Serpent Mound - 10. Gathering Storm

It was nearly midnight when Thomas and Sam pulled into the Academy. The students were all asleep in the dorms, but the werebear teachers and staff were all awake and on patrol. Gary greeted them in the circular driveway as they pulled in.

“You can drop your bags here and then park the truck around behind the main house in the teacher’s lot.” Gary instructed Sam, who got to work unloading the back with their spare clothing, camping, survival equipment, and a box containing a special electronics project that Thomas had been working on since the meeting a few months earlier when Gary had informed a few of them of the Tuath Dé and the dreams the boy had been having.

“Where are the boys now?” Thomas asked. “You don’t have them in the dorms with the rest of the students, do you?”

“No, of course not,” Gary replied. “They’re up in our private apartments on the 3^rd floor of the mansion. Peter, George and Manny are involved but are in the least danger, so they’re with Daniel in his apartment, under his direct care. Bernie and Joe are in my apartment with Bill. Bill isn’t going to let anything happen to the boy tonight or any other night.”

“Good job, Gary,” Thomas said, “I’ve always been extremely impressed with what you’ve accomplished here. You haven’t been going that long, but the kids that you’ve put through your program have gone on to do great things already, and the young wolf-pup graduates have found themselves in leadership positions with the Enforcers, Hunters, and Betas of their packs. There’s been some chatter that some of the young male wolves who don’t have behavioral or scholastic problems are beginning to ask to come to your Academy anyway for their High School years, because they’ve seen how your graduates excel in their packs once they return home.”

“Well, thank you,” Gary replied to Thomas’ praise, “I’m always pleased when my cadets do well after leaving my care, but I don’t think I can start taking on young wolves who are just looking for a way to get ahead. My focus, first and foremost, is on the boys who need the extra care and discipline that we can provide to keep them on the right path in life. Those wolves who emerge from my program as leaders already had those traits to succeed within them all along, they just needed someone who could see that within them and bring it to the surface, just like Joe.

“I was pleased when Joe befriended Bernie on his second day at the Academy, and that relationship has been beneficial to them both.”

At that moment, Sam trotted back up to the bears after parking the truck in the teacher’s lot.

“Are you two talking about Apollo and Susie?” He asked with a big grin on his face. “Where the hell did that pairing come from?”

Thomas sighed and looked over at his cub.

“No, we weren’t talking about that, and I want you to be on your best behavior when they get here, got it? Their personal relationship and sex-life isn’t any of our business, especially when they’re coming all the way here to save our asses.”

“Okay, Papa,” Sam replied, drooping his head, “I get it. I just never pictured big, bad wolf Apollo being gay and getting turned on by a drag queen, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s the sort of thing I want you to keep a lid on,” Thomas said. “Sexuality is a very complex thing. Susie is transgender and she identifies as female, so Apollo may not identify as gay, because his Mate identifies as female, understand?”

“Also,” Gary interjected, “Apollo may be attracted to her for reasons other than gender identity and the fact that she’s a drag queen on the weekends. Susie is smart and strong and a brilliant tactician. That’s the reason why Apollo selected her to be Beta in his pack and Colonel in the Council’s Special Forces. He’s most likely attracted to her mind and personality rather than what’s between her legs.”

“Okay Papa Bears,” Sam replied, turning pink, “I promise I won’t say anything about it when they get here.”

Fully chastised, Sam began the work of carrying their bags into the ballroom of the house which was being converted into a war room for the current operation.

“Besides,” Thomas whispered to Gary, “I’m sure Axel will have enough to say about it when he gets here to thoroughly embarrass them and answer every question that anybody could possibly have.”

“Is Axel coming?” Gary asked, “Neither he nor the Supreme Alpha mentioned that in the meeting.”

“Please,” Thomas replied. “Do you think Axel and that cub of his are going to pass up the opportunity to go to war against a bunch of ancient gods? They’re probably in that behemoth 4x4, roaring down the highway as we speak.”

****

The big, black Mercedes Benz 4x4 roared down the Canadian highway, doing at least 40 km/hr over the posted speed limit. Axel hoped that they would get to the Academy in Mt Savage before the latest batch of crazies showed up with their army of wights to take the bear kindred boy back.

“What’s our time, Cub?” Alex asked, and Adam looked at the instrument panel.

“We’ve still got about 17 hours to go, Papa,” Adam replied. “Are you going to keep asking that every thirty minutes the whole trip?”

“Hey Axel,” Erik called from the backseat, “It’s going to be a long night, so anytime you need a break, just let one of us know, and we can spot you behind the wheel for a while.”

The backseat was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Atikokan’s three resident polar bears, Erik, Max and Siku.

“Listen, bitches,” Axel replied to the bears in the back glaring into the rearview mirror, “You three are here because we wanted to add the biggest walls of bear muscle in Atikokan to the fight, and the five of us are as big and bad as they come. But nobody drives the Benz but me, got it?”

“All right,” Erik replied. “Eyes on the road, Papa Bear.”

“I drove her from Calgary to the farthest reaches of Alaska, and from Atikokan to the jungles of Central America by myself, and I never needed the Cub to spot me behind the wheel once. I think I can handle a little 20-hour joy-ride down to Mt Savage without needing a nap.”

“Trust me,” Adam replied, turning sideways to talk to the backseat bears, “I tried more than once to get him to let me drive her. Even I’m not allowed, and I’m Axel’s fucking Mate for godssakes.”

“That’s right,” Axel replied. “Now that we all understand our place here in the Benz, I suggest you all get some rest and be ready to kick some ethereal wight ass once we get there.”

****

In the Headmaster’s suite, Bernie sat in front of the crackling fireplace, with the Staff Sergeant. Joe was asleep on the couch a few feet away, covered in a light blanket, but the actions of the day and the anxiety for what was to come was too much for Bernie to be able to relax yet. Now, he nervously looked over at the Staff Sergeant who sat in a comfy easy chair next to him.

“Staff Sergeant…” Bernie began to ask.

“Cub,” Bill replied, “We’re going to be going through some major shit pretty soon. I think for a little while, it will be okay if you just call me Bill, and I’ll call you Bernie. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Bernie said. “But that brings up the thing that I wanted to ask you. In the big video meeting and ever since, the adults have been calling me ‘Cub’ instead of ‘Cadet’. I’m not sure what that means.”

“Bernie,” Bill said carefully, “You know now that all of the adults here at the Academy can change into bears, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Bernie replied, “Just like my Papa can.”

“Right,” Bill said. “Tell me why you call him ‘Papa’?”

“Well,” Bernie said, “I had just lost my Daddy when they kidnapped me. I was only four. Papa was so nice, and he reminded me a lot of my real Daddy, so I asked him if I could call him ‘Daddy’, but he said no, that if I had to call him something besides his name I should call him ‘Papa’.”

“Bernie,” Bill continued, “Your Papa, and Gary and me… we are what is known as ‘werebears’. As a species, we have been on this Earth for a long, long time, since Odin created the first werebears to protect his worshipers and their villages. Werebears are all males, so we can’t breed with females to create cubs. All of the werebears you’ve seen and met were once a human man, just like you.”

“Even you?” Bernie asked.

“Even me,” Bill replied. “Especially me because I haven’t been a werebear that long in the grand scheme of things. I became a werebear less than ten years ago when my Papa, Gary, changed me. Once changed, werebears no longer age or get sick, we heal from injuries quickly, and we live for hundreds and thousands of years. It takes a really bad injury, one that we can’t heal from fast to kill one of us.”

“So, anybody can become a werebear if they get changed by a werebear?” Bernie asked.

“No,” Bill replied. “It has to do with DNA. Back at the dawn of humanity, Odin created the first werebears, but he also hid the bear’s DNA in the genes of certain strong and brave men. When a werebear encounters one of those men with the bear DNA inside them, they can smell it. We call those men ‘kindred’ and when we smell a kindred human, it’s like fireworks going off inside our brain. The bear DNA has been passed down from father to son for thousands of years from generation to generation, and when a werebear encounters a kindred human, we tell them all about werebears, like I’m telling you now, and we give them the choice of becoming one.

“When a kindred man chooses to become a bear, the werebear who changes him becomes his Papa, and the new bear is that werebear’s Cub. They then live together for many years, until the Cub decides to go out on his own, or Papa and Cub decide to stay together forever as Mates.”

“Okay,” Bernie replied when Bill paused, “In a really weird way, that all makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why everyone is calling me ‘Cub’ all of a sudden. As far as I know nobody has changed me into a werebear, and my Papa never told me any of this or gave me a choice.”

“No,” Bill said, “But… you are kindred. I could smell it on you the very first day that you came here to the Academy. Do you remember when I saw you for the first time and told you to run and change into your PT uniform, and you were running so fast you lost your cap?”

“Yes, sir,” Bernie replied, turning pink remembering that mistake.

“Well, when I picked it up, I gave it a sniff, because that’s just a habit that bears do,” Bill said, “We sniff things. When I smelled your cap, the fireworks went off inside my head, and let me know that you were kindred, and someday, when you’re older, some bear will give you the choice to become one of us if you want it. So, in the minds of the other bears here, you’re already our Cub that we’re going to protect, you just didn’t know it yet.”

“So, if you can save my Papa from the village,” Bernie said, “Does that mean he could change me, and I could really be his Cub? Forever and ever?”

“Yes,” Bill replied. “Under better circumstances, it would be your Papa who would be having this talk with you about werebears and the choice, but since we haven’t rescued your Papa yet, it’s important for you to fully understand what is happening, because the fact that you’re kindred is what has caused all of this in the first place.”

“You mean this is all my fault?” Bernie asked, distraught.

“No, no,” Bill replied. “I mean that those people targeted you specifically because you are kindred. You told us that there were four of you kidnapped altogether, and when the ritual was performed, you were each placed upon the mound of a different animal. Bernie, it is no coincidence that you were placed upon the bear mound. The other three are most likely wolf, panther, and boar kindred as well. You are all meant to be a sacrifice to the animal-god with whom you each secretly carry DNA.”

“Oh,” Bernie said, finally understanding the bigger picture, “And since they marked us with our individual animals when we were only four, The People need me back when we’re eighteen so that they have all four of us to complete the sacrifice ritual.”

“Now you’ve got it,” Bill said. “This is their last stand. Either they get you back and the cycle continues for another hundred years, or they don’t, and the Tuath Dé finally come to an end.”

“Bill, I don’t want any werebears to get hurt and die just because of me,” Bernie said. “It’s not fair that you can live for thousands of years, and it all comes to an end just because of one stupid kid.”

“Bernie,” Bill replied, “If you make the choice and become a werebear, you’ll understand that protecting others is what we are here to do. If a bear loses his life while saving you, your Papa, and the other three kindred children who are to be sacrificed, then he has fulfilled his purpose in this world.”

“Sir, when you were in the Marines, and you saved all of those other men and children from the fire and bombs, were you already a werebear?”

“No, Cub,” Bill replied, “I was still just a kindred human then. But even before we’re changed, kindred tend to stand out from the crowd. We’re special, and the noble bear within us shines through even if we never go through the change. I’m glad that fate decided to bring you to us before it was too late, and that you will have the opportunity to become the best human or werebear you can be.”

“Thank you, sir,” Bernie said, his eyes beginning to droop. “Thank you for everything you’ve told me and everything that you’ve done. I feel like I’m ready now for Rieka, and ready for whatever she can dish out. She isn’t going to scare me anymore.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when sleep finally overtook the boy, and his head drooped against the side of the comfy wing-backed chair in front of the fire.

Bill smiled and took a blanket, heavy with his own scent, and wrapped it around the boy, whispering a prayer to Odin for protection as he did so. Bill wouldn’t sleep that night. There was too much at stake, and Rieka’s wights could arrive at any time.

****

Sometime after 2 am, a fleet of Humvees came rolling through the Academy gates. A pair of wolves jumped out of the back of the last vehicle and secured the gates behind them, automatically assuming guard-duty positions.

The fleet pulled into the circular driveway and the rest of the troops piled out, half of them scattering across the campus grounds and leaping atop the wall at regular intervals, assuming guard positions. The other half began unloading equipment as two figures from the lead vehicle strode toward the mansion.

Gary exited the front door to greet them.

“General Apollo! Colonel Banshee!” Gary exclaimed, “Welcome to the Academy, although I understand this isn’t the first time you’ve established a military encampment on our grounds.”

“Headmaster,” Apollo said extending his hand and shaking Gary’s, “Good to see you again. It’s been a while since we’ve actually been face-to-face and not speaking through video, hasn’t it?”

“Not since Gunnar and Mike’s wedding, if I remember correctly,” Gary replied before turning to Susie. “And I remember that this lovely lady looked fabulous on that day!”

“Flatterer!” Susie exclaimed taking Gary’s hand. “I suppose you were on the call last night when I utterly humiliated myself.”

“Nonsense,” Gary replied. “Sure, it was a surprise, but a pleasant one. I can assure you that you will hear nothing but good things about your mating from the bears here!”

“Agreed,” Thomas said, walking up and giving Susie a big hug. They were old friends and had shared many adventures together. “That is, at least until Axel gets here.”

“Ah, shit,” Apollo groaned. “Axel is coming too?”

“You would expect there to be an epic battle and he wouldn’t join the party?” Thomas replied. “I think you can expect a degree of good-natured ribbing from that one, but he has toned his more abrasive side down considerably after being mated himself!”

“Adam has been a good influence on him,” Apollo said, “And Axel has been a good influence on the Council. I don’t think we’d be as ready as we are for this emergency if it weren’t for Axel pushing for more military preparedness funding. I owe him a lot, so if he wants to tease me about my mating bond with Susie, he can have at it, I suppose.”

“Just as long as he doesn’t cross the line,” Susie added, “Or I’ll personally rip his balls off and shove them up his fat ass with both fists!”

“That’s my delicate flower,” Apollo commented after Susie made her opinion known, giving the wolf a peck on the cheek. “Where do you want us to set up the camp?”