BEARing The Frozen Night (Ice Bear Shifters Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

pacing the room, muttering obscenities under his breath. Eric and Alan were in the shop, too, but they were sitting quietly in a far corner, wisely staying out of Neal’s way as much as possible. When Tyler and Ryker walked in, Neal looked up and focused on Ryker. His violet eyes blazed with anger, and he let out a deep roar. Ryker thought Neal was going to morph into a bear right then and there, but he didn’t fully shift—at least not yet. Only Neal’s hands changed, the massive white polar paws and enormous claws stretching menacingly from the end of Neal’s human arms.
    “I thought I made myself clear,” Neal yelled, his voice booming with rage. “No human mates.” Neal reached out and slapped Ryker on the side of the head with one of his paws, sending Ryker’s body flying across the room. Ryker crashed into a pile of boxes and tried to regain his breath, which had all left him in one big whoosh with the force of Neal’s blow. Luckily, Neal had only used the palm of his paw and not the claws. Those claws cutting across Ryker’s human face would have left horrendous scars.
    “I was just talking to her. Nothing happened,” Ryker protested weakly. Technically, it was true. He hadn’t even kissed her. But he had been about to, and Neal knew it.
    “If you were just talking to her, then why are your eyes still glowing yellow?”
    Ryker sighed. His attraction to Kenzie was even stronger than he thought, if Neal could still see it in his eyes. Any time a man in the Northern Lights Clan was drawn to a female who was his mate, or who he thought of as a potential mate, that male’s eyes would glow yellow around the edges. The stronger the attraction, the stronger the glow. And Ryker’s eyes lit up with a fury every time he saw Kenzie. Normally, this glowing served as a warning to other bears—she’s mine, so stay away. But in this case, it served as a dead giveaway that Ryker was defying Neal’s orders and spending time with a human female whom he wanted to mate.
    “I’m sorry, Neal. I’ll admit, I’m attracted to her. But nothing happened. Nothing will happen. It was just some innocent flirtation.”
    “You’re playing with fire, Ryker,” Neal yelled, roaring in anger again. Ryker watched in horror as Neal’s teeth morphed into bear teeth. Ryker knew what was coming. Neal was preparing to punish him. The last time Ryker had seen an alpha punish a bear was when Neal’s father had gone off in a rage on a bear who had carelessly shifted in front of a human, putting their clan at risk of discovery. Ryker trembled at the memory of that beating. When Neal’s father was finished with that bear, he had barely been recognizable. Bloody strips of flesh had hung from his body, and several of his bones had been broken. Ryker had no desire to be on the receiving end of such fury. But if he didn’t find a way to quickly convince Neal to back off, Ryker was going to be spending the next few months holed up in his cabin, nursing his wounds.
    “Wait!” Ryker screamed as Neal raised a paw in preparation to slap Ryker again. “Wait! I’m sorry. I know I’ve been getting too close to Kenzie. But don’t punish me. Not now. There have been bear sightings in the area. It’s possible there are Blizzards around, and you can’t afford to be down a bear right now.”
    Neal paused and considered this information, holding his paw in midair as he decided whether to slap Ryker or not. After what felt to Ryker like an eternity, Neal lowered his paw. Ryker watched in relief as Neal’s hands and teeth morphed back into human form. Ryker was saved, at least for the moment.
    “Bear sightings?” Neal questioned, looking around at the group in the room. “Have any of you shifted recently? Now is not the time to lie to try to avoid a beating. I need to know the truth. Have any of you shifted recently?”
    All of the men shook their head no. Neal looked around the room, deliberately looking each one of them in the eyes, trying