Bearing the Late Thaw (Ice Bear Shifters Book 5) by Sloane Meyers Page A

the next corner!”
    “No,” Neal said, his voice determined. “We’re ending this now. We’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way. Lay down your guns, and shift on my count. When we charge at them, the children and most of the women will likely flee. The men will try to fight, but they will be weakened by the smoke and the heat of the fire. I know it looks like we’re outnumbered, but we’re a great deal stronger than them right now. This is our chance. Let’s take it.”
    Neal looked at his men, and his heart nearly burst with pride at the looks of agreement he saw in their eyes.
    “You’re right, boss. Let’s do this,” Eric said, and the other men nodded in solidarity.
    “On three,” Neal said. “One. Two. Three.”
    Five huge bursts of power whooshed across the tundra as Neal, Ryker, Eric, Tyler and Alan morphed from tall men into gigantic, fearsome polar bears. Their massive paws and huge claws pounded across the tundra as they charged full speed toward the Blizzards, roaring at their top of their lungs and picking up speed as they ran.
    Neal saw the fear in the Blizzards eyes as he approached. They knew that they were in trouble, and he didn’t waste any time in letting them know that their fear was well-founded. He used the flat edge of his paws to bat away any women or children that hadn’t already run out of his way. And then, he let loose with his large, razor sharp claws. The male Blizzards yelped in pain as Neal and his fellow Northern Lights bears sliced through the Blizzards’ fur and skin, showing no mercy. Neal roared in anger, clawing and gnashing his teeth with a vengeance on every Blizzard he could get his paws on. He felt sharp stinging sensations here and there as a Blizzard’s teeth or claws made contact with him, but he ignored the pain and the warm trickles of blood, and he kept fighting. In the corner of his eyes, he could see his bears fighting alongside him. He drew strength from their strength, knowing that they were all in this together. They trusted him, their alpha, to lead them through this. And he would.
    Everything was a blur of white fur, black noses, and red blood. Neal stood his ground, fending off Blizzard after Blizzard as they lunged at him. Despite the never ending surge of enemy bears, Neal was at peace. The Blizzards were weak, and growing weaker as the fight continued. At some point, he saw Seth and James join the fight, back from their successful mission to light the caverns on fire. They jumped into the fray alongside the other Northern Lights bears, bravely biting and clawing at the remaining Blizzards.
    After about fifteen minutes of fighting, the Blizzards seemed to realize that they were hopelessly losing this battle. Their alpha roared a warning, signaling to them to run away and retreat. Neal roared his own warning, telling his bears to chase them down. They were not getting away this time. This was the end of their reign of terror over the Arctic. Neal bounded after the fleeing Blizzards, jumping over bear carcasses as he raced to catch up with the Blizzards’ alpha. He could feel the hot breath of the other Northern Lights bears on his heels as they followed after him, swiping to take down the cowardly Blizzards as they tried to retreat.
    Neal left all of the other Blizzards to his clan to take care of—he was focused on one bear right now, and he would kill the Blizzards’ alpha if it was the last thing he did. Neal managed to catch the giant alpha’s back right paw and send him tumbling across the tundra. Neal pounced, and the two alphas were locked in a wrestling match, rolling over and over each other. Neal sunk his sharp teeth into the other bear’s neck, trying to catch a vein. But the other alpha had the thickest white fur Neal had ever encountered, and taking him down wasn’t going to be simple, even in the other bear’s weakened state.
    Neal dragged his claws across the other alpha’s chest, and tried again to latch his teeth onto a