Grumpy Bear

Hello readers! I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't abandoned this latest book. In the last year, I went through another lay-off and bout of severe depression. However, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for Grumpy. I have a new job, which is great. Doesn't pay quite as much as some of the flashier jobs I've had in the past, but the job security with this one is a lot stronger and I'm not perpetually worried that another lay-off is right around the corner. To reconcile my budget with the new salary, we've bitten the bullet and have decided to move out of the FL Keys and back to central Ohio where we have a nice spacious century-old farmhouse waiting for us that is a much better and more affordable option. Florida in the last decade has just gotten too expensive and too... Crazy. As I write this I'm actually taking a break from packing. The movers come tomorrow, and I will be home again in Ohio on Tuesday. The depression is much better now and as soon as the stress of moving 1500 miles settles down, Ill be ready to pick up the story where I left off. I've been re-reading the first five books again in my spare time, and my weary head is beginning to dive back into the world of our favorite werebears. Thank you for being patient, and I promise that you won't have to wait another year for this story to reach it's exciting conclusion! --Grumpy 💙

Hello readers! I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't abandoned this latest book. In the last year, I went through another lay-off and bout of severe depression. However, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for Grumpy. I have a new job, which is great. Doesn't pay quite as much as some of the flashier jobs I've had in the past, but the job security with this one is a lot stronger and I'm not perpetually worried that another lay-off is right around the corner. To reconcile my budget with the new salary, we've bitten the bullet and have decided to move out of the FL Keys and back to central Ohio where we have a nice spacious century-old farmhouse waiting for us that is a much better and more affordable option. Florida in the last decade has just gotten too expensive and too... Crazy. As I write this I'm actually taking a break from packing. The movers come tomorrow, and I will be home again in Ohio on Tuesday. The depression is much better now and as soon as the stress of moving 1500 miles settles down, Ill be ready to pick up the story where I left off. I've been re-reading the first five books again in my spare time, and my weary head is beginning to dive back into the world of our favorite werebears. Thank you for being patient, and I promise that you won't have to wait another year for this story to reach it's exciting conclusion! --Grumpy 💙

A couple notes on the writing of this chapter- Axel has a tendency to assign childish nicknames to strangers with whom he is forced to face in a confrontational manner. He's run through many of the Hanna Barbara characters in his dealings in the past, but when faced with a contingent of old Atlas bears, he of course compared them to the Disney World Country Bear Jamboree, specifically calling out a couple of the bears as Liver Lips McGrowl and Big Al. The leopard soldiers who burst into the NALC suite only to find it empty... At first I had written that they had "cast lots" to determine who would be the one to tell Kintu, but that ultimately felt a little too biblical in wording (especially with the whole re-write of Genesis that was coming up later in the chapter). So, I changed it to Rock, Paper, Scissors, but that didn't seem right either. Too modern and Western. I needed a version that a culture thousands of years old could have been playing for centuries to resolve these sort of decisions, and that's when "Stone, Parchment, Daggers" was born.

Axel led his group down a narrow street in the Medina district in the heart of Marrakech. The Globemaster was safely landed at the airport and the skeleton crew of wolves had enlisted the help of some local mechanics to work on the engines that were clogged with sand and dust. They would have time… at least a couple days… before the plane would be able to take off once again; more than enough time for the team to investigate the whereabouts of the elusive Benefactors. The troupe of bears

Hey gang- You've waited long enough. The next chapter, titled "The Benefactors" is coming this weekend! You don't want to miss this one. So many puzzle pieces come together all at once, secrets revealed, and the untold part of the creation of the lycans explained!

A swirling cloud of mist appeared in the air above the wolves’ base camp on the dry lakebed. The soldiers scrambled to take up defensive positions around the perimeter of the cloud, but when it descended to the ground, it left eight bears, two tigers and one cat standing in the middle of the camp. “Tell me,” Axel said, turning to Bill and Bernie, “When we decided that the two of you were going to be joining my little hunting party?” “Sorry, there wasn’t time to loop you in on the chan

Quick update readers - The next chapter is about 3/4 complete, and I should have it finished tonight and ready for publishing tomorrow or Thursday. This chapter has been a tricky one to write, and has taken me much longer than expected, but I'm nearly at the finish line. Thanks for waiting! --Grumpy 💙

“I am certain that the architecture of your North American headquarters complex in Canada is not so grand as ours,” Emperor Kintu boasted as he led the delegation through the labyrinth of interconnected spiraling rooms composing the ALC Palace. Once they were inside, Kintu had relieved all but a handful of leopard warriors as he conducted his tour and had discreetly instructed his nine Kings to mingle amongst the bears, wolves, and tigers to prod them for information as to the whereabouts and s

Four lions in military officer’s uniforms were gathered in front of a digital screen in the ALC Palace’s tactical defense office. They were tasked by the Emperor with tracking troop movement of the warriors from the surrounding kingdoms into the Imperial district, but the intelligence reports this morning led these military leaders of the Empire to believe that the status was much more critical than expected. “Someone has to wake Emperor Kintu with this news,” one general stated flatly.

The ten lions of the Council of Kings sat around the massive round table staring at their Emperor. The cheetah servants had finished filling their wine goblets and laying out a variety of fruit, olives, and bread for their masters to nibble on while discussing the business of Africa and had sealed the room. “Your Highness,” King Tau began, always the first to prompt Emperor Kintu to get to the point of any Council gathering, “It is now a week past the expected date that the Heir of Odin an

“This is an attack on the NALC itself, and as such should be handled by NALC forces. Period.” Susie Banshee had leaned forward onto her elbows at the conference table and cast a glare around at the others seated there as she spoke. They were in the emergency briefing room, a space much smaller than the main Gallery chamber but still expansive, outfitted with a single long conference table at the center of a room surrounded by amphitheater-style seating. These seats around the perimeter w

Hello again Grumpy Bear readers, I apologize once again for disappearing for many months in the middle of a story. If I'm being honest, the truth is that depression is a terrible thing that sucks all joy from your daily life and leaves no passion for the things that once made you happy and proud. I am still suffering from this bout of depression on a daily basis, but have found the will to pull myself up a bit, and have learned that writing can be good therapy. So, I have picked up Gods and Ancients where I left off, and have 2 new chapters nearly ready to publish. I think you'll all like the direction that the story is going to take in the next few chapters, and I hope that my readers will return with me as I work each day to not only better myself but also to finish this tale! Thank you all for reading, Grumpy Bear 💙

Hello again Grumpy Bear readers, I apologize once again for disappearing for many months in the middle of a story. If I'm being honest, the truth is that depression is a terrible thing that sucks all joy from your daily life and leaves no passion for the things that once made you happy and proud. I am still suffering from this bout of depression on a daily basis, but have found the will to pull myself up a bit, and have learned that writing can be good therapy. So, I have picked up Gods and Ancients where I left off, and have 2 new chapters nearly ready to publish. I think you'll all like the direction that the story is going to take in the next few chapters, and I hope that my readers will return with me as I work each day to not only better myself but also to finish this tale! Thank you all for reading, Grumpy Bear 💙

“Uh, Papa,” Bernie said to Karhu with a nervous quaver to his voice. Karhu was standing behind his Cub scratching his lower back itches and now looked up at the back of Bernie’s head. His ears had changed into the distinctive round shape of a bear’s and had sprouted fur. Red fur. “It’s time, bears!” Karhu announced to the crowd who were temporarily distracted by the lunch buffet that had just arrived with a small army of kitchen staff. Forty wolves wheeling twenty ten-foot rolling table

New chapter coming tomorrow! I'm finally getting caught up with my super-busy life again and the next couple chapters were ready to burst forth from my brain.

Chad was on his hands and knees on the king-sized bed. The bear gathering had been going on for a week now, and the daily events had fallen into a routine of mealtimes, playtimes, and beer-fueled group debate sessions that Councilmember Gunnar liked to call “Spirited Discussions.” Everyone was simply biding their time now, waiting for Bernie’s first change to happen, so Chad felt that he had earned a little R&R time after the breakfast feast in Axel and Adam’s apartment. He was current

Supreme Alpha Taylor watched nervously from a conference room window at the activity in front of the headquarters building. All morning, vans and shuttle busses had been pulling up into the circular drive, each one packed shoulder-to-shoulder with bears arriving for the big event. His Beta, Chad, had been hard at work for the last three months preparing for this day. There was a confirmed guest list that had been triple-checked against the registry of known bears, and each vetted against

Graduation day at the Academy came and went just in time before Bernie’s physical changes became too noticeable. The students were saddened to learn that Assistant Coach Odinson would not be returning the following year, and they asked if they could throw a going-away party for him before the summer break, but Bill told them all that Bernie appreciated the thought, but he didn’t want any big fuss. The truth was, Bernie was nearly reaching the halfway point in his transformation, and they were

Curtis is a wolf-lycan. The runt of the litter and treated as the Omega of his old pack before he started working at the NALC headquarters. There are no humans working for the NALC, and as it currently stands, only wolves are employed as support-staff.

Keep in mind that Curtis's actions don't just involve the bears, he's been listening to the private conversations of all the Council and the Supreme Alpha for a year and a half and selling the intel. Supreme Alpha Taylor may have a laid-back attitude when dealing with the bears, but when and if Curtis gets caught I don't think he's going to tolerate High Treason quite so lightly.

Photo by shahin khalaji on Unsplash

The young man crept silently through the woods. Just shy of six feet tall with a muscular build and a head of long blond hair pulled into a tight knot at the back of his head, he chose each step carefully to conceal his location from the predators stalking him for as long as possible. He ducked under a low hanging tree branch and spotted four teenage werewolves in human form moving together as a unit through the dense forest about fifty yards away. The man grinned and absent mindedly reached

Bernhard Odinson, the human descendant of the Norse god Thor has begun the process of transforming from man to werebear. When he undergoes his first shift, he will become one with his bear, and will receive his full powers as a demigod. But the news of this has spread, and the African Lycan Council considers him a threat to all of were-kind. When the North American Lycan Council sends a peace delegation to Africa, Bernie's presence awakens an even more ancient force that poses the greatest threat of all. Can the two opposing factions come together to protect their existence, or will fear and hostility doom them all?

A side note to the fans of this series- I've finally created a discussion thread in the Stories Discussion Forum dedicated to Werebears in America. Check it out if you would like to keep the discussion, plot speculation, and character shipping alive in between stories and chapter postings: -- Grumpy 💙

The enclave of Atikokan was buzzing with activity. Spring had arrived, and as the last of the winter snow melted, the area around the werebears’ home saw the emergence of lush spring wildflowers as well as an abundance of bare skin, as the bears shed their heavy layers of clothing in favor of loose-fitting cargo shorts and tank tops. The village was bursting at the seams with visitors who had come from all over North America for the big event. Today was the day that ten polar bears from t