Snowfall (Arctic Station Bears Book 3)

by Maeve Morrick

  “Ow!” Ben said, and suddenly my stomach was in my throat as the helicopter dropped a little. I braced myself against the frame.

  “How much longer are you going to need to do that?” I asked Parker. “We’re getting close to Alert.”

  “Just wrapping up,” Parker said.

  I was not thrilled about Ben having his wound sutured while he was also trying to pilot a helicopter. Every time Ben winced, we lost a little altitude and I lost a few weeks of my life.

  Satisfied with his work, Parker turned to me. “So what’s your story?”

  “My story?” I said. “What do you mean?” I don’t know you, dude. Are you trying to be friends?

  “Well, I’m a Sheriff,” Parker said. “I spend half of my time trying to keep fights from breaking out among inhuman people, forty percent ending fights that start, nine percent hunting things that are also hunting me, and one percent taking care of my birds.”

  From the limited amount of information about Sheriffs I’d encountered while I was working on my doctorate, I knew that the one thing they all had in common was that they were all sociopaths. In my field of work, it was fairly commonplace to meet people with various personality disorders, but Parker was the first sociopath I’d ever met. I was a bit taken aback at how chatty he was, and my brain latched on to the most mundane aspect of his introduction.

  “Your birds?” I said.

  “I have birds for pets. A couple of cockatiels.”

  I totally was not expecting that. But what was I expecting? I guess I hadn’t expected such a high-functioning sociopath? Belatedly I realized he was patiently waiting for me to tell him my “story”.

  “I’m a consultant, normally,” I said. “Mostly for pharmaceutical companies doing research into how different drugs might affect shifters.”

  Ben laughed. “Yeah, I can’t think of a single drug that affects us at all. Even headache medicine.”

  “Don’t tell them that,” I said, and smiled. “I like having a roof over my head.” I turned back to Parker. “I teach every so often as well. Biology classes primarily. Also I’m apparently the fated mate to a polar bear alpha who lives in Nova Scotia and is currently the hostage of recently thawed evil popsicle.” Parker appeared genuinely amused by this.

  “Brace yourselves,” Ben said. “I’m setting her down.”

  The helicopter landed with a thud and I hardly noticed. Parker grinned at me and I realized that he’d seen that I was afraid and had been trying to distract me.

  “Thanks, Parker,” I said. “I appreciate that.”

  He nodded. “Don’t mention it.”

  I stepped off of the helicopter, feeling very proud of myself that I didn’t feel the same urge to fall to my knees and kiss the ground as I did the first time I’d stepped off a helicopter. God, it feels so long since then. But it had been less than two weeks.

  The base was a ghost town. No lights were visible in the windows of the buildings.

  A howl broke the silence as a half-dozen people ran toward us from the darkened buildings.

  They looked human, but…twisted. Half-animal. Some growled and snarled. More frightening were the silent ones. They were trying to surround us.

  Alanna. Liam’s voice was in my head. My neck snapped around to see a building fifty yards away. None of these new additions were between me and the building. I could make a run for it.

  “I know where he is,” I said.

  “Who?” Ben asked.

  “Liam. Calder’s got him over in that building. I can feel it.”

  “You really are fated if you can do that,” Ben said. “I’m amazed.”

  “Hopefully we’re fated to do more than just die here.”

  “Go get him,” Parker said. He ejected the clip from one of his handguns and touched the top bullet, then reloaded the weapon. “We’ll cover you and try to even the odds a little.”

  I didn’t even think. Liam was the only thing on my mind. My pulse was louder than the howling wind as I ran to the building. I was halfway there before I heard the first gunshot.

  Parker

  Parker watched Alanna run. The bestial humans seemed to ignore her completely as they charged toward the helicopter. He pulled out one of his spare handguns and handed it to Ben.

  “In case we need to make a strategically quick escape, it’s probably best if you don’t shift,” Parker said. Ben took the weapon in a shaky hand.

  “You alright?” Parker asked.

  Ben laughed. “Oh sure. We’re about to be torn to pieces by a bunch of monster men. This is a totally normal Friday night for me.”

  The howling things were almost upon them. Parker was suddenly aware of their attire. A few wore fatigues. Two wore white lab coats. These people worked here. They had been fully human until very recently. Shit. They were about to become the victims of people who were victims themselves.

  “I don’t know how good you are with a gun,” Parker said, “but if you can help it, try not to kill them.”

  Chapter Four - Liam

  Liam struggled with his bonds as watched Calder transform his hostages. Every inch that he moved made him acutely aware of the silver slug embedded in his shoulder. I’ve got to get the fuck out of here, he thought.

  There was a sound over the howling wind. A helicopter. He could barely hear it.

  Alanna, Liam thought.

  Calder looked toward the ceiling. “Ah,” Calder said. “ Good. They’ve finally arrived.”

  “What are you planning to do?” Liam said.

  “My friends will keep yours busy until Alanna can reach me and then I’ll give her two gifts. The first will be my blood. The second will be your life.”

  “Maybe you can give her that second one early. And take this slug out of my shoulder while you’re at it.”

  Calder laughed. “Yes, I know. You’d very much like to use the gift that Oliver gave you against me. Why do you persist in fighting when I’ve already won?”

  “Just part of my personality, I guess. If you hurt her, I’ll tear you apart. Silver bullet or not.” Liam joked, but he ground his teeth together. His pulse pounded in his ears.

  Calder removed a syringe from a small black case and examined its contents. “Once she has my blood, it won’t matter. I will happily leave this world knowing that my bloodline is secure. I can meet my mate again with pride.”

  “Your mate?” Liam said.

  “Yes. She and her son were taken from me. But your Alanna will help me usher in a world where that never happens again to our kind. Humanity will reconnect with their primal nature and it will save them.”

  “You’re insane,” Liam said. He wanted to tear out Calder’s throat with his bare hands.

  Calder closed his eyes. There were roars and howls from outside. He smiled.

  Parker

  Parker shot one of Calder’s half-shifted victims at point blank range, and the woman cried out and regained her human form.

  Good to know, Parker thought. Wounding would work just fine.

  He ran toward one of Calder’s hulking victims and shot him in the thigh. The man cried out as he fell in the snow. He was human again before he hit the ground.

  Two more snarling monsters changed direction and headed toward the wounded man.

  Parker hadn’t considered that changing the victims back to humans would make them better targets.

  I’m going to have to take them all out before anyone gets hurt.

  Parker shot both of the shifted that were charging the injured human. The distance was a little more than he would have preferred for a shot like that, but both creatures went down wounded.

  Zero casualties so far, Parker thought. Not bad.

  One of the shifted grabbed him from behind. The quiet ones really were the worst. Parker swung his elbow around and knocked the monster away as he turned around to find a female in fatigues. Her gun was even still in its holster.

  “I guess I’m glad you can’t use that,” Parker said, and shot her in th
e foot.

  She hit the ground and became fully human.

  The woman looked up at him. “Th—thank you,” she said.

  “Don’t mention it,” Parker said. “Where is the person who did this to you?”

  The woman motioned to the building that Alanna was about to enter. “He’s there,” she said. “Be careful.”

  Parker pulled out a second gun. “Good advice,” he said.

  Across the courtyard, Ben shot the last of the monsters. It writhed on the ground as it shifted.

  Alanna

  Calder stood beside a table while Liam was bound and lying on the ground when I walked in the room. Seeing Liam like that was like ice water in my lungs. I had to fight for breath.

  “I came, you son of a bitch,” I said. “Now let Liam go.”

  “Dr. MacCready!” Calder said. “I’m delighted you came. I hope now we can begin.”

  “Let Liam go.” I fucking hate to repeat myself.

  “No threats?” Calder asked. He closed his eyes.

  Suddenly, two of his growling half-shifted humans blocked the doorway I had entered. One looked a little like a cat. The other looked like a wolf.

  “How does that work?” I asked. “How do you choose the animal you change them into?”

  “I don’t choose it for them,” Calder said. “They choose it for themselves. Deep inside every human is a primal core. The animal is merely an expression. A latent bit of genetic code that lies dormant until awakened.”

  Two gunshots rang out, and I instinctively ducked. In the corner of my eye, I saw Calder’s two guards fall and shift. Then Parker stepped over them and fired three more shots at Calder.

  He’s shooting to kill now, I thought, and I grinned. I just couldn’t help myself.

  Calder

  Calder had underestimated the bears and the human. He was willing to admit that. He needed to escape. To live to fight another day. He would find another suitable candidate for a mate.

  As a cat, he ran through the snow toward his helicopter. The human was clearly skilled with his weapon, but Calder would be able to dodge his attacks more effectively on four legs. And the effectiveness of the man’s attacks decreased with each bit of additional distance that Calder was able to place between them.

  He reached the helicopter, tore open the door, and started the engine. Overhead, there was a sound. A helicopter engine. Not his own. He craned his neck to look.

  A helicopter fell from the sky directly toward him. Calder saw a man jump from the vehicle as it fell. One of the bears. He really had underestimated them. The whirling blades overhead brought a promise of being reunited with his mate. Calder closed his eyes.

  There was screaming metal and fire. Then there was pain like the night he’d been met with fire.

  Liam

  “I was so worried about you,” Alanna said as she removed the bindings from Liam’s wrists and ankles.

  He reached up and pulled her on top of him. It made his shoulder hurt like hell, but he didn’t care. He just held her close and felt her breathe for a few minutes. Then she helped him up and found him a coat to keep warm.

  He needed to get the bullet taken care of. It was preventing him from being able to take advantage of the temperature homeostasis that allowed him to maintain his body temperature.

  As the two of them walked outside, the gunman from Arctic Station stood over the smoking wreck of the two helicopters with two guns drawn. Liam instinctively tried to shield Alanna with his body.

  “It’s okay,” Alanna said. “He’s on our side. I think. His name is Parker. He works for the Company.”

  Liam rubbed his wrists where he’d been bound and walked with Alanna over to the wreckage. He couldn’t remember when he’d been so cold.

  He came to stand beside Parker, still keeping Alanna on the opposite side. He couldn’t trust this man, after all. “Anything?” Liam asked.

  “Nothing so far,” Parker said. “But until the fire dies down, we really can’t get close enough to find out.

  “What the hell happened?” Alanna asked.

  “Ben,” Parker said. “Flew our helicopter right into him.”

  “The Company is going to be pissed when it sees the repair bill,” Alanna said. “I mean, three helicopters in two weeks? Someone is getting their paycheck docked.”

  Liam laughed. He loved her sense of humor. He pulled her closer. Partly for warmth. But mostly because he just wanted her closer.

  He looked at Parker and then his shoulder. The coat was already saturated with blood. “Any chance you could you do something about this, Parker?”

  Parker leaned to one side slightly and drew a blade out of an ankle sheath. “As long as you don’t mind this.”

  Liam smiled. “At this point, I’d be fine with a spoon.”

  Alanna stepped toward the flaming wreckage as Parker cut into Liam’s shoulder with the silver blade.

  He screamed in agony. He just couldn’t help himself.

  “I’ve almost got it, Liam,” Parker said.

  Liam could only nod. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

  “And there,” Parker said. He pulled the slug out of Liam’s shoulder.

  The polar bear alpha fell to his knees, his strength returning and the pain subsiding now that the silver was gone.

  “Bad news, amigo,” Parker said. “We’ve still got to close the wound or you’ll bleed to death.”

  “Do we have what we need?” Alanna asked.

  “In the helicopter,” Parker said.

  “Shit. So what are our options?”

  “The knife,” Liam said. “Hold it in the fire.”

  “You sure about that?” Parker asked. “The scar is going to be insane.”

  “It’s better than bleeding out,” Liam said.

  “Fair enough,” Parker said. He held the blade of the knife in the fire until it glowed bright orange. He looked at Liam. “You ready for this?”

  Liam nodded. “Do it.”

  Parker pressed the knife against the wound and Liam screamed and doubled over.

  “I miss all of the good stuff,” Ben said. Liam was barely aware of his presence.

  “Are you alright?” Alanna asked.

  “Fine,” Ben said. “I broke a few bones in the fall but I’m already on the mend.”

  The enormous cat slipped out of the wreckage before anyone knew what was happening. With a roar, he slashed Alanna’s back. Blood dripped onto the snow as she fell to her knees.

  She started to scream.

  No! Liam thought. She’ll change!

  The change had already begun. Alanna’s bones broke and reshaped. Her eyes began to glow amber.

  Parker fired two shots at Calder and missed.

  Calder shifted into a gigantic, hulking half-man and half-sabertooth tiger. One agile punch sent Parker flying.

  “You take care of her,” Ben said. “Parker and I will handle Calder.”

  Ben roared, shifted into a polar bear, and charged.

  Alanna screamed again, stood up, and ran for a building across the courtyard. She staggered and fell.

  Liam scrambled to his feet and chased after her.

  Chapter Five - Alanna

  The pain was overwhelming. I felt like I was being torn apart. I didn’t even know I was running until I was moving. The bones and muscles reforming in my legs made it almost necessary to learn how to run all over again. I fell.

  Then I was a small child, sleeping on a huge white cushion. I felt so warm and safe. Nothing would ever hurt me here. My mom woke me and asked if we wanted breakfast. Wait. We? What are you talking about, mom? It was always just the two of us.

  Now a fight between my mom and a man. I’m different from them and they don’t know why. It’s…it’s my father. He’s crying. I’m not like him and I should be. I have to be. He’s accusing my mom of being with someone else.

  My mom is alone. She swears there was never anyone else. She tells me that I’m special. That I’ll be able to have nice, normal
children of my own someday. Why am I special if my children will be normal?

  Now I’m older. I’m in bed with Ollie and he’s stroking my hair. “There’s something about you, Alanna,” he says.

  Now I’m falling into Liam’s arms. He looks at me. Into me. He smiles.

  “You can fight this, Allie,” he says.

  Liam

  “You can fight this, Allie!” Liam said. “You’re stronger than him!”

  Allie staggered into a nearby building, hitting her back hard on the doorjamb and Liam could do nothing but follow.

  Allie bucked and gasped for breath and changed.

  It’s time to return the favor, Liam thought.

  He held her down and kissed her.

  Chapter Six - Alanna

  I can't believe this is happening. A sudden coherent thought in a wild darkness. I clung to it like a life jacket in a deep, dark ocean.

  Liam pushed my thighs apart roughly and buried his face between them. He reached up with both hands to play with my nipples as he slowly dragged his tongue from my opening, over my clit, and back again. I fought for air against the sensation and Liam made no attempt to let me catch my breath. I looked down and met his gaze—his eyes locked hungrily on mine as he worshipped my pussy with his mouth. The man knew what he was doing; each time I would start to feel my orgasm build to climax, he would stop playing with my nipples and kiss my thighs down to the knee. When I tried to use my hands to put his head right where I wanted it, he grabbed my wrists and held my arms at my sides.

  Is this real?

  Liam’s grin was beautifully evil. “It's not going to be that easy,” he said.

  All I could do was arch my hips up toward his tongue and hope that the torture wouldn't last. When I didn't think I could take another second, he slid his hands under my legs and over the top of my thighs, pulling them open with strong arms. He gently sucked my inner lips and clit into his mouth, his tongue darting expertly over my most sensitive area. My orgasm, sitting on the back burner for so long, rocked me almost instantly, but he would not stop the delicious onslaught. It was too much—I bucked and cried out, and he held me tightly, lightly licking me at the trough of each wave so that each crest was higher than the last. Liam finally broke contact and I fought to catch my breath. He tore me apart and put me back together all at the same time.