Silver Moon - Were-Bear Fan Fic

Dan asked him what the problem was. "Don' rightly know, just feels rude to hit a young'un...and a girl to boot!"

He stroked his beard for a few moments. "Okay, look at it this way Grover. You know there are less than nice people out there. When they see a nice tasty morsel such as her what is going to be their first thought? Now I know she is stronger and faster than any human but if she doesn't know how to fight off an attacker she will probably get hurt. I don't want her to get hurt any more than needed and with good solid training it gives her a much better way of getting away relatively unharmed." When she growled at him he grinned. "Or as our wolves look at it, remove the problem and then walk away and have a nice slice of rare beef."

Dan explained that this was training, and Grover nodded. "I unerstan' just fine there Dan. Just can't find it in me to even think of harmin' this little thing!" Right at that point the wolf's kick found his groin! Grover growled and snatched her up by the nape of the neck and bent her over his knee and gave her five good smacks on her behind making her yelp more in surprise than pain!

"Let that there be a lesson to ya' missy!" He said sternly. She was sniffling as he held her gently by the shoulders so her face was level with his...her feet dangling a good foot or two off the ground.

"Just because you are strong and kin' kick and hit like an angry wildcat. There is always someone bigger and stronger than you...'kay?"

He let her go and Dan started laughing.

Julia remembered all this and was still surprised that Grover wouldn't meet her eyes. Gianni her daughter poked her head around the side of the big man's thigh and grinned at her mother.

"Hey Momma! I's got fish!" Gianni looked quite pleased with her accomplishment. She gave her mother a toothy grin that looked a bit silly since she had recently lost a tooth.

"You did! How many did you get?" Julia looked down at her precious and precocious child. She was actually quite pleased that Gianni had decided that Grover was a good guy. There was something about him that seemed to help constrain some of her boisterousness.

"I's got two! Gwover...uh...Mr. Brooks got eweven!" She blushed when she called him by his first name and started doing her typical twisting her toes on the floor as she glanced down for a moment.

Julie glanced away from her daughter to see Grover's face and he seemed to be an even deeper shade of red! Angie sniffed once further back in the kitchen and turned her head to see who was at the door and saw Grover standing there twisting the mouth of the fish sack in his big hands.

"Well...ahm...ehh....'eres the fish!" He said, thrusting the bag forward. Julia took it, and looked inside. Not all the wolves like fish, but they all liked a good trout noodle casserole.

"Would you mind staying to clean them Grover?" She asked quietly.

His face looked almost purple from her continued scrutiny. He was about to open his mouth to tell her that he had to get going. Anything to get away from her pretty eyes! Then Gianni suck the nail in his coffin!

"Please Gwo...Mr. Brooks? You can teach me how so I can catch and cook my own twout!" In her devious little mind she could see his interest in her mommy and the same back. She thought it was funny though sort of scary. She didn't remember her daddy but sometimes when she had been younger she had heard her mother crying.

He let out a groaning sigh that seemed to blow Gianni's hair from her face as he breathed out. It almost came out like a groan of resignation.

"Fine!" He growled. "Mama always tol' me women folk'll be the death of me! Dying a little bit more, one blush at a time! Fixing to turn my head into a boiled beet if I stay here too long! Prob'aly get so distractin' with all them women around cut my own finger off instead of the fish head. Dang blasted five year old she cub ordering me around with pretty blue eyes can't say no too! Gonna' break a whole passel of boys hearts when she gets older! Probably taking lessons from her mother to have pretty eyes like that. Make a man weak in the knees to see soft eyes and sweet smile...."

Dan was walking past at that moment and when he spoke his voice was low and rumbly. "And I will break parts off those boys if they don't treat her as a lady should be. I already have a large selection of shotguns I can use for intimidation." He gave a low deep growl, to himself, as he kept going.

Julia blushed now. She had really wanted to talk to Dan about spending some time with him but hadn't. Now it wouldn't since he had mated. "I have to admit I am not too worried about her breaking hearts so much as having hers broken."

Grover had been speaking in soft mutters to himself the entire time as he picked the appropriate knife for the job. Gianni had been following him with a small grin listening to him talk even though she didn't understand everything he had been saying it sure sounded funny! When he said that last part about her mother she gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. The noise woke up Grover to the fact that his mutterings were kind of loud. He glanced down at Gianni, then a look of horror crossed his face as he saw both Angie who had frozen in the process of drying her hands. Then saw Julia who appeared to be starting to blush as well...or maybe she was getting angry...or maybe she was embarrassed...or maybe...Consarnit!

"Gianni! Let's take the fish outside to clean 'em. Don' wan' to get the kitchen messy with fish guts!" He scooped up the little girl and deposited her on the back of his neck to hold on as he marched out of the kitchen door with the little girl looking back at her mother with a smile on her face.

~~~

That night, the cubs were invited to join Grover in the garden and they all lay out on blankets, ringed in by a wall of cornstalks and bean vines. Looking up at the clear night sky Grover pointed out the Big Dipper, and the Little Dipper constellations.

"You see that there? Many people over the years have used that ta' cross oceans, land masses, desserts and such. Many myths and stories come out of history and campfire tales."

Grover's voice had changed. The roughness gone from his voice and a soothing tone full of wonder and comfort took its place. The pups and young adults snuggled closer watching and listening as Grover spoke.

"Everyone sees the Big Dipper and Little Dipper as giant ladles, but if you look closely you can see more stars making a larger outline on both of them." The pups watched Grover raise his hands as if he could reach and touch those stars.

"The outline is that of two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Big Bear and Little Bear. Many different tales had been told of them, and most touch on the truth, but none of them cover it all."

"For the wolves, you are children of Luna, and subject to her changing face. For me, I am a child of the Ursa's. They travel the skies, always moving and showing the paths I am to take. They are my family and my calling." He said quietly.

"You never have a home?" One of the pups asked. Grover turned his head to pull the pup closer to himself.

"As long as I have a sky over my head, and earth under my feet...I am ALWAYS home!"

###############################

"Children should have a tire swing an' monkey bars an' a slide at least!" Grover stated firmly. Dan just shook his head. He had gotten used to Grover's attitude, and even though it rankled his wolf sometimes...even the wolf had to agree that he had a point.

"So you're going to, what? Build a jungle gym?" Dan asked, his hands on his hips and surveying the ground. Old railroad ties and logs were set into the ground and the area hand been filled with wood chips. Already it looked like a play area, the pipes and boxes of parts littered the ground and there was the corner of what looked like paper instruction poking out of Grover's bib pocket.

Grover blushed a little and coughed, looking at the ground.

"Im 'a...Dan...ya'lls been good ta me..." Grover began. Then he coughed and ran a finger underneath his nose.

Dan smiled slowly at the big mans discomfort; he had an idea where this was going. He had seen the big man standing under the stars watching the Ursa's and seeming to commune with them in some way. Dan didn't fully understand it, just like Grover did not fully understand when they meditated with Luna. But he knew something important was happening.

"I jus' wanted to give the young'uns something to 'member me by is all. Mos' kids want to clamber and climb on things and thought this might be a good way to kill two birds with one stone see?" Grover said quietly.

Dan crossed his arms and contemplated the man. He narrowed his eyes as he mulled over the time he had been here and had a feeling he knew why. At the moment he wasn't going to press him further. "You leaving...Grover?"

The big man looked down a little to meet Dan's eyes. "Yessir."

Dan waited...Grover shifted, then looked away. Grover never looked away, he had always said that if a man was honest and could stand on his own two feet that you always look another man in the eye, unless "You's was a hidin' somthin'!"

When Grover wouldn't meet his eyes for more than a moment Dan was rather surprised. He let his senses fan out very gently and sampled his emotions. So what was Grover trying to...Then Dan got it. "You weren't going to tell anyone!"

Grover looked even more uncomfortable and shamefaced.

"No sir." He muttered.

"Why not?" Dan pressed.

"Better that way." Grover muttered even more quietly. Dan waited, using silence as skillfully as he did his fists and feet, waiting for the big man's tender heart to press him into confession.

It worked.

"It's Julia..." Grover spoke, and his face turned so red it was almost purple! Dan waited, but Grover said nothing else and turned away to begin putting together the play area.

Dan wanted to press him more, but the stiffness of Grover's posture made him decide to wait. Grover would speak in his own time. Part of being Alpha was to know when to push and when to wait. When it was better to speak and when it was better to be silent. When to be a friend and when to be a boss. Dan settled for a nod. "Come talk to me before you make a decision Grover. This is going to have an impact on both Julia and Gianni. I will explain later as to why."

~~~

The day passed by quickly and as night began to fall, Grover was still working and since the chores were done the children gathered to watch him. The saw as he erected the slippery metal of the slide, holding it in place with his teeth and hands to keep it firm and then indicated the tools he needed with his foot. The little one helping him kept getting it wrong and would put the tool down and hand the big bear another until he finally got it right!

Dan saw Julia watching from a little distance away, she was standing upwind of the group and looked to be watching from the shadows. She had a slightly puzzled look on her face and looked to be doing some deep thinking. She smiled as her daughter took charge of the other cubs finally. She pointed out where to hold the slide in place and soon it was held still so that Grover could finish fastening it and bolting it at the proper angle.

Dan silently moved towards her since he didn't want to draw attention to them. Once he was close enough he made a slight noise so she would know he was there. When she met his eyes and looked down he gave her a nod.

"Watching Gianni taking charge again?" Dan asked quietly. Julia nodded, but she seemed a little distracted to him.

"Watching Grover as well? Worried about your little one?" He let a slight smile show as he leaned against a tree next to them. He was doing his best to seem casual and relaxed, just spending time with one of his wolves and nothing else. Since he was relatively relaxed he managed to pull that off.

Julia "psshed" her lips at the Alpha with a little smile. "I am more worried about Gianni ordering him around too much!" she said quiet laugh. "He is so good with all the children, young and old. He takes very good care of them and lets them play on him and with him for the most part."

Dan smiled as well and watched as Grover plucked a child away from the slide and scolded him since it was not safe to slide down with no guardrails.

"He is very good with the pups isn't he?" Dan observed watching Julia's face out of the corner of his eye. She glanced down at the ground and then continued staring at the scene of activity in the play area through her eyelashes.

"Please tell me what is on your mind Alpha." She said, her voice a little tight and sad.

Dan had to raise his eyebrows at her when she called him Alpha. He had finally gotten his pack to call him by his name so she must be really perturbed. She was one of the junior wolves of the pack due to her low dominance level. If Mari had still been there Julia would have been maybe three or four wolves more dominant. She was a quiet wolf as well and one of her main drives was to take care of Gianni.

"Do you have feelings for the werebear?" Dan asked though he knew the answer. He had felt some of what she had been feeling. Julia nodded. "What kind of feelings?" He asked.

This was all new territory for him. Kitsunes and Weres had felt the urge before between them. The calling of their souls to be one as Mates. But to have a were bear...he knew almost nothing about them, Grover being the first he ever met.

Julia turned to look at him again, her eyes looking heavy and only half lidded, for the first time he saw a little puffiness around them as if she'd had only a partial night's sleep.

"Does it really matter Dan? What I feel? I care for him, but he is too different, if he had felt the Mating pull wouldn't he have said something?" She turned to look back at the group and Grover was showing the little ones how to make sure the slide was safe with the metal squares being flush so they wouldn't rip their pants or their hides on it.

"Always I have been taken, never asked. Always with my eyes down being bent to another's will and want. Then along he comes, bigger than anyone I have ever seen and all I have to do is glance his way and he trips over his own feet!" Julia wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand and sniffed once.

Dan pressed slightly on his powers to help her relax some. "And that came to a screeching halt. No longer do you need to worry about that and you have come a great way from then. You are slowly working on rebuilding who you are and starting to find yourself." He had to snort slightly. "When I dealt with Nicholi you wouldn't believe the satisfaction I felt. I was a very angry and damaged wolf and that helped."

"I can tell he wants to be near me, but at the same time he keeps his distance almost like he is scared of me. My wolf is in awe of him...not fear, awe! When we first met, he hugged me, just because I gave him a big slice of apple pie. He put his arms around me and swung me around like a doll in the kitchen! I felt shock at how BIG he is, but I have never felt any fear towards him...none at all. He smelled of berries and corn and fish and pine needles and warmth...how can WARMTH have a smell? I have never..."

He smiled a bit more when she said it was almost like he was scared of her. "I wouldn't say scared so much as unsure. From talking to him he has been a loner for many a year. When he went to whatever town was closest he would go in, get what he needed and then leave. He simply doesn't know how to approach you and is scared that you might not find him attractive." When she muttered about warmth having a smell he snickered. "But it does. When I wake up next to Pam she smells of contentment, slight bit of sweat, as well as her love and affection towards me. That is what warmth smells like to me."

She choked for a moment and Dan put a hand on her shoulder and she turned into him throwing her arms around his neck to feel the comfort of his embrace.

When she turned to embrace him he gave her a good one before turning her so she was facing Grover as they talked. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and let her continue talking.

"Do you know what it is like to always feel fear when you meet a stranger? Then I meet him and I have never felt safer in all my life since my mate died! But there is no pull of my soul to his, and even...even if there were...what kind of mate would I be for him? I couldn't give him children...I couldn't..."

"Hush Julia, you would be a fine mate for any worthy male. Grover might be a bit rough around the edges and talks and acts differently than we are used to but he is a good man. I have sampled his dominance and his spirit and there is hardly a mean bone in his body. As far as children there is only one way to know." He snickered at her for a brief moment. "Consider that I have children with a Kitsune, a sort of Kitsune, a Spirit Animal, and a wolf. If the spirits bless you then it will happen but if it doesn't that doesn't make you a bad mate."

As far as the scared part he couldn't really answer that. "I can't really comment about being scared of meeting a stranger." He shrugged. "I have always been a mid-dominance wolf and above. Once you have taken over a pack you are one tough SOB. The only thing I have really been scared of was losing a mate. I have had two die or been killed. With Nang my children died with her. That I can say I do understand very well."

She dissolved into tears and held Dan close, breathing in her leader's scent and trying to relax. Dan raised his gaze to the group and saw Grover watching them yet still paying attention to the kids. Dan gave him a nod to let him know he had seen him. He swiped a large hand over his face, gave his head a shake and guffawed loudly at one of the pups trying to use a hammer to insert a screw.

"Are you sure he feels no pull to mate with you?" asked Dan as Julia began to calm down.

"I saw how Angie responded to her mate...they had never seen each other before and she jumped on him the moment she smelled him. I...I don't know what I feel Dan." Julia said quietly. "With my first mate before he was killed, it was like that. Maybe I only get to have one of those in my lifetime? I just know that...I want Grover to hug me again. I like him being with Gianni, she really cares about him. I see her sitting on his knee and ask him questions about everything, and my heart gets warm when I see her hanging on his neck as he carries her around." She sniffed again and nuzzled her nose into Dan's shirt. "What woman wouldn't want that for her child!"

"But he is a were-bear. Since both wolves and Kitsunes feel the mating bond but differently what is to say they have their own way of dealing with it." He rubbed his cheek against hers. "What you feel is confused and scared. I think you are scared of getting close to him as you were with your mate. As I said I know what it is to lose a mate and it does make a wolf who survives it rather gun shy. As far as how many mates we have, remember I had two before and have Pam now. I think you need to do what Mari did. She took Geoff away from the house and talked to him. She explained why she was scared of both him and the mating pull. As you know they are now mated and Mari is very pleased with it."

Dan thought about the situation. He needed to get back and do the rounds around the perimeter of the property. One of the sentries was sick and he opted to take the shift since one of the substitute's mates was sick and he was staying home. He saw Gianni wander off from the group, his ears heard her faintly saying she was going to find something and bring it back. Grover nodded his head and told her in his rough way to not be more than a minute or he would get after her for...lollygagging?

Dan smiled and then thought about what Grover had started to say, something about Julia in reference to his leaving. He wondered if he should mention it to his packmate. Maybe she could shed some light on...