming different names as the years go by. What, then, do you believe the only rational explanation to this would be?”

The priest frowned and slowly allowed his gaze to drift back to meet Victor’s. “You… you are a god. Immortal.”

“Exactly, my son,” answered Victor smoothly. “I am Virgo. I hold way over Virginity and all of it’s aspects. Not just the loss but the maintenance and the theft of such. I can make anything fresh and ‘virgin new’ as I wish even reverting swill like your communion wine back to the grapes that ones made it no matter how detached it is. In fact…”

With a wave of his hand, the small office shimmered with an ethereal light. Alfonso gasped as his old wooden desk that he had inherited from his mentor suddenly glimmered with a fresh coat of glossy varnish. The cracks in the walls from years of aging vanished. Old tomes that were yellowed and musty obtained became as white as alabaster with their covers appearing fresh from the printing press. Even the carpet looked like it had _just_ been installed.

Alfonso immediately fell to his knees, shaken to his core.

“I… I don’t…” He pressed his head against the floor. “What do you want of me?”

A dramatic sigh came from Virgo and he gently patted Alfonso’s shoulder. “This is why I despise the narrative that the Godhunters created from Christianity. Their God is _always_ demanding something of mortals. Always making them martyrs or forcing them to suffer, testing them. But gods do not need humans. Why would we?”

Alfonso lifted his gaze to the benevolent smile of Victor.

“No,” continued the divine. “It is not what I want of you. Rather, what you want from _me_.”

Alfonso shook his head, unable to comprehend that statement. “I have devoted my life to my God. I gave up so much. I don’t… I don’t understand how…”

“How you can live your life any other way?” answered Victor, pulling Alfonso up to his feet. “Such is what the Godhunters wanted from you. A completely devout priesthood who are bland and devoid of all the things that make humans _human_ while preaching fanatical celibacy, blind devotion and suffocating restraint. Such insanity would make every mortal on this marvelous Earth incapable of the true emotions that define mortal condition!” Victor held out a fist, shaking it for emphasis. “Passion! Desire! Ambition! Without any of these, mankind would still be stuck in the dark ages!”

Alfonso held a hand against the side of his head, trying to come to terms with the words being spoken to him. They seemed like nonsense and blasphemy but… somewhere deep inside of him, he knew it to be true. Those words were reaching out to that small embers that were burning in his soul and igniting it into a growing firestorm.

“Why would these ‘Godhunters’ want that…?” he asked. “Do they want us not worshiping you?”

“As I mentioned, I do not need your worship,” answered Victor with a gentle smile. “I have existed this long without millions clamoring for my miracles or fighting wars for me. No, the Godhunters wanted nothing more than total and utter devotion so that they may control mankind as a whole. What better way to control the hearts, minds and bodies of all the world than through religion?”

Alfonso found his knees going weak again. “My entire life… my faith…”

“Has not been for naught,” soothed Victor gently. “It has made you into this fantastic, devout and kind man. That, at least, can be credited to the Godhunters.”

“But what is the purpose of it all if there is no point? Why devote yourself to a god that does not exist?” He glared angrily at Victor. “Why would you even tear the veil from my eyes? If you do not need my faith, why submit me to the torture of truth!?”

That infuriatingly benevolent smile never left Victor’s features. “Because I know you have been suffering, my son. Your kindness is under-appreciated amongst these humans who only pay lip service to your nonexistent god when they need something and at the promise of an eternal reward upon death. The salvation you promise to those prisoners at the prison only whisper platitudes and beg for forgiveness on the off chance that they may be set free to wreak havoc again.

“Forget, for a moment, that your god is a sham. Think on the level of mortals. Are these people _truly_ worthy of salvation or forgiveness if all they want is what _you_ can do for _them?_ These selfish, mortal constructs are undeserving of your grave. Yet I _know_ you will not stop to try and save them.”

Victor gently clasped the sides of Alfonso’s head, cupping his cheeks and lifting his head so that their gazes were once again locked. “So all I ask of you is to let me help you stop suffering. What can I do to make you happy, my son?”

Alfonso’s lips quivered. Words were forming in his throat but he could feel the fire from his burning soul burning them away, twisting them into vile, ashen hateful sentences that he didn’t want to blurt out. It took all of his power but he swallowed that fire and opened his mouth.

“I only wish to help purify people,” he confessed. “To make them worthy of Heaven.”

“Heaven is but an illusion,” sighed Victor sadly. “A false promise concocted by the Godhunters to enforce a sort of stagnation upon mortals so that they stray further and further from the true gods, gods who do not need them but still hear their suffering. I hear your soul screaming in agony against the fruitless trials that you inflict upon yourself.” Victor closed his eyes, tilting his head towards the door and cupping one ear with his hand. “In this cathedral alone, I hear the cries of people questioning why such horrible things happen to them when they have been good and faithful. Souls scream in isolation as they are locked behind these gilded cages formed by the Godhunters.”

He opened his starry eyes and regarded Alfonso benevolently. “Let your soul free, Alfonso. Come with me and be my shepherd that frees your fellow mortals of their shackles and not only opens the door to their true selves but allows them to maintain such purity.”

With those words, Alfonso saw the true beauty and divinity behind this entity before him. Tears streams down his face as he finally let his soul scream out in joy at this revelation. The fire that burst from his chest soared through the rest of his body, warming his veins and stirring him into action.

“Yes,” he breathed. “I am yours.”

Victor leaned down and gently kissed his lips. The touch of the divine tongue on his teeth sent a spiral of pleasure and ecstasy throughout his body. His soul jumped for joy within him, truly awakening to the majesty of _his_ god. The one true truth filled his mind, surged through his body and sent his soul convulsing in joy. When Virgo’s lips left his, he was left wanting more but every limb was locked in a cleaning fire of the God of Virginity that they were left locked in place, unable to move.

Even when Victor knelt down in front of him and lifted the hem of his priestly robes, he could do nothing to stop the deity. Not that he wanted to. The feeling of the god’s fingers on his crotch as his fly was undone sent the quiver of anticipation throughout his body. The feeling of Virgo’s warm breath on his erect cock, pushing up against his briefs was the first time he even acknowledged that he was hard. Those supple, full lips pressed against the head of his modest five inch dick through the fabric of his briefs. Having gone so long without having divulged in any sort of sexual pleasure, the sensations on his cock almost made him explode there and there.

But something still held him back. Some vestige of the teachings he had lived by for so long. It held him back, prevented him from feeling that eruption of release and held back the tide even as the his soul screamed to be released from the gilded cage. Alfonso quaked in his polished, black, dress shoes, shutting his eyes while the internal struggle waged within him; the old faith versus the proof of divinity currently suckling on his clothed dick.

His soul made an advance, sending a wave of rippling pleasure throughout his entire body and leaving the very tips of his fingers tingling. That sensation didn’t abate even as Virgo began lapping at his balls currently masked by his briefs. The mid-twenties priest opened his eyes and lifted his hands to eye-level. The prickling feeling didn’t leave his fingers. In fact, it seemed to intensify. Each fingertip was calling out for more of that true energy that had radiated out of his soul.

Virgo cupped one of his balls with his lips, suckling on it. Alfonso threw his head back, biting down on his lower lip to prevent the moan from exploding from his throat. The restraint only caused the power of that cry to feedback into his heart and sent it hurtling towards his fingertips once more. Eyelids quivering, he gazed back down at his fingers and watched in awe as each fingernail vibrated. A sounds like cracking concrete or ancient wood snapping emanated from the tip of each nail as a blackness seeped out from the tips and began making their way towards his cuticles. He could only watch in amazement as every flaw on his nails was washed away and replaced by perfect, glossy ebony.

At the same time, he felt the flesh beneath each nail vibrate in joy at the nourishment they received from his soul. Bones emitted that same crackling noise, pushing out further and further away from his palms and stimulating the muscles and veins attached to them to follow their exodus into a new, perfect, pure form. Alabaster fur contrasting to his black nails burst from the root of each fingernail, spreading like wildfire all over his hands even as each digit grew bigger and fatter. Raw power flooded his veins and the moment the fur covered the back of his hands, he could not resist but closed each one into a fist and feel the raw strength of each bowling-ball-sized mitt.

That motion pumped his already racing blood throughout his body, sending stimulation down to his dick. Strained against his briefs, he could feel it pressing up against his underwear with greater fervor, a beast just _pleading_ to be let free from its confines. A new sound hit his ears; the noise of fabric straining. Once glance down and he just _knew_ that his cock had somehow grown longer. To further confirm this, Virgo pressed his lips against the underside of his dick just where his balls met the base. His tongue ran up the length of his member, wrapped in the wet fabric of his cock. It was _definitely_ longer than before as that lap of the tongue took longer to reach the tip.

And yet still there was a part of him that resisted. Something that _screamed_ that he should remain pure, unmolested and loyal to the faith he had devoted so many years of his life to. His soul did not like that and it slammed against the bars of his cage, with renewed passion.

Power exploded up from his newly formed hands, exploding up his forearms. The sleeves of his shirt audible strained. His wrists pulled further and further away from the silky wraps of his robe, revealing the thick, corded muscles covered in white fur beneath. Pulsing veins defined the contours of his forearms. The weight of his new limbs forced his arms to lower, putting them in the perfect position to grab the silhouetted figure of Virgo’s head currently bobbing up and down his masked cock.

A single command from his thrashing would was all he needed to reach down and seized the back of Virgo’s head with both of his massive hands. That affirmation, the first step on his journey to sainthood amongst Virgo’s clan, sent a burst of power all the way up his forearms. Fabric tore and the sleeves of his shirt split open. His loose robes remained stubbornly clinging to his figure but they could only reach about halfway down his exposed forearms.

A soft voice pleaded for him to resist, to hold the tide back even as he felt his cocks train further against his briefs, pulling the elastic band away from his skin while oozing precum. The smallest of tears appeared against soaked fabric. All it took was for Virgo’s lips just to _brush_ against that piece of exposed flesh for Alfonso to throw his head back and let out a loud, guttural gasp.

The bars of his spiritual prison bent. Enough of his soul surged through that it inflated each bicep, shedding the last vestiges of his sleeves and letting the fabric fall to the ground, sliding down the inside of his robes. Those very same robes grew tighter as his triceps surged and lengthened, his forearms now fully exposed. Each shoulder broadened, widening like inflating balloons which only pulled back the sleeves of the robes more and began straining the chest area.

With his arms now fully in the control of his thrashing soul, Alfonso took control of Virgo’s pace, forcing the deity to swallow more and more of his dick. But the tent of his briefs still prevented him from experiencing the absolute pleasure that had been denied him all these years. That dwindling voice pleaded him to keep it that way, that it wasn’t too late. He could still maintain his purity. But his dick had other ideas as it surged through the opening in his underwear. It surged out, widening the gap and plunging right into Virgo’s throat. The Celestial expected this and eagerly gobbled up the throbbing member, wrapping his lips around the head like a vacuum seal and sliding his lips all the way down to the base, pushing back the dogged fabric of those precum-stained briefs until every inch of Alfonso’s fat cock was completely exposed to him.

Every sensitive inch sent a new surge of freedom through the priest. His traps flared. Combined with his widening shoulders, the collar of both his shirt and robes had no choice but to give way, splitting down the middle as the rising mountains of his traps swallowed up his neck. When he tried to throw his head back, he was stopped by a solid block of muscle and the sensation of white fur surging up his new, expanded flesh. The neckline of his robes began to tear down the middle, his collarbone pressing up against the silken fabric.

Alfonso shut his eyes, that rapidly softening whisper echoing in his skull. He realized that it was his mind that was holding him back. Mortal concepts of loyalty and faith acted just as Virgo had predicted; even in the fact of divinity, even as he was partially transformed by Celestial hands, he was _still_ doubting and _still_ hesitant. It wouldn’t take much at all for his soul to overwhelm the weakening psyche… but instead, it reached out and assured his conflicted thoughts.

They would still be pure and faithful but they would be pure and faithful towards the one _true_ god who came down and took the time to show them the truth. They were being delivered from their torment at the hands of the judgmental townspeople. Those years at the seminary and preaching were not for nothing. They had prepared them to embrace the _true_ faith and become a loyal soldier for a _true_ god.

A serene expression crossed Alfonso’s features. Eyes still closed, a brilliant light exploded from his temple; symbolic of his ‘third eye’ being opened. A long, golden horn burst from his forehead, following the trail of the light as it spiraled into existence. The massive spiral horn was almost too heavy for his human features but his new, immense neck muscles kept him in place. Everything had its place and everything happened for a reason.

He grinned, flashing his perfect white teeth. That smile surged forward, shooting outward and pulling the rest of his features with it. Bones stretched, flesh followed with the sound of cracking wood. White fur followed the trail of his long jawline, consuming his new, equine features and covering his ears as they became pointed and leaf-like. His short, black hair swayed in some divine wind coming form beneath him. Their roots turned a sparkling gold, shooting up towards the tips even as each strand lengthened and swayed upwards. A glorious, golden mane came down on his head, trailing down the back of his neck and momentarily disappearing down the back of his robes and shirt.

The fabric tore just were the mane vanished like a streak of lightning down his back. His back muscles exploded out in all directions, firm bulk covered by soft, alabaster fur. The valley of his spine was perfectly defined between two perfectly symmetrical mountains of muscles. His chest instinctive flared out as the curve of his spine straightened with pride. Pectoral muscles that had never been much to look at pressed up against his remaining clothes, their definition growing more and more pronounced with each passing second.

At the same time, he began pulling and pushing Virgo’s head on his cock with greater intensity. Somehow, his hips continued to defy him but his hands maintained the pace. Each lap grew longer and part of him wondered how big he was now and how Virgo could possibly take every inch of his rapidly growing cock. Those thoughts vanished, however, when he slammed Virgo against the base of his dick and his pecs _exploded_ out of his robes.

Finally free, his restrained soul surged out like a sun going supernova. All the power it had stored, all those years of being celibate and professing his faith, came barreling out all at once with a sound akin to the loud rumble of thunder. Height was instantly added to both his spine and legs, each bone there lengthening to better fit his expanded arm reach. Muscles began stacking against his legs, causing each quad to press out against his slacks. The remnants of his briefs didn’t last much longs as his expanding mass caused their hems to shrink into his crotch, his rear disappearing into his rapidly inflating glutes before…

_SNAP!_

… breaking apart and falling to the ground in a precum-soaked pile.

The expensive garment that was his slacks didn’t fare any better. Muscles packed upon muscles, white fur spearheading the expanding mass as they broke free of the the restraining fabric and finally allowed him to add his own thrusts into to dance that was his first sexual release in years. The added motions allowed for another avenue of release for Alfonso, the power of his soul raging against his physical form. Mass was added to each testicle, engorging each orb until they were like wrecking balls slamming against Virgo’s chest with each thrust.

Frustratingly, the remnants of his robes still clung to his chest, masking the joy of seeing his cock vanishing down Virgo’s throat. That was quickly remedied when all the power surging through his body slammed into his belly. Each abdominal muscle flared out one at a time, each coming with an explosion of relief that was followed by a euphoric thrust of his dick. But it didn’t end there. When the sixth of his abs had formed, his entire belly surged forward, bursting through the remnants of his robs and send them exploding for his gargantuan form. The peak of his muscle-gut was about as far each of his plump pectorals.

At long last, he could see his immense member, all fourteen-inches of its fat length disappearing down Virgo’s throat. The impossibility of the scene didn’t bother him. All he wanted was to finish his transformation and enter his new faith.

He thrust long and deep, watching his medial ring vanishing into Virgo’s throat. He stamped his right foot, his toes exploding from his expensive dress shoes and coming out as a powerful, black hoof. He pulled back from Virgo, long, golden wisps of horsehair springing from the base of his spine into a luxurious tail. Then he thrust again and stamped his left foot, bringing out the hoof.

Alfonso threw his head back, swinging his mane and letting out a joyous whinny. His whole body now felt perfect, completely synchronized with his soul. Never before had he felt so _right_ and it felt _so good_ to constantly thrust his huge, black dick over and over into the throat of his god.

But something was wrong.

He kept thrusting, still gripping the back of Virgo’s head and shoving every inch of his equine cock down that throat but something was missing. There was an intense pressure in his balls, the tenseness in his cock and every muscle in his body was taut like a tightly coiled spring. But something was still missing.

Release.

He needed release.

Alfonso roared in frustration, thrusting harder and hander but he couldn’t get that release! His cock wasn’t getting softer and he so _desperately_ wanted to shoot his load down his god’s throat but nothing was coming out. His tank was full, his balls were heavy and filled with cum; he could _feel_ his load ready to fire but there was no ignition, no spark to ignite the gunpowder.

That was when Virgo reached around his muscled ass and pushed something warm and hard between his cheeks. Alfonso’s eyes widened and he glanced back - at least as far as his thick traps would let up - just in time to see the end of a golden buttplug disappear into his ass cheeks. His lips opened as if to ask ‘why’ but no sound came out as he felt his ass split open to accept the solid mass.

A loud _pop_ filled his ears, the plug fitting perfectly into his ass and sitting there securely.

In that moment, he _truly_ felt complete.

Pure.

This was the final piece. The one thing that would keep him pure.

_No one_ would ever take that part of his virginity. In that way, he would maintain his faith and his purity. The last locks on his body was undone. All the cum that had had stored came blasting out of his balls, shooting up the length of his thick cock and blasting out of his flared tip with the power of a firehose. He pushed Virgo down on his member, letting out a tremendous roar while his vision blurred with the explosive euphoria that finally came with years of sexual repression.

Alfonso Romero was reborn in the fires of passion as Alfonso Valentino.

Blast after blast of unicorn seed exploded from his cock, not a single drop ever falling to the floor. Knowing that his god would never abandon him, Alfonso finally released Virgo’s head and threw his arms back, thrusting his chest into the air and turning his roar towards the heavens, declaring his loyalty to his new god for all to hear.

No weakness came over him as the joys of afterglow washed over him. Renewed, empowered and with that buttplug secured in his ass, Alfonso’s roared ebbed, replaced with a broad grin.

A knock came to the door but it did not open.

“Father?” came the shout from the other side. “Father Romero? Are you in there? Is everything okay?”

Virgo took one last suck from Alfono’s cock, causing the unicorn to quiver in delight. The god took his time drawing his lips aways, ensuring that every inch of that equine member felt the tight embrace of his throat. He gave the tip of Alfonso’s cock one last lick before straightening and wiping his jaw.

“Go, my son,” instructed the Celestial. “Bring the sheep home. Purify this entire town in my name.”

Still wearing that grin, Alfonso stomped forward with purpose, his cock still erect.

“Yes, Holy Father.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

**Alfonso Valentino**

_At the time of this writing, Alfonso Valentino is the eldest of Virgo__’s Astrals and arguably his second in command. Some might consider him a sort of ‘senior adviser’ and one that rarely takes the field. He is always seen whispering plans to Virgo and never gives orders to other Astrals directly. It is easy to think that Alfonso is thus using Virgo to enact his own agenda but that is simply not how the Celestial-Astral relationship works._

_Astrals are devoted to their Celestials completely and utterly until something truly shakes their faith and makes them see exactly how little they mean to the_ _‘gods’ they devote themselves to. Alfonso, having come from a priesthood, is almost zealous in his faith to Virgo. He only advises Virgo in the way that he does because he knows that he cannot command the same presence and respect as his patron._

_This makes him less manipulative but more cunning. While not entirely a field general, he is an expert in moving pieces and plans whether it be on the battlefield or in politics. He has never had to prove himself to his fellow Astrals or even compete for Virgo__’s attention because he is content with his skills, abilities and role amongst the Family. It is perhaps this understanding of his own limits that has allowed him to last as long as he has._

_If you ever face him, my dearest Dante, always remember that Alfonso__’s first line of defense is mind. His last and greatest is easily his devotion and will. Should any of those ever break, then Alfonso will fall as well but that is akin to bending a steel bar with a toothpick._

_Theoretically impossible._

_Theoretically._

_\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*_

_ _

**November 25th, 12:00 PM, Reaper Residence**

Even when he was a freshman in college, Flash rarely ever slept past midnight and his body clock would never let him sleep past eight in the morning. Early-morning high school football practices did not mix well with late-night gaming. So it was _incredibly_ difficult to try and get some sleep at five in the morning and _stay_ asleep. A few hours had managed to squeeze themselves in but that was mostly due to exhaustion and being stuffed with more pizza than he had ever eaten before.

At around noon, however, Flash was tossing and turning in his surprisingly comfortable bed, unable to shut his eyes as his mind was simply too _wired_ to drift off into slumber. Questions buzzed around in his head. His fur - which felt so natural when he was walking around and fighting - was so strange against the mattress. Sleeping on his back was also strange as he now had a tail that was like another limb; if he lay on it too long, it went numb and he had to roll over and wag it a few times to get the blood flowing back. Then there were his claws. Whenever he rolled over, they would get caught in the fabric and he’d soon find himself tangled in his own sheets.

Fed up with the constant struggle for sleep, he rolled off his bed, kicked off the quilt that had decided to cling to his toes and stomped out of his room. With the house being built _inside_ of the cliff side, most of the lightning was dependent on electricity. There were few ports of actual natural light. The common area of his floor had windows that could dim and given how they were all meant to be sleeping, Jacob had set it so that very little light streamed in from the noon-day sun. Even then, _Angelton_ was always so gloomy. hat light did come in was always dull and gray. This left the common area framed by natural rock to be dark and cave-like.

As he moved, motion sensitive night-lights flared to life, illuminating his path so that he could avoid bumping into any of the potted plants or scraping his knees on the jagged edges of the walls. Coming to the middle of the floor, he found himself with the stairs to his right, the common area with that breathtaking view of the ocean to his left and Dante’s room right ahead of him. The showers were ahead as well and while he was tempted to take a bath or get cleaned up, he didn’t want to risk running into Dante.

This day had been filled with revelations and learning that Dante had a boyfriend while also being sexually active kept stabbing burning hot blades into his chest. The rational part of him kept reminding him that Dante was a 21-year-old guy and had needs. Having never shown his friend any romantic feelings, it was only natural for Dante to find someone who didn’t run off to California to ‘find himself’. Regret gnawed at him but, at the same time, a little bit of gratitude and relief. At the very least, he was now in this cosmic battle with the man he wanted to be with.

Even if it was as a werewolf.

He regarded the black tattoos that had crawled up his right arm and had to wonder what they represented. It had surprised him when his sweatbands had somehow survived his transformation. The white and green bands were barely holding onto his wrist even now. Gingerly, he peeked beneath them. True to his suspicions, the black, tattoo-like swirls on his fur had originated from the tattoo he had placed on his wrist four years ago when he had left _Angelton_. That tattoo was now gone, consumed by the swirls and his fur.

“Fitting,” he mumbled softly.

With a shake of his head, Flash turned to his right and padded up the steps to the main floor.

“Maybe some food will get me to sleep. Hope Jake kept some pizza…”

Movement from the corner of his eyes kicked in his fight-or-flight response but he immediately calmed down when he recognized the towering, black, equine figure as Frank, rummaging through the refrigerator.

“Looking for something to eat?” he asked.

Frank lifted his head from the fridge before grunting and ducking back into the relatively smaller appliance. “Didn’t have much of an appetite at ‘dinner’. This body needs a lot of fuel especially if I’m not taking it from people’s virginity.”

“I did wonder about that,” Flash confessed, padding over and leaning against the marble counter top. “Why haven’t you switched back to your human shape? Doesn’t staying in that form drain your reserves of mana?”

He got a quizzical look from Flash. “This isn’t some videogame where I need to use some arbitrary resource to keep up my shape.” With that, he pulled out some leftover calzones that Jacob had stored. There was actually a postitnote on it that said, ‘For Frank. In case you get hungry’. “My body is a reflection of my soul. If I were to reshape my soul to look human again, _that_ will take some energy. Hell, _anyone_ could learn how to do it. Probably why we’re going to end up teaching you pups so you don’t walk around scaring the shit out of people.”

Flash regarded his paws; the creamy white fur on his palms, the black pawpads on his fingertips and the one forming a crescent and his black claws. Really, no one in _Angelton_ would know or _care_ he was back in town. All of his friends had scattered off into the wind. Maybe the school would call him up to ask about his whereabouts as he was expected to sign some papers and start his tenure as a student teacher there. None of that was urgent however. They could all be brushed off and he could just stay here, a wolf, learning about magic and fighting Celestials.

“I know that look.”

He turned to regard Frank as the unicorn put the calzones in the microwave. “Huh?”

“You’re wondering if you should even bother turning back into a human and staying as you are. It’s your ‘true self’ after all. Why should you hide who you are from the rest of the world? Hell, even if you need to hide, why can’t you hide out here in this glorious mansion where you’ve got a patron who will take care of you, right?”

Not _exactly_ what Flash was thinking but it was along the same lines. “Pretty much. I mean, isn’t that the basis of a lot of superhero story lines? Only come out at night to fight the bad guys?”

Frank gave him a belittling smile and turned to look out the windows that had been dimmed to simulate twilight. “You call that living? Trapped in here most of your day doing what? Working out? Practicing magic? Only occasionally coming out when one of the Celestials decide to come after you? Even when I was Virgo’s lapdog, I had my hobbies.”

“Like what?” Flash resisted the urge to throw a few mocking jabs at Frank ‘hunting down’ virgins.

“My hog for one.”

It took him a second to realize that ‘hog’ meant his motorcycle and not his dick.

Frank got this distant look on his face. “I loved just driving down the countryside. Nothing but me and the open road. Sure, it was fun stopping by truck stops or diners and fucking the brains out of someone in a way they’d never been fucked before but it was those hours of just the road, feeling the wind against my face…” He sighed heavily. “Honestly, when I came to this country, I hoped I could do just that.”

Flash sat down on one of the bar stools, surprised that it could hold his weight and fit his figure well. Jacob had gone to great lengths to make sure they were comfortable. “How’d you get here on such short notice, anyway? We _just_ opened the _Cradle_.”

The black-furred unicorn jerked his head towards _Angelton_ proper. “Celestials have these portals all over the world. Their ‘so-called’ omnipresence is just them setting up these doorways along leylines that let them jump from place to place instantly.”

Flash jerked back in surprise. “Dude! That’d revolutionize transport! Why haven’t they shared that shit all over the world?”

“Why would they?” grunted Frank. “They’re all selfish pricks that use our own souls against us. Besides, how do you think you’d take the idea that fragments of your dead grandpa’s is being used to power these portals?”

A cold, vice-like grip seized Flash’s chest. “You serious?”

The unicorn shrugged. “Sort of. Remember what Reaper said? Everyone has a little bit of Astral in them. When you die, those parts go back into the leylines. Same with Astrals. The Celestials can only use the parts they’ve touched and that’s limited. Most Celestials don’t have a lot of Astrals. Maybe half a dozen. A full dozen at most. That’s not a lot of power to go around.” Frank held up his hands, acting like scales and demonstrating them bouncing up and down. “They have to manage maintaining their numbers of living Astrals to supply them with power and as military strength while making sure there’s enough of their Astral souls in the leylines to use these portals or anything else that they tie directly to the leylines.”

“I thought they couldn’t tie themselves to the leylines anymore since they lost access to the Cradle.”

Frank shook his head. “This is different. When attuned to the Cradle, they have access to _all_ of the leyline network. Everything about it. Not just the shit that they claimed. These portals can only use what they’ve corrupted. These shards of souls don’t corrupt other souls either. They just sit in the leylines until they are reincarnated or used up.”

Frank continued by saying that the only time a Celestial could ‘reseed’ the leylines with their power was when an Astral died. They couldn’t just make a new Astral and kill them either. Souls grew the longer they were alive so it was in a Celestial’s best interest to maintain an Astral for as long as possible before letting them die so that their soul could go into the leyline network to be used in these artifacts. Complicating matters was the fact not everyone could be turned into an Astral. They had to have a high-enough concentration of previous Celestial-touched souls touched by the same Celestial.

When put into that context, there were quite a few restrictions on Celestials. They were still above and beyond normal people but their sources of power were far different. In that way, the Godhunters had won a tremendous victory by ensuring most of the human population could function without Celestial interference.

“And they can still use the power they harvest from their Mantle, right?” Flash asked. “Couldn’t they use that for their portals or whatever else?”

Frank nodded grimly. “They could but it’s like taking money out of a savings account versus a credit account. They have advantages of both. The leyline network is like their savings account. It gathers interest while sitting in there, growing in value as time goes on. You don’t want to really use that unless the need is dire. The credit account is their personal stores. If they drain that completely, they’re in strife.”

“What? They don’t have a checking account?” Flash snorted. The withering stare Frank gave him made him whimper in apology, folding his ears back. “Sorry…”

A soft sigh left the unicorn as the microwave beeped, announcing his reheated meal. “No.  Not your fault. I just have this instinct. If anyone mocks Celestials, I’m on the defensive. I’ve just been living with it for so long that it’s hard to break out of it in one night.” Frank opened the microwave and pulled out the small pile of calzones he had heated. He gave them a quick turn and then put them back to make sure they were reheated evenly. “I guess you could call their living Astrals and Thralls their checking account. That’s what they use for general expenses and when they can, they use it to pay off their debt or put shit into savings.”

The topic was clearly painful for Frank to talk about so Flash decided to change it. “So I guess Virgo was the one with the closets portal here, right? Do they have any other artifacts like that?”

“A few,” Frank said with a shrug. “Mostly magical shit. Like what Reaper has. But they’re all stuff from previous Celestials who have passed and whose deaths have altered the very laws of the universe. A few of them are tied to the leyline network but some of them have lost their power because the god that was tied to them passed away a long time ago and the fragments of souls that they had shot into the leylines were all used up.” Frank inclined his head and tapped his cheek in thought. “Let’s see… I know Virgo once had a ring that absorbed starlight and could be used to light his way but that ran out of power a long time ago. The one thing I _know_ he has is the _Bow of Pestilence .__”_

Seeing Flash’s curious look, Frank clarified. Made during biblical times, the _Bow of Pestilence_ was made by the First Horseman of the Apocalypse, Conquest. The Four Horsemen were actually a pantheon of their own but were adopted by the Godhunters into the Christian myth in an attempt to reduce their power. As the Godhunters began advancing fields of medicine and peace, Conquest began losing power. The Crusades were actually spurred by the Four Horsemen to try and reclaim the _Cradle_ but they ultimately failed. When Conquest died, his bow fell into Godhunter hands. A traitor amongst their ranks with ties to Virgo eventually gave it to the Celestial of Virginity.

“Kind of fitting,” Frank laughed softly. “Virgo can make anything ‘fresh’ again. Having a bow that can make things rot is weirdly fitting.”

“Scary,” Flash mumbled. “Can we beat him with such a thing?”

Frank shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if that bow is still even working. For all we know, before he died, Conquest infused his magic into his bow. That means it’s his contribution to the rest of the world. It runs on different rules to everything else.”

That meant the bow could have powers or abilities that weren’t restricted to the Celestial’s personal power reserves or whatever souls they could harvest from the leylines. The topic was getting grim again and Flash shook his head, indicating he wanted to talk about something else. Just in time as the microwave beeped and the calzones were finally ready. Frank took them out, setting them on the counter just in the middle so either of them could pick at them.

Flash made the mistake of grabbing one and instantly feeling the burning of hot pastry against his paws. With a gasp, he juggled the pocket a few times before dropping them back on the plate, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He dared to peek up at Frank who was giving this faint smirk and knowing stare like a father telling his son that the boy should have known better.

“So what do you like to do for fun?” he asked, desperate to draw attention away from his blunder.

Frank leaned against the counter and gazed back out the window. “That’s a good question.” He paused for a good long minute while the calzones continued to cool. “I was always serving other people. I was a police officer at first. Then I became a drug smuggler but as a former cop, _Gil Incubo_ didn’t trust me and always strung me along.”

Flash tried to keep his face from twinging in disgust and horror but Frank caught it.

“Don’t give me that look,” the sable unicorn growled. “I was down on my luck. Shit hit the fan.”

“What happened?” Flash asked.

Frank rolled his head and gave the young wolf a lazy, expectant stare. “Do you really want to know or is that the first thing that came out of your mouth.”

“I’m just filling in the silence while the calzones cool,” Flash offered with a lopsided grin. His smile had an infectious quality to it and he knew it. The faintest of smiled tugged at the corners of Frank’s lips and he turned away again.

“I grew up lower-middle class. Had two brothers and one sister. Don’t know where they are now. Cut all ties with them when I became a Valentino. Not that they really cared. I was a middle-child. I became a cop in my early twenties. Got married shortly after that. _None_ of them ever cared that I put my life on the line every day against _Gil Incubo._”

Seeing his blank stare, Frank explained that in his town of Marsarreni in the south of Italy, _Gil Incubo_ were a relatively small gang. While they mostly dealt with extortion and ran a few garages around town, they sometimes dabbled in drugs. Wealthy enough to afford their own guns but not big enough to attract national attention let alone international. They were constantly at odds with the police force and there wouldn’t be a week where there was at _least_ some form of shootout.

“Sounds like your job was really dangerous,” Flash commented. “It’s amazing you survived for so long. You must’ve been really tough.”

“I had to be,” grunted Frank. “And you’re probably the first one to have ever noticed aside from Virgo.”

Being compared to the Celestial made Flash feel a little dirty and Frank noticed. The unicorn with the straight horn gave him a soft smile and pushed the plate of calzones towards him. They were cool enough to hold and bite into without scalding his tongue. The savory taste eased some of unnerving feelings he harbored.

“My wife, my brothers and sisters and even my mamma constantly criticized me for having a dangerous job. They kept saying that I’m risking my life for nothing. That I should get a more respectable job like my older brother who, last I checked, was working in some bank in London or my sister who owns her own bridal shop. All I ever wanted to do was to help people…” Frank let out a short laugh as he bit into the calzone and chewed upon it thoughtfully for a moment. “Damn…”

“What?” Flash asked.

“This is the first time I’m having one of his calzones.” Frank waved the pastry in his hands. “And he’s right. It’s fucking good.”

Beaming, Flash took another bit out of his. “I know, right?”

Frank described how, as he was growing up, he was always helping out around the house. Being a middle child, he always had to take care of his youngest brother. His two elder siblings, a brother and sister, were always busy with their own lives so he always had to help around the house. Seeing the relief and gratitude from his mother always filled him with joy. That was likely when he developed a desire to be of service to others.

“Don’t know if it was the fragments of Astrals-past in me but I guess I really wanted to be of service. I’m not saying ‘submissive’ or anything. I just…”

“Want to be of use to someone,” Flash finished.

They locked gazes, Frank trying to understand where such insight came from and Flash smiling apologetically. When no words were spoken, Frank continued.

With a father who had died in the service of the military, Frank had been warned against following the same path. That drive to be of service to the community as well as make his deceased father proud drove him to the police force.

“I was _so_ happy when I graduated from the academy.” Frank shook his head and let out a sad little laugh. “Only my little brother was there to celebrate with me and even then, he was only there to tell me how much I made mamma cry. _Every_ family gathering was filled with at least _one_ hour where I would smothered by guilt over my job. Disapproval everywhere. Even my youngest brother didn’t pause to remind me that I would break all their hearts if I was ever shot.”

“What about your wife?” Flash prompted.

“Not much better. She had her own job selling things online but I was the main breadwinner. She _constantly_ told me to leave my job and be a personal trainer or work for her father in construction because being a cop was too dangerous. It wasn’t until I _lost_ my job that she showed her true colors.”

“The money?” Flash asked, finishing the last bite of his calzone.

“The money,” agreed Frank, reaching out for the plate instinctively as he finished off his own bite. Their hands brushed against one another and Flash immediately pulled back, apologizing and letting Frank go ahead. There was that faint tug of a smile again before Frank grabbed his second pastry. “Divorced me almost immediately and threw lies about an abusive relationship. Considering how big I was and what a dangerous job I had, there was a lot of precedent. She got everything. Even without proof.”

“Fuck… Why did you even lose your job? You were a good cop, right?”

“Decent,” answered Frank with a shrug. “Made it all the way up to sergeant. But it was that time when people were _really_ looking for any flaw in the police. They were already looking to fire some people. They caught me on ‘excessive force’.”

Flash knew better than to ask whether or not the charges were true. The equine across from him seemed ready to defend himself were that the case but when nothing was said, Frank continued.

“Wife divorced me, I had nothing left, too proud to turn to my family. So I went to the very same group I once fought against.”

_“Gil Incubo_.”

“Yeah…” Frank laughed softly, as he lifted the calzone to his lips. “Wasn’t my wisest decision. Then again, neither was joining Virgo.”

As he ate his second pastry, Frank described how the gang didn’t trust him at first but as he started giving them his intimate knowledge of police behavior and tactics, they started trusting him more while still keeping him at arm’s length. They kept him hooked on drugs, on a constant tight leash and made to serve them for a meager living. Never had enough for luxury and just living day by day. After nearly four years of working with them, they threw him back at the police force as a sort of ‘peace offering’.

“They set me up so that the captain would look good and they could lay off _Incubo_ for a while. That’s when Virgo came to me.”

“Must’ve been a hell of a shock to go from modest means, destitute and then wealth like that,” Flash commented.

“It was,” Frank laughed softly. “Hell, for a month or so, all I did was fuck around with all of the nightly parties Virgo holds. It was amazing.” He shook his head, gazing up at the ceiling. “I’d fuck from dawn till dusk, feeding off all the new experiences they had. Hell, just having sex with me for the first time filled me with energy and pleased Virgo so I was filled with purpose again. But I guess I felt like I needed more.”

Having been treated like a pet with _Gil Incubo,_ Frank developed some ambition now that he was free. Seeing the the activities of the other Astrals compelled him to be more than just a Thrall and he started taking on missions for Virgo. All of it was for the glory of his god.

“I never questioned my purpose,” Frank admitted. “Every mission was different. Sometimes it was against other Astrals of other Celestials, other times I was competing with my brothers and sisters for a mark. I never had to deal with the Godhunters or Circle as their organizations were long dead. I thought I was content… happy…”

“Do you hate Jake for… opening your eyes?” Flash ventured carefully.

Frank finished off his calzone and shook his head. “No. He showed me what I already knew but just was too afraid to admit. I was just Virgo’s damn battery. The ‘God of Virginity’ cut me off from the rest of my family so I would have no one else to turn to but him.” Frank turned his gaze towards Flash sharply. “And before you say anything, I know it was my choice to go with him, my choice to cut myself off from the rest of my family. Still doesn’t mean that Virgo wasn’t an asshole.”

Flash laughed softly as he finished off his calzone and regarded the remaining pastry on the plate. “I’m not getting into that fight. I _know_ I’ll lose.” He reached down, broke it it half and offered the other half to Frank. The unicorn took the offer half with thanks. “But I’ve got to ask… what’ll you do when this is all over? Will you reconnect with your family?”

The dark-furred unicorn gave him a sardonic smile and an equally sarcastic roll of his eyes. “What? Just so that they can criticize me for wasting four years of my life, my ‘vanity’ because of the way I look or making bad decisions that make me a unicorn? No thanks.” His gaze drifted back off to the distance. “I’m not sure if this war will ever end…”

“Don’t say that!” Flash exclaimed. “With you, me, Dante and Jake, I’m _sure_ we’ll kick all those Celestials’ asses and bring balance back to the world.” With the pointed look Frank gave him, Flash grinned and waved his paw to brush away the bold declaration. “Look, I don’t know what’ll happen. This is all new to me. But I _do_ know that I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulder for some Celestial to come and butt-fuck me so that they can be a god again. There _has_ to be an end to this and even if I can’t see it now, I’m going to look and fight for it.”

Frank gave him a faint but encouraging smile. “That sounds nice.” With one last bite, he finished off his calzone and dusted off his hands. “_This_ was nice. Thanks, pup. I’m going to head back to my room.”

Glancing down the stairs, Flash hopped off the bar stool. “Do you want some company. I don’t think I can really sleep after all that’s happened. I’ll want to get my sleep cycle back to normal as well.”

The big unicorn’s huge shoulders shrugged as he headed towards the stairs. “Whatever, kid. Not sure I can provide much in terms of entertainment.”

“We can just keep talking,” Flash said with a shrug. “I liked this.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Despite the brusque way he delivered those lines, Flash could detect the faintest whisper of a smile on the unicorn’s lips and a little swish of his wispy tail. Smiling, Flash followed Frank up to the guest bedroom where he closed the door behind him. Frank lay back on the enormous bed, crossing his huge arms behind his head and gazing up at the glass ceiling. Flash sat on the edge, turning his gaze upward and just watching to clouds roll by.

After a few moments, his neck started to grow stiff so he lowered his gaze and rolled his shoulders. A gentle hand fell on his shoulder and pulled him back. He was surprised to suddenly find the back of his neck resting on Frank’s rigid abdomen. A blush was working its way up his cheeks so he made an effort not to look at the equine’s features, instead focusing on the clouds above.

The first pitter-patter of rain hit the glass, the sound echoing in the high-ceilinged room. The sound was different compared to the deeper echoes back in school or the almost completely muted noise from his mansion. Against the glass ceiling, it held a louder _twang_ and was impossible to ignore. There was a soothing quality to watching the rain fall upon the glass and streams of water slide along the slanted roof and down into the ocean.

“Is this place always so gloomy?” Frank asked. “I know it’s fall here but does it _have_ to be so depressing?”

Flash chuckled and folded his paws on his chest. “Yeah. Something about _Angelton_ has always kept it in perpetual overcast. It’s really rare that we get any clear days. Maybe one or two in summer but it’s also pretty cool. We get snow late December so you can really expect it to start really raining soon.”

“That’s depressing. I’m used to warm weather, rolling hills and vineyards as far as the eye can see.”

“Maybe one day I can go see what your place is like.”

Frank let out a chuckle which caused his rippling stomach to bounce slightly and thus lift Flash’s head. “That’s just what it looks like on the outside. Inside, it’s become a factory for Virgo’s pleasures. There’s a city near Virgo’s palace. It’s called Giannivos. On the outside, it looks peaceful and idyllic. Crime is low, people are cooperative and everything seems clean. But beneath the surface, you can bet people are always making trips up to _Castello della Vergine_ to see what new extremes they can push themselves into.”

“Sounds like Vegas.”

Again, Frank let out a soft laugh. “Las Vegas does not take pains to hide its true nature. Giannivos does.” Frank reached over and gently places his hands against Flash’s head, stroking the hair there and rubbing his head. The sensation was oddly soothing and he let out a soft rumble of approval. “If I were to take you anywhere, it’d probably be Venice or Sicily. Or maybe just driving down the country on my bike. The heart and soul of Italy is in its open roads.”

“That’d be nice,” Flash mentioned, closing his eyes and enjoying being rubbed between his large, triangular ears. Little wonder dogs loved this kind of attention. “Even though my dad is pretty damn wealthy, he never took us anywhere. Told us to stay put and study. Why he sent us to _Angelton_ of all placed instead of some magnate school across the country, I’ll never know. Maybe he was just a lazy parent.”

“We might never know. I thought I understood Virgo. But now… I can’t say I do.”

They lay there in silence for a long moment, just listening to the sound of rain. At the same time, Flash kept his ears perked, listening for any signs of movement downstairs or life in the house. Occasionally, he would hear a soft sound like something slick and wet sliding across a fuzzy carpet, like a snake slithering through tall grass. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was but it was growing louder.

Opening his eyes, he turned his head in the direction of the sound to try and determine it’s source. What he found was a half-erect equine dong halfway up Frank’s crotch and leaking a drips of clear fluid at him.

“Uh… Frank…?”

The unicorn straightened slightly. “Sorry, kid. I’m not used to having another person so close to me or touch me without us fucking almost immediately. If you want to..”

Flash swallowed loudly. Sleep had avoided him. Stress over learning Dante had a boyfriend gnawed at his stomach. He had just come off a skirmish with the forces of an actual _god_. He _needed_ this.

“You know what? Fuck it.”

He gripped the base of the rising cock and leaned down towards its flared head, pressing his lips against the already-oozing slit and lapping up the salty brew. Strange as it was, he detected a faint lemony taste to the otherwise salty goo. There were rumors about how eating pineapples made semen taste better but he never believed them. In this matter, this tartness came from something else.

Virgo.

He wasn’t sure _how_ that name popped into his mind but he could tell that this taste came from Virgo’s corruption. Part of him wondered if this was what Dante tasted when he sucked off all of those Thralls but then that brought back his thoughts of his friend. Before he could spiral, he wrapped his lips around the cock, surprising even himself at how well his new muzzle could capture the entire girth of the member. The warm, pulsing form of the cock in his mouth was both alien and familiar. It wasn’t his first time sucking cock, after all.

It _was_ his first time sucking cock with a canine muzzle and for a second, he wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He was conscious of his fangs and his much longer tongue. Funny that his first time sucking dick in his new form would be with a guy who fed on new experiences. Flash mentally shrugged away the concerns and gave in to his carnal desires, trusting instincts over higher thinking.

His tongue lanced out, pressing against the base of that flared head and then traveling around the circumference, feeling those bulbs around the edges. The member in his muzzle grew firmer, bursts of hot precum pouring down his throat and stirring a deeper hunger that he hadn’t known was there before. Fiery desire grew within him, an insatiable lust to be _filled._ This compelled him to push his muzzle deeper along the shaft, taking more of the throbbing cock until he felt it brushing up against the back of his throat. A lesser man would have gagged but, again, this was not the first cock that Flash had sucked and he knew how to suppress his gag reflex and even squeeze the back of his throat a little to milk as much as he could from the horse.

Beneath him, Frank moaned softly, mostly unmoving but stroking the back of his head in appreciation. It occurred to him that this was a rough-and-tumble biker who had probably fucked up and down Italy in service of the God of Virginity. He would have to pull out all the stops to get a reaction from the sable unicorn.

Thinking quickly, he reached up with one of his paws, gliding his fingers along the hard ridges of Frank’s abdominals. His own dick was starting to stir. The warmth of those hard muscles juxtaposed against their sheer iron-like rigidity caused his dick to slide out of his cream-colored, furry sheath. When his fingers almost got stuck in between four of those abdominal muscles, he let out a soft moan and bobbed his head down rapidly enlarging mass in his muzzle. Eyes closed, he painted a mental picture of those abdominals through touch alone, squeezing each muscle and feeling the soft, short fur against his pawpads. Before long, his fingers brushed up against the underside of Frank’s immense pectorals.

Following the thick ridge, he found the unicorn’s downward facing nipple. It was already erect against his touch. That made it easy to gently grip and give a light squeeze. Frank let out a soft moan.

Good.

With his other paw, Flash reached over Frank’s immense thighs, once again trying to paint a mental picture of those hard muscles. He managed to reach down to Frank’s knee before gliding back up along the unicorn’s inner thigh and gripping those immense balls. He couldn’t _believe_ just how big they were. Just one light squeeze and he brought a large burst of precum straight down his throat that only seemed to fuel the growing fire within him. Frank, likewise, let out a slightly louder moan and even bucked his hips a little.

“You know, kid,” rumbled Frank softly. “It’s been a while since I’ve fucked someone just for the hell of it. Always had to either make a Thrall or vie for power amongst my brothers and sisters. This… This is nice.”

Then Frank’s grip on his hair tightened and Flash was suddenly pulled off the throbbing member. The surprised wolf was brought nose to nose with a grinning unicorn.

“But I want more,” growled Frank. The black unicorn pressed their lips together, surprising Flash as the long, more experienced tongue invaded his muzzle and began exploring for his tonsils. Flash let out a soft, muffled whimper as he was at the mercy of the much bigger equine. A huge, black hand seized his cock, squeezing at the base and propelling the black shaft to push further and further out of the sheath and glide up Frank’s abdominals like a long plane touching down on a rigid landing strip.

Frank slowly pulled his lips away, letting his tongue linger in Flash’s muzzle. That same tongue slid down the wolf’s jawline. A chill went up Flash’s spine before Frank even began peppering his neck with kisses. Those big, arms wrapped around the wolf, pressing their heaving bodies together. The more of Frank’s huge, muscled body was pressed against his own, the more Flash’s immense cock emerged, its pointed tip oozing precum all over Frank’s pectorals. At the same time, Frank’s own immense, equine member began rising to its full height.

Flash instinctively crawled atop the unicorn, their chests compressing his cock between them. Each accelerating breath brought them both to thrust into one another with increasing frequency. Flash’s cock rode up the entire length of Frank’s abdominals before sliding in between those immense pectorals. Frank naturally squeezed his chest, drawing out a fresh burst of precum from the wolf’s cock that pooled against the equine’s collarbone. When Flash drew back for another thrust, Frank’s own erect member brushed up against his ass, sliding perfectly against his crack and pressing up against his tail. Precum soaked the brilliant, red, furry flag just in time for the two men to repeat their dance.

Flash thrust, Frank squeezed. Frank thrust and Flash opened his ass to the unicorn.

Fire coursing through his veins, that deep yearning to be filled in Flash grew stronger and stronger. The hunger within his belly had grown, leaving his throat dry. He pushed up against Frank’s lips, ravaging the equine muzzle  while holding onto the back of Frank’s head for support. That only served to intensify that need.

“Fuck,” he moaned. “I need you in me.”

Frank grinned savagely. “You sure kid? I might just ruin you for other men.”

Flash leaned down, running his long, canine tongue up the side of Frank’s neck. “Fuck it,” he growled. “You taste too fucking good. Fuck me and fill me with your cum.”

There was flash of something primal in Frank’s eyes. “You got it, kid.”

Frank grabbed Flash by his waist and suddenly flipped the smaller wolf so that he was on his back. Flash barely had time to react before those same, powerful hands were flipping him onto his belly and he felt the hot rim of that fully-erect equine cock press up against his hole. A loud yip escaped his lips. Despite that moment of surprise, he lifted his ass into the air, pressing his cheeks against the pillows in front of him. Frank’s strong, musky and lemony scent was still infused into the sheets and that only caused his cock to throb and splatter his precum all over the sheets. He reached back, seizing both ass cheeks and spreading them wide to welcome Frank into his body.

No words needed to be said as Frank pressed the head of his dick into the ready ass. The copious amounts of precum the unicorn produced alone was enough to lubricate his entrance even though Flash had to stretch just to let that first flared tip in. Waves of ecstasy erupted from his rear and the flames of hunger were at last being sated. More, they fueled the rising anticipation of being completely impaled by that dick. Flash’s eyelids fluttered and he bit his lower lip through a dazed grin as another inch was pushed into him.

Frank began thrusting, slow and rhythmic while his hands were pressed up against the small of Flash’s back for support. Each thrust brought with it another explosion of euphoria to Flash that sent him back to his days off when he would venture into bath houses and get his ass pounded. There was just something so _arousing_ about going in and getting fucked by a complete stranger or sucking the dick of a new person each visit. When he was the one doing the fucking, a thrill shot through his system knowing that he would never meet that person again or that they didn’t even exchange numbers.

Those thoughts were banished when he felt the press of Frank’s medial ring against his ass. The moan that left his throat was louder this time and he was compelled to throw back his head with the sound. Frank thrust once, twice and a third time before that ring _popped_ into Flash’s ass. Flash convulsed, shivering from head to toe as his insides were filled with the hot, thickening precum from the unicorn.

In an odd paradox, the hunger within him was slowly being quenched with every inch of Frank’s cock that disappeared into his ass but the anticipation, the desire to be filled, grew more and more ravenous. Whenever Frank pulled out, he was filled with a growing yearning that only seemed to intensify with each thrust. He couldn’t understand it but he wanted _more_ of Frank inside of him. There was no pain. Just the immense pleasure of being filled by a hot, throbbing mass that pulsated out of his gut like he had just devoured some hot soup or a cup of hot chocolate.

The thrusts came faster and faster as the base of Frank’s cock grew closer. Their balls brushed against one another with each powerful swing. Frank was slowly leaning closer, his hand sliding up Flash’s back and inching towards his neck. Precum poured out of Flash’s dick, soaking the sheets beneath them and though Frank was pumping his own juices into Flash, none of it squirting out of the young wolf’s ass.

Inch after inch pushed into Flash and his tongue fell out of his muzzle, flapping in the air with every powerful thrust that shook the entirety of his body. Each one of Frank’s powerful strikes rippled throughout his entire body, jostling the senses out of his brain and drowning it in euphoria. The hunger was almost completely consumed now and with the last few inches being pushed into him, he eagerly anticipated what would happen next.

The moment Frank _fully_ speared Flash, the unicorn seized the wolf by the scruff and pulled him up. The sudden movement left a dazed Flash disoriented until his back was pressed against Frank’s muscled chest and his head forced to look over his shoulder. Frank’s ravenous lips pressed against his and he was sent into a spiraling hurricane of ecstasy and bliss. The hunger was gone but, in its stead, it was replaced by the overwhelming need to cum. He could _feel_ Frank’s throbbing cock inside of him, pulsing with the same need.

As the unicorn pulled out and slammed back into his ass, he could feel his arousal mounting like a volcano about to erupt. His entire body shook with each slam, each quake shaking his limbs and draining them of strength. Frank’s powerful hands seized his wrist, lifting them up to press against his chest. The unicorn guided his fingers to squeeze at his own nipples, sending jolts of electric pleasure throughout his entire body. Frank was a couple of feet taller than him even in his lupine form so that meant that he was completely at the mercy of both gravity and Frank’s brutal desires. With each quake, his clawed toes gently scraped against the unicorn’s shins, grappling for any sort of traction.

“F - F - Frank…” he moaned. “Oh fuck… Frank!”

The fevered plowing increased that sensation of being filled, that odd satisfying sensation of no longer being hungry and yet still having room for more. Flash threw his head back, allowing Frank to wrap his lips around his neck and suckle on the sensitive flesh there. Flash’s mind was flooded entirely swirling euphoria not only at his prostate being abused but by this alien feeling of being filled from deep within him. It was unlike anything he had felt before. He could feel _all_ of Frank deep inside him, like that cock was somehow surging through his ass and coursing through his veins, pumping through his muscles and into his very fingertips. Every cell in his body shook, waves of ecstasy crashing against them, causing them to scream out for more.

He felt Frank’s powerful hands press against his own, forcing him to pinch his own nipples harder. At the same time, he also felt Frank’s immense chest pressing up against his back, those enormous pectorals enveloping him. The equine’s muzzle buried hard into his neck, teeth pressing against his fur and flesh as if they were trying to break the skin and crawl inside of him.

Flash closed his eyes, letting out a primal cry of ecstasy that would have ripped throughout the entire house had the walls not been sufficiently sound-proofed. Had he kept them open, he would have seen Frank’s fingers pressing against the back of his palms, _pushing_ into the deep red fur and sinking into his entire muscles. Explosive sensations erupted from his very fingers, following the throbbing of each of the unicorn’s powerful thrusts. With each pulse, his digits flared out, growing in all directions and seemingly swallowing Frank’s hands as much as Frank was pushing into him.

That sensation of being filled intensified, exploding from his entire body. The back of his knees pressed up against Frank’s thighs. Black fur met crimson, meshing together like two different strands of cloth twisting and curling around one another to pull their two different masses together. Skin pressed against skin and muscle joined with muscle. Franks enormous thighs _pushed_ into Flash’s, inflating the already swollen quads with a sound akin to thick, viscous soup being stirred as it was boiled.

Frank instinctively lifted his right leg and pressed his hoof against Flash’s calf. For a second, they were momentarily unbalanced until Frank’s hoof _pushed_ into Flash’s flesh, causing bone and muscle to rapidly expand. The silhouette of his foot pressed up against Flash’s shins like Frank was _slipping him on_ like a suit. That hoof stretched his entire limb, tripling it in size and making it even bigger than their combined masses. As the hoof pressed against his mid-foot, he pressed his new lengthened lip back down against the bed, stabilizing them before they fell over. The hoof pressed up against his toes, sliding into the middle toe in particular and forcing it to swallow up its brothers. His claw expanded, pushing back his crimson fur and exposing it as his own, sable hoof.

“Ooooooh…!” moaned Flash, rolling his neck as Frank drove his own face deeper against Flash’s neck. The kisses stopped but the fiery sensations didn’t. Frank, his eyes completely glazed over and lost in the moment, in the security of Flash’s form, pushed his lips deeper against flesh, his lips vanishing into the thick, red fur that seemed to eagerly swallow him. In response, Flash’s traps flared out, pressing up against his cheeks and providing him another avenue to enter the young wolf.

Flash’s moan grew even louder as the smallest, pinprick of a horn began jutting out from his forehead. He puffed out his chest and Frank gave chase, pushing his own impressive chest into Flash’s back. The red wolf’s torso expanded, widening as if to swallow the equine behind him. As his pecs flared out to sizes he could never have imagined possessing, Flash’s hands pulled back away from his nipples, one going for his engorged, throbbing cock and the other rising up into a powerful flex. Frank’s limbs followed like large, dark shadows.

_“Fuuuuuuck!”_ Flash roared.

Frank’s forearms sank into Flash’s, the entire limb stretching and flaring out with renewed power. The grip of his new, powerful grip on his throbbing dick only caused him more arousal. In his mind, Flash had become a volcano just about to erupt; the peak forming and now the ground around it shaking and ready to explode. He never even noticed that Frank had stopped thrusting into him or that his tapered, canine cock began to change and morph. He began stroking the immense tool, each motion drawing his and Frank’s upper arms together until they meshed and merged into a single, enormous mass decorated by crimson fur and with criss-crossing veins. A medial ring formed halfway up his cock as the tip flared out into the familiar tip of an equine dick.

_“Yes!”_ Flash cried. “_Fill me! Fuck me!__”_

With Frank’s added mass, Flash’s body rocketed upwards. Every few inches of his growth added about another half-inch to the spire of bone jutting from his forehead. His neck muscles and growing back swallowed almost all of Frank, only the equine’s long features saving his head from being completely swallowed. That taut, sable ass slipped into the firm rear of the wolf with only his long, black tail remaining. The last of Frank’s lower limbs was his left leg which quickly pressed up against Flash’s own leg and completely the young wolf’s transformation.

_“Fuck yes!”_

Flash threw his head back, his knees buckling beneath him. He fell on his rear and leaned forward, catching his own throbbing member in his still-canine muzzle. The shock of the sudden movement jostled the last of Frank Valentino into him, completing his change entirely.

Now he was completely full…

… and he needed to cum.

Gripping his huge cock with both hands, he didn’t get more than two strokes before all that built up pressure came barreling out with the force of a hurricane. He managed to catch about half of the first blast of molten seed and swallow it before his head was forced back. The might of the rush forced his hips to thrust into the air, his bent legs uncoiling and squirming out in all directions as he rode the waves of ecstasy. By some instinct, he held onto the base of his cock so that he could keep his new, equine member firmly pointed away from his face. The torrent of seed splattered against the windows across the entire room, mirroring the pitter-patter of rain outside.

Blast after blast of seed erupted from his cock. The one body shared by both Frank and Flash both had their pent-up arousal to eject and there was only one exit available to them both. His huge, basketball-sized balls throbbed and another surge of seed erupted from his cock, rising out in a powerful arc overhead and raining sticky, white goo all over his face. He bucked his hips with each burst, the force of the eruption strong enough to lift his rear off the soaked bed.

Flash completely lost track of time. His vision blurred and all he knew was the pleasure of having his cock shoot over and over again while he simultaneously felt so full and satisfied. There was no greater pleasure.

Exhaustion eventually set in and his grip around his cock loosened. Tongue lolling off the side of his jaw, he dipped into unconsciousness.

His last thought was before the darkness of slumber was, ‘Holy shit. I think I just ate Frank.’

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/qmylGLKe
Part of the series College of Celestials
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