Snowman (Arctic Station Bears Book 2) by Amelie Hunt, Maeve Morrick Page A

him. A cold hole began to form in Calder’s chest. He could not draw breath. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
    The warriors demanded to know the location of Calder’s son. When he refused and spat on them, the fire came. Calder screamed as the flames consumed his flesh, but still he could not die.
    The warriors were frustrated and terrified. And Calder’s mate paid the price. She and Calder said tender things to one another, inside the silent connection they shared, and she forced one last smile for him. Then the knife to her throat.
    Calder’s roar shattered the night as he transformed. His bones cracked and reshaped, showing through his torn and burned flesh in places, but he was beyond caring. He fought with teeth and claws and all of the rage he could muster, but he was too weak, and the warriors too strong.
    He closed his eyes and wished for death, but even then it would not find him.
    His next memory was being swallowed by icy water. He was disoriented, so before he started to right himself and swim, he had already moved underneath the thick ice that covered the lake near the village. The torches of the villagers were the only points of light in the blackness as the freezing water filled his lungs. He tried smashing the ice with his fists and again with his massive paws, but to no avail.
    Calder closed his eyes and thought of his mate. Surely now it would be over. In a few moments, they would be together again. They would lay by the fire while the children slept. He would brush her dark hair from her eyes and kiss her. It wouldn’t be long now.
    Be safe, my son , Calder thought. You are the last of our kind.

C hapter T wo - P resent D ay
    Liam and Viktor loaded what was left of Ollie onto the stretcher in silence. Ollie, who must have been in unspeakable agony, never made a sound. Donny and Ben searched the helicopter wreckage for anything salvageable, and finding nothing, dropped their shoulders in defeat and knelt down to assist Liam.
    I looked out over the ocean and tried to clear my lungs of the acrid smell of burning fuel. The perpetual twilight made the water dark and foreboding, in sharp contrast to the purple snow that fell. At least the wind stopped blowing , I thought. I was already cold enough, and it was about to get much more chilly around here.
    Strong hands were suddenly on my arms. I didn’t even need to turn around to know that they were Liam’s.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    “I guess I’m better than Oliver?” I said. “What’s going to happen with him?”
    “We’re going to take him to isolation and try to make him comfortable if we can. I’ll probably have to supervise, since I think Ben and Donny might just try finish him off. I really can’t even say I blame them.”
    I laughed weakly. “Me either. He does sort of have it coming. You think he’ll be okay?”
    Liam put his strong arms around me. I just wanted to live there for awhile. Cozy up and sleep. I wanted to forget about everything that had happened. Liam must have read my thoughts, because he held me even closer.
    I smiled. Well, not everything.
    “I think so,” Liam said. “He wasn’t injured by a shifter or silver, and there’s still enough of him left. He’ll probably start to regenerate pretty quickly, which means we’re going to have to keep him isolated in one of the big animal labs. We can’t risk him healing enough to be able to shift and attack.”
    “You think he will?”
    “I wish I knew. Shit, I wish I knew what was going on in his head to make him act this way. All I know is that we can’t spare anyone to guard him. Not with Calder still on the base. Which also means that we’re going to have to make sure Calder can’t get to him. The big animal labs have cells that can withstand a lot of power. Hopefully it’ll be enough.”
    I could feel his concern, but separate and distinct from mine. It was the strangest sensation, like having the feeling come back to a limb that had gone numb. Just not that