The next morning, Laura was ready and waiting for him in the hotel lobby, just before lunchtime. He’d invited the elders for a backyard luncheon where they could get to know Laura in a relaxed setting. He was sure they would be asking her tough questions about her past and her ties with the Inuit. It was important to some of the old-timers that they have someone with Native blood bringing their art to the world.
Gus, himself, had only a little Native American ancestry, but they’d accepted him mostly, he thought, because of his chosen path as a shaman. They probably knew he was also a shapeshifter, though nobody spoke of it aloud. The elders respected his privacy—and that of the entire community of Grizzly Cove, for that matter.
He suspected they actually liked having magical folk—especially shifters with bear spirits—nearby. It helped them keep their belief in the old ways and teach the younger generation. Occasionally, Gus would let himself be seen by some of the younger Native kids. His light fur always got a reaction, and he knew the kids carried the story of seeing the Spirit Bear back to their families, friends, and neighbors.
Gus didn’t mind. It was part of being what he was. A rare kind of bear—a Spirit Bear. His fur was much lighter than a grizzly’s, and his kind were considered sacred by some. At the very least, seeing him was a special treat for the res kids who didn’t have a lot of real magic in their lives. He liked seeing them smile and giving them hope that maybe magic was real, after all.
“This is a nice truck,” Laura said as she easily made the climb into the cab of Gus’s white pickup.
She was lithe and muscular like most shifters. Getting up into the cab wasn’t hard for her, he was glad to see. His pickup was one of his few indulgences. It was big and roomy, and he kept it sparkling whenever possible.
“Thanks,” he said easily. “I think most of the elders are coming for lunch. You should feel honored. I didn’t tell them about your background. I figured you’d like to do that yourself. Thing is, they’re going to want to know about your aboriginal ties. They want an authentic Native selling their wares. I’m not sure exactly why, but it’s important to them, and I respect their wishes in such matters.”
“No problem. I’m just glad they’re giving me a chance. I need a break, you know?”
She sounded anxious, which he didn’t like. His inner bear wanted to growl. Gus settled for reaching across the distance that separated them and taking her hand in his.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll figure this out. I promise.” He was promising a lot more than she realized, but that was for him to know, at this point.
Laura was a shattered soul, and he wanted desperately to help her put herself back together and fully heal. The more he was around her, the more that became a mission central to his own happiness. He didn’t know why. It just was.
She smiled at him, but he could tell she was still nervous. Thankfully, they arrived at his place, and he parked the truck. She’d already climbed down before he got out, but she was an independent woman, and he had to respect that, much as he’d like to coddle her in every possible way.
“So…” she said, looking around. “You’re making lunch? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Sure. We have some time before they get here. You can help me make a salad, if you like.” Gus led the way into his house.
He’d never had a woman here. Not since he’d finished building the place. He felt a little odd about inviting Laura into his lair, but soon got over it. She was good company. Quiet and respectful of his territory, but also fun to be around when she chose to talk and share bits about her prior life.
They worked together to prepare the food, but when he fired up the grill outside on the deck, she took over. He had prepared fish and steak. She went right for the fish, setting them up on the open flame like a pro.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she told him. “Where I come from, women are the better cooks, most of the time, and we eat a lot of fish.”
“What other things did you eat up there? Walrus?” Gus ventured.
“Occasionally,” she agreed while she worked. “Lots of caribou. Once in a while, we’d trade for whale, from the neighboring tribe. But, most of the time, we lived off whatever we could find.”
“That must have been quite the life,” he told her, amazed all over again, that this woman had lived up near the top of the world where few humans, and even fewer shifters, dared to tread.
The table was laid, and the other dishes had been put out by the time the elders started arriving. They came overland, on quad bikes, and the oldest of the group traveled together in an ancient Jeep. They parked their vehicles at the edge of Gus’s property then walked in on foot. Gus went to greet them and help the one really old guy navigate the grass.
He’d come to know these people over the past couple of years, and this wasn’t the first time he’d had them all over to share a meal. One of the elderly ladies, a sweetheart named Betty Two Feathers, carried a box that smelled sweet to Gus. She must have brought dessert. Sky Bunty, one of the older men, had a hamper with something else that smelled delicious inside. They hadn’t come empty-handed to his home, which was very thoughtful of them.
He introduced them all to Laura, but she was still kind of busy with the fish, which turned out to be a good thing as Betty and her cohort, Fern Rasmussen, joined Laura by the grill. They started discussing preparation techniques, and Laura told them how they did things up north. She explained how they fished through holes in the ice and how they used every part of the caribou. Gus could see she had easily charmed the ladies, but it might still take some convincing for the men, who were in the majority of this particular group.
When lunch was ready, they all sat down together to eat. Gus said a few words in his role as shaman and host, and soon, the food was disappearing and conversation abounded. Laura was quiet except for when Fern or Betty asked her questions or made comments. They sat on either side of her, like guardians. Gus suppressed his grin. Those two old biddies hadn’t taken to him so easily.
“I understand you have Inuit blood,” Ray Parker, the oldest of the men here, came out and addressed the topic directly, speaking to Laura for the first time. He was a bit of a loudmouth, Gus had always thought, but Ray spoke his mind plainly, and Gus respected that.
Laura nodded. “On both sides, though I take after my mother, who was fair, like me.”
“But how? Did a bunch of crazy white explorers marry into the tribe?” he asked, almost challengingly.
Laura looked surprised. “No,” she said quietly. “It’s probably the fey blood.”
Everybody fell silent, staring from her to Gus and back again. Gus tried to intervene, but it was clear there was no going back from what had just been revealed.
“Uh…I don’t know how it is up north,” Gus said into the silence, “but down here, we don’t really talk about such things, Laura. Not out in the open, and not with…uh…non-magical folk,” he tried to explain gently.
“Oh, my.” Laura paled. “I’m so sorry. I thought they knew about us, and about the town.”
Gus shook his head. She was digging them in deeper, not helping matters.
“What about the town, dear?” Betty asked before Gus could figure a way to stop this rolling snowball.
“About all the shifters,” Laura said, blinking innocently. “I think I’m one of only two werewolves in town, but I can’t be sure. Everyone else seems to be some kind of bear.”
Gus dropped his chin to his chest in despair.
It was Betty who broke the silence. She laughed. Chuckling, at first, then laughing outright in loud guffaws as the rest of them joined in. Tears were running down her face as she looked at Gus.
“Oh, sonny, we knew about you all along. You’re not the only one who can sense things around here. We just never really talked about it. We figured, if you didn’t mention it, we wouldn’t bring it up.” She sobered slowly, as did the rest of the group. “You’re the Spirit Bear, aren’t you? The one my grandson keeps
seeing crossing the old stream by the giant sequoia grove.”
Gus was more than a bit uncomfortable. This was something he’d never thought would be spoken of aloud. He’d thought they would fear him, if his true nature was ever confirmed. Instead, they just seemed curious. Big John was going to have a canary when Gus filed his report about this later, but for now, he decided to go with it and see where it led.
“My Alpha’s going to kill me, but yes, I’m a Spirit Bear,” Gus confirmed. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders the minute the words were out. Huh. He hadn’t expected that. Maybe this was the right thing to do, after all.
“Grizzly sightings have been way up since you boys came to the area, too,” one of the men put in. “We don’t normally have that many big bears in the region, so we sort of put two and two together a while back. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” Gus’s voice rose to a very high pitch. He couldn’t believe this. Not in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined a conversation quite like this.
“I guess there are rules about revealing ourselves to non-magic folk, but I’ve never been this far south before, so I’m not sure,” Laura put in, trying to be helpful. “Up where I’m from, there just aren’t that many people, and most of the Inuit know all about us. It’s kind of hard to hide when many of my Pack find mates among the local people.”
“You carry the spirit of the white wolf,” Fern said, as if it was something she said every day. “And something else. This fey, you mentioned? Is that like fairies? Little winged things that flit about doing magic?”
Laura tilted her head, as if considering. Gus couldn’t wait to hear how she was going to handle this one. The conversation had taken a surreal turn, and he didn’t know how to get it back to normality.
“I’ve never seen a full-blooded fey, myself. Just my extended family, who carry the blood in various stages of dilution. I’ve been taught that the fey are not of this realm, but they can sometimes travel between realms to affect things here. One of my ancestors was fey, and his magic shows through in each generation. It is said he was tall and blond, paler than the most fair-skinned human, with blue eyes and pointed ears. He was a warrior who fell in love with my ancestor and stayed here in the mortal realm with her, while she lived. He was highly magical, and therefore, so is my line. The magic bleaches our color out a little more, the older we get. I was born with brown hair and much darker skin. My eyes were always light because I’m a white wolf, and many of us always had light eyes.”
“So, you are more Native than you look,” Ray stated rather rudely. Then, the man laughed. “Heck, you’re probably more Native than I am.” He continued to laugh as he sat back in his chair. “She’s okay with me, if you want to give her the job.”
That seemed to galvanize them all into a vote. In short order, Laura was confirmed as the tribe’s agent to sell their artwork and jewelry in Gus’s gallery in Grizzly Cove. He couldn’t believe it had all happened so fast. He also still couldn’t believe how easily they had accepted what should have been forbidden knowledge.
CHAPTER FOUR
Without even asking, Justin Tall Pines, who was the youngest member of the tribal council and represented the artisans of the group, went back to the Jeep. He came back with two boxes filled with items the artists had entrusted with him to sell outside the tribe. Precious silver and turquoise jewelry. Small art pieces. Handsome dream catchers with feathers and beads. Lots of pretty things that would sell well to the tourist trade.
Betty and Fern took charge of showing the items and explaining their origin to Laura. She appeared to be listening carefully and handled each item with great reverence, as the rest of the group watched closely. Gus could see minute nods of approval as she asked pertinent questions that helped her understand the items better.
When they came to a small selection of carved horn, she didn’t need any coaxing. Laura explained that she was very familiar with the art of scrimshaw. In fact, it was something she had done many years ago, as a young girl and on into adulthood. She sounded truly excited for the first time since Gus had met her. Perhaps he could get her started on carving again. Maybe it would be therapeutic, and also, maybe it could be a way for her to make a little extra money, since that seemed to be a major problem for her, just now.
The elders seemed to agree. Justin went back to the vehicles and returned with a small box of antler pieces. He gave the box to Laura with great ceremony.
“I collect antlers when they drop,” he told her. “Maybe this is enough to get you started carving again.”
Laura looked touched, and Gus could see there were tears in her eyes as she accepted the gift. She thanked Justin and promised she would not forget the kindness he had just shown her. Gus knew she would look for a way to repay the man—whether in cash or in barter goods. It was just her way.
“I have some carving tools you can borrow,” Gus told her, and everyone seemed to approve of the idea. They opened the box with the dessert in it—a confection of honey, nuts and dried fruits—and they shared it around while everyone talked.
Gus had never felt more welcome among these people. There was still a bit of reserve between them, but they were more open and relaxed now, than they had ever been with him. Perhaps that was Laura’s doing. Either her presence here had made them loosen up, or, more likely, her candor had brought the secrets out in the open and made everyone more comfortable with where they stood. As they ate dessert, Gus felt the need to clarify a few things with everybody.
“Just so we’re clear, there is a very strict prohibition against shifters discussing our true nature with humans,” Gus told them during a lull in the conversation. “Please don’t go telling everybody about us. That could bring a lot of trouble to more than just this town, but to many innocent people, all over the world.”
“Oh, don’t worry about us,” Betty told him. “Who’d believe us anyway? Most of the outside world looks at us and thinks were just a bunch of crazy Indians who believe in hocus pocus.” They all got a good laugh at that.
“All right,” Gus allowed, smiling to soften his words. “But it’s really important. Laura has been…well…out of circulation for a long time and isn’t from anywhere even remotely around here, in the first place. She wasn’t aware of our traditions and restrictions. I can’t blame her for speaking the truth, but it really isn’t done.”
“We understand,” Ray piped up. “But it’s better to have the truth between us, at last. We liked you from the start, even before we guessed you had the bear spirit within you. You have always honored our ways, and you have been making a good effort to help our people. We respect that. And we appreciate the respect you have shown us in return.”
Gus was floored by what had happened, but as the luncheon drew to an end, he thought it had turned out about as well as he could have hoped. The elders had not only approved of Laura…they adored her. They had also been more accepting about the revelations regarding himself, and magic in general, than he ever could have dreamed.
He still wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this all to Big John, but he’d find a way. He’d especially try to find a way that didn’t implicate Laura. She hadn’t realized what she’d said could be dangerous. Maybe it was a cultural difference. Or maybe it was just those many years she had spent essentially comatose and under enemy control. Whatever the reason, Gus wanted to cut her some slack. He wasn’t sure the rest of the Clan would be as understanding.
The words had been said. The tribe was aware. The die had been cast. What happened now, was anyone’s guess.
Laura felt like she drifted through the rest of that day. After lunch, Gus had taken her back to the hotel, only to give her a chance to pack her things and then take her straight over to the apartment. She felt like she was living a dream when he left her at the apartment with a promise to return to pick her up for a celebratory dinner later. He gave her all the keys to the building and free reign with the premises. He’d shown her where the mast
er switches were for things like the electricity and the water main, then left her to get settled.
She didn’t have many possessions. Just the few things she’d gathered since waking. Some clothes that had been donated to her by the townsfolk. Some that had been gifted to her by her daughter. A few basic toiletries. Not much to show for a life, but she was slowly getting a foothold on being human, again.
She had stayed in wolf form a very long time. A wolf’s needs were much simpler, but it was nice to be walking on two legs again, even if there were a lot more rules and requirements of this form. She felt bad about blurting out the news about shifters and her fey ancestry in front of the elders. She hadn’t been around non-magical humans in so long, she hadn’t really thought about it, but she knew she’d broken shifter law. She was just lucky the people she’d informed had already suspected and could be trusted not to go blabbing to the rest of the mortal world about the existence of shifters living among them.
She felt a lot better about her prospects after meeting with them. She had liked the elders. They all had a good feeling about their spirits. Good auras. She would enjoy working for the betterment of their people, and she had come to tears when that one man—Justin—had given her the box of antler pieces for carving. What a sweet, sweet man.
Gus had thrown a few carving tools into the box with the antlers before they’d left his home, and she couldn’t wait to see what she had. She had missed the quiet times when she could just create something pretty and let her imagination run wild. She had learned to carve on bone as a young girl and had become good enough that the hunters would give her walrus tusk to work with on occasion. She had loved carving ivory, but Justin had mentioned how it was illegal now, except in rare instances.
That was a good thing, to her mind. Too many animals had been slaughtered by mortals, just for their ivory. At least when her people took an animal—a walrus or a caribou or whatever else they could find—it was done with respect, and because they needed it to survive. They didn’t let any part go to waste. It wasn’t done for sport or for ivory. That kind of killing wasn’t right, in her mind. Her wolf spirit was a true carnivore, but that killer instinct was tempered by her human side, which abhorred killing just for the sake of killing.
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