Snowman (Arctic Station Bears Book 2) (4 page)

C
hapter
S
ix
- P
arker

Parker found a bird with an injured wing one day during training. It was unable to fly, and just stared at him quizzically. He’d gathered it up into a box lined with newspaper and cotton and tried to nurse it back to health. He felt no sympathy for the animal, but knew even at a young age that protection was more rewarding than predation.

His adopted father was red-faced and yelled when he found out. Actually, it wasn’t his father at all but his teacher, who taught him all of the subjects a child might learn in school. Math. Geography. Chemistry. History.

He also learned a few subjects that weren’t normally taught in school. Mixed martial arts. Combat tactics. Shifter biology. Vampire hunting.

But the most important lesson of all according to his new father was that caring for
anything
created a fear of losing it. And that fear was distracting and could one day get him killed. To illustrate the point, he’d crushed the bird in front of Parker’s face.

***

Parker opened his eyes with difficulty—they were nearly frozen shut by the cold. He pushed himself up in the snow. The pain in his chest would have made him double over if he hadn’t learned to control it. His breath burned, and not just from the cold.

That’s one…no, two. Two cracked ribs.
he thought.

The snow was red with blood. Calder had been very thorough.

But not thorough enough.

Parker touched his jacket and was relieved to find that his ammunition was present and accounted for. That weapon that had been in his hand when he had gotten off the helicopter was missing. It had gone flying when Calder had sucker punched him. Fortunately, Parker was superstitious. He wore a very thin, flexible armor that he made himself, and always in three layers.

He searched the snow around him, then got to his feet to resume his search.

Fortunately, he’d only been unconscious for a few minutes and not much snow had fallen. His missing gun lay just a few feet away. Parker picked up the weapon and ejected the clip. Everything seemed to be in working order, and he had been careful to select a lubricant that was designed for cold weather use. Still, he didn’t want to take any chances.

He holstered the weapon in his jacket, where it could be warmed by his body. The action reminded him anew of his broken ribs and he winced.

He checked the helicopter. The pilot had been torn apart, but the vehicle itself seemed intact.

Parker had never failed a mission, and he was not about to start. He drew a backup handgun, checked the ammunition and touched the top bullet in the clip for luck, then entered Arctic Station.

C
hapter
S
even
- A
lanna

“I apologize for keeping you in the dark,” Calder said. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered to life with a buzz and it took my eyes a second to adjust.

He came around the table to stand over me. His clothes were covered in blood. He seemed to notice at the same time that I did.

“I apologize for the state I’m in as well. I didn’t have the time to change clothing. Time is of the essence, after all.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. I tried to stay calm, but my breath was still ragged and my pulse raced from waking up in the dark.

Calder rolled a cart over to me. I couldn’t see what was on top, but he picked up a pair of surgical scissors. He touched me on the wrist and I flinched.

“Get the fuck away from me,” I said. I hadn’t even realized that I’d been holding my breath. I tried to stifle a sob.

Calder slid the blade of the scissors under the wrist of my sleeves. He cut through multiple layers of fabric.

“What are you doing?” My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

“Try and relax. I mean you no harm.”

“I find that a little hard to believe considering that you’ve got me strapped to a fucking table.” I bucked my body against it and bared my teeth at him. I was trying to focus my terror into something a little more practical, like jumping off of this table and stabbing him with those scissors.

“Alanna. Try not to move. I don’t want to cut you.”

Calder cut my sleeves to the elbow and swabbed my forearm with iodine.

He took a syringe off of the cart. It was filled with a dark liquid I couldn’t quite place.

“What the fuck is that?”

He regarded the needle warmly. “This is my blood, Alanna. Or I guess more specifically, what’s
in
my blood. It’s my birthright. I’d like to pass it on to our children.”

“Our
children
?” I laughed weakly. “You should really buy me dinner first. Or not be a fucking psychopath.”

“That hurts me, Alanna. I’m no psychopath. I care very deeply about you, this planet, and everyone on it. I know that the only way to make people change is to change them by force. And our children will do that. They will change people for the better.”

“Get the fuck away from her, Calder.” The voice was a rasp, but I recognized it instantly.

Ollie.

P
arker

Parker moved through the mess hall and into the kitchen.

A muscular black man with a greying beard tore open a toolbox and handed two flashlights to a smaller man with a ponytail. Parker recognized them from photos even from behind. Dr. Donald Bragg and Viktor Petrov.

“Okay, Viktor, that’s all we have here,” the first man said. “Let’s get these back to Liam.”

Parker raised his weapon.

The two men turned and faced him. Viktor was so startled that he dropped the flashlights.

Two shots rang out through the mess hall.

A
lanna

Calder spun around. “Oliver.” He shoved the cart across the room violently. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“You left the door open,” Oliver said. “And I knew where to come looking.”

Ollie looked like hell, but he was standing. One of his arms hadn’t fully healed and he was covered in burns. “Allie, I’m sorry,” he said, then he was across the room, faster than he should have been able to move with his injuries.

His was right in my face, his eyes wild.

“Straight out the door there’s a stairway that’ll take you to the north wing labs,” he yelled. “Go!”

He shoved Calder across the room and undid the strap holding my bare forearm.

Calder was already shifting, but Ollie jumped on him.

I reached over and pulled off the strap on my other arm, then sat up and freed my legs.

Ollie roared as he shifted. But he only held Calder. He wasn’t attacking.

Calder struggled to pull away, slashing Ollie with his claws and drawing fresh blood.

I was off the table and running.

“Alanna!” Calder’s voice, mixed with a guttural roar, followed me out the door.

Thank you, Ollie.
I thought, and ran.

I didn’t even stop to question his directions. I just ran until my lungs burned. Up the stairwell and out a door into a familiar corridor.

In the common room, Liam and Ben were waiting.

“Liam!” I rushed into his arms.

“Allie!” he said. “Thank God. Are you all right?”

I am now.
I thought.
God, please never let go.

“Where’s Calder?” asked Liam.

“Downstairs.” I couldn’t catch my breath. “With Ollie.”

Behind Liam, a man advanced with a gun drawn.

“Isn’t this interesting,” said a voice from behind me. I shivered uncontrollably. Calder.

C
hapter
E
ight
- A
lanna

The four men just stared at each other for a few seconds. For a few seconds I thought there might be handshakes and apologies for misunderstandings all around.

Get behind something, Alanna.
I could hear Liam’s voice in my head.
Now!

I dove behind a chair, put my back against it and closed my eyes.

There were three gunshots in rapid succession. One hit the wall across from me. My ears rang from the sound in the confined space and a cold sickness rose in my stomach.
I have to get the fuck out of here,
I thought.

I heard a roar, then Calder sailed across the room and crashed into the wall opposite me. He was shifting by the time he hit the wall and his eyes locked on mine for a moment. All I wanted to do was hide, but there was nowhere I could hide safely in here.

I had to run. Now.

I slid out from behind the chair and got to my feet. At the corner of my eye, Calder jumped from the wall to the floor. I could almost feel his gigantic teeth on the back of my neck. I screamed and willed my body to move toward the door.

A bear tackled Calder and sent them both crashing into the wall. Their roars and growls were almost as deafening as the gunshots.

Liam. Please be okay.
I couldn’t stop running. I couldn’t turn around. Finally, I reached the corridor. I crumpled into a heap behind the protection of the corner. My legs felt like someone had replaced the bones with molten lead. They were so heavy.

More gunshots. I couldn’t help myself. I had to see. I peeked around the corner.

Liam fought with Calder. I’m not sure
how
I knew the difference between he and Ben at the moment, since they were both bears, but somehow I knew. The two animals circled each other — polar bear and prehistoric cat.

Calder swiped at Liam’s face.

I had to catch a scream in my throat and hold it in with my hands. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself and things were moving so quickly that it was hard to process. Liam roared and stood on his hind legs.

Across the room, Ben roared and charged the stranger.

The gunman threw himself backward and squeezed off a single shot.

Ben roared in pain and almost immediately shifted back into a man. He writhed on the floor and cried out.

The gunman was using silver bullets! My mouth went dry, but the stranger looked satisfied with just crippling Ben.

I clasped my hands together in front of my face. Liam was paying no attention to the shooter.
Liam! The guy with the gun! He’s using silver bullets!
I thought for a moment that I’d screamed it out loud.

Liam looked at me, and Calder took advantage of his distraction and jumped on his back.

My teeth snapped together and I balled my hands into fists.
That motherfucker!

Liam bodyslammed the cat onto the floor and roared as if telling him to stay down. I was too excited to think straight. My heart raced. I didn’t even care to stay hidden anymore.

“Kill him, Liam!” I screamed.

Calder sank his teeth into Liam’s leg and the bear roared in pain. My own leg suddenly felt like someone had pulled it off at the knee. The pain took my breath away. Another symptom of being a fated mate? The pain slowly faded into a dull ache and I could breathe again.

Liam had pulled Calder off and the cat immediately jumped onto his his back, all teeth and claws.

The bear struggled and twisted, then stood on his hind legs and fell backwards, crushing Calder under his weight. My chest suddenly felt lighter. Liam had the advantage! I was dizzy from the adrenaline, but was able to get to my knees.
Shit! I had forgotten the shooter!

He was taking aim to shoot Liam!

Wait. Not Liam.
Calder
. The bear looked up at the gunman.

“Can’t miss from this close, you bastard,” the man said.

Suddenly, Calder pulled himself out from under Liam and knocked the gunman off balance. His weapon discharged as he fell.

Liam took the bullet. His white fur turned red with blood. I fell forward on my hands as a burning agony tore through my chest. Blackness started to overtake my vision. Each breath was a gasping struggle.

Liam�

Liam looked at me, then shifted and collapsed.

I’m sorry, Alanna.
Again, his voice was in my head.

Calder shifted into a half-man, half-tiger. He looked at me and smiled. Blood oozed from his wounds as he lifted the gunman off the floor, raked his claws across his abdomen, and threw him across the room. He landed in a heap.

And his gun slid across the floor right in front of me.

I didn’t even think. I picked the gun up with shaking hands. I’d never touched a gun before—it was heavier than I expected. Every muscle in my body in my body tensed as I raised the gun to Calder. My pulse hammered in my ears and I tasted blood in my mouth as I bit my lip. There was nothing else in the room besides the muzzle of the gun and the monster in front of me.

My target.

Shit. I’ve never fired a gun. What if I miss?
I knew I would only get one shot.

Impossibly fast, Calder pulled Liam up off the ground and hid behind him.

Why couldn’t you be a scrawny guy instead of a wall, Liam
, I thought.

“Put him down, you motherfucker!” I said.

“I’m afraid this changes things, Alanna,” Calder said. “I’m going to have to take some time to think about how to proceed. And I think Liam will help me.”

“No! Put him down!”

“Or what?” Calder scoffed. “You’ll shoot? I’m not sure he’d survive another silver bullet. What if you hit him in the head? Or the heart?”

“What if I hit you in
your
fucking head?” I retorted with as much bravado as I could muster, but my hands began to tremble slightly at the thought of accidentally shooting Liam. I redoubled my grip on the gun.

“I’d be surprised. From the looks of it, you’ve never held that weapon before. But maybe you’re a natural. Care to find out?” Calder was enjoying taunting me.

Calder dragged Liam down the hall toward the helicopter pad.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked. “You destroyed the helicopter, genius. No way out there.”

“I destroyed
a
helicopter, for sure. But some new friends came to visit today and brought along another. One of them gave me a…crash course? Is that the term?”

“You can fly it?”

“We’ll soon see.” Calder pushed open the door.

I had a flashback from the day before of Ollie with a silver scalpel to Ben’s throat.
God,
I thought.
Was that only yesterday?
I followed close behind, gun first.

Calder had been busy. My breath caught in my throat as I surveyed the carnage. They looked like a SWAT team. What was left of them, anyway.

“Where will you go?”
I’m coming, Liam, no matter how far he takes you. I hope you can hear me.

“I think Alert, in the northern tip of Canada. Due south from here. You know the place?”

I did. I’d met Ben there before I first came to the Station. Not a fun trip. Just thinking about it made my stomach drop.

“Yeah, I know the place.”

“Liam and I will be waiting there. I still have big plans for you, Alanna. You’ll be the mother of a new race. I hope you’ll come.”

Calder stepped into the helicopter and pulled Liam’s unconscious, bleeding body inside. This one was different. It was black, for one. More military in appearance than the one I’d flown in with Ben. The one that exploded with Ollie inside.

Oh, Ollie�
No. I couldn’t think about that now.

The helicopter rotor started to spin and I was surprised at how quiet it was.
No wonder we didn’t hear it
, I thought.

I stood in the blowing snow as the helicopter took off. Tears streamed down my cheeks and froze. I clenched my teeth and fought the ache in my chest as I fought to raise the gun and point it at the helicopter. I couldn’t even summon the energy.

The helicopter hovered in the air awkwardly for a moment, then slowly flew south.
I hope Liam wakes up while you’re up there and tears you a new asshole, you bastard.

“Doc?”

I spun around, pointing the gun in a shaking hand. It was Ben. Behind him was the gunman.

“What the fuck is going on, Ben?”

“Easy, doc. Just don’t point that thing at me,” Ben said.

“Actually, pointing it at you is exactly what’s going to happen,” I said. “Now, what the fuck is going on?”

Ben had a bleeding gunshot wound in his shoulder. He saw me looking.

“Oh, this?” he said. “It’s nothing. Through and through. I’ll stitch it up.” He looked at the stranger. “I’m glad you weren’t aiming for my head.”

The man was expressionless. I trained the gun on him. “What’s your story?” I asked. “And how are you not dead? I saw Calder claw you.”

“My name is Parker,” he said. “I work for the Company. As for the miraculous survival…” He knocked on his chest. “I’m superstitious. I always wear three layers of armor.”

“So you work for the company that runs the show around here? I hope your human resources department doesn’t mind a little overtime. It looks like there are some job openings.”

“He’s a Sheriff,” Ben said. “Sent to liquidate the lot of us.”

I’d heard the term before in my research. “So you changed your mind?”

“I have,” he said. “For now, at least. Right now our priority is Calder. I think it might be wise to work together.”

Ben laughed. “Because if you call home, they’ll just send another Sheriff and another team to liquidate
your
, ass. I can’t believe you shot me. I thought we were friends.”

“I thought you were infected,” Parker said. “Your reports said that Calder was able to infect shifters with TPV and that it made them volitive, like him, but also made them unstable and violent. Nothing personal, but you’re a polar bear shifter. I’m only going to get one chance to shoot you before I get disemboweled. And I like my bowels where they are. Besides, I shot you in the shoulder. It’s a flesh wound. It’ll heal.”

“Yeah,
eventually
. In the meantime, it hurts like hell.”

“If you two are finished, can we talk about how we follow Calder? He’s going to Alert.”

“I might be able to help on that end,” Ben said. “The Company is a sucker for redundancy. I have an emergency helicopter. It’s on a platform a mile or so north from here.”

I really wasn’t looking forward to another trip in a helicopter, but Liam was worth it. He was worth anything.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked.

“We can take one of the lifeboats from the cutter ship,” “Paddle out to the platform, and then take the helicopter from there, although I might need to stop here and refuel,” Ben said.

I handed Parker back his gun. I had no choice but to trust him. “All right. So when do we leave?”