Polar Opposites

by C. D. Gorri

  So, no vacation. No sipping Piña coladas while baking in the sun. No flirting, getting her groove on, or more importantly, her dream of having steamy, sweaty sex with a man. Any man.

  Okay not just any man. He’d have to be hot. And muscly. And speak in complete sentences. She was so not okay with those macho jerks from her Skulk who just grunted and growled at their women. She might be desperate, but she wasn’t quite there yet.

  Hard pass, she thought as she watched another blissfully content couple smile and hold hands while they walked amongst the other travelers at the crowded airport.

  Okay, Roxie, you can do this. Maybe this is the year we meet him. Roxanne wondered when that would happen. Maybe she should take out an ad?

  “Highly educated, sensitive woman who enjoys reading, watching films, and going to museums seeks fuck buddy to take virginity!”

  Grrr. Her Fox growled at her thoughts. Oh well. So, no to the ad then. Nope. Her beastie was willing to wait to meet her fated mate when the time was right. But when would that happen?

  Her desire for a mate was not unusual for Shifter females her age. Being dubbed the Ice Queen just made it all the more difficult. How was she supposed to buy the cow without sampling a few burgers?

  Ooh. Food. Her stomach growled and that made her frown at the swarming crowd. Who was this clown they sent from the Barvale Clan? Why was he late? Totally unacceptable. She huffed out a breath and whipped her head from side to side.

  The man she mated would have to appreciate and nurture her and he would have to be punctual. But she wasn’t planning on meeting her future mate now. She just wanted to get through this solstice without being alone. No pain from having her heat unfulfilled, no feelings of unworthiness.

  Roxanne was not talking about forever. She was talking about some down and dirty fucking. That’s what this curvy redhead needed, what she wanted wasn’t up for discussion. She’d been secretly pining for her fated mate ever since she’d read her first romance novel at the age of fifteen, but she’d been wanting to end her virginity since the first time her heat had struck.

  Of course, she wanted love. Someday. Just not now. Narrowing her eyes, she made a decision right then and there. No matter what old fogey her father had arranged to be her guide this time around, she was going to have fun.

  If said fogey ever got here! Grrr.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Fucking shit,” Bowie growled as he maneuvered through the thick holiday crowds. The airport was like a fucking hive of swarming bees. Only the bees were mostly normals. Annoying little shits this time of year. Especially to one big ass Polar Bear.

  Bowie grumbled. He tried not to breathe too deeply at the cloying smells that seemed to cling to humans. Scents that seemed to almost always accompany airplane passengers tended to be sour like the nerves, fears, and anxieties of their owners.

  Whatever. He wasn’t a sensitive kind of guy. He really didn’t care if people were good fliers or not. He just knew the unpleasant odors went straight to his stomach. Grrr.

  He was growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of success in finding his assignment. Bowie growled, earning a wide-eyed stare from a smallish human male. He tried smiling at the stranger, but the squeak that sounded from the man followed by his backwards jogging away from him meant Bowie had failed to put the normal at ease.

  Fuck. He hoped Daniel didn’t find out. His Bear was having a difficult time adjusting to being so close to folks. That was one thing Alaska had in its favor. Few Shifters and even less people.

  Not that it mattered. He wasn’t wanted there. The White Bear Clan was not now and never had welcomed him. Alaska had never been his home. Bowie was on his own. Even if his three huge cousins were with him. They had each other in a way Bowie would never have anyone.

  His Bear bellowed in his mind’s eye. The mournful sound almost brought him to his knees. But that wouldn’t do. Not here. He closed his eyes, willing the angry beast to calm down.

  When he was certain he was back in control, he began his search once more. Bowie just managed to avoid shoving his way through the distracted and clearly overwhelmed people who were insane enough to travel during this time of year.

  It wasn’t easy. His Polar Bear was dominant. The animal in him had a hard time dealing with crowds. He was always pushing at Bowie to challenge and fight, to prove his worth. Sigh.

  Not today. He promised his Beast they’d go train with one of the triplets later. That always calmed him for a bit. And then after maybe he’d indulge in a little male female relaxation. First things first. His assignment.

  Who the fuck was this woman he was supposed to pick up anyway? Some friggin’ princess no doubt. Her daddy sent her here to chat with the big bad Bears about their solstice festivities or some such shit.

  Bowie was not big of the politics of Shifters. He had no use for laws when none seemed to work for him. He knew about pecking orders and he knew he needed help controlling his animal. That was why he was there.

  Marcus was a fiercely loyal and strong Alpha. Bowie’s Polar Bear respected him. That in itself was a miracle. He wouldn’t do anything to mess up his chance to belong permanently to the Barvale Clan.

  Especially not something so dumb as to lose his first solo assignment! Where was she? And what would some sheltered city woman know about Bear Clans anyway? Didn’t the Fox Alpha know that Bears were not known for playing nicely?

  Well, not Polar Bears at any rate. These New Jersey Black Bears were in a different category. The Barvale Clan was probably the most modern Shifter group he’d ever seen. The Alpha was young and proactive in getting his whole Clan to see that times had changed.

  They had females in positions of power, they sent newsletters, and even had focus groups with young Clan members! Bowie was a fan of the Devlin brothers even if their ways were a bit strange to him.

  The Barvale Clan didn’t seem to recognize a lot of the older ways. This winter solstice for example. They just didn’t do it the same way other Shifters did, with mating rituals and celebrations to promote reproduction and the longevity of that Clan or Pack or whatever.

  It was true that Bear Shifter Clans tended to be smaller than others because, for one thing, they did not normally birth multiples. For another thing it was typical that the larger the Shifter animal was, the smaller the Clan or group.

  The Fox Skulk celebrated this mating ritual yearly. The way Bowie saw it, a couple of hundred-pound foxes, while bigger than their wild cousins, had nothing on a thousand-pound Bear or Lion. Their strength relied on their numbers. He’d done some research on the Winter Falls Skulk and he wasn’t exactly impressed.

  The Alpha was prone to passing off important jobs to his kits. Like he was doing now. His daughter, the Ice Queen herself, was to be treated as a guest of the Clan for the duration of the Barvale Holiday Lights Festival.

  The week was full of all sorts of spectacles and get togethers. Bowie sneered as he looked at the glaring vest he had over his black shirt and pants. He’d noted one or two human kids pointing at him and snickering over the silly article of clothing.

  Christmas was not exactly one of Bowie’s favorite times of year. Wearing a bright red security vest with the words “Santa’s Special Helper” in bright green block letters across the back was not his idea of a good time.

  Hard to like the festivities when you were hated and ostracized by your own. How many fucking Christmases had he spent in his fur to avoid freezing out in the cold Alaskan nights?

  How many with his Bear’s black nose pushed up against a frosty window watching other Shifter kids enjoy the yuletide with their families? Even his cousins had fond Christmas memories.

  Too fucking many bad memories of non-existent holidays for the likes of him. He’d stopped looking at the calendar years ago. Until he made his way to New Jersey.

  His new Clan readily embraced human holidays. He supposed it was from living in such close proximity. At any rate, the Barvale Holiday Lights Festival was a week-long cel
ebration and he had no choice but to show up since he was an Enforcer.

  It didn’t sound too bad. There were cookouts planned, a night of live music with an orchestra and choir singing carols, an ice sculpture contest, sidewalk sales by local shops and vendors, and more. The festival would conclude with a parade and tree lighting ceremony in the little town square that Saturday which also happened to be the night of the winter solstice.

  The longest night of the year held magical properties beyond Bowie’s imagination. It was celebrated among certain sets of normals and supernaturals alike.

  According to the docket Daniel had given him, the Ice Queen, aka Roxanne Winters, was coming to negotiate terms for her Skulk to run on the lands surrounding Lake Ursa for their annual winter solstice mating celebration.

  Bowie didn’t know much about Red Fox Shifters, having grown up in the wilds of Alaska, but Polar Bears did not go through a heat. Nor did they celebrate mating rituals.

  Theirs was the smallest population amongst Shifters with the exception of the more mythical and legendary creatures, like Dragons for example. Yes, they actually existed.

  Fuck yeah they did. He’d been shocked the first time the huge green Dragon who ran Draco Fortis, the company who’d designed the security system the Clan used, had landed to see about the installation of said system himself.

  Bowie had come around to the idea of the legendary creatures pretty quick after that. Just another thing to like about the Garden State. He had been introduced to more different types of supernaturals in the tiny state than ever before.

  Nikolai Falk was one very rich and very smart fucking Dragon. His system was damn near impenetrable for normals and supernaturals alike. Bowie had been curious about him and Dragon Shifters in general. He had loads of questions for the man and he’d asked them.

  Mr. Falk had answered his questions with honesty and humility as far as Bowie could tell. He would have continued but Marcus had ended his friendly interrogation with a clipped command. A red-faced Bowie had thanked the man and let him go on about his business.

  Marcus was a good Alpha and hadn’t intended on embarrassing Bowie which was probably why his Bear hadn’t demanded retribution. The damn Polar inside of him had been easily agitated the last few months. Despite being far away from the source of most of his problems, Bowie still felt the same old insecurities that had haunted him most of his life.

  He was a Bear with no real family, no purpose, and nowhere he belonged. His Polar Bear rumbled inside of him and Bowie silenced the beast with a shake of his head. He could not afford to lose control over that side of him. The end result would be unthinkable.

  Shivers threatened to rack his body and he quickly pushed them away adopting the stern face he always wore when out amongst regular folks. He looked straight ahead while using his Shifter senses to reach out and scan the area around him.

  He was alert and aware of his surroundings despite his single focused appearance. He noted that ignoring the harsh whispers and stares from the normals around him was getting easier.

  It was nothing out of the ordinary for Bowie. He knew he looked odd to the people milling about. His size for one thing was unusual amongst the generally shorter, squatter humans. Add in the shock of white hair that brushed his forehead in a straight, thick wave, his smooth, caramel colored skin, high cheek bones, short, flat nose, and ice blue eyes surrounded by thick black lashes, and normals were mostly speechless around him.

  Not that he blamed them. He did rather look like something out of a comic book. Especially with the stupid fucking vest he wore.

  Yeah. That’s me, he snorted. I’m a regular super something or other. Like a supervillain. Ha ha.

  Not that he was evil by any means. But he’d make a good comic book origin story if he did say so himself. Son of no one. Cursed and hated by his own kind. A real fucking comic book villain indeed. It would be funny if it wasn’t so fucking sad.

  Shit. This melancholy bullshit needed to stop already. Bowie had no patience for wallowing in self-pity. Fuck that shit. Christmas always did bring out the worst in him. He needed to get laid and drunk. Not necessarily in that order.

  That particular train of thought only solidified his decision to head to Bar None soon. Very soon. It was definitely time to see the always down-to-fuck Sheila.

  A night of sweaty no strings sex was just what his Polar Bear needed. His animal growled a little and Bowie shook his head. Fucking Bear was not happy with his choice of bed partners, but he could just shut the fuck up.

  Mate, the Bear pushed, but Bowie quieted the animal. He was not built for a mate. It was as simple as that. The sad bellow was accompanied by a sniff, then a mental sneeze.

  What the hell? Wait. What was that? Bowie’s inner Polar Bear pawed at his nose, there was a chemical substance in the air, and it was damn near tickling his nostrils to death. Like the mother of all sneezes was building and building until he thought he’d blow his nose clean off!

  Turning to find the source, Bowie came face to face with a tall, curvy redhead standing just a few inches away. His eyes dropped, taking in the whole picture she presented in one long, thorough glance.

  Holy shit. The woman was a fucking knockout. Her legs were impossibly long and shapely, with toned calves and thick thighs. The better to wrap around my waist, his Bear grumbled in agreement.

  Those sexy as hell thighs led to a gorgeous set of hips, then to her indented waist, and up further to her glorious breasts. Talk about the perfect size. She was made for a man like him.

  All valleys and curves. Those legs and nicely rounded mounds were likely to make him start drooling. How she managed to get into that little sexy number she wore, he had no idea, but she looked good enough to eat.

  Yes. Eat. Honey. His Bear agreed. The tiny getup was practically nonexistent. Flimsy and thin, more suited to a beach than to the snowy Jersey landscape he licked his lips. The Bear wondered if he tugged that top just right, would it reveal her fully or was she into lingerie?

  Imagining her plump breasts covered in scraps of silk and lace made his Bear roar and his dick hard. Either way, Bowie was game to find out. Maybe even get a taste.

  Her head was turned away from him, but her wealth of shiny red hair hung about her shoulders in gorgeous curls that made him want to bury his face in them. He’d never felt so physically drawn by a woman.

  In that dress it was a wonder she didn’t have a line of men following her around. Maybe she was on her way out of town. The thought made the Bear growl and scratch inside of him. She was wearing a beachy sort of dress. Not right for a cold December morning in a New Jersey airport. She must be leaving soon. With her lover. The thought made his Bear growl.

  Shit. Calm down. Bowie breathed deep. Yes, he wanted to soothe his beast, but he also wanted to get a whiff of her essence. Would it be sweet as she looked?

  Sniff. Achoo. Okay, I was wrong. He coughed as he took in a lungful of harsh chemicals. Fuck me. Bowie shook his head.

  Freaking tourists. She was hot, but his Shifter senses couldn’t abide the smell of whatever the hell perfume she had on. He turned his head away from the distraction she presented to his eyes.

  He was there on a job. Focus. His Bear did not like that idea. The beast grumbled at him to turn back, but he refused. His nose simply couldn’t take it.

  Too bad, so sad, he told his animal. Grrr.

  And it really was sad. She had all the makings of a fine as hell woman. Her hair color was an amazing shade of red that just had to be natural. Not to mention those sparkling green eyes that were sexy as sin promising all sorts of untold pleasures. Wasn’t he just dying to find out? Grrr.

  Normally he would have thought someone with that hair and those eyes would have lighter coloring all over, but her tanned skin looked smooth and sun kissed. Then again look at himself. Bowie’s outside appearance was certainly a quandary. He shook his head on a laugh. Judgy much?

  So what if she was a redhead with golden skin that didn’t seem qu
ite natural. Maybe she went tanning. That was a thing he didn’t quite get in the lower states.

  This unhealthy obsession with unearned tans was baffling for an Alaskan Polar Bear Shifter. He glanced at his cell phone and scrolled to the encrypted PDF file he’d gotten from Daniel. He needed to find the Fox Alpha’s daughter and get the hell out of there.

  Shit. Bowie stopped dead and swallowed. The woman he was picking up was a redhead with green eyes. A Fox Shifter on her way back from vacation. What were the odds?

  Groaning inwardly, he turned back to see the woman had inched away from him. She had a carry-on suitcase with her and a cell phone in her hand. Biting her bottom lip, she turned her head to the side. He swallowed back his groan and noted her perfect aristocratic features.

  Yep. This had to be her. Of all the luck. She met his gaze head on and the flash of gold behind her green eyes confirmed his suspicions.

  “Excuse me, Miss Winters?” He asked and ambled towards her, careful to keep his breathing shallow. That damned smell seemed attached to the woman. How could she stand it?

  “You are Miss Winters?”

  Green eyes snapped to his and he felt a spark shoot through to his gut at the contact. Damn. She sure was pretty. Her eyes widened briefly before she nodded her head and Bowie reached for her suitcase.

  “My name is Bowie Atiqtalaaq, I’m the head of the Barvale Clan Enforcer Security Unit sent to fetch you,” he said and wondered if the strange smelling woman ever spoke.

  “Your vest says Santa’s Special Helper,” her eyes widened slightly, and she stepped back.

  “Yeah, well, I am that too,” he grunted.

  Little delicate woman like her was probably afraid of a savage like him. The thought made him growl deep in his chest. He wanted to be damn mad that she’d reacted to him by backing up like that, but his Bear snapped at him inside his mind’s eye. The animal would have none of his nasty attitude towards the woman.

  Fucking Bear. Bowie couldn’t figure out why the hunk of fur was acting like a total dick about the strange woman. Again, the beast snarled at him and he counted to three before looking at her again.