Bearing the Whiteout (Ice Bear Shifters Book 2) by Sloane Meyers Page A

expecting Ryker’s cub. Eric was happy for Ryker, and happy that the first ray of hope for the clan’s future was on the horizon. But that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with the emotions and ups and downs of a relationship. No thank you. He was perfectly happy doing his own thing, retreating far behind the walls he had built around his heart and avoiding the pain of love.
    Eric shook his head at Tyler. “No way, man. You guys can all go find yourself a human mate. I’m not going to do that. Women are hard enough to handle as it is. And a full human? No thanks. That’s a hell of a lot more complication than I’m willing to deal with.”
    “Sounds like someone’s a scaredy-bear,” Tyler said in a singsong voice.
    Eric rolled his eyes. “I’m not scared, just smart.”
    But Tyler wouldn’t let up. “I don’t think so, buddy. You claim that human females are so much worse to deal with than bears, but you’ve never even tried to date one. In fact, you’ve never dated anyone besides Gina, bear or human. You’re not exactly an expert on how to deal with women.”
    Eric let out a low warning growl, but Tyler pressed ahead with his tirade, anyways.
    “Look, Eric, I’m not trying to be insensitive to the fact that you lost Gina. But the fact is, she’s gone. Why don’t you stop hiding behind your tough guy facade and admit that you’re lonely? You claim you’re so busy with your ice fishing, but you’re not fooling anyone. Ice fishing is a hobby, not a career. And you don’t even go ice fishing during the two dark months of the year.”
    “It’s not just a hobby,” Eric said. “I can make it into a career. If I get good enough at knowing where the right fishing spots are, then I can run tours and take tourists out to fish.”
    Tyler rolled his eyes. “When’s the last time you saw tourists in Glacier Point? If they do come, they come in the summer, when the sun is shining.”
    Eric couldn’t argue with what Tyler was saying. Glacier Point wasn’t exactly at the top of most travelers’ “must-see” list. The only people who lived here were researchers, oil men, and people who wished they were nomads but were too chicken to actually go completely off the grid. Glacier Point was so far north that the winter brought sixty-seven days of total darkness every year. Eric didn’t fish during that time at all. A few of the locals still went out, using spotlights, but Eric wasn’t interested. To make up for the two months of constant darkness in the winter, Glacier Point boasted eighty days of constant light in the summer. The only tourists who ever trickled through town came during those months, eager to witness the “midnight sun” phenomenon. But the sea ice would have melted by that point, making ice fishing impossible. Eric didn’t really care, because he didn’t need any money. The life insurance policies and assets of the deceased clan members had left the five remaining Northern Lights bears with more than enough funds to live comfortably. But the majority of them were still gainfully employed, just to keep themselves busy. Neal had a tattoo shop. Ryker worked as a security guard at the local superstore. And Tyler was obsessed with his personal trainer job. Only Alan joined Eric in avoiding real work. Alan claimed to be a writer, working on a novel. In reality, everyone knew that he spent his days in much the same way that Eric did—doing anything possible to avoid thinking about the loss of the rest of the clan, usually by taking long, solitary walks when the weather permitted.
    Eric loved his clan members. Just the thought of losing another one of them tore his heart in two. Unfortunately, losing another clan member was a real possibility, thanks to the Blizzards. The Blizzards were a rival clan of polar bear shifters that had been the force behind the poisoning of the Northern Lights Clan. And the Blizzards were out for blood. They were determined to be the only polar bear shifters in the