Trophy Cub - 14. The Werebirds and the Werebees

Mike woke up in the soft king-sized bed with clean white sheets and the quilt with the bear motif hand-stitched into the pattern. He’d been in this bed for a day and a half now, being tenderly nursed back to health. He looked over and saw “Mr. Bear” asleep in a chair in front of the fireplace with an open book laying on his belly.

He rolled over onto his side to admire his sleeping hero, but the mattress squeaked, and Gunnar’s head perked up and his eyes blinked a few times.

“Good morning, Mike,” Gunnar began to say, “Or good afternoon, I guess. How are you feeling?”

“I’m a lot better, sir,” Mike replied. “Much better than yesterday. My mind seems to be back to normal now as well. No more confused, crazy thoughts or hallucinations.”

“I have some chicken noodle soup on the stove if you want some,” Gunnar said. “Thomas made it himself this morning. It has big chunks of chicken breast, homemade noodles, and lots of veggies in it. It would do you good.”

“I’d love that,” Mike confirmed, “The wolves kept me fed for the last year and a half, up until recently anyway, but their idea of ‘food’ was nothing like good home cooking.”

“I’ll be right back,” Gunnar said, and got up from his chair to go down to the kitchen.

While Gunnar was out of the room, Mike swung his legs off the side of the bed and walked over to the bathroom. He was probably going to have to eat some more solid foods before his bowels got working properly again, but his kidneys seemed to be full speed ahead with all of the liquid nourishment he’d been given since yesterday morning.

He was just getting back into bed when Gunnar came back up the stairs with a tray.

“Here you go,” Gunnar said, “Soup, crackers, water, and a cup of hot tea.”

Gunnar propped a couple extra pillows behind Mike’s back and laid a cloth napkin over his chest.

Mike started spooning the hot soup and noodles into his mouth and watched as Gunnar resumed his place in the chair by the fire.

“Gunnar, sir,” Mike began, “Is it just you and Thomas living here? Come to think of it, I don’t even know where ‘here’ is yet.”

“I own this house, but I’ve only just been staying here for the last couple of weeks while I figured out a plan for how to rescue you,” Gunnar explained. “Thomas actually lives in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Before now, I lived in Washington DC for a very long time, but I started traveling recently hoping to figure out what to do with the next chapter in my life.

“We’re in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Last time I was here before now was back in 1975 during a summer vacation with my Papa, Nils.”

“Do werebears live a really long time, like the wolves do?” Mike asked in between spoonfulls of soup.

“Yes, we do,” Gunnar replied. “I’m two hundred fifty-three years old now but look like I’m forty. Thomas is a hundred ninety. My Papa Nils was nine hundred fifty-six years old when he was killed fifteen years ago, and even then, he still only looked about forty-five.”

“You keep calling Nils your ‘Papa’, but he sounds like he was your husband or partner,” Mike began to ask.

“Yes,” Gunnar answered, “You see, when a human is turned into a werebear, the bear who turns him is responsible for his care and education as a bear. The older bear becomes the ‘Papa’ and the new werebear becomes his ‘Cub’. Many times, Papa and Cub will stay together for fifty years or more, before the Cub finally decides to leave and strike out on his own. Other times, like with Nils and me, Papa and Cub become mates, and choose to spend their lives together as long as they live.”

“Well now I’m more confused,” Mike said, setting down his spoon for a minute and picking up a cracker to much on, “the wolves didn’t turn people into lycans, the males and females mated and bred new pups. If they had tried to bite me and turn me into a wolf, I either wouldn’t have survived, or I would have become a monster that got put down because I don’t have the wolf genes. Don’t you have lady bears that you mate with to make your cubs?”

“Well, Mike,” Gunnar replied, “That brings up one of the key differences between some of the different types of lycans and is something that I needed to talk to you about once you were feeling better. Since you’ve brought it up now, it seems like a good time to start.

“I think you learned from the wolves that certain humans have dormant genetic code that makes them ‘kin’ to a specific type of lycan. If the wolves found a human who was genetically kindred to the wolves, one of them could breed and bite that human and then they would turn into a wolf lycan at the next full moon.

“The reason that wolves can both breed new pups and turn kindred humans is because the dormant wolf genetic code lies within the ‘X’ chromosome. That means that both males and females can be wolf lycans, and a female lycan will produce lycan children when she mates with a male lycan.

“For bears, the dormant genetic code lies within the ‘Y’ chromosome instead. That means that females cannot be born or become a werebear, and if a male werebear were to try to breed and bite a female human, nothing at all would happen, except maybe a pissed off female human. However, if a male werebear bred with a female human and she became pregnant, any female child would be fully human, and any male child would be kindred, and would have the dormant bear genes in the ‘Y’ chromosome. If one of those kindred males fathered children, any females would be human, and any males would still be kindred. And so on, and so on. Understand?”

Mike pondered everything that Gunnar had said so far, and then nodded, slurping up another spoonful of noodles.

“So,” Gunnar continued, “In order for any werebears to exist at all, it requires a werebear to anally breed and simultaneously bite a male human who is kindred. When we find a human who is kindred, we give them the choice to remain a human or to be bred and bitten and become a werebear.

“Now,” Gunnar said, looking at Mike very directly, “What conclusion can you draw from that about the werebears who are alive today?”

“Well,” Mike said, tapping his empty spoon against his chin thoughtfully, “It means that all the werebears started out as kindred human men, and if a human man has to have sex with a male werebear in order to become a werebear, then I guess all werebears are… Gay? Or at least bisexual.”

Gunnar grinned, “Got it on the first try, Mike. Well done.”

“So, you and Thomas,” Mike said carefully, “If you’re both gay, are you partners?”

“We’re good friends who have known each other a long time,” Gunnar replied. “We do enjoy having sex together, but that’s a pretty common trait among all werebears; we’re pretty liberal when it comes to having fun and playing with others. It’s how we bond as friends and show affection for one another. Having another werebear as a mate is a different thing psychologically and emotionally for us than having one as a friend or playmate. Mates can still enjoy playing around with other werebears. It doesn’t ruin the special mating bond and the love that the two bears have for each other. Nils and I were mates. We both would play with Thomas whenever we were all together ever since meeting him over a hundred years ago.”

Mike scraped the last spoonful of soup from the bowl and shoveled it into his mouth, chasing it down with the last of the crackers. He took a sip of the hot tea and looked back over at Gunnar.

“When you found me in that dark place where I was being raped by all of those wolves in the sling, you smelled my neck and then shouted to everyone that I was ‘bear kindred’. Does that mean that I have the dormant bear genes in my ‘Y’ chromosomes?”

“Yes,” Gunnar answered truthfully, “You do, Mike. Those genes, while mostly dormant, sill give you some additional traits that are not normally found within humans. I suspect that is how you were able to survive so long with those wolves abusing you so horribly every day without dying or at least requiring medical attention. The werebear genes help to make you a little more physically ‘durable’ than other people. I’ll bet that you’ve never broken a bone, or been really sick a day in your life, have you?”

“No, I guess I haven’t,” Mike replied. “I always assumed that it was a combination of luck and a strong immune system.”

“You were right, in a way,” Gunnar said. “But the strong immune system comes from those werebear genes.”

“Are there just wolves and bears?” Mike asked suddenly, sitting up a little straighter. “How many different types of lycans are we talking about?”

“Different types of lycans originated in the different parts of the world where prehistoric humans lived,” Gunnar replied, “Brown bears like me originally came from far northern Europe in Norway, Sweden, Finland and western Russia. Nils and I were both born in Norway. Black bears come from the Native American tribes of North America, polar bears from the Inuit of the Arctic regions, and pandas are from China, of course.

“Central Europe, like Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands, is home to the boars. Southern Europe, like Spain, Italy, France, and Greece is home of the wolves.

“The wolf lycans have tended to be the most prolific, due to the nature of their ‘X’ chromosome genes and having females who can produce pups.

“When we look at other parts of the world, we get other lycans as well, but the equatorial and Southern Hemisphere regions tend to be home to the felines. Africa has the werelions and werecheetahs, India, weretigers, and South America the werejaguars.

“It has been said through legend that Japan and Korea are the home to avian lycans: hawks, eagles, cranes and osprey, but no one has actually seen one in all of lycan history.”

“Are there werekangaroos in Australia?” Mike asked excitedly.

“Afraid not,” Gunnar replied. “There aren’t any were-marsupials as far as I know. Australia does have a large population of dingo lycans, however.”

Gunnar stood and moved the tray off of Mike’s lap, wiped his chin with the napkin and fluffed the pillows behind his back to make him comfortable.

“Is there anything else you wanted to ask me about werebears or lycans right now?” Gunnar asked.

“Just one more thing,” Mike said, “If I’m kindred, are you going to offer me the choice to be bred and bitten to become a werebear?”

“Yes,” Gunnar replied, looking Mike in the eyes with a serious expression. “If you choose it, I will breed with you and bite you. I will become your Papa and you will be my Cub. Bears don’t follow the cycle of the full moon, and it takes about four months for the required changes to your body to take place. At the end of those four months, you will change into a bear for the first time, and then you will take on a new, altered, human physical appearance that you will have for the rest of your life. That life could last thousands of years depending on how carefully you live it. Werebears were created to be protectors of their tribes, so it is very likely that eventually, someday, your life and mine will end the same way that Nils’s did, while saving the lives of others.”

“Gunnar,” Mike replied, “Is it okay if I think about it for a while before making a decision?”

“Of course, Mike. I’d be worried if you chose too quickly without really weighing all the pros and cons. You take all the time that you need, and I will respect your decision whatever it may be.”

Gunnar picked up the tray from the bed and turned back to Mike once more.

“Now, if you feel up to it, how about getting out of this bed and maybe getting a little fresh air? A change of scenery and some sun might do you good.”

“Yes sir!” Mike exclaimed throwing back the covers and swinging his legs off the bed.

****

Joshua came over to the house in the early evening to see if there were any caretaker tasks to be done, and to check in on the young kindred man who was the reason for all the fuss. Gunnar and Thomas insisted that he stay for dinner, and after Joshua scolded the bears for turning their lovely dining room into a war room, he helped them get it back in proper shape in time for the evening meal.

Gunnar felt that Mike’s stomach was ready for something a little heavier, so he and Thomas prepared a dinner of beef stew with potatoes, carrots, celery, pearl onions and peas, with choice of biscuits or cornbread on the side.

Mike had two bowls full, one with biscuits and the other with cornbread, joking that he needed to try them both in order to decide which way was better.

Joshua was very chatty with Mike during dinner and regaled him with stories of the escapades that he would get into with Gunnar and Nils back in the summer of 1975. Mike listened to all of them with a grin on his face, trying to imagine a version of Gunnar the same age he is now horsing around and causing trouble with a much younger version of this old man way back then.

“What’s your last name, Mike?” Joshua asked, shifting the subject back to the present.

“It’s Bergen,” Mike replied with a grin. “It’s funny, because Gunnar told me that he has a handful of last names that he uses and rotates to a different one every fifty years or so when he has to change his identity. It just so happens that the last name he picked this time around is ‘Bergan, B-E-R-G-A-N’ so we’ll almost match. Gunnar’s name ends in “AN” and mine ends in “EN”.

“Curious,” Joshua remarked.

“Bergan was one of the names that Nils always used off and on over his nine-hundred-year lifetime.” Gunnar explained. “It’s Norwegian in origin, of course. It was the name that he and I were using when we first came to the US back in the 1880’s and I thought it had been long enough that I could use it again.”

“I think Bergen with an EN is either Dutch or German,” Mike commented. “At least that’s what my uncle always said, back when I was little and still had some family around. He said that it means ‘mountain dweller.’”

“Yes,” Gunnar replied, “It has the same meaning in Norwegian as well.”

“It’s almost like you were destined to become family,” Joshua said with a smile and a wink at Gunnar.

After dinner, Gunnar and Thomas bundled Mike and Joshua up in warm blankets and set them out on the patio in the Adirondack chairs in front of a crackling fire to continue getting acquainted, while the two bears cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes.

“Mike,” Joshua began, after they had sat and gazed into the fire for a few minutes, “Has Gunnar told you about the choice yet?”

“Yes,” Mike replied, “He’s letting me take time to think it over. I was only just rescued from being the slave of a pack of lunatic wolves a couple of days ago, I’m not sure yet how to process the idea of being changed into a werebear and living for thousands of years.”

“Son, let me give you some advice,” Joshua said looking over at Mike. “I’ve lived a good life. I’ve fallen in love… real love… twice in my life. The first time it was with both Gunnar and Nils. The second time it was with my husband Robert. Robert and I truly loved one another, and I treasure the lifetime that we had before he passed away. But if there is one regret in my life it is this...

“I regret that I was not born kindred like you and given the choice that you now have to make. If I could have been the Cub of such noble men as Gunnar and Nils, and able to transform into such majestic creatures, it would have been the greatest joy in my life.

“I envy you, Mike. I really do. I know that this is going to be a difficult decision to make, but you have been offered something magic and wonderful. Don’t waste this opportunity.”

“Yes, sir.” Mike replied after Joshua had spoken his piece. “I’m not going to take this lightly. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

Joshua nodded his head in response and they both turned back to the cheerful fire crackling away on the patio.

****

Kane had gathered all the male pack members into the dining hall of the pack house. The tables were pushed to the side, and the wolves all sat on the chairs arranged in a semi-circle around Kane, Bart, and Nick.

They had all spent an irritating couple of days in the pack males’ medical office, getting the humans’ bullets extracted from their bodies, one-by-one. More importantly to Kane, however, were the reports of the scent of werebears inside the pack house once they had all returned from their humiliating defeat. Kane himself investigated, and one of the scents matched the bear who had threatened him in the Silver Bullet and challenged him for ownership of their human pet.

Kane had stormed downstairs to check on the human, closely followed by Nick, who was strangely emitting the smell of fear as they reached the sub-basement. When they reached the kennels, the human’s door was broken off its hinges and the pet was nowhere in sight. Bear scent was heavy around the room, as was the scent of the pack’s Omega.

Kane ordered the entire pack house searched to find Pip, but after several hours, Pip was reported missing as well.

Now that their wounds were mended, it was time for Kane to discuss the situation with the male half of the pack.

“I’ve called you all here to report that on the night of the full moon a few days ago, while we were dealing with the blasphemous intruders on our western border, our pack house was invaded by two werebears.”

There was a brief outcry from the assembly of wolves as they all voiced their anger and objections to the violation of their sacred home.

“We have learned that they made their way to the sub-basement and have stolen our pet human.” Kane continued after the commotion died down. “Furthermore, it appears that our Omega, Pip, was an accomplice in the act and has betrayed the pack to join the invaders.”

The male wolves in the assembly all jumped to their feet, shouting and raging against both the heretic bears and the traitorous filth, Pip.

“Please calm yourself, my brothers,” Kane shouted over the cacophony in the room, “Sit. Sit. We are here today to discuss what should be done to both find and punish the Omega for his betrayal, and to find and recover our rightful property, our human pet.”

“Alpha, if I may speak,” Nick said to Kane and the assembly, “While I agree that the Omega must be punished for his betrayal and injury to the pack, is the human pet worth the effort of hunting him down and bringing him back again? That pet was sick and caused nothing but trouble with every attempt we made to train him. Wouldn’t it be better for the pack if we simply found a new pet and started fresh?”

“Enforcer, you continually forget your place and attempt to lecture me on what is best for this pack,” Kane lashed out at Nick. “I will decide what is best, and I ask you now, brothers. Is it good for the pack that we allow invading bears to roam our halls sealing our property?”

“No!” the males cried in unison.

“Is it good for the pack that we allow those who have caused us injury and stolen from us to go unpunished?”

“No!” the males shouted again.

“Is it good for the pack that our human pet is now running loose, doing as he pleases, offering himself up to be mounted by filthy, stinking bears, even while knowing that he is our property and that we have marked him with our scent for all to witness?”

“No!” shouted the males, jumping to their feet once again.

“Then I tell you, brothers, we will track down this human and teach him the significance of what it means to be the property of our glorious pack! Are you with me, brothers?”

“Yes, Alpha!” The men all screamed, leaping into the air, and shouting their praise for the Alpha and for the Pack.

Kane stood in front of the raging crowd with a clawed fist in the air, grinning and puffing out his chest to show the males his power and virility.

Nick alone remained seated, holding his head in his hands, and wondering if there ever would be a way to rid himself of that horrible human once and for all.