Midwinter's Eve

"But, but, but... we're trying to conserve and preserve the species." The doctor looked at John confused.

"Ask her what would happen if you came into her house and tried to take her babies to split them apart... for their own good of course." John smiled at the woman.

"Only over my dead body!" She hissed, instantly understanding. "You've made your point mister, though I don't know how or why you're here. I've always thought there was a better way." She looked at her mentor with narrowed eyes.

"Me, I love Mother Nature." He smiled at Doni's snort. "I was just taking a hike out here where man hasn't completely fucked everything up yet. But, that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. There is more going on out here than you could ever understand, so be smart and leave it alone!" He warned them seriously.

"What's your name? I'd like to talk to you later." The woman asked, raising her voice, making the big female take notice of her. She flinched back at the guttural snort and the look in big bear's eyes.

"One, I'm married. Two, you don't ever want to tangle with my wife, you'd never win. And three, come back here next spring. If we happen to cross paths again, I'll start re-teaching you what you've forgotten. Until then, you might look up a guy by the name of Tallbear. Tell him John sent you." John smiled. "You are the only reason all of you are getting out of here alive." He pointed at her. "Well, I've got other business to tend to." He waved and headed into the forested area right under where the cub was watching everything. He looked up and told her, "Let me know when they have left the valley." and sat down under her tree.

As he sat there waiting for his family to be safe again, he wondered how he could accept everything that had happened to him over the last year. He knew if anyone ever told him the things he had learned, he would have called them crazy and ignored them. Sooner that he thought possible, he fell asleep snuggled against his wife, when she joined him under the tree.

*****

The three people walked slowly away from the nursing mother bear. The woman reached into her pants and was thankful this was her heavy flow day. She pulled out her bloody hand and smeared it down the front of the two men who were with her, ignoring their protests. She would also from time to time, put some on a tree as she past. She wasn't taking any chances. She hoped being part native helped. That maybe, just maybe, that small part might just get her out there alive. But, she felt the shift deep inside of her when it had happened.

Their argument lasted the complete five hour trip back to town and she knew it would go on for years to come. The scientist was screaming about scientific accountability, whereas the woman was taking a more naturalistic anthropological stand point, using the fact that the scientist didn't know half of what he thought he did. Their current predicament was used as proof of her point. So what, if she didn't get her degree from that school? There were others out there. She never realized what a dick her teacher was, until he showed his true colors and they ran yellow and blue.

*****

The next morning, John was woke up by his daughters' cold noses. "Daddy, time to get up." They licked his face. "Mommy, we're hungry." They whined and tumbled over their parents.

"There is a field of wild berries on the hill past the rock, go eat and come straight back!" John pushed their faces away from his.

"John my love, you are breaking so many rules." Doni sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you." She rolled out of her fur and snuggled skin to skin with him. "I shouldn't want the mating again this soon. The girls have so much to learn to survive, like how to find their own breakfast." She scolded him with a kiss.

"Remember, you are only part bear my love. The rest of you is a woman, who is in love with a man." He nuzzled her breasts. "I didn't ask for any of this, but I'm only trying to survive it." His lips found her nipple and started suckling.

"Oh, how I have missed you my lover." She moaned. "If you keep that up, my milk will never dry up." She pulled his head in closer, feeding her mate with her essence.

"You won't hear any complaints from me." He said switching between her nipples. With a simple movement, he slipped into her and the mating cycle started again. An hour later, the girls came wandering back to where they smelled their parents. They stopped just out of sight and looked down at what they were doing.

"What are mommy and daddy doing sister?" One asked, tilting her head. "Where is their fur?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't interrupt them." Her sister said and sat down in the soft grass. "You saw how mad daddy can get. He's the only one I ever saw beat mommy in the roaring challenge. Besides I'm tired from being in that tree most of the night." She lay down to doze, a butterfly landing on her nose, making it twitch.

Her sister joined her with a full tummy and wistful stare. "I like our Daddy. I hope we can see more of him." She curled up with her sister.

"Shut up noisy, I'm sleeping here." Her sister said with a big yawn and slight huff.

*****

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Tallbear asked John while they packed his big backpack.

"You heard her. I'm supposed to meet her here after the first chill wind blows in the late summer. I take that light dusting of snow as said first chill wind. Are you going to argue with her?" John looked around to make sure this was the same road he got lost on a little over nine months earlier.

"It's supposed to get over eighty today." Tallbear said, looking up at the crystal blue sky.

"Look, I have enough food and water to last a few days out here. Come back at the end of the week and see if I'm still here. If not, I'll let you know where to pick me up next spring. There is so much that I have no clue about other than I need her and she needs me. Half the time it just feels like a weird dream. I sometimes wonder if I'm still dreaming while freezing to death stuck in the snow bank." John put the last of his stuff in the heavy pack and reached out his hand. "Thanks for everything."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." Tallbear stood to his full height. Many of his years not lying so heavy on him any longer.

"Just keep my car gassed up and ready in the spring." John slapped him on the back. "Make sure the Forestry department warns everyone in these parts of the mountains that there are active grizzlies and to keep a safe distance." He warned his friend.

"I'll tell them, not that they'll listen." Tallbear shrugged. "So, you're just going to wait here until she comes and gets you?" He asked, looking around for the biggest bear he had ever seen.

"Yeah, pretty much. Have a safe drive down." John wanted Tallbear to leave. He knew Doni would not show herself to the other man again. He also knew she was watching.

"Okay, I'll check the cell phone every so often." Tallbear got back into his truck. "Part of me still thinks we're both crazy, but have a good winter." Reluctantly, he put his truck in drive and started down the mountain side.

John waved as the truck disappeared around the corner. "I thought he would never shut up." He felt Doni's arms wrap around him. He reached back and felt her warm skin and the dimples in her ass. "He talks more than the girls." She kissed his neck and turned him around.

"Hi honey, I'm home." John kissed Doni as she stripped him out of his clothes. "And what would people see if they drove by?" He asked tweaking her nipples as her milk leaked over his fingers.

"A man and his woman getting ready to mate." She moaned, cupping his manhood. "I missed this, my lover."

"Mmmnnmmmph" He said, his mouth full of her breast, swallowing the life giving fluid as fast as he could. She pulled him back so she could sit on the guard rail. Once there, she opened herself to accept his hard cock back into her body where it truly belonged.

"Oh, the girls are going to have to sleep in a different cave or they will never get any sleep this winter." She put her arms around John's neck and held on as he started thrusting himself between her legs. They locked behind his butt and he drove himself deeper and deeper until they were one again.

"Oh really...! Is that all you two can think about?" Eve's sharp voice interrupted them. "You do know that what you two do, nature mirrors for thousands of miles. If you keep that up, there will be more bears than people in this range in a couple of years." Eve scolded them from the other side of the road.

"You're just jealous sister?" Doni hugged her mate close and smiled.

"Not even... mine is coming." She sniffed disdainfully. "This winter I know of a Tallbear who is going to get entangled with some Whitewater. The result will be a Running Elk that might even be able to keep up with me. Of course that is why I let you have John. It's up to him to teach my future mate everything he needs to know." She sniffed disdainfully.

"Let me...?" There was a dangerous growl in Doni's voice.

"Well duh, would you ever come out of your cave if you didn't know I was after him sister?" She smiled. "Oopsie, I wasn't supposed to say that." She held out the bundle she was holding. "Here is your fur John-man, if you can let her go long enough to take it. You might need it this winter."

"Thank you Eve." John put his hand on Doni's lips to stop the snarl he felt building.

"I'm still mad at you for what you said about me, but you're forgiven I guess." She tossed the fur coat and scampered away. When she turned, John saw the four parallel stripes going across her backside.

"I'll teach her another lesson she won't soon forget." Doni growled ominously.

"Give her the win dear." He chuckled. "It's not that important. By the look of things, you've already had one family discussion." He shook out the long silver brown coat. "How do I put this darn thing on so we can go home?" He asked, looking it over.

"Like this..." She helped him and shook back into hers. Stay close and follow me." She said over her shoulder.

Down at the base of the hill, Tallbear was looking through his binoculars once he was sure they were finished saying hello. He saw two huge bears amble over the guardrail and shuffle out of sight. "What are you looking at?" A female voice startled him.

"Um, just watching a couple of grizzlies looking for their winter cave." He turned to look at the woman who had snuck up on him. "Hi, I'm Nathanial Tallbear." He reached out his hand.

"Susan Whitewater." She shook the old man's hand. "Are there many mating pairs of Grizzly in these parts?" She looked to where the man was looking. "I saw a huge pair with twin female cubs a few months ago. I never knew they stayed as a family unit together. I was told by a naturalist, who was there stopping us from separating the cubs, to look you up. He said his name was John." She said while they walked back to their vehicles.

"I've lived here my whole life and know a lot about what goes on around these parts. You can follow me to my place and we can talk about it." Tallbear smiled. "It isn't much since the missus passed on, but it's all I need." He shrugged, and got into his truck, started it, and put it in drive.

"Well, this could be a very interesting winter." Susan said, jogging back to her car, not waiting, and pulled behind Tallbear's truck to go down the mountain.

"And reproductive." Eve smiled as she watched them drive out of sight, before bounding back to her home not caring about her still smarting rump. Some things are worth the price you have to pay for them.

The Beginning!

*****

Postscript; Any and all editorial mistakes are mine and mine alone. I know I have received many anon, comments from frustrated English professors about them and yes I have an editor. But, please also remember the cost to quality ratio for the entertainment value you receive. So, having said that, please feel free to leave any constructive comments and vote. It is the only payment we writers on this site get for all of our hard work.

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