According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. 根据传说的内容，我的曾祖父曾经认识他们中的一些人。

He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." He rolled his eyes. 他和他们订下了条约，让他们远离我们的土地。”他转了转眼睛。

"Your great-grandfather?" I encouraged. “你的曾祖父？”我鼓励着他说下去。

"He was a tribal elder, like my father. “他是部落的长老，和我爸爸一样。

You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf—well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. 你知道，冷族和狼是天生的死敌——嗯，好吧，不是普通的狼，而是那些可以化成人形的狼，比方说我们的祖先。

You would call them werewolves." 你可以称他们为狼人。”

"Werewolves have enemies?" “狼人会有敌人吗？”

"Only one." “只有一个。”

I stared at him earnestly, hoping to disguise my impatience as admiration. 我诚恳地看着他，希望能掩饰住自己不安，让他理解为钦佩。

"So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. “所以，你看，”雅克布继续说道。“冷族向来是我们的敌人。

But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. 但在我曾祖父的时候，我们的领地里来了一群不太一样的冷族。

They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did — they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. 他们不像别的冷族一样狩猎——他们也不会威胁到我们的部族。

So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. 所以我的曾祖父和他们签下了休战协定。

If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." He winked at me. 只要他们保证离我们的领土远远的，我们就不拆穿他们苍白的真面目。”他向我眨着眼睛。

"If they weren't dangerous, then why… ?" “如果他们并不危险，那为什么……？”

I tried to understand, struggling not to let him see how seriously I was considering his ghost story. 我试图理解他的话，但努力不让他发现我在认真地思考着他的幽灵故事。

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. “人类和冷族靠得太近总是有风险的，即使他们像这个小团体一样已经文明开化了。

You never know when they might get too hungry to resist." 你永远不能知道他们什么时候会忍耐不住饥饿。”

He deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone. 他故意让自己的口吻里带上了浓浓的恐吓的味道。