Delaney looked at him for a long, long moment. When she finally spoke, her words were careful and measured, but full of conviction. “You’re right, Eric, it does sound crazy. But somehow, it just feels right. I’ve known since the moment I laid eyes on you that you were special. And when we slept together, I felt a bond. I don’t know how to explain it, other than to say that I’ve never felt so connected to anyone before. I want to be with you, forever. I love you, too, Eric. I’ve been looking for a home for so long, and I’ve finally found it in you.”
Eric’s eyes filled with tears. He tried to blink them away, but he couldn’t stop the feelings overflowing from his bear heart. Delaney was beautiful, inside and out. And she wanted to be his! For the first time since the poisoning tragedy, he felt a ray of true happiness breaking through into his life again. He pulled Delaney into his arms and whispered in her ear, his voice heavy with emotion. “Delaney Parker, will you do me the honor of being my life mate?”
Delaney snuggled up closer to him and whispered back. “Yes, Eric Caldwell. The honor will be mine. Nothing would make me happier than to be your life mate.”
Eric kissed her lips, softly at first, and then with growing passion. He could feel the bear within him urging him on, filling him with a longing to consummate their bond once again. He felt his erection growing hard and stiff, and he let out a low growl of passion.
Delaney responded with a moan of her own, and opened her legs for him, inviting him in again. She kissed him back, their mouths connected and their tongues dancing as he slid into her again. He thrust against her pelvis, and he groaned with pleasure at the warm moisture of her inner walls rubbing against him. God, she felt so good. With every thrust, he felt himself growing warmer. An intense tingling sensation started in his penis and radiated out through his whole body. The feeling escalated, until Eric felt like he was going to explode from its intensity. He held back until he heard Delaney cry out in ecstasy, and felt her orgasm contracting around his rock hard dick. Then he let go, with a giant roar. He felt the warm liquid of his passion bursting out of him and filling Delaney, as the fiery waves of pleasure radiated through his being. He roared again, savoring the feeling of bonding and love that erupted through him as he became one with his life mate.
As their orgasms subsided, they both lay there, spent and happy. Delaney looked over at Eric and gave him a dreamy, love-drunk smile. Eric smiled back at her. As far as he was concerned, this whiteout could continue on for a while. He was having a pretty good time weathering the storm in here.
After lying there a few moments, Eric suddenly felt the shelter tremble. He thought at first that he might have imagined it, but less than a minute later, it happened again. This time, Delaney felt it, too. She sat up and gave him a concerned look.
“What was that? I didn’t think there was any danger of earthquakes out here, but it felt like a tremor.”
Eric sniffed the air. He thought he detected a slight hint of bear, but he couldn’t be sure. This storm was throwing all of his senses off. The trailer shook again, this time more violently. Eric sniffed again. This time, he definitely smelled bear.
“Shit! Delaney, get dressed, now! The warmest clothes possible. Do you know how to shoot?”
Delaney nodded.
“Good. There’s a rifle in the large storage compartment on the right. After you get dressed, get the rifle and be ready to use it. But don’t shoot unless you think I’m dead. It will be impossible to see where you’re aiming in this storm, and you might accidentally hit me if you fire.”
“What’s going on?” Delaney asked, her voice laced with fear.
“Blizzards,” Eric said. “They came for us, even in this whiteout. Maybe because of this whiteout.”
He leaned over and kissed Delaney.
“I love you so much,” he said. Then with a giant roar, he burst through the front door of the shelter.
Chapter Nine
Delaney dressed as quickly as she could. She threw on two layers of thermal underwear, then a sweater and fleece lined jeans over that. She put two pairs of wool socks on, and then strained and pulled her snow boots on over them. She didn’t have a parka anymore, since she’d had to leave hers back on the ice. But she found another thick jacket that must have been Eric’s and she put it on over her clothes. It wasn’t a parka, but it’d have to do. She found a beanie and earmuffs, and put them on. Then she pulled the hood of the jacket up securely over her head. She chose the thickest pair of gloves she could find and stuffed them into the pockets of the jacket. She didn’t want to put them on just yet. She wanted her hands free, for the rifle. She sat on the floor of the trailer, clutching the rifle and pointing it at the door. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. If a bear that wasn’t Eric came bursting through that door, she was pretty sure it would be too late to stop it by the time she knew for sure that it wasn’t Eric.
Outside, the noise of bears roaring sounded horrific. Even with the heavy snow and wind muting the ruckus, the fight just beyond the walls of the shelter was one of the loudest things Delaney had ever heard. She held the gun tighter as she shivered and trembled. Eric had said he was a much stronger bear than any of the Blizzards, but it sounded like there were a lot of bears out there. And Eric was the only Northern Lights bear fighting. The longer the roaring and snarling went on, the surer Delaney was that Eric was going to die. Which also meant that she was going to die. Her shaking finger on the trigger of the rifle might take down one of the Blizzards, if she was lucky. But taking down multiple angry polar bears on her own? Not likely to happen. Delaney had never been the praying type, but she started to pray. Please dear god, she pleaded, if you really do exist, just let me get out of this alive. There was no answer, except for another violent shake of the shelter as one of the bears rammed into it.
Delaney laid down the gun and plugged her ears, while closing her eyes tightly. If she was doomed to die in here, she didn’t want to see it happen. She didn’t want to hear it happening. She just wanted to pretend she was somewhere, anywhere else. Delaney felt herself growing warmer by the second. The layers of clothes she was wearing were too much for the warm interior of the shelter. The roaring continued, although the noise slowly lessened. But Delaney got hotter and hotter, and sweat formed on her skin under the layers of clothes. The temperature was reaching unbearable. Delaney opened her eyes again, and then screamed. The shelter was on fire. No wonder she was so hot. Flames licked at the storage compartments on the opposite side of the shelter from her, slowly growing in size and intensity.
Delaney screamed again and ran outside through the front door, which was only a few moments away from being blocked by flames. The blast of cold hit her like a shock wave, and she was instantly blinded by the solid white of the swirling snow. She looked around, desperately trying to make out anything that might resemble Eric. But all she could see was the faint orange glow of hot flames behind her. A strong chemical smell hung in the air, and Delaney realized that the Blizzards must have set the fire using some sort of flammable substance. Maybe they had even been trying to burn them alive before Eric realized they were there. Eric had said they didn’t like to get in physical fights.
Delaney realized that the noise of bear roars had silenced. There was no sound except the crackling of flames and howling wind. She looked all around in panic. She needed Eric. She had no idea where she was, or how to get anywhere from here. If he wasn’t still alive out here, then she was as good as dead, too. She wanted to scream his name, but she didn’t want to alert the Blizzards to her location if they hadn’t yet realized she was out here.
Suddenly, a large black snout nudged Delaney. She screamed and jumped backwards, not sure who the bear was. Then she saw those familiar violet eyes. It was Eric! He had made it through. Patches of his fur were bloody here and there, but he seemed to be mostly okay. Delaney couldn’t tell whether it was his blood or the blood of the Blizzards. Probably both. He sniffed her, and looked her up and down. Seemingly satisfied that sh
e was okay, he laid on his stomach with his paws outstretched. Delaney understood. He wanted her to climb on his back again. She hopped on and grabbed two big fistfuls of fur. He looked over his shoulder, grunted, and took off running. Delaney had no idea where they were going, but Eric seemed sure. He was running quickly and confidently through the storm, his large paws driving through the snow banks with ease.
Delaney shook her head in amazement. Here she sat, again riding on a polar bear through the Arctic. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was worried about another Blizzard attack, the moment would have seemed almost magical. Delaney glanced down at her hands, full of polar bear fur, and she admired the way Eric’s strong shoulders moved beneath her grasp. He ran steadily, never slowing down for a second. After what felt like the better part of an hour, he came to a stop in front of a small cabin. Delaney had no idea where they were, but Eric let out a large huff that sounded like a relieved sigh. He banged a paw on the door, a clumsy version of knocking. A few moments later, a tall man with violet eyes threw the door open, revealing a small but cozy one-room living space.
“Eric!” the man said, his voice full of surprise and concern. Eric’s bear huffed and swung his head over his shoulder in Delaney’s direction, then huffed again.
“He wants you to get down,” the man said, then held out his hand to help Delaney hop off of her polar bear escort. Then he nudged Delaney inside, where a beautiful, slender woman with dark brown hair and concerned green eyes was standing.
“Does he need stitches?” she asked, eyeing the blood on his fur. “Tell him not to shift back until I can stitch him up. It’s easier for me if he’s still in bear form.”
The only response was a loud whoosh, and Delaney was thrown backwards unexpectedly from a powerful rush of air. When she looked up, Eric was standing in the doorway, naked as the day he was born.
“Stubborn-ass bears,” the green-eyed woman said, shaking her head in annoyance, and seemingly unfazed by the fact that Eric wasn’t wearing any clothes.
“I’m fine,” Eric said. “Nothing stitch-worthy. The Blizzards weren’t expecting to actually fight me, so they only sent four bears. They were trying to burn down the shelter with Delaney and me inside of it. Oh! This is Delaney, by the way. Delaney, this is Ryker, another one of the clan members I told you about. And Kenzie, his life mate, who’s expecting their cub.”
“Hi,” Delaney said shyly. “Congratulations on the new baby, er, cub. How far along are you?”
“Thanks. I’m somewhere around three months, now. Due in early October.”
“You’re not showing at all,” Delaney said. “You look amazing.”
Kenzie laughed. “Thanks. They say with the first one it can take a while to start showing. I can definitely tell my jeans are getting a little tight, though. I’m starting to wear Ryker’s sweatpants more often than not these days. I just have to roll up the bottoms, because his legs are so freaking long.”
“Speaking of Ryker’s clothes,” Eric cut in. “I’m still naked over here. Do you think I could borrow some pants, man?”
“Oh, sorry, right!” Ryker said, and went to his dresser to pull out some clothes, which he tossed to Eric. After Eric finished dressing, Ryker raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“I think we need to talk, buddy,” Ryker said. Eric nodded wearily, and Ryker grabbed two parkas off of a coat rack in the corner. The men put on the parkas and headed out into the cold storm.
Delaney was left awkwardly staring at Kenzie, who mercifully smiled and asked how Delaney would feel about some tea.
“That sounds great,” Delaney said gratefully.
Kenzie started putting water on a pot to boil. “Black tea okay?” she asked.
Delaney nodded.
“So, obviously you know Eric is a shifter,” Kenzie said.
“Yeah. The last day has been… interesting. Speaking of which, why did they go outside in this weather? Are they planning to shift again for some reason?”
Kenzie shook her head no. “Ryker wanted to talk to Eric about you in privacy. Which isn’t exactly easy to do in a one room cabin.”
“About me? Why?”
Kenzie sighed. “The Northern Lights bears are very kind, don’t get me wrong. But they’re extremely suspicious of humans. With good reason, mind you—their clan has been the subject of bear hunts before. Neal, their leader, whom they call the alpha, forbids anyone to seriously date a human without his prior approval. So, Ryker’s probably a little curious as to where you came from all of a sudden.”
“Wait, what? Eric has to get approval to date? That’s bullshit! He’s a grown ass man!”
Kenzie shrugged. “I know it sounds a little strange. It’s not as paternalistic as it sounds, though. It’s just that they have to be very careful about revealing that shifters exist. Not all humans are as understanding as you seem to be.”
“So how did you find out that Ryker is a shifter?”
“I’m a veterinarian. Long story short, Ryker needed emergency medical attention, and shifted into a bear so I could treat him. I was a little nervous to stitch up a human. Having him be an ‘animal’ made it easier to wrap my mind around. Neal forgave him for shifting in front of me because he didn’t have much of a choice, if he wanted to live.”
Delaney nodded. “Yeah, I guess Eric didn’t have much of a choice either. We were stuck out to sea on an ice floe and the storm was getting worse. He had to be able to swim back to the main land, which is obviously much easier to do as a polar bear than as a human.”
Kenzie nodded. “I’m sure Neal will be understanding of that. He’ll probably act super grumpy, but don’t let it faze you. They all act like grumpy bears now and then.”
“So… you’re Ryker’s life mate? How is it, being married to a bear?”
“It’s not really much different than you’d expect normal married life to be. Every now and then the clan members shift and go off seal hunting, but other than that, I almost forget sometimes that they’re bears. Why?” Kenzie asked, narrowing her eyes at Delaney. “Did you sleep with him?”
Delaney said nothing, but her face gave her away.
Kenzie’s face broke out into a grin, and she squealed. “I knew it! The way he looked at you was too sweet! He bonded to you, didn’t he?”
Delaney nodded. “He asked me to be his life mate. I said yes. It’s a little crazy, because I’ve only known him a few days. But there’s just such a strong connection. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
“That’s the bear bond. It was that way for Ryker and me, as well. When it happens for a bear, it happens fast. And the bond is so strong that even a mere human like you or me can feel it. Bear shifters believe that there is someone out there for everyone. When you know, you know. It’s like the human concept of a soul mate.”
“Will Neal be angry that Eric already asked me to be his life mate?”
Kenzie shrugged. “Neal’s always mad about something. He’ll get over it. Neal has to approve all life mate matches before they’re final. It’s not an automatic shoo-in, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem for you. The Northern Lights Clan desperately needs to grow, and humans are the only option right now for adding clan members. Plus, I’ll give him shit if he tries to decline your membership. I’m so ready to have another woman around here. The bears are all great, but they’re all guys. It’d be nice to have someone to girl talk with.”
“I’d like that,” Delaney said, and smiled. It had been a long time since she’d had a close girlfriend. Traveling around constantly made it hard to develop close friendships. But Kenzie seemed very sweet and down to earth. Delaney had a feeling she was going to enjoy being part of this close-knit group. She glanced toward the window. The storm was finally fading, and she could see the outline of Ryker’s and Eric’s figures. She hoped Ryker wasn’t giving Eric too hard of a time over her. Nothing would make her happier at the moment than being accepted into the Northern Lights Clan.
Chapter Ten
Af
ter about twenty minutes, Eric and Ryker reentered the cabin. The two women, who had been drinking tea and laughing, fell silent as the men entered and stomped snow off of their boots.
“Is everything okay?” Delaney asked, her voice filling with trepidation. She half expected Eric to tell her he had changed his mind and she needed to leave. But he smiled tenderly at her and leaned over to plant a kiss on her lips.
“Everything’s fine. But I need to call the alpha and update him on what’s going on, with the Blizzards and with us.”
“Kenzie said he has to approve me or we can’t be together,” Delaney said, her voice catching a bit.
“That’s true. But don’t worry, he’ll approve you. I’ll fight for you if he tries to say no.”
Delaney grinned, and her heart beat faster at the sexy confidence in Eric’s voice. He was her man! He would fight for her! What more could a girl ask for?
Eric grabbed the cordless phone’s headset and stepped back outside of the cabin.
“We really need a cabin with more than one room,” Kenzie said, shaking her head. No one can ever have any privacy in here, and I’m sure our little cub is going to eventually want to have a door he can slam in our face when he’s angry.”
Ryker laughed. “Hopefully the door-slamming days are a little ways off, still. And how do you know the cub is a ‘he’?”
“I just have a feeling. Mother’s intuition,” Kenzie said.
Ryker laughed, and he and Kenzie started discussing whether they could add an addition onto the cabin to make it multiple rooms. Delaney only half-listened to what they were saying. She was watching Eric outside. He was gesturing emphatically with his arms, and obviously having a very heated conversation with his alpha. The storm had completely subsided, and Delaney could clearly see Eric pacing back and forth and waving his arms. After about ten minutes, Eric stormed back into the house with a strained look on his face.
Bearing the Whiteout (Ice Bear Shifters Book 2) Page 6