"Horse? My husband had dogs pull his carriage because he said horses did not like the smell of his family. If you are what you say then how do you have a horse?" Sophronia asked growing suddenly suspicious.
"It is good for you to have such a questioning mind. I suppose if I was in your place I would be equally wary. Our horses are specially bred. We keep them with us from the moment they are born. Their natural fear of predators is much less than normal horses but they also go through intensive training. I can transform into my were-self beside my horse and he will be steady. I will say that using dogs is brilliant for werewolves. I can see why they thought of that."
"You are not a werewolf?" Sophronia asked backing away from him. There was not much space until her back hit the wall of the cellar. He could still reach her if he tried and she knew there was no chance of escaping him but the distance between them was comforting.
"No. But we are much alike. If I show you my nature will you trust me and allow me to take you somewhere safe until I can reach your people?"
Sophronia remembered the sheer terror of seeing Nathaniel's true self. She did not want to see what this man was, if she was honest, but it would be the only way he could prove his truthfulness. She nodded steeling herself against the wall.
The man before her sighed. She could tell he wanted to show her his nature as little as she wanted to see it. Still, it was the only way she would feel confident following him.
"As you are aware I will need to strip off my clothing for this. I ask that you close your eyes," he said.
Sophronia already did not like being in such a small space with a stranger and to have it be a naked stranger with her would be even worse. Still, if he had meant harm either on her person or virtue his size would have made it impossible to prevent.
She squeezed her eyes shut as his clothing rustled.
"My name is Adam, by the way," he said.
"I am Sophronia Wolstenholme."
"I have heard the name Wolstenholme before though I could not tell you from where. I expect my alpha will know."
"Is he a good man?" Sophronia asked. Naturally, Adam would think he was good if he had to follow him but hearing him say the words might just ease the fear in her stomach.
"She is a good woman," Adam said with a chuckle.
"A woman?"
"Yes, but we have no time at the moment for explanations on clan structure. I am going to turn in a moment. I will touch your hand in my new form and you may open your eyes and look upon me. Then, for both of our modesty, close them again. We must hurry. If your sister-in-law knew you were following her she might have given you away already."
Sophronia was not sure why Adam was so convinced she was in danger but she decided to humor him for the moment. If he thought that the place Vivian had gone was not safe then she did want to exercise caution. A world where werewolves were real was terrifying and she knew that she had no idea how to navigate such a world. How would she even know if she was in danger if she had not realized she was making love to a werewolf?
She felt a rough softness against her hand and she opened her eyes. Adam had been dark before but now he was little more than a shadow. He stood up on his hind legs and his head grazed the cellar ceiling.
The sight of a massive bear before her made her knees tremble. She felt faint but since she had somewhat prepared her mind this time she was able to maintain consciousness by squeezing her eyes shut and leaning more heavily against the wall. A moment later she heard clothes rustling again.
"You handled that better than I supposed. You can open your eyes now," Adam said.
She did as she was told. Adam was again before her. There was no indication that he and the bear who had been there a moment before were the same being but she knew that they were.
"It is a bit less jarring the second time," Sophronia said though her breath was ragged as she tried to use her mind to overcome the fear that flowed through her body.
"Now, will you come with me willingly?" Adam asked.
Sophronia nodded. There did not seem to be any other choice she could make.
The Captain handed Nathaniel a cup of tea and he took it. He and Mercy were seated together in the Captain's cabin. The first mate was presumably overseeing the maneuvering of the ship.
Captain Snow looked much as him name suggested. He had a white mustache and a beard that hung down to his protruding belly. The hair on his head was little more than white tufts.
His hands were calloused from years of hard labor. There were large gaps where missing teeth now allowed the stem of his pipe to sit unobstructed.
"One of my men heard you inquiring about furs being transported by our boats. You know that we are not the only crew who skirts the law do you not?"
"No disrespect was intended," Mercy said quickly. Nathaniel had not intended to open up their business to the crew but when there were questions about why Nathaniel needed his sister to guard him during the moon their story had come out. He had decided that if their secret had to be revealed they might as well use it to their advantage and see if there was any knowledge to be gained from the sailors. If anyone knew about illegal dealings it would be them. There was rarely anything that happened at the ports that seamen were not aware of whether it involved their own ship or not. Strong ale and loose women tended to make tongues wag. He had thought about stopping at a local whorehouse to ply the women there for information but he did not want to expose his sister to such women. It was bad enough that she had to be on a ship where the only other female was the Captain's "sister". Nathaniel had little doubt that sister or not she was a woman there to keep up the morale of the sailors.
"There have been rumors. I would be willing to share what I know with you. If the price was right," Captain Snow said.
"We brought very little coinage with us. This journey is about retrieving my wife and bringing her home safely."
"Still, your father is a man of money and power. If you say that the information I have would be worth something to him I will take your word for it," Captain Snow said.
"I am sure that my father will be willing to pay you what the information is worth," Mercy said.
"Though if you know what rascals are behind this how can we be sure that you will not assume their pockets are deeper and hand us off to them?"
"I assure you that their pockets are deeper. Still, it is hard to say if those who are in contact with the likes of us are able to reach into those pockets. Do you take my meaning?" Captain Snow asked.
"The men who get their hands dirty do not have access to the money of the leader," Nathaniel said to Mercy. She nodded in understanding. He had hoped that the operation was nothing more than a few scoundrels who had decided that werewolf fur was a commodity. He had not imagined it might be bigger than that. He groaned. If it was a sophisticated operation it would be harder to stop. One or two men he could conquer. A whole organization was another matter indeed.
"Not too shabby for an aristocrat," Captain Snow guffawed.
"The names of petty villains are not worth my father's time and money," Nathaniel said.
"I would not think otherwise," Captain Snow said.
"Tell me the name of the man in charge of this abominable business," Nathaniel said.
"Have you ever heard of a man named John Jacob Astor? He is an American now though he was born a German if I am not mistaken. He is well known for being rich from the fur trade," Captain Snow said.
"I have heard of him. I also know that he left fur for real estate. I would hope a man with your contacts would have heard that," Nathaniel said.
"He appeared to leave the fur trade. Rumor was that there was little money in it. Apparently a beaver pelt does not go for what it once did. He did indeed buy into real estate. I am not saying any of those things are not true. What I am saying is that when he left the fur trade he did not give up all of his contacts. In fact, he might have been happy to leave the beavers to their damns but there is still money to be made in more u
nusual pelts. Werewolves might be harder to catch than otters or minks, and of course are much more dangerous, but the reward is far grander."
"You are saying John Jacob Astor is still in the fur trade but has become specialized?" Nathaniel asked. In a sick way it made sense. Who else besides a fur trader millionaire would have the contacts to pull off such an operation? Killing and skinning a werewolf was no easy task. Transporting it across the ocean undetected took skill and money. Then there was the feat of finding buyers with the money for such exotic luxuries and a desire for such things. One had to be very careful to not offer his wares to the wrong person. At best he might be thought mad and at worst he might alert the were-creatures of the area and risk justice by their hands. Certainly appearing to leave the fur trade all together was a brilliant diversion.
Still, that did not explain how Astor and his operatives were infiltrating the packs and getting past the magic of witches. Knowing who was behind the operations was useful but it opened up more questions than it answered.
Chapter 25
Adam's horse really was as stoic as any animal she had ever seen. She had expected his clan to be nearby but it had taken them two days on horseback to finally reach the cleared land where various small huts were built in a circle. In the center of the circle was a fire pit lined with large stones. A dozen women and perhaps thirty children bustled about the inner circle and at the entrances of the huts.
Just past the huts was a fenced in pasture with twenty horses that all were unperturbed as Adam dismounted his horse, removed the riding gear, and opened the gate for the horse to join with his fellows.
Sophronia followed Adam to the largest of the huts which was at the northernmost part of the circle of abodes.
The hut itself was built of wood and dirt. The door was thin animal skins roughly sewn together. Light came streamed in from a window at the back of the hut that was covered with oiled paper. In the center of the hut was a circle of five women. They were seated on a large woven mat. Two of them were smoking pipes and all of them had mortars and pestle before them and were grinding various nuts, seeds, and grains.
All of the women looked up as they entered but only the one who had a bowl of pumpkin seeds before her rose.
"Brother, I was not expecting you for several more days," the woman said.
"Una, this is Sophronia. I found her snooping around near Seidel's residence. She had followed a werewolf woman there," Adam said.
Una reached out and took Sophronia's hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Then, she opened them again.
"It was wise of you to bring her here. We do not know all of what Seidel is capable of. If the woman she followed alerted him to this girls' condition there is no telling what might become of them," Una said.
"I need a few men to join me near the docks in case her people come looking for her," Adam said.
"Take whoever is willing to go," Una said.
Adam nodded and then left the tent.
"I will speak with her alone," Una said. The other women in the hut stood, grabbing their bowls, mortars, and pestles.
Una was not much older than Sophronia though she exuded power with every movement. She was dark skinned like her brother. Her hair was raven black and hung down her back. The features of her face were more angular and petite than her brother's and her height was barely more than Sophronia's. Still, Una made her nervous. She had no doubt that this woman was the leader of the bear clan and Sophronia knew she was at the other woman's mercy.
"You do not need to be afraid. My people would not harm you under normal circumstances but no were-creature would do you injury when you carry a were-child within you," Una said.
"A were-child?"
"You did not know you were carrying a child?" Una asked.
"No. How can you know that?" Sophronia asked. It seemed like Keturah had only just been born. How could another child be growing within her so quickly?
"Your scent is unusual. Perhaps it is easier for me to detect because I am an alpha and a woman. Your own pack would never have let you go if they had known. I know I would do all I could to keep a bear-child with my clan. It is a dangerous thing in these times for you to separate yourself from your people. I would like to think that no villain is unscrupulous enough to hurt a woman and her child but we have been following a man who orders the murder and skinning of others for profit. I am sure that there would be immense profit from the sale of a werewolf child to the right people. There are a few rich scientists who would love to have a were-child to examine. That is of course the best scenario. I can think of plenty worse things that a were-child could be sold for. I see that I have upset you. I am sorry. That was not my intent. Please, sit with me," Una said. She indicated the mat beside her. Sophronia sat down and Una handed her a mortar and pestle. Sophronia watched as Una took a large pinch of pumpkin seeds and began to grind them. Sophronia mimicked her movements.
"It was wrong of me to run away but I was afraid."
"Most of us are so used to what we are that we forget how shocking it might be to people who never knew that beings like us exist."
"I am not afraid anymore. Now, I only have so many questions," Sophronia said.
"I cannot answer for werewolves or all of were-kind but if you would like to ask I will tell you what little I know. Since you will be with us until you can be returned to your people we may as well be hospitable," Una said.
"I had no idea that there were werewolves or werebear. Are you the only ones?"
"I have met weretigers and werepanthers. I would guess that there are more of us though it is hard to say how many."
"Where did you come from?"
"My ancestors were Hopi and African slaves. It is from the Hopi that the werebear came. All of the pure African were I have met are werepanthers. The weretigers were all Chinese so I can assume that there is some geographical correlation between types of were-creatures though that is only guesswork on my part."
"I meant how did you become what you are?" Sophronia was not even sure how to ask the question that she had. The bible said that God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and that all people came from them. She was not sure whether she believed it but at least there was a story of how humans happened. How had werewolves and werebears happened?
"No one knows for sure and we all seem to have our own different stories. My mother told me that once, long ago; there was a mother who loved her daughter more than her own life. When another tribe attacked them the mother rushed her daughter into the woods and put her high up in a tree where she would be hidden. Then, the mother returned to her village to help her people fight. The daughter stayed in the woods for many days but finally hunger forced her back to the ground. She went to the place where her village had been but it was burned to the ground and there was not a soul left. The girl began to weep piteously for without a mother she would surely die too. A mother bear that had recently lost a cub was foraging near the edge of those woods and heard the girl cry. It broke her mother heart and so she went towards the sound.
The girl was afraid when she saw the bear for she was sure it would devour her but the bear spoke to her. She was still a young enough child that she could understand the tongue of animals.
The bear told her how she had lost her daughter and since the girl had lost a mother the bear offered to take her in and raise her.
The little girl went to live with the mother bear and eventually a brother bear was born. Since the girl had never learned the tongue of man or their ways and knew far too much about the bears the mother bear knew that the girl could never return to her people but she did not want the girl to be alone after she died either. So, the mother bear ordered brother bear to marry his adopted sister. Eventually, the children who were neither human or bear left the woods. They met others and began to live as humans do. Slowly the bear within them faded until they only became bear during the time of the full moon. The strongest of them could change their form at other times but it was d
ifficult for there had been so many generations between them and brother bear that they were more human than bear though part of their bear heritage remained," Una said. She poured the fine powder she had crushed into a bowl and grabbed more seeds.
"Do you believe that story?" Sophronia asked.
"I do not know. I suppose it is the best answer I have for why I am what I am."
"I understand why werewolves stay in such tight packs but I thought bears usually roamed alone," Sophronia said.
"Many bears do live alone but some gather to form sleuths. Still, we operate much more like the werewolf packs than bear sleuths. Werebears are drawn to each other. I can only guess it is the same reason most humans prefer to live together as well. There are few of us and we find safety in the numbers. Shortly after white man came to this land there was a meeting between werewolf and werebear. We found we were more alike than we were different and we made a treaty with each other to live in peace. Still, there is almost no mixing between us which is why we must try to return you to your own people."
Sophronia had thought of Nathaniel and the werewolves as "others" when she ran from the Wolstenholme estate. After listening to Una and learning that another werechild was growing inside her she realized that she had begun to see Nathaniel and his family as her own people.
Chapter 26
The boat arrived in the harbor just before daybreak. A few dockworkers ambled about but otherwise things were quiet. One of the ship's crewmen lowered a primitive gangplank and Nathaniel held Mercy's hand as they walked down the shaky wooden board.
"It will be hours before we can make traveling arrangements. The address I have for her family home is five days journey by stage coach. It will be a much longer journey on foot. I can send you ahead on stage since the horses will not be bothered by your scent. I can walk the distance though I am loathe to do so if there is any chance of finding a wagon pulled by a draft dog. I imagine they have them in America though I do not know who the local breeders are," Nathaniel confessed.
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