Weeks passed, Halloween had come and gone and it was mid-November. The workout routines continued for Moose and Brian, and the shop duties carried on as normal. Word on Zack’s dad was not good, though Zack had finally been able to get him into a care facility. Zack had managed to luck into other work in the timber industry and even though it was coming up on winter, there was plenty of work driving trucks for the company. Indeed, he needed the higher income to help pay for his father’s care, so the driving job was good for him, though he missed the coffee shop and the camaraderie of the workers and their boss.

“I hate to leave, but...” Zach had said at the end of his phone call to Rusty. “I really do, but I can really use the extra dough right now.”

“We understand, Zach. Don't worry. Be careful on the roads, and come next year, if you want the job here back, you’ll get in touch, OK? Rusty sincerely hated to see the kid having to drive in dangerous weather on logging roads, but he knew the pay would be better, and right now, that's what Zach needed. He wished him well as they said goodbye.

Brian had asked many questions about werebears since that first night, and Moose and Rusty answered as much as they could, but one night they had sat Brian down and explained a particularly important aspect of were life to him.

“Brian, we need to talk seriously,” Rusty had started, scaring Brian into thinking he had done something wrong, or that they were going to tell him he needed to move. Sensing his concern, Rusty continued, “No, it's nothing you've done, but we've probably not made something clear here that must be absolutely understood.” He locked eyes with Brian. “You CANNOT EVER say anything to anyone in any circumstances about what we are.”

Before he could continue, Brian interrupted. “I never would, guys. I know it has to be...”

Moose chimed in. “Brian, we aren't angry, but what Rusty says is right. We HAVE to stay secret. We aren't ashamed of what we are, but we can't be found out. Imagine what people would think... imagine how the news would handle it. We'd be all over the front page of every newspaper and on every TV show and web page. Some would be at our doorstep, wanting to see us or touch us. Some would be there with torches and pitchforks. That's happened before, you know, to others much older than ourselves in some of the witch trials, but the real fear would be if the government got a hold of us.”

Rusty interrupted his mate. “Can you imagine what the military would do to get their mitts on someone like us? The near-ultimate soldier? And the government research labs? Why, they'd put us in cages, keep cutting parts off us to see how we heal, taking our blood constantly for testing and tissue samples cut out again and again. Some would look at us as an ultimate cure for disease and some would look at us as an abomination, to be erased from the earth. It would make the Salem witch hunts look like an Easter egg hunt.” Moose was nodding as understanding dawned in Brian's eyes.

“I didn't realize...” Brian started and then paused, considering. “There's a lot of hate out there, but I guess I didn't think how it could be directed at you for this. I know how people react to being told someone is gay, but I just never thought that this would be just as bad... no, worse.”

“I suppose being gay has prepared us for this, taught us a certain amount of caution, considering what we have become. Though I don’t want you to think it’s all bad, Brian. In fact, there’s a lot to like about being were; a lot. But we have to be careful and you have to be careful for us, too.” Moose looked kindly at Brian's worried face.

Another time, Brian had asked again about how a change was accomplished and what was involved, what would happen to a human as they started becoming were. They’d felt it important to let him know early on that being a werebear was by no means required of him, that he could remain as he was and still have a deep and committed relationship with them; but also impressed upon him that if he wanted to be changed, there was much that had to be considered, planned for and arranged. Accidental changes did happen, after all they were both evidence of that; but they were to be avoided if at all possible. It was far better all things considered, to plan his transformation in advance if he chose that. He hadn’t specifically expressed an interest in becoming a werebear as of yet and that was fine, but Brian was intensely curious; he’d even asked Moose to lift weights with him in half form so he could see the strength difference. It was impressive, Moose could lift 650 pounds above what he normally could when he was in half form, and the display of strength and the intensified bear musk had an effect on Brian as well. Brian had become so painfully hard that he needed immediate release. Moose was quite happy to help relieve his need with a very intense blow job.

The young man had become quite comfortable sleeping and making love with the werebears and more often than not slept between the two in their bed. Often, Moose would shift into half form before sleep and hold Brian close to him through the night. The pair made him feel secure and loved in a way he’d never known before. Through their love making together, Brian was learning a lot about his preferences and some of his kinks. Moose and Rusty guessed there would be other interests that would come into being and evolve within him. Brian had learned that he had a top side to his personality, but also intensely loved to be a bottom, especially for Rusty. He learned he rather enjoyed being bound, gagged and teased until he came from his genitals simply being lightly touched. They had experimented with a little whipping, but that didn’t do anything for Brian. He didn’t hate it, but it didn’t turn him on so for now that was set aside. Spanking, however, especially when Moose put him over his knee made him very hard and caused him to leak a lot of precum; and he really got into being a repentant bad boy for ‘Daddy’. But the thing he loved most was watching as one or the other of the bears began fucking and then shifted into full bear shape while inside his partner. Still, as fulfilling as the sex was, Moose and Rusty both thought that perhaps exposure to regular ‘human bears’ might be important for him, simply because Brian needed more than just them for comparison and contrast. After all, how could Brian make a fair decision about what he wanted if he had only them as examples of ‘Bears’?

With that in mind, they asked if he’d be interested in attending a bear run with them in Eugene, their treat. It was a four day event over the Thanksgiving holiday, but the three would be coming up on Wednesday morning and driving back home the following Monday to avoid the traffic of people going home Sunday afternoon. There would be turkey and all the trimmings catered at the hotel by a very good, gay-owned local restaurant. It was something of a tradition and Moose had made reservations months in advance for he and Rusty to attend. They could still add a guest with no problem.

Brian was a bit apprehensive of meeting up with other bears but Moose assured him that he and Rusty would be there for his protection, so that he could test the waters safely. In the end, the two bears convinced him to go.

“It'll be fun, you'll see!” Moose said, punching Brian in the shoulder.

“OK, OK... I'll go. Just stop punching me!” Brian said with a grin as he ducked behind Rusty for protection.

With Rebekah and Jackie to ride herd on Donovan and the other help they had hired, the coffee shop was in competent hands, Rusty drove the three to Eugene the day before Thanksgiving for an early check in to get settled in before the event.

On the way Brian became more excited about meeting other bears, and it was fun for the older bears to see him so eager and enthusiastic. “You know, the hotel has a heated indoor pool and there will be tons of bears lounging by it and swimming.” Moose said.

Brian frowned, “I don’t have swim trunks.”

“Well, then you’re in luck,” Rusty said brightly, “because the pool is clothing optional!”

“Ummm…” Brian looked nervous, “I’ve never been naked in public.”

“Trust me, what you got will turn heads in swim trunks or out and they will love your fur. You’ve nothing to fear, Rusty and I will be your body guards and I’m sure we can scare up something for you to wear to the pool if you really want that.” He patted Brian’s knee from the front seat reassuringly. “Besides, there’s other things planned for the event; there’s an outing to some of the local microbreweries, the bear club sponsoring the event has booked a couple of nights at Spanky’s, a really cool bear and leather bar that has dancing, if you like to dance. There’s some historic tours, a museum trip and activities planned back at the hotel too and of course tomorrow is the meet and greet and Thanksgiving feast in the evening.”

The trio arrived just before noon on Wednesday and checked into their room on the third floor, a very large suite had a large king sized bed and a fold out bed in the couch in the living room area. There was a small kitchenette as well and a balcony.

There was a little time before dinner, so as soon as they got into the room Moose started stripping and yawned. “I say a nap is in order!” He said and began pulling back the covers on the bed.

“About three hours?” Rusty asked, having shucked out of his clothes and now setting the alarm clock.

“You two!” Brian said mock scolding, “Any excuse to get naked, huh?”

“Of course! And we are bears, after all. Never miss the opportunity to get naked and have a nice nap with those you love, gonna join us?” Moose asked as he drew the blackout curtains and got into bed.

“I think I’ll go take a walk around town, check things out. I’ll be back after your nap, OK?” Brian said.

“Absolutely. Have fun!” Rusty said giving his mate a swat on the butt, “Move over ya big lug, these hotel beds aren’t as big as the one at home, I need more room.” He said to Moose who scooted closer to the edge of the bed.

“Awww sweet bear, we got all the room we need if we cuddle up close.” Moose said.

Brian chuckled, “I’ll hit the lights and put the do not disturb sign on the door on the way out. Have a good nap.”

“Have fun exploring!” Moose said and folded his love in his furry arms as the lights went out and the door closed. Soon, the pair were snoring together.

Over the next couple of hours Brian walked around town, checking out the store fronts, walking through the park, and seeing other things of interest. Occasionally he’d see a handsome bearded man, some of them obviously bears by what they were wearing or a visible tattoo, but none seem to pay him much attention. He stopped into a small restaurant called Café 360 for a chili cheese fries snack as he’d be eating dinner with Moose and Rusty. While he was enjoying his snack he happened to look around and saw a table of eight guys, a mix of older, middle aged and younger, all of them bearish and likely also attending the gathering. One stood out in particular, not that all of them weren’t ‘WOOF’ as Moose would say, but this guy was exceptionally woofy; bigger, thicker and hairier than the rest. He had a long, down to his belly length, bushy black beard with bright white silver at the chin so that the stripe went all the way down through the beard. His black Harley t-shirt revealed thickly furred arms that were covered in what must have been full sleeve tattoos on both arms. As Brian took a sip of his soda, the black bearded bear must have felt eyes upon him because he turned to look and locked eyes with Brian. Brian thought to look away but he couldn’t, the gray eyes of the brawny bear held him. The others at the table didn’t seem to notice the exchange as they were busy laughing and eating. The bear smiled and nodded at Brian, then broke his gaze and returned to the conversation. When the bear looked away Brian felt the hold on him break and finished up his snack.

He looked back over at the bears at the table, but once again they were too caught up in their conversation and revelry to notice as Brian finished up, paid, tipped and left. He was really hoping he’d bump into those guys later, particularly the black bearded guy.

Brian made his way back to the hotel and when he reached the room he could hear that the bears were awake and having fun. Briefly Brian considered turning around and leaving them to their bear business, but decided that he just couldn’t resist.

He opened the door, the room was still dark and the bears were most definitely fucking. He came in and shut and locked the door and in the dim light Brian could see that Moose was in half form, fucking Rusty who was still in human shape. They were both facing the foot of the bed.

Moose growled, “Gret nakred an join urs!” as he pumped away, hunched over Rusty's willing butt. Rusty nodded his head to second the idea. He was braced and pushing back against Moose's thick meat, matching his rhythm.

Brian quickly stripped and tossed his clothes in the chair with the rest. He was already fully erect as he approached the foot of the bed and the humping pair. It was wonderful to be able to just jump in the middle of sex with two hot bears, Brian reflected as he crossed over to the pair. It was truly a joy and a privilege to be allowed into these men’s lives and the wonderful thing was they felt as privileged to have him, he knew that. He took Moose’s furry head into his hands and kissed his muzzle. Rusty seeing a stiff cock pointed at his mouth began sucking. Brian moaned into Moose’s muzzle, kissing the bear passionately. Brian, being worked up and drooling precum after seeing the bear at the restaurant, didn’t last long. Minutes after Rusty began his ministrations, Brian was shooting into Rusty’s mouth. Moose reached up with a big paw behind Brian’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss, muffling Brian’s moans. Moose, smelling Brian’s cum became more excited, broke the kiss, and growled deeply as he thrust harder than ever into Rusty’s ass.

“Yeah that’s it big bear! Fuck my ass! Fuck me hard! You know I love it fuckin’ rough!” Rusty snarled and Brian could tell that Rusty had shifted ever so slightly into bear shape, both from his voice which had deepened, and from the increased bear scent in the room.

Moose bucked and grunted, pounding his lover brutally as he began huffing. It wouldn’t be long for him.

“That’s it fucker! Breed my ass, you beast! Fuck me, fuck me, Bear!” Rusty demanded, and Brian could see more fur had sprouted on Rusty and his nails were turning into claws.

Moose sunk his fangs into Rusty’s furry shoulder and began pumping his thick sticky bear seed into his mate. Brian was vigorously scratching Moose’s pelted back as he came, concentrating on the area above the base of the tail, like scratching a big dog. Moose was doing his best to muffle his roar by clamping his muzzle shut. Thankfully, the rooms adjacent to their suite were still empty as most of the bears had yet to arrive for the event; and even if some down the hall heard they’d likely just think it was bears being bears and having loud sex. The big red grizzly huffed and chuffed, emptying his balls into his love. His eyes were squeezed shut and his balls were all the way snugged up as he shot out load after load into his bear. Slowly Moose’s humping subsided and he gently pulled out of Rusty.

Rusty, having had his own needs satisfied before Brian walked in, sighed and rolled onto his back, clamping his butthole shut, holding his lover’s seed within. The three cuddled together. Brian climbed atop the grizzly’s belly, laying face to chest, cock to cock with the bear. Moose gradually shifted back to human form, Brian nuzzling into his armpit as he changed, breathing in his werebear musk which made Brian hard again, but not needing to cum. They all lay together, stroking each other’s fur, talking quietly about where they wanted to go for dinner and Brian’s adventures in town before they all got up to shower.

As they showered and talked it was finally decided they would go to dinner at Chinese place called The Silver Dragon, which Rusty had remembered from last year’s visit. With only a minimal amount of play in the shower slowing things down, the three were dressed and out the door.

- - - - - - - -

Registration for the event started Thursday morning, and Moose and Rusty, with Brian in tow, ambled into the hotel's lounge after breakfast to check in and get their run packets and tee shirts.

Rusty held his up. A bear with a colonial blunderbuss and buckled hat was pictured chasing a very fat turkey. “Bear's Turkey Trot? Really??”

Moose chuckled. “Oh, I think it's a hoot. Besides, you try coming up with creative and different names for bear events, there’s only so many Thanksgiving themes; and you have to admit, the artwork is very well done. Hey, Brian, put yours on, I asked for XL, but you might need a 2XL now.” Brian stripped off his shirt and pulled on the tee, getting some admiring glances from some of the other bears waiting to check in.

“It's kinda tight across the back, I think,” Rusty said.

Moose grinned. “Yep, he's fillin' out nicely! You can see a LOT of definition.” he said with a very intentional and obvious leer as he patted Brian’s ass.

Brian blushed a bit.

“Keep it,” Moose said. “Makes you look all muscle-y and hot. It’s tight in all the right places... also shows off your erect nips.” Brian turned a bright shade of crimson and Moose smiled and gave him a hug.

The next hour or so was taken up with getting reacquainted with old friends from past runs and introducing Brian. Bears of all shapes and sizes were standing, sitting or sprawled out on the furniture or floor. Nearly all were bearded, and some of the beards were truly epic. Brian's eyes were kept busy, drinking in all the eye candy and looking for the black-bearded bear he had seen the day before. Couples held hands, other kissed, and no one was self-conscious. It was a revelation to Brian.

“This is SO cool,” he said to Rusty at one point, leaning close to speak low, “I've never seen guys be so open in public before.”

“It’s possible here, because it's a bear event. Everyone is like-minded, and the management knows full well what to expect and doesn't object. This event makes them a LOT of money each year. Two weeks from now, you might think twice before kissing your lover in the lobby here. You'd be safer waiting until you get to your room. But now, it's safe. You can relax. It's one of the nicest things about bear events.”

Shortly before the buffet was announced, Brian had to pee and on his way to the restroom, saw not one but two couples passionately kissing in the hall. He smiled as he went in to do his business.

The opening even at the run was an enormous turkey dinner buffet, featuring multiple turkeys with four different kinds of stuffing, roast beef or ham for those who eschewed the bird, yams, green beans, cauliflower, peas, carrots (glazed and plain), mashed potatoes, rolls, corn bread, green salads, cranberries, the caterer's signature cranberry mold made with cream cheese and fresh cranberries, and a whole separate table laden with desserts: pumpkin, mince, cherry and apply pies, three kinds of chocolate cake, ice cream, and cookies. The restaurant catering the event knew how to lay out a spread with style AND feed bears.

“Oh, my!” Moose said as the line worked its way around the room.

“Bears sure do like their food,” Brian said as he began to load his plate.

“You know, you can come back again, Norman, you don't have to fit it ALL on one plate,” Rusty chided as Moose tried to balance another roll atop the mound of food on his plate. Moose grinned, and put the roll in his mouth.

Rusty rolled his eyes and muttered, “Barbarians.”

Moose smiled around his roll at him.

When the bears sat down amid the happy hub-bub of conversation, Moose leaned over to Brian. He still had to raise his voice to be heard. “You know, one of the nicest things about this is that part of the money we pay for the event goes to fund Thanksgiving dinner for two charities in the town. They are having all the same food we are here. One's a crisis center for battered women and children, the other is a half-way house for veterans, recovering from addiction or PTSD. The local bear group does some other events during the year to raise money for them, too, but this is the big fund raiser. 50/50 raffles, donation jars, the underwear contest... all the money goes to the charities.”

With his mouth full, Brian said, “That's sweet! I didn't know.” Brian scanned the room and thought he spotted his black bearded bear but couldn’t be sure, being at the far end of the room. He was sure he’d run into him later and looked forward to the opportunity.

Several bears sat with the three during the meal and chatted about jobs and families and who was dating whom. Others changed tables from time to time, taking their plates with them. The MC for the event wisely kept his chatter to a minimum, realizing that the conversations were doing just fine without any ice breaking from him. After the last of the desserts had been polished off and coffee was served, some of the bears adjourned to the outdoor patio to smoke pipes or cigars and have a beer from the patio bar. Space heaters chased the chill, and the view out over the valley was a fitting ending to the meal. Other went out the front of the hotel to walk off some of what they had eaten, still others made their way to room to nap or play, or both.

The trio stepped outside on the patio to get a view of the bears. Moose got the ‘kid in a candy store’ look on his face and turned to his hubby, “Have we got plenty of condoms?”

Rusty rolled his eyes but laughed, “Yes, Norman, I even bought extra. We’ll probably be taking some home with us, my horny bear.”

Brian caught sight of the black bearded bear across the patio. He was drawing on a huge pipe. Brian had learned though exploring some of his interests on the net that it was a Boswell Grizzly. He was in a clump of bears that included some of the ones that he’d seen with him at the café but he was easier to spot on the patio because he was probably as tall as Moose, a good foot taller than most of the other bears. Some of the bears with the black-bearded bear were smoking cigars; and though Brian found them quite attractive, his attention was fixed on just the one, and he didn’t know why.

It was obvious they were a group of close friends and Brian felt uncomfortable with the idea of going over and introducing himself to the bear. Once again, the big bear must have felt Brian’s eyes on him because while he was busy relighting the huge bowl he looked up from his task and directly into Brian’s eyes. His gaze bored into Brian, but not in a threatening way. Brian felt as if he was being probed, as if the man was looking into him. When he had finished relighting and the huge cloud of smoke cleared, the bear removed the pipe from his mouth and smiled, giving small salute and a wink to Brian. He then broke the gaze to turn and pick up a big plastic cup of beer to sip with his pipe.

Again, Brian got that feeling of being ‘released’ from the gaze.

Moose turned his attention to Brian, “See something you like?” he asked and patted the young man on the back.

“I see a LOT I like, actually.” Brian said with a grin.

“That’s muh boy!” Moose said and beamed with pride as he pulled him into a hug, kissing the side of his head.

Rusty chimed in, “And thus the extra condoms… but upon reflection I might need to get more… if the stores around here aren’t all sold out.” He smiled broadly.

The next day at the run was devoted to a mid-morning brunch and several bus tours to places of interest in the area. One that caught Brian's eye was a behind the scenes tour of the Build-A-Bruin franchise in a local up-scale mall, part of a trip for Black Friday shopping. Rusty and Moose agreed to go with Brian, mostly for support; but they found themselves enjoying the myriad varieties of stuffed bears and the various costumes available for them. Rusty ended up getting Moose a Workout Bear, with bulging biceps and workout shorts and a tank top. They both gave Brian a Cub, with jeans and a sewn-on tattoo of a bear paw print on his arm, and a white tee shirt that said, 'I'm With Daddy'. Moose secretly got Rusty a sterling silver bear paw buckle for an extra-wide leather belt Rusty had brought along. The buckle on that one was old and had gotten bent somehow. Before boarding the bus and heading back to the hotel, Moose slipped the wrapped box into Rusty's paw.

“What's this? He asked.

“I guess you'll have to open it and see,” grinned the big bear.

Rusty tore at the paper and freed the square flat box from its wrapping. “Oh, my bear! Thank you!” He leaned over and gave Moose a big sloppy kiss.

“Careful, you'll upset the breeders,” Moose said with a chuckle.

“Fuck'em,” Rusty said. “You know, this will be perfect for my...”

“For your wide black leather belt, yes, I know... that's why I got it for you!”

“But how will...”

“Relax, I got this. See, the post is held in place with a screw. I can just open it, and slip the post in the belt loop, and there ya go... brand new belt buckle!”

“That is so cool!” Brian said, peering over Rusty's shoulder at the silvery buckle in the box.

“I'll borrow a hack saw from the hotel's maintenance people when we get back and ditch the old buckle. You can wear it tonight.” Moose motioned for the others to get on board the bus which was about to pull out.

“Yeah, what's on for tonight? Brian asked as they sat down in their seats.

“Well, we're all on our own for dinner tonight, but I thought after, we might go to Spanky's here in town.

“What's Spanky's?” asked Brian.

“It's the local bear and leather bar,” Moose answered. “We've been there on previous runs, it's a lot of fun. Gets a bit noisy, especially on run weekends, but it's generally a good crowd. I'll bet a lot of the guys at the run will stop in sometime during the evening.”

“Think I'd fit in?” Brian asked, plainly a bit nervous.

“You remember the admiring looks you got at the feast yesterday afternoon, and today at the mall? I reeeealy don't think you have anything to worry about there,” Rusty chimed in.

“OK, sounds like fun!” Brian was still unsure of himself, and of his attractiveness to other bears, but as long as he was with Moose and Rusty he felt safe, and even a bit adventurous. This was, in fact, part of their reason for suggesting that Brian attend with them, to get him more exposure to gay social life, to help develop the survival instincts he'd need on his own.

Once back at the hotel, all three men wanted to shower and change. “You know, if we all get in the shower together, we'll never get to dinner,” Rusty said. “And I'm hungry.” Moose laughed out loud, startling Brian.

“What's so funny?” he asked, looking first to Moose, then Rusty and then back at Moose.

“Oh, it just that I'm remembering a couple of parties we were invited to last Christmas. We missed the first one totally because we both thought we'd save some time by showering together, and, well... things got out of hand, sort of. The next night we arrived almost 2 hours late and missed the dinner completely because the same thing happened.”

Brian smiled, then considered for a moment before speaking. “You guys seem to have sex a lot, not that it's a bad thing, it's just... well, frequent. Don't you ever get, umm... tired of it? I mean, you've been together for a while, and...” his voice trailed off, wondering if he had offended his friends.

Rusty put his hand on Brian's shoulder. “It never gets old, Brian. We love being with and in each other. A lot of it is because we aren't human any more. Even in human form, our metabolisms are bearish, and our appetites match that, not just in food, either. It's a constant joy for us, one that never pales.”

“Besides, my little red bear here is one hell of a fuck!” Moose grabbed Rusty and began to ravish him.

“Stop it, Norman, you'll embarrass the boy!” They all laughed together.

“OK, I get the point. We'll shower separately. You want to go first? Just don't use up all the hot water.” Brian flopped down on one of the king beds in the room and plugged in headphones and began listening to music. Moose stripped and hit the shower while Rusty phoned for reservations and got out clothes for them both. When Moose came out, toweling his wet fur, Rusty went in. He took a bit less time than Moose had, and when he got out, Brian said, “That was fast.” “There's less of me,” Rusty answered, drying his hair. Brian got up and shed his clothes and walked to the bathroom, thinking about how he had accepted the casual nudity between the three of them and how natural it seemed now. When he was finished showering and pulled the shower curtain back, there were Moose and Rusty, naked, each holding a towel folded across an arm, arms held in front like a waiter or butler, mock serious looks on their faces. Brian didn't know what to make of this.

“Your towel, sir” they said, and began to dry the young man. In very short order, Brian was rock hard, but both the older men behaved and simply finished drying him off. When they were done, both leaned down and kissed the tip of Brian's straining cock, and then stepped back so he could get dressed.

They headed out the hotel and out to their car. The drive downtown to Hole In The Wall BBQ was not too long. Reservations had been a good idea, the place was busy with a post Black Friday shopping crowd as well as some of the bears form the run and the usual Friday night diners. After a short wait they were seated. Service was faster than they expected. Moose and Rusty each had a full rack of St. Louis-style ribs, and Brian had the Friday special of hush puppies and fried catfish, with a side of three ribs.

“Damn, I love good BBQ,” Rusty said. “This is almost as good as yours, love.” Moose grinned between mouthfuls of meat. Brian nodded, chewing on one of his side ribs. “This is really good!”

Pleasantly full, they left the restaurant just after 8 and drove to Spanky's

As they were leaving the restaurant it had begun to drizzle and it continued to do so as the trio arrived at Spanky’s. Spanky’s had a very large neon sign across the front of the building in rainbow colors. It was a converted industrial building with two floors, and a large covered and screened-in outdoor party area for cigar and pipe smoking. There were plenty of space heaters for the cooler weather they were experiencing and clear plastic covers for the screens were lowered to half open position to keep in most of the warmth but still let in air to clear the smoke. There was tons of parking space usually, but with the run going on the lot was full and Rusty parked the car across the street and was lucky to get so close. As they walked up to the entrance, they could hear dance music pulsing from the place. Rusty put a paw on Moose's arm, holding him back while Brian went ahead.

“There are other were's here. I sensed them as we approached town when we arrived here in Eugene. I got a tingle a couple of times back at the hotel and at dinner Thanksgiving Day but I couldn’t pinpoint anything, just way too many people distracting me. I’m certain now, probably no more than a half dozen in there; not counting us, of course.” Moose nodded, “Gotcha Spidey, I’ll keep an eye out.”

Rusty gave him a withering look but Moose ignored it.

Once inside, the music was louder and the buzz of conversation at first seemed overwhelming. As their ears accustomed themselves to the noise level, they scanned the room for people they knew. There was a substantial crowd, and the trio saw many they recognized from the run. Moose spotted a group getting up from a table across the floor. He shouted in Rusty's ear, “I see a table. I'll go snag it, you and Brian get us some beers.” Rusty nodded and guided Brian towards the large bar that was centered along the side wall. Moose waded through the crowd towards the empty table.

Moose was used to crowds parting for him almost like the Red Sea, but tonight he had to actually use some of his bulk to force his way across the floor. There was the occasional pat on his butt as he waded through and he’d look back only to see a grin on a bear’s face. He reached the table just before another bear did and claimed it.

“Join us if you want, but my hubby and our friend will be here in a sec. There should be room for four.” The other bear looked at Moose and nodded with a smile.

Before they could introduce themselves, Rusty and Brian arrived with a pitcher and cold mugs in paws. As soon as he approached the table, Rusty was hit with a strong sense of fellow were, and knew instantly that the extra man at the table was the source. “Oh, hello,” Rusty said, carefully, shaking paws with the black-bearded man.

Frank leaned in a bit and sniffed. “You must be ‘Mr. Strawberries’,” he said with a grin. He turned to Brian and gave him a quick wink and then turned back to Rusty. Brian immediately recognized the bear he’d seen in the restaurant and on the patio from the silver chin patch in his beard.

Rusty was puzzled at that, but smiled slightly and nodded. “Mr. Strawberries?” Rusty asked, now quite intrigued.

“I’ll give my hubby Gus your regards when I get back. He and the rest of our little family are spending this weekend with Doc Black as usual. I’m here… Well, actually, we can talk about that later.”

Moose missed the exchange, since he was answering one of Brian's many questions about the bar and the bears and protocol.

“Looks like we'll need another mug, so I'll get that; Brian, you introduce yourself. Be right back.” Rusty shot Moose a warning glance and nodded towards the other man, then plunged back into the crowd, knowing that Brian would be safe with Moose. He could have sent Brian off to get the extra mug, but he wasn't sure that wouldn't actually be riskier for him. The testosterone level in the room was pretty high, with so many bears intent on having fun, and Brian was most definitely fresh meat. Rusty, being were, could smell the heady fog of male pheromones and it had an effect on him. He was rather acutely aware of his hard-on as he made his way to the bar.

Moose was introducing himself to the big, black-bearded mountain that sat next to him, shouting in his ear, “Sorry, wasn't ignoring you. I'm Moose, that was my hubby Rusty, and this guy here is Brian. Rusty owns a coffee shop in Wolverton, and Brian works for him.”

“And what do you do?” the mountain asked.

“Oh, I'm a physical therapist. We bought a building and had it rehabbed and now my office is next to the coffee shop and we live upstairs.”

“Yeah, I know.” The bear's eyes twinkled with amusement.

“You know?” Moose was plainly puzzled.

“Yeah, I do. I’m with the crew that did your rehab, I just didn’t go with them, kinda wished I had when I heard the stories and especially now that I’ve met you two. I'm Frank.” He stuck out a fur-covered tattooed arm and shook paws with Moose, then Brian, “My 'twin' Gus worked on your place and he couldn’t stop talking about Mr. Strawberries for a week after the job, now I can see why!” Turning to Brian, he said, “Pleased to meet you. Saw you at the restaurant and on the hotel patio the other night.” He locked eyes with Brian, and Brian got the same tingle he'd had at the restaurant and at the Thanksgiving buffet the day before. Frank’s eyes were as gray as his own and Brian held the gaze for a bit, but then broke it, feeling nervous as the contact became more intense.

“Wait, you've got a twin? Isn't that rare, I mean for there to be were twins? I know we don't know all that much about this life yet, but...” Moose was again puzzled.

“Well he's not muh real twin, but we're the same size and height and were changed at the same time, together in fact, we both love to ride our scoots together… and our appetites match real well AND we really like to tag-team other guys and wear 'em out.” Frank positively leered as he looked around the room, then back at Moose. “I know you're here for the run, I saw you guys earlier. You having a good time?”

“Oh, yeah. It's great to see old friends again. This is Brian's first bear run, though.” Brian was completely distracted, scoping out the room now, dazzled by all the eye candy.

“Yeah, I kinda got that impression,” Frank said, looking appraisingly at Brian. He leaned close to Moose, “He's a cute cub and he's gonna be a real beefy fuck real soon, I can tell. Hell, he's well on his way now!” Frank didn't exactly lick his lips, but he came close.

Moose got a good strong whiff of werebear pheromones pumping off Frank. He could almost see the plans he was making for Brian flash across his face. Moose leaned over and spoke in a low voice so Brian wouldn't hear.

“A word in your ear. Paws off this one. He's with us, and he's human, not were. Look, but don't touch.” Moose's voice dropped a tone and added a growling undertone. “I mean it.”

Frank reacted as if he'd been stung. “Geez, man, relax! I didn't know, OK? I thought... I mean if he was here with your two, that he.... that he'd be, family…”

Moose relaxed a bit and replied, still in a lowered voice, “He is family; just gay, not were. He's living with us until he gets on his feet and decides what he's going to do with himself.” Before he could continue, Rusty returned with another glass mug.

“Damn! The crowd! I had my butt patted twice and someone copped a feel of my package. One guy gave me this with his hotel, cell and room number on it. He was cute, but they’re like starved animals out there!” Rusty held up a napkin, “And those bar tenders are gonna be tired tomorrow!” He put the extra mug on the table, assessed the situation and introduced himself to Frank. It only took a moment for Rusty to realize that there was more than a little tension in the air, and he knew it was between Frank and Moose, not Brian. “What's up?” he asked carefully. His own guard was certainly up. He sat next to Moose.

Brian was still gazing with open wonder at all the bear flesh in the room. The far half of the room had two pool tables that were surrounded by bears watching the play. Some had their shirts off, a light sheen of sweat coating their torsos. Many were amply furred, some amply muscled, others with bear bellies.

“I was just telling Frank here that this is Brian's first bear run, and to go easy with him.” Moose gave Rusty one of those looks only long married couple can give that communicated more than what was said.

“Sorry, I didn't get your last name,” Moose shouted to Frank.

“It sounds like Voytek, but it's spelled W-O-J-T-E-K. My people are Polish, originally from around Szczecin, and their surname was Niedźwiedź, which almost NO one outside of Poland could pronounce, much less spell.”

“So how come Wojtek? They don't sound at all alike,” Brian said.

“Oh, I took Wojtek when I had to move this last time. After World War I, all of my family had died or been killed in the fighting. Gus and I weren’t aging, so we really needed to move and in the chaos right after the war, it was easy. I figured no one at Ellis Island would be able to say 'Niedźwiedź', but I was stubborn and kept it as a point of pride; and spent the next 30 years correcting people's misspellings and mispronunciations. Gus, the smart ass, chose to give himself the last name ‘Skurwiel’ which is sort of an inside joke between him and me. So there he is, officially on the books as Gustaw Skurwiel and he’s been Gustaw Skurwiel Jr. and the third since that time. I keep telling him he needs to go with something different and he says he will next time. This last move, I changed to a completely new last name... Wojtek.” He poured some beer for himself. “I took that name because of a story I'd heard right after WWII.”

“Oh?” The three other bears were interested, and leaned in to hear better in the din.

“Well, during the second war, there was a Syrian brown bear cub found in Iran and adopted by soldiers of the 22^nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. He became their mascot and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink.” Frank smiled and took another slug from his mug. “He liked to wrestle and was taught to salute when greeted. They called him Wojtek, a short form of the Polish word that means 'smiling warrior'. To get him on a British transport ship when the unit sailed from Egypt to fight with the British 8^th Army in the Italian campaign, he was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a Private and was listed among the soldiers of the Company; he lived with the men in their tents. And during the Battle of Monte Cassino, he helped move ammunition. He never dropped a crate, and afterwards, the company designed a shoulder patch with him on it as the official emblem of the company. I've got a picture of it,” Frank said, pulling out his wallet and opening it.

“That's so cool!” Brian said as the others admired the small photo of the shoulder patch. More beer was poured, and Rusty sensed the tension in the air between Moose and Frank dissipating.

Brian turned back towards the three men. “I need to go make some more room for this beer. Where's the can?”

“Over by the bar, to the left of it,” Moose said. “Unless they've moved it since last year.” Brian excused himself and headed to the bathroom.

Rusty turned to Frank as soon as Brian was out of earshot. Not realizing that Moose had already relayed the information to Frank, he said, “I know you're one of us, but he isn't, so...”

“Odin's scrotum and Thor's balls, you guys are protective!” For a moment, it looked as if Frank was going to lose his temper, but he reined it in and said instead, “Look guys, I'm sorry, truly. I honestly didn't know your friend wasn't one of us. He looks like he’s becoming a bear and he’s got your scent all over him. I just assumed that since he was with you... And, by the by, how did you know what I was? People just don't, and most weres can't tell, either, unless I'm being aggressive or they get a good sniff of me.” He took a long drink from his mug, but kept his eyes on Moose and Rusty.

“My hubby here can sense weres at a distance. He knew, before we got inside… he knew when we came to town… it’s his superpower… OW!” Rusty gave his hubby a small kick under the table. Moose smiled.

When Moose paused, Rusty jumped in. “We don't mean to be rude here, but Brian is sort of new to all this. It's really his first time out socially with a lot of other bears. Up until rather recently he’s led a very sheltered life. He needs to socialize, but we thought it would be better if we were around to keep an eye on things.”

“Well, he's certainly going to attract a lot of attention,” Frank said, nodding towards the bar, were several bears were openly appreciating Brian as he emerged from the bathroom.

“And that's why we’re here. Brian needs to learn how to handle himself with other bears. He hasn't had much experience with gay life, as I said. He's no fool, but we've all gone through the 'kid in a candy store' phase, so we're keeping a friendly eye out.” Rusty poured himself some beer.

When Brian came back there was a somewhat surprised look on his face, “The urinals in there… there’s two. They look like narrow bathtubs on the floor with space all around!”

“That’s a trough urinal, they’re rather popular in bear bars, son. It lets guys show each other what they got.” Frank winked.

Brian nodded as he sat and then continued, “And… in the handicap stall… I think there were three guys in there fucking!”

“And probably a fourth guy filming it on his phone to be uploaded to Triple X Tube!” Moose said and laughed.

“I had no idea it would be this wild!” Brian said as he took a sip of his beer.

“You gotta understand Brian, some of these guys live in little rural communities where there’s not another bear that they know for another 100 miles and maybe they’re lucky enough to find each other online and hook up once every couple of months. Some of these guys don’t even have that. When they come here, it’s a feast and they want to fill up as much as they can because it’s all going away day after tomorrow and they’ll be back to famine. They’ll go back to their little towns where no one knows that the big burly bearded manly guy who works at the local Home Depot loves to shove his cock up some big rough looking biker’s ass and fuck him hard; then hold him close after and tenderly cuddle him as they sleep together,” Rusty said. “They’re starved for contact and they’re making the most they can out of what time they get.” Rusty turned to Moose and squeezed his paw and they kissed. They both knew just how lucky they both were to have each other.

“Yeah, that’s kinda how it goes here Brian. Lots of hormones, lots of need,” Frank said. “It’s wonderful and sad at the same time, too. I’m lucky, like your Papas there, I got a hubby waitin’ for me at home.”

“So, if it’s good at home and you have a husband, why did you come here?” Brian asked, “I’m sorry, that was rude; what I meant was, if your life is good, you wouldn’t need to be here, right?”

“It’s not just about how good or bad your sex life at home is, Brian. There’s lots of these guys that only get to see each other face to face at these events. That group I was hanging out with in the restaurant, they’re all guys I’ve met online from the Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Northern California area. They’re great guys and I’ve built wonderful friendships with them… and also, they’re great in the sack.” Frank gave a wicked smile, “They know I’m an insatiable horny fuck and we all enjoy havin’ sex together, we go through boxes of condoms pretty damn fast! But also, we’ve bonded as bears together. We talk about what’s going on in our lives and the day to day problems we have and just hang out an’ be guys together.”

Brian nodded and Moose and Rusty exchanged a smile. The young man’s education was getting some spots filled in.

“So, have you guys been up to the second level? There’s a dance floor up there, lots of half-dressed hairy fuckers shakin’ their booties.” Frank asked the group.

“Nah… last dancing I did was with my hubby here a few years back and it was a waltz.” Moose said.

“How about you, youg’un?” Frank asked.

“I never learned to dance. My folks were against it… said it lead to pre-marital sex…”

“Ah! Now I think I understand where you’re coming from.” Frank said, “My folks were like that… hell MOST folks were like that when I grew up; really glad that changed.”

Brian said, “Yeah, but really, dancing isn’t interesting to me.”

“Well, we could go to the member’s only area. It’s in the basement, quieter, not as big a crowd. I’ve got a key card and the gate keeper won’t hassle us if I say you’re with me.” Frank said.

“Sounds good to me.” Rusty said, “The noise level is a bit much.”

“Well OK then! I’ll stop by the bar, I’m waiting for my cub to finish his shift; I’ll tell him so he’ll meet up with us downstairs.”

“Your cub?” Moose asked.

“Yeah, Tony. Look over there.” Frank pointed to one of the three bartenders, “He’s the black guy shaking the cocktail shaker.” The tall dark brown man behind the counter was shirtless and gorgeous. Curly black hair all over his muscular torso and down his thick arms with a huge black beard and a shaved head, big thick silver earrings in his ears. He wore Bear-flag striped suspenders and had a large bear paw tattooed on his left shoulder.

“Oh! OK,” Moose said. “He’s fuckin’ cute!”

“He gave me quite a smile when I came up for that extra glass, now I know why!” Rusty said.

“He’s a charmer, that one.” Frank said, “I’ll be back in a bit, just gonna let him know where to find us.”

The trio watched as Frank approached the bar. He got Tony’s attention, said something and then pointed back at them. Tony looked over to the table, nodded, smiled and waved, said something to Frank and went back to his work.

The three stood as Frank came back to the table and then they headed toward the back of the place by the pool tables where an impressively muscled bouncer sat behind a small counter that partially barred the way to door with a sign above it that read, “Spanky’s VIPs Only” on it.

Frank flashed a smile and his membership card to the muscular blond-bearded beast guarding the door, “These three are with me, Boscoe.” Then swiped his card through the reader and the lock clicked.

“Have fun Frank!” Boscoe said and winked at Brian. “And you, too, hotness.”

Moose turned to Brian as they went through the door and said, “You’re a popular one! Must be that ‘new cub smell’” he said licking his chops and leering at Brian to emphasize the point.

“Norman!” Rusty said and whacked his lover on the shoulder. “You’ll scare him!” Then he turned to Brian and said, “But he’s probably right; they see a new bear or cub and they have to make a point of it. They’re mostly harmless, but if…”

“I know, I know, call for my daddy bears if the cub gets in trouble, they’ll ‘pertek’ me.” Brian said with a chuckle as the electronic door buzzed shut behind them.

“Well, we mean it, Brian. Bears are usually polite, but if they get hot and bothered and with enough beer in them, a few of them can get pushy.”

The VIP door lead down a short, dimly-lit plum colored hall to stairs that lead down to a basement level that was as spacious as the floor above. It was quieter, the noise from above muffled, the usual hard flat surfaces of floor and ceiling modified to tame the sound. The floor was carpeted and the sound absorbing ceiling treatments above were meant to be part of the décor; not like the ubiquitous drop ceilings you found in offices. The lighting was subdued and indirect; the colors of the room were deep wine reds and more of the plum color to give the place a somewhat close, intimate feel with just enough accent to keep it from being boring to the eye. There was a full oval-shaped bar in the middle of the room, more brightly lit of necessity; an island of light in the cozy darkness.

Brian noted that the bartender was an identical twin of the muscular bouncer Boscoe upstairs at the door. It was warm down here, partly due to body heat. He also noted that the men wore little to no clothing; some dressed in nothing more than a leather do-rag and vest. Others wore harnesses and leather jock straps or just leather chaps as they’d set aside the rest of their gear. Some wore flannel and denim but all were covered in fur, some more densely than others; some muscular, some on the tubby side, all with various styles of face fur and none completely clean-shaven.

Looking about he saw that there was an attended counter with a sign above that read “clothes check” which lead to a storage room behind it. It was just like the coat check counters they used to have in upscale restaurants in the old days. A very nice touch, that! It kept there from being piles of clothes on top of bar stools or guys having to tote their wardrobe about while trying to have a good time.

He also saw there were other side rooms, and occasionally a bear would come out to retrieve a drink and return, or just leave. heading up the stairs they’d just descended. Brian noted that there was a group of bears off in one corner standing around, maybe fifteen to twenty, roughly in a circle and some activity was going on. There was some serious grunting and growling and some encouraging chatter from the group. Brian saw the haze of cigar and pipe smoke drifting beneath the lights in that corner of the room as well.

Rusty commented, “Ah, bearsex! Gotta love it!”

“Well, it is the VIP room, no one down here except you three aren’t members.” Frank said. “I bet the fetish chambers are well occupied.”

“Fetish chambers?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, those side rooms you were scoping out a moment ago, some are equipped for some, ah, 'interesting' play. They’re all equipped, furnished, padded or plumbed for various extracurricular activities.” Frank gave a knowing look to the older bears.

They made their way to the bar and as they approached, Frank called to the bartender who looked up from the cocktail he was finishing up and handing to a customer.

“Roscoe!” Frank greeted Boscoee's identical twin with a firm hug across the bar and patted him on the back.

“What can I get for you and your friends, Frank?” Roscoe said and then turned and gave Brian the once over and winked like his brother had.

“Beers all around.” Frank said.

“Any particular kind, or just the house brew?” the blond beast with the thick bushy, Hulk Hogan style, horseshoe mustache asked.

“Sierra Nevada Flipside, if you have it?” Frank asked.

“Seasonal stuff's only in bottles, but we have some.” Roscoe said and dug around in the bar’s fridge. “You want glasses for ‘em?”

“Nah, we’ll be all rugged and manly like and drink from the bottle.” Frank said and Roscoe chuckled.

In short order there were four ice cold bottles on the counter which went on Frank’s tab. Frank thanked Roscoe as he looked to serve another customer. The four turned their attention to the crowed in the corner as the left the bar. “Shall we see what fun is being had over there in that corner?” Moose asked.

“SURE! Might be some fun, let’s go.” Frank said.

Overhearing the conversation Roscoe interjected cheerily, “It’s a birthday party.”

“Who’s?” Frank asked.

“You’ll see!” Roscoe said with a sly smile.

Rusty leaned toward Moose and pulled him down to urgently whisper in his ear, “Norman, there’s a couple of werebears over there in that group.”

Moose raised an eyebrow then turned to walk over.

As they approached, and squeezed in to get a look at what was going on the four could smell the heady scents of cum, sweat, leather, cigars and beer. They were almost through to the first row when Moose, towering over most of the men in the ring laughed and said, “Damn, I should have known!”

Frank, with Rusty and Brian between him and Moose, moved forward toward the big red bear and said, “What?”

“You’ll see!” Moose said and pointed toward the middle of the ring.

The three others moved to the inner most ring and saw someone all but Brian recognized. The bear fucking what looked to be a blond young man maybe in his early twenties was covered in salt and pepper fur in all the places that weren’t covered by what little he was wearing. He was very well muscled, thick and wide and had a nice firm rounded belly. His brawny arms and legs looked to be the products of manual labor, not a gym, and the padding he carried spoke of the occasional extra plate of food. The bear, of course, was Gus.

The young guy was restrained, legs spread wide with buckled leather straps; arms, legs, and waist; to a well-padded fuck bench. He had a very sparse downy covering of fur on his face that showed the beginnings of a beard, and seemingly none on the rest of him.

His smooth body, dripping with sweat, was in stark contrast to the beast that was ramming his meat into his smooth butt.

Brian became instantly hard as he was reminded of his fantasy of the fictional lover Broc being ploughed roughly by Moose… though lately even Broc had begun to grow more fur than this blond guy had. Still, the similarity was enough he could imagine Broc in the young man’s place; and the thought of Brian taking his place entered his mind and gave him a twinge at the base of his spine that traveled right to his cock.

The young man grunted and begged for ‘Daddy’ to fuck him harder as the thick, condom sheathed, meat moved in and out of his asshole like piston in a cylinder. Gus was covered in sweat that made his fur cling to his near naked body, revealing more of his full sleeves and chest tattoos than would usually be visible through the salt and pepper haze of dry fluffy fur. His leather biker vest and boots were the only other things he wore.

Frank, seeing his mate, laughed. “You horny old fuck! When the Hell did you get here?” he said loudly enough for his lover to hear over the crowd. Gus turned and saw his mate approaching from out of the crowd, pulled the cigar from his mouth, and gave Frank a deep smoky kiss.

‘“Early afternoon, came right down, figur’d you’d git down here ‘ventually. The guys say ‘Hi’ an’ Doc ‘n’ Max missed you, though understan’ why ya couldn’t make it this year. I see ya brung Bullwinkle an’ Mr. Strawberries with ya,” he said as he began fucking the kid beneath him more slowly, drawing his cock out and then pushing it back in at a pace that tickled the boy’s prostate for a longer period and had the eyes in the kid’s head rolled back in pleasure, drooling as he babbled incoherently.

Catcalls and shouts of, “Yeah, long dick that boy,” and “Fuck that boy good, Gus!” came from the crowd.

“I see you’re entertaining the crowd,” Frank said. “Who’s the kid?” he asked indicating the young man beneath the bear.

“That’s Brandon.” Gus gave a hard thrust and both he and the kid both grunted, “Boscoe‘n’ Roscoe’s young cousin. ‘Twas his 21^st yesterday an’ they wanted ta show him a good time; so’s he got ta pick whichever of us dirty ol’ bears were here tonight ta take his virginity. After lookin’ us all up an’ down, he chose ‘Daddy’ ‘cause he reckoned I looked 'right cuddly like', of all things,” Gus said with an evil grin.

“Yeah, well he’s young, stupid, and a poor judge of character, I suppose,” Frank said, a faint smile on his lips.

Gus put the cigar back in the side of his mouth, pulled on it, and with a practiced malicious glint in his eye, blew a big cloud in his hubby’s face eliciting a call of ‘Yeah, smoke that fucker out’ from the audience.

“Thanks a lot, ya sarcastic fucker! Now I recollect why I’m hitched to ya. By the by, when’s our cub gettin’ his sexy brown butt down here?” Gus asked.

“‘Bout an hour… right after his shift.” Frank said and patted Gus’ hairy ass. “Mind you play nice with the youn’un there.”

“Oh I’m playin’ nice, AIN’T I BOY? He growl-roared at the captive young man eliciting whistles and hoots from the gathered bears.

Gus thrust into Brandon three times in rapid succession with the last three words for emphasis and he replied loudly back, “FUCK YEAH Daddy Bear! VERY nice!”

“That’s what I fuckin’ wanted ta hear!” Gus growled and smacked the kid hard on the ass.

Gus turned back to his mate, “OK, I’ve ‘bout broke him in an’ I’m fixin’ ta nut in the sheepskin in this here birthday-boy’s ass; I’ll join y’all presently. I got me a chaperone that’ll take o’er an’ make sure ever’one else in this here circle o’ pervs plays nice ‘n’ safe like with him after I’m done. So git!” he said and with that he shooed his lover away.

But the four lingered for a bit, watching Gus fuck Brandon. Both the lad and bear were locked in a bond of mutual pleasure. Rusty made eye contact with one of the bears across the circle; a large well-muscled but chubby, silver-white bearded bear with the typical bald hair pattern around his head. He rather looked like Santa Claus; blue eyes, rosy apple cheeks, Ben Franklin wire rims and all… if Santa were a leather clad, tatted up, cigar smoking biker with a beer can thick cock and leather cock ring that showed off his chicken egg sized balls. The bear smiled, a fanged toothy smile, around his stogie and gave his condom sheathed cock a couple of pumps while locking eyes with Rusty. And then he winked and gave the ‘finger on the side of the nose gesture’ as if reading Rusty’s Santa thoughts. Rusty knew, then and there, that this was the other werebear in the group and the chaperone Gus had mentioned. The kid would be safe with ‘Santa’ running things. Frank pulled them together and motioned toward an empty table near the wall.

“Gus will join us in about thirty, after he’s finished.” he said for those that might not have heard over the din of the excited bears. The four pushed their way back through the crowd and headed toward the table. They all sat and sipped their beers.

“So, what’s with all of this? Is this a sex club down here?” Brian asked, a bit surprised by what he’d witnessed. “And that kid, he’s not much younger than I am.”

“Well, Brian, yeah it kinda is a sex club. Bears will be bears,” Frank said, “and Brandon’s lucky enough to have two bear uncles looking out for him, as well as my hubby… and whoever his chaperone friend is… gonna have to ask Gus about that,” Frank sighed. “Brandon’s mom was a single parent and did the best she could raising him. Even got a degree and works as a paralegal, but she just couldn’t spend as much time as she’d like to have, what with trying to provide for him. His father took off for parts unknown as soon as he found out she was pregnant, so no help there. She knew from the start he was gay and loved him unconditionally but his cousins, her nephews being quite a bit older, helped to raise him too. More like doting uncles than cousins, really. Anyway, he came out when he was a freshman in high school. He took a lot of crap for that, lots of bullying, partly because he looked sort of wimpy. Roscoe and Boscoe of took him under their wing, showing him the rainbow ropes as it were. They made sure he wasn't harassed over much. Got him lifting some. Gave him role models of what gay men could be, and how to stand up for himself. ”

Another round of beers were had and conversation lengthened the time in which they were consumed. Then, suddenly there was a loud, prolonged roar followed by a bellowing growl; cheers and clapping arose from the crowd. Someone yelled, “Happy BIRTHDAY Brandon! You ain’t a virgin no more!” and the crowd broke into a chorus of the birthday song.

In ten more minutes Gus returned mopping the sweat on himself with a bar towel, puffing on the nub of his cigar, carrying the rest of his leather gear and clothes collected from the clothes check. He plopped his hairy butt down on a chair and sighed contentedly.

Within a minute Roscoe showed up at the table with another round of beers, set them down and then hugged Gus from behind tightly, holding onto the sweaty bear as he kissed the side of his head and spoke, “Thanks for comin’ up and makin’ my cousin’s manhood day! My brother and I couldn’t think of anyone who would have read him better than you did.”

“T’were muh pleasure Roscoe! The youn’un’s becomin’ a bear cub an’ I’s jes glad ta be here for ‘im.” Gus said, leaning back, wrapping his arms around the big bear’s midriff. “An’ that boy likes it rough! But ‘course I wasn’t all that rough with ‘im; I held back. He’s got a sassy mouth on him too, unless an’ until he gets what he wants… then t’were all ‘Yes SIR Daddy SIR kin I have ‘nother please an’ thankee!” Gus chuckled. “He’s a good kid, though.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Uncle Gus.” Roscoe said looking down into the Bear’s face.

“Well thankee nephew! An’ thank my nephew Brandon for bein’ his first, for me. It’s the greatest of honors one man kin do for t’other. Tell him I’ll always be his Uncle Gus, jes like with you.” Gus said and smiled warmly. He took the stub of the cigar out of his mouth and they simply kissed.

“This round is on me.” Roscoe said, “But I gotta get back to the bar before those bears start helping themselves.” He patted and rubbed Gus’ furry belly. “See you guys later?”

“It could happen, sexy!” Frank said in response and patted the man on his ass as he turned to leave.

“Damn but you lay that accent on thick.” Frank said turning to his husband and giving his furry cheek a kiss.

“‘Course I do.’twas the first English I learnt, ya know that. ‘Sides, I kinda like soundin’ like Yosemite Sam ‘round all these young’uns.” Gus smiled, puffed the last of his cigar and stubbed it out in an ashtray on the table. “But if you like I could slip into Standard American Network Newscaster,” Gus said, giving his hubby a kiss back on his furry cheek.

“No, be the 'you' you like to be, Gus.” Frank said and the pair were interrupted by Tony who had grabbed a chair from another table and joined them.

“All done for the night, then?” Frank gave Tony a smooch.

“Yeah. Larry and Leonard will close down here. I came in early and worked extra so I could have some time off for fun. What's up for tonight, then?”

“Well, these three here have invited us three up to their room for a little private meet and greet.” Frank chuckled and nudged Tony in the ribs. “I saw the look you gave the young'un here at the bar. You undressed him coming and going. Not that there's anything wrong in that!”

“Well hot damn!” Gus said as he fished a cigar out of his vest pocket and lit it, “We’re all gonna get fucked!”

“Ha!” Rusty laughed. “We thought it might be a bit quieter back at the hotel. I bet Tony has been run ragged behind the bar, and this will be nicer, less intense.”

“Speak for yerself, Mr. Strawberries,” Gus said with a leer, working around his cigar. The six got up, pushing chairs back and reaching for clothes.

“Who's gonna drive?” Brian asked. “We've all have more than a few.”

“Not to worry,” Moose said jingling his car keys. He leaned over and whispered in Brian's ear. “Were metabolism processes alcohol pretty quick. You and Tony probably shouldn't drive, but we're good. Anyway, you got a pretty good head on ya. You up for a little fun back at the hotel?”

“You bet!” Brian followed Gus and Frank up the stairs, followed by Tony, who patted Brian's butt, with Moose and Rusty taking up the rear. They headed for the parking lot, waving and calling good-byes to friends in the main floor of Spanky's. The crowd didn't seem to have thinned out much at all. Once outside, deep lung-fulls of fresh air did wonders to clear their heads. The smoking area was still full of bears, clouds of blue smoke wafting out into the night. They piled into their respective vehicles and, with Moose in the lead, headed back to the hotel.

CHAPTER 13

Once in the hotel room, clothes came off faster than a tux on prom night. Brian hung back, still a bit shy with other bears. If it had been just Rusty and Moose, he probably would have beaten them to nakedness. Still, he dropped trou quick enough. He admired all the bear flesh around him, and smiled.

“What?” Tony asked him with a grin of his own.

“Just seeing all you handsome fuckers up close... it's like being in heaven!”

Tony clapped him on the back with a large paw. “It's the bear way... even more so among weres, as I've discovered. But, yeah, it sure is a nice view!”

Gus was fondling Moose's rapidly rising cock. “Let's git started!”

Frank paired off with Rusty, Moose with Gus, and Tony started nuzzling Brian's neck. “We'll go as slow as you like, I know this is all kinda new for you,” he whispered. Brian got the distinct impression that Tony was deliberately giving him the chance to either slow down or perhaps tag out for the duration.

“Oh, hell, no, man... I'm all wound up. Hell, just look at those four!” They both turned to look at Gus already deep-dicking Moose, and Rusty eagerly preparing to plow Frank's furry butt. “Damn, that's hot!”

“Sure is. I gotta ask though... I'm on my way to my first change, only about month left, but Frank gave me the heads-up about you not being were. He said you could be trusted, but if we play, I gotta use something. You cool with that?”

Brian nodded. “Rusty and Moose always do with me.”

“Gods, you can take Moose? That fucker's BIG!”

“You're no slouch,” Brian said, looking down at Tony's hefty meat. It was about the size of Rusty's at this point, but Brian thought it just might continue to grow.

Tony smiled shyly. “Yeah, daddy always said I stood in the cock line twice. We can take it slow if you need to, though.” Tony's hooded meat was rising, the pink tip slowly extended from the much darker foreskin. His cock was thick, not as long as Moose's, shaped more like Rusty's, but with a widely flaring tip. “What say we get comfy on this bed, looks like the other one is occupied.”

Brian nodded and then lay back on the bed. Being with a new man slowed Brian's responses down some, but the heady scent of bears in heat soon had him responding to Tony's more experienced technique. He found himself noticing Tony's scent, different from any other he had sensed at the bar, and certainly different from Moose or Rusty. It was different, he thought, because Tony wasn’t quite yet a werebear, but none the less pleasant. Exciting, in fact; for his own cock was rigid and drooling in less time than he would have thought.

“You leak like Gus!” Tony said and with that, moved over the younger man and began to suckle. Brian groaned as the warm wetness hit his cock, and the black bear's lips forced back his foreskin and his tongue swirled around the sensitive tip. Brian couldn't help bucking, his hips thrusting his cock deep into Tony's mouth. Tony's years of practice with Gus and Frank had made it easy for him to swallow everything Brian could give him, and Brian enjoyed the benefit of that practice.

Tony edged Brian, sucking him almost to explosion, then backing off, rubbing his curly black beard against Brian's thighs, then his balls, before starting in again once Brian had cooled off just a bit. He kept this up for a good twenty minutes before Brian moaned, “Man, I gotta shoot!”

Tony chuckled and pulled off and rolled on his back, his legs spread wide. “Shoot on me! I fucking love that... cover me with that white boy cream! I love seein' a guy shoot his load!”

Brian barely had time to raise himself and put his hand to his meat when he exploded, shooting thick ropes of seed, criss-crossing the bear’s belly. His loud grunts and Tony's pleased exclamations drew appreciative noises from Gus and Frank as well as Moose and Rusty.

“He looks good, doin' that,” Gus said and Frank nodded before turning Rusty over and lifting his legs and aiming his thick cock at Rusty's hole. “My turn,” Frank growled.

Remembering that Rusty liked his play rough, he thrust in deep and fast, causing a happy gasp from the strawberry blond bear. “Fuck, YEAH!” Rusty yelped.

Brian lay back down and smooched with Tony for a bit and then they both turned to watch Frank fuck Rusty. “Rusty's pretty sturdy, it looks like,” Tony said, eyes on the smaller bear.

“Yeah, he does like it rough. Sometimes it looks like Moose is gonna split him open, but I guess werebears can take that. It's REALLY hot to watch them when they are in bear form.”

“Oh, I know! When Gus and Frank go at it as full bears, sometimes I shoot hands free, just watchin',” Tony said, turning back to Brian. “You interested in giving me a try?”

“If I get to repay the favor, sure!”

“Cool! Where are the rubbers?” Tony asked, then started to get up to fish some out of his pants, but Brian reached over and pulled the night stand's drawer open. “Something there should fit you,” he said.

Tony tore open one of the packets and rolled the sheath over his meat and reached for the lube. “Grizzly? Hee hee, I like it... pump bottle! We usually use Wet, but this feels pretty slippery.”

“Yeah, Rusty found that on line, wanted to try it.”

Brian grunted softly as Tony worked the liquid into his butt with a blunt finger.

“You OK?”

Brian nodded at Tony and used his hands to raise his butt some.

“Use a lot.” Brian said, considering the girth of Tony’s cock.

Tony coated his sheathed meat and then raised Brian's legs up onto his shoulders and scooted forward some so the tip of his cock touched Brian's hole. He slowly nosed his cock tip in; the wildly flared tip slowly stretching Brian open and then disappearing inside as he slowly slid the rest of his shaft into Brian. Partway in, he stopped and pulled back slowly, but Brian shook his head and Tony hilted in slow motion, his balls bottoming out, pressed against Brian's ass.

“Mmmmmmm,” Tony breathed, looking down at Brian. “You doin' OK, white boy?” he said with a grin.

“Hell, yeah!” Brian had found that he liked being a top and a bottom equally, and that both were different experiences with Rusty and with Moose. This was now a third experience, and he found himself liking it a lot. “I don't have a lot of experience, but you're good!”

“Thanks! I have good teachers with hundreds of years of experience,” Tony said and then grunted as he changed his position slightly so his cock rubbed Brian's prostate harder. He was rewarded with a fat blob of sweet precum, which he managed to lean over and lap off the straining tip of Brian's cock. The taste and the pressure on his own meat from leaning over pushed him over the edge. “Aw, fuck, man, I'm gonna shoot!” Tony began an erratic hammering of Brian's ass and in only a few strokes shot off, filling the condom with his seed. Brian could feel the balloon swell slightly in his rump. He reached his hands out and gripped Tony's furry arms and pulled him in closer.

Once his breathing returned to normal, Tony reached down and made sure he had a good hold on the rubber and pulled out slowly so as not to spill anything. The tip of the raincoat was swollen, filled with milky white fluid. “That's a big load,” Brian said.

“Yeah, I guess it is. You're a hot fuck, bro, I got inspired. Frank and Gus tell me bigger loads are a sign my change is coming soon. It's taking less time for me to get interested again after shooting, and I am pumping out a lot more, even the second time, when I do. And the fur is increasing, too! Black guys usually aren't all that hairy. I had some before, but lately it’s growing all over me, much more than any male relatives I have, and DAMN but I’m proud of it!” He rubbed his belly, the crinkly black hair there thicker as it descended towards his now flaccid pole.

“Now I think it's your turn,” Tony said. “Why not do me on all fours... unless you'd like to try something else?”

“Well, I think I covered your belly with most of what I had a while ago, but I 'd sure like to try with you at the edge of the bed, if you're willing, and you don't mind a small load form me.” Brian knew he couldn't keep up with enhanced werebear metabolisms that conferred shorter refractive times.

“Oh, Hell, man... it's ain't the quantity, it's how it feels to you and me. If it feels good, it IS good.” With a grin he scooted to the edge of the bed. “Belly or back?”

Brian got off the bed. “On your back, I think... I'd kinda like to see your face while I fuck you.”

“You got it!” Tony lay back and raided his legs and held them back with his hands while Brian moved in. He was at half-staff, but seeing the pale brown pucker of the black bear's ass winking at him got him hard in a hurry. He reached for the Grizzly lube, pumped a glob in his hand and started working it into Tony's rectum. Another squirt coated his own cock. Tony looked at Brian's face, screwed up in concentration and smiled. “Do what feels good, bro. Slow and easy or quick and deep. I'm ready for ya.”

Brian took Tony at his word and began a slow, almost teasing, in and out motion. Rusty had taught him the joys of a slow fuck, especially after the urgent need of a first fuck had been satisfied. His face was almost thoughtful as he focused his mind on the wonderful sensations gliding up and down his fuckpole as he moved in and out of Tony's well-lubed ass. Watching Tony's face as he pumped into him enhanced the pleasure. Tony worked his rectum and sphincter to alternately squeeze and release, enhancing Brian's pleasure even more. Brian got an extra sexual jolt from the tight drag against the ridge of his tip when he pulled nearly all the way out. He kept repeating that motion, and Tony kept gripping on Brian's outward pulls, sensing the younger man's pleasure. His face glowed with sweat and sex.

“Oh, God, that feels so GOOD!” Brian moaned. “Tony, I can't hold it any more, I'm gonna cum,” and with that, he lunged in deep and shot a not-that-small second load of the evening into Tony's eager ass. His breath ragged with exertion, he slowly straightened up and allowed Tony to rest his legs on his shoulders.

“Good, huh?” Tony asked as he held on to Brian's arms and ruffled the back of Brian's head with his feet.

“Better than good!” Brian replied, and pulled out with an audible 'plop' and reached for a wipe. “Here, let me clean you off some.” He gently wiped the small amount of cum and larger amount of lube from Tony's butt.

“Your papas' taught you well!”

“Consideration in small things!” Brian tossed the used wipe into the trash and got on the bed with Tony. Rusty and Gus and Moose and Frank surrounded the bed and gave lots of words of encouragement. Neither Brian nor Tony had been aware that they had had an audience throughout their mutual breeding. Both pairs of bears had been watching from their positions on the other bed and the ottoman, proud of their respective cubs.

Stifling a bear-sized yawn, Moose said, “What say we get some sleep, guys? Wanna shift into half form?” The others agreed readily, and they began their shift to half bear form.

Silence fell. Tony gaped at Rusty. “Well, I'll be God-damned.”

“Yeah, he gets that a lot,” said Moose, who had deliberately delayed his shift so he could talk more clearly; his practice had made him more intelligible, but more was still needed before he would be easily understandable in half form. “He's a Kermode, a spirit bear. Beautiful, ain't he?” Rusty ruffled Rusty's fur and gave him a deep mouth to muzzle kiss before shifting himself.

Rusty did his best to smile in half form. He had long ago, even before becoming were, accepted that Moose found his smaller size and round hairy body desirable. Moose's frank worship of his body had done wonders for his self-esteem. The admiration and awe his Kermode shape and coloring seemed to inspire in other weres had reinforced that, and the comments on it never failed to give him pleasure.

Soon Brian was nestled between a very bearish Gus and Frank; Tony was snugged between a giant reddish brown grizzly and a slightly smaller creamy spirit bear. They were all asleep in five minutes.

Several hours later, Brian awoke, needing to pee badly. He eased himself from between Gus and Frank, who mumbled some in their sleep and reached over to close the gap between them. Brian padded to the bathroom and lifted the lid and began to pee. He felt two arms encircle his middle and hug gently. “Move over, I need to drain my tanks, too,” Tony whispered.

“Sure.” Brian moved sideways, and Tony unleashed a powerful stream into the toilet.

“I wonder if straight guys do this? Peeing naked side by side like this?” Brian looked over at Tony, who's stream was slowing down.

“I dunno... I don't know too many straight dudes. And I don't pee with 'em,” Tony chuckled as he shook off. They washed their hands and dried on the still-damp bath towels.

“Tony...” Brian hesitated, unsure if what he wanted to ask was appropriate.

“Yeah?” Tony said, sitting on the edge of the tub. “What's on your mind, white boy?” Again, the affectionate grin softened the term.

Brian put the lid down and sat. “I want to ask you something, and you can just say it's too personal if you want.” When Tony nodded, Brian continued. “How long have you and Gus and Frank been together? A long time? You say you haven't had your first change yet and I know that takes four months or so, but you guys seem to know each other really well...”

“Oh, the guys and I have known each other for maybe 8 or 9 years. We met when I started working here at Spanky's and they'd come in during the bear run. We'd visit back and forth between times.”

“Were you lovers all that time?”

“Ah, nope. Mostly the last five years.”

Brian paused and the silence grew. He finally said quietly, “Why did you want to become a were? DID you want to, or did it... happen?”

Tony considered carefully before answering. “First of all, I asked, well, begged, really. It was no accident. Gus and Frank were always very careful when we fucked or sucked. I didn't have a clue as to what they were until five years ago. That WAS an accident. They were up visiting and staying in my apartment, I’d gone to work but came back unexpectedly because I’d got sick and had to go home. I guess I was more quiet than usual and they were busy having a good loud fuck in their half and full shapes, so they didn’t hear me when I opened the bedroom door. They thought I would be freaked out. I wasn't it... I’ve loved the idea of shape-shifting since I saw my first werewolf movie.” Tony paused. “Of course, I had no idea that it was real, or all the issues that came along with it. Once I knew about it, I really wanted it, and I mean REALLY wanted it. I pestered those guys to death about it. They sat me down and gave me 'the Talk.”

“The Talk?”

“Yeah, the one where they tell you about all the hard stuff that goes along with all the cool stuff, and about how you always have to be secret, and how you can't ever tell anyone and how you pretty much have to give up family because they’re gonna know something’s up. Kinda like how some guys are gay and hide, but worse.”

Brian nodded. “Oh, yeah.... that Talk.”

“Well, I've never been in the closet, so that would be a big change for me, being secret and all. I don't much care what people know or think about me. I got a really thick skin. Being black and gay toughens you up some. Anyway, they insisted that the only way, the ONLY way they would consider changing me was after a few years of thought and consideration and lot of talk between us. I pestered, and they held back.”

“Yeah, but why did you decide to?” Brian's steady gray eyes looking into Tony's deep brown ones.

“Well, there are LOTS of cool reasons for becoming a werebear. I imagine you've seen a few of them. There are lots. But, really.... with the three of us, it boiled down to the fact that I love them deeply and they love me, and I want to spend my life with them. Being human means I’d get old and die in a handful of decades; I want a long life of fucking and loving with those two. Simple as that. After all the talk and back and forth, it was just as simple as that.”

“Did you have any doubts?”

“None.”

“Kinda hard to believe,” Brian said.

“Maybe, for others. Not us. Not me. But yeah, everyone's different, and I sure as Hell know some people that would be a first-class disaster as a werebear. Frank tells a story about one guy, about 80 years ago, who desperately tried to get fucked so he'd turn into a werebear. He turned out to be a serial killer, wanted to turn were so he could go on killing and able to get away from the police easily.” He paused. “Do you want to? Have you asked Moose or Rusty to turn you? “

“No. I haven't asked and they haven't offered. I've thought a bit about it, but not much, I guess. They've made it clear that they will never do anything that might put me in danger of being changed by accident, and they've told me a lot that my changing is not a requirement for being with them. The opposite, in fact.”

“Good.” Tony put a large hand on Brian's shoulder. “Listen to me, white boy. Where I am, where I am going, is totally by my choice. I'm here because I want to be. I've thought it all through. I'm not leaving anything behind I'll regret. You need to be certain of that, too. Rusty and Moose are new to this, they've likely got hundreds of years in front of them. You're young, you've got years to think this through. You got time, man. You want my advice?” Tony look hard at Brian.

“Yeah... I do.”

“Take your time. There is no rush for you, or them. Have a life. Get some schoolin’, see the world if you want. Get a nice job, something you like. Let them know you’re thinking about this. They'll be OK with it, I think. Moose has got the hots for your fine hairy white ass, and Rusty does, too, I think.” At Brian's questioning look, Tony said, “Trust me, I know that look. I see it at the bar all the time. But there's more to it than that, and that's plain. I see that look, too, just not as often. They will support you in whatever you choose, man.”

Tony stood, and pulled Brian up into a hug. “Enough answers for now?” Brian stifled a yawn and nodded. “Then let’s head back to sleep. Tell you what, let's switch places; surprise the papas when they wake up with a different cub, OK?” The pair headed back to the bedroom.

The following morning late, the six bears woke. Brian and Tony smiled at the surprise expressed by Moose and Rusty and Gus and Frank at the change of partners, and were immediately assaulted for their efforts. Good-natured but low key play followed, mostly sucking and smooching. Eventually Gus, Frank, and Tony headed back to Tony’s place to clean up and get fresh clothes, promising to return for a lazy afternoon by the hotel's pool.

“I still don't have swim trunks,” Brian said.

“And you still don't need them, remember?” Rusty smiled at Brian. “Pool's clothing optional for the run, they sold out the whole hotel, so nobody but us bears here.”

The three spent the rest of what remained of the morning being lazy in the shower and taking a long time to clean each other up, reveling in the silky feel of soap on fur and skin. Brian found that he was still wound up from the previous night's entertainment, and eagerly fucked both Rusty and Moose. Afterwards, Rusty turned to Moose. “Ah, the energy of youth!”

“Yeah, but our cub is growing up... didja notice how well he handled himself last night? He and Tony got on real well.” He grinned and swatted Rusty's butt. “I's hungry! Next stop, buffet!”

The afternoon was spent naked at the pool. Brian lost his concern over being naked in public after the third admiring comment he received from other bears. The water was refreshing, and the hot tub was in constant use with bears soaking out muscle aches from the previous night's efforts. There were lots of getting-caught-up conversations, and introductions of Brian made to other bears.

“This is SO nice!” Brian sighed late in the afternoon as the crowd began to thin out. “I get how guys would hate for this to end.”

“Yeah. Some are already heading out, to get back to work in time. Tonight's the farewell dinner, but there will be fewer guys there than were at the turkey feast.” Moose leaned over and smooched his lover. “Rusty, how about we stay an extra day and just explore some? Eunice cleared my appointments for Monday anyway, in case we didn't get back, and you could call Bekah. What say?”

“Yeah, I guess we could do that. Might be fun.”

The next day late, the three were in the SUV heading home to Wolverton. Brian leaned forward and put a hand on both bear's shoulders. “Guys... thanks. I mean that. I know you brought me along so I could get out and about with other bears, ones like me, I mean. That was a whole lot of fun. I never knew it could just be so, so easy with other guys. So....thanks!”

“Kinda like this whole gay/bear thing, huh?” Moose said over his shoulder, taking his eyes off the road briefly.

Brian leaned back and stretched with a smile. “Oh, yeah!”

Chapter 14

The next spring, Rusty was downtown, running errands on an atypically clear day for this time of year. He was about to get into his SUV when he noticed an older man, sitting on one of the newly-installed benches, next to an also newly-installed water fountain. He felt the faintest of tingles along his spine. The man had an enormous brown beard, and looked slightly scruffy, although clean. His clothes were also clean, though obviously somewhat out of fashion. He waved to Rusty and made to get up.

Rusty waved back, scanning his memory. 'Customer? No, I'd remember that beard. One of Norman's patients? I don't recall Norman mentioning any new client like that. Maybe someone from the shelter?' Rusty picked the last as the most likely and waved in return. “Hi! I'm sorry, I'm usually better with names but I'm not remembering yours. Have we met?”

“Oh, yes,” the big man boomed, “we've met.” He extended a hairy paw and shook Rusty's hand. “Don't worry about the name, I don't believe we exchanged names, really.... though we did exchange other things; but if you must have one, call me Josephus.” The big man grinned a toothy grin, and for brief moment, Rusty was sure he saw the man's human ears morph into much more rounded, fuzzy ones. Rusty blinked and the image was gone, the ears once again normal.

Puzzled, Rusty asked, “Do I know you from the shelter?” hoping not to offend the man who had obviously taken better care of himself but still looked like he might be just a few bad breaks away from another shelter.

“No, not from the shelter.” The old man's eyes twinkled and then turned a deep, chocolate brown.

“Oh, my god!! You're the bear we met in the forest!” Rusty's mouth hung partly open with astonishment.

“Yep, that's me. But let's not tell the whole town, OK?” The big old man smiled, but his eyes were checking out the surrounding people as they went about their business. He smiled again. “Pleased to meet you... again.”

“But... how did you find us, I mean me? I didn't sense you at all... well, hardly at all.” Rusty was truly puzzled.

“Oh, that was not hard, really. You smell just like fresh strawberries. And I am very good at concealing myself from nearly everyone, even other bears” The big old man smiled at Rusty. Rusty was becoming excited at the prospect of he and Moose spending time with the old grizz again, but tried to control the rising lust. “What are you doing in town?”

“Looking for you and your mate, actually.” Before he could continue, Rusty interrupted excitedly, reacting to the strong scent of bear he was now getting from the old man. “Oh, come home with me and we'll fix you dinner. I own a coffee shop, you like coffee? And I've got some really nice steaks, Norman can grill those for us and I made a big cheese cake yesterday, and there's a really big bed, and...” Rusty's excited rush of words, and the noticeable bulge in his pants made the old man smile.

“I'm not much of one for settlements. They make me itchy. I prefer outdoors. I haven't been in town for at least a couple of years. No offense and I do thank you kindly. I wanted to find out something, and let you know something.” He paused, and grew somber. “The fire. The man responsible. He was caught?”

“You mean the arsonist? He was found dead, ripped open.”

“I know that. No, I mean the man who hired the arsonist... the one who paid him to burn and kill. Valmer, I think he was called.”

“Oh, Clyde Valmer. Yeah, he was tried and convicted last month. The fool represented himself and insisted on a speedy trial hoping enough evidence had yet to be gathered. He rolled the dice and lost. He got life in prison without parole. But.... you said you hadn't been in town. How did you know the arsonist was found dead... that he was working for someone else?”

The big old man looked steadily at Rusty. The fingers of his right hand slowly curled and the beginnings of claws began to form, then recede. The pause grew longer. Rusty's eyebrows shot up.

“Oh.”

“I overheard that terrible human talking to someone on the phone, someone called Valmer. I took care of that part of the problem, but I wondered if human justice had taken care of the other part. I must say I am disappointed.”

“We DO have the death penalty here, but it's hard to get it to stick. The DA thought he could get a conviction with that, but had to settle for life without parole.”

“He killed his own kind. Worse, he paid another to do the deed for him.”

“Maybe that is what the jury thought. That he was somehow less directly involved.”

“I fail to see the difference.” The old man sighed. “Perhaps one of his own kind will kill him in prison. I hear that happens sometimes.”

Rusty sighed, too. “Justice is often imperfect.” The old man nodded. Rusty brightened and said, “Please reconsider. Norman and I would love to have you for dinner. Our place is large and comfortable, but if you wanted we could take you wherever you wanted after dinner.” He looked hopefully at the big man in front of him.

“Your offer is greatly appreciated, but I'm feeling powerfully itchy. I've stayed here longer than I intended. But you and your mate, you should come and run with me one day soon. I would like that, and I know it would be good for you.”

Rusty took the offered paw and shook it. “How will we find you?”

“Oh, I will find you. Just mark your scent on any tall tree, or better yet, make love out in the open... I will both smell and hear that, for sure!” The old man turned and waved his hairy paw as he lumbered off, leaving Rusty standing, part of him wondering if what had just happened was real; and part of him wondering how soon he and Moose could make a trip back to the nearby national forest.

That weekend, Rusty was in the kitchen making coffee when the phone rang.

“Boris! How are you?” Rusty cradled the phone against his right ear with his shoulder as he finished pouring the hot water over the coffee grounds. The Saturday morning sunlight lit the kitchen as he went about breakfast preparations. “What's up?”

Up in BC, Boris smiled at the recollection of the stocky little bear and his mate that the sound of Rusty's voice brought forth. “I am well. It is good to hear you, my friend. How have you been?”

“Oh, I'm good, hale and hearty. The coffee house is doing really well, and we've fit in quite nicely here. It's a great place, not too big, but close to things.” Rusty set down the pot and watched the water sink down through the grounds into his mug.

“And how is that large, red-furred mate of yours?”

“Oh, you know Norman, nothing knocks him down, well, not for long, anyway. His PT business is thriving, not too many patients to handle, but enough to keep him off the streets and out of trouble.”

Boris' smile was evident in the sound of his voice. “And are you getting out together to run wild in the woods, as I suggested? It is good for you both, you know. And other bears... have you met any? I know there are a couple in your general area.”

“We are, we have. I've got good help in the coffee house so we can get away now and then. We haven't run across any other bears in the area, our kind, I mean; except, well, maybe one.”

“Oh?”

“Well, on one weekend out in the forest, we did run across an old grizzly. Now that was fun!” Rusty stirred one sugar into his coffee and began to sip contentedly.

“Feral?”

“I think so,” Rusty said.

“Did you get a name?” Boris' interest was piqued.

“No, not that time, but I ran into him just this week, and quite by chance in town, in human form, of course. He said his name was Josephus.” Rusty paused. “You know him?”

“I'm not sure, I may. And yes... Josephus sounds like a name he would chose for himself. It has been many years since we met, if it is him. He was half feral then, could not stand human company for long.” Boris considered. “Yes, it may be him. If your paths should cross again, mention my name to him. Tell him I wish him well.”

“We'll do that.” Before Rusty could continue, Boris coughed lightly and spoke.

“I have called you for more than a social conversation, enjoyable as that might be. Vic called me and related your recent adventures with fire. I am most pleased that you and your mate are safe. I know I don't need to remind you of how necessary discretion is for us. Publicity is to be avoided...”

Rusty interrupted the much-older bear on the line. “Oh, we know, Boris. Norman played down his part in the rescue, very convincingly and we dodged a bullet in the hospital. We ARE careful, Boris.”

“Hospitals are to be avoided at all costs, my friend.”

“We know that, Boris. This time it was, uh, necessary. I know we are still new to all this, but Vic and Walt have given us good advice.”

“Well and good then. Vic also mentioned something about the one who was responsible for all this when he called me. I would like to ask a favor of you, if I may?”

“Of course, Boris. Anything we can do, you know that.”

“Yes, and thank you, my friend,” Boris said. “I understand that the perpetrator of this was a lawyer, and apparently owned the firm, am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“I would like you to find out as much as you can about that law firm, discretely, of course. Raise no suspicions. If you could let me know what you find out as soon as you can.”

“Sure, Boris. Can I ask why?” Rusty was frankly puzzled. Valmer's conviction had left a mess behind, to be sure; but he was unsure as to how this involved Boris.

“If, as I suspect, this law firm is in as much disarray as Vic indicated, it may solve a problem I have here. Let me explain. I know a bear, a lawyer, who is in real need of relocating, the sooner the better. He's currently living in your state of New Jersey, but we must get him out soon. Questions are being asked about him, about his remarkable good health. There is also a brother bear in Florida who would need to consider a move in a few more years. He is a regular at the summer gatherings, and I know he is well-versed in criminal law. If what you find out is suitable, I would put up the initial money for the purchase of the firm and its assets. He would need to move quickly, but he could do that. We have an existing law firm in a suburb of your lovely city of Seattle; they could purchase the firm and install my New Jersey friend. Then, later perhaps, my Florida friend could join him in the law partnership. It would also have the effect of giving us some legal knowledge and help for brother bears in your area.”

“Not to mention, that would be two werebears in our area with whom we could play!” Rusty said

“Yes, many benefits; and so, an elegant solution.”

“What do you need to know?” Rusty asked, putting down his coffee and reaching for a pad and pencil.

“I would like to know who currently is in charge, if they are interesting in selling, and what assets would go with the firm. Vic indicated that this person had used legal conniving to cheat people out of their property and businesses. I would like to know if there are any pending law suits against the firm, and if so, the details. Anything you can find out about his illegal dealings.”

“Got it,” Rusty said, writing rapidly.

“Thank you. You and your mate impressed us all in the short time you were with us. You impress me still, young bear.” Boris chuckled. “You know, I still host my regular summer gathering. You and your mate are most welcome to visit, then or any time. It would do both you and me much good, I think.” Rusty could almost see the older bear's lust-filled expression over the phone line.

“We will certainly do our best to get there, Boris. I'll tell Norman, and we'll get on this Monday, OK?”

“That will be most satisfactory. My thanks to you, and give that beast of a mate of yours a poke for me, will you?” Boris growled. Rusty hung up with a smile and went to find Moose.

- - - - - - - -

As it happened, the bears saw Boris much sooner than they had planned. One afternoon, Rusty had ducked upstairs to take a quick shower and a nap. His phone woke him up with a text message from Boris. Rusty was reading it when Moose came into the bedroom and kissed him on the back of the neck and nuzzled his lover.

“What's up, red bear?” he asked, still nuzzling.

“It's a text from Boris and you're tickling,” he said with a giggle.

“Boris texts?”

“Apparently. He says he is driving down the coast to California to check on a young cub of Sam's. It seems that Sam just up and left, and now Russ and his mate are caring for...ummm...wait a minute....Mack. He wants to know if it's OK if he stops in here for a quick visit, maybe overnight:

“Sounds like fun! I liked Boris, even if he didn't like us at the start. He's sort of fun to tease,” Moose said with a grin.

OK, I'll text him back.” Rusty tapped on his phone while Moose went into the bathroom to pee. Shaking, then zipping up, he padded back into the room.

“OK, he says he should be here around six. I think I still have that extra lasagna I made last week in the freezer. I'll check. And some wine and salad and bread. I can bake some, it should have enough time to rise. And speaking of rising...” Rusty turned and reached out for the thick bulge in Moose's khakis, still slightly tumescent from peeing.

“Nuh-uh,” Moose growled, batting his hubby's paw away. “I've got patients still, one coming in about..” he checked the bedside clock, “shit, in 2 minutes. Gotta go, see you later, bear.” He kissed Rusty and scooted down the stairs to his side of the building.

Boris arrived just a bit past six. He sat, relaxing with a glass of wine while Rusty popped the bread in the oven to bake. “I love the smell of baking bread, don't you?” Rusty said to Boris as he washed his hands and poured some wine for himself.

“Oh, yes, indeed. My neighbor back in Montreal many years ago, she made the most wonderful bread. The whole building would smell of it.” He sipped some more wine. “You have done very well for yourselves here, it seems. I like this place.” Boris looked around appreciatively. “Was this all your idea?”

“Well, ours really. I did the kitchen, and Moose did the bedrooms and that huge bathroom and shower. Plenty of room for bears,” Rusty said, his eyes twinkling. Boris grinned in return.

“Not every bear has the space that I possess to host a large number of guests, but it is pleasant to have room for visitors now and again, is it not?” Rusty was nodding in agreement ad Moose entered.

“Boris, you old Soviet bear, you!” He enveloped the Russian in a massive bear hug.

“Please!! I was no Soviet!” Boris growled.

Moose laughed. “Well, OK, then... you old Imperialist bear,” and hugged him again.

“That is better. The Romanovs had their faults, but they did things with style, and some of them had a genuine feeling for the serfs who worked their lands. Unlike Lenin, and that peasant swine, Stalin.”

When the bread was done, they shed clothes and sat down naked to the ample meal, and caught up on each other's news. “This is excellent,” Boris said, waving his paw at both the meals, his hosts, and their nakedness.

“Once the day is done, we shed clothes. It's just more comfortable, either in human or half-form,” Moose said as he began to gather dishes.

“May I be of help?”

“Absolutely not,” said Rusty. “Guests are excused from KP. And if you are tired, you can either use the guest bed, or sleep in ours. You've been driving all day, you probably need a snooze.”

“I have been taking my time and making many stops along the way. But I would never pass up the opportunity to sleep with two such handsome bears as yourselves.”

Moose peered over the kitchen counter that divided the kitchen from the living area. “Playtime?”

Rusty and Boris both laughed. “My Norman is a horndog, as you see; but if you would rather sleep....”

Boris grinned. “Bóže moj! I am seldom too tired for some play, as you put it. Please, lead the way,” he said, gesturing towards the bedroom. By the time Moose had finished stacking the plates by the dishwasher and had hurried in to the bedroom, Boris was rock hard and drooling as Rusty turned down the covers on the bed.

“Damn! I'd forgotten how furry you were in human form, Boris. Fuck me running, but you are a handsome devil!” Moose patted the spot next to him as he lay down on the bed.

Boris sank down onto the bed and sighed. “It's been much too long, my friends. Now, who is going to make this old bear happy?”

“How about both of us?” Rusty said as he joined the two on the bed. He knelt beside Boris and took his straining upright cock in his mouth and struggled to swallow the girth. It was shorter than Moose's but thicker at the base, a real tapered beer can cock. He lapped at the tip, and slowly spread the foreskin back with his lips. Moose meanwhile was feeding the Russian bear his own meat after having smeared some of his copious precum on Boris' beard. Boris eagerly sucked at the meat log and reached out to fondle Moose's furry ball sack. He tugged and stroked the heavy orbs, playing with them as they moved heavily in their skin and hair enclosure. A grunt escaped now and then from around Moose's cock as Rusty applied his skills to making the Russian feel very happy indeed.

Boris moved his paw further back and probed with thick fingers in the hair between Moose's legs and ass cheeks. Feeling upwards he suddenly felt heat as Moose spread his legs a bit further apart. Still keeping his cock in Boris' warm mouth, he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the bottle of Wet. Opening the slippery bottle, he grabbed Boris' paw with his other hand and dripped some Wet on his fingers. He snapped the cap shut and put the bottle back on the table while Boris placed his paw back behind Moose's ball sack, eagerly reaching for the big red bear's pucker.

Finding it, he thrust a finger in and it was Moose's turn to grunt. He squatted down some, forcing Boris' thick digit deep inside. “MMMMMMM,” was all Boris could manage from around Moose's throbbing cock. They continued this way for a bit, until Boris withdrew his finger and signaled Rusty that he wanted to get up. Rusty pulled off and nodded. Boris panted and then said, “My friends, I need to fuck soon or I will burst. Please.... hand me that lube.” Moose reached over again and handed the bottle to Boris. The Russian bear coated his cock with the slippery fluid and motioned for Moose to assume the classic bear position. Moose willingly dropped to all fours and Boris applied the Wet to his butt, working a goodly amount into Moose's already partially-slick hole with first one, then two of his fingers. Moose groaned and pushed back on Boris. Boris moved into position, put his paws on Moose's back, and hilted himself in the big bear in one triumphant thrust. Moose gasped and Boris groaned aloud and began moving slowly in and out of the red bear's ass.

Rusty was becoming almost uncontrollably excited by the sight of the very hairy Russian fucking his equally hairy husband. Unbidden, he began to morph into half form as he positioned himself behind Boris. He couldn't reach the bottle of lube and simply spat on his paw and slicked himself. Boris seemed to be trying to climb inside Moose, and Rusty took his chance and mounted Boris, his own rigid cock finding its way into the Russian bear's backside. Boris barked at the sudden intrusion into his ass, but on his next outward thrust from Moose's ass pushed back hard on Rusty's baculum-stiffened meat. In short order the three had established a rhythm of Moose pushing back on Boris' inward thrust, and Rusty pushing forward as Boris drew out of Moose. The room was heavy with werebear pheromones, and the grunts and chuffs and groans of vigorous bearsex. The back and forth motion, with Boris acting like a literal fucking pendulum, brought the three bears to climaxes nearly together. Moose started spraying the sheets with his seed, followed quickly by Rusty unloading in Boris' ass and Boris discharging in Moose's.

Panting, the three held on to each other for a bit, catching their breaths. “Sukin syn!” Boris breathed, the coarse peasant obscenity uttered with a tone of both amazement and affection. “You two are truly fantastic. And you,” he said turning his head towards Rusty, who was still behind him and still buried in his ass, “I had forgotten how beautiful were as a bear.” Rusty smiled as much as he could in half form, his creamy, orange tinged fur glowing in the low light of the bedroom. Gradually, as they all cooled down, they separated and sank down onto the sheets. Boris, in the middle, ended up in the copious puddle of Moose sperm. “I guess I have the wet spot, no?” he said, not entirely displeased.

“Well, you made me do it,” Moose countered with a laugh. Rusty had started to shift back but Boris stopped him.

“Why don't we all shift at least to half from and rest that way?”

“Hell, let's just go all out and finish the night as bears, OK?” Moose started to change, and Rusty reversed his progress towards human form and became a full Kermode. Boris followed suit. Soon, all three bears were pleasantly tangled together, their chests and bellies rising and falling with their satisfied breathing as they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Boris sat at the breakfast table, demolishing a pile of hash browns and sausages. Between sips of coffee he scratched his ample belly and spoke with Moose, who was cooking.

“I find it interesting that nearly all of the bears I know are excellent cooks... interesting, and quite useful.” He forked another sausage into his mouth.

“Well, I'm not a great cook, but I do know my way around a kitchen. I think we learn early on to cook for ourselves. It's cheaper than eating out, for one thing, given our appetites.” He poured more batter on the griddle. “Rusty is actually better at this, but he's sleeping in some. I think we tired him out last night.”

“That is very true,” Boris said, “and economy is a virtue, as my sainted mother used to say back in Russia.” As he continued to eat, Rusty came in and joined them in the ample kitchen. Moose handed him a plate heaped with pancakes, sausage and hash browns.

“Everyone sleep OK?” Rusty asked, grinning.

“What do you think?” Moose said as he handed Rusty a fresh carafe of coffee and gave him a smooch.

Silence reigned for a while as they all did justice to their breakfasts. Eventually, Rusty's plate was empty and he looked at Boris.

“Boris...” He paused

Boris picked up on the hesitant pause and wondered what was bothering the smaller bear. “Yes, my friend, is something on your mind?”

“Well... yes, there is. Norman and I would like to ask you something.” He looked at Moose, and then continued. “We'd like to do something to help Brian, I mean help him with his education, college. The problem is that, well, we're not exactly sure about...” Rusty stumbled to a stop.

“What my woofer here is trying to say is that we want to give Brian some money for college, but things are kind of tight now, and...” Boris raised a paw and interrupted.

“I owe you both a debt of gratitude from our previous time together, and you only need ask. I value you both, and anything I can do...”

Rusty stopped Boris by speaking up. “It's not exactly that. We were thinking more in terms of investment advice. We'd like to put some money into something that would yield a hefty return that could fund tuition. Short term, though.” Boris rubbed the side of his nose in a characteristic gesture.

“There is a saying, and not just in this country, to the effect that if something is too good to be true, it is. Nearly every get rich quick investment I know of is of that ilk. The investment advice I give, to bear and human alike, is 'slow and steady... look to the long term'.” He chewed a mouthful of hash browns.

“But what about guys in tech startups that make millions in a day or two with IPO's, or when they bet bought out? Surely there some opportunities there?” Rusty looked hopefully at Boris.

“It is true that in your valley of silicon, there are such events. We even have...” He was interrupted by barks of laughter from Moose and Rusty.

“What?” Boris asked, puzzled.

“Silicon Valley, not 'valley of silicon',” Moose said with a chuckle.

“Ah.... but what the difference is escapes me,” Boris said, waving a fork. “My point, though, is that such sudden wealth always attracts notice. Reporters investigating the background of the newly-rich person. Government scrutiny of the companies involved.” He stared hard at the three. “Such notice is to be avoided. Always.” He drained his coffee mug and Rusty refilled it. Obvious disappointment showed on both Rusty's and Moose's faces. “But do not derange yourselves, my friends. I actually DO have the solution to your problem.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I realize that you are both still quite new to all this, and that you have not had sufficient time to absorb all our lore and ways. But it is the way of weres to attempt to provide for their own, whether they are kith or kin, even when it must be done surreptitiously. Our cubs and papas, we would lay down our lives for. Our human blood kin, well, they inevitably die while we linger on. But we make provision for them, when we can.” Boris paused and drank more coffee from his mug. “There is a fund, one of long standing; that we pay into when we can, each in the amount he can. That fund provides for the education of our younger cubs, but also for our human relations when needed. Friends of family, too, when appropriate. A kind of 'scholarship fund,', if you will. As weres you would eventually have call upon those funds. And as ones I owe a debt to, I will do my best to ensure that money is available to you now for your young friend's education. Will that suffice, do you think?” Boris looked steadily at Rusty and Moose.

“But, Boris, we haven't paid into this fund. We didn't even know such a thing existed. How can we take funds from it?” Moose was plainly worried.

Boris nodded. “In the usual way of things, you would not be making any such claim until you had donated funds on your own. But, think. This solves your problem, avoids any problems with sudden wealth attracting scrutiny, and...” here, Boris smiled and rubbed his nose, “and at least partially relieves me of my obligation to you.”

“That is very kind of you, Boris. It would certainly make it possible for us to help Brian. I had to replace an amazingly expensive espresso machine, and Moose had a huge repair bill on the SUV... so, yes. Yes, if you are willing, we accept.” Rusty turned to Moose, who nodded.

“I am more than willing, my friends. Think nothing of it. It is settled.” He raised his mug. The others did likewise. “To absent friends, and to all our futures.”

Chapter 15

Rusty hadn't forgotten the old bear he had run into in town earlier in the spring. Both he and Moose badly wanted to get back together with Josephus and run wild with him in the forest. The press of work and a series of open mic nights at the Brown Bear had kept them all busy. Moose had been pressed into service as a general dogs body, watching the door, moving sound equipment, and just being 'useful'. He enjoyed the music and stand-up a lot, the poetry less.

Finally, in late spring, the opportunity presented itself. Two new workers at the Brown Bear had been trained and were doing fairly well under Bekah's stern eye, making a weekend off with Brian possible. Both Moose and Rusty wanted to take Brian out into the woods, both to let him see another aspect of werebear life and to make a proposal to him.

As Brian was helping load the last of the camping stuff into the back of the SUV, he turned to Moose and said, “This is going to be fun! I haven't ever been camping before, well, not voluntarily, anyway.”

Moose caught the slight change in Brian's voice with the last words. “Do you still think about that? Those times are gone, you know.” He rested a paw on Brian's shoulder.

“Well, not a lot, no. Sometimes I have dreams. Oh, not when I'm sleeping with you guys. I always have good dreams then. I feel safe, comfortable.” He paused. “It's more when I'm sleeping downstairs. Sometimes I dream of the shelters, or of sleeping half-awake, under an overpass or in a park.”

Moose gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Those days are over now.”

Brian nodded. “I know.” He hugged Moose.

Rusty brought out the last of the food. “Geez, I leave you two alone for a minute and you're making out. His grin negated the sting of the words. “Snacks for the drive,” he said, putting the bag in between the front seats.

“Is there enough food here for all of us?” Brian asked, eying the rather small box of freeze-dried meals and fruit and trail mix in the back.

Moose chuckled. “Wait and see. We won't be eating much of that.” He nodded at Rusty. “We will forage on our own, but we won't expect you to eat like that.”

Brian scratched his head, plainly doubtful. “OK.”

They all piled into the vehicle and, with Moose driving, headed out for their first spring run in the woods. It was very early in the morning and the air was fresh and scenting with green growing things. They all had their windows down, enjoying the beautiful late spring weather. “This is going to be SO much fun!” Brian exclaimed, and both bears smiled. The miles unwound as music played, alternately oldies for the bears and house and 'hippity-hoppity music' as Rusty jokingly called it for Brian. During the drive, Rusty spoke to Brian while Moose focused on the road and traffic.

“Brian, we wanted you to come with us so we could show you an aspect of werebear life that you haven't seen.” Privately, both Rusty and Moose had been discussing what they thought might be an inevitable question on Brian's mind. Both wondered if Brian would ask about becoming a werebear himself, and how they would handle that. Both were in accord that they themselves would welcome Brian as a were, but both firmly insisted that the decision would be entirely Brian's, and that they would both insist that he take a great deal of time, years if need be, before making the decision. They had decided that Brian should see a variety of werebear as well as gay life. The Thanksgiving bear run in Eugene had been one part of that. This weekend was another.

They reached the area they favored for these jaunts and Moose piloted the SUV carefully along a rutted track that curved around an outcropping and then down a ways.

“Brian, take a look here. We can't just go to a campground and set up camp and then turn into bears. The campers wouldn't take well to nature that up close and personal.” Rusty grinned. “So, when werebears go out to run in the wild, we have to do things differently. You see that we've parked the vehicle well out of sight of the highway. Moose is using a branch to sweep our tire tracks away. Help me unload this stuff.” Rusty took a few minutes to carefully scan the area for other humans. He neither heard nor smelled any. “We always check carefully before we change out here, just to be safe.”

Once the SUV was unloaded and the rather small pile of tent and supplies was on the ground, Brian spoke up. “What about all that?” he said, pointing to a larger tent and other stuff that remained in the back.

“Oh, that's camouflage, in case someone would look in there or if we would get stopped for some reason by the state police. We won't need tents or cooking supplies for us. Your stuff, you'll have to carry with.” Both Moose and Rusty shed their clothes and folded them up and placed them on the car seats. Brian looked kind of puzzled but started to strip, too, as he admired the two fine hairy naked men.

“You can get naked if you want to, Brian, but keep your clothes with you. Now watch.”

Moose locked the SUV, and then Rusty and Moose took branches and dead-fall from the surrounding area and piled it artfully around the vehicle. When they were finished, no one would know there was an SUV there unless they came very close and started moving branches. Both Rusty and Moose began peeing all around the perimeter and on the branches and leaves. Brian started to unzip, too, but Moose stopped him.

“Not you. Just us. It keeps the other wild critters away, sort of a warning that something big and dangerous is around and that this belongs to them. Your pee might actually attract them, curious about a human; us they’ll avoid.” He shook off, and both Moose and Rusty looked at Brian.

“Now, we'll change to half form and walk away from there and towards that ridge over there.” Rusty gestured towards a nearby ridge that was crowned by trees. “It overlooks a small lake and will be a good camp site for you.”

Brian nodded and shouldered his backpack and the small dome tent in its carry bag. He watched with eager delight as Moose and Rusty changed into half form after carefully scanning the area again for any stray campers or hikers. “Come and walk with us, Brian,” Moose growled, barely intelligible.

The three moved off, Moose in the lead, Brian behind, and Rusty bringing up the rear. “You know, I've had dreams where I was walking and running with bears, but it wasn't like I was walking exactly. It was more like gliding or floating... and I rode on their backs some, too.” Although he couldn't see it, Moose smiled at Brian's comment. Rusty, who was easier to understand in half form, growled.

“When we change to full form, you can come with us while we forage. You can ride on our backs if you like, too. But first we need to get your camp set up. We won't have to worry about food or shelter, but you will.” They walked on.

Not quite an hour later, the bears and Brian were on the ridge and had found the cave and stone ledge that looked out over the lake. Moose showed Brian how to set up the dome tent while Rusty unpacked the small camp stove and other necessities.

“I need to pee,” Brian said. “You think I could... I mean, over the ledge?” Brian was unzipping and pulling out his cock.

“Sure, knock yourself out,” Rusty said, noticing that Brian's meat was getting a bit thicker with arousal. Brian put his hands behind his head, arched his back and let go with a long, satisfying piss. “I always wanted to do that for some reason.” He tucked back in with some difficulty and zipped up.

“Get something to eat now, Brian,” Moose said, “We're going to change into full form and go forage. You can come along if you like, but don't forget your sunscreen.”

“Yeah, got it right here. I guess you guys won't need any, huh?”

“No. We won't. We don't sunburn, and we don't have to worry about skin cancer. There ARE advantages to all this,” he said, gesturing to Rusty as he was changing into full bear form, “and ain't he beautiful?”

“Oh, yeah!” Brian said, filled with admiration for the stocky, obviously successful Kermode in front of him. Rusty padded over and nosed Moose in the crotch and chuffed, plainly urging Moose to hurry up and change.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, in a minute!” Moose chuckled. He turned to Brian.

“You won't be able to understand us in full bear form, you know that. But we can hear and understand you, and if there is something you have to know or ask, we can shift to half form to talk. Rusty says I'm a lot easier to understand in half form now, and you didn't have trouble understanding me that way at the bear run. So, you OK? Anything you want to ask before I shift?” Brian shook his head.

“OK, here goes.” Moose finished his metamorphosis into a full, powerful grizzly, imposing in bulk and stature. In this form, he was the very picture of a bear god of legend. Rusty, although slightly smaller, was striking with his glowing, creamy coat; and a perfect complement to the glossy brown of Moose's coat, tipped with silver. He and Rusty touched noses and wuffed, looked at Brian and then ambled slowly off. Brian grabbed a water bottle and compass and his binoculars and followed.

The afternoon was spent in pleasant foraging, with Moose and Rusty sharing delectable roots and tender green shoot and leaves. It was too early for berries, but there were many delicious flowers to sample. Brian followed at a slight distance, watching how the bears interacted with their surroundings and each other. He had to keep reminding himself that he knew these two creatures, that they were the men he often slept with and not only wild forest creatures. He rode on Moose's back for a while, then on Rusty's. He joined them splashing in a cool stream that exited from the lake.

“Can you swim?” Brian asked. Both bears nodded vigorously and plodded to the edge of the lake and waded in, eventually swimming off a ways. They turned and looked at Brian in open invitation. Brian shucked his clothes and waded in and immediately regretted it. The water was damn cold. His ball sack contracted tightly and he began to shiver.

“Too cold! I gotta get out!” Brian splashed to the narrow sandy stretch that bordered the lake as Rusty and Moose laughed.

“We shouldn’t laugh,” Rusty said. “He doesn't have our coats and layer of fat; of course he's cold.”

“I think that's the smallest I've ever seen his cock,” Moose said chuckling.

“Norman!”

The bears swam for a bit, then joined Brian on the sand where he was trying to warm himself up in sun. Both bears growled and chuffed and rolled themselves next to the shivering young man to help warm him. In only a minute or so, Brian stopped shaking as the almost furnace-like warmth of the bears' fur and bulk soaked in. “Thanks, guys,” Brian said, kissing both bears on their muzzles and then dressing.

Later in the afternoon, Moose found a bee's nest in a partly hollowed tree and motioned to Rusty to join him in the feast.

The two bears slurped up the honey with their long bear tongues, ignoring the angry buzzing of the bees and the frequent stings, which healed quickly in any case. The sweet sticky honey was a real treat, high in energy and a delectable taste to cap off the afternoon's feeding.

“Reminds me of how sweet you taste when you feed me, woofer,” Moose said to his mate and he clawed another section of comb and pushed it towards Rusty, who chuffed with pleasure. Both bears were anticipating a vigorous mating once finished with the snack.

Brian watched the pair devour the honey from a safe distance, wary of the bee's anger. 'Poor bees,' he thought. 'But they'll have all summer to restock, I guess. Everybody's got to eat.' He took a long drink from his water bottle. His attention was forcefully shifted from the bees to the bears as he saw Rusty nose under Moose's hefty belly and begin lapping at his slowly extending cock. It was obvious that he was nursing on it, slurping and lapping with his long, curling tongue. Very soon, Rusty turned and Moose mounted his lover, hunching over the slightly smaller bear, working his cock into Rusty's ass slowly, almost lazily. Once embedded in his bear's butt, he began the age-old rhythm of bear fucking, rocking his hips back and forth, reveling in the feeling of his thick meat sliding deep into warm inviting bear ass.

“You think Josephus knows were here?” Rusty growled as Moose penetrated him.

“I'm sure he does now if he didn't before. We're both pumping out pheromones and when you shoot, big boy, this whole valley's gonna smell of bear sex.” Rusty said.

“I want you to add to that, you know,” Moose growled as he continued to piston in Rusty's tunnel. “Ah, shit, man, I am so fucking close.... you get me movin' like no other bear, you know that?” He hunched in hard, driving his cock in especially deep and Rusty whined and chuffed in ecstasy. Rusty pushed back equally hard and Moose exploded in Rusty's ass, filling his rectum with a very large load of seed, even for him. He roared out a thundering announcement of bear virility, a challenge to any other male bear.

Off in the distance, the old bear raised his great head and sniffed the air once again. Earlier, he had caught the scent of the two bears he remembered from last season, a pleasant memory. This time, the scent brought back the meeting in full sensory detail, enhanced with the sounds and smells of that moment, perfectly preserved in his brain. Now he heard the triumphant roar on one of the bears, most likely the larger one, not the one that smelled of summer fruit and sunshine. He also caught the scent of another, a human, close to the others. Both curious and aroused, he moved off purposefully towards the happy mating sounds.

Back by the lake, it was Rusty's turn to mount his bear, but he decided to roll Moose on his back. He motioned with a paw for Moose to raise his heavy back legs, and Moose obliged, resting them on Rusty's creamy shoulders. Rusty reached down and laid a paw on Moose's belly and gave it a friendly scritch with his shorter black bear claws, and then gave his now-receding cock a tug. He gently patted his scrotum and then used both paws to part the thick fur surrounding the bigger bear's anus. He chuffed and put on paw on the top of his own rigid, drooling penis. He pushed it down slightly so it matched Moose's hole. Moose growled loudly, plainly asking to be fucked.

Rusty nodded his bear head and pushed forward, removing his paw once his bear cock was properly lodged. He leaned forward and pushed in deep, savoring the heat of Moose's gut. He noted with pleasure that a fat blob of bear cum appeared at the tip of Moose's penis that last of the load he had so recently pumped out. Rusty could usually last a long time, but the heady mix of having just been royally fucked, the fresh pine-scented air, and the glorious weather all combined to shorten his ability to last long. He started moving faster and faster, with Moose chuffing in time with him, sounding like a human urging their lover on towards their climax. It hit, the sensations exploding in Rusty's were brain; and he, too, roared out a tree-shaking shout of joy.

Josephus picked up the pace and hustled towards the lake and the rutting bears with their happy roaring. When he got close, caution made him slow down. He sensed the human again, still close by. In general, the old bear didn't much like human company. He avoided them whenever possible, but here was a puzzle. His two fellow weres were together with what was obviously a human, and a human that didn't smell as if he was approaching his first change, either. Obviously not a cub, then. But what? Josephus approached slowly through the undergrowth.

Brian had watched, mesmerized, as his two closest friends in the world mated and bred each other, the fat and muscle of their magnificent bodies rippling with their exertions. He had seen Moose and Rusty fuck many times before, but never in full bear form out in the open. It was a revelation and the full-throated roars of virility at their climaxes startled and somewhat shocked him. He realized, though, that always before they had muffled their cries of joy in either human or bear form, in spite of the thick walls and double paned windows back in town. Out here, in the wild, there were no such constraints. He was about to go over to the two panting bears and hug and nuzzle them when Josephus moved into the clearing.

Brian froze. This bear was larger than Rusty, and only slightly smaller than Moose, and he was advancing directly towards where Brian was standing. As he made to run, Rusty reared up on his hind legs and motioned for Brian to stay where he was. Brian and Moose both instantly recognized Josephus by his scent. Rusty motioned again for Brian to stay still as he changed back to half form to speak.

“It's OK, Brian, we know this guy, but he doesn't know you. Stay there and we'll let him know it's OK.” While Rusty was talking, Moose padded over to Josephus and touched noses in greeting. The two bears snuffled each other and both turned as Rusty came over to them. It was plain that the bears were in a conversation, one that Brian hadn't a hope of understanding. He quelled the urge to run and stayed still as Rusty had asked.

After some minutes, the three bears turned and walked towards Brian. Brian took a step backwards, but both Moose and Rusty shook their heads. They both shifted back to full human form and stood next to the large old bear.

“Brian, this is Josephus. We met last year out here. We've explained about you to him and...”

Brian interrupted Rusty. “Is he...”

Moose answered, “Yes, he's a werebear, like us. He's very old, and he doesn't much like people. He spends nearly all his time in full bear form, and...” Moose stopped, then turned to Josephus.

“Josephus, this would probably go easier if you shifted to human form. Would you be willing to?”

He looked steadily into the eyes of the two weres, and then at their human companion. He was plainly considering, and for a moment, it looked as if he would just walk back into the woods; but finally he growled a deep basso rumble and stood, and shifted into fully human form.

Before them stood a tall, broad but stoop-shouldered bear of a man, naked but covered in iron gray fur with a thick mountain-man beard that came to his mid chest. His arms were shaggy with fur, as were the backs of his hand and the tops of his feet. As a bear, he had looked somewhat shaggy and unkempt; as a human, he looked like Sasquatch.

A deep but rusty-sounding voice said, “I'm Josephus,” and stuck out his hand towards Brian. Brian reached out somewhat hesitantly and shook the extended paw. His own hand nearly disappeared in Josephus'.

“Come back to Brian's camp with us and we can talk.” Josephus paused to consider and then nodded at Rusty. “Alright.” He followed them back to the cave and ledge overlooking the lake. On the way, Brian peppered Moose and Rusty with questions, but neither answered. Finally, Rusty said, “Not now. Later.”

Moose asked Rusty, “How come you didn't know he was close? We could have gone to him, let him know about Brian.”

“I was busy. But it's funny, I didn't sense him fully in town until he was close, and not at all the first time we saw him last year. He said he was good at not being noticed.”

Once back at the ledge, Moose suggested that Brian make some dinner for himself. Both bears were still pleasantly full form their day's foraging and Josephus indicated he was not hungry. The three bears fell to talking, the conversation plainly about Brian. It was not always low and quiet, with the bears alternately raising their voices in argument. Brian wanted to listen but he suddenly realized he was ravenous. He set the water to boil on the camp stove and selected a pouch of freeze-dried chicken alfredo. Shortly, he was wolfing down the steaming meal.

The bears' conversation continued. “I don't know. You guys are a-tellin' me that he's OK, but it's dangerous for human ta know about us.” Josephus' voice relayed his concern. “I jes don't know.”

“Look, we know it’s unusual, but you CAN trust him...we do. He knows about keeping secrets, and he understands how vital it is. He's gay, he knows how to avoid questions and about not making careless mistakes.”

“Well, iffin you say so, I guess it's OK. Still...” Josephus still had his doubts.

Brian approached the bears after his meal. “Guys, I am bushed. That was a long hike today. You mind if I take a nap?”

“Not at all,” Rusty said. Moose gave Brian a hug and a smooch, and Brian headed to the cave opening, where he had spread his sleeping bag inside the dome tent. He crawled in and was almost instantly asleep.

Josephus stared at Brian for a bit and then said, “You gonna turn him, make him a cub?”

Moose and Rusty blurted out almost in unison, “No!”

Josephus looked at them. “Has he asked?”

“No, he hasn't. I don't even know if he's thinking that way at all, not yet anyway.” Before Rusty could continue, Moose said, “We'd never consider it without his knowing everything there is to know and thinking about it long and hard.... real long and real hard.” Moose was almost defiant.

“Settle down, young'un. Jes askin'.” Josephus paused. “You fuck?”

Rusty was silent. But Moose answered sharply, “Yes. And before you say it, we are careful, we ALWAYS use condoms and we are very careful.” The defiant tone continued.

“Those things kin break, I hear.”

“We are very careful, Josephus.” Rusty was trying to play the peacemaker. He got up and came over to Josephus and sat down close to him and put his arm around the old man's shaggy shoulders. “We don't know what's ahead for Brian, if he will want to become one of us or not. He’s kindred to Norman, he’d make a good cub. He’s with us this weekend to give him a chance to see us out in the wild, to see that aspect of being a bear so he can know us better, see us for what we really are. We want him to see as many aspects of all this as possible. Maybe he'll want to stay human and live among humankind and see us only rarely, I don't know. But he won't be changed without a LOT of thought and consideration on his part. We, both of us, will see to that. Right, love?” Rusty looked at Moose, who's face and eyes had softened.

“Yes, of course. We wouldn't have it any other way, not at all.”

“Well, t'ain't any business o' mine, really. Up to you... and him. You two seem pretty steady, so I guess it'll work out.” He stood up and stretched, arching his back. His cock and balls were thrust out, the thick foreskin covering the tip and only barely revealing the ridge of the tip nestled within. “I should head on out.”

Moose saw Rusty eying the old bear's tackle, and said, “Oh, come on and stay with us. We've got a bottle of good applejack we can share. Bet that's something you don't have much of out here in the woods.” He looked hopefully at the old bear.

“That's mighty nice o' you to offer to share. Iffin yur sure you can spare it, I'd sure like some.” Josephus licked his lips.

“Oh, we like to share don't we, Norman?” And so, over mugs of coffee and applejack, the three traded stories as the stars came out. At one point, Rusty brought up Boris' name.

“He said if we ran across you again, we should mention him to you, and tell you he wishes you well. He thinks he might know you.”

“Big Rooski bear, hairy as hell, horny as fuck?”

Moose laughed out loud. “Yeah, that's him alright. I take it you do know him.”

“Ayup. We met a lotta years ago up in Canada, away east. His cock ain't purdy, but it shore feels good.” Josephus mused for a moment. “His ass is purdy, though.” He sipped the last of his applejack. “Speakin' o' ass....”

“Well, I thought you'd never ask!” Rusty said, lust lighting his eyes.

The noise of vigorous bearsex woke Brian from his nap. He lay, still but wide-eyed, as he watched the three bears couple, break, and reform their couplings. Josephus' meat had a strong, pronounced upward curve when hard, and both Rusty and Moose squirmed with delight as he pumped their asses, firmly massaging their prostates in the process. The friskiness continued through much of the night, but Brian never tired of watching. Finally, plainly tuckered out, both Moose and Rusty fell asleep in full bear form, pressed tightly together. Josephus sat, now in human form, on the ledge, looking out over the valley to the slowly lightening horizon, the empty applejack bottle beside him.

Brian got up and lit the camp stove and boiled water and set to making coffee. Josephus didn't stir from his dawn contemplation. Brian shivered a little in the dawn chill, and when the coffee was ready, he gulped several mouth-fulls to warm himself and then took a mug to the old man. Sitting, he offered the mug. Josephus turned and smiled and accepted the mug but still said nothing.

“Josephus, can I ask something?” There was no response except the old bear sipping from the mug. “How old are you?”

Josephus sipped again, then said, “Don't rightly know for sure. When I was born, they didn't do birth certificates. My people were country folk and we didn't need calendars much. The last time I had to fade away over there, I hopped a ship and came over here to settle. That was easy in those days... easy to get lost and start over with a new life in the new world. I stayed around what became Boston for a time, and met up with another bear. We both had had enough of people by that time, and we lit out for the west.” He paused, and smiled. “'Course, 'west' back then was still east of the Mississippi. We just kept a' moving further north and west, staying ahead of the rest of the 'pioneers'. Silly word, that. Like they's were the first. Anyway, finally ran outta land and had to turn south agin. So's, prob'ly ‘bout 600 or so years. I figure I was prob'ly born between 1380 and 1390.” He sipped the coffee again. “You make good coffee, son.”

“Wow! Thanks... about the coffee, I mean. Rusty taught me. But man, you must have seen a lot. You got to see almost the entire life of this country and a lot more before.”

“Nah. My Nate and I, we kept mostly away from folks. We heard stuff now and then, Civil War an all, but it didn't matter much to us. We kept to ourselves. Then he died.” Josephus closed his eyes.

Brian sat still for a moment, then said, “I'm sorry. You were together for a long time.” The old bear nodded. “Would you find another mate?”

“Nope. Don't seem to feel like lookin' for one. Don't seem right.” He stood up and drained the mug and handed it back to Brian. “Thanks young'un. You take care of yourself, now. I've already said good-bye to your two bears.” He extended his hand to Brian and they shook. “I wish you well, pilgrim.” With a wave, he made to set off down the trail.

“Wait! Can I watch you change?”

“I reckon so, young'un.” With that, Josephus morphed into a full bear and then shambled off, heading for the lake and the forest beyond.

Later that morning, Moose and Rusty finally surfaced. Brian told them about the conversation he and Josephus had had.

“I figured he might head out early,” Moose said.

“Yeah, he said he was getting 'itchy'. But, damn, that bear fucks well! I was whipped but he was still ready for more. Good thing you could tag me out, Norman.” Rusty absently scratched his butt. Both he and Moose were naked, unlike Brian. The morning chill didn't bother them like it did Brian.

“Well, it had been a long time for him. I don't think he'd fucked since he was with us last year. Just his own paw for relief.” Moose scratched his ball sack and gave his cock a tug.

“Anyway, you got more out of Josephus than either of us have about his past. He must like you.” Moose grabbed Brian and gave him a morning hug and smooch. “And don't think I didn't see you watching us. You must have gotten an eyeful.”

“Oh, yeah!” Brian blushed slightly. “I hope you guys don't mind, I still can't get over how... powerful you all look and act. You're so big. And when you mount....damn, it's hot!” He blushed again.

“No worries, Brian. We're not shy, you know that. You've seen us fuck before, you've fucked with us. There might be times when we want to be alone together, but we'll let you know, OK?” Moose smiled. Now; I'm hungry. Rusty, how about we go forage?” He started his change even before Rusty could reply.

Brian spent part of the day following them as they wandered the valley, but when they started to roam further afield, he returned to the camp site, fixed a meal for himself, and napped a bit. He pulled out a paperback he had brought with him and read for a while, and spent time just gazing out over the peaceful landscape, thinking. It was late in the afternoon when Moose and Rusty padded back into the camp and plopped down on their furry rumps. They gazed around and then, as if they had only just remembered that they were still in full bear form, morphed back to their full human form.

“Geez, guys put some clothes on, you're gonna make me all horny!” Brian said, half joking. Both Moose and Rusty raised an eyebrow.

“Nookie?” they said together.

All three broke out laughing. “Maybe later,” Rusty said, still laughing “Besides, our clothes are back at the car.”

“I have a question.” Brian said

The two bears answered in unison, “What is it?”

“You seem more...” Brian shrugged, “shaggy? …a bit like Josephus and your smell is stronger too… you smell more like, well, more like bears, I guess, even though you're human now. And it’s really turning me on.” Brian’s cock was at full mast, tenting his pants.

“We’ll take care of that for you later Brian.... unless you want to jack in the back of the SUV for some relief. You'd have to wait a bit, but I’ll even clean it off your hands if you want to feed it to me.” Rusty said with a lustful grin.

Brian smiled widely and blushed a bit, but continued, “Does that happen to you when you stay bears for longer, I mean, I figured you’d smell stronger of bear, but I didn’t know about the hair growth.”

“It’s something that happens, yes. Our hair grows faster, so by the time we’re finished with one of these trips we both need a haircut and beard trim. I can trim us up when we get back,” Rusty said.

“So this happens to all werebears, when they stay in bear shape for extended periods?” Brian asked.

“Apparently so; it’s kinda convenient if you want to grow your beard and hair out I suppose. Some of our bear brothers will do it purposely just so they’ll have longer hair and beard quickly, like before attending a bear run. Changes your appearance drastically… also helps you win those beard growing contests with your human friends!” Moose laughed. “I’ve seen some of our biker bear brothers with long thick braids after a winter’s hibernation, it’s kinda impressive.”

“And now I think it’s time to break camp so we can get back to the car before nightfall.” Rusty said. “I also smell rain, maybe six hours out.”

“Developing another superpower?” Moose asked with a smirk, “Shall we call you ‘Weather Bear’ and use the Warner Brother’s logo on your super suit?”

Rusty swiped at his love but didn’t connect, “No! Doofus! Heightened were sense of smell, just like yours. I’ve just been paying attention to how the change in weather has different smells, unlike you.”

Moose took a deep breath through his nose, smelling the air, “Oh… OK… so that’s what an oncoming front smells like?”

“Oncoming RAIN front, different smell from snow. Mark my words Norman; rain before we get home.” Rusty said as he scratched at his bushier beard.

The three set to clearing up and packing Brian's stuff into his backpack. Brian broke down the tent as Moose had shown him and packed it into its carry bag. They headed back on the trail to the car. On the way, Moose whispered to Rusty when Brian was far enough away not to hear. “Now?”

“Yeah. Now.”

Once they reached the car and the branches were cleared away and the gear stowed, they climbed into the SUV, but Moose didn't put the key in the ignition. He turned to Brian.

“Brian, there's something else we wanted to say to you this weekend. No, it's not 'serious' like, 'bad'. But it is serious.” Brian got quiet and listened attentively.

“You never had the chance to finish college. And we both know that you'd like to, one day. Take it from me, it gets harder and harder to go back the longer you wait. Believe me, I know. Been there and done that.” Moose was remembering his own return to an unfinished college program. “We, and I mean both of us, want to make that happen for you.”

Brian opened his mouth to say something but was quieted as Moose raised a hand to hush him.

“Now, let me finish. Boris tells us that there is a scholarship fund set up by bears for their cubs and for their kin.”

Once again Brian began to interrupt and Moose gave him a look and raised his index finger.

“Now, I said, let me finish. You are our kin as far as we are concerned. We're your family. We want to help, and since we will be paying into that fund as time goes on, Boris says that we can make a claim on it. Besides, Boris thinks he owes me, so he's more than willing to make this happen. You won't owe anything, this is a scholarship, not a loan.” Moose paused and took a deep breath. “What do you say?”

Brian was frankly stunned. Such generosity was beyond his understanding. Bears? Scholarships? Boris? People… no, bears, who didn't even know him?

“Guys... I don't know what to say. I don't even know for sure what I want to major in, or where I should go. I kinda thought I might get back one day, but not right away. I... I just.... I don't know. Can I think about this? And thank you! Thank you!” He grabbed Moose and hugged him tightly across the seat and turned to Rusty and hugged him equally tightly. “I don't know what to say...”

“It's OK. Take your time Brian, there's no rush. Think it over, look around some. Wait a year if you need to, or more. There is no rush, your home is with us and you can stay local or go away if you want, we'll support whatever you decide.”

Brian nodded, not trusting himself to speak. They drove back towards Wolverton in the gathering dark, with only the hum of the tires on the road breaking the quiet. Brian finally leaned forward and put his hands on both bear's shoulders. “Thanks for this weekend, guys. It was... amazing. I get how you can just be out in the wild. The diet is kinda weird but I get how you can relate to everything differently. I guess I can't really understand your senses but I see how it's freeing to be out in nature for a bear. You're kind of between two worlds, but at home in both. That's cool. I think I need to do some more hiking and camping, see what the natural world has to offer.” He paused. “Thanks, guys. For everything.” They drove on, with Moose and Rusty smiling, and Brian looking thoughtfully out the side window of the SUV as fat drops of rain began to fall.

Moose chuckled.

“Told you, just about six hours.” Rusty said.

... continue reading Chapters 16-17

PapaWereBear has other werebear stories at http://www.geocities.com/papawerebear1

UrsusMajr has further, non-werebear, stories on the Nifty.org site, in the Gay Male/Adult Friends section, under the directory "Bear".

PapaWereBear and UrsusMajr have another joint werebear story that will appear on Nifty.org, called Mack. Look for it under the Gay Male/Adult Friends section.

Happy reading!