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

form, including his ultrasonic hearing. That’s how he had heard every word of Kenzie’s conversation with the villager, even though they were several hundred feet away from his cabin. The mention of Millie’s polar bear sighting troubled him. Neal had forbidden anyone in the clan from shifting to bear form, unless it was an emergency or they were on a group hunting trip. Occasionally, the clan went on a seal hunt together. Sometimes for fun, and sometimes because they were in need of the extra boost of fat that seal meat provided. But the last seal hunt hadn’t been for several months. It had taken place before the sun went dark for the winter. And as far as Ryker knew, there hadn’t been any emergencies requiring a shift. So why had Millie seen a polar bear?
    It was possible it had just been a regular polar bear. But what if it wasn’t? What if Millie had spotted a Northern Lights bear? They had to be more careful. Ryker didn’t even want to think about how angry Neal would be if their cover here was blown. But another possibility, one that bothered Ryker on an even greater level, was that the polar bear had been a bear shifter from a different clan. Was it possible the Blizzards had found them? Ryker felt his hair standing on end. He stood in the front doorway of his cabin and breathed deeply. He didn’t smell anything unusual. The only abnormal scent was the stench of death from the dog that had just died right outside his cabin. Other than that, everything seemed normal.
    Ryker rubbed his forehead and went back inside, shutting the door behind him with a loud thud. He needed to talk to Neal about the polar bear sighting. If there were Blizzards around, everyone needed to be on high alert.

Chapter Four
    The next day, Ryker was scheduled to work the day shift at the superstore. Not that it mattered much to him which shift he worked. With the constant darkness, and with work being his only responsibility, time was a very loose concept for Ryker. The only reason he didn’t like the day shift was that Kenzie never came into the store during the day. She only showed up during evening hours, and usually it was to buy ice-cream. She hadn’t been around much, lately, though. Ryker tried to push her out of his mind, but it was a losing battle. He could feel himself being drawn to her. She wasn’t a bear shifter, true. But there was something different about her. She had a more spiritual presence than the other humans in Glacier Point. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew that her incredible beauty wasn’t the only thing that attracted him to her. She had a certain peace, a certain aura about her, that calmed his aching bear heart.
    Ryker needed her. If he couldn’t have her as a mate, he at least needed to see her. He knew he was playing with fire, and he knew Neal would be furious if he found out that Ryker was looking for excuses to spend time with Kenzie. But Ryker couldn’t help himself. He was so drawn to Kenzie that he would risk the wrath of his alpha to see her, if that’s what it took.
    Ryker started plotting places she was likely to be. In a small town like Glacier Point, that wasn’t that hard to do. There were only two pubs, and most people in the younger crowd favored the Northwinds Pub. Ryker started going there whenever he had an evening off. At first, he had sat at the bar with his head down, trying to avoid all contact with the other pub patrons. But after a few visits, the bartender started to consider him a regular, and would toss him a free beer now and then between paid rounds. Ryker didn’t want to be rude to someone giving him free drinks, so he made an effort to at least be civil to the bartender and look him in the eye when ordering. Ryker soon realized that he actually enjoyed a small amount of interaction now and then. He didn’t want to get philosophical or discuss his life story with anyone. But a “How’s it going” and “How was work today” tossed in here and