Bear Mountain is looking for breeding staff.

For such a remote place, the transport infrastructure was great. David looked out the window of the shuttle bus, at the gentle sunlight that speckled the fields of wildflowers shaded by conifer trees. He might have been able to enjoy them more if he’d just been here as a tourist, but his mind was full of worries. Two years was a long time, but they didn’t offer any shorter contracts. Even if they had, though, he would still have needed to be here for about eighteen months to cover all four years of Lucy’s tuition, plus dorm rent, plus the meal plan. Fifteen without the extras, but at that point it wasn’t too much trouble to stay the extra couple of months.

There weren’t many people on the shuttle with him. At the bus stop, he’d nodded at a few people in khaki who’d wandered out of restaurants, but most of the seats were empty. It was just past 1 in the afternoon – he wouldn’t be surprised if this was the lunchtime shuttle, but the majority of people working at the facility packed sandwiches or something.

The facility… god. He pressed his lips together. The website had been professional and well-designed, if a bit old-fashioned, but the job description had been pretty short on the details. They were looking for breeding staff, with posts of two, three and four years on offer, renewal available on request. Accommodation and food provided. Strikingly, “must be comfortable with sexual activity” – so he was expecting to see a lot of bears doing a lot of breeding things, but it was worth it for that amount of money up front, especially since they’d be paying his living expenses the whole time. He’d see his sister again soon enough, he promised himself.

Just as he’d psyched himself up, the bus turned into a driveway. He looked up to see a big, grey, functional-looking building with equally-spaced rows of windows, which was utterly out of place in a nature reserve like this. He felt a lump rise in his throat. This was it, huh?

He got off the bus, walked through the automatic doors, into a practical lobby with a practically-dressed receptionist.
She looked up from her desktop monitor and gave him a polite smile. “Hi there, what are you looking for?”

“Oh – I’m here as one of the new breeding staff? My name’s David Espen.”

“Oh, sure! Just show me a form of ID, then I’ll get you your paperwork.”

David fished out his driver’s licence while the receptionist opened a desk drawer. He passed it to her over the counter, and in turn received a small stack of forms. “Just to cross-reference with what we have on file and confirm everything – if you could fill in your personal details there, medical history here, and this last bit is a psych eval.”

She gestured over to a coffee table and some chairs with a smile, so David grabbed a pen, walked over and started filling them out. The personal details and medical history were simple enough – age, 25, hair colour, dark blond, time since last period, two weeks – but he paused at the psych eval.

The first question was:

“1. You’re at a club, and there’s a large, attractive man staring at you intensely. What do you do? A: Smile and wink at him. B: Look away and wait for him to leave. C: Look away, but hope he comes over.”

Was this some kind of sexuality test? He hoped his being gay wouldn’t complicate things – then again, he’d already been paid in advance, so he didn’t think that was in the cards. He circled C. He wanted to be the kind of person who did A, but he just couldn’t seem to come out of his shell… not to mention he’d never really had the time to explore the romantic side of himself, let alone the sexual one.

“2. The man walks up to you, gently takes your chin and says he’s going to take good care of you tonight if you let him. What is your primary emotional response? A: Anger. B: Lust. C: Embarrassment. D: Confusion.”

David frowned. Well – it’d be hard to respond to verbally, but if they were just asking for his internal reaction? He hovered between B and C for a few seconds, bit his lip – and eventually put a big circle around both, sighing in defeat. This was a paper form, he’d be able to explain his reasoning to them later. Not that he wanted to, particularly. He wasn’t sure why his personality needed to be tested like this, anyway – maybe it had to do with living with others in a confined space. Making sure he didn’t go stir-crazy and all.

The questions went on like this, with a common but not ubiquitous romantic undertone. A lot of the questions involved a choice between assertiveness and passivity, to which David ended up picking the more passive option a lot of the time. It dissatisfied him that he was like this, but he figured he’d be working with these people every day, so there was no point in giving a dishonest impression of himself. Still, it’d be nice to be more confident.

It took him about ten minutes to finish the whole thing, by which time a chipper woman in her thirties wearing a khaki uniform was coming out of the hallway. “Hi, David.” She smiled. “I heard you’re the newest member of our breeding staff?” 

David nodded.

“Great. Follow me – and I’ll take those forms, please.”

David gave them over and followed her into the hallway. The walls were covered in scientific posters, one detailing the social dynamics between were-bear females of different tribes, one talking about the ideal growing conditions of specific types of local mosses, one talking about the mineral profile and microbiome of the hot springs. They were going too fast for him to read anything more than the titles, but he made a mental note to read them on his lunch break. 

He almost missed it when the woman entered a doorway, so he had to double back a few steps, bobbing his head apologetically when he saw her again.

She was standing in what looked like a doctor’s office, in front of a big desk and a plush-looking office chair. There was a sink and storage space on one side of it, an examination bed on the other.

“Alright,” the woman said. She cleared her throat as she sat in the chair, then gestured at David to sit on the stool opposite, and he obliged. “This shouldn’t take too long. My name’s Gina – welcome to the Bear Mountain Nature Reserve! This here is Outpost 6, and I’m glad you found your way over, because a lot of people get it confused with the others and end up on the other side of the park.” She grinned, and David smiled back politely.

“So you’ve done all your paperwork online, had the medical check-up offsite, and we have your ID. Great. And I have the results of your psychological evaluation, too…” She flipped through it briefly and typed something into the computer on the desk, then gave David a thumbs-up. “Looks perfect! Depending on your results, you might have been required to do some additional training, but it seems like you can get right to it after a briefing.”

She clicked and typed for a few moments, then turned the monitor around to show David a Powerpoint slide. “So as you know, this is Bear Mountain State Park, and we’re one of the biggest nature reserves in the country. We’ve got over 500 different species of plant life and 200 species of animals over our terrain, but Outpost 6 is the one that’s closest to our were-bears.”

“Were-bears?” Not bears?

“Were-bears, yeah.” She clicked, and brought up the next slide. “They have some human and some ursine characteristics – I won’t get into the genetics of it, I barely understand the papers myself – and they have sort of a pack-type social system. They’ve been living out here on Bear Mountain for a while, and we’re working with them to keep up their numbers for conservation purposes.”

“The thing is, there have been more fatalities than usual lately, because of some inter-pack power struggles. So we talked to them and came up with some measures… long story short, they’re going to breed you.”

“…Sorry?” David leaned forward. He couldn’t have heard that right.

Gina didn’t look at all fazed. “Right. So, they’re capable of reproducing with humans, but the offspring are all were-bears. It’d get muddier ethically if we hired humans to impregnate were-bears, so this is how we’ve chosen to do it.” She looked away from the monitor for a bit, folded her hands on the desk, smiled as if she hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. “You did confirm you had a functioning uterus and vaginal canal, right? And got the ultrasound?”

“…I did.” He’d thought breeding staff meant some sort of supervisory role, but– this… No wonder they’d had him go to a clinic. He’d thought it was strange at the time, but dismissed it as a precaution to make sure he wasn’t pregnant, given that the nature reserve was so far away from any major cities. To think it was sort of the opposite.

“So,” David said carefully, “you– you want me to have sex with these were-bears. And get pregnant.” That in itself was strange enough. “And then…?”

“No need to ask about everything, I’ll explain the whole process,” said Gina with a smile. “The were-bears have their own settlements – how it works is we’ll leave you in the forest after you’ve been prepared here, and then the agreed-upon tribe will find you and take you back home with them, and you stay there for as long as your contract lasts. Then we send them a messenger, and they leave you in the forest again for us to pick up.”

“After I… have kids…?” David hadn’t fully absorbed this information yet, but he got the sense that he was hearing something crazy.

“Yeah! Were-bears raise their children communally, so they’ll be fine, they won’t miss you. We’ll pay you overtime if you have to stay longer to finish a gestation period or breastfeeding.”

He didn’t even know where to start. Putting aside that they were apparently just going to dump him in the forest and leave him to these– “were-bears”… was he really ready to lose his virginity like this? To have his first child like this?

Gina looked at his face and went silent for a moment, but then seemed to come to a decision and moved on. “Before you think too hard – some reference images. Here’s an adult were-bear pack leader, and here’s one of the rank-and-file.”

“…Oh, wow.” It took him a second to come out of his funk, but the first thing he noticed when he did was that they were hot. Like, as hot as some of the guys he followed on Twitter for being hot. “Okay.” This… he blushed. “Are they all…?”

Gina nodded, her eyes twinkling a little. “They’re all that hot. We don’t know why. Our best guesses are all complicated genetic theories, same as earlier.”

Now – okay. He had to remember why he’d come here in the first place. He was here for Lucy – now that mom was gone, it was up to him to make enough money for the two of them. So even if it wasn’t what he’d expected at all, even if… he felt himself blushing, but even if it meant being pinned under a big, strong bear man, and being f-fucked…

He covered his face with his hands, and Gina laughed. “You know, we made sure to check that you were suited to this job. There were preliminary medical checks and personality tests as you applied, and then the final one just now to confirm. Basically, current scientific knowledge says you’re probably going to enjoy this.”

David swallowed, but didn’t protest. God. Oh, god, fuck it – and after a few seconds, he nodded. Two years – two years, and he’d be done. Gina smiled smugly, nodded back, and turned to the monitor. “Go ahead and take another look at it, it’ll motivate you.”

Looking at the image again, he noticed that the two were-bears looked pretty similar except for their hair. The pack leader had a ponytail that went down to his waist, while the ordinary were-bear had a normal short cut. Honestly, if he was going to be living with these guys, he may as well engage with the material and try and learn their customs. He looked between them a couple times, trying to find something a little more insightful to say, but eventually did settle for “Does the ponytail show that he’s the pack leader?”.

“Hm? Oh, yes! I’m glad you caught onto that.” Gina went into research mode again in response to the question. “Among were-bears in this region, hair is the primary marker of social status – so that means the more important you are, the longer you get to grow your hair.”

“And, that reminds me…” Gina swivelled in her chair, opened a desk drawer, rummaged around for a few moments – and pulled out a pair of clippers. Why would a doctor’s office have clippers in it?

“You need to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy.”

David stared at the clippers. Gina stared at him. David thought for a moment. Clippers…? Social hierarchy… social status, hair– and his eyes widened, and he shoved his chair back. “What? No!”

Gina laughed. “Hey, don’t worry about it. None of your friends are going to see you out here anyway.”

“But— I didn’t see this in the contract.”

“It’s covered under ‘minor appearance alterations if necessary to alleviate or prevent serious bodily harm’, under the Health and Safety section.”

David did recall seeing that section. The first few pages had gone on and on about the correct height of railings and proper rest break distribution, so he hadn’t thought it was necessary to read it all. Evidently that had been wrong.

“Anyway,” said Gina, and flicked the clippers on. Pop. Buzzz… “If you really do want this position, letting me shave your head is in your best interest. It’s not that we’ll take the money back and make you leave, but – well, if you show up with your current hair, they’ll expect a fight, and they’ll cut your hair anyway after they ‘win’. Which basically means getting knocked around until they’re satisfied that you can’t fight back anymore.” She shrugged, and the buzzing noise fluctuated with her movement. “So would you rather sit still and accept this, or get beat up without easy access to modern medicine?”

David frowned. This was all happening too fast – he hadn’t been warned of any of this, much less the fact that he’d have to lose most of his hair. But… well. She was right about one thing. He’d signed up to be away for two years anyway, so what difference would it make how he looked during that time?

After a moment, he turned away and hesitantly nodded. “F-fine.” At least this way, it’d look neater than if these were-bears did it with whatever they had access to. And the clippers looked like they had a pretty long guard on them, so he’d be left with some hair at least. He fingered a golden curl that had come down his ear – it had gotten kind of long, with how busy he’d been. “Go ahead.” Maybe he’d even end up looking better.

Gina snickered and came around behind him, casually gripping his chin and sending a shiver through him. “Like I said, this is for the best – trust me when I say you’ll be fine.” As they buzzed dauntingly, Gina brought the clippers up to the base of his neck and carelessly pushed upward. Their sound changed as they started crunching through his hair, and David flinched. “Even if you weren’t moving to the forest for a year, as well, I think shorter hair would suit you better than what you have now.”

Gina moved the clippers up, and up, and up. David wanted to look back, to see exactly how much was coming off, but the idea of bumping into the mechanised knives plowing through his hair meant he didn’t struggle against Gina’s fingers. He could feel the shortened ends as her knuckles brushed against them –  there really wasn’t much left on his head.

Gina flicked a concerningly large pile of blond waves into David’s lap. “You know, your hair’s a really pretty colour! If we put it outside, the birds would snatch it all up to use in their nests.” She grinned, and David pressed his lips together. He fingered a lock of hair that had landed on his thigh. He watched as the strands separated from each other and caught the light in the way he was used to, trying not to say anything. It was really long.. Gina started another pass at the back of his head, going faster this time.

This was… doing something to him, in a way that he’d never quite experienced before. Maybe it was all the talk of being fucked by hot men that had just happened. But he could feel himself growing interested right now, to put it euphemistically, as Gina held him still and mowed the clippers through his hair again and again, the pile in his lap growing and growing.

Putting that aside. He had to know for sure. As Gina held down his ear and shaved above it, David reached up, felt at the shortened ends. His lips parted slightly – honestly, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. There was maybe half an inch left, which was enough for him to look decent and not bald. Not that that mattered, really. 

“And we’re done!” Gina had been fast and methodical, and probably hadn’t needed to worry about nicking David with the guard on. She dusted some loose hairs off of David’s shoulders, then handed him her phone with the front camera open. “You see? Told you it’d look good.”

He took it – yep, that was about what he had expected. It was a bit less than half an inch, actually, but it was still long enough to push around, maybe even to style if he had some product on him. It would definitely be easier to deal with in the forest than the two or three inches he’d come in with. It looked brown, almost, now that it was this short, but there was nothing he could do to fix that. He cleared his throat, trying to settle his, ah, excitement. “I thought you said that wouldn’t matter.”

“Well, no,” she said, “but it’s a nice bonus.”

She cleared her throat. “Anyway! Time to get you shipped off.” She slapped her thighs, put the clippers back in the drawer, and then gestured for David to follow. Oh, shit, he was still– he frantically clenched his thighs a couple times, then stumbled up after her.

“There’s really not much you need to know, other than what were-bears are and what they look like – just make sure to remember to submit to them.” She nodded at David, and he tripped, catching himself on the hallway wall. “Nothing too complicated – just… you know, like a dog does to a bigger dog?”

“Uhh– y-yeah?”

“Do that.” She smirked. “Don’t worry – based on your personality assessment, it should come to you naturally.”

David sputtered in disbelief, but before he could come up with a coherent reply, Gina had already disappeared into another room. David cleared his throat, braced himself and followed her.

This time, it was some kind of bathroom, with a drain in the center. There were tools lining every wall, some of which David recognized and was shocked by, some of which he had never seen in his life.

He turned back and gaped at Gina, the power of speech completely having left him. Gina simply smiled, and snapped the end of one of the rubber gloves she’d put on. “Don’t worry! Just relax and everything will go fine.”

Did they really have to do all that? David was a little wet, a little greasy and a little sore as he rode down a narrow dirt road on the Bear Mountain Nature Reserve. They’d taken his clothes “to keep them from being damaged”, so he was wearing a flimsy green short-sleeved uniform that was so thin he could feel the leather of the car seat under him. He shifted in his seat, but it was impossible to get comfortable.

Unlike him, Gina was as chipper as before as she steered the all-terrain vehicle, taking them deep into the forest. He didn’t know why she was still in this job, to be honest, considering how up-close-and-personal she’d had to get with him back there. If he’d been her, hired to be a park ranger and then made to do those things, he wouldn’t have stood for it. But she didn’t seem like a pushover. Maybe the pay was really good? Yep, that was probably it, that taxpayer money, that was what had brought him here too… or maybe she enjoyed it. He wouldn’t put it past her.

Honestly, though, it was easy to forget all that with the beauty of the scenery. The forest was picturesque – big green conifers, a dense blanket of ferns beneath, a few fungi here and there, and thinking of it that way, living out here for the next couple years didn’t seem so bad.

As he gazed out the window, the trees around them got bigger and bigger, the sunlight sparser and sparser. Noticing the change, he leaned toward the window and started to pay attention, and the movement caught Gina’s eye. “Looking forward to it?” She nodded authoritatively, turned back to the road. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there. We’re well into the deeper part of the forest now, where the bigger animals live – should be five or ten minutes ‘til we reach were-bear territory.”

David wasn’t excited, per se, but he didn’t want to get into that conversation with Gina, so he just said “Thanks” and kept looking outside.

His chest was tight, in a way it hadn’t been for years, probably. When his parents had died, Lucy had been fourteen and he’d been eighteen. There’d been just enough money left in the inheritance for him to get an associate’s degree, but the work he’d found after only got him so much, and he didn’t want Lucy to have to think back in ten years and muse on why she’d never reached that potential that all the adults around her always talked about. He’d never been the smart one, but he could do his best to make sure the smart one got what she needed out of life.

“Here we are,” said Gina. David inhaled slightly and looked out the window to see a dusky clearing, surrounded by tall trees. “We thought it’d be best to have a set place for any inter-species interactions, so they cleared out a little patch. Their den is a bit away from here, I think, but that’s too hard to get to by car.”

“Right,” she said, and the tightness got tighter. “So, this was in the contract, but I’ll run it through with you one more time. You signed up for two years – during that time, none of the Bear Mountain staff will approach the den where you’ll be staying, as part of the agreement with the were-bears. So you’ll be alone with them for a while, but we’ve never had any problems with injury, and they know to take you back here if you get seriously ill.”

“At the end of those two years, they’ll bring you back here and we’ll come pick you up, and before you get in the car you’ll have the option to renew your contract for one to four years. You could leave as expected, of course, but if you want to come back after leaving the forest we recommend a gap of at least three years to make sure you’re making the decision freely. Your hormones tend to fluctuate after being gone a while, and it can cause mood swings…”

She shrugged. “Anyway – just make sure you show your submission to them. We do know quite a bit about their culture, but we’ve found this works best if you learn about them from them, rather than from us.”

She exhaled and slapped the steering wheel lightly. “Okay! Any more questions?”

David wanted to have a question, but she’d gone over everything pretty thoroughly, so he couldn’t avoid getting ever closer to his fate. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He reminded himself of the pictures of the were-bears. Maybe it’d be fun. He shook his head.

“Cool, just go sit in the middle of the clearing, and I’ll see you in two years! If I’m still working here by then, haha.”

David swallowed, made himself open the passenger door and stepped out of the car. Left foot on running board, right foot on ground. They’d taken his shoes. He could feel the wet soil on his feet, underneath the layer of grass and clovers.

He turned back – braced himself – and shut the door. Gina waved. He waved. She backed out of the clearing, and too slowly and yet too soon, she faded into the forest.

It was sort of late in the springtime, so David wasn’t immediately shivering, but he could feel the cool air of the late afternoon sapping his bodily warmth. At the very least, it was nice not to be jostling along in that car any longer. He sat down gingerly, drew his legs into his chest, hugged his knees. They hadn’t prepped him for the cold very well. The uniform let the wind right through, and his hair was so much shorter… Scanning the circle of trees around him, there was nobody in sight, and the only sound was the fading putter of the engine. He inhaled, exhaled. They wouldn’t have paid him just to come out here and starve. He’d be okay.

But it stayed quiet for another minute. Then five. David was getting colder–

And then a rustle, from the undergrowth to his left. He turned, and saw a head, two bear ears sticking up. The head rose. A ponytail, crude drapings made out of hide that nonetheless looked warm. Sideburns– no, bear fur that went down his cheekbones, over his arms and shins. A strong jaw, broad shoulders, heavily muscled. David swallowed. Blue eyes that were looking straight into his.

“…Hello?”

An answering growl, and the figure approached him. David’s eyes widened, and he let go of his knees to scramble backward, but there was already a hand on his shoulder, gripping, shoving his back down onto the grass. David gasped and twisted away instinctively, but then the other hand was on his jaw, and the were-bear sat on him, pinning him down by the belly. He could barely breathe– where he could, it was filled with a sharp musk. He looked up, into the were-bear’s solemn face.

He would have struggled, but there was no way he’d get out from under this guy, so he stayed still. Slowly, he opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but a warning growl from above made him shut it again. So he wasn’t supposed to speak. Maybe that was to be expected, if these guys didn’t speak anyway. More importantly, he was pinned under a big, buff, hot guy, who seemed to be expecting him to do something.

Submit, said something inside him, some corner of his mind where he didn’t often go. They told you to submit. There was something… happening to him, he dimly noticed. To his mind. It felt fuzzy, in a way it shouldn’t have been in this cold, and he felt like he knew what the man on top of him wanted him to do, even though he’d never explicitly been told. He felt his instincts emerging, and had the urge to follow them.

Fighting the sense of danger that came from this vulnerable position, he relaxed his muscles, let his shoulder go slack under the were-bear’s grip. He followed the slight pressure from the were-bear’s other hand at his jaw, let his head tip up, exposing his neck, his eyes pointed away out of the clearing. His throat was bared. His heart fluttered, his breathing quickened – the were-bear’s hand left his jaw, and he felt a sharp claw, right above his artery.

He didn’t move, but he let out a loud whimper. He would have been surprised at his ability to produce such a sound, but right now he was just scared. Please don’t hurt me, he felt his instincts say. I’m yours. I’ll do whatever you want.

The claw at his neck paused for a moment. Then it withdrew, and was replaced by hands on his chest. David gasped softly as the were-bear grabbed his shirt, ripped it open like it was nothing, collar to hemline, then one sleeve, then the other, then lifted his hips and did the same with his pants. (No wonder they’d seemed cheap.) Then those hands landed on his bare skin, his sides, his chest, his underarms. He whimpered again, differently this time, and felt his groin pulse with sudden interest, his cheeks reddening. His wrists were grabbed, pinned up above his head– then the were-bear buried his nose into the crook of David’s neck. He sniffed a moment, then took the skin into his mouth and sucked.

Fuck, David thought, but didn’t dare voice it in case the were-bear was angered again. Instead, he felt his whole body shiver as the were-bear licked a stripe up to the edge of his jaw, then nipped at his collarbone. His hips twisted, his breath came out warm and fast. Maybe there was a reason this job had drawn his eye, out of all the others. This felt right, somehow, more right than working on an oil-rig, or underwater welding. His legs spread slightly.

The were-bear pulled away, and David’s eyes sought him out, surprisingly desperate – and then he followed the were-bear’s gaze down to his cunt. Oh, he thought. Of course. And then: Yes.

He didn’t think he’d become a different person, but he couldn’t think of a time he’d ever acted like this before – ever thought like this before. But it was nice. Really nice. He felt claws on his inner thighs, and then muscled fingers, pushing them open, hooking one of his knees. And then a pause.

This… there it was. There was one of the things they’d done to him back at the lab, on top of the haircut and the antibacterial shower and the vaccines. He closed his eyes and squirmed against the grip as the were-bear’s fingers looped around the handle of the big metal plug in his rectum, and tugged at it, curiously. He’d thought it was over after the enema, but then they’d put this thing in him. A gift, they’d called it. For the were-bears, not for him. He cracked an eye open and looked up to see the were-bear looking down at it, and could feel it being twisted inside him. He whimpered, tried to tug his wrists out, could feel his cunt developing the urge to clench. It twisted once, twice more – and then was pulled out with a simple pop.

The were-bear withdrew it, sniffed it, and put it in a pouch in his drapings. Then, taking his time, he turned back to face David.

David struggled to breathe as the were-bear leaned down and pressed his chest to his, raked his eyes down David’s face, gave the side of his neck a gentle nip. He could feel one furry ear brushing against his own human ear whenever the were-bear turned his head. And then, suddenly, he felt a fleshy head meet his vulva.

His eyes blew wide and his hips jerked. An arm came down on his hip-bone, gripping firmly. He tested it, and it didn’t budge – the were-bear had been kind enough to warm him up, he realised, but ultimately he didn’t have a choice in this. He’d submitted, and now the man on top of him was going to take what he wanted.

Technically, he signed up for this, so he couldn’t really complain.

The head pushed in slowly. It met the surface resistance of David’s hymen, which he’d been made aware of at the last medical check. The were-bear licked at David’s neck and continued the movement of his hips, and pain built up, and it broke.

“Ah–!” Fuck, that actually hurt. David would have squirmed away if not for the hands pinning him down, and as it was, he quivered, tears pricking in his eyes. The were-bear made a noise again, and he tensed a little, expecting another warning growl – but it wasn’t that. It was a gentle, pulsing rumble, accompanied by a nuzzle to the crook of his neck, even as he pushed further in. Oh, he thought.

Seeing no other choice, David slowed his breathing and tried to make his body relax again, at least managing to release the tension in his wrists and thighs. The were-bear chuffed and gave him another nuzzle, and even rubbed his thumb over the pad of David’s palm as he kept on going. So, David thought. He’s at least committed to being a gentle lover. I can try to make the most of it, I guess.

The were-bear bottomed out inside him, and David exhaled. He felt… full. Full, and hot, and hazy, and he could feel dew brushing off on his arms every time he shifted slightly. He looked down at the were-bear’s head against his neck, at the two ears sticking out the top, and gave his own weak attempt at a nuzzle, rubbing his chin over the were-bear’s head.

The were-bear chuffed again and gave him another lick, and started moving again down below. David inhaled and whimpered softly – that felt weird. The entrance to his hole hurt, and the rest just felt stretched in a new, slightly scary way. The friction inside him made his broken hymen hurt more, even though the initial pain was slowly starting to fade. It felt like the big rod inside him – the were-bear’s penis, he forced himself to think, even though making it real in his mind like that scared him a little – was moving a little differently each time it went in and out, as if it was feeling around in there.

Then it pressed against something inside him that felt really good, in a way that fulfilled an urge David hadn’t realised he’d had, and he keened, his head pressing against the grass, his fingers flexing. He opened his mouth, about to ask the were-bear to please do that again, but the sudden memory of how he’d initially responded to David speaking made him close it again. After a moment of thought, he whined and pressed his hips up against the were-bear’s hand, as if to push his cock further inside.

After a further moment of hesitation, gingerly, carefully, he squeezed his walls around the were-bear’s cock a little.

The were-bear grunted, gripped David tighter and started moving faster. David worried for a moment that he hadn’t got the message, but then he hit that spot inside him again, and again, and David moaned in a way that was alien to him. Oh, Christ, this was why people had sex, wasn’t it? It felt like his whole body was being filled with lust, felt like this was what he had been made for. He clenched again, this time reflexively, and cried out at how good it felt.

He could feel it building inside him, feeling better and better in a way that felt like it was leading up to something. He was moaning steadily now, letting out little whimpers every time the were-bear thrust inside him, his eyes closed in ecstasy. The soreness was still there, but it made the rest of it feel even better somehow, like an accent or a spice to the pleasure.

He felt a moment of vertigo, and he gasped. He was clenching around the were-bear again, hard, and then again, and again, and it felt better each time, and his head was swimming, and it felt like it would never stop. He realised the were-bear was stopping inside him too, and making grunting noises, and gripping him tightly again, and there was something really warm deep inside him, that he was still clenching around, again, and again. He whimpered – and it started fading slowly, both out of his own exhaustion and the sense that he’d been satisfied in some way. He slowly came down from the near-hyperventilation he hadn’t realised he’d been doing, and started to just pant..

The were-bear’s cock was smaller inside him than it had been before, and David supposed he must have cum inside him. Yep. That was what sex was, wasn’t it? So he must have been cumming as well, just then. Yeah, that would check out… it had felt pretty good.

The were-bear pulled out completely, and something warm started leaking out of him, confirming his assumption. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been able to find a partner before – he’d just never been interested enough in sex to make time for it, even if he had had crushes and the like. If it felt this nice, though, maybe he’d try and schedule it in once in a while after this job was over.

The were-bear let out a contented exhale and let go of David, and he pulled his arms down and flexed some of the soreness out. He’d been getting stiff up there, but he hadn’t noticed until he was able to move again. He looked up at the were-bear curiously. He’d just lost his virginity to him, which hadn’t really sunk in yet, but he was developing the mild urge to learn the guy’s face.

It was normal, for a were-bear, he assumed. The deep blue eyes that he’d noticed earlier were rounder now, their expression more relaxed as he stared into the distance. Up close, it was just about visible where the brown of the fur on his cheeks and the back of his neck met the lighter brown of his hair and short beard. His hair was maybe to his shoulder blades – he must have been pretty important, judging by that conversation about social status back in the lab. He sort of looked like a hairy human with extra ears, until he yawned and revealed really big canine teeth. It wasn’t jarring enough to make him unattractive. Actually, it was kind of hot. God help him.

The were-bear looked down at him again, and David blinked and stared back, not really knowing what else to do. The were-bear chuffed and put a tender hand around David’s jaw, rubbing his thumb contentedly over his cheekbone. That was… nice. David leaned into it a little, and the were-bear’s eyes crinkled.

Then he reached down under David’s arms and hauled him over his shoulder. David yelped with surprise and lost his balance a bit, but the were-bear changed his grip and kept hold of him.

A glob of cum left him suddenly at the change in position and he shuddered, gripping onto the fur on the were-bear’s back. Even though they’d just had sex, feeling the were-bear’s spread hands on his back for a second there had been surprisingly intimate.

That thought was quickly erased as he started walking, and his muscled shoulder started jostling against David’s abdomen with each step. He felt like he was still sort of open down there, and every push on his belly was squeezing out either air or– “Nn,” whimpered David, feeling another little splurt come out of him. Fuck, how much was in there?

As far as he could tell, they were heading through the woods the same way the were-bear had come. He’d assumed they were going deeper into the forest, but after just a few minutes, the trees became sparse and then opened up completely, accompanied by the sounds of water. The were-bear set him down, and he looked out over a small, fast-flowing stream – no, two streams flowing into one. One was clear and reflected the orange light of the sunset, but the other looked kind of cloudy, and was steaming…? Ah, from a hot spring.

The were-bear pushed his drapings off his shoulders, leaving them in a heap on the ground, and before David could orient himself, he took his hand and led him over to the little confluence. Now that they were closer, the edges of the hot stream looked neatly shaped, and the riverbed here looked deeper than to either side. So these guys did build things, David thought. That gave him some hope for his imminent living conditions.

The were-bear stepped into the water, and David followed until he was knee-deep. It was pleasantly warm, although somewhat cooler than a bath would have been.

The were-bear submerged himself  and started rubbing at his arms and torso. Oh, thank goodness, so David was going to get to clean himself after all. If he was here to be… bred, in a manner of speaking, it’d be a relief if he was allowed to wash it off every once in a while. Carefully, he slid in a little further, and slowly rubbed at his calves – but the were-bear’s head snapped back, and he let out another warning growl, so he dropped his hands.

Great. Maybe this was for tops only, then. He sat down on the bank and waited, and luckily, it was only a few minutes until the were-bear finished.

He turned back to David and nonchalantly took him by the hips, pulling him into the water. “Wh–!” David twitched, but the were-bear held him firm, and to David’s surprise started rubbing at the cum-covered insides of his thighs with the palm of his large hand.

He pushed David’s back against the bank, submerging him up to his neck, and started washing him as thoroughly as was possible without soap. Those claws made David nervous, but they didn’t seem to be a problem as the were-bear cleaned his belly and sides and kept well away from anything sensitive.

After the were-bear’s previous reaction, David stayed still out of an abundance of caution as the were-bear finished cleaning him. The hardest part of that was letting the were-bear put his fingers up both of his holes, as he apparently felt it was necessary to do. David didn’t resist, per se, but he had to cling to the back of the were-bear’s neck and close his eyes to avoid overwhelm as two clawed fingers went up his asshole in the water. Just like the rest of his body, the were-bear didn’t cut him at all, but the sheer proximity of those claws to his insides meant he was shivering the whole way through. Not to mention the other sensations, especially in his front hole.

It was over after a somewhat-too-long few minutes, and David’s cheeks were flushed again as he watched the were-bear, trying to settle back down. The were-bear had scrubbed every part of him by now, so he assumed they’d be setting off. But the were-bear stayed right there in the stream. David stared at him for a moment, wondering if he wanted to soak in the warm water. Instead of relaxing, though, the were-bear dug around inside the wall, and to David’s horror pulled out a sharp-looking stone.

He knew better than to pull away by now, but his eyes never left the knife (surely it was a knife?) while the were-bear tested the edge with a thumb, rinsed it off in the water, then turned and approached him again. The were-bear grabbed David by the chin and pulled him around to face the forest, then shoved him up against the bank with his whole body, and he whimpered in open fear. He wouldn’t kill him – he wouldn’t kill him, not after he’d just been so careful – there was no way he would kill him, right? He trembled, and if not for how he was pinned, his whole body would have curled in on itself.

Cold and sharp, the knife rested on the back of David’s neck. Then it scraped up firmly, and the place it had just been was cold in the night air. Was he…? The ‘plip’ sound of the knife being dipped in the water again, followed by another measured upward stroke next to the first, confirmed his guess. So even though most of his hair had been carelessly buzzed off at the outpost, he wouldn’t be allowed to keep even the little he had left. Fuck, he was going to be bald bald – he couldn’t even imagine it.

The thought made his insides stir, and he whined again, trying to relax as much as he could and show the were-bear this wasn’t necessary. If these guys cut each other’s hair to enforce submission, maybe he could avoid it if he just acted submissive enough without it? He didn’t know why he was so resistant to this – for some reason it felt more humiliating than being stripped, pinned down and fucked without a word. There was something more to lose here, he felt.

A shift in the were-bear’s weight behind him, a slight nudge forward. David wondered if he was being spared, but then he felt lips on the newly-bare nape of his neck and keened with a sudden pulse of arousal. The were-bear’s cock, soft but still obviously large, was pressing into his back. The hand on his jaw shifted so that the were-bear’s palm covered the entire front of his neck, the base of his pointer finger pressing against his larynx. The were-bear’s lips withdrew, and the knife scraped up David’s nape again. Oh. He hadn’t earned the right to keep his hair, but– he supposed he was being given a little reward…

Another slow stroke, and this one just kept going and going, all the way up his head. David felt his stomach twist a little at the sensation of the knife scraping over the top of it, down to his hair-line – so this wasn’t even going to be an undercut or anything like that. Not that he thought of were-bears as knowing what undercuts were. But at the same time, the were-bear’s fingers were stroking the side of his neck, and little by little, David could feel a pair of warm lips getting closer to his ear.

Another stroke began. “Ah–” A nibble to his ear, coarse fingertips on his pulse-points. A warm breath over a stripe of bare skin. The were-bear ground himself forward into David’s back, now half-hard, and he felt desire growing inside him again. There was something so bittersweet about this – he was being played with, in a way that left him no room to maneuver, not even allowed to speak. He felt as though he was becoming more of an animal than the humanoid behind him, but the sensations all over his body were too much for him to think any further than that. The were-bear ran a thumb over the smooth scalp by his other ear, and David’s hips twisted.

Please, he thought, as his lips parted silently. The knife was moving faster now, shaving off little scraps – the bulk of it must have been off already. A little golden clump of it was caught on the edge of the water nearest him, catching the light. The skin on his head felt tender.

Without warning, there was a whole hand on his head, and he gasped and stiffened. He’d never felt that before – he reached up and touched the scalp beside, and the were-bear didn’t stop him. It was all smooth – surreally smooth. He brought his other hand up, touching all his fingers to it, and heard a chuff of laughter behind him. Holy shit. He really was bald.

The were-bear let go, and there were a few silent moments, just like that – David, feeling all over his head, getting used to the fact that there was no hair on it anymore, and the were-bear behind him, observing. The steady burble of the river as background noise meant his attention stayed on his scalp, rather than any rustles in the forest.

Then the were-bear took his shoulders and gently turned him around, grabbed his chin again, and brought the knife up to his left eyebrow. 

“Wai–” The were-bear growled, and his expression flared for a moment, stunning David into silence. Then, as if nothing had happened, the were-bear settled and began shaving off David’s eyebrow from the outside inward.

David was paralysed, his mouth agape. So it wasn’t just head hair that held social meaning here? God, if he was going to look weird without hair, he didn’t know just how bad it’d be without eyebrows. But he couldn’t move now, no more than he could have moved when there was a knife to the back of his head. This time, if the were-bear nicked him, he’d come back with a scar on his face, and he’d have to explain to all his friends that he hadn’t gotten it in a cool fight, he’d gotten it while the were-bear that had just fucked him was shaving his eyebrows off after he’d already shaven him bald. Fuck. What a situation he was in. And to top it all off he was wetter than he had any reason to be.

After he’d been still for a moment, David felt the were-bear’s strong hand let go of his chin. Rather than leaving him, though, it went down his neck, past his collarbone, down his chest and belly, over his– “Mh,” he said, using all his effort to stay still. The were-bear had pressed his whole hand flat against it, and as David doggedly kept hold of himself, he rolled it, fanning the warmth inside his new plaything. And somehow his other hand managed to cleanly eliminate David’s other eyebrow without so much as a quake.

Maybe these guys were a superior species, David thought, not the other way around. Was there any point in making species-wide generalisations, anyway? It was very clear right now that the were-bear – this one – was higher up in the biological hierarchy than at least one human. Not that he even felt human right now – just a creature of lust and submission.

As a teasing finger slipped into David’s cunt, the knife moved down, shaving the lower part of his face, and David could do nothing but whimper wordlessly. He couldn’t even squirm. His heart was pounding, all sensation and no outlet, and he closed his eyes, a helpless cry escaping his throat with no immediate cause. He felt his breath getting heavier and faster, his head spinning, equal parts fear and pleasure. On the back of his mind, always, was “If you move even a little bit, you’ll get cut.”

As he was pressed and nudged toward his climax, the knife went ever lower, from his chest to his armpits to his cunt, in an act of dizzying dexterity by the were-bear, pulling one side taut while rubbing at another. It didn’t even slow him down, and he continued on to David’s thighs– and he started cumming, dimly aware that the knife was being lifted from his skin. Thank fuck, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back otherwise, he would’ve just cut himself. Oh, holy shit, he was feeling great.

He came his brains out. His back pressed against the dirt wall of the stream-bath, the nape of his now-bare neck just brushing against the grass off the bank, the constant reminder making it even more intense. He dully realised that he was getting off on the thought of being bald, but he had neither the inclination nor the mental fortitude to unpack that right now.

He came down, started panting instead of yowling. The were-bear quietly finished off his legs and made him hairless all over.

His head lolled backwards with the afterglow. He sighed with relief as the were-bear scooped him up in his broad, fuzzy arms, and stood.

The outside air was cold, but the were-bear’s chest was radiating heat, to the point where if he’d been a regular human David would have thought he had a fever. It only emphasised the contrast between them – one warm, virile and furred, the other pale, curled up and shivering in the evening winds like a newborn. He could feel the fur on the were-bear’s chest against the bald skin of his scalp – that was a funny thought, the were-bear having more chest hair than David had head hair. He swallowed, ruminating on it.

Gina had said they didn’t hire humans to impregnate were-bears for ethical reasons – he’d assumed it was to prevent harm from coming to the were-bears, but now he was pretty sure anybody who tried would have been mutilated and sued the reserve. No human would have been able to dominate a were-bear like this were-bear had dominated him, if they were all this strong.

Once they were on dry land, the were-bear nudged him, and he came back to himself a little. He managed to stay on his feet when he was set down on the floor. He shivered and looked at the were-bear plaintively – he was wet, it was cold, and now he had no heat source – but the were-bear simply huffed and took his time putting his clothes (well, hides) back on.

He finished draping them over himself quite quickly, but there was one left on the ground. As David peered at it, he picked it up with both hands, brought it over to him, and wrapped him up in it like a baby. David made a high-pitched noise of protest, but the were-bear ignored that and scooped him up like before, except now his arms were pinned to his sides by the thick leather. He struggled a bit, just to feel how tightly he’d been wrapped – yep, no chance of wriggling out of this. He sighed. There was something kind of nice about being treated this way – taken care of, carried around – but he was worried he’d get used to it, and wouldn’t be able to function once he returned to the outside world.

Oh well, he sighed to himself, as the were-bear started walking into the forest. His contract was for two years. Even if his brain did melt into mush from not having to do anything for that time, there was nothing he could do about it now. He’d signed up for this – he’d just have to sit back and try to enjoy it.

The were-bear walked for quite a while, long enough that David’s body warmth had dried him inside his bundle of furs. Normally his hair would still be wet, but… well. His newly-naked scalp had been one of the first things to dry.

There wasn’t really anything to look at around here, just trees and more trees, the same as on the drive with Gina. At some point, he drifted off to sleep for a few minutes – it was easy, his head supported, wrapped in the were-bear’s warmth. When he woke up, the were-bear was still walking, and the full moon was starting to rise above the treeline.

It had been around ten minutes, plus the short nap, when David started to smell smoke. He looked up at the were-bear, who seemed focused on what was directly ahead of them. Soon, the flicker of a fire came into view – then, a small clearing, and the mouth of a cave.

The fire was right at the cave mouth. In its light, David could just about see piles of bones and logs around the clearing, but no standalone buildings. There were four were-bears sitting around the fire, passing something around among themselves, and some movements from deeper within the cave – they all paused for a moment once David and the were-bear got close enough.

The sight of a fire meant he wouldn’t need to be huddled up against someone to keep warm in this weather – it probably even meant cooked food. David’s stomach growled at the thought. Based on the use of hides for clothing, it was clear that these guys hunted, but if he was lucky maybe they foraged for root vegetables too…

They went straight to the cave mouth, and with each step toward the fire the air around them got warmer. The were-bear set him down in an empty spot next to the fire, then unwrapped him with one quick motion. Wait, underneath he was– David gasped a little and tried to cover himself, but none of the other were-bears seemed to be offended, even though they were all wearing hides (now that he’d seen this many – were they deer hides?) themselves.

He scrambled to get his hands over all of the most sensitive areas, then tentatively looked up and around at his new company. Gina had been right, they were all that hot – some were more bear-like, in the gay man sense rather than the ursine sense, and some were more androgynous, but there wasn’t a single one that he would call unattractive.

All of the were-bears around the fire were looking at him with open curiosity, as if they were expecting something from him. Was there some kind of non-verbal greeting he was supposed to know? It couldn’t be spoken language, not with how the were-bear had responded to his words those few times. He swallowed. Hopefully a lack of response wasn’t considered any kind of insult either.

The question was answered for him when his were-bear grabbed him by the back of the neck and pressed his cheek into the dirt. David struggled for breath, just about managing to keep his nose and mouth out of the soil, but the were-bear didn’t loosen his grip at all. After a few moments, he realised – right. This probably served some sort of social purpose. He relaxed, letting his head rest on the ground. Thankfully, after a few seconds the were-bear let go and David stumbled back up, able to stop prostrating himself. Prostrating himself – that was an embarrassing thought.

It had had the intended effect, though. The were-bears seemed to have gone from equal parts curious and cautious to a kind of pitying acceptance, which was perhaps more insulting, but certainly safer. David cleared his throat, noticed that most of the bears were sitting cross-legged, and adjusted his legs to mirror them.

Finally, after a few awkward moments, one of the were-bears shuffled over to one of the piles and started dragging something over. David straightened his back to get a better look– and it was a deer carcass.

He overbalanced, but his were-bear (well. The one he was most familiar with. It wasn’t like they were married or anything) pulled him back upright, this time nudging his legs so that he was sitting on his heels. Blushing a little, David didn’t adjust his posture again – clearly making him kneel had some kind of social significance too.

By this point the carcass was right next to the fire, and David had a better view of it. It was skinned, presumably to make more of those tanned hides they were wearing, but everything else from the horns to the eyes was still in there. He swallowed, his hands tightening in his lap – he knew that this was where meat came from, normally, but it still wasn’t a pleasant sight. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had meat, honestly – he didn’t consider himself a proper vegetarian, but he tried to avoid eating it where he could, which so far had been almost always.

One of the were-bears had cut open the stomach, and was now rooting around in its abdomen, a big cavity of flesh sacks in different shades of red and white. Looking at it made him nauseous, and he turned his head into his were-bear’s chest. Before long, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and gingerly turned around.

The other were-bear, the one that had been butchering the deer, was holding a chunk of meat out towards him. Based on the shape of the organ on the top of the pile, the same colour as this chunk, it was probably a liver. Whatever it was, the sight of it made him light-headed.

The other were-bear shuffled forward and thrust his hand out, touching the chunk of flesh to David’s lips. Oh. No. Really? David looked back at his were-bear with desperate eyes, but that only got him shoved gently in the other were-bear’s direction, smearing blood and other bodily fluids from its hand over his cheek and jaw.

Okay, maybe– maybe he could cook it, at the very least– but when he leaned back to try and pick it up with his hand, a warning growl came from behind him. No dice. So even in a culture that had discovered fire, there were still some things that they insisted on eating raw – like the equivalent of salad… He giggled a little despite the situation, and that earned him a louder growl and the prick of claws on his back, and the resulting pulse of fear made him gasp, and the liver was shoved inside.

It was a lot. The taste filled his whole mouth and nose at once, overpoweringly gamey and metallic, and he would have spit it out right away if he wasn’t worried about being punished for it. He chewed once, and that made things even worse. He squeezed his eyes shut, and chewed again, and again, and then swallowed as soon as he thought he probably wouldn’t choke. Christ. He felt like he’d become even less human now.

The next thing he noticed was wet hands on his head, stroking down his face, and he opened his eyes to see that other were-bear petting him. Unlike the one that had brought him here, this one only had hair going down to its shoulders, and he couldn’t really tell what gender it was. They all seemed to have the same amount of body hair, at least. It brought another piece of liver to his mouth with its other hand, and he ate it obediently this time, swallowing a few times after it was already down his throat to try and get the taste out of his mouth.

That seemed to trigger something in the other three, and they all gathered around the carcass, cutting strips of meat and chunks of organ off with their claws, and then butting in next to the one that had just fed him and pushing their chosen morsels into David’s mouth. And then touching him.

First they limited their wandering hands to his head and shoulders, petting him, painting his newly-bare scalp in blood and bits of viscera, smearing it around his mouth, over his pulse. David kept everything down out of sheer force of will, getting the increasing sense that vomiting would either disturb what seemed like a ritual or lead to him having to eat everything he’d just expelled. He tried not to think about it.

Their touches drifted further down. At some point, his were-bear had taken hold of his hips from behind. The other four were alternating between pressing meat onto his tongue, and groping him. There was no other way of describing it – their hands never went below his pelvis, but they were bold and almost greedy with their touches. David was panting, his cheeks flushing, and he could feel either blood or something worse running down the sides of his mouth from just how much he’d been made to swallow.

One of his were-bear’s hands left his hip, and pulled at his nipple, and David understood what was about to happen. He couldn’t say he was opposed.

Without warning, his were-bear grabbed David’s neck and pulled his head down onto his lap, and the other four encroached. They started touching further down, running their hands along his folded legs, pulling them open. They tugged his calves and feet out from underneath, touched his– he gasped, and one of them chuckled, and a finger went in.

Behind him, he heard a little rustling, and then there was a half-hard cock resting on his forehead. He tried to flip himself onto his belly, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him – instead, his were-bear put three fingers under his chin, and tilted it up, and up, and up. Finally, when it was hard to breathe, when his neck was fully exposed and his back a little arched, his were-bear eased the thick rod of flesh into his mouth.

He didn’t know whether his dizziness was from the meat-induced nausea, the position he’d been contorted into or the sheer dizzying thought that all of these were-bears were about to touch him even more intimately than they already had. His breath had sped up, and part of that was from the constriction and now the cock-head in his mouth, but he was also just… turned on. He was a little embarrassed at himself. He was about to be ravished by five were-bears, and he was looking forward to it. Well, he told himself, that was better than dreading it. Lucky him, having situation-appropriate tastes.

The widest part of the head passed his lips, and the tip breached his throat. The finger inside him started to move, slowly, curiously. A slurping sound came from that direction, and then another finger went up his back hole, which David probably should have been expecting but really hadn’t been. He squeaked and jerked upward, and his were-bear comforted him with a warm, sticky hand on the side of his face.

That hand didn’t grip him hard enough to keep him in place – it was just a steadying presence, even as his were-bear’s cock forced its way further and further down. Thinking about it more, he was glad these guys seemed to care that he enjoyed this – firstly because he was starting to get into it with their help, and secondly because he felt like he would have been ripped open otherwise. The other were-bears’ hands were still all over him, but they were slowing down compared to earlier, squeezing curiously, largely staying in place on his skin.

David felt himself getting lost in the pleasure, in the hundreds of strokes and touches. He was hurtling into overwhelm, to the point where nothing else registered, unable to think about anything at all. He gave a muffled mewl around his were-bear’s cock, which had started to pump in and out, as two fingers went into his cunt– then three. Then a cock. Ohh, fuck. His back arched even further. This one was slimmer than the one in his throat, but– yes, definitely longer, as it made its way in. For a moment he thought it was going to hit his cervix, but a pair of hips met his inner thighs and it started pulling out again.

The lower body of the person in his cunt collided with the hand whose finger was in his ass, and he felt a jostling in that area. As he decided to focus on pleasuring his were-bear with his tongue, both appendages stopped moving for a few moments, and then the finger withdrew.

He whined, wiggling his hips as much as the hands holding him would allow, giving the cock in his mouth a few hard sucks – but then the cock in his cunt started moving, hard. He gasped through his nose and went limp against the many hands holding him. He started to feel himself building up to an orgasm, the pleasure peaking with each slam of those hips into his, contrasting the almost loving way his throat was being fucked.

One of the were-bears grabbed his hand and put his cock in it, and David curled his fingers around it automatically. Then he felt another in his other hand, which was frantically guided to his belly, and then the cock there started thrusting in and out as well, sandwiched between his palm and his abdomen.

He could feel his throat vibrating, and was aware that he was moaning, but with everything going on in his body he didn’t have the space in his brain to hear it. His cunt was pulsing with blood and heat, curling his toes, making his thighs twitch, and he never wanted this to stop.

And then the cock in his cunt paused all the way inside him, and started filling him up with hot cum, and at the same time there was a powerful musky taste in the back of his throat. The cock in his mouth slowed, then stopped. But David hadn’t cum yet. He couldn’t decide how he felt about this situation – on one hand, there was something inexplicably euphoric about having so much cum inside him at once. On the other hand…

He decided, and made a noise that bordered on a squawk, twisting his hips, thrusting them upward. Goddammit. If all of these guys were going to take their pleasure from him, he wanted some too.

He heard a familiar chuff above his head, and looked up to see his were-bear, amused. A thumb stroked his cheek.

Then he took David by the shoulders and gently turned him onto his side. The movement unsheathed the cock on his belly, and he heard a grumbling from there, and general muttering and shuffling for a few seconds as everyone figured out what to do.

A new penis abruptly pressed itself against his lips, and a second later a slim hand grabbed his head and tilted it back. God, he still wasn’t used to the feeling of having fingers in direct contact with his scalp. In that distracted moment, the head forced its way into his mouth and the second cock of the day entered his throat. Which was closely followed by the third cock of the day in his cunt – all at once, aided by the slickness from the last round. This one was both short and slim. And a little curvy. Probably the one that had been in his hand earlier. He clenched around it and sighed, feeling the edges of his orgasm start to return.

Then the finger from earlier casually returned to his asshole, followed by a second, and David got the feeling that there was a reason he’d been turned onto his side.

Normally, the thought of a stranger fucking him up the ass would have made him afraid, but right now as long as it meant more pleasure he was all for it. He tried to relax around the fingers. Even though it didn’t feel as obviously good as being fucked in the cunt, he got the feeling he’d end up enjoying it.

Sure enough, the fingers withdrew, taking care not to disturb the rhythm of the person in his vagina, and yet another head poked at his sphincter. He only had time to inhale before it was pushing its way in, and despite his eagerness it did make him a little sore. He whined, and right away there were hands stroking down his back, scratching under his chin, rubbing at his thigh. The cock in his ass slowed down, but the cock in his cunt sped up – yep, that worked just fine. The pain melted away, and when everyone started moving at their desired speed again, David felt nothing but arousal.

He started clenching without meaning to again, and this time he tried to lean into it, now that he knew what was going on. Each time his arousal peaked, he clenched along with it, and it sent him further and further up each time. He could feel the rhythm of the person in his cunt wavering, and he was aware that it probably felt good, but right now he was focused on himself. He cried out, and launched himself through his own orgasm.

After that, everyone took a turn. Everyone seemed to be aiming to leave a load in his cunt, but his mouth was occupied more or less all the time as well, and his ass more often than not, so each of the five were-bears ended up taking at least three rounds. His hands saw plenty of use, too. The wonders of biological variation. They slowed down quite a bit when he was starting to hurt, or when he’d just climaxed, but they never completely stopped, so spurt by spurt he was covered in cum.

It mostly happened around his crotch, of course, but some landed on his face, some was splattered all over his chest and belly, and at one point someone even thrust against his head until they ejaculated, so now there was a good coating on there too. The position he was held in meant he couldn’t see any of this, but finally, the last person let go of his chin and pulled out, trailing a line of semen onto his lips.

They left him on the grass, soaking in afterglow. Lingering pleasure from all over his body travelled to his brain, was perceived uncomprehendingly, and then faded to be replaced by more of the same – truly, he had been well-fucked. Little by little, though, it became less intense, and he came back to himself. First, he swallowed – then, he lay there for a couple of minutes, taking stock of the body he just remembered he had. Then he gingerly sat up.

Holy fucking shit. He was sore everywhere. But not in a bad way. He touched his belly – besides being sticky with cum and deer blood, he could have sworn it was bulging a little. From being fed, probably. Or from being cum in? Was that how that worked?

He looked around. The crowd had dispersed – all of the were-bears had drifted into the cave, probably, or out into the forest. All that was left was the soft rustling of a night breeze through the trees, the crackle of burning wood, the faint sounds of were-bears moving about inside. Just as well. There was something nice about relaxing here, gathering himself in the moonlight, warmed by the fire.

Maybe he’d be okay.

After that he lay back down on the grass, letting the pain fade while watching the stars, and it was about twenty minutes before he heard footsteps in the woods. He propped himself up on an elbow to see his were-bear coming out of the trees, a rabbit in his hand.

Acting purely on instinct, he leaned up a little bit and nuzzled the were-bear’s calf, and was rewarded with a generous scratch behind the ear. He could feel the rabbit resting against his shoulder, still a little warm.

The were-bear leaned down and took him by the upper arm, hoisting him upright. David’s legs didn’t hold him at first, and he nearly collapsed like a newborn deer, but the were-bear held him steady until he could stand on his own.

They walked slowly into the cave. As his eyes adjusted to the relative darkness David saw older were-bears holding babies, were-bear children sitting in a circle, some of the were-bears he’d gotten acquainted with earlier tossing a ball of woven reeds around. One of them looked at him, gave him a slightly sheepish nod and returned to the game.

Going further into the cave, it was almost completely dark, and when the were-bear stopped David tripped over his heel and had to catch himself. Regaining his composure, he looked around and saw humanoid figures on the cave floor.

The were-bear let go of his hand and nudged him forward, and his bare foot nudged a plump hip. A moment later, a hand grabbed his and yanked, and he fell forward into someone’s lap. His shins landed hard on the meat of their thighs, and he put a hand on the side of their leg in apology, but they didn’t seem to mind. They wrapped their arms around him, pulling him forward into an impossibly ample pair of breasts and a big, swollen, pregnant belly.

He was surprised at first, but tried to gather himself. Maybe this was where the were-bears slept, or rested when they couldn’t work? This one seemed quite far along – maybe they were waiting out their due date here.

Out of politeness, he put his hands around them in turn, trying to find a good place to rest them. He felt their wide, fleshy back, leading up to a slender neck – and a head covered in short fuzz, bordering on stubble. And no bear ears.

Oh, right. That was why he was here. …This would be him soon.

He was horrified for a fraction of a second, but it was overridden by a sudden, extreme jolt of arousal. He let out a shaky exhale, burying his face unthinkingly in the pregnant were-bear’s – no, the breeding staff member’s cleavage, and he heard a familiar chuff behind him. This new acquaintance of his rubbed his back tenderly, and the were-bear’s hand landed on David’s shoulder, then the other person’s. David looked back at the were-bear, who had turned to leave. He looked David in the eyes, patted his head, and then walked slowly away.

David tried to stand up and follow him, but the breeding staff’s plump arms kept him firmly down in the pile of bodies. He tried again and again, to the same effect – gradually, he realised that the were-bear had deposited him here to stay. His eyes adjusted further to the darkness, his hands wandered past the person holding him, and his assumption was confirmed – barely-there hair, smooth skin, round bellies, ten or twelve in total, all laid on top of one another, never getting up.

They seemed to kiss and caress one another whenever they pleased. The more he watched, the more he got the impression it was usually younger-looking people leaning up and kissing the older, more confident-seeming ones. It seemed to be a way of showing submission, or appreciation, or something – either way, both parties mostly looked like they were enjoying it.

When he was pretty sure it wouldn’t offend them, he gathered up his courage and kissed the person holding him. In return he received a much longer, handsier, more passionate kiss, and a fat thigh pushed up between his legs, right up against his sex. After a few reassuring purrs and two warm hands on his hips, he shakily ground against the person’s thigh-bone until a pleasant haze swept over him. When he was on his way to his climax, though, those same hands pulled him onto his belly, and kept him there no matter how much he squirmed to get back up. He whined, squirmed harder, but eventually there was nothing he could do but go limp and pant, exhausted. So this was his life now.

Like that, by trial and error, he got used to life with the were-bears. Most of his time was spent in the breeder pile, as he’d come to think of it, cuddling with that one person and the others as he pleased, touching them and being touched, but always stopping just before the best part. Over time he got used to staying in that aroused state, starting to enjoy it in itself, but never quite as much as just getting to cum.

Meals came four or five times a day, about half the time raw and freshly killed, the other half spit-roasted to a tasty char. One of the were-bears from outside would bring it in whole and put it down on the cave floor, and everyone would gather around and split it amongst themselves. Eating a quarter to a half of an animal a day was very out of line with what David was used to, but the first time he’d left some of his share on the carcass, one of the other older pregnant people had sat on his hips and fed him bite by bite until every bone was clean and his whole torso felt overfilled. After that he learned to pace himself and eat up every little bit, so that nobody would make him.

He was first brought out of the cave again after four or five sleeps, although he couldn’t be sure whether those had been naps or full nights. His were-bear came to fetch him, and David went up to him gratefully, nuzzling at his thigh as he’d seen others do, and received a good scratch to the back of the neck in return. He was taken back out to the fire, and when he stopped being dazzled by the light, he submitted to the were-bear’s insistent hands and cracked lips.

As soon as he felt the were-bear’s familiar length inside him again, he let out a happy mewl and had another realisation – all those touches in the cave had just made him hungry for more. Finally, blissfully, he was able to cum, and he took the were-bear’s accompanying climax hungrily, kissing him at the height of it.

After a brief period lying tangled in each other’s bodies, the were-bear brought him over to a riverbank, this one closer to the cave but not heated, and cleaned him from top to bottom while he grumbled and shivered, then returned him to the fire to warm up. He was fed slivers of cooked deer as evening fell, played with a few of the children that had just come back from the forest, and when the crescent moon rose, the were-bear brought him back inside to sleep among the breeders.

It wasn’t a bad life. After all he’d had to do previously to earn enough money for both him and his sister, the late nights and double jobs and hard labour and semi-legality, it was like his body was encouraging him to accept the cuddles and kisses and naps and calorie-dense food that had taken their place, knowing that his sister was getting everything she needed outside, knowing how long it had been since someone had cared for him. He knew he should probably be bored, but for some reason he never was.

The days blended together. His hair grew out a little. The third or fourth time he was brought outside to be fucked, he saw his were-bear and an older one with even longer hair scratching lines onto a piece of tree-bark together, but looked away on instinct, assuming there was a reason he hadn’t been taught. Should he have been hungrier for learning? Probably. But this way of thinking was safer right now, he told himself.

At some point, he realised he’d gotten used to the food – it wasn’t making him nauseous anymore, and in fact he spent a good chunk of time each day looking forward to the next meal. He wasn’t sure whether it was because they were always being fondled, but his chest – his breasts, he felt like he could call them now – seemed bigger, and were tender to the touch.

The final piece of the puzzle came gradually, hindered by the lack of day and night. One day, after having been brought out to receive both his were-bear and another friend, he noticed a gibbous moon in the sky when heading back into the cave. Had it really been that long since the full moon that first night?

Come to think of it – he hadn’t had his period since he’d arrived, either.

Oh.

He stumbled and had to catch himself on the cave wall. He’d known this was going to happen, but it still made his head spin.

He was pregnant. Like, pregnant pregnant.

He didn’t know how to be a dad.

Well, actually. Maybe he kind of did, what with his sister and all. Plus, Gina had said something about raising kids communally, so the others could help him with the early childhood period…

Okay, yeah. Maybe this would be fine.

Pushing away the subtle sense of dread within him, he toddled back to the cuddle pile and went to sleep.

The next day passed uneventfully. He cuddled, kissed and ate his way through the morning and afternoon, but he wasn’t as spaced-out as usual. He kept poking at his stomach, staring down at his abdomen, wondering if there was a difference already. He had felt like his upper arms and thighs had been filling out lately. He’d been gaining belly fat too. But was that the same as a pregnancy showing? Was his uterus bigger than usual?

It was in this state that the were-bear found him early that night. He was looking intently down at his belly button while leaning back against someone’s chest, and didn’t notice the were-bear until his feet were right in front of him.

As soon as David registered his presence, he crawled up to the were-bear, giving him a warm, casual thigh nuzzle, and received a generous pat to the head. Even if they’d shaved off all his hair earlier, they’d at least let him grow it back since then. Now he had an even coating of soft fuzz, including thankfully on his head. He felt a little more normal.

The were-bear pulled David onto his feet, and they headed outside like they had a few times before. David could feel his heart start to flutter – it had been a few days since last time. He’d be very grateful for the chance to cum again.

When they emerged from the cave, though, things looked different than usual. All of the were-bears of the settlement, except the children and the ones from the cuddle pile, were standing along the edge of the clearing with crossed arms and serious expressions. The fire had been moved off into the forest somewhere, leaving only the light of the full moon. The were-bear gestured for David to stay, then walked into the clearing, his face going solemn.

Once he’d reached the centre, he reached into his drapings and pulled out a stone knife. David knew he should be nervous – he had been, the first time, and for good reason – but now it just didn’t elicit the same reaction in him. The were-bears had taken care of him all this time, had been tender to him, and how he was carrying one of their children. Even if the logical reaction was to be scared of being hurt, David was calm. He trusted the were-bear – he trusted all the were-bears.

The were-bear beckoned David with his other hand, then brought it down to his navel, holding it palm-up. David simply followed his instincts. He walked over, slowly, not minding the eyes around him, and then knelt in front of the were-bear, placing his head in the upturned hand. It was warm, and gripped David’s chin as soon as he rested his weight on it.

He hadn’t even been thinking about what the purpose of all this was, but then the knife pressed into the top of his hairline, and he suddenly understood. Oh well – it seemed like he wouldn’t be allowed to grow his hair back after all.

If this was what his were-bear wanted, David thought, then he supposed it was okay.

He closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders, and let the were-bear shave his head again. It was relaxing, in a sense – he knew there were other people around the clearing, but they were silent, and it felt like it was just the were-bear’s hands over his head, his body heat hitting David’s neck and chest, his thumb stroking David’s cheek every once in a while. He felt little hairs landing on his shoulders, the cool night air gradually reaching more and more of the top of his head, the were-bear’s careful fingers pushing down his ear to shave the hair behind. He felt a steady warmth building in his gut for reasons he didn’t really understand.

The were-bear was skilful and confident with the top and sides, but he took care shaving the sensitive skin at the back of David’s neck, holding his head firmly in place as he shaved off each wispy hair. David, for his part, tried not to move at all, breathing deep, trying to keep his heart rate steady. The were-bear rubbed David’s head with his whole hand after that, tenderly, then picked up the knife again and carefully went over each little missed patch. Then, he gave David’s cheek a little pat, and slowly let go of his chin.

Dazed, David blinked, and shakily stood up after a light tap to his upper arm. He took the were-bear’s hand, leaning on it a little, and let himself be led away from the clearing.

By the time he came back to himself, they were beneath some trees on the edge of the clearing. The were-bear was sitting against a trunk a little way away, one knee up, keeping an eye on him.

David immediately crawled over to him and kissed him, lips closed like he had seen the others do, and then kissed him again, and then clambered up onto his belly and kissed him once again for good measure. Was the child his? He remembered them saying something about a lack of biological fatherhood back at the outpost, but he wanted his child to be this were-bear’s. He had a feeling that it was.

The were-bear let off a pleased chuff, then cupped David’s face in his hands and returned his kiss, deep and heated. David was caught off guard, but leaned into it after a moment, and when the were-bear finally pulled away he was panting a little.

The were-bear gave him a little scratch, then pulled the knife back out of his drapings and took David’s chin again. David grumbled, but the were-bear ignored it completely and started scraping off one of his eyebrows, to his annoyance. So this would be him for the whole two years? No head hair was one thing, but no hair all over was quite another… then again, it wasn’t as though there was a mirror in the cave, so he’d be able to avoid thinking about it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a short-haired, large-breasted were-bear kneeling to a muscly longer-haired one. His head must have turned a little, because his were-bear let out a short growl and pinched his chin, and David whined a little in apology and turned his eyes back to the were-bear, trying harder to keep still.

As the were-bear finished off the first eyebrow and started on the next, David reflected on his emotions, and found that he was happy that he would be living here for a while. It definitely wasn’t a bad life – he was fed, he didn’t really have to do anything, and what he did have to do was generally pleasurable. That in itself wasn’t making him actively look forward to his time here, though – so what was it?

He gazed idly into the were-bear’s eyes, and after a moment, came to his answer – he’d developed a bond with this man, somehow, without words. He wanted to see him whenever he came to him, he wanted to be touched by him. He obeyed him like it was second nature.

That was it, that was the reason. It was…

He had the choice to renew his contract, didn’t he?

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