Conner was overcome with a bad feeling, and his mind instantly went to Lois. He knew something was not right. He excused himself from the meeting he was in the middle of, leaving as quickly as possible. Getting in his vehicle, he headed back up to Barrow. He did not know what was wrong, but the feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that she was in some kind of trouble. He knew that she needed him and he raced towards her, unsure what he would find when he arrived.
His feelings for Lois had evolved quickly. When he had first seen her, it had been more about getting her away from Jeffrey, but now he knew it was because he was meant to be with her. He had waited almost thirty years for her, for fate to give him his mate and he had a suffocating fear that she would be taken from him now, adding to the years of loss and brokenness he had already known. Years before he had fallen for a woman that was not meant to be his, but ignoring the signs in hopes of finding love, fate had been forced to step in, as it always did. She had been taken from him in a violent way. Conner had begun to fear that he would remain alone forever. Lois had changed all of that. Now, the same gripping fear held his heart for ransom. He couldn’t let the same thing happen to her as it had for Johanna. The very idea made him drive faster on the unpaved roads. Barrow had never felt so far away before.
He went to the boarding house first. It was getting late and she should have been back. When Beth told him that she had been gone since early that morning, his next stop was the marina. He did not see his boat anywhere, and his heart dropped as his fear was essentially confirmed.
Conner raised a prayer to the heavens, unsure whom he was even talking to, but asking for help nonetheless. He went back to the marina office and borrowed one of the boats. He climbed in and hastily started the engine, taking off towards the horizon. He let his instincts guide him to her and when he saw the boat off in the distance by one of the main sheets of ice by the coast, his breath started to slow down to a regular pace. As he pulled closer and saw that there was no activity on the boat as he approached, his nerves became agitated again. Leveling with the boat, his worst fears were realized and he saw her unmoving form on the bottom of the vessel. Pulling up against it, he tied off with it and scrambled to the smaller boat that he had named after the very force he now reckoned with. Fate had stepped in again and as he got closer, he feared it would be as before. Conner had been afraid to love anyone else after Johanna. Lois was the first person he had touched in that way in many years and his heart was already breaking at the thought of losing her. He had brought this upon her.
“Lois!”
There was no answer, and as he bent down to touch her, she was cold to the touch. She was breathing, but it was slow and shallow. He did not know how long she had been out there, but he knew that he had to warm her up quickly. Conner started to undress her from her wet clothes, trying to ignore the chaotic mix of feelings and thoughts running through his mind. It was when he pulled her against his own bare chest, that he realized it wasn’t going to be enough. Making a decision, the man decided to shift into his true form, knowing the warm fur would give her the comfort she so desperately needed.
***
Jeffrey watched it all from a small stand of trees that had survived the permafrost to grow. The man that he had seen at the bar transformed into the very polar bear that he had been waiting for. He was the biggest one he had ever seen. This only drove his desire to make the kill more. Jeffrey’s hunger for victory over the beast was not influenced by who he was, just what he was at that moment. As he started to stalk closer, he saw a mostly naked woman wrapped up in the bear’s embrace and fought his body’s reaction. He had to focus now in order to get the prize. She would fall for him, just for saving her, he was sure of it.
The blonde man raised the high-powered rifle and started to take aim. It was then that the two men’s eyes met and Jeffrey could see the man still within.
The bear moved to protect the woman, waking Lois up with the sudden upheaval. His body heat was warming her and she started to rouse. Conner panicked, afraid she would be terrified, and he was right. There was a moment of screaming and then she paused when he looked at her. The bear was too much like the man for her not to know. She had the same feeling that she did when they were close.
It took Lois a minute to notice Jeffrey standing at the edge of the ice bank, his gun raised at the bear. Without thinking, Lois got up and stood in front of him.
Jeffrey yelled at her to move and the polar bear even pushed her out of the way once, but she got back up and stood in the line of fire. She yelled at the man to stop and he told her to move.
Conner had heard enough and the bear jumped out of the boat. It dove into the water and then pulled itself up on the ice. The man who had the gun shook and started to back up as the beast got closer. Polar bears were known for their aggression, and Jeffrey had threatened this one’s mate.
“Stop! I know what you are! I will shoot you!”
Conner kept approaching, his black eyes fixed on the blonde man. Jeffrey backed up until a ball of ice tripped him. As he hit the ground, the gun went off, hitting the bear, then Conner roared and knocked the gun out of the man’s hands. Jeffrey was white-faced and started to beg. The pathetic display caused Conner to realize what he was doing before it was too late. The bear retreated back to the boat and the woman.
Lois was left speechless as she watched the beast turn back into the form she recognized. Her mind tried to make sense of it, telling her that she was hallucinating, but when she looked up at Conner, she saw blood running down his arm. The bullet had clipped him and caused a superficial wound.
“Oh Conner, look at you!” Her hand went to his shoulder and he turned around, expecting fear but finding only love and acceptance. She had always known that there was something about him, though she never would have guessed the truth.
“I’m fine. Are you okay? We need to get you warmed up.” He helped her into the borrowed boat and started to tug the two boats back to dock.
She looked back at the blood-soaked bank and the blonde man staring after them.
“What are we going to do about him? He is going to tell someone.”
“No, he won’t. Besides they would just think he was crazy. Everyone knows that people don’t turn into polar bears.”
Lois wanted to laugh, but her mind was still reeling. She had seen it happen with her own eyes, but was still questioning the information she had taken in. She started to put her jeans and shirt on, while he did the same. The blood from his arm seeped into his white dress shirt.
“So what are you?”
“I am a shifter,” Conner drew in a sharp breath, “and you are to be my mate.” It took several moments for the words to sink in. All of this time she had wanted to find the one, and in her heart she felt he was that one, but she could never have imagined it liked this.
“I am sorry, Lois. I know this is a lot to take in. I wish that you could have found out some other way.”
“I doubt that any way could have been less…surprising.”
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right, though if it’s any help, you’re taking it quite well.”
“Well, you are bleeding, so I have to stay calm. We need to get you back so we can bandage you up.”
“I heal fast, really, don’t worry about it.” He stepped closer, still a little fearful that she would back away from him, but she did not, and in another moment she was cradled in his arms and their lips touched gently. Before she knew it, they were back at the dock and she was unsure how to proceed.
“Can you park Fate and I will get this one hooked up?”
She agreed, kissing him again before stepping over into the small boat she loved almost as much as she loved the owner. Her eyes followed him as he drove slowly over to the other boat’s spot. He was hooked up and parked before she was and he went back over to help her. He watched her work for a moment his heart feeling like it would burst right then and there. Fate had stepped in again, answering his prayers.