Gods and Ancients - 7. War or Peace

“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 were of course filled to capacity with two hundred bears, still reeling from the death of their ancient brother Matthias a few days prior. The central table was occupied by the Supreme Alpha at the head, his Beta Chad, the werebear members of the council with their cubs, and Alpha Apollo and Beta Susie Banshee who were representing the leadership of the NALC’s 1^st Infantry Peacekeeping Force.

Apollo and Susie had been called to Calgary within hours of the bombing and attempted assassination, but the NALC headquarters remained on lockdown for all others, meaning that the remaining wolf-lycan councilmembers who had not been at the headquarters during the event were cautioned against any travel to Calgary for the near future, and were instead conferenced in via video to observe the discussions.

“No one is arguing that your forces shouldn’t be involved in the response,” Gunnar said calmly, looking at the agitated she-wolf in the eyes, “But this seems to have been an attack aimed specifically at the werebear species, and as such, the bears are not going to simply allow the wolves to go fight their battles for them.”

“This is a debate we endure each time we encounter another crisis involving our bear friends,” Apollo replied in a voice matching Gunnar’s calm tones, laying a hand on his Beta and Mate’s shoulder and pulling her gently back into her seat. “I think we all agree that there will be no use in denying them participation in this operation.”

Susie sat back and tipped her head against the padded headrest of her conference chair, rolling her eyes to the ceiling of the large room.

“Ah, for the love of…” she grumbled. “Okay, fine. But we have to think strategically and purposefully. I’m not going to be responsible for all fucking two hundred bears here.”

“Of course not,” Joel replied, “As much as I know that every bear here would wish to volunteer for this mission, sending the entire North American population of bears quite literally into the lion’s den is not a wise move.”

“Well, I’m sure as fuck going!” Axel growled in a menacing tone, locking eyes with Susie as he spoke. “And I’m taking my Mate with me. We’ve done a respectable job so far at flushing various pockets of the Ancients out of their hiding places for the last few years, so we’re the obvious choice to track down these so-called Benefactors from their mountain hidey-holes and bring a little bear-style justice to them.”

“This mission is two-fold,” Ezekiel interjected quickly before anyone else could comment on Axel’s outburst. “One group must go to the ALC headquarters and meet with the Emperor and his Council of Kings.”

“Meet the Emperor, or confront the Emperor and formally charge him with his crimes?” Susie asked cynically while examining her nails.

“Just a friendly meeting to start, Colonel,” Supreme Alpha Taylor replied. “See how he and his council react to our uninvited presence. I assume with the Benefactors’ spy now dead, and all their bugs removed, our arrival will most likely come as a surprise. We need to make sure that we aren’t viewed as an invasion force before we’ve had a chance to talk.”

“We’re going to present ourselves as a diplomatic mission to address the ALC’s motives for the attempted assassination and to see if we can broker some sort of peace,” Gunnar added. “But we’re going to have a full regiment of soldiers as our security detail to show that we aren’t fools.”

“We have the means to turn that narcissist they call an Emperor into nothing more than a smoking crater along with the rest of his precious palace if we wished,” Susie replied impatiently. “Have we not considered that as an option?”

“We know that’s always an option, Susie,” Gunnar said gently, “I can’t speak for the wolves, but I know the hearts and minds of the bears, and that isn’t an option that we would choose to consider.”

“So, is it decided,” Supreme Alpha Taylor asked, “That the bears of the Council along with their Cubs will go to the ALC along with the 1^st Infantry Peacekeeping Force to enter into negotiations with the Emperor and his Council of Kings with the intention of avoiding a war?”

“Yes,” Ezekiel agreed, “But that is but one side of this mission. The other side, as Axel so eloquently stated earlier is to track down the location of the Benefactors to engage in negotiations as well.”

“Yeah, I’ll negotiate with ‘em,” Axel commented raising his voice above a growl for the first time that week, “I’ll negotiate how many times I can stomp my boot into their faces before I have them begging me for fucking mercy.”

“I think we can assume,” Apollo interjected, “That these Benefactors are not going to be that defenseless, Axel. If they really have been around for as long as we think, manipulating lycan politics from the shadows, they must have the means for survival.”

“He has a point, Papa,” Adam commented, “We can’t expect to just knock on the Benefactors’ door and start swinging our dicks around and expect them to roll on their backs and say, ‘Please sir, may I have another?’ no matter how big our dicks may be.”

The entire room erupted with raucous laughter at Adam’s words, and the tension filling the room was taken down several notches.

“So, are we saying that this isn’t going to be a search and destroy mission for the Council’s resident Kodiak team?” Axel asked, his voice returning to the low growl he’d employed over the last few days.

“I think that the Council’s resident Kodiaks have more than proven their skills at finding those who whish to remain hidden,” Supreme Alpha Taylor replied, “But this isn’t going to be a solo mission. I want you to hand-select a small team to accompany you, and I’m counting on you, Cub Adam to make sure that your Papa chooses companions not only for brute muscle, but also for their wisdom and ability to provide reasonable counsel to their leader.”

“So, we need a team that can kick ass when needed, and also keep Papa from going rogue on the Benefactors’ faces when we meet them the first time?” Adam replied with a grin, glancing sideways at Axel who shot him a glare in return. “Sounds like a job for the polar bears.”

“I volunteer to go with Axel,” Nukilik shouted from the crowd seated on the periphery of the room. “If it was not for him, I would still be struggling to survive in desperation and oppression in the Arctic. I owe it to him to keep him safe during his expedition to confront the Benefactors.”

“Axel is my friend and brother,” Siku shouted next, also rising from the crowd with the ever-present Charlie the cat balanced on his shoulder. “I could not allow him undertake this peril undefended.”

“We volunteer as well,” Erik shouted, standing up along with his Cub, Max. “I am not a stranger to the need to soothe Axel’s ‘savage beast’ at times at our home in Atikokan.”

“And, while Papa is busy with that, I’m ready to kick some ass,” Max added, giving Adam a nod.

“So, we have a nimble strike-team composed of two Kodiaks and four polar bears to infiltrate the Benefactors…” the Supreme Alpha began before being cut off by another voice in the crowd.

“I beg your pardon, Supreme Alpha,” rose the voice of Shivay the tiger, who now stood next to Siku. Charlie the cat leapt from Siku’s shoulder to the tiger’s in a display of affection and moral support. “If my Mate is to go to Africa to confront the lions and these mysterious Benefactors, of whom we know little to nothing, I’m not letting him go without me.”

“Nor I,” Nameer added, standing next to his mate Nukilik. “If you want our polar bears, the tigers are a package deal.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” moaned Susie, “Next you’ll be telling me we have to take the cat!”

“Well… now that you mention it,” Siku began to say as Charlie jumped back up to his shoulder.

“This is actually quite advantageous,” Ezekiel interrupted. “Including representation of feline lycans in our delegation of wolves and bears will only help to prove our case, that the bears are amicable to all species and have no innate ill-will against the lions.”

“Speak for yourself,” Axel grumbled, but Adam elbowed him in the ribs before he could say any more.

“If I may,” Apollo said, taking charge of the discussion, “Let me summarize the makeup of the delegation as it stands…

“We will have the entire 1^st Infantry Peacekeeping Force, comprising about sixty wolves in three platoons, plus the Colonel and myself. There will be the five ursine members of Council along with four cubs, accompanied by Axel’s strike team containing four polar bears and two tigers.”

“Meow!” Charlie cried loudly from Siku’s shoulder.

“And one orange domestic cat,” Apollo added quickly. “My apologies, Charlie. Does anyone have any additional recommendations?”

“Actually,” Susie said, “Yes, I do. And I can’t believe that I’m about to say these words, but I think we absolutely need to have Rodney, which I suppose means his mate Marcus is along for the ride too.”

“The cafeteria crew from the Academy?” Supreme Alpha Taylor asked in surprise, “I don’t follow your line of reasoning, Colonel.”

“Time to let His Supremeness in on the big secret,” Axel growled loudly, scanning the crowd for the unlikely bear pair. “Rodney! Show him what you’ve got!”

Rodney stood up uneasily from his spot in the crowd and looked down at his mate nervously, but Marcus just nodded and squeezed his hand.

Rodney’s eyes began to glow green, and he levitated from his spot in the crowd with his arms extended palms-up to either side.

“Wights, to me!” he shouted and immediately a swirling cloud of mist formed behind him in mid-air crackling with electricity.

Bolts of lighting streamed around Rodney’s body in an impressive display of pyrotechnics, but he knew what he must do to really demonstrate his power to the Supreme Alpha.

“Wights,” Rodney bellowed in a voice that was no longer his own, pointing with his finger to the crowd of bears sitting in the seats along the opposite wall, “Put those bears on the other side of the room into the void.”

With the speed of a hurricane or tornado, the swirling cloud of wights streaked across the room to envelop the seventy or so startled bears sitting in the location where their master had pointed. When the cloud rose, those seventy bears were gone, and the cloud diminished in volume and intensity, returning to hover in the air behind Rodney’s head once again.

“What the fuck is going on?” Chad exclaimed, knocking his chair over as he stood and breaking his deferential silence for the first time that night. “What is he?”

“He’s the last master of the undead wights of the Tuath Dé, pup,” Axel replied. “He may be the biggest fucking goofball in the room, but he’s probably the second most powerful bear alive after Bernie himself, and he’s on our side.”

“Please tell me what you’ve done with those bears?” Supreme Alpha Taylor asked patiently, looking up at Rodney as he continued to hover mid-air.

“Oh, sorry,” Rodney replied, sinking back to the ground as his eyes returned to their normal color even as his cheeks flushed pink at being addressed personally by the Supreme Alpha. “They’re fine, they’re just in the void is all. Sort of… another space with no form or color or gravity. They’re all floating in a big cloud of nothing right now, but they’re perfectly fine. I’ll put them back…”

Rodney gave the signal to his wights, and the cloud moved back into the vacant section of seats for a moment before lifting to reveal the missing bears all back where they originally sat.

“Imagine, Supreme Alpha,” Susie said, “The entire military forces of the lions being neutralized in the void of Rodney’s wights at the first sign of attack. This will certainly give us the element of surprise and a tactical advantage.”

“Agreed,” Taylor replied, “Rodney and his mate are to join the team, and I pray to Jupiter that there are no more ‘big secrets’ you bears are hiding from me. Are there any other recommendations that should be considered before we finalize the plan?”

“Yes, Supreme Alpha!” a voice boomed from the front of the crowd and Bernie himself rose to his feet, stepping down to stand within the central area of the room near the conference table. He looked around the room at the assembled werebear spectators as he spoke.

“All of this trouble, conflict, and death is because of me. I am the perceived threat to the lions and the reason they undertook their scheme to try to kill us all. I am the one who the Benefactors found troublesome enough to alert the lions in the first place. If I am not there to speak with them personally, they’re never going to trust the bears or believe that I’m not some sort of weapon of war that the NALC will unleash upon them at a whim.”

“NO,” the Supreme Alpha replied, surprising Bernie, causing the big bear’s head to snap around to look at the Alpha wolf directly. “You may have the godlike power of your forefathers, but you are still just a newborn Cub. Your existence is too important to bear and wolf alike to risk your premature death at the hands of an aggressive and irrational enemy. You will stay here in Calgary.”

“Mjolnir!” Bernie shouted, raising his arm in the air, and with a bright flash of lightning and deafening crack of thunder, the big red-headed man was replaced by a towering and massive red-furred bear, standing on two legs, dressed in armor of leather and iron, and grasping the hammer of legend in his paw.

“With all due respect,” Berhnard Odinson replied, “I was not asking your permission, Supreme Alpha. I do not fear these lions, and I will not have my brothers going to a foreign land to potentially die in my name. Two of my personal guard are already on your list, Adam and Mike. I must insist upon the addition of myself and the third member of my guard, Bill.”

Bill descended the steps to stand next to Bernhard, and Adam and Mike rose from their places at the table to stand with him as well. All three raised their hands, and the triple-horn mark of Odin on their palms began to glow with a bright blue light.

Taylor was not expecting such defiance from the heir of Odin so quickly after his first change, but he was not exactly shocked or surprised either. He simply nodded his head in deference to the demigod and his trio of Viking warriors standing before him now.

“I suppose you and Bill will want to bring your Mates along as well?” he asked.

But before Bernhard could answer, Karhu rose from his seat.

“No, Supreme Alpha,” Karhu replied. “Mike and Adam’s Mates are members of the Council and have secured a spot in this expedition on their own merit, but Gary and I are neither warriors, explorers, nor diplomats. If we were to go, our presence would only be a liability to our Mates. We cannot have them distracted from their mission by worrying for our safety, so for the good of all, we will return to the Academy and await their return.”

The Supreme Alpha nodded at the pair and surveyed the room.

“If there are no more recommendations, I declare this emergency session closed. General Apollo, please begin preparations and ready for departure in forty-eight hours.”

****

Karhu closed the door to their suite and turned to look at his Cub, standing in the middle of the room with his head down and shoulders slumped.

“Bernie,” he said, “I want you to know how proud I am of the way you handled things with the wolves and bears today.”

The big bear cub turned around to face his Papa and Karhu now saw that tears streamed down his cheeks into his bushy red beard.

“Papa,” he said with a quiet voice, barely above a whisper, “When I insisted on going with the expedition, I thought you would be coming with me. We’ve only truly been Papa and Cub for a few days, and now in just forty-eight hours I’m supposed leave you to go and meet the lycans who tried to kill me all alone?”

“This will not be easy on either of us, Cub,” Karhu replied, “But I meant what I said. You cannot focus on your mission or your own safety if you are worried about protecting me. And you will not be alone! You will have Mike and Adam, and most importantly, you will have Bill there with you. This is something that the four of you must face together. Do you understand?”

Bernie nodded his head, and Karhu reached up to wipe the tears away from his handsome chiseled face. Bernie’s eyes brightened at his Papa’s touch, and Karhu leaned forward to kiss his Cub, and pull him tightly against his body.

The pair began shedding clothing, only breaking their kiss long enough to pull each other’s shirts over their heads. Bernie clutched at Karhu as they kissed, and slowly backed his way into the bedroom and the king-sized bed big enough for two werebears to enjoy their remaining time together. When they were fully naked and at the edge of the bed, Bernie fell backwards, landing on the mattress and pulling Karhu down on top of him.

Karhu broke their kiss once again and gazed down at his Cub. With a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous grin he gripped Bernie tightly and rolled over onto his back, pulling the Cub on top of himself and wrapping his beefy legs tightly around his waist.

Bernie looked down at his Papa pinned beneath him with a puzzled look and then he matched Karhu’s grin when he realized the older bear’s intent.

“Papa, are you sure?”

“Of course, Cub. I want you inside me. I need you to fuck me like the big, powerful man you have become.”

Bernie slid down his Papa’s body until he reached Karhu’s thick and hard cock. He sucked it into his maw and teased it with his tongue and throat for a minute before moving lower to lick at his heavy balls and finally to raise his ass and plunge his tongue into the tight, hairy pucker.

Karhu gasped and whispered something in an ancient language Bernie didn’t understand before grabbing his Cub by sides of his head and encouraging him to continue licking and preparing his hole for the desired penetration.

Bernie reached with one hand and found the bottle of lube on the table beside the bed. He hadn’t yet penetrated another man with his cock at its new full size, and he coated himself generously to try to make the experience as comfortable for his Papa as possible.

He stood, and Karhu immediately placed his ankles on his Cub’s broad shoulders, inviting him to begin, and Bernie pressed the head of his massive cock against his Papa’s wet but tight pucker.

“Don’t worry, Cub,” Karhu said as Bernie hesitated, “I can take all you’ve got. I’ve been longing for a Mate just like you for a thousand years.”

With his Papa’s words of encouragement, Bernie pushed forward, and with one mighty thrust was buried to the root in Karhu’s ass.

Karhu let out a loud grunt as he was speared and tipped his head back with a broad grin.

“That’s the way to do it, boy!” he shouted. “Fuck me now! Fuck your Papa like you mean it!”

Bernie began a rapid but steady rhythm, drawing out until only the bulbous head remained inside Karhu’s sphincter, and then plunging back in balls-deep with each thrust.

Karhu moaned and continued to mumble curses and dirty-talk in the ancient language. Bernie didn’t understand the words, but the intent was crystal clear, and he pumped his hips against his Papa’s ass lustily in return.

After many minutes of intense fucking, and as the sweat was dripping from the end of Bernie’s nose into Karhu’s belly fur, the older bear began a deep growl in his chest.

“Ah, keep doing that, Cub! I’m nearly there, I… I…”

And with that warning, Karhu clenched his ass and leg muscles as he shot a massive volley of semen that splattered across his chest and into his own beard.

“Should I…?” Bernie began to ask, starting to pull out after his Papa’s orgasm.

“Don’t you dare!” Karhu replied, clenching his ass muscles to prevent his Cub’s withdrawal. “Not till you’ve given me your seed!”

Bernie resumed his frantic pumping, increasing his pace as Karhu continued to clench his muscles and milk the Cub’s cock with each thrust. Soon Bernie’s eyes began to roll, and he let out a bellow worthy of Thor himself as he pushed into his Papa’s ass one final time and unloaded the contents of his balls deep within Karhu.

Bernie collapsed against his Papa’s chest and the pair rolled onto their sides, with the Cub’s thick cock still buried deep.

“You are so magnificent,” Karhu whispered with a smile, stroking his Cub’s sweaty forehead and cheek.

“I never dreamed it could be that good,” Bernie replied, opening his eyes, and gazing back at his Papa, “Not in my wildest fantasies.”

“Now that you’ve had your first change and are officially my Cub,” Karhu said, “We will have all of eternity to learn just how to please each other.”

Bernie pulled himself carefully from his Papa’s ass and they shifted around on the bed until they were in a comfortable position spooning with Karhu’s back against Bernie’s chest.

Karhu waited until he heard the telltale sounds that his Cub had fallen asleep before whispering his final words of prayer that night.

“Please Odin, protect my Cub on his mission and let him come back to my arms once again.”

****

In another wing of the building, Chad was both sweaty and sticky, nestled between his two huge Kodiak bears in their bed as the trio began to drift into a post-coital blissful sleep.

Suddenly, the peace was broken by a loud ringing coming from the wolf’s discarded pants.

“Fuck!” Chad muttered, extracting himself from between the two warm bear bodies. “That’s the emergency ring again. Somebody is trying to call the Supreme Alpha!”

Adam grumbled and rolled over in his sleep, but Axel opened one eye and watched the wolf carefully as he quickly found his pants and answered his phone.

“This is Beta Chad.

“I see. Put them through.

“Hello Benefactors. I’m sorry to inform you that Supreme Alpha Taylor will no longer be accepting your calls, but he did leave a message that I should relay to you in case you did choose to call him.

“Yes. That message is, ‘Go fuck yourselves.’”

With a swift movement of his thumb, Chad ended the call before the unseen Benefactors on the other end could respond, and he dropped the phone on the nearby table before climbing into the warm spot in bed between his two bears.

“I suppose you heard that,” Chad said to Axel as he got comfortable once again.

“I did, pup,” Axel replied, “And I couldn’t have said it better myself.”