Bear Naked 4: The Sons of Garm

Chapter 50

Connor felt panic rise as he half led, half dragged Amanda back towards their camp. What had Erica been thinking? She's crossed a serious line, insulted the Fleischers and antagonised Fenrir. He could tell from the reaction of the other Fleischers and from the look on Fenrir's face that there would be trouble, soon and hard.

Underneath he couldn't help but feel a certain pride. It had been an amazing fight. If the other tribes had thought that the Leidulf cause was a hopeless one, they would be re-evaluating that now.

But over Myrna? That was another sticking point. Connor felt more than a little pity for the slave woman, any of them. But Erica had risked a lot for that one. Was she worth it?

He still wasn't sure if he wanted to scream at Erica for putting them in this position, or cradle her, tell her he'd protect no matter what. When they entered the pavilion, Soldier had just finished setting her broken arm and was splinting it. She looked pale, on the edge of passing out. He decided on the latter course of action. He put his arm around her neck, careful of her many wounds and kissed her forehead. "What ever comes, we will protect you."

"That was one incredible fight, girl," Soldier said as he finished his work. Sarah, who was behind Erica, tending a wound on her back, made noises of agreement. "They will be talking about that fight for generations." There was a light in his eyes, clear excitement in his face. It was so rare, he was usually so closed down.

Myrna was helping dress a wound on Erica's legs. "Mistress is truly remarkable," she agreed, her voice filled with reverence.

"It was a dangerous, foolish thing to do," Arthur contradicted. "If you had to fight that bastard, so be it. But why did you have to fucking win?"

Connor stared at him. "Are you saying she should have lost?"

"Yes! She could have gotten her aggression out, proved her point. But to beat the enforcer himself? After Fenrir brought him for the exact purpose of proving his strength. There is no way left for them to save face now."

"You know what?" Connor snapped back. "I'm sick of his face. Fuck him. He's proven over and over that he has no interest in any compromise short of him being named king. And we already know we won't agree. If it comes to war, that's on them. We aren't trying to start shit. We just want to be regular law abiding people."

"And that's what you will tell the elders? When you explain how you got our tribe into a war with not one, but several larger wolf tribes?"

"Yes," Connor said. "I will say, they are drug dealers, traffickers and worse. We can't go on pretending that peaceful coexistence is possible. If they want to come north, we must face them."

"I agree," Aaron said. "Look, Arthur, I am the first to preach peace. But we've seen what they are. Besides we've done what we hoped to accomplished. We aren't the only ones with doubts. Fenrir, the Fleischers and the Negelman will all make some new alliance. So what? We've known they would for some time. The others, they don't want this either. And we've shown that it's possible to stand up to Fenrir."

"Yesterday I would have agreed," Arthur said. "But this pups little stunt has pushed it all too far. What do you think, they are just going to let us back out of this council? To save face they'll have to make demands. We'll have to give blood. I hope the slave was worth it." He threw this last at Erica as he stormed out of the tent.

"She is," Erica shouted at his retreating back. Myrna was staring at Erica with a peculiar expression. She doesn't see herself as worth it. The thought made Connor sad.

"Look, we all agree, there's likely to be trouble. Everyone stay close to camp. If any one goes out, go in pairs, at the least." Connor looked at Soldier. "That includes Arthur." Soldier nodded and left to follow his alpha.

Connor sat down next Erica, trying to think, trying to guess what sort of trouble was coming, how to avoid it.

Valerie approached them as well. "Saving Myrna was a bold move," she told Erica. "But this?" she reached over and touched the collar that Myrna now wore.

"Myrna," Erica said. She reached out with her good hand and brushed Myrna's cheek. "Get your stuff from the tent. The tent, too. Bring it all here. You'll be staying with me now." She gave a Connor a look that was half defiance and half pleading.

He nodded. "What ever trouble comes, let's not undo what good can come of this. Jonathan? Keep an eye on Myrna, okay?" Jonathan nodded.

When Myrna was gone, Erica met Valerie's gaze. "You were right, okay?" she said. "You and Robbie and everyone. She's a slave. She's been damaged psychologically by years of abuse. I know that. Maybe she can be helped, recover, maybe not. But you're right, she's a slave."

"And you think it's a good idea to make her wear your collar?" Valerie's voice was heavy with judgement.

"It's all she knows," Erica insisted again. "I can't reach her any other way. She doesn't know any other life. So, fine! I'll meet her halfway. I'm not going to start abusing her. I just..."

"Want to make her safe," Amanda said. "And you think this will make her feel safe?"

"Yeah. In time, she'll be stronger and then she can be free, truly free. But if this is what she knows, what she needs. I'll do it. For her."

"Oh, Erica," Amanda breathed. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

Connor bit back a snort. This was the king of all bad ideas. But looking at Erica, at the intensity in her eyes, he knew now was not the time to discuss it. "We will talk about it later," he said. "Erica needs to rest. To heal. We need to be careful, but we also need to find out what's going on. Come'on, let's all go outside and let her rest."