Dark Ice by Connie Wood

gently but firmly. “You must come with me.”
    “Is everything alright, ma’am?” The bartender leaned slightly over the bar that separated them. “I heard you mention the police?”
    “Everything is fine,” Rin said firmly, his grip increasing against Lea’s arm.
    “I wasn’t addressing you, sir,” replied the barman.
    Rin felt his ire rise at the man’s tone.
    “Ma’am?” The bartender glanced disapprovingly at Rin’s grip on Lea before catching Lea’s gaze.
    Rin detected Lea’s reluctance, her confusion at the day’s events. She obviously didn’t know who to trust. But she needed protection and answers. And he was offering both.
    “Thank you,” she smiled at the bartender. “But I’m fine.”
    The bartender exhaled sharply, raising his eyebrows questioningly, obviously unconvinced.
    “Perhaps you ought to wait for the police,” he said in one last attempt to keep her at the bar.
    “No, it’ll be fine.” Lea half smiled at him before she turned to back to Rin.
    “Come,” Rin quietly demanded, tugging at her arm.
    “Okay, I’ll come with you,” she said with reluctance. “But you had better start explaining what the hell is going on.”
    They walked out together, Rin felt the bartender watching their every move until they were out of sight. He was going to take her back to the venator headquarters. It was the only place she would be safe for now. And with Avery around, he wasn’t sure he could do his duty and what his honor demanded, as well.

Chapter Six
     
    Dane roared into the silence. A smattering of snow fell from the ceiling of his den, cooling his face, but not his temper. He transformed from his natural bear state into a human. His emotions too overwhelming to be held in check by his purely animal form.
    For the second time today, Lea was in danger. The first time was from a mere human, but it was enough to send her a warning, which he hoped she headed. The second time was much more serious. Dane felt it, his animal instincts, the magic of his species coursed through him stronger than ever since he’d met Lea. Now those sensations threatened to overpower him. He felt what was happening to her, knew her fear, sensed her emotions. And they became his.
    Dane stepped out of his den and scanned the ice fields. The pale yellow sun hung over the horizon. It would be dark soon. Rage fumed within his chest, making his heart beat furiously fast. He fought the animal rampaging inside him. Now that he was human he needed to stay that way, to think clearly and logically, so he could come up with a plan. But all he wanted to do was kill and maim to protect Lea.
    How was it that she’d come to mean so much to him? It was as if her very life force flowed with his. She was in danger and it consumed him.
    A foreign emotion racked his soul. Hopelessness. Unable to be with her to protect her, Dane sent the only warning he could. He engulfed her with the coldness of his beloved icy home and hoped she’d understand and recognize him.
    The urgent foreboding danger he felt, slowly ebbed away. Was Lea safe? And for how long? He needed to be with her, to defend her. He made up his mind in a split second. He’d go to Whitehorse , see her safe and eliminate any enemy that stood in his way.  
    The animal in him snarled to life and Dane finally allowed it to take over. He welcomed the heat of ursine blood thumping through his veins, forcing him into action. He stretched his gigantic legs and pounded across the ice, toward the horizon. It would take him no time at all to reach the airport but from there, the trip to Whitehorse would be the longest of his long life.
     
    ~* * *~
    Dane reached out with his senses. Nothing. And everything. At the same time. He stood in Lea’s home, his massive bulk making him feel cramped and uneasy in the cozy living room. Lea’s scent clung to everything, and Dane’s head swam with the thrilling essence of her. But she wasn’t here.
    Dane concentrated, relieved she