His One and Only

Chapter 14

Mira was recovering well and got a new job in cutting and curing the meat the men caught. The village women cooked meals for them so she didn't need to be a cook. All the other manual work was way too physically hard so this was the only job left.

Mira wasn't squirmish when it came to raw meat so she didn't mind the job one bit. Samuel was a part of the hunting and skinning crew. Today, they had caught a surplus of critters from deer, rabbits, racoons, and even two moose.

"Samuel. Come sit with me while you skin those animals." Mira called out to him.

Samuel was surprised but complied.

"Part one of my revenge. I need to get some information from you." She talked while cutting the meat off the bones and into long stripes.

"Information? That doesn't really sound like revenge to me."

"Sshh. I make the rules."

"I mean hey, I'm not complaining about having to talk. What do you want me to talk about? OOooo do you want to know the Commander's dirty secrets?? I've known him since I was just a cub and I know everything about him. Did you know that he in fact is..." Samuel started to lean in and whisper. "A lightweight when it comes to drinking."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Honestly Samuel that is so dumb-"

"No, I'm serious. That tall hunk can only handle a few pints of beer and a couple of shots before he is totally wasted."

"This has no- wait really?? Even I can drink more than that."

"I know right? He is one of the biggest guys around but the smallest when it comes to alcohol. Ooo I even know when he lost his virginity-"

"Okay okay wait now this is all very interesting but this is not the topic I had in mind. What I really want to know is about your Grizzly culture and ways."

"Oh. like what?"

"Like everything. To be honest none of your ways are even remotely close to our Wolf ways."

"Fair enough. Okay let's see where to start.... Well we are the Grizzly Clan of the North. There are four bear clans. The Panda Bears of the East, The Brown Bears of the South, and the top Clan, The Polar Bears of the Arctic. That being said I've only met a few Polar Bears escorting the now Queen Alasie to be wed for a peace treaty. You see we bears are anything but social. We don't really like other people, hell we don't even like each other in the Clan. That's why every family has their own Den. I hear you guys have a "Pack house" where everyone lives in the same building?" Samuel shivered a bit.

"That is like every bear's worst nightmare. That being said, our Clan bond is very important to us. That's why we have our fire pit and seating area in the center of our villages. We believe it's the Clan's bond to each other that makes us strong and should be a core value in us. Another core value is our life partner or what we call- Our One and Only. Now One and Only's are very important. You guys say the Moon goddess chooses everyone's perfect matching partner called..."

"Mates." Mira interjected when he forgot the word.

"Yes! Mates. Well we choose our partner ourselves BUT... after the bonding ceremony we believe our souls become tied together forever. That includes this life and the next. So divorce and getting bonded to another if the first one dies is unheard of. That one partner is your One and Only forever. Most choose their partner due to love or a deep bond but some families choose for status gain. Like King Magnus is searching for his daughter's one and only. He says she can choose herself but he would never accept a Grizzly that wouldn't benefit him or at least produce a powerful bloodline of cubs. Speaking of bloodline, that's what Commander's family has done for centuries. He comes from a long line of warriors who have only chosen the most powerful female Grizzlies to guarantee strong cubs. I hear his Grandfather held a competition for all the female Grizzlies and he bonded to the one who won first place against all the other females. That being said it is believed that the Commander is one of the strongest Grizzlies in history so I guess his family's plan worked. You know he basically bit the head off of another Grizzly when he was a Grizzly? Most don't believe it but I saw it. Oh and about our Grizzlies. We believe they are a sacred spirit dwelling in us and we don't shift into them very often. Our physical form is very strong and capable of handling most situations and even fights. Our Grizzlies are very powerful beings and can cause a lot of destruction so it's best to not bring them out too often."