Bearing the Black Ice (Ice Bear Shifters Book 4) (2 page)

Twenty-four hours later, Alan was forced to admit that Hannah had been right. Snow and ice still covered the cave entrance, and he hadn’t heard a single peep that might suggest any of his clan members had come even close to where he sat waiting. To her credit, Hannah didn’t act smug or tell him she had told him so. He got the feeling that she was almost as disappointed as he was that his confidence in a rescue had been misplaced. Alan couldn’t imagine the hell she must have been through. The Blizzards were not known for treating anyone with even a modicum of dignity, and she had been at their mercy for months.

But he didn’t have time to sit here and dwell on that right now. He needed to figure out an alternative escape route, since a rescue didn’t seem to be imminent. As far as he could tell, he had two options. He could explore the cave in an attempt to find an alternative exit, or he could try to somehow surprise the Blizzards and get out when they came back for Hannah. Since, from what Hannah said, Black Ice Caverns were massive and difficult to navigate, a surprise escape when the Blizzards came back seemed like the best plan. He had a few extra changes of clothes, an emergency flashlight, a large bottle of water, and a few protein bars in his backpack. Not enough to satisfy his huge bear appetite, but enough to give him a baseline level of energy for a few days. He was willing to bet that finding a nearby underground stream to replenish his water bottle wouldn’t be a problem. The damp, cool cave seemed like the kind of place where water flowed in abundance.

“How long do they usually leave you here before they come back?” Alan asked.

“Usually only a day or two. Three at most. But I have a feeling this time it’s going to be longer.”

“Why?”

“They cut their torture session on me short yesterday. They’d barely started going at it, when one of their bears came in and started going on about how he thought it was close to time for the cub to be born. They all started whooping and going on about how this was their chance to avenge their brothers’ blood. I don’t know. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but from what little I heard, I gathered that they’re all waiting on a baby to be born. Which probably means they’re going to forget about me for a couple extra days. Thank goodness.”

Alan’s heart dropped. “Oh my god,” he said, springing to his feet. “They’re going after Kenzie’s cub.”

Hannah squinted up at him in the near darkness, clearly not understanding the significance of what he was saying. “Kenzie?”

“One of our clan members. Kenzie. She’s a human life mate to one of our shifters. When the Blizzards tried to poison us, only five of us made it out alive. Kenzie’s pregnant with the first Northern Lights cub since the poisoning. Her baby is the hope for the Northern Lights’ future, and the Blizzards know it.”

Hannah seemed unimpressed by Alan’s explanation for his sudden panic. “Okay. Well, surely, your clan members are protecting her? They must know that Blizzards will be trying to take out any new cubs, since they’re so hell-bent on eliminating all of the other clans around here.”

Alan turned his angry glare in Hannah’s direction. “Yes, of course my clan members are protecting her. They’re also no doubt trying to find me. They’re spread too thin, especially if all of the Blizzards are out here in this cave like you’re saying. The temperatures are dropping, and it won’t be long until any semblance of warmer weather is gone and the Blizzards are completely comfortable with leaving this cave whenever they want. Their heat sensitivity isn’t going to hold them back much longer. I have to get back to my clan and help them protect Kenzie and the new cub.”

“How are you going to do that? There’s no way out unless someone lowers a rope down the entrance up there. Trying to find your way out through the tunnels is almost certain suicide. This cave is a huge maze, and the entrances aren’t easy to see. The reason the Blizzards named it ‘Black Ice Caverns’ is that the cavern openings are as invisible as black ice on a roadway. And even if you don’t die of starvation while wandering endlessly through the tunnels, you’re running the risk of coming across the Blizzards. There are dozens of them down here. It’s obvious just from looking at you that you’re a really strong bear, but you are way,
way
outnumbered.”

“Look, Hannah, you’re not going to talk me out of this. My clan needs me, and I’m not going to sit here idly while the Blizzards close in on our newest cub. I’m going to escape, or die trying. And, I’ll tell you one thing—Kenzie isn’t due for a few more weeks. If the Blizzards are really planning to leave you here until the baby is born, you’re going to starve to death. I have a couple protein bars, which I’ll share with you if you want to come with me. There should be plenty of water in the cave. We can make it a week or so, I would guess. You can stay here and die if you want, but I would recommend taking some action and trying to escape with me.”

Alan crossed his arms and waited for an answer. He didn’t actually want Hannah to come with him. She would probably just slow him down, and having her along would cause his meager supply of protein bars to disappear even faster. But Alan couldn’t in good conscience leave her behind without at least warning her. He had no doubt that waiting around in this dank room would mean certain starvation.

But, despite his warnings, Hannah shook her head at Alan. “Hell, no. I’m not going down that tunnel into that death trap. You’re an idiot if you think you can get out of here alive.”

Alan shrugged. “Fine by me. I can move quicker without someone to babysit, anyways.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at him while he stood and started sliding his backpack straps over his arms.

“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” she said.

“Neither do you,” Alan said, and then disappeared down the tunnel. He breathed in deeply as he walked, trying to catch any faint scent of fresh air, or bears. But the only thing the tunnel smelled like was wet rocks. He carried his flashlight in his right hand, but only occasionally flipped on its beam. He didn’t know how long he would be down here, and he didn’t want to waste the battery.

Alan tried not to worry about what would happen if Hannah’s predictions came true. He was not too concerned about getting lost or starving. But he dreaded the possibility of meeting a huge horde of Blizzards. Alan had enough strength to single handedly take down five Blizzards, but even he couldn’t handle their whole clan by himself. He needed to steer clear of any corners of this labyrinth that might hold members of the Blizzard clan.

Alan’s heart tightened in his chest as he thought of his clan member, Ryker, who was the father of Kenzie’s unborn cub. Alan remembered losing his own unborn cub like it was yesterday. The look on his pregnant life mate’s face as she died in his arms haunted Alan during every waking moment. Nothing he would do would ever bring Tessa back, but Alan was determined to keep Ryker from suffering the same fate. And he was determined to do everything possible to derail the Blizzards’ mad quest to take over the Arctic.

Alan walked for the better part of half an hour with no sign of the tunnel ending. Just as he finally reached a spot where the tunnel forked off into two passageways, he heard splashing, pounding footsteps behind him.

“Alan, wait! I changed my mind!”

Damn it, it was Hannah. Alan didn’t want her along on this trek slowing him down.

And he didn’t want to admit to himself the way his heart raced at the sight of her beautiful face when he directed his flashlight’s beam in her direction.

Hannah could see displeasure clearly etched on Alan’s face when he swung around to acknowledge her running up behind him. His face softened a little bit when he aimed his flashlight at her face, but his expression still looked angry enough that Hannah almost wished she hadn’t followed him. Almost.

The truth was, Hannah had long ago resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die without ever seeing her clan again. They must have presumed her and her other two clan members dead. Otherwise they would have tried to come back for them by now. Hannah herself had no idea whether the other two prisoners from her clan were still alive. Hannah knew that, barring dumb luck, an excursion through black ice cave meant certain death. But after several minutes of contemplation, she had decided she’d rather die by looking for an escape route with Alan than by starving alone or being tortured to death. And at least this way she wouldn’t have to spend her final hours with a Blizzard.

Alan mystified her. Hannah had heard legends of the Northern Lights Clan. Everyone said they were the strongest polar bear shifters in the Arctic, and, looking at Alan, Hannah could see why. Even in human form, he towered over her. He wore a thick jacket, but that didn’t hide the fact that his arm muscles were the largest she had ever seen. No wonder the Blizzards were determined to take down any new Northern Lights cubs. The Blizzards were incredibly smart, but physically weak. The physical strength of the Northern Lights bears made their clan one of the biggest threats to the Blizzards’ plan of Arctic domination.

Alan hadn’t exactly warmed up to Hannah. He had been cordial enough with her, but Hannah could sense his standoffish attitude. She knew he didn’t really want her along on his little expedition, but she figured that his polite displeasure was better than the outright cruelty she had dealt with for the last several months. Besides, she hadn’t been able to get Alan’s eyes out of her head since the first time she swung her head around to look at them in the bottom of the first cavern. They were a gorgeous shade of violet, which even the dim light of the cave couldn’t hide. They complimented his chiseled face perfectly, and set hundreds of butterflies fluttering in Hannah’s stomach.

Common sense told her that now was not the best time to indulge in a crush, but her heart didn’t seem to be getting that message. She couldn’t stop thinking about the handsome, dark-haired bear trudging along in front of her, and wondering if they could have hit it off better if they had met under different circumstances. Oh well, a lot of things in her life could have been better under slightly different circumstances. All she could do now was make the best of the circumstances in which she found herself. And the best of these circumstances was watching Alan’s hot ass walking along in front of her.

They walked in silence for two hours, and Hannah let Alan lead the way the whole time. Whenever they came to a fork in the passageway, Alan would stop and sniff carefully in either direction. Hannah rolled her eyes at him, discreetly at first, and then with open derision. Everything down here smelled the same. Every path led to nowhere. Hannah knew this, but Alan seemed unwilling to accept it. At first, he ignored her mockery. But after about the fifth time, his patience had worn thin.

“What?” he snapped at her. “Do you have a better idea of how to navigate down here? Because I would love to hear it.”

Hannah shrugged indifferently, which seemed to only irritate him further.

“I should have just left you back there to starve,” he muttered, and took off down the left path.

“As opposed to leading me blindly through this maze to starve? Look, I appreciate the company, buddy. You’re charming, really. But don’t act like you’re doing me some big favor. We’re both as good as dead down here.”

“Speak for yourself,” he called back over his shoulder, quickening his pace.

Hannah had had enough. “Whatever,” she said to herself. “He might be gorgeous, but he doesn’t have much going for him besides his good looks.”

She started off down the path to the right in a huff. She knew she had triggered his display of hostility with her blatant eye rolling, but she still didn’t want to spend any more time with him if he was going to be so unpleasant. She’d had enough time to enjoy his good looks, and it was time to move on. She would find her own way.

After only about ten seconds of walking she realized she had no flashlight. She grimaced, but her pride kept her from turning back and running after Alan. So, she’d die in the dark. Whatever. Maybe it would be less scary that way, anyways.

Tossing her long black hair over her shoulder, she kept moving forward. She put one hand on the wall to keep her balance and stay aware of where the path was located. It was slow going, but what did it really matter?

Suddenly, she felt herself thrown backwards violently as a huge, furry mass slammed into her. A scream of pain escaped from her throat as she landed on a sharp rock and felt it digging into her upper arm. The scent of bear filled her nostrils and she roared in anger. How had she missed the smell until the Blizzard was right on top of her? Had she been that distracted?

Hannah didn’t have long to ponder the question. The bear roared and smacked at her with its paw. In the pitch blackness of the tunnel, Hannah couldn’t see where the next strike was coming from. She covered her face with her hands and roared. She needed to shift. She was going to lose her clothes when she did, which meant she’d be stuck in bear form in this freezing cold cave, but she didn’t have time to think about that right now. She’d be lucky to be alive after this fight, regardless of the form. She could tell the bear attacking her was huge just from the size of his paws.

With a quick burst of energy, Hannah shifted from her human form into a small, sleek polar bear. She snarled and snapped out with her teeth, trying to make contact with her attacker. She guessed where the bear stood and rammed into it at full speed, but he barely budged. He was huge. Hannah started to panic. She swiped wildly at the air in front of her with her paws, attempting to land one of her long claws on a vulnerable spot. But the other bear seemed unaffected by her efforts. Hannah roared and snarled in frustration as she grew more tired by the second. The other bear clearly had the upper hand, and he realized it. He seemed to be playing with her, amused by how little her attacks did and how easily he could knock her over with a whack of his paw.

But Hannah refused to give up, no matter how ineffective her fighting proved to be. She wasn’t going down easily. She lunged forward again, teeth bared, and was met with a particularly strong smack from the other bear’s paw. A pitiful yelp of pain escaped her throat as she felt her body making contact with the jagged rock wall behind her. She felt warm blood oozing from her right side, but she ignored it and stood back up. She lunged again, and the bear huffed in seeming amusement as he smacked her again with even greater force. Hannah cried out in pain as she hit the wall again, her soft, furry muzzle making contact with cold, hard rock. She saw yellow and green speckles in her field of vision as she started to lose consciousness.

The last thing she remembered before everything went black was the sound of the loudest roar she had ever heard echoing from somewhere further down the tunnel.