I was impressed at how much they had been able to get done while we were gone. All that really remained was to make the house a home.
"I was thinking you might want to use this room," Jim said.
"Tired of me already?" I asked, a little hurt.
"Not at all," he said, tousling my streaked hair. "Just thought you'd like to have a place to call your own."
I smiled at him.
"I've been sharing living quarters for such a long time. I'm not sure I'd know how to handle privacy anymore."
"Well, I still think it'd be good for you to have your own space. Somewhere to call your own. Even Brian has his studio."
"You know what?" I grinned. "I think you're right."
"Something smells good," Brian said as he and Paul arrived.
"That would be young Daniel," I said, lifting the lid on the roaster.
"Should I stick the ham in the oven to keep it warm?" Paul asked, holding up a foil wrapped pan.
"Sure. Stick it in the top one," I said. "Got the sweet potatoes in the lower one."
Brian slide his arm load of pies onto the table, then he walked over to his cousin and caught him up in a bear hug.
"Mmm," he growled. "He does smell good."
"I'm about as well basted as the damn turkey," Daniel laughed.
"I bet you end up better basted by the end of the day," Brian chuckled.
"What time are Mike and Cliff supposed to be here?" Paul asked.
I glanced up at the clock.
"Should be any time," I said.
"Just remember what I told you," Brian said to Daniel. "I'm going to get the rest of the stuff."
"Need any help?" Paul asked, closing the oven.
"I should be able to handle it," Brian replied, heading back outside.
"What did he tell you?" I asked.
"To not let Mike bully me," he said with a grin.
We shared a laugh about that.
"Don't know if he's likely to try that again," Paul chuckled.
"Don't know about that," I said, shaking my head. "Mikey's got a thick skull."
"I'm sure Brian would be willing to knock some more sense into him," Paul said, checking the pots on the stove.
"Suppose I should be glad all Brian did was knock him out," I said speculatively. "Especially since...."
"Yeah," Paul winced. "We've been talking about it a lot. We're dealing."
He glanced at Daniel quizzically.
"How are you...?" he asked.
"No nightmares," Daniel replied. "Well, not like I had before."
"Good," Paul said in relief.
"Look what the bear dragged in!" Brian called.
He tramped in, laden down with bags. He was followed by Mike and Cliff, equally burdened, speckled with white flakes.
"Is it snowing?" I asked.
"Just started," Mike said, plopping his bags onto the counter.
He pulled me into his embrace.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Papa," he said and pressed his lips against mine.
He pulled away and looked at Daniel.
"And this must be my new brother," he leered at Daniel.
Daniel looked around as we towered over him.
"What gives you that idea?" he said sarcastically.
Mike stepped toward him and Daniel stood his ground.
Mike glanced at Brian.
"Hey, Danny," Mike said, grinning broadly. "I think you're hot. I'd really like to play with you. May I?"
Brian roared in laughter.
"What?" Mike said, grinning sheepishly. "I may be a little slow sometimes, but I ain't stupid."
"Will wonders never cease," I laughed.
"So what do you say, Bro?" Mike asked.
"How about after we eat," Daniel said with a slow smile. "I think I'm going to need my strength."
"God this looks great," I said as we sat down to eat.
"Would you like to say a few words before we tuck in?" Jim asked me.
"Me?" I asked in surprise. "But it's your house."
"But you're the eldest," he replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Not by that much," I grumbled cheerily.
I looked around the table and took up my glass. Jim had brought some very nice vintages with him, and this was one.
"What a year this has been," I said, looking at my brother. "A year. You younglings don't yet know how different they seem when you accumulate so many of them. As a child, a year seems to last forever, but as you grow older they begin to fly by."
I looked at the three cubs, reading the understanding in their eyes. The three of them had been long grown when they had been changed.
"But then, every so often, things happen to make us take notice. That sometimes we have to leave our comfortable little worlds and find the wonder we had lost. Sometimes we go out into the world," I said, looking at my cub.
"And sometimes the world comes to us," I continued, turning to my newest nephew.
"And other times, we are reminded that our time here is precious."
I turned in the direction of that boulder keeping watch over the lake.
"This has been a tumultuous year. A year of loses and gains, of loosing and bindings, of griefs and joys, of hurts and healings.
"We have been through a lot and have become stronger because of it. And I want you all to know how lucky I am to have you all in my life."
"And we you, Paul," Jim said as they raised their glasses in unison.
I understood what Paul had said during that toast. My years in the Marines had seemed so long. But there were times when I'd blink and weeks would have gone by.
I was experiencing something like that now. I suppose it was from not having a schedule of any sort. When your life is regimented, down to the least detail, it's hard to lose track of time.
But here, deep in the woods, with the snow piling up in glittering mounds, time had no meaning. We tended to spend a lot of time in bed...of course, not all of it sleeping.
I kept having strange dreams, but I was no longer haunted by the memories of the atrocities I had witnessed or done. Instead, they woke me, crying out in need. A need that only Jim could fulfill.
I'm not saying we spent the whole winter in bed. Would have been nice, though. Jim would usually end up dragging me outside. There was always snow to clear or wood to chop. It didn't take me long to figure out he was doing this in place of a work out. And that made a lot of sense to me. Swinging an ax or stacking firewood felt more...logical than even the same movements done in a gym. You end up knowing what muscles are used doing actual work.
Really, the only...signposts of time I had was when we'd see Paul and Brian. About once a week or so, either they'd come here, or we'd go there.
From the sound of it, Brian was having an even harder time staying awake than I was. When I mentioned this to Jim, he told me that most of us tend to get lethargic during the winter months, but we don't really hibernate in the strictest sense. Typically. But Brian's not a typical bear. I was told that he has entered a state much like hibernation when he has over extended himself. Jim said something about Brian's closer relationship to the bear. Not sure I really understand.
But I enjoyed seeing them. We'd have a good meal and talk. And end up fooling around, of course.
One time, I made the mistake of mentioning my hand to hand training. Brian couldn't wait to get me downstairs so we could spar. It certainly made me sympathetic towards Paul. Brian had obviously kept up his self defense training and he was clearly excited to have someone who actually knows what he's doing. I know they say the bigger they are, the harder they fall, but they never met Brian. Not saying I was never able to take him, but it wasn't often.
Of course, after seeing what he had between his legs, I would never have thought I could take take him that way, either. But with enough encouragement...and enough lube....
"We don't have to do this," Brian said pensively.
I had seen both Paul and Jim take him. It was hard to believe, but hot to watch. And they seemed to enjoy it. I had made the mistake of asking what it was like.
"No, we don't," I said, through the butterflies in my stomach. "But I want to try."
"You didn't push him into this, did you?" Brian growled at Jim.
"All I did was tell him how good it is once you're inside," Jim said, holding up his hands.
"It's the getting it in that's the problem," Brian grumbled uncertainly.
"Brian," I said, reaching out to stroke his chest. "I'm willing to try."
"Danny, I don't want to hurt you. Maybe after your change...," he began.
"So, do you intend to never fuck a non-were?" Jim said, folding his arms.
"Well, I never had much luck finding guys who could take me even before I gained nearly half a foot," Brian growled.
"Brian," I said. "My first time with Jim, he told me he wasn't going to do anything to me that he wouldn't let me do to him. You've let me fuck you...."
"I'd just rather wait until you change," Brian began.
"Grandpapa fucked you before your first change," Paul pointed out.
"That was different," Brian said glaring at his papa.
"Is it?" Paul asked. "You obviously take after him that way, too."
"You said it was no worse that being fisted," Jim said.
"Whose side are you on?" Brian said, rounding on him. "What would Danny know about fisting?"
"More than you might think," I said.
He turn and looked at me blankly.
"Jim and his...otter buddies introduced me to it," I said, grinning at his confusion. "Suppose it helps that they're pretty...petite."
"What do you mean?" Brian asked.
"They were all at most five foot tall, but proportionate," I said.
"Small hands helps," Jim smirked.
Brian rocked back and glanced at Paul.
Paul shrugged.
"Jeff said he knew you," I said, and could see Jim out of the corner of my eye. He was struggling to contain his mirth. "Said you knew his old pup."
"Vince?!" he said, eyes wide.
"Yeah, that's his name," Jim said casually.
"Well, you had wondered why he insisted on using rubbers," Paul laughed.
Brian crossed his arms and glowered at nothing.
"Jeff said he felt you," Jim said. "But wasn't exactly reassured."
"Why not?" Brian said, hurt in his eyes.
"They didn't know what it was, but apparently they could tell that whatever it was, it was higher on the food chain than they are," I said soothingly.
He looked at me, then gave a bark of laughter and relaxed.
"I suppose that makes sense," he said at last.
"So what do you say?" I said, stepping up to him, grabbing his swelling cock. "If I can take an otter's arm, I bet I can take this beast."
"Just remember," he growled, picking me up and setting me in the sling. "You asked for it."
They got us both lubed up good and he hooked my legs over the sling's chains.
I swallowed heavily when I felt his thick cock head press against my rosebud.
"Scared?" he asked hesitantly.
I glanced at Jim before answering.
"Of course," I smirked. "But that's not going to stop me."
He smiled and began massaging my body. He ran his hands across my pecs, teasing my sensitive tits, running his thumbs up behind my ears. He seemed to instinctively hone in on my most erogenous spots. He had me writhing in desire in no time.
Even so, it wasn't easy. He didn't force it. He just kept up a consistent pressure. There for a moment, thought he would split me in half. Then his big head finally popped through my sphincter.
I let out a gasp and he grabbed the chains, his eyes clenched shut, his lower lip caught between his teeth. He was straining to hold himself back. Paul had told me that Brian has a hair trigger when he first gets in a hot ass. Of course, he also said that even when he shot that fast, it didn't slow him down.
I could feel his cock pulse as he tried to stave off his orgasm. Instead I seized his big tits, twisting them mercilessly. I could feel his hot load coating my guts as he bellowed and began driving deeper into me.
Even so, he was an oddly gentle lover. Every time it would get uncomfortable, he would pause, letting me get used to it. And every movement that was incredible, he would repeat it. It became hard to think, I could only experience. And the moment we hit the acme, I felt...him. All I knew then was it was as if I was reliving all the best of times we had shared years ago. It was indescribable.
And they were right. I was glad we had done this.