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

vital vein. The other alpha yelped and struggled, thrashing wildly. Neal refused to let go. He was tired, but his anger fueled his body. This was the alpha who had ordered the destruction of so many bear shifters across the Arctic, including Neal’s father. If it was the last thing he did, Neal would make sure that he avenged his father’s death.
    Everything on the tundra had gone silent except these two polar bears, struggling against each other in anger and desperation. The other Northern Lights bears came up to the spot where the two alphas fought, and Seth and James started to lunge forward to help their alpha, but Ryker stopped them. This was Neal’s battle to fight. For several long minutes the struggle continued, but, in the end, Neal found a vein. The Blizzards’ alpha roared one final time in agony and pain before slumping into a bloody, lifeless heap on the tundra floor.
    Panting, Neal turned to face his bears. He looked around and saw that each one of them was fine. They all had bloody gashes here and there, and dirty, matted fur. But no one had suffered any major injuries, and all of the male Blizzards were dead. The females and children who had survived the battle would flee far, far away, no longer daring to show their faces anywhere near here. Tears filled Neal’s violet bear eyes as the realization washed over him that they had done it. They had ended the threat to their clan, once and for all.
    With a satisfied growl, he took off toward the Northern Lights cabins, his pack of bears falling into step behind him. He had never felt more like an alpha bear than he did right now, leading his men safely home.
     
    * * *
     
    Christine snapped her head up as she heard Kenzie cheering.
    “They’re back!” Kenzie yelled from her lookout at the cabin window. “They’re all there, and it looks like they all made it out okay. Everyone is back!”
    Christine joined the other women in rushing to the window, and she widened her eyes at the sight before her. Seven giant polar bears strode boldly across the clearing toward the cabins. Their fur was messy, but their violet eyes were all confident. Christine instantly knew that the bear at the front of the pack was Neal. She had never seen him in full bear form, but she would have recognized him anywhere. Even as a polar bear, he was undeniably her Neal. He had the same determined look in his eyes, and the same bold saunter to his steps.
    It was a little surreal to see her boyfriend turned into a polar bear, but Christine was no longer afraid. The idea of Neal being a monster never crossed her mind. In fact, as she saw the man she had given her heart to coming toward her in bear form, she had never felt more in love. He was her Neal. Her bear. Her everything.

Epilogue
    *** One Year Later ***
     
    “You may now kiss your life mate,” Ryker said as he finished the life mate ceremony for his alpha. As second in command, Ryker had been given the honors of officiating the ceremony—a duty normally performed by the alpha.
    Christine leaned in to Neal’s kiss as the rest of the Northern Lights bears cheered. The bright June sun shone down on the clan, and the warm temperatures were a welcome change from the unusually cool summer of the year before. The weather was so beautiful that Christine and Neal were having their reception outdoors. A spread of fruit, cheese, wine and artisan sandwiches had been set up near the Northern Lights cabins, and all of the clan members happily dug in to the food.
    Hope and Calum, the twins, were now over a year old and toddling happily around. In addition, three new cubs had been born last November. Eric and Delaney had welcomed a little girl cub named Avery. Tyler and Kat had also welcomed a little girl cub, and named her Alyssa. And Alan and Hannah had a little boy cub, whom they called Elliot. Amazingly, Avery, Alyssa, and Elliot had all been born on the same day, earning them the nickname of “the triplets,” even though each little