confusion.
“Look, Kenzie, the reason we’re explaining all of this to you is that, since you obviously saw Ryker shift, you knew something strange was going on. And we didn’t want you to go back into town blabbing to everyone about how there are man-bears running around. That’s how these bear hunts get started, that force us to run off and find a new town. We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to live our lives peacefully, and stay out of everyone’s way as much as possible. We’re asking you, for our sakes, to please, please just keep what you’ve seen to yourself.”
Kenzie looked up at Neal. He looked back at her with pleading eyes, waiting for her response. She looked over at Ryker, but he was staring at the floor. He had seemed pretty uncomfortable since his friends walked through the door. Kenzie briefly wondered whether this meant that she and Ryker could never be together. She sighed, and put her head in her hands. Of course, things would turn out this way. She finally thought she had found a man in Alaska who was sexy, and interested in her. And he turns out to be half bear. She looked back up at Neal.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. I have no interest in causing trouble for any of you.”
Neal’s face visibly relaxed, and Ryker finally looked up at Kenzie. Kenzie held Ryker’s gaze for a few moments, then stood up.
“If you’ll all excuse me,” she said, “I need to head back into town. I have a lot of work to get done, and I think I’ve done everything I can to help here.”
Ryker started to move toward her, but he stopped in his tracks at a warning look from Neal. Kenzie wasn’t sure what the look meant, but she didn’t want to stick around and discuss things anymore. Right now, she just needed some time and space away to process everything she had experienced in the last twelve hours.
Life in Glacier Point was turning out to be an even bigger adventure than she thought it would be.
Chapter Ten
Ryker let out a low whine as he watched Kenzie speeding away on her snowmobile. His inner bear was furiously trying to claw its way out. He wanted her. She was his. Even though nothing had physically happened between them, he felt bonded to her. But he would not challenge his alpha on the human mate issue again. If Neal wanted them to remain alone, the Northern Lights bears would remain alone. Loyalty to the alpha was the most important thing.
The men in the room all stood silent, waiting for Neal to speak. The Blizzard attack, while not wholly unexpected, was not a welcome development. Neal rubbed his forehead, then stood and paced the room. The men waited patiently for several more minutes, as Neal paced and pondered the situation. Finally, he looked up and addressed his bears.
“I think it goes without saying that I want you all to be on highest alert. We are stronger than the Blizzards, but they outnumber us. Be careful when you’re by yourself, especially when you’re on the outskirts of town. The Blizzards are more likely to attack if they aren’t worried about humans being nearby.”
The men all nodded. These instructions were expected. There wasn’t much they could do to prepare for a Blizzard attack, other than be as alert and aware as possible.
“Also,” Neal said, “If you are attacked, the first person you try to call is me. Then the other bears if you can’t get a hold of me. We’ll get the doctor or whatever help is needed. But I don’t like how I didn’t even know about this attack until several hours after it happened. I’m not angry with you, Ryker. I know you weren’t thinking very clearly. But that’s why I want to drill into all of you now, while you’re alert and aware—call your clan first.”
Again, the men all nodded. Then Neal let out a deep sigh, and said something none of them had ever expected to hear from him.
“Finally, I’ve decided to change my stance on taking human mates.”
Ryker’s eyes widened as his gaze shot up from
“Look, Kenzie, the reason we’re explaining all of this to you is that, since you obviously saw Ryker shift, you knew something strange was going on. And we didn’t want you to go back into town blabbing to everyone about how there are man-bears running around. That’s how these bear hunts get started, that force us to run off and find a new town. We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to live our lives peacefully, and stay out of everyone’s way as much as possible. We’re asking you, for our sakes, to please, please just keep what you’ve seen to yourself.”
Kenzie looked up at Neal. He looked back at her with pleading eyes, waiting for her response. She looked over at Ryker, but he was staring at the floor. He had seemed pretty uncomfortable since his friends walked through the door. Kenzie briefly wondered whether this meant that she and Ryker could never be together. She sighed, and put her head in her hands. Of course, things would turn out this way. She finally thought she had found a man in Alaska who was sexy, and interested in her. And he turns out to be half bear. She looked back up at Neal.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. I have no interest in causing trouble for any of you.”
Neal’s face visibly relaxed, and Ryker finally looked up at Kenzie. Kenzie held Ryker’s gaze for a few moments, then stood up.
“If you’ll all excuse me,” she said, “I need to head back into town. I have a lot of work to get done, and I think I’ve done everything I can to help here.”
Ryker started to move toward her, but he stopped in his tracks at a warning look from Neal. Kenzie wasn’t sure what the look meant, but she didn’t want to stick around and discuss things anymore. Right now, she just needed some time and space away to process everything she had experienced in the last twelve hours.
Life in Glacier Point was turning out to be an even bigger adventure than she thought it would be.
Chapter Ten
Ryker let out a low whine as he watched Kenzie speeding away on her snowmobile. His inner bear was furiously trying to claw its way out. He wanted her. She was his. Even though nothing had physically happened between them, he felt bonded to her. But he would not challenge his alpha on the human mate issue again. If Neal wanted them to remain alone, the Northern Lights bears would remain alone. Loyalty to the alpha was the most important thing.
The men in the room all stood silent, waiting for Neal to speak. The Blizzard attack, while not wholly unexpected, was not a welcome development. Neal rubbed his forehead, then stood and paced the room. The men waited patiently for several more minutes, as Neal paced and pondered the situation. Finally, he looked up and addressed his bears.
“I think it goes without saying that I want you all to be on highest alert. We are stronger than the Blizzards, but they outnumber us. Be careful when you’re by yourself, especially when you’re on the outskirts of town. The Blizzards are more likely to attack if they aren’t worried about humans being nearby.”
The men all nodded. These instructions were expected. There wasn’t much they could do to prepare for a Blizzard attack, other than be as alert and aware as possible.
“Also,” Neal said, “If you are attacked, the first person you try to call is me. Then the other bears if you can’t get a hold of me. We’ll get the doctor or whatever help is needed. But I don’t like how I didn’t even know about this attack until several hours after it happened. I’m not angry with you, Ryker. I know you weren’t thinking very clearly. But that’s why I want to drill into all of you now, while you’re alert and aware—call your clan first.”
Again, the men all nodded. Then Neal let out a deep sigh, and said something none of them had ever expected to hear from him.
“Finally, I’ve decided to change my stance on taking human mates.”
Ryker’s eyes widened as his gaze shot up from
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