Bear My Babies

Thomas felt completely helpless as the witch chanted louder and Melissa cried. The were-bears standing all around in the candlelight were completely quiet as they watched, making him wonder what kind of strange rituals he didn’t know about. If his parents knew about these kinds of things, was it the reason his mom had tried to talk him out of it? There were so many questions he had and overall he was just filled with sadness that he’d never get to meet his child.

He dropped his head to his chest thinking he’d never felt like less than a man. Not being able to protect his family was the worst feeling and Melissa was his family. He loved her, truly loved her, and if they somehow got out of it, he would tell her exactly how he felt.

The light shone in from the door that blocked the entrance to the cave. At least he thought it was a cave judging by the rock they were surrounded by. There was a small party walking in, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Thomas was facing the door, but Melissa couldn’t see people had come in. The witch hadn’t stopped yet, but she was looking that way, which alerted Thomas to the fact that they might not have expected anyone.

“Stop this ritual immediately,” a loud voice boomed over the whole cave, echoing off the walls. Hilary stepped forward and stood in front of the rest of the crowd that had interrupted the ritual and Thomas realized his parents and brother were with them.

“The old way of our people is dying. This woman has found a way that a human body can sustain and deliver a were-bear. She has created advanced technology that may help us save our race. As I’m sure my brothers and sisters know, the were-bears are starting to become extinct. Our small gathering here is the last of our kind in the northern states and the rest of the country and world are dwindling in numbers.”

“What does that have to do with our tradition, Allen, our values?” One of the men separated from the rest of the ground and walked toward him.

“They are outdated and we have to start looking toward the future, looking toward preserving our race. This is not the way we should act in the face of a new discovery. This is not how we should act. We should embrace these changes as medical miracles and see it as a way to make our race stronger.”

“This is your doing, Hilary?” the man asked, looking up at her. “You’ve run to your father because you’ve got a thing for the were-bear who impregnated a human?”

“My half-brother is part human. He is proof that it is possible to successfully bring a were-baby into the world, and now that Miss Rancic has found a way to make it safer, there is no reason it shouldn’t be allowed.”

A loud gasp went through the crowd as everyone started mumbling to each other.

“As the acting leader of the New York were-bear community, I declare this ritual to be barbaric and forbidden.”

Thomas realized Hilary’s father had a lot of pull in the were-bear community and that by revealing their family secret, they had exposed themselves to ridicule. They’d done it all to save him and his child, and he couldn’t be more grateful. Blair cut his ropes and let him up.

“We’re going to talk about this later, Blair,” he said and ran to Melissa. “Babe, are you okay? Look at me.”

Melissa looked up her eyes swollen from crying and smiled at him. “I am now.”

“I’m so sorry to put you through this.”

“This isn’t your fault.”

He helped her stand up as his parents rushed over to both of them.

“I’m sorry, Son,” his father said. “I knew the society existed, but I didn’t know they still went by the old book. I certainly didn’t know they kept tabs on my family. There’s a lot we have to talk about. I should have been more honest with you. I should have let you in on my past. Your mother, too. She didn’t know everything until today.” He looked at his feet.

Hilary’s father walked up and put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Abraham and I go far back, but we had a falling out when we were younger. Your father didn’t want to take a leadership role in the society and struck out on his own. The elders who are never present for the ceremonies still keep tabs on all were-bears in the area and they were not keen on your situation, Thomas.”

“And you somehow convinced them otherwise?”

“No, Hilary came to me and told me what was going on and I contacted your father so we could attempt to stop it. I will have to deal with the elders in a separate conference. I hope they will see that Melissa’s research is as valuable as I see it.”

“Dad, this is a lot for me to take in,” Thomas said, having not let Melissa go since he’d helped her stand up.

“For now, you just need to get her out of here so she can get some rest,” AJ said. He’d been quiet through the whole ordeal and Thomas wondered if he knew about the society and his father’s falling out with them. “We’ll all have to talk about all of this as a family, but for now, you two need to get out of here and celebrate.”

He grinned really big and Thomas realized he was right. Getting Melissa the help she needed at the moment was all that was important.

“What did you do?” He grabbed the witch who’d hovered nearby. “What do we need to do to make sure she’s okay?”

The woman pushed him away from her easily and glared. “Listen to me bear, I was called here to do a job. It isn’t my fault that job happened to be erasing a fetus. The were-bi*ch will be fine. The baby hadn’t been erased yet and the liquid on her stomach was only the beginning of a very long ritual I still had better be paid for.” The last part was yelled as she looked around her. She sat down in the chair Melissa had been in and crossed her arms.

The crowd of were-bears appeared to not know how to act, some had left, others milled about in smaller groups whispering to one another. Thomas decided he had no desire to know the people in the society or be a part of it. Once they made their way outside of the cave, his mom pulled them both into a tight hug and squeezed.