Serpent Mound - 18. The Orphan’s Family Tree

As the frenzy of the battle faded away, Susie made a quick assessment of their next actions. It had grown dark, and except for the pine trees still burning on top of the mountain, it would soon be too dark to see without transformed lycan eyes. But if the Serpent’s fire was seen by any humans, it may mean a firefighting team from the Forest Service could be on their way.

“All right people!” Susie called to take command of the situation. “Prepare to move out! We have a ten-mile hike back down the trail to base camp, and if we hustle, we can make it in less than three hours. Council forces, custody of the prisoners is our responsibility. If they aren’t already in restraint collars preventing them from shifting, get them in one now!”

The troops hustled to restrain their prisoners as ordered, and each of the villagers were guarded by no fewer than two lycan soldiers. Most were resigned to their fate after witnessing the destruction of the gods that they had so dutifully worshipped for millennia, but Namir hissed, bit, and scratched her guards until the lycans were forced to bind her arms behind her back and add a muzzle to her restraints.

“Bears, you are responsible for the transport and care of the sacrifice survivors and the injured,” Susie said next. “Axel, I’ll let you work out those details.”

“Okay bears,” Axel said, “You heard the lady. Bill, do you feel strong enough after your ordeal to transform into your bear and carry one of these human kids on your back?”

“Absolutely, sir,” Bill replied, “I remember when I was a kid getting rescued by bears out in the forest. Getting to ride on the back of a grizzly bear was the best part of the whole adventure!”

“Good man,” Axel replied. “You take Bernie. Adam, Sam and I will take the other three humans on our backs, and Erik, I want you to carry Siku.”

“Bullshit,” Siku said, “I can walk on my own.”

“Brother,” Erik said, “Your back is still badly burned, and it’s a ten-mile hike. Allow me to do this for you in your time of need.”

Siku sighed and nodded, and Erik handed the wounded bear his clothing before changing into his massive polar bear form.

“Karhu,” Axel said, “You don’t appear to be in any shape to hike that far either. Allow Max to carry you to our camp.”

“I thank you,” Karhu replied. “I fear it will be a long time before I am restored to the bear I once was.”

“That leaves Gary, Thomas, Rodney and Marcus,” Axel said next, “You four will need to use your backpack and rifle halogens to light the way and keep watch for human hikers.”

“Um,” Thomas replied, “Has anybody seen Rodney and Marcus since the end of the battle?”

“Shit,” Axel replied and ran back to the burning mountain peak where they were last seen.

He found them in the trees, just off to the side of the crater where the mound of the bear-god once stood. They were in their bear forms, Rodney fucking Marcus and both in the throes of passion.

“Can’t you two wait till we get back to camp for that?” Axel yelled.

They both seemed to ignore Axel’s interruption for a few more minutes until Rodney’s bear let out a bellow as he climaxed into Marcus’s tail hole, and then they both quickly changed back into their human forms.

“Sorry chief,” Rodney replied, “But after this whole experience, we’ve decided to commit to each other as Mates, and we were just consummating our bonding!”

“Well, congratu-fucking-lations,” Axel said. “Now get dressed and each of you grab one of the other bears’ packs with the halogen lights. We’ve got a ten-mile hike back to base camp and then you two can spend the rest of the night fucking your Mate for all I care. That’s sure as hell what I’ll be doing!”

When Axel returned to the group with Rodney and Marcus in tow, he found the rest of the bears transformed with their passengers on their backs. He quickly stripped down and handed his clothes off to Marcus before shifting to his Kodiak form. Thomas placed the last of the human kids on Axel’s back and they were ready to go. The wolves had already started down the trail with the villager prisoners a few minutes earlier, so Thomas led the way with his backpack lights followed by Axel and Sam, each carrying one of the humans. Gary hiked near Bill and Max, carrying Bernie and Karhu, so that he could light their way and have a word with Karhu as they went.

“I understand your name is Karhu,” Gary said to the emaciated bear riding on Max’s back.

“That is correct,” Karhu replied. “It has been a long time since I have heard my name spoken by other werebears. It is comforting.”

“I am Gary, and I am the headmaster at the Academy that Bernie attends.”

“So, you are his new protector,” Karhu said, “The one who made this miraculous rescue possible.”

“I put things in motion,” Gary replied, “The Lycan Council are the ones who made it happen. However, I am honored to have been Bernie’s protector for the last year. He is quite a remarkable Cub.”

“That,” Karhu said, “Is an understatement. Odin himself promised me that I would be rewarded for aiding Bernie’s escape from The People, but he wasn’t clear whether it would be in this life or the next. I am pleased to still be alive, and hopeful that Bernie may someday choose to become my true Cub and Mate. That would be the ultimate reward.”

“Indeed,” Gary said, “It is Odin that I wish to speak with you about now.”

“I am not surprised,” Karhu said, “It is not every day that a bear receives the honor of speaking with his creator. Odin visited me while I was a prisoner in Rieka’s cave. If he hadn’t come to me himself to bestow his knowledge of Bernie upon me, I may have given up all hope years ago and wasted away.”

“Can you tell me the secrets that Odin bestowed upon you now?” Gary asked, “I need to know what we’re dealing with here, and make sure that it is safe to continue to have Bernie around the other human Cadets at my Academy. I need to know what he… is.”

“Your Cadets will be perfectly safe around him,” Karhu replied. “And now that Bernie somewhat understands what he is as well, he will continue to need your guidance to learn to use his power responsibly, and keep it hidden from the human world.”

“How did he get this power?” Gary asked, “Is he Thor?”

Karhu chuckled.

“No, he is not Thor, but Thor’s heir. His human descendant by blood.”

“I didn’t know that Thor had any children with humans,” Gary said.

“He did not,” Karhu replied. “Odin explained to me that it was Thor’s only daughter, Thrúd. Thor dearly loved his daughter, and she loved her father fiercely in return. But, before she joined the ranks of the Valkyries in Valhalla, Thrúd fell in love with a human Viking, and spent a lifetime in Midgard with him as a human until his death. This couple had seven daughters, the grandchildren of Thor and the great-grandchildren of Odin. It was prophesied that one day, far in the future, one of the female descendants of Thrúd would fall in love with and marry a human man who was kindred to Odin’s sacred werebears. This marriage would produce a son, and that son would carry both the blood of Thor and the noble werebear. When this son reached adulthood, he would find his mate with another bear and be turned, thereby coming into his full power."

“So, what we saw tonight,” Gary said, “When he summoned Mjölnir and grew in size…”

“That was but a foretaste,” Karhu replied. “You witnessed a child wielding a strength still in its infancy. When he is turned and becomes one with his bear, he will truly inherit his demigod powers.”

“So, we need to make sure that he understands this and learns how to control it before he’s turned and becomes a werebear,” Gary said, “A werebear with all of the power and strength of Thor himself!”

“You are correct,” Karhu replied. “Odin spoke to me of this as well. He said that before his turning, the boy would have a werebear teacher. This teacher would be a mighty warrior, brave and strong. A powerful Viking, he, worthy of joining the ancient Berserkir in Valhalla. Only through the lessons taught by this werebear warrior-teacher would Bernhard learn true discipline and mastery of his power. Without those teachings, the power would instead consume him, and his undisciplined wrath would bring about doom for man and bear alike.

“I now truly believe that you are that warrior-teacher.”

Gary smiled at Karhu but shook his head.

“I am a teacher, a nurturer, and a guardian,” Gary said, “But I am no warrior. However, I know the one of which Odin speaks. He is the one who was taken by Rieka’s wights to the village along with Bernie because his strong arms held your Cub in a protective embrace. He is my Mate, Bill, who even now carries a sleeping Bernie upon his very back!”

Karhu turned his head to regard the impressive grizzly bear carrying Bernie along the trail.

“He is but a Cub himself,” Karhu replied in surprise, “Yet, I see the hand of Odin upon him as well. He bears a heavy responsibility. Are you certain that he is up to the task?”

“I assure you,” Gary said, “Bill carries the Viking warrior spirit. I knew that when he was just a seventeen-year-old boy. Before I turned him, he was a true human warrior, leading others into battle and saving the lives of many of his companions. The toll of battle and the sacrifices that he made for others left him crippled until I turned him, and he was transformed into the magnificent bear that you see now. At the Academy, he instructs all the Cadets in physical training, with the goal of instilling his warrior spirit within everyone in our care.”

Karhu nodded.

“All is coming to pass as Odin has foretold,” he said.

“And you, old bear,” Gary said, “Are his mate of which Odin also foretold. You hold a place within his heart that no other bear ever could or will.”

“If that is to be my reward, I will gladly accept it,” Karhu said. “But he must complete his training first. He cannot focus on becoming a disciplined warrior with his mind on a lover.”

“He will finish his schooling at the Academy, and Bill will continue his training for as long as needed until he is truly ready,” Gary said, “But do not deprive the boy of your presence. He has longed for you his entire life, now that he has you back, do not take that away from him again.”

“What would you suggest, then?” Karhu asked.

“I would suggest that you live nearby with a pair of werebear friends of mine. They are only a two- or three-hour drive away, so that he can see you on Academy holidays and occasional weekends when he has a free day. Give him the love… and yes… the passion that he has needed from you for so long. Be his Papa, Karhu. Love him, and be loved in return, but do not turn him until the time is right.”

“You are a wise bear,” Karhu said. “I understand why you are the guardian and nurturer of so many. We will discuss this living arrangement with your friends until I am able to fully acclimate to your world and provide for myself… and my Cub.”

****

When the bears arrived at the base camp, they found Susie reorganizing the sleeping arrangements for the available tents.

“We’ll need a tent cleared out for the three human kids to sleep in,” she said. “Who are the two wolves who spent last night with Axel and Adam?”

“Um, right here, ma’am,” a pair of soldiers said with their hands raised timidly.

“Well congratulations,” Susie told them, “You’re bunking with the bears again tonight.”

The wolves looked at each other with a touch of amusement that their semi-taboo dalliance with the rowdy Councilmember and his look-alike Cub was now fully sanctioned by their superior officer.

“We have a total of nineteen prisoners,” Susie continued, “We need to clear three tents, and we can put six prisoners in each, with one leftover. I think none of you are going to try to escape in the night, are you?”

The prisoners looked at Susie and shook their heads sadly.

“I thought as much,” she replied. “Bless your little pea picking hearts, there’s not a lot you can do with those restraint collars on is there?”

“That just leaves us with this one,” she said as she walked over to Namir and removed her muzzle. “Are you going to be a good kitty, or a bad kitty?”

“Fuck you, wolf,” Namir hissed. “You disgust me. A male trying to pass himself off as female is an abomination in the eyes of the Tuath Dé!”

“Well,” Susie replied, “It’s a good thing my Mate and I bombed your Tuath Dé to fucking oblivion now, isn’t it? What’s the score? Susie Banshee – Four, Tuath Dé – Zero!

“Guards! Tie this bitch to that big-ass tree over there for the night. And… put her muzzle back on.”

As Namir was led away hissing and screaming, Susie felt a gentle tug on her uniform sleeve. It was the human girl who was wolf kindred looking up at her with haunted eyes.

“Yes, sweetie,” Susie said, looking down at her with a smile, “What can I do for you?”

“What is going to happen to us now?” the girl asked. The panther kindred girl and the boar kindred boy stood just behind her. “We’ve been with The People in the village since we were four. We have nowhere to go.”

“The Lycan Council is going to find new homes for each of you where you can live with others of your kind,” Susie said gently.

“Lycan…? Our kind…?” the girl repeated in confusion.

“Oh shit,” Susie mumbled. “Look, this is going to be hard for you to understand…”

“Lady,” the boar kindred boy said, “We’ve been held prisoner our whole lives by a bunch of people who could turn into animals, just so we could be a human sacrifice for a bunch of animal gods, and then rescued at the last second by even more people who turn into animals. There isn’t a whole lot that could still surprise us.”

“Okay,” Susie replied, “Here goes then. The whole reason why you were kidnapped in the first place is because you all can turn into animals too.”

“You’re a wolf,” she said, pointing at the first girl.

“You’re a panther,” she continued, pointing at the second girl.

“And you, my fine lad,” she said, pointing at the boy, “are a boar.”

“It would be best, given what you know about lycans… that’s what we’re called… that we place you with lycan families of your species until you are given the choice to stay human or be turned. There will be time to discuss all of that later. For now, it’s time to go to bed! Your tent is right over there.”

“Ma’am,” the wolf kindred girl said again as the other two walked over to the tent, “You’re a wolf too, right?”

“That’s right, sugar-plum,” Susie replied.

“Maybe… Maybe I could come and live with you?”

After asking this, the girl burst into tears and grabbed Susie around the waist.

“We’ll see, sweetness,” Susie said gently, stroking the girl’s back, “I don’t know if I have what it takes to be anybody’s mom, but maybe I can get you into a nice family in my pack so that we can see each other all the time, okay?”

“Okay,” the girl said, drying her eyes on her white linen tunic sleeve. “Promise?”

“I promise, baby,” Susie said, “Now, go get some sleep. It’s going to be a big day tomorrow.”

****

The bears rearranged their sleeping accommodations to account for the five additional members of their clan rescued from the village.

Gary and Bill moved into the tent with Thomas and Sam, and they all gave Bill a very special “welcome home” celebration.

The three polar bears bunked together, with Erik and Max tending to Siku’s wounds, helping him to rest comfortably and heal.

Axel and Adam hosted the pair of wolf soldiers in their tent for a second night. None of them got much sleep.

Rodney and Marcus were given a tent to themselves, so that they could continue consummating their Mating in relative privacy.

The final empty tent in camp was given to Bernie and Karhu, so that they could talk and bond as a reunited Papa and Cub.

“Papa,” Bernie said nervously, as he undressed from his tunic and laid down on the sleeping bag next to Karhu, snuggling his back against the thin bear’s hairy chest. “I wanted you to know, I turned eighteen last week.”

“I assumed so, Cub,” Karhu said, “Or else they wouldn’t have tried to do the sacrifice. All four of you are eighteen now.”

“Yes,” Bernie said, “But that’s not what I meant.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Cub,” Karhu replied. “If there’s something you want to tell me, just say it.”

“I’m an adult now,” Bernie said, “And so it’s okay… I mean it’s legal… if you want to… make love to me.”

“Ah Cub,” Karhu replied. “We will have all of eternity to make love. We do not have to be in a hurry. I am alive but still very thin and weak. Wouldn’t you like to remember your first time as being with a big, healthy, strong Papa?”

“Yes, I guess so,” Bernie said. “I just love you so much, I want everything we do together to be special.”

“Besides,” Karhu said, “I haven’t made love with anybody in almost three thousand years! I may have forgotten how to do it! We should start slowly, don’t you think?”

“Okay, Papa,” Bernie replied and rolled over so that he was gazing into Karhu’s eyes, “Do you remember the story I told you about my friend Joe at Christmas and my first kiss?”

“I’ll remember that story forever, Cub,” Karhu replied. “It was very sweet.”

“Well, maybe tonight,” Bernie said, “You could be my second kiss.”

Karhu grinned at his Cub.

“I think that would be wonderful,” he replied, and he leaned forward, kissing Bernie on the lips, first gently, then with passion.

Bernie pulled his Papa close, and he ran a hand down the thin bear’s body, grasping his heavy cock, feeling it grow hard in his hand.

Karhu felt Bernie’s tongue begin to tentatively explore his mouth, and he wrapped his own around the Cub’s in response.

Karhu gripped Bernie’s ass in his hands as their kissing grew more intense.

“Oh, Papa!” Bernie cried, breaking their kiss and pressing his face against Karhu’s neck, panting breathlessly.

“My Cub!” Karhu whispered in response, and hugged Bernie close. “I think that was a perfect first kiss for the two of us, and we should stop for the night.”

“Okay Papa,” Bernie replied. “But get better soon! I just love you so much!”

“And I love you, Cub,” Karhu said. “Don’t worry, our time will come, and our first lovemaking will be one we will each remember forever!”

Bernie gave Karhu one last peck on the lips before rolling over into the comfort of spooning in the bear’s arms again.

“Good night, Papa,” he said.

“Good night, Cub,” Karhu whispered. “I will love you and protect you for as long as I live.”