BEARing The Frozen Night (Ice Bear Shifters Book 1) (3 page)

He was watching her intently. He knew that she was scrutinizing his physical features, and he slowly, deliberately returned the favor. He let his eyes slide down her cheeks, onto her neck and around her shoulders. He lingered for several long moments at her breasts, hungrily taking in the view of her ample assets pushing tightly against her sweater. He licked his lips approvingly, and then let his eyes slide down her stomach. He paused at her navel for just a moment, then burned his gaze into the spot between her legs. Kenzie felt herself breathing heavily. He made no apologies for the fact that he was undressing her with his eyes. No attempts to hide it. When he finally let his eyes come back up to meet her eyes, there was no denying the glowing yellow. She should have been freaked out by the strange phenomenon, but somehow it put her at ease. It was as though his eyes were sending out some sort of magnetic signal, drawing her in, asking her to connect her body with his. Kenzie had never felt such a strong connection with anyone. She could feel her whole body growing warm, and tingling with the anticipation of desire.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he said, his voice husky and low. Kenzie blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. He reached over and took one of her hands in his. His hands felt just as strong and warm as they looked. She gazed up at him from under her eyelashes, willing him to lean in and kiss her. Please, she silently pleaded with him, let me feel your lips on mine.

But in a sudden, startling burst of noise, the front door to the pub flew open. A big, burly man who was just as large as Ryker stormed in and directed his angry glare in Ryker’s direction.

“Ryker, the boss wants to see you. Now!”

Kenzie looked up at Ryker, startled. Ryker’s face went pale, and he looked at Kenzie forlornly.

“I’m so sorry, Doc. I have to go.” He pulled a couple twenties out of his wallet and threw them down on the bar in front of her. “My treat on the drinks.”

Then he hurried out after the angry man at the door, not even stopping to get his parka fully on before stepping out into the frigid Alaskan air. Kenzie sighed as she felt her beating heart slowly return to its normal pace. The delicious, warm tingling that she had felt when Ryker touched her slowly seeped away. So much for finally getting to spend some time with a man. Kenzie took a last swig from her beer mug before getting up to go put on her own parka and head out into the night.

She had lost her desire for another round of drinks.

Ryker followed Tyler meekly to Neal’s tattoo shop. Ryker tried to think of a way to explain that his sitting with Kenzie at Northwinds Pub was not what it looked like, but it was a lost cause. It was exactly what it looked like. He was smitten with Kenzie. He hadn’t kissed her, but he had been on the verge of it. He knew he was playing with fire, but he felt unable to stop himself. Kenzie had awakened a part of him that he hadn’t known existed. He was experiencing deep feelings that he had never known before.

But Neal would not be impressed with Ryker’s feelings. Ryker sighed. Neal’s stubborn total ban on relationships with a human was going to bring about the end of the Northern Lights Clan. Neal seemed to think that bear mates were going to appear out of nowhere, and provide the cubs that would reestablish the clan. But there were hardly any bears left in the Glacier Point Valley that weren’t Blizzards. Ryker knew that Neal was still grieving deeply over the loss of his father and the rest of the fallen Northern Lights bears. But Neal was an alpha! He needed to step up and lead, not let his grief cloud his judgment. The future of the Northern Lights Clan depended on it.

Ryker took a deep breath and braced himself for the anger that was to come as he walked into the back room of Neal’s shop. Neal was pacing the room, muttering obscenities under his breath. Eric and Alan were in the shop, too, but they were sitting quietly in a far corner, wisely staying out of Neal’s way as much as possible. When Tyler and Ryker walked in, Neal looked up and focused on Ryker. His violet eyes blazed with anger, and he let out a deep roar. Ryker thought Neal was going to morph into a bear right then and there, but he didn’t fully shift—at least not yet. Only Neal’s hands changed, the massive white polar paws and enormous claws stretching menacingly from the end of Neal’s human arms.

“I thought I made myself clear,” Neal yelled, his voice booming with rage. “No human mates.” Neal reached out and slapped Ryker on the side of the head with one of his paws, sending Ryker’s body flying across the room. Ryker crashed into a pile of boxes and tried to regain his breath, which had all left him in one big whoosh with the force of Neal’s blow. Luckily, Neal had only used the palm of his paw and not the claws. Those claws cutting across Ryker’s human face would have left horrendous scars.

“I was just talking to her. Nothing happened,” Ryker protested weakly. Technically, it was true. He hadn’t even kissed her. But he had been about to, and Neal knew it.

“If you were just talking to her, then why are your eyes
still
glowing yellow?”

Ryker sighed. His attraction to Kenzie was even stronger than he thought, if Neal could still see it in his eyes. Any time a man in the Northern Lights Clan was drawn to a female who was his mate, or who he thought of as a potential mate, that male’s eyes would glow yellow around the edges. The stronger the attraction, the stronger the glow. And Ryker’s eyes lit up with a fury every time he saw Kenzie. Normally, this glowing served as a warning to other bears—she’s mine, so stay away. But in this case, it served as a dead giveaway that Ryker was defying Neal’s orders and spending time with a human female whom he wanted to mate.

“I’m sorry, Neal. I’ll admit, I’m attracted to her. But nothing happened. Nothing will happen. It was just some innocent flirtation.”

“You’re playing with fire, Ryker,” Neal yelled, roaring in anger again. Ryker watched in horror as Neal’s teeth morphed into bear teeth. Ryker knew what was coming. Neal was preparing to punish him. The last time Ryker had seen an alpha punish a bear was when Neal’s father had gone off in a rage on a bear who had carelessly shifted in front of a human, putting their clan at risk of discovery. Ryker trembled at the memory of that beating. When Neal’s father was finished with that bear, he had barely been recognizable. Bloody strips of flesh had hung from his body, and several of his bones had been broken. Ryker had no desire to be on the receiving end of such fury. But if he didn’t find a way to quickly convince Neal to back off, Ryker was going to be spending the next few months holed up in his cabin, nursing his wounds.

“Wait!” Ryker screamed as Neal raised a paw in preparation to slap Ryker again. “Wait! I’m sorry. I know I’ve been getting too close to Kenzie. But don’t punish me. Not now. There have been bear sightings in the area. It’s possible there are Blizzards around, and you can’t afford to be down a bear right now.”

Neal paused and considered this information, holding his paw in midair as he decided whether to slap Ryker or not. After what felt to Ryker like an eternity, Neal lowered his paw. Ryker watched in relief as Neal’s hands and teeth morphed back into human form. Ryker was saved, at least for the moment.

“Bear sightings?” Neal questioned, looking around at the group in the room. “Have any of you shifted recently? Now is not the time to lie to try to avoid a beating. I need to know the truth. Have any of you shifted recently?”

All of the men shook their head no. Neal looked around the room, deliberately looking each one of them in the eyes, trying to determine if anyone was lying. But there was not a hint of deception in anyone’s gaze. None of the Northern Lights Clan had shifted recently.

“Who told you there have been bear sightings?” Neal asked, directing his question to Ryker.

“Kenzie,” Ryker said, cringing as he admitted that he had been talking with Kenzie. But Neal needed to know about the bears. Besides, it’s not like his attraction to Kenzie was some big secret anymore. The cat was out of the bag on that one.

Neal frowned. “What did she say?”

“There have been a few sightings around town. A guy saw one when he was out ice fishing. And Millie, one of the women in town, saw one and supposedly went after it with a gun.”

Neal’s face filled with horror. “Silver bullets?” he asked.

“No. Just a regular old rifle, as far as Kenzie knew.”

Neal nodded, his relief visible. If Millie had been using silver bullets, it would have been obvious that she knew the bear was a shifter and vulnerable to silver. But it seemed she thought it was just a normal polar bear.

“Maybe it wasn’t a shifter,” Eric said. “I’ve heard that the real polars are getting bolder and coming closer to villages lately.”

Neal shook his head. “Unlikely. The real bears only do that when they’re desperate for food. We’re far enough north that the sea ice is still strong, meaning there are still plenty of seals around for the bears to hunt. The sightings were shifters, I’m sure of it.”

The room was quiet, all of the men looked solemnly at Neal and waited for him to assess the situation. Neal rubbed his forehead, and stared up at the ceiling for several moments. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke.

“It’s possible these sightings are just from a rogue bear who has lost his or her clan in one of the Blizzard raids. But it’s also possible that there are Blizzards nearby. They know that we’re strong, and they know that there are several of us left. I have no doubt that they want to find us and eliminate us. The sickening, total rule they are trying to impose over the Arctic won’t be secure until they get rid of us. I want you to all remain alert. Pay attention to any unusual smells or sounds. And don’t go wandering off alone outside of town. As long as you stay near the humans, the Blizzards are unlikely to attack. They don’t want to set off a human bear hunt any more than we do.”

The men nodded to indicate that they understood. Neal rubbed his forehead one more time, then looked at Ryker and addressed him sharply.

“And, Ryker, you’re saved from a beating for the moment. But only because I can’t afford to be down a man with the potential of a Blizzard attack looming over our heads. But don’t let me catch you talking to Kenzie again. Because if I do, not even the Blizzards can save you from my wrath. By the time I’m done with you, you will wish it had been the Blizzards who got a hold of you, and not me. Do I make myself clear?”

Ryker nodded meekly, and Neal dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Ryker stumbled out into the cold darkness and started making his way back toward his cabin. There would be no more visits to the pub. He had to let Kenzie go. Waves of sadness crashed over him at the thought, but he had no choice. His alpha had given him a direct order, and he wasn’t going to be foolish enough to test the limits of that order anymore.

Ryker started walking back and forth between his cabin and work every day, instead of taking his snowmobile. The cold didn’t bother him that much, especially not under his heavy boots and parka. And he needed the time outside to clear his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to completely eradicate Kenzie from his thoughts. He kept seeing her in his mind’s eye, laughing at the pub with her sparkling green eyes. He wanted to bring her home and make love to her. He wanted to know what it felt like to give in to the feelings of passion and desire that coursed through his being every time he thought of her.

But unless Neal loosened his stance on human mates, which seemed extremely unlikely, Ryker would never have the chance to be with Kenzie. Ryker couldn’t bear the thought of this, so he tried to drown it out with long walks in the frigid Arctic cold. One night, exactly a week after he had sat in the pub drinking and laughing with Kenzie, Ryker sensed something wrong during his walk home from work. As he neared his cabin, he felt his hair standing on end. He slowed his pace and sniffed the air. “Bear!” he exclaimed, just before the first blow to the back of his head sent him tumbling across the hard packed snow.

Ryker only had a moment to consider, and in a split second he made the decision to shift. He knew his cabin was close enough to town that people from the town did occasionally pass by here, and Ryker risked revealing his true identity if someone saw him shifting. But he would not survive a Blizzard attack if he remained in human form.

Ryker let out a giant roar, and his eyes churned as his inner bear overtook his body. His hands and feet changed first, morphing into giant white paws that ended in a formidable set of claws. Slowly, his legs thickened and became bear legs, the white fur and giant muscles replacing the pale peach flesh of his human legs. His torso followed suit, and soon his whole body had changed into a mass of white fur, muscles, and claws. His head was the last to change, and Ryker let out another terrifying roar as his face became that of a bear, with a large black nose and menacing jaws.

In the darkness, he could barely see the outlines of his large polar bear assailants. He surveyed as best he could in the limited light and flurry of activity. There seemed to be six of them. The Blizzards might be weaker than the Northern Lights bears, but they weren’t stupid. They knew it would take at least five of them to take down one of him, and they weren’t taking chances. Ryker knew his situation was dire. He had been surprised by the attack, and he had already been wounded. He could feel a trickle running down the back of his neck, and he knew whichever Blizzard had hit him had drawn blood. But even though Ryker was outnumbered and caught off guard, he had one advantage the Blizzards didn’t have.

Anger.

Burning, fiery, all-consuming anger. These were the bears who had nearly wiped out his clan. These were the bears who had caused Ryker’s friends, brothers, and dear ones to fall in writhing piles of poisoned pain. Ryker would kill every last Blizzard that had dared come out to attack him tonight. He would make them feel the same anguish of losing clan members that they had inflicted on the Northern Lights bears.

With another fearsome roar, Ryker stood on his hind legs and bared his teeth. Three of the bears lunged at him from the front. He could smell the other three behind him. He was surrounded.

Perfect.

He extended his right paw, and with all the strength he could muster, he started to spin in a giant circle, ramming his razor-sharp claws into everything in his path. Yelps, groans, and the sound of breaking bones rang through the frozen forest. Ryker had managed to slice right through the neck of one of the Blizzards, and the wounded bear cried out in horror before giving up the ghost.

One down, five to go.

Another of the Blizzards jumped on Ryker from behind, and started sinking his teeth into the back of Ryker’s neck. Ryker fell straight backwards, the entire force of his fifteen hundred pound body landing squarely on the attacker. Again, the sickening crackling of breaking bones rang out, and then the bear’s grip went slack. Four bears remained, and two of them appeared badly wounded. Ryker would take them down first. He lunged at the bear with the broken paw, aiming straight for the bear’s neck. His teeth closed down around the bear’s jugular, and he felt its body going limp.

Ryker was full of adrenaline. Only three more bears. He spun around in a quick circle, trying to survey his remaining opponents. He spotted the other wounded bear, who had a large bleeding gash across his entire face. Again, Ryker lunged for the bear’s neck. Although this bear took slightly longer to succumb to Ryker’s attack, he fell after a few moments of struggle. Ryker spun around to face the last two bears, but they were nowhere to be seen. Had they fled? Ryker cautiously turned in a giant circle, looking for signs of his opponents. The bodies of the four dead bears, along with gallons of blood, littered the snow around him. He didn’t see anything else. But their smell was still strong. They were still close. Ryker dropped to all fours and warily swung his giant polar bear head back and forth, trying to figure out from the smells in the air where the other two bears were. Just as he realized from the scent that they were behind him, both of the bears lunged at him from behind.

For several moments, Ryker and the two Blizzards were a giant ball of flying claws and teeth. Snow and fur flew everywhere. Ryker couldn’t tell where one bear ended and another began, and he started to panic. He lashed out wildly, just trying to make contact with any vulnerable part of the other bears. He felt a sharp sting as one of the Blizzards managed to cut a deep gash across his furry chest, and he yelped in pain as he felt one of his back legs breaking in two. For the first time since the Blizzard attack had started, Ryker began to truly panic. What if he didn’t make it out of this alive? The faces of his four fellow Northern Lights bears flashed across his mind, and he imagined their agonizing grief upon discovering that another of their brethren had fallen. The image gave Ryker a fresh wave of strength. He could not let that happen. He would not.

Mustering up all of his remaining energy, he looked for eyes. Where were their eyes? That would tell him where their heads were, and therefore their necks. He found the first pair of jet black eyes shining at him, and found the attached neck. With a roar, he swiped at the neck and made a huge gash, which quickly started spurting blood. The Blizzard wasn’t quite dead, and kept fighting, but it was only a matter of moments before he fell. Ryker searched for the other pair of eyes. He couldn’t find it, so he started biting and clawing wildly. The fury of his teeth and paws had never been unleashed with such a sharp intensity before, and Ryker heard several yelps as he made contact with the Blizzard’s skin. The Blizzard kept fighting, though, so none of the jabs had been fatal. Ryker and the remaining Blizzard tumbled through the bloodstained snow, each trying to be the first one to hit a vital organ or vein. Normally, one Blizzard would have been a piece of cake for Ryker to take down. But Ryker was badly wounded. His broken leg was sending searing pain through his whole body, and he could feel warm blood continuing to ooze from the gash on his chest. His vision grew blurry, and dizziness threatened to overtake him. Find his neck, Ryker told himself. Find his neck.

All of a sudden, the Blizzard stopped fighting. The large bear let out a whimper and started going limp. Ryker wasn’t sure whether he had finally hit something, or whether the other bear had just succumbed to the loss of blood at last. But after a few last whimpers, the Blizzard fell, lifeless, and Ryker was finally alone.

Ryker tried to mentally survey the damage to his body, but it was difficult to even count the numerous gashes and scratches. The worst overall was the slice across his chest, and his broken leg. But he was badly wounded in several spots. He felt himself fighting to stay conscious as the pain overwhelmed his senses. He had to get to his cabin. He would not survive without help. He had to get to his phone, and call the town doctor.

But Ryker didn’t have the energy to move his giant bear form. He lay there, panting on the snow, feeling himself fade away. Despite his worries about staying warm for the trek to the cabin without his fur, he needed the lightness of his human body. Maybe if I shift back, I can make it, he thought. He rallied up all of his remaining energy, and forced his beaten body back into human form. He was naked, since his clothes had burst off of him in shreds when he turned into a bear. His whole body shook with violent shivers. Ryker had to get inside in a matter of moments, or he would freeze. He stumbled to his feet, and staggered in the direction of his cabin. It was only about a four hundred foot distance, but it took everything Ryker had left in him to hobble to the door on his one good leg. Ryker burst into the warmth of the cabin, and grabbed a blanket off his bed. He wrapped himself in its warmth, then grabbed his phone and dialed the doctor’s number. There was no answer. The doctor must have been out on a call already.

Ryker let himself sink against the wall, the handset for his cordless telephone held tightly in his hand. He was going to die. After all of that effort, fighting off all of those Blizzards, he was now going to die in his cabin alone. He should call Neal. Neal was no doctor, but maybe they could keep him alive until professional medical help arrived.

But then, Ryker had a sudden inspiration. He could call Kenzie. Sure, she was an animal doctor, not a human doctor. But she must know something about broken bones and stitching up gashes. It couldn’t be that different, could it? The only problem was that Ryker didn’t know Kenzie’s number. In a last ditch effort to save himself, he called the superstore. Maybe someone at work had pets, and knew the number for the town veterinarian.

“Glacier Point Superstore,” a bored sounding voice answered on the third ring. It was Ryker’s coworker, Joe.

“Joe,” Ryker said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “Do you happen to know the number for Kenzie, the veterinarian? I need to call her. It’s an emergency?”

“Kenzie? Oh, right. The Doc. Yeah, actually she’s here in the store right now, funny enough. I’ll go grab her. Are you alright, man? You sound a little sick.”

“I’m fine. I just need Kenzie, er, Doc. It’s an emergency.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure thing. Just give me a sec. I didn’t even know you had a pet. You never talk about it.”

Ryker didn’t even bother replying. He couldn’t waste anymore precious energy trying to explain things to Joe. Ryker just kept breathing slowly in and out, willing himself to stay conscious. A minute later, he heard a rustling on the receiver, and then her voice came on the line.

“This is Kenzie.”

“Kenzie, it’s Ryker. It’s an emergency. I’m injured and can’t get the doctor. Please help.”

“Ryker? Oh my god, you sound awful! Where are you?”

“My cabin. Please help. Please.”

“I’m on my way. Hang in there, Ryker. I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

But there was no response on the line. Ryker had passed out onto his side, the phone’s handset tumbling out of his hand and across the kitchen floor.