Author's note: The story continues with more Background initially, followed by Group (a foursome and its various combinations). Just to set expectations. As before, comments and voting are greatly appreciated, especially voting. It helps me know how well I am being entertaining. Thanks...
The Hunters and the Hunted - Chapter 2
Welcome to my Parlor... and my Den... and my...
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"This is your 'place'???" Skye exclaimed, looking out over the fields towards the mansion on the hill. "My God! It's
huge
!'
"Yes," Viktor commented from the driver's seat. "Helps eliminate problems with the neighbors."
They'd decided to all go in the limo and retrieve Angelo's car later. Skye had driven with friends and didn't have a car to pick up.
"Man, you must be loaded," Angelo commented, also looking out at the estate. "Property taxes alone must be a killer."
"It's been in the family for generations," Trudy explained. She was riding in the back with Angelo and Skye, playing hostess. She'd been particularly proud to point out that not only was there a fully stocked wet bar and refrigerator/freezer, but there was a built-in mini-microwave to make hot snacks, like nachos and cheese.
"There's a trust fund that takes care of paying the bills. We have minimal staff - actually a couple of family members, but they're paid - to take care of the place when we have to go out of town," she went on. "You won't meet them tonight unless something really unusual happens."
"So how does this shapeshifter thing work?" Skye asked. She was by far the more curious one. "Like, it's coming up on a full moon. Do you just walk out of the shower one day, take a look at your body and decide one razor isn't going to cut it?"
Both Viktor and Trudy laughed.
"Be patient and all will be revealed," Viktor droned in sepulchral tones.
"Knock it off, Viktor," Trudy jumped in, then turned to the others. "Seriously, it's complicated and a lot of the human myths of what we're about are not accurate. But that's okay. They sort of work in our favor. For tonight, though, I would just sit back, relax, and experience a whole new level of existence you didn't know was possible. Breakfast tomorrow will be soon enough for detailed questions."
"And speaking of which, are either of you vegan? Or have special dietary needs?"
Angelo and Skye both shrugged and indicated "no".
Viktor pulled the limo through the driveway portico and stopped.
"I'll let Trudy take you in the front door," he told them. "I'll go park the car and meet you inside."
"Looks like a bloody castle," Angelo commented as he and Skye exited the limo with Trudy.
"Nineteenth century reproduction of our family's sixteenth century ancestral manor," Trudy told them. "Sort of like a mini-castle. Despite the stone, I think you'll find the interior warm and pleasant enough."
She escorted them in as Viktor drove away towards the garage.
Just inside the porch door was a coat rack along the wall, with an ornate umbrella stand and boot bench, giving the immediate impression of stepping several centuries back in time. Angelo and Skye noticed a foyer ahead of them with an oak staircase leading up, but Trudy guided them through a door to their left, into what must have been the Great Hall.
The eclectic mix of Gothic, Tudor and Victorian style furnishings only enhanced the feeling of a long family history, showing off everything from suits of armor and medieval weaponry to rich tapestries, huge portrait paintings, ornate inlaid marble, plush and garish furniture and gilt-work. Tall windows looked out on the left to the front of the house while two tall latticed windows looked out on either side of the massive stone fireplace to what must have been a courtyard, now dimly lit in the moonlight.
Trudy guided them through the Great Hall to a door on the far side which led to a narrow vestibule. A formal dining room could be seen through a door to the left while behind them a doorway led into a turret tower. Trudy guided them right, though, into a long parlor again displaying the strange mix of period décor.
"Please, make yourselves at home," Trudy smiled, gesturing to several large overstuffed chairs and sofas. "If there is anything I can get you, please let me know." She walked to one of the paneled walls and pushed a secret latch, opening a hidden bar. Withdrawing a bottle and a goblet, she poured herself a glass of wine, then turned to Angelo and Skye.
"Would you care for a glass of wine?" she asked, indicating the bottle in her hand.
"Um... sure," Angelo decided. "But let me help you with that."
He moved over to retrieve a couple of glasses from the now exposed bar, then thought for a second and pulled out a third one. He set them on the counter and filled two of them, taking one to Skye.
"I suppose Viktor can pour his own when he gets here, if he wants it," Angelo commented.
"If he wants what?" Viktor asked, walking into the room.
"Wine," Angelo pointed to the empty glass. "Not sure if I should have poured you one."
"
Non forsit
," Viktor smiled, filling the glass himself. "Now... where were we?"
"Okay, so I just figured out," Angelo jumped in, "and I think Skye did, too, that you're not human. You're werewolves. Or shapeshifters. Or whatever politically correct term you want to be called. A
thing
that up until an hour ago was a myth. And you're sexy as hell - you, too, Viktor - and I'm getting rabid just
thinking
about sex with Trudy..."
"Oh, wait. Bad choice of words. Sorry. I'm really,
really
excited about having sex with
at least
Trudy. But I want to know more about what I'm in for. Or, what we're in for..." He was indicating Skye.
"I don't expect you'd tell us the truth if you were going to kill us and eat us when we're done. But a
little
better idea of what's happening would be nice."
"Okay," Viktor told him. He pressed a button on the side of the mantle and a fire blazed to life in the fireplace, warming the room almost immediately. Then he and Trudy stripped off their clothes and sat down on a couple of the chairs, appearing non-threatening and not crowding their guests, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"We don't forgo all the technological amenities," Viktor smiled. "We Weres are kind of strange that way. Part of us is anchored in our pack and its ancestry, part is very much in the here-and-now. We've tried to keep this house updated as we went along. A hundred and fifty years ago, indoor plumbing was new to the area, though the Romans had used it in their heyday. It took an ignorant Church to bury that knowledge. A hundred years ago, it was electricity. Obviously, telephone, television and the internet are all fairly recent. As our guests here, I hope you find our home comfortable."
"You needn't feel like you have to undress, unless you want to," he went on. "Trudy and I are more comfortable without our clothes. The stonework does lend a bit of a chill to our environment, but the fire counteracts that and we can usually find a blend that is just right. It has the added advantage of allowing you to see ways in which our humanoid forms are different than yours and which we usually keep covered up in public."
Skye was noticing that Trudy had the same kind of pelvic fur that Viktor had, although being female she didn't have the sheath. She did, however, have labia which were very well pronounced and pinkish where they pushed the fur aside. She also noticed that Trudy seemed to have a couple of extra sets of bumps below her breasts, as if they might have been vestigial tits.
Both she and Viktor seemed to have furry ankles, or rather fur that began up on their calves and shins and flowed down onto their insteps, kind of like horses have feathering around their fetlocks, except not so long. And something was cranking her up again.
"Well, at least I don't see any claws," Angelo nervously joked.
"You mean, like these?" Viktor asked, extending his hand. From the tips of his fingers, claws that looked like curved talons began to protrude, until they were two to three inches long.
"Um, yeah..." Angelo swallowed anxiously. "Exactly like that."
Viktor continued to hold his hand up as the claws retracted until they weren't there anymore... just long, thin fingers.
"You don't have to worry about them," he smiled. "We keep them retracted most of the time, especially around humans." Angelo did not look terribly reassured.
"Is there something we
don't
see?" Skye suddenly blurted out. "Something that might make me wet and swollen without even realizing what's going on?"
"To be honest, yes," Trudy spoke up. "We exude certain pheromones which are very attractive to humans, and to other food sources as well. Part of our evolutionary adaptation I suppose, and we can do so at will. They are carried in our body odor, our sweat, our other bodily fluids - particularly my vaginal lubricant and Viktor's pre-cum... and his semen, too, I presume, just like my fem-cum."
"Just like your what?" Angelo broke in.
"My fem-cum," Trudy iterated. "Don't worry about it... you'll find out a lot more later."
"You spoke about the indoor plumbing and the electricity as if you were here to see them go in," Skye pointed out, getting bolder from their frank answers. "Exactly how old are you guys?"
"Well, let's see..." Trudy answered first. "I was born here... but you were born in the Old Country, Viktor. So I'm not sure about you. But I'm..." and she looked towards the ceiling as if calculating a date or something.
