An Alpha's Tempest (Water Bear Shifters 4) (7 page)

Despite her resolve not to parade any of her chosen dresses for Ben, Rhythm decided to make an exception and ask him what he thought of this dress. Hopefully, he would be able to honestly tell her if it was the completely wrong kind of thing for a funeral. She padded out of the dressing room in her bare feet and went to stand in front of where Ben was sitting, staring at something on his cell phone.

“Hey,” she said gently. “Do you think this dress is okay? I mean, it’s purple, not black. I just don’t know the protocol for funerals around here, or for shifter funerals in particular. I don’t want to offend anyone if everyone else will be wearing black.”

Ben looked up, and his mouth literally dropped. “Wow,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Rhythm, you have to buy that dress. It looks incredible on you.”

He said it in a tone of voice that clearly implied he would love to take the dress off of her, and Rhythm felt her cheeks heating up again. This time, there was no denying the flirtation in his voice. Whether he meant to or not, he had just revealed his hand. He was definitely attracted to her.

“Thanks,” she said, looking down at the dress because she was unable to meet his eyes at that moment. “But, is it okay? For the funeral I mean?”

Ben stood, and walked around her in a slow circle as he spoke. “It’s perfect. Shifters funerals aren’t any different than normal funerals, when it comes to what people wear. And people around here are laid back about things like that. There aren’t any strict rules about having to wear black, or even about having to dress up. The most important thing is that people show up to honor their friend or loved one who passed away.”

“Okay,” Rhythm said. “Then, if you’re sure it’s okay. I think I’ll get this one.”

“I’m sure. You look lovely,” Ben said, coming to a stop directly in front of her and lifting his finger to gently brush her cheek. When he made contact with her skin. Rhythm felt like fire was shooting from his body into hers. Her breathing became rapid, and when she tilted her head up to look at him, she could see his eyes blazing with desire. They stood there for several long moments, holding each other’s gaze, and both acknowledging with their eyes what they couldn’t bring themselves to say with their mouths yet.

They wanted each other.

Rhythm felt heat growing between her legs, and her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure Ben must be able to hear it. She was the one to break the moment, coughing nervously when she couldn’t take the heat any longer.

“I should get changed,” she said, taking a step backward toward the dressing room. “We don’t want to end up leaving late.”

Ben nodded, but he never took his eyes off of her as she quickly backed into the dressing room and shut the door behind her. As soon as she closed it, she leaned her face against the mirror, willing the cool glass to chill her burning skin.

Her mind was screaming at her that she was insane if she thought getting together with a bear shifter was a good idea—let alone with a bear shifter who was being hunted for his life by a group of crazy scientists who happened to be her former employer.

But her heart was doing happy somersaults, and celebrating the fact that she was about to take a solo trip into the Alaskan wilderness with the strong, handsome man who was waiting for her just on the other side of the fitting room door.

And for once, Rhythm was going to listen to her heart.

Rhythm watched with interest as Ben did his routine preflight checks on the Cessna aircraft that would be taking them to Frost Peak. His face was all business, with his eyebrows furrowed and his nose scrunched up as he looked over every square inch of the plane. He had asked Rhythm if she’d ever been on a flight in a plane this small before, and she hadn’t. The Coast Guard helicopter that she’d ridden in after the rescue crew had pulled her out of the water was the smallest aircraft she’d ever been in, and this plane was even smaller. With barely enough room for two adults and Rhythm’s small duffel bag, it looked almost like a toy airplane to her. Ben had assured her that the aircraft was in top shape, and that, although it might feel strange to be in such a small plane, that she was perfectly safe and he would take good care of her.

Rhythm wasn’t worried. If she was going to trust someone to ferry her around in a tiny airplane, a Coast Guard pilot seemed as good a person as any. She felt more embarrassed than anything about the size of the bag she had packed. It wasn’t a large duffel, by any means, but it still took up almost all of the extra space in the aircraft. Although they only planned to be at the Frost Peak Clan’s headquarters for a day, Rhythm had decided to take a few extra outfits so that she had a choice of what to wear. Their shopping trip had continued for an hour after she bought the purple dress, and she had snatched up a new jacket along with new jeans, shirts, underwear, and shoes. Nothing crazy—just some practical basics. But, still, she had been excited to test out her new outfits, and had brought more than enough with her.

When she saw the plane’s size, and apologized for bringing a duffel instead of a small backpack like Ben, he had laughed.

“It’s alright,” he’d said, giving her a wink. “I’m told that women can’t help overpacking.”

This statement had only made Rhythm more frustrated. She didn’t want Ben to lump her in with stereotypes of other women, and assume she was high maintenance. She wasn’t. She normally packed very light, but she had just been excited to try out her new outfits. Rhythm hadn’t protested much at Ben’s, statement, though. She’d found that protesting too much usually made people believe you even less, so she clamped her mouth shut while he finished up his preflight checks. He would see with time that she was an easygoing and practical person.

Well, hopefully he would see that with time. She wasn’t sure how long they would need her around for the whole operation of taking out the scientists. But she was starting to think she might stick around even after that was over. And, if his actions outside the dressing room earlier today were any indication, he was starting to think that way, too.

“All set,” Ben said, giving the plane an affectionate slap on the side. “She’s ready to go. Are you?”

“Yup, I’m ready,” Rhythm said, hopping down from the box she was sitting on and heading toward the plane. Ben directed her to the passenger seat, and she settled in and buckled her seatbelt while he climbed in to the pilot seat. He checked her seatbelt, and then handed her a headset.

“Wear this,” he said. “It gets pretty loud in these tiny planes, but these will block out most of the noise. And they’ll allow us to talk to each other. Anything you say in that little microphone will be transmitted to my headset.”

Rhythm nodded and adjusted the headset over her ears. The noise of the plane’s engine, which Ben had already started, instantly faded. Rhythm settled in while Ben taxied out to the runway and then took off into the dark Alaskan sky. For several minutes, the only sound Rhythm heard was Ben, speaking back and forth with Kodiak’s air traffic control.

Rhythm looked around, taking in the view with wonder. The stars looked incredible from up here. The further they got away from Kodiak, the darker the ground became, but the brighter the stars. The night sky was one of the things Rhythm loved about Alaska. It was always so beautiful. Whether it was lit up by stars, the Northern Lights, or lightning—it was a spectacle that never failed to disappoint. She admired the breathtaking view for several minutes as they flew.

Ben hadn’t been kidding when he told her that riding in an airplane this small would be a little bit of a different experience. Rhythm was so close to the small window that she felt like she was almost completely open to the sky around her. It was a feeling that was both exhilarating and slightly unsettling.

“Having fun?” Ben’s voice came crackling in over her headset. Rhythm looked over at him and smiled.

“Yeah. You were right. It’s a little weird to be up here in such a small plane. It’s kinda cool, though.”

Ben smiled at her, his eyes crinkling up in an adorable fashion that set Rhythm’s heart beating faster once again.

“It is cool, I think. I’m glad you like it. Some people don’t.”

Rhythm smiled back at him. “How much longer until we get there?”

“About an hour. The winds are against us, but they’re not very strong tonight, so we should still make good time. Sorry, there won’t be any in-flight beverage service, though. You’ll have to wait until we land.”

Rhythm laughed. “I think I’ll manage.”

“Good,” Ben said. “Because there isn’t really room for a beverage cart in this plane. There’s no in-flight movie, either. But if you want some entertainment I could always try to tell you a story.”

Rhythm laughed again. “What about your life story?” she asked. “How does someone become a bear shifter? I’ve been dying to know how this works since I discovered that you all exist, but things have been so busy that I haven’t had a good time to ask.”

Ben tilted his head sideways in Rhythm’s direction. “Oh, I didn’t realize no one had explained it to you. I would have thought Evan did, when you first realized that he was a bear shifter.”

Rhythm shook her head. “No, by the time that I found Evan, he was having trouble coming up with the energy to have long conversations. He told me that there were a lot of different kinds of bear shifters around, and that the scientists were trying to kill them all, but that was about it. He didn’t explain how bear shifters came to be in the first place.”

“Gotcha,” Ben said. “Well, bear shifters have been around for a long time. It’s not something that someone just ‘becomes’ at some point in their life. It’s a genetic mutation that allows shifting, and it’s been around for generations. Long enough that no one really knows when it started. It’s a dominant gene, so it’s passed down even when a bear shifter mates with a human. It hasn’t become widespread though, because shifters tend to marry other shifters instead of full humans. A lot of humans don’t like or trust shifters, as you’ve seen.”

“Wait, what do you mean the dominant gene is passed down?” Rhythm asked, interrupting him. “Like, if you and I were to have a kid, the kid would be a shifter even though I’m fully human.”

Ben glanced over at Rhythm with an amused look. “Yes, the kid would be a shifter. Are you saying you want to have a cub with me?”

Rhythm felt her face heating up, and she was sure it was bright red, although thankfully it was so dark out that Ben probably couldn’t tell. “Shit, no, that came out wrong. I just meant, hypothetically speaking. I was just trying to understand what you meant by the dominant gene being passed on. That’s all. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Okay,” Ben said, clearly enjoying how flustered Rhythm was acting.

“Oh, shut up,” Rhythm said, feeling defensive. “You know what I meant.”

Ben just laughed, and Rhythm leaned back in her seat in a huff, folding her arms across her chest. She looked out the window again, trying to regain her composure. Not only was she embarrassed, but now that the thought of having Ben’s baby had crossed her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about how that would mean getting to sleep with him. And if what she had seen of his body so far was any indication, she was willing to bet that the rest of him was pretty smoking hot as well. She had to stop thinking about that right now, though. Being stuck with him in a tiny airplane was not the ideal situation for letting her feelings for him run wild. She could feel the heat and moisture growing between her legs the more she thought about sex with Ben, but there was nothing she could do about the feeling right now. In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure whether there was anything she could do about it ever. She had to change the subject.

“So, what kind of bear are you?” Rhythm asked. “I’ve heard there are several different kinds of bears. Polar? Grizzly? Black bear?”

“Panda,” Ben said.

“Panda?” Rhythm repeated, surprised. “I thought all the pandas were gone.”

Ben looked over at her, his expression guarded and surprised. “Who told you that?” he asked.

“Evan. When he was first explaining to me that he was a bear shifter, he told me that there were all kinds of bears, and that there even used to be pandas. But he said that the scientists had wiped them all out years ago with a virus. He seemed to think that there were none left at all.”

Ben’s expression darkened, and he was silent for several minutes. The silence was awkward and uncomfortable, but Rhythm didn’t push Ben. She could tell that he was struggling with whether or not to tell her something of great importance to him, and she didn’t want to push him. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and sad as it came crackling over her headset.

“Evan wasn’t entirely correct. The scientists did send out a virus specifically aimed at pandas, and it did wipe out most of us. But not all. Panda alphas carry a special alpha gene that makes them extremely resilient and disease-resistant. The virus was supposed to be strong enough to wipe out even the alphas but it didn’t. Not all of us, anyway. Most of the alphas did die, but Brett, Ace, Lance and I managed to survive. Brett actually came really close to dying. We thought we had lost him several times, but he managed to pull through.”

“Wow,” Rhythm said. It was the only word that seemed appropriate at this moment.

“Yeah, so, I guess the four of us were lucky. But that ‘luck’ of surviving the virus left us with a pretty shitty life. We went from being leaders of big clans to having no one. All our friends and family were gone, killed senselessly by small-minded people who spend their lives fearing what they don’t understand.”

Ben’s eyes were watering, and Rhythm looked away to give him privacy for a moment. Her heart ached for him. No wonder he burned with so much anger toward the scientists. They had taken away everyone he cared about.

“I’m so sorry,” she finally said. It seemed like a hollow sentiment in light of everything he had just told her, but it was all she had to offer.

“Thanks,” he said. “I know I probably seem a little crazy sometimes, with this overwhelming obsession I have with catching the scientists. But they took away everything that mattered to me. I’ll stop them, or die trying.”

“And I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” Rhythm promised. And she meant it. She had seen enough of her former employer’s evil actions. She would stand by Ben and help him until this threat to the bear shifters was eliminated.

When she got her degree in chemistry, she had done so because she wanted to study medicine and make the world a healthier, better place for everyone. Now, she had inside information on a group of people who were doing the exact opposite of that, and she was making it her mission to stop them. Everyone, even bear shifters, deserved a happy healthy life.

“We’ll get them,” Rhythm said. “Don’t worry. We’ll stop them, and none of the bear shifters will ever have to fear them again.”

Ben looked over at her and smiled, his usual, happy expression back in place. “Thanks, babe,” he said. “I know we will. And I can’t thank you enough.”

Rhythm smiled, and then looked out the opposite window, biting her lip to keep down the happiness filling her from the simple fact that Ben had so nonchalantly called her “babe.”

He was definitely flirting, and she was definitely interested.