Jacob wanted to run. Some primal part of his brain was screaming at him to book it out of there as fast as he could. The other pledges in the circle seemed to have the same idea, twitching slightly as if they wanted to bolt. Except Clive, who might as well have been sitting in lecture hall for all the irritation he showed. It was infuriating.
But another part of Jacob urged him to remain. He took a deep breath through his nose, and he swore he could smell the same fragrance that was in Hudson's dorm room, and it calmed him. Hudson's touch on his shoulder was gentle, reassuring. The two parts of him clashed.
Suddenly, the guy kneeling to Jacob's right shot up to his feet and bolted. He pushed right past the big bull guy and fled up the stairs, a moment later the door could be heard opening and closing. Jacob waited for someone to run after him but no one did, most of the recruits to be turned their heads in that direction, obviously curious as why he was jus let go, but no one was willing to break the silence. Not until the bull spoke up again. "And seven pass the first trial."
Jacob let out a breath he had been holding, then winced as the room erupted into cheers. Cheers that sounded more like someone had set off all the animals in the zoo. "Good job, but don't get too full of yourselves. You all will have to prove yourselves over this next week and really decide if you want to join us."
The bull seemed to be trying to grin, though on that muzzle it was not a comforting smile. "I'm Vance, I'll be overseeing Rush, you can call me Rushmaster or Sir. Hopefully by the end of the week some of you will still be standing, most of you probably won't. But to help you through this, you've each been selected by a guide. This guide will give you your tasks, provide advice, and help you in.." The bull paused, thinking over his words, "other ways." He chuckled, a deep booming sound that seemed to bounce off the brick walls of the room.
"Guides, take your initiates off and give them their first lesson. The rest of you are dismissed." That seemed to break the tension holding everyone in the circle, though instead of leaving, many of those who had been standing around approached each other to socialize.
"C'mon." Hudson said, patting Jacob on the shoulder. "Leave the hood on for now." Jacob stood and turned, for the first time getting a look at this version of Hudson, it was not at all what he expected. He was more muscular in his beastly form. His whole body was covered in sleek brown and tan fur, his limbs a bit shorter compared to his slightly elongated torso, his hands and feet tipped with short blunt claws but with webs between the digits. And his face was gentle and smiling despite the sharp canines, the whiskers and round ears giving him an even more adorable look despite the face he was an over six foot tall otter than could probably break Jacob with one arm.
Jacob let his eyes drift down, hoping to see Hudson's manhood, but instead there was a thick, plump sheath below his navel, at least his balls looked full and heavy. Hudson motioned for Jacob to follow, turning and heading towards a door off the main room, his thick otter tail brushing against Jacob's leg. Opening the door, he ushered Jacob through before following and closing the door behind him.
This room looked like a study area. A few plush chairs sat around the room which had two walls covered in bookshelves. A couple of desks held computers. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Hudson remarked as he dropped down into one of the plush chairs.
Jacob ripped off the hood and tossed it aside. "Why is Clive here?!"
"Okay.." Hudson said calmly, and with a curious look. "Not the first question I expected." The otter gave him a look and chuckled. "He's here for the same reason you are. He has the potential same as you." At Jacob's confused stare, Hudson motioned down his body with both hands then spread his arms. "I told you, this isn't a frat you can sign up for, we find you. Some people are born able to change like we did, once the ability is awakened anyway."
"And you're going to awaken it?" Jacob asked, scratching at his chest as he thought of all that fur suddenly sprouting.
"If you make it through Rush." Hudson shrugged. "We will awaken some of it during the week, see if your potential is really there and if your body and mind can handle it. If you make it through, then you get the whole deal. If we don't do it right and you're not able to handle it you'll go feral and we can't let that happen."
"That's it?" Jacob asked, moving to sit on the armrest of another chair.
"No, but I don't want to overwhelm you, that's all you need for now. That, and the first bit of awakening." Hudson stood up.
"How? What's it going to do to me?" Jacob felt himself go rigid as Hudson stepped in closer.
"Part of the test is seeing if you can figure that out. As for how, there's a few ways we could do this, I'm supposed to let you chose." Hudson stopped right in front of Jacob, grinning down at him. "I could fix you a special drink. I could bite you." Jacob squirmed a little at that. "Or, I could just go with what I think you'd pick." Hudson put his hand under Jacob's chin, directing his face upwards as he leaned in. It was a new experience for Jacob, and not just trying to figure out how his mouth worked with an otter muzzle. Making out was new. And with a super hot guy, not matter what form he had.
He felt Hudson's tongue eagerly exploring his mouth and returned the gesture in kind, he felt his heart beating faster as the otter let out soft murring noises he took to mean pleasure. He placed a hand on Hudson's furry chest, stroking his pectorals and then letting his fingers slide down his taut stomach to the hot, thick cock that had slipped free of Hudson's sheath. He was about to start stroking when Hudson put his hand over Jacob's and stopped him. "That's for later." He murmured against Jacob's mouth, pulling back.
Jacob was glad Hudson was as stiff as him, his own pajama bottoms were tented and damp where his head pressed against the fabric. "That's it." Jacob asked, feeling out of breath.
"You need more?" Hudson replied with a sly grin, which turned to a laugh as Jacob nodded. "Let's see if it took. What do you feel?"
Feel? What kind of question was that. But as his heart beat came down and his breathing steadied he felt it. It was the same thing he felt before around Hudson, and out in the main room. A sort of calming presence, a feeling of familiarity, but now he could pin point it as coming from Hudson. There were fainter feelings, coming from the other side of the door to the room, not all were calming, but all felt familiar and he couldn't quite put words to the feeling but it felt like belonging. He must have been making a face because Hudson laughed cheerily.
"That's how we found you. You can feel others like us, feel drawn to each other. Unawakened feel weaker, but you.." Hudson said poking Jacob in the chest. "Stick out like a sore thumb even in a crowd of us, there was a bit of a fight over who got to guide you. I pulled rank. Not to give you a swollen head or anything."
"What does that mean?" Jacob asked, he suddenly felt woozy though, like the world was spinning around him.
"Who knows, but I'm willing to bet anything you'll make it through Rush." Hudson sat on the other armrest of the chair Jacob leaned on.
"I.. I.." Jacob smacked his lips a few times. His mouth felt completely dried out. "I was feeling this... before... weaker... but I.. know it." He fell back, but felt a strong arm catching him, and soon he was swept up off the chair and cradled in a pair of strong arms.
"Really?" Hudson sounded intrigued. "That might explain a few things, but we can worry about that later. The awakening, even a little bit of it is a lot on the body. Sleep." Jacob curled up against the furry warmth of Hudson's chest as he felt himself beginning to doze off, dreams of doing more than just making out with a muscly, hung otter playing over and over in his head.