BEARing The Frozen Night (Ice Bear Shifters Book 1)
Page 8
The group finished their steaks and their second bottle of wine, and Ryker stood to go grab a corkscrew for the third bottle. But when he got to the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks and the smile on his face disappeared. He turned to look at his fellow clan members with a wary expression on his face.
“Do you guys smell that?” he asked.
Kenzie sniffed the air and looked around in confusion as the other four men in the room breathed deeply, and their faces took on dark expressions.
“They’re close,” Neal said.
“Too close,” Tyler agreed.
Ryker sniffed deeply once more, and then turned to run toward Kenzie, pushing her toward his bed. “Kenzie, take cover. Get under the bed, now!
Before Kenzie could react, she found herself on the floor next to the bed, and she rolled underneath it. Several loud booms and crashes sounded, and she felt the floor of the cabin shaking underneath her. From her vantage point, she couldn’t see much, but, suddenly all around her the human feet disappeared. In their place, she saw several pairs of gigantic polar bear paws with impossibly large claws. She shuddered at the sight, and then shuddered even more at the sound of the cabin door being slammed open.
All she could see were bear paws everywhere. Fur and blood flew on the floor around the bed. There were so many paws, all with fearsome claws that seemed to swing wildly in every direction. She winced several times as a paw here or there would slide under the bed, but it never managed to hit far enough in the right spot to actually make contact with her. Which was a good thing, because one nick from those claws into one of her vital veins, and Kenzie would have been a goner. She whimpered in terror as the brawling continued on for several long, endless minutes. She had no idea who was winning, or even how many bears were out there. The only thing she knew was that the longer the fighting went on, the more blood and fur covered the cabin floor.
Kenzie felt completely helpless. If one of the bears decided to reach under the bed and take a swipe at her, she would die before Ryker even knew what was happening. But the attackers were either unaware that Kenzie was there, or they just didn’t care. Now and then, loud thuds reverberated through the cabin as a bear fell, dead. Tears rolled down her face, and each time she heard a thud, she prayed it wasn’t Ryker.
After an eternity, the noise subsided. Kenzie blinked through her tears and saw quite a few bear carcasses strewn around. Many dead bears had piled onto each other in the small cabin. There was a long series of snorts and snuffs, as several pairs of paws lifted carcass after carcass and dragged them outside. When the room was finally cleared of dead bears, several loud, forceful thuds were heard, and Kenzie saw bear paws being transformed into human feet again. She was relieved to see a pair of feet that she recognized as Ryker’s. She recognized it from the large scar across the top of his left foot, which was a souvenir he had taken away from another fight with the Blizzards at some time in the distant past.
Kenzie still didn’t move. She stayed under the bed, her body still in a mild state of shock. She decided it was best not to move until Ryker told her to. It looked like Ryker had handed fresh clothes to his clan members, and they were stepping into fresh pairs of pants. To her relief, she counted five pairs of feet. It looked like all of the Northern Lights Clan had survived the raid.
Moments later, Ryker knelt down and looked under the bed, his face filled with concern. “Are you okay? It’s safe to come out now.”
Kenzie wriggled out from under the bed, and looked around at the clan members. They had clearly been banged up and bruised quite a bit. They all had matted hair and blood streaks here and there across their bodies. But none of them seemed to have any deep wounds or broken bones. They were all in much better shape than Ryker had been in when Kenzie found him after that first attack.
“Blizzards?” Kenzie asked. Her voice shook when she spoke, even though she was trying to sound brave.
Ryker nodded, and pulled Kenzie into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to you.”
Neal was rubbing the back of his neck, his expression weary. “Well, that’s the last we’ll see of them for a little while, anyways.”
“How do you know?” Tyler asked.
“Did you notice one of the bears they sent out today was Scott, their top fighter? The one with the distinctive scars across his face? They’ll be reeling from the loss of him. And I don’t think they were expecting our whole clan to be in here today, since they only sent ten of their bears. They thought they were catching Ryker alone, and could take him out.”
Kenzie felt Ryker shudder. “I wouldn’t have been too thrilled to take down ten bears alone,” he said.
“You would have managed,” Neal said. “Did you notice how sloppy they were fighting? They were too desperate. Their alpha must have been angry about the bears he lost on the first attack, and blindly sent them off without a good plan. Hopefully, losing ten more of their bears scared them off. And with summer coming, they’ll be heading as far north as they possibly can. If they dare show their faces around here next year, we’ll be sure to be well prepared to remind them why messing with us is a bad idea.”
“Why are they going north for summer?” Kenzie asked. She was still shaking, but her voice had steadied out a little bit.
“Blizzards are incredibly sensitive to heat.” Eric explained. “They tend to overheat easily, even in the mild summers of Alaska. When the light starts returning, signaling that summer is coming, they head as forth north as the sea ice will let them, seeking the coldest possible temperatures.”
“Don’t worry,” Ryker said, smoothing Kenzie’s hair back against her face. “They won’t have time to regroup for another attack before the light returns. That was the last we’ll see of them this year for sure.”
“And we will be ready for them if they dare show their faces here next year. I want all of you to make sure you keep a watchful eye over Kenzie, too. She’s part of the clan now, and it’s our job to protect her. And Kenzie, if you see anything at all that makes you uneasy, let us know. Even if it seems silly. We are here to defend you.”
Kenzie nodded, and finally let herself relax. Worrying about attacks from bear shifters was new territory for her, but she had confidence that she was safe under the watchful eye of Ryker and his clan. She never considered backing away from her commitment to Ryker. For better or worse, she was his now, and he was hers. And, besides, she had a feeling that things would only get better from here.
The Northern Lights Bears were confident that the Blizzards would leave them alone, now. And soon, the long, dark winter would be over.
Chapter Thirteen
The life mate ceremony was set for the first day the light returned. Although the daylight was short on that day, seeing the sun again brought a sense of renewed hope to the Northern Lights Clan, and to Kenzie.
Ryker and Kenzie chose to hold the ceremony outdoors, right near Ryker’s cabin. Ryker wore his best pair of jeans and a hunter green corduroy button-down shirt. Kenzie wore a beautiful white dress and held a bouquet of pale yellow roses. She had white fur boots and a matching white fur shawl. Her hair hung in long, sleek curls around her shoulders, and a garland of white and soft yellow flowers decorated her hair.
Ryker teared up when he saw her. “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful,” he said.
Kenzie blushed with pleasure at his praise. “I have to say, you’re looking gorgeous as well.”
Ryker’s chiseled face shone with pride as he held his new mates hand. They stood in front of Neal and bowed their heads in respect as he pronounced his alpha blessing over them. The sun shone across the snow in brilliant yellow and orange hues, chasing away the darkness that had smothered their spirits during the long, bleak winter.
Neal finished his blessing and let out a loud roar. Eric, Tyler, and Alan followed suit, roaring together in a salute to the new life mates. Kenzie’s induction into the Northern Lights Clan was complete. Although
she was human, her soul was forever tied with their souls, now. In her heart, she had taken on the essence and spirit of the resilient ice bears of the Northern Lights legacy.
With great joy, the clan returned to the inside of Ryker’s cabin, where a fantastic spread of fish, steak, and wine had been prepared to celebrate the occasion. Once each clan member had a glass of wine, Ryker raised his glass in a toast.
“I want to thank you all for coming today. With all the sorrow that our clan has endured over the last year, it brings me so much happiness to be able to celebrate this occasion with you. And it brings me immeasurable joy to announce that Kenzie is not the only new addition to our clan—we’re expecting a new little cub. The Northern Lights Clan may have had some hard times, but we are rebuilding!”
The clan members let out cheers and whoops of delight at Ryker’s announcement. They congratulated Kenzie and teased her that they were wondering why she hadn’t been taking any sips from her wine glass. Kenzie just laughed good-naturedly and beamed at their joking. She almost had to pinch herself to believe that she had been lucky enough to find Ryker and the Northern Lights Clan. When she first moved to Glacier Point, she had been so lonely. She had wanted so badly to find a group of friends, but it was hard to break into the social circles of any of the townspeople, who were all reserved and suspicious of outsiders. But now, Kenzie had found not just a group of friends, but a new family. She had found the love of her life, and soon she and Ryker would be showering their love on a new baby. She smiled up at her new life mate as he put his arm around her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. Kenzie knew deep down in her core that she’d found the true happiness she’d spent her whole life seeking.
Her adventure to Alaska had taken an unexpected twist, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Thank You for Reading
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About the Author
There are bears walking among us. Sloane Meyers is devoted to telling their stories.
Sloane thinks we could all use a little escape in our lives. And what better way to shake up the ordinary than to transport yourself to the mysterious world of those who have an animal within them, roaring to be let out. Sloane promises hot shifter males, and spunky, spirited heroines—with NO cliffhangers! Each book can be read as a standalone.
When she’s not busy crafting bear tales, Sloane enjoys a good glass of wine, preferably shared with good friends. She loves reading, baking, and pretending that she’s actually a music buff. On weekends, she spends a lot of time in the great outdoors, hiking with her own sexy alpha and adorable little cub.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Thank You for Reading
About the Author