Snowman (Arctic Station Bears Book 2) (3 page)

Alanna put her hands on Liam’s chest and pushed herself up with effort. Her face was flushed. “Fuck me. From behind. Please.”

Liam needed no prodding and Alanna eagerly presented her ass to him. The scent of sex in the air was almost overwhelming. When he slid his cock back inside her and she backed up onto him, he thought that he might cum right there. He lost whatever control he might have had, grabbing a handful of Alanna’s hair in one hand and her hip in the other. She arched her back as he slammed himself into her.

Alanna pulled her head away from Liam and braced herself on her shoulders, cupping her breast in one hand and sliding the other between her legs. The deep rumble of Liam’s moan sent her over the edge just as his cock exploded and pulsed inside of her.

They collapsed in a panting, smiling heap and Liam rolled off to one side, spooning her. Liam could feel the quickness of her breath and heartbeat. He kissed the back of her neck.

“Don’t you dare move,” Liam said.

“Viktor’s been on watch for two hours. It’s my turn,” Alanna said. “Not to worry though. I’ll be back to wake you up again in a few for round two.”

Liam smiled and kissed her, then reluctantly let go of her hand when she turned to leave. Even though she’d be just outside the door she already felt a million miles away.

C
hapter
F
our
- O
liver

“I know you can hear me,” Calder said.

Oliver’s eyes fluttered open, then grew wide with fear.

Calder chuckled. “Ah, you remember me. Good.” He surveyed Oliver’s wounds. “You’re healing well. I’m surprised you survived.”

“Mother…fucker,” Oliver said.

“You’re being rude? I was only trying to prevent their escape. The device wasn’t masterful, but it did its job. Unlike you.” Calder pressed on one of Oliver’s wounds.

Oliver screamed in pain.
”Fuck!”
He bucked against the makeshift bed.

Calder withdrew. “You knew the female was not to be harmed. It was not part of the plan.”

Oliver spat and clenched his partially-healed hands into fists. “Screw your plan.”

“I need her alive. She’s going to be my mate. And when I give her the virus, our children will be perfect. I will teach them to see humans as prey.”

Oliver laughed. “It won’t work. There’s too many of them.”

“But that’s the beauty. Even those who survive will be changed. Some will only have shifter offspring. But those with bodies that are unable to fight the infection will have their DNA rewritten. They’ll partially shift and help spread the virus more quickly.”

“But…the cure? You said that I—”

“There is no cure, bear.” Calder snickered. “And even if there was, do you think you would still have a part in the plan?” He tore the bags from the IV stand, spilling the contents, and grabbed Oliver by the throat and lifted him until they were face to face.

“You were so easy. You would ‘discover’ the virus and release the cure. Fame and fortune. Movie rights and a book deal. This is a very strange world that you live in, Oliver. But in the end, you were easy. Not righteous. Just greedy. Like a human.”

Calder threw Oliver back down on the bed. “Was it guilt that made you betray me?” Calder asked.

“Love.” Oliver’s voice was a rasp.

Calder laughed. “Jealousy, you mean. Envy. You wanted the female to be your mate. And you decided that what? If you couldn’t have her then no one could? And you’d have the satisfaction of the alpha being forced to live with having torn her to pieces?”

“Not. Part. Of. The. Plan!” Calder said. Each word was punctuated with a fist to Oliver’s chest.

“I had a mate once,” Calder said. “Did I ever tell you? Beautiful. Kind. My better in every way. Because I love her, I will make a world where what happened to her will never happen again.”

Oliver coughed and gasped. The air came back to him slowly. Every breath was agony.

Blood ran from Oliver’s mouth. “How…did you…even get in here?”

“The alpha continues to underestimate me. It was so simple to short-circuit the mechanism.”

There was a very faint sound outside, getting closer.

Calder looked toward the ceiling. “Hmm,” Calder said. “It looks like someone else is trying to interfere.” He patted Oliver’s chest. “I’ll be right back.”

P
arker

Parker loaded the silver bullets into the clip one at a time. He held one admiringly and examined it up close. Each one was meticulously made by hand. It was part signature and part superstition. He also usually took thirteen clips on a mission, so he spent a lot of time making bullets. So far, he’d successfully completed every mission without ever requiring more than one clip. Still, better safe than sorry, and his gut told him this mission was going to be unlike anything he’d ever encountered previously. Over the years, Parker had learned to listen to his intuition. The large, sinuous scar over his left hip served as a permanent reminder of the one and only time he’d ignored his gut. Parker considered himself lucky that he’d come away from that mission mostly unscathed. A scar was definitely preferable to losing a limb. He shook his head. No sense in dwelling on the past. There was a fresh mission at hand, after all.

He looked around at the six heavily armed and armored men and women who shared the helicopter with him. The Company had a very well-trained mercenary force, but Parker would insist on taking point. None of them spoke, but some looked worried.

That wasn’t a feeling that Parker shared, or even
could
share. Any halfway experienced professional would recognize all the hallmarks of a sociopath in him, but the fact was known only to the Company and those individuals who a mission required that he make contact with. Not a single person in the world called him Alex. The Chairwoman was the closest thing he had to a mother, and even she had always called him Parker, never Alex. It was as though Alex had ceased to exist once Parker joined the Company. If he’d had an ordinary childhood, maybe there’d still be something of Alex left. But Parker’s childhood had been anything but ordinary.

He had been recruited as a Sheriff at twelve years old after his parents and sister died in a car accident. He’d sat with their bodies for hours until the police arrived on the scene and pulled him out. Parker hadn’t cried then, or at the funeral. Or since. Someone had noticed, because his foster family wasn’t really a family at all. It was a company.
The
Company.

He actually
was
surprised to find out that there were all sorts of supernatural residents in the world, but the emotion didn’t show on his face. He did feel things, but in a vestigial way. The information just didn’t affect him in any real way. Over the years, he learned names to give to the feelings, and also studied affectation to fit in. Most people would probably find him charming. He laughed at jokes, smiled at weddings, and looked sad at funerals.

Even if he felt nothing, he was not apathetic. He took his job seriously, and his job was to be a line in the sand between humanity and the supernatural. And also a line between conflicting supernatural parties in the event of territory disputes, rogue elements, or crimes. He enjoyed keeping the peace. Protecting people. And he was fearless.

That part was artificial. Even the tiny, disconnected amount of fear that he had felt as a child could prove fatal in the field. There were things that would eat you if you were afraid. Run from a shifter, and chances are it would catch up to you and eat you. The best bet for survival was to stand your ground and make them afraid instead. Part of his training was learning how to subdue and master fear.

Some species found the Sheriffs very off-putting. Being immune to the seductive powers of a succubus or siren and the glamour of a vampire made all three less dangerous. And they
liked
being dangerous as much as Parker did, so the distraction gave him the advantage.

Parker wiped away a haze of condensation and looked out of the window. He could see the base in the distance now. They were getting close.

He wasn’t looking forward to his assigned tasks. The Company had instructed him to use fire sale protocol, which meant that he was going to have to kill everyone on site and destroy everything. Human. Shifter. Anything else that might be there. Hell, even the
building
itself was going to have to come down. Or be scuttled.

After reading the file, he understood. Things had gotten out of control. The virus and anyone exposed would need to be eradicated. And a saber-toothed tiger running around might raise a few eyebrows.

The cover of darkness would have been better for the element of surprise, but it couldn’t be helped. The helicopter itself was very quiet, but he couldn’t count on flying in unheard.

Parker stood up. “All right, everyone—listen up,” he said. “We’re going in blind. There is no concrete information about the situation down there. We have at least eight hostiles and one on-site agent. You should have received his photo and profile during the briefing. We can expect assistance from him, but don’t let him get close or touch you. He’ll still need to be terminated before the mission is complete, so don’t make a friend.”

Parker pulled a handgun from its holster and ejected the clip for inspection. “Most of the bears shouldn’t have much fighting experience, and Dr. MacCready doesn’t either. Use of lethal force is authorized. Shoot on sight. We can’t afford for anyone who might be infected with the virus to leave the base. Wear your masks at all times unless you’d like to become a casualty yourself. Do I make myself clear?” He slammed the clip back into his handgun and holstered it.

“Yes, sir!” said the chorus of mercenaries.

“Good,” Parker said. “Now, about the shifter known as Calder. You’ve all been briefed. Do not come in contact with his blood.”

Parker’s earpiece crackled. “ETA ten minutes,” said the pilot.

“Roger that,” said Parker. He turned to the others. “All right, everyone. Standard sweep procedure when we land. Saddle up and good hunting. Stay on your comms.” He sat back down.

Parker stared out at the approaching base, bathed in the dim light of a sun that never quite cleared the horizon. The hair stood up on the back of his neck and his hand reflexively moved to his gun. Something was waiting for them.

C
hapter
F
ive
- A
lanna

After I relieved Viktor, I sat in his chair for awhile, but my ass fell asleep and I had to get up and move around a little. All I really wanted was to be curled up around Liam right now, trying to stay warm. I could see my breath out in the hallway in front of Liam’s room. I rubbed my hands together and tried to ignore the darkness at the end of the hallway. It gave me the creeps.

God,
I thought.
It’s too cold to move.
I sat back down and leaned my head against the wall. So much had happened this week. I was literally fighting to survive. Last week, I was fighting to get coffee.

Last week, I was sleeping alone without a sexy polar shifter living in my head and in my bed. I smiled and closed my eyes for a moment.

Then there was a hand over my mouth. I didn’t have time to make a sound before I felt the telltale sting in my neck that told me I’d just been injected with something. My heart pounded in my chest as darkness closed in from all sides.

C
alder

Fate was smiling upon him. Calder had been on his way to investigate the suspicious sound outside when he caught the scent of the female. When he saw that she was away from her protectors, he knew that his investigation would have to wait. He couldn’t waste the opportunity.

He was on her before she even knew what was happening. By morning, she would be his. And there was nothing the alpha or the other bears could do to stop him.

Calder carried Alanna to his lab. It was in an underwater portion of the base that was in disuse, according to documents he’d read. Most of the equipment was still in perfect working order. He was even able to use a generator for power, although he made sure to destroy all of the others.

Calder secured Alanna to a metal table and gagged her. She could cry out all she liked. No one would hear her.

The sound overhead became louder as he tightened Alanna’s restraints. He paused for a moment and shifted, his cat’s ears being much more sensitive to the sound. It was a vehicle not unlike the one that Alanna had arrived in by the sound.

Calder quickly finished his work, then turned off the lights in his lab before ascending the staircase to the main level. He was silent as he crossed the common room and then down the hall toward the helicopter pad.

He was sure that another vehicle would not be able to use the landing area due to the wreckage from the previous day, and would instead be forced to land closer to the base itself. Calder would use that fact to his advantage. He opened the door just a crack and peered out.

Men in armor jumped out of a black vehicle not unlike the one Calder destroyed. One didn’t look like the others, however, and appeared less heavily armored. Still, the mortal danger in the aura of his presence was unmistakable.

Calder dispatched him first, crossing the distance between them as a giant cat and using his momentum to shift and punch the man in the chest, slamming him up against the side of the vehicle with such ferocity that he was sure that he’d stopped the man’s heart.

The spinning blades of the vehicle masked the noise of Calder’s movements. The tunnel vision of the armored helmets that the other soldiers wore blinded them.

These soldiers were wearing armor to protect their organs, but it did little to prevent Calder from running from one to the next and slashing at a very weak point in their armor. Their throats.

Calder waited among the bodies of his victims until the helicopter blades overhead stopped spinning before he climbed inside to greet the pilot.

The man wore no armor. He removed a device from his head and placed it on the console.

Calder advanced toward the cockpit and the pilot turned around. They made eye contact for a split second before the pilot reached for his sidearm and Calder grabbed his throat and squeezed until the man’s eyes fluttered and his arms went slack. Calder pulled the pilot’s weapon out of its holster and let go of the man’s throat.

In a few moments, the pilot regained consciousness. His eyes went wide with terror but Calder only smiled.

“My friend,” Calder said. “Teach me how this amazing machine works.”

A
lanna

I was walking on the ice next to the water. It was dark outside, but the full moon shed enough light to see snow flurries as I walked along the water’s edge. The air smelled of cold and salt. I looked down at my feet to avoid stepping on anything, and I realized that I was naked. What was going on? I looked all around, but there was no one else in sight. I wasn’t even cold.

I decided to go for a swim, and waded out into the water. It was warmer than I expected, considering the icebergs. Soon I relaxed, floating on my back and looking up at the night sky. I heard a splash like someone had entered the water and I righted myself, only to see…Liam? He swam over to me with a few powerful strokes.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Hopefully you,” he said in a low growl that made me blush. I’d never been approached so shamelessly. That just didn’t happen. I decided to be bold.

“I think that can be arranged,” I said, and pressed my body against him. His lips were like fire as he kissed my throat and his cock was rock hard against my thigh. We bobbed in the water, Liam’s muscular arms holding me afloat effortlessly, and I gasped with surprise as he pressed the tip of his cock against my cleft and found my opening. I wanted him inside me fully.

“Please fuck me, Liam,” I said. He lifted one of my legs and thrust into me fully. I could not help but moan. As he slid in and out of me, he stared deeply into my eyes. They were blue, so blue that they looked like they were glowing in the moonlight. I could feel myself getting close to the precipice already. I wanted to fly.

“My God, Alanna,” Liam said, and locked his mouth on mine with urgency. I felt devoured by him and I worked to return the favor. The long strokes of his cock were punctuated by Liam’s breathless growl into my open mouth as he kissed me. “Allie…Allie�”

***

I opened my eyes. At least, I assumed they were open. The room was pitch black. My head pounded. I was so confused.

Where was I? A metal table? I could feel the penetrating cold even through my clothes, it was even colder than the surrounding air. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. My arms and legs were shaking, which shook my restraints.

Wait.
Restraints?
I pulled and twisted, trying to free myself. I heard the clank and screech of metal on metal, but my limbs would not budge.

My breath came in gulps and gasps. I craned my neck to see something. Anything.

This is it,
I thought. I nearly sobbed.
This is where I end.
I pictured Liam’s face in my mind.
This is where
we
end
.

A choking voice tore through the darkness. “Liam!”

I hardly recognized it as my own.

L
iam

Liam!

His eyes shot wide open and with a deep growl, Liam was immediately on his feet.

“Alanna!” He ran out of the room. The seat was empty. “Alanna!” His voice echoed in the hall.

Donny awoke with a yawn. “Liam? What’s wrong?”

“Get up. Alanna’s gone.”

“What?” Donny said. He was already getting to his feet. Viktor was tying his long hair into a ponytail as he came to stand by Donny’s side.

“Calder?” Ben asked. He put on a shirt.

“Probably,” Liam said. “Find some flashlights. Wherever she is, it’s dark. And she’s afraid. Viktor and Donny, pair up and check the mess hall. Ben, you’re with me. Everybody rendezvous in the common area in thirty minutes.”