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Russel
I don’t hang my head, but I feel shame nonetheless. I promised them an answer, and when they arrive, I have to confess I have none. All I can tell them is something they already know, that killing humans isn’t an option.
Then, I do something that no Alpha in my memory has done. I ask for their opinion instead of rendering a judgment.
They are silent for a while. They don’t judge me or think ill of me. They know that this problem is unique and that no one can be expected to find a solution right away. Still, I can tell they are disturbed that their Alpha doesn’t know how to rescue them from this, and the stoic look they wear does a poor job of hiding their fear.
“What if we gather in force?” Jacob suggests. “When Animal Control comes, there will be too many of us, and they’ll be forced to abandon the project.”
“They won’t abandon the project,” I say, “they’ll just come back with heavier weapons.”
“What about the river?” Caleb offers. We can drag logs to divert the river. Without water, this land is useless to them. When they move on, we can remove the logs and reshape the river.”
I am smote with pain and compassion for Caleb and the other bears. Charles, the other young bear, looks up hopefully at that idea. Jacob and Jeremy, the older of the bears, look downcast like me.
Caleb and Charles have lived their entire lives within the woods. It’s quite possible they’ve never shifted to human form before yesterday. They are thinking of this as a threat from another animal. They don’t understand that humans don’t need a natural source of water. They don’t even need a source of water at all. They can treat wastewater to make it fit for consumption. In fact, when the developers do arrive, one of the first things they will do is divert the river and erect concrete walls to anchor its path and prevent the possibility of flooding.
I explain this gently to them, and their faces fall.
“Perhaps we can simply persuade them to abandon the project,” Jeremy offers. “We can pretend to be a native tribe and say this land is sacred to us. We could appeal to the courts.”
“The courts will want proof,” I reply. “They won’t take it at our word that we are natives. Even if they did, there’s no guarantee that they will support the claim. The United States has a long history of appropriating native land. More likely than not, they will simply coerce the developers into paying us a large some of money. That might be useful in the relocation process, but again, they’ll want to see some evidence that we are who we say we are.”
“So then what options do we have?” Charles asks, growing irritable. “We can’t simply give up, Alpha.”
I don’t respond for a moment. What I have to say weighs very heavily on me, but I have to say it. They are my people, and it’s my duty to protect them, even if it means relating painful truths.
“I’m afraid we may have to, Charles.”
A silence falls, and it’s an oppressive and heavy silence. After a moment, I meet their eyes and say, “We are going to move. There is more land up north. There are other predators there, brown bears and wolves, but we can clear them out and claim the land for our own. It exists hundreds of miles from any human habitation. We can go there, and I will communicate with the wolf alphas to make sure we don’t encroach on their territory. We will be safe there.”
“But it won’t be home,” Caleb says.
“No,” I admit. “It won’t. But we will be safe.”
There’s another silence, and once more, I am the one to break it. “Break the news to the other bears. Give them twenty-four hours to prepare. We leave at dawn the day after tomorrow.”
The four nod acceptance. I think of Melody, and a sharp pain stabs me when I realize I must leave her again.
No. I can’t leave her. I realize now that what this really means is the end of my existence as a bear. I must now enter the human world so that she and I can be together. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but losing her is far more bitter.
I’ll tell the bears tomorrow. I’ll name Jacob as my successor. He is a good bear and will make a fine Alpha. I will spend as much time as is left me in my home before I give up the wilderness entirely and start a new life as a human. If I am fortunate, I will be able to steal small bits of time to remind myself of who I truly am.
The four leave, their expressions heavy. When they are gone, my phone buzzes. It’s a text from Melody. Business is taking longer than I expected. I’ll be back tomorrow. I love you.
Despite the heartache of the day, I smile at that.
I reply, I’ll await your return, my love.
I leave my phone and my clothing inside, then head outdoors and shift. I breathe deeply of the verdant scent of the soil, the pines, the spruce, and the firs. I hear the insects and rodents and birds busily navigating the world they and their ancestors have known for thousands of years, the forest that I once believed was timeless.
Soon, this will all be gone.
I walk through the woods, using game trails I’ve known since childhood, well-worn paths known only to bears and bear-shifters. Ahead of me, miles away, a family of red deer catches my scent. The stag knows I’m not hungry, but experience has taught him that the whims of predators are not to be relied on, so he moves his family onward anyway.
If they’re lucky, enough forest will remain for them to move on before humans in their endless drive to improve, mold, and reshape tear it all down and replace it with something built in their own image.
I reach the small spring where decades ago I played as a cub under the watchful eyes of my parents. My father taught me to catch fish here. My mother taught me to swim. Here I learned to be still and immerse myself in the tranquility of nature.
